At eleven years of age Thomas was a master at lifting tape and refastening ribbons. He looked at all the presents underneath the Christmas trees and was itching to know just what he was getting. His parents in the past had threatened to take everything back and give him lumps of coal if he peeked, but he just couldn’t help himself, he just had to see.
He carefully went through the packages and noted the names on the labels. He was surprised at all the presents that bore his name on them. He had at least six packages and he knew that there would probably be more. His mom always hid the big items. He had already searched the house top to bottom, looked in the garage, inside the trunk of the car and the storage shed in the backyard. She was getting real good at hiding things.
Still she usually had some good things under the tree already. Thomas picked up one box and shook it carefully. Clothes, but there was something strange about the way the box felt, as he shook it. He shook the rest of the shakable things. One box was heavy and was unshakable, three more had clothes and the last had a sound he couldn’t attribute, as he shook it.
He took the unshakable box first, carefully slipping the ribbon to the side and peeling the small piece of tape on one end. ‘Mom was really slipping if she only used one small piece of tape to keep him out,’ he thought. He carefully opened one end of the package. He saw the stores original packaging and got it opened enough to read the side.
He nearly dropped the package as he read, ‘My first makeup kit,’ on the side of the box. He thought maybe it is a box mom used to package something else, but no he could see the clear shrink wrapping was still intact.
‘Maybe it is Sis’s present,’ he thought, but no, the pictures on the side were clearly juvenile. He didn’t think his Sis would appreciate something like that. He carefully rewrapped the present, because the shrink wrap was impenetrable with out detection.
He then opened the strange sounding box. This one was more like his mom’s work in wrapping. It would have been tough for any normal person to open without leaving any traces, but he was a master. Beneath the wrapping paper was a box with a lid. There was no tape holding the lid down, so he opened it. Inside the box were dozens of pierced earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Some looked cheap and some not so cheap.
He found a card in the box that read, ‘I hope you like these Thomas, I love you so very much, Love Mom.’ His Mom must have gone off the deep end. The rest of the packages contained; training bras, panties, pantyhose, slips, two skirts, four blouses, a go to church type dress and a pair of girls shoes.
Thomas was pretty dejected as he carefully rewrapped everything and then sulked back to his room to cry. He didn’t know why his mom and dad were doing this to him; he was going to have an embarrassing and crappy Christmas.
For the next week Thomas just mopped around the house. He didn’t go out with his friends. Mostly he just stayed in his room and played with his Xbox. Even his sister couldn’t get a rise out of him. They usually had at least one spat a week. He only spoke when he was spoken too. He ate without his old fervor; even his favorite foods couldn’t bring a smile to his face.
Christmas eve the family usually let the kids open one present. His Mom gave him the option about opening one tonight or waiting till Christmas morning to open all of them. He chose not to open any that night.
Christmas morning, Jenny, dressed as a Christmas elf, had to literally go and drag her brother out of his room, at half past nine.
Jenny and Dad went under the tree and passed out the presents. Everyone waited until all the presents were passed out to begin opening them. In thirty minutes all the presents were opened except the ten packages that sat in front of Thomas.
“Open your presents Thomas,” Adele said.
“No I don’t want them,” Thomas said.
“Thomas Williford Bingham, open those presents or you will never receive another present from any of us,” Adele said.
He stood and started to kick the whole pile over. His Mom jerked him back onto the couch.
“Thomas, we ought to just take all of those presents back to the store,” his Dad said to him. “You will open each and every one of those packages, NOW!”
Adele handed Thomas the box with the makeup kit in it. Thomas was crying as he ripped the paper and ribbon off the box. He nearly choked to death as he saw the iPod dock, clock radio, stereo system.
The family all shouted, “Gotcha.”
His mom hugged the crying Thomas, to her side, and said, “We all got tired of you opening your presents before Christmas. You were always happy when you unwrapped them, but you had no sense of wonder or excitement anymore. It became a chore, rather than a love to buy presents for you. We knew you opened everything you had under the tree last week. So we waited till this morning to bring your things home from your Dad’s office. It wasn’t easy for us to just let you mope around this last week but we needed to teach you a lesson.”
“I am sorry Mom; I guess I always looked at peeking as an adventure. I felt I just had to know.”
“We know, but you never let us have any fun with you. We loved to try to surprise you, but you wouldn’t let us. AND THOMAS WILLIFORD BINGHAM, IF YOU EVER TRY TO BREAK ANY PRESENTS, YOU WILL NEVER RECEIVE ANOTHER,” his mother said with emphasis. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND, YOUNG MAN!”
“Yes ma’am, I do,” Thomas said crying.
The boy couldn’t stop crying, giggling and laughing as he opened the rest of his presents. He would give the person who gave the gift a hug as he opened one after the other. He even hugged his sister tightly after she gave him a card to buy music for his new iPod.
Thomas couldn’t remember a better Christmas. He was ashamed at how he acted over the last week, and realized that he got what he deserved and less.
After he had opened everything, he said, “Mom, Dad, sister, I want to say that I am sorry. Can you guys forgive me?”
“Of course we forgive you. You are our son.”
The next day Ronald had to go into his office for a few minutes and Jenny went to spend the day with her boyfriend. Adele called her son over to her computer. She showed him a video of him opening his presents that fateful day and holding up a dress he had found in one of the packages.
“Thomas I am going to save this video and show it to you each Thanksgiving Day for the next few years. Hopefully we won’t have a repeat of this year.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t peek anymore.”
“I won’t worry, but you should. Tell me what did you think when you saw all that stuff.”
“I thought everybody lost their blooming minds.”
“Well I wouldn’t peek next year, if I was you. Your worst nightmare may come true.”
“That is one lesson that I will never forget.”
“You know we love you don’t you.”
“Yeah I know.”
Adele hugged her son tightly, “Although I wonder how that pretty dress would look on you,” she giggled.
A Reason to Go On
By
Paula Dillon
Elizabeth Renoir was in despair. She had lost the most important person in her life, her Mom.
Sandy Jennings was in despair. He was a 17 year old boy, who had spent the last four years living on the street. He was tired, weak and starving. He was ready to die.
What happens when their lives collide?
Elizabeth Bernadette Renoir was driving home in a blue funk. The sun in the west was just setting as she drove down I-15 towards Los Angeles. She was just twenty and had lost her Mom just two weeks ago, after losing her father not quite two years ago. The worst part was seeing her mom just waste away to pancreatic cancer and not being able to do anything about it. The pain she endured in the last weeks was almost unbearable. She tried to get on with her life, but she kept asking herself, “Why bother?” or “Does it really matter?” She was in a sore need of a reason to go on.
Even with all the medical costs her mother incurred, she was well off. Her mother and father had large multi-million dollar life insurance policies on their lives, and on top of health insurance, her mother had a large cancer policy.
Her Father, Robert Renoir had worked in one of the larger houses on Wall Street managing the money managers and investors. They had a nice home on a large estate a few miles out of Trenton New Jersey and earned a high seven figure salary, plus bonuses. He would take a train ride to and from work almost every day Monday through Friday. He died of a heart attack at forty three.
Elizabeth and her Mom, Renee moved just off the Pacific Coast Hwy near Malibu, California. They both lived happily there for a year, before Renee went to the doctor and got her dreadful diagnosis. Elizabeth became her mother’s rock and helped her live longer than the doctors had given her. They had been more like close friends rather than mother/daughter and when Renee finally checked into the hospital that last time and signed her DNR (DO NOT RESUSCITATE), Elizabeth was by her side all that time. When her mother passed away two days later, Elizabeth felt the life drain out of her. Renee was laid to rest three days later.
The day after the funeral, Elizabeth got dressed up in a nice suit, did her hair and makeup, before getting into her Mercedes Sl class convertible and drove to San Francisco. When she got there, she turned right around and drove back to Malibu. Two days later she drove to San Diego and back. Today she had driven to Las Vegas and was on her way back to Malibu. She prayed every day for a reason to go on.
She had just passed through Barstow, when she saw what looked like a girl sitting and leaning against one of those highway signs that held one of those I-15 placards.
Sandy Jennings was tired. He had run away from home when he was almost thirteen. He got tired of being beaten and yelled at by his father. What hurt more was his mom’s indifference; she just sat there and watched as he was being beaten. She had been afraid that she would be next if she interfered. Sandy had saved up a lot of money from mowing lawns, almost three hundred and fifty dollars and when he father had left to go to his favorite watering hole, Sandy made his escape.
He got quite far away before the sun rose in the east. He trekked three miles from his home to a rail line that had a passing track. Luckily there was a north bound train sitting there waiting for a south bound train to pass, he found a flatbed car that had two large wheeled front end loaders. He easily hid between the large wheels of the front end loaders.
Sandy had a close call with a railroad dick in Dallas, he managed to jump off the flat bed on the other side of the train and evade him long enough to get clear of the rail yard. He snagged a meal and some bottled water and snacks. He kept clear of the authorities during the day, before making his way north of town and catching a northbound train, at dusk. At Oklahoma City he got off the train before the rail yard to avoid unpleasentries. Jumping from a moving train wasn’t the best experience, but it was one Sandy would avoid if possible.
Sandy decided then and there to make his way to California. He began hitching rides there. From Oklahoma City, he made it to Phoenix, then New York City, Panama City Florida, Boise Idaho, Portland Oregon, Salt Lake City, Cleveland, St. Louis, Atlanta Georgia, Anchorage Alaska, Kansas City Kansas, and a thousand other cities along the way. He was tired and he would never speak about what he had to do to survive to anybody. He had been used and abused by a good third of the drivers he had ridden with. One trucker kept him captive for over a year, locked away in the sleeper.
Now almost four years later, Sandy finally made it to California, but he was on the verge of giving up. He was hungrier than her had ever been, it had been over a day since he had anything to drink and he was just a shell of what he had been. It would be so easy to just stand up and walk into traffic, if he just had the energy. Really he saw absolutely no reason to go on. Tired, he had just sat down to die over an hour ago.
Elizabeth pulled her Mercedes over and backed up till she was near the girl. She had never picked anybody up on the road; it just wasn’t safe to do so. Too many people have been killed and robbed picking up hitch hikers and she knew this. She also knew that she had to do this. She got out of her car and approached the girl. She was nasty from her head down to her sandals. Her greasy hair of unknown color came down almost to her waist. Elizabeth couldn’t tell if she was a black, white or Hispanic by looking at her skin tone, she was incredibly soiled and nasty. Her lip shape suggested she was a white girl, but they were impossibly cracked and chapped. Her soiled T-shirt showed two nipple peaks much like a girl of ten or eleven, it also showed her ribs. Elizabeth could count the girl’s ribs while she was dressed. Her low rise jeans slim fit jeans looked crusty enough to walk off by themselves.
“Are you alright?” Elizabeth asked, with some trepidation.
Sandy’s voice cracked and squeaked, barely coming out audible in a whisper, as he tried to say “Thirsty,”
Elizabeth bent down and pinched the skin on the back of the girl’s hand. It took nearly ten seconds for the skin to smooth out again. The girl was clearly dehydrated.
“Come on girl, you’re coming with me,” Elizabeth said helping the girl up.
Sandy had long ago learned to be submissive, several times when he had tried to say no got him beat severely. So with Elizabeth’s help he stood and got into her car. Elizabeth buckled the girl in and grabbed two V-8 Fusions (a vegetable fruit drink by the makers of V-8 tomato cocktail) and two bottles of water from the cooler on the backseat. She waited till she got back into her car before she handed the V-8 fusion to Sandy.
“You may be thirsty, but drink this slowly, or you may throw it up and be worse off than before,” Elizabeth said.
It was hard advice to follow, his body was craving nourishment, but he sipped the drink slowly. The fluid came just in time to save his kidneys and the sugar brought the glucose levels in his blood up from dangerously low levels. He went through the first 16 ounce bottle in ten minutes and nursed the second bottle over the next hour. They were back in Malibu before Sandy had to use the bathroom, for the first time in a while.
Elizabeth opened her purse and took out a lip stick, “I don’t have any lip balm, but this lip stick will help your poor chapped lips. There is a lighted mirror on the back of that sun visor.”
Sandy took the lipstick and tilted the sun visor down. He was surprised when two lights came on. He had never used lipstick before, but he just tried to stay in the lines of his lips. He was surprised at how much better his lips felt after he coated them in a cranberry red lipstick.
Elizabeth got Sandy into the bathroom and began undressing the girl. She saw the girl was wearing what might have been blue lace panties.
“Just sit and do your business, I am going to run you a bath,” Elizabeth said as she turned her back to the girl, added bath salts to the tub and ran some warm, but not hot water.
Elizabeth picked up all Sandy’s clothes and after checking the pockets, she took everything and threw it away. She would give or buy the girl some new clothes, but these things were too nasty to go into her washer. When Elizabeth came back, she had changed into a T-shirt and panties. She set down a silk chemise and matching panties on the counter.
Sandy was relaxing in the tub when Elizabeth got back, she then knelt by the tub, took the shower wand and wet Sandy’s hair. She took an insanely large amount of shampoo in her hand and began shampooing Sandy’s hair. After massaging the girl’s hair for about four minutes she rinsed and repeated.
There was an incredible amount of scum floating on the water, so Elizabeth said, “Drain the tub, and refill it. Add some more bath salts and then we will shampoo one more time, condition your hair, scrub the dirt out of your skin and shave your armpits and legs. I will be back in a few minutes.”
Elizabeth rushed to another bathroom in her home and washed her own hands and arms. It was hard for her to shampoo that greasy mane and she had to wash her own hands and arms to feel clean. She just didn’t want to do it in front of that girl. She didn’t want to make the girl feel any worse.
When Elizabeth got back to the tub where Sandy was, the greatly energized girl was scrubbing her own skin with a vengeance. Elizabeth again shampooed Sandy’s hair, as she was scrubbing her legs. After shampooing, she rinsed and conditioned Sandy’s hair, leaving the conditioner in for at least ten minutes. Elizabeth took a razor and began shaving Sandy’s armpits. It wasn’t till she began shaving the girl’s legs that Elizabeth noticed her mistake. She was shocked, but she didn’t show it, she just continued what she had set out to do. She didn’t know what else to do. She had him stand and shaved his pubic hair into a strip and shaved his backside and around his genitals. He just did whatever she told him to do.
Sandy knew that Elizabeth now knew that he was a boy and he was glad she didn’t run off screaming. It had been a long time since he had felt clean. He didn’t miss his armpit or leg hair.
After he rinsed off, she had him drain the tub. Elizabeth then dried him off with a big fluffy towel. She then appraised him nude. Except for his penis and scrotum, which were really small, he still looked much like an underfed girl. He had slightly more than AA cup breasts, a narrow waist; probably around twenty five inches at the waist and thirty two inches at the hips. She wrapped him in a pink towel chest high.
She took a comb, brush and hair dryer to his mane. As much as she tried, she could help adding volume and curl to his hair as she worked on it. As it dried it turned into a really nice brown and it had a nice shine. When she finished she took his towel off and used her skin moisturizer on him from head to toe. He really needed it. The moisturizer had a nice lavender fragrance to it. Elizabeth also used an antiseptic cream on about a dozen places on his skin, bandaging three sores.
“I will be back in a minute,” Elizabeth said, heading to her room. She didn’t intend to dress Sandy in the panties and chemise. She knew he would object and in her heart she was going to rescue him and give him a chance.
She returned with running shorts and a T-shirt. She was surprised to see him wearing the chemise and the panties. He looked good in them; it was again hard not to see a girl.
“Do you really want to wear those? I brought those in when I thought you were a girl, you can wear these if you want.”
“This is alright with me,” Sandy barely croaked out.
He sounded better than when he first spoke but he was barely understandable.
“Alright you can wear that. Put on this kimono robe,” Elizabeth said handing his a robe that hung on the door. “And follow me. Let me fix you something light to eat and something that will soothe your throat.”
Sandy followed Elizabeth to the kitchen. He liked the cute wiggle of her pantied butt and tried to copy it trying to not make it look ridiculous. Elizabeth scrambled four eggs and sat them in front of Sandy with a glass of milk. She then made him a hot toddy. A quarter cup of Jack, two tablespoons of honey, one tablespoon of lemon, half a cup of water, a lemon slice, a stick of cinnamon, stir and microwave it for a minute. She turned to see Sandy sitting in front of an empty plate.
“Oh my, you must have been really hungry. You need to take it easy though. You can have more food in the morning. Now sip this very slowly. It has enough alcohol to make you a little loopy, but it will really help you sore throat.”
Sandy smiled and mouthed the words, “Thank You.” He sipped the tonic slowly and began to really relax. It didn’t take long for the alcohol to get into his system. He became drowsy when he finished the drink and Elizabeth helped him into one of the guest room beds. He was already asleep as Elizabeth covered him.
Elizabeth sat in a chair and watched the sleeping boy. She had done as much for her dying mother in the past months. She fell asleep after hours of watching Sandy.
Elizabeth awoke to the sound of someone saying, “No, no, no, don’t do that,” in a crackly voice that was just a tad better than the day before.
The boy she picked up and yet didn’t know the name of was having a nightmare. She could only imagine what demons were chasing him in his dreams. She got up to lie on the bed beside him and held him tightly, whispering gently in his ear that he was alright; nothing was going to hurt him tonight. He slowly began to calm down and soon was snoring softly again.
Elizabeth woke before Sandy, she kissed his ear and then went to the bathroom to take care of her morning needs. Refreshed she came back into the bedroom. The boy was still sleeping. She looked at his eyes and noted that he was in a deep sleep cycle. It wouldn’t do to wake him now, he would probably be disoriented for a while and she didn’t want that. She went to the kitchen and put the tea kettle on over low heat. She would wake him up when the kettle whistled.
She sat and watched him for a while more. When he went into REM sleep and the kettle was whistling, she whispered, “Wake up little rose bud, wake up.”
Sandy’s eyes flew open and he saw a smiling Elizabeth. It didn’t take him long to remember what had happened yesterday evening. He sat up and saw the pink chemise he was wearing and the silk panties. They felt so nice to him.
“Don’t try talking, you’re probably still hoarse. The bathroom is over there.” Elizabeth said, pointing. “Do what you need to do, put on a robe and come to the kitchen. There are extra new toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet, please do use one,” Elizabeth said, heading toward the kitchen. “OK.”
Sandy, feeling just how sore his throat was, just nodded.
Elizabeth went to the kitchen and began to cook some breakfast for both of them. She hadn’t eaten in over half a day and she needed sustenance too. She cooked some more scrambled eggs and some sausage patties to keep thing simple for the boy.
Sandy went in the bathroom and took care of his bladder, washed his hands and rinsed his mouth out. He opened the medicine cabinet and found a toothbrush and toothpaste. His teeth were very stained right now as they hadn’t seen a toothbrush in over a year. He spent a good ten minutes trying to brush the crap off of his teeth. He didn’t completely succeed, but they did look a lot better. After he rinsed out his mouth again he looked and saw that his gums were bleeding a little, but his teeth felt better.
He then took a good look at himself. He actually liked the looks of the chemise and panties he wore. He wished that he could keep on wearing clothes like this. He loathed being a boy after what he had gone through. Elizabeth seemed nice enough, he would see if she too had some agenda for him, but he might just try to stay with her, at least for a little while.
Sandy smelled the food cooking and followed his nose. Elizabeth was just plating the food as he came in.
“I wondered where you were, you took a while back there,” she said bringing two plates of food over to the table. “Now I expect you to eat a lot slower this time. You will get plenty of food, but you need to take your time eating it, or your stomach might rebel at being stuffed, ok?”
Sandy nodded.
“There is a lot of lemon and honey in that tea, but no whiskey. We need to be able to talk without you being half drunk.”
He took a sip of the tea, it was overly sweet and sour, but it felt good on his throat. He tried to slow his eating down a bit, but he just had to get the food in his stomach. He knew he needed the nourishment, he knew he was all skin and bones. He didn’t quite get it all stuffed into his gut when he felt stuffed.
Elizabeth was almost giggling as she watched Sandy try to eat slowly. She could see that he was looking better than he had been.
When he finished the tea he held the cup out and almost whispered, “More please.”
“Do you want the same amount of lemon and honey?” Elizabeth asked.
Sandy just nodded. It felt so good to his throat.
She fixed him another cup of tea. He mouthed the words thank you.
“Ok, we need to communicate with each other. Your throat will heal faster if you don’t talk. So can you type on a laptop?”
Sandy held out his hand and wagged it meaning… So, so.
Elizabeth got out her laptop and set it down in front of Sandy after booting it up and starting Microsoft Word.
“Alright I will talk to you and you can respond by typing on the computer. My name is Elizabeth Renoir. What is your name?”
Sandy typed out Sandy and hesitated before typing Baker. Baker was his grandmother’s last name.
“It’s good meeting you Sandy Baker. Sandy I need to ask you to forgive me for yesterday. When I saw you, I actually thought that you were a girl. I just didn’t know what to do when I discovered that you were a boy.”
Sandy typed, “No problem, I hate being a boy…” he hesitated. Then he continued, “After what was done to me.”
“So is that why you were dressed in girls’ clothes last night?”
Sandy looked sheepishly at Elizabeth and then type, “No… those were the only clothes I could find. The last few months I had to steal clothes from laundromats. I am sorry but I needed clothes and had no money.”
“Don’t worry honey. I’m not mad at you. You were only trying to survive right?”
“Yes,”
“So do you want me to go out and buy you some boy clothes?”
“Can I keep wearing clothes like these?”
“Are you sure? You want to keep wearing girls’ clothes?”
“They fit better, and I like them more.” Sandy typed. “… and I like them a lot.”
Elizabeth was uncertain what to say. She had had some psychology courses at college before she dropped out this year to take care of her mother. She knew what she was taught about transgendered people. She wasn’t sure Sandy was transgendered or not.
“So do you wish you had been born a girl?”
“I want to say yes… but I am not certain.”
“That seems to be an honest answer to me. Now how old are you?”
Sandy actually had to figure things out, he hadn’t thought about how old he was or birthdays in ages. He actually did some mental math to come out with the age seventeen.
He looked younger than that to Elizabeth so she said, “Open your mouth.”
He opened his mouth and Elizabeth looked at his teeth, counting molars. He had all his regular teeth and she could see his wisdom teeth beginning to erupt. She could also see that he needed a dentist.
“I believe you. I can also see you need a dentist and probably doctor too… Where did you come from?”
Sandy frantically typed, “I am not going back. I hate them. My father would beat me just for fun. Mom only watched me get my ass kicked.”
Elizabeth got up and hugged Sandy to calm him down, “I’m not going to make you go back. In fact you are old enough to live alone if you like. I was just wondering. That’s all.”
“I was born in Madisonville Texas,” Sandy croaked.
“How long have you been out on the street?”
Sandy held up four fingers.
“You’ve lived on your own for four years?” Elizabeth asked the shock plainly showed in her voice.
Sandy nodded.
“Oh you poor child,” Elizabeth said. “Ok, here is the deal. You can stay here with me, if you want. I will help you get well and help you to stand on your own two feet. You will not be asked for sex and you won’t be forced to have sex. You can leave anytime you want. I just ask that you tell me if you are leaving. Ok?”
Sandy nodded his head.
“I have several rules, first, no stealing from anybody. I know you had to steal to survive before, but don’t worry. If you need something just ask. If it is reasonable, I will get it for you. Second, you are going to see a doctor, a dentist and a psychologist. No compromise on this. They will report to you, not to me. So if you tell them something, it is between you and them. You can tell me if you feel like it. Thirdly, you are not my slave, but I want you to work with me in keeping this place livable. I am going back to college this fall and I will need your help to keep this place and to do my studies. Fourth, no out on the streets all night. I know you know how dangerous the streets are. Be home at a reasonable time. Rules maybe be changed if I feel the need, but they won’t be draconian or overly harsh. Do you understand?”
Sandy nodded at what Elizabeth said.
“Is that acceptable to you?”
Sandy again nodded and then typed out, “Why me?”
“Ok let me ask you a question. Were you despondent when I found you? I mean were you giving up on life?”
Sandy nodded yes.
“Do you think I saved you?”
Sandy again nodded yes.
“Well believe this. I think you saved me too. You see my dad died of a heart attack a couple of years ago and I lost my mom about three weeks ago. I too was despondent. I was looking for a reason to live. Then I found you. I needed a reason to go on. So mi casa es su casa.”
Sandy hugged Elizabeth and they both had a good cry. When they both were cried out, Elizabeth led Sandy back to the bathroom and they both washed their faces.
Back in Elizabeth’s bedroom, she said, “We need to get dressed. You can wear my clothes, but I think you need some that will fit you. Take off the chemise and let me measure you.”
Sandy took off the chemise as Elizabeth hunted down a measuring tape. She began measuring Sandy. Sandy was almost a 32A. He was just a quarter of an inch away from a full A cup, but his nipples were only just a little feminine. His waist she was jealous of, only for a second. The twenty four and a half inch waist indicated just how malnourished he was. His hips were only thirty two inches. She had him try on a pair of her sandals, his foot was narrow enough for her shoes, but his foot was about an inch longer. She wore a seven and a half. He would wear an eight and a half or a nine better. She stood in thought for a second or three.
“If you really want to be a girl, may I make a suggestion.”
Sandy nodded.
“Ok,” Elizabeth said, digging in her dresser. “You almost have a girlish figure, but we are going to be putting some weight on those bones of yours. Put this on,” she said, handing him a camisole and some panties.
As he put on the camisole, Elizabeth pulled out a very pretty below the bust silk brocade corset, that had a pretty flower and lace pattern. She checked the label; it was sized to reduce a waist down to twenty four inches. Sandy could probably wear that completely closed and not be bothered by it. Yet as Sandy put on weight it might be forced to go where it would make him look more feminine.
“This is a corset. I don’t think it will be all that tight on you, but if you wear it or another one the same size as you put on weight, it will help you keep a girlish figure. Let’s see.”
Elizabeth got it on Sandy and sure enough got it easily laced it up so there was no gap in the back, “That isn’t tight at all is it?”
Sandy held her finger and thumb about a half inch apart, to indicate only a little.
“Well take a look at yourself. Do you like what you see?”
Sandy looked in a mirror and his eyes got really big. He did like what he saw. He turned to the left and then the right. The corset was the prettiest thing he had ever worn. Also his small breasts seemed to be more prominent, as the corset squeezed his lower chest. He smiled at Elizabeth.
She then dressed him in a pair of her shorts and a tank top.
“I’m not keeping you captive, but you don’t need to go out till you are a lot better. I need to go out and get you some things. Ok?”
Sandy nodded.
Elizabeth then undressed and selected her clothes with Sandy sitting on her bed. He watched her with interest as she began doing her makeup. Especially when she did her lipstick. He mimicked putting on lipstick. His lips were still cracked and chapped. She opened a drawer in her dresser and found a never been used lipstick.
“This will be your lipstick,” she also handed him an empty makeup bag. “This is your makeup bag. Keep your makeup in it. It isn’t good sharing makeup. You can trade eye infections doing it.” Elizabeth then taught him how to put lipstick on.
Elizabeth also found one of her mom’s shoulder bags to give to Sandy. She put the makeup bag in the purse and handed it to Sandy saying, “A girl always know where her purse is, she would rather have a run in her stockings all day than to lose her purse and believe me girls hate runs in their stockings.”
Sandy took the purse and hugged Elizabeth. Nobody had given him much of anything in the last six years or so.
Elizabeth fixed Sandy a couple of light snacks, “I am going shopping for you now. Eat one snack in a bit and eat the other in an hour or so. I will be back in two hours. If you want to rob me, my laptop is in on the table and my mom has some nice jewelry in her jewelry box. You can try on any clothes in this house except my panties. I will buy you some panties, just as nice as the ones I own. If you’re here when I get back, I will have some real food for you.”
Sandy didn’t take that comment wrong, he recognized sarcasm when he heard so it didn’t bother him, he just hugged Elizabeth and she smiled as she left.
Sandy sat in the living room and began listing his doubts and listing his hopes about his current situation. He had been held captive for a period of almost a year and it took some ingenuity to get away, because his captor never left him alone in a room that wasn’t secure. At least until he made a mistake. Sandy had feigned being seriously ill, that was dangerous in itself because the man might have killed him on the spot and gotten rid of the body. When the man found Sandy ill, he was going to kill him. In fact he had left to get a sheet of plastic and a gun. Sandy escaped with seconds to spare.
Elizabeth had treated Sandy better than anybody in the last four or five years and Sandy wasn’t locked in the house. It just came to the question “Did Sandy want this for himself or herself.” Herself was looking like a real possibility. He had thought about this over the last few years. He knew girls didn’t have life easier; he didn’t fall into that trap of misbelief. A girl’s life was no easier and in fact may be harder, due to gender prejudice. A boy who was known to be transgendered would surely be worse off than a girl.
Sandy had, by necessity of circumstances, been portraying himself as a girl. The circumstances being that he could only find girl’s clothes to fit him in a halfway decent manner and were available for theft. The clothes he had been wearing, when Elizabeth found him, he had been wearing constantly for the last four months, except for the panties. He had stolen more panties and wore them till he just had to throw them away. In despair he had not planned to steal anymore clothes. He hadn’t planned to live much longer.
In conclusion, he decided he would stay with Elizabeth, till he decided whether life was worth living or not. The thing he was happiest about was that he wasn’t as hungry now, as he had been yesterday.
Sandy hadn’t seen the whole house yet, so he set about exploring. Behind the curtains in the living room, he could see the street in front of the house and the Pacific Ocean beyond the houses on the other side of the street. He stood there watching long enough to tell that a big ship was traveling north. The ocean was prettier than the pictures he had seen of it. He also saw that this house was set higher than the house directly across from this one. He was almost looking directly at the roof line of that house.
He had already seen two bedrooms, the kitchen and two bathrooms, so he decided to explore the rest of the house. Near the kitchen was a sliding glass door and out back was a small yard, a swimming pool and farthest back was a large flower garden and fountain. The water from the fountain flowed into the swimming pool.
He found a room with a desktop computer, laser printer and a huge monitor, maybe twenty four inches or so. One wall had loads of books, chemistry, psychology, English, history, political science, French, calculus and so on. Sandy thought this was her study room or office.
Another room turned out to be the master bedroom, as it was larger than the ones he had seen. It was done in a mature, but feminine look. There were pictures of Elizabeth and another woman that had to be her mother. Sandy did look into the jewelry box on top of the dresser, he loved what he saw, but he didn’t touch anything.
In the dresser he found some panties. He knew that he had been wearing a size 4 or XS before he met Elizabeth. The panties he was wearing now were a little looser, so they had to be a size 5 or S. These panties he found had to be at least a seven or L. His mouth hung open though as he picked up a bra, the cups looked absolutely huge. The tag on the bra read 38D. There were also a lot of things he had only seen in catalogs, like garter belts, girdles, body briefers, slips and such. In another drawer there were pantyhose, socks, thin socks and stockings.
There were some really nice clothes in the closet, but they would all swallow him up. The shoes in the closet though were just a little big on his foot. He actually tried on a pair of pumps that had at least a four inch heel. He stood in them and noticed that he had a quarter to three eights inch space behind his the back of his foot. He giggled at himself; Elizabeth’s mother had a full length mirror on the back of the closet door. He couldn’t help but pose for himself. He wobbled fiercely as he tried to walk, so he took them back off, he didn’t want to break anything by falling.
There were also flats, boots and sports shoes in the closet. He settled for a pair of New Balance running shoes in pink and black and a pair of very colorful knee socks. The shoes felt great, he hadn’t had good shoes in years.
Sandy took time to eat his first snack, which consisted of a small salad, with lettuce, baby tomatoes, bean sprouts, celery chopped in fine bits, shredded carrots, mushroom bits, cheese and a ranch dressing. While not his normal fare, it was better than what he had to eat prior to Elizabeth. He took his time to eat, he didn’t have to eat and run, or eat out of a dumpster today.
Elizabeth really did go shopping for clothes and things for Sandy. The main reason though she went out was to show Sandy she trusted him. She picked up a pair of slim-fit jeans in a size two, some tops, some and some bra and panty sets. She didn’t want to buy too much because she wanted to take Sandy out shopping with her. He just needed some girl’s clothes that fit, looked good on him as a boy or a girl.
She also got an appointment with her doctor for tomorrow. She gave the doctor a partial history, so the doctor would be prepared for what to expect and what to ask about. She did tell the doctor that he might be transgendered. The doctor blocked out a two hour block of time beginning an hour before regular hours. She asked that Sandy have nothing to eat after midnight. She wanted to check Sandy’s A1C. Elizabeth also told the doctor that Sandy was also going to the dentist next week.
Elizabeth’s last stop before heading home was a burger shop, but it wasn’t just any burger shop. The burgers this shop made, were made of lean ground sirloin and unlike most burger stands the burgers were specially seasoned twelve ounce sirloin burger with lots of fixings, including lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickle slices, sautéed mushrooms, mushroom gravy, Swiss and cheddar cheeses on an six-inch gourmet bun. She picked up two burgers and two fries.
Sandy didn’t need to be told that Elizabeth had gotten home. The fragrance from the bag of burgers was the best announcement he could have been given. He was almost dancing as he entered the kitchen. He hugged Elizabeth and kissed her cheek.
“Damian’s ought to bottle the fragrance of their hamburgers and sell it as a perfume. I bet more husbands would be home with their wives,” Elizabeth said giggling at Sandy, who was just grinning. “How’s your throat Sandy?”
“Better,” Sandy said with just a few crackles.
“Well get two glasses of milk and the ketchup, then have a seat at the table. I will set out the food.”
Sandy found some large glasses and poured two glasses of milk. Then he grabbed the ketchup and headed to the dining room table. Elizabeth set the two hamburgers and fries on plates with a knife and fork. The two of them then sat at the table.
“Now before you start eating girl, this isn’t an eating competition. Girls eat slower and try to be neater. You might as well start learning how to do this. The food isn’t going anywhere and nobody is going to take it away,” Elizabeth said, noticing the socks and shoes for the first time. “Those socks look so cute on you and do my mom’s shoes fit you well?”
“They are just a tad too long, but these running shoes fit alright. You don’t mind me wearing your Mom’s shoes do you?” Sandy asked.
“No, you can have anything of my Mom’s. Anything you don’t want or can’t wear is going to charity.”
“Thank you… So how does a girl eat a burger?”
“Normally you could just pick up the burger and just eat it. These are so large cut them in quarters and eat them that way,” Elizabeth demonstrated. “Also pick up each quarter and lean towards the burger, you don’t want to drip gravy on that pretty top.”
Sandy looked at the top he was wearing; he really didn’t want to get it dirty. He followed Elizabeth’s advice, even though his stomach was shouting, “hurry, hurry, I want that food.” Sandy picked up a quarter and leaned over and took a bite out of the best burger he had ever tasted. He set the burger down and chewed it slowly. Sandy couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes or the joy on his face as he ate. He swallowed and said, “I have eaten a lot of burgers since I ran away from home. None of them taste half as good as that burger,” Sandy said dipping a fry in some ketchup.
“Here in Malibu, even mundane food gets the gourmet treatment.”
“Malibu, you mean the rich recluse Malibu.”
“That’s right, sorry I never told you where I live, did I. Please don’t hold that against me. I’m not like most of my neighbors. To them my Mom’s funeral was more of a photo op rather than a chance to mourn my Mother’s passing. I know of most of my neighbors. They came by and dropped off catered dishes off. The paparazzi with their long lensed cameras got their photos. At least they came by and offered their condolences, considering we are new comers here and aren’t stars or old money.”
“I didn’t mean anything by my comment Liz, may I call you Liz?”
“Yes you may, my mom called me Liz, I think I like you calling me Liz. Most of the people around here just call me Elizabeth or Miss Renoir.”
“Thank you Liz, anyway I always heard Malibu was a high brow community, is all.”
“I know. It’s not so much highbrow now, the average income around here is a hundred thousand, at least I think it is,” Elizabeth said turning her laptop where she could see it. “Ah ha, make that a hundred and twenty five thousand and some change.”
“Oh my, where do the workers, you know the waitresses, the short order cooks and cashiers come from.”
“Most come from Los Angeles.”
Sandy didn’t know how slow he was eating, he was enjoying talking with Liz, but Elizabeth noticed and kept him talking in between bites of food. Sandy had eaten all of his fries and almost half of his burger when he stopped. He was full. It wasn’t just the corset that stopped him although it helped. It was that his stomach wasn’t use to being filled as much.
Elizabeth produced two plate covers and put their unfinished meals in the fridge, “I have some clothes for you to try on, but first we need to take a bath.”
“Oh, Ma, do I hafta.”
“I’m not your mother, but if you need a sister. I can be that for you. If you hang around people, anywhere not just around Malibu, you need to take one to three baths a day. Depending on how you smell, and brush your teeth at least twice+ a day.”
“Gee Sis; you’re such a harsh task master.”
“And don’t you forget that, Sis.”
Elizabeth led Sandy to her mother’s bathroom, where she helped Sandy undress by removing the corset. Sandy just stared in awe at the tub as he took off the shorts and panties he wore. Liz added some bath salts to the tub and began running the water.
Sandy stepped into the tub and Elizabeth asked, “Mind if I join you Sis?”
“No, I don’t mind.”
Elizabeth undressed and stepped into the tub at the other end. Together they helped each other bathe. Elizabeth noticed that even with all the tactile stimulation Sandy was getting, he wasn’t getting an erection.
“Has there ever been a time, when your penis had an erection, Sandy?” Elizabeth asked.
“Oh it’s been years since I’ve had one of those. I stopped having those when I got kicked real hard by a man who was giving me a ride. I hurt down there for a couple of weeks, but I got better.”
“Didn’t you get medical care?”
“Couldn’t no money and I was young enough that I would be sent home or put into a foster home. The kids I met on the street told such horror stories about foster care.”
“Be sure to tell the doctor about that Sandy, this is important. That may be the reason you have breasts and a narrow waist.”
They got out of the tub and dried each other off. Elizabeth tended the sores on Sandy’s body which looked a little better and then moisturized Sandy’s skin. They cleaned up the bathroom and then went to Elizabeth’s room. They got their lingerie and Elizabeth showed Sandy how to do launder their dainties and hang them up to dry.
Elizabeth then opened one of the bags of things she had gotten for Sandy. Sandy got to put on panties that fit like her old ones did. He slid the panties up his legs and at the last second reached down the front of them to tuck his stuff up and pulled the panties up tight. Sandy had a smooth front panel to his panties.
“What did you just do with your penis and scrotum?”
“Well girl’s clothes don’t fit well and it pinches a bit if I don’t. I just push my penis back into itself; it’s not very big so that is easy. Then the rest goes up inside me.” Sandy said indicating where the testes went.
“Okay, now for your bra,” Elizabeth held up a bra and unhooked the back.
Sandy kind of knew what to do. He held his arms out front and Elizabeth ran the bra up to his chest. She reached around him and hooked the hook and eyes up. She then adjusted the straps.
“That is a padded push up bra, which pushes your breasts up and makes them look bigger. The bra is a 32A that should make you look like you’re a 32B.”
Sandy’s eyes got really big as she looked down at her boobs. This moment convinced her of the truth of the moment. She loved her boobs and shook em, cupped them and stared at them in the mirror.
“I see you like wearing a bra. It does make you look good.”
“This is me?” Sandy asked.
“About half of your breasts are your bra’s magic, but you look bigger than you did yesterday without the bra.”
“I think, I was very dehydrated yesterday. I hadn’t anything to drink in a day. I am peeing a lot more today, I’ve noticed. I’ve also had to poop today. I can’t remember when I’ve had to do that… Do you have another corset; I don’t want my waist to grow.”
“I have two more. One you won’t be able to wear unless you really sprout up top. That corset has cups and you need a large C or D cup breast to fit it,” Elizabeth said digging out a white underbust corset.
She laced Sandy up, this corset was a little tighter, maybe because Sandy was a little larger due to eating and drinking more often or the corset was a little smaller. Elizabeth still laced it all the way. She then helped Sandy try on her clothes. Elizabeth first had Sandy put on a pair of padded briefs. They added about three inches to her butt.
“Those things give you a backside, you sorely miss. Look at them in the mirror.”
Sandy looked over her shoulder at her butt; she now had a nicely rounded backside.
“It does look good,” Sandy said.
“I have six of those for you, till you get some fat on you.”
Sandy then worked a pair of slim fit jeans on. The jeans looked like they were made for her and gave her a bit of a butt lift. Of the four tops she had, Sandy liked the frillier tops. She fell in love with the lacy peasant blouse. Elizabeth then taught Sandy how to put shoes on while wearing the corset.
Sandy looked down right sexy in those tight jeans and peasant blouse. Elizabeth looked Sandy up and down. The New Balance shoes looked alright with those jeans but… Elizabeth went to her mom’s room and brought back three pair of shoes. She brought a pair of blue T strap pumps, a pair of brown calf length boots and a pair of pink marabou trimmed mule wedges.
“Take off your running shoes.” Elizabeth said.
She then put the brown boots with a three in stiletto heel on Sandy’s feet. Sandy had a happy smile on her face as she held out her booted feet and wiggled them in the air. Elizabeth helped Sandy stand and walk in the heels. The pointers she gave Sandy helped the new girl walk on the spindly heels. The jeans lifted Sandy’s rump up nicely and she had a cute wiggle to her butt as she walked.
Elizabeth thought that if she didn’t consider Sandy a sister she would ravish the poor girl. Sandy was far from expert on the boots, but they both suspected that it would only take a little practice for the girl to look quite natural in them. The boots looked quite nice on her legs.
Elizabeth giggled and said, “I can’t wait to take you shopping and get your cute butt in a mini skirt girl. I would love to see you in full makeup too, but I know that mom or I don’t have anything that will match the golden brown your face and décolleté are. You got plenty of sun girl.”
“It’s hard not to get sun, when you live out on the street.”
For several hours Elizabeth got to play Barbie’s with Sandy as her doll. Elizabeth attached garters straps to the corset and rolled stockings up Sandy’s legs. Sandy just loved that. The feel of the stockings was absolutely delicious. The last outfit Sandy tried on was a black tweed high waist mini skirt. Sandy could almost wear a crop top with that skirt and cover all her skin above the hips. Her blouse was a long sleeve white charmeuse blouse. On her feet she wore a pair of four inch stiletto sandals that was adorned with twenty or so crystals on each shoe.
Elizabeth also gave Sandy a full makeover, curling her hair with a curling iron, adding eye liner, eye shadow, mascara and lipstick. She didn’t have any foundation or powder to match Sandy’s skin, but she did use some bronzer on her face and some blush. Sandy was speechless, her own mother and father would never recognize her if she walked by them. Then again after four years and some months she might not recognize them.
Elizabeth found a unique way to teach Sandy how to walk in heels. She led Sandy to the living room and turned some music on. Elizabeth taught Sandy to walk by teaching her to dance in her heels. Sandy danced the female role and didn’t fall or twist her ankle because Elizabeth helped her control her body. After an hour of dancing Elizabeth had Sandy walk up and down the hall. Sandy felt confident enough that she added a little wiggle to her backside.
Elizabeth then spent some time teaching Sandy how to be a woman. She taught Sandy about sitting, standing, holding her arms and many, many other gestures that are uniquely feminine. Even when they sat to eat the rest of their burgers, Elizabeth taught and Sandy happily learned.
Elizabeth had Sandy sleep with her that night. As she expected, Sandy had another nightmare and Elizabeth was able to soothed Sandy, who almost squeezed the breath out of Elizabeth, until the nightmare passed. Afterwards Sandy held Elizabeth like a body pillow as she fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning Elizabeth woke Sandy at six thirty. Sandy took a bath and convinced Elizabeth to do her hair and a little makeup, just eye liner, mascara and lipstick. She dressed in an ice blue bra and panty, padded brief, colorful knee socks that you need sunglasses to look at, her slim fit jeans, a pretty embroidered top that was almost long enough to be an ultra mini dress and the pair of New Balance running shoes. The blouse gently clung to Sandy’s figure, enhancing her feminine figure.
She wasn’t keen on not eating, but she had been there before, so it wasn’t a big deal. Elizabeth did find a large hobo purse for Sandy in which she packed snacks. Sandy included her makeup bag filled with lipstick, eyeliner and mascara.
“We may have to go to Texas to get a copy of your birth certificate, so we can get you some ID. Do you know your social security number?”
“Yes I know my SSN. How do you get a copy of my birth certificate, cause I am definitely not going to see my parents and I am definitely not going before my eighteenth birthday. So we have three months and a few days.”
“You say you were born at Madisonville, Texas right?”
“Yes”
“The county seat for that county is where we can get a copy of your birth certificate.”
“Ok, Madisonville is the county seat of Madison County Texas.”
They left home about seven fifteen and arrived at the doctor’s office about five minutes before eight. Dr. Jeanette Stevens arrived a few minutes later with one of her medical assistants and a nurse. Elizabeth greeted Jean with a hug and introduced Sandy.
“YOU… were born a male?” Jean asked, with a look of surprise on her face.
“Yes Ma’am, Dr. Stevens.”
“Cut the ma’am and call me Jean, Sandy. Gwen take Sandy in the back and take her height, weight, temperature and blood pressure. Also take blood for those tests we discussed. You haven’t eaten have you?”
“No Ma’am… I mean no Jean; I am hungry but haven’t eaten. I did bring some snacks.”
“Let her eat a few snacks after you take her blood. Take her to exam one and have her undress and dress her in a gown. Annette go with them and take her history as Gwen works.”
The girls departed with Sandy.
“How are you Elizabeth?”
“I am doing better Jean.”
“You know it’s dangerous taking in a homeless kid.”
“I know, but I just had too. I thought Sandy was a girl when I first saw her, and besides being a boy physically, I know she has the heart of a girl. Anyway I just had to rescue her. I think she saved me as much as I saved her.”
“Elizabeth just be careful. Come back in two hours, we should be done by then.”
Sandy followed Gwen to the back; Annette picked up a clip board and began asking Sandy questions. Gwen had Sandy step on the scales and came up with 5’ 6 and a half and a hundred and five pounds. Her blood pressure was 107/73 and her temperature was ninety-eight. Gwen had Sandy pee in a cup, in the restroom and then began to take Sandy’s blood. She filled seven vials.
“Are you going to take all my blood?”
“No we are going to leave you a few ounces, Sandy,” Gwen joked.
After they took all her blood, Sandy had a bottle of water a tube of yogurt and a breakfast bar. She was led to exam room one and asked to undress behind the screen and put on a gown.
When Dr. Stevens came in the room with Gwen and Annette, Sandy was sitting on the papered exam table. The doctor started by listening to Sandy’s heart and lungs. She checked her eyes, nose, tongue, throat and ears. She made a special note of three wisdom teeth in various state of eruption. Sandy was at least 17. The doctor then checked inside each elbow. She checked her feet between each toe. Jean didn’t find any track marks on Sandy.
“Sandy please stand and take off your gown. I want to assess your appearance first.”
Sandy took off the gown and stood up straight. Jean took a careful look and began talking. Annette took notes for the doctor. They noted her general appearance.
“Sandy I want you to put on twenty to twenty five pounds you are underweight.”
“My meals came quite irregularly since I ran away from home.”
Dr. Jean inspected the sores, even checking beneath the bandages.
“Elizabeth has been cleaning them, using an antiseptic cream and bandaging them,” Sandy said. “They came from me living on the street.”
“Keep them clean and bandaged. They seem to be healing well. Turn around.”
When Sandy turned, Dr. Jean saw healed belt scars on her back.
“Who beat you with a belt Sandy?”
“My father and several guys I hitched rides with. I was also held captive for almost a year. Jason is all I know of his name. He beat me with his belt. I escaped from him in Nashville.”
“He lived there?”
“No he was a trucker. He kept me locked away on his truck. He had a sleeper he kept me locked in. I haven’t been abused though in almost a year. I got big enough and fast enough to elude most people.”
Sandy answered yes to all questions of sex, she answered yes to drugs, no to IV drugs and unknown to what drugs she had been forced to take. She did describe what effects, as best she could remember, of the drugs she was given.
She also told the doctor what she ate, when she did find food. She didn’t feel like stealing food anymore and her take from panhandling took a nosedive. She spent most time dumpster diving for food at places like restaurants and grocery stores.
The doctor was shocked when she checked Sandy’s genitals and to check for a hernia. The boy’s testicles were small and misshaped. Sandy told her about being kicked in the crotch by a man near Topeka, Kansas, a couple of years ago. She hurt for almost two weeks; she met some girls on the run who helped nurse her back to health.
“I need to ask Sandy, how old are you?”
“I am seventeen and will be eighteen in three months.”
“Are you living apart from your parents and if so for how long?”
“I have been living apart from my parents for four years.”
“Do you handle your own financial affairs?”
“If you call panhandling for money, handling my own affairs, then yes. I haven’t gotten a dime from my parents in four years.”
“Good then you may consent for your own medical treatment. I need to do a biopsy on your testicles. I am very disturbed by what I feel.”
“You can cut them out for all I care.”
“Are you transgendered?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t remove them unless it is a medical necessity, until you are eighteen. Annette, get me a medical consent form for minor surgery. Gwen prep Sandy for a needle biopsy of his testicles.”
Gwen had Sandy lay on the exam table and put his feet in the stirrups. She scrubbed Sandy’s crotch clean with a povidone-iodine scrub. She then scrubbed her own hand before gloving up. She then helped Jean with her gloves. Dr. Jean then used a local anesthetic to deaden the area, before withdrawing several samples of each of Sandy’s testis.
Jean turned to Gwen and said, “Send those biopsies to our lab Gwen.”
“Sandy I want you back here in a week. We will decide what to do when we get the results of all your tests back. I want you to slowly put on twenty to twenty five pounds over the next six months. Start to exercise, first begin walking a half mile a day, three days a week and in a month pick that up to three miles a day, for three days a week. I also want you to start taking some daily multi-vitamins. You need to see a dentist after you see me next. I also have the name of a clinical psychologist that I would like you to start seeing. I may have further recommendations after I see you next week. Don’t eat before you come here next week either.”
Gwen entered all the doctor’s instructions on her computer. She saved a copy to Sandy’s patient file for Dr. Stevens and printed them out for Sandy to read and follow.
“Considering all that you have been through, I would say that you are in pretty good condition for the condition you’re in.”
After Sandy got dressed, she met up with Elizabeth in the waiting room, after making an appointment for next week and picking up a referral to a psychologist.
Back in the Mercedes Elizabeth inquired as to how the doctor visit went. Sandy told Elizabeth everything that they did to her, complaining about the amount of blood they took.
“I almost thought that they were going to drain me dry.”
“I think they hire Vampires to draw blood.”
“Jean wasn’t happy when she felt my balls. She stuck a needle in them and took out some of their tissue.”
“Did she say anything about them?”
“No, I think she didn’t want to say anything until she is sure about her facts.”
“So do you want to go to the beauty parlor or clothes shopping?”
Sandy almost giggled as she thought, “Beauty parlor. I don’t have my corset on. I don’t want to get clothes that the corset won’t fit with it. I really want to keep my waist, but the doctor wants me to put on twenty pounds in the next six months.”
“The beauty parlor it is but first we eat. It will be soup and salads for brunch. How does that sound.”
“Sounds good, I am already starving.”
After they ate Elizabeth took them to her salon. Sandy didn’t know what to expect, but the place seemed many times nicer than she expected. The proprietor, almost a Justin Timberlake look alike named Peter, greeted them and escorted them to his office. They all sat on some really chic couches. He first made them feel at home, serving them coffee or tea. He then slowly maneuvered them into talking about, what they wanted done today.
“This is a dear friend of mine Peter. I found her again a few days ago. She had been living on the streets for several years. She knows almost nothing about beauty. I am thinking of easing her into it. Just do hair, makeup, brows and pierce her ears.”
Peter had Sandy sit on a stool and pulled her hair back in a tight pony tail. He took several pictures and the best picture appeared on a large monitor in front of her.
“Now do you want long hair, medium length hair, or would a short hairdo suit you?” Peter asked, as he displayed Sandy’s image with the various lengths of hair.
“I want to keep as much of my hair as possible. I like it longer.”
Peter then asked about styles from straight to very curly to wavy, adjusting the picture as he went.
“I like the long loose curls, but it will have to be easy to keep up with. Like my sister said. I don’t know very much about fixing it myself.”
“How long did you live on the streets Sandy?” Peter asked.
“A little over four years. I had to get away from my father. He beat me badly.”
“Well if we give you a perm, you can just shake it out in the morning and brush it like you like it,” Peter said, as he panned through a dozen hair styles till he found one she might like. “How about this style, I really think it would suit you nicely.”
“What do you think, Liz? I like it but I’m not an expert.”
“I think it would look great on you Sandy and I can show you how to take care of it. What else do you suggest Peter?”
“Her hair color is kind of plain. I don’t think she would make a great blonde with her skin tone, really bright reds are out too, but… a really rich brown with some highlights would look really good on her,” Peter gave her the hairstyle they had selected and then played with the color a bit. “How does this look?”
Sandy looked at her image on the screen and smiled, “That would be awesome.”
Peter then played with her brow shape a bit and then began working on her makeup. Sandy’s jaw hung as he kept making minor changes that made a huge difference in her appearance.
“Oh my, I like it,” Sandy said.
“I’ll include a DVD tutorial on how to do your own makeup. They were produced by our premier makeup artist.”
Peter printed out the picture he made of Sandy. He then listed what she would need to achieve the look.
“Elizabeth if you come back in three hours I think we will surprise you, with how Sandy will look.”
“Ok and oh put these in her ears,” Elizabeth said, handing Peter a pair of pierced earrings. “Don’t let her see the earrings till you have her made up.”
Elizabeth left knowing about how Sandy would be looking when she came back. So she went out to buy her friend an outfit worthy of her new look.
Peter handed Sandy off to one of his stylist, to begin her transformation. Normally the process is perm, color then cut, but Sandy’s hair was in such a state, they went shampoo and cut first, then perm, color and style. In no time they were rolling her hair up on rods and adding a permanent solution to her hair. The smells of the perm solution stunk worse than many of the dumpsters that Sandy had dived in over the years. Sandy had only been in one other beauty salon and now she knew why they stank so much.
Sandy was under the dryer, perm solution perming, plastic bonnet over the perm rods and her scalp cooking in the heat, a couple of nail techs came over and began working on her hands. Sandy went to the shampoo station for a rinse and to have neutralizer added, after some random time. After the neutralizer was rinsed out, they began to color the hair. Her hair was colored and a few blond highlights were added. A stylist then brought Sandy’s hair into shape. Sandy loved what she saw.
She then went to a nail station where she got acrylic gel nails added to her fingers. They gave her three quarters of an inch long French nails, with oval tips. The nails glistened and reflected the lights of the salon. Sandy was mesmerized as she held up her fingers and looked at her nails.
Finally Sandy came to the makeup station, a lady named Brenda, worked with Sandy taught her as she worked. First she plucked Sandy’s eyebrows. She didn’t pluck them insanely thin, but she did shape them nicely and gave them a feminine arch. She then gave Sandy lessons on doing her own makeup. Finally she used a piercing needle to pierce and insert a pair of diamond earrings in her ear lobes. The hair style she had chosen, with most of her hair behind her shoulders, allowed the earrings to be shown off nicely.
Sandy was just about to pack up to leave when Peter came back.
“Elizabeth has bought our girl here a present. Brenda, be a dear and help our girl here to get dressed. She will need your help.”
Sandy was a little nervous as she was led to a dressing room. She hoped that she could keep her secret from Brenda. They both gasped as they saw the dress hanging and the lingerie in a chair. The dress was an emerald green silk crepe sleeveless, cowl neck dress. It was simply gorgeous. The lingerie included a corset and panties just a shade lighter than the dress. There was also a green handbag, a pair of off-black lace patterned stockings and a pair of emerald green stiletto pumps with three inch heels.
“You, my dear, have a really nice friend. Go behind that screen and put your panties on. I will help you with the rest.”
Sandy didn’t know what to say, so she just followed instructions. She took off her clothes and put the panties on tucking herself back as securely as possible. The results were good. The panties were just padded briefs with a satin finish. When she came out, Brenda was stretching out the corset.
“I don’t know what you need with a corset, but it is one of the prettiest, most elegant corsets I have seen in a while.”
“My doctor wants me to put on weight, and I don’t want to lose my waist,” Sandy said.
“I can understand that, you have a waist many girls would die for and your doctor is right. You are a skinny little thing.”
Brenda wrapped the corset around Sandy and helped her get everything in place. The bra portion of the corset were heavily padded and as Brenda tightened the corset, Sandy’s own breasts almost popped out the top of the corset.
“How tight do you want to go?”
“All the way. Elizabeth knows I don’t really want a smaller waist.”
Brenda pulled until the sides met in the middle and really didn’t have to work too hard at it, “Well it seems you are right,” Brenda said, attaching garter straps to the corset. “I will help you with your stockings. I don’t want you to put your new talons through these stockings. Those things look lethal.”
“I know. It’s going to take me awhile to get use to them. Any suggestions.”
“Don’t rush what you do till you get use to them. Some things you will need to do with the sides of your fingers instead of using your fingertips.”
“Thanks for the tip.”
Sandy stood and stepped into the pumps, they had a large toe instead of the pointed toe you see on so many ladies heels. Brenda then helped Sandy with the dress. Fully dressed Sandy just had to stare at herself in the mirror. She looked so incredible.
While Sandy admired herself in the mirror Brenda picked up the green hand bag to put the pink lipstick, mascara and a compact in it.
“Oh Elizabeth put some jewelry in your purse. Let me help you with it.”
Brenda put four gold bangles on her right arm and a gold Rolex on her left. She then put a diamond pendant and a fine gold chain around her throat.
“I need to adjust your makeup and Elizabeth is waiting for you. Put your clothes in this bag,” Brenda said.
Sandy bagged up the things she wore there and followed Brenda back to her station. She had to change the blush she used and adjust the eye shadow a bit.
“I have a makeup kit for you. While you were getting your hair done, I made a kit for you with everything that you need, that matches your skin tone.” Brenda said, wheeling a professional makeup kit to Sandy’s side. “And here are the makeup tutorial DVD’s. Let’s go see you friend.”
Elizabeth was waiting in the lobby of the salon. She was dressed very much like the clothes she brought for Sandy, only where Sandy would be dressed in emerald green, she was dressed in sapphire blue with silver jewelry instead of gold. Silver and blue fit her pale complexion better than green and gold.
She was on pins and needles waiting although it had only been a little over two hours and forty five minutes since she dropped Sandy off. Elizabeth had bought part of Sandy’s outfit while she was at the doctor’s office and part while she was, here at the salon and the jewelry was her mom’s. She hoped Sandy would love everything that was done for her. She hoped she would have a new sister. The things Sandy had selected in the beauty consultation gave her more than a little reason to hope, but she would keep her word if Sandy wanted to be a boy. Now she would see if Sandy took to it well.
Elizabeth was deep in thought as she sat there appearing calm, but in deep turmoil inside.
“Well Liz, what do you think,” Elizabeth heard.
Elizabeth looked up and her mouth began working like a kissing gourami fish. Elizabeth felt like she was going to be the ugly sister compared to Sandy’s Cinderella.
“Do I look that bad,” Sandy said, teasing Elizabeth. Sandy knew she looked hot.
“No… no … no… You look fabulous Sandy.”
“A triple negative, what does that make me Brenda?”
“Stupendous girl. You look simply stupendous.”
“Yeah, what she said, Sandy. You look hot. I feel like the ugly step-sister.”
“No your wrong. WE look hot. Liz you look better than I do.”
“Girls, let’s get this over with,” Brenda said. “Sandy you are beautiful, Elizabeth you are beautiful. Now girls get out there and break some hearts. First though I get some pictures.”
Brenda took several pictures for the Salon; one of each girl alone and one of them together. These two will be good advertising for the salon.
“Let’s go Sandy; I have dinner reservations at Danny’s on the Sunset Strip and then we can catch a movie.”
“Lead on Sis, I am starving.”
Elizabeth took the bag of clothes and Sandy wheeled her makeup kit. Both went into the trunk of the Mercedes. Danny’s was a posh Mediterranean style restaurant. They had many dishes that would grace any town on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, mostly seafood or surf and turf.
Sandy was a little nervous, this wasn’t Spago but it was a very nice restaurant.
“Just enjoy yourself Sandy nobody knows you here. You have as much right to be here as anyone else, besides you are one hundred percent girl, to me.”
Sandy smiled and just hugged Elizabeth as they headed into Danny’s. All attention shifted momentarily as they entered the restaurant, but LA is a city of glamor. So much so that the people have built up a tolerance to beauty and if you’re not a mega star, attention eventually goes to other things and people.
The two girls split a seafood platter and split a dessert. The seafood platter was so big, they both ate their fills. The seafood platter had fish, shrimp, fried oysters, a stuffed crab, scallops, French fries, coleslaw and hush puppies. There were many new tastes for Sandy. She had eaten fish before, but not the rest of the seafood, but she felt adventurous. The dessert they split was a turtle cheesecake. Although they cut it in half, they had more than enough.
They went to see a comedy, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’. Sandy loved the movie, but she fell asleep and leaned into Elizabeth about thirty minutes into the movie. Elizabeth just held onto Sandy. Elizabeth woke Sandy just before the credits rolled. She apologized for falling asleep, but the chairs felt so good and it was so nice being here with Liz. Liz just rubbed Sandy’s hand and they went home.
Sandy just did get her dress off and cleaned her face before she fell asleep on the bed. She looked so cute still in her green panties, corset and stockings. Elizabeth crawled in behind an already sleeping Sandy.
Sandy had a nightmare that woke them both up. She was shouting, hyper-ventilating, she had sweated the sheets up and her heart was beating at a hundred and fifty beats a minute.
“Calm down Sandy, you’re ok,” Elizabeth whispered into Sandy’s ear.
“Sorry Elizabeth, I was just dreaming about that man Jason. He was the one that kept me captive for a year.”
“That’s alright Sandy, don’t worry about him he can’t touch you now. You are definitely going to see that psychologist the day after today. Let’s change into some dry clothes and move into my mother’s room.”
They both changed into chemises, but Sandy made Elizabeth put her into another corset. They stripped the bed and went into her mother’s room and slept together for the rest of the night.
The next morning they both got up. They stripped off and washed both sets of lingerie in the sink and started a load of sheets in the washer. They both put on shower caps and took a nice long bath together.
“Sandy did you have nightmares while you were living on the street?”
“Some but not many. I couldn’t let myself get as deep a sleep, because I was worried about staying alive. The nights can be dangerous living on the streets.”
Elizabeth hugged Sandy to her for a few minutes, and then they both began washing each other’s backs. They dried each other off and used moisturizer on their bodies. Elizabeth smiled as she looked after Sandy’s sores. They had healed up enough that they only needed to be treated with antiseptic cream. Elizabeth taught Sandy how to get into and out of a corset on her own. Sandy laced herself into a corset and put her bra and panties on.
They then spent an hour on hair care and makeup. Sandy found her hair easy to work with, with a little coaching from Elizabeth. Then came makeup, the first attempts were laughable. The foundation that matched her skin was easy enough for her; she even remembered to feather it down her throat and to work it into her hairline. Her eye makeup though gave her many problems; she had mascara on her eyelids and cheeks. She had a heavy hand with her eye shadow and her eye liner she drew almost half an in wide.
“It takes practice to be good at makeup, Sandy. Every girl starts whenever their moms let them, some get to be pretty good at it very quickly others have to work at it for years. I think you will become very good, pretty quickly. Eye makeup is the hardest part. One trick, you don’t have to get both eyes identical, just close like sisters. Also don’t ladle the eye shadow on in one step. Start out lightly and keep blending it in slowly till you get it the way you want it.”
“I got some DVD’s that teach make up, where can I watch them?”
“We will get you your own laptop, so you can use it anytime.”
“I haven’t used a computer in years. I don’t know how.”
“I can teach you they are fairly easy to use.”
The girls dressed in T’s, shorts and running shoes to go to the mall. They first sought out everyday clothes that Sandy could grow a little in. She had one of her padded briefs and with a corset on. They headed out to Beverly Hills. Sandy’s head was on a swivel as she tried to take in all the scenery. Elizabeth chuckled and pointed out things to Sandy.
The mall they headed to had a Niemen Marcus in it and that was their first stop of the day. Sandy was like a kid in a candy store and wanted to look at everything in the store. Elizabeth sent Sandy to the dressing room with armloads of clothes. Elizabeth would match clothes for Sandy, at first teaching her what went well with what. Then Sandy was tasked with making suitable outfits. Sandy didn’t have more than one or two sets of clothes over the last four years, so she was a little overwhelmed.
Sandy left Niemen’s with four more pair of jeans, a half dozen pair of dressy slacks, a dozen skirts, half of which were mini’s, five dresses, a couple of dozen tops and some sleepwear. They also picked shoes, hosiery and a few odds and ends. Elizabeth didn’t let Sandy see how much they were spending.
They both left Niemen’s dressed in skirts, blouses and heels. They dropped their purchases off at the car and headed back in the mall. Their next stop was at the food court where they had salads, slices of pizza, a chocolate chip cookie each and a drink.
“We need to get you a bikini so you can swim in my pool. You’ll love my pool; you can swim with the koi.”
“There are fish in your swimming pool?”
“Yes there are. It takes a lot of care to keep the water clean and safe enough to swim in. We have twice the filtration of a pool its size and a UV light sanitizer to kill bacteria, but it is fun swimming with fish. I have a pool maintenance specialist come in weekly to inspect the pool. There are about twenty to thirty species of fish in the pool. The whole pool, fountain and garden are one system. Still don’t drink the water and don’t pee in the pool.”
After they cleaned up their table, they went to the ladies room to take care of business and to fix their faces. Sandy messed with hair a bit and reapplied her lipstick, while Elizabeth did the same. They then headed to a shop that sold swim wear and pool accessories. Sandy tried on a dozen swimsuits and chose a cute one piece and a couple of bikinis. The one piece was a very high cut zip up suit in blue and green. The cut for the legs came almost to Sandy’s natural waist and made her legs look really long, but it still had full front and back coverage. The zipper allowed as much or as little cleavage as the wearer wants to show. The waist had a hidden spandex band that helped keep the wearer’s tummy flat and the waist trim.
The bikinis she chose tended to be fuller, wider in front, the crotch and backside, but which Elizabeth said, were still quite stylish. She chose one string top and a bra top bikini. Thanks to Elizabeth’s coaching, the two tops could be mixed with the two bottoms to create four looks. Sandy was goofing around and was giving Elizabeth some swimsuit poses, much like you would see in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Sandy also got some sunscreen, cover ups, water shoes and sunglasses.
The Verizon store was around the corner and was where they wound up. Elizabeth bought Sandy a Samsung Galaxy 5, a Verizon dongle for a laptop and added her to Liz’s phone and data plan. They also synced their phones up. Sandy took a photo of Elizabeth to go with her number while Elizabeth took a photo of Sandy to go with her phone number.
Lastly they stopped at a computer store, where they picked up a laptop computer for Sandy. Elizabeth also bought some GED study software, along with Math, English, History and Microsoft Word software, along with several games for Sandy. The store agreed to load the computer and deliver it to Elizabeth’s home the next day.
They headed home and unloaded the car before going for a walk. Sandy and Elizabeth both changed into bikini tops, shorts and beach shoes. Elizabeth led Sandy down to the beach and they went for a short walk. Sandy was a little nervous; she and Elizabeth were being given their fair share of glances as they walked down the beach.
A couple of guys actually, accidentally on purpose tossed a frisbee their way just so they could introduce themselves. Sandy caught the frisbee and tossed it back to them. They still came over to the girls and apologized to them and introduced themselves.
Elizabeth introduced herself and her sixteen year old sister. The two guys were crestfallen at learning Sandy was only sixteen, they were looking for a couple of girls they could eventually end up in the sack with after barhopping. Still the guys asked if the girls wanted to get a bite or something.
“Sorry fellas, my sister has been ill and needs to get her strength back. We just came here to get her some exercise.”
“Speaking of which Liz, I think we need to head home,” Sandy said. “I am getting a little light headed.”
“Does she need help,” the guys asked with genuine concern.
“No we don’t have to walk far to the car,” Sandy said. “Thank you anyway.”
“Okay, you girls take care,” one of the guys said, as they headed off trolling for babes.
“Are you okay, Sandy?” Elizabeth asked.
“Of course, we walked our half mile and I was just supporting your story.”
Elizabeth hugged Sandy and they turned around and walked home. Elizabeth then put Sandy to work in the kitchen just to see how much she knew about cooking. She did know some dishes and with Elizabeth’s help she began making a hobo stew. A can of V-8, a can of corn, a can of sweat peas, a pound of ground beef and some spices Elizabeth added after she browned the ground beef. It was interesting and didn’t taste half bad with crackers. Elizabeth decided then and there that her sister was in sore need of some instruction in the culinary arts.
After dinner they put all of things they bought for Sandy up. Elizabeth made room in her closet and dresser. It felt good to Elizabeth to think of Sandy as her sister. They set her phone on charge. They would set up the laptop tomorrow after they got back from the psychologist. Then they sat and watched a movie or two before bed. It had been so long since Sandy actually watched any movie, let alone one on TV.
They bathed and slept together again. It was amazing but Sandy didn’t have any nightmares tonight. Elizabeth felt good having somebody to hold.
The next morning they woke at daylight. Sandy put on a robe over her corset, panties and heels before she went down to eat breakfast. Elizabeth made them breakfast of Eggs Benedict, yogurt, orange juice and coffee, with almond flavored creamer.
Sandy hadn’t been much of a coffee drinker before; it’s hard justifying spending money on coffee, when you barely had enough to buy food. The coffee in some of the soup kitchens she had visited tasted like a mixture of kerosene and hydrochloric acid, not something to long for except coffee was often warm when it was cold.
Sandy took her time eating. She had been hungry, but it wasn’t that deep down hunger that had fueled her eating a couple of days ago.
Sandy looked at Elizabeth and said, “I have told you a lot about me Liz, but I hardly know much about you.”
Elizabeth sat up straight and realized, that she had only told Sandy a little about herself. Elizabeth began to open up about herself. Sandy listened raptly as nibbled on her food. She gave Sandy a condensed version of her life. Expanding on points Sandy inquired about.
“I sorta know about being a boy. Many things I wish I could forget about. How was it being a little girl Liz?”
Elizabeth shared about her growing up back east. Her mother and her father, when he was around, treated her like a little princess. Her father just spent too much time working. Elizabeth didn’t understand entirely, they had everything they needed, why did papa work so hard? She talked about her friends, her dolls and going to school.
“We need to get ready; you have an appointment in a couple of hours. It will take forty minutes to drive there.”
Sandy chose her prettiest blouses and a black mini-skirt to dress in. Sandy tried her hand at makeup, but since she wanted to look good, she had Elizabeth do it. Sandy did brush her hair in a very reasonable style and sprayed it with hair spray.
They bought grabbed their purses and headed out the door. They were running a little late, but the traffic wasn’t as bad as it could be and they made it to the office with five minutes to spare.
It was only few minutes after they checked in before Dr. Kayla Porter called for Sandy. Kayla led Sandy back into her office. The office was a very comfortable room, not as antiseptic as Dr. Steven’s office. This was much like a comfortable living room. There were no desks or file cabinets. There was a very realistic fire place, a large comfy couch, coffee table and a wingback chair. There were several impressionist prints; there were real flowers in vases and a spinning wheel with a stool in one corner.
After they introduced each other, Sandy asked, “What I tell you is confidential right?”
“Unless you tell me that you are going to kill someone, blow up a building or commit a sexual assault, whatever you say stays right here in this office.”
“How long do I got?”
“My sessions are fifty five minutes each.”
“Well sister get your pen out and beginawriting. I have got a lot to say. I hope you don’t embarrass easily”
Sandy figured the best way to help Dr. Porter, was to show her what she had to work with. Sandy began when her father first began to beat her and took off in roar. Dr. Porter barely had time to get a question in sideways. She didn’t have time to be embarrassed. She did want to strangle Sandy’s father. Sandy was rather unusual; Kayla usually had to pry the problems out of her patient. With Sandy she would have to refer to her notes and her recordings just to keep up. She was afraid to stop Sandy, the things she was bringing out definitely needed coming out. Dr. Stevens had only told her that Sandy was a possible transsexual as hard as that was to believe having just met Sandy.
Sandy had been going constant for forty minutes and had just rushed over being held captive in some detail.
“Sandy just a second, please. You have dispassionately described horrors that would have most of my patients bawling in tears. Yet you barely showed any emotion, almost like you are describing things in third person.”
“Kayla, I know there will be a time for tears. I know I am a mess between the ears. If I let it out all at once, you would be no closer to understanding me. I know I lived a rough life and maybe living four years on the road has left me a little jaded. Believe me I want to get it all out, so we can get to the real issue. I want to give up on being a boy; I want to live the rest of my life as a complete girl. Just let me get all the issues on the table and you can root out the things I haven’t considered, so we can get down to work.”
“As long as we get to the roots of your problems, I think that is acceptable for now.”
“Agreed.”
Dr. Porter glanced at the painting that was actually a clock. There was a flower that rotated on the painting. When the blue petal was at the eleven o’clock position, Sandy’s time was up.
“Well Sandy, you have given me a lot to think about, but your time is up. I want to see you next week for a session.”
“Schedule Elizabeth for a session also, I think she needs to talk to you too. I will let her tell you why?”
Back in reception Dr. Porter scheduled Sandy to come back and convinced Elizabeth, with Sandy’s help, to come in also.
Back home they had a small meal and then changed into swimsuits and beach shoes.
“Do you have a frisbee Liz?”
“No, but we can get one. Tie a shirt on beneath your breasts; put a pair of shorts and one of your sarongs on.”
Elizabeth helped Sandy by showing her how to tie the shirt off beneath her breasts. She realized that she would need to measure Sandy for a bra again soon. She looked to be more than an A-cup on her way to a B-cup. Her ribs also looked to be softer, less well defined, but she still had a tiny waist.
Elizabeth grabbed a couple of large fashion beach bags. She put her purse in one and Sandy put her purse in another. They then drove to a nearby superstore and bought sunscreen, frisbee, beach ball, oversized sunglasses, a couple of floppy but stylish beach hats and a couple of beach towels.
Venice Beach was only a couple of miles away, so they drove there. Elizabeth and Sandy rubbed sunscreen on each other, put their sunglasses, put their floppy hats on and put the things they had bought in their beach bags.
There are few words able to describe Ocean Front Walk. It looked a little like a carnival with all the booths setup that were selling everything from munchies and drinks, sunglasses, beach toys, T shirts, books, DVD movies and music CD’s. There were places to rent bicycles, inline skates, surf boards and tattoo shops.
Sandy couldn’t believe that people came to the beach to play tennis or the crowds of people who came to watch the body builders. It was fun for both of them to mosey down the walkway. They stopped in a salon and both got manicures, acrylic nails and pedicures.
They went on the beach, took off the shirts they wore and laid out in the sun for half an hour.
“You know, the scars on your back aren’t too bad, but a plastic surgeon could probably help with them,” Elizabeth said looking over Sandy’s back.
“I don’t want to forget about them right now. I want to remember what those people did to me. Maybe I will have them taken care of latter, but they don’t bother me right now.”
After fifteen minutes on each side, they got up and played with the frisbee. Neither of them were experts throwing Frisbees, but they could almost throw one to the other person, who had to run a bit to catch it. Sandy was having fun but she thought that Elizabeth was having more fun. They both had guys who were watching them closely and fantasizing about being with the girls.
They had a bite to eat in one of the shops and then headed home.
“After being out in the sun and on the beach you really need to wash the sand and salt off your skin and use moisturizer to keep your skin from drying out,” Elizabeth said.
So they showered together, dried each other off and rubbed each other with lotion. Sandy insisted she put her corset on, so she dressed in her above the bust corset, panties, jeans and a pair of high heeled open toed sandals. Elizabeth couldn’t believe how cute Sandy was.
Sandy sat down and practiced her makeup as Elizabeth did hers.
“If we keep getting sun, we will have to rematch our foundations,” Elizabeth said.
“I can see that my skin is a little darker. When I was on the street I kept to the shade when the sun kept getting hotter.”
“Even without your makeup on, you color is a hundred percent better.”
“I feel a thousand percent better than I did before.”
“Now let’s go familiarize you with your laptop and phone.”
Elizabeth first spent time with Sandy learning to use her Smart phone. Elizabeth taught her about some of the popular apps on the phone and downloaded some more. Sandy loved playing with google using the voice controls. Elizabeth also set home on the phone GPS app so Sandy could find her way back here if she got lost while walking.
“All you need to do is start the GPS app and speak go home, and the phone will give you directions and a map to get back here.”
At about four the laptop that Elizabeth purchased arrived and she signed for it.
“Now we get to have fun. I have a wireless router in my house so let me get you logged in on it.”
She plugged in the power supply and plugged it in the laptop. She had Sandy sit and told her to hit the power button. Elizabeth talked Sandy through setting up the laptop, which wasn’t much since the computer company had done the lion’s share of the setup, although Sandy had to set the administrator’s password. Elizabeth helped Sandy choose a secure password. Elizabeth then hooked the laptop into her router and got the laptop recognized by the router.
“Now you don’t have to be hooked directly into the router to be able to get on the internet,” Elizabeth said. “If you go to a place that has WiFi you can log onto the internet there. If the place doesn’t have WiFi, then you can plug this dongle into one of these USB ports and get on the internet that way. Your phone and computer can also talk together. You can use your phone or laptop to check email also.”
“Who would I email? I only know you right now.”
“You know me, Dr. Stevens and Dr. Porter. I am sure that when you start getting out and about you will get to know other people and you will be able to give them your email address.”
“But I don’t have an email address.”
“Let’s set you up one right now.”
Elizabeth helped Sandy pick a name that didn’t give her last name away, “You don’t want to give your whole name away in an email address to just anyone. Till you get to know them. The internet is just as bad as the street is. The internet security software is good, but knowing how to protect yourself is better.”
Sandy then with Elizabeth’s help created an email address and they sent each other emails so that both of their computers would have each other’s address in them. Elizabeth then synced the phone and laptop together. They then spent a couple of hours on the computer to get to know and use the software.
“Now this is the GED software, or General Educational Diploma software. It will help you learn enough to get a diploma for the education you missed.”
Sandy spent a few minutes getting use to that software.
“How long will it take for me to pass the GED test?”
“I don’t know it may take a year or two, or you might be able to pass it in six months. It all depends on how much you know and how fast you can learn. There are also websites that can help you online. You can take the pretest tomorrow and you can begin learning after that. There are also places that you can go to, to lean. Like churches and some schools have adult education. I will support you in whatever you need.”
“Do you like video games?”
“I had a PlayStation at home. I liked some first person shooters and some MMO’s. I had Call of Duty.”
“Do you like tanks, I know of a free game that involves tanks,” Elizabeth said as she went to their website and began downloading the game loader. The download began a torrent which began downloading a massive 7 gigabyte program. “Depending on the network congestion it could take an hour or so to download the game.”
Sandy and Elizabeth got up and walked into the backyard. It was Sandy’s first time in the backyard. It was really beautiful filled with all sorts of flowers and greenery. They walked over to the pool. There were two fountains one up top that fed a waterfall and a water garden and another fountain down in the pool end.
“The fountains and water falls aerate the water for the fish and help keep the water around seventy to eighty degrees for the fish. The fountains are also part of the water purification system. They both have UV sanitization lights in them. The water flows from up to the pool and over to there where the water is pumped out and double filtered to remove ammonia and harmful bacteria. You could swim with the fish in the pool if you wanted to. I have a man who comes four times a week to feed the fish and to check the water and the filtration system.”
“Up top, the water garden has Water lilies, Dwarf Cattails, Water Hyacinth, Water Lettuce and Parrots' Feather. There are also Black Mollies, Guppies, Plecostomus, Sword tails and other small fish. A small mesh nylon net keeps the small fish up top. I the big pool I have Koi, large Plecostomus, Mosquito fish and Bitterlings. All of the fish eat mosquito larvae. So we don’t have a mosquito problem. It’s fun swimming with the fish, but we pose as much a problem biologically for them as they do for us. So I don’t do it often. We can wade in the pond up top.”
Elizabeth led sandy to the top water garden. There was a sealed Tupperware container. Elizabeth opened it and cast a handful of fish food into the water. The water began to boil as the fish rapidly began devouring the food. Sandy took a handful and cast it also.
“Not too much. It’s like an aquarium. Too much food can kill the fish. Excess excrement makes the water unhealthy for the fish. The water up here is eight to fourteen inches deep here.”
They also fed the fish in the big pond. The food pellets were bigger, and the fish were a little slower. The Koi congregated near Elizabeth and Sandy and were very pretty. They stayed near the surface longer.
“The water in the big pond is between fourteen feet to the north end to four feet on the south end.”
At dark soft lights came on around the ponds, and with the mosquito lights gave the back yard a soft glow.
“All the lights turn off at about ten at night, but I have motion sensor lights setup, anything bigger than a cat causes them to light up. The whole back yard is surrounded by a ten foot wood fence.”
Sandy and Elizabeth just sat in the warmth looking at the sky glow from LA. When it got late they came in and got ready for bed. Sandy had a short bout with he dreams but quickly calmed down.
Sandy began her study the next day after she practiced dressing, walking and makeup. She sat down in front of her computer and got right into taking the GED pretest. When she had been a boy back in Texas she had loved school and had done well, but if the pretest was any indication, she had a very long way to go. She scored lower than the last grade she had been in, in all subjects. So she got down to studying the various modules of the learning software. The software was a little deficient, it taught the test, but it would help.
“Liz, I think I am going to need the classroom help, you talked about yesterday. The last grade I took before I ran away was seventh grade. I scored fifth and sixth in all modules.”
“I guess they don’t grade on street smarts, because I know you are smarter than that. It’s just that you haven’t had much practice doing school work.”
Dr. Stevens called after lunch and asked that Sandy come to her clinic the next day at eight. She told Sandy that her lab work looked good for a homeless person, she was a little anemic, lipid levels and he A1C were a little low but nothing screamed that Sandy was seriously ill. That is except for the biopsies of her testicles. There was nothing serious but the pathologist recommended a bilateral orchiectomy. The pathologist reported that the testes were next to nonfunctioning and that there was some abnormal growth that fortunately wasn’t cancerous. He said given time though the abnormal growth might be troubling.
She asked that Sandy wear a knee length skirt and loose full cut panties. Elizabeth was told to bring panty liners for Sandy and not to let her eat after midnight. They were told that the whole procedure would only take an hour or so and that Sandy could come home after the procedure.
That afternoon Elizabeth and Sandy went out and bought a skirt and panties. While they were at the mall, they caught a romantic comedy at the cinema. The movie had them laughing, crying and ahhing at times.
When they got home they dressed casually and went for their walk on the beach. Sandy played tag with the waves. As it started to get dark, the moon was full and they had a high tide. A lot of people came on the beach with buckets in hand. Sandy and Elizabeth got to watch the start of a grunion run as thousands and thousands of fish came ashore to lay their eggs. Elizabeth explained what was happening to Sandy.
They didn’t stay around long, but went home to eat, watch a little TV and go to bed. Sandy was strangely peaceful that night and actually woke before the alarm went off, while Elizabeth woke startled when Sandy got up. They both took a bath together and got ready to go to the clinic.
Sandy was weighed, measured, temperature taken, blood pressure checked and chest listened to. Dr. Stevens commented on the three pounds Sandy had gained and her much improved appearance and blood pressure. Dr. Paul Ridley was introduced to Sandy. He gave Sandy the full disclosure talk and explained the dangers of doing the procedure and not doing the procedure. The type of local anesthetic they were going to use and what Sandy could expect.
“Dr. Ridley if these test results were yours what would you do?”
“I am glad that they are not mine, they aren’t serious at this point, but if they were my results I would have to choose to do the surgery. I know that you may be a transgender individual. Even knowing that, I wouldn’t do the surgery if there wasn’t a need for it, till I heard from your psychiatrist or clinical psychologist. This falls under a medical necessity category, Sandy. Things can go wrong in a hurry when the body isn’t operating as it should.”
“Alright, let’s do this.”
In forty five minutes Sandy went from prep to recovery. Dr. Stevens sent to tissue to the pathologist. Elizabeth helped her put her panties with a panty liner on and get dressed. Sandy was given a prescription for a mild pain medication and for a 1mg. Estrace pill twice a day.
Dr. Stevens told them that she wanted to see Sandy in three days, call her if there is any unusual pain or bleeding or if the stitches break before a week has passed. The stitches should fall away in a week on their own. Sandy should stay off her feet as much as possible for three days. Shower; don’t take a bath for three days. Keep the area clean and dry. Use an antiseptic cream four times a day and a panty liner is all the dressing you should need.
Sandy walked a little bow legged out to the car. Elizabeth took her home and got her setup on the couch and made something light for her to eat. She then went to the pharmacy to get Sandy’s prescriptions filled.
When Elizabeth got back home Sandy was sitting on the couch. She had changed into a corset, blouse that she wore completely open, mini-skirt and heels. Sandy had brushed her hair out and had done a very basic makeup job. She was working on her laptop, working on the GED program.
“You should have waited till I got back, but you look very good,” Elizabeth said, handing Sandy her medications.
“So I can take up to four of these a day, and two of these a day?” Sandy asked.
“That is what the doctor said. How are you feeling?”
“A little sore down there. Whatever the doctor gave me is starting to wearing off, but it’s not too bad just sitting here with my legs spread a bit.”
Elizabeth gave Sandy a drink and she took her pills.
Sandy asked Elizabeth for some help in English grammar. Elizabeth got her laptop, sat on the floor beside Sandy and once she saw where she was in the lesson, she began to help her understand grammar in writing.
They stopped after a couple of hours of studying. Sandy was tired of parts of speech, punctuation and correct spelling. She had made some real progress. Sandy made her way gingerly walking to the bathroom and Elizabeth ordered Chinese.
When their food arrived they sat at the kitchen table and ate noodles, Kung Pao chicken and mushrooms and chicken. Elizabeth taught Sandy how to use chopsticks. She was slow at first and dropped some noodles or mushrooms down her cleavage a time or two, but she began making real progress eating. As Elizabeth laughed seeing a piece of chicken lodge in to top of Sandy’s corset. Sandy fished it out and kind of flicked it at Elizabeth. The chicken bounced off Elizabeth’s forehead, her right wrist and between her breasts.
That got them both laughing, “Now let’s not get carried away and begin something you can’t finish today. You don’t want to pull your stitches apart,” Elizabeth said. “Tell you what, let’s clean up dinner and then play the tank game together.”
They set their laptop computers side by side, hooked up their wireless mice and head phones. Elizabeth talked Sandy through setting up an account and making it a premium account using a pre-paid debit card that she used for making purchases online.
Sandy like everyone else started out in a T1 Cunningham and Elizabeth bought another slot and started a Leichttractor. Sandy went through the tutorial and played a game or two to get used to using the controls. She died some spectacular deaths till she her gaming side came out and she got use to the controls. She steadily improved and then Elizabeth helped her upgrade to the T2 medium and the M2 medium.
Elizabeth chose her PZIII tank to use. She and Sandy then played together teaming up in a platoon, so they were always side by side. Sandy was really sharp with her aiming and shooting, while Elizabeth knew the maps better and was more up on the tactics of the game. Together they started kicking butt. At times they were both shouting information back and forth, “hide behind that rock” “tank to your four o’clock” “Shoot that SOB” “Backup Liz.” “Shit I bounced on that tank again”. In one match Sandy got seven kills, a Master Tanker Ace medal, a Spartan Medal, Top Gun Medal. Liz got four kills in the same match. Together they killed eleven of fifteen enemy tanks.
In an hour and a half Sandy had earned her way up to the M4 Sherman and Elizabeth was working her VK 30.01 H tank. Then they got in a match where they were on a lousy team. Sandy, Liz and two others were on the west side of the map, setting a trap. The whole central and eastern side of the map had fallen except for a lone Soviet T34-85, who had racked up two kills. The other team seemed to want to kill their team entirely, instead of trying to win by capturing the base. Sandy got Liz and two tanks she was with moving. They tried to make it too the T34-85, but he got in a cross fire and got ammo racked.
The four of them as a unit began to slowly pick off lone tanks by concentrating their fire on them. Arty took out Elizabeth, but she just began working as a Tank Commander and another set on eyes. The kills stood at twelve to six, at that point. Sandy and her two companions picked off two more tanks, before losing one more tank. The odds were Thirteen to eight. Sandy became a Juggernaut, killing one tank after another. Her last teammate was knocked out and she had a medium tank, a tank destroyer and a SPG or Arty left, and the arty was getting quite close at times.
As the other team began getting desperate, they made an attempt to capture the base. Sandy was waiting for that. She one shot the tank destroyer and had to duck a shot from the medium tank, while dodging fire from the arty. She began a circle duel with the medium tank. Peppering the tank with fire as the medium tank tried to bring their turret to bear. The arty began to come from his perch from across the map. Sandy killed medium tank and had five hits left. She popped a repair kit and went after the Arty who had begun to run. When she got an eye on it Sandy stopped and aimed, with ten seconds left on the game clock she fired and dropped a HE round in the arty killing it. Sandy had nine kills and three thousand two hundred damage.
Sandy was so excited she hugged and to their both surprise gave Liz a big kiss. Elizabeth gave Sandy a big hug.
“Well I see you are good at many things.” Elizabeth said, while still clenched in a hug.
Sandy felt better the next day and spent a lot of time learning. Elizabeth decided to get back to her books and read ahead for the fall semester four months away. Elizabeth helped Sandy where she could, but Sandy showed that she was a fast learner, as she did her math and geography. Surprisingly she knew all the states by their shape, where they were located and most of the capitals.
After lunch they spent some time sunning themselves topless in the back yard. While they were sunbathing a man came into the backyard to take care of the ponds. He didn’t bat an eye which had Sandy quietly giggling as he set about doing his job. Elizabeth didn’t seem to mind, so she didn’t say or do anything.
Elizabeth whispered to Sandy, “This is California; he has probably seen it all in his job and maybe even scored a few times.”
The pool man was there for about forty minutes. He skimmed the water, feed the fish, checked the water quality, and checked the pumps, filters and other equipment.
“The pool is very good, Ms. Renoir,” the pool man said as he packed up to leave.
“Thank you Thomas. This is Sandy Parker, a cousin of mine. She just came to visit me and will be staying here for a long while.”
“Greetings, Ms. Parker, its nice meeting you. You two take care, now.”
After he left Sandy asked, “He was awfully nice, he didn’t pay us any attention at all. Is he gay?”
“He isn’t gay. He probably makes a little over three thousand a month, doing pools in Malibu. That is very decent money, considering the job is doing is fairly easy work. The pool company he works for wouldn’t tolerate him being offensive with the customers. He was watching us; he just didn’t make it obvious. Many of his female customers are nude when he comes.”
When they came in they both rubbed themselves with skin lotion. Elizabeth took this time to measure Sandy again. In four days Sandy was a half in larger beneath the bust and over an inch through the bust. She did the math and he was now a full B cup. Her waist was still twenty four and his unaided hips were now thirty five.
“I want to pinch you to see if you have gotten any fat beneath the skin now.” Elizabeth warned Sandy.
Elizabeth pinched Sandy but couldn’t pinch an inch anywhere. She wasn’t about to pinch her breasts, but Sandy did.
“I’m not sure that you have grown much, but I do think you’re just better hydrated.” Elizabeth did feel around the nipple and she did feel Sandy’s mammary glands. Her breasts seemed like normal breast tissue. If she had added fat to her body it was probably there and her hips, although her legs looked better to. All the sores were in the latter stages of healing and would soon be normal skin. The only flaws on her skin were just faint belt marks on her back.
They got dressed and headed back to the kitchen to play tanks for a little bit. Elizabeth had been fairly good before. Sandy was very good and together they were awesome. Elizabeth played Sandy’s wingman and kept her out of trouble when she could, even to the point of blocking shots on Sandy with her tank, or letting Sandy use her as a shield at times, so she could get a kill. Sandy upgraded to the next tier tank, the M4A3E2 and Elizabeth switched to her VK 30.02 M.
They played very well together and got invited to join a clan. Elizabeth got a little jealous, she had played for a year and hadn’t received an invite, she was glad, at least, that they both received invites. They found out that the clan they joined wasn’t one of the world class clans, but they were a very good clan. They both had to download TeamSpeak, an online program that allowed everyone to talk to one another audibly.
Sandy had to buy a premium tier eight tank, because she didn’t have one yet. She bought an American T34 heavy tank. The clans squad leader asked Sandy to get the USA Pershing and to work on the tech trees to get the French AMX 13 90 and the AMX 50 100. Sandy looked at the tech trees and saw that that was a lot of work.
They joined a training room that had seven on each team and a ten minute clock. They were asked not to shoot the other team, they were just playing tag. Seeing who could locate who, learning the map, learning how to maneuver together and take instructions. The squad leader showed them the best places to shoot from and how to get around with the least chance of being spotted.
Elizabeth was good at spotting tanks; her crews were very well trained. Sandy had the best raw skills and needed to train her crew better to get some bonuses. The squad leader thought about asking Elizabeth to play the tier 1, T1 Cunningham since she was so good spotting. The T1 was a small fast tank, with bad guns and no armor, but it was harder to hit and was probably the best spotting tank. Elizabeth and Sandy worked so well together though that she was asked to work on getting the AMX 13 90 and the AMX 50 100 and to work together with Sandy.
They then fought several internal battles against other clan members. Sandy drove her T34 heavy and Elizabeth drove her Panther II. Sandy found her opponents were better, but she was good and she liked the bigger guns she now had. Elizabeth was faster than Sandy now and led the way. Even just doing what they were told to as the battle setup, when they fur began flying, they showed they were players. Sandy needed a lot of work identify weak spots and how best to angle her tank, but her shooting was always good. Sandy just needed to learn how to pen the other tank that were doing everything well too.
When it was late they both got ready for bed. Sandy put on her beneath the bust corset and a pair of panties. Elizabeth just dressed in her chemise. In bed, Sandy rolled over to face Elizabeth and kissed her.
“I told you that you don’t have to do this Sandy.”
“I know and you don’t know how much that meant to me. Liz, I want to do this. I love you so much.”
They kissed and cuddled so much that night. Sandy made Elizabeth come with just her fingers. Elizabeth wouldn’t touch Sandy down there though till she got her stitches out. She did find that she could drive Sandy crazy by playing with and sucking on her nipples. Elizabeth had Sandy crying “enough, enough”. They were both panting when they collapsed in each other’s arms and fell asleep.
By July Sandy had filled out. She was now a 36B, almost a C cup, her waist was around twenty six inches and her hips were 36 inches. Dr. Stevens told her that it wasn’t the pills she had been taking. She hadn’t been on them that long. Dr. Stevens, on Dr. Porter’s recommendation, put Sandy on HRT for MtF transsexuals. It was a little early, but since Sandy didn’t produce very much testosterone and by medical necessity Sandy had already been castrated, it was an easy decision.
Sandy would be ready to take her GED test by December. She soaked up whatever she studied. She and Elizabeth were picking up quite the name in their war game. They both had AMX 50 100’s now and they were a killer pair. They didn’t always win, but their wins were over sixty five percent.
Elizabeth began teaching Sandy how to drive a car in one or the other large parking lots in the city. She couldn’t get a license till she got a birth certificate, but that was coming. Elizabeth and Sandy planned a two week drive back to Texas, seeing the sights on the way.
Come July twentieth they headed out. They hit Vegas the first day. They didn’t hit any Casino’s since Sandy was under twenty one, but they saw Hoover Dam, the lights and the fountains there. From Las Vegas they headed to Flagstaff Arizona, to run up to see the Grand Canyon. They spent a couple of days there and headed to four corners, where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico came together. Elizabeth took a picture of Sandy standing in all four states at the same time. They drove to the Indian Cliff Dwellings on the Gila River Indian Cliff Dwellings. They hit Albuquerque and Santa Fe. They got to White City and went to see the Carlsbad Caverns.
Sandy was alright till they hit the Texas border. It became real then where they were headed. Elizabeth held her hand and just comforted her. They stopped in Midland Texas that night. From there they went to Fort Worth. They caught a baseball game there and visited the old part of town. They also crated all the souvenirs up at a shipping company to ship back home on a delayed delivery. They had six boxes of things to send home. From Fort Worth they drove to Madisonville, stopping at Corsicana to by a bushel of Pecans in the shell and in Fairfield to buy some peaches. They spent the night at a motel on the Interstate highway, there in Madisonville Texas.
Sandy slept fitfully that night. It was only Elizabeth’s strength that kept her there. Sandy and Elizabeth dressed to nines there. Elizabeth had bought them both really nice skirted suits. Sandy had gotten really good at doing her makeup. Both she and Elizabeth could turn heads at a mile. They had gotten directions to the County Clerk’s Office, where Sandy would be able to get a copy of her birth certificate.
Sandy and Elizabeth headed into the office.
“Hello I am Sandy Jennings. I just turned eighteen and I have come to get a copy of my birth certificate.”
The clerk asked when she was born, who her father was, her mother’s name and maiden name.
“I don’t seem to have a birth certificate for a female born on that date.”
“Yes I know. I was born a male. I have lived on the street almost five years now and suffered an injury years ago. The injury left me sterile, so I grew up in between. I have chosen to live as a girl, this year.”
When the clerk was busy checking the records earlier she had seen that the file had been flagged by the Sheriff’s Office and had notified them. As Sandy was explaining things to the clerk, the Sheriff walked into the office. Mabel, the clerk indicated the blond. At least the hair color matched the report.
“Excuse me Ladies. Am I to believe that you are Sandy Jennings,” he said to Sandy.
“Yes I am.”
“Good I am Sheriff Ralph Carmichael of the Madison County Sheriffs' Office.”
Sandy found she stood a little straighter as she faced the Sheriff, “What can I do for you Sheriff?”
“I just need a little information from you, Ms. Jennings. Mabel may I use the office?”
“Sure Sheriff, just leave a ten on the desk. Rent you know.”
The Sheriff led the way. When Elizabeth started following, He tried to stop her.
“Sheriff, where Sandy goes, I go.”
“What she said, Sheriff.”
In the County Clerks personal office, the Sheriff sat behind the desk. Sandy and Elizabeth sat in front of the desk. He opened a case file, familiarized himself with the data a bit and began asking questions. Many were the same questions that Mabel had asked. Sandy was dead on.
“When did you run away?”
“I forget the specific day, but it was around the 25th of March of 2009.”
“That is the specific day. What school did you go to?”
Sandy answered, gave him her last grade, the grades she made, the names of her specific teachers, the names of a dozen of her friends, the name of her pet dogs, her grandparents names, and a couple of dozen specific facts, when she was queried.
“Well, I guess you are Sandy Jennings. Why are you now dressing as a female?”
“I had an injury while living on the street that left me in between, if you know what I mean? So I decided that I would make a better girl than a boy.”
“Why did you run away from home?”
“I got tired of my father, the good church deacon, Chamber of Commerce, Lion’s Club, Master Mason, wife and child beater, beating on me, several times a week. I have the scars on my back to prove it. I hopped a freight train north and was in Oklahoma City by the next day.”
Sheriff Carmichael made notes as Sandy spoke.
“Where have you been living all these years?”
“I have lived on the streets in a thousand cities or so. I have probably been in every state of the union except for Hawaii and Rhode Island.”
“Where are you staying now?”
“Malibu California. Elizabeth rescued me from the streets and helped me get healthy again. I was ready to die in Barstow California a couple of months ago.”
“I know this may be a sticky issue with you, but what has happened to you in all those years?”
“You mean, was I sexually abused on the streets?”
The Sheriff nodded.
“You don’t have enough paper in your file. More times than I can count. One trucker named Jason; I don’t know his last name kept me captive on his truck for almost a year. Another John kicked me in the balls real hard. That is why I present as a female now. I can’t remember any others.”
The Sheriffs brow was creased; the name Jason was familiar to him.
“Tell me about Jason. What did he look like, how old was he, what kind of truck did he drive, do you know the license plate or anything else about him?”
“Sandy answered as best she could. She did have a partial plate number.”
Sheriff Carmichael got on the phone to his office, “Eleanor, check with NCIC, on a sexual predator named Jason.” The sheriff gave her a dozen specific bits of information.
When he finished he turned back to Sandy, “I believe you are Sandy Jennings. There is too much detail in what you have told me for someone to come up with it to falsely obtain a birth certificate. I have some news for you too. Your father is dead.”
Sandy just sat there with a straight face.
“Your mother killed him a month or so after you ran away. Your mother is serving twenty five to life for his murder at Mountain View.”
Sandy still sat there straight faced, “Do you want me to cry? I will never shed a tear for either of them.”
“You now own their property.”
“Sell it and give the money to a battered women’s center. I don’t want anything from them.”
“Where are ya‘ll staying here in Madisonville?”
“At the motel on the interstate.” Elizabeth supplied. “In my name, Elizabeth Renoir.”
“I would like you two to spend a couple of days in town and contact William Travis, attorney at law. He will have some paperwork for you, so you can give your money away, if that is what you want. You might also see your Momma at Mountain View.”
“We will stay, but I’m not going to see my mother,” Sandy almost spat out.
“Your choice, but talk to your friend about it.”
The Sheriff led the two women out of the office.
“Mabel I am one hundred percent convinced that this woman is the boy Sandy Jennings. Go ahead and issue her a birth certificate.”
It was plain to see that she wasn’t happy that this boy was in a skirt, but by law, she had to issue him a birth certificate. “How many copies do you want, Mister Jennings?”
“Get about eight copies Sandy. You will need them,” Elizabeth said.
“Eight copies please.”
Mabel printed them out, “That will be twenty four dollars.”
Back at the motel Sandy and Elizabeth went for a swim. Sandy was in a sore need to relax. She swam a couple of hundred laps in the small pool. After which she called Kayla on the phone and had a good cry as she told Kayla what happened. They had set it up in advance that Sandy could call her when she was in Madisonville. She told Kayla about Mabel, the Sheriff and about her parents. They talked till Sandy’s phone needed a charge after an hour and something.
The next day the girls dressed in dresses and went to see the attorney. He had been alerted by the sheriff and had some documents and a file ready for them.
He showed Sandy what was hers now, the life insurance money, the home and sale of the business. Sandy was worth a little over seven hundred thousand. Sandy had already talked it all over with Elizabeth.
“Is there a local battered women and children center around here?”
“Yes there is, the sheriff told me about your desire,” he explained. He told Sandy all about the shelter, except where is was located. “Does that fit into your requirements?”
“Yes, I want to give it all away.”
William Travis got on the phone and asked Roger to send Mrs. Bradford in. A short woman of fifty years or so was admitted to the office.
“Mrs. Bradford, this is Sandy Jennings and Elizabeth Renoir. Sandy, Elizabeth this is Janice Bradford Director of the Madison County Safe House.”
“Mrs. Bradford, Ms. Jennings wants to donate her father’s estate to the Safe House.”
Mrs. Bradford eye got really big. She had been a teacher at his elementary school although she hadn’t been his teacher. It took her a few seconds to recognize the boy’s features in this woman, “Little Sandy is that really you!” She exclaimed. “I didn’t teach you, but I had a room across from Mr. Sullivan’s room.”
“Yes it’s me. You broke up a fight between me and Randy Carter.”
Janice looked pleased to see Sandy. She smiled and eyed Sandy up and down, “You look wonderful. How have you been?”
“Better now. I am living in California now.”
“The whole school was in an uproar, when you went missing. We thought you probably died.”
“I would have, if Elizabeth hadn’t rescued me. I lived on the streets for four years.”
“I’m happy that you were saved, and sorry to hear you had to live on the street. I know it must have been horrible.”
“My dad use to beat me horribly. I was glad to hear he had died.”
“You must go see your Mother. She was so worried about you.”
“No, I don’t think so. She just sat there and watched me get beaten.”
“He beat her too. She was a mess after you ran away. Women often are too afraid to do anything, Sandy. You need to see Rebecca Long. She was your best friend if I remember correctly.”
“I saw her just before I ran to the railroad tracks. I caught a freight train going north that night. I might go see her. Does she still live on Pecan Street?”
“I’m not sure. I know she is still around.”
Mr. Travis got on the phone and asked Roger to look up the address of Rebecca Long. He called back and gave his boss her address. She was still at her parent’s house on Pecan Street.
They then talked about the transfer of property.
“May I keep the house? It is remote enough, yet close enough to law enforcement to protect my women and children. That was a large house wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know what it’s like inside now, but it had four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. You can do what you want with it. I just don’t want anything from my father or my mother.”
Sandy signed some papers that gave Mrs. Bradford power of attorney over her father’s estate.
“You must come with me to the Country Kitchen and have some lunch,” Janice said. “It’s on me. William send me the bill for Sandy.”
Sandy looked to Elizabeth, who nodded yes.
“No charge Mrs. Bradford. I do all your legal work anyway, Pro Bono.”
Janice told Elizabeth where the Country Kitchen was and they headed out. They were walking to Elizabeth’s mothers Lincoln Navigator. A young woman came out of a boutique, just then. A look of recognition came over Sandy’s face.
“Rebecca is that you?” Sandy asked.
“Yes it is, do I know you ma’am…” Rebecca looked Sandy straight in the eyes. Then a look of consternation and then recognition came across her face. “Is that you Sandy?”
“Packaged a little differently, but yes it’s me.”
Rebecca smiled, looked Sandy over and then said, “I’ll say you are packaged a little different. You look wonderful.” She hugged Sandy, then held her at arm’s length and then hugged her again.
“How have you been girl? I have been so worried about you.”
“Hi I am Elizabeth Renoir. Do you have time to eat with us?” Elizabeth said.
“Yes we are having lunch at the Country Kitchen with Mrs. Bradford.”
“Let me cancel my appointment. I will make time. I work for the newspaper in town. I start at Sam Houston this fall.”
“You’re going to college in Huntsville. I thought you had higher hopes.”
“It’s cheaper. I can live at home and drive to Huntsville.” Rebecca made a call as she followed Sandy and Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth drove them to the restaurant, where Mrs. Bradford was waiting. She smiled brightly as she saw the three girls.
“I see you found Rebecca.”
“We sort of ran into her,” Sandy said.
They all went in the restaurant and ordered. Elizabeth and Sandy shared a Seafood Platter, while Janice and Rebecca shared a steak plate. As it came out the platters were huge. They all shared seafood and steak.
They talked as they ate. Sandy told a sanitized version of her story. Janice knew there were things left unsaid, without knowing the details. Rebecca then told them the news around town. Sandy asked about this person or that person. They were there for two hours, before Rebecca and Janice had to leave.
Sandy asked if Janice could help Rebecca on tuition.
“I think I can help her with her tuition, Sandy” Janice smiled, “How long are you going to be around here?”
“One or two days, the Sheriff wants me to stay here for a little while.”
“He is a good man Sandy. You can trust him.”
“I believe I can, Now Mabel, seeing me dressed this way called me Mr. Jennings.”
“She can be a bitch, at times, but she helps me out.”
“Well someone needs to teach her manners,” Elizabeth said.
“You don’t have to tell me that. I know.”
When they got back to their room at the motel, the message light was flashing. Elizabeth called the desk and was informed that the Sheriff had called them and asked if they would call him. Elizabeth called for Sandy who had lain down to rest.
“Sheriff Carmichael, this is Elizabeth Renoir, Sandy Jennings friend.”
“Yes, thank you for calling. I have two FBI agents in town to see Sandy. She isn’t in any trouble; it’s about that Jason dude. Sandy talked about. The agents want to hear her story and to have her identify a picture.”
“Sandy is resting right now. This whole trip has been emotionally draining for her. Let me check with her.”
Elizabeth asked Sandy how she felt and if she was up to seeing a couple of FBI agents about Jason.
“Give me an hour or so. Can we see them at the Country kitchen about dinner time?”
“Sheriff can we meet at the Country Kitchen at dinner time.”
“Sure we can meet at say seven at the Country Kitchen.”
Sheriff called the Country Kitchen and asked them to save a table for five at seven and if it wasn’t too crowded could they give them some room, so they could talk.
Sandy woke at five, took a bath and Elizabeth helped her to get ready. They dressed smartly in their suits and did their makeup up smartly. At six forty five they entered the Country Kitchen. Sheriff Carmichael was already waiting for them and escorted them to their table in an almost deserted back room.
“Ms. Jennings, this is about Jason. That name rang a bell to me. We have been receiving flyers about that man for years and we haven’t caught him yet. We never had enough information, at least till I talked to you. We think we have a name and they will show you an array of pictures. Sandy this guy is bad. They may have linked him to as many as twenty abductions and child rape.”
“As long as I never have to be in the same room with him. I still have nightmares about him. Just catch the bastard and shoot him.”
“I can’t promise that you’ll never be called to testify, but we can try. Those US attorneys can be sons a bitches, if you know what I mean.”
“Never had the pleasure and hope I never will.”
They were there talking about ten minutes before two stuffed suits were led to their table. Both men fit the classical FBI image. Sheriff Carmichael made the introductions.
Agent David Cain asked Elizabeth to leave so they could talk.
“If she leaves, I leave,” Sandy said. “Your call.”
They five of them ordered and then got down to talking. They asked for a brief history from Sandy. She told them about her.
“Now I guess it was winter about two years ago in Omaha Nebraska when I met Jason. It was so cold; I was hitching a ride south. I wanted to get to southern California where it was warmer. Jason was driving a dark blue truck. I think it was a Kenworth sleeper truck. It was so cold, I was glad to get somewhere warm. That was the beginning of my hell though. If I saw Jason again I would kill him myself. The sleeper portion was large and very nice. I think I was drugged and put in a space beneath the bed. I spent about a year locked in that sleeper or put away in that space beneath the bed.”
Sandy then told the men about all that Jason had done to her, while she was held captive. The agents asked many questions to clarify her statements. They showed her a book of trucks and asked her to pick out the truck. Sandy flipped through the book till she pointed to a truck.
“His truck was a lot like that one except it was dark blue with white writing on the doors.”
They then showed her an array of driver’s license photos. Without erring she pointed right to Jason’s photo.
“That’s the Son of a bitch.”
Agent Harry Franks then said, “We identified the truck from the information you supplied Sheriff Carmichael. Jason Davis is an owner/operator and isn’t associated with any trucking firm. We don’t know where he is right now, but we now know what to look for. We will get him now. We just don’t know how soon. The US Attorney for the fifth district may want to talk to you.”
“Well, he will just have to come talk to me in California. Cause I’m not coming back here.”
“We’ll tell him, for as much good that will do.”
They talked some more about the particulars of the case, but they had what they wanted. After the girls left, a thousand calls were made and bulletins were sent out all across the country.
A Georgia state trooper got labeled a hero less than forty eight hours later. He had been off duty when the bulletin reached his station. When he got back to work after a weekend of fishing, he got lucky. At a truck stop outside Atlanta Georgia, he spotted a truck that matched the bulletin. The trooper called it in and pulled in next to the truck that was fueling up.
Being a truck driver Jason was used to being harassed by the highway patrol. So he thought nothing of it as the trooper walked up to him.
“Evening officer. How are you doing?”
“Alright, right now. I just need to see your logbook, bill of lading, driver’s license and insurance.”
Jason wanted to cuss right now, but it was never good to cuss out a state trooper, “Sure officer, just let me get it out of my cab.” Jason opened his door and stepped up leaning into his truck. When he stepped down with his hands full of documents, the trooper had his service weapon out pointed at him.
No one knows why but when Jason saw the gun, he dropped his log book and reached behind him to draw his gun registered weapon. When the trooper recognized that he had a weapon in hand, he fired two shots center mass. The rounds hit Jason between the fourth and fifth ribs on either side of the sternum. In seconds Jason expired. Jason reflexively pulled his trigger twice hitting nothing but the ground. All of this was caught on the truck stops surveillance cameras.
After backup arrived a search of the vehicle found another boy locked in the box under the bed and trophies from a dozen more boys.
Sandy and Elizabeth stay another day in Madisonville, another day. Rebecca had called a five of more of Sandy’s friends. After she told them about Sandy, a couple of them wanted nothing to do with her, but three of them did want to meet with her.
They met at the pool of the motel, where Sandy and Elizabeth were dressed in bikinis sunning themselves. The two girls and one boy hugged Sandy and sat down to talk to her. Sandy traded email addresses and Facebook pages with them. Seeing four of her friends did a lot of good for Sandy.
Sandy and Elizabeth headed out the next morning. They drove to Houston, Then to Austin and San Antonio where they stopped for the night. They stopped less often on the trip back to Malibu. From San Antonio, Elizabeth drove to Deming New Mexico, then to Phoenix the next day and home the day after that. They didn’t know what happened till they were in Phoenix Arizona where they saw it on the national news in their motel room.
Sandy shed tears of release as Elizabeth held her. It wasn’t over there were many others who had abused Sandy still out there free. Many would never be caught a few were, but were never associated with what they had done to Sandy. The devil of them all was dead.
Back home Sandy had a long session with Kayla, over two long hours. She told her everything she could remember. Elizabeth then took Sandy and got her tested for a driver’s license. Sandy drove the Lincoln for the driving test. It was a huge vehicle but Sandy deftly drove the Navigator, even doing a very good parallel park with it. Elizabeth gave Sandy the car, when she passed the test. They went to DMV and had it transferred in her name.
Two weeks before Christmas Sandy took her GED test and passed it with a high score. She applied to and was accepted at the same university Elizabeth went to and started there in January. They also achieve renown at tanks. They had formed a team from Clan members and had done well in the semi pro league. They didn’t win that year but placed in the top quarter of the league.
Physically Sandy stopped growing at five foot eight and a hundred and thirty eight pounds. Elizabeth found she liked the shapely Sandy a lot and loved tickling her lover. Sandy got all new lingerie out of necessity. She still wore corsets to keep her waist at twenty five inches. Her bust grew enough that she needed a 36D bra and she also needed the next size up in panties. She could still wear many of her older clothes though. Sandy learned to love shopping for clothes.
That summer they went on vacation. They sailed with a group to Catalina and up to San Francisco and back. Sandy and Elizabeth then drove back to Texas one last time. It had taken Kayla six months to get Sandy to write her Mom in prison. She and Elizabeth were added to her mother’s visiting list. Sandy and Elizabeth drove to Texas again, seeing the sight, Elizabeth was more than happy to share the driving with Sandy. They got a motel in Gatesville and called ahead to Mountain View, they were told the rules and visiting hours.
It was with much trepidation that the two women drove to the prison unit. They had dressed in skirted suits and heels. Their makeup was immaculate and their hair was gorgeous. They looked like two high fashion models as they entered the women’s prison.
Sandy had told his mother that he was now living as a woman and even sent her pictures, but nothing prepared for how drop dead gorgeous her new daughter was. The three of them sat at a table to talk. Rules let them hug at the beginning and at the end when they left. Being from out of state they were allowed four hours. They used all four hours. Talk began slowly at first, but after her Mom apologized the tenth time for not helping her, the walls between them began to crumble. They cried and laughed with each other.
Sandy asked, “Can’t you get out. I will testify for you.”
“No not for twelve more years. I am a mess inside Sandy. I need to be in here right now. I am treated alright, by everyone. I am getting counseling, but I am still not right. Sheriff Carmichael came and talked to me. He told me about you. I am glad that you got help and are doing well. My heart was ripped out, when you ran away. I finally snapped when your father said he was happy you were gone. He didn’t like having a wimp for a son. He accused me of cheating on him. Sandy couldn’t possibly be his son. I buried my longest kitchen knife in his back a few minutes after he said that. At least right now, I need to be here Sandy.”
They talked till they were told it was time, they hugged and parted.
Sandy and Elizabeth went back to their motel and laid on the bed hugging each other.
The next day they drove to Madisonville where Rebecca and two of Sandy’s friends were waiting. One of the girls was in the Navy was currently deployed to Honolulu, where she was an IT tech. The friends spent two days together having fun with Sandy and Elizabeth. They also met with Janice Bradford and got to see the old homestead. The house had been fixed up and two women and their families from out of the county were staying. Their cases were high risk, so their out of county placement was prudent. Janice only introduced the women by a first name, that they had been given.
The house looked so different than it had been. Sandy was glad it was being used productively.
They left Madisonville and drove to Orlando, where they spent a week at Disney World. Sandy was like a kid there and had fun doing the rides with a sometimes reluctant Elizabeth. She tended to get a little queasy on some of the high speed rides. She would walk over burning coals for Sandy though. At the Magic Castle Elizabeth proposed to Sandy, with her mother’s engagement ring. Sandy accepted and insisted on finding a jewelry store so she could buy Elizabeth a ring.
From Orlando they drove two weeks seeing the sights to Seattle Washington, where they stayed a few days. They then drove down the coast at a leisurely pace till they got home four days later. As much fun as they had, it was good to be home again, where they both found a reason to go on.
The End
Tommy crosses the country by rail to spend the summer with his sister. He is surprised, and thrilled by the things that happen there, but becomes sure of the love he shares with his sister.
A Sister’s Love ch. 1
by
Paula Dillon
Tommy’s blog
June 6, 2005 3:30 pm edt
Hey this has been a crazy time for me. I got on the train today at New York’s Penn Station and am headed to my sister’s place near Los Angeles. I don’t know why but she called home and talked Mom and Dad into letting me come to her place for the summer. When she talked to me she asked, no make that begged me to come and spend the summer with her.
Two whole months with my sister Susan. She is pretty cool I guess for a sister. She is an RN down there for some big hospital, but she said she’s taking some time off to be with me.
I could have flown there as I have done several times before, but for some reason I asked Mom if I could take the Amtrak there. It would take a lot longer but I would really get to see more of the country. It is about a three day trip, Mom was a little apprehensive about me traveling alone as a sixteen year old boy, but she was happy that it would save a whole bunch of money over flying. Mom actually gave me a lot more spending money cause I saved her a bundle.
The train is pretty cool too. I am sitting here working on my laptop as we are getting near Chicago. I will have a six-hour layover there before catching the train from there to Los Angels.
Can’t wait to get there. My sister Susan now twenty-seven is very pretty. I remember her while I was growing up. She always dressed so very nicely. She treated me half way decent too. We weren’t like a lot of brothers and sisters. I guess I kinda had a crush on her, when I was eight or so. I liked all her soft pretty clothes and her pretty shoes.
Oh well I guess I will write some more later. The Conductor told us we were fifteen minutes out of Chicago.
Cya.
Tommy’s Blog
June 7, 2005 10:00 am cdt
My first time sleeping on a train was pretty good. I slept like a rock. The motion of the train kinda lulled me to sleep. I did wake a few times as the train blew its whistle, but I got use to it. I am somewhere in Texas now. We just left Dallas and we’re headed due west now.
The food in the diner car was a whole lot better than the food they serve on airplanes, but boy is it expensive.
I’m amusing myself by watching the scenery go by, playing games on my laptop and writing in my blog. I still have about twenty-nine, thirty hours to go before I get to LA.
Going to do some reading now, so all I can say is
Cya.
Tommy’s Blog
June 8, 2005 3:15 pm pdt
Boy is my butt sore. I can honestly see why the long distance train rides are so unpopular. After 59 plus hours of being shaken, listening to the trains clanking, and the incessant whistle being blown, I can honestly say that I will be glad to reach LA.
It ain’t been all bad, I guess, at least I can get up and move around a little; something they discourage on a plane ride but then again ain’t no plane ride that is sixty plus hours long that I know of.
Oh well got to get my stuff ready. We should be pulling into LA in an hour or so. I’m also going to clean up a bit. I want to look at least halfway decent for my Sis.
Cya
Tommy Blair got his things together and changed clothes after giving himself a washcloth bath so he wouldn’t smell. He was in a pretty good mood. He hadn’t seen his sister in over a year and a half and he really missed her.
He had given her a cell phone call when he was about two hours out and saw that he actually had service. Cell phone towers didn’t always follow the rail lines too much, so he had watched closely as they had approached a city to call. She sounded really excited to hear from him and promised to be there for him on time.
As the train pulled into Los Angeles Union Station, Tommy got all his carry on gear together. His heart began beating more fiercely as the train neared the station, anticipating the reunion with Susan. He giggled to himself as the train slowed to a creep and came to a stop.
He looked out as he reached the top of the stairs and saw Susan. She was even better looking than he remembered, he thought as he saw her wave. He took the final three steps to the landing and ran to meet her. She almost swept him off his feet in a great big hug.
Susan was still a little bigger than he was. She was five foot eight, and about 125 pounds to his five six and 120. Her beautiful strawberry blonde hair came to the middle of her back; his light brown came to just past his shoulders in a pony tail. Both of them had incredible blue eyes that sparkled in the light.
“Oh Tommy, you don’t know how good it is to see you, you shrimp. I have missed all of the family so much.”
“Hey! Who you calling a shrimp? I ain’t that much shorter than you Sis, and I still got a few years to grow. But it is good to see you too Sis, I have missed you lots too,” he said, his voice sounding somewhat girlish, since it only dropped a little once he started puberty.
“Hey at least we are together now, let’s get the rest of your stuff and head on to my car. We still have at least an hour and a half drive to go.”
“Oh shit! My backside is already half asleep right now.”
“Tommy! Watch that language. I know I am not mother, but I still won’t have you talking like that.”
“Sorry Sis, the train ride was fun at first, but that wore off after the first day of the ride.”
Susan looked Tommy over before she took his hand and headed to baggage claims. He hadn’t really changed much in the last few years except to get a little taller. She thought he had a better figure than she had at sixteen, except he was a little thicker in the waist. He had a really cute face; you really wouldn’t call it handsome because it was closer to a girl’s face. That along with his long hair, she thought, would make him a very pretty girl.
On the ride home Tommy at first talked about a mile a minute. He was so excited; he actually giggled several times which caused Susan to break out in giggles. Exhaustion though claimed him after about thirty minutes. He looked so cute sleeping in her car, as she drove.
Her watch’s alarm beeped and she looked at it and saw it was time for her pills. She opened her pill pack up and poured out three pills into her hand and swallowed them with a bottle of water she had brought with her.
“Tommy, wakey wakey you sleepy head,” Susan said sweetly, as she lightly shook her sleeping brother. “Wake up Hun, we are home now.”
Tommy woke with a start and shook his head as his eyes opened. “What, what? Are we there?”
“Yes Tommy we are there. Let’s get all your stuff inside and then it is off to bed for you.”
The two of them got all of Tommy’s things inside. Susan led him to the bedroom he was to use. Tommy’s eyes went very wide and almost popped out of his head when he saw the room. It was very pink, white and yellow in shades of pastel. There was lace and ruffles everywhere.
“What! Is this my room! This is a girl’s room.”
“Yes, I am sorry Tommy. This room was a girl’s. This room was like this when I bought the house and I never got around to changing it. This isn’t the same house I had when you came down last. It will have to do for right now.” Susan said. She sounded a little ashamed that she was sticking him in this room. It showed on her face too.
Tommy wasn’t a Neanderthal and realized that he might have hurt his sister’s feelings and said, “Sorry Sis. It’ll be alright.” He hugged her and the smile returned to her face.
“We can change it later if you want. It’ll be up to you. It’s just so good seeing you again. Let me fix you something to drink and you really ought to lay down for a bit.”
“I don’t really need to sleep, but I guess I will lay down for a bit.”
Susan went to the kitchen and made two drinks. To his drink, she added something a little extra to help him rest. Tommy was pretty thirsty and drank it down pretty fast before he laid down on the bed. Before he knew it he was fast asleep.
Susan got out her measuring tape and expertly undressed him to his underwear before taking lots of measurements.
It was early morning when Tommy woke. He found that a very soft, lacey, pink comforter covered him. His bladder felt like it was about to explode and he frantically looked around for the bathroom. He ran for a door he hoped was a bathroom, and luckily it was, and pulled down his briefs as he approached. He thought he would never finish peeing once he started. It was almost like one of those comic scenes in the movies as it came out like water out of a fire hose for a ridiculous length of time.
Feeling much better and rested, he realized that he stunk. “I guess three days on a train are a bit much. Damn how long did I sleep?” he thought. Looking around there was soap, shampoo, and stuff so he decided to take a shower before going down to the kitchen.
Tommy took a nice long shower. His Mom use to complain about him using all the hot water in the house, but Tommy always liked to smell nice and clean. He was definitely not like his friends; some of them only bathed if they were made too. He dried himself off and saw a white terry robe hanging on a hook on the bathroom door. He put it on and then proceeded to dry his hair using the blow dryer that was there. When his hair was dry he put it back into a low ponytail. He often wished he could wear it differently, but then that would cause him so much trouble.
Dried and deodorized he went back to his room. He couldn’t see his bags anywhere but he did see some clothes on his already made up bed. He went over to them and saw pants, T-shirt, ruffle top socks, and girl’s under-things. He wondered, “What the hell is going on.”
He looked closely at the clothes. They were very pretty and looked like they would go well together and it wasn’t like he hadn’t worn girl’s clothes before. Tommy had always liked the look and feel of girl’s clothes. As a young boy he often wore some of his sister’s old things. She never threw anything away. Mom would get tired of the overfilled closets and end up making a Goodwill run every year or two as Susan grew up. Tommy had been able to snag a couple of things that fit every now and then. He had always been careful and didn’t think his Mom or Sis knew what he had been up too, but now he wasn’t too sure of that.
“Well it ain’t nothing I haven’t done before, and obliviously Susan wants to see if I’ll do it, so what the heck,” he thought.
Tommy took inventory of what was there. He found a pair of lacey blue nylon panties, which he put on. The feel of them as they slid up his legs was electrifying. He hadn’t had the opportunity to dress up in a while, having outgrown his other things. He also found a panty girdle that had padded hips. It was a struggle to pull these up and he had to rearrange his stuff but he got them up. He was not so big down there. He had seen a lot of guys at school in the locker room that were a lot bigger, but it didn’t really bother him. The girdle’s waist was tighter than at the hips and took a couple of inches off his waist, effectively hiding any sign of his masculine parts.
He looked at the bra next, it was heavy and he realized there were some gel things that looked like breasts contained in some pockets. He slipped the bra up his arms till it rested on his chest. After several tries he was able to reach behind himself and hook it up like most girls do. He was amazed at how heavy they seemed and how they moved. The band of the bra was very tight, but he realized that would help keep the breasts from shifting in an embarrassing manner. He couldn’t help himself he reached up and cupped himself. He had never really had a girl’s breasts in his hands before but he imagined that they would feel no different than what he now felt. He next found the ruffled ankle socks, they were short and the material was lighter and silkier than his own.
Next came the T-shirt, it was so soft, it felt great in his hands and was a light powder blue, with three quarter length sleeves. The shirt clung to his body as he pulled it on, and helped to define his figure. He could see the white of the bra and the top of the girdle through the material.
That left a pair of jeans and a shiny metal chain belt on the bed. He sat down to pull the jeans on. It was incredible how tight the jeans were, he had to work them up his legs a little at a time. The jeans molded and shaped his calves and thighs like nothing he ever wore before. He tucked the T-shirt in and fastened the top button. The hips fit alright even with the padding of the girdle, but it was hard to fasten the button at the waist. At least the material had more give than his jeans had or he would never have gotten them on. The jeans even pushed his butt up and helped give him a more girlish figure. There weren’t any belt loops so he just fastened the belt around his waist. Lastly he saw two pair of shoes on the floor, one a pair of black pumps that had bows on the instep with a one and a half inch heel and a pair of white girl’s sneakers with pink piping. Tommy chose the pumps; they were like shoes he had worn before.
Standing up Tommy found a full-length mirror on the closet door. He looked at himself. What he saw wasn’t entirely feminine but then again it was far from masculine. Inside the closet he saw that there were a lot of girl’s clothes. He saw a white cotton short sleeve blouse and pulled it off the hanger. He left it unbuttoned and put the belt on over it.
Looking about the room he saw a vanity and went over to it. He had experimented a little with makeup, he wasn’t good at it but he could put mascara and lipstick on pretty easily. Inside the vanity he found some makeup not as much as any normal girl would wear but he did find lipstick and mascara. He brushed the mascara on his upper lashes; he never had been able to do the lower lashes very well. The lipstick was a deep pinkish red. It looked pretty good as he carefully put it on. He looked a lot better with a little makeup on he thought. Lastly he found some ladies cologne in a mister. He loved the smell so he spritzed himself with it lightly. He had never worn cologne before it would have been so hard to hide the lingering scent.
Tommy’s Blog
June 9, 2005 8:15 am pdt
My sister really surprised me today. When she use to live at home I use to dress up in her clothes. I really liked it, girl’s clothes always seemed much nicer and well that just felt so right.
I thought it was just my secret. Well to my surprise, when I woke up this morning, I could find none of the clothes I brought with me. Instead I found girls under-things, pants, blouse and heels laid out for me. Guess I didn’t keep my secret as well as I had thought I done.
I went ahead and dressed up in them and found a little makeup, which I put on. I finally found some perfume to spritz on. People wouldn’t believe me but I look pretty good.
Well, I bet my sister is worried about me. She hasn’t seen how I dressed yet. So I better go face the piper.
Cya
“Well I guess it is either go down and see Sis like this, or take another shower and yell for my own clothes,” Tommy said to himself out loud.
At the last second he took off his boys watch and saw some jewelry on the vanity. He found a few bangles, a girl’s watch, a heart shaped silver pendant on a fine silver chain and some heart shaped clip-on earrings. Everything matched as well as he could tell, so he put these on too.
Back at the full-length mirror he saw that he now looked pretty good. He looked as good as he ever looked. He blew himself a kiss and stepped out of the safety of his room.
He saw his sister sitting in the living room. She looked like she was sitting on pins and needles, probably wondering what he was doing and thinking. She was a little heavily made up for this early in the morning, but looked absolutely spectacular. Her face brightened as she saw him. She nearly jumped up and met him halfway.
“Hey Sis. You look great and that scent is wonderful on you,” she said as she hugged him.
“Thank you Sis, you look pretty good yourself,” he said, looking a little embarrassed. “I guess you knew my secret, how did you find out. I thought I was careful?”
“You were but it was the little things, like the things in my drawers looked like they had been moved around, clothes I had outgrown were missing, and such. I finally went into your room once and found your stash. Don’t worry I really didn’t mind.”
“I guess everyone back home knows then?”
“No I don’t think so, at least Dad doesn’t know, I’m not sure about Mom, but I never told anyone.”
“So is this why I just had to come see you Sis?” Tommy said with a little edge to his voice.
“No Tommy, not at all. I did want to see my baby brother. I just thought you might like to try this out with someone else helping. I figured you might have a little fun doing it. Are you hungry? You must be famished. When was the last time you ate?”
Tommy’s stomach was growling, he couldn’t remember when he last ate. “Yes, now that you mention it, I think I could eat a horse.”
Susan looked up and down at Tommy, as tight as his pants and girdle were he wouldn’t be eating that much she thought. “Come this way Sis, the restaurant Le Su’san is about to open dear.”
Tommy followed her into the kitchen where she made him a light breakfast. Susan made less than he thought he could eat but more than he would actually be able to finish. While Susan had some toast and coffee, Tommy dug into milk, coffee, eggs, bacon and hash browns. As they ate they talked, Susan wanted to know more about his cross-dressing. Tommy explained that he had started about the time he turned eight. He admitted he had a crush on her at that age, not realizing that brothers and sisters aren’t suppose to be like that. He had always liked the way his big Sis looked, and even though her clothes were a little big for him, some of her older things fit well enough. He really liked the way those things felt and how pretty they were.
Susan said it surprised her that he had actually started so early. When she finally realized what was going on, she had really wanted to see what he looked like. She said she always thought that he looked to good to be a boy; he looked just too cute. She had wanted him to come because she wanted to get to know her brother better and not as a little kid he had been, but as the young adult he now was. She also wanted to know if he still liked dressing up.
Tommy told her he didn’t dress up as much now, because it was harder to get things that fit. He never lost the craving he had for girl’s clothes. Even now Mom let him pick his own clothes; he always picked the softer, more colorful clothes. Still it was hard to achieve the look he had grown to like with boy’s clothes.
“Tommy, you really look so good as a girl. You even went farther than what I had laid out for you. How would you like to dress like this for the rest of the time you are here? I would really like it.”
Tommy blushed at the thought of living as a girl while he was in LA but after thinking it over he said, “I would like it, but I don’t really think that I could go outside as a girl. People would see me as a boy dressed up as a girl. I would be too scared to go out dressed like this, Sis.”
“Are you kidding Tommy, you look better dressed like that than I did when I was sixteen. You definitely have a bigger chest than I did. It wasn’t till I was almost eighteen that I went from a small B cup to a large C cup. Right now you would be a large B or small C and that fits your shape pretty good, I think. I bet you could walk outside now and nobody would catch on that you were a boy.”
“Quit teasing me Sis. I know I don’t look bad, but I know I couldn’t fool most people. Also I don’t know how to act like girls do and what about my voice?”
“Brother you are in denial. Yes your mannerisms could give you away if you hung around a group of girls for a while, but your appearance and the pitch of your voice are great. You just need to learn how girls do things and the way girls talk and nobody would twig on you.”
Tommy thought on that for a bit. He really did want to say yes. He liked the way he felt right now. It somehow felt so right to him. Did that make him a pervert or something? He didn’t know. He felt exhilaration and dread at the same time. “Mom and Dad could never know. I would never be able to live it down if they found out.”
“I don’t know about Dad, but I know Mom would be ok with it.”
“No! Not even Mom could know Susan.”
“Well, it would be hard for her to find out that is for sure. Come on how about it, for me please? It would be a lot of work, but I am sure you would enjoy it.”
Tommy hung his head down as he considered it. He didn’t know why but tears started to fall from his eyes.
“I am sorry Tommy. Don’t cry. You don’t have to do it,” she said hugging him tightly.
“It’s not that Sis. I really want to do it. I’m just scared, I guess.”
“There is no reason to be scared little brother. I wouldn’t let anything happen to my bestest friend.”
Tommy’s emotions were at war inside him. This was something he had always enjoyed doing, but around other people he didn’t know if he could pull it off. “Ok Sis, if you’ll help me I will.”
“Oh Tommy, we are going to have so much fun, you’ll see,” Susan said joyously. “Now first off, I can’t keep calling you Tommy if we are going to do this. Do you have a girl’s name you like?”
“Well, you know Mom was an old Debbie Reynolds fan, she used to watch all her movies over and over again. Debbie played a girl named Tammy, I really like that name.”
“That is a great name for you Tammy, like Tammy Tyree,” Susan said looking over her new sister, “And with a little work I think we could even make you look a little like her.”
That brought out a little giggle from Tammy, “Ok Susan, Tammy it is.”
Susan took Tammy’s hand and led her to her computer. She booted it up and when she got her browser going pulled up a picture of Debbie in “Tammy and the Bachelor.”
“Gosh she is beautiful,” Tammy said.
“Yes and so are you.” Susan said as she printed out several high rez pictures on her color printer. “Let’s go to the beauty salon Tammy to get started ok?”
Tammy hesitated for several seconds before nodding her head in agreement.
“Let’s fix you up a purse first,” Susan said leading Tammy back to her room. She opened a drawer on the vanity and pulled a small white purse on a gold chain. She opened it and emptied it on the table and explained why everything was in there, even three tampons and a panty liner. She put everything back in including the lipstick Tammy used and a powder compact after Susan used it on Tammy's face. “Your ready, wait here a sec and let me get my stuff.”
Susan retrieved her purse and they were on their way. She opened her pill pack and poured out six pills, which she took.
“Let’s go Tammy. One thing; outside keep your head up high, stand straight, take shorter steps and just act like you own the world. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Tammy stepped out. There were other people around but they just smiled and waved at Susan. The two of them got in her car and were on their way. It was a short drive to the salon. Tammy’s stomach was churning all the way.
“At the Salon you’ll be taken in the back and given a smock to dress in, take off your pants and blouse put the smock and your shoes on and then come out. You’re going to have a lot of work done on you today, nothing that we can’t reverse when you go home though.”
“Ok, Susan I trust you,” Tammy said, not being sure she actually meant it.
Susan turned into a parking lot of the salon “Hair Today!” Together they headed into the salon. It was a nice upscale salon; there were already a lot of women and girls there. The inside of the place was very nice, there were nice couches, flowers, paintings that appealed to the feminine, pictures of various hairstyles and such. It was definitely ‘no man’s land.’ Susan went up to the receptionist up front. She spoke to her, then she and Tammy sat down.
“They’ll be ready for you in a second, dear.”
The receptionist brought them some hot tea. The tea was good and helped calm Tammy’s nerves. There were copies of Cosmo, Elle, Seventeen, Vogue and other ladies and teen magazines on the coffee table. Tammy picked one up and had just opened it when she heard.
“Tammy, Susan?”
“Hi, Helen, this is Tammy my sister.”
“Hi Susan, hi Tammy I will be your stylist today, my name is Helen would you two come with me, please,” Helen gracefully motioned with her arm.
They followed Helen to her workstation. The smells overwhelmed the senses as Tammy followed. Helen stopped by a chair and motioned for Tammy to sit. The chair was a salon type and was set before three angled mirrors with lots of lights around the edges. Tammy sat and Helen turned her to face the mirrors.
“Now what can I do for you ladies today.” Helen asked.
Susan pulled out a handful of pictures from her purse. They were the one’s she printed today off the computer. “Tammy is getting the works today and she wanted a much updated look similar to these,” she said proffering the pictures to Helen.
“Oh yes, I love this look,” she said as she took a good look at Tammy. “You have some lovely skin dear, your hair is nice and healthy, a few splits but we’ll take care of that.” Helen turned the chair in a full circle looking closely at Tammy, “Yes I can see just what I’ll do.”
Then Helen and Susan began talking specifics, they might as well have been talking Greek because Tammy didn’t understand but a few things they talked about. Hair styled this way, lightened, and a few other words were all she caught. Tammy just smiled and shook her head when they called for a response from her.
“Okay Susan, I think I can get this done in three hours if you want to go somewhere, your sister will be just lovely when you get back.”
“Ok, but don’t let anything happen to my sister Helen,” Susan said, “And Tammy be nice.”
“I will Sis,” Tammy said and waved at Susan as she left.
“Ok, let’s get started,” Helen said as she motioned for Tammy to follow, “Just change into one of the smocks hanging in the room Tammy, I’ll take you to the shampoo station when you’re ready.”
Tammy went in the changing room and set her purse down. She took off her blouses, pants and socks before taking a medium smock off the hook. The smock screamed PINK! at her, but she still put it on. It fit snug around the collar and hung well above mid thigh. She realized that, she would have to be very careful or she would show almost everything she had on. She smoothed the smock under her as she sat and put her shoes back on. She took one last look at herself in a mirror before she exited and tried to remember what she looked like.
Helen was waiting for her as she exited; she led Tammy to the shampoo girl.
“Marcia this is Tammy. Tammy, Marcia is your shampoo tech today."
Marcia couldn’t be much older than she was, Tammy thought. Tammy sat in the shampoo chair and Marcia tilted her back till her neck rested on the edge of the sink. Marcia warmed the water up and wet-down Tammy’s hair. She lathered up Tammy’s hair and massaged her scalp. She had such wonderful hands Tammy thought. She rinsed, shampooed, rinsed, conditioned and rinsed her hair. Tammy was in Nirvana when she finished.
Marcia led a very relaxed Tammy to Helen's station. A cape was wrapped around Tammy and Helen went to work on her hair. She combed out the tangles and parted it several ways looking at it. She then parted it in the middle and started trimming the hair in layers. After she finished trimming the hair, a foul smelling lotion was put on her hair. Helen then had her sit in another chair for twenty-five minutes.
Time’s up and after her hair was checked she was back at the shampoo station being washed and conditioned again, before she was led back to Helen’s station. Tammy was shocked to see her light brown hair now a very light straw blonde. Helen then wound Tammy’s hair tightly on some rods with some sponge thingys. Then Helen put some moist cotton around the edges of her face, followed by a fouler smelling brew on her hair and a plastic cap. She was again led to a different chair. While she was there a girl came by and did her nails, giving her a full set of nails, while her feet were soaked in a vibrating tub. The girl finished painting her nails a nice Coral Blush, Tammy was told before the girl filed and painted her toenails with the same polish.
When a timer went off, Helen checked Tammy’s hair. She again wound up at the shampoo station being rinsed and another solution was put on her hair. She was again sat in the waiting chair as Tammy named it. She was rinsed again and wound up back at Helen’s workstation. The rods were taken out and replaced by rollers and she was taken to a padded table and asked to lie down.
Her legs were rubbed with a lotion. Tammy was in heaven as the girl massaged her legs. Then something very warm was spread on them followed by a cloth strip. Then in one motion the strip was yanked off and Tammy nearly hit the roof. “Yikes,” (actually a transliteration) she said, or something to that effect. The girl working on her giggled, but then apologized for it, telling her we find it easier if the client doesn’t know about it the first time. This was repeated numerous times on both legs. It hurt no less each time but at least she overcame the shock of the first strip. The lotion that followed and the massage of the legs kinda made it all worthwhile though.
She was then put under a dryer for a time. Tammy couldn’t believe all that she was going through. Back and forth, up and down, go here go there, sit and wait, back and forth. So girls have to go through all this, Tammy thought.
After her hair was dry she was led to Helen’s station again. Helen went to work on her face plucking her eyebrows. Tammy had never plucked her eyebrows before, that was something that would have been discovered back home. It hurt a little with each pluck and Tammy wondered if she would have any eyebrows left at all. She wasn’t turned towards the mirrors so she couldn’t see.
Next she felt her ears being rubbed by a cold pad and being marked by another girl. Helen and the girl looked back and forth at both ears. She felt something take hold of one ear and then felt one, then two small stabs of pain, which was repeated on the other ear. She knew she had two studs in her ears now without looking. Helen then went to work on Tammy’s hair. The rollers were removed and her hair was combed, brushed and teased. She finished messing with her hair and stood back to look, smiling. Tammy started to turn to look but Helen stopped her.
“No, no, no girl, you can’t look till I’m finished.”
Helen then wheeled a cart next to Tammy and held a wheel of sorts, up to her cheek. “You have a nice summer look. Tammy, it would be nice if your skin were a little more tanned, you’re obviously not a southern California girl, but don’t go laying out on the beach all day trying to tan dear. I want you to come back next week and we will do an airbrush job on you. I’m selecting your makeup right now. Ok follow along with what I’m doing, first skin care, do this routine at least three times a day. First I use a cleanser on your face it will open and clean your pores, remove your makeup and help prevent zits to a point. Next use an astringent, it will tighten your skin, make your pores appear smaller and reduce any wrinkles a little. Then we moisturize your skin, this cream blocks harmful UV and increases the elasticity of your skin, while keeping it soft and smooth. You have such lovely skin and don’t need much makeup, but let me show you how to do your face.”
Helen proceeded to put foundation on, using it sparsely. She then used a powder to set it and lightly brushed her cheeks with blush. She then used some eyeliner behind the edge of Tammy’s eyelashes, mascara, eye shadow and a pencil on her brow. She used another pencil on the outer edge of her lips and filled it in with a Coral Blush lipstick.
Several ladies had stopped to watch what Helen was doing. Their presence was beginning to unnerve Tammy a little, but she tried to take it in stride. When Helen finished she stepped back. The ladies ohed and ahed at Tammy and finally she was turned to face the mirror. Tammy’s jaw dropped, she wouldn’t be replacing Debbie Reynolds as a look-a-like, but the word wow formed on her lips. Helen turned her back around and took several pictures. Helen then showed her how to clean her makeup off and with a bare face she did it again, slower this time so Tammy could see how she did it.
“When you comeback next week, I will teach you to do this and other looks. We’ll change your makeup after we airbrush you.”
Susan pulled into the parking lot, her watch beeped and she checked the time, took out her pill pack and took four pills, before heading into the salon. She walked right by a pretty blonde who had been sitting in the reception area, before she stopped and turned around to see a smiling Tammy now standing behind her.
“Oh my gosh, Tammy is that you?”
“Do I look alright Sis?”
Barely in control of her emotions, Susan said, “Alright, Tammy you look great,” and she reached out and hugged Tammy.
Tammy was shocked by the strength of Susan’s reaction, and hugged her sister back. Susan then found Helen and gave her a big hug and tip. Susan then paid the bill for Tammy. Tammy had her purse and a bag full of makeup.
Susan and Tammy left the salon and drove out.
“Well what do you think, Tammy?”
“I like it, but it is so strange. In one way it feels so normal to look like this, but when I look in a mirror, it’s like I’m looking at an alien.”
“Are you happy looking like this?”
“Yes, I find that strange too. I don’t know why I cared how I would look, but I did want to turn out good. I just didn’t expect to look this good.”
“Yes, you could be a heart breaker looking like that. We have two more stops today, Tammy. One of them is a dear friend of mine and she knows all about you dear. Trust me she is a nice lady and she is good at what she does.”
“You weren’t supposed to tell anybody, Susan,” Tammy said sounding very worried. She was trembling a little as she looked at her sister.
“Don’t cry Tammy and please don’t worry, she won’t make fun of you or hurt you. She is a dear friend of mine and she makes medical prosthetics. You have to trust me on this one.”
“Ok Susan, but don’t surprise me with these things,” Tammy said.
It was easy to tell she was pissed about this. Susan had to be careful with what she did; at least right now.
They pulled into a medical complex; there was a pharmacy, doctor’s offices, a physical therapist office, an outpatient nursing care office and other medical establishments.
Susan led Tammy into one of the stores. It was indeed identified as a medical prosthetics store. Inside there were displays of various sorts of prosthetic items. Susan saw someone and led Tammy over to her.
“Hi Susan, it’s good to see you and who is this?”
“Carol this is my sister Tammy, Tammy this is Carol, the lady I told you about.”
“Please come into the back with me and we can talk.”
Carol was an older lady maybe early to late fifties. She still looked quite vibrant. She couldn’t be called pretty, she was a little on the heavy side and her face showed her age, but her smile radiated warmth and care.
Carol indicated for them to sit on a couch, while she sat in a lounge chair. Carol and Susan talked for several minutes catching up on this and that. Carol commented on how beautiful Tammy was and asked her how long she would be down here. Tammy answered and slowly fell into the conversation.
“Susan let me get to know Tammy a few minutes, Ok?” Carol asked
“Ok, Carol, I’ll just go out and get us some cokes.” Susan said as she left.
“Ok, Tammy I know you’re probably a little scared about being here. Know this, most of the people who come here feel the same way for different reasons. Most of my clients are women who have had breast surgery.”
“Really, that must be awkward for them,” Tammy said.
“Yes it is, Tammy, the women who have had the indignity of having their breast, or breasts removed and then they have to face me. Well I try my best to keep their spirits up and give them some form of hope and restoration. It isn’t perfect, but I am pretty good at it. I also deal with men who want to appear like women too, Tammy. They have a right to be treated with dignity and respect too.”
“You really work with men too? I didn’t know?”
“Your sister told me about you possibly wanting to look like a girl. Tammy, don’t hate her for that. She really loves you. I can help you fool almost everybody; if you want too. You could stand naked in a room full of women and without close inspection, no one would know. I do want you to know, how you feel about this is very important to me. I won’t do it if you don’t want it, dear.”
“Yesterday I would have left here screaming if you had said that to me. I’ll admit that I’ve have liked dressing as a girl for a long time, but it has been hard. I don’t know Carol, what was done to me at the salon simply amazed me; I’d never thought it was possible. I’m just scared about it.”
“I have heard many men say some of those same things Tammy. Their biggest fear is being found out or being seen as a fraud. I show them that the chances of that happening can be greatly reduced. I’ll say this though, when I first saw you Tammy, I thought Susan had been fooling me about you not being a girl. You are one of my prettiest clients. You are a natural. Nobody down here knows you as a boy. You already have a grace and presence about you some of my other clients would kill for.”
“I like you Carol, what’ll you do for me then?”
“I’ll start out by giving you breasts. They are made of a combination of materials that will look and feel as natural as your sister’s, or your mother’s. I’ll also make you an appliance that will give you a natural, feminine appearing crotch, if you want it. I’ll apply these with a cement that is not harmful to the skin and will last about two months. I also have a solvent that you can remove them with.” Carol said, as she opened an album of her appliances. “The breasts are on the first five pages; notice the different shapes, nipples and areolas or the dark areas around the nipple. Breasts are as varied as the number of women there are. You can find breasts that look like these on normal girls.”
There were all sorts of breast shapes with various nipple and areola combinations.
“I like these with the large areola and the smaller nipples; I would be embarrassed to have large nipples all the time.”
“That is smart Tammy, the large nipples some find interesting, but with real women the nipples can change with arousal, temperature and such. The large nipples here wouldn’t change; it would be harder to hide and could send mixed signals you don’t want.”
Tammy blushed because she understood exactly what the lady meant. She had seen girls whose nipples had suddenly gone firm and could be seen through their clothes.
“Here are the other appliances I was talking about. You see there is a very natural pubic mound and feminine crotch. It will hold you in place, you wouldn’t have to worry about a poorly timed erection, and you could wear this with normal swimwear to a point. If you got a tan and this wasn’t covered it would show, but with the right makeup you can appear tanned with it. The hair in the pubic mound is human hair treated to look like pubic hair. You don’t have to take it off to use the rest room, but you would have to sit and you would need to be careful with your hygiene. It’s also padded and will give you hips and a feminine derriere.”
Tammy had never seen a naked girl up close and this was fascinating to her. “Which of these is more natural?”
“All of them are as natural as possible. Women are as varied there as their breasts Tammy, but I think this one with the smaller features, would look good on you. Just like with the breasts, extremes are harder for my clients to disguise all the time. I know it’ll be embarrassing, can you strip to your panties for me dear.”
Tammy’s face did show a deep flush, but she suspected that the lady needed to take measurements. So she stood up and started to undress.
“Not here my dear, we have a changing room over in the corner there,” she said pointing. “There are robes in the room, and call me when your down to your panties.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
Tammy went to the dressing room and undressed. She didn’t know if she should do this or not; but pushed on. She started to leave the girdle on, but went ahead and took it off before she put the robe on. The robe was so soft and silky; it felt really nice.
“Carol I’m ready.”
“Ok, come on out, I am ready for you.”
Tammy came out and saw Carol standing next to a table that looked like it came out of a doctor’s office.
“Over here Tammy, stand right here, please.”
Tammy moved to the indicated spot.
“Ok for the hard part, stand up straight, hold your head up, smile and please don’t be embarrassed,” she said, “Take a breath, let it out and take your robe off.”
Tammy did this, yes she was embarrassed by having the strange lady seeing her almost naked, but hey, she was really nice about it.
Carol took a bunch of measurements, chest, waist, hips and one at the chest where she held the tape away from her at two points.
“Now stand by this wall Tammy, you’ll notice the lines going up and down, left and right. It is a scaled wall; it helps me make the appliances fit and look right. I want to take four aspect pictures; left and right, front and back. I’ll use them in a computer program to fit you. Nobody will see them but me dear; I’ll delete them after I use them.”
Tammy stood by the wall.
“Ok, stand up straight, head up, arms hanging by your side, look into the camera. That’s it,” she said as she snapped the first picture. “Turn left…, again…., again… good. Put the robe on and come over here.”
Tammy put the robe on and stood to the side of Carol. She had four windows open, one of the aspects was in each frame.
“Here is what I suggest Tammy,” she said clicking a few keys on the keyboard. The breasts she liked popped out, her hips widened, her masculine part disappeared. In the side views she saw her breasts and butt grow. Another click and there was a three D image of Tammy naked and rotating. Another click and Tammy was wearing a bikini, click then a skirt and blouse, click jeans and blouse, click and a dress. The computer then began rotating through the images.
Tammy was entranced by the various images. She had a nice chest, large but not too large, a waist and hips. She looked better than she had ever looked before.
“I love what you’ve done, please do it for me,” Tammy said, smiling brightly as she gazed at the images.
Carol smiled when she saw the look on Tammy’s face.
“I need to take several molds of your body Tammy. Please take off your panties and your robe and sit on the table.”
With a lot less embarrassment, she followed the woman’s instructions. Carol sprayed something on her chest and then stretched this plastic sort of stuff over her chest. She worked it for several seconds working out air bubbles and making sure the material was snug to the chest. She covered Tammy’s head. She felt a cooling spray across the area. Several minutes went by, the thing on her chest got a little warm, and then Carol pulled off a mold. Carol shaved Tammy’s pubic region and her butt, and then took molds there too, down to about mid thigh.
“You may put your robe on now and have a seat.”
Tammy put the robe back on and sat. Susan came in and sat next to her handing her a coke. They talked for over an hour and a half. Susan didn’t ask about what went on and Tammy appreciated that. They did catch up on what had happened at home and here. Carol finally came back in.
“Ok we are ready, would you like Susan to go or stay Tammy, it’s up to you.”
Tammy looked at her sister. She had a look that said it didn’t matter to her on her face. “She can stay; she might have to help me with them someday.”
“Up on the table. Robe off Tammy,” she said as she left and came back pushing a trolley in.
Carol took a soft cloth and sprayed it with alcohol and wiped Tammy’s chest clean. When the skin was dried she made several marks and spread something on Tammy’s chest and on the forms that were on the trolley.
“Last chance to stop Tammy, although you’ll be able to remove them later with the solvent.”
“Go ahead Carol.” Tammy said.
Carol picked up one breast and carefully placed it on her chest, making sure she had it positioned right before pressing it down.
“Hold it there and don’t move it for five minutes.”
Carol then went to the other side and carefully positioned the second breast, on her chest, making sure the nipple aligned with the other nipple and pressed it down. After five minutes she had Tammy sit up. The added weight on her chest caused Tammy a little bit of a shock, as she now jiggled when she moved. Carol rechecked the positioning of the breasts vertically, horizontally and the spacing between breasts. Years of her doing this helped her do it right the first time.
“Alright, they look good, very good in fact. They’re set in place, but the cement’s full strength won’t be achieved for a couple of hours yet,” Carol said.
“Now slip this on like a panty, but stop when you get to the hip.”
Tammy saw and felt that this was a substantial appliance as Carol had called it. She was very careful with it and got it up to her hip. Carol then went about making sure everything went where it was suppose to and began working it up a little at a time. Tammy was a little uncomfortable being handled like that but she just stood there. She felt the appliance snug up and Carol made some final adjustments before having Tammy turn around.
Tammy heard her sister’s breath catch as she turned. Carol then led her to a full-length mirror. Her breath caught as well, when she looked at the girl that was being reflected back. She did some very feminine poses as she looked at her body. Tammy’s eyes began to shed tears as she looked at herself. This was her she thought, this was what her body should’ve been all the time. Tammy saw how her skin tones matched everywhere and how it looked all so real to her. She was crying, but at the same time she was as happy as she could ever remember being.
“Are you ok Tammy,” Susan asked putting her arm on Tammy’s shoulder and handing her a tissue. She was afraid that she had been wrong about Tommy.
“This is what I should’ve been all along Susan. I never knew it, but that is me. Tammy is me.”
“I know Tammy, I thought I knew it a long time ago, but it’s only now I could do anything about it.”
They held each other for several minutes. Carol excused herself to let them share the time together. She came back after a few minutes and said, “Ok Tammy, up on the table, I need to finish everything.”
Carol pulled out a pair of stirrups on the table and positioned Tammy in them. She checked the crotch carefully and made sure it was lined up properly before she started gluing the edges down. She then had Tammy stand so she could glue the back and top down. All glued down Carol took a semi-permanent makeup and started blending all the edges. When she finished, it was all but impossible to tell where the skin ended and the appliance began.
“The appliances are a little cool to the touch now, but in a couple of hours your body will heat them up to your skin temperature, Tammy. Now let me re-measure you. You’ll need to know your sizes dear, that is something every girl knows about herself when they go shopping, so pay attention.”
Carol started at the chest just below the breasts and then at the fullest part of the breasts. “You’re a 34 C or 36 B depending on the bra and such.” She measured the waist at 30 and the hips at 36. “You really need to trim your waist down a few inches, but you have nice hips now. Go with a size five or six in a hipster or bikini Tammy. When your waist gets smaller you can wear a brief if you want. In pants start with a six and work up or down depending on the cut. In dresses and tops a small or medium, a six or an eight depending on fit. You need to try your clothes on before buying them, you are a little larger than average in the waist. Some clothes that will fit your bust and hips won’t fit your waist. Now tell me what I said.”
Tammy recited what she remembered and she did it correctly. Susan had written it down.
“Well, nothing but the blouse you wore here should fit now, Tammy. Guess you’ll have to go home semi nude,” Susan said giggling as she looked at her sister.
Tammy had a frightened look on her face; as she thought about what Susan had said.
“Oh gee, that’s right; let me go get the bag I brought. It’s out in the car dear. Carol and I had already talked about that possibility and I was prepared.”
Susan left the room and a few seconds later she entered carrying a bag. Inside the bag were panties, bra, camisole, blouse and jeans. She pulled the panties on first; they were hipsters and fit well. It was a new experience putting on a bra with something that actually fills the bra’s cups. Tammy had to call in her sister; the bra’s shoulder straps were just way too tight. Susan helped adjust the straps so they fit well. Susan then helped her with the camisole, the blouse was a button up chiffon; Tammy found this easy enough, seeing how she had done it before. The pants were different from any Tammy had worn before, they only came up a little half way up to her waist, just five inches from her crotch. The legs were tight and the top fit her hips well. The blouse barely touched the top of the pants when she stood straight.
Susan brushed out Tammy’s hair; it fell right in place and she helped fix her makeup.
Tammy checked herself out in the mirror, turning this way and that way. She turned to face her sister.
Susan looked into Tammy’s eyes lovingly and asked, “Are you ready to meet the world.”
Tammy hugged her sister and said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Arm in arm, they left the dressing room.
“My, my, don’t you look good Tammy.”
“Yes she does Carol, very nice indeed.”
“Thank you Carol, thank you very much. Would you mind if I called you Aunt Carol.” Tammy said leaning in to hug Carol like the girls she had seen hugged.
“I wouldn’t mind that at all. In fact I think I like it.”
The three talked a few minutes more before Carol said she had other people to help. They all hugged again before Susan and Tammy left.
“She is a nice lady Susan, I really like her.”
“She is nice Tammy; she is really good at working with people, many of whom are not in the best of moods, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes I do. You said you have another stop to make before we head home Sis. Where to next? I am starving now.”
“Well, I want to take you to a corset shop. Everything about you is in a good proportion, except your waist. We need to reduce it about four inches overall.”
“Ok, I can see that.” Tammy groaned. She had never worn a corset but she knew the principle. She had worn tight girdles before but a corset would be new to her.
“I want to fit it to you, so you’ll have to try it on. Will that be ok?”
“That’s kewl, I guess and you’re right about the waist.”
Susan turned into the parking lot outside the lingerie shop. They went inside and picked out some more bras, panties and other things all girls need. Finally Susan found four corsets she wanted Tammy to try. Susan went into the dressing room with her sister and together they went through the things they had. Some bras they accepted, others they rejected. Tammy tried on all the lingerie except the panties. She had a big pile of things they were buying. Then it was time for the corsets. Three fit pretty good unlaced and one they rejected as too short. The last corset had cups that lifted her breasts up.
“Lace me in one Sis, no time like the present to get started.”
Susan did just that, after taking the tags off. She made three passes tightening the corset. Tammy thought she would be cut in half, but Susan only took about two inches off her waist.
“It’s a little loose; Tammy, but we’ll tighten it more later. Remember we only take off a little at a time.” Susan said, while Tammy groaned at hearing that it was ‘a little loose.’
Susan had to help get Tammy dressed. She couldn’t bend at the waist.
“As you get use to the corset you’ll adapt to getting dressed with it on. But I’ll help you till you do.”
Tammy looked at it in the mirror; it was a very pretty white satin corset with lots of lace and fancy stitching. She could imagine a woman wearing this pretty corset on her wedding day. As her pants came up they fit over the bottom of the corset, and her pants were a little tighter in the hip and butt now. Even her bust looked bigger as she had some actual skin and fat forced into the bra. The big difference she could see was her posture; she stood straighter than she ever remembered before. She even looked taller. Susan buttoned up the blouse, leaving the blouse open from just beneath her bust. She was showing off the pretty corset and a bit of her cleavage.
Susan paid the bill. The sales lady had a big smile on her face as she rang everything up and packaged it up. Tammy carried it all back to the car.
On the way home Susan stopped and picked up two regular burgers and salads, no fries though. The sun was going down when they finally got home. Susan’s watch beeped and she went to her room where she took three pills. Tammy went to her room and set her things on her bed.
In the kitchen she started on her salad first. She realized she would need to watch her weight now. Susan joined her and they ate and talked. Both finished the salad but neither of them ate the whole burger.
“Tomorrow we will go through the things in your closet and drawers Tammy. We’ll keep what fits and get rid of the rest. Then we’ll go shopping and fill out your wardrobe as we see what you need.”
“Ok will you help me get out of this corset, Susan?”
“No, for the next two weeks I want you in one twenty hours a day at least. I want you exercising and bathing without one on, but I’ll loosen it for bed, but not take it off.”
Tammy groaned again.
“It’s for your own good Sis.”
“I know, but still.”
“Yes, I know too.”
Susan helped Tammy get ready for bed. The corset was loosened about an inch and Tammy put on a pretty sleep shirt. Tammy remembered to clean her face before bed, and then she sat in front of her computer.
Tommy’s Blog
June 9, 2005 10:15 pm pdt
Wow! What a day. To say that I am in shock would be an understatement. My sister, it seems, knew of my hobby of dressing in her things and convinced me to spend the summer as a girl. Things got stranger from there.
First she took me to a beauty salon. I have been inside a few but that was just to pick someone up or such. This time though I was a customer. I couldn’t believe what all was done to me. I got a permanent, hair color, fingernails a half an inch long, legs waxed (beware this is a form of torture), a pedicure (I think they call it that), my eyebrows were ripped from my head, ears pierced, makeup and skincare junk. All this took untold hours to do.
I thought all the weirdness was through, boy was I wrong. We went to see a lady, whom my sister informed of my habits. I went in not liking her at first, but I found she was a really nice lady. She likes to help people who have had a rough time, feel better. She works with something called medical prosthetics (you know arms, legs and things for people who have lost those things). She said she works mostly with women who had lost breasts to cancer. I know of a few ladies who went through that and anything to make those people feel better about themselves is good.
I was really shocked though when she said she also helped some guys who really wanted to look like girls, to look right. Well she showed me pictures of what she made. This lady is good, the things she made, she called them appliances, (no they don’t wash dishes or cook food). Anyway before I knew it she convinced me to try them, tops and bottom (that was a big shock). She took measurements and made molds of my body. She made a set of those things for me. Well when I put them on and looked in a mirror, I no longer saw Tommy. They looked great. I have to admit the closest I have been to seeing a naked girl, was at the beach, but now I could walk butt naked into the girl’s showers at school and nobody would be wiser. BUT! That wasn’t the biggest shock. When I saw myself I knew that was the real me, or rather what I should have been.
I have never really been a crier. I have seen girls that could cry at the drop of a hat. I have got to tell you, when I saw myself I had to cry. I knew I was different from most boys, but I never knew I should have been a girl till then.
After we left that place we went to a lingerie store (A place where girls buy their girly things. I guess I can put myself in that group now.) Sis bought me all sort of things girls wear. I am wearing two of the things right now, a corset (a medieval torture device that girls who don’t have small waists wear) and a sleep shirt.
Well it is getting late and I am really tired. Tommy will definitely no longer be blogging anymore. So starting tomorrow you will have to read Tammy’s blogs from now on.
Cya
(to be continued)
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Anna and Vanessa were videographers, Vanessa was also good at editing their work, Anna seconded in lighting and did makeup. Margaret was a wiz with sound and operating the control board. That left John, he was a wordsmith. He was exceptional at watching a scene and telling a story about the scene that was both interesting and informative.
After talking things over, John looked over the six taped scenarios and selected one, while the others checked the setup. Vanessa then took the selected tape; she and John then went through the tapes several times, selecting the scenes they wanted to portray. She also did the computer work, adding captions and the credits.
John then took the tape and wrote his copy. Together they had to come up with exactly two minutes and twenty seconds of story, with accompanying video.
John practiced his story, keeping time with a stopwatch, while Vanessa created a time line for the production. They went over the edited tape several times, before coming up with a sequence they liked. He then practiced the story a dozen times. Vanessa finalized the time line and Margaret practiced cuing in the video, in the proper time sequence.
Satisfied with his copy and timing, Anna then came in and did his makeup. He didn’t particularly like the idea of wearing makeup, but Mr. Dawson ably demonstrated the effects of studio lighting on broadcasters with, and without makeup. The bright lights tended to wash out skin tones and make the people appear sickly and pale without it.
Anna had come to the journalism class from the theatrics dept. She learned to stage makeup. The teacher in those classes insisted that everybody learn how to do their own makeup, much to the chagrin of many of the male actors. Anna was already one of the best girls in high school at applying her normal makeup; after all, her Mom ran a string of beauty salons. Stage makeup just came easy to her, as normal daytime, evening, or glamour makeup styles. She was also very good at working with hair.
Anna had John take off his oversized sweatshirt. She wondered why he wore such horrid things. She then combed, styled and sprayed, John’s shoulder length hair, into an acceptable, masculine style. She then set about applying makeup. She used a heavy foundation and added some warm tones; she then touched up his lips with a mauve sateen lipstick, to give them some color as well. Anna then took a red power tie, off a rack (the rack included several green ties, which could have been embarrassing when working with green screens. They were included there just for that reason.) She then tied a perfect half-Windsor knot. She straightened his collar and the tie.
Mr. Dawson kept a rack of coats, ties, shirts and blouses, along with a multitude of accessories. He expected his students to look as professional as possible, when they did their projects. John took a sports coat off the rack. It had been hard finding one that fit. He had actually chosen a lady’s blazer, that didn’t taper too much. It was just a little loose in the chest, but it draped ok and was a tad tight in the waist, but the padded shoulders made him look good. He then took a seat at the news desk for sound and lighting checks. When everyone was satisfied, Vanessa took over.
“Ok, listen up everyone,” Vanessa said, as she ran down the time line, noting where the camera changes, video feeds, and screen impositions went.
They went through the story a few times, on a dry run, checking their monitors as they went. At the end of each run, they checked their work on playback. When they got the results they wanted, they called their teacher in. This story was to simulate a live program.
Able Dawson, the journalism teacher, sat in the makeshift control room with Margaret. He put on a headset and told the crew to begin in ten seconds. Margaret pulled up the first still, and Vanessa counted John down, and a ‘live’ feed light came on.
(PIP to John’s right, still of Parker County Courthouse)
John: “Today there were fireworks in the Parker County Courthouse, as the Jury, In the Norman Bates Trial, took only an hour and a half to return a verdict,”
(John turned to Anna, still shot cut)
“Once all the participants were assembled, the jury was brought in and the verdict was read.”
1st video feed:
(Inside the court room, the camera on the Judge)
The Judge turns to the jury and inquires: “Has the jury reached a verdict?”
Jury: “Yes your honor, we have.”
Judge: “Will the foreman please read the verdict?”
Jury: “We, the Jury, in the above titled action, find the defendant, Norman Bates, Not guilty, by reason of insanity or mental defect.”
(A commotion could be heard in the courtroom, after the people hear the verdict)
(Studio camera on John, PIP, video to John’s left, showing action in courtroom.)
John: “Those words, ‘Not Guilty,’ struck an emotional cord with the crowd that had gathered for this sensational trial. Family members began sobbing, they cried out and shouted at the jury.”
(John turned Back to Vanessa and the PIP cut.)
John: “The judge then handled the dispensation of Norman Bates.”
2nd video feed:
(Inside courtroom, camera on Judge.)
Judge: “Norman Bates, the jury having returned a verdict of not guilty, by reason of insanity or mental defect, I hereby remand you to the custody of Bellevue State Mental Hospital, until such time as they determine that you no longer pose a threat to society.”
(Studio camera on John, PIP still of Norman Bates, being led away in cuffs.)
John: “With the judgment read, Norman Bates was then escorted outside the courtroom and transported directly to Bellevue State Hospital. Norman Bates, if you will remember, ran the Bates Motel, and was on trial for multiple homicides, committed in June of 1960. I am John Daniels and that is the way it happened.”
Able Looked at the clock and saw it took a total of two minutes twenty-two seconds. He stood up and applauded the kids, who ran to each other and hugged.
“Very well done kids, I really enjoyed that piece. You ran over by two seconds, but that is no big deal. Vanessa, excellent direction and good Camera angles. Anna, you did superb on your camera and makeup. Let’s see how the video came out,” Able said.
They gathered by the monitor and watched their production through twice, before making any comments.
“Margaret, good work on the audio and the keying in of the video. Your audio might have been a little hot on the second video feed, but it added a dramatic touch.”
“John, you had good cadence and the copy you wrote, was excellent. I want to thank you kids for your work with an A-. You are dismissed. John, will you stay here for just a minute?”
“Yes sir.”
The kids patted each other on the backs and gave each other hugs. John then waved to his partners and walked over to where Mr. Dawson sat.
“John, you really have a talent for story telling, I just wanted to congratulate you. Unfortunately, your voice would have sounded better, if it came out of Anna, or Vanessa. You present an incongruity to the audience. Such a feminine voice, coming from an androgynous appearance, can be disturbing. I really hope puberty is kind to you and comes soon. You made a good effort to look sharp, and you were well rehearsed. You could be great, as a news anchor.”
“I hope so too, Mr. Dawson,” John said smiling broadly.
“Go on home John and I will see you tomorrow, in class.”
John collected the DVD of their production. They had to present it to their class tomorrow. He then turned away and left. The big smiled faded, to be replaced by a pained expression. He wanted to cry, but he had to be strong, he reasoned. He opened the door to leave and found his three friends waiting.
“Why so grim, poncho?” Vanessa said when she saw him.
“Oh it’s nothing,” John said trying to brush off his hurt expression.
“We aren’t going to fall for that line buster,” Margaret said. “Now spill it! We are your friends, we are JD’s productions.”
Tears started flowing from John’s eyes, and the girl’s surrounded him in a hug.
“Not here please, just not here.”
“Ok, Margaret get your SUV, we will meet you out front in a few minutes. We’ll just give John a minute to collect himself and be right there,” Vanessa said.
Margaret took off, and Anna took a makeup wipe and started cleaning John’s face and drying his tears. It was then she noticed he still had on the Lady’s Blazer and noticed how well it fit him. She started to giggle, but managed to hold it in.
Out front, they found Margaret waiting and piled into her 2004 Mercedes M class SUV. It had been her Mom’s and when she had moved on to a GL class, she had passed it on to her daughter. She started rolling, after they were all seated and belted.
“Where too?” Anna asked.
“My place, the rents won’t be home till after seven,” Margaret volunteered.
“Sounds good girl, let’s go,” Vanessa added.
“Going already, where you been Vanessa?” Margaret said giggling.
They girls kept up their light hearted banter all the way to Margaret’s home. John seemed to brighten up; he was always that way. Whenever he was down the girls invariably sent his doldrums away. He did the same for them too.
The girls liked him, he never posed a threat, or made them uncomfortable with sexual tension. Together they helped each other get better grades. They were, ‘The Four Musketeers’ at their high school. All for one and one for all, the whole bit.
They actually made life much easier for John; their ties to the popular girls at school could make any boys life, who may have had any aspirations of dating said popular girls, miserable. It also helped that most of the yearbook staff, came from the journalism department. The four of them, just happened to be on the yearbook staff. If you wanted a positive spin in the yearbook, angering the journalism department is not the way to go.
At Margaret’s home they all piled out of the van and into her kitchen. Margaret served her guests soft drinks and chocolate chip cookies and they all sat around the kitchen table and looked at John.
“Ok, what gives John?” Margaret asked.
John looked like a rat trapped, in a room full of big toothed, hungry cats. That he was nervous was apparent to the girls there. “I don’t know, it’s just what Mr. Dawson said to me.” John then gave a faithful recount of what transpired.
“Well John that sounded like praise to us. Your voice will change, you will get taller and bulk out; so that won’t be a problem,” Anna said.
“Well, that’s just it; that is the problem.” John said hesitantly.
“What is the problem?” Anna asked.
“I am never going to go through puberty, my voice is never going to get deeper, I am as tall as I will ever be and I am never going to bulk out,” he said beginning to cry.
The girls were startled by John’s declaration and looked like they had been slapped. Finally, Vanessa asked, “What do you mean John, tell us.”
“You remember last year when I was hospitalized.”
“Yes, you were in the hospital for ten days. You went into anaphylaxis, after you received some kind of shot. You nearly died if I remember correctly,” Vanessa stated.
“Yes, you’re right; Vanessa, but you don’t know the whole story. The reason I went to the doctor was, Mom was concerned that I had not started puberty yet. I was finally sent to an Endocrinologist over it. She ran all sorts of tests, blood work and a bunch of other things. Everything came out semi-normal for a pre-pubescent boy. It just seemed that my body just didn’t want to start developing yet. Well the good doctor decided to give me a shot of androgens, those are male hormones, to kind of jump start my puberty.
Anyway after getting the shot, I had just gotten dressed and I left the exam room, when my stomach started cramping, every square inch of my skin was itching like crazy and I had trouble breathing. I was told that the nurse who saw me screamed bloody murder for the doctor. They even had the allergist come in from next door. I had an extremely rare reaction to the androgen and went into anaphylactic shock.
I woke up in my hospital room in intensive care. It seemed that I had turned the corner and was told that no real harm had been done. About ten hours after I had been admitted, I had a second more serious bout of anaphylaxis. I actually went into cardiac arrest.
Afterwards my body started producing antibodies that attacked my own testosterone production. They tell me now that my testicles are dormant and will never develop. They can’t give me androgens, so I am stuck halfway. I will never be a man,” he said bawling like a baby.
The girls were dumbstruck for several minutes. They really didn’t know what to say to John, to make him feel better.
It was Margaret that finally broke the silence. “Are you allergic to estrogens?”
John stopped crying for a few seconds and wiped his face with his sleeves. “The allergist actually checked to see if I would react adversely to estrogens. They concluded that my body might not reject a regime of estrogen. The Endocrinologist told me that it was either remain androgynous for the rest of my life or go feminine,” John said chuckling to himself.
“I got an idea, John,” Margaret said. She dashed out of the kitchen to her Mom’s sewing room. She came back in half a minute with a measuring tape in her hand. Vanessa and Anna seemed to catch on, but John didn’t have a clue. “Stand up John and take off your coat, tie and shirt.”
John was embarrassed but the girls could be an unstoppable force, when they wanted to be. John’s un-buttoned his shirt, then peeled off a very tight t-shirt and the girls were a little startled as they looked at his chest. Since he now had a deficit of androgens, what little estrogen males normally produce was slowly starting to feminize his body. His nipples and areolas were larger and slightly darker than when they had last seen his chest, larger and darker than guys get period. They could see he had the beginnings of real breasts forming, bigger than an AA but not quite a full A cup. Fortunately they were sensitive enough to not point this out to John. He had the genitals of a six year old, although the girls didn’t know this. He didn’t have very much hair anywhere besides his head, brows and his eye lashes to die for. He stood a hair over five feet-four inches, his shoulders were weak and sloping. The girls looked closely at John’s pants; they were bunched at the waist by his over tightened belt, tight at the hips and loose in the crotch. They were amazed that they hadn’t noticed that before, but when changes occur slowly enough, they often go unnoticed. They now understood why John always wore loose fitting shirts, with pullovers he never tucked them in.
Anyway, Margaret measured John in a lot of different ways. Vanessa even took off one of John’s shoes and read off the size. She saw he wore a man’s size six C, but she was dissatisfied with that size, as she had seen how ill-fitting his shoes were. She had John stand on a piece of paper barefoot and drew around his foot with a pen.
John was just too sheepish to ask what was going on. This went on for several minutes and the girls discussed things between themselves outside of John’s hearing. John finally asked, “What is going on girls? What are you talking about?”
“John, just be at Anna’s house, on Saturday at nine. Be there, or we will come drag your ratty ass there.” Vanessa said standing nose to nose with John, smiling so that John knew he wasn’t standing too deeply, in the brown smelly stuff.
*************************
The next day was Friday and it was JD’s Productions turn, to show their production. It went well, for the most part, a few of the Neanderthal sports types made noises and cracked a few jokes about John’s voice. One commented that John sounded a little like a pansy, and that he looked just darling on the screen, a little too loudly.
Mr. Dawson got in front of the class and asked, “Mr. Barstow, would you care to remind the class about the grade you received for your project?”
Clyde Barstow was a sport fanatic and hoped to get into the sports journalism field. He was himself a Jock wannabe, but he could never cut the mustard, but he was good with stats. He knew the stats of all the schools first-string players in all their major sports.
“Ahhhh… No sir.”
“Well, I will remind them for you. I gave you a C- minus. If I remember correctly you read enough dialogue to span a ten minute sports show in about two minutes, leaving you with twenty seconds of dead air time. John’s project was well timed, he had good use of video footage, it was informative and he had a good cadence. If you want to make it in the journalism business Clyde, I wouldn’t start by casting stones at other people you might meet on your way up, or down as it could turn out.”
Mr. Dawson’s comments brought Clyde a few laughs and jeers from the students. Clyde didn’t like being the butt of the joke, but he felt powerless to do anything about it at the moment.
Able then got his students commenting on the production. What was right with it and what was wrong with it. They talked about the content and the editing of the video. The students had some really good comments on the production, and had a few suggestions on how it could be improved. John and the girls took notes on what was said.
One of the course requirements was that all the students had to keep a journal about all the classes’ productions and their comments. It helped them to plan their current and future projects. They could refer back to what worked and what didn’t. It also helped Mr. Dawson see who was paying attention to the details of each production. They had to record what each project was, who worked on it, their impressions of the project, what worked, what didn’t and what the comments were about it. The journal amounted to one fourth of their final grades. More than one student would receive a slightly lower final grade for biased comments towards other group’s projects. They just didn’t get it.
After Class, JD’s productions met up outside and congratulated each other on their work. Quite a few students came by and offered their congratulations too, while a few couldn’t help making snide comments in passing.
The girls all hugged John and said they had to go, so John went on home.
John’s mother, Angela Daniels, was already home and was fixing dinner. John went over to her, gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek saying, “Hi Mom.”
“Well hello John, how was school today?”
“It was great, we turned in our production today and it was pretty well received.”
“That’s good dear, so what are you going to do tomorrow?”
“The girls want me to come over to Anna’s house tomorrow; we have two more productions to do this semester. I guess they want to go over out next project.”
“That’s good son, I am glad you four get along so well.”
“Yeah, they are great. We have been friends like forever. At least since we all started grade school together.”
“Ok dear, try to finish your homework before dinner.”
“Ok Mom,” John said as he headed off to his room.
*************************
John knocked on the door to Anna’s home; he only had to wait about ten seconds before the door was answered by Margaret.
“Come on in John, we are all waiting for you… We were just talking in the Living room.”
John followed Margaret into the living room. She motioned for him to sit in the high-back chair and she sat with the other girls directly across from him. The girl’s were all dressed in jeans, T’s and sneakers.
For several minutes they just sat there looking at him and he just sat there nervously looking at them. Finally Vanessa stood up. She walked over and stood in front of him.
“John how long have you known us?”
“At lest seven or eight years. I guess.”
“Right, have we ever hurt you, made fun of you, or have we set out to intentionally embarrass you?”
“No, you haven’t, you guys are my best friends.”
“Right and you are ours. We love you as a friend. We spent a little time talking about our friend and what we could do to help that friend. Now the question is, how much do you trust us?”
“I trust you guys with my life.”
A wave of relief washed over Vanessa, she smiled and turned to the other girls.
“We want you to try something, John,” Margaret said to him. “We got together and we think we may have found a solution to your problem.”
“We want you to trust us not to hurt you enough to do as we ask you?” Anna added.
“Friends don’t hurt friends John, and we are not out to hurt you,” Vanessa said. “What do you say?”
John was confused but he did love these girls. All three stood side by side, one foot in front of him, arms crossed under their breasts, smiling innocently at him.
John mumbled, “Ok, I guess.”
John then found himself being dragged from the room by three giddy girls. They took him to Anna’s bedroom.
“John, we got together and got some things we want you to try on. Now don’t say no till you try it.” Anna said as she pulled off a sheet that covered her bed.
John’s jaw bounced off the floor at least two times, as he saw what was on the bed. It was covered in all sorts of feminine finery and clothes. John’s mouth formed the word “No” but nothing came out.
“We want you to go into my bathroom and put these on.” Anna said handing him a pair of lacy white satin boycut panties and a padded lycra brief, “and then come out.”
John was stuttering as the girls hustled him into the bathroom. Anna’s bathroom was a private bath and only had one door, or John might have bolted. He stood there looking at what he had in his hands, for several minutes.
“This ain’t going to work out, girls,” John said, loud enough for the girls to hear on the other side of the door.
“John just do what we ask you too, just this once, please?” Vanessa’s voice said.
“It ain’t going to work,” John said taking off his clothes. He could hear giggling on the other side of the door, after that declaration.
John almost always did what the girls asked him to do. That was why John wound up in their journalism class. They liked the way he told stories. The four of them had once been into RPG’s and John had been their DM. The girls continued to play with him, even after they started to lose interest in the game, because of his ability to tell stories. John had wanted to go to a different high school but the girls talked him out of it. They didn’t want their little group to be busted up.
But for all of that, John really liked Journalism. He began to thrive under the girl’s tutelage, and became more outgoing. It is hard to be an introvert as a reporter. John saw that they had made his life better. So when they asked him to do something he generally complied.
John came out of the bathroom wearing the panties and the brief. He finally realized what they were doing, and he kept muttering, “This ain’t gonna work, this ain’t gonna work,” to them or to himself. He just didn’t know.
When the girls turned and looked at him, he was beet red with embarrassment. They had a look of amazement on their faces. They tried not to stare at him, but he looked like a very tall ten or eleven year old girl, even down to his crotch, there was nothing that shouted sixteen year old boy about him.
They then did a survey of the boy. Anna shaved a couple of hairs in his armpits. Margaret couldn’t find a stray hair on his chest, and the hairs on his arms were finer and more transparent than her own. Vanessa had checked his legs and found just a few hairs on them and lopped them off. As they checked his face, they found it as smooth as their own faces.
John grimaced as they worked on him, but kept it to himself. He wasn’t angry at them. He just wondered how their minds worked.
When they finished their inspection, Anna picked up two boxes from the bed.
“What’s in the boxes?” he asked.
“These, my man are gel bras,” she said opening the boxes for him to see. “I can wear these at times when I couldn’t wear a regular bra. They are made of silicone and have these double-sided adhesive pads on them. I can stick them on me when I wear halter-tops, or backless dresses and my nipples won’t stick out. Also they have a hook on them and after I stick them on I can hook them up. That helps control the sway of my breasts when I am braless, enhances my cleavage and increases my bra size, a cup to a cup and half. I want to stick both pair on you.” She handed one of the larger gel bra cups to John to feel.
“These are cold how can you stand to have them attached to your chest?”
“They warm up after about twenty minutes, you won’t notice them, honest injun.”
“Ok, I suppose,” John said in resignation.
Anna took one of the smaller gel cups and removed the slick paper on it. She carefully positioned it on John’s chest, and then she pressed it on for about ten seconds before releasing it.
“They are also easy to remove so don’t worry about that. They just peel off,” she said as she did the other side. “We could have just stuffed them in a bra, but then they could around shift and that wouldn’t be cool.”
“Why two pair, why not just use the larger set?”
“Set one on the palm of your hand pointy side down. See the larger pair are very concave, like a regular bra cup. If I stuck them on without anything behind them they would flatten out and look strange. I wore the smaller pair a couple of years ago when I was just starting to develop. They are less concaved. They will support the larger pair though, I hope.”
“Ok, I can see that.”
Anna then stuck on the larger cups.
“Are you going to hook them together, like you were saying?”
“No, I got something else in mind.”
“What?”
“This,” she said holding up another garment.
John had seen very little lingerie in his lifetime and didn’t know what it was, but he had a very bad feeling about it. “What is that?”
Anna held up a very lacy, white satin corset. This particular corset had built in cups and was heavily boned. “This my man, is a corset. I had to wear it to my sisters wedding. The bride’s party all wore ante-bellum gowns. Like Gone with the Wind type gowns.”
John blanched when he heard the word corset. He had heard some girls complaining about having to wear them, in the theatrical department, for a play.
“No, no, no, this ain’t gonna work,” he said with a trace of panic in his voice.
“Yes,” Anna said, “We want to get you into one of my skirts. I have a twenty-five inch waist, and my skirt will fit a twenty-six inch waist. Your waist is twenty-seven inches. We just need to take in two inches.”
“No, no, nooooooo,” John said. His volume dropped significantly as the girls tightened the corset down.
John’s faux breasts looked like they might pop out of the top of the corset. He also noticed his own skin was bulging up, just above the silicone.
“You baby. I just need to tighten it a little, that is all. There.” Anna took a measuring tape and measured his waist, after tying the corset off. She had been a little energetic as the tape showed twenty-four and a quarter inch waist. When I wore this corset I had to wear it at twenty-two inches. It’s just at twenty-five on you,” she fibbed.
“I can’t breathe,” he complained.
“Just relax your overreacting.”
After a few minutes John began to feel better.
“Okay put this robe on,” Margaret said handing him a short silk kimono type robe. It was a very pretty red, with flowers and humming birds printed on the fabric. “And these mules,” she said putting them on the floor so he could step in them.
John did what he was asked to do. He tied the belt to the robe after putting it on and stepped into the mules. The mules had all sort of feathery things sticking up on the strap over the instep and a little over an inch lift in the heel.
“Mom has a salon in the back she uses for special clients, when she doesn’t want to go into the shop. So follow me.”
The girls led John into the back. They had all been there at one time or another as Anna or her Mom had worked on their hair. There was a salon chair, a shampoo sink, a salon hair dryer and everything they needed to work on hair, face, nails and makeup.
“I am going to add extensions to your hair, John. It will take about an hour to get them in, but they can be removed in about ten to fifteen minutes. Vanessa and Margaret are going to work on your nails. They will give you a manicure, a pedicure and then put some ‘stick on’ fingernails on you. They also come off easily. So don’t worry. You will look like yourself when you go home.”
Anna started by putting a mask on John’s face and cucumber slices on his eyes. While Margaret put his feet a warm tub and set it to massage his feet. Vanessa put his fingertips in a bowl to soak. Anna checked his hair and found that it was cleaned and well conditioned. So she leaned him back a bit, combed his hair into sections and started working a set of twelve-inch extensions into his hair.
The extensions were all natural hair. They were dyed to match Anna’s hair and add highlights. John’s hair was just a little darker brown, and didn’t have Anna’s natural touch of red. So the extensions added fullness, a touch of color and some highlights to his head. Anna worked them in like her mother had taught her. She wasn’t as good as her Mom, but she was pretty good at it. Her mom wanted her to follow her in the business, but she liked working with John and the girls in journalism.
Vanessa took one hand out of the bowl and began pushing the cuticles back a bit. She had a bit of work to do. John, like many boys, just didn’t waste time on his hands, so his nails were not in the best of shape. She was careful not to hurt him, as she trimmed the cuticles and then went on to file his nails. She buffed the ridges off his nails and then filed the nails in a blunt masculine shape. She then applied acrylic nails using the included tape strips, so they could be easily removed.
Margaret took one foot at a time, she dried, hand massaged the feet, filed and painted the nails. She then checked the feet for rough spots and took care of them with a pumice stone. She finished up by rubbing a soothing peppermint oil into his feet.
The girls could hear John purr as they worked. They were glad he found it as pleasant an experience as they did. He was asleep in the chair when Anna finished. She woke him gently, then removed the cucumber slices and peeled off the mask.
She then carefully brushed and styled his hair a little, spraying it down with lacquer to finish the job. Vanessa had brought in the rest of the clothes and the girls helped him get dressed. Margaret helped him put on a pair of pantyhose. Vanessa then took off the robe and Anna helped him into a royal blue silk blouse and a black chiffon skirt that came to an inch or two above mid thigh. They put some black pumps on his feet that had two-inch block style heels.
Margaret put three silver necklaces on him, fourteen, eighteen and twenty two inches. Vanessa put several bangles on his right arm and a lady’s watch with lots of CZ’s (Cubic Zirconium’s) on his left. Anna added some magnetic CZ earrings. Those earrings had powerful rare earth magnets on the earring and the part that went on the backside of the ear, but appeared like pierced earrings.
Anna draped a makeup cape over him and applied his makeup. She was using the professional kit her Mom used and expertly matched foundation, blush, applied eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, lip liner and lipstick. She had pulled out all the stops and had gone for a glamour style. She really wanted to WOW him. He looked incredible when she finished.
All this time the girls had not let John see what he looked like. They were even surprised a little by how good he looked as they worked on him. They were not prepared though for how well everything came together. John wasn’t just good looking, they would be hard pressed to look as nice and they were a little jealous of him. Together they smiled.
Finished, the girls walked him over to the full-length mirror. John’s mouth went wide in exclamation as he looked at himself. He had a hard time putting what he felt into words, because he didn’t know how he felt about it. The girls’ smiles faded just a little at his silence. At least till John started to smile, and turning this way and that to look at himself. Then he frowned a bit and a dark mood took over his face. He turned and walked over to a chair and sat down. He found the shoes a little awkward but not overly.
“Stand up John,” Vanessa said to him “Smooth your skirt under you when you sit.”
“What.”
“Stand up and smooth the skirt under you when you sit, like this,” she said demonstrating. “You don’t want to wrinkle your skirt, or show your under things to the people around you and your skirt will be more comfortable.”
That command seemed to break his funk a little and he stood and smoothed the skirt under him as he sat.
“How do you feel, John,” Anna said, “Did we go too far with you, or are you ok?”
John was again a little startled, “Oh, I am sorry. I was just a little confused, that’s all. I don’t really know how I feel about it, but I am ok.”
“John we did a little research after Thursday, we know how much you like journalism. We think you have a flair for it and we have to agree with Mr. Dawson. If you are not going to bulk out and your voice isn’t going to get deeper, you’d never make it in the field. But since you aren’t fighting the effects of testosterone, this might be a way for you to do what you like. You said that your body might accept female hormones. Those would make you like you are now. We just wanted you to see what could be. We all think you could make it as a girl,” Vanessa said.
“But, I am not a girl.”
“Accident of birth,” Margaret said, “You can choose to be a girl though. We love you John, whatever you do, your one of us forever, so get use to it.”
“Yeah. All for one and one for all,” Anna said.
John started to cry and stood to give the girls a hug. It didn’t take him long to ruing the makeup job that Anna had so carefully applied. The girls all had a good cry and group hug.
When John began to calm down, he wiped his tears and kissed all the girls on the cheek.
“Vanessa, you and Margaret go and make us a pot of tea. I want to redo John’s makeup now.”
Anna gave him a tissue so he could dry his eyes and blow his nose and had him sit back down in the salon chair. She cleaned off all the makeup and redid his face. She worked quickly, since she knew what worked on his face.
When she finished, she led John into the kitchen where Vanessa and Margaret were just ready to pour the tea. They poured a cup for everyone and sat down to drink. John sat properly and took his cup. He spilled a little as one of his fingernails ran into his cup broadside, but it wasn’t too bad.
The girls then began discussing their next project. John jumped right into the discussion and forgot how he was dressed. They had to do a field piece and had a dozen options. Where the studio piece they had done, was a fictional court scene that had been put on by the theatrical department, the field piece was to be an actual event. They chose a Children’s fair that was being held just before Easter break, in three weeks.
John was talking and stopped to take a sip of tea. He was then mesmerized for several seconds, when he saw his own lip print on the teacup. He had felt so natural talking to the girls. The girls all had their eyes on him. After a second he continued with his train of thought. The girls all breathed a silent sigh of relief.
They were so consumed in their discussion they failed to hear the front door open and close. Anna’s Mom, Reggie had come home early and hearing the kids talking in the kitchen, she headed that way. She turned the corner and saw four girls talking.
“I heard John, where did he go, and who is your friend Anna?”
There was nothing but silence for several seconds.
“Mom, what are you doing home, so early?” Anna said, the color drained from her face.
“Things got slow in the shop, so I asked Betty to close. Since my daughter is so rude,” she said in mocking severity, “I guess I will introduce myself to your friend. Hi, I am Reggie, Anna’s Mom.” She extended her hand to the new girl, as girls do.
“Hi, Ms. Givens, it… is… ah… me… ah John,” he said, taking her hand in a like manner.
She didn’t have to be told who it was when he began to talk. Reggie just stared, her mouth hanging open, looking at John.
“Anna, make another pot of tea and have a seat. We need to have a good talk,” Reggie said. She pulled John up and turned him like a dancer turns their partner. She looked at him high and low.
“It is nice to meet you again John, please have a seat. You look very lovely by the way.”
“Thank you Ma’am, Anna is very talented.”
“Yes she is, isn’t she?”
When Anna brought the fresh pot to the table and poured for everybody. She sat and looked at her Mom.
“Now, who wants to tell me what is going on?”
“I will Ms. Givens,” Vanessa said.
“Drop the Ms. and call me Reggie girls, except of course for you Anna.”
Vanessa looked at John, with a question in her eyes. He nodded at her, and she began. She told Reggie the whole story, from the start. John started crying again and Reggie held his hand and comforted him, as she listened. Vanessa filled in all the details of why and how they had done the make over.
When the story was finished, Reggie turned to John. “And you’re ok with all this? They didn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to do, did they?”
“Well, except for this damn… Oops sorry, corset. I guess I am ok. It has been interesting to say the least.”
“That’s ok John, I feel the same way about them. How do you feel about all this?”
“I don’t know. I love the feel of the clothes and the way I look is incredible, but how should I feel? I am confused, but I feel good right now. What can I say?”
“Well I can’t keep seeing this beautiful girl and calling her John. Do you have a feminine name I can call you?”
John thought for a second and said, “Maybe… Janice, I guess. How is that?”
“I think Janice is a lovely name. Vanessa and Margaret call your homes and ask them if you can spend the night. Then the three of you start chopping vegetables to make a stew with that chuck roast.”
“I am going to fix Janice’s face and then get cleaned up before dinner. Janice, go on back to the salon. I will be with you in a minute.”
The girls just sat there starring at Reggie, like she had a third eye.
Reggie put her hands on her hips and said, “Jump to it girls, get cracking.”
Everybody jumped up and got to doing what they had been told to do. Reggie had to giggle; she still had it with these kids. They were a pretty good bunch too. Reggie went to the bathroom and used her cell phone and made a call.
Reggie found Janice sitting in the salon chair, with her knees pressed together like any other girl. She wheeled her makeup kit over where it was comfortable to her and sat on her stool. She first cleaned off the makeup.
“Janice, the girls didn’t force you to do this, did they.”
“A little maybe…but no, they really didn’t force me to do this. They convinced me to try it.”
“How do you really feel about it? Be honest with me.”
“Honestly, I am confused. I like it, but I think I shouldn’t. It is crazy, but… I think I could get to like it. I just don’t know.”
“That is being honest and I feel it is a good answer. Do you think it could be an answer to your problem?”
“I guess, I don’t know if it would work or not, it probably won’t, I don’t know.”
Reggie giggled. “I am sorry Janice, yes you have quite a conundrum, don’t you,” she giggled.
“You ain’t kidding, ma’am.”
Reggie finished the makeup job and then checked her daughters work. She had done a fair job on pinning the extensions in Janice’s hair. She would have given her a B+ or maybe an A-. The makeup was definitely an A job, along with their choices of clothes. There was no denying, Janice looked great.
She worked with more than a few transgendered patrons at her shop; none looked as good as this girl. But there is one she knew she was going to have to call and talk to.
“Janice, one other thing before we go and join the girls. Don’t ever do what they want, if it makes you feel bad. You can do it to humor them, just don’t do this if you hate what they are doing. Promise me that.”
“Honest Ma’am, they didn’t force me to do it, I don’t hate this, and yes if I did hate it, I wouldn’t do it, just to humor them.”
“Ok, dear. I worry about you and I know your mother does too. I was afraid the girls manipulated you into this, like the other things they get you in.”
“I know… it’s just that the girls have only done what is good for me all these years. I trust them, even in this.”
Reggie hugged Janice and smiled at her. “Let’s go see what the girls are up too.”
Vanessa and Margaret were busy chopping potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and such. Anna had a pot of water boiling and was brazing the now diced chuck roast in olive oil, chopped onions and crushed garlic.
They looked up and smiled when they saw Janice and Reggie reappear, after being gone for so long. They had started to worry, but were too afraid to butt in.
“Do you want to help us chop, Janice?” Margaret asked.
John had never helped in the kitchen; he could fix a few things he liked for breakfast and sandwiches. His Mom just never asked. “Sure, just tell me what to do.”
“Well, what ever you two do, don’t let her chop onions or garlic. She has already had her makeup redone twice today,” Anna said giggling. “Are you sure you’re not a girl in real life? You cry like one.”
“Nope, afraid not.”
Margaret got Janice into an apron and had her start chopping celery for the pot. They talked while they worked, the girls noticed, that while John was pretty talkative for a boy, Janice was absolutely chatty and more outgoing.
When the girls started talking about clothes, Janice joined in and told them what she thought about what they wore. Margaret was the clothes-horse of the group, which was not unexpected, as her parents were both high priced lawyers. Anna though, had the best eye for fashion and she could make Mr. Lincoln run away screaming, when it came to bargain hunting. Janice had real opinions about the clothes they choose to wear, that they never knew about, especially Vanessa. Vanessa, while far from dressing as a ‘Tom Boy’, really didn’t dress as feminine as Janice thought she should. Anna and Margaret knew this and had tried to work on their friend; this was the first thing Janice ever said about it.
“I have one question though. Why am I in a nice skirt and blouse but the rest of you are in comfortable clothes?”
“That is easy, we know we are girls, and you just need to convince yourself that you are a girl, the nice clothes are the way to go. We chose your clothes for effect, Janice,” Anna stated. “They are soft and sensual. Don’t you think?”
“I guess they are, they feel good that’s for sure.”
Anna took everything they had been working on and added it to the pot of water that was boiling. All five of them sat down to talk, while dinner cooked.
“Well, what about you Janice, if you had to choose between our wardrobes to dress in, which would you choose.” Vanessa asked trying to deflect attention from herself.
“I think a cross between Anna and Margaret’s. Some of the things Margaret gets, I don’t really care for. The things you see mostly on the runways in fashion shows. They leave me wondering, what the designers were thinking when they come up with some of those outlandish looks.”
“I get some of those things to make my Mom happy. She label shops and sometimes forgets how they really look. So I buy them and wear them a couple of times and she forgets about them. I am surprised you noticed. You never said anything about it before.”
“I didn’t know if you girls actually wanted my opinions.”
Vanessa stood up and put her hands on the table and leaned towards Janice. “Janice or John, it doesn’t matter to us, we always want to know what you think. You are a part of us, an important part at that. It’s like you complete us. We may not always agree with you, but at least we will listen to you. We value your opinion.”
“Really?” Janice asked starting to tear up.
“Really,” the girls echoed. “And please don’t start crying again and mess up your pretty makeup job,” Vanessa said.
That got Janice giggling and the girls to break out laughing. Reggie just sat back and absorbed things in.
“There is one thing I noticed in all this,” Margaret said, “We didn’t notice things about you John, and you didn’t know we wanted to know how you felt, about things. So it’s like we were failing to be each other’s support. John assumed that we wouldn’t be able to understand the truth of what he was going through, we should have seen there was something not right, and John didn’t know we valued what he thought. As close as we seem to be, this is unfathomable.”
Anna’s brow crossed in deep thought, “You know she is right, I guess even Margaret can have moments of brilliance.”
Margaret stuck her tongue out at Anna. Anna surprised everyone when she turned real fast and caught her tongue with her lips and then slipped her own into Margaret’s mouth. Vanessa and Janice just sat there dumb founded, Margaret’s eyes got as big as saucers, but she made no move to break it off herself, and Reggie started laughing so hard she cried.
“Oh Anna, Anna, Anna, where did that come from,” Reggie said trying to catch her breath from laughing, after Anna and Margaret broke their impromptu French lesson. “Are you starting to like girls now darling?”
“I don’t know Mom, it’s just something I always wanted to do to Margaret, when she sticks her cute little tongue out. I mean she sticks it out like all the time. I still like Joey Martin though, but Margaret is a nice kisser too.”
“I do not stick my tongue out that much.”
“You do too,” Vanessa, Janice and Reggie parroted.
Margaret stuck her tongue out at all of them.
“Back to our original conversation, why don’t you dress nicer? I hardly ever get to see ya’ll dolled up like this,” Janice said gesturing to the way she looked.
“Well, I guess it’s because it takes a while to get ‘Dolled Up’ like you are talking about. At school we want to be comfortable, and we don’t like being stared at all the time. It would be harder for us to operate our equipment in journalism like that. We do dress up for our dates, for Mall hopping and such, but then you are not with us then. John probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable going into dress shops, shoes shops and lingerie shops with us. But Janice could,” Anna said coyly.
“No, no, nope won’t happen. I can’t go out like this. Nosirree.”
“Why not Janice, you look totally convincing. You just need to learn how to act like a girl. We can teach you that,” Margaret stated.
“Nope, not going to happen.”
“We’ll see about that,” Vanessa said giggling.
Their conversations were interrupted by the door bell.
“Anna, please answer the door, Vanessa and Margaret set the table for six, please.”
“Six?” Janice asked. She had a sick feeling about who their last dinner guest would be.
“Yes, I called your Mom, Janice. This is just too important to have her on the outside on. You understand don’t you?”
Janice meekly shook her head and looked toward the approaching form of her Mom. “Hi Mom.”
Angela stopped and looked at her child. A look of confusion and wonder was in her eyes. Even though Reggie had told her what to expect, she was very surprised at what she saw. She saw the familial resemblance and had often wondered what John would look like as a girl after those fateful days he spent in the hospital. She just really wasn’t prepared for what she saw.
“John?” She said hesitantly.
“Janice, Mom, at least that seems to fit better right now,” Janice said, plucking at the hem of her skirt a bit.
Angela came over and hugged her child closely and kissed her cheek.
“Well everybody, I guess it is time to eat.” Reggie said.
Anna whispered in Janice’s ear, “Eat slower, take smaller bites, and take care not to mess up your pretty blouse, please. Just do what we do and you will be ok.”
Janice sat next to her Mom, with Vanessa and Margaret across from them with Reggie and Anna on the ends. Janice swept her skirt under her as she sat. Wearing the corset she had no option but to sit with her back straight. She folded her hands in her lap like the other girls, as Anna served everybody. Janice received a smaller portion than she would have usually gotten, but she didn’t say anything about it. When everybody was seated they began to eat.
Reggie asked Angela about her day, and the girls started chatting as they ate. Janice ate more carefully than she usually ate and joined in with the girls in talking.
“The stew is good,” Angela commented.
“Yes, the girls did an excellent job,” Reggie said.
“Did you help, Janice?”
“I helped chop the vegetables, but Anna did the cooking. She’s the real wiz here. I think she did a great job.”
“Thank you, Mom is the one who taught me to cook.”
Angela watched Janice out of the corner of her eye, while they ate. She saw that Janice was moving a little stiffer than the other girls, and she seemed to be obviously trying to copy their movements and actions. She did a pretty good job, all in all, she thought.
Janice was just glad that she had been able to get through the meal without embarrassing herself by getting Anna’s clothes dirty.
“Well, that was a good meal girls, why don’t you clear off the table and let’s all go into the living room to talk.”
Janice helped the girls with the dishes. She loaded them into the dishwasher as Vanessa brought them into the kitchen. This was something she had done before. Margaret cleaned the table and Anna cleaned the kitchen.
When they finished, they joined Reggie and Angela in the living room.
Reggie looked at everybody and smiled, “Since I am somewhat neutral in all this, I will be our moderator. Vanessa, since you are the ringleader of the girls, why don’t you begin and tell us what this is all about.”
Vanessa then gave the tale of how John wound up in skirts. She started at the beginning, at John’s confession to them and wound it up, with Reggie’s discovery. “Angela, we are sorry. John loves journalism, he loves to be able to tell stories, but Mr. Dawson was right. He probably would never make it in the field because of the way he looks and sounds, at least as a Male. We thought that since he couldn’t go down that road he might make it as a woman. You should see John, as we see him. He seems so alive when we do our projects; he is like a different person, more confident, more forceful and self-assured. So that is why we did it, we wanted to show him another option where he could succeed.”
Angela turned to her son or rather her daughter; there was love in her eyes when she looked at her. “They didn’t force you into this did they?”
“Well, maybe a little, but not really. I guess I always knew that this was an option, but I had been afraid to explore it. I don’t think I would ever have done this on my own,” John said crying again.
Angela pulled Janice onto her lap and just held her tightly. “I think not either, I was afraid to broach the subject to you too. I hoped that you would make up your own mind on this. I have to say, I would never have thought you would turn out this nice though. The girls really did a wonderful job on you.”
Janice wrapped her arms around her Mom’s neck and cried on her shoulder. After several minutes she regained her composure and just rested in her embrace.
Reggie then got up and began to speak, “When I came in, I was kind of shocked. I had seen John’s bike outside and heard his voice when I entered my home. I was shocked to find four girls and no sign of John. That is till Janice began speaking. I got to the bottom of things and decided to call you. If what the girls said was true, and I have no reason not to believe them, especially since John didn’t deny it. I decided that this was too important not to call you Angela.”
“I want to thank you Reggie, for that. I suppose the question now is, where is this going? Do you want to become Janice, or would you rather stay as John?”
“I don’t know Mom. This was fun this once, but I know there is a whole lot more to being a girl than just dressing up, and I can’t go to school like this, I would get creamed. The kids there would never accept me as Janice.”
“I have an idea Janice,” Anna said. “Continue on to school as John, but let’s get together every weekend and teach you how to act like a girl. You can see if you are able to fit in as one of us. We will teach you everything we know.”
“One thing to think about girls, if this goes on too much longer we will also need to inform Vanessa’s and Margaret’s parents about this too. I will not keep this a secret from their parents,” Reggie said.
“I agree, Reggie. If they aren’t told, this could lead to a bunch of problems,” Angela stated.
“Give us two weekends after this Sunday first. Please, Angela.”
“It’s not up to me, It will have to be up to Janice or John,” she said. “This is his life and he is right, there could be problems. There are too many people who would be offended by this type of thing.”
“Janice, please think about this. You know we will always stand by you,” Anna said.
Janice looked at her Mom, in a pleadingly manner. “What ever you want dear,” she said, “I won’t force you one way or another.”
Janice looked at her three friends. They all looked pleadingly at her. “I don’t know where this is going. I can’t say that I will go down this road, or another, but we can try this out for two more weekends, if it’s ok with Mom and Ms. Givens.”
The three girls mobbed Janice in a hug, and Janice cried again.
“Janice is already such a girl,” Margaret said giggling, “Her first day as a girl and she has streaked her makeup three times crying, but we love her for it. Don’t we girls.”
They all agreed with Margaret on that account.
“Ok then girls, as long as Angela consents, you can have a sleepover here this weekend and the next two. Then we will have another pow-wow.”
It was only about six, so the girls planned what they needed to do. They decided that they would go get some movies. Vanessa and Margaret would go and get them, as they needed to stop by their homes and get some things. Anna would stay and work with Janice.
Anna took Janice to her room and showed her how to clean the makeup off her face. She then gave her instructions on how to apply a fresh face. Janice took three or four tries before she began to pick up some on the techniques that Anna was showing her. Anna kept things simple for her, just foundation, blush, mascara and lipstick. She did Janice’s eyeliner, shadow and brows for her.
“Promise you will try not to cry this makeup off, Janice.”
“I will try; it’s just that I get so emotional when I discuss this. It scares me, thinking about the future.”
“You have a right to be scared, but I think you also have reason to have hope. Your mom loves you and so do we.”
Margaret and Vanessa were gone about an hour; they went to their homes and got their sleeping bags and some personal things. Then it was girl’s school for Janice, as they showed her how to walk, sit, hold her arms and talk like a girl. They shifted her to sandals with three-inch heels when she became proficient with the two inch heels. Getting her to walk right took a bit of work, after all girls trained to walk like girls all their lives. Margaret gave Janice a purse to carry and some books for the other arm, this did the trick for that aspect. It also forced her to swing her hips a bit, to compensate for not swinging her arms like a guy. The work on talking was the easiest for Janice; she had spent so much time around the girls, she already talked a lot like them.
At ten, the girls got dressed in their sleepwear, Anna gave Janice a long satin sleep shirt to wear. After taking off her blouse, Anna moved behind her. Janice thought she was going to be released, but she found that the corset was tightened down to twenty-three and a half inches. She was assisted in taking off her pantyhose and padded brief.
Janice joined her friends, after she got her sleep shirt on and taken care of her business. They were already dressed in their nightgowns.
“Well, I guess I will see you girls in the morning,” Janice stated.
“We aren’t going to bed yet; we got so much to do.”
They started teaching Janice how to apply makeup to another girl. Anna would do half a face and have Janice try to copy what she did. This went on for an hour. The girls kept Janice talking as she worked. Her first few tries she really clowned out the girl she was working on, but the more she worked at it the better she became. Anna then taught her how to roll hair.
The girls could see that Janice was enjoying herself by her big smile. Janice loved the closeness she felt. Their group had been tight before, but it seemed to have been taken to another level.
The girls then played a few games, Truth or Dare and charades. They used the first game to really get to know each other. The girls wanted to bare their secrets to their friends, so they wouldn’t keep important things from each other anymore. Janice told her friends how she felt about what had happened to her. She knew that the road she was on now was a possibility, but it was one she had been afraid to broach with anybody.
“I mean how can I just say, ‘hey people, I am going to be a girl for now on,’ after all. I just couldn’t do it, and I am still not sure I can.”
“So is being stuck in the middle any better?” Margaret asked.
“No, Oh I just don’t know.”
“Well, we hope to help you answer that question. I think you can, and we will help you. You wouldn’t have to just do it all now and return to school tomorrow as a girl. I think we can train you now and have you start school this fall as a girl. That would give you five months to learn,” Vanessa stated. “Doing it this way, you could change your mind and go back to being John full time and nobody would be any wiser.”
“This is something I will have to talk over with my mother. She would have to agree to this before I start something like this.”
“I think she will approve, but you’re right springing it on her like what happened is not like having her consent or support. Just keep us in the loop Janice,” Anna said.
They did girl type things the rest of the night and finally went to sleep at three AM.
Sunday till four PM, Janice was put to the task by her friends, learning how to be a girl. At times it was two steps forward, three steps back, other times three steps forward one step back, especially when it came to walking in heels.
At five, Angela picked up her son to return home. John told his Mom all that the girls told him. They talked about it. Angela said, she didn’t know what to do. It was ok with her if he wanted to try this plan out. She wouldn’t tell John which way to choose, but she said she would be there for him either way and would help him once he decided. She just didn’t want to be the one choosing for him.
“I just didn’t want to make you into anything you are not comfortable with.”
“I appreciate that Mom. I’m not sure which way I will go, but it is good to know that you will be there for me.”
“I will always be there for you, that’s what Mom’s are for.”
End of Part 1
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: This is a novel length story and is mostly complete at the time of this posting. Additional parts will be posted weekly.
And That is the Way it Happened © 2007 by Paula Dillon
In journalism, it was Clyde’s group Sports Unlimited second presentation. He did a play by play and color commentary of the season’s last basketball game. They had a shot to go to regional playoffs if they won, but unfortunately they lost. John was surprised at how well the play by play commentary went. Clyde showed the vast knowledge he had for the game and the players, as the game went on.
Clyde’s one mistake occurred when a player missed several key shots towards the end of the game. He let his feelings for the flubbed shots spill over into his commentary. After the game, he did interviews with the players. Talking to the player who had missed the shots, he smugly asked him if he threw the game. Not in those particular words, but that was the gist of the question.
The player could be seen turning red and flexing his muscles. His nostrils could be seen flaring and if looks could kill, Clyde would have been in the morgue.
“Oh my God Clyde, that boy was about to pound on you.” John found himself saying.
Clyde had been so proud of his commentary, even to his asking of the pointed question. He grimaced and turned beet red, when he heard John. “What do you know about that, you sissy?”
“We’ll have none of that name calling, Clyde. You have ten seconds to apologize to John, or I will send you to the principal’s office with a recommendation that you find another elective class.”
It only took Clyde five seconds to apologize to John. He really wanted this class to move into college journalism and then into sports journalism. “Alright, I am sorry for calling you a sissy John, but that was a top rate job I had done.”
“John, tell Clyde what you saw.”
“Well Clyde, you really did a great job on the play by play. I was surprised by how interesting you made the game. I don’t usually watch sports, but I liked what I saw to a point. When that player missed those shots though, you seemed to lose your objectivity a bit. Then when you asked that player that pointed question, and seeing that players reaction, I was afraid that you were about to be pounded into the ground. Look at all the non-verbal’s that player was projecting.”
“I am afraid I agree with John, Clyde. I would have given you an A+ up till then. Yes, you can ask pointed questions Clyde, but know what you are talking about. You basically accused the player of throwing that game. That player was showing great resolve, I too was afraid you might get hurt.”
“That is what it looked like to me though, Mr. Dawson.”
“Would it change your mind to know that he had stayed up late because his sister was in the hospital the day before? He was left at the house worrying about her, because that is what happened. He only had two hours sleep before school, and was mentally exhausted. The coach begged him to play anyway. The staff had been briefed on that matter. All in all though, that was an excellent effort I will still give your team an A- for that project. That was your best effort.”
Clyde was somewhat appeased by the praise and the grade, he was also a little embarrassed by his mistake. He hadn’t known about the boy’s problems.
John went up to Clyde after class and said, “I am sorry Clyde, I really wasn’t trying to embarrass you. You did a great job. It’s just that I have seen those looks that player was giving you and I knew what was coming.”
Clyde was amazed that John would come up and talk to him after what he had said. His temper had gotten the better of him. He still didn’t like John and still thought he was a bit of a puff, but he knew how hard it had to be to approach someone hostile to you. “Ok, I see what you meant. It just pissed me off to see us lose that game by two points and not make the playoffs. I really thought he was slacking off at the end.”
“You could have just asked him what happened there at the end. He might not have told you the whole story, but he would have reacted much better to you. When you ask pointed questions, you have to already know the answers. I think you should talk to him. It might affect your ability to access the jocks otherwise. You could go far in sports, if you learned some restraint.”
“I see what you mean. I will think about it I guess, but when are you going to start growing up. You look and sound like a girl. I don’t think there is any other boy at our school that is like you.” Clyde said, a little anger spilling over toward John.
John just bit his tongue and said, “It’s not your problem Clyde.” He then turned and walked off.
The rest of the week was alright. Clyde did have problems with the jocks. He had been cornered by two football players and told to leave the guy alone. Clyde had to eat a lot of crow before he was allowed to apologize to the offended player.
John and the girls spent the week planning their project. They did a lot of research on the festival; who was putting it on, the history of the festival and what they could expect. They planned their shooting schedule and what they wanted to achieve. They wouldn’t get the equipment till that Friday, before their Easter break and they had to be checked out on it before that.
The local TV station had gotten rid of some of their old equipment, by giving it to the school; the supplier for the station heard about it and had donated some new professional equipment also. They got two refurbished cameras from the station. The supplier gave them a new camera that used memory cards and tapes to record on, some computerized editing equipment and software. John’s group would be the first to use the new stuff, if they qualified with it, that is. So they read all the pamphlets and worked with all the equipment to learn to use them properly.
Vanessa and Anna drooled over the new camera. It had two channels for wireless audio hookup and all sorts of bells and whistles. It could be loaded with five 8GB memory cards that held over thirty minutes of video each and audio each. They had ten cards. There were two wireless mikes that came with it. One mike transmitter clipped on the interviewers belt, while the mike clipped on the collar and a standard handheld wireless mike. They had two spare batteries for each camera. The two TV station cameras they got used standard tapes and had one wireless mike channel. All of the clip-on mikes used the same frequency, and the handheld mike used a different channel.
They had to do three tests on the cameras, and after working with them throughout the week, they easily pass.
Margaret and Vanessa also tested on the computer editing equipment, audio recording equipment and the studio console. They found it pretty straight forward and much like they had been using, but it had more powerful, useful features. Margaret made a point to ask her Mom to buy her the editing software, to add to her desktop and her laptop. It only ran four thousand and her Mom and Dad encouraged her in her creativities.
John had to qualify on all the equipment too, although they all knew that he would be in front of the camera for JD’s Productions. Mr. Dawson felt that not enough reporters actually knew what their camera people do, how their equipment worked or how it was best utilized. Everyone in his class learned how to operate all the equipment; they didn’t have to be experts, just qualified.
***************
Friday evening found everyone at Anna’s house again. The girls had gotten permission to stay there the weekend; as long as they were supervised by Anna’s Mom. Janice came to visit shortly after they all arrived home. She took the transformation better this time and didn’t complain as much as the corset was cranked down to twenty-three and a quarter inches. Janice found herself again in a nice blouse and skirt, though the girls also dressed up, for her this time.
After they all did their homework. Janice then helped the girls in the kitchen. They began teaching her how to plan and cook a meal. They prepared Fettuccini Alfredo with chicken breasts, a Caesar salad, French style green beans, asparagus and garlic bread. The table was again set for six, as Reggie and Angela joined them for dinner.
Angela had to giggle when she saw Janice working at the stove with a pinafore apron on.
“You’re cooking Janice?” Angela asked.
“I’m just doing what Anna tells me to do, but yes I guess I am cooking, or rather we are cooking. If it turns out bad I can spread the blame around at least.”
“It won’t turn out bad, you’ll see girl. Now just keep stirring the Alfredo sauce, while I check the Fettuccini.”
When everything was ready they all sat down to eat. Janice remembered what she had done last week and it showed in her demeanor. They all talked while they were eating, about school, work and all the things girls generally talk about.
Angela inquired about what they had planned for Janice. Even though she trusted the girls, this was her child they were working with and she was showing her motherly concern for her. The girls didn’t have detailed plans, but they went over things they felt they needed to teach Janice. Upon hearing their plans, Angela and Reggie added a few things they thought about. Janice even got into things and spoke about her concerns. Some of the things she pointed out, showed just how ill prepared the girls had been and just how much attention she had been paying to her friends.
After dinner was cleared and the kitchen returned to a spotless condition, the girls got to work. Janice was given an education on girl’s fashion. She learned a lot of words that girls used for their clothes, what they meant, how girls describe their clothes, how they mix and match and so on. They taught her how to dress, how to accessorize, what to wear here, what to wear there, what was casual, what casual chic was, what was semi-formal, and what was formal.
Since Janice was wearing a corset, they decided that she should be dressed in a formal gown that Anna had once worn. Angela was almost giddy, when she saw the beautiful dress Anna pulled out of the garment bag. Even Janice was speechless. The dress was an ice blue, confection of taffeta, chiffon and lace. The girls all helped her undress and start getting her ready like she was going to a prom. Reggie took her to her shop; she was just wearing the corset, panties and a robe. Reggie had a blast doing her hair and makeup. She kept chittering away like she was a regular customer. Janice loved the pampering she was getting.
As Reggie finished, the girls came in bringing all the things they needed to dress her right there. They smoothed nylons up her leg and attached them to garter straps that Anna attached to spots on the corset, running them through Janice’s panties to the stocking tops. Janice blanched a bit to see the heels they were putting on her feet, they were at least four inches tall. Next she put on a long full slip that came below knee length, followed by the dress and opera length satin gloves. Lastly she was adorned with a necklace, earrings, rings, bracelets, a purse and a few other accessories. Reggie touched up her hair and makeup a bit. With help they moved her over to a mirror and stood her in front of it. On a count of three, they uncovered the mirror and let Janice see the damage. The girls just stood there smiling at her.
Janice just stood there staring for several seconds before she said anything, “Oh my God. Oh my God,” was all that came out. She turned a bit to the left and then to the right. She turned all the way to one side and looked at her side and back. The dress fit her like a glove to the middle of her hips accentuating her figure. The skirt flared out just a bit. The hem came down to just below the middle of her calves.
She couldn’t believe how beautiful she was, and everything, with the exception of the corset and heels, made her feel fabulous. She even admitted to herself that she liked what the corset and heels did for her figure. “I just can’t believe what you guys have done. It’s just so perfect. I love the dress and everything. Regardless of what else happens, I want to thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Reggie said. “It’s nice working with someone you like and making them look so wonderful. You do look wonderful dear.”
Janice didn’t say it out loud, but it was at that moment she decided that this was the way she was going to go.
“Girls take her into the living room, I want to get a picture of her by the mantle,” Reggie said.
Janice had quite a time moving in these heels, but she couldn’t deny the way the made her appear. She had lots of help though walking. The silky softness of everything as it moved and slid across her skin, almost made her swoon. The restriction of the corset didn’t help that in any way either, but she was in love with the way she appeared. If only she could have been born a true girl, could it have been any better.
The Givens’ have a wonderful home. It could easily be included in any of those magazines that highlight picture perfect homes. Their living room was the highlight of this home. They had a spectacular stone fireplace and mantle in a ranch home style. They always kept the paint, carpet and furniture in a spotless, clean manner, often changing the centerpieces and décor to match the season. It was a true showpiece. They stood her to one side of the fireplace and had her pose with a bouquet of silk flowers.
Janice eye’s glisten from the collected tears, but she didn’t shed them. She refused to ruin the wonderful makeup job they had done on her. Her Mom, although plainly dressed in comparison, stood next to her for some of the pictures and then all her friends joined her for a few. Vanessa held her hand up behind Janice’s head, holding two fingers in a ‘V’, giving her the classic ‘rabbit ears’.
Reggie was quite the photographer; it was her hobby and it was that hobby that spiked Anna’s interest in photo journalism. She didn’t know that it would lead her daughter off in the direction it did, but it was all good. She had some really good friends she thought.
After the pictures, the girls had her walk around and even had her practice dancing some slow numbers with the girls leading her. John hadn’t learned to dance, so Janice found herself stumbling around at first, but she didn’t have to unlearn what John knew. She began to enjoy herself as she started to learn the dance steps.
In between dances they let her sit to catch her breath, the corset affected her endurance. Her feet hurt from the unaccustomed heels she wore, but she began to get more comfortable in them and started moving gracefully. Sitting and standing in the heels, was where she had the biggest problems. They shifted her center of gravity when she sat and her knees were now above the level of her tush, which made standing a problem. It wasn’t easy, but she finally got the hang of it. She was able to stand without showing off what she had on beneath the V-neck of her dresses bodice, or falling on her face.
It was getting late and although it had taken so long to get ready, they reluctantly took Janice and got her ready for bed. She hated taking off all these wonderful clothes though; she had to admit though she was getting tired.
Dressed now in nightgowns, the girls shared a bowl of popcorn as they watched the late chick flick on cable. They fell asleep next to each other at some unknown early hour of that morning.
It was nearly ten AM the next morning before the girls stirred. One by one they migrated to a bathroom and took care of business. Reggie started breakfast for them, when she saw them stir. They all cleaned up and dressed up in skirts, blouses, pantyhose, and heels, applying their makeup before they went to the kitchen, to eat at close to eleven-thirty that day.
They were all just a bit stiff and grumpy from sleeping in odd positions, except for Janice, who was stiff for other pressing reasons; they had again left her in the corset. She was the brightest bulb burning, at the breakfast table.
As the girls ate, they heard the doorbell ring. Reggie got up to answer it, leaving the girls to their breakfast. Everyone’s ears perked up though, when they heard Reggie say, “Oh hello Madeline,” especially Margaret.
“I just need to speak to my daughter for just a second,” she said, as she came on in and headed to the kitchen. Madeline was a very headstrong woman. Once she had it in her mind to do something, she did it and nobody got in her way.
The girls kept their composure, although their guts were in knots.
“Hi Vanessa, Anna, Margaret and who is your friend?” Madeline said. She was dressed in one of her Armani business suits and made up for battle.
“Hello Mrs. Bradford,” Janice said, “I am going by the name Janice, right now.”
You could have knocked Madeline over with a feather as she stared at Janice. She looked at her watch and said, “You guys have thirty minutes to explain to me what is going on. I came over to tell you Margaret, that I have been called out of town for the weekend. I can’t cancel, but I can sure take you with me. Pour me a cup of that coffee Anna, please.”
“I will explain it to her,” Janice said, “I feel it is something, I am going to be doing quite a bit, in the future.”
Janice did explain and went into as much detail as she could, in the allotted time. Madeline’s face, which had started out in a stern grimace, then a look of concern and at last a small smile, as Janice explained how the girls were helping her.
“We’ll, I am not going to ship you off to a convent after all Margaret and you can stay here this weekend, doing what you have been doing. I want all four of you here on Monday after school, with just your Moms and we are going to have a long talk. I will say, that I like the way you got together, to help Janice. That is what you are calling yourself right?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Good, Monday, four, be here girls. Bring pictures. Got to go now, by the way, here is some money for you Margaret.” She said handing her daughter five twenties. A kiss, a hug for each of the girls, even Janice and she was out the door.
The girls just sat there stunned for a few seconds.
“Your Mother has a certain way about her Margaret,” Reggie said.
“Yeah, you’re right about that. They call her ‘Hurricane Madeline’ at the office. That is why they like her. She hits fast, leaves a path of devastation and then she goes, leaving people recovering for years, wondering what had just happened to them, they say.”
“I take it then, that that was a good reaction,” Janice asked.
“Well let me put it this way. She wasn’t kidding about the convent.”
“What do you think she wants to talk to us about?” Reggie asked.
“Oh, she’ll probably give us the ‘Four-One-One’ on the legal stand point for all of this. If I know my Mom and I do.”
“You mean that this is all ‘OK’ with her,” Janice asked.
“She hugged you Janice, do you feel a knife in your back?”
Janice reflexively felt her back. “No, I don’t,” she said before she realized that the question was just rhetorical.
“On top of that, she gave me money. I already have credit cards.”
“Oh, my Mom is really going to hit the roof,” Vanessa said.
“Not after ‘Hurricane Madeline’ hits her, Vanessa. Your mom will feel like she has been rode hard and put away wet, or agreeing that this all was her idea afterwards.”
“Well, let’s go shopping. If Janice is going to the lion’s den Monday, then she should go in style. She’ll need her own clothes,” Anna said.
Everyone there looked at Janice, who just blanched a bit. She looked wide-eyed at the girls and finally shook her head. “Ok, but what about my Mom?”
Reggie handled that question. “I will tell your Mom what we are doing, but I think it would be best if she didn’t go. I mean we’ll be four girls and one Mom. If Angela was there and we met someone that knew all of you, they might just add one and one and get two. I know she’ll miss being on your first shopping trip, but I believe that she will understand.”
The girls hurried to the bathroom to get themselves ready. They never went to the mall looking only so-so, at least hardly ever. They all wanted to look good. They drug Janice with them, she felt a little trepidation at what was happening, but she just went with the flow.
Reggie did call Angela; she agreed that it would be too risky to go with them. She said, she might just run into them surreptitiously shopping for John, but agreed, it was not a good idea to be with them.
The girls took Janice everywhere; their plan was not to give her time to feel self conscious about herself. Janice was very nervous upon approaching the mall, but she had been convinced by her encounters with Reggie, Madeline and even her own mom, that she was very passable as a girl.
It wasn’t too long until she began to enjoy being with her friends in places they had never been together before. The lingerie store only fazed her for a few seconds, before the girls got her so busy looking at the things there.
Janice even let her ears be pierced at the earring store, like the girls wanted. Janice was amazed that there were stores that sold only earrings. John wouldn’t be the first guy at their school to have a single piercing in both ears. Even some of the ‘cool’ guys had both ears pierced once.
Janice did run into her Mom at the mall, she hadn’t expected it. Anna took it all in stride and introduced Janice to Angela, as Janice Davies in case anybody overheard them. Angela gave Janice a special smile and said, “Well hello Ms. Davies. I have never seen you with these girls before, are you new around here?”
Janice went along with the routine and said. “My Mom had to go out of town for the weekend. Ms. Givens is my Mom’s stylist and a good friend. She consented to keep me this weekend. It’s such great fun being around the girls here. I was afraid it was just going to be me and Ms. Givens this weekend.”
“Well, you girls have fun, I have got to pick up some new clothes for John,” Angela said, as she left the group.
After her Mom left, Janice turned to Anna and asked, “Where did Davies come from?”
“You had to have some last name. It would have seemed strange to have a Daniels as a friend, that is John and to meet a Daniels, that being Angela and be introduced as a Daniels, that being you of course, without some taking it in as strange.”
“Can you say that again three times real fast, that was a mouthful on one breath Anna,” Janice said giggling.
“It’s logical; you just have to start thinking like a girl.”
“I am, that is what is scary.”
By the time they all left the mall, Janice had eight bags that they were helping her carry. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember them buying these things for her. She was more than a little embarrassed by her friend’s generosity. It wasn’t that she and her Mom were dead broke, but out of the four kids, her family had the least amount of disposable income. John had never made a point of it around his friends, nor did his friends think less of him for it.
Janice was quietly crying, by the time she got to the car, she realized that they all had probably pitched in to get her these things. The girls didn’t notice till they saw her raccoon eyes.
Vanessa asked her, “What is wrong, Janice? Why are you crying?”
“It’s just that Mom and I can’t afford all of this, we are not broke, but we just make ends meet, with only a few luxuries.”
“It doesn’t matter to us, Janice. If anyone of us needed money, don’t you think we’d help each other out? Vanessa’s family isn’t made out of money either. They may have more than you and your Mom, but not a lot more. Mom and I have a bit more, but we don’t lord it over you or Vanessa. On top of that, Mom and I are the queens of shopping, we always get the most bang out of our bucks,” Anna said.
That statement had Margaret and Vanessa in giggles. “That is why we like shopping with her,” Margaret said. “I can wear an outfit my mom spent over a five hundred on and Anna can copy the look for less than two.”
“She can also smell a sale five miles away, sort of like a shark smells blood in the water,” Vanessa added.
“I won’t tell you what my Mom spends a year on clothes for me, but for the most part, I am comfortable dressing the same as the rest of you. If I let our money go to my head, I would probably find my self distanced from my friends. It would be so easy for me to play the rich bitch; it is scary. I couldn’t do that to you guys.”
The girls had Janice sit in the front passenger seat and made her repair her own makeup, this time by herself, till Reggie was satisfied. That sucked in a way, but not really, she had to redo her eyes four times till Reggie was satisfied. It did teach her how to do it right.
They stopped on the way home at an ice cream store. Everyone ordered a different flavor of frozen yogurt, and shared a bit with each other.
Back home, the girls went through Janice’s things. Reggie made her undress and take off the corset and the gel bras. She then cleaned off Janice’s chest with alcohol and applied breast forms.
“These breast forms are attached with a short term adhesive. They can be peeled off easily, but look better than the gel bra’s you were wearing. With these, you will wear a thirty-four B cup bra, like a lot of other girls your age Janice.”
Instead of the corset she had on they had a different item they called a waist cincher. It laced up too, but it wasn’t as long as the corset. Reggie tightened it up till Janice had a twenty-four inch waist. It was still a pain in her sides, but not as bad, she thought. The girls made her put her own bra on, that was hard and it made the girls giggle, but after a few minutes she got it all hooked up.
Janice then tried on the things they got for her. She had another two padded briefs, six panties, three bra’s, four blouses, a cashmere sweater top, three girl’s T’s, three skirts, two dresses, along with matching shoes and her own makeup. She also had a handful of jewelry, nothing really expensive but nice.
Janice had to show the girls which pieces she would wear together. The stuff they got her, basically matched every other piece, but certain things fit together better than others, she thought.
After the fashion show, they started in on makeup again. She had to create four different looks for herself. The girls did coach her on colors and all, but they made her do her own work. Then she also had to match the makeup with her various outfits.
They ate a light dinner and then settled in to watch a movie and talk about their day. Janice was corrected on her intonation and vocabulary, as they talked. They asked her girl type questions and expected girl type answers back. They accused her of being monotone and made her repeat herself several times, till she got it correct.
“Think of it like this, Janice, when John would tell us a story, he would often get really excited by the story he was telling, his pitch would change up and down to give it emphasis. Girls talk that way, all of the time. They also use their hands more, when they are expressing themselves,” Anna said.
“Also girls negotiate with each other. I might say to Anna, ‘Anna are you thirsty?’ and she might say, ‘a little, are you thirsty?’ and I would say, ‘I could go for a drink. How about you?’ and she would say, ‘I guess I could go for a drink too.’” Margaret said.
“Why not just say, ‘Hey Anna let’s stop for a drink?’” Janice asked, “It makes more sense.” Janice said.
“That’s because you still are thinking like a guy. You have a need and put it out there bluntly. Girls like to come to a consensus. They like to be made part of the decision.”
“So girls are better committee members and guys are better at on the spot decisions.” Janice said.
“Yes, a guy might put it that way, girls want to know that what they feel about something is important to other people too, and that they are not alone in their opinions,” Margaret said.
“Oh, like when I sit down with you guys to discuss a project I am not sure of. I bounce my ideas off of you,”
“That’s it Janice, you value what we say about the projects, although in a lot of cases you have the final decision. You show us you care about what we think and are willing to listen. Most guys just decide it and never care to ask a girl anything. You are different, that is one of the things we’ve always liked about you. You get our opinions,” Vanessa said, clapping for Janice, as she finally started to really get something important. “You are our brains, on a lot of things we look to you, but you care enough to ask us.”
“I guess that is why we work so well together. We care about each other.”
“And you can’t get more girlish than that Janice,” Margaret said.
“Well, how does a guy answer the question, ‘Does this make my butt look big?’ no matter how I have seen guys answer it on TV, there is no right answer and the guy always gets in trouble.”
“There is no right answer; the guy was already in trouble before the girl asked that question. She just traps him with his answer,” Margaret stated.
“How much trouble he is in, depends on how he answers,” Anna added giggling.
Anna had Janice sit on the floor in front of her and did a braid; she started at one temple and then the other and joined the braids together at the back of the head in a larger braid. It was held in place at the end with an elastic hair band and a blue ribbon.
Janice liked the hairstyle and Anna showed her how to do it on Margaret’s head. It took her a while and she had to restart several times when she dropped some hair, but it came out all right. Then Margaret and Janice did Vanessa and Anna’s hair the same way. Vanessa was the hardest to work with, she had the shortest hair to start with and she was the most temperamental, but Margaret finally got it, while Janice did a respectable job on Anna’s hair.
“Don’t get me wrong Janice; I am very happy to be a girl. I like boys, but I just ain’t into the girly girl, ultra feminine bit. The girls know that and I wanted you to know it too.”
“It ain’t new to me either, Vanessa. I have known you too long not to have seen that side of you. It’s cool by me. I think it’s pretty cool though that we all have the same hairstyles. This could be the official hairstyle of JD’s productions.” Janice said giggling.
Anna and Margaret giggled, they kind of liked it, Vanessa groaned a little, but thought she looked alright and it wasn’t too girly, it could be worse after all. Janice could have liked sausage curls. She turned a little green as she pictured herself as a Shirley Temple look alike.
Anna looked at Janice closely and said, “You know, now that I think about it, it is a good look for you, for field work. You wouldn’t have to worry about that wind blown look, like some female reporters I have seen on TV. It looks more professional than a ponytail too. It could work out nicely. Vanessa, you could always get a Pixie cut if you don’t like this,” she said, giving Vanessa a friendly ribbing.
“No, I would look too girly or too butch, with one of those, depending on the cut. I will just keep my hair medium length and straight.”
After the late, late movie, the girls found a comfortable nest and made their pallets. They all fell asleep soon after they laid their heads down.
Sunday the lessons began again, it was just less obvious to Janice that she was being taught. They wanted it to all be natural to her. One lesson that wasn’t subtle and really confused her, was her handwriting.
“What’s wrong with my handwriting, surely that isn’t a guy/girl thing?”
“Oh but it is,” Margaret said, “Your handwriting, while only being marginally decipherable, is too bold and energetic. When you write as Janice, your writing should be smooth, flowing and highly legible. It isn’t really a big deal, but it is one piece of the puzzle, so to speak.”
Janice found writing with the longer stick on nails a little challenging, but not impossible. She had to slow down her writing and think as she wrote.
“This could be impossible to do when I am taking field notes of who, what, where, when, why and how.”
“Still, you can do a lot better than some of your hen scratch; just practice a more feminine style when you are not doing anything. Keep a journal or a diary and keep reminding yourself to write in a more feminine hand. Speed will come with practice.”
Janice then did clothing changes and makeup changes that fit the time of day, or occasion. She found that she had a multitude of different looks with just the few clothes she had, and learned it was a definite no no for girls to wear similar looks two days in a row. John, when he dressed, almost blindly reached into his closet and pulled out jeans and a shirt without considering what he wore the previous day.
Later, the girls went to the mall and just walked around window shopping. Janice was still a little nervous about it all, but she felt good that her friends were there with her. She would never have imagined doing this just three weeks earlier.
At the food court they sat and watched the people pass by. Margaret made her observe and comment on what the other girls their ages wore. She gave her comments and was corrected on her vocabulary. She was taught how girls describe things to other girls. They added new superlatives and critical adjectives, and their proper uses.
“Saying something looks good is alright for a guy, and occasionally for a girl. If a girl says it looks good too much, other girls will think she either doesn’t care; or she is lying. Girls use superlatives like, cute, wonderful, sexy, cuddly and darling. These words express more emotions than, ‘it looks good.’ Learn to draw word pictures of things that matter to girls. You are an excellent storyteller; use that ability to charm the girls you speak to. Make the girls feel something good, when you describe how they look,” Margaret said.
“What if they don’t look good? What if they look hideous?”
“Be careful there, you can really wound a psyche, if you are too blunt. Find something good to say about them and make some suggestions to improve their looks, if you know they could do better. Just understand that some girls, like some guys, have a hard time trying to look, ‘GOOD,’ so to speak. If you are too blunt, or brutal, with your criticism, you can really shatter many of these girls. If you see a girl whose skirt got tucked into her pantyhose, stand behind her and whisper in her ear. I have had that happen to me, as embarrassing as it is to be told by another girl, its worse to learn about it from laughing, or pointing people.”
“Sorta like that girl, who got her wrap around skirt, which was held on by two buttons, caught in her locker last semester. She walked away and the buttons popped off leaving her standing there in her panties. She ran to the rest room like a flash. Mrs. Bergstrom had to go into the rest room to get the girl’s combination so she could retrieve her skirt,” Janice said.
“Did you see that? You have never said anything about that,” Anna asked.
“Yeah, I was just three lockers away, when it happened. I felt sorry for the poor girl.”
“A lot of guys and a few girls even kidded her about that. I wanted to claw some of the girls’ eyes out when they teased her about it. The poor girl had to go home sick from her nerves and embarrassment. It took her a week to come back to school. It took months for her to live that down,” Anna said.
“I knew she was out for a while, I didn’t know that was the reason. Like I said, I felt sorry for her and didn’t want to add to her misery.”
“Believe us; we are proud that you never went through a Neanderthal period. We might not have stuck with you this long, if you had,” Vanessa said. “Girls can be Neanderthal’s too, but it is less common, girl’s tend to be catty and territorial in their own way to other girls. It’s a side they don’t often show to guys. Listen to them in the rest room, or gym, or anyplace there are no guys around, some can be quite vicious.”
Margaret nodded her head and said, “Melissa Thompson is that way. She can be so sweet one minute and as vicious as a hungry lion the next. Any girl who shows a weakness around her is fresh meat for her; but if they get in her face, they can back her down.”
It was getting late and it was time for John to go home. Back at Anna’s home, the girls removed all traces of Janice and set out some things for tomorrow.
John blanched a bit at the thought of tomorrow. It worried him, because he didn’t know what was going to happen. Reggie had filled his Mom in on what had transpired, she had a look of concern on her face when she picked him up, but she didn’t seem to feel the same trepidation John felt.
Monday, as it turned out, was a half-day at school due to a teacher’s workshop. John met the girls after they were released and headed to Anna’s house. They quickly did their homework and then began working on Janice. They gave it their supreme effort and had a great result.
Angela showed up early from work, to help the girls and to lend support to Janice. She was pleased to see what the girls had accomplished, with the time they had.
The kids prepared coffee, tea and finger sandwiches, for the meeting. They kept Janice as busy as they could. Ten minutes till four, they sent Janice back to Anna’s room to wait.
Waiting was murder for her, especially when she started hearing the doorbell and voices of all the people coming in. She sat on the bed and wanted to puke, but that would not be a good thing.
At about four-ten, Anna stuck her head in the room and asked Janice to come on out.
In the living room sat all four mothers, Angela, Reggie, Madeline and Helen. Janice also noted that Dr. Julie Spencer, her endocrinologist, was there.
Madeline got up and said, “Since I called this meeting let me start. I came here Saturday to talk to my daughter and found out something that we all need to know. In case you didn’t know, this young lady is John. Before any of you jump to conclusions, I feel that Janice, that is the name she goes by, should be allowed to tell her story.”
Hearing that Madeline called this girl John/Janice, Helens eyes got real big, her eyebrows arched and she looked a little crossly at her daughter.
Dr. Spencer just smiled, as she looked at Janice and sat listening expectantly.
Janice cleared her throat, which seemed to threaten to close on her and began her story at the Doctor’s office. She organized her thoughts as she spoke and related all that happened, as she knew it. She tried hard not to leave anything out that might be important. When she finished she sat down.
Helen just stared wide-eyed at Janice. She had known the kid had been hospitalized, they all did, she just didn’t know how serious things had been.
“Thank you Janice,” Madeline said, “I know how hard all that is to believe, so I invited Dr. Spencer to speak and she graciously consented.”
Dr. Spencer introduced herself and told the people there what her specialty was. “I just need to ask one thing before I continue. Mrs. Daniels and Janice, do I have permission to speak to these people.”
“Yes,” Janice said. “Of course,” Mrs. Daniels said.
“What John has said to you is true. When John came to me a little under two years ago, he still had not begun puberty. We did a whole slew of test and everything we checked came out normal, just not normal for the average fourteen/fifteen year old boy. You can see for yourselves that John has not bulked out, his voice is still high pitched for a male and his overall appearance is that of a young girl rather than a boy.
We gave John a shot of an androgen, a male hormone, to jump start puberty for him. In ten minutes, John had an allergic reaction to the shot and went into anaphylaxis, he had a rash, nausea, cramps and the lining of the esophagus started to swell shut. Just like some people react to a bee sting, or peanuts, or shell fish. I called for assistance from an allergist, whose office was in the same suite and together, we stabilized his condition and transported him to the hospital. He didn’t say it, but we were close to losing him.
He was admitted to the hospital, and placed into ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for observation. About ten hours later, he had a second bout of anaphylaxis, this one was worse than the previous, he actually arrested twice before he was stabilized.
As a precaution, we did as complete an Allergy survey as I have ever seen done. John’s body now reacts adversely to any synthetic male androgens. His body even had an Immunological reaction to his own testosterone production and that attacked his own ability to produce male androgens. John will never mature as a male. He will never go through a male puberty. Seeing those results, we then tested him for reactions to estrogens and found no sign of an adverse reaction to them.
If John does nothing, his body will slowly feminize. All males produce a small amount of estrogens, but the overwhelming presence of androgens in their bodies keep them from undergoing feminization. John does not have this protection.
He doesn’t produce enough estrogen to completely look feminine, so doing nothing; he will be stuck somewhere in between, not quite masculine, but not totally feminine. So his choices are to remain androgynous, or become a girl and begin HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) to feminize his body. Remaining androgynous is not really a good choice; hormones do so many things other than make a person look like a girl or boy. They affect growth, bone density and more. If he can’t tolerate androgens, he should be taking estrogens. Either way, he will have a hard life. He needs all the support he can get. I will do everything I can to help him, whichever way he chooses.”
Helen, Madeline and Reggie asked Dr. Spencer some questions, which she answered. They discussed his problem for some time.
Finally Dr. Spencer said, “I don’t know what John’s choice is yet. I believe he might be leaning one way, but we haven’t discussed that. Seeing him here dressed as Janice, I know what I would hope he would choose, but it is his life, his choice.”
“Dr. Spencer, I am still not totally certain, but the last two weekends my friends have tried to help me see what it’s like from the other side of the fence, so to speak and I am leaning strongly in that direction. I know I just can’t start taking estrogen right?”
“Ordinarily you would be correct, and even in this case. I would rather wait till we hear from a Psychologist/Psychiatrist specializing in gender issues first. In your case, I could start you on HRT because of the circumstances, but you will be under a lot of stress once you begin HRT. I would rather you wait on a psych eval first. It won’t be easy for you. The hormones will affect your emotional state of mind, as most women know. You need to know what to expect.”
“I think that Janice has acquitted herself quite nicely tonight, I am also quite proud of all our girls, for helping their friend. How do you feel about this Helen?” Madeline asked.
“I have to admit this is all a shock. It seems that I am the last to know about it. I came close to pulling Nessa out of here, when I learned that this girl, Janice is really John. This is hard to believe, but I do believe what Janice has told us. Our kids are good for each other; I have seen how he has affected my daughter and how she has affected him. I will support him.”
Madeline stood and looked at Janice. “I will too Janice or John, we all will, I believe. I have found a psychologist’s who will see you, if you want. I know money is tight in your home and this person has agreed to see you on her own time. (With a little help from Madeline, which she’ll never mention) Margaret mentioned that you made some tentative plans, what are they?”
“I don’t know if you would call them plans, but we talked about maybe doing this on weekends to see if I can adapt. I realize that there is more to being a girl than just hormones. We also talked about me spending most of this summer as Janice. If I decide that this is the way I want to go, I might start before school starts this fall. I realize it might be best to change schools also.”
“You might want to change schools; I know it might be hard on the girls, but I realize that it might be best for you. If you need help legally, the firm I work for has agreed to help Pro Bono. Our girls would be devastated if you just up and left them, so please let us help you.”
“I don’t want to leave either, but I want to live till I am eighty-five too. I don’t know if I can just show up at our school as a girl. I don’t know how well I would be received.”
“Well we have some time to sort that out, until then keep us informed. Margaret has my permission to help you anyway she can. I am sure the other girls will too. Just be whoever you need to be.”
“Oh yes, by all means,” Helen said.
“Same here,” Reggie said.
“I want to thank all of you. It has been so hard, always being strong for John. It is good to know that you all support him or her.” Angela said, getting a little emotional. She had been quiet while all this had gone on, a little afraid of what might happen. It was good to see things headed in this direction now.
“Well we are all here for you as Janice or John, dear. Whatever we can do to help just ask us?” Madeline said.
Janice hugged all her friends and instead of changing she went home with her mom dressed as Janice. There was nobody to pay attention to her, as she got out of her Mom’s car, so they just acted naturally. Janice stayed with her Mom till just about time for bed, when John came back.
***************
At school, the week went by and on Friday, the girls checked out the equipment after signing their lives away. They would have the equipment for a whole week. They planned on using it a lot over that time.
At Anna’s home, they made sure that all the batteries were charged, and everything was ready. Margaret got her laptop and the video editing software, her parents had gotten her along with a card reader and an interface for video editing of VHS recordings. They recorded a video of the transformation of John to Janice and practiced editing that video.
Janice was amazed to see the transformation as a third party, instead of just seeing it in a hand mirror. Anna did the work on her, although Janice had a modest ability at it.
On her laptop, Margaret took the forty-five minute make over and edited it to ten. They then had Janice write a script and do a voice over, describing what was happening, as a reporter would describe it. They took three tries, before everyone was happy and they burnt four DVD’s, one copy for each of them.
Tomorrow, Janice had to go back to being John for the shoot, but afterwards, she would make reappearance. They got their notes out on the Festival and wrote an opening script, where John would be describing what would be happening, along with the history of the Festival. They did a rehearsal with Janice doing the script in the living room by the mantle. They then reviewed their work. Satisfied with what they had seen, they saved it to Margaret’s hard drive and erased the tape and memory cards, before calling it a day, since they had to get up early the next day.
At six the next morning, John cleaned up and dressed in his best suit. It was a very nice boy’s suit. The girls fussed with his appearance till they were satisfied that he looked as good as they could make him look. Anna tucked John’s long hair inside his coat and used a hairdresser’s tape, to tape it down to his shirt.
They ate and loaded their equipment into the Margaret’s Mercedes. The Festival started at nine, and John wanted to get those early interviews done and out of the way, before the festival started. They would then do roving interviews with many of the participants and workers.
Vanessa then stuffed her pockets with dozens of batteries, for all the wireless mikes. Margaret checked her audio equipment and Vanessa and Anna checked their cameras, before departing. They wired John up with the camera’s wireless mikes, and they also checked their radio equipment out. The girls had earphones and small boom mikes and John had an earpiece, with a built in mike, so they could communicate, regardless of their other wireless equipment.
At the festival John did his opening three times and then found the Sponsors of the festival, for their interviews. The sponsors were the local Women’s Auxiliary; they were tickled pink that the kids were doing a piece on their festival. They bent over backwards to give the kids whatever they wanted. John gave them an opportunity to describe their group, what their goals were and what they hoped to accomplish.
Vanessa and Anna got loads of usable material. The festivals director was entertaining and articulate. John’s questions showed just how well he had absorbed the material they had earlier provided him. They finished about fifteen minutes before the beginning of the festival. The girls changed their batteries and set the used batteries up in their mobile chargers.
This was one thing Mr. Dawson stressed to them; always have fresh batteries and spare recording media. If you were at one story and some breaking news occurred, it did not bode well to have dead batteries, or no spare video recording media.
Vanessa carefully tucked away the work they had done already, and then they got ready for more recording.
They roamed throughout the festival grounds picking up human interest bits here and there. Most of the participants were from six to twelve and their parents. The kids seem drawn to John and his easy- going manner. He felt almost like a celebrity, he and the girls had a crowd of kids and parents following them.
John would squat down to the kid’s level when he was interviewing them, unfortunately, when he talked to the adults, he had to look up. Someone came up with a six-inch wood box for him to stand on and it made the process easier for him and appeared more normal.
John whispered to the girls, “I almost wished I was wearing a pair of heels, but I am sure that would go over big time.”
That had the girls giggling big time. “I am sure we could come up with some, if you want,” Vanessa whispered back.
“I think I will pass on that, I am not sure all these good people would take a liking to that.”
At noon, John did several closing bits to the video. The festival still had a few hours to go, but they had a mountain of material to sort through. They would have to condense it down to a three-minute spot and they were also going to do a twenty-minute documentary.
Back at Anna’s, they unloaded all their equipment and carried it inside. They inspected everything to make sure they had not damaged anything and set aside all their recording media. They had a light lunch and then brought Janice back.
They transferred all their video to Margaret’s hard drive, standard VHS tapes, and DVD’s. They then checked all their work to see that it was all in good condition and usable, before erasing the memory cards. They lamented that they couldn’t keep the cards, they cost over nine hundred dollars each.
They spent the rest of the afternoon in girl school. Janice complained about being told that she would be corseted down to twenty four inches all week, but her cries fell on deaf ears.
They critiqued how John did things and about how Janice should do the same things. What John had done, was not that different from what Janice would have done, but there were several areas that would need to be more feminine for her.
“You know Janice, I was surprised at how well the children adapted to you. Kids don’t normally flock to a guy like they did to John. He interacted so well with them and treated them with respect. I am not saying most guys don’t respect kids, but they do treat them differently. I could see Janice though, when John worked with those kids,” Vanessa pointed out.
“I just treated them like I would want to be treated. Some of those kids were really quite bright. There was one girl who was about eight, I guess, who is really going to be a heart breaker when she gets older.”
“I know who you mean; she was as adorable and precious as she was precocious.” Anna said giggling. “You have got to use her in your three minute spot. She took a real shinning to John.”
“She was a bit of a flirt. You’re right Janice; she’ll have the boys fawning over her.” Margaret said.
“Ok, Janice, you said something about heels, so let’s have you walk some more in five inch heels. Mom has a couple of pair she hardly ever wears. They are very hard on one’s feet and calves.” Anna said, heading to her Mom’s room.
She returned with two pair of shoes. One pair was black patent leather pumps and the other pair was sandals with three straps, two across the foot and a third above the ankle. The pumps were a little tight, but Janice could wear the sandals.
Janice felt like she was standing on her tippy-toes. She found that she was taller than Anna was now.
She started walking tentatively at first and mentioned the tightness she felt in her shins. They didn’t let her sit for forty minutes, then it was only for a few minutes. Even though she had worn similar heels before she still found it challenging, she learned to squat to pick something off the floor, while maintaining her dignity and how to walk up and down stairs, without breaking her neck.
She was grateful when they were through with this part and let her sit, but they stopped her when she started to unbuckle the shoes.
“Not until bed dear,” Anna said, “This will help your legs get use to the shoes.”
When Reggie got home from the shop, Janice stood, then walked over to Reggie and gave her a hug. Reggie stared and giggled, as she saw Janice stand and walk. She wasn’t totally graceful yet, but she did a good job, she did have a cute wiggle as she walked.
Reggie gave her a big hug, “That was wonderful, Janice.”
“Yes, Anna felt like I needed to be tortured.”
“Well, let me tell you a secret.”
“Mom no!!!” Anna said in protest, her face blushing.
“Yes dear, no secrets from your friends, especially Janice. Anna tried for a week and she still isn’t as good as you are. She wore shoes like those for a wedding we both were in. Anna swore she would never wear them again.”
“I can understand that, after wearing them for two hours.”
“Turn around let me see you in them.”
Janice took three steps away and then turned for Reggie.
“They look really good on you, Janice; they make your legs and tush look really wonderful. Did you do your own makeup?”
“Yes Ma’am, does it look alright.”
“You did a good job for a novice, not as good as Anna or myself, but very nice.”
“Thank you, I had good teachers.”
“Why, don’t you girls fix dinner? Then you can enjoy yourselves.”
The girls went to the kitchen and all of them pitched in helping. Janice did the actual cooking, with Anna directing her actions. Margaret and Vanessa helped chop and dice the foods. Janice learned about spices, how things should be cooked, and how dishes were prepared. They marinated chicken breast in Tequila and margarita mix for an hour and then grilled them in the broiler. She wasn’t allowed to sample the marinade, before they used it. On the stove, Janice steamed some carrots and broccoli. Margaret made a big salad and Vanessa made some garlic bread. Anna took the marinade and made a sauce out of it. They each got a taste after it was reduced.
“Janice, I would have let you fix the sauce, but you have to be careful when cooking with alcohol. It burns with an invisible flame.”
“I know, we use it at times in chemistry, the flame is invisible except when there are metallic salts mixed in. Then the color varies according to the metal of the salt. Sodium produces yellow, lead is a real pretty blue, and copper oxide a green.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Yeppers. I dun gud in Kemistry.”
“Then cooking food is just basic chemistry, after you cook it, you have to present it and that takes artistry.
The girls showed her what they meant. They each took a dish and artistically presented it. Janice had seen food served this way in restaurants, where each dish was carefully placed on the plate and sauces and garnishments were added to make it look nice.
“Garnish like parsley, serves two purposes. First it adds color to the dish and eating it, helps remove some bad smells on the breath, from the food,” Margaret said.
“But the food smells so good now.”
“Food odors on the breath can be offensive and tend to get stale with time. Think garlic, it can add to the flavor of food, but people with garlic breath are mostly avoided by others. Would you kiss someone with garlic breath?” Anna asked.
“No, I guess not. Really, I haven’t kissed anybody.”
“Who have you been attracted to?” Vanessa inquired.
“Sexually nobody, I just never had the hormones to kick in the sex drive. I don’t think I could be attracted to a guy though. I just don’t know that part of my psycho/sexual self never got around to developing. I guess I am more asexual.”
“I don’t think we ever thought of you as a sexual creature. I’m not trying to hurt you by saying that. It’s just how I know I felt.” Anna said.
The other two girls agreed.
“That’s ok. I understand really. I think it could have fractured our friendship if I had been attracted to one or the other of you.”
“Well, you got us all for friends at least.” Anna said.
They set the table for six; Angela showed up and spent some time with the girls. The adults commented on how good the food looked and how it smelled so wonderful. As good as it all looked, it tasted better.
“Who cooked this, the chicken is wonderful, quite zesty?” Angela asked.
“Janice cooked it, Mrs. Daniels,” Anna said.
“Yeah right, I just did what Anna said. I couldn’t have come up with this dish without her.”
“Well you did a wonderful job,” Anna said, “It still could have been screwed up.”
After dinner the girls served coffee and desert in the living room. They talked about their day and showed Reggie and Angela the video they shot that day, along with the transformation video. Angela was besotted as she watched her son become Janice. She had never seen it happen and was simply amazed; as she watched the girls work.
“Since you started all this, I haven’t really seen a big change. You are yourself, just more relaxed at it, Janice. I just didn’t realize how feminine you were to begin with. Seeing you dressed like that is not the big shock I expected.”
“I wouldn’t have thought so before, but you are right. I act more like my friends than the boy I was, but I have learned a lot from the girls. They just took what was there and expanded on what I was, rather than taking parts away. If that makes sense?”
“Perfect sense, Janice. You are becoming what I think you should have been in the first place,” Reggie said. “There was very little of you that shouted masculine to take away.”
“Oh, I forgot to mention, you have appointments with Dr. Spencer and a Dr. Candace Walker, this Friday. Dr. Walker is a psychiatrist that specializes in gender dysphoria. She is the one that Mrs. Bradford was talking about.”
“Ok, Mom.”
The group continued talking about this and that till it was late. Angela went home and the girls got ready for sleep. After such a busy day they all retired shortly after ten that night.
The next day Janice was up first at about six, she cleaned herself up and got dressed and made up. Down in the kitchen she made coffee. She pondered what they should have for breakfast. Anna came in led by her nose to the coffee pot, wearing a robe.
“Ooooh coffee. What are you doing up so early on Sunday and already dressed?”
“Just woke up, I felt good, so I decided to get ready.”
Anna walked around and looked Janice over. “Well you did a good job.”
“Thank you. Let’s fix a good breakfast for everybody.”
“Ok, what did you have in mind?”
“Biscuits, gravy, sausage, and scrambled eggs.”
“Ok, we will do the biscuits from scratch.”
Anna just gave directions as Janice worked. She sifted all the ingredients together and then made biscuit dough. She pre-heated the oven and put the biscuits in. She then cut up some sausage and began frying it in one pan, before she began cooking eggs in another. Anna chopped up some green onions, mushrooms and bell pepper to add to the scrambled eggs. Anna then taught Janice how to make cream gravy in the sausage pan.
The others wandered in and made the juice, and set the table as Janice was finishing up, by pulling the biscuits out of the oven. While eating they discussed their plans. The girls wanted to take Janice to the mall again. Reggie said, she had to go in to the shop and do some bookwork there and order supplies.
Janice and two of the girls cleaned up, as one by one they left to shower and get dressed. Janice did the other girls makeup after they got dressed. She found she learned more by being able to do the other girls faces. She also liked doing this for her friends. The girls made her redo her face, just before they left.
At the mall, Janice learned many tricks the girls used, like where to go for better prices, or certain looks, which places had the best clothes, where to find affordable jewelry that was hip, where girls hung just to be around girls and where they hung to watch for guys. They did buy some things for Janice, that they felt she needed, but mostly they just did their thing there.
After a couple of hours the girls got some drinks and sat at a table in the food court to talk.
Anna had been thinking about what they could do the rest of the week and said. “You know, we still have those cameras, it would be ashamed not to use them more. I think we ought to shoot some more stories.”
“I was thinking the same thing, but I think Janice should find some stories and see how she will do as a girl.” Margaret said.
“I don’t know, we could never turn them in for credit.” Janice said a little worried.
“Credit is not the point of the exercise. We get more experience with the equipment and you get more experience as a woman, doing stories that might appeal more to women, or learning to appeal to a bigger audience.”
“I don’t have any clothes that would make me look like a professional, but is that even important, I wonder.”
“Just leave that to me,” Margaret volunteered.
“Sounds like a plan, lets head home in a bit and come up with some ideas for the shoot,” Vanessa said.
They made a few more stops and then headed home. They tore into the newspaper to see what might peek their interest. They laid on the floor and started checking what was going to happen in the next few days. They looked at the pros and cons of the various ideas they came up with.
They picked one idea, a meeting in city hall, at 9:00 AM, Monday, that dealt with parking problems in the downtown area. That had in the past been a heated issue, with workers parking on the streets, shoppers not being able to park, store owners complaining, jury members having to walk a long distance to get to the courthouse and such.
Not a hard news story, but not fluff, this type story was the bread and butter on televised local news. It was a serious issue to many different groups. Janice went to Anna’s computer to see what she could find on the net, while the girls got their heads together and planned what they wanted to do.
They got together and talked it over while they started to prepare dinner. They decided to go to the meeting for a couple of hours, tape the meeting, interview several people from the various factions and council members.
“You’ll need to look very professional Janice, to get any respect. I think I know just the look. My mom is only a little bit bigger than you are; she has a ton of suits because of her job. Anna, she’ll need a very professional makeup job and maybe have her hair in a knot or a bun,” Margaret said.
“I think I know just the look. You know how Terri Nelson, the local TV anchor, often looks. Her hair and makeup would look good.”
“I think that is a wonderful idea,” Vanessa said.
“What do you guys mean?”
“I have some tapes of the news, we can go over them after we eat and then you can see for yourself,” Anna stated.
“Ok, then we have a plan.”
They had dinner on the table when Reggie got home and they talked about what they had done that day. They told her about what they intended to do on Monday. She gave a few comments about how Janice should look.
“I tell you what, you have Janice ready by six-thirty, I will do her hair and Anna you know enough about makeup to do that. I need to be at the shop by eight,” Reggie said.
“Ok then, we will need to set the alarms for five-thirty,” Anna said.
“While you are doing her hair and makeup, I need to head home for a few minutes. My Mom heads out to work at about seven and I need to see her,” Margaret said.
“Ok, we will need to leave here by eight. So you will need to hustle Margaret.”
“I will have to organize my thoughts tonight; I got some good material over the internet.”
After dinner they sat and watched some of the tapes Anna had of the news. Janice paid attention to Terri Nelson and the other female reporters on the tapes, learning their mannerisms and the way they asked questions. She talked to the girls asking them what they thought of this reporter, or that reporter, and they helped pick the best sequences to learn from. They also talked about some of the mistakes they thought they made and what they thought could be improved on.
Janice then took her notes and practiced an opening spiel for the girls and practiced asking some of the questions she anticipated asking. The girls played the parts of the various factions and drew follow up questions from Janice. They worked till they were satisfied with their plan.
While Janice got ready for sleep the girls took this time to shower, there was just too much to do for all of them to shower in the time they had tomorrow. Janice found herself being laced in the corset tighter than before. Down to twenty three inches.
“Why tighten me down further?” Janice asked.
“My Mom has a twenty four inches waist, she wears a corset often enough she doesn’t get bigger. We need to get your waist down to that tonight,” Margaret said.
They all found their nook and settled in to sleep.
End of Part 2
To Be Continued...
And That is the Way it Happened © 2007 by Paula Dillon
The next morning the alarms were met with shouts of derision and vehemence but the kids got up anyway. They quickly got Janice undressed and into the shower. This was the first time they had seen Janice naked and were amazed at how small she was down there. Janice showered, shaved her legs although she really didn’t need it and washed and conditioned her hair.
They got her dried off, dressed in a kimono style robe and then had a quick bite to eat. Janice was in Reggie’s styling chair at six twenty five. Reggie got to work putting Janice’s hair into a French twist. Anna took over and did her makeup. Margaret left to go home about six-fifty and returned at seven-twenty. Vanessa got all the equipment sorted and loaded into Margaret’s Mercedes.
The girl’s rushed Janice in dressing. Anna raised her eyebrow and looked at Margaret when she saw the labels on the suit and shoes. Margaret just smiled back meekly. They attached her breast forms and then laced her into the corset. The girls then helped her with her stockings, blouse, suit and shoes. The Armani suit was fully lined and didn’t need a slip and the Prada shoes matched the suit so well. They wired her for sound before they helped her into her jacket.
Reggie stuck her head in before leaving and whistled when she saw Janice.
“My God, Janice you look four years older than you are. You could pass for an adult anywhere dear, just don’t go hitting the bars.”
The girls laughed at her comments
“She does look wonderful doesn’t she,” Anna said.
“She looks as good as my Mom in that suit, and just as professional.”
“I hope your Mom doesn’t lose it,” Vanessa whispered into Margaret’s ear.
Janice finally got an opportunity to see what she looked like. Her jaw hung open in wonder as she turned to and fro to look at herself.
“I can’t believe what you girls did. I look gud in this.”
“You should, you have four thousand dollars worth of clothes on,” Reggie said, “If I know my clothes, and I think I do,” Reggie said looking a little cross at Margaret. “You look great, just don’t ruin anything girl.” Reggie just shook her head as she left.
Janice didn’t have time to think about things as the girls hurried her to the Mercedes. They had twenty minutes to get where they wanted. They safely got there in eighteen. Janice helped and carried the tripods for operating in the council chambers.
Anna and Vanessa got their cameras and Margaret got the auxiliary audio recorder. They all showed their high school press passes, they looked quite professional. Mr. Dawson insisted they get use to carrying their credentials. The guard allowed them to pass after checking their equipment for weapons.
They were early enough to set up where they wanted. They set up near an area designated for the local TV station. Margaret set up two wired mikes for the speaker’s podium, the Mayors seat and she had the cardiod mike on a boom for background noise. Anna would operate as a fixed camera; Vanessa, with the new camera, would be roving. Janice sat with notepad and pen ready to take notes about the: who, what, where, when, why and how.
The three factions were to have thirty minutes total, with no speaker having more than five minutes. Speakers would alternate, first the shoppers, then the workers, and lastly the shop owners. The council would then debate for an hour, before they would vote on any actions.
The meeting was a heated affair, with members from each faction forcefully making their points. The shoppers complained that they didn’t have access to the downtown area. The workers were paying savage parking fees, or having to take long rides on buses that also was expensive. The shop owner’s sales were slipping because of the decline of shoppers. The council debated actions, then voted to set up some park and ride lots at three locations about two miles from town. The parking would be free, security would be at the lots from five am till seven pm, the bus ride, which would be express from the lots to a limited number of stops in the downtown area and back to the lots, would be at half price.
Janice saw Stephen Michaels, the TV stations reporter, came in toward the end of the meeting. Some woman handed him a stack of notes and he glanced over them. The camera man and the reporter’s assistant had arrived before the meeting; Stephen was the only late comer.
After the meeting was over, Janice latched on to the Mayor and asked a few questions. He looked at her and was delighted to answer her questions. While the Mayor was answering one question, Janice was jostled to the side by Mr. Michaels, who shoved his mike into the Mayors face and started asking his questions before the Mayor had finished with Janice’s.
“Excuse me Mr. Michaels, I will get to you in a moment. I believe I was answering this lady’s questions.”
“I need your comments now, so we can have it for the twelve o’clock news.”
“Again, I will finish with this lady first.” The Mayor said, as he turned to Janice. He took his time answering her. He was appalled at Mr. Michaels’ rudeness.
Janice wanted to stick her tongue out at Mr. Michaels, but kept her decorum. The mayor even allowed her an extra follow up question before he turned to Mr. Michaels.
She did stick her tongue out at his back, as she walked away. Margaret had lined up a few people from the various factions, and helped Janice through the groups.
The girls then left the city hall about ten after twelve. They stopped at a deli and ordered soup and salads for lunch. They talked while they ate.
“I couldn’t believe it, when that reporter pushed you aside Janice. I think you handled yourself well, except for your parting shot,” Margaret said.
“You did great too, setting up those people for me to talk to. I didn’t think about that. I am sure they would have left, if it wasn’t for you.”
“Vanessa and I got some good tape on all of it. We even got you sticking your tongue out at that Michaels’ bastard.” Anna commented.
“I couldn’t believe it, he comes in late and gets notes from an assistant and then he shoves me around.”
“Yeah he was such a turd. So what next poncho?” Vanessa said.
“Let’s get some footage from around the town, to illustrate the depth of the problem.”
“Sounds good,” they all agreed.
Margaret drove them around after they ate. It took a little while for them to find a place to park. They parked on one street and walked to a more major road and did several closing type comments.
Janice finally said her normal closing line, “And that is the way it happened.”
The girls were about to wrap it up, when an armored car drove in front of a bank across the street. Shots rang out and the girls followed the sound of the reports.
“Tell us what you see, Poncho, keep going.”
“This is Janice Davies, We were just taping a different segment, when we heard shots,” She said. There erupted more gunfire. “It appears we are on the scene of an armor car robbery.” She said crouching behind a car.
Vanessa and Anna kept their cameras rolling and Margaret ran and got the tripods. Janice kept taking glances and describing what she saw. They were about seventy-five feet from an apparent armor car robbery turned shoot out at the OK Corral, as two groups shot at each other.
The guards were shooting at the people shooting at them. The robbers appeared to be wearing bullet resistant body armor. The truck guards were soon joined by the bank’s guards.
Janice kept giving her crew a blow by blow account of the action. Anna kept her camera on Janice, with the action in the background, while hiding behind a tree. Vanessa was next to a building and getting area shots and close ups of the action, while giving directions and receiving updates over their radios. All in all the girls were as secure as they could be under the circumstance, except for Janice, who poked her head up occasionally to see what was going on.
It went on for at least five minutes, before Police began to arrive. More shots were fired, and there seemed to be no progress by either side. Streets were cordoned off, as the police set up a perimeter.
Janice could see that other news teams were slowly starting to arrive and set up. She giggled, as she saw where they were kept. It was only her team that had ringside seats. Every thing seemed to come to an end and Janice stood to give her closing remarks. A couple of more shots rang out and the windshield of the car, she had crouched behind, exploded in shards. Janice quickly ducked and after a final volley, a swat team assaulted the area.
Two people were cuffed, three others were down.
“Quick, give me your tapes and cards, I am going to try to sell them,” Margaret said. “Keep shooting and get some interviews, then take a cab to the TV station.”
Anna and Vanessa changed tape, cards and batteries, before returning to their shooting. Janice also changed batteries on all her mikes. Margaret took off.
**************
Margaret called Mr. Dawson on her cell phone and gave him a run down on where she was going and why. He told her that he would meet her. She then called her mom and kinda told her that they had some really hot film she wanted to try to sell and would need a lawyer at the TV station. She finally had to tell her they had some film of a robbery gone bad, that was sure to be hot news. She finally convinced her how good their film was. Madeline sounded angry, but said she would be there.
Margaret turned into the station lot and ran in the front door. She asked the receptionist for the news director. The lady looked at the kid like she had an extra hole in her head. Margaret raised her voice saying she had some hot footage of the armor car robbery that nobody else had. The station manager, Jack Williams, stuck his head out of his door, when he heard shouting and ran when he heard footage of the robbery.
Margaret explained to him what she said and where they had gotten the footage from the start of the robbery. He took her arm and ran to the edit room. “Fred,” he yelled, as they entered the edit room, “check out this girl’s video.” She handed him the cards and tape. Fred inserted the cards into their reader and slapped the tape into a VCR. He backtracked one and then the other until he had them synced. He then ran the videos.
It didn’t take Jack too long to realize how hot they were. He grabbed a phone and called the news director, “Sam get your ass in edit now. We got a freelancer of that armor car robbery from first shot till last…I don’t care If Dick is here, bring his ass too, this could go national.”
“Sorry ma’am. I am Jack Williams, station manager. Didn’t mean to offend you with my language.”
“That’s Ok, who is Sam and Dick?”
“Sam is Samuel Wilcox, our news director, Dick is Dick Reynolds, he is from the national news director’s office. These videos of yours are hot. Who are you with?” He said, eyeing the press pass on her belt.
“We are JD’s Productions at the local high school, we shot the morning council meeting and were doing some background shots when the robbery went down.”
“Any of you over eighteen,” he asked a little nervous.
“No, we are all sixteen.”
“Call all your parents quick, we need signed releases from all of you.”
Margaret called Vanessa’s home, Helen answered and Margaret quickly asked her to come to the news station. She explained how important it was.
Dick and Sam entered edit and Frank ran the tapes. Both men got real excited and made phone calls.
Margaret finally reached Angela at work. It took a lot of explaining to get her to leave work and come to the station. When she heard that the girls had been shot at, all Margaret heard was the phone hitting the floor, or the desk, it was hard to be certain.
Lastly she called Reggie. Reggie sounded worried, as she hung up.
*************
Janice led her crew to where the other news crews were interviewing local law enforcement. She tried repeatedly to get somebody’s attention. She just didn’t have the credentials the other’s had, or the recognition. That damn Michaels was hogging the Police Lieutenant.
Lt. Anderson knew who he could count on for favorable coverage.
Steve Michaels finally finished with the Lt. Anderson. Janice finally moved in to ask questions. He took one look at her press pass and took it from her and walked away, muttering something about those damn high school kids and their fake press passes.
Vanessa turned her head to where red-faced Janice was quietly expelling expletives. “Now, Now Janice, that is all going to tape. Things are a bust here, let’s head to the station.”
Just as she was ready to turn her camera off, Vanessa caught some action off to her side. Her camera might have caught part of it, she recorded another two minutes and then cut it off.
It took them a few minutes, but they caught a cab to the station.
*************
Madeline was the first to reach the station; she had brought one of her colleges, Carl Wright, who specialized in entertainment contracts, not knowing what to expect. She was also ready to tan her daughter’s hide and ground her till she turned thirty. She was followed by Mr. Dawson, Helen, Reggie and Angela.
A group formed around Margaret as she explained, what had happened and why she had called them. Mr. Dawson listened and then asked what they had gotten. Margaret tried to tell him, but she interrupted by someone calling Mr. Dawson.
“Abel Dawson is that you,” a voice said.
“Dick, what the hell are you doing in this neck of the woods? Are you slumming?” Abel said, turning towards his old friend.
Dick locked Abel up in a bear hug and said, “Nah, national sent me out to the bergs to bring the local news people up on some changes. There is still a slot for you if you ever want to come back.”
“Don’t think so, I am happy teaching.”
“Were these your kids that shot this stuff?”
“So I am told.”
“Ya’ll come over here and look at what we got,” Dick said.
A crowd formed around Frank and he ran both videos.
“Margaret Renée Bradford, is that my Armani suit and Prada shoes?” the crowd heard, and several people giggled.
Abel had a look of confusion and headed to where Mrs. Bradford was having a private chat with her daughter.
“I need to talk to you Margaret. Is that who I think it is?”
“Yes, Mr. Dawson.”
“Does Mr. Daniels know what is happening now?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Using what name?”
“Janice Davies.”
“Is Janice ready to be outed?”
Margaret just blanched.
“I didn’t think so. All of you will have to fill me in later,” he said and turned back to the video.
“Oh my gosh, he is right.” Madeline said, as she ran off to grab the other mothers for a huddle.
*************
Steve Michaels came into edit with his tape and saw what was running. “Damn that is good,” he said. “I can take that and do a voice over to heck with my footage.”
“Like hell you will. You sorry excuse for a human.” Margaret said. “That is our work product. Don’t even think about touching that video.”
Everybody there turned to see a scrawny five foot five inch girl, standing with her hands on her hips, inches away from Steve Michaels’ six foot two frame. The two were squared off for combat.
“You and your friends again. Why don’t you get out of my way and let a real newsman handle the story. You stupid B…” Bitch started to slip off his tongue, but he caught himself before he embarrassed himself too much. “We’ll pay you a few dollars for your tape girl.”
“Mr. Michaels, I am afraid the girl is right. I am Carl Wright. I represent,” Carl turned toward’s Margaret and saw her press pass and read off, “JD’s Productions.”
“Sorry Steve, the girl is too good for you to voice over her. We might just offer this Janice Davies your position, unless you apologize to that lady this second, and get your sorry ass out of here,” Jack Williams said.
“Excuse me young lady,” Steve said. His face was very red, a look of anger was displayed for all to see. He turned and stormed out of edit.
***************
Anna, Vanessa and Janice lugged all the equipment they had. The receptionist had been alerted to their arrival and pointed them down the hall. Janice, carrying the two tripods, was reaching for the door, when it slammed into her. She fell backwards, dropping the tripods, hitting her head on the floor knocking her unconscious.
Vanessa shouted at the retreating form, “You stupid son of a bitch, you could at least see who you knocked down and help them.”
“Vanessa get help, Janice is hurt,” Anna shouted, down on her knees beside her.
That brought a crowd out of the edit room. Jack paled visibly, when he saw the girl laying there on the floor, “Carmen call 9-1-1, Sam tell that SOB to pack his shit and have him escorted off the premises.”
Angela screamed when she saw Janice lying there unconscious. She ran over and knelt beside her crying, “Janice, Oh my god, be alright Baby, please be alright.”
Red faced, Madeline turned to Carl, “You get all the releases from the mothers, talk to that Dick guy and run him through the wringer. Make him cry. I am going to talk to the station manager and do the same.”
Carl licked his chops and hunted his quarry; it was going to be fun working with hurricane Madeline.
Madeline called, Candace Walker and gave her a heads up, and then hunted down the station manager, with a predatory expression on her face. One of her friends just got hurt. She truly looked like a lioness on the hunt.
Janice was unconscious for only a couple of minutes. She awoke with a blinding headache and tried to stand.
“No, Janice, just stay still. We have an ambulance coming, you are going to the hospital, young lady,” she heard her mother say.
Young lady? This confused John for a bit, but then he started to remember a little. Every thing happening around him was just a blur. He couldn’t remember where he was, or what he was doing; he just hurt. Somehow, he was transported to a white room, there were all sorts of people around and his clothes were being cut off. God he could breathe again. Next thing he remembered was being in a tunnel, or a coffin, he didn’t know what, he couldn’t move an inch. He just wanted to sleep, but people kept disturbing him and demanding his attention. He kept hearing Janice, and John, speak to us. Lights were flashed in his eyes.
The world slowly started to settle down and the fog slowly started to lift. He moved his eyes a bit and saw his mother, “Momma, what happened?” he squeaked.
Angela was startled to hear Janice, she jumped and said, “Janice.” She reached for the call button and pressed it.
John then realized that what ever happened; he was playing Janice, at the time. “Momma, what happened?”
“Janice, your back,” Angela said and pushed the call button. “We were so worried. You got hit by a door dear, at the TV station. You fell and hit your head; the doctors said you had a moderate concussion.”
A couple of doctors entered and began checking the figure. More lights were flashed in her eyes, her reflexes were checked and she was asked questions. After about twenty minutes, the doctors were pleased and quite satisfied with her condition.
“You gave us quite a scare. We were almost ready to send you to surgery. You were knocked down and hit your head on a marble floor. You suffered a moderate concussion, but we are upgrading your condition from poor to fair. We are going to keep you here for seventy-two hours.”
“But, we can’t afford that,” John said. “We don’t have that kind of money, Momma.”
“Don’t you worry about that Janice, the TV station is covering all of your bills. It was that reporter, Steve Michaels, that knocked you down.”
That name rang a bell with John, but he couldn’t remember why.
“It was the stations fault and they are covering your bills, and more. I am going to notify your friends that you are going to be ok. I’ll be back in a moment.” Angela kissed her child and left.
A minute or two later a woman with long blonde hair, in a white lab coat entered. She had a big smile on her face as she saw that Janice was awake and said. “Hi are you Janice?”
John looked at the bubbly lady, yes bubbly was the word and nodded a little. His head still throbbed a bit.
“Good, I got the right room the first time. I am proud of myself. Where’s your Mom?”
“She stepped out to tell my friends that I am ok.”
“Good, that makes me happy. I like patients who are going to be ok. I was suppose to see you Friday, but I got called in after you got hurt. I am Dr. Candace Walker, but if you don’t call me Candace, I won’t speak to you again,” she said giggling. “Not!!! But really, call me Candace, please.”
“Ok Candace Please,” John squeaked with an emphasis on please.
“I see you have a sense of humor to. How do you feel there?”
“Like, did you get the license number of the truck that hit me?”
“No, but we got the driver, he’s in hot water up to here,” Candace said indicated holding her hand way above her head. “Hurricane Madeline has got his ass screaming, along with the TV station.”
John managed a little giggle, Candace was a riot. He stated, “I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. They say Madeline can be a bitch, oops, sorry, she can be a hand full, they say.”
“NO problemo kiddo, you had it right the first time. We went to school together. We were sorority sisters.”
Angela came into the room and, saw a lady and her child laughing a little and, then she smiled.
“Good, you must be Angela Daniels. I am Dr. Candace Walker, but you better call me Candace, or I will have to spank you,” she said for Janice’s benefit.
Angela left skid marks on the floor, as she came to a stop. “Ok… ah… Candace.”
“Good you got it right the first time,” she giggled, “It’s not so hard to remember.”
Angela smiled, she liked this crazy lady. She had made her child laugh. “Ok, what can we do for you?”
“We are going to have a nice long talk, Janice and me, if that is ok?”
“Sure, It’s ok,” Angela said.
“I just want to sleep,” John said.
“Sorry, nope, no can do, Doctor’s orders, no sleep for you till waaaayyyyy later.”
John groaned, “Why, I am so tired?”
“No, no, no, Janice. You have had a head injury. The doctors want to keep you awake so they can better assess your condition, so it is either me girl, or one of those grumpy old nurses will sit on you, to keep you awake.”
“You want to talk about Janice, right?”
“Nope, we will get to her later, I want you more lucid for those talks. I just want to get to know you and keep you laughing and smiling.
I know, I’ve got a joke for you. There was this blond down in New Orleans. She was shopping at one of those exclusive malls and found this darling little alligator purse. She asked the man how much? He told her fifteen hundred. You’re kidding, she said. How about seven hundred? Nope ain’t no way the man said. Fifteen hundred, or get your own alligator. Well, she didn’t have fifteen hundred. She didn’t really have seven hundred. She just left the store, dejected. The man later was driving home and saw the women out in the middle of the bayou. A big old gator was making a track for her. The man yelled out, look out lady, there’s a gator after you. The gator got close and the woman pounced on the gator, she wrestled with him and threw him up on the shore, on top of five other gators. She stomped out of the water and looked at that gator and said, Damn, that gator ain’t got a purse either.”
John laughed so hard he hurt, that Candace belonged in a padded cell, not running around loose. He really liked her. The three of them talked for hours, about anything and nothing. Candace had a million blond jokes, each better or worse than the last, depending on how you saw them.
“Janice, I need to go, but you really do need to stay awake for two or three more hours, at least. The doctors will tell you when you can go to sleep.” She came over and, gave her patient and Angela a hug each. “See ya tamale girl. You might want to catch the ten o’clock news, you really made a splash, I am told. You outed yourself in a big way. Don’t worry though; while it may not be all good, it won’t be all bad either, you got lots of friends. If things go right, you may start seeing them tomorrow.” She waved and smiled, as she headed out the door.
Angela turned on the TV to their favorite programs at eight, but she had to keep Janice talking, to keep her awake. Janice was reluctant to talk, but did so, to make her Mom happy. She just couldn’t get into her favorite programs tonight.
At ten, the news came on.
“Our lead story tonight will come on second,” said the news anchor, “The people who shot that footage, also attended the city council meeting and turned in this report.”
The TV showed about three minutes of the council meeting and some of the short interviews that Janice had done. She was impressed at the way they had patched it together.
“This young lady, Janice Davies, that all of you have seen by now, is a high school student here. She is just sixteen, she was filming some closing remarks and recording some background for the story, when well, we will just let you see for your self.”
Janice was again on the screen, the camera paned left and right showing the congested parking along a downtown corridor. The camera came to a stop on Janice. She gave a closing line, ending with, “And that is the way it happened.” Three seconds later, gun shots could be heard, the camera panned to the source and Janice gave her running commentary. She was on screen ten minutes, with cuts to one camera or another. They showed a lot of the shootout, including the scene showing the car windshield exploding. Then some of the Michaels interviews with the police.
It was fifteen minutes before the first commercial break. While not unheard of in TV business, it was quite uncommon, since commercials paid the bills.
After the break, they went on to show the rest of the news, which overran their thirty-minute slot by minutes.
“Oh my gosh, everybody will know.”
“Maybe, maybe not. You were identified as Janice Davies, none of the other girls were seen.”
“I hope not, but my high school was identified. On top of that, everybody will want to know who that kid was, if I don’t miss my guess. That is news worthy itself.”
“I just hate that I had to share the story with that stupid Steve Michaels.”
“You know him honey.”
“Yea, he is one of the reporters for the local TV station. He pushed me around a couple of times that day, literally.”
“Ex, he is an ex-reporter to be accurate, Janice. He was the one that slammed the door into you at the TV station. The station manager fired him on the spot.”
“He deserved it.”
“Now Janice, I didn’t bring you up that way, even low life pond scum, like Michaels, deserves a chance.” Angela giggled.
“Why is everyone still calling me Janice? I am not dressed as her now.”
“Your name was given as Janice Davies, when you came in. The hospital staff knows who you really are. I saw no reason to correct that listing. Dr. Spencer and Dr. Allen, your GP, know you’re here under that name. Tomorrow, if you want, we can correct your appearance, or your name. Your choice.”
“I’ll think about it, Mom.”
It wasn’t till mid-night, that Janice was told she could go to sleep. The funny thing was, she didn’t feel like sleeping then. It took an hour for sleep to come, almost to be immediately disturbed by the vampire shift, wanting blood, another for blood pressure and temp. She went back to sleep only to be woke up by another nurse passing out her meds. At least they didn’t wake her to give her a sleeping pill, she thought
Janice was miserable when breakfast came and sorely wanted to bite the head off of the nurse that came in and woke her. She was much too cheerful, “Good morning Janice. How are we, today?”, but Janice restrained herself and gave a half smile saying, “I might be ok, if I could get some sleep. The doctors wouldn’t let me go to sleep till after midnight, almost as soon as I got to sleep, your vampires attacked and, someone woke me up for my BP and lastly I was woke up for meds shortly after that. Is there any rule against sleep in this place?”
“Of course there is, people come to the hospital to be miserable, not to sleep, didn’t you know that,” the nurse said giggling. “Seriously how are you feeling?”
“The back of my head still hurts a little, and I still have a headache, but not as bad as it was.”
“That is good, expect something for the pain shortly, the doctors will be in about nine to see you, and you have some more tests about ten-thirty. Some good news, you can have visitors after lunch. We have had a lot of requests from friends to see you. Buzz us if you need to get out of bed, you are not to get up, without someone there to help you.”
“Where is my Mom?”
“Angela went down to the cafeteria to eat and get some coffee.”
“Ok, thank you.”
“Your welcome sweetie.”
The nurse raised the head of the bed and Janice finally noticed that she still had her breast forms on, as their weight tugged on her chest. She hadn’t thought or felt like checking before. She felt herself and found nothing on below her gown top, or bottom.
She ate a little bit, even though she wasn’t all that hungry, but she did drink her milk, juice and coffee. Her Mom came in while she was eating.
“Hi mom.”
“Morning Janice, I didn’t think you would ever wake.”
“I didn’t think I would ever get any sleep. I think they woke me three times last night, I’m just not sure.”
“They are bad about that.”
“I have doctors at nine, a test at ten thirty and visitors after lunch.”
“Yep, they gave me the same run down. I am going home to clean up after the doctors are done and before the tests. I might get some rest also; those chairs are bad for sleeping in. I will be back some time after lunch. Reggie will be here while I am gone.”
“Anna too!”
“Not till after lunch.”
“Tell Anna to bring some clothes for Janice.”
“Ok, that answers my next question.”
“I believe I really want to become Janice this fall.”
“I thought that too.”
At five to nine, a parade of doctors came in, they poked and prodded her. It seemed that this was a teaching hospital; each student had to poke, prod and examined Janice. After several conferred together, they upgraded her condition to good. They still said she had to stay till Thursday, at the least.
Dr. Spencer came in and Janice told her what she wanted. She ordered some tests, and said she would talk to them about it tomorrow.
“Hi there sweetie,” Candace said, as she stuck her head in the door, “Feeling better yet?”
“I would feel better if they let me sleep. They kept me up till midnight and then they woke me several times. I wanted to clobber some of them, but I restrained myself.”
“Yeah, it can be rough sleeping with the hospital shifts. I see they came in for blood at one-thirty, then stats, followed by meds. How is the head, though?”
“The back of my head is sore, but my headache is gone now.”
“I see in the notes you told Dr. Spencer you want to go ahead with HRT and become a girl. Is that right?”
“Yes, I really feel that is right for me.”
“Well, let’s talk about that.”
Candace got Janice talking about it for forty minutes. She asked all sorts of questions, that Janice had a hard time answering. She wanted to know how she felt about this or that. Why Janice decided that this was right for her. Their talk was finally ended when some technicians came in to take her for her CT scan. Janice was unable to get the answer to a question she had.
A technician came in with a wheel chair and helped her get up and into the chair. She was wheeled into the imaging department and realized that she had been here the day before. She recognized the tunnel in her half dreams. They did the CT scan of her head. They said this was just to verify that there was no injury to the brain for them to be concerned about, and would provide a comparison to the CT scan she had received the day before.
She was then wheeled around the corner to another room and another tunnel. She was given a full body MRI. Dr. Spencer had requested this one specifically.
Janice was wheeled back to her room, just after twelve. Reggie was there waiting for her. Her room also looked like a florist had gone mad, or moved his whole operation to her room.
“Hi Janice. How are you doing?”
“Better than I was late yesterday. Where did all these flowers come from?” Janice asked, as she looked around the room.
“From your friends, families and the TV station,” Reggie said.
“You gave us a real big scare yesterday. I brought you a bag of clothes. Your Mom called me and asked me to bring them.”
“Good, it will be nice to get out of this hospital gown,” She said, “You know something Reggie, I have never received flowers before.”
“Well, get use to it girl. We’ll get you showered and into some clean clothes after lunch.”
Janice lay in her bed and a nurse brought her a tray. She and Reggie talked as she ate. Reggie filled her in on what happened at the station, after she was hurt.
“Everybody had been there, when Steve Michaels had stormed out and slammed the door into your face, Janice. The station manager fired Mr. Michaels for his gross negligence, and for his actions to Margaret. When we heard Vanessa and Anna scream, everybody hurried out. Your Mom almost had a stroke when she found you on the floor.
Madeline and another lawyer from her office really had a field day. They went after the station manager and an assistant from the national news director’s office. Your video went national, they don’t know how much you’ve earned yet, but it is going to be a small bundle.”
“I’ll need it to replace the suit they cut off me. They did cut that Armani suit off, didn’t they?”
“Yes they did, but you are not to worry about that. Madeline and another attorney will fill you in later today. Oh, Madeline said that you are not to talk about what happened, till after she speaks to you.”
“An attorney? I didn’t know I had an attorney.”
“You do now, and JD’s Productions has an attorney, also. Madeline is representing you against the station and a Carl Wright represents JD’s productions.”
“Oh God, more expenses, I don’t know if we will ever get all my expenses paid for?”
Reggie giggled as she heard Janice complain. “Don’t worry about it, Janice. Things will work out.”
After she ate, Reggie helped her to the bathroom. “You will have to use the shower chair for the next few days; they don’t want to take a chance that you will fall. It is either that, or sponge baths in bed.”
“I’ll take the shower chair.”
“We kind of thought you would.”
Reggie helped undress Janice and get her into the shower chair. She then sat on the toilet and they talked, as Janice showered.
“They left your breast forms on I see.”
“I was surprised by that too, but I am glad.”
“We’ll need to reapply them later today. I will get Anna to bring the adhesive.”
“So all this happened just because that Michaels fellow got pissed at not being able to use my video. I can’t believe how shallow he must be.”
“It surprised everyone, but seeing how much interest your video garnered, it is somewhat understandable. He probably hoped to use that to move up to a major market.”
Janice finished showering and Reggie wheeled her out. She then dried Janice off and went to work on her hair. Reggie combed it out and proceeded to blow dry and style it. She then helped Janice dress in her bra, panties, nightgown and a robe. Reggie then gave her a light makeup job.
Janice looked at her face in the mirror, “Thank you Reggie, at least I look better than I feel.”
“Your welcome dear. Let’s get you into bed. You should start having visitors soon.”
Janice got in bed and under the covers. She started going through the cards that came with the flowers. Reggie showed her arrangement after arrangement. There were some from the families of all three of her friends, Mr. Dawson, some from a Jack Williams, a Dick Reynolds, the local TV station and a very small arrangement of flowers from Steve Michaels.
“Ooohh, I can’t believe Mr. Michaels sent such a small arrangement of flowers. It would have been better if he just didn’t bother.”
“I think Madeline had something to do with that. She will be pissed that that is all he sent though.” Reggie said, as she arranged the flowers after showing them to Janice.
Mrs. Bradford and a well dressed gentleman, were the first to show up at about one fifteen.
“Hi Janice, how are you feeling?”
“Alive, I think. I’m not quite sure.”
“Well, you sure do look good.”
“Thank you Mrs. Bradford.”
“Your welcome, Janice. This young strapping man with me is Carl Wright, he is from our entertainment contract section. He will represent your group on any future commercial productions you do. With your approval that is.”
“Hello, Mr. Wright.”
“Please Janice; call me Carl, at least when we are in an informal setting.”
“I’ll just step outside for a bit and let you all talk,” Reggie said.
“Ok Carl,” Janice said, “Reggie said you wanted to talk to me Madeline.”
“Yes, we have some paperwork you need to sign. I will start with my paperwork. I have a settlement and a confidentiality agreement. I need to go over this agreement with you.”
“Ok, what settlement?”
Madeline set her briefcase on a table and pulled several sets of documents. “The TV station has agreed to pick up your hospital bills, Janice, and they are offering a hundred and twenty thousand in settlement, for your injuries. They are also replacing the damaged clothes and buying you three more suits too, along with a few other perks. They only ask that you say nothing, to anyone, about the cause of your injuries, or anything about the settlement. They want to protect their goodwill, you see if this got out it could hurt the station.”
“You have got to be kidding, a hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Are you sure it’s not Yen,” Janice said, with a look of disbelief on her face.
“Nope, its dollars not Yen.”
“And you get your suit back and I get three more?”
“No, don’t worry about the one I gave you. You get four suits.”
“OK, where do I sign.”
Madeline showed her where to sign and asked, “Your legal name is J. D. Daniels. Sign that way here, here and here.”
“Next, here is a form to show that your business name is Janice Davies. A lot of people do that, especially entertainers, and News people. It will be like your Nome de plume. Sign these forms, here as J. D. Daniels and here as Janice Davies. Now it is Carl’s turn.”
“Ok Ms. Davies, I need you to sign an article of incorporation. That just makes JD’s Production a legal corporation, and you are its president.”
“Me president, I think Vanessa would be a better choice.”
“They voted you president. You’re stuck with the title. You hold a forty percent share, and the rest took a twenty percent share.”
“No, they do all the hard work; they just make me look good. It needs to be a straight four way split.”
“Again, the girls said take it, or leave it, but that is the way they want it. You’ll have to talk it over with them, at your first board meeting. Sign here as J. D. Daniels and here as Janice Davies.”
“Ok, what next.”
“Sign this release for the station. Your Mom has already signed, now you must sign as Janice Davies. Now here is your agreement with me. The law firm gets ten percent of the gross revenue for representing you. We will represent JD’s Productions in all legal matters.”
“That can’t be that much,” Janice said, as she signed.
“Ok, Now that I am officially your attorney of record, I can tell you. The local TV station paid JD’s Productions, ten thousand dollars for forty-eight hours of use, of your video and they have a right to replay it anytime they want, for a fee. The national news department paid a hundred and fifty thousand, for the same forty-eight hours rights and rights of future use, for a fee. There were also requests from fifty-eight stations, we haven’t figured out what the gross from that was, but it should be between four hundred and five hundred thousand dollars, depending on market size of each station. We have an accountant working on those figures right now.”
“You mean JD’s Productions has earned over five hundred thousand dollars on that video.”
“Yes, that doesn’t include the crime show people, who have contacted us about using your film in a documentary of the robbery. That is under negotiation right now. I couldn’t begin talks till I had your signature. Also, they wouldn’t air for at least six months or more. I want to emphasis though you now have expenses to pay for. So the four of you will net between three and four hundred thousand, before taxes. You’ll personally net about a hundred and fifteen, after taxes, if you vote to disburse it all, but we will talk about that later.”
“You have got to be kidding, me earn a hundred and fifteen thousand.”
“It’s no joke, Ms. Daniels. Mrs. Bradford told me to make them cry and I did, they will cry all the way to the bank though. Expect more money to come in also, the rest of the majors picked up on your video today. There is even a request for an interview; that will bring in more from one of the majors networks. I had to tell them you were indisposed, due to an accident, but before the week is out, expect to be on TV again. I must say, we will earn our ten percent this week.”
“Do the girls know about all of this?”
“They don’t know the totals, because we don’t know the totals yet. They just know that it will be a chunk of change.”
“Let me tell them, please.”
“Sure, no problem, we have to get back to the office.”
“Oh and, I want to thank you Janice,” Madeline said. “After I dealt with the local station, I picked them up as a client for our firm. I didn’t take my share from your settlement, to avoid conflicts of interest. I negotiated with your mother for the TV stations benefit. We got to go, dear. Remember dear, no talking about the settlement to anyone, not even the girls,” Madeline said, giving Janice a good hug.
Reggie came back in, as they left the room.
“Well, did it all work out?”
“It was more money than I ever dreamed about, Reggie.”
“The girls will be here in a few minutes, they were told to wait till Madeline and Carl left.”
“Janice!!!” They heard from multiple voices, as the door opened again, admitting her friends.
They swarmed over Janice, hugging their friend. She hugged back and began to cry.
“It’s so good to see all of you. I have some good news for each of you.”
“First us,” Margaret said, wheeling a case over to Janice. “Mom said to give you this, It is from the station.” She opened the case and pulled out a laptop. “It has everything my laptop has and more. We downloaded all the video we collected on it. It’s yours. Also, this camera, it is like the one Vanessa used, but with a few more bells and whistles.”
Madeline set up the laptop on the patients table and rolled it over to Janice. “It has a few games on it if you get bored too. The batteries in the camera are charged and five memory cards are loaded in it. Mom said to say it is part of your perks, whatever that means.”
“I can’t say either, confidentiality agreement.”
“We know, we all had to sign one. We didn’t hesitate in doing it for you.”
“Thank you guys. I love all of you.”
“We love you too,” Vanessa said.
“Ok, it is your turn,” Anna said.
“Well, I am not sure how much we have earned, but you guys get at least ten thousand and some change,” Janice said.
The room was filled with squeals of joy, as the three girls were bouncing off the walls. A Nurse actually came in and admonished the girls to be quieter. Vanessa looked at Janice’s sly grin and asked, “How much change Poncho, you’re hiding something,”
“Oh, I guess I did understate that a bit, for effect you know. Actually, the figure could be as high as say ah… eighty thousand or more before taxes, they just aren’t sure.”
The room was filled with dead silence, as the girls just stared at Janice.
“You’re kidding, right Poncho.”
“Nope, the accountants haven’t figured it out yet, and we will have to pay for all our expense, but that should be about right.”
“My god, I can go to college, we can all go to college together,” Vanessa said. “I never thought I would get the money to go.”
“I wonder if we can leave the money in the corporation, avoid paying income tax. Maybe we could let the corporation send us to college, writing the cost off as an education expense,” Janice said.
“You girls have a lawyer now, ask him. I think that is an excellent idea though.”
“Yeah, but let’s each take out ten percent each to spend on ourselves and then let the rest be invested,” Anna added.
“It’s your money, but I think that is ok too,” Reggie said.
“Ok, who is the secretary, of our corporation?” Janice asked.
“I am,” Margaret said. “Vanessa and Anna are Vice-presidents.”
“Well write it down, this can be our first official meeting.”
“I’ll do it on my computer, the girls will remind me. We have got to learn about this corporation stuff. I am sure Mom will help us understand.”
“Carl Wright is our attorney, Margaret, talk to him.”
“Yeah, Mom told us about that too, but I can ask her general questions.”
“So, when are they going to spring you from this joint, Janice?” Margaret asked.
“Two more days at least, I had quite a concussion.”
“Well, we will come see you each day, till you are ready to leave.”
“I appreciate that, I really do.”
The girls sat around and talked for several hours, till a nurse ran them out at dinner time. Janice was a little hungrier this time, than she had been all day.
She watched the six o’clock news, at least she wasn’t on it, she thought.
Her Mom showed back up at seven, they talked about what had happened. She had a hard time believing that their video actually could make enough to send all four kids to college. Janice went over the figures that Carl had given her and what they had decided to do with the money.
“If you decide to change this fall, you will need a lot of money to pay for clothes and things.”
“I am thinking I might change sooner. All the kids at school will have seen that video. I am not talking about wearing skirts and dresses to school starting Monday. I want to buy girls clothing, John’s clothing never really fit anyway. My pants were tight at the hips and loose at the waist. I wore baggy shirts and sweatshirts to cover up the bumps on my chest. Even men’s narrow shoes didn’t fit right. I just want to get some clothes that fit, girls jeans, shoes, T’s and sweaters. Like the girls wear a lot. I can’t live this down, so I might as well live with it.”
“We could move, but I don’t know if that would do any good. Your face has been all over the news.”
“Yeah I know, the cat is out of the bag. I think this is the place I will make my stand.”
“We’ll make our stand Janice; I will be with you on this.”
Mother and daughter hugged each other tightly.
*************
The next day, Janice felt a lot better and smiled when the nurse brought breakfast in.
“Morning sweetie, you look like you are feeling a lot better.”
Janice smiled at the lady and said, “The vampires didn’t visit last night and my head doesn’t hurt today.”
“We hung a garlic wreath on your door last night. You will have doctors visit you at nine and there are some more tests that Dr. Spencer requested. Nothing major, you seem to be doing very well.”
“That is good to know.”
“Ok sweetie, have a good breakfast,” the Nurse said, as she left.
Janice watched the morning news as she ate. That Lt. that took her press pass and two other officers were been suspended, pending an investigation into the death of one of the Armor Car robbers. One person reported seeing the head of the deceased robber smashed into the top of the patrol vehicle, as he was being loaded into it, by one of the escorting officers. The prisoner suffered a severe injury to the head, which he later died from. She didn’t know how she felt about that. She didn’t like the man, but she didn’t feel right about the situation.
The doctors came in and pronounced her fit to be released tomorrow, that is till Dr. Spencer came in. She said she wanted to start Janice on an estrogen and considering what happened when she had received an androgen, she wanted Janice to stay another day. She would start her this afternoon on a patch and a shot. If all went well, in a week she would slowly build up the dose till she had normal levels for a teenage girl.
Dr. Spencer also said that her growth plates in her spine and her long bones were still active and she could expect to grow a couple of inches, but not much more than that, over the next two years. That was sort of good news, five-foot six would be short, but not overly so.
She also said that a surgeon would also be by later today. If Janice and her Mom approved, he would perform an orchiectomy tomorrow morning, because her testicles had atrophied and could present future health problems if she kept them. He would also perform a tuck operation that would give her a more normal feminine appearance.
Janice still couldn’t get SRS without approval from Psych, but Dr. Walker said she would probably approve when Janice turned eighteen, if she stuck with her sessions with the Dr. Walker that is. She couldn’t get the surgery done before that anyway.
“We are doing all this while you’re here, because we realize that your life is about to get complicated. It is outside the norm, we hope you understand.”
“Yes we do Dr. Spencer,” Angela said, “And we appreciate it, very much.”
Some time after Dr. Spencer left, two more Doctor’s came in.
“Janice Daniels?” one asked.
“Yes, I am Janice.”
“Good, I am Dr. Jason Godwin and this is Dr. Wilbur Bailey. Did Dr. Spencer tell you about the surgery she wanted done.”
“Yes she did, she was just here about twenty minutes ago.”
“Good, what we have planned is two fold. First: we plan to remove the non-functioning testicles, an orchiectomy, if you will, and secondly, to perform a tuck procedure to present a more feminine genital region, Right?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Good, we are on the same page. The first is necessary to prevent problems farther down the road. Atrophied, non-functioning, testicles present a higher incidence of cancer. The second part of our procedure is just aesthetic; you seem to be presenting yourself as a female, this will complete that illusion there. We will use a local anesthetic, you’ll be conscious during the procedure; everything should take less than an hour. Dr. Bailey will be in charge of anesthetics. It is a relatively minor procedure, but given your history we are taking precautions. Eat nothing after seven and drink nothing after midnight. You will be prepped at five and we will begin at five forty five. Any questions.”
“No.”
“Good we will see you tomorrow,” Dr. Godwin said, and then the two men left.
“Gee, that was something else,” Janice said.
“Those guys were incredibly focused and succinct.”
They were left to themselves till ten-thirty, when the vampires returned. Janice was afraid they were going to bleed her dry, as they drew tube, after tube, of blood.
“Dang it, leave me a little blood please,” Janice said, giggling.
“No can do, we have to get it all,” the technician said, laughing.
Reggie showed up at eleven and Angela left to go home. Janice started up her laptop for the first time. The girls had apparently done the startup work on the computer and it went straight to desktop. The desktop was a picture of her in Anna’s gown. It was the first time she had seen it.
“When did you get this picture in?”
“We got the pictures and a cd, with all of the pictures on it, yesterday. The girls already had your laptop and loaded all of the video into it that you guys took on Monday.”
“I can’t believe how great I look.”
“You look very lovely in that getup, Janice.”
There were several folders left prominently on the desktop. One labeled pictures, one labeled Nessa, one Anna, and another Margaret audio. There was also the editing software, a complete office suite and publishing software.
After checking out all the pictures they had taken at Reggie’s home, Janice clicked on Nessa and saw seven folders for cards 1 through 7. She clicked on card one, the editing software opened and the video loaded. She just fast -forwarded through the cards, till she got to the shootout. Reggie hadn’t seen all the video yet, so she watched too. Janice was amazed at the resolution of the video, as she watched. She couldn’t believe how calm she appeared to be. She knew it was Vanessa’s calm voice, that kept them all operating and not thinking about what was happening around them.
From the time stamps she saw it was forty-two minutes 38 seconds of video, from the first shot till the shooting stopped. Janice remembered that it was at that time that Margaret took all the recording media and headed off to the TV station. The next card had not been seen by anybody yet, a note said. That was from the aftermath at the scene and Janice trying to get interviews. She got pissed again, as she saw that arrogant police Lt. take her ID all over again.
“That man pissed me off, Reggie. He treated me like a little kid.”
“Madeline said she is going to talk to the police chief about it.”
They could see Vanessa wander off after that and they got some idea about what the total scene looked like. They could see shell casings everywhere and a couple of bleeding bodies. Janice nearly lost her breakfast, but she kept watching. Then she saw the Lt. and two cops escorting a prisoner. They saw one of the cops hop, the prisoner’s head go backwards and then forwards into the roof of the patrol car.
“Oh my, we got the incident with the prisoner on video too.”
“I heard about that, those three officers are currently suspended pending an investigation.”
“Yep,” Janice noted the time stamp and replayed the scene in slow motion. She zoomed into the scene and replayed it frame by frame. She stopped and counted the hands that she could see in each frame. The Lt. wasn’t close enough to have done it. The officer on the left, had his foot stomped on by the prisoner, and didn’t have his hands on the prisoner. The officer on the right; had one hand on the chain, between the cuffs, and the other hand was free. “That prisoner bashed his own head into the car, Reggie.” She played the scene over and over again.
“So they are innocent of the charges.”
“Call Madeline and see if she can get the Chief and Lt. Anderson here. You can tell her why, but ask her not to let on to the police.”
After lunch, some nurses and techs began wheeling monitoring equipment into the room. Reggie and Janice just looked at each other. A technician began hooking Janice up to everything. Dr Spencer came in around the corner, with the allergist she had seen last year, at the hospital.
“Hi Janice,” Dr. Spencer said, “This is Dr. Black; he was the allergist who helped me save you last year. We are hooking you up to all this equipment. We have a cardiac, blood pressure and oxygen monitor and a crash cart here. You’ll be on the monitors till later tonight. If you need to get out of bed call a nurse. We wanted to be ready for problems this time.”
“This is an Epi-Pen I want you to carry it around with you, till we are certain you are not going to react adversely to the hormones. This one is just a sample, you just pop the cap and then use it like this,” Dr. Black said, demonstrating. “You are to use it if you feel like you are having an allergic reaction, then get to a hospital fast. Use it only if you are sure.”
“Now, we are going to give you an estrogen shot and a patch to wear. We are starting with small doses and will slowly raise them,” Dr. Spencer said.
A nurse peeled a patch and put it on her belly, and then gave her a shot in the rump.
Dr.’s Spencer and Black sat down and talked about Janice’s news stories. Janice told them how she came to become such a celebrity and some of what has happened since. After forty minutes, the Dr.’s made their excuses and left.
The girls arrived about two, carrying shopping bags. They were taken aback a bit by all the equipment, but Reggie calmed all their fears. They were elated to hear that Janice had started on her female hormones. They then showed her what they got her. She held up some bras, panties, pantyhose, another nightie, a royal blue, cashmere, turtleneck sweater, a pair of black polyester/rayon twill slacks and a pair of black sandals with a two inch heel.
“I thought you said I had to wear skirts?”
“I think we said you had to wear skirts, till you were convinced you are a girl. We don’t think that is a problem now,” Anna said. “We think you are a girl at heart now.”
“I have already decided to wear different clothes to school, Monday. Clothes much like these. I tried to hide the changes my body has been going through, but no more. I am not going totally feminine to school, but I won’t be wearing my breast-forms. I won’t be hiding my little boobs, under baggy clothes either.”
“Wear that small gel bra, inside a regular bra,” Margaret suggested.
“I don’t know.”
“It’s either that, or a regular thirty-two A bra,” Anna said. “Or your nipples will show through that sweater anyway, that way you won’t look like a little girl at least.”
“I will take it under advisement; I have four days to decide. I think we ought to give Mr. Dawson a heads up though.”
“He already knows about Janice, he was at the station,” Margaret said.
“Oh my,”
“He is cool with it, he won’t be a problem.”
Janice then told them about her having to stay another day, and her minor surgery scheduled for tomorrow. They talked about her plans to wear clothes like this to school starting Monday. Anna suggested that Janice wear her hair loose and straight. Margaret apologized for not thinking before reacting, and for exposing her friend like that. Janice eased her feelings and said that it had all been for the best.
“Oh and thank you all for all the work you did on my laptop. I love the desktop picture, but I am going to change it to the one with all of us on it. You are my buds after all.”
“You’re welcome, it is always fun playing with a new computer, getting it setup and all,” Margaret said. “That one is nicer than my own.”
“Well all of you can use it, that goes for the camera too.”
About four, Madeline came into the room. “Hi girls.”
“Hi Mom,” Margaret said. “Hi Madaline,” the girls said.
“Well, the Chief and Lt. Anderson will be here in half an hour, Janice. I had to twist their arms a bit, but I enjoyed doing it. I threatened to sue them for violation of your first amendment rights.”
“What is this about, your press pass?” Vanessa asked.
“Sorta, it’s about what you recorded after that idiot took my press pass.”
“We haven’t looked at that yet. What did you see?” Margaret asked.
“Enough to clear those bozo’s of brutality.”
“You mean those cops that are suspended.”
“Yep,” Janice said, as she pulled up the video she had sorted out and played it for her friends.
“I think they should give you a medal for this Janice. You could have just wiped it out and their lives would be in the shitter,” Madeline said.
“I couldn’t do that; I would be as bad as they are, if I did that. I would be worse, for that matter.”
The girls replayed the video several times, with Janice pointing out what she saw.
Twenty minutes later, two men entered. One wore a uniform, the other Janice recognized as Lt. Anderson.
“Mrs. Bradford, we are here as requested. Now what do you want?” the chief asked.
“Well hello, Chief O’Connor, Lt. Anderson, it is nice seeing you too. I see neither of you are much for civility.”
“Sorry Ma’am,” the chief said, a little stiffly, “I just don’t appreciate being threatened.”
“Well, you wouldn’t have been here, if Lt. Anderson had used a little courtesy. Let me introduce you. This lady is Reggie Givens, her daughter is Anna, there. This is Vanessa Sebring, my daughter Margaret and Janice Davies. Girls, this is Chief Robert O’Connor and Lt. Leroy Anderson.”
The Chief and Lt. nodded as each person was introduced.
“Sorry Ma’am, I didn’t mean to be uncourteous. Now what is this all about.”
“Always to the point Chief. Alright, we want several things and, then we will forget about all this. First, we want an apology from the department and Lt. Anderson. Secondly, we want Janice’s press pass back, it is a legitimate press pass. Thirdly, we want your word that these girls will be treated as respected members of the press, after all, they have been widely published now.”
“Done, the department will send you a formal apology, your pass will be returned and my officers instructed. Lt, you are already in enough hot water, your turn.”
The Lt. turned to Mrs. Bradford and said, “Sorry Ma’am it won’t happen again.”
“Not to me, you Idiot, to her,” Madeline said pointing to Janice.
“To that kid, she had no business being there.”
“Lt. if you value your job, if you are cleared in the other matter, you better make it so,” the Chief said.
“Sorry for the trouble,” Lt. Anderson said.
“Well, that was pitiful, but I will accept it,” Janice said. “If I was as sorry as you were, I would let you take the fall for brutality, but I am not. I have something to show you.”
Janice turned her laptop towards the crowd and Margaret started up the video up.
“Lt. you and your officers are innocent of brutality, here is some video Vanessa shot.”
The two officers watched the video carefully, Margaret ran it frame by frame, so they could see that the prisoner had hurt himself. There was silence, through the third viewing.
“I am really sorry Ma’am, if I could take back what I said or did, I would. I don’t blame you, if you hate me, but those other two officers are really good people. I know they will appreciate what you have done,” Lt. Anderson said.
“That’s ok, we will burn you a DVD, it is all time stamped down to one one hundredth a second and Vanessa can authenticate its veracity.”
Margaret dug into the computer case and pulled out a DVDR and began to copy the video to disk. She verified that the file transferred properly and put the DVD into a hard case for the Police.
“Why are you in the hospital, if I may ask?” Lt. Anderson asked.
“I fell and hit my head. I received a moderate concussion; they are keeping me here for a few days.”
“Well, I really do wish the best for you ma’am and thank you.”
The two police officers took the proffered DVD and left, after saying good bye.
“I think you might be changing his mind about things, Janice,” Madeline said.
“I don’t think I care about his mind right now,” Janice said. “It would be nice to have some friends in law enforcement, considering my situation. I just don’t want to make enemies in the department, so this is good.”
“You’re right Janice, I would bet he knows all about John Daniels. I know I would, if I were in his shoes.”
“I know, I would too.”
“Well, you kids have fun. I will see you later Margaret, don’t be too late.”
“I won’t be Mom.”
At about six, some nurses came in and began removing equipment from the room and unhooking Janice. They brought in her dinner tray and shooed the girls away. Janice’s Mom called and said she was on her way.
“Reggie, I want to change into the clothes the girls got me, can you make me look great.”
“Sure baby, let’s do it.”
Janice showered quickly with Reggie’s assistance. She dressed in her underwear and into the sweater and slacks. The clothes felt incredible and really clung to her figure. The slacks were low rise and fit well across her backsides and her hips. She really needed the heels to keep the bottoms off the floor.
“Wow, these clothes look and feel so incredible.”
“They are high quality clothes too, I checked the labels earlier. I suspect Anna and Margaret were the ones that selected those clothes.”
“Well I just love them.”
Reggie worked on her hair, she then took Janice’s makeup and began doing a glamour look on her face. A nurse came in and seeing the empty bed, did a double take, as she looked at the two ladies.
“You’re my patient right,” she said, pointing at Janice.
“Yes, my Mom is coming back, after getting some sleep and cleaning up. I wanted to look good for her; you know to boost her spirits.”
“Just keep away from my Cardiac patients, I don’t want a ward full of heart attacks, girl. You look great. I just need to check your temp and BP.”
“Thank you, all of the nurses have been so wonderful to me.”
The nurse took her stats and said. “It’s ok for you to be up and about sweetie, as long as someone is with you. I know how boring it can be laying in bed all day. You just need to be back in bed by eight, no eating beginning now and no drinking after midnight.”
“I will be a good patient ma’am.”
“You already have been, the nurses and staff here really like you and your friends.”
***************
Angela came in and just stared at Janice. “Stand up and let me look at you Janice. Oh my, you look good.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too Janice.”
They sat and talked about their days with Angela. She was a little miffed with Janice for not calling her about her Police interaction, but was glad for the rest that she got.
“I am sorry Mom, I know this has all been so hard on you.”
“That’s ok, I just worry about you, that’s all.”
“I know, I am sorry.”
“Don’t be, mothers are supposed to worry.”
At eight, Reggie left and Janice got ready for bed. She took off her breast-forms, and put on her nightshirt. A nurse came in to check on her and she went to sleep. She was awaken at midnight, given some pills and went back to sleep.
At five o’clock a nurse came in and woke her. She checked her genital area for hair and shaved off a couple of hairs. She then had her change into hospital greens and gave her a shot.
At five thirty she was moved to a gurney and taken to surgery. In surgery she was transferred to an exam type table, with her feet placed in stirrups. She felt her genital area being cleansed and a needle being stuck in, in several areas down there. In no time at all it seemed she was transferred back to the gurney and wheeled back to her room. She was a little spacey, but she felt ok.
A nurse told her, “Everything went fine in surgery. You’ll be a little sore down there later, buzz us if you experience any pain. You have five stitches, don’t get up till after one, buzz us for assistance if you have to go to the restroom. We will teach you how to take care of yourself down there, then. If every thing is ok, you’ll be able to go home tomorrow by lunch.”
Janice went to sleep for a couple of hours. She was awakened by her bladder. She saw her Mom and asked for her help to go to the rest room. She buzzed the nurse, who came and removed the dressing and helped her to stand and walk to the bathroom. After she relieved herself, the nurse taught her how to clean herself after using the restroom. The nurse also gave her some antiseptic cream for the area and a panty liner, to go into the pair of panties she was handed.
“Just take care of the stitches, you’ll need to see the doctor next Wednesday, but the stitches will dissolve and fall off in about ten days. Keep yourself dry down there and use that antiseptic cream. The panty liner is just to keep all that mess and what little blood might seep, from ruining your panties. Use them for at least a week.”
“Ok, thank you.”
“No problem dear. You can get out of bed later today and walk around. Just be careful and don’t pop your stitches. Tomorrow wear a spandex panty, to give yourself support down there.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Janice had slept through breakfast, but the nurses brought her a snack to hold her over till lunch. Janice showed her Mom the video that she had given to the police.
“You mean, that if you hadn’t shot that video, then those officers might have been tried for the death of that prisoner?”
“They might have been, depending on what other evidence they collected, showed. This video trumps everything else, It clearly shows that they were innocent.”
After lunch, two ladies came into the room carrying several suit bags.
“Hi, are you Janice Davies?”
“Yes Ma’am,”
“Good, I am Monica Reyes and this is Sharon Novack, I run Monica’s Boutique and Sharon is my seamstress. I was told to fit you in some suits. I have brought eight of my best suits. I loved you in that Armani you wore on TV. I have two Armani’s, three DKNY’s and three Versace suits. Your friends told me your sizes, and I know that, that was Madeline’s suit you wore on TV, so we should be close to your size.”
“I don’t have all my underthings I wore. I am afraid my waist is a little larger than I want it to be, for the suits,” Janice said.
“Don’t worry dear, I was told about the corset, I brought one that is closer to what you should really wear. I want you to have one suit now, to wear home and you can come in and be fitted later for the other three suits.”
“Ok, sounds like fun. Let’s do it.”
Monica pulled the curtain around the bed and helped Janice undress, she wrapped the new corset around her, fastened it and began lacing it down. She measured the waist every now and then, again tightening it till the waist was down to twenty-four inches. Janice found that this corset wasn’t as tight in the chest, but was really tight round the waist. They then helped her with some stockings, fastening them to garters that hung from the corset. Her measurements were now 34-24-34. Janice stepped into her heels and then she tried on one suit after another. She liked all the suits and they did fit her. She decided on the burgundy Armani suit and the navy DKNY. Angela thought she had made an excellent choice.
“I would like to wear that Armani home, The DKNY’s skirt is a little long but I want it too.”
“Ok, put the DKNY back on and Sharon will alter it. How short do you want it.”
“About two inches above the knee,” she asked, looking at her mother.
Angela nodded her approval, and Sharon began marking the skirt. She then had Janice put the jacket on and began fitting it too.
“You have a nice figure, no sense hiding it behind loose fitting clothes, girl. Come to the boutique after you leave the hospital and I will fit the Armani to you. I agree it looks the best on you. The skirts are a little loose at the hips, but that will give you room to grow a couple of inches there. You can let your waist grow to twenty -five inches, after that you will need a new skirt. Your jacket will fit in your bust and waist. Your sleeves are a bit long; you look like you still have some growth in you.”
“The doctor said I might grow another two inches taller.”
“We will see what that does to your arms. If you grow two more inches taller, your arms should grow about thirty-eight percent of that longer, so that would be about three quarters of an inch to an inch. That would still be ok. I don’t think you’ll outgrow these suits,” Sharon said.
After Janice got the suit off, Monica went to unlace her.
“No, please leave me in it; I need to get my waist down.”
“Ok, it will be uncomfortable, but the customer is always right.” Instead, she helped Janice take the stockings off and helped her into her nightshirt.
“Thank you for every thing Monica and Sharon.”
“Your welcome.”
Angela hung up Janice’s suit, “You know, that is a really nice suit. It probably cost more than my whole wardrobe.”
“I will buy you some nice things, Mom. I know how hard you pinched pennies, to make a go for us.”
“That is your money dear, use it to take care of your college.”
“Hush Mom, I won’t hear of it. You’ve taken good care of me, I am going to help you too. End of discussion.”
“But….”
“Now don’t ‘but me.’ Mom,” Janice said and, then she started giggling like she was crazy.
“What is so funny.”
“You… Me, all of this, especially when I told you to stop butting me. You’ve said it to me a hundred times and now I have become my Mom,” she said, continuing to giggle.
Angela stopped and thought a few seconds and broke out in giggles herself, “You’re right, like mother, like daughter, I guess. Alright, you can buy me some things, but don’t go crazy girl.”
“I won’t Mom, but I do love you.”
“I love you too and I just want what is best for you.”
“I know, you never have to tell me that. Your actions speak louder than your words,” Janice said, hugging her Mom.
About four thirty, Mr. Dawson came to her room.
“Hi Mr. Dawson,” Janice said.
“John… I mean Janice.”
“Yep that is me.”
“Uh hello, I just wanted to drop by.”
“We are glad you did Mr. Dawson,” Angela said.
“Please call me Abel, Ma’am. That is you Mrs. Daniels, Janice, you still call me Mr. Dawson.”
“Then you must call me Angela.”
“Ok, uh Angela. I just came by to see how my student was doing. How are you?”
“I am doing better than I was, but I am not so sure about school.”
“I can understand that. This isn’t uh… something that is going … uh … away is it.”
“No Mr. Dawson, I am just not going to hide what my body has been doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mr. Dawson, I have been hiding behind my clothes at school. This is how my body is developing and I have no way to go back to what I was. I am becoming more like a girl everyday, my friends just showed me how much.”
“So you are going to come to school like this?”
“Yes, I can’t hide it anymore. Besides, all the kids at school aren’t dumb. I am sure a lot of them have already recognized me on TV.”
“Yes, I have already received a couple of dozen calls already. The principle even put it together. So what are you going to do?”
“I am going to come to school dressed in pants and a blouse. Nothing overly feminine, but people will be able to see for them selves.”
“I know you always wore baggy, ill fitting clothes. How did this all happen?”
“You remember when I got sick.”
“Last year, right.”?”
“Yes, well my doctor tried to jump start my puberty. She gave me a shot of androgens, male hormones. I had an allergic reaction to the drugs and had to be hospitalized. I then had an immunological reaction that attacked my ability to produce testosterone. Without that, I have been becoming more feminine. I have even started growing breasts. Mr. Dawson, my choices were to become more like a girl or to be stuck somewhere in between. I guess I kind of chose being a girl.”
“You and your friends are my best students, Janice. The best I have ever had. If you need any help and I mean that, any help at all, just call me. I will try to get the ball rolling, I guess. There may be problems, but you have a lot of friends at school, please don’t consider leaving, till you at least give it a try.”
“I will try to get along; Mrs. Bradford is suppose to help with the legal logistics.”
“I have heard rumors that she is good. Real good. So how is the head?”
“It’s going to be alright. I had a moderate concussion, but they are letting me go tomorrow.”
“It’s a good thing that that head is so hard. The TV station is complaining about a cracked floor, I hear.”
“Well tell them to send the bill to that Mr. Michaels, but I hear he is looking for a new job.”
“Funny, that is what I hear too. Oh let me tell you, just get your group to edit that video yourself and turn it in. I’ll guarantee, all of you an A. JD’s Productions really impressed me. You tell your friends that. So what kind of money did ya’ll make?”
“More than I ever expected. I don’t have a dollar amount yet, but the four of us can go to college on it. Let’s just say I am going to spend about ten grand on me and my mother.”
“I kind of thought it was that much. How many markets did you hit?”
“About sixty local markets, but that is before it spread to the other networks. So I guess we might hit a hundred or two.”
“You’ll have reached about a hundred million people then, or there abouts.”
“Our attorney is consulting with several crime shows, to use our footage.”
“It may not be as hot as the Zapruder film was, but you’ll make more money off of it.”
“Zapruder film?”
“Before your time girl. Abraham Zapruder shot the most detailed film of the assassination of John Kennedy. There were others that had some shots, but Zapruder had the best. Like your video, there were others who got some shots, but your’s was definitely the best. You had shot it from the start, you were the closest and you had the best angle.”
“Well, let me burn you a DVD of all of our footage. I have it on my new laptop.”
“New laptop?”
“Yeah, it was sort of a present. I can’t really talk about it.”
“Oh, that kind of present. Then I won’t ask what the station settled for.”
“What station?”
“Yeah right. You have it here?”
“Yes, sit and watch it, while I record it.”
Janice set up the burn and then ran the video for Mr. Dawson. Mr. Dawson fast forwarded some sections and slow motioned others.
“I have already seen a lot of this before, I still can’t believe how calm you looked.”
“I was so scared, my knees were knocking, can’t you hear them? Vanessa kept us going. They are my heroes.”
“You did an excellent job, your commentary brought all their work together. You tell great stories kid. Don’t get me wrong, the girls did a great job, all of them. Almost anybody can be taught to shoot good video, telling a good story is an art that either you have, or you don’t have. You have it.”
“Vanessa is good at directing and editing, I can see her making it in a News Room, putting the news together. Anna at shooting and makeup, she will be good anywhere behind a camera. Margaret has a flair for editing, sound and control. She’ll be a good producer. You were made to be in front of the camera. You have an excellent team. Thinking about it, you might actually have a better shot at it now, rather than as a boy.”
“You would put Margaret above Vanessa?”
“Yes I would. She lets Vanessa have her head, but Margaret is as sharp as a tack. She knows more than she shows. Margaret is the one that got you on the air. You should have seen her go nose to nose with that Michaels fellow, when he tried to poach your work. I don’t know how you got in skirts; I reckon it was the girls. If it was, I would bet my last dollar it was Margaret that planted the seed. The others might have done the work, but she was the instigator.”
“You know what, I think you’re right.”
“Well, I look forward to seeing you at school, kiddo. I got some wheels to grease for you,” Mr. Dawson said, getting up to leave.
“See you in class Mr. Dawson.”
Mr. Dawson left.
“I can see why you like him Janice. He is a nice guy.”
“He is my best teacher. He likes what he does.”
The girls came in after dinner. Margaret said they needed to have a meeting with Carl Wright; they already had some money come in. Any disbursements had to be handled properly, her Mom said. Also, they may be calling you Saturday, for a news show.
Janice told the girls about Mr. Dawson’s visit and Monica Reyes’ visit. Angela had to show the girls Janice’s new suit, the girls were excited about it. The girls planned to be here when Janice was discharged, drive to Madeline’s law office and then go shopping.
Janice also told them a lot of what she and Mr. Dawson talked about, except for his comments on the girls. They were excited about their grades for the course. They had already been editing their video. Margaret and Vanessa had worked it into a three minute, five minute and seven minute segments. They just needed her input on their edits and they wanted her to winnow it into segments she could use as a news broadcast. It was hard, there was so much good video to work with. They had over ninety minutes of video and although at times, there was a lot of nothing happening, there was over thirty minutes of action between the two cameras.
Janice suddenly had the urge to go to the restroom. She reached into the drawer, taking out a panty liner and the antiseptic cream, and made her way to the bathroom. The girls just looked at each other quizzically. They knew what was in the small pink package. They looked at Angela, who just smiled.
When Janice returned she felt uncomfortable, as the three girls stared at her. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
“Why are you using panty liners?” Vanessa asked.
“Oh those, you see the operation I had was the removal of my testicles. They had withered and no longer function, they could have presented a health problem later down the road. So my doctors operated to remove them. They also rearranged me so I wouldn’t bulge out wrong for a girl. I have to use the panty liners and antiseptic cream, in place of bandaging, till I heal down there.”
“You mean they cut everything off and made you a uh…”
“No, but they did tuck me back and folded my scrotum around to look like… you know.”
“Oh, ok we know.” Anna said.
“I have to keep myself clean and dry there, to prevent infection.”
“Like a girl,” Margaret said.
“I guess, I don’t know.”
“You have to sit to pee right.”
“Yes.”
“And then wipe to dry yourself.”
“Yes.”
“That is just like we have to do Janice.”
Janice was beginning to think her friends were a little daft; she was also a little uncomfortable about where this was going. “Yes, I don’t have my thing hanging there to point anymore. It is still there, just not hanging free.”
“You can use the word penis around us, we are grown up enough to say that,” Vanessa said.
Angela broke out in giggles at that. “You girls are something else, but I love all of you.”
That seemed to break some of the tension, the girls eased up on Janice a bit. Janice even started to giggle at the situation.
The girls had to leave at dinnertime, but said they that they would be there early the next day. They hugged their friend as they left.
“Those girlfriends of yours are something else.”
“Yeah, I just haven’t figured out what yet, but you’re right. I still love em though.”
The next day Janice was bubbly. She was glad to get out of the hospital, having spent almost her whole spring vacation there. The doctors came at nine and examined her. They pronounced her fit and began processing her discharge papers. Angela helped her undress and into the shower.
When she got out, she found a new corset, panties and pantyhose. “Where do these things keep coming from, everywhere I turn there is another corset,” she said to herself.
She dried and got the panties, with panty liner on, pantyhose and got the front of the corset fastened. Her Mom came in and helped her tighten the corset, and fix her hair. Janice did her makeup and dressed in her blue sweater, black pants and heels.
When she came out, the girls were there. The girls complimented her on her appearance. They all sat and talked, till a nurse came with her discharge orders, a stack of prescription orders and a new estrogen patch. Janice stuck the patch on her hip, under her panties.
She was then wheeled out the front door of the hospital. Madeline was there with her GL and drove all of them to her law office. They assembled there in a conference room. Mr. Wright was there along with Reggie, Helen and another woman, who appeared to be a secretary.
“Ok, everyone appears to be here with a parent, so let’s begin. First things first, Janice,” Carl said, handing things to Janice. “Here are the letters of Incorporation for JD’s Productions, your corporate seal, and associated documents. I need all of you to sign with your parent’s signature next to your own. Betty will then sign as a notary.”
The documents were passed around and everybody signed them.
“Ok, that is done, now for the legalities. You will have quarterly board meetings. Here if you like, since we have everything we need already here. Any disbursements of funds will have to be voted on at those times and have to be according to the share value each of you possesses. The percentages are J. D. Daniels forty percent, Vanessa Sebring twenty percent, Margaret Bradford twenty percent and Anna Givens twenty percent.”
“Why does Janice get forty and the girls get twenty?” Helen asked.
“Because that is what we voted on Mom. We wouldn’t be here now, if it wasn’t for Janice. She is the talent in our group and the talent always gets a better share,” Vanessa said. The look in the girl’s eyes told her they were serious on this point, so she dropped it.
“Ok, I was just wondering.”
“Back to business. Money has already started coming in. We have received funds totaling three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and expect another four hundred fifty thousand, totaling eight hundred thousand dollars. Now, what do you want to do with the funds.”
Janice raised her hand.
“You are the president and this isn’t school, you don’t have to raise your hand to be recognized,” Carl said chuckling.
“We already talked about this. We want to give each of us ten percent of our share and set the rest aside, making more money so we can all go to college together.”
“Will that be of the total monies received, or current revenues?”
“Just the current revenues.”
“Is that a motion,” Carl asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“All in favor raise your hand,” he asked and then took the vote, “All have responded yes, motion carries.”
“Betty please figure ten percent and have taxes paid on those funds and checks cut for the girls.”
Betty called another office and passed the orders on.
“I would recommend that you only invest two thirds of the remaining funds and leave one third in an interest bearing account, for easy disbursement of any future needs you girls might have.”
“I agree. Can you hire someone honest, to handle our money Mr. Wright?”
“I can and I will, if that is what you want.”
“As long as Mrs. Bradford is happy with your choice. I so move it.”
“I wish to amend that, to all the parents consent till you are each eighteen, if you will,” Carl stated.
“Ok.”
“All in Favor… All have voted in the affirmative. That is a great idea girls, the taxes won’t eat up the money this way, and the college expenses can become corporate expenses, which will save you money.”
“Here is an expense report that shows our fees and what we need to disperse.”
Janice looked it over, as did the girls and their mothers. They seemed reasonable expenses, compared to what was brought in. “These look good. I move we pay expenses.”
All the girls voted affirmatively, Carl then had the minutes typed up and brought checks for the girls. Vanessa, Anna and Margaret got about six thousand each and Janice got close to twelve thousand. Margaret and Janice had to sign the checks, after signing bank cards. The girls’ last act was to give Madeline Bradford, Power of Attorney to sign checks for expenses in the future, up to five thousand dollars, to any one payee. Margaret and Janice were told they had the responsibility to go over the bank statements and income/expense statements monthly.
The girls signed the minutes and then headed to the bank with their mothers, where they set up their own checking accounts, got bank cards and ordered their own checks. Angela signed the checks she had received from the TV station and deposited that money in Janice’s account while the girls were else wise distracted.
With their parents permission, the girls went out shopping. They hit the malls. Janice had told the girls what look she wanted now for school and the girls knew just where they needed to go. Anna headed them for the shops that best fit the bill. Janice didn’t know what hit her, she was stuffed into a changing room, trying on everything the girls thought would look good on her. Margaret sorted the clothes into keepers or rejected. Then all four of them went through the piles, to help select what Janice would keep. Janice had final say, but she valued the opinions of her friends. Mostly she bought blouses, tops, T’s, slacks, jeans, jackets, coats, blazers, jewelry and accessories, along with some very good cosmetics. She did get more than a few dresses and skirts though, for when she wasn’t at school. Anna and Vanessa got some nicer things for themselves also, things they had not been able to afford before.
They each promised each other to dress a little better, to make Janice fit in better. Janice’s wardrobe was just what she asked for. Nice clothes that fit, would look good on her, with out shouting girl, although that was only partially accomplished. Everything she chose made her definitely look like a girl. Most of the clothes they picked, she could wear without the corset. The pants were mostly low rise and the tops were stretchy, clingy things that fit what ever figure was beneath them. She loved the softer, silkier feel of all the clothes.
They did some serious damage in Victoria’s Secret and Frederick’s. She got bras she could wear with and without enhancements, 32A’s. She didn’t quite fill the 32 A’s cups without pushup pads, but they looked good on her and she would soon fill them. She also got some in a 34 B’s and got her own gel bras. Janice couldn’t believe the pile of lingerie the girls said she needed. She was even fitted for two more corsets.
The shoe store suffered the violence of the girls too. Janice tried on about thirty pair. She tried on heels, flats, boots, sports, casual and house shoes. They selected purses to go along with the shoes and her outfits.
Janice didn’t see it, but the girls had been making trips to Margaret’s Mercedes. There was a real danger of them having no room to ride home in, when a very tired Janice called it quits. It took some work, but they all got in the car and drove Janice home.
They all carried a load, as they entered Janice’s home. She hadn’t been home in a week. She entered her room and received a shock; her room looked much like one of the girl’s rooms. The walls had been painted, her closets and drawers had been emptied and the room had been decorated. It wasn’t Shirley Temple, but it most definitely not Rambo. She now had a vanity and a desk for her computer. There were nick-knacks girls keep in their rooms, new curtains for the windows, new bed spread and sheets, a few stuffed animals and several of the plants she had received at the hospital. It was a shock, but Janice liked the new look. John’s room had been so drab.
“When we weren’t with you, we were a little busy, Janice.” Anna said.
“I see that you were busy. I kind of like the new look, though.”
Margaret and Vanessa went to finish unloading the car, while Anna, Angela and Janice started sorting things out and putting them up.
It took all of them a little over two hours, before they had everything sorted out and put up. They went over where everything went with Janice.
The girls then showed Janice that they had spruced up the whole house. They had even redecorated Angela’s bedroom.
Angela ordered Pizza, and the girl’s got their sleeping bags and clothes out of Angela’s room. Janice was going to have a sleep over at her home.
They laid out their things in the living room and went to Janice’s room to change. They made Janice show them what the Doctor’s had done to her. She was a little uncomfortable but she complied with her friends’ request.
“My gosh they did make her look a little like a girl,” Vanessa said.
“Yeah the area is a little bruised up, but she could wear a bikini and nobody could tell she wasn’t born this way,” Margaret said. “Does it hurt Janice?”
“It is sore, but they gave me some mild pain pills. Loosen up this corset a bit please, somebody?”
“No, you need to change corsets Janice. You’ll feel better in a clean one, after you shower,” Anna suggested, as she worked on the laces. “Your really good lingerie you need to hand wash, as soon as you take it off if possible, that way it will stay nice longer, we’ll show you how. Have you got any Snowy Down or Woolite?”
“I don’t know if we do, you need to ask my Mom.”
“We will check while you shower. What’s with this patch Janice, did you quit smoking or something?”
“Something, that’s my hormones. I guess I should take it off when I shower. Could you ask my Mom before I jump in the shower Margaret.”
Margaret came back carrying a bottle of Woolite, and said, “She said to take it off, but put it back on, after you are dry. Each patch is suppose to last a week.”
Janice went to the bathroom with the whole troop. The girls washed her lingerie, while she showered. They even washed the things she had worn at the hospital.
When Janice stepped out of the shower the girls started teaching her more about taking care of herself. She was told to pat dry her skin rather than rubbing it dry with the towel. She was dusted with powder, after her hair was put up in a turban. They then showed her how to wrap a towel around her.
Janice dressed in a pair of panties, with a panty liner in them. The girls showed her where they usually kept their feminine hygiene things. They found that she already had a package there. They put the bottle of Woolite there and hung her things on a towel bar they hung on the back of her bathroom door.
The girls took turns showering, not minding the presence of Janice, as they did. They talked while they waited their turn.
They then helped each other with their hair. It was kind of nice Janice thought, to have some one dry your hair for you.
They dressed in their nightclothes; Janice was laced into another corset, but not as tightly. In the living room, they found that the Pizza had arrived, while they were in the bathroom, so they dove right into it.
Margaret got her laptop setup and the girls began working on their edits. They wanted it to be significantly different from what was shown on TV, yet just as informative. Margaret had some of the good segments already identified and set aside; they were just waiting for Janice to be there, for the final edit. They came up with a three minute and a five minute segment. They would need the sound capabilities of the school studio to complete their project, but they did get their material sorted out.
They then began editing their original assignment, while Janice worked on a script, on her laptop. When she finished, the girls got her into her Armani suit blazer. She looked cute, with the lace and light cream satin of her nightgown, peeking through the neck of the maroon blazer. Anna found a broach and strategically pinned it on her lapel. Janice then practiced her script, while the girls recorded her with her own camera. It wasn’t as good as they could do in the studio, (Face it, the sound and lighting characteristics of the average home, just isn’t as good as a studio.) but it wasn’t too bad.
Anna then put Janice’s hair up in rollers and talked about what she would do with her hair in the morning. Anna and Margaret rolled their own hair too, with Vanessa being the lone dissenter.
The girls stayed up chatting about what they wanted to do Saturday. Janice wanted to take her Mom out to get some new clothes. Her things weren’t in bad shape, she took real good care of them, but she could do with some newer, more fashionable, things.
“I can see that your Mom could use some nicer things, but all in all her wardrobe isn’t too bad. She has a lot of Sears, J. C. Penney and Walmart,” Anna said.
“What do you think she needs most?” Janice asked.
“That’s a hard question to answer, each woman has her own ideas of comfort and style. She might like Armani but be more comfortable in Worthington. She might like Victoria’s Secret, but be more comfortable in Playtex, or Maidenform. I am afraid that one of us needs to talk to her. She might not be comfortable for you to talk to her about this sort of thing.” Margaret added.
“Well, she is going to get some nicer things, if it kills me.”
“I like what you are doing for her, Janice,” Anna said.
After watching the late movie and eating a bowl of popcorn, they settled in for the night.
End of Part 3
To Be Continued...
And That is the Way it Happened © 2007 by Paula Dillon
Madeline also helps smooth some things over.
The girls wandered in, a little bleary eyed, one by one, dressed in their nightclothes, robes and slippers. They set the table, put out the syrup and served the tea, as Angela brought the food to the table.
“Mom, you are going with us today. I am buying you some new clothes. So we will clean up the kitchen, take turns showering and getting ready. Ok?”
“You really don’t have to do that Janice.”
“I know, but I am going to do it.”
“If you insist, I guess I will go along with you, but you aren’t going to waste your money on Armani or Versace for me, that is my final word on that, girl.”
“Agreed, I guess I will settle for less if I have to.”
“We have some ideas about what would look good on you Mrs. Daniels. Margaret and I would like to adjust you wardrobe and give you a younger look. After all, you are still a pretty young thing,” Anna said.
Angela blushed. She was thirty-seven, having given birth to John at twenty-one. Bill had run away a couple of years later, leaving her to raise her son alone. It took two years for her to track him down, with a court order for child support. His payments had lasted all of eight months, before he had bolted again. Her ex mother in law told her that Bill died in a car crash, about four years ago. His blood alcohol level had been .19, over twice the legal limit.
She had worked so hard to get where she was, she never had time to get out and date again. Now with her son, become daughter, she might not get the chance again. How many men would accept a boy who had changed and became a girl, regardless of the situation?
Her wardrobe was functional and just a little plain, but was in good shape. She had spent her money well. She sometimes shopped resale, especially right after Bill had run out on her. She really did want to look better, but those clothes cost more than she had to spend.
“Ok, I will put myself in your hands girls. Just don’t buy me anything too racy.”
“Don’t worry about that. I help my Mom shop and I know what she likes. You wouldn’t mind dressing more like her would you?” Anna offered.
Reggie Givens always dressed sharp. She felt it gave her customers confidence in her abilities if she looked as good as, or better than her average customer. She always looked like the consummate businesswoman, or sexy socialite.
“She sometimes dresses a little too sexy for me, but generally I like her style.”
“Well you need to dress more sexily, now that Janice is getting to be such a looker. You’ll be able to attract attention from her.” Margaret said giggling.
In a way Margaret was right. Janice did look great when she dressed up. It would look a little strange if Angela looked like a wallflower next to her.
Janice and Margaret started on the kitchen, as Angela, Anna and Vanessa headed for the various bathrooms. They had the kitchen clean, as their turn to shower came.
Janice was the last, and the girls had her clothes all set out for her, as she dried. They didn’t have a corset for her, but had her put on her breast forms, a 34 B bra, with matching panties, a gray silk blouse, black denim mini, that came just above mid thigh, suntan pantyhose and some black pumps, with a three inch heel.
Anna worked on her hair, as Margaret did her makeup. They were able to get her ready faster that way. Vanessa set up a purse for her; with everything she would need from makeup, panty liners, her antiseptic cream and a new wallet, with everything that she would need.
“Tell me Poncho, why do your ID’s all show you as J.D. Daniels?” Vanessa asked.
“Oh that is easy, you see my father’s favorite drink was Jack Daniels and he insisted that I be named Jack Daniels. Mom was livid, but she was trying to make a go of their relationship, at that time. So when she filled out the birth certificate, she listed it as J.D. Daniels. She insisted though, on calling me John and said that father could call me Jack.”
“It sure simplifies things. Even dressed as a girl, you look enough like your ID’s, that you could insist that the sex, on your driver’s license, was just a clerical error. Why do you still have a learner’s permit, didn’t you ever test?” Vanessa asked.
“I never have taken the driving test. No reason too. Mom works long hours and needs the car. We never had the money for another car, or to put me on her insurance. They require proof of insurance, before you get your regular license now.”
“Well things have changed now; you can find a decent car for about six thousand and insurance for about a hundred and fifty a month. We need to get you a cell phone too, now that you are a girl, trouble can come looking for you. We can all get one, with one of those big airtime contracts. Mom would get off of my back then, about the number of minutes I burn. We could make it a corporate expense, I think, the car too, maybe,” Margaret said.
“Good Idea, run it by your Mom and maybe we can take care of the phones today at the mall.” Anna said.
Margaret called her Mom and ran the idea by her. Margaret told her friends that her Mom said it was a great idea and would work. She would meet them at the mall at two thirty and help them get the paperwork done. She also told them that they needed to be at the TV station at four, for a meeting.
Janice told her Mom about the ideas they had, as they drove to the mall. She even liked the idea about the car. It was nothing for John to walk home late from school, but now that he was Janice, she had worried about that point. Riding the school bus also could have been problematic too, she thought. She nixed the idea about the corporation buying cars and insurance though, from what she knew, that would put the assets of the corporation at risk from an accident.
They got to the mall and descended on the shops. The girls had to argue with Angela about the lingerie shops. Margaret was the one that pointed out that Victoria’s and Fredericks were mid line lingerie, not top end, like Prada, or La Perla. Janice hung back a little, because she didn’t know how her Mom felt about her being involved in the shopping for intimates. Her fears were put down, as Angela asked for her opinions. Janice wasn’t in the changing room with her to try them on, but she did see her when she modeled her lingerie for the girls.
The girls got Angela everything she would need, bras, panties, foundation garments she normally wore, slips, camisoles, sleep wear and a couple of robes. The fabrics were so sensual and the colors vibrant.
Angela thought the new bras she had picked supported her better and gave her a more youthful bust line. It wasn’t that she was sagging, but she was beginning to show her years there. She also had longed for some of the silkier sexier things. With her budget though, it was either serviceable long lasting under things or cheap, almost slutty things that rapidly deteriorated. She just loved the things she couldn’t afford before.
From the lingerie shops, the girls dragged Angela to some of the mid range boutiques. The clothes the girls picked looked good on her and made her look younger and fresher, although it would take a little for her to feel comfortable with the new hemlines and necklines. There was nothing too racy, or that would be out of place for the office she worked in. She just wasn’t use to hemlines above the knee and it has been years since she wore deep v and deep scoop neck blouses. Her old skirts were all an inch or three, below the knee.
Angela loved the blouses and tops the girls found for her though. She really enjoyed shopping with the girls. Anna showed her true worth and seemed to be able to find things that were not outrageously priced, as most women’s clothes were. What sold Angela in all this, was the look of pride in Janice’s eyes, as Angela was transformed from non-descript middle aged Mom, to attractive vibrant young lady. She had to wear some of her new things, because her old clothes had somehow disappeared. It couldn’t have been Janice, because she was always at her side.
The girls had insisted that she upgrade her makeup. They made sure she got some quality cosmetics. Angela had to admit that everything she got made her look and feel better about herself.
All in all, it wasn’t as bad as Angela feared, but more than what she wanted. Janice had spent just over nine hundred on lingerie, four thousand five hundred on clothes, shoes and accessories and another seven hundred on makeup, hair care and nail care. What amazed her was the amount of clothing that was purchased. She had enough clothes to replace three fourths of what she had.
They met Madeline in a restaurant, at the mall. She passed a phone out to each of the girl’s and one to Angela. That was another thing the other Mom’s had, that she didn’t have. The girls programmed the phones with all their numbers, the law firm’s numbers, each other’s home phone number’s and their parents’ cell phone numbers.
After eating, Anna and Vanessa rode with Madeline, while Margaret, Janice, and Angela rode in Margaret’s car. With all the packages, it was next to impossible for anybody else to ride with Margaret.
At the TV Station they found Walter Bradford, David and Helen Sebring, Reggie Givens, Carl Wright, the station manager Jack Williams and news director Sam Wilcox waiting for them at the receptionist desk. After greetings and introductions were made, they retired to a conference room.
“What did you want us for?” Janice asked.
“We have set up a teleconference; New York wants to meet with you four girls, in five minutes,” Jack said, checking his watch. He pointed to a big screen and a camera at the end of the big table they sat at. “You’ll be able to see them and they will see us.”
He counted down the seconds and the screen lit up with a picture. The room they saw, had people sitting around a desk and when it became clear that both sides were online, some one in New York began with introductions. Jack then made the introductions on his end.
“Ok, it is good to finally meet the crew that set us all on our ears,” Benjamin Sellers, National News Director for the network said. “I have to say to you, that I found it hard to believe that all of you were only sixteen years old. I was very impressed by your work.”
“Thank you,” the girls said smiling.
“Here is what we want to do. We want you four to appear on the morning show, on Wednesday, at nine-thirty our time, that would be eight-thirty your time. We want two days to push your appearance. We are planning on using you for twelve minutes airtime, with one commercial break, some of that time will consist of excerpts of your video and then our morning anchors will have some questions for you. We will shoot you from a studio there, so you don’t have to come here.”
“We have school on Wednesday,” Janice said.
“We have already checked with your principal and she assures us that your absence would pose no problem,” Mr. Williams said.
“I guess it is ok, if our parents approve of this,” Janice said looking at her Mom.
“I do have one concern about it Mr. Sellers,” Angela said.
“I imagine you do, let me say now, that we know about certain problems and rest assured that no mention will be made of them by any of us, about Ms. Davies or Daniels. She will be identified as Ms. Janice Davies by our anchors, by the way. We think that is best.”
“Then you do know.”
“Yes, this network has a policy of non-discrimination and diversity. Given the quality of Janice’s appearance, there will be no problems from our end. Your daughter’s work and that of all the girls, speaks for itself, Mrs. Daniels. That is all we care about. We will put that guarantee in writing for you. There will be no shock journalism from us.”
“Then I will agree after reading it.”
The other parents agreed too. This was too good an opportunity for their children to pass up.
Jack Williams passed out the contracts; Carl and Madeline went over them with a fine toothcomb and gave their assent. The parents signed, followed by the kids signing them and Jack Williams signed for the network.
“Wonderful,” Mr. Sellers said, after he was informed that all the requisite paperwork had been signed. “You will need to be at your local station at seven for makeup, wardrobe, sound and video checks.”
After the goodbyes were said Angela, Janice and Anna went with Reggie, while Margaret and Vanessa disappeared. Reggie drove over to her house, where she led Janice and Angela to her backroom. Reggie had Angela sit in her chair and went to work on her hair, while Anna took Janice into another area, to take care of washing and conditioning her hair.
“Mom is going to style your hair a bit, Janice. It will make getting it in shape in the mornings a little easier. She doesn’t want you to see what you or your Mom looks like, till you both see yourselves in a mirror together.”
“Ok, but tell her nothing curly, or too feminine, for me right now. I just want to wear it straight for the rest of the school year. Where did Margaret and Vanessa go?”
“Margaret and Vanessa are at your house and are working on your Mom’s room. She’ll need to get some old things out of the way, before she can get the new things in her closet and dresser.”
“Good, I think Mom started to really enjoy shopping. I know she hated to spend my money, but she really liked the clothes we got her.”
“Yeah you could see it in her eyes and her expression, as she tried on all those clothes. She looks five years younger now, and she is acting younger too.”
“She needs to get out and have some fun, but it is hard for her, working ten hour days, five days a week. She hasn’t worked this week. So it is going to be a short week financially for us.”
“No, I think Madeline has talked to her boss, she may not get her overtime, but she should get her regular pay.”
“Good. I hadn’t thought about all that, since I had been in the hospital.”
Reggie came in and got Janice, after she had moved Angela to the kitchen. Angela had a tight plastic cap on, with bits of hair pulled through, wrapped in foil.
“How do you want your hair sweety?”
“Just straight right now.”
“Bangs or no bangs?”
“No bangs.”
“Ok, medium length and straight it is, look at these hairstyles and choose one.” Reggie said, handing a stylebook to Janice.
“This is just too much to go through, make me look like Lindsey Monroe, on CSI New York.”
“That would look good on you, I think. Your faces and hair length are about the same,” Reggie said, as she started to work.
Reggie chatted with Janice as she worked. It made the time pass easier for her and her customer. She also picked up a lot of gossip this way, about who was sleeping with who, who was on the sauce and so on. A good hairdresser knew where all the bodies were buried. They also kept their clients secrets; a hairdresser who would talk about other clients, could frighten her clients away. In many ways, a hairdresser was like a confessor.
Janice was a little uncomfortable talking girl talk with her at first, but seemed to settle down. Reggie gave her some dope on her fellow high school students that she didn’t know. Things she thought might one day be useful, if some of the catty girls or some of their boyfriends gave her problems. She thanked her by telling Reggie a few things she knew about some of her fellow classmates.
Reggie was surprised at how knowledgeable Janice was about certain goings on. Janice may not have been in on some of the gossip the girls had, but there was nothing wrong with her eyes, ears and brain. She would definitely have to have a talk with her daughter and confirm some of them on the sly. She didn’t want Anna to know where her info came from. Janice liked the friends, of her friends, for the most part.
While Reggie worked on Janice, Anna took Angela and rinsed the hair color solution out and shampooed her hair.
Reggie had Janice go to another room and wait while she wrapped Angela’s hair on rods and then added permanent solution to her hair.
Reggie then went back to work on Janice.
“Do you trust me Janice?”
“Yes, why?”
“I am going to pluck your brows a bit and shape them. They won’t be as narrow as Margaret’s, but more like Anna’s, not quite a full comma, though,” Reggie said showing her a picture of what she wanted to do.
“That’s not too bad I guess.”
She then shaped her brows and added a few semi-permanent eyelashes of various lengths to give them a feathery look.
Anna rinsed the permanent solution out of Angela’s hair and added neutralizer, then she rinsed it again after a time.
Reggie told Anna to do Janice’s makeup in her own room and keep her there till she finished Angela’s hair and makeup. She told Anna what she wanted on Janice.
In Anna’s room, Anna had Janice undress and put on another outfit. Janice didn’t know where it came from. There was a green silk blouse, charcoal gray mini skirt, taupe pantyhose and black open toe sandals, with a three-inch heel.
Anna sat Janice on the stool in front of her vanity, facing away from the mirror and began to work on her face.
Reggie worked on Angela’s hair. She took the rollers out after drying it and then combed and styled it till she was happy with it. She plucked Angela’s brow into a pair of comma’s and added a few semi-permanent lashes to make her lashes look feathery.
She then had Angela change her clothes to a green silk blouse, a gray mini skirt, taupe pantyhose, and black open toed sandals, with three-inch heels. She smiled to herself, as she already knew what Janice was dressed in. She and the girls had planned this out a couple of days ago.
Reggie then did Angela’s makeup. Angela was good with makeup, she just didn’t use a lot, at least not like Reggie thought would make her look outstanding. Reggie was shooting for outstanding.
“Ok Angela stand up and close your eyes. I am going to lead you to a full length mirror,” Reggie said and then called out to Anna. “Anna we are ready.”
Anna had Janice close her eyes and led her to stand next to her Mom.
“Angela, Janice you are standing side by side. On a count of three open your eyes. Ready one, two, three, go.”
They opened their eyes and first looked at each other. Janice dropped her jaw open and Angela’s mouth formed an O.
“Oh my Janice, you look amazing. That hairstyle looks good on you without being overly feminine. The makeup looks great, Anna you are such a wizard.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Daniels.”
“You don’t look half bad yourself Mom. I think Reggie and the girls have been a little devious,” Janice said, as she looked at the clothes they both wore.
“Just a little darling. We did it for the two of you,” Reggie said. “You both look great. I think.”
“I love your hair Mom, those highlights are wonderful. We definitely look like mother and daughter.”
Janice and her Mom then looked closely at them selves. Reggie had done a wonderful job on them. They could see how much they looked like each other. Although Janice was a couple of inches shorter than her Mom, there was no mistaking the resemblance.
Janice leaned in to the mirror and checked her eyes out. Besides the makeup and even without it, they looked very feminine. More feminine than she may have wanted at first, but she wouldn’t change a thing about them now.
“Reggie, this was well worth waiting for, I want to thank you so much,” Angela said.
“Yeah Reggie, I mean Ms. Givens, thank you.”
“You can call me Reggie, when it’s just us girls. I like that and both of you are welcome. We need to go find out what kind of damage Margaret and Vanessa have done at your house. They should also have dinner ready.”
Everybody hugged, got their things and headed to Reggie’s car.
At the Daniel’s residence, Margaret and Vanessa had been as busy as bees. As much as they wanted to, they didn’t throw anything away. What they did do, was sort out the best of the rest and then laid what they weren’t sure about on the bed. That way they could go through it with Angela, when they got home. You just never knew what a woman would be attached to. They then hung, folded and put Angela’s new things in their proper place. She had enough new things to replace most of her old things.
Margaret then hit the vanity. Most of the cosmetics were easily replaced with the newer ones. They were much better than Angela was use to, and matched her skin better. She put the replacements exactly where the older things were, so Angela wouldn’t have a hard time finding what she needed.
Their work done, they headed to the kitchen. After Anna called them and gave them a warning, they started to fix dinner. Madeline had a chef teach Margaret, and herself, how to cook. They had enough money to just hire a cook, but Madeline liked the personal touch of a meal cooked by the family. Margaret had taken to cooking, like a fish to water, but was careful not to be a showoff to her friends. Today she decided to let it all hang out. She found what she wanted to cook and Vanessa helped with the preparation.
She decided to fix chicken Parmesan, stuffed mushrooms, broccoli, garlic cheese bread, with marinara sauce and a Caesars salad.
Vanessa set the table for dinner, she hadn’t had a lot of training setting a formal table, but Margaret gave her enough help to complete the job reasonably well.
Her stomach had been growling for a while. Now that the smells of cooking were wafting throughout the house, it was much worse. There was the promise in the air that the wait would be well compensated for. Margaret had stopped on the way home and picked up a special dessert, a Boston Cream pie from a ritzy pastry store. It alone had cost as much, or more, than most meals around her home. She was looking forward to sampling it.
Everything was ready when Janice and company arrived. They just followed their noses and found Margaret bringing everything to the table.
Margaret and Vanessa just stared at Janice and her Mom.
“You two look fantastic,” Margaret said. “There is no doubt you two are mother and daughter, no doubt at all.”
“Janice is going to be a real girly girl,” Vanessa said starring and smiling at her friend.
Everyone exchanged hugs and almost as one, they groaned from hunger.
“Margaret, everything looks and smells so delicious,” Angela said.
“I haven’t seen such fancy food anywhere, but at a restaurant,” Janice said.
“Well, let’s not waste time then, let’s eat,” Vanessa said.
Everybody sat and dug in to their salads. It had been hours since any of them had eaten, but they took their time.
They talked about the transformation, as they ate. Margaret and Vanessa wanted all the details. Reggie filled them in on what was done.
“Janice, I just can’t get over your eyes. They were expressive before, but now they look like they could reach into your soul,” Vanessa said. “You have just got to keep up with what Reggie started. I was jealous of your lashes before, now I guess, I will have Reggie work on mine too.”
“Does that mean you are going to be more girly too, Vanessa?” Janice asked, cocking a brow at her friend.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high, but I can’t just let you outshine me like that and not do something,” she said giggling. “I think we all will dress better, so you won’t stand out so much.”
“Vanessa is right Janice, if we dress better, you won’t seem so out of place. We all can turn a head or two. We will be your camouflage,” Anna said. “Maybe Margaret will wear some of her high class stuff too.”
“I could, but I would rather blend in with you two,” Margaret said, looking at her friends.
After dinner Angela, Janice and Reggie cleaned up the kitchen. It didn’t take long, as Margaret and Vanessa had cleaned up as they went.
They then went through Angela’s clothes, she kept a lot of her shoes and pants, a few of her skirts and dresses the girls had set on the bed. She junked all of her old lingerie, except for two items, that had meaning for her. For the most part, she loved her new clothes better. Anna and Janice bagged up the rest for a charity store, as Margaret and Vanessa showed Angela what they did.
Reggie insisted that Angela give them a fashion show. She dressed in a few of her office appropriate clothing things for them, but she mostly showed off her sexier new things. The girls, talked about how to accessorize this, or what might go better with that and how they just loved her new look. Angela beamed under this attention, while Janice just wore a look of pride, seeing her Mom.
Angela seemed to glow, under all the attention that she was getting. Janice had fun helping her Mom, she loved the new level of closeness she was feeling right now. They were close before, but Angela never went clothes shopping with John, and she had never done a fashion show like this. Mother’s seemed to be closer to their daughters and can do more things with them, than with sons.
Angela also noticed how Janice was more into her group than before, if that were even possible. The girl’s treated Janice as if she had been a girl all her life. She noted how much Janice acted like her friends. She seemed very comfortable, in this controlled environment at least. Angela would never have thought that John could slip away so easily. The girls were right too; John was a quiet one, unless he had a story to tell. Janice was more outgoing and effervescent in comparison.
After the fashion show, the girls all changed into their nightgowns. Even Reggie and Angela put on nightgowns. They then gathered in the family room and put on a movie. The girls talked about what they were going to do tomorrow. Sunday being the last day before Janice would go to school as a girl, the girls thought it best that she have a dry run tomorrow, to see how she reacted to having to get up at least a half hour earlier. They set an alarm for six am, the girls would get up and let Janice dress and get ready, as if she was going to school. Then the girls would get dressed and they, with Angela and Reggie, would go out for an early breakfast. This would also help all of them reset their internal clocks, after being out of school for nine days.
Everybody laid down to sleep at ten thirty. The girls in their sleeping bags on the family room floor, Reggie used Janice’s room and Angela in her room. It wasn’t easy going to sleep for them, they had gotten use to staying up late, but eventually they all began softly snoring.
Margaret was the first to wake with the glaring beep, beep, beep of the alarm clock. On her best days she wouldn’t be called a morning person. Anna, Vanessa and Janice woke to her complaints. Margaret finally shut the dang alarm off. Janice staggered off to use the bathroom. It took her a few seconds to realize she needed to sit.
She then went to her room to get her under things and allow the others the opportunity to relieve themselves.
She took a quick shower, brushed her teeth, brushed out her hair, do her skin care, put her under things on and headed to her room to dress. Reggie had already gotten up and was in Angela’s room dressing. Janice picked out her clothes to wear; a skirt, a blouse, pantyhose and pumps, with a two-inch heel. She dressed and then started on her makeup, which was just the basics; a light foundation, mascara, just a touch of eye shadow and lipstick. She found her books and her purse, making sure she had what makeup she needed for touchups. She selected a sweater that went with what she wore and turned to her friends.
“Okay, if we were going to school now, you would be ten minutes late if you stopped for breakfast. You might want to shower at night that would save you twenty minutes. Overall you look very good,” Anna said, with Margaret and Vanessa adding their assent.
“Ok, I won’t be wearing a skirt to school in the foreseeable future at least, but you are right, I need more time to get ready now.”
Janice then sat and talked with the girls, as they took turns using the showers. Everyone showering that morning put a strain on the hot water heater, Anna and Vanessa had tepid showers, which greatly cut down their time in the shower.
When everybody was dressed, they went to the living room, where Reggie and Angela were having their morning coffee. Janice had to pass the scrutiny of the two Moms’. She passed with a few comments. All six of them grabbed their phones from where they had been charging and made their way to the car, Margaret’s was the most comfortable to fit all of them.
At eight forty, they pulled into the lot of the local IHoP restaurant. Janice hesitated for just a second and then straightened her back, before heading to the entrance. She had been lucky thus far, when she had gone out. They had shopped across town and eaten at restaurants that weren’t in her neighborhood. She had yet to run into people they knew, but this couldn’t go on forever.
They first person they met inside was Suzy Remington, the greeter, was a girl from their high school. She smiled and led them to their table. She gave no hint at recognition, at least to them, but she did a double take when she got back to her podium. She knew everybody there, except for one person. She had seen Janice on the news and recognized her, but the more she looked, the more certain she was of the identity of Janice. She knew John and the girls; they were always together at school. She also saw how natural Janice was and found herself in a conundrum. She didn’t feel she was a bigot, but she didn’t know how she felt about a boy parading around as a girl.
Janice caught some of the glances they were receiving. She was nervous, but inside she found the steel not to show it.
“Mom, I think I have been made, by some of the people here.”
“I think your right, but I haven’t seen any signs of trouble so far. I think you are doing alright though, so be proud of yourself and don’t let anybody get you down kid.”
Suzy was unable to contain herself and when she saw the tables around the girls empty and nobody was coming in, she went over them.
“Excuse me, but don’t I know you from school?” She asked quietly enough that she didn’t draw attention.
“Yes, I am afraid you do, Suzy. It is me John Daniels, although I would prefer you call me Janice now.”
“I thought so. So why are you dressed like that?”
“It’s a long story Suzy, but this is how my body is developing. I have a medical condition and there was no way I will ever develop as a guy. In fact, I have started growing breasts, my waist is beginning to narrow and my hips are expanding. This is all me Suzy, no silicone, or padding anywhere. The girls were trying to show me how I would look as a girl and I kinda got caught doing it. Since I will never mature as a guy, my doctors thought that this was a good idea. I was going to wait till this fall, but after Monday, too many people have seen me this way.”
“So you are this Janice Davies everybody has been talking about.”
“Yes that is me.”
“And you really are becoming a girl?”
“Yes I am. How do you feel about that? Will you let me at least have a chance?”
“I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. I just don’t know, but I won’t give you a hard time about it. I am not that way. I have to go.” Suzy said, seeing more people come in.
Everyone at the table could see the tension in Suzy’s shoulders as she walked away.
“Well that went ok I think,” Angela said. “I wonder how she will be tomorrow. She couldn’t make much of a scene here in her workplace.”
“Suzy is an ok girl,” Janice said. “She isn’t a trouble maker. It’s not her I am worried about. I am more worried about the guys that know me.”
“Like Clyde?” Vanessa asked.
“No Clyde is all huff, I can handle him any day by using my head. It’s the jocks, the guys who are always making trouble and the girls like Melissa Thompson, are the ones I worry about. Suzy may not be a supporter, but she won’t try hanging me from a tree.”
The rest of their meal went by without a hitch. Everyone just headed to the check out, instead of pushing their luck and heading to the restroom.
Suzy checked them out at the register and said, “Will I see you tomorrow?” In a pleasant easy tone.
“Yes, but dressed a little less feminine.”
“If what you said is true, I won’t give you any grief. You do look quite nice, by the way.”
“Thank you so much Suzy, that is more than I could expect.”
“See ya’ll tomorrow.”
“That went better than I hoped for,” Janice said, as they got in the car. “But like I said, she wasn’t one of the ones I was worried about.”
“Right, but every good encounter helps a little bit,” Angela added.
The girls drove back to Janice’s home. There they drilled her on what to expect and do tomorrow. The girls made her show them what she would wear the rest of the week. She laid out pants, tops, shoes and accessories, for everyday but Wednesday. Wednesday they had that interview and she would wear her Armani. She then remade her face, to show what makeup she would wear, which was mascara, foundation, or eye shadow, just a little mauve satin finish lipstick that almost matched her own natural lip color.
Margaret got a call on her cell phone; she said all of their mothers would be over this afternoon. The word was that her Mom had gotten some paperwork together to smooth things over at school. She also wanted to talk about the rest of the week.
“Let me cook dinner for them,” Janice said. “As long as the girls will help me.”
“Sure,” Angela said, “Anytime I don’t have to cook is a bonus girls.”
Janice huddled with the girls; they checked the fridge and pantry out. Janice ticked off what she wanted to cook and how she wanted it prepared. The girls began the prep work on the meal. Anna walked Janice through what she needed to do, but left the work to her.
Dinner took shape and the house filled with the aromas of savory foods being prepared. Angela greeted her guests as they arrived and led them to her living room. The mothers talked about this and that, until the girls stuck their heads around the corner and announced that dinner was ready.
Anna and Janice served everyone, and then sat down to eat. The women commented on how delightful the meal was and they wanted to know who had prepared the meal. Not only did the food taste and smell good, it was well presented on the plates. They were surprised to hear that Janice had done the cooking, albeit with Anna’s sure assistance.
“This is wonderful, Janice. How long have you been cooking?” Helen asked.
“I just started learning to cook in the last couple of weeks. I helped Mom in the kitchen a little and I can fix my own breakfast, but this is the first meal where I planned and cooked it myself, with my friends assistance of course,” Janice said.
“Don’t listen to her, we just peeled and chopped. Anybody can do that. She cooked it herself with just a little input from us,” Vanessa said.
“Well she did a wonderful job. I know Angela has got to be proud of her,” Madeline added.
“I have always been proud of my child. She is the light of my life.”
“So why are we all here, Ms. Bradford?” Janice asked.
“Patience my child, all will become clear after dinner and our other guests arrive. You know you have really come a long way in just a few weeks. I am amazed at your poise in all this.”
“It’s been hard in some ways, but I really have enjoyed it. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my friends.”
“That brings up one point that we can talk about now, Janice. In some ways it has been nice being alone, without our kids around, but the girls need to spend some time home, with their own families. I think the girls would even agree to that. I know they have put off dating for the last three weekends.”
“Boyfriends come and go Mom, we are still too young for a long term commitments, but yes I have missed going out,” Margaret said.
“You kids can get together after school each day, like you have been doing. The weekends you can get together also, but the girls need to come home. There are three girls, so maybe we can rotate who you spend the weekend with, if you need more work, or maybe cut back to sleeping over once a month or so,” Madeline opined. “Whatever, we have time to think about it.”
Everybody helped clear the table and was surprised to see so little to do in the kitchen. The girls had cleaned as they prepared dinner. It took a little over twenty minutes to get the kitchen in ship shape.
They finished just in time for the rest of the evening’s guests, Dr.’s Julie Spencer and Candace Walker.
“Ok, now we can get down to business,” Madeline said, opening her briefcase. “I need the letters of recommendation from you Dr. Spencer and you Dr. Walker.”
Dr Spencer and Walker, handed Madeline their recommendations, she gave them to Angela and Janice to read over and add their signatures.
“I also need Angela and Janice to sign these forms stating that Janice is undergoing her real life test in preparation to transition to being a female, and one requesting a legal name change. Instead of being J. D. Daniels, you will be Janice Dee Daniels. Dee was the middle name your Mom picked out. It can be changed if you want, but I think it sounds great. ”
“Yes, I like that name too, thank you Mom.”
Madeline went through a lot more paperwork with them, explaining things as she went. It was clear that she was an extremely organized person and lawyer. They had finished with the mountain of paper, when the doorbell rang again.
“I will get that, I know who it is,” Madeline said.
She left the room for a minute and came back with two people.
“Ok, I will make the introductions. This gentleman is the honorable William Kingston, Judge of the 245 th District Court and Elizabeth Moore, his clerk, this is Helen and Vanessa Sebring, Reggie and Anna Givens, my daughter Margaret, and finally Angela and J.D. Daniels.”
“I want to thank you Judge Kingston and you too Elizabeth, for coming here on a day off. We kind of have a minor emergency and need to meet some legal commitments before tomorrow.”
“It’s Ok Madeline, from what you have told me, I understand and you don’t ask for favors too often, so it is my pleasure. Elizabeth if you would swear everyone in for me.”
Madeline handed a form to Elizabeth and she went from person to person, swearing them in.
“Ok, that’s taken care of; it’s your show Madeline.”
Madeline went in an organized manner. First, J.D. Daniels became Janice Dee Daniels. The Judge questioned Janice and her Mom a bit before signing the order. Then Madeline presented a petition for a change in the legal status of Janice, from male to female. This brought more questions and included statements from the two Doctors present.
“The Court recognizes that it is the intent of Janice Daniels to transition from being a male, to female. We understand that the changes come from a medical necessity and that Janice Daniels, already at this point, doesn’t have the ability to present herself as a male at this time, nor will she at any time in the future. The Court authorizes the change in her legal status from male to female and we wish her the best in the future.”
The Judge signed all the forms and Elizabeth recorded all the motions, attaching the courts seal to them.
“I will forward the appropriate documents to the County, and you will be able to get an amended birth certificate and other documentation in about three weeks,” Elizabeth said, as she handed some paperwork back to Madeline.
“Now, I guess it is time for a party,” Judge Kingston said. “The court so orders. I want to meet these young ladies, that have caused quite a stir in the legal system.”
Janice wore a blank expression as she looked around. Everybody else had big grins on their faces, knowing they pulled one over on Janice.
“Why am I having a party?” She asked.
“It’s Janice’s birthday, silly,” Anna said giggling.
“It’s not my birthday. My birthday is in August.”
“Correction, John’s birthday was in August, Janice was just born a few minutes ago,” Vanessa said.
Janice had a thoughtful expression for a few seconds and then said, “I guess you are right. I think I will start celebrating April 16 Th instead of August 5 Th. What do you think Mom?”
“Legally your birthday is still August 5 Th,” Angela said, looking at the Judge who nodded that it was so. “But we can celebrate your birthday today.”
Vanessa, Anna and Margaret snuck off and returned with a cake, along with party favors and presents. The cake had Janice’s new name on it and one candle that was lit,
“All of you were in on this; I can’t believe you were able to keep this a secret. Especially you Anna,” Janice said.
Anna just grinned and stuck her tongue out at Janice.
Janice had to make a wish and blow out her candle. She then cut her cake and passed it out to the people present. Angela served ice cream to go with the cake.
Janice and the girls had to give a run down on how all this came about to the judge and his clerk. He asked about the bit of video covering the death of one of the suspects. Janice told him why they didn’t know about it till much later, due to her accident and subsequent hospitalization. The Judge asked about the accident, and Janice explained that due to a confidentiality agreement, she could not discuss the accident.
The Judge arched an eyebrow and said, “I hope it was a good settlement.” He looked at Madeline, who just grinned. “I see.”
Everyone gathered around Janice, who opened her presents. She carefully unwrapped the presents, trying hard not to damage the wrapping paper. Janice received several pair of earrings, on a earring tree, a new purse, a silk blouse, another pair of heels, a PDA, a necklace, perfume, a large picture of the four girls together, a charm bracelet, a leather bound diary, with a locked hasp and a set of keys.
Janice looked puzzled at the keys. They were car keys, Volkswagen keys to be exact. “You didn’t buy me a car did you Mom?”
Angela just smiled and said. “Yes, but you are paying for it.”
Janice jumped up, hugged her Mom and asked, “Really, where is it?”
“Out front I imagine dear,” Angela said looking to Madeline, who just grinned. “Yes it is out front.”
Janice and the girls ran outside and looked at it. Sitting in the driveway was a Platinum Gray, four door, VW Jetta gleaming brightly. Janice pushed a button on her key fob, the parking lights blinked, the car chirped, and the dome lights came on.
The girls jumped in one of the doors and sat in the new car. Janice in the drivers seat, put the key’s in the ignition and turned it to Acc. She then adjusted the volume of the Sirius radio and hunted for a station she liked. The adults just gathered around it.
“Janice you can’t drive it yet. Not without an adult driver beside you. You have your learner’s permit I know, but we will see about getting you tested Wednesday, after your interview. Your insurance document is in the center console,” Angela said. “I don’t want you walking to or from school anymore, or riding the school bus. Also I want you to carry your cell phone with you when you drive. Margaret has agreed to pick you up and give you a ride home, till you get your regular dirver’s license,” Angela said.
“Thank you Mom, I love it.”
Reluctantly, Janice was herded back into her house. The Judge and Elizabeth made their excuses, as they got their things to leave. Janice had to hug them, before they left. The Judge looked a little uneasy, but warmly returned her hug.
“Okay, we need to talk a little about tomorrow, Janice,” Madeline said. “The girls will spend one more night here, to help you get ready for school tomorrow. Your Mom is going to bring you to school. She'll meet me and your Doctors at school. We need to go to the Principal’s office, to sort out your changes.”
“Okay, I am glad that you will be there. I am more than a little nervous.”
“You have every right to be nervous dear. I understand that except for one class, there is at least one of our girls in each of your classes. Always have one of them with you; there is safety in numbers. Remember that Janice.”
“I will and thank you Mrs. Bradford,” Janice said, hugging her. “I want to thank each of you Mrs. Sebring, Ms. Givens, Dr. Spencer, Dr. Walker and especially you Mom,” she said, hugging each of them. “And of course I can’t forget my best friends, Anna, Vanessa and Margaret,” she said, group hugging them.
“You girls should get ready for bed now. I know it’s early, but you have been staying up late all week and you will have to get up early, so we can get all of you to school,” Angela said. “Anna, Margaret and Vanessa, go ahead and shower tonight. Janice will shower in the morning.”
“Ok,” they all said.
The four girls went to Janice’s room and Angela talked with the other Mom’s.
“Angela, it will all work out. I don’t want you to worry too much,” Madeline said.
“I hope so. I can’t help worrying though. Janice is my only child.”
“She has some good friends who will help her, Angela,” Reggie said.
“And she has got us,” Helen added, “I can’t help saying. I was a little upset at first. I thought the kids were playing some kind of sick joke at first. Now though, I see how much Janice has changed and how happy she is, I am behind you one hundred percent. Janice is really Janice; I don’t think John ever existed. That isn’t what I meant; I think that Janice was always fated to be. John was always around the girls; he was more comfortable with them and started early on to act like them. If you know what I mean?”
“Yes I understand Helen and I do appreciate all of you. I have felt a long time ago that this is what should happen. I just didn’t want to be the driving force behind John choosing to change. It had to be his decision.”
Angela hugged the women, they gathered their things and left.
The girls took turns hitting Janice’s showers and got dressed in Janice’s room. Janice got used to seeing her friends in various states of undress and it didn’t bother her. She wasn’t even uncomfortable stripping in front of them.
“You are more like us now, than different, Janice,” Anna said. “I always thought you were too cute to be a guy, but you are gorgeous as a girl. I like having you as a friend, as long as you don’t steal my boyfriends we are OK,” She said giggling.
“Yeah girlfriends don’t steal their girlfriend’s boys,” Margaret and Vanessa agreed.
“I don’t think you will have to worry about that. I haven’t had feelings one-way, or the other. If you know what I mean.”
“I have read that low testosterone in men and women, leads to a low libido,” Margaret said. “So I can understand that.”
“Really?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes really,” Anna said. “It’s testosterone in women too, that gives them a degree of sexual aggressiveness, or libido. Or that is what I too have read. Yours was off the chart on the low side. So your sexual libido was next to nil.”
Margaret got in front of Janice’s laptop, hopped onto the Internet and pulled up an article for them to read. Janice took Margaret’s place, Anna and Vanessa stood behind her and they read the article.
“That is interesting,” Vanessa said.
“Yeah, it explains a lot of things,” Janice said. “I like girls more than guys, but I never had feelings one way or another. I wonder how I would be if my body had been normal.”
“Who knows, you’re one of us now girl, and we don’t care if you like girls or boys. Just be our friend,” Margaret said.
The girls found their spot and laid down to sleep. Sleep came hard to them, as they lay awake, but finally after about forty-five minutes, they all drifted asleep.
End of Part 4
To Be Continued...
And That is the Way it Happened © 2007 by Paula Dillon
“Very funny girls. Ha ha ha.” Janice said, as she shivered till the water warmed up fully.
The girls were giggling at Janice’s discomfort and told her to shake a leg. Angela came running into the bathroom shouting, “What’s wrong?”
“We’re sorry Angela, it seems the water was a bit too cold when Janice got in the shower,” Anna said giggling.
“A bit too cold, they piped the water in from the arctic Mom. I was still half asleep when those cretins assaulted me.”
Angela laughed so hard, she had trouble catching her breath, “Well at least your awake now. I will have breakfast for all of you, when you all get dressed.”
Janice was hustled out of the shower and dried off carefully. Anna started on her hair, as Janice brushed her teeth and Margaret and Vanessa dressed. Margaret supervised her makeup, although Janice did the work, while Anna dressed. Janice just used foundation, just a hint of color to her eyelids and cheeks, mascara and a barely there light pink lipstick. She had an understated, but cute look.
Very nice, Margaret thought.
In her room she started dressing under the watchful eyes of her mentors. First she took her antiseptic ointment and carefully applied it to her stitches. She took a pair of hipster panties and added a panty liner. Vanessa went to the restroom and retrieved two more panty liners for her purse. Janice then pulled on a pair of panty hose and a bra, without enhancements. She then dressed in a dark blue silk blouse. She sat on her bed and pulled on a pair of black twill pants and let them pool around her ankles, as she threaded on a pair of above the calf boots, that had three inch heels, zipping them up. Janice pulled the pants up and zipped them, after carefully tucking her blouse in. The pants weren’t ultra low rise, but they were a lot lower than John’s pants, they hit her about six inches above her crotch. The pants emphasized there wasn’t anything there where a guy would normally have something. She got a couple of bangles for her right wrist, a lady’s watch for her left and a jeweled pendant on a thin gold chain, with matching drop earrings. Lastly she got a matching black twill jacket to wear.
She turned for the girls, who whistled at her.
“You said that you didn’t want to shout femininity. I think you failed, but in a wonderful way. You look absolutely scrumptious,” Anna said.
“Yeah, if I were a guy, I would be falling all over myself trying to get a date with you. You are smoking,” Vanessa added.
“You are sophisticated Chic`, girl,” Margaret said. “Okay turn around slowly, we have to check for VPL.”
“VPL, what is that?” Janice asked.
“The number one sin when a girl wears pants, visible panty line,” Vanessa said. “Always check for panty edges, and the half moon front and back from the gusset seam. The others are dunlap, not a problem for you, exposed panty waistbands and a few others.”
“Do ya’ll think this is too much?” Janice asked, a little concern came through her voice. “Should I change to something less sexy?”
“Noooo, don’t change a thing. You look like I think you should, for your first day in school,” Margaret said, handing Janice a black patent leather purse, on a silver chain.
“Amen,” the others echoed.
“Ok, always check your purse before going downstairs. Have you got your cell phone set to vibrate, for at school, wallet, keys, lipstick, compact, eye shadow, foundation, nail polish, pen, pencil, breath strips, panty liners, tampons, you don’t have any, but you should get some, not for you, but some other girl might ask, and anything else you might need,” Margaret said.
“Yeah, I need my antiseptic cream and my Epi-Pen,” Janice said.
“Epi-Pen, what is that?” Vanessa asked
“For if I have an allergic reaction, like I did last year,” Janice said, coming out of her bathroom. “It could save my life. It contains epinephrine. I will tell ya’ll about it at lunch.”
“Ok, let’s get breakfast,” Vanessa said. “I am hungry, we have thirty minutes before we have to go.”
Janice grabbed her book bag and led the troop to the kitchen. They sat at the table as Angela served them. Angela had to take a double take, all the girls looked great, a lot better than usual; Janice though was stunning in simplicity.
“My gosh, the school won’t know what hit them. All of you look so nice, especially you Janice. I thought you were going to dress down a bit?”
“I thought I did. I didn’t know I was smoking till the girls told me.”
“Yes, smoking, that is a good word for it,” Angela said.
“Without dressing in those oversized rags John wore, I don’t think she could not be smoking,” Margaret said.
“You may be right Margaret,” Angela said.
The girls ate as quickly as the girls could and maintain decorum. It was getting close to the time they would need to leave. Anna, Vanessa and Margaret hugged their friend and gave her air kisses before rushing off to Margaret’s Mercedes.
Janice and her Mom headed to Janice’s car, out the front door. “You may drive to school and park, if I can borrow your car today?”
“If I get to drive to school, that is more than ok, Mom,” Janice said, clicking her key fob to unlock the doors to her Jetta. She put her books on the back seat and her purse between her Mom and herself. “Wow, my own car,” she said as she strapped herself in.
Janice had driven before, just not much. She had taken driver’s ed classroom and behind the wheel, but just never took the driving test. She didn’t see the need. They had one car and her Mom needed it. She just didn’t have many opportunities to drive, nor could they afford the added expense for an under eighteen driver, to be on the families car insurance policy. All of that had changed now.
Janice mentally went through all the things she had been taught as she started the car and backed out. She drove very nicely and parked in a visitor’s slot at school.
“Need my keys, Mom?”
“No I have the other set.”
Janice and her Mom entered the school and headed for the office. The first bell rung as they entered. They were stunned. Mr. and Mrs. Bradford, Mr. Wright, and two other legal looking types, Dr. Spencer and Dr. Walker were all there waiting for her. Madeline introduced the other two lawyers as Mr. Timothy Singh and Ms. Sonya Nettle.
Principal Cathy Simmons came out of her office and was taken back by the crowd. “Oh my, are all of you with the Daniel’s?” she asked.
Everybody answered in the affirmative
“Ok, we are moving this to the conference room. Linda, I need you and Mr. Collins to the conference room. If you will follow me Ladies and Gentlemen.”
They followed Ms. Simmons down a hall in the office to what looked like a board room that had a long table and fourteen chairs, plus room for a few more.
Ms. Simmons sat at the head of the table, indicating where she wanted Janice to sit next to her, with Janice’s Mom on the other side. The others just found a convenient seat, with Madeline nearest Ms. Simmons and the Doctors. next to Angela. Linda arrived and took a position behind Ms. Simmons, carrying several files and a steno book. Mr. Collins came in and took a seat at the other end.
Ms. Simmons stood and said, “I’ll make the introductions for the school. I am Ms. Cathy Simmons Principal, at the other end is Vice Principal Jeff Collins and this is my secretary Linda Keller. Linda will be taking notes.”
Madeline stood and said, “I will make our introductions. I am Madeline Bradford, attorney at law, this is Walter Bradford, my husband and attorney at law, Carl Wright, attorney at law, Timothy Singh, attorney at law and legal counsel for LGBT Together, Sonya Nettle, attorney at law and legal counsel for LGBT Together, Dr. Julie Spencer, specializing in Endocrinology, Dr. Candace Walker, a psychiatrist specializing in gender dysphoria, Ms. Angela Daniels, the mother of J.D. Daniels and lastly our client, Janice Daniels.”
“Yes, I was expecting this, Mr. Dawson gave me a heads up, but I really didn’t expect a crowd. Ok who wants to start with what.”
“I will,” Mrs. Bradford said. “First I have a legal name change for J. D. Daniels. She is now Janice Dee Daniels,” Madeline said proffering the appropriate document to Ms. Simmons and another for Mr. Collins. “Next, I have two statements from Dr.’s Spencer and Walker describing Janice’s condition in an abbreviated format, we will give the school nurse a more detailed account, that needs to be guarded from casual contact. Basically, she is transitioning to being a female, and beginning her real life test prior to obtaining final Sexual Reassignment Surgery. Due to a medical condition, Janice has for over a year been developing secondary female sexual characteristics already. She has gotten to the point where hiding her changes is no longer possible and given her recent publicity of being on local and national TV as a female, she has chosen to make the change official.”
“Not totally unexpected, but duly noted,” Ms. Simmons said, handing the documents to her secretary.
“We are concerned about her safety and welfare, here at school, along with certain accommodations, including no PE, as has been the case previously, I understand and restrooms.”
“Speaking to the safety issues, I have alerted my staff of this possibility already. Once I saw Janice on TV and figured out who it was, and it was confirmed by Mr. Dawson, we put our heads together. I have ordered a two fold increase in the number of teachers on hall duty, especially on the routes to and from Janice’s classrooms and in the lunchroom, during all lunch periods. This is on top of the schools four security guards, already on duty.
J. D. Daniels, like you said, wasn’t assigned to P.E. and won’t be in the future, as long as we have a medical excuse from P.E. The restrooms could have been problematic, but this was an old building and upon passage of the ADA act, that is Americans with Disability Act, we were required to provide restrooms that were wheel chair accessible. Our facilities did not provide space for easy adaptation in the current restrooms, so four Janitors closets were remodeled to come into compliance. They are unisex and access is by key, which we will provide. We ask that Janice use these, at least until the idea that he is now a she is accepted and a degree of normality returns. A teacher will be on duty near these restrooms, but not obviously so. Is that acceptable?”
Madeline raised an eyebrow and looked at Janice, who nodded at her. “That is acceptable, we know she won’t be totally accepted by all the students and faculty, as a woman, but it is our hope that she will be treated fairly. The faculty and staff will be held responsible for her welfare, as they would be of any student’s welfare.”
“I understand, we already have several students who are transgendered. I will not say who, it isn’t my place to do so. I will say, that we will look after Janice and see that she is treated no differently than J. D. Daniels was. Janice, you know you will be treated differently by the students, right?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“I won’t tolerate you being mistreated and I want you to report any threats, or physical abuse to us. I hope you have a thick skin and don’t report every derogatory word to us, but only those patently offensive. Do you understand what I mean.”
“Yes Ma’am. I know I may be called names and such, but as long as they are not vulgar, or threatening, or downright obscene, I will try to be tolerant.”
“We have a good school and you are one of my best Juniors. You have brought our school recognition, and unbeknownst to you, we have already benefited financially. We have received several grants, thanks to you. We want you here and will do our best to be here for you.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“I would like for you to go to the nurse, with your Doctors, to relay any information she might need, as your Mom and legal team discuss some things. If that is Ok with everybody here?”
Ms. Simmons received assent from all present.
“Janice, you may show the doctors the way and after that, come see Linda, just outside my office.”
Janice kissed her Mom and led the doctors to the nurse’s station. She didn’t know the nurse’s name, but the nurse was up and met them as they entered the door.
“Hi, I am Sylvia Porter, how may I help you.”
“Hi, I was J.D. Daniels, now I am Janice Dee Daniels, this is Dr. Julie Spencer and Dr. Candace Walker.”
“Yes, I was told I might have a visitor, I didn’t expect three. I am the nurse here. I am a RN (Registered Nurse) and I take care of any emergency needs.”
“That is good. I am Janice’s Endocrinologist and Dr. Walker is a psychiatrist.” Dr. Spencer said and the three shifted to technical jargon and such.
Janice paid half her attention to the three, as they talked, and looked around. There was a front area and three rooms. One marked male, one female and one marked exam and treatment.
“Is there anything else I need to know about her health issues.”
“Not right off hand,” Dr. Spencer said.
“How about my Epi-Pen?” Janice asked.
“Good girl, thank you,” Dr. Spencer said.
The three of them again began another bout of discussion.
“I need to know if you know how to use the Epi-Pen Janice. In your own words tell me how, when and why you should use it,” Nurse Porter asked.
Janice told Nurse Porter, what her doctors told her. If she started showing signs of a severe allergic reaction, she was to pop the caps and to administer the Epi-Pen in the manner that she demonstrated and to hurry to the Nurses office, or call 911 if not at school. She also described the type of reaction she had had, to Nurse Porter.
“Do you have your Epi-Pen with you?”
“Yes Ma’am, along with my American Express, don’t leave home without them,” she said, showing Nurse Porter.
“Very good Janice, we don’t usually allow students to carry medicine and such with them, but this is one of the loop holes, along with asthma inhalers and other emergency meds. I don’t need anything else from you, you can go now.”
Janice made her way back to the Principals secretary’s office. When she got there she was handed a hall pass and a letter for her to show her teachers.
“Show that letter to your teachers, it will explain your change of status to them. The key is the key to the restrooms, and the hall pass will get you to your class,” Linda said, looking at the clock, “Which will be your second period class.”
“Thank you, Miss Keller.”
“Your welcome and good luck. I really liked the way you kids handled the news broadcast, but it really scared the putty out of me to see you so close to the action. Ya’ll really need to be more careful.”
“Yes it happened right where we were and we were about as safe as we could be, without running away.”
“Well maybe you should have run. Anyway you showed a lot of courage taping the robbery.”
“Thank you Ma’am. I guess I will head on to class now.”
Janice left the office and her stomach began to fill with dread. She was more nervous than she had been on that fateful day, a week ago. She had to show her hall pass twice, before she got to her class, after dumping half her books in her locker. She took a deep breath outside and then opened the door and entered.
Her second period class was English and her teacher was Laura Middlelton. The teacher looked over to the door as Janice stepped in. The class wasn’t noisy, but as she entered it became deadly silent. Mrs. Middleton waved her over and Janice handed her hall pass and her letter to her teacher who read it and handed it back.
“Class, yes this is J.D. Daniels. You will now refer to her as Janice Daniels. Please take your seat Ms. Daniels.” Mrs. Middleton said sweetly, before she resumed teaching.
Janice took her seat between Vanessa and Margaret, who were smiling. The rest of the students had shocked looks on their faces, a few were whispering with each other, while some wrote and passed notes. Mrs. Middleton had to hear the low level chatter, but said nothing for a couple of minutes, as she talked about the book they were reading.
“Ok, that is enough talk for now, Melissa, can you tell me what Steinbeck was trying to get across to the reader in the Grapes of Wrath.”
That shocked the class back to normal learning mode and the next twenty minutes passed as normal.
At the bell, some students hurried out and some gathered around. Janice gathered her things and tried to answer the questions that were flying about, as Vanessa headed to her Geography class, she and Margaret headed off to Algebra.
As expected, a few of the students verbally objected to Janice. They asked if she was some kind of freak, but at least they weren’t offensive about it. Some of them just sounded confused, some were neutral on it, while about a third of them sounded somewhat supportive. Many of the girls said it was about time, whatever they meant. She heard one term she didn’t know, something about John having been bishounen.
Janice just didn’t have time to talk to all of them and Margaret propelled her to her next class. A crowd, mostly girls, followed in her wake. The guys tended to give her a little more room.
Janice was glad that there was only five minutes between classes. As she and Margaret entered their classroom, they saw Mr. Sean Adams, her algebra teacher, at his desk. Janice went over to him and handed him her letter. Mr. Adams looked at her for several seconds before reading the letter. Janice couldn’t read him; she would hate to play poker against him, that’s for sure. At least he didn’t scowl like he did at people who talked in his class, or cut up. He read the letter and returned it and gave her a dismissive wave, not out of character for him at all.
Janice got to her seat in time to sit, just as the bell rang. She sat her purse down, got out her homework, pencil, paper and textbook, as Mr. Adams took roll.
“Listen up class, John Daniels or more correctly J.D. Daniels is now known as Janice Daniels, along with a change of gender. I expect you to treat her no less courteously than you did John in the past. No matter what you think about her, I will not tolerate any form of intolerance in this class. Now pass your homework up front; then turn to page 132 in your text books.”
The bell rang and again she had a crowd around her asking her questions, which she tried to answer. Her next class was a computer lab and none of her friends were in it, so she waved bye to Margaret. Debby Jensen, a girl in her math class and computer lab, walked with her.
“Janice, I know we haven’t been terribly close, but I want you to know that I think this is a brave thing you have chosen to do. Tell me if there is anyway I can help you.” Debby said.
Janice was shocked, but asked, “You mean this is Ok with you?”
“Yes, I kind of thought that you were a little girlish, the way you acted and talked. You definitely aren’t like the other guys at school. Some of them are so full of themselves it hurts. You were always nice and so gentle. On top of that, you are a celebrity now,” she said giggling.
Walking in the hall, Janice did see more teachers everywhere they turned. She could hear fairy, queer and such, but she couldn’t tell where it came from, or who said it. She also heard some people who were telling others to shut their mouths, some calling others Neanderthals and such, in what seemed like support.
In the computer lab, the teacher was Linda Smart. Her face wore a grimace as Janice approached her, letter in hand. She snatched the letter from Janice and read it.
“Have a seat J.D. Daniels, I won’t tolerate any disruption of my classroom by you.”
Janice’s cheeks flared a little, John had liked Ms. Smart, but Janice could tell it was going to be rough for her in this class. She found her computer station and saw Suzy across the way and down from her smile and wink at her.
Janice logged onto her computer and got into the C++ program she had been working on. She was at the point where she was going down it line by line checking syntax and simplifying it where possible, before compiling it and then checking it for bugs. She had been one of the better students in computer lab and she wondered how the rest of the year would play out.
Janice really liked the work she did on this program. The program was designed, if she got it to work right, so that she could catalogue and organize her news stories, in a database of her own design. Not that she needed it, but she thought it was a decent idea. She thought she had a very elegant and functional idea.
She could only work on her program at school before, but now she thought she could buy a complier, library and all for her new computer, so she could work on it at home. She burned an extra copy of her program and put the disk in a case, in her purse, before saving it on the teacher’s server.
When the bell rang, she got her things together and found Debbie and Suzy waiting for her.
“Hi Janice, I bet your surprised that I am here,” Suzy said.
“Not really, I always thought you were a really nice person.”
“Yeah, I try to be. I thought about what you said Sunday. If what you said is true, and I have no reason to doubt that, because you are such a nice person too, then I should give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“Thanks, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say that we are friends and that will be enough.”
“We are friends. You know Debbie right.”
“Yes, she is ok too, let’s hit the lunchroom girl.”
They escorted her out of class, to her locker and then to the lunchroom.
“I can’t believe how brunt Ms. Smart was with you,” Debbie said. “I thought she liked you.”
“I guess that was before I became Janice. I kind of expected a lot of people to be that way, but so far it hasn’t been too bad.”
“I think it is running sixty, thirty and ten right now,” Suzy said.
“What’s that?” Janice asked.
“Sixty percent for you, thirty don’t care and ten think WTF. If you know what I mean,” Suzy said.
“I can imagine. I wouldn’t have thought I would have that many supporters.”
In the serving line, she choose a chicken salad, mixed vegetables, dinner roll and an Iced Tea.
“Do you two want to sit with me and my friends?” Janice said hopefully.
The two girls looked at each other and almost said at the same time, “Sure.”
When they were approaching the table John sat at, she noticed a lot more people there than usual, all of them were girls. Anna and Margaret had a spot saved for Janice, between them and Vanessa was across the table. Debbie and Suzy were welcomed by the others.
When Janice had taken her seat, Anna told Janice that these girls wanted to hear her story, before they came to any decision. So Janice gave her story, while eating, her three friends filled in some of the details, so she could get a few bites of food in and so it wouldn’t seem that Janice was trying to dominate the discussion. The girls asked a few questions and Janice tried to answer as best she could. She told them more than she wanted to at first, when it seemed that she was winning them over. John had been very good at reading people and Janice was finding this a very useful skill.
“So you really don’t have your testes anymore?” one girl asked.
“No, they never developed well and they shriveled up after my hospitalization.”
“And you say that you are on Estrogen now,” another asked.
“Yes, because hormones are so important for good health, I couldn’t take androgens because my body reacts violently to them. My body seems to react well to Estrogens. At least so far.”
“And that is all you, you are not wearing any foundations or padding,” someone else asked.
“Well, I wore a corset for a while, to take my waist down from a twenty seven to a twenty five, but not now and I am wearing a bra because I need one now. But I don’t have even a quarter inch of padding anywhere right now. This is all me.”
“Well you look hot. I am going to have to watch my boyfriend closely now.”
“I am not out to steal anybody’s boyfriends. I have never felt one way or another about sex. You girls know me; tell me if I am lying. I just want to be me.” Janice said.
They did know that she never hit on anyone girl, or boy, that they knew of. She didn’t ogle or stare in the way they or others did.
One girl giggled and said, “In that case, I might hang around you to help pick up the pieces of all the hearts you’re gonna break girl.”
Janice giggled herself, when she heard that and said, “Be my guest, you can pick and choose any of them. I won’t fight you for them.”
It was getting late and Janice needed to use the restroom. She and her friends were in all the same classes after lunch, so she led them to the restroom she was allowed to use. Inside it was big, but only had two stalls, but the doors and walls went almost all the way to the floor, leaving just an inch of space open. They were better kept than either the boys or girls bathrooms. The girls quickly took turns before heading to their lockers.
The next class they were in was history, taught by Paula Wainwright. Ms. Wainright gave them a genuine smile when they entered. Janice handed her the letter, which she read and returned.
“Class, I want to introduce you to Janice Daniels. You probably recognize, or have heard, that this is J.D. Daniels, due to circumstances beyond her control, she has chosen to come out to everybody. I want you to treat her well and lend her your support, or at least your tolerance. Please Janice, take your seat.”
Nothing else was said about Janice. The pace Ms. Wainwright taught at, including her tendency to pop questions out right and left, kept everybody on their toes. This was normal.
At the bell, they at last headed to the sanctuary of Journalism for a two hour class. She was met at the door by Mr. Dawson, who smiled when he saw them coming.
“Good your early, Margaret, take Janice and get her wired with a wireless mike and receiver. Anna do her makeup, then get setup on camera one and Vanessa, get the cameras set up like a live broadcast, then you’re on camera two. Margaret meet me in the control room when you finish.”
Janice had a sick feeling about what was going to happen, but she followed directions well. Margaret took off Janice’s jacket, unbuttoned her blouse, fastened a transceiver to her waistband and ran the wires to a mike and earpiece, before getting her blouse settled back again.
Anna then started on Janice’s face. She gave her a darker and more mature look, adding more color to her. She then worked on Janice’s hair, to freshen up her look. The do she started the day with, had started to droop a bit and Anna worked with it to give it a bit more body.
In her ear she heard Margaret say speak, so she did. Good, she heard Mr. Dawson say.
“Ok Janice, you are going to tell your story again. You have twenty three minutes and you will do it in front of a green screen, since you are wearing blue. Just follow our cues and check your monitors at appropriate times. Are you ready girl?”
“Gee thanks for the whole two minutes warning, Mr. Dawson. I am as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs but I guess I am ready.”
“Good girl. Let me introduce you and Margaret will cue you.”
Janice stood off stage, out of sight, but still able to hear Mr. Dawson talk to the class.
“Enter Janice, center stage, camera two, head on, go,” she heard Margaret say.
Janice entered and Mr. Dawson shook hands with her and introduced her to the students. Mr. Dawson then stepped off stage left and headed to the control room and Janice took over.
“I know this may seem strange to all of you, but yes, I use to be called John Daniels. I have had my name legally changed to Janice Dee Daniels and I now present myself as a female. Why, some of you may ask? I can tell you it is a long story.
It started about two years ago. My Mother and my Doctor became concerned that I had not entered puberty yet. At fourteen it was not unheard of in guys to not have started, but it is uncommon.
I was sent to Dr. Julie Spencer, an Endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in the endocrine system. This system, as far as I know, deals with the glands that deal with the body’s production of hormones. I was subjected to all sorts of tests. In the end the doctor said I was normal for a prepubescent boy.
At fifteen, I still had not started puberty and after another battery of tests, it was decided that I should be given an androgen to jumpstart my puberty. Shortly after I was given a shot, I went into anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock if you will. I nearly died, before I got to a hospital and I owe my life to Dr. Spencer and Dr. James Black, an allergist who had an office in the same suite.
I was stabilized and transported to the hospital, where I was placed in ICU or Intensive Care Unit for those who didn’t know. I came to, and started to feel better for a while, but then I had a second attack of anaphylaxis. I actually went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated twice.
This second bout of anaphylaxis had a more sinister effect on my body. It spurred an Immunological response to my own production of testosterone, the hormone responsible for male growth and maturation.
As a result of that, I will never mature as a male. I will never go through a male’s puberty and all the processes that guys go through.
That is why I don’t shave, my voice never deepened, I never got a second growth spurt and I look the way I do. I was destined to be stuck between, not male and not female, although closer to female.
Now, suppose a young boy, who for no fault of his own, lost his ability to produce testosterone by accident. He could take androgens and mature normally for a boy, albeit a sterile boy, never able to procreate.
I did not have this option. I can’t tolerate male androgens, but a test revealed that I could take estrogens.
Now hormones are important for more things than just make one person look male and another female. They affect just about every part of a being, from bone density, to muscle strength, to heart, lungs and a lot of other things I don’t understand. Dr. Spencer was concerned about it and brought it up to me and my mother. It was decided that I should start hormone therapy. Which in my case meant estrogens, which brings us up to date.
I became despondent over one of my projects, when it was pointed out that I looked and sounded more like a female than a male. My friends in JD’s production wormed the cause of my despondency out of me about a month ago and they put their heads together.
While a pretty boy would never make it in TV journalism, a field I dearly love. It might be possible for me to make it as a woman.
They got together and challenged me to try it away from school. If I did well at it, then maybe I would have started this fall as a female. It would probably have been easier to come back from summer with it a fete accmopli, but that was not to be.
My friends set aside their personal lives to help me play a roll, so to speak. I set about to see what it would be like for a woman in journalism. First I set out to learn how to present myself as a woman and then how to blend that with journalism.
That brings me to that fateful Monday. We set out to do a news story on a city council meeting. (step left, look right at camera one, check monitor, came in on the earpiece.) Here are some excerpts from that meeting. I sat in the City Council public meeting room and took notes, after the meeting I was able to ask the various parties questions about their stance. You may have seen this project on our local TV station and on national TV networks. All went well till we went about shooting some background footage about the meeting. Here you see me indicating the parking problems that people encounter down town.
If this was all that we shot, I wouldn’t be here today like I am. I might not have started female hormones till the summer break began or come to school as a female till the fall semester began. I might not have returned to school here either.
Fate had other ideas though. (starting shoot out feed). As you can see, while I was filming my closing remarks, an armored car drove up, followed by another vehicle. As the rear doors to the truck opened, a shootout began, between the guards and some would be robbers. The robbers were somewhat inept and equipped with body armor. The guards appeared well trained and also equipped with body armor. They were joined by the banks guards and later by the local police department. The shoot out went on for about half an hour. Local TV stations appeared on the scene, in the air and on the ground. As you can see though, they were a long way from the action, they had a bad angle and even the eye in the sky didn’t have as good a video as we did.
You have to agree, this was hot video and we had to move quickly or our video footage would have been history, not news. A member of JD’s Production, Margaret Bradford to be exact, took our work and hawked it to the local TV station and the rest is history. Do any of you have any questions.” (camera one on Janice, two on the audience)
“What was it like being that close to a shootout?”
“I was scared shitless.”
“I can’t believe that you appeared so calm.”
“I thank Vanessa Sebring for that, she kept all of us calm and focused.”
“Why do you look so girly now, if you only have been on hormones for so short a time, did you have surgery, are you wearing padding?”
“I will answer those questions in reverse order. No, I am not wearing padding right now. I have and will at times though. I just wanted you to se the real me today,” Janice said taking off her coat. “Yes I had surgery, but not the kind you are thinking of. Because of my illness, my testes had quit functioning and had shriveled up. They were just removed. I look like this because every guy produces a small amount of estrogen, just like every girl produces testosterone. It’s just in guys they produce so much testosterone it counteracts the estrogen they produce. In girl’s they produce so much estrogen, testosterone doesn’t stand a chance. In me and any guy who looses their testes, they don’t have enough testosterone to protect themselves. So this is how I have been developing.”
“What has it been like for you?”
“It’s been hard, I have grieved over it till I finally accepted the fate I have been dealt. I am facing a full gamut of reactions from support to downright, but thankfully not open hostility. I don’t expect I will ever have total acceptance by others, but I do hope to have tolerance.”
“Are you attracted to boys or girls?”
“Yes, but not in the way you are thinking right now. Feelings of a sexual nature, or Libido, as it is called, is a product of testosterone in boys, as everybody knows, but there are studies coming out that suggest that that is also true for females. Low testosterone in females is being linked to low libido in females. Right now I have all the testosterone of a six year old boy. How much of a sexual creature are they. Really, boys and girls at that age are more alike than different. I want male friends and female friends, but right now, I am just not attracted to guys or girls in a sexual nature.” (two minutes, you’re doing great girl.)
“One more question.”
“So you’re really going to be a girl now. Are you going all the way?”
“I intend to live the rest of my life as a female. I can’t have Sexual reassignment surgery till I am eighteen, in a year and four months. I have to satisfy my psychiatrist that that is what I really want for myself, but yes I think that it is in my future. Thank you for your patience.”
Nurse Porter, Mrs. Simmons and Mr. Collins sat in the conference room watching the video from the Journalism dept. Mrs. Simmons had heard bits and pieces of what Janice told the girls at lunch from her sources and had arranged for this show to happen and for it to be taped.
“Well Sylvia, was Janice shooting straight, is she telling it like it is?” Mrs. Simmons asked.
“She seemed to be telling the truth. From what Dr. Spencer and Dr. Walker told me, she was telling it like it is. She is very knowledgeable about her condition and about what she said from a medical stand point. I am rather proud of her.”
“I am proud of her too; she has a lot of poise from what I could see. She’ll make an excellent Journalist, if she is given the chance.” Mr. Collins said.
“I think so too. It is hard to believe that all of that was impromptu, she had no warning. That is the main reason I believed it. We need to make sure she is equipped to face what ever she faces. I have already heard of a few possible problem areas. We need to look out for her and see that the teachers around her are above average and accepting. Mr. Dawson is going to edit that tape with the help of JD’s production and I plan on showing that at assembly tomorrow, third period.”
**********
After Janice finished and the lights softened, the students of her class came up on the stage and surrounded her. Some were closer than others.
Sandy O’Brian came up to her, “Janice I can’t believe you got up there and said all of that. I couldn’t have done it. That took more guts than I have seen in anybody at our school.”
“I was scared, I would have rather do the shootout again.”
“But you didn’t show it. Mr. Dawson told us what was going to happen. We knew from the grapevine about you already, but seeing you like this, is strange.”
“So this isn’t just some bullshit is it?” Clyde asked.
Janice’s cheeks flared at the bluntness of Clyde’s question, but she didn’t see any malice in his face. “No Clyde it isn’t, this is all me and this is how my body has been developing. How do you feel about this?”
“I just don’t know,” he said and walked away.
“Mr. Dawson threatened any student who went psycho over this, Janice. I think you’ll be alright,” Bill said. “You won’t get any problems from me at least, or from ninety percent of the Journalism class, I think. You know what is strange?”
“No, what?”
“The way you look now isn’t that much different than what you looked like a couple of weeks ago except for your makeup and the jewelry. Your clothes are nicer and fit for a change. I can see why you had to hide it. You look hot.”
“It hasn’t been easy, the girls in my crew had their suspicions, but they never said anything till a few weeks ago. I was surprised myself at what the girls did, and how I turned out.”
“How much money did you make off that news shot?” Tina Gregory asked.
“A little bit. I would rather not say.”
“I guess that means a little or a lot, but I don’t think it was a little. Nice clothes by the way. We will have to go shopping, if this is the kind of threads you wear now,” Tina said giggling and feeling the texture of the jacket.
“Ok kids, back to the classroom, we have some work to do. Greg, All the News is in the lab now, till the bell, Janice, JD’s productions is in the lab second hour. Bill, News Spies needs to do their proficiency check on the equipment. Sandy, Hot Shots have a studio production to present. Let’s go. ”
JD’s productions came into the lab to do their edit work, after the critique of the Hot Shots presentation of a fashion show. They did a four-minute segment, that showed many high school Juniors and Seniors walking a runway, at one of the malls. Sandy was the on screen person and she was somewhat interesting, albeit a little giggly doing it. Mr. Dawson gave them an A- for their work. Janice paid more attention to the presentation, than John would have, a couple of weeks ago.
Janice and Vanessa got together and planned the edit, with input from the others. Janice then got a script she had written for a studio intro into the shootout tape and practiced it. Mr. Dawson had told them to make it a ten minute segment, with a suitable spot for a commercial halfway in. Since they had already edited most of the video, it didn’t take them long to do the studio work and create a time line.
Anna softened Janice’s makeup a bit and fluffed Janice’s hair a bit more and then they were ready.
Vanessa informed Mr. Dawson, but he passed on being there while they taped. She came back in and cued everyone to get ready. On a four count they began. Janice gave her intro and talked a bit about the incident. Margaret keyed the video in. They went from live, to video three times, cued a commercial break, before Janice closed with her, “And that’s the way it happened.”
The four girls checked their work, looking it over twice. They were not allowed to make any changes, as it was suppose to simulate a live broadcast, but they liked what they saw. Janice’s script made more sense to them, than some of the anchors they had seen who did her story, to them at least, but then again they realized that they might be prejudiced.
They burnt five copies, each girl got one and they turned one into Mr. Dawson, who gave them a copy of Janice’s talk, after the last bell of the day rang.
“Let me get my car, wait about seven minutes and meet me at the parking lot, side entrance. Don’t let Janice wander around by herself,” Margaret said.
Janice looked a little miffed and said, “I am not a baby, and really the day went better than I suspected.”
“Yeah, your still in one piece, we want to make sure you stay that way,” Vanessa said. “But make it ten minutes, we need to hit our lockers, Margaret.”
“Make it fifteen then, I need to go to mine too.”
Vanessa and Anna escorted Janice to her locker. Janice looked surprised to see that it wasn’t defaced yet and got her things she needed. She then went to the other girls lockers.
Outside there were some students still milling around, but the parking lots were mostly deserted by the time they got into Margaret’s SUV.
“Today went better than I expected,” Janice said. “There were a few problems, but nothing I can’t live with.”
“Yeah, we were all surprised at how well things went,” Vanessa said. “Billy Jones broke up with me today. He said you had to be some kind of perv and he complained that I hadn’t been around for the last month. But losing him is no loss.”
“I am sorry Vanessa,” Janice said. From what she knew about Billy, she had to agree. Although he had the ability to be suave, he was kind of a punk and bully, to some of the guys at school.
“No big loss, the three of you are more important to me than him.”
“Joey said. It didn’t bother him. He had needed to catch up on some work, but he looks forward to spending more time with me,” Anna said.
“I am in between also, so I don’t have any problems right now,” Margaret said.
The girls came into Janice’s home and they started on their homework, as Janice got them some drinks and cookies.
They set about doing their homework, stopping only to help one of the others when they had a problem in one area or another. It took them about an hour and a half for all of them to finish. They sat and then talked about tomorrow for a short while, before they each had to go. Margaret told Janice that she would be by at seven thirty in the morning, to pick her up. They hugged and left.
Janice went to the kitchen and decided to fix dinner. She took what she learned, to plan and prepare a meal. It was funny she thought, that as John, she hadn’t ever considered doing that and Angela her Mom, never asked him to do that. John appreciated the work his Mom had done for him and kept the house as well as he could, but Janice wanted to do more for her Mom.
Janice found some pasta, a can of tomato sauce, some ground beef and started to work. She started by browning the ground beef, adding salt and pepper to taste. The pasta went into a pot of boiling water that had been salted and a bit of olive oil floated on the surface of the boiling water. She added garlic, basil and tomato sauce to the ground beef and started that cooking. She opened a can of green beans and started them in another pot. Then she drained the pasta and added it to the meat and sauce.
Her Mom came in and was drawn to the kitchen by the aromas. She tasted everything and made a few suggestions to Janice, before hugging her and heading to her room to change.
Janice set the table, prepared two plates of food and two iced teas. Her Mom came in, hugged and kissed her daughter and sat to eat.
“So Janice, how was your day, you have to tell me everything.”
Janice gave her Mom as complete a run down as possible, as they ate. She might have left out a thing or two, not to worry her, but she told her a lot about the good, the bad and the indifferent.
“Everything considered Mom, it went a lot better than I could have hoped for.”
“Mr. Dawson actually made you tell your story to the whole class.”
“Well, we are together for two hours Mom. I would have otherwise had to tell my story untold number of times, if I was asked individually. That gave me the opportunity to tell it once to everyone there. He recorded it and I have a copy, we can watch it after dinner.”
“I would like that Janice. By the way, good job on dinner honey, I was surprised.”
“Thank you. How did your day go Mom?”
“Strangely it went well. Madeline came to work with me and helped me get HR and our insurance sorted out on your change. My manager Paula Monroe and I, had a long talk. She was unusually supportive. I found out she had a cousin that went through the whole SRS business. Oh everybody just loved my new clothes, they were simply drooling over me. My coworkers helped me get up to speed on what I missed and were very interested to hear about you. Everyone wanted to know about your accident and I told them what I could without violating the confidentiality agreement. Some of them weren’t satisfied, but they all understood, when I said I couldn’t tell them more.”
“Wow, it almost seems like there was a big conspiracy to get me into skirts as easily as possible Mom,” Janice giggled.
“I think Madeline read everybody the riot act, like she did at school. It isn’t what she said, but there was the implied threat, if we were mistreated.”
“She can be scary. I need to give her a good hug whenever I see her. I can’t imagine going through all this without her support. I am so glad I have Madeline, Reggie, Helen, the girls and you most of all Mom, on my side.”
“I am so glad I have you as my child. You are the best thing that ever happened to me Janice.”
A tear welled in Janice’s eyes, her Mom saw it and came over and gave her a hug. “You’ll always have friends Janice. You’re just that kind of person. People just seem to take a liking to you naturally. There will always be those who don’t, but most will.”
After cleaning up the kitchen together, they went to the living room to watch the DVD and catch the news before bed. Janice watched intently to her story, checking out her performance, critiquing how well she did. Angela was amazed at the poise and candor Janice displayed, as she talked.
“Well Janice, it sounded like you were talking to a friend and telling them what was happening in your life. You showed a lot of candor and believability in your presentation. You appealed to the audiences’ humanity and that is good. I think you did very well.”
“In some ways I think it was better doing that on the spur of the moment. I would have fretted too long if I knew I had to do that hours ahead of time.”
“I think you’re right,” Angela said, checking her watch, “It is time for the news and then it is bed for both of us girls.”
“Ok Mom.”
End of Part 5
To Be Continued...
And That is the Way it Happened © 2007 by Paula Dillon
She gave her hair and makeup a little more effort, especially to her eyes. She tried to copy her Mom’s work appropriate makeup job. She chose her jewelry, which consisted of simple hoops, a heart pendant on a silver chain, silver bangles and her watch. She kept her things in her black purse and made sure she had what she needed for the day.
She felt that she might have to appear in front of her fellow students today and wanted to look sharp. In truth, Janice really like to dress and look nice. John had never liked dressing shabbily, but he often looked very plain, dressed in oversized clothes. Janice liked to shine.
She got downstairs in time for a hug and an air kiss from her Mom, who whistled at her.
“Looks like I am going to have to work hard, to look as nice as my daughter.”
“No Mom, you are such a beautiful woman, I just want to dress to your standards.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere Janice. Got to run. Take care dear and I will see you tonight.”
“Ok Mom, I love you and you take care too.”
Janice had a bowl of cereal and a banana nut muffin, and then gathered her things for school. As a second thought, she got her camera case out and went ahead and wired her wireless mike underneath her cashmere tank. Margaret arrived about five minutes early and checked Janice over.
“You look great Janice.”
“You do too Margaret.”
“I just want you to feel more comfortable dressed as a girl. I see you got your mike wired.”
“Yes, I feel, I may have to speak again today. I am also bringing my camera to school today. If I do have to do it all over again, I want to be ready.”
Margaret hugged Janice and took the camera, as they headed to her car.
As they reached the school, Anna and Vanessa were together, waiting near the parking lot entrance. Margaret dropped Janice off there, before parking her car. Anna saw the camera case and relieved Janice of that burden. She and Vanessa were in Janice’s homeroom and first period.
They headed for their homeroom. The teacher was Ms. Alice Nelson and she taught government. Ms. Nelson smiled, as Janice entered. Janice started to hand her the letter that she showed her other teachers, but Ms. Nelson held up a memo.
Janice and her friends took their seats, and Ms. Nelson took roll after the bell rang.
“Class I am sure all of you know by now that John is now Janice Daniels. I expect you to treat her no differently than any other student at this school. Thank you.”
The Principle then came in over the intercom and made her usual morning announcements. Of particular notice was a general assembly called, after roll was taken, at third period.
After announcements and the bell rang, some students left and others came in. When the class began, Ms Nelson again made the announcement about Janice and then began to teach.
In second period, Ms. Middleton smiled as Janice, Margaret and Vanessa entered and took their seats. After roll was taken, Ms. Middleton passed out three hall passes to Janice, Vanessa and Margaret and told them that they were to leave at fifteen before the hour and go to the front office.
At the appropriate time, they were dismissed and went to the office. Anna was already there, when they arrived. At ten till, the girls were escorted to Ms. Simmons office. Mr. Dawson was already there.
“Hello girls, come on in and take a seat,” Ms. Simmons said. “Ms. Daniels, as you can probably guess, the assembly is about you. I want to play the presentation you made yesterday to the students and then give you a chance to say some words and I will close. Mr. Dawson will wire you up and then we will head on out.”
“I am already wired, Mr. Dawson, for mike channel two.”
“The Principal is on three and we will have a wireless hand held on channel one. Vanessa and Margaret, here is the DVD, head on up to the control room. Anna, you are on the hand held, down with the audience. We will do sound and video checks in five minutes, and assembly will start in fifteen minutes.”
Anna took the hand held mike and followed Mr. Dawson, Ms. Simmons and Janice to the schools assembly hall. The projection screen had already been lowered and after a quick check of the various mikes, Mr. Dawson headed up to the control room, while Janice and Ms. Simmons headed off stage.
In minutes after a bell rang, the assembly hall began to fill, and the noise level rose. It took fifteen minutes for the students to fill the large hall. Ms Simmons went out on the stage and the hall’s noise level dropped a bit.
“Good Morning, I want to welcome you all here today. We have a special program for you. As most, or all of you know, we have a student that has brought this school some acclaim, over the past couple of weeks. I am sure that all of you know, or have heard rumors that John Daniels is now Janice Daniels,” Ms. Simmons said. There were a few hecklers, but the teachers in the audience handled them effectively. “I want to assure you that they are not rumors. I want all of you to know, without a doubt, that Janice is now a student here and that you should treat her with the same respect you would treat any other student and that no breach of decorum will be tolerated.
We have a twenty minute presentation, where Janice tells her story. She will then make a statement and possibly answer intelligent, well thought out questions.
Again, I want to emphasize, I expect you to be on your best behavior during this assembly. Thank you.”
On cue, the lights dimmed and the projector came on. The crowd hushed and for twenty minutes Janice was on the screen. Not everyone paid attention, there were the usual whispering, notes passed, paper airplanes sailing, an occasional kiss and grope among the students, but generally the students paid attention to the presentation.
After the presentation finished, Ms. Simmons returned to the stage. “I think Janice competently stated her case and was very factual about her situation. Now we will hear from her, I expect you to treat her with respect. Janice,” Ms. Simmons indicating for her to come on stage.
Janice turned her wireless mike on and walked on stage. She stood beside Ms. Simmons and faced the assembly.
“I am not sure if you have more to add. Your presentation was very well done and informative. Do you have anything you want to add.”
“Yes Ma’am,” she said turning to the students. “I want to thank you for how you have treated me so far. I know that this is a bit much for many of you to understand. I can’t blame you for feeling that way. I know there are some who can’t accept the changes I have gone through. I am not asking to be best buddies with you, or to force myself on any of you in any way.
I am asking you for a chance to be myself. I want to finish my education here and be allowed to be active as a student. I do need one thing and that is friends, not boyfriends or girlfriends, just friends.
I hope to bring honor to this school. I didn’t set out to be on national news, or to make a splash, but that is too late now, so I will make the best out of the cards that I have been dealt.
“Do any of you have any questions?”
One guy stood and called out, “I don’t believe any of that rot, it can’t be true.”
“I can’t help that, I find it hard to believe myself, but it is true.”
Another guy shouted something about sucking. He got shouted down, by some of the other students.
“Mr. Boyd, I recognize your voice. I expect to see you at my office and you can expect a one week suspension,” Ms. Simmons said. “I expect you to keep it civil, not agree with Ms. Daniels.”
The students did keep it civil and Janice did answer some more questions. All in all the assembly had not been bad.
“Now you have heard from Janice. I now have a few more things to say. Because of Janice’s appearance on TV, we have been the recipients of three grants. All of you know that money has been tight for the last few years. These grants will provide more money for boys’ and girls’ athletics, expansion of the Journalism Department, our Computer Resources and extra curricular activities. Clubs and organizations at school may apply for an expansion of their budgets for us to consider, on a case by case basis.
We are not trying to buy your compliance to regulations, but it will be noted which groups, are more tolerant and cooperative.
Seniors hoping to graduate this June, should also take note of the lateness of the year.
Like Janice, I know there are some who think this is a joke, some don’t like it and some who even hate it. We aren’t asking you to like it, we are asking that you be tolerant. Intolerance will be met with intolerance. Violence or hatred directed to Ms. Daniels or any other student here, will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. That is all I will say on that subject.
I want to thank all of you for your continued cooperation and hope that we will have a prosperous year for all of us. Thank you, you may go to your fourth period classes.”
Ms. Simmons had a few more words for Janice, as they both shut off their wireless mikes. Afterwards she went to her locker and got the things she needed for fourth period. She was a few minutes late getting to fourth period, but she had been given a hall pass by Ms. Simmons.
“It’s so good that you were able to join us Msssssss. Daniels,” Ms Smart said sarcastically, slurring the Ms. for emphasis.
Janice felt like the temperature dropped thirty degrees in thirty seconds. As she took her seat in the computer lab and called up her files. She saw Stacy and Debby smile at her as she started to work.
Janice finished her going over her program; she saved a copy to the server and burnt a copy, which she put in her purse. She then ran it through the compiler. When she first ran the executable file, it went thirty seconds before crashing. She checked some more and found a missing operand. She corrected that and took another shot.
She went back and forth several times before it seemed to work the way it was suppose to. She saved and burned a copy of her work as the teacher gave them a warning.
Debby and Stacy went with Janice to her locker, chatting about this and that, before heading to lunch. The three of them sat with Janice’s other friends. They talked about the assembly and Janice’s computer class.
“Yeah Ms. Smart is ultra religious,” Debby said. “She reads her bible during her off time in the teachers lounge, I was told.”
“I use to like her, but if that is the only thing she does, I have no problem with her. I never figured that I would win a popularity contest over this.”
“I think she will be fair, even if she doesn’t like you,” Stacy said. “But check your back for knives everyday.”
“So, is Ms. Smart giving you the blues, Janice?” Vanessa asked.
“No, but she is awfully catty to me when I come in her class. You can tell that she doesn’t appreciate my presence there.”
Vanessa, Margaret and Anna escorted Janice to one of the restrooms she could use. They took turns using the two stalls and fixing their faces.
History went well; Ms Wainwright kept the class hopping, as she always does. It kept the students from talking or passing notes.
In Journalism, JD’s Productions was up. They showed the work they had edited in the Lab the day before. Janice stood in front of the class and introduced their work, while Margaret ran the footage.
At the end Mr. Dawson asked, “You edited this footage yourselves right?”
“Yes Mr. Dawson. Everybody has probably already seen most of it, but we included scenes that didn’t leave most TV stations edit rooms, and the Copy I wrote.”
“Good, just had to ask,” Mr. Dawson said, as he turned to the class. “Questions, comments, criticism.”
There was a lively discussion of the presentation by all present. It was almost entirely positive, but not a student made a comment about John/Janice. Mr. Dawson had made it abundantly clear that that was off limits. Even Chad had intelligent questions.
After all questions were answered, Mr. Dawson addressed the class, “I am giving this production an A. This is JD’s Productions last production. I suggest you get with these four students and get them to help your groups, if you don’t have an A for the semester. They have shown that they can produce good work. I am sure they can help you. Next we have a presentation by All the News.”
Students began moving after Mr. Dawson finished talking. Greg Harmon, with All the News, got up and introduced their piece. They did a piece on a school board meeting. They started with excerpts of the meeting and finished with some interviews, with some board members and a few with some of the audience.
They again had a lively discussion about the All the News piece. They had been a little rushed at times, but they presented well, the piece was informative and Greg seemed to know what he was talking about.
“Very good job, All the News. An A- performance. You were a little rushed, but well done at least,” Mr. Dawson said. “Now Sports Unlimited is in the lab, News Spies to equipment check out. Hot Shots and Payne’s World, needs to plan their next piece. Let’s go.”
The members of JD’s Production were each tagged for assistance. Mr. Dawson told them they couldn’t do the actual work for other groups, but could give advice and opinions. Margaret was taken by Hot Shots, Vanessa by Sports Unlimited, Anna by All the News and Janice by Payne’s World.
Payne’s World needed the most help. They held a C+ to B- average. They just didn’t have anyone with the talent to tell a story and were a little weak in editing the material. Janice suggested that Tom Spires take the on screen Job. He had been behind the camera so far and was a pretty fair camera operator.
She had problems with their choice of stories, but found one, an outdoors show, that she knew that Tom could handle. It didn’t take too much to convince them to make those changes, they were really desperate. There was to be a outdoors show this weekend.
Ginny, one of the girls said, “Don’t News Spies have the cameras this weekend?”
“They are checking out 2 cams, there is still one of the old TV station cameras and I have one a lot like the new camera. If you want, I will go with you to do your shoot and let one of you use my camera.”
“Too bad you can’t be our on screen person, Janice,” Tom said.
“Come on, you know more about outdoors stuff than I do. Just get online and find out what is going to be showcased and get an idea of what you want to show us,” Janice said.
“Ok, we have three days to work that out, Craig, you should take a look at Janice’s camera. Ginny, Rebecca and I will get on the internet now,” Tom said.
Janice showed Craig her camera and began checking him out on it.
“Wow, this is your camera? When did you get it?”
“Yep it is mine. I just got it this week; let’s just say it was for a job well done.”
“I can believe that. You aint shitting us about all of this are you?”
“I wish I was, but tell me what you see. Does it look like I am shitting you?”
“You look like Margaret, or any of the girls. Some of the guys were wondering still.”
Janice began to check out Craig on her camera. He was a little tentative at first, he knew how much those things cost and didn’t want to hurt it.
“Come on Craig, it isn’t made of egg shells, you won’t break it if you take care of it.”
“I know, but it’s got to be worth twelve grand at least.”
“Nineteen, but who is counting,” Janice said giggling.
“Wooow, that really must have been some good job,” Craig said, clearly impressed.
Craig started to get use to using the camera and was pretty sure of his actions. Janice didn’t show him all the bells and whistles, she didn’t know them all. She did know how to use it enough to get the job done. She thought she really needed to learn more about it.
Just before the end of class, they all got together and discussed what they found.
“Ok this is a ten minute presentation,” Janice said, “You can pick one area, or do small parts on each area for your presentation. I think it would be better to do small parts on each area. You won’t have time to fall into a rut in any one area. It is more work to plan and you will have to really know enough about each segment to sound intelligent, but it will work better. I think,” Janice said.
“I think you’re right Janice,” Tom said. He then divided up the show and gave each person a segment to research.
Tom surprised Janice, once she got him out front, he seemed to take control. That was something Payne’s World sorely needed, a leader.
At the bell, Janice got back together with the girls and in a pack they headed for the lockers. Margaret left, after hitting her locker, to get the car, while the others hit their lockers. They found Margaret waiting for them near the exit. They all got in and started to drive off.
At the exit to the parking lot, two men blocked their way out, Margaret tried to drive around and the guys moved to block. Janice saw a press pass hanging from one guy’s belt.
“Margaret call Mr. Dawson, Vanessa be ready to call 9-1-1, Anna take my camera and record this and I am going to find out what this is all about. I am still wire for sound honk if it doesn’t come through,” Janice said.
All the girls got busy doing what they were instructed and Janice stepped out of the car. Anna put the camera on the dash and viewed things on the view screen with an ear piece in her ear.
“We are on our way home and you are blocking us,” Janice said. “What do you think you are doing?”
“John Daniels,” the one with the press pass asked hesitantly, “You are John Daniels I believe.”
“No I am Janice Daniels legally. Why are you detaining us?”
“I am Raymond Johnson, a reporter. I am here to interview you, Mr. Daniels.”
“Your eyesight must be pretty bad, and I don’t want to be interviewed by whatever scandal rag you represent.”
“We will report what we know, Mr. Daniels we just want your side of the story. A boy pretending to be a female reporter will be big.”
“No matter what I say you will twist it, so I don’t intend to give you anything. Now we need to get home, please get out of our way.”
“Not until I confirm some things. Why are you pretending to be a girl?”
“Get out of our way! Let us go!”
“No way!”
Janice turned and walked away. Mr. Johnson grabbed her arm, but Janice just jerked her arm out of his grasp and got back in the car. The other guy stood at the front bumper and another they hadn’t seen stood at the back bumper, while Mr. Johnson stood tapping on Janice’s window, trying to get her to roll it down.
Seconds later the school’s security vehicle rolled up followed by a police cruiser. The arriving officers moved the guy’s away from the car. Mr. Dawson and Ms. Simmons arrived on scene together. Mr. Johnson was hollering at the cops about freedom of the press and all kinds of other rights.
Ms. Simmons motioned the girls to get out and come over to her. She asked them what this was all about. Janice got her camera out and showed them what they recorded. Ms. Simmons and Mr. Dawson could see and hear what had transpired.
A police Sgt. arrived and he was shown the tape. He drew Ms. Simmons aside and asked her a question. She pointed to a point on the pavement and said something to the Sgt.
He then came over to the girls and asked to check Janice’s arm. He then asked, “Did these men impede you girls in any manner?”
“Yes!” they all said at the same time.
“We are arresting them and charging them with assault, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, I need to know if you want them charged with kidnapping? They impeded your progress, Ms. Daniels was grabbed and they refused to allow you girls to leave.”
Everyone looked at Janice, she just shook her head no.
“Alright, I still need that tape, and the charges may be upgraded later. A Detective will be by to take statements from each of you, if you will wait by my car.”
Janice downloaded the video to her laptop and burnt a DVDR for the Sgt. She still had everything on a card too.
The Sgt walked over to where the three men were being held and said to them, “You men are being charged with assault, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct by the school district. Each of you stepped on school district property, without authorization. You may also be charged with kidnapping at a later time.” The Sgt. turned to one of his officers and said, “Read them their rights Bret and make sure they know em.”
All three men were turned towards a police cruiser. They were patted down cuffed and had their rights read to them, before being placed unceremoniously in the back of the cruiser.
A Detective arrived and took statements from everybody. After seeing the tape and photographing Janice’s arm, he told them, “The DA will have a look at this tape. He may yet prefer charges of kidnapping against the men, all the elements of kidnapping are there, especially with all four of you being minors. We may be contacting each of you later. You may be on the cover of the National Scandal next week. I know that jerk. I am glad to get him in cuffs on something he can’t worm his way out of.”
Parents started to arrive starting with Helen, then Madeline, Reggie and Angela. They talked to Ms. Simmons, Mr. Dawson and the girls. Anna showed them the video they had on cards. They then talked to the Detective who was still there. Madeline convinced them that the kidnapping charges should be included, which would more than likely be bargained down to Unlawful Restraint if they plead guilty. That would give the DA some leverage to get them to plead.
Madeline suggested that everybody come to her home after they gave their statements.
Soon the cops made their exit taking the journalists with them. The parents with their children left and drove over to Madeline’s home. They gathered in her living room.
“I was expecting something like this. In some ways it is good that it’s happening sooner rather than latter,” Madeline said.
“How so?” Angela asked.
“Well it will be news only for so long. It times well with Janice coming out to her classmates. If it happened later, it would just start things up all over again.”
“But come Friday it will be on the Scandal Rags cover now too.” Janice said.
“That was bound to happen, Janice. If it happened this Friday, the next, or the one after that, it was bound to happen anyway.”
“Yeah, I know your right. I think I can steal their thunder. I can come out tomorrow and let everyone know.”
“The Paper we signed said we can’t do that Janice,” Angela said.
“No, it said they can’t do that Mom. Nothing in it says I can’t.”
“She is right, Angela. If she is going to be news it would be better to do it on her own terms,” Madeline said. “The news people won’t crucify her like that scandal rag will.”
“I know how I can do it Mom, trust me.”
“Ok I don’t like it, but I see your point.”
“Should we pull our daughters out of the interview tomorrow,” Helen asked.
“I don’t think so, Janice needs her supporters, it would look strange if they didn’t show up,” Madeline said.
“We got her into this Mom. We are going to stand by her through it,” Vanessa said.
The parents got together and talked about what had happened a bit more. Janice talked to her friends and outlined what she was thinking. The girls agreed that that is what she should do. Janice practiced answering questions put out by her friends to see where she could insert her answer.
They then talked clothing, “Well I am going to wear my Armani,” Janice said.
“I can wear a suit too,” Margaret said. “I have a black suit that won’t clash with you.”
“I have a blue suit, it may not be as nice but I will fit in with you two,” Anna said. “How about you, Vanessa?”
“Well I don’t know, I have a skirt/jacket combo I could wear.”
“I know which one you mean, that grey/green thing. You are about my size let me see what is in my closet.” Margaret said, as she went over to her closet. She dug around and searched through the hanging clothes. “Here it is,” she said, pulling out a red suit. “Anna, get some hose and a Basque from my drawers, we need to take a couple of inches off Vanessa’s waist.” Margaret dug around for a blouse to go with the suit.
“No, I don’t think so.” Vanessa said.
“So it is good enough for me, but not for you Vanessa,” Janice said teasingly her.
Vanessa grimaced and scowled at her friends, but said, “Oh all right, I will at least try it on.”
Vanessa took off her clothes except for the panties and her friends helped her into her undies. Vanessa had a twenty-six inch waist and needed to go down to twenty-four. The Basque really popped out her breasts as they filled and then overflowed the cups of the Basque, giving her more cleavage than she ever had. The gauzy appearance of the material, masked its ability to constrain. Vanessa wanted to complain as it was tightened, but held her tongue as she realized that Janice would be cinched in tighter tomorrow.
When they tied it off and attached the garters and hose, Vanessa stepped back to take a look in the mirror. Her jaw dropped as she saw just how sexy she appeared. The red lace of the Basque made her body look better than she ever remembered. She blushed as she saw her navel and the color of her nipples through the gossamer material. But her eyes stopped at her panties, “My panties don’t match.” They did kind of spoil the effect.
“We can correct that, we will need to get you shoes to match too, mine are too small for you.” Margaret said, as she helped Vanessa with a camisole and a white chiffon blouse. She did have the smallest feet of those present.
Vanessa then pulled on the skirt, tucking her blouse beneath its waistband. Then she pulled on the jacket. Margaret picked out some suitable jewelry, while Anna worked on her hair and makeup. Anna had fluffed and teased Vanessa’s hair more than it had ever been. She also did her best to match her makeup with the suit. She spent an inordinate amount of time on Vanessa’s eyes trying to get them just right. Janice just stood back taking it all in. She loved the look they were creating on her friend.
When the girls were finished Vanessa again stood in front of the mirror. Her eyes got big as she looked at herself. She wasn’t unfamiliar with dressing to look good and it was true she didn’t do it often, but she looked better than she could ever remember. Her eyes got big as saucers and her mouth hung open. The clothes just felt so right to her too.
“Well how did we do Vanessa?” Anna asked.
“I just don’t know what to say. I look super.”
“Yes you do Anna, I think you look super sexy, but ready for business also,” Janice said.
“Come on girls we need to hit the mall,” Margaret said, dumping Vanessa’s purse into a matching red purse.
Anna helped Vanessa into her trainers, they would have to do till they hit the shoe store. Vanessa wanted to change into her other clothes, but the girls wouldn’t hear of it. Janice broke out in giggles hearing that.
Margaret told the mothers, “We need to hit the mall a bit to get something for tomorrow.”
“Ok,” Madeline said, smiling as she saw Vanessa.
Helen’s Mom also caught the flash of red trying to hid from her, “Vaannneeessa is that you?” she said slightly confused.
Vanessa felt caught like a rat, “Yes Mom.”
“Come here dear, let me look. Oh my, you look lovely dear.”
“That is a lovely suit for you Vanessa, too bad Margaret is a little too broad for it now.”
Margaret was an inch shorter than Vanessa and broader in the hips too, but to say that she had outgrown that outfit was stretching the truth a bit.
“Yeah Mom, I intend to give it to Vanessa, if that is ok with you that is.”
“Of course it is and seeing her in it, she looks nicer in it than it ever did on you. That would be ok Helen, wouldn’t it? I mean, Margaret’s closets are just overflowing. Anna is two sizes too big; Vanessa is the closest, I would love to see some of her things go to her friends.”
Helen started to object, she didn’t like charity, but her daughter looked so lovely. “I guess, as long as they don’t overdo it.”
Janice whispered a, “Yes.” and Vanessa groaned, “No,” inwardly, but at the same time she was intrigued.
“Ok girls, don’t be too long. You will need to get to sleep early to get up early,” Madeline said.
The girls piled into Margaret’s SUV and headed off to the mall.
“I wish we had time to play Barbie with Vanessa, after all, you three played Barbie with me,” Janice said.
“Nope, won’t happen,” Vanessa said.
“Yeah right, that is what John said if I remember correctly,” Anna said, giggling, “You can see where it got him.”
“Yeah, it’s my turn to have some fun, that is what girls do isn’t it?”
At the mall they hit the shoe stores, they found a pair of red pumps that matched the suit, but they had a four-inch heel. Janice, Anna and Margaret insisted that she get them, along with a couple of more pair of heels, with a lower heel of course, that matched outfits Margaret planned on giving to Vanessa.
From the shoe store they went to the lingerie store. Although Vanessa had all the requisite lingerie, it was rather plain; at least to her friends. They went through and decided that she needed a definite upgrade. Vanessa, they found out, was a thirty four C and a size five. The bra’s she had been wearing tended to minimize her appearance and the bra’s her friends helped select, tended to maximize her assets. Her old panties were like the ones many girls wear and could only be called serviceable. The new stuff they picked out were dazzling displays of colors, lace, silks and satins. Yes they did get her some that were an embarrassingly close match to the material of the Basque. Janice had fun helping and the girls treated her no differently than they did each other.
Margaret and Anna were glad that they were working on Vanessa now. They weren’t unhappy by what she wore before, but they saw what she could become. She could well afford the new clothes with what they had earned now. They got her into some new shoes and lingerie the rest could wait till another day.
Madeline called and told the girls to pick up four pizzas and head on home. She told them they were going to get some of Margaret’s things and then they were going to head on over to Anna’s. Madeline said she would explain things when they got there.
They hurried out of the mall to a pizzeria that was nearby and ordered four large pizzas.
At home they found Madeline waiting, she said, “Good you girls got back. Oh Vanessa I just love those heels on you, where did you get them?”
“The Shoe Express, Mrs. Bradford,” Vanessa said, “I can already see why Janice has complained about some of the shoes we had her wear.”
“But they look so good on you. That suit really does wonders for you dear. Alright, now down to business, Margaret grab your suit and the things you need for tomorrow. All of you are going to Anna’s to spend the night. Reggie is going to do your hair and makeup girls. She will start at about four-thirty AM on you Janice, you are a morning person and then hit the rest of you one at a time. So you need to eat, shower and get to bed soon as possible girls.”
Janice swore Madeline said that on one breath, what is it with girls, they can say so much in such a short period of time. Instead of wondering the girls snapped to action. They got Margaret’s things, headed back to the car and over to Anna’s.
They ate their pizzas and they took turns showering while they ate. Reggie and Angela dug in and ate their fill also.
Reggie began rolling hair; she had enough rollers for three girls. She did Margaret’s, Vanessa’s and Janice’s. Anna’s would be the easiest for her to do in the morning. As she finished one head, she shooed them off to sleep and began the next head.
End of Part 6
To Be Continued...
And That is the Way it Happened © 2007 by Paula Dillon
All seems to be going well... but is that too much to hope for.
Anna got up as her watch beeped and started breakfast. By five ten everyone was up and eating or getting their hair done. They then quickly started helping each other get ready.
The other mothers showed up a little worse for the wear due to the early hour, but as the coffee flowed their spirits and their moods lifted.
The girls all got their makeup done and after a final inspection by the mothers, they headed to their respective vehicles for the drive to the station. They arrived at the station at ten minutes to seven.
The girls were all wired with mikes and earphones. The makeup girl gave them thumbs up on their hair and only adjusted the makeup a little. In the studio they did sound checks on all their mikes. Studio lighting was set and adjusted. Video links to New York were established and communication check, between the two sets.
The girls were told to watch the monitors as New York went live. Their story was to be the second one of this hour, so they sat back and watched.
Andrea Edwards, Timothy Niles and Albert Reese, the hosts, introduced the first story. They introduced their first story, welcomed their guests, showed some video and then interviewed them about their subject. During that time they had one commercial break and a blurb about what was coming up next. The girls were given a three-minute notice. Last minute checks were made of the girl’s appearance and the stage was set.
Andrea: “Now we go to a story that many of you have already seen, (Video in the background of the city council meeting ending with the street shots). Four young ladies went out to shoot a video for a class project, for their high school journalism class.
They had done a piece on an important city council meeting and were shooting some background pieces to emphasize the problem. They had just finished, when things began to happen and they were there to witness and record them (footage of the robbery attempt began). As you can see, when the shooting began they sprang into action, documenting and commenting on the action. For over forty minutes they continued to work the story. The robbery turned siege ended, with the swat team assaulting the would be robbers. I have to say Tim; I would be hard pressed to find better coverage of a live, ongoing news story than this.”
Tim: “I agree Andrea, they did a great job. They showed an insight and courage you hope to see in any journalist. On top of that, all four members of that production team are just sixteen years old. Now that is amazing.”
Albert: “Yes they were amazing, when most people would turn and run away, or find some place safe to hunker down, which is what I would hope most people would do at a scene like this. They stayed and faithfully recorded this event from the first shot till the last shot. Now we have a treat for the viewers, after this commercial break, we get to meet the four young ladies who shot this amazing footage.”
(One monitor showed the live feed and another showed the studio in New York. They were given a five count, at the end of the commercial and a return to the studio.)
Back in the studio Andrea said, “Welcome back, we are going live to our affiliate station where these four girls are waiting. Janice Davies, the brilliant on screen personality, is there waiting for us. (The light on the studio camera went green, showing a live feed.) Janice, will you please introduce yourself and your talented production team.”
Janice: “Hi, I am Janice Davies. These are the other members of my production team and my best friends. To my right is Margaret Bradford, audio, editing and producer, to my left is Vanessa Sebring, our editor, director and camera operator and behind me is Anna Givens, camera operator, makeup and lighting expert, together we are JD’s Productions.”
Tim: “Well it is good to meet all of you. How are all of you doing today?”
Janice: “We are doing very good considering how early we had to get up to get ready for today.”
Andrea: “That is understandable; the news never sleeps; some of us like to say. Tell us, how did you and your team come to be there to shoot that news story?”
Here goes nothing Janice thought. “Well, it started out like this. I really love Journalism. I look forward to one day being a TV journalist. My associates and I went out that day to see if I could make it.
You see I have a problem. I was born a male and due to a medical problem, I will never mature as a male. My body reacted violently when I was given a shot of male hormones to try to jumpstart my maturation. I was hospitalized and I had an immunological reaction to my own body’s male hormones. That left me unable to mature as a male. My body deprived of male hormones slowly began to feminize.
So I was stuck, I didn’t think an androgynous guy make it in the news industry. My friends wanted me to see if I could make it as a woman.”
(In her earpiece Janice heard: New York says to keep going, girl. One minute and then back to New York.)
“My friends here worked with me to help me learn how to act like a girl and taught me many of the things girls do naturally. I learned to do my hair, makeup, matching clothes and how to shop. That was fun. Then they got their heads together and thought that I should try to do a news shoot as a woman. We hunted in the newspapers for a news item we could do and found the city council meeting. We researched the story, learned what the sides and issues were. Then we made our plans and went out that day to shoot that story, with me in a feminine role. During our shoot, the robbery took place. The rest is history.”
Andrea smiled at the camera and said. “Well that really is an amazing story. Why are you coming out to the nation here live on TV?”
Janice: “I felt like I had to, Andrea. I recently had a run in with a scandal rag reporter. I knew I wouldn’t get a fair break from him. He would have sensationalized the story for the biggest shock factor. So I felt like I really had to come out.”
Albert: “So are you living as a woman now Janice?”
“Yes Albert, I am living full time as a woman and will continue to do so. I am now legally a female. I just hope I will have a chance to make it in my chosen field.”
Andrea: “Well, if you show such candor and poise as in the robbery and this interview, I see no reason that we might not be working together in the future. I want to thank you and your friends for being here with us today and good luck,”
“Thank You,” they all said.
Albert: “Coming up next…” (The live feed light turned off, the studio lights dim. A voice said, “Good job girls,”)
Jack Williams the station manager met them as they moved off set saying, “Good job girls, I clued New York in about that reporter. They were half expecting that you would come out. I think you did a good job of telling your story in a limited amount of time. If nobody else will hire you, you can always come back here. I need good people like all of you girls are.”
Sam came up and said, “I don’t care if you had an eye in the back of your head, you’re ok by me. Do come back after you graduate from college, we’ll hire you.”
A woman came up to Sam and handed him some paper. He looked at them. “You girls have three emails from Andrea, Tim and Albert,” he said, handing them the paper.
The girls and their mothers gathered around Janice as she read them out loud.
“Andrea says: I can’t imagine how difficult that was for you to do. I know how you must have agonized over it. You did a good job and I wish the best for you.”
“Tim says: I don’t care what anybody may say to you, I think you and your friends have what it takes. Good luck.”
“Albert says: If you do as good a job as you did today, forget the robbery, this was more difficult, I know you will make it. Good luck.”
Jack Williams was handed a note and said. “The switchboards really lit up during your interview. Eighty-four percent are favorable, and sixteen percent are negative. That is excellent given that people who are neutral wouldn’t even bother calling. We will be forwarding any mail or responses to Madeline Bradford, girls. So look forward to more mail and email.”
The girls and their families said their good byes and stepped outside.
“What’s next?” Vanessa asked.
“Well, You, Margaret and Anna go back to school,” Madeline said.
“Oh, do we hafto?” the girls said.
“Yes you have too.”
Angela turned to Janice and said, “You have two doctor’s appointments, a driving test and suit fittings. We need to move it.”
Janice drove to the state licensing office. She filled out the required forms, waited in a line, turned the paperwork in, waited in line and then took her driving test. She was very nervous as she drove, but she was reasonably certain she passed. The trooper looked cross at her for a few seconds and her heart sank.
“I hate to tell you this ma’am but you passed. Don’t let me catch you drinking and especially drinking and driving. You hear,” he said finally cracking a smile.
“Mom would kill me if I did. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Then I don’t want to investigate your death at the hands of your Mom. You did real good, the only problem you had was, you took too long to parallel park. Other than that, you were perfect. You scored a ninety four.”
Janice went inside to turn in her paperwork, have her picture taken and got her temporary driver’s license. The clerk didn’t even bat an eye as she was shown the paperwork to change the listed sex from male to female. She just looked up and continued typing.
Janice then went to see Dr. Spencer. They just took blood, blood pressure, temperature, weight, asked her if she had any problems, gave her another shot and a new prescription. They also had her make weekly appointments for the next two months, on Wednesdays, at four.
They then went to Dr. Godwin’s office. She was embarrassed a little, having to undress and dress in a paper examination gown. The doctor inspected the area of the incision and tuck.
“Everything is looking good, Janice. The bruising is starting to fade and you are healing well. Keep using you antiseptic cream, the panty liners for a week, and keep yourself dry there. Call me when you are ready for SRS, I do very good work. I think you will like it.”
Their last stop for the day was Monica’s Boutique. Monica smiled as they entered and greeted them warmly.
“Are you ready to choose your other suits Janice?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Good, just let Sharon mark that Armani for alteration. You have your DKNY to wear home and you can choose two more suits.”
Sharon got busy marking the suit. She marked to pull it in on the waist in both the skirt and jacket. She left room for Janice to grow in the bust and hips. Janice found a tan Versace suit that looked good on her and a Ralph Lauren jacket and skirt, in a saddle brown, that looked smashing on her. It looked so good; she insisted that her Mom try the same outfit on. Angela was led kicking and screaming into the fitting room, (not really, but she wanted too) and tried the clothes on. She started to protest as she modeled the clothes, but when she stood next to Janice and saw how they both looked, she gave in.
Janice then had to get purses and shoes for all her suits. She got a pair of Navy pumps, for the DKNY, saddle brown pumps, to match her Ralph Lauren and a pair of cream colored pumps, for her Versace. The pumps had heels of between three and four inches.
Monica was so happy to have sold five suits that she gave them some hosiery, matching broaches, for mother and daughter, and scarves to go with their outfits. She made out like a bandit in the end, but she really liked Janice.
The Versace and Ralph Lauren needed fitting. Angela and Janice took turns getting their outfits marked. Then Janice changed into her DKNY suit and pumps, while her Mom got dressed in the clothes she had worn there. Sharon told them to come back tomorrow and pick them up.
They stopped and ate at a restaurant before heading home.
Janice had to call the girls to get her homework. They only had a couple of things for her to do, so she was able to get that out of the way. She had also told Margaret that she had passed her driving test and would drive herself tomorrow.
**************
Janice drove carefully to school the next day. She got there early, so she could park her car near the gatehouse, which sat on the school property. The school locked down the parking lot to protect the student’s vehicles and to keep the students from slipping away without permission. They had very little crime on campus, but this was her first car. She didn’t want to take any chances.
She got her purse, camera case and her backpack, with her books and met her friends at their usual spot. The girls made her tell them all about what Janice and her Mom did, after they left. She had to describe in detail the outfits she chose.
At the bell they headed into school. She could still hear a buzz as they walked through the halls, but it didn’t seem malicious. She found that certain people still gave her a lot of room and she had a few more girls around her.
Her classes paid little attention to her, which was just fine. She didn’t want to be noticed anymore than necessary. Ms. Smart was just as ‘catty’ towards her as before, but she didn’t harass her openly.
The group around her at lunch was a little larger, again mostly girls. They wanted to know more about her. Janice tried to appease them with bits and pieces. She didn’t want to tell her whole life story, but she wanted as many people on her side as possible.
In Journalism, she met with the four students of Payne’s World. They batted ideas around a bit, till Janice had a brilliant idea.
“What if Ginny and Rebecca were dressed in swimsuits and other appropriate clothing. We could get Tom and one of the girls in a boat, another in a canoe, climbing the rock wall they have, a camping scene and a hiking scene,” Janice said.
“That is a great idea,” Tom said. “We could cover just about all the areas that we are interested in. We might need to run that by Mrs. Elaine Smith, she is the one that approved us coming in for the shoot.”
Rebecca got her cell phone out and called Mrs. Smith. She ran the idea by her as best she could, but got frustrated and handed the phone to Janice.
Janice explained who she was and that she was working with Payne’s World on this shoot. Mrs. Smith knew about Janice from TV and convinced her to come to the convention center tomorrow with Payne’s World and to bring her crew, if she could. She ran it by Mr. Dawson, who approved the idea and agreed to let them go there after they checked in and checked out the equipment they would need.
She checked with Anna, Margaret and Vanessa about tomorrow and about coming to her house after school. She talked with the kids of Payne’s world and invited them to join her crew, at her home after school.
Craig rode with Tom, he had a Nissan 300ZX and it only had room for two. Ginny, Rebecca and Vanessa rode with Janice, and Anna rode with Margaret.
Janice and Anna brought drinks and snacks for everyone. They sat down and started kicking ideas around. Ginny and Rebecca took loads of notes. They went through the material the convention center provided them, on who and what would be there and tried to cover the show as well as they could. They tried to create a time line for a five-minute presentation that covered as many of the areas as possible and yet still provided the people with as much detail as possible.
Angela was a little surprised to see another car outside her home. She knew Margaret’s but the sports car she hadn’t seen before. She picked up her Ralph Lauren outfit and headed inside. Instead of four kids, there were eight gathered around the dinner table talking. She told Janice to get her suits out of the car.
The girls’ ears perked up when they heard suits and went with her to get them. They found three suits and an empty suit bag. Ginny and Rebecca were really interested when they saw Monica’s Boutique on the suit bags. Janice had to take the suits out of the bag and hang them on the door so the girls could look and see what she got.
They went straight to the labels to begin their appraisal. They also checked the fabrics and linings.
“I can’t afford a shopping bag from Monica’s Boutique and you have four suits. That’s not fair Janice,” Rebecca said. There was enough humor in her voice to show that she was just kidding. She was jealous, but not spitefully so.
“You have got to wear that Versace to school tomorrow, Janice. We all need to look good for Mrs. Smith,” Ginny said. “That includes the guys. If we are going to dress up, they are going to dress up, or we’ll kill them.”
They all joined the guys, Ginny and Rebecca read Tom and Craig the riot act about dressing up. The guys surrendered and promised that they would be in their Sunday best. At five thirty the kids departed, Margaret drove the girls home and Craig rode with Tom.
Janice told her Mom about the convention center wanting to meet with them. She said that it would be alright as long as she knew where she would be. She told Janice to call or text her if she was going to be late, or had to go somewhere else. Janice said that she would.
Janice set her alarm a half hour earlier than usual, so she could get ready. She went ahead and set her purse up with the things she would need. Then she set some things out so she wouldn’t have to worry about them. She showered and had her Mom lace her in a corset down to twenty-three inches.
***************
When Janice woke, she worked herself out of that corset and cleaned up a bit. She worked on her hair and makeup, and then began dressing. She laced herself into a corset, and had her Mom tighten it down to twenty-four inches; she then added some suntan hose. She wore her padded brief and gel bra pads. She dressed in a baby blue blouse, her Versace skirt and jacket. Her Mom fussed with her hair a bit, spraying it with hair lacquer and had Janice add a little more color to her face.
Janice looked at herself in the mirror. She was all girl today, of that there would be no doubt.
She grabbed her laptop, camera case, backpack, purse, and cell phone. She put her things in her car then she headed out for school.
She found her friends at their spot and saw that the others were there too. Everybody checked everybody out. Vanessa wore another suit in pink, which Margaret had given her. Anna was dressed in a black suit, while Margaret was dressed in a dark green number. Ginny was dressed in a very nice navy/white sailor type suit, while Rebecca wore a nice dark blue blazer, over a red knee length pencil skirt.
Craig wore a charcoal gray pinstripe suit, with a red/white dot tie. The suit looked like a million dollars on him. Tom wore a black suit, that he needed to retire, seeing how he had a growth spurt in the last six months. The sleeves of the jacket and the hem of his pants were about an inch shorter than what they should have been. He still looked quiet nice in it.
They all looked sharp and drew a lot of attention from the other students. Janice had to admit though, she received more than her fair share of wide eyed looks, open mouths, appreciative looks and even some jealous looks, if she read the body language right.
Vanessa relieved Janice of the burden of the camera case at the bell and they hurried to Mr. Dawson’s classroom. He let them lock up the camera and laptop in his closet. They hurried even more to get to their homeroom, entering right on the bell.
Ms. Nelson looked at them as they entered the classroom and said, “It is so nice of you to join us, but I see it is well worth the wait. I would have to make an entrance to, if I were dressed as nice as you girls are.”
“Sorry Ms. Nelson, we had to drop some things off first,” Anna said.
“No problem girls, you were on time. Please take your seats.”
Ms. Nelson took roll and Ms. Simmons came over the intercom to make announcements. The bell rung for students to go to their first period class. Most of students had Ms. Nelson for first period, though some didn’t and left. Other students came in and gawked before sitting down. Janice, Anna and Vanessa had to explain that they had an important meeting dealing with their Journalism class.
The rest of the morning classes went like that. There were raised eyebrows, mouths that hung open in wonder and stares.
Ms. Smart’s face went red when she saw Janice, although she didn’t make any comments. Janice just sat down at her computer. She looked over and got smiles from Suzy and Debby; at least that made her feel better.
She then booted up her program. Instead of the screen she usually saw, she saw a smiley face that stuck out it’s tongue at her and in a balloon saw the words ‘Janice is a faggot’, before she saw the BSoD (Blue Screen of Death). The same thing happened on all the computers in the computer lab.
Ms. Smart tried to save the server, but electrons travel faster than fingers. In frustration she wrote out a pass and said, “Janice, get your things and go to Ms. Simmons office. The rest of you follow me to study hall.”
Janice was in tears as she walked to Ms Simmons office. Ms. Keller was shocked to see Janice in this condition. “What is the problem Janice? Why are you here?”
Janice explained what had happened to Ms. Keller. She buzzed Ms. Simmons on the intercom and talked to her. Four seconds later Ms. Simmons asked Janice to come into her office and asked Linda to call IT and get a tech over here.
She had Janice sit down in an armchair and tell her what happened. Janice told her that she booted her program. Instead of her program coming up, a smiley face came up, stuck out it’s tongue and in a balloon said that Janice was a faggot. A BSoD came up and crashed her computer, and all the computers in the classroom.
“So why did Ms. Smart send you here?”
“I guess she blames this on me.”
“Did you do this?”
“NO MA’AM!” Janice said getting a little excited. “Why would I do that to myself?”
“I believe you Janice, your logic is flawless. You wouldn’t do that. We just have to get Ms. Smart to see that logic. Now go in my bathroom and fix your face dear. Don’t let her see you sweat.”
While Janice was busy making herself presentable, Linda buzzed her that Ms. Smart was here. She asked Linda to have her wait. Janice took great care to make herself look presentable. She did the best make up job she had ever done. She looked at herself and was happy that she didn’t get any makeup on her suit. She smiled, held her head up high and came back into the office.
“You look much better Janice. You are quiet the young lady you know.”
“Thank you Ma’am,” Janice said as she took her seat.
“Linda, send in Ms. Smart. Please.”
Ms. Smart came in her face still in a grimace.
“Please have a seat Ms. Smart and tell me why you sent Janice to the office.”
“She crashed the computer lab server and all of our computers, Ms. Simmons.”
“Did she really, tell me what happened?”
Ms. Smart told the same basic story that Janice had told her. The smiley face, the words, ‘Janice is a faggot,’ and all the computers crashing afterwards.
“Why do you think it was Janice?”
“It had to be, it started on her computer. I want her expelled.”
“Couldn’t one of your other students have hacked into her program?”
“My students wouldn’t do that. Besides we run a security program.”
“I don’t really think that Janice would do that to her own program or anybody else’s for that fact. She is one of our better students. You yourself wrote those very words, if I remember correctly.”
“That was before she began her perversions.”
“MS. SMART! I won’t have you talking like that about Janice or any student. Now apologize this minute.”
“I am sorry I said that, but this isn’t right.”
“I have an IT tech coming over here now, Ms. Smart we will see what they have to say. Now you may either assist in study hall or take some personal time, but don’t return to your class room, Ms. Smart.”
“I will take some personal time, but I need my coat and purse.”
Ms. Simmons asked Linda to accompany Ms. Smart to her classroom and to lock it up when she left.
“Janice don’t let her get to you, you have done nothing wrong. Of that I am certain. Now go on to study hall please. Remember don’t let them see you sweat. Hold your head up high and smile dear.”
***************
Ms. Simmons was highly pissed at Ms. Smart. She had no reason to accuse Janice Daniels of anything. She would have to find out who had done this. She needed to talk to her niece.
Ms. Smart was livid, she couldn’t believe Ms. Simmons would take the side of that ungodly child; she was a God Fearing woman from what she had heard.
**************
Janice reported to study hall and gave the teacher there her hall pass. She then went to sit between Debby and Suzy. She told them in whispers what had happened, leaving out some things that Ms. Smart had said. She just didn’t want to go there.
The girls assured her, that they didn’t blame her for what had happened. They had some ideas, but no evidence anyone had done it.
Mr. Davis got on the girls about talking in study hall, so they got back to work on their homework.
At lunch, the people listened intently to what Janice had to say. Many had already heard of the incident, and of Ms. Smart going home early, but they didn’t have the whole story. Janice didn’t tell anybody the whole story.
Fifth period went well and at sixth period Journalism, JD’s Production and Payne’s World got a lot of looks from their fellow students. They had already heard and some of them had seen them already but seeing them all together was just stunning. Mr. Dawson checked out cameras, tri-pods, audio recorders and such, to Payne’s World and told JD’s production that they can assist, but Payne’s World needed to do their own work.
Janice got her things and led the two groups out to the cars. They were stopped by the security guard in the parking lot and they showed their passes Mr. Dawson had given them. The cameras and gear all went in Margaret’s SUV. Anna rode with her. Everybody else rode in the same vehicles they had the day before.
At the convention center, they parked in the lot they had been instructed to use the day before. There were all sorts of eighteen-wheelers and commercial trucks there already. The back docks were a beehive of activity.
The kids took all the equipment with them. They really didn’t want to lose it to a thief. A security guard asked what they were there for, and after hearing what they had said, called to check their story out. Mrs. Smith asked the guard to send them on up to her office. He gave them rudimentary directions and sent them on their way.
They were met by an attractive looking lady; that appeared to be in her late thirties to early forties. “Hi, I am Elaine Smith; you must be Payne’s World and JD’s Productions.”
“I am Janice Daniels and this is Vanessa Sebring, Margaret Bradford and Anna Givens. We are JD’s Productions.”
“I am Tom Spires and this is Ginny Morgan, Rebecca Cummings and Craig Livingston. We are Payne’s World.”
“Welcome, I was expecting an unruly mob of kids, but I see you can’t be called kids. All of you look so nice and quite professional.”
The kids all thanked Mrs. Smith.
“Now, if you will come with me, I was going to do the meeting in my office, but seeing all of you, we will meet in my conference room.”
She led them to a room with a long table and about a dozen chairs around it. JD’s Productions sat on one side and Payne’s World sat on the other, with Elaine at the head.
“Now before we get started, I wanted to thank JD’s Production for coming. I was excited to talking to you yesterday, Janice, and it is so good meeting you. I was quite taken by your on screen performance and your candor in your interview on Wednesday. I had to take this opportunity to meet you.
It is good to meet your group too Tom. I don’t mean to make your group to appear less important. It is good seeing young people trying to learn to do things right. So please tell me what your ideas are.”
Tom started out telling Mrs. Smith of their ideas; the others there produced their notes and added to what he said. Tom did give credit to Janice; she explained how she came up with this idea. They talked for about an hour.
Mrs. Smith smiled when they began and listened intently as the two groups worked together to flesh out the ideas. After they finished she asked, “Have any of you seen our commercials on TV?”
Six of the eight said they had.
“What did you think of them?”
“They were alright, I guess. I am no judge of commercials,” Tom said.
“You are just the people to judge them. For this show to be a success, our commercials need to be out there and grab the consumer. They have to want to come here, pay that entry fee, browse the vendors and buy things. If they don’t come, the vendors may not come back next year, the convention center looses money and prestige. I agree they are alright, but alright isn’t good enough. Tell me, you people have some really good ideas, can you make those ideas a commercial?”
Everyone looked at Janice; she thought for a few seconds and said, “We probably can, using many of the same ideas. A news story sells people on the news, and the integrity of the newsperson. A commercial is not that much different.”
“Good, if you can produce three or four one minute spots, whether I use them or not, I will pay you eight thousand dollars. If they are good enough to use, I will pay you a lot more.”
“We would have to check with our attorney, Mrs. Smith, JD’s Productions is now a legal corporation,” Janice said.
“Who is your attorney?”
“Carl Wright, Ma’am,”
“I will talk to him; you kids put your heads together.”
Mrs. Smith got on the phone and the kids got together and started bouncing ideas back and forth. They took their notes and started to pull elements out of them to plug them together for a sales pitch. Mrs. Smith provided them with details each commercial needed to contain, about what, where, when and how much.
************
Back at the school Rick Tanner from the school districts IT department, inspected the damage.
“The program Ms. Daniels started, initiated a virus that infected all the computers on the intranet except one. Every computer out here had their registry and FAT’s corrupted. I will have to reinstall system software on each one after reformatting the hard drives. We have a mirror server that copies all the work on the server at midnight. That server is heavily firewalled. It also has links to the main server that runs a logger during the day. Any activity is noted like which programs were run during the day, when what machine accessed which program, on the server. I don’t think I ever told Ms. Smart about that.”
“I tracked Ms. Daniels program, it was last accessed before she ran it at 8:03 am, by terminal twenty-one.”
“That is during homeroom,” Ms. Simmons said.
“And Ms. Daniels generally logs in at eleven, and works on terminal 16, so it wasn’t her.”
“I never thought it was her, Rick. According to Ms. Smart’s seating chart, Leslie Carmichael sits at terminal twenty-one during home room. She has her homeroom students boot the computers for the day. Leslie was out sick though. Gary Marler sits at terminal twenty, and Chris Steigerwald sits at terminal twenty two. Marler and Carmichael are just there for home room; Sarah Clemens uses terminal twenty one first period.”
“It wasn’t Ms. Clemens who started the program, she wasn’t here yet. I believe an autorun CD was put in the drive when the computer was booted. The CD held a program that hunted Ms. Daniels directory and infected her program. Ms. Clemens sat at her terminal and the program was running in the background. She might know who the CD belonged to. It wasn’t in the drive when I checked and we record her saving her work to the CDR at eight-fifty.”
“Well how much damage was done?”
“Physically none, students in the first three periods may have lost some work, unless they saved to a CDR. Most do. It will take me twenty hours to bring the system back up. If I were in the public sector, I would bill one hundred twenty an hour, so figure two thousand four hundred dollars. I would also add twenty dollars an hour for each student’s work, for each terminal, times three, or another one thousand four hundred forty dollars. So I would report three thousand eight hundred forty dollars to law enforcement.”
“I like that figure, it gives me some leverage in dealing with my students. That would make it a felony, malicious mischief, on top of what ever the computer crime would be. Give me a written report later. We’ll deal with the miscreants on Monday. I want to do some investigating before we show our hands.”
Ms. Simmons went to the VP’s office, “Jeff I have a list of names I want you to check out. I want to know their computer abilities and associates.”
“I will get right on it. This is about Ms. Smart’s class right.”
“Yes it is.”
“Ok, I am right on it.”
Ninety percent of the time Mr. Collins got to play bad cop to Ms. Simmons good cop. He loved it. He also knew when Ms. Simmons chose to play bad cop, she was very scary in a sweet sort of way. Like something out of a Hitchcock Movie. She was a cross between a Koala bear and a saltwater crocodile.
************
Mrs. Smith looked over the ideas they came up for the commercials. The kids had outdone themselves and had come up with some really good ideas. She felt better about the concepts they brought her, than the company she paid two hundred thousand too.
“I like these ideas. Ginny, Rebecca and Tom, give your clothes sizes to Georgia, my personal assistant. I will take you on a tour of the facility so you can get a good look at what you are dealing with. I talked to Carl Wright; he is on his way here. He will be here after five thirty. Please call your parents and ask permission to be here till about eight.”
They stopped by Georgia’s desk. She got their sizes and the type of clothes they wanted to wear. Mrs. Smith also arranged for maintenance to bring up some of the studio type lights they had, so they could use them for tomorrow.
On the convention floor, they covered the various areas they wanted to shoot and got permission from the vendors to use their areas for the shoots. The teams were able to expand some ideas and nix others as too hard. Rebecca chose the scenes she liked best to be in and Ginny picked the others.
Mrs. Smith brought the kids back to her conference room, when she heard that Carl was there. He talked to them about this job and figured the best way to handle it was for JD’s Production to hire all eight of them and for the convention center to pay JD’s and JD’s to pay the kids minus taxes.
“As long as there is an even split I like it,” Janice said.
Everyone agreed with Janice.
“Ok, also since you are getting more work and I see no reason that you won’t continue to do so. I think JD’s ought to buy some more equipment, don’t you agree?” Carl said.
Janice, Anna, Vanessa and Margaret agreed.
“Good cause, I stopped by the store on the way over here. I got another camera like Janice’s, two tri-pods, and auxiliary audio gear. It helps with legalities of using school equipment for commercial gain. It’s over here; use it for the shoot tomorrow.” Carl said pointing at the pile of gear.
The kids poured over the pile of gear, checking it out, setting batteries to charge and making sure they had everything they would need.
“Mrs. Smith, that reminds me, we can edit the video here, but we need a sound set to do the voice over and special effects,”
“If you can edit it here, I have already scheduled some studio time at the TV station and you can do that there tomorrow afternoon.”
The kids got together and started brainstorming again. They laid out a timeline of shooting, beginning at seven thirty in the morning, beginning at the more important sites for the endeavor. They probably wouldn’t finish before the doors opened, but the most difficult shots would be taken care of already.
Some of their parents began arriving and they talked with Mr. Wright about the shoot. He told them what Mrs. Smith offered, what JD’s was doing and how much they could earn just by trying. Carl had even worked out that if they had at least three good commercials, that the convention would pay fifteen thousand per commercial. That had left more than a few of the parents with their mouths hanging open.
They didn’t even mind that he would take ten percent and JD’s Productions would take ten percent for equipment use. Each child would come out earning close to five thousand dollars after taxes and such.
Mrs. Smith had food brought up for everyone as the kids worked, and she got to know the parents. She herself had two kids that were with their grandmother right now. Angela found herself telling Janice’s story to the other student’s parents. Some had been skeptical as she began, but many became sympathetic.
Seeing how Janice was working with their kids and how they accepted her, won the rest of the parents over. She was working hard to help their children succeed.
The kids were about to leave for the night, when Georgia brought three bags of clothes. One bag went to Tom, one to Ginny and the last to Rebecca. They went through the bags to see what they had.
When Tom found a bikini on a special hanger that held the bra and panty in his bag. He held the hanger up to his chest and said, “I don’t think this is my bag,”
“Oh that is so cute,” Rebecca said.
The bikini was a flaming orange and yellow number. The bra was a string bikini bra, but had cups that were pretty modest for a bikini. The panty was a boycut panty in the same fabric. It was sexy, stylish but modest, as swimwear gets.
Everyone laughed and he traded bags with the Rebecca, who held the baggy swimming trunks out for everyone to see.
“I don’t know, but I would have paid to see you in that bikini, Tom,” Ginny said laughing.
“I can go get another bikini for Tom, I guess,” Georgia said, getting in on the fun.
“I think I will pass on that,” Tom said, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Everyone laughed at that and even Janice saw the irony in that thought.
“Dang, I liked those baggy trunks, they would have fit me nicely, but I love this bikini too,” Rebecca said. The trunks were bight Hawaiian style baggies, in reds and yellows. “I could wear these with my top.”
“I can get you the baggies tomorrow, but the bikini fits the theme better.”
“I agree, but I like these too.”
Ginny held up her blue/green tankini for all to see. The tank top had a built in shelf bra. The panty was a classic French cut with a full coverage backside. “I like my suit better; the colors match my eyes so nicely. Georgia you really have a good eye.”
Tom and the girls matched up the outfits with the scenes they were to shoot tomorrow, to save time. They then packed everything up and made ready to leave.
Mrs. Smith locked up all their equipment and led them to the exit.
End of Part 7
To Be Continued...
And That is the Way it Happened © 2007 by Paula Dillon
“I can’t have my daughter showing me up too badly out in public, can I? Besides we will look more alike this way.”
Then it was Janice’s turn to be laced in a corset with her gel bra cups strategically placed to enhance her own budding breasts. She had been wearing one so much lately, the corset didn’t seem so tight this time.
They carefully dressed in their matching Ralph Lauren outfits, matched their accessories, makeup and as much as possible, their hair.
At the convention center, they weren’t surprised to see most of the other’s there waiting for them. They were surprised to see Mr. Dawson there.
“Mr. Dawson explained, “Mrs. Smith called and told me what you were up to. I am here to lend my assistance, if it is needed.”
When they all got there they were escorted to the conference room. They divided their labor. Anna would handle lights and makeup. Craig and Vanessa were on cameras. Margaret was on auxiliary audio. Janice was on logistics and would keep everybody on track.
They jumped quickly into action and were ready to start shooting at seven forty five. They shot the climbing wall first. Ginny and Tom geared up. After getting their harness on and attaching the arrestor cable and a rope, Mrs. Smith made sure the various logos were visible before they hit the wall filming. Tom started out sort of tentatively, but Ginny took to the wall like a monkey. She waited for Tom at about twelve feet and they said their lines there. They shot that scene three times to make sure. Tom looked a lot better climbing on the third take.
They shifted into high gear from there and knocked out scene after scene. The boat scene, with Tom and Rebecca, they looked great in their outfits, and it went well. As did the canoe scene, with Tom and Ginny.
Janice noticed her Mom and Mr. Dawson getting kind of chummy. Margaret noticed it too and elbowed Janice in the ribs. They giggled a bit and turned their attention to the job at hand.
They got the shots they needed to get done, before the show opened. Margaret and Janice took the cards from the cameras and headed to the conference room to begin editing the video. Ginny took over on the auxiliary audio, Rebecca took the timeline and script. They then set out to get the rest of their shots.
Margaret and Janice set up a wireless network to share the video they loaded into their laptops. They worked quickly to disassemble the recorded video into segments and to reassemble it into four unique one-minute spots.
An hour and a half later, Vanessa and Craig brought the rest of their video for the girls to begin editing it. The team broke into two groups to add their inputs and assist the two girls.
Vanessa was a big help for Janice, she was better at doing this. Craig, Janice and Anna hunched over Vanessa’s shoulder as she worked. Tom, Rebecca and Ginny worked with Margaret.
Mrs. Smith and Georgia were called in several times to add their input, but mostly they smiled as they saw the kids work. They liked what they saw, so far.
When they got the video right, they ran it past Mrs. Smith again, then made more changes and ran it again. This happened several more times. Mrs. Smith liked being made part of the creative process. After the video was approved, they started adding text to blank pages that they could overlay at points.
At three in the afternoon, they had their partially finished commercials. They saved their work to DVDR’s and headed to the TV station. Angela and Mr. Dawson took care of their other equipment, as the girls took their laptops.
Vanessa, Craig and Ginny rode with Janice. Rebecca rode with Tom, and Anna rode with Margaret to the station. Janice noticed that Craig and Vanessa were playing with each other a little coyly in the back seat. An excited Ginny was talking a mile a minute in the front.
**********
Angela and Abel gathered up the cameras and gear, and took it to his car. Abel liked the way Angela looked. He couldn’t remember having so much fun as being with her and watching his kids make him proud.
After dropping the equipment off at Angela’s home, Abel asked her out to eat. It would be hours before the kids would be finished, working on their commercials. Abel was confident in their combined abilities.
**********
The troop were met at the station, by Jack Williams and Frank from the stations own edit department. They were led to the alternate studio. Frank took their work and ran through it, he helped choose the points to overlay the text. He then played some music and sound effects he thought would work, with their spots.
It was decided that both Tom and Janice would do the voice overs for all of the commercials. First, they would do each separately, then one sharing lines. Janice and Tom practiced their lines and critiqued each other. Then they practiced them timing their work, while Frank ran the spots.
Janice and Tom went into the studio to do their lines. They sat in front of a large monitor. They then did their lines. They each did three takes for each spot and three together, for a total of thirty six takes.
Frank then took the best of the lot and worked adding, music and special effects. All of the kids paid close attention to Frank work. He was very good at what he did.
At eight that night, Frank presented Mrs. Smith with six commercials to choose from. She and Georgia played thru them several times, before she picked the ones she wanted. In the end she selected four.
Georgia then wrote a check out to JD’s Production for sixty thousand dollars. Janice showed everyone the check and she asked Margaret to get it to her Mom, and have Carl cut checks for everyone.
“I am starving,” Tom said.
“Everybody to IHoP, my treat,” Janice said, and sent her Mom a text message "IHoP". She got one back shortly that said, “Ok.”
“Yes!!!” The rest said.
The kids made a beeline to the cars.
They talked about their day, and were excited about the money.
“You know, you still have to shoot your assignment,” Janice said.
“Yeah, I know we can do it though, we learned a lot by watching you girls work, Janice,” Tom said. “We’ll need to come back again tomorrow to get it done.”
“Who can make it tomorrow,” Janice asked.
“I can’t make it,” Margaret said. “Family obligations.”
“Neither can I,” Anna added. “Mom wants me to help in the shop.”
“I can come, Janice,” Vanessa said.
“Ok, I can pick you up. What time Tom.”
“Let’s make it later, say nine-thirty, this has been one long day.”
“Sounds like a plan, see ya.” Janice said, paying the tab.
Janice took Ginny, Craig and Vanessa home, promising to pick them up in the morning.
Angela was waiting for her daughter when she got home. The poor child was exhausted, but happy.
“We sold four commercials Mom,” Janice said, as her Mom helped her undress.
She set her alarm and was asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.
*************
Janice woke tired at six in the morning. She had a nice long soak in the tub, with a Eucalyptus blend bath salts, her mom got her. Her mind began to clear as she drew strength from the warmth of the bath.
She felt a hundred percent better, as she went down stairs for breakfast.
“Morning Janice, how are you today.”
“Better now, I love those bath crystals.”
“One of the perks of being a woman.”
“How did you and Mr. Dawson get along.”
Angela’s mouth hung open as she looked at her daughter.
“Mom it was obvious, you two were flirting with each other.”
“We weren’t flirting, we were having an adult conversation,” Angela said demurely.
“Oh, that is what they are calling it now.”
“Now don’t get sassy young lady. We brought all the cameras and things here. Then we went out to eat. Abel is an interesting person. We did enjoy ourselves watching you kids work.”
“I hoped that you had a good time, you deserved it. We have to go back and finish what we started out to do.”
“Ok, but we need to have some "us" time soon, dear. I need to get to know my daughter better.”
“I know Mom, I promise to set aside some time for us. I don’t see anything coming up this coming weekend. Plan something and I will pay for us to get away. After all, I earned five thousand yesterday.”
“That is a wonderful idea. I just may do that. How late will you be today?”
“It will take a couple of hours to shoot, I would like to wander around the show for a couple of hours. They have some nice things. Afterwards, I would like to bring them here so we can work on editing their material.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Janice dressed more comfortably. She put on her breast forms. It took her a bit to get them on. Her own breasts seemed a bit larger and the back of the forms was too flat. She could make do with them for a while though. She wore a bra and thong set, so there would be no panty line showing in her slacks. A dark green slacks and jacket suit, a red tank, boots and a scarf were her uniform today.
She loaded the equipment in her car. Three cameras in cases, two auxiliary audio recorders, booms, mikes, and two tri-pods went into the trunk. Janice picked up her riders and headed to the convention center.
They met the rest of the crew on the back docks and entered the convention center. The shooting today was anti-climatic, they already knew what they wanted and set out to get it. Tom even interviewed quite a few of the visitors of the show and several vendors. Mrs. Smith allowed them to lock up their things, so they could sight see at the show.
The guys knew what they wanted to look at, they were interested in the boats and sporting goods. The girls wanted to check out all the sportswear vendors. It was eleven-thirty, they agreed to meet back and head on to Janice’s home at three.
“Janice do you have a swimsuit yet?” Rebecca asked.
“Not yet.”
“Well we will just have to see that you get one,” Ginny said.
The girls wandered over to the clothing vendors. Janice started digging through the racks with the girls. There were scads of pretty bikinis in her size. Most she admired, but wouldn’t be caught dead wearing. She was amazed that women would wear these itty bitty pieces of fabric, that really didn’t cover all that much, out in public at a beach. Yet they would die of embarrassment if they were seen in their bras and panties, which in many cases covered more.
Janice did find three suits she wanted to try on, two bikinis and a one piece suit. There was a big line at the make shift changing areas, the attendant encouraged them to be fast and to keep their panties on for health reasons. They did have several full length mirrors set in a sheltered central area.
She went into one changing room and changed into one suit. The suits she chose had bras that covered her forms well and panties that covered her tush.
She met the girls who admired each others suits and commented on their choices. Ginny and Rebecca stared at Janice a bit surprised at the figure she displayed. They liked her first choice, a very red suit with a French cut panty.
Janice changed into the one piece suit. It was a blue/green/yellow flower print suit that had high cut legs and a zipper up the front. It fit tight and high lighted her curves nicely.
“Janice you have to get that suit. You make it look gud,” Ginny said.
“I like it too, except it is cut so high in the legs.”
“It is suppose to girl, it makes your legs look longer,” Rebecca said.
What really surprised the kids was when Vanessa tried on a Brazilian coverage bikini. The bikini panty was very narrow in front. You would have seen pubic hair if not for the panty Vanessa wore and she would have definitely needed a wax job to wear it. In the back you could see the cheeks of her butt exposed. It also had small triangles of fabric for the bra that just covered the nipples barely.
“Vanessa I don’t think your Mom would let you out of the house in that suit,” Ginny said.
“Mom would ground me for life if she saw it. I think her idea of high fashion swimsuits dates back to the 1930’s. I just wanted to see what it looked like.”
“It is sexy on you, too sexy if you know what I mean,” Janice said.
“I know what you mean.”
The last suit Janice tried was a blue/white dot banded halter top, and a hot pant style panty. She added a black wrap around skirt that could go with any of the suits she tried on.
She met the girls outside again. The girls liked the suit Janice was wearing. Vanessa wore another suit that was outstanding on her, a much more modest bikini in black with silver adornments on it. Rebecca had on a suit similar to the one she got, and a pair of baggies that would look good with that suit.
“I see you found your baggies,” Janice said.
“Yeah I like to play beach volley ball, I don’t mind playing in a bikini bra, but I hate getting sand up my butt,” Rebecca said. “I think your Mom would actually let you wear that bikini Vanessa.”
“I like it, and I am going to get it.”
“I think, I am going to get that red number, the one piece and this wrap around skirt,” Janice said.
“I think those would be good choices for you Janice,” Ginny said.
The girls dressed and did some more shopping. Janice found some sportswear that she didn’t get before. She bought some shorts, tops and shoes for the beach and exercise. She even got some tight spandex cycling shorts because she liked the looks of them.
They met up with the guys and went out to eat before headed over to Janice’s. Ginny tried her hand at editing the video, but gave way to Craig who was much better at it, especially with Vanessa helping him. When they had it set, Janice gave Ginny, Craig and Vanessa a ride home.
***********
Monday found Janice dressing for school in a skirt, blouse, pantyhose and two inch heels. She had tried the flats but liked the added height the heels gave her. The skirt was a black denim skirt that came to two inches above her knee and the blouse was a white linen long sleeve blouse. She did her hair and makeup to match the style she wore that day. A little more feminine and not business-like, like the look she wore Friday. She worked on her eyes to make them pop, yet not look slutty. Janice grabbed a sweater, purse and her school bag before heading to the kitchen. Her Mom raised an eyebrow when she saw her daughter, but smiled.
“I see you dressed quite feminine today, Janice.”
“Yes Mom. I can’t see a reason not too. I am pretty much accepted at school.”
“Just be careful dear.”
“I will.”
She got to school early enough to park where she wanted to and met her team and Tom’s team at their usual spot.
“Mom want us to stop by the office after school. They will have our checks ready for us then. You and I will need to sign them Janice,” Margaret said.
That told Janice that the checks would be over five thousand dollars.
“Mom didn’t want us walking around with big checks on us at school.”
The kids all agreed to go there after school.
Janice noticed the Rebecca and Tom were still chummy as were Vanessa and Craig. No one seemed to pay too much attention to how she was dressed, and that was good.
As she entered her homeroom, Janice was given a pass to the office.
She entered the Principals office and was greeted by Ms. Keller. She led Janice into Ms. Simmons office. There were two monitors setup. Ms. Keller had Janice sit in a chair and she sat next to her. Janice recognized Sarah Clemens, she also recognized the boy on the other monitor but didn’t know his name.
“The girl is Sarah Clemens she sat at the terminal first period where a Trojan virus was introduced during first period to your computer program Janice. The boy is Gary Marler, he doesn’t take a computer course, but he is in Mrs. Smart’s homeroom. He sits at the terminal next to the terminal used to introduce the Trojan. We have found out that he belongs to a group of hackers in this town.”
Ms. Simmons entered the room where Sarah sat. She looked sternly at the girl and sat across from her.
“Sarah, do you have college plans for this fall?”
“Yes Ma’am, I am going to go to Texas A&M this fall.”
“I am sorry to say this but I doubt it will be this fall. You are this far,” Ms. Simmons held her forefinger and thumb about an inch apart and continued. “From being expelled. You may also be charged with computer crimes, and malicious mischief. I hope A&M will understand why you can’t make it this fall and why you have a criminal record.”
Sarah’s face was one of disbelief and fear as she heard Ms. Simmons talk. “What are you talking about Ms. Simmons I have never done anything wrong?” She said almost crying. She had earned a full scholarship to TX A&M. She was afraid of losing that scholarship now.
“A sophisticated virus was launched from your terminal first period, Sarah. It caused the whole network in the computer lab to collapse.”
“I didn’t do that, I don’t have that much skill.”
“We know, we have your accomplice in the next room. He started the CD that held the Trojan and you returned the disk to him after class.”
“I didn’t know what was on that disk Ms. Simmons, believe me. Gary asked me to get that disk for him. He said that he wanted a copy of a program that Chris had and they were using the school network to burn a copy of it.”
“Why should I believe that?”
“Because it is the truth. Ms. Simmons.”
“We’ll see about that. You are not going anywhere,” Ms. Simmons said as she got up and left.
In the other room Mr. Collins was seen entering the room. Gary had his feet up on the table and looked as cool as a cucumber. Mr. Collins slammed both of his hands on the table causing Gary to startle and almost fall out of his chair.
“Don’t ever put your feet up on a table at this school Mr. Marler! You are in deep shit son.”
“I ain’t done nothing. Why are you on the rag old man?”
“Twelve years of education and you never learned how to speak. We know what you did Mr. Marler. You wrote a Trojan virus and a hacking program. You loaded these on a CD that you made into an autorun disk. At 8:02 AM Friday you inserted this disk into computer terminal number twenty one, you sit at terminal twenty during homeroom. That program ran in the background and searched out and found Janice Daniels directory and infected the program which she was working on. Sarah later brought you the disk you had inserted into terminal twenty one. We know you also had Chris Steigerwald’s assistance in this endeavor. The three of you may be headed to jail in a few minutes.”
Gary’s face went from cocky, to amazed, to clearly frightened as Mr. Collins spoke. He and Chris had cooked up this scheme. That bitch Janice was nothing but a fairy. The guys just wanted to shake her up a bit.
“Chris and Sarah had no part in this, Mr. Collins. I did it all myself. I am sorry Sarah got involved but I needed my disk back. Chris just thought he was giving me a program. He didn’t know about the Trojan.”
“Chris was involved Gary, who do you think rolled over on you. We first suspected him. He had had words with Ms. Daniels. When we pressed him, he gave you up.”
“That’s a lie Chris wouldn’t do that to me. We had it all planned out.” Gary said, as he realized he had just said too much. “Shit, I ain’t saying anything else.”
“I agree you have said enough. We are calling your parents and getting Chris in here to see what he has to say.”
“You mean you haven’t talked to him yet. You F***ing liar.”
“I guess I might have stretched the truth a bit, but I got what I wanted,” Mr. Collins said, smiling at Gary as he left the room.
“Sarah will be alright, Janice. They just wanted to fit the pieces together. She was an unwitting accomplice to all this,” Ms. Keller said. “Ms. Simmons wanted you to see this.”
“What will happen to them.”
“Mr. Marler is out for the year and will have to finish his senior year at an alternate school. Mr. Steigerwald may also be out, I am not sure. He is a junior and could make up this semester in summer school and will probably be at alternate school this fall. Ms. Simmons and Mr. Collins will have to determine that. Don’t tell anybody about what you have seen.”
“No Ma’am I won’t.”
“Ok Janice, go on to first period.”
Janice saw that she still had twenty minutes of first period left. There was nothing she could do for the guys. It was the school’s computers they trashed. She didn’t know if she would even if she could.
She told her friends on the way to second period, that the principal may know who hacked the computers. They wanted her to know what they knew. She stretched the truth a bit, but didn’t let them know all that she knew.
She saw an unhappy Sarah in the hall and was glad that she was cleared of the charges. Janice felt that she had been used. Sarah was as much a victim as she was.
When Janice left her third period class, a protective Debby walked closely by her side.
Mrs. Smart was much more subdued, when Janice and Debby entered the classroom. She addressed the students before starting them off on their work.
“Class, your work has been restored, thanks to our IT department. A Tech was able to recover everything, except for what the first three periods had done that day on Friday. The hackers have been caught and are being dealt with as I speak. You still have enough time to finish your projects. If at the end, if you are close to finishing, the lost time will be taken into consideration, but only if you work diligently between now and the end of the year. If you don’t currently save a copy of your work each day, I suggest you start doing so. It can save you a lot of pain and effort. Not having a backup will not save your grade, if the computers go down again. It would be the same in industry, if you lost all your work. Now off to work, I want to hear your keyboards clicking away.”
Janice held her breath, as she opened her directory and booted her file. The program worked like it was suppose too. Toward the end of class, she complied her work after saving it to the server and a separate CDR. After compiling, she clicked on the file to run it.
She held her breath as her program started. She put it through its paces and watched it work. Function after function was checked and seemed to be working. She would need to add some data to see how it handled it, but she was happy with what she saw. She went to shut down the program but realized she had left out save and exit functions. Oh well, she giggled, that won’t be too hard to correct.
At the bell, Suzy, Debby and Janice started to leave. Janice stopped and asked the girls to wait outside for her. When she was the last one in the class, she approached Mrs. Smart.
“Mrs. Smart, I just want to say I am sorry if I have caused you any problems. I know that things can’t be the same between us. You were one of my favorite teachers. I can’t go back to what I was, if I ever really was that way to begin with. All I am asking is that I be given a chance to succeed in life, not a guaranteed result.”
Mrs. Smart looked Janice in the eyes and said, “I can’t accept what you have become, or try to have people believe you have become. To me it is wrong. You are a good student, misguided, but good. I won’t be unfair to you, but don’t ask me to be buddies. It won’t happen. I know now I was wrong to accuse you of causing the crash, for that I am sorry. I won’t say anymore.” Mrs. Smart got her things and led Janice out of the classroom.
Debby and Suzy were waiting anxiously outside. They joined Janice walking to her locker.
“What did you do, Janice?” Debby asked.
“We kinda buried the hatchet?”
“Was it buried in your back?” Suzy asked.
“Kinda, we agreed to disagree. I won’t take her class this fall, that’s for sure, but she won’t be the wicked witch to me. At least I think that is what she said.”
“If she comes back, I would like to see her go,” Debby said.
“I don’t know, she’s good. I hate to see good teachers go. She is just too inflexible in her opinions.”
They met the rest of the troupe at lunch and talked about what had gone on. The girls were somewhat relieved to hear that Mrs. Smart might not be a persistent problem.
In Journalism there were no presentations ready. Mr. Dawson informed them of one final project. The students were to prepare a twenty two minute news cast, with four spots for commercials. They were to use all the stories they produced, to select, reedit and then present them as a broadcast. The station manager and news director, from the local TV station, would be there to judge their efforts.
The students would select one producer, one main editor, with two assistant producers and editors, three studio camera operators, sound technicians, control board operators, video operators, lighting technicians and three anchors, themselves. Everyone was expected to participate in some form or other. The students would be graded on their participation and their willingness to work.
They had from this Friday, till a week before their show was due, to select the segments they would show, then they would have one week to put it all together. TV station personnel would be by during that week to help with structuring it into a viable show.
Their first organizational meeting would be this Friday. Twenty five percent of your grade will be getting the best people in the best slots, so think about that. Mr. Dawson passed out sheets that held job descriptions for the various positions.
Ok New Spies has the studio for the first hour and Payne’s World the second hour. Let’s get cracking kids.
A lot of the students asked Payne’s World about the commercials they had seen on TV. Tom told them of the story of how it all came together and how JD’s Productions assisted them. He also told them how much money they all made doing it. Mr. Dawson let them talk a bit before he cracked the whip again, so to speak.
Janice and Payne’s World got to work on Tom’s script. He did pretty well first try, but he improved with each subsequent try. He tried to rush the script at times, but they were able to get him use a smooth steady pace.
When it came their turn in the studio, Vanessa had managed to break away from her group, to give assistance to Payne’s World. They practice it twice, before calling Mr. Dawson in. He sat in the control room as Tom was given a countdown. Ginny cued the video and operated the control board as Craig and Rebecca, operated the cameras. They ran it like a live take.
Tom was a little nervous at first, but after ten seconds he relaxed and found his pace. Ginny cued a station break and gave a countdown. They passed directions back and forth for a minute and Ginny cued Tom back in. A much more relaxed Tom smiled and completed their presentation.
The kids gathered around Mr. Dawson, who wore a stern look of concentration. Their hearts began to fall a bit, till Mr. Dawson cracked a smile.
“Excellent work kids, your best effort to date.”
“Mr. Dawson, don’t do that to us,” Ginny said, as she punched him in the ribs a bit.
A look of surprise was on everyone’s face, more so on Ginny’s face. She couldn’t believe she had just done what she did.
“I am so SORRY Mr. Dawson,” a frightened Ginny said.
“That is alright Ginny, you didn’t hurt me and I deserved it,” he said laughing. “You kids get an A- for that, after you show it.”
They ran through the recording a couple of times, with Mr. Dawson critiquing their effort. Copies of the show were burnt for each of the students of Payne’s World and one for Janice and Vanessa.
At the bell, the kids hurried to the cars so they could go to the law office and get their checks. Vanessa, Craig and Ginny, rode with Janice. As they left the school parking lot, a car pulled away from the curb and followed Janice.
At a stop light Janice noticed, Raymond Johnson in the car behind them. “Vanessa call 9-1-1, that Johnson creep is following me.”
“Who is he?” Ginny asked.
“A scandal rag reporter,” Janice answered.
“The operator said to keep driving to the law office, a cop should be on his tail in a bit.”
“Yeah I see him now.” Janice saw the light at the intersection she was very near, turn yellow. She slowed a bit and then continued through it.
Mr. Johnson went through the intersection on red, to keep up, not seeing the cop behind him. The Cop seeing the way clear, lit him up and went through the red light. Mr. Johnson followed for over three miles without stopping. He didn’t stop until Janice stopped at the law office. He got out of his car and started to approach Janice, but was tackled by the cop and put in the back of the patrol car, screaming.
The cop approached Janice smiling. “I know the light was yellow and you were being followed, but don’t punch through an intersection like that again. Mr. Johnson is going down this time on felony evasion. You might want to get a TRO on him.”
“TRO?”
“A Temporary Restraining Order, ask your lawyer and give her my card.”
Janice looked at the card; it showed his name as Timothy O’Shea. “Yes sir and thank you.”
“No, I thank you,” Officer O’Shea said smiling.
The rest of the troop arrived, as another patrol car arrived. The kids gathered around Janice, as she told them what had happened. Madeline had come out, after being informed of a scene in their parking lot. Janice told her what the Officer had told her and gave Madeline his card.
Madeline smiled. Life was getting interesting. “Don’t worry, I will handle it. Come on inside kids.”
Inside, they were met by Mr. Wright. He had some paperwork the kids had to sign, to make everything legal. He then brought a stack of checks for Janice and Margaret to sign. The checks for all the kids were over five thousand dollars. The kids of Payne’s World were almost bouncing off the walls with excitement.
The kids headed out, after getting their money. Janice stopped by the bank and deposited her check and Vanessa’s check, before taking Craig and Ginny home. They needed a parent with them, to take care of their checks. Vanessa gave Craig a quick kiss, as he was dropped off.
Janice and Vanessa then headed to her home. The other girls of JD’s Production met her there; together they started on their homework and discussed their day.
“So what are you going to do about that Johnson fellow?” Anna asked.
“I am going to leave that to Madeline, I think. I don’t know why he is still coming around. I already short circuited his story.”
“He’ll have some snide comments to print, and maybe he is just a bit put out about his treatment around you,” Margaret said. “He probably isn’t used to being arrested.”
“I hope I never become that desperate for a story.”
“You won’t, we won’t let you,” Vanessa said, “Besides you have more scruples than he does.”
Her friends picked up and left at about five and Janice started dinner. She was about halfway done, when her Mom got home and started giving her a hand. Janice told her Mom about what happened after school.
While they ate Angela said, “I am a little concerned about how long we will have to put up with that reporter.”
“He caught up with me just outside of Madeline’s office. They arrested him for felony evasion. It seems he ran a red light trying to catch me. He continued to follow me for about three miles after the police turned on their lights. Madeline said that she would take care of things.”
“Well you need to be careful dear, I don’t want you hurt.”
“I will be Mom.”
“I checked on what we can do this weekend. How about we go to Padre Island, rent some four wheelers and camp out on the beach, Saturday night. You can fish a bit, we can swim and have some fun.”
“Sounds good Mom; lets do it.”
“Ok, I’ll take Friday off and get us ready. You go ahead and pack Thursday and I will pick you up at school. We’ll head out from there, get a motel in Corpus and then hit the beach the next day.”
They cleared off the table and cleaned the kitchen. They enjoyed doing things together, which they hadn’t done before. Their tasks complete, they headed to watch TV together.
“Mom, my nipples are sensitive and itch a bit right now. My bra is too tight with the breast forms on, too. I didn’t think the estrogen would work that fast.”
“Well, your body may have kicked into high gear, because you haven’t produced any testosterone in a long while. Your breasts were already starting to grow. Take off your blouse, bra and breast forms, I want to have a look.”
Janice went to her room, followed by her Mom. She striped down to her panties. It took a few minutes for her to carefully peel off the breast forms. She took a wash cloth and gently cleaned her chest. Her nipples were more sensitive than she could ever remember.
Angela took a tape measure and checked Janice’s measurements. She found that Janice was a full A cup now, almost ready for a thirty-four A cup bra and had a trained waist of twenty-five without the corset. That would go up if she went without wearing it for a few days. She corseted herself at night and wore one during the day, several times a week. Her hips, at thirty-five inches, also showed signs of broadening and her tush was beginning to round out.
“You have grown a bit in the chest, sensitivity and irritation, go with that growth.”
“I know, but that doesn’t make it feel better.”
“As for your breast forms, we’ll get you some different forms; there are some that have a concave back, those will fit better. Use your gel pads in your bra, and we will go to a shop I was referred too, after school tomorrow. You definitely look more mature with a larger bust Janice. You may not grow much bigger than a large A, or small B. You look better with a full B, or C cup though. We may look at getting you implants this summer. You have the money too.”
“I think I would look good having Vanessa’s chest. She is big when she has the right bra on. Her old bras just flattened out her chest.”
“Girls are that way Janice. Some are extremely self-conscious about having small breasts and others are extremely self-conscious about having a big bust.”
“But when we got her into Margaret’s clothes, you should have seen her face. I think she dressed down, because she didn’t know how good she could look.”
“I loved what the girls did for her Janice, she looked simply lovely. I am glad she liked the look.”
“Margaret gave her three, or four, outfits and I have seen some new clothes on her. She looks like a whole different person. Anna and Margaret are even dressing better.”
“I think they were just dressing to make her feel less self conscious about her appearance. A limited budget, doesn’t allow for extravagant looks.”
“Or maybe she is just now seeing the benefits of looking better. She is going out with Craig now, I think.”
“Craig is that boy who was the cameraman from last weekend, right? He is kind of a hunk.”
“That’s him. I have seen them kissing a couple of times.”
“Good for her. I think I have some cream that will help with the itching. Go ahead and take your bath, I’ll be back when you finish.”
Janice ran her tub, adding bath salts to the water. Bath time was something she liked about being a woman now. She now had a variety of bath salts she liked. The salts helped the itching a bit too. She shaved her legs and her underarms. The hair was starting to grow pretty fast now, along with her pubic hair, which she never had before. She washed and conditioned her hair, before getting out of the bath.
She dressed in panties and a robe, before drying her hair. Her Mom was waiting for her in her bedroom and gave her a tube of cream. It felt good, as she rubbed it in. Janice went ahead and laced herself into a corset, not overly tight, but down to twenty four inches. She put on her nightie and went to bed.
End of Part 8
To Be Continued ???
And That is the Way it Happened © 2007 by Paula Dillon
She cradled the guitar with the neck up by her shoulder, closed her eyes and began to warm up by playing some adlibbed Flamenco. When she got into the flow of the music, she began to play ‘La Malagueá±a’. The girls began to Tango when Angel played ‘La Cumparsita’. Angel just let the music carry her away as she kept on playing and smiling.
She cradled the guitar with the neck up by her shoulder, closed her eyes and began to warm up by playing some adlibbed Flamenco. When she got into the flow of the music, she began to play ‘La Malagueá±a’. The girls began to Tango when Angel played ‘La Cumparsita’. Angel just let the music carry her away as she kept on playing and smiling.
She had divorced her husband eight years earlier. The divorce had been messy, at least on the financial side, and far from amicable, but she had him by the short hairs and he knew it. The financial split of their marital assets turned out to be sixty eight to thirty two. She had full custody but had to sign a NDA (non-disclosure agreement). There was enough money that she didn’t need to do work for them to be comfortable.
In the months after her divorce, life went on; she kept the house clean, did the laundry and shopping and helped her son Angel with his school work. As much as she loved her son, it just wasn’t enough for her. She found herself alone in her large home much of the time. Calls to her sister helped but they were not enough. She felt she just had to get out of the house and get a job.
She sat angel on her lap and hugged him to her, “Angel, would it be alright if momma got a job?”
Angel looked to be deep in serious thought for several seconds, “Yeah Mom, but what will I do after school?”
Margarita smiled at her little boy and said, “Well, you would go to daycare after school and I would pick you up on the way home from work.”
“Ok”
Margarita had excellent computer skills and typing skills. She took a few weeks to hone her skills and re-familiarized herself with many of the business software packages. She then went shopping. She selected a half dozen skirted suits from dark blue, to navy, to charcoal to black, making sure the blazers were well fitted and the skirts touched the top of her knee at least. Along with suits she bought blouses and lots of office appropriate accessories. At her salon she had her hair style, nails and makeup updated.
She then invited a friend of hers over, that worked in Human Resources and together they spent the better part of a week creating, editing and compiling a resume plus the supporting documentation. They copied it to disk and printed it. Margarita took her resume and had it professionally printed and bound. She started with twenty copies.
It took her a month of going to interviews to land herself a placement as an executive assistant. She worked nine to five, Monday through Friday. She was over qualified for the position she had taken; having obtained two MBA’s, one in Marketing and another in Finance. One HR director had asked her why she had not wanted an executive position that she was well qualified for. She told him that she had just not wanted to jump into a position and have to take charge. She just wanted to get out of the house and interacting with other people again.
Her mood had brightened and life at home was good for her and her son.
Chapter 2
Margarita worked for an executive named Sam Wallingford. They had a good relationship and he never made sexual advances towards her. The Corporation and Mr. Wallingford greatly benefited from her knowledge and her ability to work with people. All of her co-workers found her cheerful and knowledgeable. She was a great organizer. Sam would give her a project and let her have her head.
Everything sailed smoothly until three months ago, when a business deal threatened to go south. The deal was one of Sam’s key projects and looked to be a very profitable. After Sam and his wife left on a Hawaiian cruise vacation/second honeymoon, the fecal matter hit the rotary oscillator. One of the major concerns they depended on had gone belly up. Margarita informed Corporate of the problem. She then got to work and formed a task group to work on a solution, while Corporate looked over her shoulder.
The Corporation also had a group of executives working on a solution. There were long hours, with days of eighteen to twenty hours of work. In the end both groups presented their solutions. The CEO, CFO, and the BOD went over both proposals thoroughly. In the end, the proposal presented by Margarita and her group was simpler, more elegant and the most cost efficient. Margarita gave her group the credit for the work where it was due, minimizing her part in the process. Her group had just saved their corporation just over seventy-five million dollars.
There had been eyes on her though and they had seen the truth. Yes, she had a group that did most of the work, but she was in there working with them, giving them direction and ram-rodding things along. She had put in the most hours there, and had to have her sister pick up Angel and take him to her place for ten days.
The people up top were very pleased with her work and dedication to the job. They offered her the chance of a lifetime. They wanted her to take an upper mid level executive position.
This was at the heart of the problem she now faced. She explained it to her number one supporter, Angel.
“Go for it Mom,”
“You don’t understand, it will mean that I have to go to corporate headquarters for a month long training seminar, I will also have to spend two to three weeks a quarter in either the European office or the Asian offices.”
“So, what is the problem? I bet you will enjoy the travel. I know you like the people you work for.”
“You are the problem Angel, not you specifically, but what will I do about you. I am not going leave you at home by yourself. You would have to spend your summer with your Aunt Carmine and I would probably have to send you to a boarding school to do this job.”
Angel sat and thought about the implications for a few minutes before answering. “Mom I know it will be rough on both of us, but I know how much this will mean to you. I can hack it if you can, as long as you don’t dump me and forget about me.”
“I could never do that to you Angel. You are the reason I still exist. I have already talked to Corporate and insisted that I have at least two weekends a month and four weeks of vacation so that I can be a Mom. I told them that if they screwed me on this, that I would happily find employment elsewhere. They agreed barring only an emergency.”
“What kind of compensation?”
“I am making mid fifties right now, if I take this job I will be making between one twenty five and one fifty for the first year, with fringe benefits.”
Margarita and Angel spent the next four hours talking about things before calling it a day and heading to bed. The next day they began to research boarding schools till they found a boarding school that fit their criteria and was between their home and Aunt Carmine’s home. That just left one problem, Margarita needed to talk to her sister.
“Hi Sis,” Margarita said, after her sister answered the phone.
“Hey Sis,” Carmen said, almost shouting into the phone. “How are things up there? You don’t have another emergency do you?”
“No everything is fine up here. How are you and the Mountain girls doing?”
Carmine’s mirror image daughters (monozygotic) Sierra and Nevada were affectionately known as the mountain girls. Rodrigo and Carmine named them after the Sierra Nevada Mountains, after Carmine complained that she was giving birth to a pair of mountains while she was in delivery. Rodrigo heard that and laughingly suggested they name one Sierra and the other Nevada. Carmine threw her pillow at her laughing husband, but as she thought about it she fell in love with those names.
The two girls were the opposite of each other. Most identical twins occur when the single fertilized egg splits apart in the first day after conception. Mirror image twins are thought to occur because the egg divides after the first day, but before the end of the first week. This can bring about some interesting differences in the twins.
Sierra was right handed, Nevada was left handed. Sierra had a cute birthmark that almost looked like a dove in flight on her left shoulder, Nevada’s was on her right. Sierra likes bright colors, Nevada likes earth tones. What one girl was, the other was the opposite, except that they both were outgoing, gregarious and rambunctious.
At school they once did a routine where one girl did things like brush her hair and do her makeup, while the other girl did the mirror opposite of her. They were on either side of a window that they were treating like a mirror. Their timing was as close to perfect as any two people could get. This was filmed and the film was shown to the whole school. Everyone got a laugh out of it.
They looked so alike that their teachers often made them sign their names, to make sure they had the right one in class. So they couldn’t easily trade places with one another. They had tried to practice enough so that they could trade places, but neither was ambidextrous enough to get away with it.
“We are doing great.” Carmine said.
“I may have some good news and I was wondering if you and the girls could come down for the weekend next week?”
“Tell me you found some hunk of a man that is going to marry you and I will be there in an hour.”
“Not likely, I haven’t even been looking for one yet.”
“You can’t catch a fish, if you ain’t fishing, Sis.”
“What about you? I mean it has been four years since Rodrigo passed away.”
“I have been fishing, I just ain’t found a keeper yet. Maybe I am using the wrong bait.”
“Ain’t nothing wrong with your bait girl. You are at least as pretty as I am,” Margarita said, teasing her sister.
Margarita at thirty-eight and Carmine at thirty four both looked to be in their late twenties. Both of them had participated in beauty pageants in their late teens and both of them could stop the traffic of passing males. They were now beautiful in a more mature way.
“At least as pretty,” Carmine said laughing. “Nothing wrong with your eyes girl, either. We are both still heart breakers. I guess we can be there next Friday.”
“Just put a leash on Sierra and Nevada, you know how they tease Angel.”
“Don’t kid yourself Sis, he loves every minute of it too. You know they would never hurt him. Embarrass him yes, but never hurt him.”
“Ok then, I will see you next Friday, give everyone my love.”
“Ok Sis, kiss kiss.”
Chapter 3
Margarita was nervous and considered forgetting the whole thing. What stopped her was Angel, he was so proud of his momma.
“I have a favor to ask of you and the girls, but first I need to tell you more about my break up with Diego.”
“The girls can go join Angel if you want to talk.”
“They need to hear this to Carmine. First I need to know that nothing I say will leave this room. I signed an NDA with Diego, which is why I got everything that I wanted in the divorce. Do you guys know what a non disclosure agreement is?”
Carmine looked at her daughters and said, “A NDA or non-disclosure agreement is a legal document that says neither party of the document can reveal anything, to anyone about whatever the agreement is about. If Diego finds out that Aunt Margarita has said anything about it. She can lose her home and a lot of her money. You can trust me Sis,” Carmine said. “Girls you have to keep this secret. Can you do this, one hundred percent of the time?” Carmine was a little skeptical about her girls’ ability to keep a secret. Her girls loved to gossip as much as any other girl.
The twins turned and looked at each other, shook their heads and began.
“We won’t say a thing,” Nevada said.
“About anything we hear,” Sierra said.
“If it hurts Aunt Margarita or Angel,” Nevada finished.
Carmine and Margarita just shook their heads. Since the Mountain girls learned to talk they would finish each others sentences and make sense. Like they were different halves of the same brain.
“Ok, I have never told you this before. The reason I divorced Diego was, one day he got really mad at Angel and used him as a punching bag. He hit him with his fist really hard twice, but before he could hit him a third time, I laid him out with a frying pan. Diego was out for ten minutes, I thought I had killed him, but he got back up. I told him to get out and never come back.”
“What could poor Angel do to get Diego so mad?” Carmine asked.
“Was it because.”
“Angel wanted to be.”
“A girl?”
The adults just sat there with their mouths hanging open looking at the twins.
“Did Angel tell you that, girls?” Margarita asked.
“No he didn’t.”
“But we could tell.”
“He played dress up.”
“With us and he looked.”
“So happy when he was,”
“Dressed.”
“So is that it, Margarita?” Carmine asked.
“Yes it is, just before his sixth birthday, he came into the kitchen while Diego and I were talking and announced that he wanted to become a girl for his birthday present. Diego flipped out, I have never seen him so mad Carmine, not even during the divorce. He started yelling at Angel, I won’t tell you what he was shouting though, it was so filthy. He insisted that Angel stop all this non-sense about becoming a girl. Angel refused and all hell broke loose. I’ll be damned if I let him hurt my baby again.”
Carmine felt like she needed to shift this conversation before her sister broke down, “Ok, what was this about some good news, Sis?”
“Well, I have been offered a promotion. It involves a month long seminar. I was wondering about two things, before I accepted their offer.”
“Ok name them.”
“First can Angel spend the summer with you and the girls? Second, Angel has been seeing a therapist and she has given her approval for Angel to transition to a girl full time, if she can do so safely. Angel can be pretty girly when she tries, but I would like Sierra and Nevada to help train her to be perfect. I have tentative approval from a girl’s school to accept her as a boarder.”
The mountain girls excitedly jumped up and ran to Angel’s room.
“She’s in my room girls,” Margarita shouted, as she saw where they were headed.
The girls made a course correction and in two seconds they were out of sight.
“Well, the answer to the first part is, we would love to have Angel stay with us this summer. The answer to the second part is, well do you really have to ask? Tell me more about all of this.”
Margarita told her sister all about what had happened. After Diego left she took Angel to his Doctor. The Doctor checked Angel over and asked her about what happened. She told him about the incident and even told him what she had done. She told the Doctor not to worry about this happening again it won’t. That she would nail that bastard’s scrotum to a wall before he hurts Angel again. She then asked the doctor about finding a child therapist.
She had taken Angel to see the therapist her Doctor had recommended, where Angel bluntly told the therapist she was a girl, no matter what the doctors told her. The therapist made her tell her everything about how she felt. Angel let it all out; Margarita had never heard Angel talk as much before as then. After an hour, the therapist made an appointed to see her once a week for the next two months and made her promise not to dress as a girl unless she was somewhere safe and she was with her Mom.
After two months, the appointments came twice a month and then after a year they had appointments once a month. After six years of therapy, when Angel was twelve, she was prescribed an anti-androgen, so she would never have to suffer from testosterone poisoning.
Physically, Angel was five foot four inches tall and about a hundred and five pounds. She was taller than Sierra and Nevada by an inch and a half but was four or five pounds lighter. She didn’t have any boobs yet, but her nipples were becoming irritated, sensitive and they just starting to peak a bit. She didn’t have an Adam’s apple, but she did have a bit of a bubble butt.
Margarita then began to tell her sister about the school she wanted to send Angel to. It was a well respected girl’s school, about eighty miles from here and fifty three miles from Carmine’s home. The pictures in the brochure showed that the school was in a wooded area with vine covered buildings.
“Margarita, Angel could move in with us and go to school where the girls go.”
“I couldn’t ask that, besides can you imagine what life around your home would be like after your girls have corrupted Angel,” Margarita said laughing. “Seriously, Angel told me that she wanted to see if he could pull this off around ‘real girls’. Your girls love him so much they might overlook something. Speaking of your girls, it is too quiet back there.”
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Carmine said standing up. “We better go rescue Angel.”
The adults had just left the living room, when the girls came out of Margarita’s room. Margarita had dressed Angel in a lovely knee length print dress, knee high socks and some Mary Jane flats. She had done her face up in a light makeup, just a little foundation, mascara and a bubble gum pink lip gloss. She had combed her hair back and put a hair band and barrettes on her.
Sierra was pulling a worried looking Angel by her left arm and Nevada had her by her right. Angel was now dressed in Nevada’s frilly white blouse (she now wore one of Angel’s T-shirts), Sierra’s black mini-skirt (she was now wearing a pair of Angel’s pants now), panty hose and a pair of Aunt Margarita’s black strappy sandals that had a three inch heel. The girls had curled Angel’s long hair with a curling iron and had even redone Angel’s makeup. Angel now had a pinkish red lipstick, blush, eye shadow and eye liner on. The look wasn’t entirely over the top, but at least she didn’t look like a hooker. Angel was very glamorous now and looked more like a teen going out on a date.
“Go make a large pot of tea, Sis,” Carmine said. “Looks like we have a lot to talk about.”
“Right Sis.”
They all sat around the kitchen table, Margarita had made a pot of chamomile tea to relax everyone.
“Ok Sierra, Nevada, I love you both dearly, but your Aunt has been worrying so much over this that she only has one nerve left and you two are stretching it near to it’s breaking point. Please for the time being can you two answer my questions one of you at a time with a complete sentence.” Margarita asked pleadingly.
The girls looked at each other seriously and shook their heads. They then got up and hugged their aunt.
“We are sorry Aunt Margarita. It is just something we love to do. We don’t mean to cause you any pain,” Sierra said.
“It will be hard for us not to do it, but we promise not to finish each other’s sentences. At least till you are better,” Nevada added, giggling.
“Yeah, after that all bets are off,” Sierra said winking.
Margarita hugged her nieces tightly and cried on their shoulders for a bit. After she felt better the girls sat back down on either side of Angel.
“Now tell me something girls. Angel and I had worked so hard for her to look so cute, why did you two make her over.”
“You said you wanted our help to train her. Don’t get me wrong she did look cute… for a ten year old girl or a going to church girl. No teen we know would dress like that on her own,” Sierra said.
“But that is similar to how she will have to dress in a school uniform,” Margarita showed them pictures of how the girls looked at the school.
“Aunty, did you dress in a uniform for your school?” Nevada asked.
“You know that I did. You have seen pictures of me and your Mom in our uniforms at our Parochial school.”
“Did you like it or did you hate it?” Sierra asked.
“Carmine and I both hated it. We couldn’t wait to get home to change, but our parents were strict and we had to change into similar non-uniform clothes. But I see your point. Thank you.”
“Momma, you should have seen Angel. Her nipples were just like ours were last year, but she has these breast shape pads in her bra.”
“She also has a bit of a tush like ours, too.”
“What did you two do to your poor cousin, girls?”
“Well, we dressed her in my bra and blouse, her own panties, Sierra’s pantyhose and skirt, Aunt Margarita’s heels. I did her makeup while Sierra curled her hair.”
“What was wrong with her bra?” Margarita asked.
“Mine was cuter,” Nevada said, winking, “and we wanted Angel to be cuter in a teen sort of way.”
“Angel, you have been uncharacteristically silent. Are you ok, with all of this?”
“I am ok with it Mom, it was a little embarrassing when they undressed me, but as I saw that they were treating me like any other girl, I loved what they were doing, to me.”
“Where did you get that thing you used to hide your thing?” Sierra asked.
“Mom found a lady who made the breast forms for me and she made the other bits for me too. The breast forms can be glued on just like the other bit.”
“Tell me girls why did you strip your cousin. Was it to torment him?”
“No Mom, if she is going to live in a dorm, she’ll have to get use to seeing and being in various states of undress around other girls,” Sierra said. “It will be like summer camp right?”
“Tell us about the school Aunt Margarita,” Nevada asked.
“Well there is this school about an hour from where you live. They have tentatively approved of her. The girls live in cottages of sixteen girls with four dorm rooms. The headmistress wants her to spend a week there in July for evaluation and testing. She also wants to see how well Angel has adapted to being a girl. If Angel can’t pass as a girl under her scrutiny then she can’t attend. The school has several transgendered girls already there you see. Nobody knows who they are except the headmistress, the nursing staff and the house mothers. All of them are sworn to secrecy. So you see why Angel must be as good a girl as she can be. If she doesn’t pass as a girl, Angel has agreed to delay her transition.”
“Don’t worry, Aunt Margarita. After we get through with her, nobody will know she isn’t a girl,” Sierra confidently stated. “We need to do some shopping though; all of her clothes are just too cutesy. She looks she grew up in a Nunery, wearing them.”
“Well we can go shopping tomorrow I guess. We have to wait till after eleven though, I am expecting a call from the headmistress tomorrow morning.” Margarita said. “Would you like that, Angel.”
“Sure it sounds like fun, as long as we don’t shop near here. I still need to finish out this semester at middle school.”
“How much school do you have left?” Sierra asked.
“I have three more weeks; Mom contacted the principal and told him that she had to go out of town for an extended period of time, starting on the thirty-first. My grades are so good, that he arranged for me to test early. I will need to come to your home Aunt Carmine on the thirtieth of May so Mom can head to New York on the thirty-first.”
“Damn, we will still be in school through the 9 th of June.” Sierra complained.
“Watch your language young lady, your not to big to feel my hair brush on your backside.”
“Yes Mom,”
“Well, I hate to break this up, but if we are going shopping tomorrow we need to get to bed,” Margarita said.
After a round of hugs and kisses Sierra and Nevada headed to their room, Angel into hers and Carmine followed her sister into her room.
Angel undressed down to her panties and her bra. She left her small breastforms in her bra and dressed in her nightshirt; it was one of those long oversized T-shirts that extended to her knees. She then crawled into her bed. She was just about asleep when she heard her door open and close. The twins crawled into her bed and sandwiched the girl. Warm and comfy the three of them drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 4
Angel woke up Saturday at about 5:45 in the morning. Sandwiched between the twins she found the only way to get out of bed was to work her way out the foot of the bed. She looked back at the girls as they scooted back together in the middle. Angel got a bra and panties out of her dresser and headed to the bathroom. She knew that her homes hot water heater was going to get a good workout today with five girls wanting to take baths.
Angel decided to just take a quick shower after taking care of her other business. She was just drying off when Sierra rushed into the bathroom. She was moving quickly and clearly in some discomfort. Angel held the towel up to cover her flat chest.
“Sorry Angel, I just couldn’t wait.”
“That’s alright I know the feeling.”
Angel dressed in her bra and panties. Just as she was getting ready to leave Nevada came in doing the potty dance. She was frustrated that Sierra still sat on the toilet.
“Hurry, sis I need to go.”
Sierra popped up, undressed and jumped into the shower, while Nevada dropped her panties, pulled up her nightie and plopped down on the throne. Angel wrapped her robe around her and headed to her room. Just as she entered her room, she heard Sierra shriek. Maybe she should have warned Sierra about the cold water pressure drop when the toilet was flushed.
Carmine and Margarita were already in the kitchen and making breakfast, when Angel came in.
“Morning Mom, morning Aunt Carmine.”
Angel had dressed in a baby blue cotton blouse, nude pantyhose, half slip, a lightweight cotton skirt in dark blue and a pair of white and pink Nike walking shoes.
“You look nice today,” Aunt Carmine said.
“Thank you, although I am not sure the twins will approve.”
“You’re probably right, but that doesn’t change a thing.”
Minutes later the twins followed the smell of cooking to the kitchen.
“Morning Mom, Aunty and Angel.” The twins said simultaneously.
They too took time to dress. Sierra was dressed in a brilliant yellow and orange print blouse and red mini skirt, Nevada in a light brown tank and tan slacks. Both wore the same running shoes.
Margarita began putting plates of food on the table, assisted by Carmine. The girls sat at the table and after blessing the food, they began to eat.
“So Angel, what is it like being a girl in a boys body?” Sierra asked.
“It is kind of hard to put into words, but picture this. You and Nevada fuss and fight. I have seen it, but you really love each other right.”
“Well… yes, what’s your point?”
“Ok, let say you wake up tomorrow and couldn’t find Nevada anywhere. You ask your Mom and Aunt Margarita where Nevada is and they say “You know where Nevada is, it’s between Arizona, California and Utah. You can’t convince anyone that you have a twin sister, Nevada.”
“Oh wow, I would go crazy. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
“Right. It’s like I look in a mirror before going to school as a boy and I can’t see myself. I see what I would look like as a guy and I don’t like it. When I get home and I can dress like a girl, then and only then can I see what my heart tells me is true. I feel like life has cheated me and is playing tricks with me. I don’t feel real or complete. I know I have to be Angel the boy for right now, because of people like my father, but some day I hope to look and feel like you two.”
“I can sort of see what you are going through Angel. I guess Sierra and I have known in our hearts that you were really a girl,” Nevada said. “I just wish we could help you more, you know like wave a magic wand and make you a girl.”
“Thank you, you don’t know how many times I have wished for that to just happen, but this is the real world.”
They all finished breakfast and their mothers went to get dressed. Nevada cleared the table and set about cleaning the kitchen while Angel washed the dishes and Sierra dried and put them up in the cabinets.
When they finished they asked Angel to play for them. She went to her room and brought out her classical guitar. The girls had brought out a kitchen stool for her to sit on while she played. She spent a couple of minutes tuning the guitar. She cradled the guitar with the neck up by her shoulder, closed her eyes and began to warm up by playing some adlibbed Flamenco. When she got into the flow of the music, she began to play ‘La Malagueá±a’. The girls began to Tango when Angel played ‘La Cumparsita’. Angel just let the music carry her away as she kept on playing and smiling. Nevada danced the male lead and Sierra danced the ladies part. The girls were pretty fair dancers for their age. Both of their Mom’s insisted that they learn about their heritage. Carmine and Margarita applauded as Angel and the girls finished.
Angel didn’t miss a beat and went into playing ‘Mediterranean Beauty’, the girls took to dancing some salsa. Sierra began to lead and Nevada to the girl’s part. Angel thought her sisters were pretty good and they danced well to the music even though it wasn’t strictly salsa music. She would have loved to see the twins in long flouncy skirts and their Flamenco shoes. There wouldn’t be much noise on the carpet they had in this part of the house, but their shoes were just so beautiful. Nevada and Sierra really got into the music and they had some really sexy hip moves. Angel went right into ‘Iluciones’. The girls again switched roles.
Angel the boy, had a Flamenco costume too, a really nice ornate jacket, pants and boots, but she really wished she could dress like her cousins. She had worn her Mom’s outfit before but it really didn’t fit well and didn’t look to good on her.
Angel switched styles after finishing her last piece of music. She played ‘Classical Gas’ and the girls sat down to listen. She wasn’t quite a Mistress of the guitar yet, but she was a very advanced student. She then played ‘Black Magic Woman’, ’Op.60, No.7’, ‘Moonlight Sonata’ and finished with ‘Minuet in G’.
The guitar had belonged to her Grandfather at least till arthritis took his hands. He and five or six of his friends would come over and teach Angel how to play. She usually got at least four lessons a month from these men ever since she was eleven and had several video lessons sets. She would also spend an hour a day playing without being told too by her Mom. The guitar she played was quite old, but had a wonderful sound like no other guitar she had ever heard.
When she finished she bowed and received as thunderous an applause as four people can give, which considering the twins was quite loud. She loosened all the strings, wiped all the finger and hand prints off and carefully put the guitar back in its case. She then took her guitar back to her room.
Back in the living room the girls were talking about what they were going to do. Angel had to live and go to school three more weeks as a boy, so they could do nothing that could lead to an embarrassment. Angel joined in with some of her own ideas.
While they were talking the phone rang.
“Hello,” Margarita answered.
“Hello, this is Ethel Beckman at Sarah Adams’ Academy for Girls.”
“Hello, Miss Beckman, I have been expecting your call.”
“Well have you made a decision Mrs. Marquez?”
“Yes we have. If you accept her, we intend to have Angel attend the Academy.”
“That is great news, then. As we have discussed before we would like Angel to spend a week with us for testing, beginning the Monday the eight of July.”
“We can do that, Angel will be spending the summer with her Aunt and cousins. I can pick her up and bring her by there.”
“Her cousins?’
“Yes, my sister’s daughters, Sierra and Nevada.”
“How old are they?
“They are twelve and will be thirteen in August.”
“Oh wonderful, can they come too?”
“You’ll have to ask my sister, they just happen to be here now.”
“Please do hand her the phone.”
“Hello, I am Carmine Santiago.”
“Hello, I am Ethel Beckman, I am the Administrator/Headmistress at Sarah Adams’ Academy for Girls. We are seriously considering admitting Angel to our school. I know all about Angel so don’t feel like you have to hide anything from me. I was wondering if your daughters would be able to join Angel. We have asked that Angel come down for the week beginning July 8 th. In this evaluation it is important that we see how well Angel gets along with other girls. As a bonus we will test the girls and give our opinion on their educational development too.”
“I couldn’t afford the tuition to send my girls there, but I would like to see how well they are academically.”
“The testing will be on us as is Angel’s academic evaluation.”
“Just a second,” Carmine said. She put her hand over the receiver and turned to her daughters. “Girls would you two like to spend a week with Angel in July at the school she may be going too?”
The girls almost shouted, “Yes,” together.
“I should warn you it means you will be taking Academic tests along side of Angel.”
“Yuck,” came the twins reply.
“If you do this, I will expect you to do your best on all the tests they give you.
The girls looked at each other and then at Angel, and said. “Alright Mom.”
Carmine took her hand off of the receiver and replied, “They would love to.”
“They will need five white blouses short or long sleeved no sleeveless, five knee length skirts, flats or low heels and their exercise kits. They can wear comfortable clothes nothing too revealing, away from the academic quad. Angel will be excused from PE but with your permission we will test your daughters physically as well.”
“I would like that,”
“Ok, let me talk to Mrs. Marquez,”
“Alright I am back.”
“I see by her application that Angel plays the guitar?”
“Yes she plays the classical guitar and does a pretty credible job of it.”
“Good, get her to make a playlist with ten of her best pieces of music and send us a list and have her bring her guitar with her. She should make it as eclectic as possible to show off her talent.”
“I will have her do that,” Margarita then gave Mrs. Beckman, her cell phone number and Carmine’s home and cell phone numbers.
Margarita hung up and said with a wicked grin on her face, “Alright girls, let’s go shopping.”
Chapter 5
Sierra and Nevada dragged Angel to the bathroom. All three girls put on lip gloss and mascara. Angel found out that Carmine didn’t let her girls go out made up like they had done her up last night. The twins watched as Angel did hers. It was apparent to them that she had done this before.
“Mom doesn’t let us go out all made up right now, except for special occasions. She can be a bit of a drag at times,” Sierra said.
“Yeah, she doesn’t think we are old enough to wear it all the time the way we like it. She does buy us makeup though so we can practice.”
“And she bought a set of DVD’s that teach us to use makeup. We can use them when you come visit us Angel.”
“Yeah we have to be thirteen at least before we go out with mascara and lipstick, fifteen before we get into foundation, powder, blush and a little eyeshadow and seventeen before we do the smoky eyes thing. Like that is going to happen a lot earlier than she thinks,” Nevada said giggling.
“Just don’t let me be the reason you two get into trouble,” Angel said. She had he hands on her hips and almost looked liked their mother in lecture mode.
The twins couldn’t help but to begin giggling, “Lighten up Angel, this is all for your benefit girl,” Nevada said.
“And yours too I see,” Angel said joining her cousins in giggling.
The troop headed into the garage to Aunt Margarita’s car. They drove cross town to West View Mall. It was bigger and farther away from Angel’s school.
At the mall Angel got a lesson in teen fashion. They first hit the lingerie section. Angel already knew her measurements and sizes; her Mom had taught her just how important that was for a girl. The only plain underwear the twins let her look at, were the T-shirt bras. Angel had to try on all the bras they selected. Everything else was an explosion of colors, silks, satins and lace.
Angel had to admit that she liked the feel of this lingerie better than the cotton she was use to wearing around home, although the underwires in the bras the twins liked, would take some getting use to. The bras seemed to fit a little tighter and made her A cup forms look bigger. Margarita did insist on a few padded briefs that accented Angel’s bubble butt a bit. She wore one of the padded briefs out of the store and liked the way they made her hips look.
The next two hours the girls looked at tops, and bottoms, finding colors and styles that suited Angel. They looked at hundreds of dresses, blouses, skirts, tops, shorts, jeans and slacks. The twins made Angel pick out fashionable clothes that could be easily matched with other things. Angel had a good eye for color, but her cousins helped her make choices that a teenage girl would make. Still she insisted that the mini’s she got were a little longer than the ones the twins liked. The twins choose one of the just below mid thigh skirts and a frillier blouse for Angel to wear.
Margarita and Carmine then led the girls to a part of the store that displayed school uniforms. The twins groaned, when all three of them were told select a half dozen various colored knee length skirts, matched with plain white long and short sleeved blouses. They didn’t look bad when they came out of the dressing room, and they did make the uniforms look good, but they were still less than thrilled.
“If you are going to stay at the school with Angel you have to wear what the others are wearing,” Carmine told them, “and it won’t hurt you two to wear some longer skirts, now and then. You also need to get some PE clothes.”
The twins looked a little crossly at Angel, but when she started to wilt under their gaze, they apologized to her.
Angel was then taken to several shoe stores. The twins made Angel pick shoes that went with the clothes they had bought. Most of the shoes she already owned would go with most of the things she bought. They were all flats though, so the girls had her concentrate on low heel and high heel pumps. Having tried her mother’s heels on, she knew she could handle them. Margarita though put her foot down on any heel that was higher than three inches or so. Still she now had six pair of heels, one pair of calf high, heeled boots and three purses to go with her shoes and clothes. She wore a pair of black patent leather short heeled pumps and she carried her black leather Hobo purse out of the store.
Next on the twins list was jewelry, they hit several jewelry stores whose merchandise leaned toward the teenaged girl. Angel didn’t have time to see everything her cousins picked out, but the girls selected bangles, bracelets, necklaces, metal belts, scarves, hair pins, combs, barrettes, and earrings. Angel didn’t have pierced ears yet but from what she saw, that was just a temporary situation.
Then on their way out of the store, they spotted a sign outside of a major department store announcing that the Estee Lauder counter had a special on makeup kits for teens and a complimentary makeover with the purchase of the kits. Margarita saw that the kits were only seventy-five dollars and there had to be at least three hundred dollars of cosmetics inside the kit and a very nice case to boot. She looked over the contents, everything in the kit was top of the line in quality and the colors suited to teens thirteen to eighteen. They had various kits that suited from fair skin to darker skins.
“Girls, I will treat each of you to a kit and a makeover,” Margarita offered.
The girls had to stand in line, but not for too long. Estee Lauder had extra technicians on to handle the expected flood of teens. While some technicians worked on the girls, others would talk to the mothers. One lady approached Margarita and Carmine.
“Hi I am Janice,”
“I am Margarita and this is my sister Carmine.”
“Which girls are yours?”
“The one in that seat is Angel, my daughter, while the one seated there and the one next in line are Carmine’s.”
“Oh twins, how cute?”
“That’s them cute and twice as hard to handle,” Carmine interjected.
“Yes but you love them, don’t ya.”
“Yes, I just wish that they would settle down a bit though.”
“How can you sell your cosmetics at or below cost?” Margarita asked.
“We can only do that in these promotions. Most teenaged girls buy their makeup at drug stores or grocery stores and such. They wind up with inferior cosmetics, in shades and tones that doesn’t really fit their skin tones well and they don’t really look their best wearing them. We at Estee Lauder know the girls can do better than those brands. We want teens to try and continue to buy our brand. We know that they will see and feel the difference in quality.”
Margarita could only smile as she saw Angel transformed into a lovely young lady by the makeover. She had always been cute and very pretty, now she was becoming gorgeous. The makeover was a little bit much for a teenager, but still tastefully done. The twins even at twelve were both tens, they jut ate up what the technicians were doing to them. They paid better attention to the technicians than Angel who just relaxed, sat back and enjoyed the experience.
After the girls were finished Aunt Margarita bought three cosmetic kits. The two adults had to pry the girls away from the mirrors as they were admiring themselves and each other. They looked closely at what the technicians had done and pointed out the small things that made big differences to their overall looks.
“Girls, we need to eat and get home,” Margarita said.
The twins took out the lipsticks and compacts that contained the pressed powder that was used on them and put them in their purses. Sierra suggested that Angel do the same, so that they could repair their faces after eating.
At the car the girls were afraid that the trunk wouldn’t be big enough for everything and in fact it wasn’t, but they were able to get the girls in the back seat and stack the rest of the purchases they made on their laps.
“Looks like we will have to make the trip home before we go eat,” Carmine said.
“Yes, there is no doubt about that.” Margarita said.
Chapter 6
When Margarita turned onto their street, she looked towards her home and got excited. “Oh look, there is Uncle Javier.”
Uncle Javier Ramos was sitting on the tailgate of his pickup, playing his guitar. He and four other men all came over to give Angel guitar lessons at various times. He taught Spanish and Flamenco guitar along with his brother Rolando Ramos and Fernando Ramos, Angel’s grandfather. Fernando couldn’t play anymore as he suffered from arthritis in his hands, but he could be quite a loving taskmaster. Their close friends Pedro Aguilar, and Ricky Montez taught Angel jazz, classical guitar and rock. Sometimes other friends of theirs would drop by for the odd lesson. Angel rarely had fewer than four lessons a month and many months upwards of eight lessons. Angel loved all the men that taught her and she worked hard for them.
Margarita parked next to her Uncle and they all started to pile out when she realized that Angel was still in girl mode. The twins and her sister ran up to Uncle Javier to get their hugs and kisses. Angel had followed everyone and it wasn’t till she reached out to her Uncle that she felt she had screwed up.
Uncle Javier recognized Angel and his brows arched in surprise and his mouth hung open a bit, but he still hugged Angel. He had known for quite a while that Angel was different, but when he saw her this way he began to understand. Angel looked so much like Fernando’s Maria, even more so than Margarita, it almost brought tears to his eyes.
“Angel que usted es tarde para su lecciá³n (Angel you are late for your lesson.)” Javier said in Spanish.
“El Táo arrepentido Javier, pero usted no llamá³ (Sorry Uncle Javier, but you didn’t call.)”
“Sá perdá³n, yo no fui cierto que podráa estar aquá hasta hace dos horas. Llamé y nadie estuvo en casa. Esperé que usted consiguiera aquá antes de demasiado tarde. Vaya conságale guitarra. (Yes I am sorry, I wasn’t certain that I could be here till two hours ago. I called and nobody was home. I hoped that you would get here before too late. Go get you guitar.)”
Angel ran into the house and her room, she never questioned any of the old men who taught her to play the guitar. She had been afraid that if she didn’t do what they said, when they said it, that they would stop teaching her to make such beautiful music.
“Táo Javier (Uncle Javier),” Margarita tried to explain as they all walked into their home.
“Usted no tiene que explicar mi Niá±a. Adivino que yo siempre he sabido que Angel fue diferente. No tenga miedo que ella sigue siendo la familia. (You don’t have to explain mi Niá±a. I guess I have always known that Angel was different. Don’t be afraid she is still family.)”
Margarita had been afraid of the families’ reaction to Angel and she was happy that her uncle had been so accepting.
“ ¿Qué tal el resto de la familia, el Táo Javier? (What about the rest of the family, Uncle Javier?)”
“Usted permite que má preocupar acerca de la familia. ¿Estará¡ ella como este todo el tiempo ahora? (You let me worry about the family. Will she be like this all the time now?)”
“Ningáºn Angel terminará¡ este aá±o escolar como un chico y entonces ella comenzará¡ en la escuela de una chica privada esta caáda. Ella tiene mucho en aprender acerca de es una chica. (No Angel will finish this school year as a boy and then she will start at a private girl’s school this fall. She has a lot to learn about being a girl.)”
“Tal vez no tanto. Ella parecerá¡ como esto para todas sus lecciones de ahora en adelante, Margarita, (Maybe not so much. She will appear like this for all of her lessons from now on, Margarita,)” Javier stated with authority.
Margarita knew that when the old men of her family stated something like that, that it was law to the family members. She still felt some trepidation, but maybe she could see some hope at the same time.
Uncle Javier sat across from Angel and they got right into her lessons. He always pushed her to play better, all of her teachers did. They had all agreed that Angel could be a great guitarist. They worked hard for almost two hours.
Angel was famished and her stomach growled that she was hungry. She had been working so hard that she didn’t realize that had pizza arrived.
Uncle Javier made Angel hug him after she carefully wiped her hand prints off the guitar, detune it to relieve the pressure on the neck, put it in its case and took the case to her room. That was the only pay, the old men who taught her, required for their work.
Her Uncle sat at the table with the rest of the family and ate with all his nieces. Angel thought it was odd that he didn’t say anything about the way she was dressed, but at the same time he was treating her no differently than he was treating Sierra or Nevada.
Angel made herself a salad with a ranch dressing her Mom made. The dressing had a zing that most ranch dressings didn’t have. Margarita used low fat buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, crushed garlic, minced onions, crushed dried tomatos, fresh bacon she fried and choped into little bits, salt, fresh ground pepper, minced fresh cilantro and chipotle peppers chopped fine. She had a bread stick with the salad and then a couple of slices from the two large pizzas before she was filled up.
Uncle Javier, Margarita, and Carmine shared a bottle of Abadia Retuerta Rivola, while the girls drank diet cokes. They talked about the family sharing the latest news that they knew. There were about eighty extended family members still alive between the U.S., Spain and various places about the globe. Javier seemed to know of all of them. His memory fascinated the young girls as he rattled off what he knew and asked his niece’s about what he didn’t know. Angel, Sierra and Nevada were able to keep up with most of the conversation which was in Spanish, but the rapid pace of the discussion lost them at places.
It was getting late when Javier made his excuses to leave. Margarita and Carmine tried to convince him to stay the night, but Javier said he had things to do. He hugged and kissed them all on the cheeks. To Angel he said in Spanish, “Usted es una chica muy bonita, Angel. Sonrisa y mantenga la cabeza en alto. Nunca se avergá¼enza de quién es usted. Usted practica esas clases de guitarras. (You are a very pretty girl, Angel. Smile and hold your head up high. Never be ashamed of who you are. You practice those guitar lessons.”) Javier playfully spanked her on her bottom.
Angel screeched and pretended to be frightened, but she broke into a fit of giggles and gave her Uncle another hug. Angel whispered into his ear, “Gracias Táo Javier, Te amo (Thank you Uncle Javier, I love you).”
Javier turned away before a tear formed in his eye and waved goodbye before getting into his truck.
Chapter 7
The last three weeks of May seemed to take forever. Angel had lessons from Uncle Rolando, Pedro Aguilar and her grandfather. She did as Uncle Javier had instructed her and dressed in a skirt and blouse for her lessons. Nobody said anything about the change in Angel.
She went to school in the morning as Angle Luis Marquez and changed into Angel Louisa at home. She was much happier since her Uncle had found out about her and had accepted her. She had been afraid that they would be like her Father, and beat on her.
Javier, Rolando and Fernando taught her Spanish, Flamenco and while Pedro and Ricky taught her classical guitar, their kind of rock albeit adapted for the classical guitar. Because of her teachers, the music she liked was far different than the average teen. She knew the contemporary groups and she knew enough about the guitar to play much of their music, but she felt that she did not have the time nor did she have the inclination to do so.
The thing that Margarita and Angel found confusing was the mail they received beginning the second week after she had been found out. Many members of the various branches of her family had taken time to stop and write them, addressing the letters Margarita and her daughter Angel.
The letters made no big deal of Angel being a girl now. They shared the latest family gossip and news. Some letters included pictures and requested pictures from them. They obviously wanted to see what Angel looked like as a girl. A couple of the family branches that they had been fairly close too, were conspicuously absent in all the letters. Margarita and Angel didn’t have to try too hard to figure out why. Margarita did make a mental note though to make contact with them before drawing any conclusions.
They did receive two letters that requested that Margarita and Angel not contact them in any manner. At least the letters they sent were civil about it. Uncle Javier must have put the fear of Javier in them. Out of the eighteen branches of the Ramos family tree two responded negatively and they weren’t sure about three.
The last week of May Angel was pulled out of her regular classes and began her testing. Her tests were significantly harder than her fellow students tests would be. Her teachers were confident that Angel would do well despite the difficulty of the tests.
The last week Angel also packed to go to visit Aunt Carmen for the summer and to bag Luis’s clothes till Thursday there was only one set of boy’s clothes in the drawers and closet.
Friday at school there were no tests for Angel. She and her Mom met one last time with all of her teachers, to get her grades and for her teachers to say goodbye to Angel Luis. Angel was flabbergasted at getting all A’s. She thought for sure her grades after the finals would be B’s and C’s. She had not finished any of the tests in the allotted time and she knew she didn’t answer some of the questions correctly. That is until the teachers explained what they did, she had been given a test similar to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). They didn’t want her to be able to tell other students what was on the tests and they wanted to see if she was as good as they thought she was. She had already earned her A’s by her homework, class work, pop quizzes and mid-term tests.
Angel scored higher in Math, Geography, Spanish and History scoring in the top five percentiles for her for a high school student. In English, Science and Government she scored in the top ten percentiles. If middle school had graded on a curve, Angel would have been very much hated by her fellow students. If she had been taking the SAT test, they told her, her score would have been at least 1500 out of 1600.
Angel left her school right before lunch that day. Margarita asked her if she wanted to go out to eat or change clothes first. Angel chose to change clothes. They took all the boys clothes with them and dropped them off at Goodwill. After they ate they packed Angel up for the summer and headed to Aunt Carmine’s place.
She looked up as she began to play the guitar in earnest. There was about ten people in the area and no one was paying her any attention. She concentrated on what she was doing. First she played four of her more challenging Spanish pieces. Angel looked up and there were more people and they were closer to her, but seemed disinterested in what she was doing.
“No more boy clothes Angel?”
“Are you officially a girl now?”
Angel had to giggle at the twins, “Yep, I are all girl now.”
Sierra and Nevada hugged and kissed their cousin’s cheek.
“Good so now,”
“The girl lessons,”
“Can begin.”
When Angel and the twins came out of Angel’s room, Margarita and Carmine were already sitting in the living room.
“So what does everyone want to do about dinner tonight, eat out, take out, or delivery?”
“How about we all go eat out tonight, on my dollar?” Margarita suggested.
“Let’s go change,” Nevada said, dragging Angel with her followed closely by her sister Sierra.
Sierra ducked into Angel’s room and hit her closet, as Nevada drug Angel into their room. Nevada had Angel select an outfit for her. She knew what her cousin’s tastes in clothes were, but she threw a monkey wrench into the works. She picked out an outfit that Sierra would wear, a short sleeved, red rayon blouse and a royal blue mini.
Nevada, standing there in her bra and panties, took the clothes from her cousin and grabbed a pair of pantyhose out of her drawer. Angel selected a green and brown outfit for Sierra.
Sierra had just come in with an outfit for Angel, so they traded clothes. Angel saw that Sierra had selected a sleeveless, white tank and a gray mini.
All three of them set about getting dressed and then helping each other with their hair and makeup. They pushed the limit that their mom had put on their makeup, by a bit. That is how they hoped to wear them down, bit by bit. Just like the camel’s nose in the tent. It took a little longer than if they had all worked separately, but all three came out of their room looking quite spectacular.
Carmine and Margarita beat the girls by several minutes and they smiled when they saw the girls.
“All three of you look lovely tonight,” Aunt Carmine noted. “But I think two of you went a little heavy on the make up. Don’t think that you are going to wear me down, Sierra and Nevada. I am only letting you get away with it this time, because you also did your cousin’s and this is a special occasion. Don’t push me on this girls.” Aunt Carmine sternly told the girls, although she still had a smile on her face.
At the restaurant, the girls caused a bit of commotion, as guys from twelve to ninety nine stopped what they were doing, to observe the girls as they were escorted to their table and being seated. It was a little unnerving to Angel, but she smiled and didn’t let it show. Carmine ordered two glasses of champagne and three glasses of sparkling white grape juice.
Carmine first raised her glass to her sister, “This is too congratulate Margarita on a successful new career.”
“Here, here,” the girls replied, as they raised their glasses to their Mom and Aunt.”
“Thank you, I couldn’t have done it without you guys, especially you Angel.”
Carmen then looked to Angel, “This toast is for you Angel, who would have ever thought that you would be so special. I would, I guess. I just didn’t know how special.” Carmine admitted.
“Here, here,” the others replied, causing Angel to blush deeply.
They spent the rest of the time talking about Margarita’s training seminar, New York; what the girls were going to do for the next month and Angel’s new school.
“Tomorrow, we’re going to take Angel to the beauty salon and do the things to her that we couldn’t do before,” Carmine said.
“Yeah like finger nails, brows, ears and hair,” Nevada said.
“It’s great that Angel is going to be with us for the summer. We get to practice our dancing more now,” Sierra said. “It’s one thing to dance to music on the stereo, but it is a lot more fun to have someone playing live for you.”
“Yeah, Angel can make adjustments to the tempo, instead of us having to blindly follow the recording. It lets us be more creative. Thank you Angel.”
“No problem girls, I love watching the two of you dance.”
“Too bad you girls don’t play. You could stand to practice your dancing more, Angel,” Margarita said.
“I can dance.”
“Yes, but not as well as your cousins.”
“Maybe you could teach us to play the guitar Angel,” Nevada suggested.
“I have never taught anyone before,” Angel said. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“I am not saying that you have too, Angel, but just think back to how grandpa Fernando began teaching you and you can do the same for Sierra and Nevada,” Margarita said.
Before they realized it, they all finished their meal. They all headed to the ladies room to make use of the facilities and to repair their faces. Margarita had drilled Angel to always check her makeup. Angel had to repair her face by applying lipstick and powder. It was fairly new for her, especially doing it in a crowded ladies room, but she did well.
When they arrived home, they realized it was late, so they all headed to their bedrooms and got ready for bed. Angel was joined by her cousins that night.
Chapter 9
Saturday was a busy day. Everyone spent the next hour after breakfast, saying goodbye to Margarita, especially Angel, who hadn’t spent more than a week away from her mother since her divorce. It was a particularly hard goodbye for both of them.
The four waved until they could no longer see Margarita’s car. They then went inside and hurriedly got ready for the beauty salon. Angel had to use eye drops, to get rid of the red and puffiness in her eyes from crying. This was a trick her mom taught her.
Angel dressed in a pair of jeans, a black tank and her pink and white Nike’s. She combed her hair back and put it in a ponytail with a scrunchie and looked at herself in the mirror. Since she was going to the salon, the girls told her not to bother with any makeup.
They all piled into Carmines station wagon and headed to the salon, inside the mall. Carmine and her daughters planed to do some shopping, while Angel was being worked on.
They signed in at the salon and waited for just a few minutes before Angel’s name was called.
“Hi I am Melanie; I will be your beauty technician today.”
“Hi I am Angel, and this is my Aunt Carmine and my cousins Sierra and Nevada.”
“Yes I know Carmine and the mountain girls,” Smiling, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Angel. Please follow me, please,” Melanie said.
At Melanie’s station, Angel and the girls spent about twenty minutes discussing what she wanted done. Sierra and Nevada told her several things, but discussed other things with Angel. Since this was her first time to have her hair styled, they decided to leave Angel’s shoulder length, raven, hair at its present length, but add some shape to it.
The technician also suggested they shape the brows a bit, but told Angel not to be plucking them too much. Fuller eyebrows, with just a slight bit of arch, are coming back into vogue.
Melanie scolded Angel, on the shape that her nails were in, on her right hand.
“Sorry, I play the classical guitar. I like my nails to be a bit longer on my right hand, so I can pluck the strings, but I can’t keep them in good shape.”
“We have just the thing for that. We can do glass wraps and if that doesn’t work, we can do linen wraps, although the linen can be a bit much.” Melanie said, showing them some pictures of the various treatments. “Ok, so we are going to treat, shape and style your hair, pierce your ears, shape your brows, facial, and fiber glass wraps, for your fingernails. Is that right?”
Angel looked at her Aunt and cousin’s. They shook their heads and she said, “That is it for now, I guess.”
“Ok Carmine, you and the girls can come back in about two hours,” Melanie said.
Melanie began with a shampoo and hot oil treatment. Angel put on a plastic cape, at the shampoo station. She began to purr as the lady began to work on her. Melanie was very good at making her clients relax.
“You say you play the guitar, Angel? How good are you?”
“I am pretty good, I am not a master of the guitar, but my Uncles are and my Granddad use to be.”
“I am sorry; he didn’t die, did he?”
“No, gramps is still alive, he just can’t play. He has arthritis in his hands. He used to be very good. I play for him, to show him my appreciation.”
“I am so sorry. I know that he must be proud of you.”
“He is.”
After Angel’s hair was towel dry, she was led back to Melanie’s styling station, where she combed out her hair. A nail tech, named Susan, came by and started to work.
“How long do you want your nails, Angel?”
“I need them short on the left hand and longer on the right.”
The nail tech looked confused for a second, till Melanie told her that Angel plays the guitar. It was an unusual requested, but the customer was always right.
“I will make the left nails a little longer, than we can file them down if they need it,” she said. “It will look weird having different length nails. Are you sure you don’t want them both to be the same length?”
“Umm, no, but can we try it and see how it looks?”
“Sure we can.”
She set about fixing her nails as she requested.
Melanie shaped and styled Angel’s hair, trimmed and shaped Angel’s brows, as Susan worked on her nails. Another lady came and marked Angel’s ears, held a gun up to Angel’s ears and after two quick pops she had pierced ears.
“Your brows aren’t perfect Angel,” Melanie said. “You have some voids in them. I want to suggest that you use a brush to fill them in. Here is how you do that,” Melanie said, as she took a two-toned pot, a cream and a black color, and began to work. She took a stiff brush and applied the cream to Angel’s brows, brushing against the grain. “This gives a better result than using a pencil,” Melanie stated, then began to brush some of the black in, smoothing the brow back into shape. To emphasize the difference, she penciled in the other brow.
“Which brow do you think looks better?” Melanie asked.
They both looked better than they had before, but the brow she had brushed, looked very good.
“The brushed brow,” Angel said.
Melanie smiled and cleaned off the other brow and made it match the brushed brow. She then began to roll Angel’s hair.
“Is there a guitar or music store, in this Mall?” Angel asked.
“Yes, just a couple of stores down and right around the corner,” Susan said, as she was finishing up on Angel’s nails, with a light pink polish.
“I would like to try out my new nails, while my hair dries. Would that be Ok?”
“Sure,” Melanie said. “I would like go with you; I want to hear how good you are.” She put a net over Angel’s hair and showed the girl where the music store was.
A music store was like a candy store to Angel. She knew she already had the best guitar that she could hope for, but it was nice to see what was out there. She saw a Martin Classical guitar sitting in a stand and asked if she could try it out. The guy behind the counter handed her the guitar.
Angel took a minute or two to tune and strummed it a couple of times to get a feel for it. It sounded good, albeit a little brassy to her. She then began to play the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on the guitar. She missed properly fretting the guitar at first but began to get use to the nails. The nails were a little long on the left hand, but she loved the nails on her right. She was so focused on what she was doing, that she didn’t notice that business halted in the store and people were coming in from the mall. The applause startled her, after she had finished. There were about fifteen people standing around listening to her.
“Hi, my name is Leo, I own this store. That was a mighty fine job you did there little lady. Are you in the market for a guitar?”
“Thank you. My name is Angel, and sorry, no thank you. This Martin is very good, but I have a better guitar at home. I just got my nails done and just wanted to try them out.”
“I hear acrylics don’t last.”
“Those aren’t acrylics Leo,” Melanie said. “They are fiberglass wraps.”
“Okay, whatever those are. I heard the mistakes you made at first Angel, but you corrected your fingering and did a whole lot better. What kind of guitar do you own.”
“I don’t know the brand, it belonged to my great-great,” Angel looked to be deep in concentration, “grandfather, I might have missed a great or two in there somewhere.”
Leo looked over the girl and saw that she was either Spanish or Italian, probably Spanish he thought. “Where was this relative from?”
“Madrid, back in the 1800’s.”
“Wow, Madrid had some great luthiers back then? Would you… could you bring your guitar so I can see it, please.” Leo asked, pleadingly.
“If I can, I will.”
“We get together and have a little jam here on Tuesdays, at about 2:00. You would be surprised at how much our sales increase during those jams.”
“It may be a little difficult to be here then, but I will try.”
Angel handed the guitar back to Leo, who put it back in it’s stand.
Melanie couldn’t stop praising Angel on the way back to the salon. Angel was getting a little embarrassed by all the praise. The old men she worked with would simply smile when she had done good and from them that had been enough.
Susan looked up from working on another client as Angel came in.
“Well, how did the nails work, Angel?”
“Great, but the nails on the left could stand to be a little shorter, not much just a little. I had a little trouble with my fingering.”
“She did great Susan. We have a Maestro in our salon today.”
“I am not that good, Melanie. My Uncles are better and my grandfather was a lot better.”
Melanie took the hair net off of Angel’s head, took out the rollers and did a comb out. She sprayed the girl’s hair to set the style. They hadn’t asked for it, but Melanie then did the girls makeup. She made out in her mind that Angel had to be about fifteen and did what she thought, a mother might approve in a makeup job, emphasizing the eyes just a bit. Angel had two lovely dark eyes to go with her raven hair. She finished with a pink lipstick and lip-gloss that went well with the girls new nail color.
Angel loved the way the curls framed her face and the way the makeup enhanced her looks. The other times she had been expertly made up, it was her hair and brows that detracted a bit from her looks. Now with everything done, she was mesmerized a bit by her appearance. There was absolutely no trace of the boy Angel in the mirror.
Carmine and her daughters came in to pay Angel’s bill and pick up her niece. Carmine had to smile as she saw the girl stand. The twins got all excited when they saw Angel and ran over to her to find out all that was done to her.
Melanie told Carmine what a hit Angel was at the music store, while Carmine told her about all the people that taught Angel to play.
“Girls, I like what Melanie has done with Angel’s makeup. If you two are good, I might let you two start doing your own like this next year.”
“We will be thirteen in two months, Mom!” Sierra said.
“Get through the next school year and keep your grades up. Those are my terms. No negotiating.”
Sierra and Nevada were clearly miffed, but accepted their Mom’s terms.
“Angel your Mom and I have talked about it. While you won’t be able to use much makeup at school, this look is somewhat appropriate for you.”
Carmine paid Angel’s bill and gave Melanie a nice tip.
“Come girls, we need to get Angel a nice dress for church tomorrow.”
Angel had more clothes now than she ever had at one time, but Aunt Carmine was right, she didn’t have any ‘go to church’ style clothes.
The four of them hit a couple of dress shops before lunch. They found a pretty shirt-dress that came to just below the knee. It was a print dress; that had a splash of color in light pastels. Angel also got some appropriate underwear, bra, panties, a full slip, because the dress was a light weight cotton and a pair of pink, low heel pumps.
They had a nice late lunch at a Mexican restaurant, in the mall, Spanish cooking is very similar, but at the same time different, than Mexican cooking. On top of that, much of the food served in Mexican restaurants, is a highly Americanized version. Angel guessed that local tastes changed the way food was prepared. The food at this restaurant in particular, was pretty good, albeit a little greasy.
They talked as they ate. After listening so much to their conversations, Angel felt like she was beginning to understand what girls talk about and joined the girls. Sierra and Nevada was pleased to hear their cousin join in their girl talk about fashion, stars and music.
Angel did bring her second favorite topic into the conversation. Angel just happened to be a manga and anime addict. The twins had seen her vast manga collection and the anime she had on her computer. They even found some interesting, but not like Angel. She collected various Shoujo and Shonen, words that would mean very little to the twins. Her prize collections though, were a few series of gender bender manga and anime, she found those fascinating, considering her situation.
After lunch they walked the mall, doing nothing more than getting a bit of exercise in and seeing what the various stores were selling as fashion. They did stop at one of the major bookstores. The twins made sure that Angel picked up a half dozen magazines, including Seventeen, Cosmo Girl, Teen Vogue and US Weekly. Angel found that the store had a decent collection of manga and picked up a Mai Hime, a Detective Conan and one she hadn’t seen before Seishun Panda.
They got home an hour before Carmine needed to begin dinner. Carmine made Angel change into a mid calf skirt and had her practice kneeling and standing, with the skirt on. Carmine had a family altar in a spare room; it had a kneeling bench. It was there that Angle had to learn to pull her skirt up a bit, before kneeling and how to stand up after having been kneeling for several minutes.
Angel hadn’t gone to church as a girl yet. Angel the boy, was well known to the priests, at her church back home. So this would be a first for her.
Carmine also gave Angel a mantilla. In most catholic churches, the wearing of head coverings by women, ended many years ago. For the Ramos women, this was not an option. Even the mountain twins were not about to buck that tradition. They found that many of the old women at the church they went to appreciated the respect they showed.
Sunday was rather anticlimactic for Angel. They went to the early Mass. Angel found that she had no problems fitting in with the teen kids, around her age. She and her cousins were all dressed in longer skirts and wore their mantillas, which raised some eyebrows from some of teen girls, but nothing that was belittling or cruel. It was just one of those, ‘Oh, your parents are really strict,’ type looks, or ‘I am glad my parents aren’t that strict’ looks.
The priests here were young and more with it, than some of the relics at Angel’s church. They still had some of the litany that she was use too, but the music at times, was fresher and more interesting. Even the sermons here were more interesting, Angel thought.
After the service, Sierra and Nevada introduced her to some of their friends. Angel liked a lot of the girls and got along well with them. There was one girl, Lisa Caldwell, who looked to be about sixteen, and was quick to put out the ‘Your not on top of the pecking order here, and the sooner you realize that, the better we will get along,’ type of vibes.
Her cousins tickled her, they seemed to extrude the, ‘You better think twice about that girl, before we have to take you to the square circle and do sumpin to your ass,’ type feeling. Lisa just harrumphed and left them there. Angel felt it was probably just the usual girl group dynamics. She had seen the same type dynamics amongst the boys, but they were more likely to get physical, more so than girls were. Girls, she noted, tended to be more catty about their turf.
Neither Angel nor the twins let on to Carmine that there had been any kind of problem, and really there wasn’t any.
Chapter 10
Angel was awakened, when Carmine called for the girls to get up and get ready for school. The twins had spent Sunday afternoon cramming for the tests that they would be taking this week. Angel had helped out the girls where she could, answering questions that they had about this or that and making sure that they had everything that they needed like cokes, chips and other snack food.
The girls made mad dashes for the bathroom when they woke up. As much as Angel needed to go, she kept out of their way until her cousins had taken care of business.
Aunt Carmine was already dressed for work in her uniform. She was an assistant manager at the local Marriot and was in charge of Reception and Reservations. She worked from seven to four, Monday through Friday with only an occasional weekend due to staff vacations or sickness. She had been there for ten years and liked what she was doing. She had been offered managers’ positions several times, but always turned them down. She didn’t want the added responsibility and she didn’t want to have to relocate.
She was a lot like her sister. She didn’t really have to work, but her job allowed them to have the little extras they couldn’t afford on Rodrigo’s salary. His life insurance had been more than enough for Carmine to quit and just take care of the girl’s, but she loved being with her coworkers. Besides, her girls were already in school and she got to spend a lot of quality time with them after school, including weekends. She had to spend a lot of time commuting; the hotel was slightly more than two miles from her home (yes that was sarcasm) and three miles from the girls’ school.
She kissed her girls and Angel, as they ate their breakfast and said, “Girls be good and do well on your tests. Angel, I’m sorry you will be here alone, but take care. I’ll see you all after work,” then she was out the door at 6:45.
“I’ll take care of the dishes and the kitchen,” Angel said, as her cousins got up from the table.
They kissed their cousin’s cheeks and rushed to their rooms, to get dressed. Angel cleared the table and began washing the dishes. She had already finished, as her cousins rushed out the front door, a few minutes before the school bus arrived.
Alone, Angel took out the magazines and the manga that she recently bought. After dressing in one of her mini’s, a blouse and a pair of her 3 inch heels, she read the manga Seishun Panda. She found that the story was cute and decided that she might just start collecting it. She then read many of the articles in ‘Seventeen Magazine’, dog earring the pages that dealt with clothes, makeup and relationships. She still hadn’t figured out what she would do about boys.
Angel hadn’t taken the time to figure out her sexuality. She didn’t know if she liked boys, girls or both. She liked reading the juicy romance mangas and she dreamt of being in a loving relationship, but she didn’t know who it was with.
For lunch, Angel made a fresh pitcher of ice tea, salad and a ham sandwich. She continued reading the magazines while she ate. She took a quiz that was in Cosmo Girl and found out that she was a true romantic. ‘Tell me something I didn’t know,’ Angel thought.
After cleaning up from lunch, Angel washed her hands and took out her guitar. She sat on a stool and began to play, after tuning the guitar.
She knew the words to most of the songs she played, at least the songs that actually had words, but rarely did she sing as she played. Today she chose to sing as she played. She started out singing a Neil Diamond song, ‘Song Sung Blue’.
"Song sung blue, everybody knows one. Song sung blue, every garden grows one. Me and you are subject to the blues now and then, But when you take the blues and make a song, You sing them out again. Sing them out again." |
Angel loved singing the songs, she didn’t know how well she sang, but she knew she sang on key and loved her voice. She loved her pitch, she was glad her Mom allowed her to take the testosterone blockers. Her voice was still high and feminine.
Angel finished the song and didn’t miss a beat, as she started to sing ‘Sweet Caroline’.
"Where it began, I can't begin to know when But then I know it's growing strong Was in the spring Then spring became the summer Who'd have believed you'd come along?" |
Angel loved many of Neil Diamond’s songs. Ricky Montez, one of the men who taught her, liked Neil’s style too. She then switched to a Cat Stevens song ‘Wild World’.
"Now that I've lost everything to you You say you wanna start something new And it's breakin' my heart you're leavin' Baby, I'm grievin' But if you wanna leave, take good care Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world It's hard to get by just upon a smile Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world and I'll always remember you like a child, girl." |
She just loved the guitar riffs on the chorus. After strumming the last chords of ‘Wild World’ she changed pace and started in on ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ by ‘The Carpenters’.
"Talkin' to myself and feelin' old Sometimes I'd like to quit Nothing ever seems to fit Hangin' around Nothing to do but frown Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down." |
She finished playing ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’. She began to get serious about her play and started playing ‘Recuerdos De La Alhambra’, Fantasie Hongrosie Op65-no. 1, ‘Espana’ and ‘Preludio’. She finished playing and singing ‘American Pie’.
Susan had done a wonderful job, with her nails. The left hand nails were now short enough not to get in the way and the right hand nails were great for plucking the guitar strings.
Angel wiped down her guitar and carefully put it in its case. She thought about what she would do tomorrow. There was a bus that ran in front of the house and it would only be a twenty-minute trip to the mall. At first she was just going to blow the whole thing off, but then she felt like she really needed to get out of the house. She didn’t want to grow up to be a recluse.
Checking her watch, she saw that the time was two thirty. She decided to help Aunt Carmine out and make dinner. She headed into the kitchen, put an apron on and looked to see what was available. Inside the fridge was a round steak. She cut it into cubes and shook it in a bag with some cornstarch and set them aside. She poured some EVO into a skillet and heated it while she crushed some garlic, chopped up a couple of peppers and some onions, sautéing them till they were golden brown. She took the prepared meat and added it to the pan, stirring it till the meat had browned. To the mix in the skillet she added corn syrup, a can of diced tomatoes, and a cup of grape juice. After stirring it and bringing it up to a simmer she transferred everything to a casserole dish and placed it in the oven at 330 degrees.
Next, she began to set out the things she needed for sautéed peppers, eggplant, potatoes and steamed Broccoli with onions and olives .
While she was cooking, the twins got home. Angel just told them to study till Aunt Carmine got home.
Dinner was ten minutes away, when Aunt Carmine got home. She smelled the food and told the girls she needed to get changed, as she ran to her room.
Sierra and Nevada set the table, as Angel got the food in serving dishes and on the table. After the food was blessed, everyone dug in.
“See girls, anybody can cook,” Aunt Carmine said, giggling.
Sierra gave her Mom a serious look, “Mom, you know we can cook, you made us learn,” but she couldn’t maintain her cross expression. “You did a pretty good job Angel, but you left off the salad.”
“Don’t let my sister belittle what you did Angel, this is very good, but a salad with it would have been nice.”
“Sorry girls, I didn’t plan the menu early enough to do everything. I didn’t make a desert either.”
“If the girls wanted a salad, they could have made one Angel. I am proud that you did what you could. You don’t have to do it everyday, but it is nice to come home to a cooked meal. Thank you.”
“Your welcome, Aunty. I just wanted to do it, to thank you for what you did for my mother.”
“She is my sister too. I couldn’t let her down for such a little thing.”
“Yeah, it is good to have you with us this summer, Angel.” The twins said.
Angel had thought all day about going to the mall, without telling her Aunt. She knew her Mom would expect her to tell her Aunt, if she planned on leaving the house and where she would be going.
“Oh, Aunt Carmine, would it be alright if I go to the mall by myself during the day tomorrow? The proprietor of the music shop invited me to a jam session.”
“Do you think you’ll be alright by yourself? I know you know the area, but…”
“Yeah, I’ll be alright, Aunt Carmine.”
“Ok, but call me if you need me and if you are still at the mall when I get off, I’ll come pick you up. You have the number for my cell phone number.”
“Yes ma’am, Aunt Carmine.”
Chapter 11
After Aunt Carmine left for work and the twins rushed off to catch their bus, Angel went to her room to get ready for her day. She experimented with her clothes and makeup. She wanted to look older and more mature. She dressed in her panties, a padded brief and one of her better-padded under wire bras. She chose a very frilly, white rayon blouse, that had a strip of ruffles down the front. She dressed in some off-black, lace patterned, pantyhose and a mid-thigh, black mini skirt. Finally, she put on her black patent leather pumps, with a three inch heel.
She then draped a towel around her neck and began to work on her makeup. She tried to achieve a glamorous daytime look. The look she was trying to create was a little more than the usual daytime makeup, but she worked hard not to look too dark, or slutty. She tried to remember what others had done to her and about some of the things she had read in her magazines. It took her three tries to get the eyeliner and mascara done right, but in the end, she liked what she had created. She put her compact and lipstick in her purse and checked her nails, as she had been told. They still looked nice and shiny.
It was only a little after ten. She walked around the house a bit and checked herself in the mirror a few times, seeing if she could find any flaws in her looks, or her mannerisms. She looked good and felt that her mannerisms were as good as she could be, at this time.
She fidgeted about the house till she couldn’t stand it and then grabbed her purse and guitar case, and left. She hadn’t meant to leave this early, but well, she would find something to kill some time.
She walked half a block to the nearest bus stop and sat on the bench and waited. She smoothed the skirt under her, as she sat and carefully crossed her legs. She had only been waiting for about ten minutes, when the bus rolled up. She stood and when the door to the bus opened, she stepped up into the bus.
“Hello, ma’am. That will be a dollar and a quarter,” the bus driver eyed her up and down.
Angel already had the fare in her right hand and handed it to the driver.
“Where are you going today, ma’am?”
“To the Hillbrook Mall.”
“Ok, we are about twenty two minutes from that stop. Please take a seat.” The driver waited till the girl had a chance to take a seat, before moving away from the curb. It wasn’t because of any altruistic reasons, but that he could admire the young lady as she went to take her seat.
The bus drove towards the city, stopping to pick up and drop off riders at various points. The bus wasn’t crowded, but there were about ten riders on the bus. Angel thought many of them looked to be women heading to town to shop. It was between the early going to work group and the main shopping, lunch-time crowds.
They were getting close to the mall. Angel could see the tops of the tall buildings that anchored either end of the mall. She also saw a park, which was about a quarter of a mile, from the mall. She reached up and pulled the cord that would signal the bus to stop, at the next stop. The bus pulled up to the next stop and let her off.
Angel waited for the crosswalk sign to show walk before she attempted to cross four lanes of traffic. She crossed and then walked half a block before entering the park. It was a pretty park, about ten acres in size. There were already quite a few people there relaxing in its beauty.
Angel saw a fountain that wasn’t flowing and went over to it. When she got over there, she saw that the fountain had been turned into a planter and had all colors of flowers growing in it. She sat on the concrete rim. She sat her purse down next to the edge and her guitar case next to it, so that when she opened the case the purse would be hidden. She opened the case and took out her guitar. After crossing her legs and adjusting the guitar on her lap, she spent a few minutes tuning. She began with some of her practice lessons.
She looked up as she began to play the guitar in earnest. There was about ten people in the area and no one was paying her any attention. She concentrated on what she was doing. First she played four of her more challenging Spanish pieces. Angel looked up and there were more people and they were closer to her, but seemed disinterested in what she was doing. She began to play several of her classical pieces and soon had a crowd around her that seemed to appreciate her playing. She ended her classical work with Classical Gas, which drew a lot of applause.
She then began to play some rock starting with ‘Black Magic Woman’. She sang with the music as she played. She then went into ‘Hotel California’, ‘Cracklin’ Rosie’, ‘The Guitar Man’, ‘Our House’, ‘Brandy’, ‘Black Water’, ‘Mr. Bojangles’ and she finished with ‘We Will Rock You’. She was surprised with the audience participation on the chorus of that last piece.
She was beginning to get hungry so she went to put her guitar away, to much grumbling. She was shocked, when she looked down in her case, there was a lot of coins and bills there. She had to clear out all of the money before she was able to set her guitar down. After closing up the case, she counted the money, before she put it in her wallet. There was ninety-three dollars in ones, fives and a ten, and another twelve dollars and forty-five cents, mostly quarters, in change. The change had to go into the bottom of her purse and made it heavy.
She headed to the mall and once inside, she went directly to the food court. Angel picked up a taco salad, a seven-layer burrito, a brownie and a diet coke for lunch. She ate quickly, so she could stop at the bookstore and get some more manga, before heading to the music store. The clerk at the bookstore was a little miffed at being paid in mostly change, but a sell is a sell.
Chapter 12
Angel arrived at Leo’s Music Emporium at about one twenty. The store was narrower at the front. The first twenty feet was about fifteen feet wide and had a counter on either side of the store. There were instruments in the glass counter and larger instruments behind glass, behind the counter. The back area looked to be about forty by twenty-five feet and held hundreds of instruments. Leo smiled when he saw her and came over to greet the girl.
“Hi Angel, it is so good to see you again .”
“Hello Mr. Leo. How are you doing today?”
“It’s just Leo, Angel.”
“Ok, well hello it’s just Leo.” Angel said. She couldn’t control her giggling.
“Everyone’s a comedian,” Leo said laughing. “Is this your guitar?” Leo said eyeing the guitar case.
Angel set the case on the counter, opened it and carefully removed the guitar. “Yes it is. It has been in my family for ages.”
The guitar looked old, it lacked a lot of the ornamentation you generally see on guitars and the finish was worn in places but not too badly. Leo could tell that the guitar was well taken care of.
“May I take a closer look at it Angel?”
Angel was pretty protective of her guitar and wouldn’t let just anybody touch it, but Leo seemed to understand how people feel about their instruments. She handed the guitar to the man.
Leo looked closely at the instrument; he confirmed that outwardly it appeared to be in good condition. “I want to get a scope and check out the insides of the guitar,” he said, setting the instrument on a velvet pad on the counter. He then went into the back and came out with his laptop and a long snake like thing.
“This is a flexible fiber optic scope, which I use to check out the instruments that come in for repair.”
Leo loosened the bass strings and snaked the scope into the sound hole. Angel could immediately see the insides of the guitar on the laptop. She had never seen the guts of a guitar before and watched the laptop closely.
“The insides appear to be in very good condition, and it doesn’t appear to have a maker signature, although there is a number on the back. It just says 50. Mind if I take some pictures?”
“Not at all, Leo.”
Leo got out his digital camera and took about thirty pictures of the guitar from as many angles.
“You say your grand parents came from Madrid right?”
“That is what I have been told.”
“I am not certain about who made the guitar, but I have a good hunch. Will you play it for me?”
Angel took her guitar, tuned it and began to play ‘Cavatina.’ The guitar had a warm rich tone to it and a good volume.
“Girl, if that guitar is what I think it is, that is the last time you bring it here without an adult present. Take extremely good care of that instrument. It is extremely valuable. Put it back in its case and we will lock it up in the office.”
Angel detuned the guitar, carefully wiped down all the surfaces and put it in its case. She followed Leo to his office and placed it safely there.
“I thought I was going to play in a jam session, Leo.”
“You are. I like everyone to use one of the instruments I sell. It helps me sell them, when people can hear my instruments played well, Angel. I have some high end guitars that I want you to try out.”
Leo went behind the counter and selected four guitars that were three thousand dollars plus. “Try these out and tell me what you think.”
Angel took one after another of the guitars; she tuned them and then played several riffs on each one. She went back to the second and third guitars. Leo smiled at her choices; they were his favorite too. She then played ‘Cavatina’ on both of them.
The first was a three thousand five hundred dollar ‘Takamine’ classical guitar, and the second was a five thousand dollar ‘Alvarez’ classical guitar. Both guitars had superior tone and volume. Angel settled on the ‘Takamine’.
“I like my guitar better, but I would like to play this one, Leo.”
“I like it too, Angel. Take a seat over by the drums and get use to it.”
Chapter 13
Angel went to the open space in the back and began to play. It wasn’t a bad instrument it just wasn’t her instrument. As she played, someone came in and cordoned off the area with a velvet rope, like they use in theaters and such. Another guy came in and took one of the other guitars that Angel had tuned and joined her in the back.
“Hi, I am Jeffery Wilkins and this guy is Wee Willy Jenkins. I play a rhythm guitar and Willy plays a bass.”
“Hi, I am Angel Marquez, I play a classical guitar.”
They spent about ten minutes talking about what pieces Angel could play.
“Geez, don’t you know any modern pieces,”
“You have to understand, my oldest teacher is 78 and he thinks the stuff my youngest teacher teaches, is new fangled stuff. My youngest teacher is 49 and is still stuck in the eighties.”
“Ok, then lead and we will follow you.”
Angel started out with ‘American Pie’, she was a few measures in when the others joined in with her and by the chorus and Leo joined in on the drums. Angel felt like singing, so she did, Leo and Willy sang harmony. She found areas to let the others solo. She like the way Jeffery and Willy played. Leo also did an acceptable turn on the drums. She suspected that she was taking his place.
She jumped right into playing and singing the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. She was a little startled when the others came in on the supporting vocals, but again, she really like the way they sounded.
Angel saw that they were beginning to have quite a crowd in the store. They applauded when they finished the second piece.
Alice came over to Angel, “May I have that guitar please, I have just sold it.”
Angel handed the guitar to the girl and was handed another. She took a few seconds to check the tune and to let the others tune to her. When everyone was ready, she began to play ‘Hotel California’.
Angel found herself exhilarated by the enthusiasm of her troupe and the people listening. She thought her friends were playing and singing very well.
After they finished that song, she began ‘Blue Suede Shoes’. The guys next accompanied her on her classical pieces, beginning with Recuerdos De La Alhambra, then, ‘Espana’, ‘Preludio’ and finally ‘Classical Gas’. Jeffery and Willy figured out the keys and rhythm of the music and joined in.
Between Espana and Preludio she again had to trade guitars with a sales clerk.
Chapter 14
The guys wanted to take a break after ‘Classical Gas’.
Leo went to get everyone a drink, and Craig came over to Angel.
“Angel, a gentleman wants to buy that guitar, if you will autograph it.”
“Autograph it?”
“Yes he was very specific about that. That is an eight thousand dollar Cass Williams (fictional luthier) guitar. He has agreed to pay eight five if you will autograph it.”
David led Angel behind the counter to where a man stood apart from other customers.
Angel held out her hand like a lady does when greeting a man. “Hi I am Angel Marquez.”
Angel could see that the man was well dressed. She would hate to guess how much that suit cost him. His hands were soft in hers, this was no player she thought, and his nails were well manicured.
“Well, hello Ms. Marquez. My name is William Price the third. It is nice to meet the young lady who has been serenading us today.”
“You want me to autograph this guitar?” She asked.
“Yes, I do.”
Angel was stunned, but asked, “What do you want me to write?”
The man thought a few seconds and said, “Played by Angel Marquez 6-03-06. You see, I am a collector and if you continue to play as you did today, I can see this guitar becoming very valuable in the years to come.”
Angel asked David for a pen and a piece of paper. He handed her a sheet of plain white paper and a black Sharpie permanent marker.
She wrote on the paper, and included a stylized angel.
“Like this Mr. Price?”
“Yes, exactly like that, I love your handwriting.”
Angel practiced her signature a couple of more times before she approached the guitar. “Here,” she asked, indicating the area of the guitars face.
“Very nicely done, Angel. I am going to place this guitar away, somewhere safe.”
Angel again shook hands with the man. He placed the guitar carefully in its case and paid the clerk, using his platinum Master Card.
Angel looked at her watch, it was now three forty five.
“I need to go catch my bus, Leo.”
“Can you call someone; I don’t want you taking that guitar on the bus and I would like to talk to your parents.”
“Why?”
“Like I told you, that guitar may be very valuable.”
“Well, it will just be my Aunt Carmine. My mom is at a seminar in New York City and who cares where my father is.”
Angel called her Aunt. She told her that the owner wanted to talk to her and she agreed to come by the store.
Angel hung around and talked to many of the patrons there. Some of them asked her about how she learned to play and what she thought of this guitar or that one. She honestly answered the people’s questions.
About twenty minutes after four, she saw Aunt Carmine and the twins enter the store. She smiled and waved at them.
“Hi Aunt Carmine, Sierra and Nevada.”
“Hi Angel. What’s this all about?”
“Hello Ma’am, I am Leo Granger.”
“Hello Mr. Granger, I hope my niece hasn’t made any problems for you.”
“No, no she hasn’t been any problem. I just wanted to talk to you. If you would follow me.”
Leo led the troupe of ladies to his office. After they had a seat, he began. “I have enjoyed having Angel here with me, today. The reason I wanted an adult here is because of the guitar. Do you know anything about it?”
“Well, it belonged to Dad and he got it from his grandfather, who got it from his father and I am not sure after that.”
“Angel told me they lived in Madrid, is that right?”
“Yes, until 1949, I believe that is when they immigrated to the US.”
“Is that guitar insured?”
Aunt Carmine said that she didn’t think so and turned to Angel, who just shrugged.
“I am not an expert on rare guitars; I have seen a few and handled a few. I am just guessing that that guitar is worth at least six figures and maybe a lot more. There were a lot of famous luthiers in Madrid in the 1800’s. If I had to guess, I think this one might have been made by the granddaddy of them all, Antonio de Torres. Please take the guitar to a couple of experts, get it appraised and then insured. It is a wonderful instrument.”
“Oh my, I have heard that name before,” Aunt Carmine said.
“I also have something for Angel,” Leo said, handing her two checks, one for eight hundred and seventy five dollars, and another for five hundred dollars.
Angels mouth hung open, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“Oh My God, what are these for,” Angel said showing her Aunt and cousins.
“You helped me sell four guitars, for seventeen thousand five hundred dollars. The five hundred dollar check is from Mr. Price. Mrs. Santiago, Angel sold an autographed guitar. The guitar was a custom guitar, that we listed at eight thousand, Mr. Price paid me eight five for the guitar; the rest of the money was for Angel’s autograph on it.”
“Wow, thank you Leo.” She surprised the man by giving him a big hug. “Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome kiddo,”
Angel placed the checks into her purse and she picked up her guitar case. As a group, they headed out of the office.
“Hey Angel, can you play one more song with us,” Jeffery called out to her.
“Sure, how about ‘Cracklin’ Rosie,’” Angel said, taking her guitar out of its case. “This time I am playing my own guitar.”
“Sounds great girl,”
Angel tuned up her guitar and began to play and sing,
"Cracklin' Rosie, get on board We're gonna ride till there ain't no more to go Taking it slow Lord, don't you know Have me a time with a poor man's lady." |
Wee Willy, Jeffery and Leo on the drums, all took her lead and joined her singing. Leo took the lead on the chorus, as he had a nice deep voice.
As they were singing, Angel saw a Marine Sergeant in uniform that had pressed forward through the crowd. When they finished that song, she waited a few seconds and sang a cappella
"Far We’ve been travelin’ far Without a Home." |
Leo caught on and gave her some drums and the boys joined in on the beat. She then began to play ‘America.’
"But not without a star Free Only want to be free We huddle close Hang on to a dream." |
From there she launched into ‘Philadelphia Freedom.’
"I used to be a rolling stone You know if the cause was right I'd leave to find the answer on the road I used to be a heart beating for someone But the times have changed The less I say the more my work gets done." |
They got a rousing applause from those gathered, as the last chords faded away to nothingness.
“Angel, you can play with us anytime, but give us a break on your transitions. My fingers are tired.” Jeffery said, shaking out his right hand. “Cause girl, you were smoking.”
Angel laughed and gave Jeffery and Wee Willy a hug, after she took care of her guitar. That seemed to placate their male egos a bit.
“Jeffery, Wee Willy, this is my Aunt Carmine and my cousins Sierra and Nevada. Aunt Carmine this is Jeffery Wilkins and Wee Willy Jenkins.”
The twins giggled as they were introduced, Jeffery was high on their cute meter and Willey wasn’t too bad either. Too bad they were both in their mid to late twenties.
“Angel where did you learn to sing and play like that,” Willy asked.
“Sorry about the singing, but I blame my play on my Uncles.”
“Sorry? You mean you can sing better than that. You sounded like you had years of voice training.”
“No, just singing to myself in the showers.”
Angel and her family all said goodbye to Leo and the guys. They went straight home and Angel put her guitar in her room, before they all went out for dinner.
Later that night, Carmine burnt up the telephone lines. as she called her sister, father and uncles to discuss all the things they learned. They all decided to get together and go to New York City on Friday.
Angel had to tell her cousins everything about her day, from the Park to what happened at the Mall.
Angel carefully opened the case. Inside was one of the most beautiful Classical Guitars she had ever seen. “Oh my gosh, is this your guitar Raul?”
“No, mi chica, it is your new guitar, and here is a history of your new guitar in Spanish and English.” Raul said, handing her a bound folder.
“You're not taking my old guitar away, are you grandfather?”
The twins were thrilled because they would get to miss the last day of school and get to go on the trip with everyone to visit the big apple.
Angel was less than thrilled at the prospect of not being able to play her wonderful guitar whenever and wherever she wanted. She understood the reasons for all of this though.
Wednesday, Angel tried to get into a routine. She went through her closets and mixed and matched clothes before she got dressed. She would then sit in front of her mirror and practice her makeup, striving to achieve different looks. On the internet, she visited anime and manga sites to see if anything new tickled her fancy, visited some sites where she had found information about what she was going through and sent some email to some of her online friends. After lunch, she spent an hour and a half practicing on her guitar.
At about two in the afternoon she began to plan out the menu. She had found a website that had simple complete menu’s, in foods she liked and she knew her cousins and aunt would like. She used one of the menu’s she found.
She took a chicken and cut it in pieces, sautéed it with some sausage, onions, peppers, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and Paprika. In a casserole dish, she added some saffron rice, two cans of diced tomatoes, water, slices of squash and zucchini. When the chicken was lightly browned on the outside, she added the contents of the skillet to the casserole dish, covering it and setting it in a three hundred and fifty degree oven.
She began to hard-boil some eggs, drained a can of sweet peas, chopped some sweet pickles, celery, red and green bell peppers, onions and walnuts. She shelled and chopped the eggs up, added them to the sweet peas and vegetables, along with some mayonnaise. After mixing it thoroughly, she placed the bowl back into the refrigerator.
She took out the casserole, added some sour cream, plus a blend of shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella cheeses and put it back into the oven after covering it.
From the refrigerator, she took out some kiwis, strawberries and a mango. She peeled and sliced up the fruit, along with a couple of bananas, added some sweetener and fruit fresh.
Angel then began to set the table. Sierra and Nevada got home, soon followed by Aunt Carmine, who dashed off to her room to change.
They talked about their days as they sat and ate. Angel could see that Carmine was just like her Mom in that respect. The girls just had two days of testing left and four days of school left. They were excited about finishing their school year.
“This is good Angel,” Carmine said, “Maybe you should be a chef, instead of a musician.”
“No, I just eat to live. Since I have to eat, I like my food to taste good. It is different with music, I feel more alive when I am playing. I just can’t describe the feeling.”
“Oh, Uncle Javier called me at lunch. He says you can keep playing your guitar at home. Uncle Rolando will be by tomorrow; put him in the other guest room, Angel. Friday, after the girls get out of school, we’ll all be going to New York City. He said that you are not to worry about a guitar.”
“Great, we can see Mom, this weekend.”
“On Friday, I’ll get off early. Girls, make sure you take everything you have to turn in, to school in the morning. I’ll meet you there at three and check you two out for the year. Grandfather, Javier and Rolando will be here for lunch, Angel. Make sure you girls are all packed, tomorrow night. When we get home Friday, we are only going to have enough time to change before we go. We need to look nice when we leave here. We are going to stay in Aunt Margarita’s hotel suite. We need to pack for five days.”
Thursday Angel was playing her guitar, when the doorbell rang.
“Hola Tio Rolando.” (Hello Uncle Rolando.)
“Hola mi Angel, ¿Cá³mo está¡ usted?” (Hello my mi Angel. How are you?)
“Hacer el bien y el táo? (Doing good Uncle and you?”)
“Muey bein. Let’s speak English. Some people are coming by to do some work around the house, soon,” Rolando said.
“What kind of work?”
“You will see, do you have any café,”
“I can make some for you.”
“Bien Angel.”
Uncle Rolando was halfway through his first cup of coffee when the doorbell rang again.
“Angel, you get the door and show the men to the garage. I will open the garage door for them.”
Angel greeted the men at the door and led them to the garage door. Uncle Rolando was just opening it for them. The men spoke to Rolando for a few minutes and then got to work.
“They are going to install a safe here and at your home Angel. The safe is burglar, water and fire proof. Keep your guitar there when you’re not using it. You, your Aunt and your Mom will know how to get in the safes,” Rolando said, as he led Angel back into the house.
Four hours later, one of the men came in and asked them to come out. Angel saw an ordinary looking wood cabinet. When the workman opened the door, she saw a large safe about seven feet high, by four feet wide, by three feet deep. It was large enough to hold two or three guitars. The safe had a dial and a keypad.
“The safe can be opened by a combination on the dial, or a number punched into the key pad. The dial is just a backup for the keypad, if the electronics go south,” he said, and he showed Uncle Rolando how to set the combinations to both. “Go ahead and set the combinations, leave the door open though. Then try them out. If they both work, you can close the door. If not, I can reset the locks.
Rolando set the dial and had Angel set the keypad. They then tried the locks and found that they both worked. They both successfully tried them, both combinations, several times.
The workman came back and Rolando thanked the men.
“Please remember the combinations; they are a bitch to open without them. Sorry for the language ma’am. It would take me up to about four hours to open it.”
Angel wrote both combinations down and hid it in Carmine’s office.
Rolando then looked at his great niece and said, “Consiga su guitarra mi hermoso Angel.” (Get your guitar, my beautiful Angel.)
Angel shrilled with glee, as she ran to get her guitar. For the next two hours, Rolando taught, Angel learned and together they played. They played well together; Rolando would lead and Angel followed; then Angel would lead, with Rolando following her. She always chose to play her most challenging music when she was with her teachers.
After finishing their lesson, Carmine and Rolando carefully detuned their instruments, wiped them down and put them in their cases. Rolando then handed her his guitar and had her lock his up with hers, in the safe.
For Rolando, years ago it was the master teaching his student, now it was the teacher struggling to keep up with his prodigy. Angel only lacked in the years of experience that her teachers had, from being great. There was hardly anything left for the old men to pass on to her. Like a sculptor, who had just put down his small chisel after years of chipping away on a marble statue, all that was left was polishing what was there.
Chapter 16
Friday, Angel made breakfast for her Uncle Rolando. He hadn’t gotten up when Carmine and the girls had. She made him his coffee, almost strong enough to get up and walk out of the cup. He liked espresso, but Aunt Carmine didn’t have an espresso maker. She also fixed him scramble eggs, fried potatoes and toast.
Sierra and Nevada were almost beside themselves with joy, as they collected all their books and the myriad other things that needed to be turned back in to their teachers, for the girls to be cleared to leave. Even Carmine seemed excited this day, as she got ready for work. Angel got her hugs and kisses, as one after another of her family left that day.
Around noon, her Grandfather Fernando arrived and then an hour later, Javier arrived in a full sized bus motor home, driven by one of her cousins, Marcos Dominguez. Angel ran to the bus and hugged her Uncle and cousin together.
“Ah mi, el Primo Marcos, Tio Javier, Es tan bueno verle usted dos.” (Oh my, cousin Marcos, Uncle Javier, It is so good seeing you two.)
“ ¿Como estas Marcos?” (How are you Marcos?)
“Good, but easy on the Spanish girl? I am not as fluent as you are.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Somebody has to drive this bus. Uncle Javier called and asked if I still had this motor home. He asked if the family could borrow it. I couldn’t let him down could I?”
“No of course not,” Angel said. “Is the bus stocked with food?”
“Just like a woman, worried about food. There are enough cokes and snacks to get us to New York. The diesel tanks are filled too.”
Angel and Marcos, with the old men’s help, got all of the luggage that had been set aside, loaded into the bus.
They got on the road with in a half hour of Carmine and the twins getting home. The motor home was really nice. Marco explained to the girls that he had bought a used bus back in 1990 and over the next ten years he worked on and fixed up the bus. The inside of the bus had leather couches, plush carpeting, a kitchen, restroom and shower, bedroom and a flat screen TV.
After the girl’s had a chance to peak and snoop over every inch of the bus, they sat down to relax. Angel and her Uncles got their guitars out and played for everyone. The twins weren’t happy that there wasn’t enough room to dance, but they did enjoy the concert, that the others were putting on for them.
About two hours into the trip, Uncle Javier got a call on his cell phone.
“Hola… hey Raáºl. ¿Como está¡s?... Muy bueno. ¿Cuando su aviá³n de la tierra? Nosotros usted recogerá¡ entonces en dos horas.” (Hello… Hey Raul. How are you? Very good. When does your plane land? We will pick you up in two hours.)
“Hey Marcos, can we be at terminal seven at JFK, in two hours.”
“We will be there in about an hour and a half, Uncle Ramos.”
“Good, we will pick up your cousin Raul Vargas there. He is one of Carmelita’s grandchildren.”
“Great, great Aunt Carmelita?” Sierra asked.
“Si, add another great for you chica, she is the family’s matriarch,” Fernando said.
“She must be what, 90 years old?” Nevada asked.
“No, she will be a 102 in September. I just talked to her, last week,” Javier said.
“She may be old, but she is a fiery woman. She chewed me out for ten minutes when I called a day late for her last birthday,” Rolando said.
“Si, she called me to tell you to call her,” Javier said.
“Yeah she wasn’t worried that she would die before you called, she was worried that you would be dead, before she could hear from you again,” Fernando joked.
“Tell me about it,” Rolando replied.
At JFK, Marcos dropped off Angel and Javier outside terminal seven. He told Uncle Javier to call him when they had Raul. Javier and Angel went to the security checkpoint outside of customs. There was a constant flow of people out from the customs checkpoint. Javier, at six feet four, saw Raul coming their way carrying two guitars, while a skycap pushed a cart of luggage behind him.
Raul smiled and nodded his head at Javier and headed his way.
“Hola, Tio Javier, Es tan bueno verte de nuevo.” (Hello Uncle Javier, it is so good seeing you again.)
(The following italicized conversation is in Spanish although your brains see it in English. You are getting better at thinking in two languages.)
“Raul this is you Cousin Angel Marquez. Angel this is your Cousin Raul Vargas.”
“So this is the beautiful child, the one that is causing the stir. You are a sight for sore eyes, my little chica.”
“Thank you Raul, tell me you have some pretty senorita back home,” Angel said, flirting with her cousin.
“Not as cute as you, but you are way too young for me,” Raul said, flirting back at her. “You didn’t lie Javier, She is quite charming. Here, carry this guitar for me Angel,” Raul said, handing her one of the cases.
Uncle Javier called Marcos on his cell phone, as he led their way to the passenger pickup area. They all talked on the way to Margarita’s hotel. The conversations were slowed, as someone translated for Marcos, who spoke mostly English and Raul, who spoke mostly Spanish.
Finally, Raul told Angel to open the guitar case she was holding.
Angel carefully opened the case. Inside was one of the most beautiful Classical Guitars she had ever seen. “Oh my gosh, is this your guitar Raul?”
“No, mi chica, it is your new guitar, and here is a history of your new guitar in Spanish and English.” Raul said, handing her a bound folder.
“You're not taking my old guitar away, are you grandfather?”
“No we aren’t, that is your guitar now, but we do want you to keep it safe. Use this new guitar in places where your old one might not be safe,” her grandfather said.
“We know that you might not like using a new guitar, but if the old guitar is as valuable as we understand, then you just can’t take it everywhere you go,” Uncle Rolando said.
“This new guitar, you may do with as you wish, and you may still play your grandfather’s guitar on special occasions. It is still your guitar, but accidents can happen to break it and it can be stolen when you play, like you did at the park.” Uncle Javier said.
“How much did this guitar cost? Who do I pay for it?”
“Don’t worry about such things, Angel. Just make beautiful music with it, that is all it costs you.”
Angel understood what they were telling her. She had been shocked to hear how valuable grandfather’s guitar might be. She took the new guitar out of its case. She carefully tuned it. She was surprised to hear it sing as she tuned it. It wasn’t better than her old one, but neither was it worse. It was different. It was definitely louder and brighter, but it wasn’t as warm toned. It was most definitely better to her, than the guitars she had played at Leo’s.
She then began playing some of her more technically challenging pieces she knew, Arabian Dance, El choclo, Classical Gas and Bohemian Rhapsody. She would have played more, but they arrived at her mother’s hotel.
Angel carried her two guitars off the bus, ahead of her aunt, cousins and uncles. A doorman opened the door for her and she saw her mother waiting for her in the lobby. Margarita rushed over to hug her daughter and the rest of her family. She stopped when she saw Raul; she saw the familial resemblance, but couldn’t place him at first. Raul just stood there grinning at her; her uncles were strangely silent.
It slowly came to her, she said, “ ¿Raul Vargas, es eso usted?” (Raul Vargas, is that you?) She asked a little uncertainly.
“Ah, usted me recuerda mi hermoso primo. Nosotros no hemos visto uno al otro desde que nosotros encontramos en Barcelona, hace veinte aá±os.” (Ah, you remember me my beautiful cousin. We have not seen each other since we met in Barcelona, twenty years ago.)
“Es tan bueno verte de nuevo. ¿Cá³mo has estado haciendo?” (It's so good to see you again. How have you been doing?)
Javier translated for Marcos and then said. “Vamos a conseguir nuestros clasificados y equipaje en nuestras habitaciones. Marcos tiene que aparcar el autobáºs en un garaje y coger un taxi de vuelta. Conoce aquá en el vestábulo, en una hora. (Let's get our luggage sorted out and into our rooms. Marcos needs to park the bus in a garage and take a taxi back here. Meet back here in the lobby in an hour.)
Margarita then took charge and had Angel’s, Carmine’s and the twins’ luggage taken up to her suite. Javier then began to register the rest of the family into rooms.
“Angel, why are you carrying two guitars, does one belong to someone else?”
“No, Momma, they are both mine. Uncle Javier arranged for me to get another. Raul brought it over from Barcelona, Spain. It is so beautiful, wait till you see it.”
“Is Grandfather taking back his old guitar?”
“No Momma, he isn’t, but the old men want me to keep it safe.”
“Is it really that valuable?”
“We don’t know yet. Leo thinks it may be worth over a hundred thousand dollars.”
“Who is this Leo?”
“Leo Granger is the proprietor of the music store I went to. I played his guitars at his shop and earned thirteen hundred dollars, helping him sell his merchandise.”
“Oh my, what did you do?”
“I just played his guitars.”
“She is telling you the truth Sis; he called me in and talked to me.”
“He has a jam session every Tuesday, at the mall, near Aunt Carmine’s home. He invited me there and I took Grandfather’s guitar. We played a lot of songs and the clerks were selling the guitars I was playing.”
“One customer even paid to have Angel autograph the guitar she was playing, Sis.”
“You sold four guitars for seventeen thousand dollars?”
“I was paid eight hundred seventy some odd dollars commission for the guitars and I was paid five hundred for autographing a guitar. They were all high end instruments from three thousand to eight thousand dollars.”
“How much did your new guitar cost?”
“I don’t know, the old men won’t say, but it did come from a luthier in Barcelona. Raul brought it with him.”
“I didn’t know this was going to happen either, Sis. Uncle Rolando installed a safe in my garage and is going to install one at your home for Angel’s guitars.”
“I wish they would have talked to me about this.”
“Yes, but you know what they are like, Sis.”
“Yes I know.”
There were two rooms in Margarita’s suite; Carmine roomed with her, and the girls were in the other room. They all took time to clean up a bit and then headed down to the lobby.
The men were waiting somewhat patiently for the women to come down. (Yeah right, they were fidgeting like cats.) Javier led them into the dinning room where they had reservations for ten. After they ordered drinks and food, they sat back and talked.
(In Spanish, translated in English for Marcos by Carmine who sat next to him.)
“It is good for all of us to be together again,” Javier said. “Monday we go to Christies Auction House to have our guitar appraised. I said ours, because after I talked with Carmine, I talked to my brothers and other members of our family. There have been many guitars passed down in our family. Rolando and my guitars are very old too. I found out that they may also have a famous heritage and be valuable too. It is good that Angel caused such a stir.”
“More importantly, our visit has another purpose. Since I informed the family about Angel, there have been many inquiries, and Angel, if you will, we want you to talk to these people. We have scheduled a family meeting in a conference room. Marcos said he could do some internet thing and the others can listen and watch back home. Angel, don’t be afraid, no one will insult you at this family meeting. Carmelita and I will not allow it. Will you do this Angel?”
“Yes I will. I can do this.”
Angel was nervous about it and her therapist had told her that she should talk to all of her family about it sometime. Now was as good as anytime.
“Good. Can you translate and type in Spanish Margarita.”
“Of course I can, Uncle Javier.”
“Good, can you work with your cousin Marcos and translate for those who don’t speak English.”
“I can speak in Spanish well enough, Uncle Javier.”
“Yes I know, but this gives your Mom some control over what goes back and forth.”
Margarita hadn’t realized what her uncle had done for them and appreciated him for doing this.
“I will allow this Uncle Javier, as long as my Angel is protected.”
“If they don’t fear me, they will fear Carmelita’s wrath.”
Everyone that knew Carmelita shuddered and shook their heads.
“Good, then I have made arrangements for the girls tomorrow. Carmine here is the schedule for you and your girls, and Margarita here is the schedule for you and Angel,” Javier said, passing the women a sheet of paper.
They were scheduled for a salon and clothing fitting. Carmine and her girls, were to go to the clothier early, and then to the salon. Margarita and Angel were to go the salon and then to the clothier.
They talked about other things for a few hours and called it a day.
Chapter 17
Angel and Margarita’s first stop after a quick breakfast was the hotel beauty salon. They both had their legs waxed, it was fortunate for Angel that she didn’t have much leg hair. She nearly bit her tongue when the first strip was pulled. Her Mom had been through this before and knew what to expect. It was a pain having to shave several times a week, or wax twice a month, but she couldn’t understand her European relatives’ love of hairy pits or legs.
Next, Margarita needed to have her nails filled in. Angel’s new nails were just slightly damaged from her guitar playing, they just needed a bit of filing and fresh coat of nail polish.
Lastly, they were taken to the hair station; they were both given a shampoo and conditioning. Margarita’s had her hair trimmed and wound into a severe bun. Angel’s hair was turned into a mass of long curls, with six falls to lengthen and to add to the volume of her hair.
From the salon, they headed to a clothier that supplied various ethnic costuming. Angel and Margarita introduced themselves to the sales clerk named Monica and talked about what they wanted. Angel didn’t want to be dressed in the skin tight Flamenco dresses that her Mom favored. She never understood how she walked in those form fitting dresses and skirts she preferred. She and her Mom found what she was looking for. They had a heavily embroidered jacket and vest, which had an ankle length skirt, which she loved.
The clerk took them in the back and had Angel take off her sundress. Standing there in her bra, panties and slip, the clerk took her measurements.
“Angel hasn’t begun to develop much of her womanly figure yet. You know Margarita, with the right foundations, she would look so nice.”
“Yes, but she is still quite a doll right now.”
“Oh, I am sorry. I didn’t mean she wasn’t pretty.”
“Yes, I know what you mean. What do you have in mind?”
“I would suggest a basque; push up pads and a heavily padded brief. Come with me, Margarita.”
Five minutes later, Margarita returned carrying some lingerie and the clerk hung Angel’s chosen outfit and a ruffled blouse, on a hook before leaving.
Angel took off her slip and bra and Margarita began to hook up the basque. The basque had a built in push up bra and covered Angel down to about two inches below her natural waist. Angel had to suck in her stomach to help her mom get it hooked up. She turned Angel around and positioned a push up pad into each cup, before stepping back to look.
Her daughter looked good in the basque, she was bigger in the bust and she didn’t bulge out at the bottom. Margarita had to help her with the padded brief because Angel couldn’t bend very well at the waist. This padded brief had more padding than the ones she had bought before. Angel was afraid that she was going to look positively huge now. The basque and pushup pads added an inch and a half to her bust and took off two inches at her waist. The padded brief added just over two inches to Angel’s hips.
Angel finished getting dressed, starting with the ruffled blouse. The blouse was a long sleeved, linen blend, blouse that had ruffles up the front and at the cuffs. She then wrapped the skirt around her, fastening the two buttons and the two buckles on the left side. The vest fit quite well and made the outfit.
Monica wrapped a red scarf and ran the tag ends through a ring and turned the scarf to the left. She then took a black Sevillano hat and helped Angel put the hat on, so it hung by its lanyard on her back. The look was completed with chandelier earrings and ankle high, brocade boots, with wider stack heels. Even though she didn’t get to dance much, she tried to mimic the way her Mom, Aunt and cousins dance. It was clear that she wasn’t a beginner, but she really needed a lot of work.
“Your daughter dances beautifully.”
“Unfortunately, that was only fair, Monica. My sister, her daughters and I all dance much better, only we can’t play the guitar the way that Angel does. Still I expect her to put more effort into the dance,” Margarita said, with a wink at her daughter.
“Yeah, my younger cousins are way better than I am at dancing. They are almost as good as Mom and Aunt Carmine.”
“You play the Flamenco guitar?”
“I can, but I usually play Flamenco on my classical guitar.”
“Are you any good at it?”
“I guess I am pretty fair at playing the guitar.”
“Don’t listen to her, she is being too modest. She is very good at playing her guitar,” Margarita said. She took her phone and showed Monica, a short video that she had saved on the phone. “This is her cousins Sierra and Nevada dancing, while Angel plays the guitar.
“Those girls were in here about two hours ago. They must have tried on every dress we have in their sizes.” Monica said, as she watched and listened to the video, “I think that the outfit Angel has on, will look so good while she is playing her guitar.”
Margarita then spent the next couple of hours selecting an outfit for herself, with her daughters help. Angel tried to get her Mon into a less form fitting dress, but it was an uphill battle. Angel did see that the material of the dresses, did have a little stretch.
Mother and daughter changed to the clothes they had worn that day, although Angel left her new lingerie on and returned to the hotel. In the suite, they went to Margarita’s room and spent some time talking. An hour before the meeting, they changed into their outfits and went back to the hotel beauty salon for makeup.
Chapter 18
Carmine and her daughters went to the costume shop with Raul and the old men. The mountain girls spent half the morning criticizing the clothes the men were looking at. The men usually just went out and picked what they liked. That wasn’t good enough for Sierra and Nevada who wanted to see them in a half dozen of the outfits the store had for men. Even though the men questioned the wisdom of shopping with the girls, they had to admit that the girls had good taste in clothing.
Carmine had taken the time while the girls were busy bothering their Uncles and grandfather to pick out her outfit. She and her sister, Margarita had the figures that made the tight dresses look good. That is what she gravitated to.
When it was Sierra and Nevada’s turn to shop for clothes they literally tore through the stores whole collection for something that fit their tastes. They eventually settled on some of the first dresses they tried on. They almost spent as much time looking at all the different accessories, from jewelry to scarves, shawls, veils, combs and shoes.
From the costume shop, the men took the ladies out to eat. The old men chose to spend this time with Carmine and her daughters, Angel and Margarita got to see them more than Sierra and Nevada did because of her guitar lessons. The men wanted to make sure that the girls knew they were loved no less.
After lunch the old men dropped the ladies off at the entrance to the hotel’s beauty salon and skedaddled while they could. Carmine couldn’t help herself as she shouted, “Aww come on, are you sure, you guys don’t want to come in,” as the car slowly pulled away.
Sierra and Nevada just had to giggle at the retreating males.
Inside all three received the same treatments that Margarita and Angel had received, but their hair was trimmed and wound into the buns that classical Flamenco dancers wore. Instead of individual semi-permanent lashes they received pairs of false eyelashes for the stage. The eyelashes were longer and more dramatic. Lastly before heading to the meeting they all had their makeup done in a dramatic fashion.
Chapter 19
The conference room for the family conference was set up with tables in a standard U-shape, with the head table away from the entrance. A smaller table was set up in the open end of the U and three video cameras looked at both forks and the head table. A buffet was being set up next to the entrance.
There were about fifteen family members, many dressed in their festival best, milling around talking. Carmine was taking her twins around the room and introducing them to their distant cousins.
All three of them were in festive Flamenco garb. Carmines, a pale blue silk, lace and taffeta dress, was fitted tightly from her shoulder to just below her knees, it flared out sharply into a circle of black and blue ruffles at her ankles. The twins wore opposite colored red/black dresses, fitted at the bodice and waist, before flaring out to a wide hem that had lots of ruffles. Sierra’s dress was red, with black lace and Nevada’s was black, with red lace. They each wore brocade Flamenco shoes, with metal taps on their heels and toes. Their hair was pulled back into severe buns, with large combs inserted at the top of the buns. Contrasting lace veils hung over the combs. They each wore heavy, almost stage grade, makeup, including oversized, but not too gaudy, false eyelashes. Their outfits were accessorized by large chandelier earrings, beaded necklaces, matching bracelets, rings and castanets.
The guests were appreciative of the girls’ efforts, by those present. The people were just drawn to the lovely girls.
At the appointed time, Margarita came in and sat down by Marcos, at the media table. She was dressed like her sister, in a pink/white dot dress. She and Marcos had a short chat about the system and she pulled the laptop’s keyboard into a comfortable position.
Fernando was the first of the brothers through the door. He looked magnificent in his new Paseo jacket, waistcoat, breeches, black Sevillano hat and black high boots. The black jacket was closely fitted to him and was heavily embroidered, the pants showed his lean muscled form.
When he was well into the room, there began a swell of guitar music and a trumpet. Javier came in dressed similarly to Fernando. He was playing his Flamenco guitar. He was followed by Rolando and Raul similarly dressed and playing their guitars. Finally, Angel came in playing her old guitar.
The room was full of gasps, as the relatives saw Angel for the first time. Not even Carmine and the twins knew what to expect, as they hadn’t seen her all day. Angel looked simply divine as she wore a dark gray, fitted jacket and matching vest that were ornately embroidered, over a white ruffled blouse. Her skirt was a black ankle length, wrap around skirt that had two buckles on her left, just below mid hip. Her hair was a mass of curls, which now came to the middle of her back. Some of the curls draped on the front of her jacket, with the rest of them controlled by her black Sevillano hat, that she wore only by the lanyard around her neck. The salon had given her individual, semi-permanent, eyelashes, which feathered out from her eye. Angel’s makeup had been expertly applied, just minutes before she appeared.
Sierra and Nevada did a double take of their cousin. Her chest and hips looked bigger and her waist narrower.
Carmine and her girls began to dance to the music and playing their castanets. The appreciative audience began to clap to the music, some of them joining in on the dancing.
After about ten minutes, the playing and dancing came to a close. Javier got everyone’s attention and said in Spanish and English, “Welcome my family. It is good to be here with all of you. A buffet has been set up in the back. Please eat, drink and have a joyous time.”
The guitar players all carefully put their instruments away and joined the line at the buffet. They had to stop and say hello to this person, shake that hand, and hug this person.
Angel sat at the head table, flanked by her Mom and her Grandfather. Javier sat in the middle, with Rolando and Raul to his left. The family sat around the U and ate, talking with their neighbors. The seating had been jumbled, so cousins were seated by cousins they didn’t know as well. There was a mixture of English and Spanish being spoken around the table. The bilingual family members had been dispersed about the room and translated where necessary.
Most of the people had finished eating, except for a few chow-hounds that needed an extra meal like a drowning man needs more water. Javier stood and addressed the crowd in English, “Hello my, friends and family.” Margarita was again at the media table, “The first thing I want to cover are the guitars that are in our family. I have found out that there are many that have been handed down from generation to generation. We recently discovered that many might be very valuable. I implore you to have your guitars appraised by a reputable appraiser. We have found one guitar that may be worth several hundred thousand dollars, and my bother Rolando’s and my guitar may be valuable as well.”
“Secondly, there has been a stir created by one of our family. Angel Luis Marquez is now known as Angel Louisa Marquez. Some of you don’t agree with this apparent change of gender. She is here to speak for herself. You may not agree with her change of gender, but she is still family, you will treat her as family.” Javier turned to Angel and she stood. “Angel the floor is yours.”
Angel walked over to the podium and turned towards the people assembled there.
“Hello, I am Angel Marquez. I am fourteen and my mother is Margarita Delores Ramos-Marques. It is good that I get to speak to all of you. I guess I have known most of my life that I was different from all the other boys I have known. It wasn’t until I was six that I realized that I was a girl trapped inside the body of a boy.”
“Just before my sixth birthday, I told my parents just that. My dad couldn’t accept that and left. My mother though, was very understanding and took me to see a psychologist. I spent four years in counseling with this therapist trying to convince him I was a girl, as much as he spent questioning my belief. He finally agreed with me.”
“I am still seeing this therapist once a month. About two years ago, I began taking androgen blockers; it is the same medicine a balding man takes to help keep his hair. So I have avoided going through puberty.”
“I know I look pretty and feminine right now, but physically I am still a boy. What you see is not all me. The women out there will probably understand that better than the men. I will say that this is how in my mind and my heart, I know I should look. Since I was discovered dressed as a girl, I have spent all the time I could, looking like this. I was even given the approval of my therapist to transition to living full time as a girl. So since school ended this year, I have lived this way twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When school starts for me in the fall, I will be registered as a girl.”
“I don’t want special treatment from the family because of my decision; I just don’t want to be treated badly. I am sorry if you can’t understand what I am going through. It is hard for me to even understand the why’s and how’s and I have lived through this.”
“I would love for all of you to accept this, but I am a realist. I know there are people out there that can’t, and won’t accept me, for who I am. If you can accept me, I would love to count you as one of my friends. I can use all of the friends I can get. If you can’t accept me, I will try not to make waves that will hurt you, after all you are family. I only ask that you do the same for me. Thank you.”
Angel started to return back to her seat.
“Excuse me Angel, do you plan to go all the way, with surgery and hormones?” one of the cousins asked.
“Yes, but I can’t do either until I am eighteen. I have to be old enough to give an informed consent.”
“What about sex? Do you like boys or girls?”
“I don’t know at this point. This isn’t about sex to me; it is about gender and what I see myself as. I am not out to seduce anybody or turn them over to the dark side. I may live my life celibate, at this point I just can’t say.”
“What about the church, Angel?”
“I know most of the church won’t accept me like I am, but I still believe in God and Jesus. Our church claims to be infallible, but look how the church treated Galileo, look at the cruelty that the Spanish and French inquisitions have done, in the name of the church. Many of the popes in the past have been just as corrupt as the heathens they were out to save. There are people in the church who have made grave errors and many who go to church on Sunday, but come Monday, lookout. I am not going to cast any stones. I have tried my hardest to be as good a person as I can be, seven days a week and I pray that that is good enough for God. I can’t believe a loving God would hate me for being like I am.”
“Thank you, but that is all I can say, right now.”
Angel took her seat and Uncle Javier stood again and took the podium. “Thank you Angel, you have given us much to think about. I just ask that you do think about it and remember, she is still family. Family is our strength.”
“Now, we have a special treat for everyone. There are seven guitarists here tonight. We are going to have a battle of the guitar. All of you get your guitars out and let’s tune them up with each other. We will play until we see that the rest are better than we are, and then we will step aside. When there are two left, we will speed up the music, till one can’t keep up.”
The seven guitarists stood inside the U and tuned up their guitars. Angel chose to use her new guitar, because of the way they were crowded. Javier then call out the name of a piece and they all began to play. He started out fairly easy and then the music began to get more challenging. One cousin dropped out, then another and finally a third. It was Javier, Rolando, Raul and Angel left. Javier called out a particularly challenging Master class piece and stepped out himself. Rolando stepped out in the middle of the same piece. Angel and Raul turned towards each other and played their best, through the end of the piece. Javier called out the name of another piece and they played on. When Javier clapped, they would pick up the pace of the music. They were into the third piece and both Raul and Angel were strained in concentration. Raul missed a chord progression then and bowed out. Angel finished the piece and another one so she could relax. When she finished, she was surprised at the applause she received.
Margarita handed Javier a slip of paper. He took the slip and read it. When he finished reading it, he whistled an almost ear shattering whistle.
“Excuse my rudeness, apparently our Great Aunt Carmelita has stayed up to see this, although the time is very early in Spain right now. She has asked if it would be possible for Raul and Angel to come play for her. I am sure that Raul can and we will try to get Angel there as well.”
For the next hour the guitars played and the dancers danced. Margarita danced with Raul and Carmine was on the floor with Marcos, the twins found themselves on the floor with a male cousin.
As much as Angel liked playing for the family, she had been on the go since nine that morning. She was glad when Carmine and her Mom led them out and back to their room. Angel had to have her cousins’ help getting out of her bustier. The bustier was longer than a long line bra and much prettier. It wasn’t really tight; she only had to reduce her waist a couple of inches. They helped remove the many falls that made her hair look so long.
On their way back to the room, Angel asked her Mom, “Well how did I do?”
“I think you did alright. Most of our relatives that were here were already on your side, so to speak. I think you convinced those that support you and gave the others something to think about.”
When they got in bed, Sierra and Nevada had to tell her everything they had done and extracted everything Angel had done that day.
Chapter 20
Monday, after a relaxing Sunday seeing the sights, Angel accompanied her Uncles and Grandfather to Christie’s Auction House, with their guitars. The four of them were introduced to Michael Dunn, the supervisor in charge of appraisals.
The old men began to tell Mr. Dunn about the history of their guitars. There had been several guitarist of renown in their family, but none who could be regarded as being famous. Michael showed interest in what the men were saying and took copious noted. He asked them about any provenances that they might have. Other than their family’s oral history, they didn’t have any written statements detailing who made, sold or bought the instruments.
“Are you certain of your family’s origins in the Madrid area, from the late 1800’s?”
“Yes, our family has lived in Madrid and the area within 30 kilometers of Madrid, since the early 17 th century. The first birth in the Madrid area I could find, was a Felipe Ramos. I found records of his birth at a church in Madrid, on March 23, 1643. I found the records in the archives of San Pedro el Viejo, a church that dates from the 13th century, in old Madrid. I think I can identify the original owners of our guitars,” Javier said, taking out a large sheet of paper that had their family tree recorded on. “That is according to my family’s traditions. There are holes in my research, but I am very confident about this tree.”
Michael took notes of where Javier first linked each of the three guitars they brought in today.
“I have enough to start my research, now follow me to our lab where they will inspect your guitars.”
The group followed Mr. Dunn into a secure area of Christies’. He had to use his ID card twice to get to the lab. “This is where we will have technicians inspect each guitar. Everyone here has at least a master’s degree and most have one or more doctorate degrees.”
“This is Dr. Wilson; he has doctorates in chemistry and forensics. He will be in charge of your instruments.” Michael said, introducing a colleague at a cluttered desk.
Jeremy Wilson appeared to be a balding man, in his early fifties. He was about five foot ten inches tall and sat a little too close to the dinner table, as he must have weighed about two hundred twenty pounds. He wore horn rim glasses, powder blue lab coat and all that was missing was the pocket protector.
“Please call me Jeremy,”
“Right Jeremy, this is Javier, Rolando and Fernando Ramos along with Angel Marques. They have three guitars they would like to Vet and appraise.”
“Hello Ma’am and Sirs.” Jeremy said, shaking their hands. “Are these the guitars,” he said, indicating the cases.
“Yes they are. All three came from the area around Madrid in the late 1800’s,” Javier said.
“Good, then. If you would please lay them out on this table for me,” he said, indicating a large table.
Angel, Javier and Rolando each took out their instrument and carefully placed them on the table. Jeremy picked up each instrument and gave them a precursory look.
“Given the age you purport them to be, they all appear to be in good condition. We have two Flamenco guitars and one classical, or more correctly, Spanish guitar. May I hear them played one at a time?”
The old men lightly pushed Angel forward. She picked up her guitar, tuned it up and played the first ten measures of Recuerdos de la Alhambra. When she finished, Javier motioned for her to play the other guitars. She had done this before, but only rarely. She played the same ten measures on each instrument.
Each instrument had its own unique voice. Angel could pick out the three guitars just by listening to them. Angel’s was more warm and mellow, Javier’s was the boldest and Rolando’s was the brightest.
“Very well done, my dear. I see you have been well taught.”
“Thank you, my uncles and my grandfather, along with two other gentlemen are my teachers. Give them all the credit.”
“Well I can tell already that we are dealing with superior instruments. Let me get the other researchers in now,” Jeremy said. He picked up his phone and asked a Karen to come to his office with William and Carl. He then told them what was going to happen. Jeremy also gave them a receipt for the guitars and said that they could watch if they liked. If not, they could pick up the guitars on Wednesday. The report might take a couple of weeks.
Three people soon entered and were introduced. Karen Long was the crack researcher, William Caldwell was the expert on musical instruments and Carl Dowdy was an acoustics expert. They were each in their late twenties to early thirties and each had a blue lab coat on. They first carefully photographed and documented each instrument, before they began to carefully examine them from their point of view.
Angel and her teachers, stayed for a little while, but once they saw that their instruments were in capable caring hands, they left. They talked about what if. The conclusion they came to was, if they were as valuable as some thought, they would still play them. A guitar that never leaves the case is just some wood, metal and string.
Angel felt a sense of loss at not having her prized instrument, but at least she still had one she could play.
Chapter 21
It was a long two days for Javier, Rolando and Angel. They wasted no time when they got the call that they could pick up their instruments. They met Michael at his desk, at Christies’. He was wearing his poker face and they couldn’t tell what he was thinking. The three guitar cases were behind his desk.
“Well I won’t keep you in suspense. We have examined all three guitars and have our preliminary report ready for you. Javier Ramos and Rolando Ramos, we are certain without a doubt, that your guitars are indeed Jose Ramirez guitars. Javier, we recommend that you insure yours for three hundred thousand dollars. Rolando, yours is a bit newer, but still you should insure it for at least two hundred fifty thousand. My people are pleased with the condition of your guitars. Your family has taken good care of them over the years.”
“Now Angel, your guitar was a bit harder to nail down. Your guitar, like your uncles, is a superior instrument. It is consistent in everyway with an Antonio de Torres guitar. We want to do a bit more research, before we put our reputations at stake. If it is an Antonio de Torres, it was made early in his second epoch, when he worked in his shop in Almeráa, Spain. There are fewer known A. Torres guitars that remain in existence, than J. Ramirez guitars. So if we are correct, it could substantially be more valuable. I therefore have the documentation so that the guitar can be insured, till we can be certain. We are suggesting that you have it insured for at least a half a million dollars. If it turns out to be true, it could be more valuable than that. A provenance or documentation would add substantially to its value.”
“I don’t suppose any of you want to auction your guitars off, considering how long they have been in your family and how well you have taken care of them, am I right?”
“No, these instruments will be passed on to the next generation of guitarists in our family,” Javier stated, and his brothers concurred.
“It would be like selling my sister, in fact I would rather sell my sister,” Rolando said.
“We don’t have a sister that is still living Rolando,” Fernando said, laughing at his brother.
“Thank you Mr. Dunn for helping us out,” Javier said, elbowing his brothers.
“No, I want to thank you for bringing them to us to appraise. While it isn’t rare for us to see instruments of this caliber, it is rare to have three of them with us at the same time. You should receive our final reports on them by the end of the month.”
Angel, my brothers and I have talked it over. For a long time now we have been struggling to keep up with you, so that we can teach you. Javier and I are getting old now and Fernando’s hands won’t let him play well enough. We need to find you another teacher.
After locking up her guitar, along with her Uncle Javier’s that night, she headed to her cousins room. She placed her new guitar in the corner of the twin's room and the history on their vanity, vowing to read all about it in the next few days. They all changed into their nighties and talked about all that happened this past week. The twins were still excitedly talking about the past week as they all got into bed, even though they were clearly exhausted.
Saturday morning Carmine headed into to work to save a couple of her vacation days. The girls were up early enough to see her off, while their Uncle and grandfather were still sleeping. Together they began fixing breakfast when they heard the old men begin to stir.
After breakfast Uncle Rolando and grandfather had one more lesson for Angel.
“Angel, my brothers and I have talked it over. For a long time now we have been struggling to keep up with you, so that we can teach you. Javier and I are getting old now and Fernando’s hands won’t let him play well enough. We need to find you another teacher.”
“What, are you and the others not going to come by and teach me anymore?”
“No, we are not going to cut you any slack, we will still come by and play with you, but you are already as good as any of us are. The only thing we have that you don’t is the number of years of experience that we have. Don’t worry Pedro and Ricky will still come by and we will still come and play with you, if only to see how much you have grown. You just need someone who is more technically equipped to teach you.”
“Good. I still need all of you in my life still.”
“And we need you too, Angel. In a way you give us a greater purpose. You have the ability to be a great guitarist.”
Fernando and Rolando put Angel through her paces and they also worked with the twins on their dance. The staccato of their shoe taps could be heard on the slate tiles in the breakfast niche, while Angel and Rolando played.
After lunch the old men gave the girls hugs and kisses before they departed.
Angel pulled out the bound folder to read about her new guitar. Her guitar was made by Amara Verdad Cantu, one of only a few female luthiers. Her biography and picture was included. The biography listed her birthplace, where she grew up and the various luthiers she worked and studied under.
She was amazed as she flipped through the folder. The first section told about the various materials used in the construction. The face was made of old growth Canadian spruce recovered from the depths of Lake Huron. Lumberjacks in the 19 th century had cut down the logs and moved them into the water where they formed large flotillas of logs heading to the lumber mills. A large number of logs sank and they have laid there on the bottom for over a hundred years. The recovered logs have been shown to have superior tonal qualities. The back and the sides were made from old growth Brazilian rosewood, while the neck was of ebony.
Angel was fascinated by all the pictures of her guitar as it was being constructed. Amara documented, in photographs, each step as her guitar was being made. There were 30 pictures that showed her guitar as the wood was being cut, shaped, sanded, assembled and finished. She was surprised to learn that the gold artwork around the sound hole and the top of the sides wasn’t gold paint but was actually gold leafing.
Chapter 23
Monday Sierra and Nevada had Angel begin to decorate the guest room. She was allowed to take things that were overly abundant in her cousin’s room, like stuffed animals and pictures on the wall, to use in the guest room.
Angel found out that it was more than just having girly things in a room that made the room girly. Everything had to have its proper place. There was nothing haphazard about the way most girls decorate their rooms. The more important a thing was to a girl, the more important the placement about the room was.
Decorating the guest room was harder because everything that was already in the room was as gender neutral as Carmine could make it. Everything from the furniture, drapes, bed clothes, carpet and the paint on the walls were neutral.
“At the dorm, you are going to need to decorate your part of the room,” Sierra said.
“And while not all girls have an overly girly room, it can only help you to make your area as girly as possible,” Nevada said.
“What do you think this room needs that it doesn’t have?”
“Well I don’t have a vanity in this room, but there is a Queen Ann desk. I guess that with a makeup mirror and some trays so I can sort out my makeup that might work. Some of those crocheted things, you know those round and oval things.”
“Dollies,” Sierra provided.
“Yeah those things. I need a picture of Mom, Aunt Carmine and you guys too. While I have some stuffed animals in here, I don’t have one that is special. Like your Pooh Bear, Sierra and your Simba Nevada.”
“Good thinking Angel,” Nevada said.
“If you could paint this room, what colors would you use?”
“I think pink for the whole room is too much for me. I might use some pink with more baby blue and some pastel yellow. That bed spread and those sheets have to go. I have never liked them.”
“They aren’t too bad, but they’re definitely not for a girl,” Sierra said.
The girls booted their computer and navigated to the J.C. Penny website. They paged through the “Bed in a Bag” sections and the window treatment sections. Angel bookmarked the pages that had what she liked and her cousins approved. While searching stuffed animals she found one that she loved, a full sized plush guitar. She just had to have it; she took out her Visa check card and ordered it.
After lunch, she played her guitar while her cousins danced and played their castanets. She even got some dancing in as her cousins encouraged her. They pulled out a DVD lesson that they practiced with.
Tuesday the girls headed to the mall. They had asked Carmine the day before and had gotten permission from her to do so. Angel had her cousins' dress in their Flamenco skirts, over a pair of shorts and carry their practice shoes with them. She dressed in a borrowed Flamenco skirt, her boots and her Sevillano hat on top of her head. She took her new guitar this time as they headed off to meet the bus.
It was about ten forty when they got off the bus near the park. Angel led them to the area where she had played a couple of weeks earlier. She tuned up her new guitar, while the girls changed to their Flamenco shoes. The crowd, many of whom had been there two weeks ago, began to form around them.
Sierra and Nevada took up a position in front as Angel began playing. She started out playing Flamenco music, while the girls began to dance and play their castanets. The dance started off slowly and sensuously, building up into a furious crescendo. The people gathered there began to clap in rhythm to the music. As the last chords began to fade away, the applause was surprisingly loud.
Angel gave the girls a few seconds to breathe and then began a tango. Nevada assumed the masculine role and took a couple of slow sensuous steps toward her sister. Sierra turned toward Nevada and when she stopped she took a few steps towards Nevada, closing the gap. They continued on into the main tango movements. The people there made room for them as they took up more room, as they twirled and dipped about.
The next song she played was a Rumba. This time around a college aged couple joined the girls dancing. While the twins were better dancers than the college kids, they danced with the other pair, rather than show them up. Eight more people paired up and joined in the dance. Angel extended the piece she was playing a bit to give everyone a nice dance.
After that dance was over Angel switched styles to playing folk music. She sang and played Green Sleeves, Scarborough Fair, and The City of New Orleans. The twins took this time to rest but others continued to dance.
Angel gave her sisters a nod and they got up. She played a couple of more Flamenco songs. On the second song a distinguished looking, older Hispanic gentleman began to dance and the girls flirted with him as they danced with him. He wore a grin that was a mile wide as did the girls. He was slower than the girls but they danced to compliment him. Javier taught the girls to always make their partner look good. When the music ended, Sierra and Nevada took his hand and led him to sit on the planter.
“Muchas gracias niá±as, conceder a este viejo hombre a sentirse joven nuevamente,” (Than you very much girls, for making an old man feel young again.) he said.
“No, gracias, para bailar con nosotros seá±or.” (No, thank you for dancing with us sir.) Nevada said.
“Disfrutamos con un apuesto joven como táº, bailando con nosotros.” (We enjoyed having a handsome young man, like you, dancing with us.) Sierra added flirting with the old man.
“Usted hace mentira a un anciano, pero es un mentira bueno, no es.” (You would lie to an old man, but it is a good lie, is it not.)
Angel sang and played her rock oldies along with playing many of her classical pieces for the crowd. She had to quit a little after noon as it was getting a bit warm. The girls had taken off their skirts and changed back into their walking shoes.
Sierra had cleaned out Angel’s guitar case; there was about a hundred and twenty dollars. Angel split the money three ways to the cheers of her cousins.
From the park they headed to the mall. Angel led the girls to Leo’s music store. She smiled as she saw Leo behind the counter.
“Hi Leo, how are you?”
“Hello Angel, it is really good seeing you. I thought I told you not to bring your guitar without an adult.”
“This is a new guitar, Leo. My uncles and grandfather placed my old guitar in a vault.”
“What you didn’t buy it from me?”
“Sorry, my uncles and grandfather bought it for me, or I would have gone through you.”
“Well let me see it please.”
Leo’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw the beautiful guitar. Angel lifted it out of its case and laid it on a velvet pad on the counter.
“Angel, in all my years working in a music store, I have never seen such a gorgeous instrument. Who made it?”
“A luthier named Amara Verdad Cantu, in Barcelona. My uncles had it flown in by a cousin.”
Leo took out a big book and began searching through it, “Dang it girl, your family does things in a big way. That wasn’t so much as a step down to a new instrument as a step sideways. Do you know what it cost?”
“No Uncle Javier didn’t say. I think he doesn’t want me to know.”
“Then I won’t either, just take good care of it please.” He said after looking at the price ranges of twelve to twenty thousand Euros.
Leo reverently handled the guitar as he looked it over. “It is definitely new. What kind of strings does it use?”
“The booklet that came with the guitar said they are Savarez Cristal Soliste high tension. My other guitar I used D'Addario Pro-Arté EJ46 strings.”
“That sounds about right. Which do you like best?”
“For that guitar, I like those Savarez strings. Do you have any in stock?”
“No, but I can order them.”
“Good order me a dozen set of strings, Leo. Can I lock my guitar up, in the back, so I can go eat with my cousins.”
“Your cousins?” Leo asked, “Please forgive my rudeness. Hello I am Leo Granger,”
“Sorry Leo. We got caught up in things. This is Sierra Santiago and her sister Nevada Santiago.”
“You’re mountain girls, I see.”
Angel and her cousins broke out laughing, “Yes that is us, mountain girls,” Sierra said, laughing with her sister.
“Please Leo, don’t get them started on their mountain girl routine.”
“Follow me Angel, you can lock up your guitar here anytime.”
They went from Leo’s to the restroom to freshen up and makeup their faces before heading to the food court at the mall. Sierra led them to a gyro shop and they ordered large diet cokes, gyros (minced lamb that has been cooked on a spit in a molded block, then sliced thin and served in pita bread with onion and tomato) and salads.
Back at Leo’s Angel smiled as she saw Willy and Jeffery already there.
“Hey Willy, Hey Jeffery,” Angel said hugging the two guys, “these two girls are my cousins, Sierra and Nevada Santiago.”
“It’s good to meet you girls,” Jeffery said. “Do you play too?”
“No we just dance,” Nevada said.
Willy and Jeffery then began talking with Angel about what songs thwy wanted to play. She only had to say no to a couple of songs, she knew them but not well enough to play them. Leo brought her a guitar and everyone began tuning up.
“Aren’t you going to play your guitar, Angel?” Sierra asked.
“No, Leo uses this jam session to sell his guitars; therefore he wants us to play instruments he can sell.”
At two they began to play, they started out with ‘Rhiannon’. Angel sang as they played. Again a crowd began to form in Leo’s shop. Sierra and Nevada took up chairs behind Leo. Sierra saw Nevada timing the song with her hands like she would play her castanets and she began studying the rhythm too. By the end of the first chorus the girls began to play their castanets. Nobody missed a beat; Leo looked over his shoulders and smiled at the girls.
They then began ‘Dust in the Wind’, ‘More than a Feeling’, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, ‘Uptown Girl’ ‘Mr. Bojangles’, ‘Old Black Water’ and ‘I Heard it through the Grapevine’, before taking a break. A sales clerk just took the second guitar that Angel had been playing that day.
“Can I pick out a guitar Leo?”
“Sure, pick out any guitar you want.”
As Angel went behind the counter she saw another girl standing by herself.
“Hi I am Angel Marquez, what is your name.”
The girl looked shocked at being spoken to. She had been use to people just ignoring her. “Hi I… I am Janice… Janice Fletcher. I saw you playing in the park. I loved your music and followed you here. I wondered if you were going to play in Leo’s jam session.”
“Do you play?”
“I know four or five chords, but I don’t have a guitar yet. I am saving up my money to get one.”
“Which one?”
“That Yamaha acoustic.”
The guitar the girl pointed out was one of the cheapest name brand guitars there. She reached up to the next shelf over and grabbed a nice Martin. Then she found a very good Takashima classical guitar to play herself.
“Come on back here Janice.”
Janice followed Angel back into the area where they had been playing.
“Jeffery give me an E.”
Angel tuned up both guitars to the group and handed Janice the Martin.
“‘Song Sung Blue’, boys.”
Angel began calling out the chords and strumming them. Janice followed and Angel corrected her where necessary. They went slowly through the song twice. Janice smiled as she saw how easy Angel was making it.
“Ok you follow Jeffery, Janice, while I will take my line.”
Together the three guitars, bass guitars and drums played slowly through the song. Seeing how well she was following they played it again, while Angel sang the song. Janice followed very well only missing a couple of chord changes as she played. When they finished, Janice wore a thousand watt smile.
Angel walked back to where Leo was at the drums and whispered to him. “Leo, can you sell that guitar to Janice for what that Yamaha was priced at. I will make up the difference and if you can arrange for her to make payments, I will cover the whole price if she doesn’t pay. But I don’t think that is going to happen.”
“I knew I liked you Angel. We’ll split the difference two ways, I will pay part and you can pay part. If she gives me her name, address and telephone number, she can walk out with that guitar today.”
Leo went and talked to Janice. She wouldn’t accept his offer till she called her Mom first. Leo talked to her for a few minutes. She agreed to let the girl buy the guitar if she could sign for her daughter.
Angel, Jeffery and Willy kept playing, while Leo drew up an impromptu contract. They started with ‘Guitar Man’ then went into ‘Hotel California’, ‘Rock and Roll Heaven’, ‘Diamonds and Rust,’ and they finished up playing ‘Come Monday’.
They put up their instruments and cleared the area where they played. Leo got Angel’s guitar and cut her a check for three hundred and fifty dollars. She didn’t sell as many guitars and the ones she sold weren’t the high end instruments she had sold previously, besides the arrangement she had made with Leo for Janice.
On their way out they walked past Janice and an older lady.
“Angel stop. I want you to meet my mother. Angel this is my Mom Rita Fletcher. Mom, this is Angel Marquez. You really need to hear her play she is great.”
“Hello Mrs. Fletcher, these two girls are my cousins Sierra and Nevada Santiago.”
“Hello it is nice to meet you girls.”
“I didn’t know these girls were your cousins. You should see how those two can dance that Spanish dance.” Janice said, mimicking the Flamenco.
“You mean Flamenco Dancing,” Nevada said.
“Yeah Flamenco dancing.”
“Janice you did real good on the guitar you were playing.”
“Yeah but not as good as you.”
“I have been playing since I was ten. I see that you went ahead and got that guitar.”
Janice shocked Angel when she sat down her guitar case and hugged Angel. “Yes and I want to thank you for that. I don’t know what you did, but I know you did something.”
“I want to thank you too, Angel, while we are not poor, our money is tight at times.”
“I didn’t do anything special.”
“We don’t believe that, but thank you anyway,” Mrs. Fletcher said.
Janice and Angel traded email addresses and hugged one more time before Angel said, “Well just keep up your practice Janice, you’ll be playing well in no time, and you can catch me at the park on Tuesdays. We have to get on home now.”
“Well thank you again Angel,” Janice said.
Chapter 24
Angel was with her cousins in their room just after breakfast one day.
“There are several of things every girl knows that you don’t Angel,” Sierra said.
“They need to know their favorite doll.”
“They need to know about sleepovers.”
“And they need to know how to talk about boys, fashion and makeup.”
“These are all of the dolls we had as little girls,” Sierra said, pointing at her bed.
The bed was covered with about twenty dolls. They were all lined up from little baby dolls to Barbie dolls to a couple of taller porcelain dolls with stands on top of their dresser drawers.
“Girls begin to be trained to be mommies beginning with their first baby doll at about two and a half to four years old. They learn to feed their dolls from baby bottles, diaper and dress their babies. As they get older the doll gets a little bigger or older,” Nevada said.
“They also make up names for their dolls; every girl remembers the names of most of her dolls, especially her favorite dolls. Almost every girl then moves up to Barbie dolls between six and eight. Some girls don’t because their parents think the dolls are too mature,” Sierra said, picking up one of her Barbie dolls.
The three of them sat down on the floor and played with the dolls for the rest of the morning. At lunch they had a pretend tea party with their dolls and their stuffed animals at the table.
“You miss the full impact of the tea party because most girls also dress up in party dresses, or their Mom’s over sized clothes as they sit around for their tea party,” Sierra said. “Girls are taught to how to be good mommies and wives, doing these things.”
“But there are many Barbie dolls out now, where the girls can play business professionals, doctors and astronauts.”
“I knew one girl who had several dozen Barbie dolls, many were still in their original boxes,” Sierra said.
“Why keep them in their boxes?” asked Angel.
“There is a large market for collectable Barbie dolls. Some of the first are quite valuable, especially if they are in their original boxes,” Nevada said.
“Let’s check it out on the internet.” Sierra said.
Angel sat at the family computer and booted it up. She clicked on their browser and did a google on Barbie. All three of them were surprised at the millions of hits. Angel clicked on an Ebay url and saw hundreds of Barbie dolls on sale there, priced from twenty dollars to over nine thousand dollars for some of the original or rare Barbie dolls. Other urls took them to various sites about the dolls. A couple of sites shared some of the controversy about the dolls. Some sites gave an estimate of Barbie’s measurements if she were a real adult. There were hundreds of estimates about Barbie’s size if she were a real person; most gave some ridiculously small waist and hips sizes or an extremely unrealistically tall woman of average sizes.
“This is incredible, it seems the company is selling young girls into trying to be this size. What is your size Sierra?” Angel asked.
“We both are five foot three, a hundred and five pounds, 32-24-34 and we are almost a full A cup.”
“Gee your waists and hips are larger than a real life Barbie’s would be and you two are small compared to most girls out there.”
“Oh that is so ridiculous,” Nevada said, “I can’t see us with smaller waists or hips.”
“You two are a size 2P right?”
“Yes, in ladies sizes or a size 3 in juniors, junior’s clothes are more in our tastes. We are not ready to dress like our Mom yet,” Sierra said giggling.
The three girls then spent the next couple of hours shaping and painting each other’s toe nails, fingernails and then braiding each other’s hair. The girl’s told Angel that this was just a part of what goes on at a sleep over.
“You need to go back to the salon and get your nails filled Angel,” Nevada said. “Your nails are growing out and you can see where the wraps end now.”
Angel looked at the base of her nails and saw just how noticeable the gap was, there was a clear delineation between her glass wraps and her cuticle. “I see, I guess we can go back on Tuesday early and get them.”
“You say I need to talk about boys, do you two do it.”
“Yes we do,” Sierra said. “Girls always talk about boys from age four or five. At that age they talk about how yucky boys are. Then somewhere between ten and twelve boys aren’t so yucky anymore and they start becoming yummy.”
“That’s something that I have never thought about before. What do I do?”
“Well do you know some guys your age or older?” Nevada asked.
“Of course I do.”
“Are any of them particularly handsome, cute or interesting?”
“Some of them I guess. I spent my time in middle school just trying to not get caught, pretending to be a boy.”
“Tell us about the boys you found particularly intriguing.”
For the rest of the afternoon, they talked about boys. At first it was just Angel telling the twins about the boys she knew at school. Sierra and Nevada would stop her only to ask questions about the boys Angel was describing. Later they started correcting Angel on how she described them, changing some of the adjectives she used, the things she had noticed about the boys and her body language while she was describing the boys. Sierra and Nevada also told Angel about the boys they knew, the boys they were interested in and about the boys they would never be interested in. All of this while they were doing their nails, braiding each others hair and fixing dinner.
Angel was shocked to hear her cousins talk about the boys and girls they knew, in the terms they used. She had never considered her twelve year old cousins as ‘sexual creatures’. Both girls admitted to thinking about doing “IT” with this or that boy, but they also admitted to having not done “IT” yet. Girls it seemed thought about many of the same things that boys thought about, but as a whole girls seemed to show more restraint than boys. She had to admit though, that the adjectives boys used tended to be cruder.
“Look Angel, we have gone past the ‘Prince Charming’ stage as girls, and from what I have read girls these days are thinking of and doing sexual things. That doesn’t mean Sierra and I are itching to lose our virginity, but we are thinking about guys in more sexual terms.”
“Is that because of Sex Ed?”
“I don’t think so and I can’t speak for others, but everywhere we look someone is using sex to sell something. Our TV shows all have a sexual nature to them, even most of the shows that appeal to teens,” Sierra said. “A lot of Sex Ed was on how to protect ourselves from pregnancy and disease. True there was some how to and some about the body. They also talked about gays, lesbians and people like you Angel.”
The conversation got back to boys, and Angel thought about the boys she knew, she tried to see them in the same light as her cousins would. She knew which kind of boy she liked and which ones she would definitely avoid, but she didn’t picture things in a sexual manner. After a while she was able to evaluate the boys she knew as a girl would and share the details that girls saw as important, in the language girls used.
As of this point Angel hadn’t given much thought about sex with either boys or girls. Her biggest trial in life had just been getting her body to line up with the picture of herself, in her mind.
After dinner, they watched TV shifting from VH1 to MTV to other shows that were slanted towards teens, their ages. They critiqued the clothes they saw, the makeup that the stars were seen in, and who was hot and who was not.
Chapter 25
The next day the twins were both a little cranky, as Aunt Flow took this time to make her call. The girls were more than happy to explain to Angel exactly what was happening to them, without giving their cousin a more graphic lesson. They made Angel go online and do research about a girl’s period. Angel did find one interesting detail that she might need. Girls that live in close proximity to each other, like in the same dorm room, tended to have their periods at the same time after they had lived together for two to four months.
Angel just realized that if she was going to live in a dorm room with other girls, that she would also have to find a way to keep up with when she would have her period, how to give off signs that she indeed did have a period and to detect when her dorm mates were having their periods, without being to obvious about it. She then researched ways to simulate having her own period.
Angel talked with her cousins about this and they both agreed. They even suggested that she start wearing a sanitary pad when ever they were on their period too. Nevada handed Angel a light days pad with wings and told Angel how to use it.
“Also don’t flush a tampon or a sanitary pad Angel,” Sierra said. “They will expand and clog the drains. Then others will know something is fishy because they wouldn’t do it themselves. There will always be a trashcan; either in the stall or nearby to dispose of them. You can take the wrapper from your next clean pad and wrap your current used one in it or use some toilet paper and then throw it in the trash can.”
Sierra and Nevada both showed Angel calendars they kept in their purses. They marked the onset of their period and each day they bled with a red dot. They then put red circles on the days that they expected their next period. They suggested that she buy a calendar to keep up with things like this. They also told her she needed to always make sure she had some tampons, sanitary napkins and Midol in her purse.
While Angel was on the computer she checked her email. There were some from her relatives, her Mom, and one from Janice.
Angel O:-),
I needed to send you an email thanking you. I know you talked to the store owner and helped me get my guitar. The guitar you helped me buy is much nicer than the one I was trying to buy. I already know about ten chords and am learning how to put them together to make music.
Will you be at the music store again this Tuesday? I would like to see you and show you what I have learned. My poor fingers ache, as I haven’t built up a callous yet, but I practice everyday.
Again I want to thank you for your kindness.
Janice.
Angel typed up a reply for Janice.
Janice ; -)
It is good hearing from you. I didn’t do anything that other people wouldn’t do, who had the means. I know you like to make music like I do, I can see it in your eyes. I didn’t have to work to get my guitars my Uncles and my Grandfather gave me two wonderful guitars. They also took time to teach me to play like they play. I am glad that I can share my music with you. Keep up the good work.
God willing I will be there on Tuesday, I really love playing with Jeffery, Wee Willy and Leo.
Angel O:-)
p.s. Thank you for the idea of that emoticon. I know it means angel, but I never thought to use it.
Chapter 26
The next day Angel got an hour and a half of practice in using both of her guitars, while her cousins danced. Sierra and Nevada then got her to put on one of their Flamenco skirts, and shoe before handing her a pair of castanets. They played a CD that they used to practice and took turns dancing with her. She was hardly a novice, but the girls worked her hard to improve her dancing.
They giggled when Angel missed the floor a couple of times with her toe taps. As absurd as that sounds, it actually happens quite often to dancers who are learning to tap rapidly. Her castanet play was good, but not as good as her guitar play was. Her form in the dance was basically correct most of the time, but she lacked the attitude that female Flamenco dancers generally show as they dance. Flamenco dancers put a lot of attitude into the dance as they stomp and sashay around. The women’s movements shout femininity. Angel actually was getting better, but she had a long way to go.
After their dancing the girls got out their teen magazines and went over them with Angel. They asked what she thought about this article or that story and then told her how various girls might think about what was covered. Having read every page in the five magazines she had bought, Angel had no problems talking with her cousins. She asked why girls did certain things and why they reacted in a certain manner to this and that, the twins answered as best they could.
Early Saturday the phone rang in the Santiago residence. Aunt Carmine answered it and after a few words were spoken passed the phone to Angel.
“Hello,” Angel said.
“Hello Angel this is Joyce Drummond. I am to be your new music teacher.
Joyce Drummond had a strong voice in the upper registers. Her voice had an ageless quality that seemed to be between twenty and forty; Angel just couldn’t nail it down. It was a perfect voice for a woman in a position of authority.
“Uncle Javier said he was going to get me a new teacher.”
“Yes he called me on Thursday and asked me to take you on as a student. I am still considering whether I will or not. He also told me that you are very good at playing the guitar.”
“Yes, I guess I am, but there is always room to improve.”
“I like that attitude Angel, you are right there is always room to improve. Now I just want to confirm what I was told. You are fourteen right?”
“Yes, I will be fifteen in September.”
“How long have you been playing the guitar?”
“For almost five years.”
“How often and how long do you practice?”
“Everyday for a minimum of an hour, usually an hour and a half to two hours, depending on the circumstances.”
“Good are you doing anything tomorrow, say around three?”
“Let me check,” Angel said. She turned to her Aunt and asked.
“No Angel, three is fine for us tomorrow.”
“We are free tomorrow Ms. Drummond.”
“Good and that is Mrs. Drummond. How well can you read a music score?”
“Not all that well, I can take sheet music and with time figure the piece out, but I can’t just pick up the score from a new song and just play it well.”
“Can you play a piano?”
“I can’t play well, I sometimes use a piano to work out an unfamiliar score. I do know all the keys on a piano and I have memorized the frequencies of the keys.”
“Really,” Joyce said. The she asked Angel the frequencies of about a dozen keys, which Angel answered correctly. “Why do you know the frequencies of all the piano keys?”
“I don’t know, I once saw a chart of piano and guitar frequencies. I thought it could help so I took a couple of weeks one summer to memorize it. It is helpful to me in tuning up.”
“Do you have perfect pitch?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay we will check you out tomorrow.”
“Okay I am looking forward to meeting you.”
“I want you to start warming up at two thirty, okay.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Bye.
“Bye.”
Two hours later Angel received a letter from Christie’s Auction house. Inside a 9 by 12 inch envelope was a twenty page document and two cover letters. The cover sheet boiled down what the document concluded. The first section set out a detailed provenance for the guitar, from the ancestor who first purchased the guitar, in October of 1879 in the city of Almeria, Spain, down through the various relatives who had owned the guitar. Angel was amazed that the line of ownership was more inclusive than what her grandfather had remembered.
The next section dealt with research on the guitar itself. It covered forty five criteria from the materials; the woods used, the various finishes, the construction, the appearance and the tonal qualities of the instrument.
The next section compared the guitar with six known Antonio De Torres guitars; by size, shape, materials used and appearance.
The last section of the cover letter contained the conclusions of the researchers. Three hundred and seventy two words of the cover letter came down to the last two sentences of the document.
The guitar presented to our research department was consistent in every way with an Antonio De Torres guitar. Therefore we are confident enough to Vet that instrument as authentic and issue this provenance as an Antonio De Torres guitar.
The cover sheet was signed by Michael Dunn Appraiser and by each of the scientists and researchers who worked on the enclosed document.
Angel felt a lot of trepidation about what was to become of her guitar. She was afraid that it would be taken away and locked up, but she knew that she had to talk to her Mom and the old men.
Angel’s woes became true after she talked to her Mom, uncles and grandfather. The cost of insuring the instrument was too high to store the instrument at her or Aunt Carmine’s home. They weren’t taking the guitar away from her, but for her safety and the safety of the guitar, it had to be locked up. She was happy to hear that Leo’s did have a bonded secure storage for musical instruments. She was to take her guitar to Leo’s on Monday and lock it up. Till Angel was eighteen she would need to have an adult with her to sign it out. She would also have to notify the insurance company before she retrieved it and when it was returned.
Chapter 27
Sunday after church and lunch, Angel began to warm up on her new guitar. She began with some of her simpler pieces to loosen up. Her fingers glided effortlessly across the strings that sang as she plucked and strummed them. She was in a world of her own as she went on to some of her more complex pieces across the many genres of music she knew. Her Aunt and Cousins just watched in awe as she played.
She was playing Recuerdos De La Alhambra when the doorbell rang.
“Keep playing Angel, I just love that music,” Carmen said, as she got up to answer the door.
Carmine opened the door to a woman who looked to be in her late twenties, early thirties. She appeared to be very professional in her appearance. She was around five foot six and a hundred and thirty pounds. She had blonde hair in a bun, fair complexion, hazel eyes and a tight smile. She was dressed in a black skirted suit, a simple white blouse, off black hosiery and black low heel pumps. She had a black purse, a black satchel and was pulling a long case on its wheels.
“Hello I am Carmen Santiago; I take it that you are Joyce Drummond.”
“Yes Mrs. Santiago, I am Joyce Drummond. I am here to evaluate whether I want to teach Angel.”
“Please come in, and please call me Carmine.”
“Thank you.”
Joyce followed Carmine to where Angle and her cousins were. Angel was just playing the last notes of Recuerdos De La Alhambra.
“That was very nice. You must be Angel Marquez,” Joyce said. “I am Joyce Drummond, and who might these two beauties be.”
“Mrs. Drummond this is my cousin Sierra and my cousin Nevada Santiago.” Angel said.
“It’s nice to meet you girls”
“Nice to meet you Mrs. Drummond,” They both said.
“Can we have a little privacy, please?”
Sierra and Nevada both got up and went into the living room. Joyce set her things down on the kitchen table and open the case she had been dragging. Inside was a Roland Fantom G8 keyboard. She set it up on the kitchen table.
“Angel I must admit, that I don’t play the guitar, but I am very accomplished on the keyboard and in music theory. I am not certain about how I may be of assistance but we shall see. Now play me your most challenging and eclectic music, till I say stop.”
Angel started by playing several Flamenco pieces, Spanish guitar, Classical, Jazz and Rock pieces.
“Ok, that is enough for now; I see that you really are a very advanced guitarist.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have a music list?”
“Yes ma’am, Mrs. Drummond.” Angel went to her room and wheeled out a dolly with two boxes and a 2 inch ring binder. She handed the ring binder to Joyce and said. “This is my music list. I have it sorted alphabetically, by title, author and by genre. The boxes contain my music books and sheet music.”
Joyce looked over the binder.
“You have a strange collection of music, Angel.”
“Yes ma’am, I have five teachers and each has his own favorites.”
“Who are your other teachers?”
“My Grandfather Fernando Ramos, Uncle Javier Ramos and Uncle Rolando Ramos teach me Spanish, Flamenco and classical music. Pedro Aguilar and Ricky Montez teach me Jazz, classical and rock.”
“I have heard of Pedro Aguilar and Ricky Montez, before.”
“Yes, they played for several rock groups in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. They also did set work in Nashville, Detroit and LA,”
“Okay now I am going to check your ability to discern notes? See if you can identify the notes I am playing.”
Joyce stood in front of her keyboard and played a couple of dozen notes. Angel identified the notes by key number, note and frequency, such as key 49-A4-440hz, key 20-E2-82.4069hz and key 67-d#6-1244.51hz. She turned a dial on her keyboard that skewed the pitch slightly and played middle C.
“That is key 40-C4 but the note is a little sharp. It is between C4 and C#4, but closer to C4.”
“Very good Angel, you seem to have perfect pitch. Now let’s see how well you read music.” Joyce reached into her satchel and pulled out a sheet of music, handing it to Angel.
The sheet of music did not have a title, and she didn’t recognize it. It had four parts, violin, violin, viola and cello. “May I write on this sheet Mrs. Drummond?”
“Yes you may.”
Angel got a ruler and a pencil and began figuring out the chords for the score. It took her about ten minutes to do that, and then she began to mentally compose a part for the classical guitar. She took her guitar and began to play bits of the piece and make adjustments. After about thirty minutes she played it through a couple of times working on the chord progressions.
“Okay I think I have got it,” Angel said, and she played it.
The piece was baroque and not unlike many of the pieces Angel played. She liked the way it sounded to her.
“That was very good Angel, did you like the piece?”
“Yes it is like a lot of my classical pieces.”
Joyce and Angle did a post mortem on the piece, and they talked about the piece. Joyce played the tune on her keyboard as Angel played it on her guitar. Joyce would stop and either make a change here and there or have Angel make a change, before they would continue. They then played the tune all the ways through with Joyce recording on her synthesizer.
“Who wrote that piece Mrs. Drummond?”
“I did, as a part of my studies at college.”
“Do you play any string instruments?”
“I play the violin some, but not as well as the piano. You don’t have to play an instrument to be able to compose for it, sometimes it helps, but it isn’t a requirement.”
“Now I will play a few pieces from your list, try to compliment rather than lead.”
Angel was use to being the lead and she had to work at playing with Joyce. They played Minuet in G, Prelude in C minor, Fur Elise, and Paganini’s Caprice no. 24.
“You follow pretty good, now lead on Classical Gas.”
Angel was surprise at the way they sounded together. She had never played that piece with accompaniment before. The piano gave it a whole new dimension although the guitar was still the star. When she finished that piece, Angel just smiled and continued into Bohemian Rhapsody. Within a few notes Joyce was playing along with her.
“Well, I see what we need to do; first you really need to learn to read music faster, you did well for the most part, but not nearly good enough. We need for you to learn to play with other instruments, and expand your repertoire. I have twelve simple scores, I want to you to practice playing without taking time to work them out first. Learn to play while you read.”
Chapter 28
Monday Carmine traded a weekend with her boss to get today off. She would work Saturday and Sunday for Monday and Tuesday. At ten that morning she headed to the Mall with Angel and her daughters. Angel reluctantly opened the safe and took out her beloved guitar, leaving her new guitar still there. Together they headed to Leo’s at the mall.
“Hello Angel,” Leo said as the four ladies entered his shop, “and hello Mrs. Santiago, Sierra and Nevada. What can I do for you ladies?”
“I understand that you have a bonded secure storage for musical instruments,” Carmine said. “It appears that we are in need of your services.”
“Oh yes, I was kind of expecting that, come with me back to the office.”
Back in his office he offered Carmen and Angel a seat while Sierra and Nevada were checking out the store.
“Now I suppose you need a locker big enough for your guitar is that right Angel,”
“Yes sir, Leo the insurance cost was too prohibitive for me to keep the instrument at my home.” Angel stated.
“Which insurance company did you go with?”
Carmen supplied him with the name of the company.
“I hate not having my guitar at my side, but I know it will be safer here than with me carrying it around.”
“The company wants notification of when we deposit the guitar in your vault and when we remove it for any reason,” Carmen said.
“Okay storage is one twenty five a year. My vault is climate controlled and extremely secure. I will make notifications when necessary. I need the signatures from Angel and an adult. Any additions to the authorized lessees will need to come here with the same signatory that signed the original leaser.”
Leo spent the next five minutes talking terms with Carmen Santiago. The three of them then signed the lease. Angel would not be able to take the guitar out of storage without an adult signatory present till she reaches the age of eighteen.
“Okay let’s lock this baby up,” Leo said.
Angel and Carmen followed Leo out of his office and through a door on the other side. After he shut and locked the door he led them around the corner. They were surprised to see an eight foot steel vault door.
“What was this place, a bank,” Angel asked.
“You’re pretty sharp young lady. Yes before I moved my store here this place was a bank. They went out of business before construction ended. The Mall management tried everyway they knew to get another bank in here, but you just don’t see many banks inside of Malls anywhere. I have a fifteen by twenty foot vault. It is time locked from eight to three seven days a week. You can pick your instrument up anytime within those hours, outside of that I need twenty four hour notice to be able to have the vaults opened for you.”
Leo opened the large vault door and to one side was a key box to the other was a small room. Leo checked one key out.
“All the doors are double locked like a safe deposit box, but the boxes are a lot larger. If you want to check your instrument out first use the side room. When you are ready come on out. I suggest you loosen or remove the strings for long term storage in there.”
Angel took her guitar into the room and loosened the strings till there was no tension. She then wiped down the instrument and carefully placed it in its case.
Together they headed to her locker and locked up her guitar.
“You know I hate you a little for this don’t you. I was blissfully playing an enormously rare instrument till I met you.”
“I know Angel, but it was too much risk for a person to carry it around. There are too few instruments made by the masters around these days. I hope that you will forgive me.”
“I do, but it still hurts.” Angel appreciated that Leo said person instead of child.
Chapter 29
Tuesday Angel met Janice in the park. She didn’t play to the crowds this time but sat on the grass playing with and teaching Janice to play the guitar, while Sierra and Nevada just sat around listening to the girls play.
“I don’t think that I will ever be as good as you Angel,” Janice said in frustration.
“Sure you can be, if you want to and try hard enough. You already play pretty good for a beginner. I am sure that you can learn.”
“How did you get so good? You could be playing professionally, I think.”
“I don’ think that I am quite that good, but I had a lot of very good teachers helping me learn. My grandfather and great uncles were driven so to speak to teach me. So I just found myself driven to be the best guitarist I could be.”
“You are that good; you must have spent your whole life practicing. Do you still have any time for your friends?”
“I… I don’t have many friends… I have always had a hard time making friends. Except for my cousins, I would be lost with them.”
“I can’t believe that, you seem so bubbly and outgoing to me.”
“I… I have to admit, I have changed a lot,” Angel said. ‘Boy have I changed,’ she thought.
“Well if this is the new you, I hope you never go back to the old you. I hope that you can call me a friend.”
“You are Janice, I like you.”
It got hot really early that day so the girls headed to Mall early. They dropped their guitars off at Leo’s and headed to the food court at about eleven thirty. Angel was amazed at how well her cousins fell in with Janice. She amazed herself even at how open she was with this girl.
It took them about thirty minutes to make it to the food court as they window shopped on the way. Many of the stores had their holiday displays in their windows and they all had to stop and look at them as they moved through the Mall.
They all stopped at the pizza shop and got a slice, a salad and a drink. They happily talked about this and that as they ate and watched all the people come and go. That is until they heard.
“Girls, I can’t believe that you would sit down and have lunch with that thing!”
The girls turned and saw Lisa Caldwell coming in their direction.
“Ya’ll get away from ‘IT’,” Lisa all but shouted.
“What are you talking about, Lisa!?!” Sierra said, as she stood and stepped in between Lisa and the rest of them.
“That thing is a lie, that thing is not a girl,” She said, pointing toward Janice.
“For that matter, I am not so sure about YOU,” Nevada yelled back to Lisa.
“Why you bitch,” Lisa shouted, at Nevada.
“No, you got it wrong; you are the only bitch around here!” Angel shouted back at her. “So just get your ass in gear and get on out of here!”
Lisa began to cower as Angel and her cousins got in her face. She could see the murderous gazes in their eyes and began to back away.
“We’ll just see about this.” Lisa said, before turning away and leaving.
The girls turned back to find Janice with her head on the table crying. “I am so sorry about all of this. You must hate me now.”
“Why would we hate you? It’s that bitch Lisa that we hate,” Angel said. “She is just a spoiled rotten bitch.”
Janice then began to speak softly, “But it’s true. I am a freak.”
“What are you some sort of mass murderer, rapist or terrorist?” Angel asked.
“No, I am a boy, who wants to be a girl.”
“You look like a girl, talk like a girl and think like a girl,” Nevada said. “So in my book you are a girl.”
Sierra agreed with her whole heartedly.
Angel started to confess to Janice, but looks from her cousins stopped her.
“Janice, you are more of a girl, than that Lisa Caldwell is,” Angel said. “Just live your life like you feel you should.”
Sierra took off as Angel and Nevada helped get up and head to the ladies room. Once they were there Angel just held Janice till she stopped crying.
“Pull yourself together, Janice,” Angel whispered into her ear. “You aren’t the only girl who is different and you won’t be the last.”
“Why are you helping me? Didn’t you hear, I am a freak.”
“You look alright to me. Now clean up your face.”
Janice wiped her face, and Nevada helped her with her makeup. Sierra called Angel and said that Lisa was coming back with security. They hurried up and were back at their table before security got there. The three of them were all acting natural when security arrived and walked past us.
“There is the pervert,” Lisa shouted to security.
They stopped and looked incredulously at Angel, Nevada and Janice.
“You are kidding Ma’am. It is a crime to make a false report.”
“The brown haired thing there is a boy and a pervert.”
“I only see three girls sitting there and having a meal. Just what was she doing that could be considered offensive?”
“It just being here is offensive to me.”
“Ma’am I am going to have to ask you to come with us.”
Janice started to get up, but the security team took Lisa by the arm and began to escort her away.
Another of the security team approached the girls and said, “I want to apologize for our intrusion. We have had problems with perverts in the past and we take all such reports seriously. The Mall doesn’t care if people are transgendered or otherwise as long as they act appropriately and I am not about to ask if anybody is transgendered, so please accept our apologies.”
Ten minutes later Sierra joined them. “They took Lisa to the security office and after about five minutes they escorted her out of the Mall. I heard them tell her not to come back to the Mall for six months or they would file trespassing charges on her. She was cussing and bitching all the way,” She said giggling.
Angel filled in Sierra on what had happened here.
“You mean you guys don’t care that I may not be a girl.”
“Why should we?” Sierra said. “You look like a girl to me, and even if you are, what did you say Angel, transgendered, you have a right to be who you are or should be. You are certainly a better girl than that Lisa Caldwell.”
“You are our friend, Janice,” Angel said to her, holding her hand.
“Yeah and now you are on the top of the list of our friends,” Nevada said giggling. “I would have paid big bucks to see that Lisa kicked in the pants.”
“Unfortunately they just escorted her to the door. I wanted to kick her ass,” Sierra said.
“And yo… you… don’t care.”
“Why should we? Are you going to attack us or something?” Angel asked.
“No… no… you are my friends.”
“Ok, let’s go play,” Angel said.
There was a big crowd waiting at Leo’s that day. Word about Angel had spread like wild fire.
“Damn, I am going to have to get permission from the mall to move this jam session to the stage we have in the mall next week. The Mall manager loves our sessions. She said that the other stores have reported that before and after our jam sessions, sales at the mall go up.”
The mall had a stage area next to the food court, where they held community plays and free concerts.
Angel sold seven guitars that day, one after she had just tuned it up. Angel had to revert to her own guitar, when Dave asked for that guitar; Angel looked crossly at him and said, “Not on your life, Dave. This is my guitar. Death to anyone who tries to take it,” hugging her guitar to her chest. Dave walked away shaking, her look had really scared him and left the band laughing.
They did a few easy songs and Janice joined in on them, along with several other people. They even had someone join them on a keyboard, another played a trumpet and the twins played their castanets. Angel played a few more of her Spanish pieces than usual. The twins did their dancing at the back, which got the crowd clapping.
After they finished playing, the girls found Carmine and Rita waiting for them at the front of the store. Angel told Janet not to say anything about what had happened yet, as they went to greet them.
“Wow, all of you really are as talented as my daughter has told me,” Rita said, as the girls got to the front.
“Oh Mrs. Fletcher, hello,” Angel said. “Aunt Carmine, this is Rita Fletcher. Mrs. Fletcher, this is my Aunt Carmine Santiago and the twins Mother.”
“Hello Mrs. Santiago, it is so nice meeting you. You have such a talented family.”
“Please call me Carmine, yes they are talented, especially Angel.”
The adults talked about the show that was put on and Leo joined them. He handed Angel a check for two thousand dollars, after telling everybody about the guitars and things they had sold.
“I set a sales record today and not just for the guitars you sold Angel. Seriously, the mall manager wants us to play on the stage the week after next.”
“I can’t Leo,” Angel said. “I am going to have to visit the school I am starting this fall. I have to take exams and such. I don’t know when the next time I will be able to play.”
“Dang it,” Leo said laughing. “Well, give me a call, a week or two in advance and I will try to set something up.”
On the way home, the trio told Aunt Carmine what had happened at the Mall. She was surprised that Janice was like Angel, happy that Angel had not outed herself, incensed at what Lisa had done and she agreed with the girls about not making a scene at the music store.
“Please Angel, talk it over with your Mom or me before you tell anybody about yourself. I need to talk to Rita, do you have her number.”
Angel gave Aunt Carmine the Fletcher’s telephone number when they got home. She went to her bedroom and made a call.
Angel, with her cousins’ assistance, began to fix dinner.
Chapter 31
Friday evening, Angel had another lesson with Joyce Drummond. Joyce handed her a stack of new music to learn, none of the new sheets had chording. Joyce asked Angel to try not to manually chord them and to try to play them later. She wanted Angel to try to read and play the music. She then handed Angel another piece of music.
It was an untitled piece; Angel saw that it was written for guitar and piano. This sheet did have chording. Angel read the whole sheet of music before she picked up the guitar. It had the same feel as the classical music she loved. She played the line she would play in her head before she began to play her guitar. The piece had a short piano entry, but Angel just started with her part.
Joyce let her play it through a couple of times before she joined Angel in playing. There were several places where they played together, the guitar played a solo and where the piano soloed. They went through the piece three times. Angel and Joyce made some alterations at various points. The fingering was very complex for Angel and she found that she liked it. When Angel and Joyce were satisfied, Joyce added a mike to her workstation/keyboard for the guitar. After she played with the levels a bit, she recorded their music.
They played and recorded the piece twice. Stopping to listen to the tracks they had just recorded before playing it again.
“Well how did you like it, Angel?”
“I like it very much. You wrote this, didn’t you?”
“Yes I did. I got the idea from listening to you play. I wrote it to be especially challenging for you.”
“It wasn’t easy, and I know I can improve the way I play it, but I really like it. It’s a very good piece of music. I would give you an A+,” Angel said, teasing Mrs. Drummond.
“Well this is the first time that I have been graded by a student and I think it is an honor.” She said smiling at Angel. “I have copied several tracks on this CD. Track one is just the piano, so you can play the guitar to it. Tracks two and three are what we recorded today. Use that to practice your guitar part. You can keep that sheet music, but don’t publish it. It is a work in progress and yet to be copyrighted, although I did send a copy to myself by registered mail.”
“I really liked the way the guitar and keyboard worked together to compliment and challenge each other.”
Joyce handed the CD to Angel.
Angel and Joyce worked together for about a half an hour more, before they called it quits. Angel told her about her having to go to her new school for tests. Joyce made some notes on her PDA.
The next morning, the last day of June, the house was a bee hive of activity. Today was the day Margarita would be coming home. Uncle Javier and Grandfather Fernando were already here. They were expecting Rolando shortly and a few other cousins would soon be here. Margarita wasn’t expected till about three in the afternoon.
Carmine and Esmeralda Cortez, a third, or fourth cousin, (Angel would really need a family tree to figure it out) were in the kitchen preparing a feast. When those two were busy in the kitchen, there wasn’t a man alive that would get in their way.
Uncle Rolando, with several other cousins, arrived with two cases of Spanish wine. Sierra, Nevada and Angel had the kids (eleven kids, between three and twelve, at last count) corralled in the backyard and kept them busy and out of everybody else’s hair. Soon there were about thirty people counting the children.
Javier and Fernando had all the cars moved around the corner and out of the way. This was really going to be one big surprise party.
Finally Sierra and Nevada were told to get all the kids out of sight of the door. All of the adults went back into the bedrooms and garage. Angel sat in the recliner, reading a magazine and was told to react coolly to her mother, while Sierra and Nevada were playing with a ball in the back yard. Carmine was in the kitchen cooking.
The front door opened and Margarita entered the house.
“Hello everybody, I am home,” Margarita said.
“Oh hi Mom,” Angel said, barley looking up from the magazine. “Aunt Carmine, Mom is here.”
“Gee, has everybody forgotten about me,” Margarita said, somewhat dejectedly.
Carmine stuck her head around the door and said, “Oh, hi Sis, dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes.”
“Gee, don’t anyone break a sweat welcoming me.”
Margarita barely got the word me out of her mouth, when people came flooding in shouting,“ Congratulations!”. Angel jumped up and ran to her Mom and hugged her.
Margarita jumped in surprise and almost broke down in tears as everybody came over to give her hugs and kisses. The fiesta then began in earnest. There was food, wine, music and dancing till almost ten pm, when things quieted down a bit, but the last of the people didn’t leave till almost midnight. Javier, Rolando and Fernando took a taxi to the hotel Carmine worked, as they would be in town for another week. There had been quite a few that had taken taxis to nearby hotels, because they were unfit to drive.
Angel had to help her Mom get to Aunt Carmine’s room, while the twins helped their Mom.
Sierra and Nevada wanted to head for bed, but Angel enlisted their help to clean up a bit. It was close to two in the morning when they all got to bed.
Chapter 32
Angel was the first up on Sunday, at about seven that morning. The sound of heavy snoring reverberated the walls. She dressed in her robes and went to the kitchen. She was glad that she and the twins had spent the extra time cleaning last night. She unloaded the dishwasher, finished cleaning up and taking out the trash.
The twins didn’t stir till about eight thirty; they drug themselves into the kitchen. Angel made them breakfast and they seemed to perk up as they were eating.
Carmine and Margarita both got up at about eleven thirty, mostly out of necessity. Angel made them both a Virgin Mary mixed with a raw egg (tomato juice, salt, pepper, lemon juice, celery stalk, dash of tobasco). Both of the adults came into the kitchen and sat gingerly.
“Oh God, how much did I drink yesterday,” Margarita asked.
“About as much as I did.” Carmine said.
“Remind me not to let Uncle Javier be in charge of filling our glasses next time.”
“You got it, Sis.”
Margarita almost choked on her drink, “God Angel, what did you put in these drinks.”
Angel told them what they were made of, “Now just drink them up and don’t complain. You did this to yourselves,” she said, giggling as she gave them each a couple of extra strength acetaminophen, a couple of chewable vitamin C, and a couple of ginseng capsules. She then made them each a cup of green tea.
The girls kept the hot tea flowing for about an hour and a half. Angel tended to her Mom, as the twins helped their Mom. About two that afternoon, the two women began to perk up a bit.
“Angel, where did you learn to make that horrid concoction?” Margarita asked.
“On the internet. I looked it up this morning,” she said, a little too cheerfully. “It is supposed to help you recover from your hangover. I didn’t get a chance to say it yesterday, but it is so good seeing you, again.”
“I was beginning to wonder, after I walked in the door, yesterday.”
“It was all Uncle Javier’s idea, Mom.”
“Yeah and he also got me drunk.”
“You just need to loosen up a bit, every now and then.”
“We missed church today?”
“Yep, but don’t worry too much about it, I don’t think anybody from the party made it.”
About five that afternoon there was a small group of people, much more subdued than the previous day, assembled in Carmine’s house. They were the ‘Old Men’ and a few of the other family musicians. They were putting Angel through the paces. One or another of them would call out the name of a piece of music and Angel would play it for them while they critiqued her.
Finally she said, “I have a piece that I want you all to hear. It doesn’t have a name yet. Mrs. Drummond wrote it.” Angel said, inserting a CD into the stereo.
Javier explained who Mrs. Drummond was, while Angel set things up. When she was ready she nodded to Sierra, who hit the play button on the CD player.
Angel waited for her cue and began to play. The whole piece lasted for five minutes and twenty three seconds. She was lost in the music, and had a wonderful smile on her face. The music faded to nothing and the people sat in silence for several seconds, before they erupted in applause.
“That piece has several rough spots, but overall, I think it is a marvelous piece of music,” Julio Dominguez said.
“Yes it is Julio, I think we made a good choice with Mrs. Drummond, did we not Angel?”
“Yes, I like her. She is still working on that music, Uncle Javier.”
“How often do you practice and for how long?” Rita Dominguez, Julio’s wife asked.
“Everyday for an hour and a half, to two hours. I also play every Tuesday with Leo Granger; he has a jam session at his music store. It helps him sell his Music instruments. I have helped him sell about forty-five thousand in guitars this month.”
“Just you and Leo playing?” Uncle Rolando asked.
“No, Leo plays the drums. Jeffery Wilkins, plays an electric guitar and Wee Willy Jenkins, plays an electric bass. The girls have also danced and played their castanets there too.”
“That is where you have stored your guitar, is it not?” Uncle Javier asked.
“Yes sir. I love playing with those guys. The Mall wants me to play a mini concert there for them, but I won’t have time after Friday.”
“Is the shop open on Sunday?” Uncle Javier asked.
“Yes sir, for about an hour more,” Angel said, checking her watch.
“Call him and let me talk to him.”
Monday, Angel had her nails worked on at the Mall, Susan did them like Angel requested, without question this time. She rewrapped the nails on the right hand and just filled in the nails on her left.
Tuesday, she and the girls dressed in their costumes, as their Mom’s did. Carmine drove them to the Mall, where they met the rest of the family. They caused quite a stir as they walked in the mall carrying their instruments into Leo’s.
Leo Granger was all smiles as he saw Angel come in. “Welcome to my store,” Leo said.
Angel made all of the introductions to Leo and told him what instrument they would be playing. Julio played the trumpet, Rita played the keyboard and Carlos played the violin.
They all checked the store out. They were pleased with the quality of the instruments they found. There were your basic starter instruments to some very high end instruments.
“Angel, you never told me that Leo knew Pedro Aguilar,” Uncle Rolando said.
“I didn’t know he did.”
“Look at the picture here.”
“I didn’t notice the picture before,” Angel said, as she looked. “Is that Jerry Garcia he is standing next to?”
“Yes it is,” Leo said. “We did some set work with the Grateful Dead back in Nashville.”
“We would like to get the Torres guitar out, Leo,” Javier said. “Angel will be playing that today and thank you for your good eyes. It made us all check out our instruments. Rolando and I are both playing Jose Ramirez guitars and didn’t know their value.”
Leo, Angel and Carmine all went to the vault and retrieved the guitar. Leo also called security for an escort.
Leo introduced the act as the Ramos family and Angel was tasked with introducing the individuals on stage. They did two sets of about an hour and a half each. Angel, against her wishes, was solo for about half the first show. The twins and their Moms danced at various times during the show. The first half of the show featured a lot of their Spanish music and classical pieces.
After a short break, Angel did the second set with Leo, Jeffery and Wee Willy. It consisted of a lot of the oldies rock she knew. Angel just had to finish with ‘Little Willy’, she surprised them, but after they heard Angel sing ‘North side, East side, Little Willy, Willy wears the crown,” they knew what to expect. Willy, playing the bass, acted and danced, wearing a silly grin. Angel had the crowd singing the last three choruses with her.
The applause was deafening, as the crowd cheered them on. Angel had never played for such a large crowd, but she loved every minute of it.
The crowd had started out pretty thin, only about fifty people, but it didn’t take very long for the crowd to grow. By the end of the show, it was standing room only, about seven hundred people. The Old Men were very pleased with the show.
The first person to greet her when she left the stage was Janice and Rita. Janice almost leapt into her arms and the two of them hugged.
“Wow Angel, that was magnificent, marvelous, wonderful, like the best,” she said, jumping up and down.
“Calm down girl, it wasn’t that great.”
Janice put both hands on her hips and leaned toward her friend, “Oh yes it was and I won’t hear it from you that it wasn’t.”
“Alright I give up.”
Angel introduced Janice to the rest of her family. Each one got a hug from this rambunctious young lady. She then introduced her mother.
Their little get together was interrupted by a Lady in a business suit and Leo.
“Hello, I am Adele Williams; I am the manager for West View Mall. I want to thank you Angel for agreeing to play for us today. I only wished we had a couple of weeks notice.”
“I am sorry, everything was so spur of the moment, this was all Uncle Javier’s idea.”
“Well thank him for me and here is your check.”
“Check, what check?”
“The check for your performance, silly.” Ms Williams said, handing Angel a check.
“TWO THOUSAND five hundred dollars,” Angel said mouth open, eyes as big as half dollars. “Mom, we need to split this with everybody,”
“You will do no such thing,” Uncle Rolando said, from behind her. “Put that money in the bank, my little girl.”
“Leo?”
“Don’t look at us, we loved playing with you. Put it in the bank like a good girl. I’ll take care of Jeffery and Willey.”
“You better; you owe each of us a case of Schlenkerla Urbock, pay up old man.” Jeffery said.
“I feel bad keeping it all.”
“They didn’t come to see us Angel,” Wee Willy said. “They can see us any Tuesday at Leo’s. These people came to see you. You are the star girl, so put the money in the bank.”
“Ok, Mom I need to put up the guitar.”
Rolando and Javier, who had gotten keys, handed Angel and Leo their guitars. Angel then placed all three of them into her locker. She turned to her Mom and said, “Mom, Janice is just like me, only she doesn’t know about me.”
“You’re kidding, that girl…”
“Yes, she is…”
“Well, don’t tell her for now.”
“Okay, why don’t you invite them to our home?”
“Good idea.”
Margarita went to talk to Rita and Janice, “Would you two like to come over to our house for dinner tonight?”
“Please Mom,” Janice said excitedly.
“Well…”
“Is there a Mr. Fletcher?”
“Yes but he is away rough necking on some oil rig, or another, eight or nine months a year. Summer is their busiest time of the year. Alright, we can come over for a bit.”
At Carmine’s home, the kids all went to the twins’ room and the ladies went to the kitchen.
“Gee, I just love your room,” Janice said. “Do all three of you stay in this room?”
“I have another room, but I prefer sleeping with my cousins. I am an only child and never knew what I was missing not having a brother or sister. Sierra and Nevada treat me like a sister.”
“I have an older brother, his name is Timothy, but he went away to college and got married.”
“If you don’t mind us asking, how long have you known you were different?” Sierra asked.
“No, I don’t mind, I consider you guys my friends. I have always been fascinated by girls clothing. When I was ten I started to ask Mom a lot of questions about girls. She was a little embarrassed at first, then opened up and we had some serious talks about boys and girls. Mom first asked me if I wanted to be a girl. I had to think about it for a couple of weeks. It all started to make sense to me; I did wish that I had been born a girl. Mom found a friend who knew more about it, he’s a psychologist. Together we talked it over. He suggested I experiment with it when I was eleven. I live as a girl right now all the time, except when Dad is around, but he is away most of the time now.”
“Your dad doesn’t like you dressing as a girl?” Angel asked.
“No he doesn’t. I think Mom would leave him if he didn’t send most of his checks home. I think he is fooling around when he is away.”
“Did he ever hit you?” Nevada asked.
“No, but he can scare the hell out of you with out touching you. My brother knows about me, but he just ignores me, which is kinda ok. He is ten years older than I am and I am thirteen now. I never played with, or talked with him much growing up. He was already out of the house when I started dressing as a girl.”
In the kitchen, a similar conversation was taking place.
“Rita, would you mind if I tell my sister what happened the other day at the mall?”
Rita looked a little frightened, but if Carmine and Angel accepted her daughter, she supposed that Margarita might accept her. “No, I guess I don’t mind.”
Carmine told her sister what happened at the mall. The girls didn’t tell her till they were on their way home. She had called Rita when she got home and they talked a bit about the situation.
“Who is that bitch, Lisa Caldwell?”
“She goes to my church, Sis. Her parents are big supporters at the church, but they are not well liked. They are all very opinionated and prejudiced. They almost left when some blacks and Hispanics joined our church. They probably consider us to be Mexicans.”
“You’re not Latin American?” Rita asked.
“No, we are Castilian, our roots come from OLD Spain. Mom and Dad came from the area around Madrid,” Margarita said.
“When did they come over?”
“Grandfather immigrated to the US around 1949; they lived there through the Spanish civil war and much of the recovery after WWII. In a way, Spain was punished worse for not choosing sides than Germany. Germany was well on its way to recovery by 1950, Spain didn’t begin to recover till 1953,”
“I didn’t know Spain had a civil war in the 1900’s.”
“Yes for two and half years beginning in 1936. It isn’t taught too much in the US.”
“So you don’t really mind about… You know about my Daughter.”
“Why should we? She is happy, I can tell that. She isn’t hurting anyone, is she? Angel and the mountain girls seem to like her,”
“Mountain Girls?”
“Yes Sierra and Nevada,” Carmine said.
“Oh that’s cute, I hadn’t thought about the Sierra Nevada Mountains.”
“Yeah it was cute; I hurt like hell having those two babies.”
“You love them, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, but it still hurt like hell.”
Chapter 33
The next few days went by in a whirl, that found Angel and her cousins getting ready to head to Sarah Adam’s Academy for Girls.
The Fourth of July had been fun for them Janice and her Mom had joined them for a barbecue; there had been games and other festivities that culminated in a spectacular fireworks display.
The next day the girls had to go shopping for some odds and ends for their stay at school the next week. You know what type things they needed, travel supplies of shampoo, conditioner, bath soap and such, along with some snacks in case they got hungry. They bought some new towels, bedding and pillows, the girls coordinated what they bought to what Angel had already bought.
Saturday the girls all packed their bags for the week. Angel was surprised at all of the luggage that three girls required for just a weeks stay. They would need to take both Carmine’s and Margarita’s cars to carry everything.
It was decided that the kids would ride with Margarita and Carmine would haul most of the stuff. They would leave after soon after the early Mass. They loaded the bulk of their luggage into Carmine’s station wagon that night.
It was hard for everyone to get up and look respectable leaving the house at seven am to catch the early Mass, but the girls did it. The sermon that day was living the righteous life, and was about how Christians should live their everyday lives. How can a Christian be a beacon in the darkness, when they treat sinners with hate? They can’t. Jesus didn’t rebuke the woman at the well. He didn’t cast the stone at the woman caught in adultery. The people he rebuked the hardest were the religious people who cheated and lorded themselves over the masses. He loved the humble spirit, the teachable soul and the downtrodden.
After church they picked up Carmine’s Car and headed out. It took about an hour and a half to get to Sarah Adam’s Academy for Girls, mostly due to all the twists and turns on country roads and due to the fact, that they had never been there before.
They were directed to park outside of the Admin bldg, where other older girls directed them to the Headmistress’s office.
The pack sat out in the waiting room for about ten minutes. Another family exited the office and two minutes later they were all invited in. A matronly woman of about fifty greeted them as they entered.
“Hello, I am Ethel Beckman, Headmistress of Sarah Adam’s Academy for girls. I want to welcome you all here today.”
“It’s nice to meet you Ms. Beckman,” Margarita said. “I am Margarita Delores Ramos-Marquez; this is my daughter Angel Louisa Marquez, my sister Carmine Estella Ramos-Santiago and her daughters Sierra Isabelle Santiago and Nevada Anita Santiago.”
“Well it is nice to meet all of you. All of you look so nice today. Please take a seat.”
They all sat in an area of the office that looked a lot like a living room rather than an office. There were two couches on either long side of a coffee table and a large comfy looking high back chair at either end.
“Would any of you like some coffee or tea?”
Carmine opted for coffee and the rest of them opted for tea. Ethel pushed a button on a remote and a senior student entered.
“Two coffees and four teas please Barbra.”
“Yes ma’am, Headmistress.”
Mrs. Beckman and the adults talked about the weather and such till, Barbra knocked and entered. She set a tray down on the coffee table and began dispensing the beverages. She then smiled before making her exit.
“Angel I was impressed by what all of your teachers have said about you, especially by what your Uncles and Grandfather have said about your musical abilities.”
“Thank you Ma’am, I try to keep them pleased with my progress.”
“I am sure you do, and listening to the recordings of you playing, I don’t think they exaggerated one thing about you.”
Angel didn’t recall anybody recording her except for Joyce.
“I also look forward to seeing how well your daughters do too, Mrs. Santiago. From what I heard from their teachers, they may be a couple of underachievers.”
Carmine looked at her daughters with only that look that mothers disappointed with their children seem to use.
“I have always suspected that they could do better than what they were accomplishing.”
The girls wilted a bit under their Mom’s gaze.
“We will get a better understanding of what they are capable of for you Mrs. Santiago. They are a year younger than what we accept, but we hope that they might be able to join us in the next class.”
“If I can work out the financial aspect, I may just enroll them here.”
“We have a lot of flexibility in that department and there may be scholarships available if they do well at their school this year.”
“We will test all three girls very thoroughly, I expect each of you to do your utmost to excel,” Ethel said, in a manner that sent chills up the girls’ spines.
They talked a bit more about the school and what would be happening over the next few days. Carmine and Margarita would then pick up their girls on Saturday after a luncheon and show.
The mothers were then given a map and directed to the cottage the girls would be staying. The caravan then drove around the campus to the indicated cottage. There were several senior girls there who assisted them in carrying their luggage to their cottage.
The cottages looked more like large homes rather than small dorms. The common room was an oversized living room that had an upright piano, four couches, a big screen TV, a stereo, a large kitchen and dinning room to one side and a laundry area to the other and five doors leading to rooms. One was the housemothers room the rest dorm rooms.
The girls and their mothers were greeted by Mrs. Sandra Westfall who appeared to be a cross of Marine DI and a younger grandmother.
“Hi I am Sandra Westfall, the girls will address me as Mrs. Westfall, but you parents may call me Sarah.”
“I am Margarita Marquez and this is my daughter Angel.”
“I am Carmine Santiago and these two are Sierra and Nevada Santiago. You can tell them apart by having them sign their names. Sierra is right handed and Nevada is left handed.”
“That is good to know,” Sandra said, as she gave the girls a ‘busted’ look. “I am sure that we shall have no problems from any of the girls at all.”
“Angel, Sierra and Nevada you will all share Room number two. If you should need to call home, just tell me and I may or may not approve. Just being home sick is not really a reason. Cell phones, if you have any, must be kept in your locked drawer in your rooms. Feel free to use them after dinner and before eight at night. Here are the keys to your rooms and drawers.”
“You will eat breakfast here at seven sharp and dinner here at six sharp. Lunch is in the cafeteria on campus, except on weekends. You are each expected to keep your rooms immaculate and beds will be made before breakfast. Skirts on campus, will be no more than two inches above the knee. If you need to check, just kneel next to that board,” Sandra said, indicating the board on the floor near the door. “If it doesn’t touch the board you need to fix it, or change. If a teacher has to ask you to check it in school, you are already busted. Skirt length is two demerits, ten demerits is a work punishment. Things from there get worse. Around the cottages, you can wear shorter skirts or shorts in the common room that we are in. You will be dressed when you leave your room, no robes only, out here.”
“No medications will be stored in the girls’ rooms, not even aspirin or Midol, except for certain asthma, or emergency meds. I will need to be notified first. Girls requiring regular meds will get them from me or from the nurse on campus, during the day.”
“You each have a hard wired connection to a desk top computer that we provide and a Wi-Fi connection to a laptop that you may provide, but all connections will go through my server. I control the content that passes through. If you need to search content that is not allowed through, I will check on it each time. Any software you want to add to our computer has to be approved by me. I have a list of pre-approved software and I can check out other software. Students can receive email; I will set up an account for each of you. This will be the only approved email account you may use while you are here. Again I will be responsible for the content.”
Margarita handed over a bottle of pills to Sandra and explained about them to her. She read the label and then logged them in.
Sandra went over a long list of rules before she let the girls go to their rooms.
The rooms were set up for four girls and were larger than they expected. There were four desks in room, four beds on one wall, four closets and a bathroom with two toilets, two showers a bathtub and two sinks.
The girls then began to put their room in order, while their mother talked to Sandra.
“Mom did have to squeal on us, Sierra,” she said.
“Yeah, why couldn’t we have been regular identical twins?”
“These rooms are nice,” Angel said. “I was expecting something plain and stark.”
“They are even better than a summer camp we went to,” Nevada said.
After about an hour and a half they had their beds made up and their room set up. Angel had her plushie guitar on her bed and her guitar next to her nightstand. Sierra and Nevada had their areas looking nice. They invited their mom’s in and Sandra came in too.
“Now this is how a room should look,” Sandra said.
“Mrs. Westfall, I’m not worried about it now, but when school starts, what about my guitar? It is very expensive.”
“Well, if you are concerned about it this fall, I can store it in my room. How expensive is it?”
“I am just guessing, my uncles didn’t tell me, but it is probably worth more than twelve thousand dollars.”
“Oh my, that is expensive. You may certainly store it in my room. Do you play well?” Sandra asked.
“She plays very well,” Margarita said.
“Well you can play while I fix dinner. You are staying for dinner?” Sandra asked Margarita and Carmine.
A couple of senior girls helped Sandra as she started on dinner. They took over as Sandra had to stop and welcome other girls and parents.
Angel just sat on a stool and played a whole range of melodies on her guitar to everyone’s appreciation.
“We appreciate our girls using their own talent to entertain, rather than TV or stereo, but we know they can’t do that everyday. So we have TV and a stereo.” Sandra said, as she worked in the kitchen. “Also we want our girls to keep up with current events on the news.”
“The girls are permitted to watch TV from after dinner till nine on from Sunday to Thursday and eleven on Friday and Saturday, if they spend the weekend on the grounds.”
There were eleven girls in the dorm and they were all there for testing. Five other parents were there for dinner. The seniors helped serve and ate their meals, before retiring to their own cottages.
After they said all their goodbyes, some tearful others not, the parents left. The kids gathered with Mrs. Westfall’s encouragement and introduced themselves to each other. All of the girls were either thirteen and going to be fourteen before school started, or fourteen, except for the twins. Sierra and Nevada were twelve, yet they held their own with the other girls. When it became Angel’s time to talk the girls that had heard her play all got very excited.
Angel gave her age and told them a little about herself. Afterwards, she was deluged with questions about her skills, how pretty her guitar was and could she teach them to play like that. Several also wanted to know more about her manga collection, as they also collected manga.
At about eight thirty, Mrs. Westfall broke in and said. “You will be in your rooms at nine pm, lights out at nine-thirty. Wake up alarm is at six in the morning. Breakfast will be at seven. Beds will be made up before breakfast and your rooms clean. You may have two room checks a week. A couple of senior girls will be by the dorm at eight, to pick you up and take you to where your tests will be held. Testing will be from eight-thirty to eleven thirty for scholastic classes and from one to five for other courses, including PE.”
A few minutes before nine, all the girls headed to their respective rooms. Angel and her cousins were in bed by nine-fifteen and talked for a few minutes before going to sleep in their own beds. Even the twins slept apart, because the beds were twin and too narrow to sleep two comfortably.
Chapter 34
At six in the morning sharp, the alarm went off. Angel rolled out of bed looking for the clock that rang for one minute. Apparently the alarm was integral to the bldg. The twins were slower waking, but they were awake before the alarm finished. Angel let them hit the toilets first and she went when Sierra finished. The girls took a quick shower and hurried to get dressed. They were all ready and had their beds made and their room sorted by seven. Breakfast was nice; they had a variety of choices, except for sugary cereals, much to the displeasure of many of the girls.
At seven fifty, the girls had an inspection. Mrs. Westfall found a few faults and had the girls correct it. When she got to Angel, she said. “You need to lose the fingernail polish.”
“I have to wear it. I have fiberglass wraps on my fingernails, because I keep breaking nails playing the guitar. Without the polish my nails look really funky,” she said, turning her nails over so Mrs. Westfall could inspect them.
“Oh dear, I need to talk to the head,” she said. “I will give you a temporary pass till I hear from Mrs. Beckman.”
A couple of senior girls appeared at eight and led the troop to the academic classroom they needed to be at. There was a computer keyboard and mouse at each seat. Ms Albertson entered the class room and introduced herself. She took roll and then passed out a sheet of paper with the girls’ name on it.
“These sheets of paper have our login procedure and your password. Your password changes on a daily basis. You will log on and begin taking the first test, when I say begin. You have one hour to take the test. All of the questions are multiple choice questions. Don’t worry, you won’t finish the test and don’t worry about how well you are doing. You may be getting quite a few wrong answers. Keep working till I say stop.”
She waited a few minutes and checked to see that everyone had logged on, before saying, “Begin.”
The first test was English, the first five questions were very easy, the second five were a little harder and the third five were harder yet. If a student answered only three correctly, the next set of questions were a little easier. It went back and forth when the student reached the level where they were fairly competent at. The computer encouraged the students to work as fast as they could. The more questions the students answered, the better idea the school would have of their skill.
Despite being told not to worry, most of the students were pretty frantic when the teacher called time. The students were given a raw score immediately and an estimate of their grade level. That eased the anxiety of some of the students and added to it for others.
Angel scored well above her grade level and she just smiled.
“Don’t worry about your scores; you wouldn’t be here if there was a question of your qualifications. This just gives us an idea of where you are in the subject. The next test will be math and it will begin in ten minutes. You may take a break, use the rest room, but be back in your seats in ten minutes. You may go now.”
The girls left the room and headed in several different directions, but they were all back in time. After math came the science test, and then lunch.
The girls were led to the cafeteria. The food looked and smelled better than the usual school cafeteria fare. Many students were disappointed though in that there was an absence of any high fat, high salt or high sugar foods.
While she was eating with her cousins and some girls they met, they talked about the tests and how they did on them. Angel had done better than the other girls at her table and the twins had done better than they thought they would.
Angel heard her name called by a girl. She stood and looked around and saw one of their escorts, calling her name. The girl smiled, approached her asking, “You are Angel Marquez right?”
“Yes I am.”
“Good, I am Mandy Coleman. Please come with me, the headmistress wants to see you.”
“Ok, Mandy, lead the way.”
In Mrs. Beckman’s office, Angel met the headmistress and a couple of other ladies.
“Miss Marquez, this is Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Delray. Mrs. Westfall called me and informed me about your fingernails. We need to see them, if you would please.”
“I had to get these fiberglass wraps,” Angel said. “My nails were constantly breaking. Since I have had these nails, my play has improved quite a bit. I can stop using polish, but my nails would look so bad.”
The ladies inspected both sides of Angel’s fingernails and agreed that her fingernails would look worse without the polish. They sent Angel outside so they could talk for a few minutes. When they called her back in they told her that they would reserve their judgment till they heard from her music teachers.
Mandy was waiting for her when she got out and said, “I understand that you have music next right.”
“Yes, but I need to go to the dorm to get my music and my guitar.”
The girls left and hurried to the dorm. Angle had three boxes on a dolly, which she grabbed and her guitar. Mandy then led her to the music bldg.
Angel first met with three teachers, Mrs. Cartwright, Mrs. Bloomington, and Ms Grogan, who played ‘hundred questions’ with her. They asked what she played, could she read music, did she play any other instruments besides the guitar, did she have her music with her and many other questions.
After they finished their questions, Angel was led to the rehearsal hall. They asked her to play five of her best pieces. Angel found a stool and sat down with her guitar. A girl came on stage and set up a mike for the guitar. There were five people she noted, before the stage lights came up and the house lights went down. She tuned up and warmed up a bit, before she began to play. She played Pachelbel Canon in D, Recuerdos de la Alhambra, Cavatina, Romance d’Amour and Paganini Caprice no. 24.
When she finished, she looked up, not seeing the audience. As the last notes faded away she was shocked by the applause. The house lights came up and she saw about forty five students and teachers in the rehearsal hall. She stood and bowed to the audience.
“Please play about ten more pieces, now and show us a variety of styles.” Angel heard from somewhere in the audience.
The house lights went down again as Angel sat down. She decided to play the pieces she loved the best. She sang with a couple of the songs, Hotel California, Green Sleeves and Scarborough Fair. She also played Bohemian Rhapsody, Classical Gas, Ave Maria, California Dreaming, Dock of the Bay, Minuet in G, Fur Elise, Bach Prelude BWV 997, Mediterranean Beauty, Stairway to Heaven, Fandangos and Malaqueňa. She got carried away and lost count of the songs she played.
When she finished this time she stood and bowed. The applause was deafening this time. The hall was full of students and teachers. About a hundred and fifty people were there. Angel had to bow three more times before she went over to her guitar case. The teacher and administrators came on stage as she was detuning her guitar and wiping it down. The administrators checked her nails again and saw the damage to the polish. They guessed that without the wraps her ability to play would be lessened and without the polish her nails would look bad.
One music teacher wanted to see her guitar. She opened the case and handed it to her. “My, this is a nice guitar. I never heard of Amara Verdad Cantu before, but your guitar has a wonderful voice,” Mrs. Cartwright said.
“She is a master luthier from Barcelona, Spain.”
“Is it new?”
“Yes it is, my uncles bought if for me this summer.”
“It must be a step up from your other guitar then.”
“Actually it was a step down for me. My other guitar is an Antonio de Torres guitar. The insurance was too expensive to bring it here. I had it appraised for many, many times what this guitar is worth. It is stored a vault now.”
Nobody there had actually heard of Antonio de Torres either at the time, but they soon would.
“Well there is no denying she has talent,” Ms Grogan said, to her colleagues. “We will also have her take voice this fall, I think. She sang very well, but she could use some training there.”
“Just as long as it doesn’t take away from her instrument, practice,” Mrs. Bloomington said.
“Yes, as good as her voice is, she is a maestro at the guitar,” Mrs. Cartwright said.
“We need to get her reading music and maybe get her into piano,” Ms Grogan said.
“It would be hard to get her into all those classes at the same time,” Mrs. Bloomington said.
Angel just stood there listening to the teachers talk as she put her guitar away again.
“I would like to see how well she plays with an orchestra and the choir.”
The teachers escorted Angel to a classroom and asked her to look at a piece of music.
“May I write on the sheet of music?” She asked
“Yes you may.” Ms Grogan said.
It wasn’t written for a guitar. She went through the piece and first found her chords. The second time through she began to formulate the notes that she would play. She went over to the keyboard in the classroom and began to pick it out on the keyboard.
“I thought you said that you couldn’t play any other instruments.”
“I can’t, this is as good as I get on a keyboard, but I do know all of the keys and frequencies of the keys.”
After about thirty minutes, Angel then picked up her guitar, tuned it and began picking out the song on the guitar. She went through it several times making several changes, before she was ready to play it.
She then played the music three times before she was satisfied with her efforts.
“I can have it down better in a couple of days, with practice.”
“You did well Angel. If you would let us have the sheet music, we would like to study what you did in more detail and seeing that it is so late, you may head back to your cottage.”
When Angel left the classroom, she was surprised to see a group of girls that were apparently waiting for her. One girl took her dolly and another tried to take her guitar.
”Ah no thank you, I am sorry but I will carry my guitar.”
“You were wonderful, Angel,” one girl said.
“We loved what you were doing,” another said.
“Which cottage are you staying in?”
“Mrs. Westfall’s”
“This way,”
Angel knew where her cottage was, but saw that these girls were determined to go with her. The girls were asking her all sorts of questions, from where she learned to play that well, did she have a boyfriend, what she thought of the school, was she really going to start here in the fall, how come she was wearing nail polish, to did she know any modern music.
Amy Spencer, a senior, got the girls to calm down a bit as they walked Angel to her dorm. Angel answered their questions as best she could, and got the girls talking to. She found out that when she went into the rehearsal hall a girl heard her playing and spread the word. In the music department, students are encouraged to attend the rehearsals of other students and they need no invitation.
Angel saw her cousins dressed in running shorts and t-shirts, with a pack of girls from their cottage, heading toward the cottage. She waved at them. They started to cross the grass but were stopped by the senior girl they were with.
“They have to use the sidewalk Angel. That is a major rule here; students can’t cut across the lawns,” Amy said.
They all met up at the cottage Angel and the twins went ahead in, but the rest of the girls rang the doorbell. Mrs. Westfall came to the door and said, “Well hello girls. What can I do for you today?”
“Hello Mrs. Westfall, the girls and I were wondering if we could come over after dinner?” Amy Spencer asked.
“Why certainly, it will be nice if you could join us after dinner.”
“Thank you, ma’am. See ya later Angel,” Amy said smiling and giving her a finger wave.
“What was that all about Angel,” Mrs. Westfall asked.
“I don’t know, I think they like my playing.”
“Ok get cleaned up for dinner Angel, and you two need to take a shower,” Mrs. Westfall said wrinkling her nose at the twins.
The girls were a little rowdy sitting around the dinner table. Mrs. Westfall gently, but firmly reined them in. She served her girls and then blessed the food. Several of the girls were famished, including the twins and started to eat with too much ‘Gusto’ Mrs. Westfall told the girls, “We eat like Ladies here. None of you are starving enough that you have to wolf down your food.”
She got them to slow down by getting them to talk with each other. They talked about the tests that they had taken that day. Many of the girls had a lot to say about their Coach, very little of it was complimentary.
“I have never exercised as hard as I did today,” one girl named Darla said.
“Yeah the coach drove us all too hard,” another girl name Gina said.
“Now girls, Coach Butler just wants to see what you are capable of, and to help you see what your potential is.”
“Yeah, but I am sore in places, I never knew I had,” Sierra said.
Mrs. Westfall smiled and said. “Well maybe it is good that you know you have those places and that they need exercise.”
The girls were all tasked helping with clean up, some washed dishes, some helped clean the kitchen, while the others cleaned the dinning room.
The girls had a few minutes to sit and relax before the door bell rang. Mrs. Westfall admitted Amy Spencer and six other girls. Many of the girls carried cases that held their instruments.
Angel greeted Amy, who introduced the girls with her to the girls in this cottage. The girls of the cottage introduced themselves.
“I suppose you want play your instruments,” Angel said.
“Yes, we heard you do some of the music we know, and thought we could have some fun playing together.”
“Let me get my guitar” Angel said. As she came back she said, “What songs do you know, that I play.”
“Well, I can play Classical Gas on my violin?” Amy said.
“Really, I never heard that before.”
The girls all tuned up together, with the assistance of a girl at the piano.
“Let me hear your version, Amy.”
Amy then put the violin up to her chin and began to play. Angel moved her fingers up and down the neck of her guitar in time to Amy’s play. When she finished, the two girls talked over how they would play together. They then began to play together, complimenting each other. Amy played a few measures and then Angel played a few, some parts they played together, each had identical solos and they had a big finish together.
The girls in the cottage applauded as the two finished. Amy and Angel gave each other a hug.
“What else do you know?”
“Well, we have a string quartet that does Bohemian Rhapsody. Everybody is here except the Cello player.”
“You girls lead and I will try to keep up with you.”
Two other girls stood, one with another violin and the other had a viola that was a little larger than a violin. This piece of music was a little harder for Angel to match up with, as there were a few differences between the arrangements they all knew. They gave it a second run through, which was much better. Again Angel was surprised at the way the music sounded with the different instruments.
They then did Pachelbel Canon in D, Minuet in G, a few other classical pieces that they were all familiar with. Angel then asked if any of the girls played piano. One girl volunteered, saying she did. Angel ran to her room and retrieved all the sheet music that her instructor had given her.
“This is a piece that was written for a string quartet. I adapted it to a classical guitar,” she said.
Amy and the two other girls crowded together to look at it. Amy took her violin and began playing it.
“I wish I could make copies, but it isn’t copyrighted yet. Mrs. Drummond sent herself a registered copy through the mail, but she is still working on it.”
“I like it, I can see where it needs work,” Amy said.
“Here is a piece she wrote for the piano and guitar.”
Amanda sat at the piano and began to play it slowly. Amy corrected her a time or two as she played. After a third play through, Angel joined Amanda.
“She is a good writer,” Amy said.
“Yes, she wants me to be able to read music better. I just can’t pick up a piece and play it on the guitar. I have to work it out.”
“That is why the page is all marked up, right Angel.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Tell her to get it copyrighted, I want copies.”
The students then sat down and talked with the girls in testing. The girls in this cottage had all kinds of questions about the testing and what school was like here.
Mrs. Westfall smiled at the girls. Having the older students visit with and talking to the girls looked like a good idea. She would have to talk to the administration about.
Amy checked her watch at about eight fifteen and said, “Come girls, it is time for us to head back to our cottages. Thank you Mrs. Westfall, for letting us come visit.
Chapter 35
The next day, testing went on in the morning, with three new subjects. There was less anxiety in the room now that the girls had a taste of the process.
In the afternoon, most of the girls returned to PE, where they were stretched and did some calisthenics, but instead of running this day, the Coach set part of them playing soccer and part of them playing softball.
The first day the Coach also spotted her key to tell the twins apart, she noted the birthmarks on their shoulders. The one identified as Sierra had a birthmark on her left and Nevada on her right.
Sierra and Nevada were separated by design. Sierra was sent to the soccer field while Nevada went to the softball field. They knew that twins usually spent a lot of time together and they wanted to see how they were apart from each other.
Sierra was good at some aspects of soccer, she could handle passes, pass and kick the ball well, she looked across the field for her teammates, but she didn’t have the stamina to be really good at the game, at this time.
Nevada did well in softball; she played first base, short stop and pitched a couple of innings. She was 2 for four, with 2 singles and scored once.
Both girls got along and played well with the other girls. They had 48 girls and eleven were like Sierra and Nevada, future prospects. Physically they were about even with the older girls.
Angel faced the music instructors again. They dissected her playlist, first narrowing it down to forty pieces, they considered master class and then they spent thirty minutes selecting twenty songs they wanted to hear Angel play.
“Angel,” Mrs. Cartwright said. “We want to record and video tape you playing these twenty pieces. Do you have any nice clothes suitable for a concert?”
“I have an Andalusian Curro Romero Skirt, Jacket and Vest in black,” Angel said. Then she spent a few minutes describing the individual pieces.
“That will have to do. Tomorrow and Thursday dress in that at lunch and then come here. In the meantime we want you to practice these pieces. We want you to play at your absolute best. Tomorrow you will play pieces one through ten and Thursday you will play eleven through twenty.”
One of the instructors sat down and asked her, “Which pieces, do you really need to work on?”
Angel looked at her list and was surprised to see Hotel California, Bohemian Rhapsody and Classical gas. She marked five of the pieces she hadn’t recently played. Two were on Wednesday’s list and three on Thursday’s list. Angel worked on them while Ms Grogan gave her advice and criticism. The pieces were hard, but Angel could do them, she just didn’t like them as much as some of her other pieces. Because she didn’t play them as much, she had to work hard on them.
Angel liked working with Ms Grogan. She may not have been a guitar teacher, but it was obvious that she knew her music. She pointed out the rough sections to Angel, who played them over and over till she got them right.
Angel played all five songs several times, after she had worked on them. Ms. Grogan began to smile brightly.
“Very good Angel, now play your list for tomorrow as listed, from first to last. Wait about ten seconds between pieces.”
Angel put the list up on the easel and began. It took forty two minutes and some seconds to play all ten.
“Very Good Angel, if you can play those two that you had problems with tonight a couple of times it will be great. It is about four thirty go ahead and head back to your cottage.”
“Thank you, Ms Grogan.”
Angel detuned the guitar, wiped it down and put it back in her case. She then headed back to her room. This time she didn’t have anybody waiting for her. She got back to her cottage first this day and went ahead and took her shower. She was drying off when the twins rushed in to take their showers.
At dinner, the girls talked about their days. There wasn’t as much grumbling about what they did this day. Angel was surprised that the twins had been separated in different games today. Both happily described what they had done. Angel told the girls what she did and was going to do.
“Today they went over my playlist and selected twenty of my most challenging pieces. There were five that I don’t play much because they aren’t my favorites. Wednesday and Thursday they are going to do a digital audio and video recording. I am going to have to come back here after lunch and change into my Andalusian Costume, before hurrying to the music department.”
“You must show us your costume after dinner,” Mrs. Westfall said.
“Do you mean for me to get dressed?”
“Heavens no, just show it to us on its hangers.”
After dinner, Angel went in her room and took her skirt, Jacket, vest and blouse, out of the garment bag. She then took them to the common room. All the girls made a fuss over the jacket and vest. They were both heavily embroidered. Mrs. Westfall raised an eyebrow in surprise and kept the girls back, so there would be no chance of them getting it dirty.
With a careful eye, she inspected Angel’s costume. It was made of superior material and the stitching and embroidering were first class. “What shoes are you wearing with this outfit Angel?”
“I have my Flamenco shoes.”
“With taps?”
“Yes,”
“Do you have any black pumps with heels?”
“With me no.”
“What size do you wear?”
“Sevens.”
“I will see what I can do? You don’t want the sharp sound of taps on a recording.”
Angel then said, with a giggle, “You reckon the skirt is long enough.”
Mrs. Westfall looked at the ankle length skirt, and with half a giggle said, “If there is any question, you can always kneel and check it. You do have pantyhose right.”
“Yes ma’am,”
“Good.”
Angel then took everything back to her room. She took her guitar and went out to the patio to play the pieces she had to work on. A couple of girls, besides her cousins, followed her out.
She played each piece three times, working hard to get them right. She then played the pieces for Wednesday again. The girls listened quietly as she practiced and didn’t applaud till she was putting her guitar away, which startled her.
“That was wonderful Angel,” a girl, whose name Angel thought was Debby said.
“Yeah, it was kinda cool for old music,” another, that had to be Grace, said.
“Old, two of the pieces were from the 70’s and 80’s,” Angel said.
“Like we said, old music,” Debby said.
Angel went back inside and Mrs. Westfall was waiting for her. “Thank you for taking your guitar outside Angel. I know the girls liked your music, but some missed their TV shows, last night.”
“I am sorry.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about, Angel. I like them to be touched by culture rather than the regurgitated pabulum from the TV, just not every day. I understand that each person has their own taste in entertainment. It is apparent that you love music.”
Chapter 36
Angel hurried through lunch and almost ran back to her cottage. Running on school grounds, she was reminded, that runing was reserved only for real emergencies and P.E. In her room, she tried to do something with her hair, as she changed. Mrs. Westfall had handed her a pair of black three inch stiletto pumps. When Angel came out, Mrs. Westfall stopped her and worked on her hair a bit, before letting her go.
It took a while longer to walk to the music department in the stilettos, but she got there none the less. In the music hall she was taken to a dressing room, where a senior student did her makeup, with moderate false eyelashes. The girl used a heavier stage makeup, but Angel didn’t look gaudy.
Another girl worked a bit on her hair, spraying it heavily with hair spray.
On stage, she came out, did mike checks and video checks. There was just one mike in front of a lone stool. Angel tuned up her guitar.
“Angel,” Mrs. Cartwright said. “Before you start your first piece and after you finish a piece, you will see a red light. Don’t start the next piece till you see the green light in the control booth,” she said pointing to the booth.
There was a red, a green and a yellow light showing.
“If you see a yellow light, start the previous song over again.”
Then she said to the few people not in the control booth. “The rehearsal hall is under silence till all three lights come back on. Place your guitar in the stand, and walk off stage right. Enter when the stage director indicates it is time.”
Angel walked off stage right. The stage director had a pair of headphones on and smiled at her. Angel waited till the stage director whispered,“Break a leg,” to her and motioned for her to go out.
Angel walked to the stool, took her guitar and sat down looking up at the control booth. On a green light, she brought the neck of her guitar to her shoulder and began to play.
It was cool in the rehearsal hall, but by the eighth piece she began to sweat a bit. For some reason she was a little nervous, but she steeled herself and didn’t let it adversely affect her. After she finished her last piece, it was about twenty seconds before the three lights flashed on together, and she breathed again. She had gone straight through with no do overs.
The teachers met her on stage and drooled over her costume a bit. She had told them what she was going to wear, but her words were not enough.
“Very nicely done Angel,” Mrs. Cartwright said. “It isn’t the first time someone played straight through, but it is rare.”
“We are proud of you,” Ms Grogan said. “Your description of your outfit was sorely deficient. It is wonderful.”
“I have a Sevillano hat, that goes with it, but I didn’t bring it.”
“Well, bring it to school with you. You look magnificent.”
“Thank you,”
“Good, now let’s rehearse tomorrow’s music,”
Angel played the three pieces that needed the most work, again Ms. Grogan helped by making corrections and suggestions. She had Angel go over the rough spots, smoothing them out and then replaying the pieces.
When Angel played the pieces well, Ms Grogan had her play the playlist from first to last. It took Angel thirty nine minutes to play all the songs.
“Very good Angel, try playing the pieces again once or twice tonight. It is a little after four. Get Sylvia to take off your makeup and then you may head back to your cottage.
At the P.E. facility, the Coach had the girls switch sports today, “Girls, those of you who played soccer yesterday, will play softball, and those of you who played softball, will play soccer.”
“Sierra, the softball field is that way, Nevada, the soccer field is the other way.” The coach smiled, as the girls realized they had been busted.
Both girls played well at what they were doing, but not as well as their sibling had done. Nevada had more trouble keeping up with the flow of the game on the soccer field, but she was decent handling the ball, just not as well as her sister. Her stamina was maybe a smidge better, but not much. They both needed to get into a running program. Sierra played softball well, but made a few more errors than Nevada did fielding and she didn’t hit as well as her sister.
All of this was noted by the coach. The girls were opposite handed and footed. They also had different skill sets.
Back at the dorm, Angel found Mrs. Westfall waiting. “Go ahead and change. If you bring me your costume, I will wash your blouse and steam your jacket, vest and skirt, to freshen them up for tomorrow.
Angel changed into a pair of shorts and T-shirt. She took her costume out to Mrs. Westfall. The house mother hung the skirt, jacket and vest separately and placed the blouse in the washing machine. She used a steam wand on the jacket. The wrinkles began to smooth out and afterwards the jacket had lost its body odor, Angel noted. Mrs. Westfall did know what she was doing.
Angel went to her room and took a shower. Sierra and Nevada came in as she was rinsing off. Nevada traded places with her as she stepped out to dry.
Thursday, the costume smelled fresh, as Angel dressed. Her hair was more manageable today; it must have been the humidity yesterday. Today the air was a little drier, but not too dry.
Today she had been requested to play one of the pieces over again. It was one of the pieces that she had to work on. She had made a mistake in one of the chord progressions, but on the second pass she knew that she had nailed it.
She again met with the teachers on the stage after she had finished.
“Angel, tomorrow you can relax, no more playing for us, but we want you to come back dressed as you are now. We want to take some photographs of you. Bring your guitar too; it will be a prop in some of the photographs.”
Angel was met again by Mrs. Westfall and again she changed and handed off her costume, although she didn’t wait around to see what was being done.
She was already dressed and in the common room when all the girls came in from P.E.
The final day, the girls received their test results and received individual counseling from the teaching staff. Sierra and Nevada knew they were in deep poo poo as they saw their results. They had both done well, better than their results at their school, and wondered how they would explain it to their mom tomorrow. Angel was very pleased with her tests. She had performed up to and better than her old school.
The twins were told how they could not work harder at their subjects, but to work smarter. They could make better use of their study time and to come up with better results.
At ten, they were given the rest of the day as free time, except for Angel, who had an appointment. Back at the dorm, Mrs. Westfall sat Angel down and rolled her hair up. She sat under a dryer for about half an hour and then she dressed. The rollers were then removed; her hair combed out and sprayed heavily. Mrs. Westfall was careful not to gunk up the hair. She just wanted it to look just right. Mrs. Westfall and the twins went with Angel.
Sylvia gave Angel a more normal glamour makeup job. Emphasizing the eyes, which she thought were Angel’s best features.
The Photo shoot consisted of three girls, who were from the schools own photo class. They had lights and a backdrop set up on the stage. For the next hour and a half, the three girls’ took about a hundred and seventy five shots of Angel, each.
Mrs. Westfall explained to the twins, that each girl was doing this for an assignment and for the school.
The girls would stop at times and dump the pictures into a laptop, before taking some more. The pictures were moved from the laptop to the schools server and into each girl’s partition, on that server, the music department’s partition and a partition for Angel.
The girls took shots of Angel, Angel with her guitar and some of her guitar alone. All the shots were tastefully done of course.
After all the pictures were taken, Angel walked her guitar back to her room and went with her cousins to explore the campus.
Angel had only seen the campus in passing before. She loved all the trees that surrounded the campus. Academics was built on a Quad, with a student center on its west end. The Music hall was south of the student center/cafeteria and Physical Education was west of the Music hall. The Admin bldg was to the east end of the quad. The Math and Sciences were on the north side of the quad. Languages, Geography, History, Social Sciences and such, were on the south side. The library was south of the Admin. Bldg. The cottages were north and south of the quad.
Still dressed in her costume, and wearing her makeup, Angel got a lot of looks from all the students. The girls found the library, which was more than adequate and quite modern.
The twins took their cousin to the gym, where a lot of the girls were playing various games. Coach Butler was in the gym to keep everything going smoothly.
“Those are the same girls that were complaining about exercising?” Angel asked.
“Yes, but Coach Butler was pushing us harder than that,” Nevada said.
From the gym, the girls headed to the student center. There were many more girls there, where the cafeteria, bookstore and other recreational pursuits took place.
They were all back at the cottage after diner, the girls sat around and traded email addressed and phone numbers. There were some tears shed, as the girls realized that some of them would probably not be back.
The next morning, the children and parents met with the admin staff. Angel and her cousins were among the last ones called to the office. They met with Mrs. Beckman, in the headmistress’ office. Again they sat at the couches.
“Well Mrs. Marquez, it is good seeing you again.”
“It’s good being here, Mrs. Beckman.”
“Let me get the suspense out of the way. Angel, we are accepting you at our Academy. Here are her test results.” Mrs. Beckman said, handing Margarita a sheet of paper. “She tested out at a Sophomore and Junior levels in all of the subjects we tested, but we want her to enter as a freshman. Her music performance skills are very advanced and slightly beyond basic in her knowledge of music theory. She needs a lot of work. She has good social skills and gets along well with the other girls. NOBODY noticed that she wasn’t what she appears to be. ”
“So let me welcome you to our Academy, Angel.”
“Thank you Mrs. Beckman,” Angel smiled.
“Now, Mrs. Santiago, here are the test results for your two girls. Sierra did very good in English, History and Social Studies; we put her in the top fifteen percentile in those subjects. Her Math, Science and Geography we place her at slightly above her grade level. She needs work on her Spanish grammar.”
“Nevada was just the opposite of Sierra, almost subject by subject, except for Spanish; she needs to work on her Spanish grammar.”
“So how does what they did here dovetail into what they did at their school?”
“They seem to be performing below their abilities.”
Carmine looked crossly at her daughters and had a short conversation in Spanish that made them blush a bit.
“I see both girls as potential leaders; they get along very well with other girls, and have very good organizational skills.”
“I always thought they were always plotting something, but that fits with what I believe.”
“All in all I would like to do anything we can to have your daughters attend our Academy, Mrs. Santiago. We don’t take girls their age but we would love having them next year.”
“I can’t afford two tuitions,”
“We may be able to work something out, please give us a chance. Anyways, we have a year to think about and work on it. Please keep in touch.”
The luncheon took place in the Student Center. There were three projections screens set up at the head table. On the screens were pictures of school activities being projected. The girls recognized that they were pictures of the group of girls that were being tested. Occasionally there were some of the pictures of Angel on them.
There was also music playing over the sound system. A few of the pieces were of Angel playing her guitar. When her music was playing, her pictures were on the two wing screens and on the center screen was the video of her playing.
Carmine and Margarita were enjoying the show and Angel was embarrassed. The other girls in the cafeteria were pointing at Angel’s table during the show.
As the luncheon came to an end many of the parents stopped by and chatted with Margarita and Angel, complimenting her for her play.
On the trip home Carmine turned to her girls and asked, “Girls tell me why you have been performing below your level?”
“We don’t know Mom. Maybe it is the way we were tested,” Sierra said.
“Yeah, the way the computers tested us, kind of pushed us harder,” Nevada said.
“I ought to leave you with Aunt Rita and go with Angel myself.”
“Go.” Sierra said.
“Where?” Nevada asked.
“What?” Angel asked.
Margarita and Carmine giggled. Margarita then said, “Well it was supposed to be a surprise, and I guess it kinda was. We are all going to take a trip.”
There was a pregnant pause as the girls waited for Margarita to continue. The adults just enjoyed the torment they imagined was going on in the girls’ minds.
Finally Angel asked the big question, “Where?”
“Girls, Wednesday, we are flying to Madrid. Carmine and I got together with the Old Men and discussed it. It would mean so much to Carmelita.”
“Wow,” “Oh my,” “Yeah,” All three of the girls shouted.
“One thing though Angel. You will have to travel in pants, without your breast forms, but you can change when we get in country.”
“Why?” Angel asked in an indignant manner.
“Passport,”
“Oh, alright, I guess I can do that,” she said, understanding the problem.
“Yes, you can’t change your gender on the passport till you have had GRS surgery, and you can’t get that till you are 18.”
The rest of the trip home, they discussed the upcoming trip. The Old Men had already left on Friday and would pick them up in Madrid. They would leave Carmine’s home and head to Margarita’s home on Tuesday. An airport limousine would pick them up and take them to JFK from there at midnight.
Angel and her family travel to Spain and visit their relatives She has fun with the people she meets and she learns what is really important.
Angel Marquez
37-44
by
Paula Dillon
It was like a madhouse at Carmine’s home on Sunday and Monday. There was washing the girls’ clothes and packing the clothes the girls wanted to take with them. Luckily Carmine and Margarita had been sane enough to buy more luggage, shopping. Margarita got a large purse and put all her documents in a travel wallet; this included passports, birth certificates, Letters from Angel’s psychiatrists, traveler’s checks, seven plane tickets and documents for both Angel’s guitars(Angel’s guitars were flying with her and not as luggage). Still the girls had to make several dashes to the store for something they just couldn’t do without.
Angel then bought herself and her cousins Canon SX1 IS Digital Camera kits, with her own money. They agreed not to carry batteries, as they were heavy. She also bought a travel outfit that was very androgynous. She found a silk shirt in a neutral color and a pair of hip hugger jeans, that were pretty non-descript.
They filled out customs declaration forms for the US and Spain, to speed things up when they arrived in Spain. Margarita attached copies of the Christie’s provenance, for the Torres guitar and a form Uncle Javier provided, for the Amara Verdad Cantu guitar, the cameras and a laptop they were taking with them. They inventoried and listed everything they took more valuable than five dollars.
Tuesday, Angel played at Leo’s and took her guitar from the locker. Margarita called the insurance company and informed them.
Almost every square inch of Margarita’s and Carmine's cars was filled to the brim as they headed to Margarita’s home.
Once Angel and Margarita were home, Angel had to take off her breastforms and place them in her carry on luggage case, with one set of clothes. Everyone was surprised to see Angel’s chest, there was no denying it, she now had small boobs, a little more than an AA cup.
“How did you get a pair of titties?” Sierra asked
“A side effect of the anti-androgen, I would suspect,” Margarita said. “She has been taking that since she was twelve. Her testosterone is way down and that leaves estrogen the dominant sex hormone.”
The girls were sent to bed at four, for a few hours sleep, but nobody really slept. They had a light meal at ten and then corralled their luggage at the front door.
The twins took a lot of pictures of nothing special on the way to JFK airport, just getting use to their new cameras. Angel had gotten some pictures of everybody but her. She didn’t want to see any pictures of Luis.
At the airport, they checked in and had a two hour and twenty minute wait to board the airplane. They were flying an American Airline 777 to Madrid via London.
Chapter 38
Sleeping had been hard on the airplane; the girls were all excited at the thought of finally flying to Spain. They noticed that the plane was a bit noisy, that, even the movie on the screen, wasn’t enough to overcome the constant drone of the engines.
They arrived in Madrid at four thirty in the afternoon. It took another hour and a half to get through the Immigration checkpoint. Angel and Margarita were pulled aside, not for Angel’s appearance, but for the two guitars she carried. The officer checked the paperwork carefully and inspected the two guitars and the cases. He then had to have his supervisor signoff. Speaking Spanish and claiming Spanish ancestry, made their entry a little easier.
As soon as they cleared customs, Angel hit the ladies bathroom, no one in there questioned the young girl being there. Inside a stall, Angel put on a bra and slipped her breast forms into the cups. She then let out her ponytail and combed her hair with her fingers, before adding a little makeup; lipstick, powder and mascara.
Uncle Javier was waiting with the rest of the family when Angel came out of the restroom. He made a phone call when Angel joined them.
(From here till they get back to NY, NY, consider all conversations to be in Spanish, unless otherwise noted.)
“Rolando, Fernando and Jesus Cortez will be waiting for us at the curb in a second,” Javier said. “We have two vehicles; baggage goes in the van with a few passengers.”
Javier led the way out of the terminal. Outside there was a jumble of cars. They stopped and looked around till Javier saw what he was looking for. He made his way to his goal.
The girls got a really strange look on their faces when they saw their uncle Rolando behind the wheel of a really strange vehicle.
As if reading everybody’s mind, Javier began to explain, “Girls, that is a genuine, 1938 Mercedes Benz, 770K convertible. It has been in our family since after the war. Before that it was the property of the German government. It is rumored to have been the German Military Attaché’s personal vehicle.”
All five of the girls got in the convertible, with it’s top down. Uncle Javier got in the van with Fernando. Angel let her uncle take her guitars with him.
All three of the youngsters had their cameras out and were taking pictures, while Uncle Rolando drove away from the Barajas International Airport. There weren’t a lot of sights to see, as they were shortly on major highway that headed northeast from Madrid. Just past Villanueva de la Torre, they left the main road and drove a couple of miles to a large Ranch style home.
“This is where Carmelita lives with the Cortez family. You probably won’t see her today. She only has a few good hours a day to be around people, but she is still quite mentally active and as sharp as a tack,” Uncle Rolando said.
As they drove up to the backside of the house, the girls did see an older white headed lady sitting in a rocking chair, catching the last rays of the sun. Uncle Rolando went up to her and spoke with her for a few seconds. The lady looked up smiling and did a little wave to the girls, as they were waiting besides the car.
A few seconds later, Uncle Rolando returned, “Not today girls, she is happy to see you, but…”
“Yes, we understand Rolando,” Margarita said. “Give her our warmest love.”
Another lady in her mid to late 40’s, came out of the house. She ran up to them and hugged Jesus, before turning to them and saying, “Welcome to my home, I am Felicia Cortez, Jesus’ wife. It is so good to see my American cousins.”
She barley finished talking and was already giving everybody hugs and kisses.
“Hello, Felicia. I am Margarita Marquez, this is my sister Carmine Santiago, with her daughters Sierra and Nevada, and this is my daughter, Angel Marquez.”
“Oh, you are all so beautiful, please come with me.”
Felicia took them inside her beautiful ranch style home. It was an older home that had been constantly updated. The roofing was made of red clay tiling, the exterior walls were stucco. They had a large tiled patio, much of it covered by an awning. Inside, she had central air and the beautiful painted tile kitchen, which was a cross between modern and old style Spanish design. There was some marvelous black walnut wood paneling everywhere and not that cheap ply board paneling either.
“Don’t worry about crowding, this home was built for a working ranch and I have lots of bedrooms.”
There were a lot of bedrooms and bathrooms. She had ten bedrooms and four bathrooms. The dinning room and living rooms were cavernous, compared to the girls’ homes back in America. The whole place had well worn slate flooring, except for the living room, that had wood. There was a huge fireplace and mantle at one end of the home.
“The original parts of this home were built in the thirties, but the original owners kept rebuilding parts of the home and adding on to the original. The kitchen and some of the bedrooms are from the fifties, but still in keeping with the original design. Much of the old living room was added to the dinning room and we added the new living room and master bedroom.”
Everyone could tell that Felicia loved showing off her home. It was filled with a mix of real antique and antique reproduction furniture that went well together.
“I know you must be tired, let me show you to your bedrooms,” Felicia said.
She showed them to a wing of bedrooms, “You may select the bedrooms you want and tell the guys which room you are in. They will move your luggage into your room.”
The bedrooms were the smallest rooms in this house; even so, they were still larger than the bedrooms back home. Angel selected a room for herself, although she would probably sleep with her cousins. She didn’t want to cause a scandal, so she decided to test the waters first. Margarita and Carmine chose a room together. They felt that there would be more company here later.
The rooms were gender neutral, but had a lot of nice touches, like four poster king sized beds, armoires, dressers and vanities in each room.
“You can rest for an hour or so; I will wake you for dinner.”
The girls had their luggage delivered to their own rooms and collapsed on the beds.
They were awakened a little more than an hour later. Felicia served them dinner out on the patio. There were about twenty-four people who gathered for dinner. Introductions were made, the food was blessed and they all sat down to eat. Felicia dispersed the Americans between their Spanish kin. Angel sat between Felicia and Juanita, Felicia’s daughter. Food and drink flowed as they all chatted and got to know each other. Even Angel, Sierra and Nevada got half glassfuls of Spanish wine. Carmelita was the only relative in town that was not at the table; she had already gone to bed.
All of the Americans were bombarded by questions. Everyone wanted to know everything. There was a twelve-year old boy, named Tomas Cruz, who sat between Sierra and Nevada, and who was smitten by the girls. The twins thought he was kind of cute and spent a lot of time teasing and flirting with Tomas. Dinner started at about seven forty five, but desert wasn’t served till after nine thirty.
Between ten and eleven, most of the people had to leave, as they had to work the next day. The ones that stayed discussed the upcoming agenda for the Americans. It was arranged for the girls to go sight seeing with a few of the older Spanish teens, while Felicia would take Margarita and Carmine around town sight seeing.
A chance to meet Carmelita would come on Friday, or Saturday, depending on how she felt. A big to do was planned for Friday night, and the Friday before they all went home. On Monday, it was planned for them to visit Barcelona and be back in Madrid on Friday night.
**************
The next day, Juanita Cortez and Pablo Ramos took Angel, Sierra and Nevada into town, with a couple of other cousins, Tomas and Suela Cruz. The twins and Angel were dressed in jeans and T-shirts that spoke of their American heritage. Together they headed to Xanadu Snow Zone. The girls had wondered why Juanita loaned them some light jackets now they knew. The Snow Zone was a huge building. Inside the temperature was around 30 degrees f. There were five snow covered slopes inside. They tried skiing and snow boarding. Angel didn’t ski very well; she fell quite a few times, as she tried to keep her skis parallel and under her.
She traded in the skis after half an hour for a snow board. Sierra and Nevada saw this and decided to change too, even though they had done fair on the skis. Soon all three of them were zooming down the easy slopes and on the medium difficulty slopes. Angel began to see some of the fun she had missed growing up. She wouldn’t change her past one bit, she was what she was, but she did plan to have some more fun.
There was also an awesome go-kart track there, designed like a formula one track. Angel killed everyone on the go-kart track, much to the frustration of Tomas and to the amusement of his sister. He couldn’t believe that he had gotten beat by a girl. The twins tried to console him, but they still wound up giggling.
After lunch, the girls took off shopping.
“Hey can I join you?” Tomas asked, wanting to flirt more with the twins.
Juanita asked him, “Does Tomas want to try on a pretty dress, or find a cute bra to wear?”
“Come Tomas, let the girls go to the stores, join me in the arcades,” Pablo said.
Dejected, he went with his cousin.
The girls spent a little time looking at clothes, but spent most of the time shopping for souvenirs. They each bought several T-shirts that had something to do with Spain and Madrid.
One shop owner offered Angel three T-shirts, if she traded her T-shirt that had the pre 9/11 World Trade Center picture on it. She took the deal and changed into one of her new T-shirts. The shop owner immediately put it on a mannequin and shortly sold it for a nice profit.
On the way home, Pablo drove a circuitous route home, as he and Juanita told the girls some of the history of the area. They took a lot of pictures and made several stops on the way.
As they pulled around back, the kids saw Margarita, Carmine and Felicia sitting with and talking to Carmelita. As the kids headed to the house, Felicia stopped them and asked them to come over.
“Aunt Carmelita, you know Pablo, Juanita, Tomas and Suela of course, with them are Sierra, Nevada and Angel. Girls, this is your great Aunt Carmelita Ramos.”
The girls gave a small curtsy, as they were introduced. They didn’t know what else to do.
“Come girls, give your Aunt a hug and a kiss,” Carmelita said.
The kids one by one gave their great Aunt a gentle hug and kissed her cheek.
“Sit with me for a few minutes, before I have to go inside. It is good seeing so many young people having fun together. How was your day?”
The kids told their Aunt about what they had done. Suela just had to gloat over Angel beating Tomas driving go-karts. Carmelita even got a giggle out of that. Angel said that she really liked snow boarding. The girls loved all the stores that they had a chance to visit. They refrained from teasing Tomas about the dress and bra.
Carmelita was becoming visibly tired, “Children, I am getting tired and must go in. but first Angel, will you play your guitar for me tomorrow.”
“Yes ma’am, I would be proud to play for you.”
“Good, then I will see all of you tomorrow.”
Felicia and a nurse that had come out, helped Carmelita up and into the house.
After Carmelita left, Margarita and Carmine asked some more questions, “So where did you go snowboarding in July?”
“Oh Mom, they had this big building that was very cold. Inside they had all of these hills covered with snow. I tried skiing, but I couldn’t keep standing too long wearing the skis. So then I tried snowboarding,” Angel said.
“Yeah, she was pretty fair at snowboarding, Mom,” Sierra said. “Pablo, Juanita and the rest were better, but we did pretty good.”
“Poor Tomas,” Margarita said. “You let Angel beat you in a go-kart.”
“She had to be cheating, Aunt Margarita,”
“Did not,” Angel said, a little indignantly.
“Why do you say she cheated?” Margarita asked.
“She had to be cheating, she is a girl.”
“Oh my, Tomas. Didn’t you know girls can do a lot of things very well.”
“Yeah, but men are better drivers. She had to get a better go-kart or something.”
“Maybe so, Tomas. She might have gotten a faster go-kart. Then maybe she is a better driver.” Margarita said in closing.
“I want to go practice on my guitar Mom, especially if I am playing for Carmelita tomorrow.”
The kids followed Angel inside. She retrieved her new guitar from her room, went to the living room and began to play as the others talked. The kids kept talking for a bit as Angel warmed up, but when she began to play in earnest, they all stopped to listen.
Angel spent quite a bit of time playing her scales and working on her progressions. After about an hour of hard work, she chose to play eight pieces out of her collection of her master class Spanish and classical pieces. She rotated to some of the pieces she hadn’t played in a while. Her time at the new school made her realize, she needed to work in a more diverse manner and that she needed to maybe expand her repertoire.
Juanita and Pablo had seen the Internet show, but Tomas and Suela hadn’t. Even seeing the show, had not prepared them for how good Angel was with her guitar. Everyone was strangely silent when she finished.
“I couldn’t believe that anyone could play better than Raul Vargas. Most of us thought of him as the best the family had,” Tomas said. “But then I had never heard of you Angel. You are both a magnificent player and a maestro at the guitar; I have to say that you are probably the best in our family now.”
“Thank you Tomas, I know how hard that was for you to say, but I am still learning.”
“Play some more for us Angel,” Juanita asked.
Angel played and sang some of her fun songs, singing in English, as she didn’t know them in Spanish. Sierra and Nevada translated some parts of the songs roughly into Spanish, when they were asked.
Chapter 39
The next day, Angel worked on her guitar again. She was told that her cousin Raul would be there to practice with her around noon. She wanted to make up for the lack of practice after she left school.
Raul came in with the Old Men and the five of them began to hash out a program. Angel was a little sad that her Uncles weren’t going to play with them, but it was Carmelita’s request that these two play for her. The Old Men would play before Angel and Raul came out. Javier and Rolando chose most of the music and Angel and Raul selected a couple of their favorites. They would each have two solo numbers.
They then spent time working out the kinks of playing together. Angel and Raul really enjoyed playing together. He really presented a challenge to her play and he liked being forced to work harder to do his best. By the end of their practice sessions, they were playing very well together.
Before the fiesta, they all took time to put on their festive best costumes. Juanita helped Angel with her hair falls and makeup.
The fiesta started early that evening. Carmelita was assisted by Felicia and her nurse, to a well cushioned wicker chair beneath the awning. About forty people applauded her appearance. Ladies began serving the feast; a whole pit roasted pig was served along with all the accoutrements.
After most of the people had finished eating, Javier and Rolando, along with three other family members, came out playing their guitars and trumpets, in all their Spanish attire. Dancers then appeared, including Margarita, Carmine and the twins.
At the conclusion of the fourth piece, the dancers and musicians took their seats. Raul and Angel made their entrance. They strode up the middle of the crowd playing, the crowd clapping to the music and castanets were clacking away. At the table in front of Carmelita, they did a quarter turn towards each other.
During the show, Angel switched guitars. She had tuned the Torres guitar down two full steps to a C, rather than on an E, to harmonize with Raul and let him shine. It made the pieces sound richer and fuller. Raul caught on and adlibbed it up a bit.
The two also worked to compliment each other, rather than to compete with each other. The guitarists could feel the excitement of the people that had gathered. On Angel’s favorite pieces, she tried to play the best she ever had. In many ways her play showed a new level of maturity than she had shown previously in New York. The two of them played to each other’s strengths.
There was silence when the two finished, everyone was afraid of breaking the spell that had been woven by the two musicians. Finally they all began clapping, shouting and whistling.
Felicia got the attention of the two guitarists and led them over to Carmelita.
Carmelita sat up straight and smiled, as the two guitarists approached her. Felicia placed a mike in front of Carmelita so everyone could hear.
“I just don’t know what to say, in my 102 years of life, I have heard a lot of people play a lot of music. I have never heard the likes of what I have heard tonight. Both of you are great guitarists, but together you transcend greatness. I don’t know where life will lead you two, but if you never play together again, it will certainly be a waste of talent. Thank you for playing for me my dear children.”
She gave the two a hug and a kiss. The two of them bowed to her, turned and bowed to the crowd. After another round of applause, all the people wanted to meet the two. Angel handed off her two guitars to Rolando, while Raul handed his off to Javier.
They then went and talked to the people there. All of the Americans found themselves at the center of one group or another. The other musicians played for the people. It was almost like a second fiesta had started.
Towards the end of the fiesta, Felicia announced that Carmelita wanted to have lunch with all of the children under 20, tomorrow. This brought a stir of excitement from the parents. It wasn’t often that their children got to spend time with Carmelita.
Raul and Angel played some more together, much to the crowds delight. They especially liked it when Angel played from her rock repertoire. It seemed a few already knew the English words to the songs, even when they didn’t speak the language. Angel loved singing with them.
**************
The next day Felicia, Juanita, Margarita and Carmen were busy preparing food again. They dressed up the living room a bit and set the tables. The girls were busy trying to look their best. Carmine did let the girls use a bit more makeup than usual.
Around eleven thirty, Angel and the twins began acting as greeters to the people arriving. Most of the kids arrived by eleven fifty five and were seated around the table.
Carmelita came in and was seated at the head of the table. They said a blessing and the food was served to those there. Everyone there was on their best behavior, some under heavy threat from their parents. The Americans were dispersed amongst their cousins. Angel sat to Carmelita’s right. Tomas was fuming, as he was seated away from Sierra and Nevada, and next to Suela, his sister. It wasn’t to her taste either, but she put up a better front of it.
Carmelita just smiled, looking at the twenty one children there and ate. Her meal was much different; blander than the kid’s food, but she was the only 102 year old there.
After lunch, they all assembled in the living room. Carmelita sat in her large cushioned chair; a couple of mikes had been set up. The kids sat on the couches, on the chairs, or on the floor around her.
“Children, please bear with me,” Carmelita said. “I know many of you don’t like school, but the history I am about to give you relates to our family.”
Excerpts from the lips of Carmelita Ramos. (Facts may or may not be 100% correct but hey, what history is.)
I was born in 1905 and have seen and lived through a lot of history. I was born during the reign of Alfonso XIII, King of Spain. This was after the infamous Spanish American war, which taught us how misguided perceptions can easily lead to war.
I was nine when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated and the First World War took place. As a child I didn’t understand what was happening or why my parents were so disturbed by the events.
We lived on a small ranch back then. My father Miguel Ramos raised bulls for the arena back then. He was a proud man who raised brave bulls.
Spain was neutral back then, but we still worried that the conflict would spill over into our country. Conflicts have a habit of spreading once they are started.
But I stray; the time I am really concerned about, began in 1923, with the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera. He was a general in the army. Spain’s government up to that time, was splintered and unresponsive to the people. There were many factions and most didn’t get along well with each other. Financial distress and social unrest led to him overthrowing our parliament. He took power away from them and our king. Alfonso tried to placate him and declared him Prime Minister.
Rivera suspended our constitution, dissolved our legislature and declared martial law. He sent forces to the Basque and Catalonia regions to suppress separatism in those regions.
Between 1923 and 1930, things did get somewhat better, but there was a period of inflation in 1929 and the value of the peseta dropped like a rock, hurting the people. Rivera’s rule fell apart in 1930, Alfonso XIII abdicated and the Second Republic began.
The thirties were very turbulent and the conditions worsened. The worst part in our history began in 1936, the Spanish Civil War. Of the people that you know, my nephews Javier and Rolando were alive then. There may be others, but very few.
We were a divided family, with members in many different factions. I won’t list the factions or say who was what. It was a time that nearly tore us apart.
I will say people who loved freedom were the big losers during this time.
Many factions made up the Popular Front, which included the Republicans, Communists and Anarchists, are but a few and many made up the Nationalists, which included the military, the strongly fascist falange and monarchists, most of whom were Catholic, are a few.
In the next three years, hundreds of thousands of Spaniards were killed and executed, with many more injured.
Most of the family pulled together on our ranch. It was hard to keep everyone fed. One side or another would come through and take what they could find. We were smart, we had more than some, but we were able to conceal it. We kept our family well and helped some of our neighbors stay alive.
I have to say, that even though the majority of us didn’t like Franco and his government, he may have been the lesser of two evils. He did one thing that was good; he kept Spain out of WWII.
Although we were neutral, both the Axis and the Allies operated in our country. Mostly it leaned Axis, but there were many who helped and fought for the French and the Allies.
Stalin, who had sided with the Popular Front, hated Spain and at the Potsdam conference, urged the Allies to invade Europe through Spain. Thankfully, Churchill and Roosevelt both resisted that idea.
Life after WWII wasn’t any better for many years. Spain was punished in some ways, mostly economic, for their neutrality. Parts of our family went to Mexico, to the United States, Argentina and many other countries.
We may be separated by many miles, and some of us may have diverse beliefs, but one thing is important children; we are all Family. Our family is our strength. You may not like one Aunt, or Uncle. You might not be able to stand this family, or another. There may be good family members, or bad family members. One thing remains for us, “We are all Family!”
“Felicia, I tire.” Carmelita said, after talking for over two hours. “I need my nap.”
Felicia and the nurse helped the old lady to her room.
Quietly, the kids all hugged and their parents took their children home.
**************
Sunday morning, everyone in the household went to confession and then Mass. The church they went to was incredibly old and had a gothic appearance. The girls took a lot of pictures from the outside, but they left their cameras in the car before they went in. Even here, Carmelita had a place of honor, a nice comfy chair for her to sit in.
It was interesting listening to a sermon in Spanish; back home there were Spanish speaking churches, but their parents all went to predominantly English speaking churches.
Throughout the litany of standing and kneeling, Carmelita just sat, she would have liked to be able to kneel with her family, but it was enough for her to just be there.
After the service, Angel was invited to ride back home with Felicia, Jesus and Carmelita. The nurse rode back with Margarita and Javier. They hadn’t gone far when Carmelita began to address Angel.
“Angel,” Carmelita began. “Yesterday was for you and for our family. No matter what else, never forget that. You Are Family. You are not the first to be this way, in our family. There have been a few others. They have remained a bit more anonymous, but you have a rare gift. It will be hard for you to be anonymous. Just hold your head up high and smile, knowing that you are loved, and that you are family.”
“We shall speak of your differences no more, as a matter of concern. You are, to us, what you appear to be, just be the best person that you can be and that will be enough, little one.”
Chapter 40
Monday found Angel in the accompaniment of eight children and seven adults, on the AVE high-speed rail, headed to Barcelona. None of the Americans, except for Margarita, had ever been on a train before. To actually ride a train, was more exciting than even flying, to them. It was different to fly thirty thousand feet over the land and when you could see the land, it was small and anonymous. From the train windows you could see everything, at least briefly; considering they were traveling at 300kmh. Angel figured that out to be about 186 mph.
Angel was traveling with her guitars again; her uncles had insisted that she bring them, but they didn’t say why. She loved looking out the windows at the landscape. Portions of Spain are very rugged, especially on the border with France. It was similar in appearance to parts of New Mexico.
They arrived in Barcelona at two; Uncle Rolando had already rented two vans for them and had made hotel reservations. It was just a short trip to the hotel, where they were free for the rest of the day. They all went out to eat and then sightseeing around the hotel.
**************
The next day, the Americans and the Old Men took a side trip. They went to what looked like a warehouse district. Angel got real excited when she saw the sign for Amara Verdad Cantu Guitars.
“This is the place that made my new guitar, isn’t it Javier,”
“Yes, we thought that you might like to meet the lady who built your guitar.”
“Thank you.”
The eight of them entered the storefront of the warehouse. Angel was carrying her two guitars and was surprised to only see about a dozen guitars. The storefront was quite nice. This shop didn’t have the feel of a traditional store; it was more like some luxury stores. There was real wood everywhere and the ceiling wasn’t a drop panel ceiling but consisted of fancy moldings. They even had crystal chandelier.
“Welcome to Cantu Guitars, what can I do for you,” the salesman said.
“My niece is from America and we bought her one of your guitars. She just wanted to see the place where it was made,” Javier said.
“We don’t usually have tours, but let me check with Amara Cantu.”
The salesman made a call, while everyone waited.
Angel looked at the displays; she could pick out the guitars she thought might be cheaper and those that were up there with hers. The cheaper guitars might be less expensive, but they looked to be just as well made. Some were made with different woods and most didn’t have the detailing that went into hers.
A woman in her late forties, to early fifties, came in from the back. She was a hefty woman, but not overly fat. Her arms were muscled from all of her work and her hands had speckles of varnish on them.
“Hello, I am Amara Verdad Cantu,” the middle aged woman said. “I understand that you want to see the place where your guitar was made.”
“Yes, I am Javier Ramos, we bought my niece, Angel Marquez from America, one of your guitars. She really loves it. We thought that she might want to see where her guitar was made.”
“Which one of you is Angel?” the woman said smiling.
“I am ma’am.”
“I am Amara Verdad Cantu, which of my guitars do you have?”
“I am not sure, but I have it here,” Angel said, opening the case.
“Ah, that is one of my Concert Classical Guitars,” she said looking at it. “I sold that one not a month ago, to Raul Vargas, if I remember correctly?”
“Yes, he is one of my uncles.”
“Maybe one day you will play as well as he does.”
“Maybe,” Angel said smiling. “May I play it for you?”
“Yes, please play for me.”
Angel tuned up the guitar and began to play Pachelbel’s Canon in D. The expression on the woman’s face changed to surprise and then to joy, as the girl played first few measures. Angel then went on to play Recuerdos de la Alhambra. A few more workers came up front as Angel played.
“Oh Mother of God, forgive this old woman for talking down to you Angel. That is a good name for you, you play like an angel.”
“Thank you,” Angel said, giving the woman a thousand watt smile. “I really do love your instrument.”
Angel then put away her Cantu guitar.
“What is this other guitar you have with you?”
“It is my favorite, but I can’t keep it with me all the time,” she said, opening the case of the second guitar.
Amara raised an eyebrow, at the girl’s statement. Angel took out her Torres guitar and tuned it up, before playing Malaguena and Cavatina on it.
“Oh, Mother of God, who made that guitar?”
“Antonio de Torres.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room, after Angel said that.
“Just a moment, let me get Grandfather,” Amara said, hurrying into the back.
Amara came back in with a very elderly man. The man looked like a workman, who had been hard at work.
“Grandpa, this young lady is Angel Marquez and her Torres guitar. Angel, This is Juan Alfonso de Torres. His great uncle was Antonio de Torres. Would you mind playing your guitar for him?”
She played Romance de Espana, Sarabande BWV 997 and Paganini Caprice no. 24.
“That was wonderful,” the old man said, as tears stained his cheeks. “What number is your guitar?”
“Fifty.”
“Ah yes, he was in Almeria then. Uncle Torres never revealed what made his guitars so special. It has been many years since I have heard one of his guitars. Thank you for the gift you have given me.”
“Your granddaughter has come close, in my opinion, Mr. Torres. I have to keep my Torres in a vault, but I take it out to play on special occasions. My Uncles have two Jose Ramirez guitars.”
“Ah yes, they are very good too, but none are like a Torres.”
“May I look at your guitar young lady?”
“Yes you may.”
Juan took a minute to wipe his hands clean and then Angel handed him the guitar. He looked it over with a careful eye and then used his hands to feel the wood.
“Your family should be commended for taking such good care of this guitar. I can see its age, but it is in excellent shape.”
He smiled and handed the guitar back to Angel.
“I would be honored to show you my shop Angel,” Amara said.
They all headed into the back with the woman.
“May we take pictures,” Sierra asked.
“Yes you may. Our secrets can’t be photographed. Our secret is only the touch of our hand’s and the qualities of the materials that we work with.”
Her people went back to work so that the visitors could see what they do. There were maybe a hundred guitars in various states of completion.
“I am a small operation. I can’t make guitars in the thousands with the same quality. We do use some machines to cut and shape the woods, but all of the fine work is done by hand tools.”
She led them to a room that was full of various types of wood.
“There are a lot of woods a guitar can be made of; each type of wood can give the guitar a different sound. I have found that old growth woods, or wood that has been recovered from the bottoms of various lakes and rivers, can add a certain richness to my guitars. So where possible, I choose to use them.”
Amara took them through step by step of the process. All three girls took a lot of pictures of the craftsmen doing their jobs. Angel tried to look into the soul of the men at work, and took some really good pictures.
Amara herself put her hands to work on a soundboard. She would scrape the backside of it and feel it with her hands, before doing some more work.
Angel loved seeing Juan work on a guitar neck. He had a neck in a clamp and was shaping it with a plane. There were no electric machines in his corner of the shop, just his hand tools.
In the finishing department, one man was adding gold leaf to a high-end concert model, before varnishing the instrument.
“Everything we do to an instrument can affect the sound quality, even the gold leafing and the finishes we use. So we have to be careful not to do something just for the sake of beauty, but an instrument that is as beautiful as it sounds, is a joy to the eyes and the ears.”
The family spent about two hours in the shop.
**************
Barcelona was a lot like Madrid and yet very different than Madrid. It had some wonderful beaches, some beautiful parks and a lot of history. They visited several museums, went to a symphony, visited a cathedral that has been under construction for over a hundred and twenty years, visited the Olympic sites in town and visited many quaint shops.
They even spent one day visiting the city-state of Andorra. This is a country that is just over 450 square smiles. It is smaller than many large cities, with a population of only about 85,000 people. It is located on the border between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains.
Chapter 41
Monday, in Madrid, the girls were so excited, that they had to set their laptop up in the kitchen and loaded all their photos on the hard drive. They went through all the pictures, sorting out and deleting the pictures that they didn’t like, before transferring the photos they wanted to keep, to their Photobucket account.
They got a call from Tomas, just after they finished loading the photos on the Internet.
“Hey Angel, this is Tomas.”
“Hey Tomas, what’s up?”
“You’re famous Angel. I found some videos of you on youtube.com.”
“I have never posted any videos on youtube.”
Tomas gave the girls the search parameters he used for youtube and they pulled up the site and did the search. Sure enough, there were six videos of Angel on You Tube. They were the videos the school had taken.
“Mom,” Angel called out.
A few seconds later, Margarita entered the kitchen. “What is it Angel?”
“Mom Look!”
Angel played one of the videos, “That is one of the video’s they made of me at school.”
“I never gave them permission to post any videos on the Internet,” Margarita checked her watch and took out her cell phone.
“Sarah Adams’ Academy, my name is Marlow. How may I help you?”
“I am Margarita Marquez; I need to speak to Mrs. Beckman regarding my daughter Angel.”
“Just one moment please…” after about a minute the phone began to ring again.
“Hello Mrs. Marquez. How may I help you?”
“You can tell me why there are videos of Angel, taken by your school, on YouTube,” she said calmly. She didn’t see any point in getting angry.
“I didn’t authorize any of that, believe me Margarita.”
“Well it is there,” Margarita said, as she gave the URL to Mrs. Beckman.
“Oh Lord, yes those are our videos of Angel. I am so sorry. Let me get to the bottom of this. Where can I contact you?”
“I am in Madrid, Spain, for the next eight days. You can call me on my cell phone.”
“I hope that you won’t pull Angel out of our school.”
“No of course not, but I was upset about the videos.”
“We will provide adequate compensation and I assure you that no more videos will appear on the Internet. We will try to remove the one that are there.”
“Don’t bother, taking them down. Once something is put up on the Internet, it is almost impossible to completely remove.”
“We wanted to use those videos to help in our recruitment.”
“I have no problem with that, Ethel.”
“How is your vacation in Madrid?”
“We are having a wonderful time. We got to meet a lot of distant relatives, including my 102 year old great, great, great, Aunt. We went to museums, art galleries, amusement parks and we got to see the sights of Spain. We even visited the country of Andorra.”
“That sounds wonderful. I hope you took lots of pictures.”
“We did, we posted them at Photobucket,” Margarita said, “We will have a non family viewing directory when we get a chance.”
“I look forward to seeing those pictures. Well let me get right to tracking who posted those videos. You have a great time in Spain.”
“Thank you, I expect to hear from you soon.”
“I hope nobody gets into too much trouble over this,” Angel said.
“Don’t worry too much about it Angel. I don’t think anyone will be fired or expelled over it, but someone violated the school’s trust and our rights.”
“The videos were posted on Saturday and look at the hits they have already picked up,” Sierra said.
“And the comments people have posted.” Nevada said.
Margarita checked out what her nieces had said. In forty-five hours one video was already at twenty thousand hits. Even the least popular video had over fourteen thousand hits. The comments were ‘oustanding’, ‘fabulous’, ‘a beautiful girl, making beautiful music’, ‘a real genius’, ‘a real virtuoso’ and other similar comments.
**************
Tuesday, Juanita and Pablo took the Americans to a park where many people gathered to perform. There were mimes, musicians and even people who were performing plays. One Man was doing Marc Anthony’s funeral soliloquy. Hearing it in Spanish was new to the girls.
Angel had brought her Cantu guitar. She found an area where she wouldn’t interfere with the other performers and sat on a concrete bench. After tuning up, she began playing her Spanish repertoire. She already had a small crowd of family. The twins changed into their Flamenco shoes and began dancing.
They soon had a nice crowd gathering around them. After she played four or five pieces, she switched over to some classical and American pieces. The crowd loved her Bohemian Rhapsody and Hotel California. One guy even sang the words to Hotel California in English, as she played.
She had been playing a while, when an old man approached her.
“Hello I am Servando Morales. You are such an angel. May I play with you?”
“Yes, you may. I am Angel Marquez.”
The old man began laughing, “Of course your name is Angel.” He took out his guitar and quickly tuned it to Angel’s. “Do you know Bach’s Sonata no, 2 BWV 1003,”
“Yes I do, you take the lead and I will follow you.”
They were both tentative at the start, but as they played together, they began to challenge each other. Angel had misjudged the old man at first and had to work to keep up her part of the duet. They gave each other places to play solo and played follow the leader a couple of times.
They played six more pieces together, including two of Angel’s most difficult pieces. The old man never missed a beat and neither did Angel. They had drawn a huge crowd of people who were strangely silent and listening.
He was amazing, playing at Angel’s level, but she suspected that he was better, than she was. Together the two guitarists were incredible weaving together the notes that flowed from their fingertips. When they finished, the applause was tremendous. Servando stood and offered a hand to Angel. She took his hand and stood, together they bowed to the audience. Then Angel bowed to Servando. He smiled and then bowed to her.
“You play wonderful, young lady. I feel I will be seeing more of you.”
“You play pretty good yourself,” she said giggling.
Margarita, Carmine, Juanita and Pablo made a buffer for Angel and Servando. The people there wanted to know who the girl was and more.
“Thank you kindly, for allowing me to play with you.”
“No thank you, Servando. I needed a good challenge. You provided that and more. I loved playing with you so much.”
“You are too kind.”
He turned and put away his guitar.
As the crowd began to dissipate, many came by and threw coins and bills into her guitar case. It took Angel about five minutes to clean out her case and stow her guitar, she had €327.50. She turned to give the old Servando half of the money, but he was already gone.
“Dang it, Angel, you could pay for this trip in a couple of weeks doing these shows,” Margarita said.
“Servando didn’t stay so I could split the money with him.”
“It is good that you want to share, honey. There will be times that people will want more than their fair share in the future, I believe. You will have to do what your conscience tells you is right then.”
**************
When they got home, they went over the pictures they had taken that day. Nevada had taken about two dozen really good pictures of the two playing their guitars. She was really becoming a good photographer. Felicia stopped them when she saw the picture of Servando Morales.
“You played guitar with Servando Morales?”
“Yes, that is what he said his name was.” Angel said.
“He is one of the premier Classical and Spanish Guitarist in the World,” Felicia said.
She got on the girl’s computer and searched Wikipedia for Servando Morales (Fictional Character). He is eighty three, calls Madrid his home and plays with several of the great European orchestras at times. Other sites listed him as high as the third best Classical guitarist living and in the top fifty of all time.
“I knew he was better than me. I had to work hard to keep up with him.”
Sierra found that he even had his own webpage. She played a video of him playing.
**************
Later that evening Margarita’s cell phone rang.
“Hello,” Margarita said.
“Hello, Mrs. Marquez, this is Mrs. Beckman. I called to inform you of what I found out.”
“Hello Ethel, it is good hearing from you and please call me Margarita.”
“Well, we found the girl who posted the videos. It was Vanessa Hall. She is one of our freshman, soon to be sophomore girls, who WAS taking a course in Video Editing. She had taken, as part of her course work, the raw video of Angel and had edited it into short videos. She did a really good job of it too; she seems to have a knack at picking the best shots to go with the audio. Vanessa told me that she really loved Angel’s playing and the videos we shot. She took some of her favorite pieces home with her last weekend and posted them. She really is a computer whiz.”
“I had all of the students in the auditorium and talked about ethics and copyright laws. I told them that they could be expelled, or sued for posting copyrighted material on the Internet. If you want, I will expel her.”
“Don’t do that Ethel, but I would like an apology from the girl.”
“You both will have that. Vanessa really is a good student, but she just didn’t think before she did this.”
“I think that will be sufficient.”
“Not quite enough by us Margarita. She will also be in my personal doghouse, this fall. I guarantee that when she gets out of my doghouse, she won’t want to get back on my bad side anytime soon.”
“That sounds good. You will tell me if Angel gets placed in your doghouse too won’t you.”
“Of course, if her actions warrant it.”
“Well, then we will see you in August.”
“Enjoy your vacation.”
“Thank you, bye.”
Chapter 42
Angel treated several of her Spanish cousins to a day at the arcades. Tomas and Suela were both in heaven. At least till Angel beat Tomas at a Grand Prix race game. He couldn’t get away from Suela teasing him. Angel’s best time was number 19 on the race game’s top twenty.
Sierra and Nevada gave everyone at the Arcade hell, on the dancing game. They ruled at the arcade, till some of the champions of the arcade came in, then they held their own, winning as much as they lost. Their one two punch, crushed a lot the players. Sierra would beat someone and they got their hopes up when Nevada challenged them, only to be crushed again.
Tomas did get some satisfaction from Angel on the Hogan’s alley shooting gallery. Angel, encouraged by Suela and Juanita, really did try to beat him, but Tomas was better. He was going to Lord it over her, but remembered that she had beat him driving.
**************
As their vacation days wound down, the girls went shopping for souvenirs and things not readily available in the states.
At a Spanish costume shop, Angel picked up a couple more outfits. The first was a heavily embroidered, white Curro Romero jacket and a gray skirt. She also bought a blue embroidered, Rejoneador jacket, vest and breeches. These costumes were better made than her other costume. She bought a pair of calf high boots, a pair of ankle high boots; both had 3 inch block heels, two ruffled blouses, two more sets of chandelier earrings and several more bracelets. She wore the blue jacket, vest and breeches out of the store, with the ankle high boots.
**************
They held a big fiesta on Saturday. There were more people there than the first one. Raul and Angel were the featured musicians as before, but there were a lot more of the family involved in providing musical entertainment.
Carmelita got to spend a couple of minutes with each family there. When Margaritas and Carmine’s turn came, the old woman smiled and handed each child a piece of jewelry, which she had collected over the years. To Angel she gave a jeweled guitar broach that looked very old. The edges of the guitar were lined with some shiny stones. The twins each received ruby slipper dangle earrings.
“That was my broach, Angel. I too use to play the guitar. Music was important to us back in the bad old days. Music helped us forget our troubles, at least for a little while. My only regret Angel, is not having met you years ago,” Carmelita said. “Wear that broach with pride and remember me, my little one.”
“I will Aunt Carmelita,”
As they left Carmelita’s side for the next family, Felicia handed Margarita and Carmine some documents, “You might need these documents when you go home. They state that the items listed were indeed a gift, and the value of the gifts is unknown. You may have to pay a duty on them in the U. S. I don’t think they are just costume jewelry, but I don’t know.”
**************
Monday they all went back to the Snow Zone, with Margarita and Carmine. The kids liked watching the olds try to snow board. Neither Margarita nor Carmine had skied or snow boarded before. Just like the kids, they had a hard time at first. Carmine plopped down face forward and plowed snow down half the hill. She sat up laughing at herself. After a while though, they were able to make it down the easy hills without embarrassing themselves too badly.
The parents did worse though, in the arcades and the go-karts, the kids were just too much for the olds. Angel was the grand champion at the go-karts and Grand Prix racing game, Tomas ruled on Hogan’s Alley and the twins on the dancing game.
Margarita and Carmine loved playing with their children; it had been too long since they had just played with their kids like this. The kids got to see a softer, sillier side of their parents. Margarita they found, could be quite the prankster.
**************
The next day they spent getting their purchases and gifts listed on the declaration forms and packing. They were all amazed at how much stuff they had accumulated. They packed all of their new things in one large case, which they bought in Spain, except for Angel’s new costumes, which had their own garment bags.
**************
They had an early breakfast the next morning and they were all surprised at the number of people, many very drowsy that met them at 4 am.
They all received a round of hugs after eating and a promise to keep in touch with each other. Sierra and Nevada both gave Tomas nice kisses on the lips.
Chapter 43
After a long flight, with a two-hour layover at London, Heathrow, they landed at New York JFK. This trip through customs took a little longer. The question wasn’t the Torres guitar, but the Cantu guitar, it was a good thing they had it registered before they left the US and the jewelry. Margarita nearly fainted when she was told the broach was Fabergᨠdiamond and emerald creation. The twins were equally surprised at the value of their earrings. Both families paid more in duties than they expected.
They headed directly to Carmine’s place from the airport. They all were thoroughly exhausted, even though it was early evening, when they arrived. They just managed to get all their stuff inside before they collapsed in their beds.
**************
Saturday, Janice came over with her guitar. The girls just had to regale her with their pictures and stories of their trip to Spain. Janice couldn’t believe the number of pictures that they had taken, there were hundreds and hundreds of pictures.
After a couple of hours of going over their trip and lunch, Angel gave Janice a guitar lesson. She could play an acoustic guitar, but after playing the classical guitar so much over the last few years, she had to think about what she was doing a bit more. Janice was a quick study; she paid a lot of attention to Angel as they worked on their guitars.
Their work was interrupted by the doorbell. A minute after it rang, Carmine came into the girls’ room and asked Angel to come to the living room. All the girls came with Angel to find out what was happening.
In the living room, Angel saw her mother talking to Mrs. Beckman and another girl. Angel’s heart was in her throat. She was worried that there might be a problem with her going to school at Sarah Adams Academy.
“Hello Mrs. Beckman,” Angel said. “Is there a problem with my going to school there?”
“Oh heavens no Angel, this is about Vanessa Hall apologizing to you for putting your videos on the Internet.”
Vanessa Hall was a fifteen year old girl, just a little taller than Angel. She had long blonde hair and two beautiful blue eyes that sparkled. She was dressed in the school’s blue blazer, red tartan pleated skirt, white blouse, red crisscross tie, knee socks, and black Mary Jane flats. Her face was full of worry, but she stood upright and tried to smile.
Angel felt a lot better.
“Angel this is Vanessa Hall, Vanessa, I know that you know Angel.”
“Yes Ma’am, I know of Angel, although we have never met.”
“Do you have something to say to Mrs. Marquez and Angel, Vanessa?”
“Yes Ma’am. Mrs. Marquez, Angel. I am very sorry for posting videos of Angel on YouTube. I didn’t think about what I was doing before I did it. I liked what I had done, in working with the raw video and audio. I have never heard anybody play the guitar like you before, Angel. I loved listening to you play. You are the greatest, Angel.”
The more Vanessa talked the more she began to tremble. She was almost in tears at this point.
“I now realize that I violated your privacy by posting those videos without your consent. I also violated the schools trust in me. They let me work with those raws, so I could learn how to do video editing. I know that you, your Mom and the school can sue me and my family for this violation and I won’t blame you if you did. You would be fully justified in this action. I admit, I did it, nobody else is to blame, I did all the editing at school and loaded the finished videos onto a flash drive and uploaded them onto my You Tube account. I just wanted to show other people the wonderful music you made Angel. I am sorry.”
The dam burst and Vanessa started to cry. Angel ran over to the girl and hugged her, telling her not to worry about it. Vanessa hugged Angel tightly.
“I am so sorry Angel,” Vanessa said, as she cried on the girls shoulder.
“It was bound to happen sooner or later Vanessa. Don’t worry; my mom is not going to sue you. Are you Mom?”
“No, I am not happy about it, Vanessa, but I am not out to ruin you or your family.”
Vanessa then ran over to Margarita and gave her a big hug.
“I am so sorry Mrs. Marquez; I didn’t do it to hurt your daughter.”
“I know you didn’t, but some actions have consequences, sometimes big consequences. You need to think before you do things.”
Vanessa then stood before Mrs. Beckman.
“Again, Mrs. Beckman I am sorry for what I did. I know that you could expel me or worse. I would deserve it if you did.”
“We aren’t going to expel you Vanessa, we might monitor you more closely for the next few months and you will have to earn our trust again, but you are still one of our best students.”
Mrs. Beckman was a very proper lady, but she knew the power of words and the power of a good hug. She reached out and gave Vanessa a big hug.
After she let Vanessa go, Mrs. Beckman said, “I guess we should be returning to school now.”
“I won’t hear of that Ethel,” Carmine said, “You will stay here for dinner.”
Mrs. Beckman smiled, “Well I guess, if you insist.”
“I insist.”
“Yes, you are welcome,” Margarita said.
Sierra and Nevada each took one of Vanessa’s arms and said, “Come on back to our room, Vanessa.”
“What video’s are they talking about, Angel?” Janice asked.
“Oh sorry, Janice, we didn’t tell you about them. Janice, this is Vanessa Hall. Vanessa this is Janice Fletcher, she is a friend of mine.”
Back in the girls’ room, Angel had Vanessa pull up the videos of Angel that she had posted. All of the videos had garnered lots of hits and comments. One video had gotten almost three quarters of a million hits and twenty three pages of comments.
“Oh, my Angel. I would never have thought that they would get those kinds of numbers in just over two weeks,” Vanessa said.
“Wow, Angel, you’re an Internet star,” Janice said.
The girls played all of the videos online for Janice. They all talked about the videos and each girl picked out her favorite.
Angel then said, “Let’s dress up for Dinner. Janice you are staying for dinner.”
“I don’t know, I have to talk to my mom and I don’t have any good clothes.”
“Call her; better yet, ask her to come over too. I will tell my Mom.” Angel said, handing Janice a cell phone. “Don’t worry about clothes; there are enough dressy girls’ clothes here for all of us.”
They all started working on getting dressed. Vanessa was just going to sit back and watch, but Sierra and Nevada got to work on undressing her and dressing her up, as Angel was working with Janice. Vanessa was handed the outfit that Angel had worn in the video, Angel wore her White outfit and helped Janice dressed in the blue outfit.
The jacket and skirt were too tight in the waist, so Angel had to pull out her basque. Janice blanched a bit, she didn’t know what to call it, she hadn’t worn one before, but she knew in her heart what it was meant to do. Angel strapped it on Janice in her own room. She was surprised that Janice had more up top than she did, without the breast forms.
Janice saw her confusion and said. “I have been taking hormones for years, Angel.”
“They prescribed them for you at your age?”
“No, I snuck behind Mom’s back, till she caught me. The doc was pissed at me too. These,” Janice said, indicating her breasts. “Were the reason, I started dressing as a girl full time. I just couldn’t hide them very well.”
Angel stuck a couple of pads into the cups, to flesh them out and Janice fit nicely into her clothes.
**************
Carmine started the cooking in the kitchen, with Ethel and Margarita’s help. Then Ethel took over as Margarita and Carmen went to get dressed.
Ethel didn’t escape either. Margarita brought her a lovely teal, cocktail dress and shoed her off to her room to change, after she had gotten dressed.
**************
The girls’ room was a war zone, with hair and makeup flying everywhere. Vanessa was, much to the twins delight, very good with makeup. She was ecstatic with the girls’ makeup kits. The twins went to work on the hair, of those not getting their faces done.
Once they were finished, they waited in the twins’ room for Mrs. Fletcher to arrive.
Carmine greeted Rita when she rang the doorbell and made the introductions in the dinning room. Margarita knocked on the twins’ bedroom door.
The ladies were all standing as the girls came in. They oohed and ahhed as they saw the girls. First the twins came out in long sheath dresses, Sierra in red and Nevada in green. Next was Vanessa, followed by Angel and last was Janice.
When Rita saw Janice, she gasped. Janice was really beautiful. She reminded her of herself as a young girl.
“Oh my gosh, Janice. You look so lovely. Where did you get that outfit?”
“It belongs to Angel, she loaned it to me. She also loaned an outfit to Vanessa too.”
“Well it is so pretty, you better be careful not to stain it, ok.”
“I will Mom.”
“Mrs. Fletcher, this is Vanessa Hall, a girl that goes to school where Angel will be going,” Angel said.
“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Fletcher.”
“It is nice to meet you too Vanessa. All of you girls look so nice.”
Everyone sat at the dinner table and after the food was blessed, they began to eat. Vanessa took this time to explain why she was here. Janice told her mom about what a big Internet star Angel was. Angel and the rest of the family talked about their trip to Spain.
After dinner, Angel and Janice played their guitars. They played some easy pieces: House of the Rising Sun, Greensleeves and Janice played the bass line, while Angel played the main line, of Pachelbel’s Cannon in D.
They girls then went to Photobucket on a laptop and put their pictures of their trip up on the LCD TV for all to see. The girls explained what the pictures were, as best they could.
Mrs. Beckman was fascinated to learn that Angel had played guitar with Servando Morales. She hadn’t known that name before this summer, but after hearing Angel play guitar, she had done a lot of googling on the classical guitar. She had found a list of the top classical guitarists.
After going through the pictures, they all sat around and talked.
“Well Janice, where do you go to school?” Mrs. Beckman asked.
“I did go to Crestview High, but that is going to change this fall. I am going to have to change schools.”
“It’s a long story, Mrs. Beckman and I don’t want to go over it right now.” Rita said.
“What kind of grades did you get?”
“Last semester, I got five A’s and two B’s. I usually do better, but Calculus and Physics were kind of hard at first. I got the hang of it now.”
“Were you taking a senior level math course as a freshman?”
“Algebra was boring the first semester. I took a test in December and they let me take Calculus in the spring. I had a lot of catching up to do.”
“Girl’s, why don’t you go change out of those nice clothes, I would hate to see them get dirty.” Mrs. Beckman said.
The girls got up to go change. Angel and the twins suspected what was going to happen after they left the room. Angel and Janice undressed and then hung up the outfits.
“Angel, this jacket and skirt are so nice, thank you for letting me wear it.”
“No problem Janice, you are welcome. You and Vanessa looked so nice in them. I loved helping you out.”
Back in the living room Mrs. Beckman said, “Mrs. Fletcher, I would like to test Janice and see if she could fit into our school.”
“I… I… couldn’t do that. For one thing I don’t have the money to send Janice to a private school. We just couldn’t afford that.”
“We do have a scholarship program. A good third of our students are on some sort of financial aide.”
“I… I… just couldn’t.”
Mrs. Beckman reached into her purse and took a card, out of her card holder. She scribbled a note on the backside and then handed it to Mrs. Fletcher.
“Call me Monday, I bet we could work something out for you. Please Mrs. Fletcher, call me.”
Mrs. Fletcher looked at the back of the card. It read, I know, please call me. I can help you.
Once the girls were back in the room, Rita said, “Well it is getting late. We need to be heading home.”
“We need to be going too, Vanessa. I hadn’t planed to spend all day in town, but I admit it was a delightful experience.”
Janice hugged Angel and the twins, and then Vanessa hugged Angel, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you Angel. I really didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me, Vanessa. I was just surprised to see myself on the Internet.”
**************
Angel had to start getting ready for school. Sarah Adams’ Academy actually started next Monday, a full nine days before Sierra and Nevada had to return. She had to come in two days before the regular students, for orientation. Margarita had already returned to New York to start her new job.
Her first stop was a shop, which sold uniforms for Sarah Adams’ Academy. She got five sets of uniforms and two extra Long uniform skirts for cold weather. She also needed the orchestra outfit, which consisted of a jacket, a long black skirt and a blouse. She passed on the Phys Ed clothes, except for the schools hooded jacket sweat shirt and pants.
She got her hair and nails done one last time before school, visited her doctor and her psychologist, picked up a ninety day supply of meds and played with the guys at Leo’s one last time.
She was a big hit at Leo’s. He had life-sized posters made up from some of the images downloaded off the Internet. Leo asked if she minded, she said it was alright. He then had her autograph the posters that he had up.
“I have to admit,” Leo said, “I was surprised to find you on youtube.”
“I hadn’t planned on being there. One of the students at the school I am going too, boot legged some video the school had shot and uploaded them herself.”
“I have to admit, those were some fine videos, very professional. The audio was outstanding and the video editing was above par.”
“The school has a really nice recording sound stage. The girl is a sophomore in school, named Vanessa Hall. She edited the raw video herself and mixed in the audio. She took feed from four cameras and melded it into a video.”
“Wow, I am impressed. You say she is a sophomore. I am going to keep my eyes open for her name. I am sure she is going to do well in the biz.”
“She got in a little trouble over it; she didn’t have my families, or the school’s permission to post it.”
“Are you or the school gonna sue?”
“No, she is a good kid, but she is in the doghouse right now.”
They played their usual set and Angel sold seven high-end guitars, three she autographed. Leo’s was so packed for the jam session. They had to move it to the courtyard in front of the shop.
As Angel was getting ready to leave, Leo stopped her.
“You don’t think we are going to let you go without saying goodbye. Do you?”
“I’m not going away forever Leo, just to school.”
“Well, just come over here girl.”
Wee Willy and Jeffery Wilkins brought out a guitar shaped cake, with three sparklers burning on it. ‘Good luck at your new school’ was written on it, in icing.
“Come on guys. You didn’t need to do this. I will be back.”
“You better come back and visit us Angel,” Wee Willy said.
“Don’t make us come to kidnap you from school,” Jeffery said.
“I won’t be here for your jam sessions, but I will drop by here on some weekends.”
“Just give us some warning, Angel. We will set up a show for you. Here are our E-mail addresses. Write us girl,” Leo said.
“I will send you my new E-mail address, when I get it guys.”
They cut the cake and sat around talking in the back of the shop.
“We also got some presents for you,” Leo said.
The guys handed her three presents. Leo bought her a sterling silver necklace with a guitar pendant. Wee Willy bought her silver guitar drop earrings and Jeffery gave her a charm bracelet with a guitar charm on it. Angel kissed all of them on the cheek and put on her new jewelry.
“Guys you shouldn’t have, but thank you anyways.”
Chapter 44
Angel couldn’t find Janice to say goodbye. She had seen neither hide nor hair of her all week. She did leave her some emails in her inbox, but she was a little sad that she would be unable to say goodbye in person.
Saturday, after breakfast, Angel, the twins and Carmine loaded all of Angels’ things into a van that Uncle Rolando had brought by. It was a nice van and they needed all the space. Margarita was unable to make it down this weekend. She was on a retreat with the senior management.
As they pulled onto the campus, a senior student stopped them at the gate. After identifying themselves, they were directed back to the Mrs. Westfall’s cottage.
There were three girls sitting on a bench, near the cottage, wearing the scools sweat pants and hoodie. They approached the van as it pulled to a stop. The girls introduced themselves and asked.
“Angel Marquez, for Mrs. Westfall’s cottage right?” One girl asked.
“Yes, this is Angel Marquez,” Carmine said, standing behind Angel.
The girls attacked the van. With Carmine and the twins, they only needed to make two trips to the van.
Mrs. Westfall greeted them all warmly, as they entered the dorm.
“Where is Margarita?” She asked.
“She just started a new job and is in a business meeting this weekend. She gave me guardianship. That is not going to be a problem is it?”
“No, of course not. Some students arrive here with only a chauffer. We don’t like that, but some parents are just too busy.” Sarah said with a little distaste to her voice. “I just wanted to tell her how happy we are to have Angel here.”
“You don’t have to worry about Angel. We won’t leave her here and forget about her. She may spend one or two weekends a month here, but we love her too much just to abandon her.”
Mrs. Westfall smiled at that. She had three girls that spent all of last year here.
“I didn’t think she would be forgotten. I will need to sign her in, verify contact information, collect any medicines and get her into her room. Girls, she is in her old room.”
The girls headed to the room she had been in this summer. She was the first to arrive at the cottage and had her pick of beds. She chose the bed nearest the bathroom.
Everything was taken from the van and in her room in fifteen minutes. The seniors headed back to their station and the twins helped Angel to get all of her things put away, as Carmine sat and talked with Mrs. Westfall.
In an hour, they had the luggage all nested and stowed on top of the armoire. The bed was made; her stuffed guitar was strategically placed on the bed, her laptop on her desk, family photos on top of her dresser and the few other personal touches that were allowed.
“My room is ready for inspection Mrs. Westfall.” Angel said.
Mrs. Westfall was surprised by that; it usually took girls hours to get their rooms in order. Especially when they brought in as much stuff as Angel had. She found the room neat and in order. It was unusual to find a freshman that had as much discipline as Angel was.
“Yes, this room is in order. Nice job Angel, Sierra and Nevada. You all did a good job.”
The girls ate lunch with Mrs. Westfall and then took Carmine on a tour of the Campus, showing her areas that she had yet to see. At three thirty, Carmine and the twins gave Angel a tearful goodbye. The twins hated to leave their cousin. It had been so much fun having a third sister, so to speak, this summer.
There were two more girls there by dinnertime. Neither one of them were in Angel’s room. One of the girls Angel already knew from this summer, so they had a happy reunion.
**************
Sunday, nine more girls arrived. Angel took up station with the seniors and helped the girls get their things into the dorm. An hour before dinner, Angel was inside playing her guitar, as a large group of girls sat around listening.
As she was playing, she heard her name called. She turned to the door and screamed as she saw Janice.
“Janice, it is so good to see you. Are you going to this school too? Are you staying in this dorm? Come on tell me.” Angel said, in one breath. She had jumped up, set her guitar gingerly in its case and ran over to give her a hug.
“Yes and no.” Janice said. “Yes I am going to this school now and no I am not in this cottage. I am in Mrs. Collins cottage.” Janice said, pointing in the direction of her cottage.
“How?”
“I got a full scholarship. I have been here all week testing. Yesterday we went to town and got my things and some uniforms.”
“You have got to tell me all about it.”
“It will have to be later. I have to get my room in order. I just came over here to say hi.”
Angel put her guitar in her room and walked Janice back to her cottage, talking all the way. At the door, they hugged and parted ways.
As she walked back, she thought how life had changed for her. Life seemed to be getting better. Angel was walking on air, knowing she had many new friends, a new school, a wonderful family and many more wonderful relatives that all accepted her for who she really is. Life was definitely going to be interesting from now on. She couldn’t imagine where it would all end up, but she definitely wanted to be part of this exciting journey.
The End
I want to thank everyone who have read and commented on Angel Marquez. It has been a fun story to write. I am taking a little break from this story to write others, but there just may be a sequel in my gray cells somewhere.
Thank you,
Paula
Angel Marquez begins her classes at Sarah Adam's Academy. She gets to meet her new roomates and finds out what the school year holds for her.
Angel Marquez-The Angel Blossoms
by
Paula Dillon
Angel Marquez had to hurry back to her cottage after leaving her friend Janice. It, was fifteen to nine and she had to be in her room in a few minutes. She would hate being on Mrs. Westfall’s bad side before school even began. It had been good seeing Janice Fletcher again and she looked forward to going to school with her. Mrs. Westfall was waiting by the door as Angel came back in.
“Cutting it close on your first night here, Angel?”
“Sorry Mrs. Westfall.”
“There is nothing to apologize for yet, Angel. I just want you to be aware of the rules.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Westfall. I will pay closer attention to the time.”
“You have five minutes to do as you want, Angel”
Angel chose to catch the last bit of what was on TV, so she sat with a couple of the girls. She had no roommates yet and wondered if that was to be the way it was. The ending credits were just rolling when there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Westfall got up and answered the door.
“Hello, can I help you?”
“We are so sorry for our lateness, please forgive us,” a male voice said, in a thick Japanese accent. “Our plane had to divert southward to avoid some severe weather. Please don’t hold it against our daughter.”
“Oh, you must be Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi. I am Mrs. Sandra Westfall, welcome to our school. There is no problem with the lateness, it is better to be safe than sorry.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Westfall. I am Takahashi Akio and this is my wife Chiharu and our daughter Natsuko.”
“Angel, please come over here.”
Angel got up and went over to Mrs. Westfall. There were three Orientals standing at the door. Two were clearly in their late thirties and one was a teenage girl. The teen was strikingly beautiful; she was about five foot five, slim, a round face with a bright smile, dark hair and eyes. Her silky black hair came down to her lower back and she had a very proportionate figure. Angel envied the girl’s appearance.
“Angel, this will be your first roommate, Takahashi Natsuko, with her parents Akiosama and Chiharusama.”
Angel had read enough manga to respond, she thought, appropriately. She bowed about halfway and said, “Konnichi wa. Watashi no namae wa Angel Marquez desu. Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.” Of course, she made about a hundred errors in pronunciation and choices of words.
The Takahashi’s smiled and bowed back to Angel. “Konban wa, Angel Marquez,” Akio said. “It is good meeting the girl our daughter will be staying with,” he said in a crisp clear but accented English.”
“Angel, why don’t you help Natsuko chan get settled while I talk to her parents,” Mrs. Westfall directed.
“Natsuko, let’s go get your things,” Angel said.
“There is no need, I have my men to help,” Akio said. “Just make sure the girls in your room are decent and they will do the rest.”
“Natsuko chan is my first roommate, so that will be no problem.”
Angel led Natsuko to their room and the chauffeur and another man, began bringing her things in.
Natsuko turned towards Angel, smiling; she had such a pretty smile. “Arrigatou gozimasu, Angel chan.”
“You’re welcome Natsuko chan. Just call me Angel.”
Natsuko gave Angel a big smile and said. “Then you must call me Natsuko.”
“I have the last bed there by the bathroom, you can take any of the other beds.”
“If it doesn’t bother you, I will take the bed next to yours.”
“No problem girl,” Angel said, smiling back. “Then that will be your closet,” she said pointing, “and your desk is over there.”
Natsuko then directed the men bringing her things in, in Japanese. They worked efficiently, bringing all of her bags and things in. She pointed to where she wanted this bag or that box. One man brought in two violin cases and set them on top of her desk. When they finished, they bowed to her and said goodbye, Angel thought.
Natsuko grabbed Angel's hand and said, “We must say goodbye, I won’t see my parents again till summer time.”
When her parents finished talking with Mrs. Westfall, they thanked her for her patience and asked her to take good care of their daughter. They then turned towards the two girls. Both parents looked like they were fighting hard not to cry.
Akio bowed to his daughter and said, “Natsuko chan, we are sorry for having to leave you here. You have been our cherry blossom and bright morning star. Work hard and make us proud, daughter,” Akio said.
“I will work very hard, father and mother. I will make you very proud of me.”
Natsuko’s parents then turned towards Angel, “Angel, you are such a beautiful girl, please take care of our little girl.”
“It is my honor to help Natsuko in school this year.”
Her parents then hugged and kissed their daughter before tearfully leaving.
“Angel help Natsuko get her things sorted out, and then it is bed time. Six o’clock comes early,” Mrs. Westfall said.
“Yes ma’am.”
Back in the girl’s room, the girls got busy. Angel made up Natsuko’s bed, took her hygiene bag to the bathroom and then helped sort out her desk. Natsuko first hung all her clothes and then worked on her dresser.
As they worked, the girls traded information. Natsuko was fifteen, a Taurus and had type A blood. Angel didn’t know why that was important, but she told Natsuko that she was fourteen, a Virgo and had type AB blood.
“Then we are very compatible, as my grandmother would say. We are both earth types by our Zodiacs and our blood types are compatible.”
“I can only get blood from an AB or an O,” Angel said.
“No, that isn’t what I mean Angel, Japanese use to believe that certain blood types were only compatible with other blood types. I am an A and I am most compatible with A and AB. You are an AB and you are compatible with everyone.”
“If you say so.”
“It is an old Japanese tradition that has lost favor in the last few years. Still they sometimes share that information when they meet someone new that they date, or work closely with.”
“I see you play the violin.”
“And you play the guitar. What kind of guitar do you play?”
“I can play any guitar, but I prefer the classical guitar. That is what I have with me.”
“I play the violin, electric violin and recorder.”
“Cool, I haven’t seen an electric violin being played before.”
“It is different, but the same.”
The girls then talked about what kinds of music they liked and found they had a lot in common. They then talked about their parents. Natsuko’s parents worked with diplomats and were headed to Madrid. Her father was a trade attaché and her mother was a cultural/protocol officer.
Angel told her that she had a great, great, great Aunt that lived near Madrid, and that she had just come back from Madrid last month. Angel then told Natsuko about her extended family.
“Do you speak many languages?” Angel asked.
“I speak Japanese and English very well, along with a little French and very little Spanish. What can you speak?”
“I am fluent in Spanish and English. I picked up a little Japanese from my mangas and animes.”
Natsuko giggled, “Are you an Otaku?”
“I know that word, but I am not certain of its meaning,”
Natsuko explained that an Otaku is a person that is obsessed with one thing or another, above all else. Most often it described someone obsessed with Ecchi or Hentai manga or anime.
“No, I am not obsessed with anything, I think, although I work very hard at playing my guitar. I think I am pretty balanced in my habits.”
They finished getting Natsuko sorted out enough to begin getting ready for bed. Angel changed out of her clothes and into panties and sleep shirt, while Natsuko brushed her hair, teeth and washed her face. Natsuko came out wearing just her panties and pulled out a red silk pajama set from her drawer. The pajamas were almost as pretty as she was.
Angel saw that Natsuko’s breasts were large for her age, but not tremendously so. She didn’t hazard a guess at Natsuko’s bra size, but there was no doubt that what she had seen earlier was all her.
Six o’clock came early the next morning. They both headed to the showers when the alarm went off. The showers had a wet and dry area, so the girls could change into their underwear before exiting the shower. It was one thing that Angel loved about this school. After a quick shower and a brushing of hair and teeth, they dressed in their white blouses, red plaid skirts and blue blazers. Then they made up their beds.
There were thirteen girls sitting around the table for breakfast. Mrs. Westfall looked over every girl there and smiled as she saw all her girls in their uniforms. She straightened the tie one girl wore, patted a few stray hairs on another girl’s head and picked at some lint on another girl’s blazer. She thought all her girls looked so adorable in their uniforms. These girls were her family now. The table was served family style and plates loaded with food were set on the table.
As the girls ate, Mrs. Westfall continued. “If you girls have any special foods that you like, please leave me a note. I will try to accommodate any request daily, or at least periodically, if it is a special food item.”
“Today, I will tell you your schedule, in the future you may check the bulletin board, in the common room. I will also inform you of any major changes to your routine. At seven forty five, a senior will come to pick you up to take you to orientation. Your rooms will be inspected today, after you leave. So they had better be in ship shape.”
Many girls hurried to their rooms to restore some sense of order after they had eaten. At seven forty five, they were all sitting in the common room waiting, when there was a knock at the door. Angel smiled when she recognized the voice of Amy Spencer.
“Girls, this is Amy Spencer. She is here to escort you to your orientation.”
“Hello Amy,” Angel said.
“Hello Ms. Marquez, when we are in school attire, we will refer to each other by Ms. and their surname. At least when we are in a group.”
“Yes, Ms. Spencer,” Angel corrected.
Amy then led the group to their Chapeltorium, a combination Chapel and auditorium. The freshmen were led to the front rows. There were twenty or thirty upperclassmen present already. Angel sat next to Natsuko and waved at Janice when she saw her group come in. They were all seated by cottage.
When everybody was seated, Ethel Beckman made her appearance at the podium.
“Hello Ladies, it is good to see all these new faces here today. I called you ladies, because that is what you are and how you are expected to act while you are here with us. A lady takes pride in herself and in the institutions she is involved with.
"Here at Sarah Adams Academy we have a tradition of excellence and we expect no less from each of you Ladies. Many of our graduates have gone on to other esteemed institutions of higher learning; like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Julliard, MIT or Oxford.
"We will accept no intolerance from any of you, to anybody, for any reason. Any infraction of this will be harshly dealt with. You are on an honor system here, at Sarah Adams Academy. I expect you to report yourselves, if you inadvertently violate a school rule. Bullying will not be tolerated. Just because you are all girls doesn’t mean there won’t be bullying. In the outside world, you will be expected to work with those you don’t like. Not liking someone is fine, just keep it to yourself and you will be alright; but don’t get caught spreading your hate around.
"You freshmen may ask any student here, bullies are sent packing, if the case warrants it. We sent two girls home last year for gossip mongering. It wasn’t just simple gossip the girls were engaged in, but hate filled rumor spreading. I know it isn’t easy to not gossip amongst yourselves, but you need to be very careful about crossing the line into prejudice.
"This afternoon you will all meet with your counselors to receive your schedules and there will be students who will take you around campus to show you the ropes, so to speak. Our class schedule is quite unique; as you will find out. If you find yourself falling behind, feel free to ask for help. We find that it works well for our students. It is better to ask for help, before you are told that you need help.
"Tomorrow, you will meet with all of your teachers for your Monday/Thursday classes and your Tuesday/Friday classes; you will receive a course syllabus, books and your first reading assignments. Wednesday, you will meet your Wednesday classes and do the same.
"If you work hard, there will be no weekend home work, so those days will be yours. If you fall behind in your coursework though, you will be expected to make it up over the weekend. It can be grueling at times, but it isn’t anything you can’t accomplish.
"Lastly, as a form of announcement, there has been a change in the school’s policy on makeup. We have adopted a school nail polish. It seems one of our girls is in a position where she needs to use it, so to be fair to all students; we have chosen a lovely shade of pink polish. This will be the only polish that is acceptable. If you ladies want to use it, you may purchase it at the school’s Student Union building. Please limit yourselves to two bottles till things settle down. Please don’t try to push us on makeup issues. The only allowed makeup, will be the school’s nail polish. There will be no mascara, foundation, lipstick or lip gloss, eye liner, eye shadow, blush or any other makeup. Violators will earn two demerits; don’t ask what happens when you get to ten demerits, you won’t like the answer.
"Uniforms are another area to earn quick demerits. The seasonal uniform will be worn complete at all times, when it is worn. Skirts will be no higher than two inches above the knee, while inside the quad. Students are not allowed to wear pants, jeans, shorts or T-shirts in the quad. PE clothes most definitely are not allowed inside the quad. You all have your uniforms on now. Wednesday is formal day; all girls will wear their long black skirts, with your white blouses, ties and black blazers. Gym clothes are accepted, but are not allowed inside the quad. If you go to the library on your own time, remember, it is inside the quad. In the cottage areas and Student Union, clothing is more relaxed, but must be tasteful. If you need guidance on this, you may ask your housemothers, or an upperclassman.
"Lastly, we all like to have fun at times. I am no different than you on this. Joking around is alright at appropriate times, but there will be no return of the trickster of last semester.” Mrs. Beckman said, focusing her eyes like lasers at a specific point, in the back of the room. “You won’t want to see me mad at you.”
Angel felt sorry for whoever was the focus of Mrs. Beckman’s attention. The lights on the audience were down, so it was impossible to tell who she was looking at.
“Pranksters may find that the joke is on them, so think before you pull a prank on someone. Thank you.”
Mrs. Beckman left the podium and was replaced by one lady or another over the next two hours. They passed the girls all sorts of information that the girls needed and gave them their encouragement.
At eleven they were allowed to take an early lunch and they were expected back in the Chapeltorium at two. Angel took Natsuko’s hand and dragged her over to meet up with Janice. She was standing there with three other girls.
“Hello, Ms. Fletcher.”
“Hello, Ms. Marquez.”
The girls made their introductions for the others.
Janet’s roommates were Melissa Conroy, Rebecca Alan and Danielle Stanford. They each smiled and welcomed Angel and Natsuko.
“Let’s go eat together,” Angel said.
“Great,” the girls excitedly replied.
As the girls were leaving the Chapeltorium, Angel was intercepted by a senior girl, who was escorting another student.
“You’re Ms. Marquez, right?” the girl asked.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Good, I am Delores Crane and this is Ms. Madeline Boucher. She is your new roommate.”
Another round of introductions followed. Angel was glad to have another girl in her room.
“It is good to meet you Ms. Marques and Ms. Takahashi,” Madeline said.
Madeline was another raven-haired beauty. Her voice was a sweet mezzo-soprano with a heavy French accent. Her skin was a flawless ivory. She was the tallest of the troop, at about five foot eight, and she had to be a slender size two, except for her ample bosom. Madeline could easily pass for an eighteen year-old girl. She easily had the biggest chest of the freshman class. Her face was a perfect diamond, which reminded Angel of a young Katherine Hepburn. Her long black hair came to the middle of her back and was a mass of lovely curls. She had two of the bluest eyes, with a hint of violet, that Angel had ever seen. She had an incredible smile and walked with the grace of a runway model.
Angel led the troop to the lunchroom where she and Natsuko got to know their new roommate. Madeline’s mom was indeed a runway model. She had just entered a two-year contract with a New York house and would be jet setting quite a bit. Madeline was also a music student, she played the piano quite well, so she said.
During lunch, the girls all had a grand time talking with each other. They were quite at ease with each other. There was such a diverse quality to all of their backgrounds, but the girls also had a lot in common. Janice suggested that they all meet up at the student union after dinner and play some music.
“We just have to make sure we get back to the dorms by nine,” Rebecca said. “I am afraid of Mrs. Davis, our house mother.”
“I think Mrs. Westfall could scare the pants off a marine,” Angel said.
“It’s a date then,” Natsuko said.
After an hour, Madeline said she had to leave to get her room in order, as she had just arrived. Angel and Natsuko volunteered to help the girl and left with her. Angel took both girls by the hand and together they headed to their cottage.
Mrs. Beckman met them at their cottage and told them that there would be no one else would be in their room at this time, but that there was always the possibility of another girl transferring in.
The three of them got to work unpacking Madeline. Angel and Natsuko both wanted to drool over her keyboard. It was even better than Joyce's keyboard. Her clothes and things, were just as fabulous. She had clothes from many of the top designers, dresses, blouses, pants, slacks, shorts, skirts and such. Everything was so nice, even her exotic, luscious, lingerie was designer brands. Angel found out that Madeline was a 70F. Madeline explained that that was equivalent to a 32DD. She also had some really lacy, sheer, sexy sleepwear.
The three girls had her unpacked in record time. Madeline was so happy for their help. When they finished, she placed both of her hands on the girls upper arms and air kissed their cheeks as the French were custom to do.
“Thank you so much, I was at a loss about when I would be able to get this done.”
“You’re more than welcome, Madeline,” Angel said. “We need to stick together, girl.”
“ je vous en prie,” Natsuko said, in a Japanese accented French.
Madeline got so excited at hearing Natsuko speak French that she launched into a thousand words in French.
Angel, not to be left out, began talking in Spanish, while Natsuko joined in, in Japanese. The girls were loud enough, that Mrs. Westfall heard them out in the commons. She thought it odd hearing three different languages. She knocked on their door and entered.
“Keep it down girls. What are you all talking about?”
“We don’t know, we were just each talking,” Natsuko said, giggling.
The other two just nodded their assent.
“Geez, I know which room is going to be the wild one this year,” Mrs. Westfall said, in mock sternness, but she couldn’t hold back her smile.
The girls just giggled, as they headed out to the lunchroom. They all stopped by the Student Union to pick up a couple of bottles of nail polish and accoutrements.
Angel met with her counselor, Ms. Gwyneth Holtzman. She went over Angel’s schedule.
Monday and Thursday
8:00-9:20 a.m. Algebra (Math and Science room 104)
9:30-10:50 a.m. Biology (Math and Science room 216)
11:00-12:20 p.m. Government (Humanities room 208)
12:30-1:20 p.m. Lunch
1:30-2:50 p.m. Piano (Music Rehearsal room 4)
3:00-4:30 p.m. Orchestra (Music Orchestra 1)
Tuesday and Friday
8:00-920 a.m. English (Humanities room 110)
9:30-10:50 a.m. Spanish (Humanities room 204)
11:00-12:20 a.m. History (Humanities room 211
12:30-1:20 p.m. lunch
1:30-2:50 p.m. Reading music (Music Rehearsal room 6)
3:00-4:30 p.m. Guitar (Music Rehearsal Room 6)
Wednesday (formal uniforms)
8:00-11:20 Library (Study Hall) Wi-Fi access available.
11:30-12:20 p.m. Lunch
1:30- 3:30 p.m. Orchestra (Music Orchestra 1)
3:40-5:30 p.m. Music Appreciation (Music Auditorium 1)
“Music will be flexible, except for Music Appreciation and Reading Music. You might be working with the choir one day, or working in sections the next. You will spend a minimum of two days four hours in orchestra a week though. Do you have any questions about your classes or schedule, Ms. Marquez?”
“No Ma’am.”
“Tomorrow, you will go to your first Tuesday classroom, for forty minutes, after which, you have ten minutes to make your first Monday classroom, for forty minutes. From there, you go to your second Tuesday, second Monday and so on. Do you understand this procedure?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Good. Then you may tour the buildings and find your classrooms.”
“Thank You, Ma’am.”
Angel left and joined a group of students that had received their schedules. There were a lot of new students wandering the halls of the various buildings. She easily found all of her classrooms and where all of the restrooms were.
In the music building, she met up with her roomies, Natsuko and Madeline. They searched the Music building and then decided to call it an early day. They got back to their cottage at ten till four.
In their room, Madeline suggested that they show each other how well they play their instruments. Just play them loud enough for each other to hear. She started first on her keyboard. She turned it on and turned the volume way down. She then played Chopin’s Piano Sonata no. 3. She played about twenty measures and then made some adjustments to the keyboard. Soon she had a full orchestra, with percussion, playing Ravel’s Bolero.
When she stopped, Natsuko hooked her wireless receiver to Madeline’s keyboard and then got out her electric violin. She clipped the wireless transmitter to her waist, “turn the audio way down and bring it up slowly.”
Natsuko then began adlibbing some Reggae’. It was a very high-energy piece. When she was on the right key, she fluidly shifted into Pachelbel’s cannon. It was nothing like what Pachelbel ever imagined. She fluidly then shifted into Bach’s Partita No. 2, for Violin, in D Minor, BWV 1004, playing this piece properly.
When it was Angel’s turn, she started with Recuerdos de la Alhambra. She then played Classical Gas and finished with Neil Diamond’s, Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, which she also sang softly to. The girls accompanied her with clapping and halle-hallelujahs.
“We are going to make out like bandits,” Madeline said, giggling when Angel finished playing. She pulled the two girls into a group hug.
After dinner, Angel, Natsuko and Madeline asked for permission, from Mrs. Westfall, to head to the student union. She allowed them to go after telling them to be back before 9:00 p.m.
Angel grabbed her guitar and Natsuko her non-electric violin, before the three headed out.
The girls met Janice with her guitar and her roommates, Rebecca brought her guitar, just inside the student union. On the first floor of the student union was a recreation center, with table tennis tables, pool table, dart boards, shuffle board and other games available. There were also rooms with stereos and TVs. They also had a few reading rooms and a snack bar. This was also the building where the cafeteria was located.
On the second floor, were music rooms with pianos, some were upright and some were grand pianos. In the largest room, there was a concert grand piano, the girls wound up in this room. The girls each grabbed a stackable chair and made a semi-circle near the grand piano. They sat and chatted a bit, before Angel started everything by getting out her guitar.
Angel played some fun songs that really didn’t tax her abilities. The girls really enjoyed her play. Natsuko got out her violin and tuned i, as Madeline sat before the grand piano.
When they were all ready, Madeline said, “Canon in D. Do you know this piece Rebecca, or Janice?” When the girls said no, she said, “Natsuko, you take first violin and Angel, take the second violin.”
Madeline began playing the bass line, with Natsuko coming in at the appropriate place, followed by Angel. She then took the viola part on the piano. Pachelbel’s Canon starts off slowly, so Natsuko and Angel easily fit in, as their parts came up. It is basically a follow the leader type piece of music. They sounded as good as any group that had been playing together for a while.
They received quite a bit of applause, their four girl audience had become about ten, with a few more girls coming in, following the music with their ears.
Angel turned to Madeline, “Bohemian Rhapsody?”
“Ok, I will play the intro, you lead Angel and we will back you up. Anybody else want to join us?”
A couple of girls stood. One of them said, “We’re choir girls, if you are going to sing, Angel, the choir mistress had us practicing after we heard your video.”
“Come on up.” Angel said.
Madeline began it, and Angel and Natsuko came in. Then Angel began singing. The choir girls provided her back up. There were some rough spots in their timing but they all knew what they were doing and soon they fit together like gloves. There were about thirty girls applauding, by the time they finished.
“Janice, did you learn Green Sleeves?” Angel asked.
“Yes, but I am not in your class.”
“Come on up, the only way to get better is by playing. How about you Rebecca?”
“Yes, I know it.”
“Madeline, you and Natsuko sit for a bit?”
“Can I sing it with you?” one girl asked.
“Come on up,” Angel said.
Angel helped Janice and Rebecca tune up, and then nodded to the girl, as she began to play. Angel played lead and followed the singer, while Janice and Rebecca played their acoustic guitars. Rebecca was obviously better than Janice, although she did a fair job too. The singer, Joyce, had a beautiful Alto voice.
The audience applauded their efforts as enthusiastically as they had the other performers. Various girls played and sang, till they broke it up by eight thirty. The student union closed at eight forty five.
Back in their rooms, Madeline undressed all the way, right in front of Angel and Natsuko. Angel saw that her fabulous figure was all her. When Madeline saw them blush, she apologized, “Sorry, my mom is a model, I have seen her get undressed so many times in a room full of people, male and female. I did some modeling too. I would undress and dress in front of other girls too, although they never let men into the teen dressing rooms.”
She put on a sheer black lace gown and peignoir. Angel went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and change. She was a little worried about things, but resolved to do her best.
Tuesday, Angel got to meet all of her teachers. The course work was as expected, till she got to Spanish. For some reason, she was put in a low intermediate Spanish class, along with Natsuko. Ms. Rosales, her teacher, asked her to stay after the bell for a few minutes.
“Ms. Marquez, we know that you are fluent in speaking Spanish. You are in this class for several reasons. First, we don’t usually advance a freshman in foreign language classes, we usually put them in a lower level class for at least one semester, so we can get a gauge on how well they write. You are in this class, but you will mostly be doing three things. First, you will help the other students in my class. I don’t usually do this, because most of the Spanish-speaking students, don’t speak pure Castilian Spanish, They speak a cultural variety, or dialect. You know what I mean.”
Angel knew exactly what they were talking about. “It’s like Canadian French, or Cajun French, true Frenchman might not be able to understand them. The Spanish many speak can be quite confusing. My family came from the Madrid region of Spain. The Spanish Spaniards speak, can be radically different, depending on which region of Spain they came from.”
“Exactly Angel, and even though we found some Americanization in the Spanish you speak, it is still closer to the Castilian we teach, than what many of the Hispanic students speak.”
“We also want you to work on translating. We will be giving you Spanish and English texts and we want you to translate it into the other language. Having you do this in self-study mode in this class, will make it easier for you at the intermediate level. We want you to understand the piece, and make your translations give the reader a better understanding of what the author actually meant. Sometimes, intent and meaning are lost in translation, especially in legal translation. We won’t be giving you any legal documents to work with, but this will help you see the difficulties legal translators face.”
“I understand, I think.’
“Good, hopefully, things will become clearer to you as the semester progresses. Now head on to your next class.”
Mrs. Delores Bloomington, Angel found out, was her guitar teacher, piano teacher and her music-reading teacher.
“I teach guitar here at school Ms. Marquez, but I have to admit that I am an acoustical guitar player and I’m not even in your league. I won’t be able to teach you much about guitar technique, not that you need much training in technique. I will expand your repertoire, help teach you to read music better and help you learn your pieces for orchestra, on top of teaching you to use the piano. I will also liaise with the choir, the chamber music groups and other groups that want a piece of your time. I will also help you develop your stage presence. After seeing you play for us this summer, that part won’t be hard. You do very well on stage. You seem to feed off the audience and then give them what they want.”
“You will need to work on your guitar every day; I don’t think I need to tell you that. I will want to hear you when you practice. I have a very good ear and can tell if you are letting things slide.”
“We have many very accomplished musicians at this school. I include you in this group. You may be in the top three students here this year. You, Ms. Takahashi and Ms. Boucher will become the foundation of our music department in the coming years. We have high expectations of you.”
After talking for an hour, Mrs. Bloomington took Angel to the Music Director, Mrs. Samantha Grogan. Mrs. Grogan gave Angel a large folder of music, and showed her where her chair was in the orchestra. She was to be seated next to a lute player, near the percussion section and behind the string section.
“Angel, for the most part, you will play the same music as the Lute player. But we hope to have you do two solos with the Orchestra by our Christmas program.”
“I will do my best to be ready, Mrs. Grogan.”
Wednesday, the girls dressed in their formal uniform, (black long skirt, white blouse and black blazer) and headed to the library after breakfast. All of the freshman girls headed there at the same time. There were four rows of girls entering the library. The girls had to scan their ID cards at the head of the lines.
The girls were called out by groups of ten and then taken on a tour of the library by a senior student. Angel’s group was led by a very tall blond girl. She had to be nearly six feet tall, very slim and had blue gray eyes. None of her roommates were in this group and only one cottage mate.
“Hello, I am Sandy Peterson; I will be your senior assistant this year. It will be my job to assist you in finding your answers, and help supply you with ideas. I won’t do the work for you, but I will help point you in the right direction. During this time slot you will be expected to do your homework, do any research that you need to do and do most of the writing that you need to do.”
“This is your study time; it will help you if you use your time here judiciously . Our school days are longer, but if you work here well, you won’t have to work as hard at home, or in your cottage. All you may have to do after school, may be some reading. If you have a wi-fi laptop, bring it so you can log onto the library's information directories. It will save you some time. If you need Internet access, see me. I can arrange Internet access for legitimate research, but no chatting, emailing, or just surfing. Now follow me.”
Ms. Paterson gave the girls the nickel tour. She pointed out everything the girls needed to know. She finally led them to their table.
“When you come here in the morning, scan your id cards, which are also your library cards for checking out books, at the door. Then come by this table. I will need to acknowledge your presence. That is our morning roll call. No scanning a friend in, if I don’t see you, you aren’t here. If for some reason you need to leave the library, check out with the librarian, Mrs. Newman. She has the desk right by the door. She will have to give you permission. Don’t try sneaking out the fire exits. There are surveillance cameras and alarms on the doors. That would be a major discipline for you, and an automatic Parent conference. Not good, believe me.”
“You may whisper with anyone here, if you need to, but no protracted conversations, please. You are here to work, not to gossip about boys, makeup or fashion. Books maybe checked out for up to two weeks, except for reference books.”
The library orientation took nearly two hours, after which they were released for a long lunch. Angel met up with her friends and Janice’s friends; the seven of them headed to the Student Union.
After they ate, they played pool and ping-pong, before hitting the school store. The girls were surprised to find that they could rent movie DVD’s from the school store, they were all PG 15 or G rated, but they could watch it on the TV’s, or their computers.
Angel and Natsuko had to leave and head to the dorm to pick up their instruments and music folders. In the orchestra practice room, the senior girls for each section made sure the girls got in their correct seats.
Natsuko was surprised to see herself sitting third seat, in the string section, ahead of some older girls. Madeline sat next to an adult pianist. She found out that if she could play the repertoire, she might be the orchestra’s pianist. Angel sat next to a junior girl, a Thelma Sue Watkins, who played a fifteen-string lute.
“My mom named me Thelma, after my Grandmother, but please call me Sue. I saw your videos, I just loved them all. Do you know that you just are so cute, etc. etc. etc,” Sue said, in a rapid fire New England accent.
Angel had never heard a girl talk so fast. She never got a word in edgewise till Mrs. Grogan called them to order.
“Girls, please put your instruments away for today. For you new girls, I am Mrs. Grogan. I am the Music Director for this school, and this is Linda Jones. Ms. Jones is our student conductor. Either of us may conduct you throughout the year. You will give her the same courtesy and respect you would give any conductor that stands before you.”
“Ms. Spencer, please stand… This is Amy Spencer, she is the Concert Mistress and First Violin. She, with Mrs. Bloomington, will work with the string section. Ms. Spencer will set the bowing and will play the concert A for tuning.”
Mrs. Grogan then introduced many other girls, who led their section, before getting into mundane matters.
“In your folders you will find a study schedule, a list of music, a calendar with play dates, and most of your music. We have three performances this semester and we will have six next semester. You will see we have our first performance in six weeks. I know that that is quick, but none of you are beginners. Work hard and we will do well. Slack off and we will suck, if you will excuse my French,” she said, smiling.
That got many of the girls giggling.
“Seriously girls, you are all pretty good, or you wouldn’t be here this semester. We may add some new students this spring as we do have some beginning students, but you will be our core.”
Mrs. Grogan then got down to the music. She read from the schedule and told the girls to read over the music carefully and practice it on their own and in small groups.
“Tomorrow, we will hit the ground running, so be ready.”
The orchestra then broke up into sections. The section leaders led their groups to different rooms to talk turkey. Angel and Sue followed Amy. In their practice room, Amy introduced herself again and talked more about her role. She also introduced Carol Rawlings, second violin and Natsuko Takahashi, third violin, explaining what their status was, why they were so designated and their roles in the group. Angel heard her name called and stood up.
“As first violin, I will have several violin solos. As good as I am with the violin, I feel that Ms. Marquez has the potential to be better with her classical guitar. She has three solos to learn with the orchestra this semester and another seven if she can manage it next semester. She can read music a little, but Ms.s Rawlings and Takahashi will help her, if she needs it.”
Amy then began arranging the seating. Angel sat next to Carol, but at an angle to the other girls. After they were seated, Amy went over some more administrative things.
“Girls!” Amy said, checking her watch. “I am dismissing you forty five minutes early today, but don’t leave! You are expected to be in auditorium one in fifteen minutes. You may leave your instruments here. I will lock the door. I need to see Ms. Takahashi and Ms. Marquez. Dismissed.”
“Angel and Natsuko, follow me and bring your instruments.” Amy said, after the other students had left.
Three other girls were waiting outside Mrs. Grogan’s door. There was their roommate Madeline, and two other girls. Amy made the introductions.
“This is Angel Marquez, classical guitar, Natsuko Takahashi, violin, Madeline Boucher, piano, Lila Dunn, flute and Terri Coulter, saxophone.”
The girls, except for Madeline, all had their instruments. It’s kinda hard to haul a half-ton concert grand around on your back, after all.
Mrs. Grogan smiled at the girls, as she exited her office. “I guess you are wondering what this is about. We are showcasing you today to your fellow students. You are the best of the new crop. We do this every year. We want you to put together a fifteen to twenty minute solo performance. Begin by extemporizing for a few minutes and then play several other pieces. Be as eclectic as possible, we want you to really show off, but the main thing is for you to enjoy yourself as you play. The order will be, Ms. Boucher, Ms. Dunn, Ms. Takahashi, Ms. Marquez and Ms. Coulter. ”
The five freshmen were escorted backstage by Mrs. Grogan and Ms. Spencer, who carried her violin. Amy, Natsuko and Angel tuned up together. Mrs. Grogan had Amy go on stage with the curtains closed.
She then began playing Bellini’s ‘Casta Diva’ as the curtains began parting. She then went into Vivaldi’s Summer, Paganini’s Caprice, and Bach’s Sonata no.1. When she finished she addressed the audience.
“Welcome to our first Music appreciation class for the year. I am Amy Spencer, first violin and concert Mistress of the orchestra. To all of you new freshman, this is when we students. You were each passed out a notebook. Print your name and the name of the teacher for your first music class on Monday in large block letters on the cover. You will be expected to keep notes on who performed, what they played if you know it, or were told what they played and you will be expected to critique their performance. This is an important part of your grade; so don’t forget. Also, be truthful, but tactful, in your criticism. Turn them in as you leave and your teachers will return them on Monday. Your instructors will be reading your notes. Use some intelligence in your criticism.”
“Tonight we have five of our best freshman musicians here tonight. We have many good musicians at our school, so don’t be offended if you are not up here tonight. These girls though, are a cut above most of us.”
“Also, remember, you will probably be in their position at least once this semester, so start planning and practicing, what you would play.”
“Tonight, you have already heard me play and you will hear from Ms.’s Madeline Boucher, Lila Dunn, Natsuko Takahashi, Angel Marques and Terri Coulter. Pay attention to each girl and take good notes. Please hold your applause till they are all through.”
Madeline walked on stage and sat before the concert grand piano. Amy introduced her to the audience. She then played some Chopin, Beethoven, some soft pop and some Jazz. Her play at times was dynamic, other times it was mellow.
Angel liked what she heard. She made her notes in the notebook, Mrs. Grogan had given them.
Lila then came out on stage. After she was introduced, she began with Tchaikovsky’s ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, Moody Blues’ ‘Nights in White Satin’, some Mozart and some Beethoven.
Angel got some chills up her spine as Lila played Nights in White Satin. It was such an enchanting melody. She imagined how it might sound with a full orchestra.
Natsuko then took the stage with her electric violin. Angel already knew what to expect, but the girl blew everyone away. She played some Reggae, Pachelbel’s Cannon, some C&W, Rock and finishing with Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca. It was a very athletic performance that had the audience going.
Angel hated to follow a performance like that, but she did. She started off with a favorite Classical Gas, transitioning for a few bars into a Beatle’s tune and an Elton John tune for a few measures. She hammed it up a bit like Tommy Emmanuel, playing it with more energy than she usually did. She followed it with Recuerdos de la Alhambra, Mediterranean Beauty, Paganini’s Caprice no. 24 and finished up playing and singing New Kid in Town.
Terri played a high energy Yakety Sax, Careless Whisper, Bad to the Bone, Baker Street, Money, Harden my Heart, My Love and Its Still Rock and Roll to Me.
When Terri finished, Amy led the other girls on the stage to a rousing applause. The audience had been so thrilled that they gave the girls a standing ovation as the six of them bowed to the audience.
Amy quieted the crowd down and said, “Is there any doubt that these girls are good?”
The audience again gave them a thunderous applause.
“These girls have set the bar high for you and gave you a target to shoot for. I know you may not meet their expertise, but that is not an excuse not to try. It is only by hard work and trying that these girls have gotten as good as they are. Let’s give them one more round of applause.”
The girls bowed to the audience as they applauded and then hugged each other.
Angel called her Aunt’s home that night. She found out that her Mom was in London and would be home in two weeks. Aunt Carmine told Angel that she would pick her up the Friday before her Mom got back. She talked to her cousins and introduced them to her roommates. She had a good time talking; it helped her, as she missed her mom.
(to be continued)
Angel classes begin and friendships are started.
Angel Marquez-The Angel Blossoms Chapter 2
by
Paula Dillon
School really began on Thursday. Angel liked the way the classes were run. Two thirds of the periods were lectures accompanied by a Power Point presentation. The rest of the class time they used individual computers at their desk to do practical course work. Each teacher had their own Intranet site, which worked just like the Internet. Students could log on a teacher’s site to check on assignments, the syllabus or even check their grades.
The teachers stressed the importance of class participation to the students, and a significant number of the students actually got involved. This was so unlike the schools that Angel had gone to before. It actually helped make the classes less boring. The teachers were even more interesting. They came on strong first, with a lecture on how a grade of a C was unacceptable at this school and that they KNEW that all the students in this class were more than capable of maintaining an A average.
At lunch, Angel met up with her roommates and Janice’s roommates. The cafeteria was much more crowded, as the rest of upperclassmen finally started their classes. There was plenty of room, however, for the seven freshmen to stake their claim to a table.
They talked about what they thought about this school, amongst other things that girls talk about. Janice’s friends were really interested in Madeline and Natsuko. These girls were the first real foreigners that they had ever talked with and seemed exotic. They wanted to know what the countries they came from were like. When they found out that Angel had just come back from Spain, she had to tell them all about the old country.
Lunchtime seemed to fly by. This was a new feeling to Angel. At her other schools, the boy Angel had pretty much been a loner, but here Angel was actually part of a group of girls, who looked up to HER. The summer she had spent as a girl made things go smoother than she had figured.
After lunch, Angel and her roommates headed to the music building, after making a stop by the cottage to pick up their instruments.
Angel’s first music class was piano with Mrs. Bloomington. The teacher gave her a smile, when she saw her student.
“Hello Ms. Marquez,”
“Hello Mrs. Bloomington.”
Mrs. Bloomington then began to give Angel her first real piano test. They were able to proceed a little faster, because Angel already knew what all the keys were, so she didn’t need all those dots that some instructors use with beginners. What she learned was how to sit, how to strike the keys and how to move from key to key. It was all accomplished by repetition. Angel played the simple scales as directed. She already had a high degree of manual dexterity; she just had to train her fingers to make music on the piano. It was different, but more of the same.
Angel made fewer mistakes than most beginners make, especially fewer of those ear shattering, soul wrenching, discordant notes. Still, it was apparent that Angel had a lot of work ahead of her. Mrs. Bloomington finished up the class by teaching Angel how to play a simple child’s song with one hand.
“Well, I am not going to sign you up for the Cliburn competition yet, but you did very well for your first lesson.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bloomington. I sometimes used the piano to figure out a new piece of music which I was trying to learn. I would poke out the notes with one finger and visualize how I would play them.”
“How did you learn to play the guitar?”
“My Uncles and grandfather did and then taught me how to play. I guess it was like follow the leader. They didn’t use books or prepared lessons. Two of my other teachers, Pedro Aguilar and Ricky Montez, taught me how to work out the chords on a piece of music and then how to play the piece on the guitar. Now when I hear a piece, I just figure it out in my head.”
“Do Mr. Aguilar and Mr. Montez read music?”
“Probably a little better than I do.”
“That says a lot. Many rock musicians were like that. They learned how to play their instruments in their garages and got good at it and then got famous. There are many though, who were also very accomplished musicians. Learning to read music can only help you Ms. Marquez.”
“I know it will and I will always give you my best effort.”
“That is all that I can ask from you.”
In orchestra, Mrs. Grogan made an announcement.
“Students, I have made a couple of changes to our repertoire. You can look at the changes on my Intranet site. Ms. Marquez, this affects you. We have picked out your first two solos. You already know them. The first is Spanish Romance and the second is Recuerdos de la Alhambra. Mrs. Bloomington and Ms. Spencer will see that you get to know the arrangements we will be playing. Just listen for now, Ms. Marquez, so I can get the rest of the orchestra up to speed. Section leaders; pass out the new music please.”
This was the first time Angel heard the orchestra play as Ms. Jones directed them. She paid rapt attention to the music and knew she would have to relearn her parts as she tried to follow it along. She knew it wouldn’t be too hard though. It would just take practice.
They worked on four pieces that day. They would play one piece and Mrs. Grogan, who was taking notes, would make some comments. Then they would play it again, stopping at points where they needed work.
They worked on Angel’s two solos and Amy’s solos, Beethoven’s, ‘Violin Concerto in D Major OP. 61 2nd movement’ and Lalo’s, ‘Norwegian Fantasy movements 1 and 2’.
At the end of the class, Mrs. Grogan announced that they would work on Bach’s, ‘Brandenburg Concerto’, Beethoven’s, ‘fifth’ and Vivaldi’s, ‘Winter’ on Monday, and with their sections on Wednesday. With that she dismissed the class.
“Ms. Marquez, do you think you can catch on?” Mrs. Grogan asked.
“The arrangements are a little different from what I usually play, but it shouldn’t be a problem. I will relearn my parts.”
“Good, I will see everybody on Tuesday then. Look over your music and be prepared. Practice, practice, practice ladies.”
Amy, Natsuko and Madeline actually corralled Angel in a practice room and went over them a couple of times before they headed back to their cottage. Amy acted as their conductor, while Natsuko and Madeline played with Angel. Amy corrected Angel a couple of times. They were pretty confident after a half hour of practice. It was mostly a matter of timing, following the director and a few differences in a couple of measures.
After lunch on Friday, Angel met again with Mrs. Bloomington. For reading music, she took a stack of flash cards and went through them having Angel identify what was on the card. She went through the beginner cards and many of the intermediate cards. They spent an hour on various drills that taught the student how to read music.
For guitar class, Angel played her two solos and about a dozen other pieces across her many genres of music. She played many things she hadn’t performed recently and it showed.
“Let me guess, you haven’t played some of those pieces in the past few months?”
“No ma’am, but I have resolved to work through and expand my repertoire. I have been neglecting some really good pieces that weren’t among my favorites.”
“That is really good, Ms. Marquez. I have seen your music list; there is a lot of good music there.”
As Angel left her last class for the day, she stopped by the school’s shop and picked up some movies for the weekend. She and her roommates were stuck at school this weekend. They had talked about what movies they liked this morning, at breakfast. She also picked up several bags of microwave popcorn, while she was there.
When she got to the dorm, several girls were already being picked up by their parents. Natsuko and Madeline were already in their room, changing into more comfortable clothes. Angel showed them the movies she had picked up.
Madeline had Angel sit down at her keyboard and practice her simple scales for half an hour before dinner. Madeline, Angel found out, could be a harsher taskmaster than Mrs. Bloomington, but she also found Madeline’s sense of humor refreshing. The last thing they did on the keyboard, was Madeline playing the left hand to Angel’s right hand on a simple song. Angel did alright, but when Madeline joined her, the music she listened to on the headphones, sounded really good. The chords and other notes she played gave the music some depth and elegance.
There were three other girls spending the weekend at the dorm, Angel found out when she and her roommates came out for their evening meal. Mrs. Westfall said that they could stay up till midnight if they wanted. The girls were enthusiastic when Angel asked the girls if they wanted to watch movies together.
They all headed to bed after watching three movies. Mrs. Westfall even sat out there with them and watched the movies. They all had a good time and enjoyed the popcorn.
Angel, Madeline and Natsuko talked for a while before they went to sleep.
Madeline was the first girl up the next morning. Angel and Natsuko were still zonked out when she went out to the commons.
She was surprised to see a bunch of people sitting there talking with Mrs. Westfall. She knew from the pictures on Angel’s desk just who they were.
“Just a minute, Angel is still asleep.”
She went back into the room, “Angel wake up, time for breakfast.”
“Go away its Saturday,” Angel said, falling back to sleep.
Madeline smiled and went beside Angel’s bed. She pulled the sheets from under the mattress and securely grabbed them at two points.
“Last chance Angel.”
“Go away, let me sleep.”
Madeline then pulled up on the sheets, dumping Angel on the floor. Angel jumped up and chased Madeline out the door into the commons. She stopped when she saw all her family out in the lobby.
“Mom!” Angel said, as she ran into her mother’s arms.
“Angel,” Margarita said excitedly, and hugged her daughter.
“Angel,” Mrs. Westfall said. Her brow was raised in mock sternness, but she could hardly suppress a smile, when she saw Angel come out in her sleep shirt. “Please put some clothes on.”
“Madeline, you are so bad, I am going to get even with you,” Angel said, as she rushed into her room.
Natsuko had gotten up and was brushing her teeth when Angel came back.
“I see you got up.” Angel stated.
“I didn’t want Madeline dumping me on the floor. What got into her panties, this morning?”
“My family is here. Hurry up and get dressed, I want to introduce you to them.”
Angel and Natsuko came out ten minutes later.
“Hi Mom, Aunt Carmine, Sierra and Nevada, these are my roomies. This is Natsuko Takahashi, and this no good person is Madeline Boucher. This is my mom, Margarita Marquez, my Aunt Carmine Santiago and my cousins, Sierra Santiago in Yellow and red and Nevada Santiago in green and brown.”
“What was that noise we heard before you ran out here?” Margarita said snickering.
“That was me waking Angel up, Mrs. Marquez,” Madeline said, in her defense.
“Waking me up, you dumped me out of my bed and onto the floor! I would have gotten up if you would have told me my family was here.”
“I figured they were here to surprise you, so I let it surprise you,” Madeline said.
“Yeah, why did you all come down this weekend? I thought you were in Europe, Mom?”
“We were doing something I haven’t been able to do in the past. I wanted to surprise you for your birthday.”
“That isn’t till Wednesday.”
“At which time I will be in London. I wasn’t going to miss my daughter’s birthday. Get packed girl!”
“Can Madeline and Natsuko come with us? They are stuck here.”
Margarita turned towards Mrs. Westfall.
“It’s up to you Mrs. Marquez. Both of their parents gave me permission to decide on their after school activities. I can give you temporary guardianship.”
“How fast can you three get packed?” Margarita asked to the backs of three girls making a mad dash to their room. “Pack light, we will have a full car.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Marquez. Madeline and Natsuko both might be stuck here most weekends.”
“Where are their parents?”
“They are both out of the country, Natsuko’s parents are diplomats in Spain. They can’t make it back before June. Madeline’s mother is a superstar model. She is getting ready for the winter show and then there will be the spring show and the summer show. I doubt if she will be back here before June.”
“No they won’t be,” Carmine said. “If it is okay, they can come home with Angel anytime I pick up Angel.”
“I was hoping you would say that when I roomed them together, Mrs. Santiago. I just hate to have the girls stuck at this place all year long. I wasn’t going to suggest it just yet, but I hoped you would do this.”
Three happy girls came out of their room, each carrying their bags.
“Follow me,” Mrs. Marquez said.
Outside they met Janice sitting on her suitcase. She jumped up and hugged Angel.
“Did you know about this Janice?”
“Yes, my mom called me Thursday; she told me I couldn’t tell you.”
“You are so bad too, Janice, don’t expect mercy on any guitar lessons I give you.”
“All I can say is that it is a good thing I bought a van,” Carmen said.
“Oh wow,” Angel said, as they saw the new van. It was a large eight passenger van, with cargo room and two rows of seats in the back.
The kids put their cases in the back and climbed in.
“Your cousins are identical twins. How do you tell them apart?”
“Besides Sierra dressing in bright colors, while Nevada likes earth tones, they are mirror image twins. Sierra is right-handed and Nevada is left-handed. They also have birthmarks on the opposite shoulders, Sierra on her left and Nevada on her right.”
“Don’t give,” Sierra said.
“All our secrets away,”
“Angel.”
That exchange had everyone in the van laughing.
“How old are you Madeline?” Sierra asked.
“I am fifteen.”
“How did you get so big?” Nevada asked.
“Nevada, don’t be so rude.”
“I don’t mind Mrs. Santiago.”
“It’s Carmine, girls. You don’t have to be so formal.”
“I started puberty when I was between nine and ten. I was a 65B, what you guys call a 30A cup by eleven. When I hit thirteen I had a growth spurt, height wise that is. I jumped from five foot two, I believe, I was one hundred fifty eight centimeters, to about five foot seven, or about one hundred and seventy centimeters. I was still an A cup. I started modeling, my mom is an international model. Mom had me start birth control pills back then. I am a virgin, but modeling is a different kind of business. Some of the men that work in fashion are not so nice, you see. Over the next two years I sprouted. The doctors were confused. My Mom is a 70B cup and one seventy eight centimeters tall. Anyway, I grew so fast, I have some stretch marks on my breasts, I lost baby fat around my chest and now I am a 70F, or a 32DD. The doctors don’t know why I grew so fast. That is why I go to a girls’ school now. The boys I was around, got to be a problem.”
“You had a problem with boys?” Margarita asked.
“Yes, older boys want to have sex with me. I am not ready. It got really bad.”
Madeline then began talking in French and was surprised when Margarita responded back in French. They talked a bit, Angel could pick out bits, but she couldn’t understand much.
“Sorry, I was just telling your Mom some things. Boys think I am sexy and older than I am; they just want to have sex with me. I just want to be a young girl right now.”
Angel and Natsuko just hugged their roommate.
“My parents are in Madrid, because they will travel so much all over Europe, with their duties to the Consular staff, I wanted to go to a girls school, this school has an excellent music program. That is why I came here,” Natsuko said. “I used to live in Kobe.”
“That is the city that was devastated by an earthquake wasn’t it.” Margarita asked.
“Yes, that was in January of 1995. I was born a couple of months after that, but they taught us about that in school. They teach us a lot about earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan.”
“I imagine so,” Carmine said.
“Tsunamis are giant ocean waves, right?” Sierra asked.
“Yes, they are caused by off shore earthquakes and volcanic activity. A massive earthquake caused the tsunami that did so much damage in Indonesia and other parts surrounding the Indian Ocean.”
“Mom, you have got to hear these girls play. Madeline is great on the piano and Natsuko is awesome on the violin. They are better than I am.”
“Not better, just different,” Madeline said. “We each are very good at what we do.”
“Do we have time to go by Leo’s?”
“Just for a few minutes. I want to check on your guitar. Then we have appointments for fills for your nails. We have family coming over for dinner.”
“Is your guitar broken?” Natsuko asked.
“No, my other guitar is too valuable for me to carry around. It was made by Antonio Torres. He is like the Stradivari of classical guitar makers.”
“Oh really,” Madeline said.
“Yeah, it has been in the family like forever.”
“If forever is a hundred and fifty years,” Margarita said.
They got to the house and quickly unloaded. Mrs. Fletcher was there to pick up Janice.
“Don’t forget, the party is at seven,” Margarita said.
“We will be there,” Janice said.
After the car was unloaded the girls made a trip to the mall. Carmine stayed home to get ready for the party, while Margarita took the girls to the salon at the mall. Angel got a fill and another layer of fiberglass, while Natsuko and Madeline had simple manicures. Then Angel led them to Leo’s.
“Hello Leo,”
“Hey there Angel, I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Hello Mrs. Santiago, Mrs. Marquez.”
“Mom surprised me and picked me up. These girls are my roommates at school. This is Madeline Boucher, and this is Natsuko Takahashi. Girl’s this is Leo Granger.”
“Bonjour Monsieur Granger.”
“Bonjour Mademoiselle Boucher. Vous áªtes trá¨s charmante ma chá¨re. ”
“Et vous áªtes trá¨s gallant.”
Not to be outdone Natsuko said, “Kon'nichiwa shi Granger-sama.”
“Kon'nichiwa Takahashi-chan misu. Mata, hijÅ ni kireidesu. I know a little more French, but I am burnt out on Japanese, and please just call me Leo, everybody calls me Leo around here.” He said laughing.
“Are you here to check out your guitar?”
“No we are here to check on it and to show my friends.”
“Okay, this way girls.” Leo said.
Angel got her guitar case out of the locker and took it back into the store. She took it out of the case and inspected it. She then tuned it up and began playing on it.
“It sounds wonderful,” Natsuko said.
“Yes is does,” Madeline added.
“Leo, would it be possible to lend Natsuko a violin and can Madeline play that keyboard?”
“Sure thing, Angel.”
Leo got his best violin down and handed it to Natsuko. It was a used violin he had bought at an estate sale. While not a Stradivarius it was quite nice. Natsuko rosined up the bow and then tuned up the violin. It was a very nice violin she thought, not as good as hers, but quite adequate.
Madeline was quite satisfied with the Roland keyboard as she played with it.
Angel and the girls got their heads together and picked out three pieces to play. One of the pieces was Classical Gas. All three girls had room for a solo the way they played it. After Classical Gas they played Spanish Romance and Recuerdos de la Alhambra like Angel’s solo.
Leo got excited by what he heard, “You girls are hot. You have got to let me know when you come back to town. I would like to set up a show.”
All too soon, Margarita had to put a stop to it.
Natsuko bowed to and handed Leo back his violin, “It is a very nice violin. Thank you Leo.”
Madeline air kissed both Leo’s cheeks and Angel gave the bear of a man a huge hug.
Angel took care of her guitar and then placed it back in its locker.
Margarita had a few stops to make before they headed back to Aunt Carmine’s home. She picked up a few things they needed for the party.
The ‘Old Men’ were already there when Margarita pulled into the drive. Angel raced to their arms to get her hug. She then took time to introduce her grandfather, Fernando and her uncles Javier and Rolando. Her roommates poured on their charms for the ‘Old Men’, almost as much as the ‘Old Men’ did for them.
Inside were a few other relatives and friends. Angel, her cousins and her roommates mingled a bit and then headed to Sierra’s and Nevada’s. The twins grilled the girls, they wanted to know so much. They also bragged to the girls about Angel.
“Angel has some music on You Tube that has hit the rafters,” Sierra said.
“Yeah, some of her pieces have a couple of hundred thousand hits and thousands of comments,” Nevada added.
“You’re kidding, girls,” Angel said.
“No, it’s true, Angel,” Nevada said, logging on to her computer. After a minute she was on You Tube and showing the girls Angel’s videos.
Angel panned down the comments as the video played. Words like fantastic, brilliant, a true virtuoso popped out at her. She had gone back about five or six pages in the comments when she saw one in Spanish that caught her eye from Servando Morales.
“Oh, my gosh,” she said as she read the comment.
“What does it say,” Natsuko asked.
“Ms. Marquez is a brilliant guitarist, who has a maturity to her play far beyond her age. I met this young lady playing in a park in Madrid. I listened with joy as she played many selections from Spain’s great guitar music. She allowed me the honor of playing with her. Not only can she play well as a soloist but in our duets, she showed that she could blend and weave the music that our guitars were playing. Her name says it all; her play can bring tears to an Angel’s eyes. I have played in many of the great concert halls in Europe and yet I found that I enjoyed playing with this young lady more than some of the greatest musicians in the world. Watch this young Lady; I am sure that you will be hearing more from her. Bravo Angel. Servando Morales”
“Who is Servando Morales?” Madeline asked.
Angel shifted over to Wikipedia and entered his name. She allowed the girls time to read part of his bio and then she went to his homepage and played some of his music for them.
“He is amazing,” Madeline said.
“I had a hard time just keeping up with him. He doesn’t play like he’s eighty something.”
“Your videos were very good to Angel,” Natsuko said. “Were those done at school?”
“Yes, the school wanted to do some videos to use in recruitment. One of the girls, Vanessa Hall, got excited about them and posted them without permission. But enough about me, I think you and Madeline are better than I am. Madeline I love the way you can play the piano and Natsuko you play your violin so brilliantly.”
Madeline made motions with her hands and said, “Keep going with the adjectives, Angel. Don’t stop there, but I meant what I said. We are not better, just different. Each of our disciplines requires a lot of work to be excellent at them and while there are some people who can play several instruments well, they are very few. None of them that I know of reach the level of brilliant. There is just too much work on each instrument to play several extremely well. You are learning piano, I doubt you will ever play in the Cliburn Competition. I can play the guitar a little, but I am not destined to solo for a renowned orchestra on a classical guitar. Natsuko is fabulous on the violin; she is destined to play whatever venue she chooses. We are each very good, but I love to play with both of you. I think we sound smashing together.”
Angel gave what her roommate said a lot of thought.
The party was bigger than any other birthday Angel ever had. She was quite surprised at the number of people that had come; there were over thirty people there. Leo, Jeffery, Wee Willy, Joyce Drummond, and Janice and her Mom were amongst the guests there.
There was a lot of music. Angel played Javier’s guitar for much of the night. Madeline rued that there was no piano and Natsuko missed not having her violin. Natsuko was fascinated watching the twins dance with the adults. The girls did the Flamingo, Tango, Samba and the Mambo. She mentally played the violin to some of their movements. The twins got Madeline and Natsuko out on the floor and danced with them, also. It was strange seeing Sierra leading a much taller Madeline as they tangoed. Madeline had been taught how to dance by her mother, but she wasn’t quite as good as Sierra, but Sierra led her partner off well.
Angel’s birthday cake was shaped like a guitar and about as big. She had fifteen candles on her cake and would have had no problem blowing them out except for the fact that someone had switched candles to those trick candles that relight after being blown out.
The party broke up shortly after Angel opened up her birthday presents. One of the presents was something that was more fitting for the boy Angel; it was an extra-large Grave Digger Monster Truck T Shirt, autographed by Dennis Anderson. Angel had never been to a monster truck show in her life, and wondered what the third cousin twice removed was thinking. She didn’t make a big deal of it and handed it off to her mom before she hurried onto the next gift.
Sunday the girls went to church, Natsuko wasn’t Catholic, but went along anyway. Her parents taught her to study what other people believe and to make up her own mind. Afterward, they picked up Janice and had a leisurely drive back to school. They stopped a couple of times, to catch a site and to have a picnic lunch.
Natsuko and Madeline both received a bunch of hugs from Angel’s clan as the troop left with Margarita. They thanked them for letting them spend the weekend with them.
(to be continued)
Angel Marquez-The Angel Blossoms chapter 3
by
Paula Dillon
Angel continues to grow and blossoms as she cements her place in the hearts of her friends. Along the way she gets a few surprises.
Angel was amazed by the number of groups that wanted a piece of her time when things got rolling at school. She had a commitment with the choir, a chamber music group wanted her to play with them, a girl’s rock group wanted her, even Madeline, Natsuko and Carol Rawlings wanted to form a group. Mrs. Bloomington was very helpful in deciding which groups would help Angel. Besides the orchestra and the choir, she liked the idea of Madeline’s group. She urged Angel not to accept any others, yet.
School was school. There were lessons to be learned and a lot of studying to be done. The Wednesday study session was very helpful. A key point was that there was always someone there who could be helpful. Angel used this time to keep abreast of her classes.
>>>>><<<<<
After lunch on Tuesday, Angel picked up her guitar and hurried to the choir room. There were about thirty girls in the room when Angel got there. She was enthusiastically greeted by some of the girls as she entered the room. They stood around talking for a few minutes until Linda Macy, the choir director came in.
“Settle down girls,” Ms. Macy said. “We have a lot to do. Let’s give Ms. Marquez a warm welcome,” she said, turning to Angel, clapping.
The rest of the girls did the same. Angel began to blush a bit.
“Okay girls, that is enough. We have a show coming up at a children’s hospital in three weeks. Angel, we want you to participate in two songs with us. Do you know ‘Sing’ and ‘Rainbow Connection’?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Can you play and sing them for us?”
Angel took out her guitar, sat on a tall stool and tuned it. She then went into the intro to ‘Sing’. She then sang with the piece. Angel’s voice was clear and strong, as she sang.
Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things, not bad
Sing of happy, not sad.
Angel sang through the song and then created a bridge that allowed her to change keys and rhythm and lead directly into ‘Rainbow Connection’. She sang it through and bridged back to ‘What’s so amazing, that keeps us stargazing’ and sang it through to the end.
Everyone was silent until the last chords Angel played dissipated into nothingness. The choir then erupted into applause, which last ten… twenty seconds. Ms. Macy then got the attention of her students.
“Girls, girls, that is enough. We have got a lot to do,” Ms. West said. “Angel I loved what you played. It was nice how you bridged the two songs together. Unfortunately, the two songs will be separated in time. ‘Sing’ will be the song we will lead with and ‘Rainbow Connection’ will be our closer. I like the way you played ‘Rainbow Connection’ let’s make that our arrangement. Now for ‘Sing’…”
Ms. Macy then went on to explain what she wanted, to the choir and Angel.
Amanda Walker got a stool and sat next to Angel. Ms. Macy then began to direct. Angel began playing and sang the first line, Amanda sang the second. They traded lines and then the choir and piano, joined them at ‘Sing of good things, not bad’. They sang it through and bridged back and repeated from… ‘Sing, sing a song, Let the world sing a long’… to the end of the song. The choir faded out repeating ‘Just sing, sing a song, Just sing, sing a song’, and then Angel and Amanda sang ‘Just sing, sing a song’, one last time.
Ms. Macy gave them some comments and changed a few things, then had them sing it a couple of more times. She smiled when they finished the sing through.
“I like this girls, good job. That is how we will perform it. Now, while we have Angel with us, let’s do ‘Rainbow connection’.”
She went on to tell them what she wanted. She went through the music, assigning sections and a couple of soloists, to sing throughout the piece. Angel held up her hand to speak.
“Yes Angel.” Ms. Macy said.
“This is for kids at a children’s hospital right?”
“Yes, it is. Go on.”
“Well, it would be so cool if Ms. Boucher, she is a pianist, could carry in a small piano, like Schroeder plays. You know, Schroeder from Charlie Brown. She and I could play the intro.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful, a sort of mixed up cartoon number. Charlie Brown meets the Muppets. Let’s talk to your roommate after class.”
They then sung through ‘Rainbow Connection’, a couple of times.
When the class was over, Angel was packing up her guitar when Madeline came in the room. She looked around and then walked up to Ms. Macy.
“Did you send for me, Ms. Macy?”
“Yes I did Ms. Boucher. Angel…”
Angel walked over and joined them.
“… had this wonderful idea. I will let her tell you.”
“The choir is going to a children’s hospital to sing. We are going to sing ‘Rainbow Connection’. I thought it would be so cool to have you bring in a small piano, like Schroeder plays in the Charlie Brown shows.”
Madeline was deep in thought, while Angel told her their plans.
“There are tiny piano’s that play like celestas, they play like a piano, but have metal bars instead of strings. I could say dress in a formal tux with tails and carry it in, along with a real tiny stool.” Madeline said. “Could I also do ‘Schroeder’ from ‘You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown’?”
“That’s what I am talking about,” Angel said.
“That is a great idea Ms. Boucher. Let me see about getting the piano,” Ms. Macy said, “We could add ‘Schroeder’ at the middle. This could be wonderful.”
“It would be cooler if you could play a small guitar or ukulele and Natsuko could play a tiny violin.”
“I could do that if I had the instrument.”
“We only have three weeks, girls. Get on it if you can.”
“Let’s find Natsuko,” Madeline said. “She should be leaving her violin class.”
Angel and Madeline rushed out; they didn’t have far to go. They found her and pitched their idea on the way back to their cottage.
“I have a quarter size violin, but it is back in Kobe.”
“Leo, he could help us out,” Angel said.
Angel hurried into their room and got her cell phone out of her desk. She called Leo at the music shop.
“Put him on speaker phone, Angel,” Natsuko said.
The girls then told him about the show and their idea.
“I can do the guitar and violin easy. I have both of them in stock. I know what you want for the piano, you couldn’t carry it in, but … em. Let me see what I can do.”
Angel gave him a contact number for the school and Ms. Macy’s office.
“Our next practice will be Thursday afternoon, Leo.”
“I can’t promise anything, but I will try.”
>>>>><<<<<
The next choir class found Angel, Natsuko and Madeline standing in front of the class with Ms. Macy talking. There was a knock at the door and a big burly guy stuck his head in.
“Where do you want the new piano, Lady?” He asked.
“Right here,” Ms. Macy said smiling like the cat that ate the canary.
The guy came in with a broom and swept a path into the room and a large area, big enough for a concert grand piano. He then left. A minute later, they could hear men grunting. The double doors to the choir room opened and two huge guys were pushing a tiny piano, on a huge dolly. The guys could have played defensive tackles for a professional football team. The piano was about eighteen inches tall, shaped like a grand piano. It was two feet wide and about four feet deep. A third man carried in a piano bench; that was about eight inches tall. The two men strained and grunted, as they lifted the piano off the trolley. The girls of the choir were laughing and having a ball.
Leo then came in, carrying two small cases. Angel smiled and rushed to give the man a hug.
“Hello Leo.”
“Hello Angel.”
“I loved that entrance, Leo,” Ms. Macy said. “That would be good to incorporate into the show.”
Leo handed Angel a small guitar case and Natsuko a small violin case. He and the guys just stood back.
Madeline made a show out of raising the top of the piano and putting the support in place. She then sat on the tiny bench. It was kind of strange seeing one of the tallest girls at the school sitting on the tiny bench, in front of the tiny piano. Angel and Natsuko took their small instruments out and tuned them, as Madeline got use to the piano.
Madeline stood and made a big show of bowing to where the crowd would be, she turned to the piano and made a motion of flipping her non-existent tails up, as she sat on that tiny bench. She leaned over the piano, like Schroeder did in the cartoon, before she tickled the ivories a bit. She then played the first four measures. The piano sounded more like a glockenspiel, than a piano. She then looked at Angel, who played the first four measures and then Natsuko played the same four measures. They then played them together and then continued with the song, with Angel singing.
Ms. Macy was laughing and almost crying as the girls finished. Leo and the guys were applauding loudly and laughing, as was the choir. It took several minutes for the girls to settle down enough for Ms. Macy to get control.
“That was wonderful, you three need to practice some more with those instruments, but you guys did pretty good. Now let’s try it again with the full choir.”
The second play through with the choir, Angel, Madeline and Natsuko were much better. Ms. Macy decided that they would forgo the usual piano accompaniment and just go with the girls. She had them do it another time.
Regina Wilson then came in and draped herself, like Lucy, on the piano, Mrs. Davis, the choir’s pianist, began playing Beethoven on her grand piano while Madeline hammed up like she was playing the tiny piano. Regina then sang the song ‘Schroeder’. Madeline as Schroeder looked irritated at Lucy, while Lucy made goo goo eyes at Schroeder.
That seen brought tears to everyone’s’ eyes as they laughed at the two girls.
After class, Angel put up her little guitar and skipped over to Leo.
“How were we, Leo?”
“Ya’ll were great! This school has a really good choir. I especially liked how you three hammed it up.”
“I just want to thank you. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing, the guitar is yours and Natsuko can keep the violin. The piano was the most expensive; you can just donate it to the children’s hospital.”
Angel just gave Leo another hug.
>>>>><<<<<
Angel got together with Janet and Rebecca after school for a guitar lesson in the Student Union building. They practiced chord progressions and played some songs together.
“How did you get so good, Angel?” Rebecca asked.
“I don’t know? Determination, lots of practice, a family with many good musicians, a bunch of great teachers, and an excellent instrument that makes you just want to play it, I guess.”
“Whatever, you play very well!” Janet exclaimed.
“I just feel all this music, in my soul, which is shouting at me to play it. I can’t describe what I am feeling when I am playing well.”
“Better than sex,” Rebecca joked.
“I wouldn’t know about that yet,” Angel said. “But it just may be.” Angel’s Mom and Aunt had told her that there may be conversations that might be like this. They told her that girls talk about sex almost as much as boys do. She had talked and practiced with the twins.
“How would you know about sex, Rebecca? Have you done it yet?” Janet asked, kidding her roommate.
Rebecca blushed, “I haven’t done it myself, but I have been close to doing it a couple of times. We kissed a lot and his hands were everywhere, except down there. I did touch a boy down there, once. How about you, Angel?”
“I haven’t really had a chance. Between my music and my mom watching over me, I really haven’t had the opportunity. Mom won’t let me date till I am sixteen. She just started letting me play with makeup this summer.”
“How much do you practice your guitar playing, girl?” Rebecca asked.
“An hour and a half, maybe two hours a day.”
“Everyday?”
“Pretty much. I might have missed a few days over the last four years. That’s what it takes to be really good.”
“And you’ve never gone out with a boy?”
“Not yet. Mother was a stay at home Mom. After she divorced my sperm donor, I helped her get over him and start living again.”
“You hate, your father. Did he abuse you?”
Angel’s eyes began to glisten with tears forming, “He never touched me like that, but he did hit me once with his fist. He was a sexist pig and a control freak. Everything he did had to be a certain way, which was his way. After he hit me, Mom clocked him on the head with a frying pan and told him to get out. He never came home again, after that.”
“What did you do to get him so mad?”
“I didn’t have to do anything in particular, he was just a jerk.”
“How old were you?”
“Six.”
“I am so sorry Angel,” Rebecca said, as she reached over and hugged Angel.
She cried on Rebecca’s shoulder. This was the first time Angel could remember crying over this. She was wishing that she would have had a loving father.
“Please Rebecca, don’t spread this around.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. I know when something is too important to tell.”
Janet walked with Angel back to her cottage.
“Let me guess, your father hit you, because you are like me.”
“Yes and my Mom really did hit him with a frying pan.”
“I understand, Angel. If you need to talk, find me. I understand where you are coming from.”
“I will. Thank you.”
They hugged and headed to their own cottage.
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday morning the freshmen were in their formal uniforms and in the library. Angel brought her laptop as did most of the girls there. Angel spent the first part of the class getting familiar with the library’s intranet resources. The front page had menus of what was available. There was an online card catalogue, music resources, periodicals that included most major newspapers that could be read online, virtual art galleries, virtual museums and so much more.
She did her homework and emailed it to her teachers, when she finished it. There was a math program on the library's homepage that let her do her algebra and insert the symbols she needed. From her English teacher’s homepage she selected her research paper’s topic. She chose to do her paper on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character, Sherlock Holmes.
She chose to read the novel ‘The Hounds of Baskerville’ and the short stories ‘A Case of Identity’, ‘The Adventure of the Red-Headed League’ and ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’. She also found ‘Howdunit Book of Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers’ and ‘The Casebook of Forensic Detection: How Science Solved 100 of the World's Most Baffling Crimes’. That was a lot of reading she had to do, but she was a fast reader and she loved detective stories. The Library had the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes and would order the other two books using a library exchange system.
Angel copied the Dewey Decimal Classification for the Sherlock Holmes books and went in search for the books. A roving senior sent her off in the right direction. Once she was in the right area, she quickly found the books she needed. When she got back to her computer she had an email from the librarian. Angel was able to download a Kindle reader program and the two books she wanted.
Next she wanted to check out some Spanish History. She found books in both English and Spanish. She decided to read some of each. Again, Angel was able to find a couple of books and download one in Spanish. On a whim she emailed her Spanish teacher and told her about a discussion she had with her family in Spain. She had a recording of her great, great, Aunt Carmelita Ramos. Angel wrote a little about her 104 year old Aunt and what was in the recording (in Spanish, of course). She remembered that there wasn’t anything in it that gave her away. She offered to let her teacher use the recording if she wanted.
Mrs. Rosales was quick to reply to Angel, she initiated a chat program with her student. She wanted to know what media was the recording in. Angel replied that she had the recording on her hard drive of this computer. She asked if Angel could send her a copy. Angel found the recording and sent the file to her teacher. Mrs. Rosales said she'd received it and thanked Angel.
After four hours in the library Angel met up with her roommates and headed to lunch. They were glad it was lunch time, they had each used the time judiciously, but four hours is four hours.
It was still strange seeing so many girls in their formal uniforms. Unlike some schools, the uniforms here looked good and the formal uniforms with their ruffled blouses looked especially nice. Most of the girls acted particularly ladylike on Wednesdays, none were more ladylike than Madeline. She always seemed elegant. She would make an excellent straight woman for a comedy routine.
>>>>><<<<<
As much as Angel loved playing music, she also loved listening to music. Music appreciation this week was no different. Angel took notes as a string quartet played some classical music. Amy and Carol were in this group. Then there was a small choral group singing a cappella. There was a harp solo, a pop/rock group and lastly there was a senior who sang ‘Stetit Puella’, ‘In Trutina’ and “Dulcissime’ from ‘Carmina Burana’. The music was a full orchestra recording.
When Angel got back to the dorm, she checked her email. Mrs. Rosales sent her an email thanking her for the recording and asking her to come to the Advanced Spanish class room 208 at eleven on Thursday. Mrs. Rosales stated she cleared it with Angel’s Government class teacher. She got emails from the twins, Aunt Carmine and her mother. She also saw one from Servando Morales.
Dear Angel,
It was wonderful finding your videos on the computer. My assistant constantly checks what you call YOUTUBE, for interesting new artists. She brought your videos to my attention. Imagine my surprise at seeing that young lady that I played with in Madrid on her computer screen. Anita was surprised to hear that I already met and played with the young lady she was bringing to my attention. I loved watching you play and dictated a comment to her.
Anita checked up and read the other comments, and she found your reply to my comment. She did some research for me and found your school. I have corresponded with your school. I assume they checked me out. Four days later they sent me an email and said that they would be happy to forward an email to you.
I am glad for the opportunity to write you and tell you to keep up the good work. I will be in New York to play with the New York Philharmonic in December. I would love for you and some of your friends to attend this concert. Please tell me how many might attend and I will send you tickets.
With admiration and affection
Servando Morales.
Angel checked her calendar and saw that Servando was a guest Soloist and got the dates. She also noted that they also had a concert in New York the weekend before Servando Morales’ performance. We won’t be playing at the Lincoln Center, but still, I think we are a very good orchestra, Angel thought.
Angel composed an email back to him.
Dear Mr. Morales,
I enjoyed your comment on YouTube almost as much as when I got the opportunity to play with you.
I still remember the day I met you. I thought I was doing a favor for a nice old man. I was surprised though when you began to push and challenge me musically to play better. You remind me so much of the ‘Old Men’ who taught me how to play. My Grandfather and two great uncles, Pedro Aguilar and Ricky Montez taught me to love Classical and Spanish guitars.
I will always remember the time we played together fondly. I need to check with my mom and school about attending your performance. My school also has a concert in New York on December the sixth. It may not be the Lincoln Center, but I would like to invite you to attend it. I know that you may have a busy schedule, but it would be nice having you there. I may be playing ‘Spanish Romance’ or ‘Recuerdos de la Alhambra’. That is what I am practicing with our Orchestra. We have a very good orchestra for an all-girl high school.
Thank you for writing to me, I hope you will always be my friend.
Love,
Angel
She hit send and then printed out Servando Morales’ email.
(to be continued)
Angel Marquez-The Angel Blossoms chapter 4
by
Paula Dillon
Angel and her roommates continue their education and get to know each other better. Natsuko shows who is boss at table tennis and makes new friends. The girls are a big hit at the children’s hospital. Madeline wows the kids, Angel delights them and the kids have a grand ole time.
Saturday Angel and her roommates joined many of the students that were stuck on campus for the weekend. The Athletic Director, Coach Deborah Smith, got the students in the Student Union at nine and announced a Ping-Pong tournament. Sixteen students signed up for the tourney. The prize was a stack of movies and the use of the popcorn machine, for the weekend.
Madeline wasn’t playing, but she volunteered to be an official score keeper and flip scorecards.
Angel had played a little and she was a ‘middle of the road’ type player. Her style was that of a blocker. She selected one of the hard sandpaper paddles, which she used to just block the balls back across the net. She figured that she would be beaten after a round or two. She was a very frustrating defensive style player.
Luck of the draw found Angel up against Cindy Martin. Cindy was pretty good and won the first game, eleven to six. Angel began to find her rhythm in the second game and Cindy began to get frustrated by Angel’s style. Angel won the second game, twelve to ten. In the third game, Cindy was frazzled by Angel’s blocking style and lost it completely, eleven to five.
Everyone was surprised by Natsuko. She chose one of the pips down butterfly paddles and held it in a penholder style. The girls that were watching were amazed to see her play. She crushed her first opponent eleven to one, and eleven to two. Natsuko was up on the balls of her feet, gliding back and forth, as her opponent tried to win a point. Natsuko just smashed any ball that crossed over the net back at the poor girl. The hall echoed with the staccato of her “Hia!”, as she connected with the ball. The three points she lost in her two games, was her actually missing the table.
When Natsuko won the second game, Emily Davis, her opponent, just stood there staring at Natsuko blankly, shell shocked. Emily knew that she probably didn’t have a chance, but she didn’t think she would be beaten so badly in the first round. What surprised Emily even more, was the fact that Natsuko came over to her, gave the girl a big hug and apologized for beating her so badly.
Angel fell in the second round. She was up against Anita McDonald, a nearly six-foot senior, who was very athletic. Angel gave a good show, as she lost eleven to eight and eleven to six. She didn’t feel badly. Angel knew that Anita and her roommate Natsuko, would probably play for the title.
Natsuko played Renee Stoddard the second round. Renee was also an athlete and highly favored. They were the last two to finish the second round, as they played three long games, with many long volleys. Each point was highly contested and it was hard to follow the ball back and forth. Watchers could only hold their heads steady as they got dizzy if they tried to turn their heads to the motion of the ball. Natsuko won, eleven to nine, eight to eleven and sixteen to fourteen. Renee broke her paddle on the table after losing. Coach Smith barked at her, which snapped Renee out of her funk. Renee then met Natsuko and congratulated the girl.
The third round, Anita and Natsuko both won their games handily. Anita won, eleven to seven, and eleven to nine. Natsuko won hers, eleven to six and eleven to four. Coach Smith called for a twenty-minute break before the final round. Three groups of girls formed, one group around Anita, one around Natsuko and the rest of the girls just watched them.
A serious looking Renee approached the girl’s around Natsuko and said, “Excuse me, Natsuko.”
The girls parted as Renee came up to Natsuko. They didn’t want to be between the two girls, if the fur started flying. Things got very quiet around the two and many girls held their breath.
“I just want to apologize for my display earlier. You did a wonderful job and really played a very good game.”
Natsuko smiled at the girl and said, “You play very well too Renee-san. I have not had a chance to play at your level since I left Japan.”
Renee cracked a smile and picked up the smaller girl in a bear hug. When she put the girl down, Natsuko said, “I am glad that you are not mad at me. I hope that we two can become friends, Renee-san.”
“You can count on it, and please call me Renee.”
“Thank you, Renee.”
“I have some things to tell you about Anita. She is a tough nut to crack.”
The girls huddled up, as Renee talked to Natsuko.
>>>>><<<<<
Coach Smith called the girls together, “Okay, since we have two very good players in this final game, they will play the best of seven games, with a volley limit of thirteen legal returns. The server will lose the point after thirteen legal returns by the receiver.
Natsuko and Anita flipped a coin for first serve. Anita won and then the game began. Anita had the best forehand smash, but Natsuko kept pushing the ball to the girl's back hand. There were many long volleys. Anita began trying to get under Natsuko’s skin by beginning to lob the ball back. Natsuko at times was ten to fifteen feet behind the table to return the ball with a smash. Anita won the first game, fourteen to twelve. Natsuko came back to win the second, eleven to nine. The third and fourth games, went to Anita and the fifth and six games, went to Natsuko.
“Wow, that was quite a display,” Coach Smith said. “The winner of this game will win the tourney. Natsuko has the serve, let’s have a good game.”
The sweaty girls shook hands and began the final game. They traded points back and forth. Neither girl led by more than two points and they had two rallies that went to thirteen returns. In the end, Natsuko won, when her last smash just clipped the edge of the table and the ball dove to the floor. Anita almost face planted going after that last shot, missing the ball by inches. The final game's score was twenty to eighteen.
Anita just laid there in exhaustion. Natsuko rushed over to see if the girl was okay. Anita just laughed as the smaller girl gave her a hand up.
The coach got everyone’s attention and said, “Natsuko’s cottage gets the movies and the popcorn machine for this weekend.”
“Can we not have the movies and popcorn upstairs, so more of the girls can partake?” Natsuko asked.
Coach Smith just smiled, “That’s a wonderful idea. Let me check and I will get back to ya’ll after lunch.”
Madeline kept a little distance from Natsuko and Angel, as they smelled a bit. Angel and Natsuko headed to the showers, while Madeline helped Mrs. Westfall with lunch.
Angel finished first and was blow-drying her hair. She had dropped her brush and bent to pick it up, when Natsuko came out of the shower.
Lunch on weekends was fun food, chilidogs, spicy home fries and a salad. The chili was a low fat variety, turkey franks, and the fries were baked in a convection oven. The girls had as much fun telling Mrs. Westfall how Natsuko won the ping-pong tourney. Natsuko tried to be demur and get her roomies to talk about something else, but they wouldn’t hear of it. Mrs. Westfall even got into listening about the girls play.
“How did you get so good, Natsuko?” Angel asked.
“I learned how to play table tennis soon after I began to play the violin, at five years old. My parents stressed a balance between Academics, Music and Athletics. Children work harder in schools, than this school, Angel.”
Angel’s eyes got big, when Natsuko said that. She was doing very good so far, but she was working harder than she ever had before. Still, she would only give this up for her Mom. She missed being with her Mom, but she loved this school so much.
As they ate, the phone rang, Mrs. Westfall took the call and made notes. When she returned she said, “They are having a campus wide movie night tonight, from six to one. There will be snacks provided around eight, and popcorn and drinks available. Who’s interested?”
Everyone raised their hands.
“Ok, then get your reading and school work done. I will serve dinner around four thirty.
>>>>><<<<<
For about two hours, Angel and her roommates practiced their music, both alone and together. Angel began to get used to the smaller guitar and practiced her choir parts, as did Natsuko.
It had been quite a few years since Natsuko played on a 1/4 size violin. She had one at five and moved up to a 3/4 violin at seven. It didn’t sound as good as her Tommaso Balestrieri Violin and it was a lot harder to finger with her larger teenage hands, but then again, her Balestrieri cost nearly eight million yen. Her bow cost as much as some good violins. Her electric violin and its carbon fiber bow, cost nearly two million yen.
Madeline was happy to don her headphones as she practiced some Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Chopin on her keyboard.
After an hour, they all got together and worked on their choir project till three thirty and then broke to do some reading for school.
>>>>><<<<<
Mrs. Westbrook went to the student union building with the kids, she was part of the chaperoning for the girls and on top of that, she really loved some of the movies that were going to be shown. She didn’t always get the chance to be with her girls, but she loved doing it.
Almost all of the girls that had remained on campus were there for this movie night. Natsuko became a sort of celebrity among the girls for her generosity of sharing this experience.
Coach Smith was manning the popcorn machine and was the busiest person there that night; thirty-nine girls can eat a mountain of popcorn. Mrs. Westfall and Ms. Kramer were handling the drink machine, while Miss Seabrook, from the cafeteria staff brought out finger sandwiches, chips and cookies for the girls.
All the girls then sat on the floor to watch the movies. Some of the older girls were smart enough to bring pillows and blankets. It made their time seem like a big sleepover. The first movie they watched was the remake of ‘The Parent Trap’ with Lindsey Lohan and Dennis Quad.
Next, they watched an anime movie ‘Totoro’. It was about two young girls that moved to the country to be closer to their sick mother. The girls then get involved in many adventures, after meeting a forest spirit.
The last movie was ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’. Half of the girls there were in love with Daniel Radcliffe; the other half just wished they had his money.
After the movies, the girls got together and did a lot of the cleanups before heading back to their dorms. The girls just collapsed in bed when they got back to their dorm.
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday afternoon Angel gave guitar lessons to Janet and Rebecca. Janet showed so much improvement; since Angel first helped her get her guitar. Rebecca told Angel that she wanted to learn to play a classical guitar.
“You can practice some on your own guitar, till you can get a classical guitar. It’s just easier on a classical.” Angel demonstrated some of the classical guitar basics and had Rebecca try them. “You can also find some classical guitar lessons online and I can help you with them. You also need to do some finger exercises; classical guitar requires more manual dexterity.”
They practiced both the acoustic and classical guitars for about an hour and a half. Janet suggested that they go to the student center and get a coke. Sunday, in the student center, they found many of the students there doing what girls usually do on the weekends, talking with other girls and lazing around. The girls got their drinks and found a quiet section of the student center to sit and talk.
After a couple of minutes talking, Rebecca turned to Angel, “Angel, I understand that I have a lot to thank you for. You see… Janet told me all about her secret.”
Angel was stunned, but didn’t display anything except a half smile, “Which one?”
“Oh, you have more than one secret, Janet?” Rebecca said, turning to her friend, with a faked serious look.”
“Of course, I have more than one secret. I will tell them to you one at a time, Becca.”
“Anyway, she told me that she was born in the wrong body. I don’t care about that, she is such a sweet girl to me and I love her so much. She also told me how you and your cousins’ stuck up for her and how she has you to thank for getting her to go to this school.”
Rebecca looked around and not seeing anybody near, kissed Janet on the lips. It was the kiss of a lover, not just a friend.
“Anyway, thank you, Angel,”
“I see that you are okay with Janet. I just couldn’t stand seeing that other girl pick on her and mistreat her. I liked Janet, from the moment that I met her,” Angel said.
“Yeah, my Mom worked with people that were different, she taught me that different didn’t mean bad, or untouchable. She is a big supporter of LGBT Causes. Janet’s secret is safe with me.”
“What does your Mom do?” Angel asked.
“She is an organizer and fund raiser. My Dad is a lawyer for a big Wall Street firm and that lets my Mom do whatever she wants to do. My dad’s firm does some pro bono work for some of Mom’s causes. LGTB causes, just happens to be one of her favorite causes. I think she is a lesbian at heart, but she’ll never leave my Dad.”
“What makes you say that?” Angel asked.
“I see the way she looks at women. She has this longing look in her eyes. She loves my Dad, but…”
“I think I know what you mean, Rebecca.”
“She is a good person and a good Mom.”
“You do know that you have to protect Janet’s secret now, don’t you?”
“With my life. I am not going to let her get hurt. I wouldn’t do that, even if I didn’t like her.”
>>>>><<<<<
Angel was kept very busy the next week. Orchestra introduced a third solo piece for Angel. Angel had to begin working on Handel’s ‘Sarabande’ for orchestra and guitar. This was a new piece for Angel; she had never heard it before. Madeline and Natsuko helped her begin to learn it. Mrs. Grogan told her that ‘Sarabande’ might be a piece they would play for spring or the next fall.
Angel finished her reading for English and began writing her paper on Sherlock Holmes. She wrote her outline and started organizing her notes. She was going to compare and contrast Sherlock Holmes and Modern Forensic Detection.
In Spanish, she had two literary pieces to work on. Mrs. Rosales found out that Angel was doing a paper on Sherlock Holmes and wanted her to translate a two page Passage, from English to Spanish. She also selected a two page passage from ‘Don Quixote-Man From La Mancha’ for Angel to translate from Spanish to English. She was to translate the meaning of the two pieces and include explanations of Idioms, illusions and anything the reader might misunderstand. These two pieces would be the basis of her grade for this semester, along with the help she provided in class.
Learning how to reset the keyboard to type in Spanish and typing in Spanish, was a challenge in itself, for Angel. One of the senior girls worked with Angel while they were in the library on Wednesday. Angel also appeared in the Advanced Spanish classes, when Mrs. Rosales played excerpts of the recording of Angel’s great Aunt. She provided some of the background and explanations of the recording. The students had to take notes, as Mrs. Rosales told them that there would be several questions about the recording on their final.
At lunch on Thursday, Mrs. Beckman summoned Angel to her office. Angel was nervous about being called to the head’s office. Mrs. Beckman’s secretary sent her right in when she entered the outer office. Mrs. Grogan and Mrs. Bloomington were sitting in her office.
“You called for me, Mrs. Beckman?”
“Yes I did. Have a seat Miss Marquez. Am I to understand that you invited a Servando Morales to one of our Orchestra Concerts, in December?”
“Yes, I did. He emailed me and told me he was playing in New York. He invited me to his concert. I was going to talk to Mrs. Westfall and my Mother about attending. I returned the favor and invited him to our concert.”
“Well he contacted me; or rather his secretary contacted me, requesting tickets. We were happy to send him whatever he required. His secretary asked for a block of twenty tickets.”
Angel smiled, she was happy that she would get to see him again.
“In exchange, he offered to send us a block of tickets for his concert appearance. After talking with Mrs. Grogan and Mrs. Bloomington, we have decided to accept.”
Angel nearly jumped out of her chair, “How many tickets do I get?”
“We… will get enough tickets for the orchestra and chaperones, plus a few more. Do you think your Mom and Aunt would like to help chaperone this lot? Of course Mrs. Santiago could bring her daughters.”
Angel’s jaw fell slack, she knew that the tickets were expensive, “Oh my god, that’s a lot of money. Yes, I will call my Mom and Aunt tonight. They will do this, I think, if it is possible. This isn’t a joke is it?”
“If it is, it is a well-orchestrated joke, if you get my pun. No, they were being serious, I think. We wouldn’t be up front and center, but you are right, it is a sizable donation. Here are the details, call your family and get back to me. We have ten days to reply.”
Angel checked with her Mom and Aunt Carmine, they were ecstatic about the opportunity to attend the concert. They both put the event on their calendars and made a note to get some new dresses.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday, Angel was relaxing with her roommates watching the school's soccer team practice. Madeline was really into soccer; her school back in France had been highly competitive for their age bracket in Europe. They had been in the top ten girls’ soccer teams, for the last five years. Natsuko was more into it than Angel. Angel just liked being with her friends.
Natsuko was hugging one of Angel’s arms and Madeline was hanging onto the other. They were sitting in a fairly deserted area with a view of the field.
“Angel, Natsuko and I were talking the other day and we wanted to tell you something. We are both glad that we got to room with you,” Madeline said. “Both of us had no real family besides our parents and you have taken us in. We lived by our parents’ expectations and to some extent we still do, but you have treated us like sisters and allowed us to join in with your family.”
“It’s been a blast, Madeline,” Angel said. “I love being with you two also. Besides my cousins, I really didn’t form any relationships. I feel that I need you two, also. I really like being with you girls.”
“I agree,” Natsuko said. “In my family, I had to grow up fast. I missed having some of the good times that we have had. My parents moved many times as they went from one diplomatic post to another. Angel, we just have one question. Remember, we love you Angel.”
“Yes, Natsuko and I have noticed a few things that just didn’t fit together. So we wanted to ask you.”
Angel began to get a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“If we are right, then don’t be afraid and if we are wrong, forgive our imaginations,” Natsuko said. “Were you born a boy, Angel?”
Angel looked from Madeline to Natsuko, she was afraid, but both girls were smiling.
“I thought I was so good hiding that old part of me,” Angel said, with a sniffle. “What gave me away?”
“Little things, it would be hard to put a finger on just one, you are very good, but remember, we have been living together for over a month now,” Madeline said. “You have never been entirely naked around us, even though you have seen us without any clothes on. Once, we both turned into each other and bumped our breasts hard. It hurt me, but it didn’t faze you. Also, at your birthday party, somebody gave you a… I don’t know, a strange T-shirt.”
“A monster truck T-shirt. What is a monster truck?” Natsuko asked.
“Yeah, that was a grave digger monster truck autographed T-shirt, it’s not exactly a gift most girls would crave. Monster trucks are a red-neck sport, in the US. They have these regular size pickup trucks, with some really humungous tires. They run around crushing things with them. I don’t see the sport in doing that, but millions of people in the US love that,” Angel said, with tears streaming down her face. “Not all of my relatives were happy that I became a girl. Some of them still want to rub salt into my wounds.”
“Yes, my body may be a boy’s body, but I know in my heart that I should have been born a girl. If you guys want, I can call my Aunt and leave this school, but I have loved being able to live with a really swell group of girls. I have learned so much from all of you.”
“Oh no, please don’t leave. We are so sorry,” Natsuko said. “We were just … things just didn’t … I don’t know how to say this, but we don’t want you to leave. You haven’t done anything wrong by us.”
“I was told that if other girls found out, and said anything about it, that I would have to go.”
“Angel, we won’t say anything about it. It would break up our group, we don’t want that,” Madeline said crying.
“And we love spending weekends with your family. I was often left at school when my parents were overseas at this embassy or that embassy. We are sisters now, Angel,” Natsuko added, also in tears. “You are so Bishoujo… such a pretty girl, Angel. Please forget we said anything.”
“I always had to be so proper. I had to be ‘the proper model’ that my mom is all the time. She is a bit aristocratic. Add to that, the hours I spend practicing on the piano and there was no time to have fun. With you, we have fun, and besides, we would hate having to break in a new roommate,” Madeline said. “Consider it a closed topic.”
Angel looked hopefully at her roommates and said, “Let’s get some drinks and go somewhere else.”
Angel cleaned up her face and they stopped by the student center. They picked up some cokes, found an empty music room and sat down to talk. Angel then told her roomies her story. They were all crying and hugging, when Angel finished her story.
“Do you think I can keep fooling the others here?” Angel asked.
“I don’t think that that will be a problem, Angel. You are such a girl,” Madeline said.
“Please don’t let my Aunt, Mom, or cousins know you know, they might pull me out, if you do.”
“Our lips are sealed.”
“Thank you. Oh, we will be at my Aunt's next weekend.”
“Now, that is what I am talking about,” Madeline said. “I just love her cooking, but I need to be careful not to put on any weight.”
“Sierra and Nevada wanted to teach me the Tango,” Natsuko said.
“Oh, that is so easy, Natsuko,” Madeline said, demonstrating, by taking the male role with Angel.
>>>>><<<<<
Angel and Amanda came out on stage together. There were about a hundred kids in the audience, some were connected to IV stands and some had monitors of some sort. Angel started to sit on the stool, but stopped. She took Amanda’s hand and together they stepped off the stage.
“Can some of the kids come up here and sit on the floor around us?” Angel asked.
Some of the nurses brought some of the smaller children up. They sat on the floor as Angel and Amanda sat on the edge of the stage.
Angel began playing her guitar and together with Amanda, began singing. After the first verse of ‘Sing’, the rest of the choir began filtering out on stage, singing too. The children loved this and quite a few who knew the song, began singing with them. Angel and Amanda had to hug quite a few of the kids before they could leave the front of the stage after the song. Angel went behind the stage and Amanda took her place in the choir.
After about forty minutes of singing, the choir took an intermission. The two guys that had first delivered the piano to the school, then made a show out of placing the piano on stage. Madeline, who was dressed in a Tux, with tails, five inch black patent stiletto heels and Ginny Moore, dressed in a Lucy costume, came out on stage. Some of the kids were in shock when they saw how big Madeline looked. With heels; she was over six feet, two inches tall. They were oohing and ahhing when they saw her.
Madeline made a show out of sitting on the tiny bench in front of the tiny piano. The kids were amazed at the sound of what they thought was a toy piano, but really was a quality child’s instrument. Madeline began playing the Beethoven number. Ginny sat on the floor and leaned onto the piano. She then sang the song ‘Schroeder’ from ‘You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown’. Madeline gracefully stood, an amazing feat, considering her footwear and how low she was sitting, and left the stage before Ginny finished with the line, “My Aunt Marian was right, never discuss marriage with a musician.”
The children went crazy with their applause, as Ginny left the stage. The second part of the concert began with the choir coming out on stage singing. They sang for about thirty minutes more. Then Angel, with her tiny guitar, Natsuko with her 1/4 violin and Madeline, came out on stage. Angel again sat on the edge of the stage. Natsuko stood next to her and Madeline sat at her tiny piano. The children needed no prompting to come and sit around them.
They then began playing ‘Rainbow Connection’.
After they finished, the choir mingled with the children. This had not been planned, but was a natural consequence of the show. The children loved the distraction from the problems that they had and the choir had fun mingling with the kids for a bit. Madeline found herself in a pack of children. They were amazed at the tall and pretty girl. Natsuko was talking anime and manga characters with a group of children, who wanted to know what her favorites were.
>>>>><<<<<
It was hard to pry the kids out of the girls’ arms, but all good things must come to an end. The sad, but happy girls of Sarah Adam’s Academy, waved to the kids, who looked out of the windows of their little part of the world.
For the next two hours, the girls sniffled, hugged each other and laughed about the good time they had; and pleaded with Ms. Macy to plan a return trip to the hospital. When they reached the school, Ms. Macy stood at the front of the bus.
“Girls, I just wanted to say that you exceeded my expectations. Your performance today was exceptional. I heard from the hospital staff that they thoroughly enjoyed our work. One doctor told me that we did more than medicine could, for some of the kids. I take it, that all of you had a wonderful time. I especially want to thank Angel Marquez, Madeline Boucher and Natsuko Takahashi. They added so much to our program today. Lastly, I want to thank everyone who gave of themselves to make other lives more bearable.”
(to be continued)
Sorry for taking so long to get this out. Blame Warcraft, hot temperatures, taking my Mom to her many Doctor Appointments, the stars being in the wrong positions and several other stories that have eked their way into my mind.
I really do like to hear your comments, they are important to me. I read each and every one of them. You help me mold the stories and guide me. I need to know what works and what falls flat on its face.
Thank you for your readership and support.
Paula
Angel Marquez-The Angel Blossoms chapter 5
by
Paula Dillon
Mrs. Grogan had a dilemma. She had so many good musicians that should get some solo time, and the administration had some specific girls that they wanted to highlight. There was Amy Spencer, first violin, Carol Rawlings, second violin, Natsuko Takahashi, third violin, Madeline Boucher, piano and of course Angel Marquez on the guitar. All of them would, at another school, have some solo time. They were all that good. Amy was a senior and she had done everything that had been asked of her. She would get the lion’s share. Carol would have to wait till next year, she was a junior. She wasn’t close to being second best; that was Natsuko, but Natsuko was a freshman. Madeline was up there too. Mrs. Grogan knew that Madeline would find a spot in some major orchestra when she got some more maturity. Her play was that good.
That left Angel. She needed to put her in, too. Mrs. Beckman really wanted her to be pushed forward. Mrs. Grogan came up with a solution. This year Angel would open with a couple of pieces. It was unusual for a concert to be opened with a solo like this, but it was an elegant solution. Angel just needed more work with a full orchestra and needed to read music a little better.
Mrs. Grogan called all five girls together.
“Girls, I have been presented a dilemma. All of you are good enough to deserve solos. Amy you will have four solos this school year and Madeline you will have two. Carol will have to wait next year. Natsuko will it be alright to wait two more years? Amy is a senior and she is very good. Carol will be a senior next year. At any other school you would have some solos.”
“I understand, Mrs. Grogan. Amy and Carol have worked so hard. I can wait.”
“We could split our solo duties,” Carol said. “I really like to play solos, but I feel Natsuko is better than I am. I wouldn’t mind sharing with her.”
“No, you are very good, Carol,” Natsuko said. “You should have your year.”
“Natsuko, if you and I were both freshmen. You would be sitting second violin and I would be third violin. Wouldn’t you say so Mrs. Grogan?”
“I’m not going to take a position on that, Miss Rawlings. I will just say that all of you are excellent musicians. I do like give the older girls have their chance. We will see what happens.”
“I can wait too, Mrs. Grogan,” Angel said, smiling.
“That is not an option, Angel. I know it is unusual, but I have a solution. You will open for us. You need to work with an orchestra more and get better at reading music. So next week you will open with ‘Recuerdos de la Alhambra’, while we get ready back stage. Then you will play ‘Classical Gas’, and just before you begin to repeat your opening theme the curtain will open and the orchestra will join you through the end. You will exit stage left and then take your seat next to Sue.”
“Yes ma’am, not a problem,” Angel said.
The orchestra began to work hard on the pieces they were going to play in their October concert. Madeline demonstrated her competence at the piano and sat with Mrs. Green at the Steinway. Linda Jones brought them to attention and began to put the orchestra through its paces. Angel was doing well playing with Sue and following Linda’s direction.
After five weeks of working together the orchestra was beginning to gel well together. They had gone over their whole repertoire at least twice and Mrs. Grogan liked what she heard. She then selected the pieces for their concert. After they had completed their last piece, Mrs. Grogan stepped up on the platform.
“Girls we will rehearse the full concert for the next three practices and a dress rehearsal on Tuesday, so be prepared. You all have the program. Make sure you know the order. We need to sound sharp next Wednesday. Come here dressed after lunch on Wednesday and we will do makeup. We will have girls from theatrical department to assist. We will be playing for the Morning Hills Retirement Community. There could be up to four hundred people at that venue, with residents and guests. Let’s give them a great show.”
Then Mrs. Grogan went over the order piece by piece for the girls to make sure they knew it. The students checked their programs and began ordering their sheet music.
“Girls, you all know that we are going to New York in December to do a concert. I have some news for you. Thanks to one of our students, we have also been invited to attend a concert in December put on by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Servando Morales a world renowned classical guitarist will be the featured Artist for the concert. We will need permission slips for anybody who wishes to attend. Your section leaders will now pass those slips out. We need these back by the eighteenth of October.”
“Dress will be formal. Your concert outfits will be acceptable, but you may dress in any formal gowns. This will be a wonderful experience for all of us. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the top world renowned orchestras. I hope that all of you can attend. I need to know the exact number of you who can attend on December fourteenth. Don’t worry about the cost of the tickets. We are being given a block of tickets. The school will pick up the transportation costs. The costs for you will be any the cost clothing you choose to invest in, and dinner. We will break up before the concert in three groups and go to three places to eat. This will cost between twenty five to thirty five dollars maximum, depending to what you order.”
Five girls then began passing out information sheets on the concert and restaurants, as the girls began to talk excitedly about the trip. The concert would be on the last Saturday before finals. That was the only downside. They would have to study hard the week before finals.
After class Angel had about a thousand questions to answer. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who was responsible for the invitation with the clues Mrs. Grogan had dropped.
“It happened like this,” Angel told the assembled girls. “I met Servando Morales in Madrid this summer. I was playing my guitar in a park and had quite a crowd around me listening. There was this kind old man who came up and asked if he could play with me. I said yes. It didn’t take me long to realize that I had underestimated his skill. He challenged me in ways I had never been challenged before, but I did well. I didn’t know who he was exactly, even though he introduced himself. I found out who he was later when one of my cousins, saw a picture of us playing together.”
“Anyway, his secretary found my school audition videos that Vanessa Hall posted on You Tube . We exchanged email addresses. Servando invited me to a concert he was playing in New York and I returned the favor and invited him to our concert in New York. His secretary called the school, and well, the rest is history.”
“Well just who is this Servando Morales?” one of the girls asked.
“You can Google him. That will be better than me explaining. He has a page in Wikipedia and he has his own website and is featured in many others.”
“I can’t believe that one of us actually played with a world renowned artist,” another girl said.
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Friday evening, Aunt Carmine and the twins picked the girls up. The twins excitedly helped the girls carry their bags to the van. On the ride home they talked.
“Angel, the first weekend in November we are going to go dress shopping,” Carmine said, “Natsuko and Madeline, do you two have dresses you can use, or will you two need to shop for dresses, too.”
“I have plenty of formals back in France, but that is the problem. They are back in France. I just love to go shopping though.”
“I too have many nice clothes at home, I too have the same problem, but I have enough money to buy more dresses,” Natsuko said. “I will enjoy going shopping with all of you.”
“Good, we will have fun, girls. I look forward to seeing all of us in formals.”
“Oh, by the way Aunt Carmine, we will be playing with the orchestra at Morning Hills Retirement Community this Wednesday.”
“What time?”
“Seven thirty, they will have a buffet before for us before that at five and desserts afterwards.”
“Mmm, I may see if we can come over to watch and record it. I know your mom would be interested in seeing you in concert.”
“Call Mrs. Grogan at school.”
>>>>><<<<<
At home, Sierra and Nevada got Natsuko and Madeline dancing, while Angel played the guitar for them. Madeline was a very good dancer, but she took the masculine role to Nevada because of their height differences. She was taller than everybody here. Could you see a girl that was five foot two dipping a girl who was nearly six foot tall? Carmine actually cut in on Sierra just for that same reason, although Natsuko was only five foot five.
Margarita arrived at about seven. Angel jumped into her arms and hugged her, “Hi Mom, it’s so good seeing you.”
Margarita kissed her daughter’s cheeks, and with a tear in her eyes, “It’s so good seeing you, too. Hello Sis, Sierra, Nevada, Natsuko and Madeline,” she said hugging each one of them. “Are ya’ll ready to go out to eat, I am starving.”
They all went to La Maison de Maurice for dinner. Madeline was excited after they hit the front door and quickly reverted to speaking French. The maá®tre de was from France and recognized that Madeline spoke true French. He was excited and asked, “Magnifique áªtes-vous tous de la France? ” (Wonderful are you French?”
Margarita answered, “Non, monsieur, Mme Boucher est le français le reste d'entre nous sont en anglais avec des liens á destination de Madrid en Espagne, á l'exception de Mme Takahashi, qui est Japonais., Nous parlons tous anglais cependant.” (No, Sir, Ms. Boucher is French the rest of us are English with ties to Madrid Spain, except Ms. Takahashi who is Japanese. We do speak English though.)
“Magnifique, if you Ladies would come with me, please.”
There were roses on live rose bushes everywhere in the restaurant. The girls ogled all the pretty flowers. They were surprised to see that they were all real. After they were seated they perused the menu. The menu items had French names and descriptions, with an English translation.
Madeline discussed the dishes with everyone as they looked at the menus. She pointed out things she had eaten before and gave her impressions of the dishes. After they ordered, they sat around and talked.
“Tell me Angel, how has school been?”
“It has been wonderful, Mom. I really enjoy it and I love the way they teach us. I do miss you though at times. How has work been?”
“Angel, it has been a real challenge. I just love the added responsibility and the people I work with. I do miss you too though. Our video conferences and emails keep me going. Are you excited about the concert in December?”
“Both of them Mom, our concert and the New York Philharmonic concert.”
“I can’t wait to go with you to that one and I will be at your concert, too.”
“We have one this Wednesday too.”
“I can’t go to that one; I am going to spend two weeks in Madrid and Paris.”
“If you could stop by the Japanese embassy, you could say hi to my parents,” Natsuko said, excitedly. “Tell them I miss them, I am working very and I love the school and all of you.”
“I will try to do that for you Natsuko. What about you, Madeline? Your Mom lives in Paris doesn’t she?”
“Yes but I don’t know if she is in Paris, New York or Milan. Mom, Antoinette Boucher, is on contract right now.”
“Antoinette Boucher is your Mom?” Margarita asked. “She is famous.”
“That she is. She feels she only has about three maybe four years left to model, so she is pushing hard right now. She will settle down after that. I hope.”
“You really miss her too, don’t you?”
“Yes I do, but modeling is such a demanding business, one that doesn’t appreciate models ageing well.”
“I know what you mean. She is already one of the older models around and she is quite beautiful.”
“She is thirty four. It hurt her a bit when she had to step down for a year and a half to have me. Models have to be seen to be remembered. Eighteen months is a long time for a model to be out of the public sight.”
“I am sure she misses you too, Madeline.”
“I know,” Madeline said her eyes glistening. “I love her, and I love all of you too. You have made me feel a part of your family.”
“Me too,” Natsuko said.
“I, my sister, and my girls are glad to have all of you in our family,” Carmine said. “I agree, with my sister,” Margarita said.
There were more than one pair of eyes glistening at that table; in fact, there were no dry eyes. The girls traded hugs with each other.
“Did Janice come home with ya’ll?” Margarita asked.
“No she went home with her roommate, Rebecca, this weekend,” Angel said.
“So she is getting along well with the other girls.”
Angel, Natsuko and Madeline just looked at each other and smiled.
“I would say so Mom, I am teaching them both to play the guitar, too.”
“I am glad that you are teaching others to appreciate the guitar,” Madeline said.
“Oh, Leo wants the three of you to come by tomorrow. He would like you to play at the plaza at the mall for lunch. So if you want to, you need to think about what you will play.”
“I am game. I feel we need to thank Leo. He helped out at a choir concert we had,” Angel said.
Madeline and Natsuko agreed with Angel.
>>>>><<<<<
The seven girls arrived at Leo’s just after the store opened. After hugs they talked about the show, they wanted to put on.
1. Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’
2. Chopin’s ‘Nocturne’
3. Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
4. Mason William’s ‘Classical Gas’
5. Francisco Tá¡rrega’s ‘Recuerdos de la Alhambra”
6. Neil Diamond’s Brother Loves Traveling Salvation Show
7. Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ ’
8. Mozart’s ‘Rondo alla Turca’
9. Paganini’s ‘Caprice no. 24’
10. Avril Lavigne’s ‘Keep Holding On’
“Good program girls, mind if I join ya’ll? I can play all of those pieces,” Leo said. “I will have drums and Viola set up”
“Trust me girls, Leo is good,” Angel told the others.
They talked about the pieces and then set about selecting instruments to use. A group of people moved out just before noon and set up.
A crowd began forming as they setup near the food court. At noon, Leo introduced the girls to the people gathered and told them that they were in for a real treat. Angel was becoming famous at this mall. Madeline began the bass line on Pachelbel’s ‘Canon’. It started out normally before Natsuko kicked it up a notch and charged the music with energy. Angel picked up the second violin part on her guitar, working it hard and Leo took the viola part, adding his fair share of energy. The crowd just ate it up.
Natsuko and Madeline then got together with Leo on drums with brushes for ‘Chopin’s Nocturne’. It was a lovely piece. Angel and the group then wowed them with the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and went right into ‘Classical Gas’. They kicked it up a notch, much like Vanessa Mae played it. ‘Recuerdos de la Alhambra’ was a change of pace and nicely played in a classical manner. Angel had the crowd up on its feet accompanying her on ‘Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show’. Leo and Angel sang the next song ‘Don’t Stop Believin’. Natsuko and Madeline shined together on ‘Rondo alla Turca’ and the three girls did very well on Paganini’s ‘Caprice no. 24’.
Angel then had everyone on the edge of their seats as she sang Avril Lavigne’s ‘Keep Holding On’. Madeline really worked the keyboard, Natsuko was fantastic on the electric violin and Leo on the drums was superb, but it was Angel’s emotionally charged, powerful vocals, not her excellent guitar playing that made the song.
After Angel’s last “we’ll make it through, we’ll make it through”, there was nary a sound from the audience. Then there was one clap, then three claps and then the whole audience erupted in applause. Natsuko hugged her friend and then held up her right hand facing the audience. Angel had to dry her eyes; she had gone so deep into the song and sang it with all of her heart. She had sung the song so many times after she had heard it, but she had kept it to herself. She just didn’t know if she had the power to do it justice. Not vocal power, she had a strong voice, but that internal power that gives a song meaning. She had decided last night as they ate to do the song for her friends.
Leo was ecstatic as they left the stage; he and his employees helped the girls get back to the music shop after they signed a few autographs and shook a few hands.
“Wow, Angel, where did that come from?” Madeline asked. “You were incredible, Angel.
“I have never heard you sing so powerfully,” Margarita said.
“I guess I sang it for Natsuko and Madeline. After I heard them talk last night, I wanted them to know that I am there for them.”
Madeline and Natsuko were speechless. They just hugged Angel. Margarita, Carmen and the twins joined them. Leo made sure they had some space. The girls stayed around for a little bit and helped some customers make some selections of instruments. Natsuko had a group of kids talking to her about playing the violin.
From Leo’s they hit the arcade. The girls found a fierceness in Natsuko as they competed on the various games. The twins got in a no holds barred competition with her on one game. Angel found a wild streak in the usually demure, reserved Madeline on the Formula One racing game. It seemed her Mom had taken her to several real Formula one Races in France. It was the place for the fashionable to be seen, like the Derby in England. She had fallen in love with their speed and precision. Angel won of course, but not till after Madeline spun her out a time or two.
From the arcade they caught a movie, ‘Letters to Juliet’, starring Amanda Seyfried as Sophie and Vanessa Redgrave as Claire. Sophie took on a quest with Claire, to find Claire’s long lost love. They all got emotional as love was lost and love was found.
Back at home the girls all made pallets in the living room and watched some more movies on the big screen TV. They all had dressed in night shirts and sat on the floor leaning against the couch. Sierra and Nevada made popcorn and brought the others diet sodas. The twins surrounded Natsuko, while Angel had Nevada on one side and Madeline on the other.
They soon fell asleep on the floor. Natsuko was sandwiched between the twins, and Angel drowsily leaned against Madeline, who wrapped her arm around Angel’s shoulder. Angel woke later, feeling quite constricted. Madeline usually slept with a long body pillow, which she wrapped her arms and legs around. Tonight, Angel was that body pillow; she was wrapped so tightly in Madeline’s grasp she couldn’t wiggle out. Her head was snuggled right between Madeline’s impressive, for a fourteen year olds, breasts. Angel could see the smooth roundness of her cleavage. She couldn’t help herself and gave the girl’s breast a kiss and then another. Madeline just moaned a little and squeezed Angel a little harder. Angel just wiggled a bit and got comfortable before falling back to sleep.
>>>>><<<<<
Angel woke a little sore. Sleeping on the floor was not her thing. Madeline was already up, as was Nevada. Sierra was trapped in a bear hug, but she wasn’t complaining, she just smiled at Angel. Angel had to wait a few minutes before the bathroom door opened. She could have gone to Carmine’s but she didn’t want to disturb her Mom and Aunt.
Madeline came out of the bathroom and stopped to give Angel a peck on her cheeks. A flushed Angel didn’t know what to do, so she gave her friend a hug before quickly heading into the bathroom. She did her business quickly as she knew there would be others who needed the facilities. As it was, she met Natsuko as she came out.
Angel grabbed a robe and headed for the kitchen. Nevada was already starting to fix breakfast and Madeline was sipping a cup of hot tea.
“Morning, Nevada,” Angel said, hugging her cousin.
“Morning, Angel, You want to start on some eggs and sausage while I work on the Waffles?”
“Sure. I will fix the coffee too.”
They were just about finished when Carmine and Margarita entered the kitchen.
“Angel after we eat and get dressed, I want to take you out for about an hour,” Margarita said. “I have got to leave early and head home to pack. My Flight is at seven thirty this evening.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Girls we won’t be going to church today, I am taking us all to an amusement park after Angel gets back,” Carmine said.
That pronouncement was met by whoops from all the girls.
>>>>><<<<<
Angel went with her Mom. It was good getting to spend some time with her. They didn’t say much, Margarita just drove them to the park by the Mall and they just walked around holding hands.
“I miss you, baby, but I am glad to have gotten this job. How are you doing?”
“I love the school, Mom and I like my new friends. I miss being with you too. I needed this school, Mom. All in all I wouldn’t change a thing, unless… you wanted it.”
“Are you happy?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Then I am happy too. I will be home for Thanksgiving, your December concerts and Christmas. We are going to spend Christmas at our home, with everyone. If your friends are stuck here they can come too. I like them, Angel.”
“I love you Mom.”
“I love you too baby.”
They walked for a bit more before they headed back.
Back at the Santos’ residence the girls were waiting for the pair to return. Carmine had told them that Margarita just wanted to spend some time with her daughter.
“For eight years, those two only had each other, and now they are separated. It has been a bit of shock for both of them.”
“Madeline and I know what they are going through; we both went through the same thing.”
“Yes. My Mom would always follow the work as a model. She would be gone for months at a time. Four times a year she would spend six to eight weeks at Milan, Rome, Paris, Singapore or New York. We were never really close. She did her best as a Mom, but her heart was elsewhere. We love each other but we don’t know how to live together,” Madeline said.
“The Japanese, raise their families differently. Children are raised to duty, whether it is duty to the company, to a cause, to our school, or duty to our country. Many kids go to schools like Sarah Adams, and live there full time from a very young age. My Mom and Dad are committed to their consular work. So I understand.”
Carmine just gave the two girls a big hug.
When Angel and Margarita returned, Margarita gave everybody a hug. Then she got her suitcases and gave Angel a tearful kiss and hug before she had to go. Angel waved to her Mom as Madeline and Natsuko hugged her.
It’s hard not to have fun at an amusement park; it just took Angel just a little while longer than the other girls. Angel and Natsuko got into it at the shooting gallery. Together they won five stuffed animals. Then there was the ring toss, knocking down metal milk bottles, popping balloons with darts. It was the rides though, the girls loved. The park didn’t have one of those Mega rollercoasters, but it had a very good one. They then hit the tilt-a-whirl, and they all showed their lack of driving skills on the bumper cars. Poor Madeline had a big target painted on her. Carmine though set her sights on the twins, getting revenge for everything they put her through. Finally they hit the Top Spin and the Scorpion. Their last stop was at the Glamour shot saloon, where they all dressed as dancing girls from an old west saloon for a group portrait.
Madeline was acting like the young girl she was as they left the amusement park. Everyone had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. When they got home they all packed up and Carmine drove the girls back to school.
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday the girls spent hours getting ready to leave. Angel had to carry her Black concert jacket and her Gray Andalusian jacket. She would open the concert wearing the Gray jacket and then switch to the black jacket when she went off stage. Then she would sneak back to sit next to Sue.
Mrs. Grogan told all the girls to put on their own foundation and pressed powder, and eight girls from the theater department came in to do the rest. The girl who did Angel applied blush, a lot of eye shadow, eye liner and false eyelashes and finished with a red lipstick. The girls were given a small disposable, lipstick.
They got on the two busses and headed out on an hour long drive. Angel was happy to see Aunt Carmine and the twins when they got off the bus. There were families of a few of other the other girls there too. After hugs the girls were herded to where the buffet was set up.
“My you are wearing a lot of makeup, Angel,” Carmine said.
“Yes the girls from the theater dept. made us up. We will be under stage light.”
The girls ate and talked through dinner. Even though it had been three days, they enjoyed seeing each other. Everyone was dressed up, but they noticed one man who was especially duded out, in a very tailored Tuxedo sitting at the table with Mrs. Grogan.
>>>>><<<<<
Angel walked on stage carrying her Cantu guitar. The audience applauded her arrival. She bowed to the audience and sat on a stool. She then positioned the mike in front of her guitar and took a deep breath letting it out slowly, before beginning ‘Recuerdos de la Alhambra’. The notes rang sure and true as she played. She had been a little nervous, but as she played, it was just her and her guitar, nothing else. After the last note faded into nothing, the audience erupted in applause.
Angel waited for a few seconds for the audience, then began playing ‘Classical Gas’. It was one of her favorite pieces. She wasn’t quite halfway through when the curtain began to rise. As she began to repeat the theme the orchestra, led by Linda accompanied her. The orchestra gave Angel’s rendition of ‘Classical Gas’ a new dimension. They sounded very good together, especially the string section and the brass section. It sounded like they had been playing together for years. Mason Williams could not have done better. This rendition lasted a little longer than she normally played, so the orchestra could get their parts in. When she finished she bowed, and then bowed again, pointing in Linda’s and the orchestra’s direction.
Angel slowly walked offstage, changed her jacket and took her position next to Sue. The orchestra was already into their program and Angel found their position and began playing.
After they played a couple of pieces, Amy Spencer stood and did her solo with the orchestra, ‘Mozart , Adagio for Violin and Orchestra in E KV 261’. Amy was wonderful; she played her part with feeling and expression. The orchestra did their part and helped her shine. The audience showed their appreciation for her efforts.
The orchestra played about fifty minutes after Amy finished her solo. The whole show was about an hour and forty minutes. The audience was on their feet applauding as Linda and the orchestra bowed. After a bit, Mrs. Grogan came on stage to more applause. Then they were surprised when roses were delivered. One bunch went to Amy Spencer, another to Linda Jones, a third went to Angel and individual roses were passed out to the whole orchestra. That was a lot of roses.
After the last ovation the girls packed up and went for dessert. Music from the concert was being piped in. The residents and the others who had attended applauded as the girls came in. The Tux approached the girls and introduced himself.
“Girls, I am William Draper, I am the director for the Philharmonic. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed to hear such an advanced orchestra play tonight. Ms. Spencer you were wonderful, you showed such virtuosity. See me when you are ready to find an orchestra to play with. You will definitely be allowed an audition. Ms. Marquez, when Servando told me to go see you I was a little hesitant, especially when I found out that you were just a freshman. I can’t say enough about you. You and the whole orchestra were wonderful. Ms. Jones, a wonderful job directing. Mrs. Grogan I can see some gold medals coming for your girls this year. Thank you for such a wonderful, enjoyable evening.”
“Thank you for such high praise, Mr. Draper. We are glad that you enjoyed yourself,” Mrs. Grogan said for the girls “Girls, thank Mr. Draper.”
Most of the girls just shook his hand and thanked him. He was surprised when some of the girls gave him a hug and he was a little uncomfortable with it. Linda, Amy and Angel were the last. They had been held back by Mrs. Grogan. One by one they thanked him too. Mr. Draper gave Amy a card with his office number on it. She was floating on cloud nine. He shook Linda’s hand and congratulated her. He then began to give her some pointers on directing an orchestra. Lastly came Angel.
“Ms. Marquez, I have to say that Servando Morales didn’t overestimate your skill. You could start today and play professionally, but don’t. Enjoy your school life and have fun. Mature in your skills and abilities. I am sure the world hasn’t seen the last of you. Work hard and take care.”
“Thank you Mr. Draper.”
(to be continued)
Terry Waits family is heading for a certain meltdown. Their lives have revolved around some epic arguments that have aroused the neighbor’s attention and have scared the living daylights out of Terry. At least they haven’t been violent confrontations. So Terry is sent to live with his Aunt while Frank and Clara Wait can see if there is anything left of their marriage worth saving.
A novella, complete in two parts. I am posting both parts simultaneously.
Beauty Queen
A Lady-in-Waiting : Part 1
by
Paula Dillon
Terry Wait sat in the front passenger seat of his Aunt Betty’s Land Rover morosely starring out the window as the miles passed by. Even though he was starring, he didn’t see a thing through a haze of tears. Betty Johnson had dropped everything and rushed down I-35 from Fort Worth to Austin, after she got a frantic phone call from her sister Clara.
Clara and Frank Wait were on the edge of a breakup with divorce looming in the not so distant future. Things were starting to get ugly, but at least didn’t foresee any violence. In the thirteen years they had been married, Frank nary raised a hand against his wife, not even to slap her. They did however, have some epic verbal altercations. After one very bad altercation, she had found her eleven year-old, son hiding beneath a quilt, in his closet. The poor boy was crying and shaking. Clara knew she had to get him out of the house; her sister was her only hope. She called Betty that night; and early the next morning, Betty was at Clara’s home. Betty had tried to convince her sister to come with her, as they packed some bags for Terry, but Clara still loved Frank and she had hopes that they could reconcile.
“Betty, Frank is a good man. It’s just lately he’s been so… It’s just so frustrating. One minute everything can be all roses and sunshine, and the next we are shouting at each other so loud, we draw the neighbor’s attention.”
“You need to come with me Clara; it’s getting worse daily, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s getting worse, but Frank is going to see a Doctor this week and we are going to start seeing a marriage counselor.”
“I am not leaving unless you promise me, that if things get worse, you will run to your car and drive directly to my home, Clara! Don’t even take time to pack a bag.”
“I will Big Sis, I promise.”
They hugged each other and then Betty and Terry left.
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Terry’s eyes got really big, as his Aunt pointed out which home he would be living in. He had never been to see his Aunt since she had moved from Corsicana to Fort Worth. Betty Johnson lived in an upscale neighborhood just south of Benbrook Lake.
They pulled up the drive in front of a two and a half story golden clay brick home. The front yard was lush and green and almost as big as the front and back yards of the home where Terry lived.
“Whoa, do you live here Aunt Betty?”
“Yes this is my little patch on this earth. I have a third of an acre up front and about 2 in the back. Do you like it?”
“You live in a mansion. Your home is beautiful Aunt Betty.”
“It’s not quite a mansion, but it is a nice home. Let’ go see what the inside looks like, shall we?”
Eleven year old Terry Wait, helped his Aunt move his bags into her home. The inside of the home was nicer than the outside had been. The home was filled with Victorian style furniture and there were a lot of pictures of pretty girls on the walls. Terry’s mouth hung open, as one picture after another caught his attention.
“Wow, these girls are so pretty Aunt Betty, who are they?”
“They are some of my girls, I work with them Terry,” Betty said, slyly. “You don’t know what I do for a living, do you? I am a cosmetologist and I work as a beauty consultant for pageants. I make a very good living at it.” Betty stopped at one picture, “Do you think she is pretty Terry?”
Terry looked closely at the picture, “She isn’t pretty, she’s fantabulous.”
“How old do you think she is?”
Terry was puzzled as he stared at the picture. At first she looked really old maybe sixteen or seventeen, but she just didn’t look right for a teenager, “I don’t know, at first I thought that she was maybe fifteen or sixteen, but there is just something about her? She just doesn’t look that old.”
“She is ten years and a few months old, in that picture.”
“I don’t believe it… but I guess I do.”
The girl in the picture wore the makeup of a girl twenty or thirty, going on a ritzy date or something. The makeup hid the features of the child.
“I did her hair, makeup, selected her clothes, her accessories and took her portrait, right here, in this home of mine.” Betty opened a photo album and showed Terry a picture of a cute, but relatively plain looking girl, “This is what she looks like without the add-ons.”
“You’re a magician!”
“Something like that.”
Betty led Terry to a room and said, “This will be your room while you are here sweetie. Get your things put away and take a bath. I am going to get us some burgers, will you be alright here alone for an hour?”
“Don’t worry, I will be alright.”
>>>>><<<<<
Betty was tired and a little frazzled. She was worried about her sister and wanted to cry. She just didn’t want to cry in front of her nephew just now. She drove a few blocks away and parked, before letting it all go for a few minutes.
Terry took the things he had brought from his two suitcases and began to put things in the dresser and closets. He was surprised to see that half of the large walk-in closet was full of long dresses and fancy dresses. The closet though, was big and his few things wouldn’t even fill a quarter of the remaining space. He then began looking at the dresses. There were silks and satins, lace and frills, all fancy girls’ clothes. He saw that some were made for little girls and some for girls his age and older. All of them were beautiful.
His room was a pastel blue and even though there weren’t a lot of frills, it still looked like a girl’s room, only not so girly. It wasn’t his choice for a room, but it wasn’t so bad. He considered his Aunt’s business and figured that her girls used this room for dressing or something.
He found the bathroom fully stocked with soap, shampoo, towels and stuff. There was even some hair conditioner, though he didn’t know what it did. Exploring the bathroom, he found some tampons and maxi-pads; he really didn’t know what they were for.
The bathroom had a large bathtub and a separate shower. He decided just to take a quick shower and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.
>>>>><<<<<
Betty and her nephew sat and ate their burgers, while they talked.
“Do you really think my Mom will be alright?”
“She’s a big girl, Terry and your father isn’t a violent man. I mean he has never hit your Mom, has he?”
“No, he hasn’t, at least I have never seen him hit Mom. But their last argument was their worst, it really scared me, Aunt Betty.”
“I know what you mean kiddo; even your gramps and grandma had their arguments, when they were still alive. They scared your Mom and me too, but they still loved each other and us too.”
“I don’t remember them too much, Aunt Betty. It has been so long.”
Jean and Ricky Wilson had died in a car accident six years earlier.
“It has been a long time Terry, they loved you so much and so do I. Your Mom is going to get through this buster, don’t you worry.”
“Do you want to call any of your friends back home and tell them where you are?”
“I don’t have many friends; the kids at school think I am kind of a freak.”
Terry was different from all the other eleven year old kids at his school. He was taller than they were, a lot taller. He was the tallest kid at Winston Green Elementary. He was even taller than a couple of teachers. He was all of five foot four inches and a hundred and five pounds. At least being tall was better than being short. The short kids sometimes got picked on. He still suffered as many kids avoided him because they were scared of his size.
“You are not a freak; I don’t want to hear that word again. You are just like your gramps. He grew up fast and stopped when he got to five foot nine inches.”
“I guess. I would like to call Mandy Davis; she’s a girl that lives just around the corner from me. She was the closest thing to a friend.”
“Does she go to your school?”
“No, she is a lot older than me; she goes to Jr. High school.”
“Betty laughed and said, “Yeah, that is a lot older than you, she should almost be… what thirteen, fourteen years old?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Wow, I feel incredibly ancient.”
Betty was only thirty-six, her sister Clara was thirty-four.
“How long am I going to be here, Aunt Betty?”
“I don’t know, but it will be better for you, being here right now.”
“What about school?”
“I guess I can home school you for now. Let me talk to a friend about that.”
After they ate, they sat down in the living room and watched TV. As Terry went to sit next to his Aunt, she pulled him down onto her lap. They both needed the closeness.
>>>>><<<<<
Terry woke the next day in bed. He remembered sitting in his Aunt’s lap, watching TV, but he didn’t remember going to bed. Looking out his window, he could see that it was still dark, but just beginning to lighten. He got up and looked for his robe. He stopped and realized that he didn’t bring it. He went into the closet and looked around. He did find a robe, but it was really girly. He thought about gutting it out and not wear one, or getting dressed, but he didn’t like getting dressed so early with nowhere to go, so he put that robe on instead. It was a pink and yellow satin robe, with lots of pretty butterflies printed on it.
The robe felt wonderful on his skin and came down to about mid-thigh. When he belted it, it almost looked like he was wearing a dress. He looked at himself in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. Yeah, he looked more like a girl than a boy. He was a freak, he thought, and then he felt bad about thinking that. His Aunt was so nice to him. “I’m not a freak; he thought repeatedly, hoping it would become true.
He went to the kitchen and looked around. There was a lot of food there, but nothing that appealed to him. He ate like a kid, which was fine, since he was a kid. It seemed his Aunt was a health food nut. All he could find was granolas, fibers and such. He didn’t want to cook anything; his Aunt hadn’t given him permission to do that, so he poured a bowl of granola crunch cereal and added some milk. He had to admit; it tasted pretty good and was crunchy.
He took his bowl of cereal to the living room and turned the TV on volume down. He sat on, keeping the floor and placed his bowl on the coffee table. It took a few minutes to find some cartoons to watch; the cable system had hundreds of channels and was different from the cable system in Austin.
>>>>><<<<<
Betty woke from a deep sleep, after taking care of her screaming bladder, she stumbled towards the kitchen. She was startled to see a teenage girl in her living room watching TV, at least until she remembered that her nephew was here with her. Betty looked at her nephew and let her imagination roam. He looked so cute in that robe.
“Morning Terry, you sure are up early.”
“Yeah, I usually get up early to go to school. I had to ride the bus for an hour and a half to get to school. I was one of the busses first stops in the morning and last in the evening.”
“Let me get my coffee started and get me something to eat and I will join you.”
A few minutes later, Betty came back with her coffee and breakfast, and joined Terry on the floor next to Terry.
“I hope you don’t mind me wearing this robe. I left mine at home.”
“I don’t mind that at all. I keep several around for my girls.” Betty giggled. “You look so cute in it.”
“Gee thanks, that’s just what a guy wants to hear.” Terry said, somewhat sarcastically.
He sounded so girly talking, “Aww, don’t be that way, I was just having a little fun. It looks good on you. I like your long hair too.”
Terry had a head full of dark auburn hair. Somewhere in his background there was a little Scottish, or Irish, ancestry that got mixed in and left a lasting impression on the Johnson family tree. Terry kept his hair just a little longer than collar length. He liked it better than some of the shorter cuts most guys at his school wear their hair at.
“I like it too.”
“Still, I thought you looked so much like one of my girls when I first saw you this morning.”
“I get that a lot, because I am so thin.”
“That with your girlish facial features on a teenage looking body and people see what they want to see. Your face will be more girlish till you start puberty, Terry. I actually know girls who would kill for lashes and cheeks like you have. Add that cute button nose you have and you would be a winner.”
“Stop kidding me Aunt Betty.”
“I’m not kidding you. Anyway, start calling me Auntie, Aunt Betty is just a mouthful.”
“Okay Auntie.”
“You need some kid food, Auntie,”
“What is wrong with what I have?”
“Everything is extra fiber this, or granola this or that.”
“We will get some other things today; just don’t expect me to get you some sugar coated sugar cereals. It wouldn’t hurt you to eat more healthy foods.”
“Eww, I don’t eat those things either.”
>>>>><<<<<
Betty and her nephew went shopping at about ten that morning. She was surprised at what Terry called kid food. She bought groceries for the next week, keeping Terry in mind. She checked with him to find out what else he liked. Some of her clients could take heed to what Terry wanted to eat. He selected a couple of whole grain cereals, low fat-low salt snacks and some fruit. She also bought him some hygiene products, a new toothbrush, comb and hairbrush.
“What else do you need, Terry.”
“I don’t know, I guess that is about everything.”
On the drive home, Terry looked more closely at the car. He had ridden in a three or four year old Land Rover the day before, now they were in a newer BMW 335i sedan.
“Are you rich, Auntie?”
“Rich no, but I do well. People pay me big bucks to build their daughters images and train them for the pageant circuits.”
“Isn’t it rather odd that these pre-teens are looking so sexy?”
“Yes it is. I am careful about who I work with. Some of the parents I refuse. Some parents, mostly Moms, constantly push their girls to work harder. Nothing the kids do seem to make their Mom’s happy, short of winning.”
“Like sports Moms and Dads.”
“Yes, many of the kids don’t want to do it and are unhappy about it. If it isn’t fun for the girl, I might not work with her, but if I didn’t do this and do it well, the parents might go to a different person who wouldn’t look out for the girls, like I do. So I do what I need to do, and work to make the girls’ lives better. My girls win, so the parents listen to me.”
“What is it that makes the parents do this to their children?”
“Some Mom’s live vicariously through their daughters.
“Vicariously? What does that mean?”
“The Mom’s see themselves in their children’s place. They wish they could have done those things, or they relive what they went through, through their children. They don’t realize or they don’t care how hard it is on their children.”
“I see, I think.”
“It can be bad, I try to avoid the worst, but I still worry about those poor girls.”
When they arrived at home, they unloaded their purchases.
“I need to spend some time in my office. I am calling clients to cancel my appointments this week, so I can spend some time with you.”
“You don’t have to cancel appointments on my account.”
“Yes I do, I need to get reacquainted with my number one nephew.”
“I am your only nephew, Auntie.”
“My statement is still accurate.”
Terry went to the living room to watch TV and Betty went into the room next to her bedroom. He could hear her talking on the phone, as he watched one of his favorite shows.
After about an hour and a half, she came in. Terry was sitting on the floor and he had the cartoon network on, laughing at the antics of the characters on the TV.
Betty went to his room and got his new brush. She sat behind him and began brushing his hair. He had nice hair, but he needed to take better care of it. He had split ends and it didn’t shine like it should. After she combed out the tangles, she began to brush it till it shined. She took care not to pull or tug at it. Her girls didn’t like their hair being pulled either.
Terry didn’t say anything, but it felt good to him. He loved having his hair brushed. One of the reasons he had grown his hair longer, was so that his Mom would have a reason to brush it. Those sessions became fewer when things started going south at home.
>>>>><<<<<
The next few days just seemed to pass quietly. Aunt Betty had Terry registered into an online home school. She figured they would keep him up to date for when he returned home. They also went shopping to get him some more clothes. The clothes he had weren’t bad, he had just outgrown them. His pants were high water jeans and almost looked like capris. He also had problems with his shirts. He couldn’t keep them tucked and therefore exposed his stomach.
Terry had to have a good belt with some of the pants he got. They had to buy some larger waist pants to get some long enough for his lanky frame. His measurements were 27-26-29; pants that fit his waist were to short, while pants that were long enough had a larger waist. There just weren’t that many five-foot-four, eleven year olds. Betty thought she’d have an easier time fitting him in girl’s clothes. At least he had normal feet for his age.
He was quite the looker when they finally left the stores; Terry wore some of his new clothes out of the store. He wore a pair of slim jeans, a south-western print shirt, with mother of pearl snaps, and some new Justin ropers. Betty almost got him a cowboy hat, but they just didn’t look right on him.
Lastly Betty got Terry his own Wi-Fi capable laptop and printer, so he could do his school work on it.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday Betty and Terry were lounging around the house. Terry was going through one of his Aunts albums, looking at the before and after pictures, and at awards ceremony pictures. She had a dozen albums that she used as her portfolio to prospective clients.
“Gee Auntie; you are a miracle worker, with some of these girls.”
“Yep, I can make anyone look so much better,” she said. Then for some reason, which she would ponder for many years, she said, “I could even make you look as good as, or better than, the girls in those pictures.”
“I ain’t believing that for one minute, Aunt Betty.”
Betty took the bad grammar as an affront to her skills. She hadn’t planned to push back, but she said. “It’s either ‘I’m not believing that’ or ‘I don’t believe that’, Terry. Civilized people don’t use ain’t and I know that I can do it.”
“No you can’t.”
“Put your money where your mouth is buster. I bet you four hundred dollars I can do it.”
“I can’t bet, I don’t have any money.”
“Okay then, I bet four hundred dollars if I lose. If I win, you will dress up as a girl twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and go with me for a month to pageants I have clients in, or at least until you go home.”
Terry had a big smile on his face and was counting his eggs before they hatched. “You’re on Auntie.” He hadn’t considered what would happen if he lost.
“Okay, go take a bath and wash and condition your hair. Follow the directions on the bottles of shampoo and conditioner. I need to go pick up a few things. Just have your robe on, when I get back.”
Betty almost had a look of determination and glee on her face as she got her things and left, causing Terry to say, “Uh oh.” His Mom often had a similar look when she was going to prove to him that she was right. Nine times out of ten, she was right.
Still he had a sense of honor, and a bet, was a bet. He got up and took a bath following his Aunt’s directions.
>>>>><<<<<
Terry was sitting in the living room in his adopted robe, with a towel wrapped like a turban on his head. Betty had lost some of her gusto as she shopped. So when she came in the living room she said, “Terry, you don’t have to do this, if you don’t want too. I should never have made that silly bet with you.”
“It’s ok Aunt Betty. I shouldn’t have doubted you to begin with. It will just be between us two, won’t it?”
“It will be just between us, Terry and only for today if you want.”
“Then do your worst to me.”
Betty led Terry upstairs into her work area. Terry hadn’t gone upstairs before today and was amazed to see a salon and a photo studio.
“Sit in the salon chair Terry, I am only going to clip your split ends and give you a male style today. I was going to go all out and do your hair up right, but I’ll just use a wig with you today. It will be easier when you go back to being a boy.”
She did exactly what she had promised. She trimmed his split ends and gave him a male’s long hairstyle . She then covered his hair with a wig cap and began to work on his face.
“You have pretty eyes, Terry. They are a lot like your Mom’s. I love your eyelashes. The only problem you have, are some voids in you brows. What happened to them?”
“I went through a plate glass window.”
“Oh lord, that is bad. At least you weren’t seriously hurt,” Betty could only imagine what might have happened. At least his face wasn’t all scared up. “That could work to my advantage as it gives me more latitude in shaping your brows. Without makeup on, the voids will make it look less feminine.”
Betty had to do some art work on his brows. After she plucked them, she showed him her work. “That doesn’t look to bad for a guy, does it?”
He looked in the mirror and had to agree, his brows didn’t look anything like the girls in the pictures. He could live with them like that. Then Betty began her real artwork. In five minutes she had filled the voids and better defined his brows. They weren’t those very thin brows, or highly arched brows, but he had to admit, they were very feminine.
“I think most women over-pluck their brows, some women can carry those thin brows, but I don’t like them.”
“I don’t think Mom did either.”
“I know, I taught her. Now let’s get you into some more clothes.”
“Are you finished with my face?”
“Heavens no, we are just getting started. There are some things you can put on now. There will be less fuss getting ready later.”
Betty handed him a pair of ice blue lace silk bikini panties and turned to give him some privacy. He slipped them on quickly. Then she handed him a padded brief. He hadn’t worn anything like them before but they went on like the panty. They also had the effect of hiding what little of his male pride there was.
Betty then put a corset on the boy. The stiff boning on the corset would define his shape and improve his posture. The corset wasn’t very restrictive; Betty drew the laces till the sides touched and only took off an inch and a half off his waist. She then considered putting him in stockings, as they would be more feminine in her opinion, but elected having him in pantyhose, as they would be easier on him. She put them on him herself, rather than just telling him how to do it. In the cups of the corset, she placed some helpers which her girls sometimes used. He appeared to have a small size 30A bust, when she finished.
Terry just ran his hands over what he wore, he thought everything was so pretty and the pantyhose felt so heavenly.
Betty thought, “Take it easy Terry, there is worse or better coming yet, depending on how you look at things.” She then got him back in the robe and back into her chair.
She had him face the mirror and told him what she was doing and going to do. She started with foundation and pressed powder. She had a professional makeup kit and easily matched his skin tones. She worked on his brow a bit more and then applied several shades of eye shadow. Betty curled his long eyelashes, used a waterproof liquid eyeliner to create a wing style and three coats of mascara completed the eyes. She was going for an elegant glamour look.
She didn’t like the makeup some of the girls wore in pageants. She hated to admit it, but some of the girls looked like young hookers. That alone almost got her out of the business. There were so many people though, that would try to fill her shoes. Many might not be as good she was, or care as much for her girls, like she did.
Terry’s eye’s got big as saucers, as he saw the transformation continue.
For his hands, Betty used press on nails with adhesive tabs. They were already colored and would save a lot of time. The nails closely matched the lipstick she was about to use.
Betty then started on his lips, they were small, like any prepubescent girl, but she had her tricks. She used a lip plumper, a lip pencil and two shades of lipstick to highlight them and make them look large and luscious. He still had his baby fat in his face and that gave him some nice cheeks, which she highlighted with a nice blush. She then turned him away from the mirror. She sealed the lipstick with a stay on gloss, which would keep the lipstick from coming off for hours.
“I will be finished in just a minute; I need to get a few things. No peeking now.”
Terry didn’t peek, although he wanted to. He knew he was losing the bet, that wasn’t a bet now. He just ran his hands over his nylon-clad legs. He just couldn’t describe the feelings.
His aunt came back into the room, carrying a dress and shoes. The dress was the prettiest dress Terry had ever seen up close. He didn’t know what to call it, but it was a shoulder-less, green silk cheongsam dress. It had a beautiful golden phoenix embroidered on the front. Betty unzipped it and had Terry step into it. She then zipped it up and buttoned the collar. The skirt pooled on his feet, so for the next part, a pair of green satin pumps were necessary. The pumps had a two-inch heel that raised the hem. Next came the wig, she placed it on his head and fiddled with it a bit. It was just about the same color as his own hair, but a lot longer. She had him sit, as she worked with the wig. She took a pair of chopsticks and worked it into a bun, except for two curly tendrils, that framed his face. She stopped and looked at her work. He was missing something and she knew exactly what it was.
“How do you feel about pierced ears?”
“Okay, I guess, there are a few guys at school who got their ears pierced.”
Betty smiled and got a new piercing needle out of its sterile package, she liked to use a needle instead of a piercing gun, and she could be more precise with earring placement with a needle. She had a pair of gorgeous diamond studs she was going to use. She disinfected his ears and then pierced them and put the studs in. She added a few more pieces of jewelry, before touching his makeup up.
Walking was different in this getup, he found. Not only because of the heels, but the skirt restricted the length of his stride by several inches. The dress did have a slit in the back, which Terry found helpful. Betty helped him walk and gave him some instructions.
She smiled at the beautiful girl that sat before her. Betty took the new girl to a mirror. Terry had that wonderful doe caught in the headlights look on his face, as he looked himself, or should it be herself over, she thought. Something happened inside Terry, something that confused him to his very core. He really liked what he saw and something deep inside of him said, that this was so right.
“Wow, I look beautiful,”
“Yes you do Terry. I knew you would.”
“I guess I lost the bet big time.”
“No you didn’t, I will pay you the four hundred and you don’t have to dress as a girl. I shouldn’t have made that stupid bet with you in the first place. I just want to get some photographs, if you feel like it, that is.”
A somewhat shocked Terry said, “Okay, let’s do it.”
Betty led him over to her studio and after a few minutes she began to take her shots. Terry was a little stiff at first, but Betty made it fun, so he began to relax and enjoy himself. Betty didn’t want the classic studio portraits; she wanted to take fashion shots. Terry had never done anything like this, but he listened to what his aunt was saying. As he began to have fun, he loosened up and Terri started vamping for the camera, giving his aunt some poses he had seen in some girls’ magazines . Betty smiled as Terry began to really model for her. She took over a hundred and fifty digital photos, before she called an end to it. The last fifty were really quite good.
“Come on, let’s get you changed back into a boy and get something to eat. I am hungry.”
“Me too, but do I have to change right now, this has been fun.”
“No as long as you are careful with that dress. It cost me over a thousand dollars.”
“You spent a thousand dollars on a dress, for me?”
“No, of course not. I keep all those dresses around for my girls to wear, for portfolio shots. You are the third or fourth person to wear that dress for photos.”
“It’s yours if you want it though,” she teased. “Just be careful with it.”
Betty helped her nephew, come niece, and taught her how to gracefully descend down a staircase. She had him do it three times, the last time by himself. Betty noticed how comfortable he was in heels. Some of her girls never did it this well, but Terry did well.
Betty made them both soup and sandwiches for lunch. As they sat and ate she noticed just how proper Terry tried to be as he ate. It was good seeing him sit up straight. She figured that he had been trying to disguise his height. Now though, he was trying to act like he thought a LADY would act, she guessed. She wasn’t too far off either. He was a bit rough, but all diamonds start out as rough stones.
Terry opened up more and talked about himself as he ate. It broke Betty’s heart, as he talked about his Mom and Dad. She could see that he was upset about it, but he wasn’t crying. He needed to release all that worry, sooner was better, but he also needed to feel good about himself. This might be good for him, as long as she kept it fun.
After he had talked himself out, Betty said. “You know what, I feel positively underdressed sitting next to my gorgeous niece. How would you like it if I dressed up as nice as you?”
Terry looked at his Aunt. He knew she was old; she was thirty-six if he remembered correctly, but she was still very pretty. He liked it when his Mom dressed up.
“I think I would like that a lot Auntie,” Terry said smiling.
“You just sit here and watch TV and let your Auntie get all dolled up.”
Terry kissed his Aunt’s cheek before she left and he turned on the stereo’s FM radio to listen to some music. He tried to dance dressed up, his Mom had taught him the basics one night when they were having fun; he tried to remember how she had danced.
Betty went to her room and began to get dolled up, so to speak. One thing she learned over the years was, she had to look good herself, but never upstage her charges and this was no different to her. She wanted Terry to feel special. She went for a mother of the bride look, pretty and feminine but playing second fiddle to the bride. She went with a pink-skirted suit and a white blouse over her sexiest lingerie and stockings. That was how she liked to feel special.
The phone rang as she was just finishing up her makeup. She heard Terry answer the phone, so she didn’t rush to answer it.
Terry went to his Aunt’s room and knocked before sticking his head in, “Aunt Betty there is a Mrs. Jackson on the phone for you.” His eyes got real big as he saw how pretty she looked.
“Thank you sweetie, I was expecting her call.” Betty said, getting up to get her phone.
Betty talked with the lady on the phone for a couple of minutes and then made another call. After she hung up her phone, she turned to Terry, “I know I said no business this week, but something has come up that is very important to one of my girls. Will you be alright if I step out for a bit? My clients will be coming over later today. I should be back in time to transform you back into Terry before they get here.”
“That’s alright,” Terry said, with just a hint of sadness in his voice. “I understand.”
“If you want too… I suggest you practice acting like what you think a princess would act. No never mind, just do what you want to do. You have my cell phone number; call me if you need me.” Betty kissed Terry’s cheek, got her purse and hurried out.
Terry had never thought about trying to act like a Princess, and much less about being a Prince. He just never thought that highly about himself. The idea intrigued him. He looked up princesses on the Internet, but none of the young princesses intrigued him till he found Princess Diana and Princess Grace Kelly. He watched a few video tributes to them on YouTube. Terry thought they were both so regale and beautiful, especially when they were younger. He spent a little while practicing their mannerisms and grace. He even got the royal wave down, holding up his right hand and just turning it a little left and right. He giggled to himself, as he looked a little foolish and pretentious to him.
He didn’t realize how much time had passed until he heard the doorbell ring, it had been close to three hours. He thought about not answering it, but he knew that it was very important to his Aunt. So he stood and mentally shifted into “Diana Mode” and went to answer the door. He stopped in front of the door and took a deep calming breath and opened it after releasing the breath.
There were two ladies at the door; one looked like a Mother and the other a very pretty girl that was a little taller than he and a couple of years older than Terry. In fact he recognized the girl from his Aunt’s photo albums.
“Hello, may I help you?” He said, to the two ladies.
“Yes we are here to see Ms. Johnson, is she here?” the older lady asked.
“No, she had to step out. She should be back shortly. She went to get something for a client. Would you like to come in and wait for her?”
“Oh good, Yes and thank you. We are the clients. I am Melinda Douglas and this is my daughter Amanda Fae Douglas.”
“I am Terry Wait and Ms. Johnson is my Aunt. Please come in.” He held his hand out like he had seen girls do when they shook hands; both ladies smiled at him and shook his hand as they came in.
Melinda was thoroughly confused; she had thought that Ms. Johnson had said her nephew was in town, when she was called by her canceling appointments Thursday. This lovely creature couldn’t possibly be her nephew, or could it be. If this was a game, she was going to have fun; she just smiled and treated Terri like the lady he appeared to be.
Terry led the two women, to the living room and invited them to have a seat. “Would you like to have something to drink?” Terry offered.
“No thank you,” Mrs. Douglas said. “A diet coke if you have some,” Amanda said.
“I am sure we do, if you will please excuse me.”
Terry went to the kitchen and got a couple of diet cokes and the phone before he returned. After he gave Amanda her coke, he called his aunt on the phone, “Aunt Betty, the Douglass’s are here,” he said, after his aunt answered her phone.
“I am so sorry; I didn’t make it back in time. Are you alright with this, sweetie.”
“Yes, everything is fine here Auntie.”
“Alright, I am about twenty minutes out, so can you entertain them till I get there.”
“Of course I can. Don’t worry everything is okay here.”
“Good, tell them there was a little problem with the shipment, but I got everything sorted out. Take care sweetie.”
Terry turned to the two ladies, and said, “My Aunt will be here in twenty minutes. She said that there had been a problem with the shipment, but that she got it sorted out.”
“Oh good, we were so worried. Your Aunt was getting us a shipment of some extra-long human hair extensions. Amanda’s beautiful hair was one of her best features, till that cretin Paul Smith took out a chunk of her hair out with a pocket knife.”
“Oh no, I saw my Aunt’s picture of you. Your hair was so beautiful,” Terry said, looking at Amanda. He saw that her mid-shoulder length blonde hair was now a collar length bob. “But I disagree, your eyes, nose and cheeks, are your best feature, Amanda.”
Melinda smiled. Terri seemed to be pretty sharp, if she were a guy.
“Thank you, Terri,” Amanda said, smiling warmly. She lived for compliments. “At least I saved the hair that Ms. Johnson had to cut, to even things out. I am braiding it into friendship bracelets for my friends. So are you a contestant too?”
“Oh no, I am just not into that, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes, we do. Doing the pageant circuit is so trying. It’s not something every girl is into.” Melinda said. “So do you live around here?”
“Oh no, I live in the Austin area.”
“Excuse me Terri, but might I use your bathroom, please,” Melinda asked.
“Of course you may, do you know where it is?”
“Yes, we have been here many times.”
Melinda got up and headed to the bathroom.
Amanda was sitting next to Terri and was a little confused, “So why did you come here to visit your Aunt in the middle of the school year?” She asked.
Terry looked a little sad and looked down at his hands on his lap, “My Mom sent me here to get me out of the house. Things between her and my Dad were getting a little rough.”
Amanda was shocked, after she extricated her foot from her mouth, she said, “I am so sorry. I should have thought before I spoke.” She wrapped Terry up in her arms and hugged her so close.
The dam behind Terry’s emotions broke, as the girl hugged him and he released a torrent of tears on Amanda’s shoulder. Terry was still crying when Melinda came back in. Amanda saw her and waved her off. She quietly walked to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.
“I am so sorry, Terri. How are things between them? Has he hit her, or you?”
“No, Dad has never been violent with us, but he argues all the time with Mom. I just got so scared, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes I do, unfortunately. I had a girlfriend whose father went ape shit on her and her Mom. Let it all out girl,” Amanda said, rubbing Terri’s back.
Terry felt so good crying on Amanda’s shoulder, he loved the way she was rubbing his back. After a couple more minutes, he started to get a little embarrassed. What must this girl think of him? Then he remembered what he looked like and got more embarrassed.
“I am so sorry, I shouldn’t be crying like this,” Terri said, and then he felt worse as he saw his makeup staining Amanda’s pretty white blouse. “Oh no, I stained your blouse. It was so pretty.”
“Don’t worry about the blouse. It isn’t as important as friends are.”
“But… you don’t even know me.”
Amanda didn’t understand why, but she felt very protective about this girl. “That’s okay; we can still be sisters can’t we?”
Terry began crying again, out of shame. She would take that back and hate him if she knew, but he felt that he had to tell her.
Amanda wrapped the girl back up in her arms. It felt good comforting her.
Terry just whispered in her ear, “but… but… Amanda, I’m not a girl.”
Shocked, Amanda said, “You’re not a girl…”
Terry shook his head on her shoulder and muttered, “No I am not.”
Amanda didn’t know what to say. She knew that there were people like Terri out there. She liked the Terri she saw, if he wanted to be a girl, so be it. She then whispered into Terri’s ear, “Of course you are a girl. You are my sister now and all sisters are girls. It’s alright for sisters to cry on each other’s shoulders.” She felt an incredible attachment to this girl.
“You… you… mean you don’t care?” Terri whimpered.
“Of course I care about my sister. That’s what girls do.”
Terry was confused, “Did you really, understand what I said.”
Amanda held Terri at arm’s length and smiled, “Yes, I understand that you might have been born a boy, but understand this buster, you are still my sister, whether you like it or not.”
Terri tried to giggle, cry, smile and frown all at the same time. It was rather amusing watching her try to do that.
“Mom, I am taking Terri up stairs to fix her face.”
“Oh let me do that Amanda,” Melinda said, coming out of the kitchen. “She looked so lovely before, she needs to look special for her Aunt.
Melinda knew her daughter was good at makeup, but she wasn’t as good as Betty. Melinda was very good, but she wasn’t as good as Betty either.
Melinda had just cleaned off Terri’s ruined makeup when Betty got home. Betty seeing the living room empty, called out, “Terri, Melinda and Amanda, where are ya’ll.”
“We are up here, Betty,” Melinda called back.
Betty came up to her salon and saw Melinda throwing a makeup wipe away.
“What happened?”
“I stuck my foot in my mouth, Ms. Johnson. While my Mom was in the bathroom, I asked about Terri’s parents. I am so sorry. Terri just had to have a good cry on my shoulder.” Amanda said, showing Betty her blouse.
“Yes things are kind of sticky at her home right now. My sister wanted me to bring… her up here for a while. Do you feel better sweetie.”
“Yes, thank you, Aunt Betty.”
“Oh you poor girl, of course you needed a good cry,” Melinda said, understanding the situation. “Please you must make this precious child look amazing again, before you attend to my Amanda.”
Melinda was good people Betty thought, as she sat down to work on Terry. She used some eye drops to take out the redness from crying and then began to work. Amanda held Terry’s left hand, as Betty worked.
Betty quickly worked her magic and soon Terry went from very pretty to quite lovely again.
“Oh she is so precious,” Melinda said. “By the way, how old are you girl?”
Betty began to snigger and Terry looked at his Aunt.
“It’s up to you kiddo.”
“I am eleven.”
Melinda and Amanda were both shocked.
“Stand up girl, let us give you a look.”
Terry stood and gave the women a twirl.
“She is so tall for her age. She is going to be a heart breaker when she gets older,” Melinda said, smiling.
“Alrighty, now let’s make you look beautiful again, Amanda. Terry please get a robe for Amanda, will you darling.”
“Of course Madame, will there be anything else,” Terry vamped in a weak British accent and a courtesy. He acted like a maid he had seen on TV.
“That will be all for now,” Betty said, failing to suppress a laugh.
Terry went to his room and started to get a robe out of the closet. He stopped and looked at the one he was using. The thought of him wearing his robe after Amanda wore it, intrigued him. He would be able to be closer to her, at least in his mind, so he took that one.
Amanda smiled when Terri offered her the robe. She stood and took off her blouse and slacks right there in front of everyone, handing her clothes to Terri to hold for her. She liked that Terri wanted to act like a maid for a while. She put the robe on and Betty got to work on her. Terri neatly folded her new friend’s clothes and set them on a table.
It took Betty a long while to section and begin the process of attaching the extensions to Amanda’s hair, a single strand at a time. She had four different hair lengths of hair. Today she just added the shortest extensions. It was tedious work and she only added a couple of hundred extensions.
“You’ll have to come back every day for the next week,” Betty said, rubbing her hands.
“Can I spend the night here with Terri, Mom? It will be just like a sleepover.”
Betty and Melinda were both speechless, they didn’t know that among the four of them, that Terri’s secret was no secret to any of them.
Not knowing what to say Melinda said, “I suppose, if it is alright with Betty,” putting the decision on her shoulders.
Betty didn’t know what to say, either. It wasn’t unusual for her girls to stay over, and she really didn’t want it to seem strange not to let them, “I guess it’s okay.”
Terry looked at Melinda and somehow he figured out that she knew, but didn’t want to let her daughter, or his Aunt know she knew. Betty knew of course, but she didn’t want to let Amanda and Melinda know. Amanda knew that Betty knew, but she wanted to conceal it from her Mom.
“Aunt Betty, Mrs. Douglas and Amanda everybody knows,” Terry said. “I promise nothing will happen between my sister and me. After all, we are sisters.”
They all looked at Terri and then at each other and nodded.
“How did you know, Terri?” Amanda asked.
“I don’t know, call it women’s intuition.”
That comment had the three other people laughing. They went downstairs to the kitchen and Betty made coffee and tea.
Terri then went over her story for everyone at the same time. For now at least, she was a girl and pointed this out. When she finished her story she just sat there quietly.
Melinda just wanted to know one thing, “How do you feel about all of this, Terri?”
“I don’t know, but maybe I needed something like this. I have been scared and afraid, but now I have been able to talk to others and lean on them for support. So for at least as long as I am here, I am a girl.”
They had a group hug that almost started Terri crying again.
“I guess I need to go buy you some more clothes, Terri. You can’t wear thousand dollar dresses all the time.”
“And her own makeup too, so she can learn, Ms. Johnson.”
“And I need to get you some clothes for your sleep over, Amanda.”
The two olds got their hugs and went out the door. Amanda took Terri by the hand and led her into the living room. She sat down on the couch and pulled Terri into her lap, holding her sister to her chest.
“You are my princess, Terri.”
“No, you are the Beauty Queen; I am just your ‘Lady in Waiting’.” Lady-in-Waiting was something Terry had read about; he liked the sound of it as soon as he said it.
“Well then my ‘Lady in Waiting’, you may help me dress.” Amanda took Terri by the hand and led her back upstairs.
Terri balked a bit and was worried, but Amanda smiled and kissed her cheek, “Don’t worry we are sisters.”
Terri untied the belt of the robe and lifted it off her shoulders; she then helped her into her blouse and buttoned it for her, before helping her with her pants.
“I liked the way you took such good care of my clothes, Terri. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. They were nice things, I didn’t want to see them get all wrinkled. Sorry about the stains on the blouse.”
“You had a good cry and you needed it. Those stains will come out. You know this is fitting. A Lady-in-Waiting was first a Lady. In other words, she was herself a noble Lady, of lower rank, who the Queen, Princess, or even a Duchess trusted. The Lady-in-Waiting brought honor to her family, by attending to their needs; by being their assistant, their secretary, their confidant and friend. Being a Queen, Princess or Duchess, can be a lonely responsibility. They needed someone who understood the pressures they had on themselves. The Lady-in-Waiting wasn’t considered a servant, but she did what was necessary to make things easier for her charge. Remember, you are not a maid, you are my ‘Lady in Waiting’.” Amanda said, kissing the cheek of her friend.
“Is it lonely being a Beauty Queen?”
“It can be, other contestants, for the most part, aren’t your friends. They are your opponents; that is one thing I can’t forget. They will smile with you on stage, but stab you in the back in the dressing room, if they feel it can help their position. I always need more friends.”
“Well count me in.”
>>>>><<<<
Melinda returned; first she sat in the living room and talked with Terry. She wanted to know more about this person, “Tell me about yourself Terri?”
“Well, I don’t have many friends at school. I sort of stuck out like a sore thumb. From the third grade to the fifth grade I grew tall fast, but didn’t fill out at all. At least I wasn’t picked on like some of the short kids, but I was still called a lot of names.”
“My few friends were from my neighborhood and they were all girls. I was the only guy between eight and twelve for four blocks. The guys where I live, were either under five, or over fifteen.”
“Tell me Terri,” Melinda asked, “Have you ever dressed as a girl before?”
“No ma’am. I never even thought about it. I’m afraid my Dad would kill me if he saw me like this. No I take that back, he wouldn’t kill me, but he might bust my ear drum with his yelling at me.”
“You didn’t dress as a girl for Halloween, either.”
“No ma’am. Today was the first time.”
“Did you ever do any acting?”
“A few school plays yes, but it isn’t hard being a tree.”
“Where did you learn to act so much like a girl?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just watch people. I did study Princess Diana and Grace Kelly, on the Internet, while my Aunt was out getting Amanda’s hair. What happened to your hair, Amanda?”
“At school I sit in front of a guy name Paul Smith. His girlfriend, is a girl I sometimes compete against. I know what you said about my face and I appreciate it, but what helped me win so much was my long hair. Cindy Gray knew this and I think she got Paul to cut a large lock of my hair off.”
“He is not a good boy, Terri,” Melinda said. “He has confronted Amanda before over Cindy. Cindy Gray is a pretty girl, but she doesn’t really have any talents. Child and Teen beauty pageants are just like the adult ones on TV. To win you have to sing, dance or do something that is classified as a talent. There have even been girls who have even done Karate and that is an acceptable but unusual talent. Cindy can’t seem to do anything well. We did get a measure of satisfaction though; Paul’s family is having to pay for all of this, to the tune of two thousand five hundred dollars. Real human hair hair-extensions, as long as we got, are very expensive. ”
“What do you do Amanda, for a talent?”
“I can sing, dance, quote Shakespeare, or play the violin.”
Amanda stood and you could see a change in her demeanor. She became frazzled and was nervously rubbing her hands as if washing them as she walked around.
Yet here's a spot.
Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?--Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.
The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?--
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o'
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with
this starting.
Here's the smell of the blood still: all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh!
(MacBeth Act 5)
“Wasn’t that from ‘Macbeth’?” Terry asked.
“Yes it was,” Melinda said, surprised to see that Terri knew what play it was from. “She did that scene nicely, I think. Do you know the play, Terri?”
“My mom and I watched that movie on PBS. The one where Patrick Stewart played Macbeth and Suzanne Burden played Lady Macbeth.”
“There is a lot of superstition attributed to that play,” Amanda said.
“Enough of what Amanda likes to do. What do you like to do Terri?”
“I don’t know, staying out of trouble more than anything, but I like to read. I like Joan Lowery Nixon, Franklin Dixon, Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Carolyn Keene. Any good mystery as long as it isn’t too grisly and graphic.”
“Do you play video games, Terri?” Amanda asked.
“Some, but those games can be too gory for my tastes. I don’t understand the fascination with eviscerating your opponent.”
“Well you have a superior vocabulary, compared to your contemporaries.”
“I keep a BIG!” Terry demonstrated by holding his hands apart, “dictionary by my bed. I look up words I don’t know.”
“Did you wear nice clothes as a boy?” Amanda asked.
“Not really, and not because they were too expensive, I out grew my clothes too fast for the last year and a half, except for my shoes. I didn’t mind going to the resale store. Mom bought me a really nice suit once and I got to wear it twice before I outgrew it.”
“Did you know, some girls might spend hundreds of dollars for a dress and only wear it once,” Melinda said. “Do you like that dress Terri?”
Terry ran his hands over the dress. The silk felt exquisite and he loved the embroidered Phoenix.
“I don’t like this dress, I love it. I can’t describe the way the fabric feels so right, but it is very nice. The embroidery though, makes this the prettiest dress I have ever seen.”
“You’re wearing a corset now, is it tight?” Amanda asked.
“Not really, except for right here,” Terri said, indicating the narrowest part of his waist, “Aunt Betty said it was to make me sit straighter and give me a little more of a figure. I slouch too much. I guess I did that out of habit to hide how tall I am, when I am at school.”
Betty had been gone for about two hours. It was hard to tell that there was a body behind all the bags when she came in. It looked like the bags had two arms and two legs. That was all that was visible.
“I just bought a couple of outfits till we can take you out and go shopping,” as she dumped all the stuff in front of Terry.
“Just a few outfits?” Terry asked in amazement.
“That’s only enough clothes for two or three days, maybe more if you mixed and matched. You really don’t know what a girl needs, do you Terry?” Melinda said.
Terry and Amanda began to go through the bags, with Betty and Melinda sorting, folding and stacking things. Betty bought everything that Terry would need, bras and panties for a week, four blouses, three skirts, four T’s, two pair of slacks, two pair of jeans, another corset, panty hose, two purses, a wallet, five pair of shoes, makeup and makeup brushes, shorts, socks, two casual jackets, three night gowns and a black sleeveless dress.
“Terri, this isn’t half as much as I have to take for some pageants.”
Terry didn’t believe that for one minute. Melinda knew what Terri was thinking and said, “Believe it Terri. Amanda sometimes has to do maybe six or seven changes at a pageant and then there are her normal street clothes. You can come with us next weekend and see for yourself. I sometimes get adjoining rooms for us. One room is for the clothes and stuff and one for us to sleep in.”
“We were going to that show anyway, Melinda,” Betty said. “I have your daughter and Leslie Walker, at that show.”
“I know, but I thought it would be nice to ask Terri personally.”
“Thank you Mrs. Douglas. I would love to do that… Something though has been bothering me. Don’t you think it’s strange… I mean… I am a boy dressed as a girl… and everyone is so accepting of me. I know if I went to my old school, even the smallest guys would pick on me.”
“I don’t care who you are, or what you are Terri. You make a credible girl and my daughter likes you. My grandparents were hippies, till they got bit by the capitalism bug and my Dad made his money in Silicon Valley. Those geeks are some strange dudes. I learned not to judge people by the way they look and I believe in ‘live and let live’. And another thing, the way you make that dress look, I am just glad that Amanda doesn’t have to go up against you at a beauty pageant.”
“You said it Mom, Terri is just too cute,” Amanda said, “I could just hug her to death. She is my good luck teddy bear.”
“You seem like a good kid, Terri. Until you prove otherwise, I am going to treat you like a good kid. I am also going to treat you like you portray yourself. If you want to be a girl in Fort Worth, far be it from me to say nay. Considering your circumstances, being a girl for a while can’t hurt, if it will get you to let the bad things go. This will be our secret, nobody else in this world will have to know, Terri,” Melinda said.
Terry was almost crying when he got up and hugged Melinda. She hugged the girl, Terri, for a few minutes.
“Fashion show,” Amanda said. “It will be good seeing someone else put on the spot for a change.”
“You can try on everything here Terri, you will probably have to have our help,” Melinda said.
Betty helped Terri out of the cheongsam, while Amanda selected an outfit.
“Is that a wig, Terri?” Melinda asked.
“Yes, I have collar length hair, but it is a boy’s cut.”
“It looks very good on you.”
“My own hair is pretty close to the wig in color.”
After Terry dressed in the first outfit, Betty took out the chop sticks and fluffed out the wig.
“You look good in long hair, Terri,” Amanda said.
“Yes she does, doesn’t she?” Melinda said.
“I would grow mine longer, but my dad is already on the warpath about my hair.”
Terry had fun changing in and out of the clothes, his aunt had bought him, no her, she was a girl for now and girls wear girl’s clothes, which means she is a girl. Sure it was circular logic, but it meant something to Terri.
They made Terri prance back and forth. Amanda taught him how to walk like a girl on a runway. One of the new shoes had a three-inch spike heel; Amanda called it a stiletto. It took him, no her, a few laps to get used to them. Terri really didn’t need the added height, but the shoes looked good. Betty, Melinda and Amanda were surprised that she walked so well in the shoes. Terri was only a little awkward in the heels.
After the show, Melinda went home. Amanda and Terri took their things to Terri’s room. Amanda helped Terri arrange her things in her dresser and closet. Terri took off her clothes and hung them up. Amanda helped Terri out of the corset. Terri took a bra, a pair of panties and her robe into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth, took off her wig, placing it carefully on the Styrofoam head. She shook out her own hair and, undressed the rest of the way and washed herself a bit with a bath cloth. She pulled on her panties and then figured out how to get into a bra, stuffing the cups with those silicone bits. She felt better with her small breasts than her flat chest. When Terri came out of the bathroom, Amanda wasn’t there, so she, yes she was a she; she slipped a nightgown on and went to bed and turned her lights out.
Five minutes later Amanda came in, “Can I sleep with my sister and Lady in Waiting.”
“You don’t have to ask, Amanda.”
>>>>><<<<<
Terry slept better than she had in a long while. It felt comforting having Amanda sleep behind her, although Amanda’s breath did tickle the hair at the back of her neck. She slipped out of bed and into the bathroom. Before she left the bathroom she had to readjust the bra, it and her breasts had ridden up while she slept. She wished that they were real. She took out the new corset and figured out how to get into it and it didn’t take much to tighten it all the way. Looking in the bathroom mirror, she tied it off in a bow behind her, like her aunt had done. She put the wig cap on, tucking her own hair underneath. She shook out the wig and with some effort, got it in place. She liked the way she looked. She just added a touch of pink lipstick, from her new makeup kit.
She dressed in her robe and a pair of feathered mules, before she left the bedroom, with Amanda softly snoring. The mules were wedges, with about a two inch heel and were pretty comfortable.
She had seen how her aunt made coffee and started the pot. Terry found tea bags and there was a kettle on the stove. Terry hadn’t been a tea drinker, but she knew her Mom was, so she turned the burner on underneath the tea kettle. She got a bowl of cereal and when the kettle whistle blew, she made a cup of tea, with cream and sugar. She decided that she liked the tea, after tasting it.
She finished her tea and cereal, and had cleaned up, before anybody else got up. Amanda came waddling in, followed shortly by her aunt.
“Morning Amanda, Morning Auntie.”
“Morning,” came the reply in unison. “Did you two sleep well,” Betty asked. “I know you slept together.”
“We are sisters, Aunt Betty.” Terry added confidently.
“Yes, I guess you are in a way.”
“I slept better than I have in a long time. May I call my mom, later?”
“Yes but make it after ten. Amanda, let me eat and get woke up, and then I will add another layer of extensions.”
>>>>><<<<<
Terri watched her Aunt work on Amanda’s hair, inserting one hair at a time. She helped by handing Betty one hair at a time. Amanda’s hair was starting to look significantly longer and fuller. Betty didn’t work as long today, but still added about two hundred hairs.
Betty then taught Terri how to braid Amanda’s hair.
“Extensions last longer if they are braided, when possible,” she said.
Terry tied a big blue satin bow at the bottom of the braid. Amanda smiled, when she finished and kissed her cheek.
“Thank you Terry and thank you Ms. Johnson.”
“It won’t be as long as it was Amanda, but it will be fuller and we will be able to do more things with it. I am glad you are getting the cost back out of that boy.”
“Mom also got a restraining order; Paul can’t come within two hundred feet of me. He has to change classes and he can’t go to the pageants that I will be in. I am making sure I attend the same pageants that his girlfriend does. It will kill them both.”
At about ten Betty got her phone; she carried it into her office and closed the door.
“Clara how are things were going.”
“Frank went to the doctor and is going to go to anger management classes, as am I,” she said. “We only had one minor argument and it wasn’t loud enough to alarm the neighbors. The therapist is really helping me. I was a barrel of nerves and now I’m learning to be a more calm and assertive, without being over the top, but its going to be a month or so, before I would feel safe enough to have Terry come home.”
Betty told Clara not to worry about Terry; he loved it here and already made some good friends. She also told Clara that she had enrolled Terry in a home school online program. Clara was relieved about that, she hadn’t even thought about what he would do about school. She did call his old school and told them why he wasn’t coming. They understood and were relieved that he was safe at least. Betty also told Clara to be really careful around Frank.
Betty called Terry into the office and gave her the phone. Then she went and sat with Amanda.
“How is Terri’s mom, Ms. Johnson?”
“She is doing as good as can be expected, Amanda. These type things can take a long time to resolve… and sometimes they are unrecoverable.” Betty took both of Amanda’s hands in her hands. “Learn from this Amanda. Never become some man’s punching bag. There are times it is better to walk away from a bad situation, than to try to hold on to something dangerous. If you get married, set some money aside each month in a savings account at a different bank, in case you have to leave in a hurry.”
Twenty minutes later, Terry came out of the office. He was just starting to cry a bit.
“I miss my Mom, Aunt Betty and I am worried about her.”
Betty pulled Terry into her lap and tried to comfort the child. He cried on her shoulder. Betty whispered into his ear, “I know, sweetie. I’m worried about her too, but she is strong, she will get through this.”
Amanda took one of Terry’s hands and held on to it, wishing that there was something more she could do.
Terry was all cried out in about twenty minutes. Betty set the child down next to Amanda, who wrapped him up in a hug. She then went to fix lunch for the three of them.
When Betty finished getting lunch ready, the kids weren’t in the living room, so she called out.
“Terry… Amanda, lunch is ready.”
“Be there in a minute, Ms. Johnson.”
When the kids came out of Terri’s room, Terri was all made up and was acting like a lady.
“You look nice Terri, do you feel better?”
Terri nodded and gave his aunt a half smile and a hug.
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda had taken him back to his room, to get her sister and Lady-in-Waiting back. Once she started on Terri’s eyes, Amanda could sense a change in Terri’s bearing. Terri went from a hurt child, to a proper Lady. Amanda smiled and continued to work.
Terri was happy to see what Amanda had done. This was another new look and so she tried to remember what Amanda had done. She saw that Amanda had done many of the same things his aunt had done, but she used less makeup and lighter colors.
When they heard Aunt Betty say lunch was ready, Amanda was almost finished. She just needed to add lipstick.
Amanda led Terri to the kitchen. Betty smiled when she saw Terri.
Terri sat like the lady she wanted to be at that time and swept her skirt under her as she sat. She told Amanda and Aunt Betty about her talk with her mom. Her mom had been more upbeat when she talked with Terry, than she had been, when she talked to Betty. She didn’t want Terry to worry. Terri felt things were a little better, but not as good as what his Mom had told him.
After lunch, Betty worked on Amanda again, for about an hour. Amanda was pleased with how things were going.
“You need about four more sessions Amanda to be finished and then I will style your hair and give you a perm.”
“I can’t wait, I loved my long hair. Terri, will you braid my hair for me again, please?”
Terri began to work with her friend’s hair and finished it off with the blue stain bow again.
The afternoon was a little more upbeat. Amanda took Terri and began teaching her how to use her makeup. She made it fun, she wanted Terri to love being a girl and Amanda felt she needed her. She would do the right side of Terri’s face and have Terri try to match the left side. Terri did learn to remove the makeup real well, as she had to start over several times. They would have Betty critique their work. The last time, Amanda had Terri do everything.
“How come you know so much about makeup? How long have you been wearing it?”
“Honey, I have been wearing makeup since I was six. It isn’t unusual to see girls all ages made up extra fancy at pageants. Mom started me in pageants back then. Most normal girls don’t get a chance to start wearing makeup till they get to somewhere between thirteen and sixteen. I started doing my own when I was eleven. I always wear a little, but Mom won’t let me wear more than mascara and lipstick to school. I still practice my makeup almost every day. If you’re my Lady-in-Waiting, you need to look good too.” Amanda tickled Terri causing her to laugh and streak mascara over her right cheek.
Terry looked mad at Amanda for a second and then they had a tickle war. Amanda gave up, as Terry had her pinned face down on the bed and was relentlessly tickling her feet. Amanda cried Uncle and Terri relented. They both had to clean off their faces and redo their makeup.
“I wished you could go to school with me, Terri.”
“We wouldn’t even be in the same grade. I am in the fifth grade and you are what, seventh or eighth?”
“Eighth. Still it would be good to have my best friend with me in school.”
“Why, don’t you have lots of friends?”
“Not so many, and the ones that want to be my friend, are pretty shallow. They want to use my looks to attract boyfriends. Then others like Cindy, despise me. Like I said yesterday, Royalty are sometimes lonely people.”
“We will see each other often and you can call me every day.”
Amanda hugged Terri and said, “Thank you.”
The two kids talked about what music they liked, which actors and actresses they thought were cool and other things kids talk about.
Amanda had to leave and go home at five that afternoon. She had to go to school the next day.
>>>>><<<<<
Terry slept well, but missed Amanda’s warmth. She got up early the next morning and took her bath. She kept things simple, she had to sign onto the home school site and take some tests. The site wanted her to turn on her webcam and they expected a boy. She wore some girl’s slacks over her panties, with one of Terry’s boy shirts, without her bra and breast padding.
The way the site worked, was the children logged in every day in the morning and turned on their webcams. The teachers would lecture them for about thirty minutes a class and then in the afternoon, the kids would do their assignments. They had to have their webcams on in the morning, so the teachers could see that they were actually present for the lectures. In the afternoon, they had teachers who could start a chat if the students needed help.
Back home, Terry’s grades had begun to slip a little, but she did well in testing today. The teacher was pleased and that afternoon, after five hours of testing, they assigned him to the sixth grade in most classes and the fifth grade in others.
Ten minutes after the tests, Terri was in her corset and doing her makeup. She was in full girl mode when Amanda arrived.
Amanda had a ninety minute long session with Betty, and Terry braided her hair afterwards. The four of them sat around and talked. Betty and Melinda talked about the next pageant. Terry and Amanda talked about what they had done today.
“You should have been there today. Paul came in and sat behind me. Before class started, the principal came in and read him the riot act and pulled him out of class. He was sent to the alternate school. He will be there till the end of the semester and then he may have to go to a different school the next year. Cindy was livid, but she couldn’t do anything.”
“Was he mad at you?”
“Oh yes he was mad, but I think his mom and dad got to him. He looked crossly at me and just left. He never said a word.”
Terry smiled and hugged his friend, “Just be careful, I don’t want my best friend hurt.”
“I will. Oh I have something for you.” Amanda said. She took out a bracelet she had made out of her hair. She had taken some longer sections and braided it together with a gold chain. She placed it around Terri’s right wrist. “This is made out of my own hair. I want you to have it.”
Terri smiled and hugged “Amanda. “I love it, thank you Amanda. I will wear this at special times and when we are together.” Terri kissed Amanda’s cheek. “I just wish, I had something to give you.”
“You did, you’re my friend.”
“Amanda, we have a violin lesson, so we have to go,” Melinda said.
The two girls hugged and then waved, as Amanda and her Mom left.
>>>>><<<<<
The next few days, Terri was schooled in the morning. She would get into full girl mode at lunch, and do her assignments and then watch as her Aunt Betty dealt with other clients. Amanda had more rounds of extensions and she was pronounced finished. She would come back the next day for styling and a perm.
Aunt Betty dealt with two other girls this week, one was a pretty perky eight-year-old girl. Leslie Walker was a mass of black curly hair and unlimited energy. She had a huge smile that endeared everyone to her. Aunt Betty worked with the girl’s stage presence, in other words the way she walked, the way she talked and the way she posed. She would be the other girl that was going to the pageant on Saturday. Leslie liked Terry and spent a lot of time with her. Terry liked the little girl and it was apparent to her that the girl was having fun doing all of this. What surprised everyone was during a break, Leslie climbed up into Terry’s lap, made herself comfortable, and took a short cat nap. Forty winks later (about five minutes) Leslie was wide awake and full speed ahead.
The other girl Betty worked with that week, was an eleven year old girl name Wendy Green. Wendy was eleven, but was about four inches shorter than Terry. She seemed a little less happy about all this ta-do, but her Mom, Charlotte, pushed her to always do better. Terry got a chance to talk to the girl, which surprised Wendy. The girl liked going to pageants some, but there was so much work in between. When other girls had time to play and have fun, Wendy had to practice this or do that, to make her mom happy. Wendy liked going to school, it was there she could be herself and have fun. Wendy said that she liked working better with Ms. Johnson, than her old coach. Her old coach was worse than her mom about having her work harder and longer.
Aunt Betty talked to Terri about her girls. Terri gave her impressions about Wendy and Leslie. Betty smiled as Terri talked about the two girls. It was obvious that her niece was very observant and she was happy that she got along well with her girls.
“Terri, Wendy is one of those girls I almost didn’t take on as a client. I did it so that I could try to help her to have some fun. I have seen to it that things are better with her. I would drop her but then I am afraid that her Mom might go back to the other coach or to a worse one.”
“Wendy likes you Aunt Betty, so does Leslie. I think Leslie will do well in her pageants.”
“Yes, it was like she was born to be a beauty queen. Well, I need to take you shopping, if we are going to the pageant on Friday. You need more clothes.”
Aunt Betty and Terri hit the mall. Terri was surprised to see, ‘how much in her element’ her Aunt was. Betty knew just the right shops which would have clothes that Terri loved and would look good in. Even though it was her first time going out in full girl mode, Aunt Betty made her feel good. She didn’t have time to feel self-conscious. Terri seemed to thrive in the feminine environment. She was only a little uncomfortable her first time in the ladies restroom; she just smiled and acted as naturally as she could.
Their first stop at the mall was the lingerie shop. In the lingerie shop, Betty bought some really expensive breast forms, which would be attached with an adhesive. These forms had a high quality, natural skin appearance. When they were attached and treated with a special makeup, they matched Terri’s skin tones very nicely; they looked and felt real too. Terri stared at them in the mirror for several minutes, turning left and right to get a better look at them. She then jumped and shook her shoulders to make them jiggle. Betty laughed and whispered to Terry that her new breasts would help her mix in better with the other girls at pageants, make her look a little older and she would be less likely to give herself away as the attached breasts forms wouldn’t shift out of place at an inopportune time.
The shop owner was a friend of Betty’s and didn’t think it was strange that Betty was doing this for one of her girls. In fact this wasn’t the first time they had done this. There are some girls that don’t start growing their breasts till they are thirteen or fourteen. In a beauty pageant, breasts can make quite a difference in this age group. It wasn’t supposed to be so, but it was. Teen girls with larger breasts did better than girls who were less endowed. The shop owner gave Terri and Betty a lesson on how to attach and take care of the breast forms.
When Terri was measured, she found out that she was a full 32B with these forms attached. She had to buy some new bras and she still had some that she had never worn yet. Her tank top was stretched nicely over her new bra, but it was apparent that Terry would need some new tops.
Terri whispered to Betty, “Gee, I have only been a girl for a few days and I am still outgrowing my new clothes.” Terri was alluding to her previous growth spurts as a boy.
Betty broke out in giggles. Don’t worry, those other clothes weren’t that expensive.
Terri liked the way she jiggled now when she bounced up and down and they would shift when she turned left and right. Betty had to calm her down a bit.
Betty bought two more corsets for Terri, since she seemed to like wearing them and they did some wonderful things to the girl’s figure. Both new corsets had a two-inch smaller waist, than the ones at home. She was laced into a new one, till the sides touched in the middle. She now had a twenty-two inch waist. She liked the way she looked wearing it. She had obvious hips now and her bust looked bigger with it on. Terri thought she would sleep in the other two and wear these two during the day.
Betty then went from one teen fashion store to another; Terri found many outfits to make her look her best. Being a tall teen meant that Terri didn’t have to endure those overly cute outfits that some girls had to wear. You know, those froths of taffeta, lace, ribbons and organza that make girls look like a modern day Shirley Temple. Those dresses made girls look younger instead of older. Terri looked more mature like a young teen well on the cusp of womanhood when she dressed. The clothes were everything a fourteen or fifteen year old girl would love. At least the fourteen-year-old girls that liked to dress up, that is.
Terri seemed to drift towards the softer, more feminine fabrics and more vibrant colors. She liked being girly, as long as it was a big girl girly. Betty liked the new Terri and seemed to forget about who she really was.
In one store, Terri saw that they had a mother/daughter corner. She went up to a sales lady and asked for her help to find her and her aunt similar outfits. Terri told her aunt that she wanted to pick out the outfits. The sales lady had to the two of them stand side by side, asked what their sizes were. They wore an 8T and a 0. Betty did tell the lady what she needed in an outfit. The sales lady brought out three choices in outfits.
Terri loved the burgundy skirted suit the lady suggested, Betty said we were both autumns and that they could both carry it off well. The suit coupled with a ruffled long sleeve Antique Rose blouse and of course they had to have matching burgundy pumps. The only pumps that matched, had three and a half inch heels.
Betty bought the suits, matching blouses and heels. They had dinner at the mall and talked about the weekend. Terri could stay with Melinda and Amanda at the pageant, but Betty would have to work with both Amanda and Leslie. Terri was alright with that and promised to be on her best behavior.
Before they left the mall, Betty bought Terri a set of soft side suit cases and two matching garment bags. She would need them for the added clothes girls had to carry.
>>>>><<<<<
Terri angled the camera up a little on her web cam. She didn’t want to take her breast forms off, and she didn’t know how the instructors would take having a boy with breasts. Terry was sure her Aunt hadn’t thought about that, but she didn’t care, she loved the way she looked right now.
If they did notice the change, they didn’t say anything. They didn’t, but then again they didn’t care. They had more than a few transgendered students enrolled. They knew it was safer for their transgendered students to be home schooled, rather than go to school and face ridicule and violence. This was one area they saw a huge jump in their enrollment. They just cared that their student was online for the classes and did their work.
Amanda came by after school; Betty styled, colored and permed the girl’s hair, then gave her fills on her acrylic nails. Terri helped by handing her aunt the rods and end papers as she rolled the hair. She was fascinated by the whole beauty process. Her mom regularly went to the salon, but Terry never got to go along with her. The whole process seemed so arcane at times and hardly bearable with all the strong odors. But when Amanda was finished, she could tell that the results were worth the hardships. The results were outstanding; Terri could see why her friend thought her hair was her best feature. She smiled and had to hug her best friend; Amanda looked as good as, or better than, her portrait in Aunt Betty’s albums. Amanda loved Terri’s reaction; she didn’t have to ask how she looked and she knew there wasn’t any falsehood behind her eyes.
Terry whispered in her ear, “You look so amazing, Amanda. I can’t believe anyone could be as beautiful as you are right now.”
“Except maybe for you Terri, when we get you all dolled up. Let’s go to your room for a few minutes,” Amanda whispered back. “Mom, Terry and I are going to her room for a few minutes,”
“Ok, Betty and I need to talk, but we can’t stay long, we have to get home and begin to get ready.”
Amanda almost pulled Terri into her room, “What did you do to yourself girl, you look great.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have some nice titties, girl.”
“Oh, my aunt took me to a store and they had these things attached to me?”
“Breast forms?”
“Yeah, that’s what they are.”
“Let me see girl,” Amanda said, pulling up Terri’s t-shirt.
Amanda saw the new below the bust corset, the bra and the breast forms; at least they had to be breast forms. She unhooked the girl’s bra and took a peak at her breasts. They looked so real, it was hard to tell, they looked great on Terri.
“I love your breasts, they look so real. What size are you now?”
“A 32B.”
“You look good with them. I had to grow mine and use padding to get a B cup. The birth control pills helped me a little, but yours are better right now.”
“I wish mine were real like yours,” Terry said, not thinking. “I like these, but I can’t feel them, if you know what I mean.”
“Are you going to be by my side this weekend?”
“You know it girl, I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
Amanda hooked Terri’s bra back and pulled her T back down and then opened her purse. She pulled out a pretty jeweled broach and pinned it on Terri’s T.
“This is my gift to my Lady-in-Waiting. It is a jeweled pelican. It is just costume jewelry, but I liked it.”
Terry looked at the broach; it was about one by two inches tall and was covered in different colored crystals. It really caught the light and sparkled like diamonds. It was the prettiest thing she had ever been given. She smiled and began to cry. Amanda came up behind her and hugged her. Terry turned in her arms, threw her arms around her neck and kissed her friend on the lips.
>>>>><<<<<
“You know Betty, you have a real problem.”
“I know, Terri has gone completely fem, I think. I hope I didn’t do this to him.”
“From what I know and I admit I am not an expert, there is not much you can do to make someone be that way. What I mean is, you can’t easily make someone become transgendered. There has to be something there already. You might have pulled the trigger, but the gun was already there, so to speak.”
“Do you think this could be just a phase?”
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t take bets on it. I don’t know enough about this type thing, but I know that there are experts. She needs to see a gender specialist.”
“How do I tell her mother?”
“How do you tell anybody anything? Come out with it and tell her the truth, at least as you know it. Is she enough like you to accept this?”
“Yes she is, but I don’t think Frank will be happy?”
“Then she needs to know soon, this might be a deciding matter on whether she stays with him or leaves. The sooner you get this over with the better.”
“I have taken pictures and have been debating on whether to send them to her or not.”
“I can’t tell you what to do?”
“She does make an adorable girl, doesn’t she?”
Melinda leaned close to Betty and whispered into her ear, “You bet your sweet ass she does. I just love thethat girl.”
>>>>><<<<<
Things happened fast after Terri finished her classes for the day. She and Betty loaded the Land Rover. Terri saw why his aunt went with that vehicle, instead of the B’mer, there was a lot more storage space than her other vehicle had. It was still full, as they headed out. Betty checked with Delores, Leslie’s mom and Melinda, before they drove away. They were headed to a state wide pageant in Houston and the first two places, in each age group, would move on to a regional pageant, in Atlanta.
They drove on I-20 to US 287 to Ennis and then south on I-45 to Houston. The pageant was to take place in the George R. Brown convention center. Betty and her girls all had adjacent rooms at the Four Season Hotel, just a few blocks away. Terri just chattered away for the first hour and then became a little quieter, before she fell asleep, just past Corsicana. Betty, just had her driving and her country music to keep her company. She woke Terri up, as they drove through Huntsville and pointed out the tallest statue of an American Hero, General Sam Houston. The statue is 67 feet tall.
“My gosh, he is big.”
“Yes, that is just one of two statues of Sam Houston in Huntsville. There is one at the college in town and a likeness on a large tombstone.”
“Who is Sam Houston?”
“He was the General who defeated Santa Anna at San Jacinto. He was the first President of the Republic of Texas, the first Governor of Texas, a Governor of Tennessee, and a US Senator.”
“Oh a politician.”
>>>>><<<<<
An hour and a half after passing Sam Houston, they arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel. Betty and Terri arrived first. That is when they found out that there was a problem. Instead of three rooms, they had two adjoining rooms. Betty called the mom’s. They decided that the girls should use one room and the three adults would share the other. At least they were large rooms.
Terri changed into a nice dress and with Betty’s help, did her own makeup. Betty thought that Terri needed more than just a little makeup. There would be a lot of other pageant goers around and she didn’t want her niece to be the only girl not looking her best.
Betty and Terri got their luggage up to the rooms and sorted them out. Leslie and Dolores arrived and Terri sort of took charge of the little dynamo. She helped the young girl to get her things arranged in their room. As large as the room was, they were going to be overwhelmed. Amanda had told Terri what she had to bring. Leslie then got dressed and added just a little lipstick, eyeliner and mascara to her face, just like a pro.
Melinda and Amanda arrived just as everyone was getting ready to go get a bite. Terri and Leslie helped Amanda, while Betty and Delores helped Melinda. Amanda undressed while walking, Terri picked up after her. She took a quick bath cloth wash job and dressed in something Terri had gotten out for her. She took a little more time doing her makeup and went for a good evening look.
Leslie took one hand from both girls and they went into the other room. Melinda was just finishing up her own makeup.
That night, they ate at the Hotel, and as expected, there were many pageant goers all around. As Betty had expected, most had dressed up and made up their faces. Many of the pageant girls were already posturing, as if they were being judged. They also were measuring themselves by the competition.
The girls sat at one table, while the adults sat where they could see their girls, but still have an adult conversation. This was a treat for them too.
Amanda and Leslie were busy pointing out who was who, when they saw someone they knew. Contestants often run into each other at the various events. It is a small community, when it comes to the competitive girls. Amanda told them stories of some strange parents. One story was of a mom that went schizo when her girl placed second, for the third time, in two months to the same girl. Security had to protect the girl who had won. The mom accused the judges of favoritism, nepotism (it wasn’t true) and a bunch of other tisms.
The contestants themselves sometimes lose it when they are beaten. It isn’t unheard of girls having a big cat fight over losing at these events. Others have a crying meltdown. A therapist could make a killing with all the bruised egos at a children’s beauty pageant.
“Ninety five percent of the contestants are good kids. We could do without the other five percent. Those contestants will keep acting up till they get banned, but there is always someone that takes their place,” Amanda said.
“Why don’t you compete Terri? You’re really pretty enough.” Leslie asked.
Terri didn’t want to come out to Leslie and tried to come up with a reason. “How much time do you put into pageanting every week?”
“I don’t know… but it is a lot.”
“I put in twenty maybe thirty hours a week before a major pageant. I would expect that Leslie puts in ten to twenty hours in the week before she competes.”
“Well before I came to visit my Aunt, I sorta knew about pageants and a few girls that went to them. I just didn’t have the inclination, or the desire, to put in the time to be good. Also I was pretty much a Tom boy.”
“I can’t see you being a Tom boy, you’re too girly, Terri,” Leslie said. “Maybe girly isn’t the right word.”
“Feminine. You are too feminine to have ever been a Tom boy,” Amanda said, smiling at her friend.
Terri was lost for words. She had half expected something like that from someone who didn’t know her secret, but when Amanda said it, it really confused her.
“You really think that Amanda?” Terri asked.
Amanda thought for a second before answering, “I know you might have been a Tom boy, but if I just met you today, I wouldn’t have believed it. Leslie is right, in a way.”
“Okay, granted, I have the looks, and I might have the girly act down. I never liked dressing up before I came to stay with my Aunt and I never learned any talents like you and Amanda.”
“Neither do half the girls that compete, Terri,” Leslie said, giggling. “Janice Parker always sings and her singing is so bad, she can break glass.”
“Oh Lord, Leslie, when she hits a loud bad note, she could start a stampede at the exits. I heard her preacher asked her to join the choir… at another church, preferably out of state.”
“That’s not nice; does she at least try to do good?” Terri asked.
“Yes and that is what makes it worse. But you are right; we shouldn’t make fun of her.”
>>>>><<<<<
“I like your niece, Betty. I think she is a good influence for my daughter Leslie. I liked the way she took charge when we showed up. She had an easier time than I usually do, trying to get her sorted out. She is so cute, why isn’t she doing the pageant thing?”
“Yes, she seems to be an organizer. I don’t think her parents are into that scene and the only way I got her all dressed up and made up, was on a bet. I think she likes what I do and maybe that is the way she will go.”
“I think so too. When my Amanda was getting her hair done, Terri was there helping her aunt out. She is so gorgeous though, when she is made up.”
“Well, I am impressed with her too. She helped my Leslie when we came over for our session. One thing she did, that I really liked, was when she talked to my daughter was, when she got down on her knees, at Leslie’s level, so she didn’t have to look up to Terri. I think my girl appreciated that too. It was a small gesture, but I think it did wonders.”
Betty smiled and said, “I remember Mrs. Carpenter, she was my first grade teacher, she used to do that with the kids in her class, especially when she had to correct one of us. She didn’t dominate us, or Lord herself over us, she didn’t have too. There was no doubt she was in charge. That simple gesture endeared her to us. We just loved her.”
“Whatever, while I wouldn’t trade my Leslie for anyone else, I would still be proud to be Terri’s mother,” Delores said.
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda helped Terri by keeping Leslie occupied, while she took a bath and got ready for bed. Leslie wasn’t in on Terri’s secret, so Terri dressed in her sleep shirt, her panties and her padded brief. The brief kept what little she had up front, tucked away and unseen. Betty had attached her wig with an adhesive and her breasts didn’t need to come off for a while yet. Before Terri left the bathroom, she checked to see that there was nothing of Terry in the mirror.
Amanda and Terri slept in one bed and Leslie slept in the other, but when morning came, Terri found herself sandwiched between the two of them, at about five thirty. She managed to extricate herself from between the two of them, but it cost her a kiss on Leslie’s cheek, as she became half awake. She grabbed the outfit she wanted to wear that day and headed to the bathroom. Terri spent a few minutes stretching left and right, front and back, touching her palms to the floor. She had a bit of a bed head, so after brushing her teeth, she spent a bit brushing her hair. After re-lacing herself in a corset and dressing in her burgundy suit and Antique Rose blouse, she sat in front of the mirror doing her makeup.
At six thirty, she woke Amanda, she would need more time to get ready than Leslie. Terri could hear the adults starting to get up and get ready. Finally she woke Leslie and began to help her get ready.
Amanda and Leslie just wore casual clothes at breakfast; as they would change into their costumes, in the dressing room, at the convention center. Breakfast was light, and served in the adult’s room; they all had a few butterflies in their stomachs.
It was amazing to see how many bags had to go with them to the George R. Brown. There were a half a dozen garment bags, four suit cases, Betty’s professional makeup kit and several boxes. Betty drove her Land Rover with all the stuff in it, with Terri, while the others took the shuttle the few blocks to the center.
At the center, Terri stayed with the clothes, as her Aunt parked. The others had already joined her, as her aunt got back. At the desk, everyone got their credentials. Security at these events was always high. There were many areas you couldn’t get in without the right credentials. The dressing room area was tightly controlled, so the girls could feel safe there. There were many girls running around half dressed, as they got ready. Betty got Leslie ready, as her age group was first to show. Amanda had Terri help her. She taught Terri how she liked to do things.
Amanda was dressed, when Betty was ready for her. Betty quickly began to sort out the young lady’s hair and makeup. She took great care to create the look she wanted, on the older girl and did a wonderful job.
Betty would have loved to see Amanda on stage, but by the time the girl was on stage, it would be time for Leslie to have her second change. That was how it was when you had multiple girls at the same show. Terri did go with Amanda and stood offstage, as her friend’s time came to walk on stage, for the introduction of the contestants.
Amanda walked to center stage, posed left, then right, before walking down the catwalk. Terri thought she looked so amazing, dressed in the lovely formal dress. She walked to the end of the catwalk and then posed for the crowd.
After everyone had their walk, the girls, as a group, walked on stage, while some man sang the pageant’s theme song. After that, they rushed back to the dressing room area. Amanda’s age group had to change to swimsuits.
Amanda again had Terri help her undress and get into the swimsuit. Terri never balked as she helped her friend. Melinda didn’t mind and had the chance to enjoy things for a change. The swimsuit was an orange red one piece. Amanda showed Terri how she used a swimsuit adhesive at strategic points, to keep the suit from migrating between her butt cheeks. The girl got into her matching heels and Betty adjusted her makeup.
Beauty Pageants are run like a military operation. There was a lot of frantic hurry up and wait times, before a few minutes on stage, before frantic hurry up for the next part of the operation.
When the lunch break came, Melinda had gotten everyone something to eat. Amanda and Leslie sat and ate, dressed in satin robes, with Terri. They talked about how they thought they done so far. Both girls had already been on stage twice. Leslie would make one more appearance and Amanda had two.
Leslie was ecstatic, this was her first show with Betty and she felt that she was already doing better than she ever had.
Amanda smiled and gave the younger girl some tips. She also felt that she was doing good, but only time will tell. The older the girl, the more fierce the competition was. Her strongest areas would be this afternoon and Sunday.
All too soon, Amanda had to get ready. She had her talent and poise competitions today. Today she was going to sing ‘Cabaret’ for her talent and had to get dressed to fit the song. Her costume was a little racy for a teen, but milder than Liza Minnelli’s version. The costume was sort of like a corset, but with a blouse top included. There was a short skirt, stockings, supported by garters straps, high heels, short fingerless lace gloves, top hat, a cane and a bow tie. Her makeup was a very dramatic glamour look.
Terri had seen the movie ‘Cabaret’. Along with the movie ‘Chicago’, it was one of her Mom’s favorite movies. She had loved the glamour of the Roaring twenties and thirties movies. Seeing Amanda dressed on stage, in her costume, Terri could imagine Amanda being in a cabaret, singing, with the patrons drooling over her. She was a bit jealous of those patrons. What really surprised Terri though, was her friend’s singing. The girl’s voice was golden; to say she sang like an angel, was an understatement. Her dancing was mildly provocative, but would still get in a PG-13 movie. Her act was polished, unlike some of the girls that had gone on before and after her. Terri would put her as number one, or two, out of the fifteen girls there.
Terri picked her friend up in a hug, when she got off stage, “You were fantastic, Amanda.”
“Thank you Terri. It wasn’t too much was it?”
“I thought it was fab.”
Amanda and Terri rushed back to Betty, who was finishing up on Leslie.
“How did you do Amanda?” Betty asked, seeing the two kids arriving.
“She was wonderful, Aunt Betty. I think she did pretty good.”
“You need to change out of that outfit and get all of your makeup off.”
Terri helped her friend out of the costume and into a robe. She then took several makeup wipes and began to clean her friends face. Amanda loved having someone do these things for her. She just sat back and relaxed.
The poise competition dress was semi-formal, afternoon glam. The contestants were interviewed on stage. The contestants had been given a list of twenty questions; they would be asked three questions off of the list and one question that wasn’t on the list.
Terri tried to be objective, as she listened to the other girls’ canned responses. Some of them were so plastic and cliché, like the Miss America contestants that want to cure all diseases and obtain world peace. Amanda was a little better than most. She had to tell the judges what they wanted to hear, it was all part of the game after all, she explained; but she put more of herself into the answers. Amanda had a little more warmth and expression, as she answered her questions.
After that round, Amanda and Leslie changed into some casual clothes and with the adults along, they headed to the exhibition hall.
The girls and their adults, went through the hall, checking out a lot of the exhibits. They looked at what might be the latest and greatest to come out. Terri was amazed at what she saw. There were beauticians, dress makers, modeling agencies, jewelry makers, beauty show coaches, gadget sales, DVD sales, and games for girls. The hottest sales were the souvenir sales. They sold pins, banners and bumper stickers, associated with pageanting.
After about an hour and a half later, they packed up and headed back to the hotel. Betty and the Moms were so happy that their girls had done so well. Everyone changed into dressier, formal dresses. Betty checked her three girls, before they went out and headed to the ‘State Grille’, a very nice restaurant, which had an anti bellum, civil war era type feel to it. The elegant dresses they had chosen, fit in with the restaurants décor. Terri had wondered just where she would wear the dress her aunt bought her.
Their group wasn’t the only one from the pageant there. There were three or four other groups of mothers and daughters there. Terri was amazed at how elegant Leslie looked and how grown up she acted.
All eyes in the restaurant turned, when an older man and woman, in their late sixties, entered the place. Their clothing could have been used in ‘Gone with the Wind’, or any other civil war era movie. The older gentleman was quite dapper in his powder blue linen suit and vest. His shirt had a high collar and the sleeves had a bit of ruffle at the cuffs. He had a pocket watch and chain, which dangled from his vest, and his shoes were period and had no instep. He wore Ben Franklin spectacles and had a strange top hat in his hands. The lady wore a light green silk dress, with a bustle. There was a lot of ornamentation on the bodice, including a white lace panel, over white fabric in the middle, where it buttoned, and green silk vertical ruffles. There was a dark green ribbon belt, with a large bow, just above the bustle. She wore a green silk hat, with black net trim and pheasant feathers, and button hook high heel shoes. The couple became stars that night, as many of the patrons asked if they could have their pictures taken with the couple.
Those two people showing up, broke some of the tension that night, and allowed everyone to enjoy themselves a little more.
>>>>><<<<<
They packed up and checked out of the hotel after breakfast. They then made their way back to the convention center after loading up the cars.
Sunday, both the girls had just one costume change. They both had a catwalk run, to demonstrate their modeling skills, before lunch and then a change for the awards ceremony, after lunch. The atmosphere wasn’t as frantic, but just as tense.
Leslie and Amanda both wore their best formal dresses for the catwalk. While the girls were walking, the moderator gave a description of the dress and a little background information on the girl. Leslie was fairly new to pageanting, but she did fairly well. Amanda did really well; it was easy to tell she had done this many times.
The girls were nervous, as they hardly ate lunch, both knew that they had done well, but they had the jitters. You never knew how the judges liked them, till the announcements.
The awards ceremony started with the very youngest and ended with the high school girls. Leslie was in the third age group, she was chosen as the second runner up, or third place. She was so excited. She received three hundred dollars, a sash, a trophy; that was almost as tall as she was and a large stuffed bear. When she came off stage, she ran to her mom and gave her a big hug.
Amanda was in the fifth group. She was on pins and needles, as the fourth runner up, the third runner up, the second runner up and the runner up was announced. She felt a little let down, till they announced her as the winner. She received two thousand dollars, a large trophy, a tiara, a sash and a large bouquet of roses. She also qualified to go to regionals in her age group. Terri waited till she hugged her mom, before she gave Amanda a hug.
There were two more age groups after Amanda and then they had the winners come out for the grand champion. Amanda placed second to the girl who won the 15-16 year old group. She won an additional two thousand dollars, another trophy, another sash, a dress from some Boutique and another bouquet of roses.
Amanda and Leslie had their pictures taken, which took another hour, they all changed clothes to something more comfortable, shorts, sneakers and blouses, except for Terri, who wore a miniskirt, heels and blouse. She knew she had packed some shorts and sneakers, and had seen them in the hotel room, but apparently, Amanda had hidden them. They departed Houston and started a four-hour journey back to Fort Worth. Leslie and Amanda talked their mom’s into letting them ride with Betty and Terri. Terri was sandwiched in the back seat. Leslie fell asleep strapped in, leaning into Terri, who just wrapped her arm around the smaller girl. Terri and Amanda talked.
“I just can’t believe I’m going to regionals.”
“You did great Amanda and I know that you will do even better at regionals.”
“With you by my side, I know I will.”
“I may not be able to go with you Amanda. I want to go back to my Mom and Dad.”
Amanda remembered why Terri was here and began to cry on her shoulder.
“I am sorry Amanda,” Terri said, trying to comfort her friend.
“It’s not your fault. I just forgot. I just liked having you around.”
“I might be able to talk my mom into letting me come, but…”
Amanda whispered into Terri’s ear, “but you wouldn’t be my lady in waiting, would you.”
Terri was a little sad that she would have to become a boy again, it had been so much fun being a girl, but she had missed her Mom and her Mom expected a little boy back home, “No, but I could be something just as good, a friend who cares a lot about you.”
“Promise.”
“I can’t promise to be there, but I can promise to be your friend.”
(continued in part 2)
Terry Wait now lives as Terri with her Aunt, at least for now. She is having fun living as a girl for now and things seem to be going better on the home front. Working with his Aunt and her pageant girls is helping Terri to forget her problems, or at least to move them to the back burner for now.
The final part of a two part novella.
by
Paula Dillon
Terri’s lessons began again Monday. She was beginning to really like going to school on the Internet. The site had good teachers and she didn’t have to worry about what the other kids thought about her. She also liked the fact that she was in classes that suited her abilities. She was good at math, a grade or two ahead of the other students at her old school. She figured that it might not have just been the school that was slowing her down. As the problems at home had gotten bigger, her desire to learn fell.
Betty told her that she could call home after classes today. In fact Betty called her home about thirty minutes before Terri would be free. They talked for about twenty minutes, about how things were going with Frank. Clara stated that he seemed to be doing better. They hadn’t had a big argument in four or five days and he was definitely easier to get along with right now. Betty also told Clara about the online school.
“I think he likes the online school, Clara. I think he was treated poorly by the other students.”
“He never told me if he was, but I kind of got the feeling that he wasn’t telling me something. His teachers never said anything about it.”
“You know how that goes, Terri probably didn’t want to worry you. Now about the teachers, they would have to be blind or don’t care not to know something is wrong, either they don’t want the kid to get in trouble, or they don’t want the school or themselves to get in trouble.”
“That sounds just like our old high school, Betty.”
“I have something else to tell you Clara. I don’t know how to tell you this, so I will just come out and say it. I made a stupid bet with Terry and won. You know what I do right?”
“You were a beautician and became a beauty pageant consultant, right?”
“You got it Sis. I told Terry that I could make anybody look as good as my girls and he said I couldn’t. I bet him four hundred dollars I could. Of course he couldn’t match the bet so I suggested that if I won, he would dress as a girl for a time.”
“Oh no, don’t tell me he accepted that bet, that was a sucker bet. I know how good you are.”
“Yep, he accepted that bet. I won of course; he makes a very cute girl. I have some pictures that should be in your email box now. Go check,” Betty said.
“Just a sec. I am at my computer now.”
“Anyways, I felt bad about it and told him he didn’t have to dress up. He said he would and I am afraid he is getting to like it.”
“She is gorgeous Betty; she looks a lot like me when we were kids.”
“Yes, she does and that is the root of the problem. Like I said, I think SHE likes it too much.”
“I see you changed pronouns. Do you think it is going to be a problem when he comes home?”
“He may not say it, but I think she really wants to stay like she is. How do you think you and Frank would take that?”
“I love Terry so much; I just want my child to be happy. I don’t know about Frank though. That would be another problem.”
“She has been so happy, Clara.”
“I can believe it, seeing those pictures. She hasn’t smiled like that in months. I hate to ask, but can you take her to a therapist.”
“I have her scheduled to see a gender therapist tomorrow. How long before you decide about Frank?”
“I don’t know, I am being cautious about this. I really don’t want Terry back here, till I am certain, Frank will be ok. You know, this can explain a lot about Terry. His best friends here are all older girls.”
“I know, she latched on to an older girl down here.”
“Really, tell me about it.”
Betty told her about Amanda and her Mom, Melinda and how it was incredible how close they have gotten in so short a time. It was like they became sisters. The funny thing though, is that she and her Mom both know Terry is a boy, but they are treating her just like any other girl.
“Terri was a big help to Amanda and helped her do everything and I mean everything, from dressing, to getting things ready for her, and helping to just calm the girl down, when she was a bundle of nerves. Amanda won her age and is headed to regionals.”
“They aren’t, you know ah…”
“No, I don’t think he is capable of that, is he?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t talked to him about that yet. I guess it’s about time.”
“I think that the therapists could do that.”
“Yes we need to find out, and the therapist is a good choice to do that, for now.”
“Her classes are over, and I can hear her coming. She is so worried about you.”
“I know, I won’t say a thing about what we have said, unless she tells me. Let her in, I want to talk to her.”
Clara and Terri talked for about an hour. She didn’t let on that she knew about Terri dressing as a girl, but Terri told her mom. She had been afraid that she wouldn’t love her anymore, but her mom calmed her fears.
“Terri, I don’t care if you want to be a girl, or a boy, the only thing I care about, is that you are happy. If you are happy as a girl, that is fine with me. Let me tell you a secret, your aunt sent me a picture. I think you are gorgeous.
“You do?”
“Yes I do. You might have to change back to a boy for a little while, till we can get your dad to go along with it, but we will work things out. Can you be a boy for a while?”
“I can do that mom, at least for a while, but I think I should have been born a girl, Mom.”
“I think so too Terri. I knew you were special, I just didn’t realize how special you were.”
“You think I am special?”
“Of course you are special. You are the most special person I know and you are my child.”
>>>>><<<<<
Aunt Betty helped Terri dress the next day. Terri pouted a bit, when she said no makeup. Betty smiled as she remembered having the same feelings when she was a girl with her parents. She picked out a simple white blouse, a plaid knee length skirt, knee socks and a pair of black Mary Jane flats. Terri put her foot down and insisted that she wear her corset. Betty couldn’t believe how much she liked wearing those things. She finished off the look with a ribbon tie. Almost the classic girls school uniform.
Betty wondered about why Terri insisted on wearing a corset, “Why do you like those corsets so much Terri? My girls are usually in a hurry to get out of theirs, when I get them laced up in one.”
“They remind me how to sit and stand, Auntie. They also make me feel and look more like a girl. Also, they remind me to act like a girl. I am afraid I might slip up and act like a boy, if it wasn’t for the corset and breasts.”
“I see; that is important. You know, that is a good idea, Terri.”
Betty took Terri downtown to a gender clinic. They met a lady named Dr. Gwen Harrison. Gwen looked to be in her mid-fifties. She had short gray hair and bright green eyes. She first met with Betty alone, for about ten minutes and then invited Terri alone into her office to talk.
Terri was a little afraid at first, but Gwen’s grandmotherly ways began to win her over. She began to relax and tell Gwen what was on her mind. She was a little embarrassed by some of Gwen’s questions, but Gwen said that it was important for her to know. Terri told her about the problems that her mom and dad were having. Terri asked if her parents arguing could be her fault.
“Heaven’s no Terri. Grownups argue for a lot of reasons and I am sure there is nothing you did to cause them. Do you know what they are doing about it?”
“They are both in counseling and anger something or other.”
“Anger management. That is good to hear, Terri. Well, do your parents know about you?”
“Just my mom for now. She doesn’t want my dad to know right now. She wants to make sure he is better, before we talk about this.”
“Yes, a transgendered child can bring a lot of stress to their parents. The parents have to know what is important. How you feel is very important Terri. Not what they think you should be. If they have a problem with it, it is them that need to grow up, not you. We just need to be very sure you know what you feel. Do you understand?”
“I think so.”
“Good, I think we will get along just fine.”
Gwen made an appointment to see Terri again next week, and asked Betty to keep her informed on her parents’ status.
“Call me anytime Betty, and I mean anytime, if you or Terri need me. I am giving you my personal cell phone number.”
>>>>><<<<<
When they got home Terri called Amanda up and they talked. Amanda wanted to know everything, so Terri told her friend what she knew and how she felt about things.
Betty worked with another of her girls. Patsy Quinn is a six-year-old girl and was working on her runway routine. Patsy had a sassy walk; at the end of the walk, she took off her jacket and swung the jacket over her shoulder. She posed left and right, and then walked back. She had an exaggerated hip roll, trying to look sexy. Terri thought it was kind of clownish and apparently so did her Aunt. Betsy didn’t like the walk either, which her mom and another coach had taught her. She worked to correct the flaws she saw. Joan Quinn stopped Betty and talked with her about what she was trying to accomplish. It took a bit of talking, to convince the Mom, that she knew what she was doing.
In an hour, they had the girl walking differently, it was still a more mature walk, than girls her age normally used, but it looked much better to Terri. The girl didn’t come across ‘as a tramp on the prowl’.
Terri realized that there was a lot to being a beauty queen. It took a lot of work and dedication, along with some cajoling and pushing. So far, she had seen four Moms and she began to form an opinion about the way they interacted with their children. Joan wasn’t the worst, but she and her child had received some bad advice. Her Aunt though, was able to convince the parent and child, that she knew what she was doing.
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday, Melinda and Amanda came over to begin planning for the regionals next month. They sat at the kitchen table, with Betty pouring over the catalogue from the boutique that sponsored the dress she won, trying to decide which dress to choose. Terri stood behind Amanda and rested her chin on Amanda’s shoulder. Amanda had to choose one from about thirty formal dresses, depicted in the catalogue.
All the dresses looked so wonderful to Terri. She could see that there were a lot of different styles and even more colors to choose from. She saw one in pink that looked very beautiful.
“How would Amanda look in that one, in blue?” Terri asked.
They all stopped and looked at the one Terri indicated. They then discussed the dress using some arcane terms to Terri, but they must have meant something to them.
“I think she would be adorable in it Terri,” her aunt said. “You seem to have a good sense of fashion.”
“It’s not like my other dresses, but I kind of like it too,” Amanda said.
They dog-eared that page and continued to look through the catalogue. They found three more dresses to consider, before they began to compare them.
“We won’t decide today, we have to go to Austin to select the dress and then have it fitted.”
“Oh, I am from Austin, that’s where my Mom and Dad are.”
“Maybe you can come with us this weekend.”
“I need to talk with her Mom first. We don’t want any surprises, or problems,” Betty said.
“Oh yes, I can understand that. I forgot about that,” Melinda said.
They then poured over the schedule for the pageant. The regionals is a five days of competition, with two events each day and rehearsals; except for the last day, when there would be three events. They made notes about the requirements and suggestions on clothing. The packet even had pictures of what girls had worn at the various events in the past, to give contestants an idea of what was expected and required.
>>>>><<<<<
Friday found Melinda and Amanda riding with Terri and Betty in the Land Rover. Betty had called Wednesday after Melinda and Amanda had gone home. She talked with her sister. Clara stated that things were going well, but she didn’t want Terri to come home for at least another month. Betty told her about them coming to Austin on Saturday and she was overjoyed about getting a chance to see Terri. They set up a time where Clara could meet them at the mall where the boutique was located. Clara didn’t want to know where they were staying, she was still being cautious with Frank, if she didn’t know, she couldn’t spill the beans.
Betty talked with Terri and planned to be across the city from Frank’s normal weekend haunts. She had Terri tell her what she knew and pointed out the places on the map. Terri lived in the southeastern part of Austin, right off I-10. The mall they were going to was in the northwest just off I-35.
They chose a motel about a mile from the mall. They had two adjoining rooms, Amanda insisted that she and Terri have one for themselves and after the girls promised to be good the adults consented.
Amanda and Terri slept in the same bed; Amanda spooned behind Terri, as they laid down to sleep. Both being only children, they had rarely shared a bed with anyone, but they seemed to like sleeping together. They both slept better.
Terri woke early the next morning and decided to take her bath. Amanda was sound asleep; she groaned and made a grab for Terri, who scampered out of reach. Terri got the things she would need to get dressed, before heading to the bathroom.
Betty had bought Terri some bath oils and at first she didn’t like the slick feel of the tub, but the more she used them, the more she began to like them. She especially liked what they did for her skin and how they helped her to relax. The oil’s fragrance seemed to melt her worries away.
Terri was just getting out of the tub, when a naked Amanda came in. Amanda saw all of Terri, without her wig. Amanda smiled and looked at her Lady-in-Waiting. This was the first time either of them had seen the other completely naked. Terri was petrified.
Amanda smiled and hugged Terri breast to breast and whispered in her ear, “Looking good girl,” before she stepped into the still full tub.
The fact that Amanda didn’t freak out when she saw Terri, did wonders for the girl. She knew she had to be careful around other people, but having someone who knew her secret and accepted her anyway, was wonderful.
Terri dried off and began to dress. Amanda covertly watched her friend as she dressed. She was amazed at the girl’s tiny waist and her tiny boy parts. It didn’t bother her that Terri was born a boy, because she knew that Terri had a girl’s heart and soul.
Terri put on her panties and she picked up her over the bust corset.
“Why do you wear those things Terri? I have worn one before and I will probably have to wear one again, but I hate those things.”
“Before I began wearing them, there wasn’t much difference between my waist and my hips. Girls are bigger in the hips and have smaller waist. Also, my corset reminds me to act like a girl, more than anything else I wear. I also have to wear a padded brief to hide my ah… thing and to look bigger in my backside.”
Amanda looked thoughtful for a few seconds and said, “Hmm… that make sense. I also wear a padded brief with some of my fashions. I am just starting to expand in the hips and I need a little help there. Almost all the girls above ten wear one. At least till they grow into the right proportions.”
Terri hooked up the busk and began tightening the corset. Early on, her aunt had given her some instruction on how to accomplish that. Betty told Terri, a woman should know how to put on her own corset.
“A woman should only need help if she tight laces, which is something you shouldn’t try. There is no sane reason for a lady to have a waist smaller than twenty two to twenty four inches,” she said.
Terri was already about twenty two inches, or thereabout. She didn’t want to go any smaller, she just wore it because of her stated reasons and she actually liked wearing one.
The girls had fun helping each other dress. Amanda did her own makeup and helped Terri do hers. Amanda tried to do a glamour look on Terri. She was good, but it was easy to see that she wasn’t as good as her Mom and she was light years away from being as good as Betty. Since she was going to have to redo Terri’s makeup anyway, she overemphasized Terri’s eyes and lips. She took a lip pencil and drew way outside the lines, before filling it in with lipstick using a brush.
They both giggled as they looked into the mirror to see. Terri posed like some of the movie stars her Mom loved to watch. Amanda took an air camera and pretended to take Terri’s photograph. It was quite humorous to Terri, but the more she posed, the more she took what she was doing seriously.
Amanda thought, “Damn, I wish I really did have a camera. She is good.” She promised herself that she would bring her digital camera the next time she went anywhere with Terri.
They stopped playing when they heard the olds begin to stir. Amanda cleaned off Terri’s makeup and gave her a nice everyday look. They had just finished, when Melinda stuck her head around the corner.
“Well, I was going to wake you and tell you that we are going out to eat in thirty minutes, but I see that you are both ready. Just hang loose and let us get ready.”
>>>>><<<<<
Terri was sitting on pins and needles as she waited for her Mom. Betty had driven them to the mall and they were sitting in the food court waiting. Clara was running a little late it seemed. Terri had a worried look on her face, but Amanda held her hand and comforted her. She had just about given up and asked her aunt to call her cell phone, when Terri saw her. Terri shrieked, jumped up and was doing a cross between running and skipping up to her mom.
Clara’s eyes got as big as silver dollars as she saw a girl that looked much like a version of herself some twenty odd years ago. The child was simply beautiful, “Terri is that you?”
“Of course it’s me, Momma,” Terri said as she leaped into her Mom’s arms.
Clara was a little stiff, till her new daughters hug melted her heart. “It is so good seeing you again,” she said, as she wrapped her arms around the girl. “Or should I say seeing you for the first time.”
“I am still me Mom, I am just wrapped up a little differently now.”
“Stand back and let me see you girl.”
Terri let her go and stepped back; she then posed like one of Aunt Betty’s girls and turned slowly for her Mom.
Clara looked at Terri with tears in her eyes, “Oh my, Terry you look so beautiful.”
Terri’s eyes were also tearing up, “So are you Mom. You’ve always been beautiful in my eyes.”
Terri took her Mom’s hand and led her over to the table. She then introduced Melinda and Amanda.
“This is my best friend Amanda and her mother Melinda and of course your sister, Betty.” Terri teased.
Clara knew that everyone here knew already, so she wasn’t afraid to say, “I know you told me how beautiful she was, but I really didn’t know what to think till I saw her and could hold her myself. You are a magician Sis.”
“There is no magic there, sister. She was already beautiful.”
Clara thought for a second and then said, “I guess I was just too blind to see what was before my eyes. I am sorry Terri, I should have been a better Mom.”
“Why are you sorry? You are the bestest Mom I know, and I love you so much.”
They hit one of the shops and got something to eat and drink, they then sat down to talk. Clara asked Amanda how she met her daughter. Amanda had a huge grin as she told the Clara how they met. Clara was interested to hear that she was into pageanting and had about a thousand questions. Amanda told her about all of her experiences.
Clara turned towards her daughter and asked, “How do you feel about all of this?”
“Mom, it is like I woke up in a dream world and found that it is all real. I’ve never really felt badly, before, but now I feel so alive.”
“So do you want to stay like this?”
“I know that it may not be possible right now and I can accept that. But I feel that I really need to be a girl, mom. I just can’t explain it.”
Clara was smiling and crying as she said, “I think you did alright, Terri and I promise that if this is what it takes to make sure you are happy, we will find a way to make it happen.”
Clara and Terri cried on each other’s shoulders for a bit. She then pulled out her compact and looked at her face, “I think you and I need to fix our faces and how long have you been wearing makeup, girl.”
“That is my fault Sis, I know girls shouldn’t start wearing makeup at her age, but all the girls I work with, started much younger. I can’t have my assistant look plain, now can I?”
“I guess not. Momma didn’t let us start till we were fifteen, but seeing how Terri looks, I can’t complain.”
The five women went to the ladies room and did what they needed to do. Betty helped Terri get her face sorted out right, as Clara watched. She was amazed at the way Terri acted, but as she thought about things, Terri really wasn’t that much different now. It was just a matter of perspective. Clara realized that maybe she had seen what she wanted to see, when Terri was acting as her son. Sure she had to walk different and do things like sitting differently, but Terri was still Terri. The only real difference now, was on the outside. Clara resolved to observe her child more closely today, to see if her theory was right.
The five of them left the restroom, after fixing their faces. They went to the boutique that had sponsored the dress Amanda won. A salesclerk led the pack to the proprietor’s office in the back. Gail West’s office, was in a large fitting room that had a stage, catwalk and seating for a dozen people. She welcomed them and after introductions offered them seats.
“My, my, I didn’t know we were going to have two beauty queens here today,” Gail said.
“Oh, I am not a competitor Ms. West. I am just Amanda’s friend. She invited me to join them,” Terri said. “Unless you are talking about my Mom.”
“Well, all I can say is that you could be, Terri. You certainly have the looks and the charm. So Amanda, have you had a chance to look over our catalogue?”
“Yes, we have and we want to look at four or five of your dresses,” She said, pulling out the catalogue. She indicated the dresses she wanted to try on.
Gail asked Amanda to undress down to her bra and panties. Amanda was used to being undressed in front of people, so she just stood and took her skirt and blouse off. She handed them to Terri, who stood next to her. Terri took good care of Amanda’s clothes. Gail then thoroughly measured the girl. She then asked her secretary, Elizabeth, to pull the dresses Amanda wanted to see and about a half dozen more in Amanda’s size. Elizabeth looked closely at Amanda’s hair skin and eyes, to determine her colors.
Elizabeth rolled a rack in, with about fifteen dresses on it, in about ten styles. Amanda stepped back into her heels and Elizabeth helped the girl dress. Terri paid attention to what they were doing. Amanda model the dress for the others, to let them see what the dress looked like and then she would take to the stage, for her walk. Terri would take the dress from Elizabeth, after a change and rehang it. She placed the dresses that were rejected, on one rack, and the dresses they wanted to consider on another. When Terri turned away from the racks, Gail walked over to inspect the girls work. She smiled as she saw how well Terri hung the dresses. She wasn’t perfect, but she was as good as some of her sales staff. Clara noted Gail’s actions and smiled too. Terri had helped her hang the laundry at home and she had taught her well.
Clara observed the interaction between Amanda and Terri. The girl knew about Terri, but showed no concern for her nakedness around Terri. She was happy Terri was there and asked her opinion along with the rest of the women. Terri was unabashed and acted as if this was an everyday thing with her. Clara had to edit her previous conclusions some; her daughter’s actions were a clearly different. Terry might have been a little effeminate, but her daughter was very feminine. Some things didn’t change though, her child had smile that could warm a heart, a great sense of humor, and heart full of caring.
Clara saw one dress that she just loved, even though it wasn’t the best color for Amanda. As Terri took the dress from Elizabeth, Clara said, “Would it be possible to see that dress on Terri?”
Gail smelled blood and smiled, “Go right ahead she looks to be about the same size.”
Clara took Terri to a booth and helped Terri change. Her eyes got big, after Terri took her top off. She whispered into Terri’s ear a question, “How did you grow breasts, Terri?”
“They are something Aunt Betty came up with. She glued them on me.”
“Did Betty make you wear the corset?”
“No ma’am, I like wearing one.”
“Really,” Clara said shaking her head.
Terri’s breasts were large for her real age, but proportional to her size. Clara thought that they looked good on Terri. It took about five minutes to change, because Clara had to fuss over the dress. Everyone was waiting as Terri and her Mom came out. Terri had to raise the hem a bit, because the dress was just about an inch and a half too long, as she walked out. The gown was a full length, dark green, strapless gown in a matte jersey, with a large jersey bow in the back. The bodice was designed to fit like a glove down to the hips and had just a little flare to the floor. The fabric felt wonderful and had just a little give, but it was a little large on Terri.
Terri was careful not to step on the hem, as she walked. Gail came over and fussed with it a bit. The dress really looked good, but a bit mature on Terri.
“You look good in that dress,” Gail said. “It is just a little large on you dear. I would rather alter this one, than to go a size smaller. It would look better on you.”
“I like it, but it is a bit mature for my daughter.”
“I like it, but I agree with Mom.”
Gail arched her brows a bit; she figured that Terri had to be about sixteen and the girls that age that came here, generally sought out something sexier. That dress wasn’t the most risqué she had, but it was very sexy.
Terri changed back and Amanda had gone through the rack and had eliminated all but four dresses. The dress that Terri had pointed out, two that Amanda chose and one that Elizabeth had selected remained. Amanda tried each dress on again. She began to get very critical about every detail of the dresses, from stitching, to fabric and style. She sat down with her entourage and discussed her selections. Melinda decided on two of the dresses, since Amanda had two more pageants, with different organizations before regionals.
Gail had Amanda try on each dress, so she could mark and pin the dresses for alterations. Terri watched the process closely and asked Gail some questions about the fitting of garments.
“She’s not bothering you; is she?” Betty asked.
“No, not at all Betty. Are you considering becoming a dressmaker or tailor, Terri?”
“I don’t know, but I am interested in what you are doing.”
“You just have to remember to stick the client at least once with a pin, if they are a good client, and as often as possible, if they are a bad, unruly client.”
“Really?” Terri asked.
Gail had to laugh at Terri’s response, “No, I am just kidding you.”
Gail began to teach Terri about the important points in fitting the dress. Things like the importance that seams shouldn’t pucker and places the dress should fit well and places where a dress should have a more relaxed fit, depending on the girls figure and the dress’s style. She also showed her how to mark the hem.
“The most important thing and why we take so much time doing this, is that the dress has got to make the client look their best. I make pretty dresses and I like to see my dresses looking good on my clients, but it’s how pretty the dress makes the client look, not how pretty the client makes the dress look, that’s important. Girls may ask about the dress, and believe me, they do, but that is only because the dress made the client look good. The dress should just complete the client’s look.”
Terri had a real thoughtful look on her face, as she began to put the pieces together. “So the dress is one part, the hair another, along with her makeup, and the clients poise, that helps make her a queen.”
“By golly, I think you have got it,” Gail said. “Call me when you graduate and I can help you succeed in this business, if you want. I think you have that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that will help you do whatever you want to do.”
Terri smiled at Gail, and Clara smiled at her child. She was seeing things she had overlooked for so long. In her heart she knew that Terri ‘WAS’ her daughter.
After they left the store, they window shopped a bit, then regretfully, Clara had to leave. She had to get home for Frank. She hugged Terri and began to cry a bit, “Terri, I love you, no matter who you are. Don’t ever forget that.”
Terri shed a few tears too, but she began to feel better about everything and she began to have hope that things would be alright.
Betty and her troupe left the mall and headed home, back in Fort Worth. Amanda and Melinda kissed Terri’s cheek, before they had to leave for their home.
>>>>><<<<<
Monday and Tuesday, it was back to online schooling till two or three and then helping Betty with her girls. Wednesday, Terri met with Gwen again. Terri told her all about what she had done since they last talked and about meeting her Mom back in Austin. She was so excited about seeing her Mom. She told Gwen that her Mom accepted her as she was, and they hoped that her Dad would too.
After she got back home, Terri did her makeup and her school work. She logged in, but forgot to change into a boy when she turned her web cam on. The teacher didn’t say a word about it, but made a note in Terri’s file, that she might be transgendered. They would treat her like she was dressed. Terri didn’t notice that the teacher used feminine pronouns as she chatted with her. The teacher just gave her, her assignments and told her to request a chat if she needed any help.
It wasn’t till she was talking with her aunt, that she realized what had happened in the online school.
“It didn’t seem to bother the teacher, did it?” Betty asked.
“No, she just treated me like a girl and told me what I needed to do.”
Thursday, Terri just dressed like she wanted to. She used a little makeup, before she logged into school. The teacher pm’ed her, that she looked nice. That teacher made Terri’s day and she worked harder. All of her teachers made encouraging comments to her that day.
Friday, after school, they prepared to go to another pageant with Wendy, Leslie and Patsy. Amanda didn’t have another one till next week. This was when Terri asked about how many different pageant organizations there were.
“Oh Terri, there are too many to count. I know of twenty or thirty different organizations, but that is just a drop in the bucket. I like about eight of them. Many of them are only in it for the money. There can be big money in running pageants, at least till the organizers drain the organization of the money. They then shut it down, change names and locations, and open another.”
>>>>><<<<<
Today they headed to Tulsa.
The hotel they stayed at this time didn’t make any mistakes. They had their four rooms. Leslie’s and Delores’s room adjoined to theirs, Wendy’s and Charlotte’s was on the other side and Patsy and Joan’s room was right across the hall.
Leslie and Delores were already in their room as Terri and Betty entered theirs. Terri sat on her bed, while Betty opened their adjoining door and knocked on the Walker’s door. When Delores opened their half of the door, Leslie brushed past Betty and hopped right up on Terri’s lap, hugging her, while Betty and Delores just laughed.
In an hour, everybody was there and dressed to go out to eat together. Terri surprised Wendy, when she took the girls hand. When Leslie took Terri’s other hand Patsy pouted a little. Terri crouched down and looked Leslie in the eyes, saying, “Can you share me with the other girls this time, Leslie. I promise to hold your hand later.”
“Ok, I can share,” Leslie said, as she hugged Terri.
Terri then smiled, as she took Patsy’s hand. They then went to the hotel’s restaurant to eat. Terri resolved then to spend time helping each girl at this pageant. Of the three here, Terri knew that she would try to help Wendy enjoy what she was doing. Leslie and Patsy, she knew would have a bundle of fun, wherever they were.
At the restaurant, Terri sat with Wendy to her right, Patsy to her left and Leslie across from her. The adults sat at a table to the left. Terri got Wendy talking about what she liked and the other girls joined in. Wendy seemed to forget trying to be miserable and seemed to enjoy herself.
After dinner, they all met up in Betty’s room and discussed the next day’s schedule. Terri listened as she kept the other girls occupied; especially Leslie and Patsy; they still had an overdose of energy. At about eight thirty though, both younger girls crashed. Wendy helped Terri take the two young girls to Delores’ room and laid them out on one bed. The two girls snuggled up to each other and went back to sleep.
Wendy and Terri sat at the table in Delores room and talked.
“How are things going for you Wendy?”
“It has been, bearable. Working with Ms. Johnson is better than Mrs. Perkins, that’s for sure.”
“Good, I hope you have more fun, tomorrow.”
“Thanks, I like being here with you too. Why don’t you pageant, Terri?”
“I don’t know. I knew about pageants, but my mom isn’t gung-ho about them. I really didn’t dress up that much till I came to stay with Aunt Betty for a while.”
“Where are your parents?”
“They are back in Austin. I came here because they were arguing all the time.”
“Oh, that is horrible. My mom argues with my dad too, so I know how it feels.”
“What do they argue about, Wendy?”
“Money mostly, Dad says that Mom spends way too much money on pageants. I was going to four or five different pageants, before we came to Ms. Johnson. She got my mom to only go to the two best pageant groups. I should have gone with ya’ll two weeks ago, but dad put a kibosh to that.”
“Mom and Dad, at least came to an agreement. He sat down with her and Betty to select the pageants I will go to. Things are sort of looking up.”
“Well, I think you are going to do well this weekend and I hope you have lots of fun too,” Terri said, hugging the girl.
Wendy just sort of melted into the hug, not anything sexual, she just liked that Terri took an interest in helping her. Terri made her feel better about herself. Wendy began telling Terri about some of the kids at her school.
The two of them talked till Wendy’s Mom came in and got her daughter. Delores told Joan to just leave her daughter here tonight, as she looked at the two sleeping girls. They didn’t even bother undressing them. They just covered them up.
>>>>><<<<<
Terri was up early the next day and was dressed up before Betty woke. She was doing her makeup when her aunt finally got out of bed. Betty kissed her and then went to the bathroom.
This pageant was in the hotel’s ballroom, so they didn’t have far to go. Terri helped the two girls that Betty wasn’t working with at the time. When the events started, she and Betty were working with one girl or another, while the third was taking her time on the stage. Terri acted as cheerleader, booster and friend to the girls. They all seemed to feed off of her energy and encouragement. All three were glowing when their day was over. Sunday would be a short but stressful day for them.
Charlotte, Delores and Joan all liked what Terri did for their girls, although Charlotte missed being the ramrod with her daughter. Wendy seemed to work harder for Terri, than she had for her. That made Charlotte a little sad, but she was also happy that her daughter was doing so well. She wasn’t about to rock that boat. Betty smiled, as she knew what was going on in Charlotte’s mind.
“That old saying about getting more flies with honey than vinegar, is true, Charlotte,” Betty whispered in her ear.
“Yes, I know what you mean. I think you also might just save my marriage,” she confessed to Betty. “I was just about to drive William away over the costs. We talked, he didn’t mind Wendy going to some pageants, but it was just too much going to three or four a month.” She looked at Terri congratulating Wendy over her performance. “Wendy, or I should say, I am limited to no more than one pageant every six weeks. If she wins one, she can go to the next level, if she wants to go.”
“Trust me Charlotte, she will be happier and will do better, if she has time to be a kid.”
“I know Betty; I am having to learn how to have fun with my daughter too. I had gotten too addicted to having her compete. I didn’t realize she was miserable.”
“She doesn’t seem to be miserable today.”
“No, she seems to be enjoying herself. Thank you, Betty. Thank your niece too.”
“I think you need to thank her yourself.”
“I will.”
>>>>><<<<<
Betty was happy to have two runner ups and one winner on Sunday. Wendy was absolutely shocked, when she won her age group. Terri, Leslie and Patsy were jumping up and down with her, when she left the stage. Charlotte was crying happy tears on Betty’s shoulders.
When the winners came back on stage, Wendy didn’t win the overall competition, she wasn’t the first runner up or the second runner up, she was the fourth runner up, but she was jumping up and down when she came offstage. She had won a thousand dollars, a tiara, a sash and a trophy this weekend. She ran up to her mom and gave her a big hug, when she came offstage. Leslie and Patsy mobbed them, as they tried to get a hug in.
Betty whispered into Terri’s ear, “You did good girl. Thank you for your help.”
“You don’t have to thank me, I loved working with them.”
“Yes I do have to thank you. You did more for Wendy, than I ever could.”
“Really?”
“Yes REALLY, Terri.”
>>>>><<<<<
Terri called her Mom when she got home. Clara sounded cheerful, but Terri knew something wasn’t right. She wormed it out of her Mom that they had another blow out. No, Frank didn’t touch her, but they had a big argument. Clara was happy to hear what her daughter had done this weekend. Terri could tell that it really did seem to cheer her up a bit, as she shared details of what happened.
Betty had listened in, part of the time, on another extension; she then went to her room to have a short cry, herself. She then called Gwen’s cell number and talked with her a bit.
“Don’t give up hope yet, Betty,” Gwen said. “It’s true that only about a third to a half of these things resolve favorably, of those that do, they tend to be long term efforts. They have a lot of two steps forward one step back. Just be there for your sister and for Terri, if things go bad. You are helping Clara so much, just keeping Terri safe. You’re taking some pressure off of Clara and Frank.”
“I guess so Gwen, I just worry so.”
“You should worry, but don’t let that worry ruin your life. Hold up your chin and be proud of what you are doing for your sister. What happens, will happen. There is no magical solution to these things. Just be there and be ready to help pick up the pieces.”
>>>>><<<<<
Betty canceled her appointment that day and took Terri and Amanda out to see a movie. Amanda felt just how much Terri needed to be with her and held her friend close to her. They went to see one of those new CGI cartoons. Terri seemed to perk up a bit and began to enjoy herself. She told herself that it wasn’t her fault, her parents were acting like spoiled children and they needed to grow up. She just wished she was there to send them to their rooms, without their dinner. She giggled as she thought about that.
She told Gwen that, when she went to see her the next day. Gwen had a laugh and said she agreed.
“The only problem is, you can’t make your parents take a time out. They have to do it on their own, Terri. You are only responsible for doing your part and that is becoming the best person you can be. From what I hear, you are doing a great job doing that.”
“Why can’t parents be more like kids?”
“Kids have problems too, Terri. Adults just have adult sized problems. It takes an adult sized solution to help them resolve their problems and from what I hear, they are trying.”
Friday, Melinda and Amanda were there. They had their tickets to go to Atlanta and asked if Terri was going to be able to come.
“Well, it looks like Terri is going to be here for a while longer. I already have my ticket and hotel reservation. I just need to get her a ticket. So I guess you can count on her being there.”
They then went over the schedule for the regional pageant. It was four days long, with competition events every day and two group events. Like the Miss America Pageant. The girls were expected to entertain the attendees, with some group signing, or dancing, and such. They weren’t exactly judged by their efforts, but a girl couldn’t win if she didn’t participate in them, or if gave them less than her best effort, while doing them.
They spent all the next week getting things ready. Everyone was so excited. Terri thought school was just taking too much time, but she worked diligently to finish, so she could help her Aunt and her friend.
The Monday after that, they shipped much of what they needed to the hotel. It would be there already when they arrived. Tuesday, Terri saw Gwen again and told her what she had been up to. Terri had talked to her mom again and things seemed to be going better. Tuesday after school, the four of them left to go to the airport. They flew out of DFW, headed to Atlanta Georgia.
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday morning they picked up their credentials and then went to an orientation meeting. The pageant director separated the girls by talents and sent to meet with one of four entertainment directors. There would be five shows put on by the girls. The entertainment director then began working with the girls, picking girls to play the various parts in their show.
Amanda was in a song and dance group, with twenty four other girls, from six to eighteen year olds. Terri, Betty and Melinda, sat in the audience and watched as the choreographer put the girls through their paces and the music director got them singing. Amanda did well. Terri decided that she would place her friend in the top three and that included the older girls too. The girls worked hard for two hours before and two hours after lunch,
Terri had a cold drink ready for Amanda, when the girls were dismissed for the day. They got in their car and headed back to the hotel. Amanda was hungry, but she also needed to shower, she took one smell of herself and the shower won out.
Amanda pulled Terri into their bathroom and sat her down on the toilet, as she showered; she wanted to know what Terri thought about the rehearsal today.
“I think you were great, Amanda. Your voice is better than all but one or two, and your dancing was better than one or two, but they weren’t the same girls. I would say you were the best well rounded, but that is just my opinion.”
“There were two girls from my age group there, Alicia Gordon and Renée Wilson. I know that I don’t have to worry about them.”
“Were they the blonde in capris, and the brunette in tights and a tank?”
“Yeah that’s them.”
“What are their talents?”
“Well, seeing as they are only fair at singing and dance, I am not sure. Hand me a towel please.”
Terri got a towel from the rack and handed it to Amanda, “Alicia I think, was the better of the two. How many girls will there be in your age bracket?”
“There should be twenty-two, if they all show up.”
“That girl, Casey Goodman, was kind of cute, she could steal the show with her smile.”
“Tell me about it, she is only six and she has this incredible smile.”
Terri went out and got a bra and panties for Amanda, as she took off her shower cap and began to mess with her hair.
“That choreographer sure worked the heck out of ya’ll.”
“Yeah, that is his job, I think he is pretty good at it. You know he won a Tony for his work.”
“Really, that is so cool.”
Amanda left the bathroom with Terri following her. Terri had laid out a blouse, skirt and heels for her friend. Amanda quickly dressed and did her makeup. She then helped Terri touch up her face.
“Were you having fun?” Terri asked.
“It was work, but yeah I enjoyed it.”
“That’s good.”
Amanda opened the bag with her jewelry and put on a few pieces.
“Well how do I look?”
“You look smashing, Sis.”
Amanda smiled and said, “Okay let’s go, I am starving.”
Betty and Melinda were ready to go, when Terri and Amanda came in their room. They hugged and then headed out. There were two other contestants on the elevator, as they went down. Instead of standing in the elevator in awkward silence, Amanda introduced herself and the people with her. The two girls introduced themselves and their Moms. They all shared where they were from. The girls were surprised to find out that Terri wasn’t competing and they were more surprised to find out she was only eleven.
“You are only eleven, oh my, you are going to break some hearts when you get older,” Samantha, a sixteen year old girl said. “I can’t believe how tall you are for your age.”
“It’s not fair,” Natalie, the twelve year old girl said. She was at least five inches shorter than Terri. “You get to be so tall, and have some nice long legs, and I am a short runt.”
“You are not a runt, Natalie,” Hana, the girl’s mom said, “She is just tall for her age, very tall for her age. You are taller than average Natalie. Just how tall are you Terri?”
“I am five foot four inches tall. My family grows fast, but then we stop early. I may grow another three or four inches before I stop growing.”
“See Natalie, you still have hope.”
“Are those real?” Natalie asked, pointing at Terri’s breasts.
“I may have used a little help in my bra. After all, I am helping out at a beauty pageant. I couldn’t let my friend Amanda and the other girls give me an inferiority complex now, could I,” Terri said, winking at Amanda who nearly lost it. “Would you believe I was pretty much a Tomboy till this year?”
“Ain’t no way, you are too gorgeous. I would hate to compete against you,” Samantha said.
They all decided to eat together, as they got off of the elevator. The girls sat at one table and the adults at another. They chatted about the pageant, what their talents were, what their dresses looked like and a hundred other details.
“So, if you don’t compete, what do you do at a pageant,” Natalie asked.
“I help my Aunt, she is a pageant coach. Amanda is one of her clients. I help make her job easier and keep her clients happy. You know how stressful things can be to you.”
“Yeah, she helps me and a lot of other girls,” Amanda said. “She is just fun to be around. We just love her. She helps me get dressed and takes good care of my clothes. She encourages me when I am down and she is one of my biggest cheerleaders, but most importantly, she holds my hands and is my friend. It can get awfully lonely doing the pageant thing.”
“Tell me about it,” Samantha said. “It is hard finding time to be with my friends. It must be wonderful to bring yours along.”
“It is.”
“Are you wearing a corset, Terri?” Samantha asked.
“Yes,” Terri said. She had given this question some thought and came up with a good response. “I hurt my back a year ago and it was either a corset, or a back brace. The corsets were more comfortable and prettier. I have worn one since.”
>>>>><<<<<
Thursday was the introduction and the swimsuit competitions. The introductions were done in long formal dresses. Terri couldn’t help but look in wonder at all the beautiful girls. She had already helped Amanda get dressed and was sitting next to her, while Betty worked on her hair and makeup.
When their age group was called, the girls lined up on both sides of the stage. As their names were called, the girl would walk to center stage and turn, walk the catwalk, turn and pose, and then walk back. Each girl was the center of attention for about fifteen seconds. After all the girls had their walk, they walked on stage as a group. Then it was time for the next age group.
Terri helped her friend undress and then slip into her swimsuit and matching heels. They didn’t have to hurry. Betty had plenty of time to get the right look. The girls lined back up in the same order and followed the same routine as before.
Amanda was then free from ten thirty to two. If there had been a hundred vendors back in Houston, there was at least three times that many here in Atlanta. They spent almost two hours visiting the various booths, to peruse their wares. Terri and Amanda picked up quite a few souvenirs from the booths. Pageant pins were very popular. A lot of girls would pick up a lot of pins from this event to trade with any friends they made at other pageants. This way they could end up with pins from all over the country.
After lunch, Amanda had another rehearsal. The girls were gelling into a very good group. They moved well and their singing was superb, better than they were yesterday. The program they were working on was like one of those Broadway Musical numbers. The musical spoke to modern girl’s hopes and fears.
Back at the hotel, while Amanda took a shower, Terri did the bath cloth thing and changed her corset. Melinda found a message on her phone from the girls’ new friends. They wanted to meet again for dinner.
Back in Fort Worth, Betty’s home phone rang, the voice left a tearful message on the phone saying that she would be there on Friday. Clara finally came to the decision to leave Frank.
>>>>><<<<<
Friday the girls had a fashion show/photo shoot. They had to wear three different outfits and pose for four different photographers. They had four sets setup on stage and the audience would get a chance to see a real fashion shoot. This was a change over previous years, the organizers wanted to see the girls in action in real time.
Terri really had a lot of work to do. She made sure that everything was in place for the three changes, this relieved Betty and Melinda of a lot of tedious work and concentrate on the looks they were trying to achieve. The first round consisted of casual day clothes. The girls were to show how they could look fashionable, but still be dressed in comfort, for a day in the city or with their girlfriends. The second round would be dress to impress; the girls were to show how they would dress for an interview, business or a meeting. The third round was formal, you know, the perfect prom, going to the ballet or opera, or an important banquet.
The organizers wanted to see if the girls could follow the photographer’s directions, their energy and charisma, during the shoot and just how photogenic the girls were. With today’s computer software you can edit a world of sin out of the portfolios the girls send in with their entry packets.
It was organized chaos in the dressing rooms; Amanda really thrived with everyone’s help and Terri made a big difference to Amanda. She was a lot calmer and more focused, than she had been in the past. It showed onstage, as she modeled for the four photographers. She was a little sad that none of her group got to see her as they were busy setting up for the next shoot. Even Terri was hard at work back in the back.
Four girls came on stage as their names were called. A fashionista fed the announcer a description of what the girl was wearing, using an earpiece radio receiver. When all four were on stage, they would head over to their designated photographer, for a three minute shoot. The cameras were those high dollar digital cameras and were Wi-Fi capable. When a good shot was taken, it was projected on a large screen, over the girl, for the audience to see. After three minutes, another four girls would take the stage. This round was only for the girls thirteen and older.
The audience really loved this, many had never seen a photo shoot in person before and it was a bit of an education for them. They oohed and ahhed as a photo would appear on the screen. It was a bit nerve wracking for the girls, because they couldn’t see what the crowd could see, or know which girl elicited which reaction. They just had to concentrate on what they were doing.
After her last shot, Amanda had to hurry to get dressed for her part of the program. She didn’t feel like eating, she was a bundle of nerves and had butterflies in her stomach, but Terri sat on her lap till she got a little food down her gullet. When she got up to go to put on her costume, she actually felt better for it. Amanda could only have one person behind stage this time and of course that was Betty. She was doing Amanda’s makeup and she was asked if she could help with a couple of other girls too.
Their show wasn’t quite ready for Broadway, but it wasn’t that far from it either. The girls did a wonderful job, which wowed the audience. The audience showed their appreciation as the girls took their bows. Terri was ecstatic when she finally saw her friend. She ran up to her and picked the girl up in a hug.
Back in Fort Worth, there was a knock on Betty’s door, the knock persisted for a couple of minutes, but there was no one there to answer.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday was all about Talent till two and then there was a rehearsal for the Sunday show. All the girls over thirteen were expected to participate in the Sunday program. Again they weren’t judged on it, but woe to any girl that wasn’t there, or didn’t do her best.
Amanda played her violin for her Talent today. She played a Sonata for violin, by Hindemith. She wore a long black skirt, a white blouse and as black jacket, not unlike what professional musicians wear in an orchestra performance. Terri thought she looked fantastic. This was the first time she had heard Amanda play the violin and the first time she had really listened to classical music. Her part ended with her plucking notes out on a violin, another thing that was new to Terri.
Amanda came off the stage smiling. In the other events so far, she didn’t quite know how she did, since much of the judging is quite subjective. One never knew how one did till the score sheets came out after the pageant was over. Today though, she knew she had done a really great job. She got to relax a few hours till the next rehearsal and that was a blessing.
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday, they walked the catwalk in a formals. Afterwards came the last show, the minor awards, like Miss Congeniality and then the awards presentation. This was the hardest day for the contestants, mentally that is. Each girl wondered if they had won, if they had made any gaffs, if they could have done something better and a thousand other woes. Some girls knew that they didn’t have a chance. They knew that they weren’t as good as some of the other girls; things were not as hard for them.
Amanda was one of those bottles of nerves, she knew she had performed well in every challenge; she just had to see what the judges thought of her efforts. It was all Terri, Betty and her mom could do to keep her in one piece.
The Formal Dress and the program went well for Amanda. She actually began to relax once she hit the stage, everything was in the judge’s hands now and there was nothing she could do. She didn’t pick up any minor awards and hadn’t expected to either, there was just too many girls.
They always started the awards with the 0 to 3 year olds and then went up in age. They also waited till five minutes before their appearance, before the organizers let them know who was in the top five. It seemed to take forever till the top five for her age bracket were called. Amanda was the third name called. She was excited that she had a chance.
The five girls walked on stage in a group as their age group was called. The announcer introduced each girl again, after they stopped on their marks and turned towards the audience. He started off with the fifth runner up. There aren’t many girls that wanted to hear their names called out first at this point, but it was better than not being on stage for the awards ceremony. They called the fourth runner up was called and the girl mildly showed her disappointment. The same could be said for the third runner up. Second runner up was the first of the big prize winners and still Amanda didn’t hear her name. She had a sinking feeling when her name was announced next. It took her brain a few seconds to process the fact that after the second runner up, the winner’s name was announced. She had won her age group.
Amanda broke out in tears of happiness as she received her tiara, trophy, sash, roses and her check for four thousand dollars. She couldn’t spend too much time in front of the crowd because there were two more age groups to go and then the Grand Champion. She did get a chance to hug Terri, Betty and her Mom. They were just as excited as she was when she came off stage.
During the final awards, Amanda was called as the second runner up. The grand champions tended to come from the younger girls, or the oldest girls, at these mixed group pageants. Amanda was still ecstatic. She had qualified for nationals and she won another trophy, three thousand dollars, a two thousand dollar scholarship, a makeup collection and a dress.
After a photo op, Amanda changed into some more casual clothes. Samantha and Natalie caught up with Amanda to congratulate her and trade email addresses and cell phone numbers.
They all went out to celebrate at a local restaurant. Amanda was treated as a minor celebrity, as she was still wearing her tiara. They had a grand time talking about the pageant. Amanda and company stayed about two hours before they headed back to the hotel.
>>>>><<<<<
Melinda, Amanda and Terri went to one room to pack everything up and Betty went to the other room to drop off her camera and things. Her cell phone went off, while she was taking care of business.
“Hello,” Betty said.
“Hello, I am Detective Brian Wilson of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department. Is this Betty Johnson?”
Betty had a sinking feeling. “Yes, I am Betty Johnson.”
“Do you have a sister named Clara Wait of Austin Texas?”
Betty knew then that something was wrong, “Yes, Clara Wait is my sister. What is this all about?”
“I have one more question and then I will tell you what I know. Do you know the whereabouts of Terri Wait?”
“Yes, he is here with me.”
“Good, that will come as a relief to a lot of people. Where are you right now?”
“We are in our hotel in Atlanta Georgia. One of my clients just took part in a beauty pageant, she won her age group and place third overall.”
“Wow that is wonderful… I guess there isn’t an easy way to say this, but to come right out and say it. We were contacted by the Travis County Sheriff’s Department for several reasons. First… I guess I should break the suspense. Clara and Frank Wait are both dead. It appears to be a murder/suicide by cop.”
Betty began shedding a fountain of tears.
Detective Wilson could hear Betty softly crying, “Secondly, we were requested to make a health and welfare check for a Terry Wait. The people down in Austin were about to go crazy looking for him. They were afraid that he might have been a third victim.”
“Thirdly, Travis County SO wants you to contact them so they can give you the details and make arrangements. I have a contact number for a Detective Greg Sizemore.”
“Okay, I will call him in a minute. I guess.”
“I am very sorry for the loss of your sister, Ma’am. I know what you must be feeling; I lost my father to a murder. Call me if I can be of assistance to you.”
“Thank you, Det. Wilson. I can’t say that this is a surprise. Clara had me take Terry away from that situation. Was anybody else hurt?”
“No Ma’am, of that we can be thankful.”
“Yes, well let me call that other Detective.”
“Take care Ma’am.”
Betty took a few minutes to compose herself and called out for Melinda.
Melinda came into the adjoining room saying, “Yes.”
“Can you take the kids out to a movie or something? I have got to make some phone calls. Something has happened in Austin. Terri’s mother and father are dead I think.”
“Oh my god, don’t worry about the kids. I will take them out, but will you be alright?”
“Yes, for now at least, I halfway expected something like this happening. Don’t say anything to Terri right now. I want to make sure of things before I tell her.”
“No problem. You just take care.”
“I will. Make an excuse for me, please.”
Melinda went to the next room and Betty heard them leaving, still on cloud nine. She steeled herself before she dialed the number Detective Wilson had given her. The phone rang twice before it was answered.
“Hello, this is Detective Sizemore.”
“Hello, this is Betty Johnson. I was asked to call this number about my sister, Clara Wait.”
“Yes thank you. I am Detective Sizemore with the Travis County Sherriff’s Department. I need to ask, is Terry Wait with you?”
“Yes he is. We are in Atlanta Georgia, right now.”
“That is a relief. I suppose Tarrant County SO told you about your sister and brother-in-law.”
“Yes they did. Something about a murder/suicide by cop.”
“Yes we know a little more now. Frank Wait killed Clara Wait as she was trying to leave her home Friday morning. She was apparently coming to see you. She made a call to your residence, Thursday night.”
“I have been here in Atlanta since about noon Wednesday.”
“That’s good. Anyway we have a preliminary autopsy report and it is very telling. Frank Wait, it seems might not have been in his right mind at the time. Our ME told me that Frank had several brain tumors and wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway. The location of several of these tumors may have been the cause of his rage and anger. It’s so sad to lose a loved one, like this, but it may not have been his fault.”
Betty and Det. Sizemore talked about twenty minutes more. He told Betty how to make arrangements for her sister and brother-in-law and told Betty to contact CPS (Child Protective Services) about, Terry Wait. He said it there wouldn’t be any problem in her keeping Terry if she wanted too, as she was the only living relative, according to what he found out. Betty made it clear that hell or high water wouldn’t take Terry away from her.
Betty called the CPS office in Austin. She talked to a lady there, who took note of where Terry Wait was and asked her to call back on Monday, once a case officer was assigned.
Betty then called Gwen and broke the news to her. Gwen said she was coming over, till Betty told them that they were in Atlanta.
“Where is Terri?”
“Out with Melinda and Amanda. She doesn’t know yet.”
“You need to tell her soon.”
“I know I sent them out so I could make some phone calls. I need to get her to dress as a boy for the CPS officer.”
“Not if she doesn’t want to, you let me worry about that. Can you stay there one more day?”
“I have to; I need to arrange shipping for all of Amanda’s trunks tomorrow.”
“Good, I will be there tonight. Make a hotel reservation for me, if possible. I am going to start packing. Bye.”
Betty made a reservation for Gwen, who called back and said she would be in Atlanta around eleven that night.
>>>>><<<<<
Terri was a bright child and knew something was up. She had heard her Aunt talking on the phone, but she couldn’t make out what was being said. Then when Melinda came in and took her and Amanda out to a movie, she knew it was bad, but this was her friend’s time to shine, so she went out to help Amanda enjoy herself. Terri knew she would find out sooner or later. While she wasn’t as chipper as she could be, she resolved to have fun herself.
They went to a nearby theater and went to see one of those new 3D cartoons. Terri and Amanda both liked the movie, along with the popcorn and soda. They then went from there to one of those pizza arcades. Whack the mole, was very therapeutic for Terri. The poor mole would have had a terrible headache if it had been real. Terry had played that game many times before, but it was a new experience playing this game in a skirt and heels for a change.
It was nearly ten, when they got back to the hotel. They all went into Betty and Melinda’s room. Betty had cleaned her face and used eye drops to take out the redness, before making her face up again.
“Kids, take a seat on the bed. I have something to tell you Terri.”
Terri sat down next to Amanda.
“It’s about my Mom isn’t it?”
“Yes it is Terri. I hate to say this, but your Mom and Dad passed away. Your Dad was very sick and didn’t know it. He had several brain tumors that were causing him to act the way he was.”
Terri was quietly crying rivers; Amanda had her wrapped up in a hug. Betty did her best to spin things to make them easier on Terri. She wasn’t about to give her all the details, she didn’t need to hear those.
“It must have been very hard for him not to hurt the both of you sooner. I guess he really did love ya’ll, but it was the tumors that made him seem so out of control.”
Amanda and Betty held Terri as she quietly cried her eyes out. When Terri stopped crying, Amanda got her to lie down and then she spooned with her.
At about midnight, Gwen arrived, Terri was still awake, but in a daze. She perked up a bit, when she saw Gwen.
“Do you feel like talking with me for a bit, or do you want to sleep?” Gwen asked.
“Talk, I guess.”
“Ok, we’ll talk for a few minutes.” Gwen then shooed everyone out of the room.
They talked about twenty minutes, and then Gwen gave the girl a shot, before joining the others in the other room. “You must be Amanda.”
“Yes Ma’am,”
“Why don’t you help Terri get ready for bed, if you will? She might act a little loopy, I gave her a shot.”
Amanda got a nightshirt and panties for Terri and herself, and went it the other room.
“How is Terri?” Betty asked.
“She is in shock right now. That is to be expected. She was concerned that Amanda would be bothered by all of this. She likes Amanda a lot.”
“Yes, she does,” Melinda said. “She loves Amanda like a sister.”
“I also think that she had been expecting something like this to happen. I asked about becoming a boy again and she was vehemently dead set against that idea.”
“What about CPS? They are expecting a boy.”
“You let me worry about them. If they push her to become a boy, or threaten to take her away from you, they are in for a fight from me. I am almost certain Terri will become as much a girl as she can be. It will just take a lot of time. Don’t let them see her without me being there. I can gauge their intent and take appropriate actions. Now tell me, how are you doing Betty?”
They talked for a while and then went to sleep.
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda went into the room where Terri was. Terri was giggling about something or other. It was work, but Amanda got Terri out of bed and into the bathroom. She stripped Terri and got her into the tub. Amanda got undressed and followed her friend in. Amanda couldn’t help but look at her friend; six weeks of constantly wearing a corset gave Terri a very feminine figure. All she could see was her sister, except for that bit of flesh between her friend’s legs. It was small she had seen a few penises, mostly on the Internet. Terri’s was small, maybe an inch and a half.
Terri started giggling and splashed her friend, which led to a bout of tickling; at least till Terri started to zone out. It was all Amanda could do to get Terri out of the tub, dried off, dressed and in bed. Amanda then cleaned up a bit and then dressed herself before joining Terri in sleep.
>>>>><<<<<
Terri was still sleeping quietly, when Amanda woke up the next morning. Terri was facing her so she just wrapped the girl up in her arms. She couldn’t imagine what it was like losing both parents like that. Amanda didn’t want to leave Terri’s side. Her mom came in to get her up.
“Mom, I want to be here for her when she wakes up. I want her to know that I will be by her side.”
Melinda hesitated for a minute and then relented, “Alright, if she hasn’t woken up in an hour, we will need to wake her then.”
Terri did begin to wake, in about twenty minutes. She opened her eyes and then just clung to Amanda.
“Yesterday wasn’t some bad dream, was it?” Terri whispered in her friend’s ear.
“No, it wasn’t. I want to let you know though, that I will be there with you. You don’t have to face this alone.”
“I know, but I am going to miss my mom. What am I going to do now, Amanda?”
“You are going to make your Mom proud, by going on and living well, Terri. Sure it isn’t going to be easy, but we will all be there for you. You’re still my ‘Lady-in-Waiting’ aren’t you?”
Terri didn’t reply, but she nodded yes. She then began crying on Amanda’s shoulder and shivering in her arms.
“What kind of ‘Lady-in-Waiting’ am I, needing you to help me?”
“Everybody needs help at times. I might need your shoulder to cry on later. Will you be there for me when I do?”
Terri just nodded.
“Let’s get up and make ourselves beautiful.”
“Okay.”
The girls then set about getting ready, they both dressed nicer than they usually did. Amanda was just doing Terri’s makeup, when Betty, Melinda and Gwen arrived.
“Oh, don’t we look nice today?” Gwen asked.
“Yes Ma’am,” Terri said.
“Good, I would like to spend some time with you after we eat.”
“We had some food sent up and it’s waiting in the other room,” Betty said.
They ate and talked about what they needed to do. Betty needed the shippers to pick up the trunks and then they needed to get back to Fort Worth. Betty needed to go to Austin, to make the arrangements and handle the paperwork. She didn’t want Terri to be there till the funeral. Melinda volunteered to let Terri stay with her. Terri told them that she didn’t want to go to the funeral as a boy. She didn’t like how boys did things. She didn’t want to ever be like them.
Gwen took Terri into the other room, to have a talk with her. They talked for about an hour, in which Terri shed many a tear. When Gwen was satisfied that Terri wouldn’t give up and try to hurt herself, she helped Terri get presentable. She cleaned off Terri’s makeup and did an acceptable job making the girl up.
>>>>><<<<<
Betty, Melinda and Amanda finished their packing, while Gwen and Terri talked. Betty contacted the shippers and had the trunks picked up and taken to the desk. The hotel would hold them for the shippers.
Betty asked again if it would be alright if Terri stayed with Melinda, while she went to Austin. Melinda insisted on keeping Terri.
“Terri needs to be with someone she knows and trusts. I doubt if Amanda would let me sleep if I let her stay somewhere else.”
“You better believe it,” Amanda said.
“How will I get her to Austin for the funeral?”
“We will bring her, Betty. You just do what you need to do.”
“Well then, I am going to fly straight to Austin. I need to get this over with.”
“Are you going to be Ok?” Melinda asked.
“For now. I will do what I need to do. There will be time for grief later. It always seems to be that way for women. I wasn’t as close to my sister as I should have been, the last few years. I regret that, but life goes on.”
“Just make sure you take some time to grieve, Betty. You’re not made of iron. You will break if you keep it bottled up.”
“I know, I just need to be there for Terri.”
>>>>><<<<<
Melinda, Amanda, Terri and Gwen, flew back to Fort Worth, while Betty flew to Austin. Melinda took Terri to their home and Gwen followed them. Terri had thought that Betty was rich, but when she saw Melinda’s home, her eyes bugged out. They had a quarter mile drive, from the front entrance, to the huge house. Melinda had to giggle, as she looked at Terri in the rear view mirror.
“It’s not that big Terri; we have a nine thousand square foot home on twenty five acres of land.”
“It must be worth a hundred million dollars,” Terri said.
“Not that much, about five and a half. This land has been in my family for a hundred and twenty years. We sold off most of the property to build this home. We had nearly four hundred acres. Rick, my husband, makes enough to keep us comfortable.”
“What does he do?”
“He works for a brokerage, selling stocks and bonds for his clients. He isn’t a big time broker, but he does well.”
They got Terri installed in a room, Gwen talked to her again and gave her a shot and a prescription before she left. Terri was asleep shortly thereafter, with Amanda holding her. Melinda gave the script to her housekeeper to fill. Gwen left instructions to let her sleep, feed her when she wakes and call her if Terri needed help later.
When Terri was good and asleep, Amanda emptied Terri’s luggage, she sorted out the lingerie and dry cleaning. She sent the dry cleaning out, except for her black dress. It was decent enough for a funeral. Amanda washed Terri’s lingerie by hand and the rest of her clothes went in their two washers.
>>>>><<<<<
Betty got off her plane in Austin, she rented a car and got a hotel room, before she called Det. Sizemore and told him she was in Austin now. They made arrangements to meet after lunch, at his office.
Betty didn’t feel like eating, so she laid down and had a good cry. She did grab a small bite to eat, on the way to the sheriff’s office. Det. Sizemore was really kind to her. He shared what he knew with her and helped her with the paperwork, before taking her to the medical examiner’s office, for identification of the remains and paper work, to release the body.
The medical examiner hid the wounds when Betty came into identify the body. No relative should have to see the grisly reminders of the violence that is done to their family. He then sat down with her and went over his findings, he reiterated what she had been told about the tumors that Frank Wait suffered from. He stated that Frank probably suffered from blinding headaches and fits of rage attributed to his tumors. He stated that even if they had known about the tumors, up to six months ago, nothing could have prevented Frank’s death, but they might have been able to help him cope, and Clara Wait might be alive today.
Clara had gone quickly; Frank had shot her in the head. She was dead before her body hit the ground. Frank then pointed the gun at the sheriff’s deputies and they had shot him six times, within three seconds. His wounds had been instantly fatal. He didn’t give Betty the gory details, she didn’t need to know that he took two rounds to the heart, one to the right lung, two to the left lung and one went through Frank’s throat.
Betty selected a mortuary and made arrangements for her sister and husband to be picked up. She selected a cemetery and made arrangements for their internment and funeral.
She left the Medical Examiner’s office and then went to a Starbucks that had Wi-Fi. She took her laptop out and did a search for an attorney located in Austin. She searched for estate, probate and child custody attorney, who were also recommended by an LGBT group. There were just a few that fit all of those requirements. She selected a females name and called her.
As much as Betty trusted Gwen and she did, Betty wanted to have a lawyer that was local to Austin and maybe one in Fort Worth too.
“Naomi Wright’s office, attorneys at law. My name is Denise, how may we help you?”
“I need to see your attorney, my sister and brother-in-law both died. I need estate, probates and advice on child custody, of a transgendered child.”
“I see, if a child is involved, then this is an emergency. Can you be here at four?”
“Yes I can.”
“Good, we will see you then.”
Betty tried to relax; she called Gwen and talked to her a bit.
“I found an LGBT attorney here in Austin; we might need one here and in Fort Worth. I just don’t want to lose custody of Terri.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t lose her,”
“How is she doing?”
“She is sedated right now, and I have her on an anti-depressant right now. She will make it.”
“I might need you to talk with the attorney down here. Her name is Naomi Wright.”
“Just fax me a release from her office and I will work with her. Let me give you the name of the lawyer up here. His name is Craig Lofton. Have you contacted CPS yet?”
“I will, after I speak with Miss Wright.”
“Okay Betty, take care and don’t worry.”
>>>>><<<<<
Betty went to Naomi’s office, and after checking in with Denise, she was shown back to Miss Wright’s office.
“Hello, I am Naomi Wright.” A thirty something lady said, holding her hand out to Betty. Naomi was dressed in what was probably a two thousand dollar skirted suit. Her makeup was immaculate and her hair expertly done.
“Hello, I am Betty Johnson.”
“Please, have a seat and tell me how I can help you.”
Betty started with how she came to be in custody of Terry Wait, and how they discovered that she might be transgendered. She gave her a copy of the letter of temporary guardianship, Clara and Frank had both signed. She told Naomi of the problems that Clara and Frank were having and how they died. She also gave her the ME’s report. She then told her about Terri’s sessions with Dr. Gwen Harrison, who Betty said was a psychiatrist and gender specialist.
“Gwen said that she would talk with you, if I faxed her a signed release form.”
Naomi had Denise type one up for Betty and had her sign it and then faxed it off to Gwen. Gwen then called and Naomi talked with her. Naomi listened to Gwen and then asked her several questions about, what Terri wanted and about how she felt about Betty.
After she finished talking to Gwen, she turned to Betty.
“This is my suggestion; I will act as Terri Wait’s attorney. I will assign my associate, Jim Worley, to be your attorney and to handle the other matters. I like your suggestion, about having an attorney here and one in Fort Worth. Any child custody cases should legally come out of Travis County, since that is where Terri lived with her family, but an overzealous CPS officer, could do an end run and attack from both flanks. You have legal temporary custody; we need to make that permanent custody. You are the only living relative, right?”
“Yes I am, all the grandparents are dead, Frank didn’t have any brothers or sisters and I am Clara’s sister.”
“Normally, there wouldn’t be any problem, but since Terri appears to be transgendered, CPS might accuse you of abuse and try to take Terri away. Where is Terri right now?”
“In Fort Worth with a friend. I didn’t want her to have to be here for all that I had to do.”
“Will she come to Austin?”
“Yes, her parents’ funeral will be on Friday. She will be here on Thursday.”
“Have you contacted CPS yet?”
“Not yet. I didn’t learn of their deaths till Sunday, A case officer hadn’t been assigned yet,”
“I want to talk to my client today, if possible. Do you feel like a drive?”
“I guess, if you don’t mind me sleeping on the way. What about CPS?”
“They are closed for the day by now, except for emergencies. You and I will contact them back here tomorrow. Just let me call Craig Lofton and we will both talk to her.”
Naomi Wright called Craig and gave him a run down on things. She asked if he could meet her and her client tonight. Craig said he would be delighted. Betty gave them Melinda’s address.
“Let’s meet at Denney’s, at Hulen and I-20, in three hours,” Naomi said.
“Sounds good, I will be there,” Craig said.
Lastly, she called Gwen and asked if she could be there. Gwen said, she would be with Terri.
>>>>><<<<<
Betty fell asleep shortly after they left Austin. She was mentally exhausted. Naomi skillfully navigated her Mercedes up I-35. She woke Betty, as she turned at the I-20 interchange, on the south side of Fort Worth, to give her some time to pull herself together. She called Craig and found that he was already there. She said that she would be there shortly.
When they walked into Denney’s, Craig waved at them.
“Go powder your nose Betty, so you’ll look good for your niece. We have some lawyer speak to do.”
Betty cleaned and made up her face. She was tired and worn out, but Terri was worth all the effort. If she wanted to remain a girl, she would move heaven and earth to help her. If this was just a phase she was going through and she wanted to go back to being a boy, then so be it. She just wanted Terri to be happy.
When she came back out, she had a quick coffee with the two lawyers and then led them to Melinda’s home. Melinda greeted them at the door and gave Betty a big hug.
“Terri is awake and Gwen is with her.”
“We need to talk to Terri,” Naomi said.
Every one followed Melinda to her drawing room; Gwen was sitting with her, talking.
“Hi Terri, I am Naomi Wright and this is Craig Lofton. We want to be your Lawyers.”
“Why do I need a lawyer?”
“Well, you are a special child. Sometimes the State of Texas doesn’t like special children and they set about screwing with their lives. Do you like living with Betty Johnson?”
“Of course, she is my Aunt and she is all I have left. I need her.”
“Then you also need us. As your lawyers, we will fight to see that you get to stay with her. You see, some people think that boys, wanting to be girls, is bad and they set out to punish the people that help them. Your Aunt helped you, right?”
“She didn’t force me to be a girl. I guess I have always been this way. I didn’t realize it till my Aunt helped me. I love my Aunt.”
“That’s good to hear. Do you have ten bucks?”
“I think so.”
Terri got her purse and checked. She had a little more than ten bucks. She pulled out a five and five ones.
“Give five to me and five to Craig, then sign this paper and we will make damn sure you will be able to live with your Aunt,” Naomi said, handing Terri a retainer agreement to sign.
Terri signed the paper and handed it back.
“We need to talk to Gwen and then we need to talk to Terri. I am sorry, but everyone else has to leave. That includes you Betty. This is all about confidentiality rules.”
The two lawyers spoke to Gwen, for about fifteen minutes and then she joined the other people, while they spoke to Terri. Amanda played hostess and got everyone something to drink. Gwen then talked with Betty, asking how she was holding up. Betty was a little frazzled, but she was ok. Betty had to hold it all together for Terri.
“Talk with me when you get everything done in Austin.”
“How is Terri?”
“She is doing fine. She is sad, but the rest she’s gotten, has helped her a lot. There will still be rough spots, though.”
“I know, I still can’t believe this is all real.”
Naomi and Craig were in there with Terri for over an hour. The three of them came out and joined the others.
“We would like you to bring Terri back to Austin with you tomorrow. I will call CPS and make arrangements to meet if they want. Craig and I will be with Terri, if they want to talk to her. They can’t prevent us from being with her. We’re her Lawyers. Jim will be there for you Betty.”
“I will be there too,” Gwen said. “With all my credentials.”
“Good, we will hit them hard and often. They won’t want to spend too much time fighting a losing battle.”
“Are you expecting a fight?” Melinda asked.
“No, but you never know what will happen. When it comes to CPS, you never know. Some of those people aren’t happy unless everyone else is miserable. Also, Terri being a transgendered child, is like chumming for sharks while skin diving. We hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Betty, pack a bag for Terri and include some boy’s clothes. Terri gets to pick though. Don’t tell her what to wear.”
“Alright, Melinda, may I leave Terri here with Amanda?”
“Amanda and my housekeeper will take good care of her, I will take you home and help you pack a bag for Terri and bring you back.”
“I will be alright.”
“I know, I will be there with you. What time are we leaving, tomorrow?” Melinda asked.
Betty didn’t understand at first, “You want to go with me?”
“Somebody needs to look out for you; Amanda will take care of Terri.”
The people heard Amanda shriek, she pulled Terri after her. “You got to help me pack, Terri.”
“I take it that those two are friends,” Naomi said, chuckling.
“You have no idea,” Melinda said. “They are inseparable at times.”
“And she knows? Of course she does. She has been here with us and she is okay with Terri.”
“You got it.”
“Good she needs friends that she can be open with.”
>>>>><<<<<
A four car caravan headed south down I-35. Betty, Terri, Melinda, Amanda and Gwen stopped off at a hotel. Naomi and Craig headed to Naomi’s office to discuss their case, prepare their paperwork and contact CPS.
The CPS set a time for their interview at four in the afternoon. Naomi called Terri and asked her to come to their office at one, with Betty and Gwen.
Betty told Terri to get ready, but not how to dress. Terri dressed in a skirt, blouse and a blazer, along with her other girl things. She only used a touch of pink lipstick. They got a quick bite to eat and then went over to the law office. Melinda and Amanda stayed at the hotel.
Betty met with Jim Worley, as Terri met with Naomi and Craig. Betty played thousand questions with Jim. Where and when she was born? Where and when was Clara born? Who were their parents? Who were Frank Waits parents? Where was Frank born? Did Frank have any living relatives? Where did she and her sister go to school? What did she do for a living? How much money did she earn last year? Did she own her home? Did she want custody of Terri? Could she provide for Terri? Where would Terri go to school? Did she force Terri to dress as a girl? Did she or anybody abuse Terri? Did she seek professional help for Terri? Did she want her share of her sister’s estate? Plus many more questions.
Terri and Gwen retold their parts in all of this, to Naomi and Craig. Naomi had already filed some paperwork with the Travis County Family Courts, on behalf of the minor child, Terry Wait.
They all met up and talked strategy.
“CPS set a late meeting so that they could, if they wanted to, take Terri away until a hearing. The courts would be closed and there would have been nothing we could have done. I have already filed an injunction barring that. It could take weeks to get her out of foster care, if they succeeded in taking her. They have a way to just lose the kid in the system and damn the child’s mental health,” Naomi said.
“I will file similar paperwork in Tarrant County, if they try to get around us that way,” Craig said.
“They may attack your fitness to be a guardian. Jim, are you prepared for that?” Naomi said.
“I am. Betty has a stable address; she is self-employed as a licensed cosmetologist and beauty pageant consultant. She has sufficient income to support Terri. I made some inquiries last night in Fort Worth and Benbrook, and Betty has an excellent reputation with them. There is nothing that would bar her for being a good guardian. I will do an extensive check for a will, birth certificates, death certificates, for any of Clara Wait’s relatives, Frank Wait’s relatives and any other thing they might use against Betty.”
“We also checked with the online school Terri has been using. We told them what happened, they sent their best wishes and faxed us their report on Terri. I was duly impressed by their professionalism,” Craig said. “There should be no problem with her continuing to use them. In fact, I will prepare a paper to that effect. Terri is getting a good education.”
They talked and worked till forty minutes before their CPS meeting and then headed in mass to the meeting.
The CPS officer hadn’t been prepared for the number of people who came into her office. She moved them to a conference room. She introduced herself as Shawna Black and Naomi introduced everyone else.
“This can’t be Terry Wait. My preliminary report stated that Terry Wait is an eleven-year-old boy. This is obviously a fifteen to sixteen year old girl.”
“Terri Wait is the child of Clara and Frank Wait. This is Terri Wait and we are her attorneys. Terri Wait is a transgendered child of eleven. She is tall for her age, but I assure you, this is the person we purport her to be. Dr. Gwen Henderson is a state licensed Psychiatrist. Terri has been under her care for five weeks. Gwen informed me that she approved having Terri dress as a girl, because it is her preliminary diagnosis that Terri has Gender Identity Disorder. It would be harmful for her well-being, to be forced to dress as a boy right now. At least until she changes her mind, or is old enough to know for sure who she is, Terri will dress as she feels she needs to.”
Shawna was losing ground and she wanted to talk this nonsense out of Terri’s head. She had people who could reprogram the boy.
“I need to talk to the boy alone.”
“Not going to happen, at least without Dr. Henderson and Craig or I. Ms. Johnson and Mr. Worley may leave.”
“You can’t keep me from talking to this child alone.”
Naomi reached into her briefcase and pulled out a document. “The Texas CPS is enjoined against talking to my client unless her doctor and either Mr. Lofton or I am present.”
“Okay, but Terri will need to stay with a foster care home till we have a hearing.”
Jim and Naomi both reached into their briefcases and pulled out documents.
“Here is a statement asserting that Betty Johnson is a fit Guardian, another showing that she had and continues to have temporary Guardianship assigned to her by Frank and Clara Wait prior to their deaths,” Jim said.
“The Texas CPS is hereby enjoined against removing Terri Wait out of Betty Johnson’s custody.”
“Betty’s treatment of Terry Wait is tantamount to abuse.”
Naomi reached into her briefcase and pulled out another document. “This is Terri’s statement about the care she has received from Betty Johnson. Terri, is this your statement?” She asked, handing the paper to Terri.
Terri took it and looked it over, “Yes Ma’am it is. It has my signature on it, too.”
Naomi handed it to Shawna, “Mrs. Black, CPS may check out my client and her Aunt. They are good people. Ms. Johnson is Terri’s only living relative. She has legal custody of the child. Mrs. Henderson will state that the child is happy with living with her Aunt. This is a document from an online home school, which Terri attends from her home. She spends seven hours a day studying and has shown improvement in the five weeks she has been going online to study. They will send you test results and grades she has earned. CPS may make home inspections as long as Mr. Lofton, or myself are there. Together, we have five lawyers. If you attempt to screw with this family, I can assure you that there will be upwards of a hundred lawyers working on behalf of Terri Wait. Until you can prove that Terri is not better off with Ms. Johnson, or that Ms. Johnson has violated the law or hurt this child, or that somebody else has a better legal claim to Guardianship, don’t screw with us. Save your efforts for the children that really need your help. You don’t need this headache.”
Jim added, “Oh, and unless you can prove abuse by a legal definition, don’t use that word again when referring to my client. I love to handle Libel and Slander suits. I am very good at winning them. Simply dressing a boy up as a girl doesn’t rise to the level of abuse by legal standards, especially when there is a diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder.”
Naomi smiled at Jim, he was learning. “Oh, and if you want to talk with Terri, it will have to be after the funeral, at her home in Fort Worth. Please call Ms. Johnson in a few weeks. She will be happy to have everyone present for the interview and any home inspection you may need. Please give them time to grieve.”
Shawna didn’t need the headaches these people would give her. The State of Texas had few resources to spend on one case. Naomi was right, there were too many children that needed their help. She didn’t like it, but the child didn’t look unhappy or abused. If she got the State tied up in a long drawn out case, that they were destined to loose, it could mean her job. She would check all the things she had been told so far and if they checked out, she would sign off on it. This country was just getting too liberal for her tastes, but she may not be able to do anything about this child.
“Okay, take Terry with you, but you can be certain that I will do a thorough investigation.”
“Thank you. We wouldn’t expect any less from a dedicated state employee, Miss Black, and we will cooperate with the CPS,” Naomi said.
Terri left the office with everyone. She asked, “Does that mean we won.”
“This round. CPS doesn’t always play fair. They can’t, sometimes. Children are just too easily abused, but like Thomas Jefferson said, ‘The price of Freedom, is eternal diligence.’ We won’t let our guard down. We will make sure we dot all of our I’s and cross all of our T’s. We will file our paperwork in a timely manner and if they screw with us, we will bury them in a mountain of paperwork,” Naomi said. “They will need to speak to you, Terri and they will need to do a home inspection, but they can’t, without Craig or I being there with Gwen. We put them on notice. If they do, we castrate them. If they come and take you, we file kidnapping charges against them. You aren’t totally safe, but you are a lot safer for now Terri. Take our cards, Terri. Memorize our phone numbers. If they take you and you can get to a phone, call us. We will come with the Calvary to get you. Don’t despair and don’t give in to them, don’t say a thing to them without one of us being there.”
“Okay, I promise to do what you ask. I don’t want to leave my Aunt.”
“We have a ton of work to do, but would you like to go out to eat with us tonight,” Naomi asked.
“Can Amanda and Melinda come along?”
“Sure, the more, the merrier.”
>>>>><<<<<
Terri and Betty went to Clara and Frank Wait’s funeral. Melinda and Amanda were by their sides throughout everything. They cried as their loved ones were lowered into the ground and they said their final goodbyes. It was hard leaving them in the cemetery, but what else could they do.
CPS did their due diligence and investigated. There were no other relatives for them to give custody of Terri to. Ms. Johnson was found to be a capable guardian, she had the means to provide for her and they just couldn’t get around Gwen’s diagnosis. They did receive mountains of paperwork that was filed in a timely manner. Terri didn’t have any complaints and they couldn’t manufacture any cause to take custody of the child. There were too many cases on the books that needed their attention more. They didn’t entirely drop the case, but they weren’t actively moving against them. They would wait and see.
Betty won permanent guardianship and adopted Terri as her child. Terri changed her legal name to Terri Fae Johnson and continued to help her aunt. At thirteen, she started on testosterone blockers. She stopped growing shortly after that and was five foot nine inches. Her measurements were 34B, augmented by breast forms, 24, with a mildly restrictive corset she wore fourteen hours a day, and 34, without the padded brief. She never suffered from testosterone, so her few boyish features became girlish features. One thing Terri accomplished by age fourteen was, she perfected her ‘Diane Mode’. She could be regal and stately and she used that ability appropriately.
At sixteen, Amanda won at nationals for her age group and was crowned as the grand champion with Terri at her side. Terri also helped several other girls, including Wanda and Leslie, achieve many wins, but they didn’t aspire to continue pageanting after three and five more years respectively. It was hard to date, when you had to always be practicing for pageants.
At eighteen, Terri began taking hormones and at nineteen, she had surgery to become as much of a woman as she could be. She had her own B+ breasts and still wore her corsets. She got her beauty licenses and went to TCU to study psychology, management and fashion, all with the intent of helping Betty, whom she now called Mom.
They had about thirty to forty girls they worked with on and off, as Pageant coaches. They even coached a several special girls, whom were much like Terri. They taught them how to compete in pageants. These girls usually did quite well, competing against genetic girls.
Ricky, Melinda’s husband, had taken Terri’s inheritance, a little over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and invested the inheritance, under Craig Lofton’s scrutiny. In ten years, he more than doubled it her money. Terri didn’t touch it for another five years, during which time it doubled again.
Every year, on Mother’s Day, Terri and Betty visited Clara’s grave, they placed some flowers there and shed a few tears.
The End
Beer Run
by
Paula Dillon
Craig Lawson was just your above average student going to the University of Texas Arlington,
Jennifer West and her girlfriend Melissa Conroy meet him and things happen.
.
.
.
The two and a half ton rental van pulled up to the Rivendell Apartments and was expertly backed into two parking spaces. It was followed by a well-kept Mazda Preceda. One lady got out of each vehicle and they met up at the back of the truck for a hug.
The truck driver, a leggy brunette, was about five foot eight with an ample bust, and looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her mane of hair was up in a ponytail and would probably come between her shoulder blades, when not in a ponytail. The car driver was in her early twenties and an inch or two shorter, with a very proportionate figure, her blond hair in a cute short cropped curly hairstyle. They were both dressed in their grungies.
Going to their new second floor two bedroom apartment they opened it up so it could air out and they could start bringing their stuff in. The Rivendell Apartment complex was an upper mid-priced college apartment about two years old, and about a mile and a half away from the University of Texas at Arlington. This apartment complex had about four hundred units and amenities. The managers worked hard to keep its reputation high and its apartments were top notch. They knew college students wanted to have fun and blow off steam, and they didn’t mind that, but they didn’t go for the senseless revelry, littering and damages that some students inflicted on their apartment complexes. Any damages or extremely poor behavior was met by fines, evictions, or even arrests. The managers made that known upfront and vigorously enforced it. So the complex as a whole was top notch.
Jennifer West, the older girl, and Melissa Conroy, the younger girl, headed to the truck. They raised the door and looked desperately at the mound of stuff contained in the truck.
“I don’t really feel like moving all that stuff,” Melissa said.
“It was your idea to move closer to college, girl. Come on, this truck isn’t going to unload itself,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer wrestled with and pulled out the ramps, setting them in place.
“You girls moving in?” a voice from behind them said. “Do you two want some help.”
The two women turned and saw a guy who was maybe twenty and about Melissa’s height. He had a slim build and a cute face. His long mousy brown hair was neat and came just beneath the top of his shoulders in a mullet. Jennifer really didn’t think he would be that much help, but right at this moment, any help was greatly appreciated.
“Sure, any help will be great,” Jennifer said.
“My name is Craig Lawson; I am a student at UTA.”
“I am Jennifer West and this is Melissa Conroy. We are going to be students here too.”
Craig reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty, “Do you have a twenty?”
Jennifer reached into the pockets of her bib overalls and pulled out a small wad of bills. She handed Craig a twenty. He then turned to the complex and put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud shrieking whistle, which echoed around and shook windows. He then shouted, “Moving In, beer run.”
Jennifer was amazed to see a bunch of doors open and people pouring out. A small crowd formed of college boys and girls. More money appeared in Craig’s hands and a couple of guys began organizing the other boys into details. Craig handed the money to one girl and told her what they wanted, she and another girl left. Craig introduced the other girls to Jennifer and Melissa. They went with Melissa up to the apartment.
Jennifer and Melissa were amazed. In just under an hour and a half, four rooms of furniture had been unloaded and arranged. The girls emptied the boxes, and organized the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedrooms. The two new girls didn’t have to lift a finger, except to point out what went where.
Their first meal at their new home consisted of beer and pizza at an impromptu party near the pool in the middle of the quad. Jennifer and Melissa got to meet their neighbors as they joined in and socialized, although Melissa rarely left the bigger girl’s side. They found all the kids were pretty nice. Some of the guys tried to score points with the new girls by showing off.
>>>>><<<<<
“That was a nice move in,” Melissa said, hugging Jennifer. “I am about ready to crash.”
“Yes, it was certainly amazing. There is Craig. We need to go over and thank him, before we go in for the night.”
Craig was sitting on a chase lounger, eating pizza and drinking a beer, flanked by two very pretty coeds who were talking very animatedly with him. One girl was dressed in a bikini she barely wore and the other wore a crop top and hot pants. Both girls had enormous boobs, slim waists and tremendous white smiles. They both could easily be cover girls for Hooters. He stood as he saw the two ladies approach him.
“I just want to thank you Craig, for all the help you gave us in moving in. You are a real lifesaver.”
“It was nothing and I didn’t do too much, I just left that to the big guys.”
“That might be true, but you organized this shindig and saved our poor backs. Thank you. We’ll just let you get back with your girlfriends.”
“I wish! Those aren’t my girlfriends. They just hang around me because they think I am safe,” Craig said, somewhat disheartened. “I like talking with them anyway.”
Jennifer smiled warmly, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Let us get settled in and in a few days you have to come over for dinner. Alright?”
“Sure,” Craig said. “I am in apartment 1106, if you two need any help. Let me give you my cell number and my email addy,” he said, scribbling it down on a bit of paper.
>>>>><<<<<
Friday just before four thirty, Craig was walking up to his first floor apartment after his last class of the day. It had been five days since he had helped Jennifer and Melissa. When he checked his email, there was an email from Jennifer. “Tonight, dinner, 7:30 pm, our apartment 3216, dress nice. Jennifer.”
He sat down inside his efficiency apartment and spent a couple of hours studying and reading. He had all his textbooks in a digital format on his laptop. Craig was a twenty-year old junior engineering student. He had wanted to be an architect, but after he had taken a course in failure analysis, he decided to become a civil engineer. He also loved classical literature. He finished his current reading assignments and began to read ahead for the next week.
At six thirty, he began to get ready for tonight. He first polished his black shoes, shining them till he could see his face in them. He then took care of the three S’s; s***, shower and shaved all ten or fifteen hairs on his face off. He trimmed and plucked his hairy eyebrows a bit. His brows were easily the hairiest part of his body except for his headful of hair. He would have had a unibrow, if he didn’t keep them in shape. Then he got his best dress shirt, tie, black dress slacks.
He didn’t have a lot of nice clothes, but he took care of what he did have. Most of his money went to his schooling; he had a trust fund that would just pay for college and his apartment, if he was careful. He worked fifteen hours a week on campus, emptying trash cans and replacing the liners, to pay for his food and necessities. He worked hard and his boss in ‘Facilities’ liked him.
He wished that he had a nice suit with a real jacket, but he did have a nice black windbreaker, that looked a little dressy. Lastly, before he left, he spent ten minutes brushing his hair just so. He would hate to cut his hair when he graduated and had to go out into the job market. He had been growing it out since he had graduated high school three years ago.
He walked up to apartment 3216 and knocked on the door at seventy twenty-eight. Jennifer opened the door, smiling. “Hello Craig, come on in. It’s so good seeing you again.”
“It’s good seeing you again,” he said, offering her his hand.
Jennifer led him to the living room, which was as large as his whole apartment. The girls had worked a miracle on their apartment and turned it into a nice living space. The place showed a lot of feminine touches in the way it was adorned.
Jennifer looked really spectacular in her black just above her knee chiffon dress, sheer black stockings and black stiletto pumps. She had a lovely jeweled butterfly on her left shoulder, a string of pearls, pearl earrings, a diamond like tennis bracelet and two large stone rings on her fingers. Her makeup was spectacular; all in all she looked like a million dollars.
“Melissa is in the kitchen. She is a wonderful cook, I am sure you’ll agree. Please sit down,” Jennifer said, assessing the boy. He really looked nice, except for that jacket. She could see the care he had taken dressing. “You look really nice tonight. Don’t you have a nice jacket you could wear?”
“I am sorry, this is all I had. Money is kind of tight for me.”
“No problem, I totally understand. Melissa and I just love dressing up for dinner. Just a minute, let me check on dinner and things.”
Jennifer walked over to the kitchen and Craig looked around. The table had a tablecloth and a formal dinner setup, with candles yet to be lit. Craig could see Melissa and Jennifer in the kitchen talking. He couldn’t see all that Melissa was wearing, but she looked very nice in royal blue, he supposed. Jennifer then headed to a bedroom. She came out minutes later with a black jacket.
“Stand up please Craig and if you would, take off that windbreaker. You are not much bigger than Melissa; she has this nice jacket that is a tad large for her.”
Craig was a little embarrassed, but the girls had been so nice to him. He stood and took off his windbreaker. Jennifer then helped him on with the jacket. It was a black velvet jacket, which had those little puffs where the sleeves joined the coat. The shoulders were just wide enough for him, but the waist was an inch, maybe an inch and a half, too narrow for him to comfortably button. The lapels were wider than most men’s coats and there was a jeweled, sheaf of wheat, brooch on the left lapel. He touched the fabric of the sleeves, which were just a bit long for him and just loved the feel. Then he smelled the perfume of the jacket. The fragrance was absolutely intoxicating. It reminded him of his mother, and his face darkened a bit.
Jennifer began to panic a bit seeing the change come over him, “Are you okay with this jacket? If not, you can put your windbreaker back on? Melissa just loves dressing up, but we don’t want to hurt you.”
“Ah … no, the jacket is fine. It’s just … the fragrance on the jacket … reminded me of my … Mom. She and dad died three years …”
“I am so sorry … here let me help you take it off …” Jennifer said, almost in tears. She didn’t really want to hurt him; she just had no idea.
“No, please don’t. I am glad to think of them. I really like this jacket.”
“Then you must wear it.” She gave him a careful kiss on the lips.
Melissa came out of the kitchen smiling, taking off her apron, “Dinner is ready … Hey, no fair Jenny! I saw him first,” Melissa walked over to Craig and gave him a careful kiss, too.
Jennifer and Melissa had Craig sit down; they lit the candles, and brought in the salads. Jennifer turned down the lights, turned on the stereo to some light jazz, poured the wine and sat down.
They were Caesar salads, with fresh romaine lettuce, garlic croutons, grated Parmesan and a homemade dressing. Craig’s eyes brightened after he took his first bite. “Wow, I’m not a salad type guy, but this might make me one.”
“Thank you,” Melissa smiled brightly. “Flattery will get you everywhere with the chef. I like my jacket on you, it looks nice.” Melissa just had to brush a bit of fluff off the jacket. She really did like it.
They ate slowly and talked about themselves as they ate. Melissa only left the table to bring in the next courses, lemon pepper chicken, asparagus au gratin, broccoli, cauliflower and rice bakes.
Jennifer was twenty-five, she had graduated college, gotten her MBA and after a few years in business, she came back to get her DBA. She had been born and grown up in Kingwood Texas, where her mother still lived. She’d met Melissa at the business where they both worked. Money was tight for Melissa and after they got to know each other, they’d moved in together.
Melissa was twenty-one, and born in Cut and Shoot Texas, where her parents still lived. She had a really wild story of how the town was named and she really seemed to enjoy telling it to everyone there. She had graduated from high school, in Conroe, where she had studied business arts, (typing, filing, records keeping and some low level accounting). She hadn’t had a chance to go to college till now. She had saved as much of her salary as she could, to get here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_and_Shoot,_Texas)
Craig was twenty years old, and was a computer geek born in Fort Worth Texas. He was studying Civil Engineering. He liked building models of buildings, bridges and other structures. His father was an accountant, who worked too hard and drank harder. Craig’s father and mother had gone out on April 16, to celebrate another tax day passing. They never made it home. His father had twice the legal blood alcohol in his system and had crashed into a car carrying another family on the way home. The crash killed both of his parents, the mother and seriously injured the father and son in the other car. He was seventeen at the time. He lost his home, all his parents’ savings and property. At least the lawyers had waited till he graduated high school to take the house. He received some money from a small life insurance policy, seventy five thousand dollars, about thirty-five thousand from his parents’ estate and he had a trust fund from his grandparents, which came to another seventy thousand dollars. He had been emancipated at seventeen and here he was at age twenty.
Craig was the last person to finish eating, a habit of his when eating good food. He slowly ate it, savoring each delicious bite. He had also had two glasses of wine. He didn’t know much about wine, but he loved what he was drinking. He just knew it was very delicious and at least a thousand times better than Thunderbird.
They moved to the living room to eat desert, a chocolate truffle cheesecake and a dessert wine. The girls had been so moved by his story they sat him down on the couch in between them, to give him comfort. They talked some more as they ate. When they finished eating, out came another bottle of wine. The wine and the music were just so soothing.
>>>>><<<<<
Craig woke with a cottonmouth, squinting as he pressed the button that lit up his watch and saw that it was three thirty am. He looked around, there were a few dim lights on and the surroundings looked very strange to him. He was lying on a couch covered by a blanket. He sat up and realized that he didn’t have any pants on and his tie was gone, but he still wore the velvet jacket, his shirt and his brief’s. He had to go to the bathroom. He was glad that Jennifer and Melissa had left the light on in the bathroom, so he could locate it. He was still sleepy and groggy, so he sat to relieve his bladder. When he couldn’t find his pants, he had no option but to lie back down and go to sleep. He was so wobbly; he probably wouldn’t have made it back to his own place anyway.
>>>>><<<<<
He woke to the smell of bacon and coffee, opening his eyes, wide awake. He could hear Melissa’s soprano voice softly singing like an angel, as she cooked. He sat up and found a soft pink terry robe lying on top of the blanket. He took off the jacket and put on the robe and stood back up to head to the bathroom.
“Oh, good morning Craig. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you, bathroom … sorry … just a minute.”
Melissa had to giggle, seeing Craig’s discomfort.
When he came out of the bathroom, breakfast was ready and on the breakfast bar. Melissa and Jennifer both got up to hug him.
“Did you sleep well?” Jennifer asked.
“Yes, thank you. My pants?” Craig asked.
“You spilt wine on your shirt, tie and pants last night. We blotted your shirt, but your pants were wetter,” Jennifer said.
“I ah … didn’t ruin your sofa did I?” Craig asked. He would hate to think he stained it.
“It’s leather, silly, a little wine won’t hurt it,” Melissa said.
“I guess I embarrassed myself last night? I am sorry. I’ll just get my pants and go.”
“You did no such thing last night. We got you drunk. You will come right here, sit down and eat first, Craig!” Jennifer commanded.
“Yes ma’am.” Craig said, moving to the indicated stool.
“It’s good to see a boy who can follow directions.” Jennifer said.
Breakfast was Kona coffee, bacon and cream cheese pancakes, with real maple syrup.
“Damn … oh sorry … these pancakes are great. I could get used to eating these.”
Melissa blushed and smiled brightly, “I really do love cooking for people. I love to see reactions like yours.”
“Dang, you could be a world class chef.”
“NO … I couldn’t. It would be work then, and not a labor of love. I have seen a few kitchens of top restaurants. I wouldn’t thrive, way too much stress.”
“Oh, were they like that TV show, ‘Hell’s Kitchen’.”
“Yes, that is it exactly. There are too many head chefs like Chef Ramsay. I can’t blame him; it is his good name that is at stake, but … I just couldn’t stand it.”
“What happened last night?” Craig asked, tentatively.
“You were a little stressed out, so we got you drunk. Nothing else happened. You were a perfect gentleman,” Jennifer said. “I’m sorry that we brought out such painful memories.”
“That’s okay, I know it still hurts a little. Guess it always will, but talking about it helps. I guess.”
“Yes, talking about it with friends does help,” Melissa replied.
“Are we friends?” Craig asked, carefully.
“We are, if you want to be our friend.” Melissa said.
“Then we are friends, because I really like the both of you.”
“Wait, before you say that Craig. We have one thing to confess to you.”
“What, that you two are extremely close?” Craig said, in a playful way.
“Now don’t be snooty. Yes we are lesbians. Are we still friends?”
“Of course, do you have to ask?”
“I just had to make sure. Not everyone can stand being around us.”
“Look, I can see that you both love each other dearly. I don’t see how that can hurt me one way or the other. I just like both of you. Is that okay?”
Craig’s answer was a kiss on both cheeks.
“I believe we owe you a new shirt, tie and a nice jacket, Craig. If we hadn’t got you drunk, you wouldn’t have ruined your clothes.”
“You don’t have to. I can wash this shirt and get a new tie.”
“Now be a good little boy, or I will have to turn you over on my lap and spank you. Of course we have to.”
“You better listen to her,” Melissa said. “She isn’t kidding about the spanking.”
Jennifer swatted at Melisa’s bottom, just missing as the girl dodged her efforts.
“Well, I can’t go anywhere dressed like this.” Craig indicated.
“Let’s get dressed and we will head out.”
The girls gave him his pants back, but told him to SIT! STAY! as they headed to their bedroom to get dressed. They both put on feminine finery suitable for daytime. Melissa chose a silky blue peasant blouse, a tight black mini skirt over a pair of suntan pantyhose and a pair of black pumps with a 3 inch heel. She had a rainbow pendant on a silver necklace, large silver hoop earrings, a silver Rolex and silver bangles. Her hair was a mass of curls and her makeup was feminine and sexy. Jennifer dressed in a red power suit, some kind of semi-shear black hosiery, red pumps with a 4 inch heel and a white silk blouse. She wore a pearl necklace that hung down a bit, pearl drop earrings, a rose gold Rolex and gold cuff bracelet. Her hair was in a twist with chop sticks and her makeup was immaculate and subtle. She appeared to be a formidable and confident woman dressed as she was.
They went to his apartment with Craig and waited as he cleaned up a bit and changed into his best other clothes. While he was busy, the girls talked. His apartment was a neat, clean, one-room, efficiency. Bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen were all one room. There was no TV or stereo like most college students have. His only furniture was a day bed, two end tables, a bookshelf, a dresser and a table with two chairs. The bathroom just had a shower, toilet, an over the toilet rack, a sink and a medicine cabinet. In the living room/bedroom/dining room/kitchen were several models. There was a bridge, a wall with what appeared to be two walkways, a stadium of some sorts and what could have only have been World Trade Centers one and two. They were immaculately crafted out of balsa and painted.
Craig came out of his bathroom, brushing his hair. He brushed it for several minutes, as the girls watched. He looked much like a young David Cassidy, only cuter, Jennifer thought. Her Mom had all the Partridge family shows on DVD, which had been created from original VHS tapes.
“What are these models of?” Jennifer asked.
“That is World Trade Centers one and two, the bridge is the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, the Metro-Dome and the Kansas City Hyatt walkways.”
“All buildings and structures that failed,” Jennifer said.
“You got it with the first try.”
Craig finished preening and put his windbreaker on.
Craig was very surprised when Jennifer led them to a new red Jaguar XFR sedan. The back seat area was a little small, but fit him well enough. It was apparent that Jennifer knew just how to drive, as she handled the five hundred horses under the hood well. He tried to get her to stop at a Wally World (Wal-Mart) but Jennifer knew just where she was going. She left Arlington and drove straight to Dallas, Main Street and Neiman Marcus.
“I … I can’t shop here … I don’t have this kind of money.”
“Don’t worry, it’s on me,” Jennifer said. “Besides, you don’t want to make Melissa sad do you? Listen, we love to have dinners like last night. Melissa loves to dress up and have others dress up too. We aren’t looking down at you, but we would like to help you up a bit. Besides, you will have to look good to enter into the business world. So be a good boy and just go along for the ride.”
They went up to the men’s department and Jennifer had a few words with one of the sales associates. The man led them to a backroom and had Craig stand on a small dais so he could be measured. The man then brought in a dozen suits for Craig to try on. The suits were all Armani, Versace or D&G and such. Jennifer asked if Craig liked one particular suit, which she liked. The suit he liked was the blue/gray Armani; it looked and felt like a million dollars to Craig. He really did like it. Another man, obviously a tailor, came out and began marking the suit for a fitting. The pants needed a lot of work. He had to roll up the legs about six inches to keep from walking on the fabric, and then decided the legs were a little baggy and needed to be taken in a bit. The waist of the coat was taken in and a little padding needed to be added to the shoulders to square them up a bit. The tailor told them to come back on Tuesday to pick up the suit.
The girls also bought him two dress shirts to go with the suit, three power ties, two more pair of pants, and four more shirts. The girls only asked if he liked them, not if he wanted them.
From Neiman Marcus, they all headed to a salon. A stylist took care of Craig’s hair. She didn’t give him a haircut; she just gave him a trim to get rid of the split ends and a bit of styling to make it look better and to make it easier to comb out.
On the way home Jennifer stopped at a nice pawn shop in a good part of town. Craig watched as she almost skinned a jeweler out of a silver men’s Rolex. She haggled with the man for ten minutes pointing out his surplus of fine watches in the man’s showcase. They had started out at eight grand and he sold it for thirty-five hundred, the pawn shop still made five hundred on the deal.
>>>>><<<<<
Craig became a regular at their apartment. Melissa loved having him over and she loved his looks in that suit. He was just so huggable, dressed up and he was an easy person to hug. He wasn’t a threat to Jennifer or Melissa’s relationship, and they weren’t a threat to him. He seemed to thrive being with these two women. The girls even got him a Tuxedo to go to the Dallas Opera, a symphony at Bass Hall in Fort Worth and a charitable to-do at the Botanical Gardens. He was the envy of many a man, as he escorted his two lovely women.
The to-do at the Botanical gardens was a five hundred dollar a plate dinner and a Bachelor Auction. Jennifer asked Craig to enter. Bidding was light till Jennifer bid two thousand dollars and Melissa bid twenty-five hundred. That began a bidding war between four women. Craig went to Jennifer, who had to outbid a cougar, excuse me a matron, who was licking her chops, for seventeen thousand five hundred. There were twenty-seven men at auction; the highest went for seventy-nine grand. Craig was in the top quarter. The women received a special portrait from a renowned local photographer for their money and an evening with the gent. The money went for cancer research.
As Thanksgiving came, they invited him to come to their home with them.
Craig looked at them strangely, and asked, “Do you have another place to live?”
“Yes, we just moved here to be close to school. We do have another home.”
“Alright, I think will like that. I would just be here all by myself here, if I didn’t.”
After the last class on Wednesday Craig packed up his clothes and laptop. He met Jennifer and Melissa at their apartment. All they were packing was their study material and their purses. Jennifer drove them in her Jaguar. She opened it up on 35E, as she drove towards Hillsboro, Texas. They got off the main road miles before Hillsboro and drove another fifteen minutes on a winding farm and market road. Jennifer turned off the farm road and drove towards a rather large ranch style home.
“Is this your place?” he asked.
“Yep, this is our home away from home. I own this property and a hundred and twenty-five acres.”
As they approach the front door, it opened and a little woman who was shorter than Craig, admitted them in, first giving Jennifer a hug, then Melissa, then Craig, saying, “Hello, I am glad you made it here alright.”
“Craig, this is my housekeeper, Anita Ramones. Anita, this is our friend, Craig Lawson.”
“Welcome Mr. Lawson, come on in. I have your room sorted out already.”
Craig pulled his suitcase and carried his backpack, with his laptop. Anita took his suitcase and began to take care of his clothes. The room was again larger than his apartment and had its own bathroom, connected to a walk-in closet almost as large as his apartment. The room was done in pink and had many feminine touches, but these didn’t bother Craig. He just placed his backpack down on the dresser and went to the living room.
“I am sorry that your room is so feminine,” Melissa said. “But you are the first male to be here in years.”
“I don’t mind. You and Jennifer have a lovely home. I really like what I see.”
Melissa radiated a huge smile at Craig and gave him a big hug. It was like he’d done a tremendous favor for the girl. Jennifer just smiled.
Anita came into the room and said, “Your mother called, Jennifer, she will be here around eleven.”
“Thank you, Anita. Would you open a bottle of Red and bring three glasses?”
“I have several breathing, and I will be back in just a second. Dinner will be ready in an hour and a half.”
Anita left and came back few minutes later. She set a tray down that had two bottles of wine and three glasses, then hurried off to the kitchen.
“Does Anita live here?” Craig asked.
“No, she just comes by three or four times a week to forward my mail, keep the place habitable and to occasionally cook for us, when we first get here. While we are here, she stops by every other day. Melissa will cook for us tomorrow.” Jennifer said, as she poured the wine.
The first glass she handed to Craig and then she poured for herself and Melissa. She held up her glass and said, “To friends.” The others held up theirs and repeated, “To friends.”
“Melissa, are your parents coming too?”
A tear formed in her eyes and she said, “No, my mom and dad don’t talk to me. They don’t approve of their daughter being a lesbian,” Melissa said, talking about herself in third person. “They won’t see me, unless I leave Jennifer, and I just can’t do that. I love Jennifer so much.”
Jennifer just gently held Melissa’s hand and rubbed her back lovingly.
“I am so sorry; I stuck my foot in my mouth. Forgive me, Melissa, I didn’t know.”
“That is alright Craig,” Jennifer said. “Like you said, you didn’t know and you weren’t being hateful. There is nothing to forgive.”
They had another glass of wine and Melissa told Craig how she had come out to her parents. Her parents would have died to protect her, but when she introduced her lover, Jennifer; her parents just showed them the door and calmly asked them not to come back. Her mom called her later that week and said she could come home if she got herself straightened out.
“I couldn’t leave Jennifer. She saved my life. I was so lonely and didn’t have many friends. I loved women, but I was deep in the closet. I would have eventually killed myself if not for her.”
“Melissa, I don’t know what to say. I accept you and Jennifer for what you are. Two people deeply in love and I thank you for letting me be your friend too.”
Melissa wrapped Craig in a hug and Jennifer just smiled. ‘Thank you Craig, she really likes you,’ Jennifer thought as she rubbed her lovers back.
By dinner, everyone was cheerful and bright. Melissa had taken a few minutes to clean up her face, Jennifer had gone with her and had pulled Craig with them. They sat together on the bed, while Melissa redid her makeup. Melissa had a naughty, mischievous look on her face, as she looked at her friend and lover.
“Close your eyes, Craig.”
She stepped over to him and expertly coated his lips with lipstick and lip-gloss. Then she took the rubber band holding his hair in a ponytail, brushed his hair out and twisted it a bit with her fingertips. She and Jennifer giggled as she did this. Craig knew what was happening, but he cared too much for Melissa to object. Craig was surprised when they showed him how he looked. With just that little bit of makeup, he could easily be mistaken for another girl.
Anita smiled when she saw the three of them, but didn’t say a word. She set four places at the table, and sat down with them. Anita wanted to know all about what the girls had been up to, since they had been away at school. She even wanted to know about Craig. They drank wine as they ate and talked.
After desert, Anita made her excuses to leave and gave everybody a big hug and a kiss, saying she needed to get back to her family. Craig and the girls headed back to the living room. It was about eight and the girls wanted to be up when, Debra West, Jennifer’s mom, got there.
They were relaxing after their meal, but Melissa looked like she was on pins and needles.
“Craig, I apologize for putting lipstick on you. The devil made me do it. I must say it looks so good on you. I’m not saying that you aren’t a man … but … Would you be adverse to me doing you up all the way? I have this image in my mind. You would look so cute.”
Craig had never in his life done anything remotely close to what Melissa was suggesting. It was true that he had sometimes been mistaken for a girl, at least while he wasn’t trying to look especially masculine. He did look quite masculine in his suit, with the girls, but at other times, he knew he looked somewhat in between. On top of that, he was quite drunk by this time. He drained his wine glass and said, “Why not? Do your worst to me, Mel.”
Jennifer wasn’t far behind him drink wise, but her higher body mass left her a little less drunk, “Hey that is my pet name for my girl. You ain’t making a move on her, er ya?” Jennifer teased, refilling Craig’s glass.
“No, I am sorry, I wouldn’t do that?” Craig said, obviously distressed.
The girls just broke out in giggles, and dragged Craig to their bedroom, with their wine glasses and a bottle of wine. Melissa was the most sober of the three of them. She always drank her wine slowly and not as much. She got right to work on the willing boy. Jennifer took a towel and covered the vanity mirror as her lover began to work. Melissa wasn’t about to touch his brows, although she really wanted to. They were masculine, but she saw where he had been plucking them. She used all her magic though to make him look his most feminine, just as she had imagined him.
After she had done his face, she did his hair. She combed, brushed, curled with her curling iron and set his hair with lots of hairspray. Melissa’s and Jennifer’s eyes got really big. Craig was really beautiful. Jennifer uncovered the mirror and showed him what he looked like.
“Oh my God! Is that me?” Craig asked.
“Yes, honey, that is you,” Jennifer said, just as dumbfounded. “At least, I think it’s you?”
Craig almost dropped his wine glass as he almost fell in lust with his own image. Melissa wanted to see him dressed up, but didn’t want to press her luck.
“Come on girls, my mom will be here in a short while, Let’s go up front and listen to music while we wait for her.” Jennifer didn’t want Craig to keep thinking about how he looked. She just wanted him to enjoy being with them.
They all went to the living room and had a little more wine while they listened to music. Melissa got Jennifer to dance with her and after a short while, she got Craig up dancing too. He didn’t realize it, but they were teaching him to dance much like a girl. He was still pretty much drunk.
By the time Debra arrived he was halfway sober. Jennifer introduced Craig to her Mom. Debra just hugged the boy warmly and helped him back to his bedroom. He looked about ready to crash. They took his coat, shoes, pants, socks, tie and dress shirt off and tucked him in bed.
Back in the living room, Debra asked, “You aren’t torturing that poor boy, are you?”
“We love him too much to do that,” Jennifer said. “We think he could be the one, Mom. He is strong and gentle, intelligent and thoughtful. He is wonderful.”
“I liked him too, from the moment we met him, Mom,” Melissa said. Since her parents rejected her, she had taken to calling Debra, Mom. Debra loved the girl as if she were her own and didn’t mind it one bit.
“I think I like him too, he gives good hugs. Be good to him, girls. It will be a lot to ask of him. He is quite a pretty one, though.”
In thirty minutes, everyone in this household was asleep.
>>>>><<<<<
Craig woke and was at war with himself. He was just so comfortable buried in a comforter. He didn’t want to get up, but he had too. All that wine was now in his bladder, screaming to get out. He barely remembered where the bathroom was and carefully made his way there. He didn’t trust his legs to hold him up, so he sat to take a leak. As he leaned forward his hair fell forward. The remnants of Melissa’s work with her curling iron remained and it all came back to him. When he finished, he stood and looked into the mirror. For the most part, the makeup on his face was a wreck, but his lips still looked quite luscious. He rubbed his lips with his finger. The lipstick didn’t smudge.
His mouth was full of cotton, so he brushed his teeth. He was mesmerized at seeing his bright red lips, with a toothbrush in his mouth. The rest of his face was a comical mess. He carefully washed his face. He didn’t know if the lipstick would come off with soap, but for some reason he didn’t want to ruin the look. He got the rest of the makeup off and carefully tried to bring his hair back to life. He got it back in some order; the curls mostly came out, leaving just a bit of a wave and it looked neat.
It was near seven in the morning, so he got dressed and took his laptop into the living room. He saw when he booted up that the house had a WIFI signal and that it wasn’t blocked. He logged on, checked his email, then got down to studying. He had gone all the way through in his reading and was now rereading his text books. After almost two and a half years, he was pulling a 3.8 average, with four B’s and sixteen A’s and he hoped to raise it a bit higher.
Debra was the first of the rest to wake up. She got her robe on, after she took care of her morning needs. She then went to start her coffee and saw Craig sitting on the couch gazing steadily at his laptop. She just quietly watched the boy for a minute or so. He didn’t even hear her.
Debra had seen him last night looking quite beautiful, and even this morning, he was very cute. She could tell that he had brushed his hair, and it still retained a little extra body and curl and his lips were still very red.
“Hello Craig, how are you this morning?”
Craig fumbled with his laptop; he had been startled to hear her, “Oh, hi Mrs. West. I didn’t know you were up.
“Do you feel like a cup of coffee?”
“Not really, but I could sure use one, to drink that is.” Craig said, giggling.
“Alright, wise guy,” Debra said, laughing. “One cup of coffee coming right up. How do you take it?”
“Black, two sugars.”
A few minutes later, Debra came back into the living room and set two cups of coffee on the coffee table.
“What are you studying so intently?”
“A failure analysis.”
“A what?”
Craig took a sip of coffee and began explaining what failure analysis was, “Failure analysis is the study of why structures, buildings, or machines fail. Take the I-35 bridge, in Minneapolis. The construction of the bridge began in 1964 and was completed in 1967. It was a major artery that connected the east, with the central US. It collapsed in 2007, killing thirteen and injuring couple of hundred people; ninety-eight were treated at eleven hospitals. The failure was linked to the design,” Craig said pulling up a cad/cam diagram of the faulty joint. “The steel gusset plates were undersized and inadequate to handle the load. Even at the time of the bridge’s construction, it was a bridge just waiting to fail. The load increased over the years and another two inches of concrete were added to the road bed over that time. After years of heavy traffic, the bridge couldn’t handle the strain anymore and it collapsed.”
“That is interesting. Tell me, what you want out of life, Craig? What do you want to do?”
“I want to get a job as a Civil Engineer, maybe specializing in failure analysis. When structures collapse, people get hurt and there is a huge economic loss that can cost millions to billions of dollars, if you take the World Trade Centers collapse into account. Failure analysis can save lives and money in improved construction and safety. We can find and correct common mistakes, and misconceptions.”
“That is remarkable, I hadn’t thought about that being such a big area of study, but then that is where the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and the engineering boards get the people who study these things. I guess.”
They talked on the matter for about another ten minutes before Debra changed the subject. “You looked very pretty last night. How did you feel about it?”
“It was strange, Mrs. West …”
“Oh, you must call me Debra, I don’t want to think I am so old that a friend would feel it necessary to call me Mrs. West.”
“You’re not old, Debra. I think you are kinda hot. I can see where Jennifer gets her good looks.”
“Anyway, it was kinda strange. Even though I was drunk and let Melissa do what she wanted to do to keep from hurting her, it felt kinda good. I feel like I have a family again when I am with Jennifer and Melissa. I want to do whatever it takes to make them both happy and besides, I kinda liked the way I looked last night.”
“Whoa there, Craig. You said, you feel like you have a family again. What did you mean?”
Craig then went on to tell Debra how he’d lost his mother and father. He had felt really bad about losing his parents and about the pain they had caused the family his father had hurt. His father had hit another family in their car, and killed the wife and severely injured the father and son of that family. He had just buried his family, when a process server had handed him papers over a pending lawsuit. All of his parent’s assets were frozen. Luckily, Craig’s father had opened an account in Craig’s name. It had about thirty thousand in it. It was to help him at college, along with a trust fund, from his grandparents. They had thought it huge, but it was just going to be close enough, with him working to get his BSCE (Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering). The man tried to take that little life insurance policy also, but the courts ruled that it wasn’t part of his parents’ estate. It was cheaper to just give the man everything else rather than to fight the lawsuit he would eventually lose anyway.
He lost everything else, but seventy five thousand dollars from a life insurance policy and the thirty thousand from his own account. He had paid his legal fees, lived on and continued his education on what was left and a seventy thousand dollar trust fund, from his grandparents.
They both were crying, as Craig finished his story and Debra held him in a fierce hug. Craig cried on her shoulder.
“The man hated the fact that I was still alive. It didn’t matter that I lost my mom and dad. His wife was dead, his son is stuck in a wheel chair and he spent three months in a hospital. I was alive and well, and he just couldn’t stand that.”
It was about eight thirty in the morning. Craig was cried out, but Debra still held onto him. Jennifer and Melissa had seen Debra holding a crying Craig and just quietly went on with their business. Debra finally said, “Come with me Craig, let’s get you cleaned up.”
She took him to her room and handed him some cleanser, “This will take off your lipstick, and these eye drops will take out the redness from your eyes.”
“It might upset Melissa.”
“It wouldn’t hurt her, she is a big girl. They were just having fun last night, besides, the color is too bold for mornings and it really needs repair anyway. If you want to wear lipstick now, go with a lilac or a pink/red,” Debra said, looking at his skin tone. She went to her makeup kit, pulled out a couple of long wear lipsticks and set them by Craig as he washed his face and cleaned his lips. He stared at the lipsticks for a minute and then asked Debra for help. She looked closely at his face and took the lilac pink lipstick. First she brushed the color on and after it set, covered that with gloss. ‘Lilac is really a better color for Craig,’ she thought.
“Can you do my hair too?”
Debra took her curling iron out and set it to heating, then sprayed Craig’s hair to wet it a bit and blended a light gel into the hair with her fingers. She then wrapped sections of hair around the curling wand till it was dry. When she was done, she fussed with it till she liked what she saw. Instead of a handful of large curls, she gave Craig a lot of smaller strands of curls before she sprayed it to set the style.
It was one thing after another, as Craig asked about them. Debra wound up going down the whole road, till she had totally done up Craig and sprayed him with a light fragrance. He was dazzled as he looked in the mirror. Unlike the night before, today he had seen the whole transformation and was quite sober this time. From the neck up, he was quite feminine, from the neck down, he was indeterminate to somewhat masculine. When he smiled, though, he was positively radiant.
“Remember that smile, Craig; you could melt stone when you smile like that,” Debra said.
Still smiling, Debra and Craig came to the breakfast nook. Jennifer and Melissa had been quite worried. Jennifer held a tearful Melissa on her lap and was comforting the girl. Both girls looked up and were stunned by what they saw. Melissa leapt up and nearly knocked Craig over as she hugged him.
“I am so sorry Craig. I hope I didn’t hurt you last night,” Melissa said, crying onto his shoulder. As she sniffled she caught a whiff of fragrance. She stopped, wiped her eyes so she could see clearly and took a good look at Craig. “Oh my gosh, you … you … you’re beautiful.”
Craig flashed her that smile and Melissa wrapped him up back up into her hug and cried on his shoulder again. Only this time she was happy, because he had smiled at her. When she calmed down they all sat at the table.
“Craig, when Melissa and I saw you this morning, you were crying on Mom’s shoulder. What upset you?”
“Debra and I were talking. When I told her, that being around you and Melissa, I felt almost like being with a family again. She asked me to explain what I meant. As I talked about Mom and Dad, she started crying a bit and then I sort of just fell apart.”
“He just needed to let go, Jenny and once he started, he couldn’t stop till he let it all out,” Debra said.
“We were so worried about you,” Jennifer said. “Are you all right now?”
Craig nodded and said, “I asked Debra to help me look nice for Melissa. She seemed to like it when I wore makeup.”
“You don’t have to do that for me. We were drunk and were just having some fun. Don’t do anything for us unless it is something you want to do for yourself. You’ve become too important to us. Jenny is my soul mate, but we both love you too.”
“Melissa is my soul mate, but I love you too, Craig. You accept us for what we are and you don’t judge us,” Jennifer added. “I have to say though, that you look incredible.”
“Oh my gosh, look at the time,” Melissa said, looking at her watch. “If I don’t get cracking, we won’t have our Thanksgiving dinner till midnight.” She got up, kissed Debra’s and Craig’s cheeks and made a dash to her room to clean up her face. She was after all, a girly girl and according to the girly girl code they weren’t to be seen by others, unless they looked great.
Ten minutes later, she came back from the other direction, taking time to kiss all three. Then it was off to the kitchen. Four minutes later, she came out with a tray of fruit, muffins and coffee, which she set on the table before she went back into the kitchen.
Craig, Jennifer and Debra ate and drank coffee, while Melissa worked. When Craig finished, he got up and started to head towards the kitchen.
“DON’T go in there,” Jennifer said.
“Why? I was just going to see if she needed help.”
“I figured as much. Let her get things started and calm back down a bit, first. When she gets like this, it’s HER KITCHEN and wherever you are, you are in the way. Give her another half hour or so, then it will be safer to enter,” Jennifer said. “She is quite driven when she cooks and on top of that, this is a holiday meal.”
Soon the staccato sound of a French chef knife cutting, was ringing out. It almost sounded like a machine gun firing at a thousand rounds a minute. Craig looked to Jennifer, who shook her head. It wasn’t till the smell of food cooking started wafting out of the kitchen, that Jennifer nodded her head. They all stood to head in.
“One last warning, don’t try to taste anything unless she offers, and then be honest with her.”
They entered the kitchen with their dirty dishes; Jennifer took them to the sink and rinsed them off before putting them in the dishwasher. Melissa had about a dozen things going at the same time. It seemed like she knew just where she had to be to do the next thing. Craig started to take a close look around. This was one great kitchen. There was a lot of work space, separate stove tops and ovens, the large double door refrigerator was conveniently placed, and there was a lot of food storage.
Melissa smiled at her guests. When Craig got a little too close to the stove, where there were a lot of pots boiling, she said, “Oh, please Craig, don’t stand so close to the stove. All that steam rising will just wilt your pretty hair and just ruin your makeup. I know you are all here to help, but I think I got a handle on things. Please, just enjoy yourselves. Go catch the parades.”
Being politely dismissed, they headed out.
“Do you have a TV?” Craig asked
Debra just started giggling, Jennifer smiled, and said. “We didn’t give you the big tour yesterday. Yes, we have a small TV.” She gave him a grand tour of the homestead, ending at their home theater. There were four couches in a large room. There was a 70-inch LCD HD TV and a 500 watt home theater system. There were four speakers in the corners, two sub woofers and a separate tweeter. “Just take a seat on that couch.” Jennifer said, as she fired the system up. The whole room was full of sound as the TV screen lit up. Jennifer brought the remote to the couch and sandwiched Craig between herself and her Mom. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was well under way, but Anita had set the TVO, at Jennifer’s request. She used the TVO and caught the pre-parade show.
“Whoa, Wow, this would be a wonderful place to watch Star Wars, or Harry Potter,” Craig said.
“You have no Idea.” Jennifer said.
The parade was just over three hours. They were all wowed by the spectacle and glamour, which ended with good ole Santa on his sleigh.
It was nearly three, when the digital recording of the parade ended. A very dressed up Melissa stuck her head around the door and said, “Dinner will be ready in about an hour. Ya’ll need to get dressed up.”
Everyone headed back to their room, to get dressed. Craig was startled to see his suit laid out for him, but next to the dress shirt, was also a pink, long sleeve, chiffon blouse and next to one of his ties, was a wide satin ribbon. Melissa had to have set these things out. It looked like she was giving him a choice. He undressed, but didn’t take his eyes off the blouse and ribbon.
In the bathroom, he cleaned up with a bath cloth; he didn’t want to mess up his face. He didn’t know why, but he wanted this, but at least for right now. He put his pants on before he picked up the blouse. It felt wonderful as he pulled the blouse up his arms and up against his back and chest. The silk blend dress shirts Jennifer had bought him had been amazing, but the feel of this blouse was miles beyond. Craig also noticed the blouse buttoned up differently; it buttoned up right over left, instead of left over right. He picked up the, figuring he would tie it like a bow tie, just like tying his shoe laces. He worked slowly so as not to wrinkle the bow and to get used to tying a bow at his neck. It took a couple of tries till he got it looking right, pulled it tight, and fussed with it a bit.
With his coat on, the only ambiguity he saw was his flat chest. Otherwise, he could have been a girl with a pant suit on. He went to Jennifer and Melissa’s room and lightly knocked.
“Come on in,” Jennifer said.
Craig opened the door and went in. Jennifer was sitting on the bed in her slip and was rolling a pair of stockings up her leg. “Sorry,” he said, and he started to leave.
“No, stay Craig. Come, sit by me,” she said, as she rolled up the other stocking. “You look so cute.”
“Thank you, Jennifer,” Craig said, as he sat next to her.
She rolled the other stocking up. “These are stay up stockings, Craig. A girl doesn’t need a garter belt with them.”
“Melissa and I are both femmes, who like femmes that means, we like girls who really dress extra feminine, Melissa more so than me. I dress up for her whenever she needs me too.”
“Is that why she wanted me to be so dressy?”
“Yes, girls put in a lot of work when they choose to dress up nicely,” she said, as she stood and stepped into her dress. “Guys have it lucky, in ten minutes they can go from grungy underwear, to looking like a million dollars. Girls can dress in a hurry in fifteen to twenty minutes, but to look their best can take forty-five minutes to an hour or two, depending on the occasion.” She stepped into a pair of heels. “Can I redo your makeup, or do you want me to take it off, or what?”
“Sure, redo it, please,” Craig said. He sat in front of the vanity.
Jennifer cleaned off his face and began to add makeup. “Melissa is afraid of brutish type males. That is another reason she wanted you to dress nicely. Men in two thousand dollar suits tend to act better. Once she got to know you, it didn’t matter, except Melissa still wanted both of us to look nice. By the time we started to go to the Opera and symphony, she was pretty comfortable with you.”
Jennifer smiled at Craig. “I owe you a lot. It was hard to get her in the mindset to go back to college, much less go out and socialize.”
“She wasn’t attacked was she?”
“Not physically anyway. Rejection by her parents and being verbally harangued by macho, homophobic males made her want to hide after we came out to the world. You doing what you are doing right now will really help her.”
“Was it bad, when you came out?”
“Very bad! Some of the very co-workers that liked her and her work ethic, called her some very hateful names. Some lesbians will only hang out with other lesbians nowadays. That is fine for her, but a lot of my business is done in social settings and I am not ashamed of what I am, or of Melissa.”
“There, what do you think?” Jennifer asked, spritzing Craig with a perfume.
Craig looked in the mirror. Jennifer gave him a more dramatic, yet classy look. He found things he liked with all the looks he had worn. “You are a master artist, Jennifer. I can’t say more than that.”
“Scoot over, Craig. I need to do my face now,” Jennifer said. “Over the time we have known you; we have both grown to love you. It was a tremendous step for Melissa, when she asked me to invite you here. Melissa has this thing she likes to do. The first time she saw you, she fantasized about what you would look all made up. I will show you all the drawings she made of you dressed as a girl and all made up. She is quite an artist, too.”
Craig didn’t know what to make out of all that. Had he been maneuvered into this arrangement? Did he even care? He gave a safe answer, “I get that all the time because of my looks.”
“I will agree that your looks are a large part of it, but you have a soft side that comes out. I would bet that that is at the root of that conundrum. You don’t act Macho, you care for people, you don’t mind others being in charge, you are sensitive and you have a soft sexy voice, except when you hollered beer run. My ears are still ringing from that.” Jennifer laughed. “There are so many areas of your life, Craig, that just shout feminine. You are also a little submissive. You need to be careful with that. There are people who will take advantage of you and abuse you if you are too submissive.”
“I wasn’t that way till after my parents died. There were a lot of people who were telling me what I had to do. They would get mad at me if I resisted. My lawyers didn’t want me to give up on the suit against my parent’s estate away. I read the law though and although the plaintiffs couldn’t really go after me; my own attorney could, to pay his fees. I might not have lost as much by continuing to fight, but my lawyer would have gotten a lot more money than I would have. As it was, the judge did what he could for me.”
“That explains a bunch of things. You also didn’t have good representation. I will teach you how to stand up for yourself without doing wrong to others. Let’s go show the world a thing or two, shall we?”
It wasn’t till Craig stood in front of Jennifer, that he realized how nice she looked right now, “You look wonderful, Jennifer.”
“Why thank you, Craig, you look rather nice yourself.”
>>>>><<<<<
A wonderful spread was laid out for their Thanksgiving. Melissa had taken some time to fix herself up a bit and looked wonderful. There was no doubt she was the girliest person there. Debra called them together before they began loading their plates.
“One thing I have always done at the thanksgiving table, is to have everyone share something that they are thankful for. I will start. I am thankful that I have a wonderful daughter, who has an exceptional soul mate. I am thankful that we are all healthy and care for each other …”
Jennifer then went next, “I am thankful that I have Melissa. Mom, I can’t say enough about what you mean to me, you have been my rock. Thank you Craig, for coming into our lives.”
Melissa then took her turn, “I am thankful that Jennifer saved me, I am thankful that Debra adopted me and I am thankful we found a friend in Craig.”
‘My turn,’ Craig thought. He hadn’t thought of anything to be particularly thankful for before this day, but he gave it a shot. “I am thankful for Jennifer and Melissa, my friends. I am thankful for Debra, who listened to me when I needed someone just to talk to. I am thankful that we are all here together, sharing and caring for each other.”
They began to load their plates. There were the classic holiday essentials; turkey and dressing, of course, giblet gravy, candied yams, cranberry sauce, string bean casserole, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and pecan pie, along with some different dishes, pumpkin cheese cake, asparagus with hollandaise, and three bean salad. There were several bottles of Joseph Drouhin Clos des Mouches Premier Cru Blanc 1997 in buckets of ice at opposite corners of the table. They all drank at a much more sedate pace today.
After Craig took a bite of each dish, he had become addicted to the good food and just wanted to dive right in, but the girls all wanted to talk as they ate. He took smaller bites so he could respond in a timely manner. He should have just taped last night’s talk with Anita. Debra wanted to know the same things, although the girls were more open and forthcoming with Debra, therefore Craig followed suit. Debra laughed and almost spewed her wine out of her nose when Melissa described how Craig had gotten help to move the girls in. Eating slower had one benefit he didn’t need. He seemed to fill up with less food. He was comfortably full, instead of stuffed, well, like a turkey.
They all helped clean up and then took dessert in the theater. Debra, it seemed, was a Texas Aggie Fan, while Jennifer rooted for Texas. Craig took neutral ground, saying he was a TCU Fan. He even did a cheer for them.
‘TCU … TCU … the school where the girls are girls and the boys are too.’
He cracked them all up with that one. Actually, TCU was having a very good year.
Craig was surprised to see just how much Jennifer and her Mom knew about football. Debra knew most of the players on the Aggies side, and who were the players to watch for. Jennifer couldn’t match her blow for blow, but she knew more of UT’s team than he did of TCU’s team. He was lucky his team wasn’t playing today.
Melissa just cuddled with Jennifer, more than even Craig had seen before. He then realized that she was more comfortable here at this house. He just watched the two of them, using his peripheral vision. He smiled and shed a tear. This was the first thanksgiving that he actually was with other people since his parents passed. Debra saw the tear and the smile. It wasn’t a fake smile, or a smile that was used as a shield by a hurting person, so she just smiled and let it pass.
>>>>><<<<<
After the game, everyone migrated to bed. Craig took a shower, which washed away almost everything except for traces of the lipstick. Craig didn’t know how to clean it all off, so he just slept with it. Friday morning, Craig was the most Craig he had been since he got there, almost. He awoke early again and got dressed, and took his laptop to study, but this time he started the coffee and sat at the breakfast table in the kitchen.
The others weren’t too far behind him. They all came out already dressed. Melissa came out all looking as lovely as usual. Debra and Jennifer were just a few steps behind Melissa. Craig felt a little out of place in his jeans and polo shirt.
For breakfast, they had turkey omelets. That was something new for Craig, but very delicious. They were made with black and green olives, bell pepper, caramelized onions and mozzarella cheese. Melissa then made everyone a fancy cup of coffee. He had seen it the previous day, but hadn’t realized that they had a medium sized restaurant Espresso machine. He really loved the mocha latte Melissa made for him. The cup was about three or four times larger than a standard coffee cup.
They all sat around the table and talked about the parade, the football game, and a hundred other things. Before Craig had met the girls, mealtime had rarely lasted more than fifteen to twenty minutes, but when he was with the girls, it seemed rare that it would last less than forty-five minutes to an hour. Their dress up meals would last an hour and a half to two hours. Craig realized that they used this time to reconnect and socialize. It was like this was as necessary to them as the food itself was.
He mentioned this to them and then began to talk about what getting together at mealtime meant to them. Craig was right in many aspects of what he thought. The women agreed that they felt a need to reconnect at times. The socializing they did at times like these helped to renew the bonds they felt with each other. On top of that, Debra put in, girls are just plain nosey, they liked to know what was going on.
Lastly, they asked, “Don’t the meals taste better and don’t you enjoy it more, when you take your time and have pleasant conversation with people you like?”
Craig sat back in his chair and thought about that for about a minute. The girls knew he was thinking, so they just smiled expectantly and patiently waited, “You know, in the three years I have been on my own, till I met you two, Jennifer and Melissa; I was lonely and didn’t realize it. I filled my time with my studies and my work on campus. Life wasn’t bad for me, but neither was it very fulfilling. Yes, I would have to say, that dressing up, sitting down to a good meal and conversation, has been really enjoyable for me.”
Jennifer looked to Melissa and Debra. They each gave her a little nod. Then she smiled broadly and looked at him, “Craig, Mom is going home tomorrow and we have something important to discuss with you.”
Craig was dumbfounded, he didn’t have any clue about what they might have to discuss with him. Everyone’s smiles told him, that it wasn’t bad at least.
“We had many reasons for moving to Arlington and going back to college. Yes, we wanted to get our degrees, and yes, I wanted Melissa to be able to socialize with males without fear, but there is another reason...”
Craig began to notice that Jennifer was getting a little more squeamish as she talked, or maybe it was embarrassment. He wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t about to make this harder for her.
“Melissa, amongst her other course work, is studying child development … Oh heck … Melissa wants to be a mother … and at some point, so do I.”
“So, you two want me to be a sperm donor,” Craig said, smiling. “I can do that for you easily. Just tell me where and when to go.”
“Yes, we want you to be a sperm donor, but not in the clinical way … but … more in the natural way.”
Now it was Craig’s turn to be embarrassed, “I guess I can do that too … I ah … just don’t want to hurt either of you though.”
Melissa smiled at Craig, and then began, “We don’t want you to just be a sperm donor and then just disappear from our lives. We want more from you; we hope that you will become a part of our family. We want you to live with us, to have fun with us, to love with us, and help us raise our sons and or daughters, as an equal partner.”
“Don’t answer yet Craig, there is one more thing and it might be a deal breaker for you,” Jennifer said, now looking more seriously. “We don’t even want an answer from you till Christmas break. We want you to understand the ramifications and to think it over.”
“You want me to live with you as a girl, don’t you?”
Jennifer and Melissa were shocked and speechless; Debra just patted his hand and smiled. “Yes, that is what my two girls wanted to ask you. They called me and told me about you back in October.”
“We don’t want to hurt you and we still want to be your friend, but yes, that is our requirement. We would want you to live with us, living as a woman twenty-four/seven. We aren’t looking for a slave, or servant, but a partner. You would be able to do what you want, when you want, but … it would be easier on Melissa and me if you lived with us as a woman.”
Craig, now had a lot more to think about. He really did love these women and he didn’t mind helping them have children. They had demonstrated that they could make him look very feminine. If they wanted him to father children the natural way, then they wouldn’t want him to go all the way in becoming a woman. He had in fact, enjoyed their games of yesterday. He couldn’t believe just how pretty he looked. He didn’t have anybody to wonder about his disappearance.
To the women there, he didn’t look angry or repulsed; he just looked thoughtful. That gave them hope, at least a little hope.
“Okay, I will think hard on this … When is the last day of finals?”
Jennifer pulled out her cell phone and checked her calendar. “The last final is on the sixteenth, and the first day of class in January is the fourteenth.”
“Okay, I will give you my decision on the fifteenth of December, would that be acceptable? My first concern is, could I pass; I think that is what it is called, as a girl, no make that a woman. I guess a girl becomes, or is a woman, at about twenty. If I am to live this way every day, all day long, I would have to be able to pass; I know my face can be made acceptable, but there is the rest of the body, voice, mannerisms, and … I don’t know?”
Melissa smiled, “While I am not an expert, I would say that you would make a lovely woman. The looks are the easy part; forgive me for saying this, at least with you. The rest can be learned.”
Craig felt in his heart that Melissa was telling the truth. “Nothing to forgive, I asked, you answered,” he hesitated a moment and then said, “Now, show me.”
Melissa almost leapt across the table to hug him. Really, she just ran around the table quickly.
“This is going to be so much fun.”
Girl school began immediately. Craig found himself dragged back to Jennifer and Melissa’ room and stripped of clothes. The three women inspected him closely.
“Not much hair, is there?” Debra asked.
“My only hairy problem is my brows. I have to pluck them, or I would have one big hairy unibrow, I don’t have much of a beard, or sideburns.”
“I noticed that your brows looked plucked, you should use a moisturizer after plucking. I had wondered about that. We won’t touch your brows today so Craig can go back to school,” Jennifer said. “Still, the rest of your hair must go.”
They first shaved his armpits and then rubbed a depilatory on his body from the neck down. He noticed that they had an ample supply of depilatory. He was told to stand there with his arms held out.
“Should ya’ll be doing that, dressed like you are? You are going to ruin your dresses.”
“We’ll change while you stand there like that.”
The girls left. Melissa came back in, wearing just a dark blue UTA T-shirt tied just under her breasts, no bra and a teal string bikini bottom. Jennifer came back in, in a pair of orange hot pants, and get this, an honest to god, Hello Kitty T-shirt. Debra came back in wearing an orange, yellow and gold halter-top string bikini set.
Jennifer started to fill the bathtub after dumping in some bath salts, while Melissa pushed Craig into the shower after setting the temperature right. She followed him in and began wiping him down carefully, with a really soft bath cloth.
“Do you shave often?” Melissa asked.
“Only once or twice a week, one of my grandfathers was half American Indian. He never really shaved at all. I get a few whiskers now and then.”
“Good, then that won’t be a big problem. Now get out of the shower and relax in the tub for a while.”
Craig slid into the warm aromatic tub of water. He hadn’t taken a bath in years and when he did, the tubs were half, or one fourth, the size of this monster sized tub. ‘The other three girls could get in here too’, he thought. ‘He shook his head. Did he just think about the other girls? Did he just think of himself as a girl now?’, he thought.
After twenty minutes, Melissa came in and washed his hair twice, conditioned it for ten minutes, then drained the tub. Jennifer joined her, and they patted him dry, applied moisturizer and powder. Jennifer wrapped his hair in a turban and led him to the bedroom.
“Lie down on the bed, Craig,” Debra said.
He lay down on the left side of the bed. Debra took an alcohol pad and wiped down the chest area twice, then sprayed his chest with something. After a few minutes, she carefully placed first, one and then a second latex covered blobs of silicone on his chest. Craig realized that the blobs look just like breasts.
“Where did ya’ll get the fake … ah?”
“Breast forms. They were originally intended for women who have had radical mastectomies, after breast cancer,” Debra said. “Now they have been a big boon to the transgendered, who want to look feminine and haven’t grown their own, or haven’t had implants. Just hold them in place for a few minutes. Oh, and don’t worry, they are fairly easy to remove with the solvent.”
The girls had Craig stand, Jennifer then took a measuring tape to the boy, “Your measurements are now 37-28-33. We may have been a little enthusiastic on the breast forms. With your measurements, 32 below your bust, 37 at your bust, and 33 above your bust, we put you at a 36D. We can get you smaller breast forms later if you like, but this size is an advantage,” Jennifer told him.
Then she wrapped a corset around his waist, “You were 5’ 4”, 115 lbs., 32-28-33; we added five inches to your bust and need to add two inches to your hips and butt using a padded brief. A girl your weight and height, might be 34-24-36. Your current measurements are a good compromise if we can take off a couple of inches off your waist,” she said, beginning to tighten the corset.
“With a padded brief we will put you in, you will be 37-25-35, which would be a good compromise, though not perfect. To get a real nice hourglass shape, we would have to add even more inches to your hips, to maybe 38 to 39 inches, but that is harder than adding inches to your bust. Luckily, girls in real life come in all shapes.”
Jennifer took two inches off Craig’s waist. “You had a rectangle shape like most males. It would be hard for you to look feminine as a rectangle. Girls with rectangular figures are often mistaken as boys, just like you were mistaken as a girl. You will be a mix between an hourglass figure and a strawberry. Be glad that you aren’t a pear, or an apple.”
“Now, we will add garters to the corset for your stockings. We do this before we put on our panties, so the garter straps will be under your panties. It makes things easier when we go to the bathroom.” Then they showed Craig how to roll stockings up his leg. “If you accept our request, stockings will be better for you. Your testes will be hot enough with the panties and padded briefs. Adding another layer with pantyhose could temporarily affect your ability to father children. When we are ready to try to get pregnant, we will get you to wear fuller skirts and tap dance panties, so your testes will be cooler.”
“You really have researched this, haven’t you,” Craig said.
“I really am desperate to have a baby,” Melissa said. “We just want a male who can live with us and not make us … no … make that me, uncomfortable by their presence. It is my problem Craig, not Jennifer’s.”
“How hard was it to have me over?” Craig asked.
“Very hard, at first. Then not so hard, but I don’t know about having the boy Craig living with me. That is why I hit you with the makeup Wednesday. It made things easier for me.”
Craig slipped on the panties and the padded brief. He had to sit because he couldn’t bend easy. Jennifer talked him through hiding his testes and his penis, and then he pulled everything up tight.
When he stood, he looked like a woman in her dainties. Debra took him to a full-length mirror, so he could see. Even without makeup, and with his hair in a turban, there was no doubt that that the image was one hundred percent female, except it wasn’t.
Jennifer sat him down at the vanity, quickly rolled his hair and began doing makeup. Craig could see Melissa smiling warmly. He loved to see her smile; when Melissa smiled, the world was right.
Jennifer was very good at makeup. It took her just over ten minutes to complete the makeup and another ten minutes unrolling, combing out, and spraying his hair.
Next, Craig was dressed in a short sleeved, gathered scoop neck, blue green print, silk chiffon blouse and a black, just above knee length, straight, silk lined, wool skirt. Melissa put a silver locket on a chain around his throat, a silver watch on his left wrist, some silver bangles on his right wrist and a couple of silver rings on his fingers.
“Do you want to wear flats or kitten heels that have a two inch heel,” Melissa asked.
“What would a real girl wear with this outfit?” Craig asked.
“Probably a three or four inch heel, would look best.”
“Do you have a three inch heel which goes with this outfit?” Craig asked.
“We didn’t plan to do this now Craig, but we are prepared. Yes, we have a three inch heel for that outfit.” Jennifer opened a suitcase and pulled out a pair of black suede open toed pumps with a sterling silver bow on the vamp. She helped him put the shoes on and then helped him stand.
He was now taller than Melissa with her bare feet. He could hear Jennifer and Melissa’s voices catch, as he stood on his own. He carefully tried to walk to the mirror. He was a little ungainly, but didn’t fall on his face. He thought he knew what he would see and to some extent he was right. He saw a girl that was every bit as lovely as Melissa. He couldn’t help himself; he turned left and right, actually swishing the skirt. The clothes looked marvelous to him, and he couldn’t describe how wonderful they felt.
“We can’t call you Craig when you look like this. Is there a name you like?” Debra asked.
“I don’t know … my Mom’s name was Renee Annette Lawson, and she was a Jennings before that. How about, Renee Annette Jennings? In memory of my Mom.”
“Renee, I think that she would be proud of you,” Debra said. “Just sit here prettily, Renee. Let us get redressed for you. Smooth your skirt forward as you sit, dear.”
Renee/Craig walked gingerly to the bed and swept her skirt forward, as her rump went down. Debra left to go to her room to get dressed. Renee/Craig was surprised when Melissa and Jennifer took off what they were wearing and began to dress, right in front of him/her. Renee/Craig thought that the girls looked incredible. This was the first time that she/he had seen them so skimpily dressed. She just smiled as her friends dressed. It wasn’t lust, but rather, it was fascination. Although Renee had allowed herself to be beautified and dressed, she had never seen a real girl dress from skin out. Jennifer and Melissa were just totally comfortable being seen naked in front of Renee.
While the girls dressed, they heard the grandfather clock. There were the musical tones before the gong struck; Renee just counted eleven strikes. The girls seemed to enjoy having company while they did themselves up at least as well as they had done Renee up. Debra came in dressed in her Versace skirted suit, before the girls finished. Melissa worked especially hard to dress as femininely as she could.
The girls finished dressing, doing their hair and makeup, Debra was office power, Jennifer was sophisticated Chic, and Melissa was super feminine. Renee, at the moment, would fall between Jennifer and Melissa. They helped their new sister up and headed to the living room, giving her pointers along the way.
Debra and Jennifer sat down on the couch while Melissa gave Renee walking lessons. She had brought the flats and the kitten heels with her and had Renee change footwear often. Renee liked the three-inch heels and the flats. The flats were comfortable, but she thought the heels were sexier. The only talk had been just some directions, some corrections, or comments to help make Renee more believable. After an hour, she was allowed to sit. The grandfather clock had just struck the half hour, after twelve.
“Ya’ll hungry?” Melissa asked.
“A little, but I don’t think I will be able to each much in this corset,” Renee said. The others said that they were a little hungry too.
“I’ll make a tray of turkey salad finger sandwiches, and some other leftovers. Be right back.”
Jennifer and Debra talked with Renee and coached her on her voice. Craig’s voice wasn’t a bad pitch for a girl, but the tone, inflection, vocabulary, and her non-verbal communication, needed to change a bit. They told her that she needed to be more animated as she talked, too. Girls in some ways talked with their whole bodies, and often in a singsong manner, as compared to a male’s monotone.
“Do I have to act air-headed now?” Renee asked.
“Really, it isn’t the male who is in their right mind, it is the female.” Debra chuckled.
Renee licked her finger and drew an imaginary mark, “That is one for the females, I guess.”
“That is an important point there, Renee,” Debra said. “Males are more linear, logical, literal, and analytical about things, and those are left brain traits. Females are more creative, intuitive, and emotional, and that is right your brain traits coming through.”
“Just a minute,” Renee said. She left and got her laptop. After she logged onto the Internet she did a search on right brain vs. left brain. She showed the girls her results. She even found a few left/right brain tests. She was taking one when Melissa came in with the food trays. Renee found that she was 60/40 right brained. Jennifer took one while they ate and found that she was fifty-five/forty-five left brained. Melissa then took the test and found that she was 66/34 right brained.
They had a good laugh, as they explained to Melissa what the tests were about and why they took them. Melissa insisted that Debra take the test too. She was fifty-two to forty-eight right brained.
The rest of the afternoon they just talked about Craig and Renee.
Craig said in many ways he liked being Renee. He liked the clothes, and the process of becoming pretty was, for the most part, fun.
“I like everything but the spandex brief and the corset, I accept that they are necessary though. I like and hate the heels though, too.”
“Welcome to womanhood. You will find those sentiments quite widespread,” Debra said.
“So, what do you think about what’s happened to you? Love it, hate it, or what?” Melissa asked.
“I don’t hate it. I have found it interesting and I do like looking pretty. I guess I am strange, does liking this make me a pervert?”
“No more than me liking pretty and sexy girls makes me a pervert, Renee,” Melissa said. “At least that is the way I see it. People should be allowed to dress and be how they feel they should be, as long as they don’t intentionally hurt other people.”
“I don’t think you are a pervert either, Renee,” Debra said. “You aren’t doing this to get in other people’s panties. … you have your own,” the older woman giggled. “Really though, I think you are a sweet, sensitive person.”
“I like you as Craig, or Renee, but Renee can be more fun, and I am not talking about sex. As Renee, you aren’t bound by any masculine ideal. You can be freer to express yourself and do things a guy would never do.” Jennifer said.
“Like?”
“More guys don’t like Opera or Ballet, more girls do. Did you like the opera we went too?”
“Yes I did, but there were a lot of men there too.”
“Though there are men who like that type of thing, I guarantee that two thirds were there because of their SO’s (significant others). Women though, have fun getting ready, by looking spectacular, going out to eat, and enjoying the spectacle. Most men hate the monkey suits, would rather have burgers and fries, and just tolerate the show, although most men do like to look at the well-dressed women. Most women like to be around good looking women too,” Jennifer said. “So I take it that you don’t hate us for doing this?”
“No, but I see that I have a lot to think about. I will seriously consider your proposal and then give you an answer. Between now and then, will you two help me do this?” Renee indicated the way she was dressed. “And maybe teach me to do it, too?”
“Of course, we would be happy too,” Melissa said.
“One other question, if I do this how will I go back to college?”
“I can answer that,” Debra said. “This is just my suggestion. Finish out your junior year at UTA. Then, over the summer you could begin your transition, so to speak, to being feminine twenty-four/seven. We will file legal documents, which state you are in transition as a transgendered student. Do a legal name change, and you can start back next fall as Renee. The University has a legal policy against discrimination aimed at LGBT students. They will also do what is necessary to assist the student as far as changing names on the records so the student can receive credit for work the student has accomplished. It will require that a Licensed Clinical Psychologist evaluate the person and confirm a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.”
“I don’t know a Licensed Clinical Psychologist.”
“I beg your pardon, after all the time you have been with me, you deny my existence?” Debra said, feigning distress.
Jennifer was drinking ice tea at that moment and nearly blew some out of her nose, when she saw her mom’s performance.
“Let me guess?” Renee asked. “You are a Licensed Clinical Psychologist.”
“Been there, done that, wrote the book, $39.95 through Random House Publications.”
“You’re not kidding, are you?”
“Nope, ‘Clinical Psychology Practices’ by Dr. Debra West PhD. ,” Debra said. “I am both a Clinical and a Research Psychologist.”
“And you don’t think I am strange?”
“Strange can be good, normal is overrated.”
>>>>><<<<<
An hour later, all four of them were together on one couch, in the home theater. They watched the movie ‘Avatar’. It was awesome on the system they had. It almost felt and sounded like they were really there.
Renee was nestled between Melissa and Jennifer, with Debra next to her daughter.
“Oh, wow, the colors are so vibrant, and the sound makes me feel like I am in the middle of everything,” Renee said.
“It is great, isn’t it?” Melissa said. “When we come back here during Christmas, you are invited, no matter what you decide, we can watch all of the Harry Potter movies. I just love Hermione. She is definitely the brains of the trio.”
“Yeah, and it was so good seeing her grow from child to a woman, too,” Jennifer said. “But even I have to admit that Harry was the hero.”
They headed to bed at around eleven. Renee headed into her room. She got the blouse and skirt off, but was stuck on how to get the corset off. It was a problem, till there was a knock at her door. It was Jennifer, who came in dressed in a baby doll, with a baby doll and some other things. She unlaced Renee and helped her out of the corset. Renee took off the padded brief, the shoes and stockings before slipping into the baby doll. Then she removed her makeup with Jennifer’s assistance. Jennifer then rolled Renee’s hair up and covered it with a bonnet.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday, Renee got up early, put the padded brief on, a pair of running shorts, shoes, and a T-shirt she tied under her breasts, the way she had seen Melissa do the day before. Then she went to the study with her laptop.
Melissa was up next. “Hello, sweetie, you sure are an early riser.”
“Always have been. So what are you up to.”
“Making a special breakfast for Debra, who is leaving about noon.”
“She is special, isn’t she?”
“Yes she is, I only wish my own mom and dad would have loved me like she does.”
Renee and Melissa moved into the kitchen, where Renee sat at the table with her laptop while Melissa worked. She made Eggs Benedict, with fruit bowls, and lattes for everyone. Jennifer and Debra came in as Melissa served Renee.
“Good morning, Mom, please have a seat. Let me serve you breakfast,” Melissa said, giving Debra a kiss.
Melissa then served Debra and Jennifer, before serving herself.
“I am so going to miss you, Mom,” Melissa said.
“Me too, Mom.”
“Nonsense girls, we will see each other at Christmas.”
“So, when are you going to leave?” Jennifer asked.
“I will leave after brunch. I just want to have a sit down with Renee. If I am going to sign-off on her transition, I really should talk with her.”
“But I am not going all the way.” Renee said.
“We hope not, but I still want to help you, regardless of what the outcome is.”
>>>>><<<<<
After they ate, Debra spent an hour talking to Renee/Craig. They talked some more about his family, about sex, and about what could happen with Renee professionally, if she went through with the girls’ basic plans. She gave him a list of things she wanted him to think about. She promised that she would call him in a week and they would have another long talk.
Craig hadn’t thought about what could happen if Craig became Renee, at least on the surface. Engineers were a big group of men, who, for the most part, were a lot of good ole boys’. There were more and more female engineers out there, but still, they had a long row to hoe. He looked at the list for a few minutes and then folded it up. Renee didn’t have any pockets, so she just put it in her T-shirt, next to her breast.
Debra spent about another hour with the girls, talking. Jennifer and Melissa had so much to talk about, Renee/Craig just let them talk. They ate a light meal of turkey and left over side dishes.
Debra got her suitcases and stuff and left after hugging and kissing everyone.
>>>>><<<<<
Once back inside, Jennifer and Melissa talked Renee into dressing up again. They took her back to their own room. Renee was back in the corset and stockings, followed by panties and padded brief. Jennifer did her makeup slowly, showing her how things were done. Jennifer then worked on Renee’s hair, giving her a feminine bun before she dressed in her black heels, Jennifer’s white blouse, and Melissa’s tight black mini-skirt.
“Would you like some more clothes, so you can practice dressing back in Arlington?” Jennifer asked.
“I think that that would be nice,” Renee said.
“Do you feel like going out? We will have to go to Waco; Hillsboro is a bust on clothing stores. Nobody will recognize you. You look good as any woman,” Jennifer said.
“You mean, me go out dressed as Renee? I couldn’t, I’m not good enough!”
“Yes you are. Just stick with us and do what we do. So what if they see you for a boy. I doubt if they will, but we won’t let you get hurt,” Melissa said.
The girls watched Renee think. They could almost read her mind by watching her facial expression, but after a minute or two, Renee/Craig said, “Yes, okay. Let’s do it before I change my mind.”
Jennifer made up a purse for Renee. She just had to get one of her spare purses and put Craig’s wallet, a compact, and lipstick in it. It didn’t take Jennifer and Melissa long to get ready. Renee was given a shearling lined bomber jacket. It was warm and felt really nice. She noticed the Ralph Lauren logo. As they climbed into the Jag, Renee was given lessons on how to enter and exit a vehicle. Then they were off to Waco.
From their place, it was a forty-eight minute drive to Waco, where they hit a mall with some nicer women’s fashion stores. Renee was a little nervous about getting out of the car, but being with real friends helped a lot. Jennifer and Melissa flanked her, and arm in arm, they entered the mall like Athos, Porthos and Aramis.
The first place they came to was a kiosk that had earrings. “How do you feel about getting your ears pierced? It is not unheard of for a girl not to have pierced ears, but it is unusual. The better earrings are all for pierced ears.”
“I guess I could wear studs, I see a few guys on campus that wear earrings.”
The girls bought three pair of studs and Renee got her ears pierced free, one simple gold ball stud in each ear.
Jennifer told him, “Some girls get an ear full off piercings, but you need to be more conservative if you are going into engineering.”
They headed to Nordstrom’s department store. “We will pick out two or three sets of clothes, which you can mix or match with.” Jennifer said.
They selected half a dozen tops, four skirts, and two pairs of slacks, then headed into the dressing room with Renee. Melissa went into the booth with Renee to help her change. With each change, they showed the outfits to Jennifer. Jennifer had selected several jackets and blazers which she thought went well with all the things. Jennifer was the judge of what looked good, but Renee was asked if she concurred with Jennifer. Two skirts were feminine, short and flirty. The slacks and the other skirts were more businesslike. The tops were a wide range of styles, yet all the tops went well with everything else.
Renee also tried on an Armani silk caddy suit, in red. They had to use two different suits to fit her. The jacket came from the larger suit, and the skirt from the smaller one. The skirt was knee length and looked fabulous, but when coupled with a white blouse and the red jacket, Renee looked very much the business professional. Standing straight, with her hands held gracefully at her side, she exuded power. The sales lady checked the fit. The skirt fit her waist nicely, but was an inch or so too wide at the hip. However, it didn’t look too bad. The jacket fit at the shoulders and bust, but the sleeves were a bit long, and it was two or three inches too large at the waist.
Jennifer stopped at the jewelry counter and just had to buy a rainbow pendant/brooch in diamond, ruby, emerald and yellow and blue sapphire.
Jennifer purchased three skirts, two slacks, six tops, and two blazers. They then purchased five pairs of shoes. Each pair of shoes went well with several of the outfits. There were three heels and two flats. At the last minute, Jennifer had her try on and buy a pair of red pumps. Renee wondered why Jennifer wanted her to have the red pumps, with the four inch heel. They also bought two purses and a wallet, at the shoe shop.
In the lingerie dept. Renee was outfitted with eight bras, a dozen panties, two padded briefs, a dozen stockings, two more corsets, several camisoles, three half-slips in white, red, and black, two robes, satin and terry cloth, and a couple of sleep sets. She had to try on every bra, which meant she had to come out of the corset. Jennifer helped her. There were four white bras, underwired, two lace bras, a smooth T-shirt bra, one in satin, a red bra, a black bra, a mint green bra, and a blue bra. Then they selected panties that matched the bras. Renee was a little skittish at first, but Jennifer’s calm assertiveness and composure helped her relax. The corset she had worn here was all white, and had come from a bridal shop. The two she tried on today, fit and felt better, and were really quite spectacular in appearance. She wore the teal, green, and blue explosion out of the store. It was trimmed in black lace. When she was tightened down in it, she was fairly comfortable at twenty five inches. She had to wear a camisole over it, as it could easily be seen through her blouse. The other corset was a burgundy corset with black lace trim.
“All of this is just two or three outfits?” Renee asked, as they took the clothes to the car.
“Well, maybe one week’s worth. We didn’t get you any sportswear. Besides, shopping is so much fun we sometimes get carried away,” Melissa said.
“We are not finished yet, Renee. You need your own makeup now. We will teach you how to use it.”
“Where am I going to keep all of this stuff?”
“You can use our second bedroom. We set it up for Mom. She won’t mind you using it,” Jennifer said. “You can come over as much as you like. I even have a key for you.”
“Okay.”
They first stopped to eat. Renee stopped at the Gyro counter and selected a Lamb gyro. Jennifer and Melissa stopped at the Magic Wok counter and selected a beef stir fry dish. As they ate they watched the other shoppers. Two days after Thanksgiving, the mall was crowded with shoppers. Jennifer and Melissa gave Renee their impressions of the various shoppers. Some of the shoppers looked like they had been in battle and others were preparing to join the fray. Renee was surprised to see that she was the last to finish eating and that they had been there over forty minutes.
Jennifer led them to the ladies room. Renee wanted to say that she could wait till they got back, but she really needed to go. Melissa comforted her and whispered in her ear. Being as the mall was full, so were the restrooms. Though this mall was better than some and had more stalls for the women, they still had to wait in line. Renee’s nervousness exacerbated her need to go. She finally got her chance and sat on the toilet after pulling her skirt up and underthings down. After she finished, she came out of the stall and washed her hands, before checking her lipstick and powdering her face like the other women there.
From there they went to a couple of cosmetic stores. Renee had her foundation, concealer and pressed powder professionally matched. They then set about collecting all the various things a woman needs, eye shadows, eye liners, blushes, lipsticks, glosses, nail polishes, makeup removers, cleansers and toners. They put everything into an aluminum makeup case, which had wheels and a telescoping handle. The case looked like a wheeled aluminum carryon bag.
Lastly, they hit a salon store and picked up several bottle of shampoos, conditioners, blow dryer, curling iron, barrettes, bands, pins, scrunchies, sprays, brushes and combs.
Renee was never told about the cost of this shopping trip. Although it was considerable, Jennifer and Melissa didn’t want that to influence Renee too much. They could have gone to Wal-Mart, but they weren’t Wal-Mart type people. They saw to it that Renee had as good as they had.
Just before they left the mall, they had one more stop. Renee had to have suitcases for all her things. Renee was crowded in the back seat and Melissa had bags in her lap, but they made it back, where they emptied the Jag into their home. Jennifer then told Melissa to pull the Range Rover around front, as she was going to leave the Jag here for a few days. Melissa pulled the black cherry Range Rover out of the garage and brought it around front while Jennifer drove the Jag into the garage.
Inside, Jennifer organized the makeup kit, while Melissa and Renee, sorted, folded, and packed the clothes along with the other things into Renee’s suitcases. They also packed all of Craig’s things up. They decided that Renee would return to Arlington and then change back to Craig.
After they finished, Melissa made them a light dinner, which they ate while watching TV. Renee was sandwiched on the couch, still dressed, as were Jennifer and Melissa. They all sat back with their heels resting on the coffee table.
At ten, Melissa was asleep, holding onto one of Renee’s arms. Jennifer decided it was time to go to bed. They got Melissa up, and together they all got to Jennifer’s and Melissa’s bedroom. They helped each other undress. Jennifer didn’t take Renee’s corset off, but she did loosen it a couple of inches and helped her into a negligee. They also managed to get Melissa, half-asleep, into one and got her face cleaned before they tucked her into bed.
Renee managed to clean her face and was headed to her room, when Jennifer picked her up and set her in the middle of their bed next to Melissa. She climbed in behind Renee. Ten minutes later, everyone was asleep.
>>>>><<<<<
Renee slept on her side, something that Craig did also, and generally only rolled over once to sleep on the other side. Jennifer and Melissa were back sleepers. She first slept with an arm across Melissa. In her sleep, she hugged that arm tightly. When Renee rolled over and draped her arm across Jennifer, she scooted over closer and hugged her arm.
It was about six am when Renee woke. She carefully crawled over Jennifer to get out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. After she sat on the toilet and took care of business, she looked in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, so she took it down and brushed it out. She then put it into a ponytail, and after some thought, began to twist it and put it up in a bun, which she bobby pinned. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than she thought she would get it.
Back in the room, she grabbed her clothes and makeup kit, and headed into her room. She managed to tighten the corset, put on her stockings and heels, before fresh panties and a padded brief. This brief seemed to have more padding. She then put on one of her new skirts and blouse. From the makeup kit she only took out a lipstick. She found it easy to draw within the lines of her lips and to blot them. After she packed up, she grabbed her laptop and purse before heading to the kitchen to study. She made coffee and got right into studying. She got a good bit of studying in before the girls came in about eight-thirty to make breakfast. They were dressed and beautiful as ever.
Both women smiled when they saw Renee, and hugged and kissed her cheeks.
“That was nice last night, Renee. We enjoyed having you in our bed. You are warmer than Melissa and I.”
“It was nice and strange for me. I have never slept with anyone else before that I can remember.”
“You did your hair, didn’t you?” Jennifer asked.
“Yes, it isn’t good is it?”
“It’s very good for a first try. Better than I did as a young girl,” Jennifer said, as she took the bun down and redid it. “What course are you studying for?”
“I am studying from one of my senior level engineering textbooks. My first two years of work were mostly basics. This year I began my basic engineering courses. Next year is when the hard work starts. Then I have four more years of work, if I can afford it.”
That was when Jennifer decided to talk to her Mom. She could afford to help Renee go as far as she wanted too in engineering, but it might be better if her Mom did it.
After breakfast, they loaded the Range Rover before they went around the house, making sure it was ready to be left and to make sure nothing they needed was left behind. Jennifer then called Anita and left a message that they were leaving.
Renee had never ridden in a Range Rover before and was surprised by its power and handling. In a little over an hour, they were back in Arlington and moving Renee’s bags into Jennifer and Melissa’s apartment. There they set about taking care of Renee’s things. They taught her how to set up her dresser and closet.
When they finished, they sat about drinking a nice wine while talking and watching TV for another hour. Then it was time to deconstruct Renee and reconstruct Craig. Renee undressed, and Jennifer used the solvent to remove the breast forms. Then Craig took a bath, washing his hair to take out any curls that might persist. The shampoo and conditioner the girls had bought him left his hair fuller, with more body and shine. He then dressed by himself, although he still wore a pair of panties and a camisole under his shirt.
He stayed another hour and then headed back to his own apartment.
>>>>><<<<<
Over the next three weeks, Craig spent as much time as he could at Jennifer and Melissa’s place. He would come over and learn how to create Renee. He wouldn’t attach the breast forms with adhesive but he would place them in his bra cups. He also learned to put on and take off the corset on his own. The girls taught him makeup, dressing and how to act and feel like a girl. He liked looking a little more feminine than Jennifer, but Renee wasn’t destined to be as feminine as Melissa.
December, the third, a UPS truck arrived, delivering a red Armani suit for Renee. Renee put her hands on her hips and looked crossly at her friends. It was kind of comical to see the short girl trying to stubbornly stare down an equally stubborn Jennifer. The stare down lasted three minutes before Jennifer had to blink. Then the dam broke and all three of them had a good laugh.
Melissa hustled Renee into her bedroom, where and she and Jennifer supervised Renee’s dressing into her in her Armani suit. Jennifer did her hair up this time in a French twist, with a few decorative hair pins and then created a business/professional woman’s makeup job on Renee.
First, they dressed in her red corset, rolled on a pair of off black stockings, red panties, padded, brief, white camisole, white silk blouse, red heels and then her red Armani suit. The suit had been altered and fit like a glove. The skirt fit nicely at the waist and with the new padded brief, it fit perfectly through the hips, the skirts hem just touched the top of her knee. The jacket fit the shoulders, bust, and the waist. The sleeves hit just where they should. The red 4 inch heels previously bought, looked great with the suit. Jennifer added a single strand pearl necklace, pearl drop earrings, a large silver cuff bracelet, a silver dial Rolex and the sheaf of wheat pin on her left lapel. Renee then fixed up her new red purse.
Jennifer did her hair up this time in a French twist, with a few decorative hair pins, then created a business/professional woman’s makeup job on Renee.
Jennifer and Melissa spent time getting dressed up and the three of them went out to eat at a nice restaurant in Dallas. Renee was comfortable in her role, but still had a mild case of nerves. All of Renee’s work over the last three weeks paid off. She didn’t give a single sign of not being what she appeared to be. All three of them turned heads as they were seated.
After they got their drinks, they ordered their salads and entrées. Jennifer got Renee talking about the latest failure analysis that Renee had studied. Renee picked the Kansas City Hyatt failure, an old case, but one that showed how failures multiplied. At first she worked hard at talking about engineering in a feminine manner. Jennifer had asked her to practice this when she was alone. It was sort of an acid test to see if she could pull it off. Renee had given Jennifer a list of pertinent questions on the subject to ask her, and then Renee would try to answer them. They talked in a normal voice, so they were overheard. Renee did extremely well. The girls noticed some gentlemen’s ears perking up as they talked. Renee became more comfortable.
One man approached their table and said, “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear your discussion. My name is Tim Hartley and I am an engineer. You look a little young, but are you an engineer too?”
“My name is Renee Jennings, this is Jennifer West and Melissa Conroy, and to answer your question, no sir, I’m not an engineer yet. I am just a junior, majoring in Civil Engineering. I plan to go for my masters in civil engineering, specializing in structural engineering. I spend a lot of time reading technical reports on structural failures.”
“I can tell, although the Kansas City Hyatt failure is well known, you seem to be extremely well versed in it. You gave your friends a clear, concise and accurate description of the failure.” Tim reached in his jacket and pulled out a card. “Give me a call when you get your BSCE and maybe you can intern summers with us, while you do your graduate work. We need more women in the engineering field.”
“I just might do that,” Renee said, smiling warmly.
Tim went back to his table and Renee looked at the card. Tim Hartley, Hartley, Cole, Remington and Wilson. Certified Structural Engineers. Houston, Austin, Dallas and El Paso. She put the card in her purse.
They talked for a bit about the offer. Renee hadn’t done this to fish for a job. She just wanted to see if she could talk like a female engineer.
“Too bad, I can’t possibly do it. I will have to work summers and during school, to go to graduate school.”
>>>>><<<<<
They were all busy during the last week of school. Craig was well prepared for the finals and did well. Melissa and Jennifer also did well in their course work. After their last final, they all sat together on the couch, their minds fried, drinking a glass of wine. After the first glass, Craig got up and headed to his own room. It was just two in the afternoon. The girls started to follow, but Craig stopped them. He wanted to do this on his own.
He selected his most feminine outfit, a teal, blue and green corset, and matching things. After a bath, he closed his eyes and channeled Renee. She dressed in her undies, stockings, half-slip and black open toe pumps, before she sat at her vanity. She combed and brushed out her hair, sprayed it with a curl enhancing spray, then curled it with a curling iron, till her face was framed with curly tendrils. Next, she used all her meager skills with makeup, to create the feminine look Melissa favored. She did a very credible job, considering her situation. Then she got dressed, put on a green knee length, silk skirt, which flared to a wide knee length hem, her blue/green chiffon blouse and her new black blazer. Finally, she put on a necklace, earrings, silver cuff bracelet and watch.
Renee liked the way she looked. She smiled and posed for the mirror, knowing Jennifer and Melissa were on pins and needles, but they could wait. Her life was about to change and she deserved this time for herself.
When she could no longer contain herself, she grabbed her purse and went out to meet her friends. Jennifer and Melissa were sitting on the couch holding hands, comforting each other. They smiled when they saw Renee. Although she had looked prettier when Jennifer or Melissa had done her makeup, they thought she was the prettiest thing they had ever seen. Her smile just radiated love.
“I told you that I would give you my decision today. I could have answered you at Thanksgiving, as I couldn’t imagine living without either of you. Yes, I will join your family in whatever role you want of me. I hope that you both will accept me. I would rather die than to split the two of you up. Yes, I will father your children and be there to help you raise them in a loving home.”
Jennifer and Melissa jumped up and smothered Renee in kisses till they all broke down in tears. They sat on the couch and had a good cry together.
After they were all cried out. Melissa turned to Jennifer and Renee, she had an evil look in her eyes, “You know what this means, don’t you.”
“No,” Renee said.
“OH YES!” Jennifer said smiling.
“WE SHOP TILL WE DROP, SIS!” Melissa and Jennifer said in perfect unison.
“Renee, you don’t have near enough clothes for winter and spring,” Jennifer added.
Her two friends dragged Renee to their room after picking up her makeup kit. They took turns cleaning their faces and doing their makeup. Together the two girls did Renee’s makeup after cleaning up her tear stained face.
Just before they left to hit the stores, Jennifer reached in her purse and pulled out the rainbow brooch and pinned it on Renee’s jacket.
“I truly believed that you would become sisters with me and Melissa back in November. I bought this brooch for you then. Melissa and I welcome you to our family.”
They hit the better stores over the next five hours as Renee more than tripled her wardrobe. Renee was pleasantly in shock as they went from store to store. Her friends were like cougars on the prowl, stalking their prey, then pouncing on and devouring the weak and the helpless. There were few women’s stores in the area left unscathed. Renee hardly got the chance to leave the dressing room areas, as they brought her what they found, like a mother cougar brings her fresh meat to her cubs.
They had so many things, they had to arrange to have it shipped to them the next day. They dragged themselves home late that night. Renee again slept with them in their bed.
The sixteenth of December, they began packing. They were going to Kingwood, to spend most of the holidays with Debra. They sorted out the clothes that were delivered and packed, or put them up in Renee’s room. They all did themselves’ up in their cool weather feminine finery and makeup. Then after four in the evening, they hit I-45 south to Kingwood.
They talked as they drove. “I have decided Renee; you and Craig should move into our apartment when we get back. Craig will finish out the next semester. If you still want to help us, you can transition after school ends in May. What do you think?”
“Are you sure you want Craig living in your home?”
Jennifer looked at Melissa who nodded, “Yes, we are sure. Craig is so Renee now, it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. You could leave his apartment and save the money for your education. That will help you out quite a bit.”
“I could be recognized as Craig and Renee at the apartment complex. It could cause us problems.”
“Yes it could, but we have faced problems before. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. On top of that, the University has an anti-discrimination policy. It wouldn’t be easy, but we are strong.”
“Ok, Craig and I will do it.”
Four hours after they hit the roads they pulled up in front a large two story house, which sat up on a ridge overlooking Lake Houston. Debra met them before they could open their car doors. She had lots of hugs and kisses for them. A house keeper came out and assisted the girls in unloading the Range Rover
Renee could only stare at the home. It was massive; Debra told her, as she was being given a tour, the home was a 7000 sq. ft. twelve room, six bedroom, seven and a half bath, on one and a half acres, with two, two car garages. The appointments in the home were all top dollar, fine furniture, paintings, rugs, wall hangings, knick-knacks, and all the many things that make up a fine home. Then Debra showed Renee to her room. They talked along the way.
Renee knew that Jennifer had to be well off, but seeing her Mom’s home, things just fell together, “Ya’ll never said that ya’ll were millionaires.”
“Would it have made a difference?” Debra asked.
“It might have. I might not have been so free around Jennifer and Melissa.”
“And you might not have gotten close enough, to love them enough, to become part of their family,” Debra said. “Am I right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Do you regret anything that has happened?”
“No ma’am.”
“Would you go back to the way things were, before the girls came into your life?”
“No, I don’t think I would like that. I haven’t been in as much peace, since I lost my Mom and Dad. I really love your girls. I don’t think I would stay as Craig, even if the girls didn’t want me to stay with them.”
“And they really love you, too.”
“I love you also, would you mind very much if I called you Mom?” Renee said, tears forming in her eyes.
“I would love to have you as one of my daughters, Renee,” also crying and hugging the girl.
>>>>><<<<<
The four women spent the next seven days shopping for Christmas. They bought a nine foot tall Christmas tree, the first tree that Renee/Craig had helped decorate in over four years. She cried happy and sad tears as they decorated the tree; it was more beautiful than any Christmas tree she had ever seen. They went out and bought Christmas presents for each other. Renee took a portion of the savings she had set aside for college to buy gifts for the others. She might have to work more to finish her schooling, but it was worth it to her.
On the nineteenth of December, Debra took all of them to buy gowns. Renee was fitted in a long, flowing, burgundy, satin gown, with matching heels. She could only wear panties and stay up stockings under the gown. It was a good thing that Debra brought petals, to cover up all their nipples.
The next day, they all got dressed. They were all going to go see the ‘Nutcracker’, by the Houston Ballet. Renee thought the dress was a dream; she liked dressing up. Jennifer did her hair and makeup, in a glamour look, that included false eyelashes. They had thought about doing the whole salon experience, but they wanted to be sure that nothing would be done that was long term to Craig. He still had the next semester to go to college. She wore a marvelous diamond stud necklace and chandelier earrings, a sliver 5 carat garnet ring and a diamond bracelet. The others were also dressed to the nines.
They had dinner at Masraff’s a five star seafood restaurant. The girls had four different dishes and traded bites with each other. Renee had never eaten such food before. Craig was a hamburger and fries, or mac and cheese guy.
The ballet was very good. Houston might not be Paris, or New York, but their ballet company was very competent and the orchestra was very good. Being with good company was an added bonus. Renee totally enjoyed the experience. One thing Renee noticed was that the people in Houston were a little dressier than they were in Fort Worth or Dallas.
Christmas Eve, everyone stayed at home and avoided the last minute shoppers, and the horrendous holiday exodus of people heading out of Houston, traveling to see their extended families. The house was in all its holiday finest. Melissa did her prep work for their Christmas feast and baked a couple of hundred Christmas cookies while the rest finished their holiday wrapping and carefully placed the presents under the Christmas tree.
>>>>><<<<<
Christmas morning Renee dressed up in a white blouse, green sweater, red pleated skirt and her skyscraper, red heels. She did her makeup and her hair before she left her bedroom. She wasn’t the first one up for a change. Debra had set her alarm.
“Good Morning, Mom.”
“Good Morning, Renee, and how are you today?”
“Fabulous, I never thought that I would be happy again on Christmas, after my parents died.”
“You will never forget them Renee, but most of the pain goes away with time.”
“You know, one thing bothers me, I can’t remember what they sounded like now.”
“Just look in your heart baby, they are still there. I know that they would be proud of you and what you’ve accomplished on your own.”
Jennifer and Melissa came downstairs, hollering, “Christmas present time,” like little girls. They all huddled around the tree.
“Jennifer, you can play Santa and pass out everyone’s presents. We wait in my household, till all the presents are passed out before you begin to open them.”
Jennifer passed out a large pile of presents; everyone got six or seven packages, “Okay, we start with the youngest and go to the oldest.”
Renee opened her first package, “It’s from Jennifer.” She carefully removed the wrapping paper from a twenty by fourteen by seven-inch box. When the paper came off, Renee saw a brand new Lenovo Laptop.
“It’s got just about everything a laptop can have,” Jennifer said.
“Thank you, Jennifer.”
Melissa picked up a box, it was from Renee. She opened it and found a very nice music box which played ‘Tiny Dancer’ and had a ballerina that turned on her toe. So it went, till everything was opened.
Debra stood and walked over to Renee, “I have two more gifts for you my dear. She handed two envelopes to the girl. She opened the one that had something hard inside it. It was a Mercedes Key fob.
Renee couldn’t believe it. She looked at Debra and stuttered “Thank you, Debra. I don’t know what else to say.” She looked at the key fob, stunned.
“Put these on that key fob, Renee. It goes to a 5 year old Mercedes S550. I heard you didn’t have a car, and I had four. The car that they go to belonged to Thomas, my husband. It was just sitting around collecting dust.”
“I can’t take that, it is too much.”
“You can and you will. I don’t want my new daughter having to walk through town. It isn’t safe nowadays.”
“But …”
“No buts, say thank you.”
“Thank you.”
“Good girl.”
Renee opened the other envelope. It had several pieces of paper inside. She saw that it was an agreement of some sort. Her jaw dropped, as she read that Debra West agreed to pay Craig Lawson/Renee Jennings’ college tuition, for as far as she wanted to take it. The only caveat was, that she not take alternate employment not related to the field, during the Fall and Spring terms. It covered tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, and board. Her hands began to shake and she began to cry.
“Thank you Mom, but I still say you shouldn’t have, but thank you.”
“Follow me, dear,” Debra said.
They all got up and followed Debra out back. There were two garages out back, one to the left of the drive and the other to the right.
“Click your white fob, dear.”
Renee clicked the white fob and the garage door began opening and the bright garage lights came on
“I took the Mercedes to the dealership and had them service it and get it back into proper condition for driving dear. It is as good as new.”
Renee walked around the car. The exterior was as good as new. She didn’t see any faults in the lunar blue paint, and the tires were brand new. She clicked the black fob and the security system chirped and unlocked all the doors. She opened the driver’s side door and got in. The premium leather seats were soft as butter. Debra got in the front passenger seat, while Jennifer and Melissa got in the back seat. Debra talked the girl through everything, from adjusting the seats, climate controls, the audio system, navigation system, and the vehicle controls. The car had 57k miles on it and a full gas tank.
“Take us for a drive, Renee,” Melissa all but shouted from the back seat.
“I haven’t driven since before …”
“No time like the present, to break that pattern, dear,” Debra said. “I have insurance on you, and you do have a license, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do, in my purse, in the house.”
“Drive to the front, I will get all of our purses,” Jennifer said.
Renee cranked the car back to life. The exhaust had a nice throaty, powerful, but quiet purr. She put the beast into reverse, backing the car out and driving it around to the front of the house. Her hands almost shook with fear. She calmed down a bit as she waited for Jennifer. When she got back, she passed out the purses. Debra took out several State Farm insurance cards and put one in the glove compartment and another into Renee’s male wallet.
“You must get a lady’s wallet, dear. Now drive on.”
“Yes ma’am.”
She drove the powerful car onto the city street and headed out of the subdivision. Debra gave careful directions. As she got use to the vehicle, she began to go from timid to comfortable, but not overly aggressive. When they got to US-59, she turned north and began to work the horses harder. She went from twenty to seventy mph in three seconds. Renee had to restrain herself and the vehicle, as it wanted to go faster. The car handled superbly.
“Do me a favor, Renee. Keep driving north. I want to see something,” Melissa said. She gave Renee directions to Cut and Shoot. When she had Renee turn on one road, she asked Renee to slow down.”
“Mom should I stop and see if …”
“I can’t say if you should or shouldn’t. Only you can dear. We will all be here for you though.”
“Stop by that bird bath, Renee.”
When Melissa opened her door, the others did too. They all walked up to the front door. Melissa knocked, in a few seconds, a woman opened the door. She looked to be an older version of Melissa, there was no mistaking this woman for anybody but her mother.
“Hello, Momma.”
The woman looked at Melissa, she was hard to read, “Hello Melissa, how are you?”
“I am doing well,” Melissa was just itching for a hug, but held back. “How are you and Dad?”
“We are doing well. Are you still with that woman?” her mom asked.
“Yes, she is my soul mate, Momma,”
“Yes, I see, then please leave,” the woman said, closing the door.
Melissa calmly walked back to the car, with Jennifer by her side. At the car, she looked back at the house and gave Jennifer a big kiss. It wasn’t till they were all in the car, Renee pulled away, from in front of the house and Debra had set the navigation unit to home, that Melissa broke down crying on Jennifer’s shoulder.
Renee wound up in Conroe and headed south on I-45. When Renee turned off I-45 Melissa had calmed down.
“Sorry, I just had to see.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about, Melissa,” Debra said. “A child needs to know their parents love them.”
Renee pulled into a Dairy Queen that was open. “Ice cream?” she asked.
Yes, they all said. Renee got a Mocha Blizzard, Debra a cookies and cream, Jennifer a rocky road and Melissa a mint chocolate chip. They sat down and talked.
“I didn’t think my parents would change, but I hoped they had.”
“I am proud of you Melissa. I always have been,” Jennifer said. “And you know I love you.”
Melissa sagged into Jennifer’s side. Jennifer held the girl tenderly.
“I know how you feel, Melissa,” Renee said, “It’s like you lost your parents too, but worse. Yours turned their backs on you. I can’t make things any better, but I love you too.”
“We are all behind you; dear and we will never cast you away,” Debra told her middle daughter.
When they left, the car told Renee used the navigation system to tell her how to get home.
“Park in the front, dear. I transferred the car to Jennifer’s name, but it is yours. She will transfer the car to you, no matter what happens, when your status clears. You are the principal driver.”
>>>>><<<<<
The girls had a chance to dress up again. Debra wanted to go with them to the New Year Eve’s Party at the Hyatt Hilton in Houston. They did do the salon thing this time.
They went to the salon Debra frequented. She gave very specific instructions on what was to be done. The stylist knew about the problem, but it didn’t bother her. She treated Renee just like any other girl, and though she was tempted, she didn’t do anything long term. She waxed the girls legs, gave her a massage, cleaned up her brows a bit, hot oil treatment, shampoo, condition, style, manicure, pedicure and put her hair up in a twist, with a pair of jeweled chopsticks. Renee was in heaven after the massage. She made a note to do this again.
At home, the girls got dressed up in one room. They helped each other with their dresses and such. It was cooler this night, so Debra loaned each of the girls one of her furs after they dressed. Renee got to wear a sable coat. The fur felt amazing; she now knew why women chose to wear fur. The girls had Renee drive them in her sedan. She had gotten better at driving over the last week. They arrived at the hotel at eight. It had valet parking, several of the valets fought for the right to help the ladies and to park the car. Renee handed over the keys to the one female valet.
The lounge was on top of the Hilton, and provided a wonderful view of the city. There was to be a fireworks laser light show on top of the many sky scrapers at nine that night, so Debra and the girls chose a table near the rim. All the tables were set up for eight, so they waited to see who would be at their table. They didn’t have long to wait, Debra saw an old friend, his wife and two sons.
“Jim,” she called out. “Would you care to join us?”
“Debra, it’s been ages. It’s so good seeing you. Of course we would be glad to join you.” Turning to the younger women, “My name is James Benet; this is my wife Kathy, and my sons, Richard and Trevor.”
“I am Debra West; this is my daughter Jennifer and her friends Melissa Conroy and Renee Jennings. Please have a seat. Girls, Jim was a friend and colleague of my Thomas.”
“How have you been, Debra? We have been meaning to get in touch with you after Thomas’s passing.”
“We have been doing very good. I have got my practice back up, and my daughter is back in college getting her DBA. Melissa and Renee also both go to UTA.”
“So what are you two studying?” Jim asked.
“I am studying psychology and child rearing,” Melissa said.
“I’m into Engineering.”
“What field?”
“Civil engineering, I like to make and break things, so I like Failure Analysis. What do you do, Mr. Benet?”
“Please you must call me Jim. Thomas and I were in investments. We were some of the first investment councilors to recommend sell on Enron to our clients. Not a popular call. Enron was soaring, but we saved our clients millions.”
“Hmm, I wonder if business failures can be modeled like structure failures.”
“Hmm, I am sure they are. The Enron failure is being studied in forensic accounting.”
“NO business talk!” Kathy said. “Jim can talk for hours on anything to do with his business.”
Some ohhs and ahhs, interrupted their conversation; they turned to watch the fireworks and laser light show.
After the show, the band started up. The girls were inundated with requests for dances. Renee passed on their requests, and Melissa was very selective on who she danced with. Richard and Trevor were pretty safe, as they were younger than the girls and their dad was here. Jim got Debra out on the floor, leaving Kathy and Renee at the table.
“Tell me, how did a pretty little thing like you get interested in engineering?”
“I don’t know, I guess I am kinda strange. I like to know how things are put together, and after reading about some of the news reports on building failures, like the Hyatt walkways, the I-35 bridge collapse, the I-10 bridge collapse and the Oakland bridge collapse. I kept asking myself why.”
“That is interesting. You are such a pretty thang, why aren’t you dancing?”
“I never learned how, and I just like watching.”
Kathy looked left and right, then leaned forward. “You should learn, especially if you are going into business. You can learn a lot about your opponents, even if you don’t like guys.”
Renee looked a little surprised.
“Oh, don’t worry honey. I don’t care if you are that way, and hanging out with straight girls is a good cover. I say more power to us girls.”
Renee giggled to herself, ‘Kathy thinks I am a lesbian’ she thought. ‘Well, maybe I am.’
She thought of a safe response. “I am used to watching the drinks for my girlfriends, Kathy; it pays to be safe, especially around a college campus.”
“Do tell. It’s a real shame that girls have to be so defensive. I love my boys, but I would castrate them if they ever did that to any girl.”
Debra and Melissa returned and Jim took his wife out on the floor. Renee told them what Kathy had to say. They all had a good laugh.
“They are good people, Renee,” Debra said. “But maybe a little off in their ability to read people.”
Jennifer and Melissa found a quiet secluded place for a few minutes before midnight, where they shared a kiss. Renee had to turn down both Richard and Trevor for that honor. They were disappointed, but they lived.
>>>>><<<<<
Renee, Jennifer and Melissa left early to get back to Arlington. They moved Craig into their apartment and he returned the apartment key back to the management. He lost his deposit, but saved money and got to live with friends. Some students noticed a boy and two girls going in and three girls going out, but they left them alone. The girls seemed a little snooty.
By Easter break, Melissa started keeping close records of her period, using a basal thermometer every day and using ovulation kits to plot her cycle and get a baseline. Jennifer and Melissa sat down with Craig and started plotting an impregnation day. Melissa wanted to get pregnant in late August, September, or October, so she could have her baby after she finished the next spring semester.
“School ends in May, so I can count three months forward June, July, and August. If I have the baby by at least early August, I can, with help from you guys, go back to classes in September,” Melissa said.
“We are looking forward a year, but Melissa really does want to get a degree and we are most fertile before we hit thirty,” Jennifer added.
“I will be ready when you girls are.”
>>>>><<<<<
Easter break they spent at their place in Hillsboro. Debra came up to talk with the girls. After she talked with Renee for two hours alone, Renee definitely wanted to transition, to living as a girl, full time after finals. The girls already knew, but Debra and Renee sat at the kitchen table and joined Jennifer and Melissa in drinking lattes. They explained their plans on impregnation. Melissa laid out a calendar and showed Debra. She just laughed a bit and said something about Hi-Tech sex.
“Well, I will get your paper work ready Renee, and approve you for breast implants. You won’t go on hormones, as they will ruin your fertility. Do you want to be this size?”
“Yes, all my clothes are sized for a 36 D. They are expensive clothes, and I have gotten pretty much used to having a big bust.”
“Well, I got a surgeon lined up for you on May eighteenth. He will need to see you after finals, on the twelfth. He has a clinic in Dallas and will do the procedures there. If there are no complications, you will be home that night. You know, you can still stop at any time.”
“I know Debra, but I want this with all my heart. It may sound funny, but I started out saying I would do this for them, Jennifer and Melissa. At first, that was true, but as I grew to love them, I also grew to love what I was becoming. I love the new me I am when I am Renee. I am Renee, and I need my sisters to be complete.”
“I think I knew that when I first met you, Renee. You were drunk and made up so prettily, half man and half woman, and yet, you had the soul of an angel. You have since convinced me that Renee is the true you.”
“Thanks Mom. Before I met my sisters, I wasn’t really alive. My body was moving and breathing, I was going through the motions of living, but now, the times I am Renee at least, I can say I know what living is.”
>>>>><<<<<
The fifth of May was Craig’s birthday. He had just gotten back from class and was really surprised when he stepped through the door. Jennifer, Melissa, and Debra jumped up and yelled, “Happy Birthday!” Craig was so startled he jumped back. Birthdays had been another thing that Craig had missed in the nearly five years since his parents passed. He was braced against the wall and began smiling and crying at the same time. Jennifer and Melissa surrounded him in a hug. They didn’t need to be told why he was crying and why he was smiling.
They dressed him in his men’s Armani suit one last time, and cleaned his face. Together they went out to eat. Since he was now of legal drinking age, he ordered a bottle of Dom for them. He looked too young as Craig, and even had to show his ID this time. Renee looked more mature, and could have ordered alcohol easily.
Even at the restaurant, he received a surprise. The waiters wheeled out a cake with twenty one candles blazing away on top. The wait staff and patrons at the restaurant then sang happy birthday to him.
Debra drove them home in the Mercedes. She had only had one glass of champagne. Once they were home, the girls gave him their presents. Melissa bought him an iPhone and Jennifer bought him an iPad that had many bells and whistles. Debra handed him two envelopes. He opened the first and saw the documents for a legal name change, Craig Welford Lawson to Renee Annette Jennings. All that was needed to be done was to appear and file them in Court. There was paperwork approving Renee’s transition and her recommendation that she begin her real life test. There was paperwork to assist Renee in changing her driver’s license, her status with the University and other legal necessities. Lastly, there was a recommendation for her to receive breast augmentation without undergoing HRT for the time being.
“My lawyer and I will assist you in clarifying your legal status when the time comes. You will be Renee Annette Jennings, but you will still have an M on your license until you undergo SRS, which may be never, I know. The RLT paperwork will help in any legal problems about your gender.”
“Like being pulled over for speeding?”
“Exactly. Still, don’t get pulled over for speeding.”
“The Mercedes is a demon, but I am an angel. I can control it,” Craig, channeling Renee, said, with a feminine eye flutter.
“Life for you must have been rough before Renee. In less than eight months, you’ve got your feminine thang down tight.”
“It was hard trying to act masculine as Craig. It’s been a lot easier on me relaxing and just being Renee.”
“How have the neighbors been?”
“A mixed bag. Some have been really good, we’ve all been tagged as lesbian. Some have figured me for being a FTM cross-dresser, instead of a MTF transsexual. I don’t think anybody has made me for a male. We’ve made more female friends than male friends. The good thing has been that there hasn’t been any really bad behavior towards us. Too much surveillance at the apartment complex. You can’t walk from one apartment to another without being seen by at least three cameras and they have a foot patrol at random times at night. Masked or hooded people would draw a lot of attention around here in a hurry.”
>>>>><<<<<
Renee went to the Doctor’s office on the twelfth of May with Jennifer and Melissa. Dr. Dave Carter was to be the surgeon. He discussed the procedure with Renee and the girls. He told them how things were going to happen and what to expect from Renee after the surgery. More importantly, he told them what things could be considered an emergency, which they should call him about. He then did the pre-op physical alone with Renee, and had a private talk with her about why she wanted this done, how she felt about things, and what she expected out of this surgery.
“Looking at you, I think we need to do this in two procedures. First, I will insert inflatable bags that will take you up to a B-cup. This will allow your skin to stretch; you really don’t want stretch marks. I will check on you in a month. If your skin stretches well, we may go in and do the larger implants. If the skin is tight, I might inflate you to a C-cup and then, maybe in a month; do the D-cup implants. The inflation won’t require anesthesia, it will be a small incision and then we pump a little more saline solution into the bags. The first and final operations will require general anesthesia. I could do it in one procedure, but you might not be as happy with the results.”
“Let’s do it in two or three then.”
“Alright then, for the next week, massage your breasts twice every day for half an hour, using a good moisturizer,” Dr. Carter demonstrated, stretching his skin up from the ribcage, from the armpits towards the center of his chest and his chest itself, pushing his skin into a mound at the nipple. “This will help your skin stretch some. I have a list of dos and don’ts I want to give you. The most important thing is DON’T EAT anything after midnight the night before the surgery. Someone needs to be here with you who can make medical decisions for you during the procedure, and to take you home afterwards. I look forward to seeing you next Thursday at seven AM.”
At home, they talked about the procedures, and Craig demonstrated the massage for the girls, who took it upon themselves to do it for him. Craig thought they were enjoying themselves a bit too much, but they didn’t hurt him, so he let them go on doing it.
>>>>><<<<<
Craig finished his last final and they hurried home to celebrate. He stayed Craig today, as it might be Craig’s last day. They ate light, and celebrated with sparkling grape juice. Jennifer called a stop at seven and drove them home. They sat on the couch sandwiching Craig. They talked about everything but the next day. At nine they all went to bed. The girls didn’t let him sleep alone.
Five o’clock came early the next morning, but the girls wanted him wide awake before they left.
“This is your next to last chance to quit this before the surgery. If you are doing this just for us, don’t. If you are doing this for you, get dressed,” Jennifer said.
“I am doing this for me, Jennifer, so let’s get ready.”
Renee dressed in her bra, panties, a wraparound dress and athletic shoes. She did her own hair in a bun. Jennifer drove them to the clinic in Renee’s Mercedes.
Dr. Carter was pleased with Renee’s pre-surgery physical. She was checked for stray hairs on the chest and armpits. There were none, but they shaved her anyway. They gave her some sedatives orally and in an hour they gave her a shot that knocked her out.
In the surgical suite, they put her under anesthesia and got to work, going in under the armpits. The doctor used his tools to create a pocket for the balloons. When he had both in place, he started inflating them with sterile saline, adding a hundred ml’s to one side, then the other side. The skin was stretching nicely, so he added another hundred ml’s to both sides. She was doing well, but starting to get tight. He added another fifty to both sides and after a few minutes, another fifty. Dr. Carter estimated her to be right at a B cup. He pushed in another 25 ml’s and closed up. Renee was then wheeled into Recovery.
She came to fifteen minutes after the procedure ended. Jennifer and Melissa were sitting beside her, each holding one hand. She was given a small sip of water.
“How do you feel?” A nurse asked.
“Sore and a little groggy.”
“We are adjusting your pain meds. Just rest a bit, we’ll need to get you walking in a bit.”
In a half hour, the doctor came back to see Renee. He and the nurse helped Renee sit up slowly, then checked her over. Her lungs sounded clear and her blood pressure was good and stable. He inspected the incisions, which looked good. They did a post op measurement and found that she was now a 34 B+. Renee’s skin was taut, but not overly so.
“I was able to use a little more saline than I had originally planned. Your skin stretched nicely. We should be able to take you the rest of the way next time.” He turned to the girls and said, “Give her a minute or two and then get her walking around. I will see her again in half an hour.”
With Jennifer on one side and Melissa on the other, they got Renee walking around. She was given a few more sips of water. When the doctor came back, he checked her over, went over her post-surgical release form and given another ‘do and don’t do’ form. Then she was allowed to dress and go home.
At home she did a lot of sleeping. Lunch was a cup of chicken soup and she had to walk around slowly around for a short while.
>>>>><<<<<
The next day, Renee was sore but in good spirits. However, her mother hens were getting on her nerves a bit. If it wasn’t on the list, she couldn’t do it.
“Going to the bathroom isn’t on the list. I guess I should be glad that you let me do that,” Renee said.
Melissa checked the list, then pretended to panic, “Jennifer, we screwed up! Going to the bathroom isn’t on the list,” Melissa tried to sound serious.
“Oh my, we did screw up. You’ve got to hold it till Monday when you see the doctor,” Jennifer couldn’t help it but smile.
Renee started to put her hands on her hips, but a twinge of pain changed her mind. It was twenty-four hours after recovery before they let Renee shower, with the two of them with her. They looked at her chest and lightly touched her breasts. The girls liked them, but they looked a little tight and didn’t jiggle. They patted her dry and put a slumber bra on her.
Day by day Renee got better, the skin over her breasts seemed to relax and the soreness and pain disappeared. Monday, she saw the doctor, who seemed very pleased with her. He scheduled her next surgery for two weeks, where he would add some small lip implants, do some work on her cheeks and her nose.
>>>>><<<<<
The doc was happy, and went with the final silicone implants. Renee was a little crankier after the next surgery, her lips felt thick, she couldn’t breathe out of her nose, her face hurt a little, her breasts were very taut, again. That was likely to lessen, as the swelling lessened. She again was mothered by her two hens; but deep inside she really loved it.
She saw the doc a week later, the doctor smiled, as he checked her face and chest. He scheduled a checkup in another month, and said goodbye.
They stayed in Arlington another week, before they headed to Hillsboro in two vehicles. Jennifer and Melissa finally let Renee drive, as long as Melissa rode with her. Renee loved driving down there, it relaxed her. Jennifer made her wear a wireless bra and a top. She could breathe through her nose and foundation hid the fading bruises on her face.
Anita was excited when the girls got there. And knowing what had been done, she wouldn’t let Renee carry anything but her purse.
“I’m not an invalid,” Renee complained.
“No you aren’t,” Anita said. “And in a week or two, you can start doing what you normally do. I love what they did to your nose and cheeks. You look so pretty.”
“And you don’t mind?” Renee asked.
“When I first met you, I felt something wasn’t right. I don’t think that now. You are a wonderful person Renee. We will say nothing more about this. Get your pretty butt into a swimsuit and out in the pool.”
Renee changed into the suit that Jennifer had surprised her with. It had a bikini bra and a tight boy cut bottom. Renee’s bottom had grown a little bigger, but her waist was a couple of inches narrower, due to her wearing a corset fifty hours a week. She couldn’t wear an over the bust corset, so she had purchased four under the bust corsets. Now she removed her corset and dressed in her suit. The panty was tight, but it helped keep things in place.
Out back, she was the last one to reach the pool. She sat down next to her friends and rubbed herself down with sunscreen. She wanted a little sun, but didn’t want to cook her skin by overexposure to the sun. She took five minutes on a side, then slid into the pool. She definitely found swimming a lot different with her new chest. She did slow laps for twenty minutes. It didn’t take many strokes to travel thirty-five feet. She wanted to try out the diving board, but that was also a couple of weeks away.
When she had enough, she went inside. The first thing she did was hit the bathtub. She took a long bubble bath while she shampooed the chlorine out of her hair. Her hair was now well between her shoulders. She needed to do something with it, so she put it up in a ponytail.
She carried her tablet and laptop into the kitchen and began reading her textbooks for the fall semester, making notes. She already knew what courses she would be taking. She had improved her GPA over the last year, in no small part due to her new friends, who’d made her care again.
Melissa came in and saw Renee, “You studying again?” she said, with a little exasperation.
“Yes, I am going to become an engineer. I have to study.”
“You are so like Jennifer in many ways.”
“She is getting her DBA, that isn’t easy, either.”
“I know, I really like the dedication you two have to succeed. You two are way smarter than I am.”
“You are above average, girl. Don’t ever look down on yourself. We both love you.”
Melissa smiled, “I know that and we both love you too.”
Renee smiled. “I am looking better. I think it is about time I went all the way to looking great. Why don’t we hit the salon tomorrow?”
Melissa brightened right up, “What a wonderful idea. Let me go talk to Jennifer.”
Jennifer loved the idea, too; she had been just about to suggest that very thing, as she wanted some work done too. Melissa was always ready to go to the salon.
The next day, the three of them drove up to Dallas to a salon. It was one of the better salons in town. Renee dressed casually in jeans, but wore a corset, and the top she wore showed off a good bit of cleavage. She liked the way she looked. Her skin was finally relaxing again. She also carried her suit bag with her. She wanted to look her best when her friends saw her again.
Renee met with the stylist and discussed what she wanted done. She chose a hairstyle somewhat like Katy Perry, without the flashy colors. She chose to take her hair to a golden brown, with darker undertones. She wanted her brows thinned just a little and given a nice arch; a full set of acrylic nails, and her makeup done. All the work took time, three and a half-hours to be exact. She took another half hour to get dressed in her Red Armani suit and heels. Her stylist fussed with her a minute, before she came out and showed herself off to her friends.
When she came out, Jennifer’s and Melissa’s mouths dropped open. For the first time, Renee looked so much more feminine, now that she had taken the plunge. She looked like a million bucks. Every inch of her spoke of power, authority and femininity. Renee turned slowly around, so the girls could see all of her.
“You look ready to go to work, Renee. You are every bit the business professional,” Jennifer said. “Beautiful, powerful and chic, I love what you had done to your hair.”
Renee smiled, then looked at her friends, “You both look great, too. Melissa you look like a dream.”
Jennifer and Melissa had dressed up too, they weren’t about to let their sister outclass them by much. They all looked great. Jennifer was dressed in a navy suit and looked very professional, like a banker. Melissa wore a very sophisticated but chic dress. She was the prettiest and most feminine out of the three.
They went out on the town that night and drew a lot of attention everywhere they went. Jennifer and Renee put on airs, like they were discussing a business deal and Melissa was their client. Renee would pull out her tablet and find a set of technical drawings. They used that to fend off unwanted attention when the gentlemen were persistent. They wound up their night in a jazz club, where the music was mellow and hot.
>>>>><<<<<
Early the following week, Debra came up. Everybody got their hugs and kisses and helped her move in. As they sat around to talk, Debra commented on Renee’s looks. She talked the girl out of her blouse and bra and took a close inventory of the young woman.
“Dr. Carter did excellent work, I see.”
“I think he did. He also worked on my lips, my cheeks and my nose.”
“You look very good dear. I doubt if anyone would recognize you now.”
“Hell, I don’t recognize myself. I am still getting use to the new me.”
“Well you look lovely. The reason I came up here is, that we are going to court in Fort Worth tomorrow. Renee, you are going to be totally legal after tomorrow.”
Jennifer and Melissa hugged their friend after that bit of news.
“How long are you staying?” Jennifer asked.
“Just a week, I need to get back to my patients. I hope that you can come back down for the fourth? We can go down to Clear Lake for their fireworks show.”
>>>>><<<<<
Renee dressed in her suit. She realized that she needed another suit. She mentioned that to Jennifer, who agreed with Renee, so the four of them headed to Fort Worth.
They met Attorney John Nolan just outside the courtroom a half-hour before their appointment. He knew Debra and Jennifer, but for the life of him, he couldn’t pick his client out from the blond girl and the brown haired girl.
“I know why my client is here, but for the life of me, I can’t pick out my client. To keep from embarrassing myself, Debra, please introduce me.”
Debra went to Renee and said, “The other girl is Melissa Conroy. This is the girl who wants to change her name to Renee Annette Jennings.”
Mr. Nolan shook each girls’ hand, ending with Renee. “Well Renee, I can see why you need a name change.”
They talked for a few minutes about what they would be doing and what they could expect. They entered the courtroom of Barbra Davidson. Renee and Mr. Nolan stood, when Craig’s name was called.
“Is this your client, Mr. Nolan?”
“Yes ma’am, Judge Davidson. This is Craig Wilford Lawson. He wants to change his name to Renee Annette Jennings. Renee is a transsexual who is taking her Real Life Test to transition to a woman, your Honor.”
Judge Davidson stood and looked closely at Renee and shook her head. “If she is taking a test, I would give her an A+.” The judge asked her a dozen legally mandated questions about the name change. She also stated that no change to the reference of sex could be made till after Sexual Reassignment Surgery. She asked if Renee understood that. Renee’s answers satisfied all the legal requirements and the judge made the name change official and made note of the Real Life Test, something that wasn’t legally required or statutory.
“Congratulations, Renee Annette Jennings. You are legal. My clerk will provide you with your papers.”
“Thank you, Judge Davidson.”
Their ten minutes was over and someone else took their place before the bench. The clerk provided Renee with the papers to making the name change legal.
From there, they went to the nearest DPS (Department of Public Safety) driver’s license office, filled out a name change form and changed her address to the Hillsboro address. When she got to the front of the line she handed the clerk the name change form, Craig’s driver’s license and the court document. The clerk nearly broke her eyebrows as she checked the documents and looked at Renee, before she reread the documents. She took the money and processed the name change before taking Renee’s picture. She just issued her a paper license, instead of returning Craig’s old license.
“You should receive your new license in ten days to two weeks. Next.”
The four of them drove to UTA’s administrative office. She presented her old student ID, her paper license, the court documents and the letter from her Psychologist. The clerk sent them to the Dean of Admissions. He checked the documents and the letter; gave Renee a spiel about their anti-discrimination policy, covered a few other legal points and made changes to the official records. He then sent her back to the clerk who recorded the changes and photographed her for her new student ID.
“You should receive notice that the changes have been made within a week. They will be sent to your new address. Call us if you don’t hear from us, especially since you are a senior. We want to get you in the same classes as you would have been in.”
Satisfied, that he wasn’t needed anymore, at least for right now, Mr. Nolan shook hands with all of them, “Call me if you have any troubles associated with your name change, your real life test, or with any discrimination. I will enjoy representing you in any law suit.”
They drove back to their apartment, instead of going all the way back to home. This was the first time Debra had been to the apartment. She walked around it.
“This is a nice apartment, much better than the one I lived in when I went to Texas A&M. One thing though, is it your intent to try and start a family over the next year, Melissa?”
“Yes Mom.”
“Is your lease up in August, Jennifer?”
“Yes, it is,” Jennifer said.
“Good! Renee, you know this area pretty good. Let’s find a three or four bed condo, or home, to lease or buy. Go get a couple of newspapers.”
“Melissa, your car is still here, let me go pick up a Star-Telegram and a Dallas Morning News. I will also pick up an apartment finder and a house finder. Then meet me at the IHoP. I don’t know about ya’ll, but I am hungry.” Renee said, grabbing her laptop. She kissed every one and headed out.
>>>>><<<<<
When Jennifer, Melissa and Debra got to the IHoP, Renee was sitting at a long booth; she had her laptop out and was clicking away at the keyboard. The girls got together and worked as they ate. Jennifer was going through the home finder. With the recession going on, the housing markets were very soft in the medium to upper end housing. She came upon an ad which she read out loud, “a five bedroom, three and a half bath home for sale or lease, located a mile and a half away from the University.”
Jennifer added, “Three years ago the home would have probably gone for six to seven hundred thousand. Today they are asking in the three to four hundred thousand range, or twenty-five hundred a month lease. Let’s go check it out.”
Jennifer called the agent who listed the property, then they all drove to the property. The home looked fairly good from the street. A bad thing was that the home was on a major street, which meant heavy traffic, but it was in a good neighborhood. Jennifer looked up and down the street and saw two more “For Sale” signs.
When the agent arrived, he took them on a tour of the property. The home was in fairly good condition, but needed some work. Renee did a wonderful job at finding and pointing out faults. She was all over the place. Jennifer had to smile; the girl was good. Every time she pointed something out, the agent’s smile got a little smaller.
“Would you give us a minute, sir?” Jennifer asked.
“Certainly, Ma’am,”
The four women got their heads together. Jennifer knew her property, but she turned to Renee. “What do you think Renee?”
“The house is in fairly good condition. Without some tools, I can only guess about the electrical system, the plumbing, and the heating and cooling systems. They seem okay, but I would like a closer look. If they check out, we can put in twenty-five to thirty thousand in fixes and upgrades and it will be as good as or better than new.”
“Do you like it Melissa?
“I love it. It has a nice back yard. When we have kids, we will have to make sure they can’t easily go out the front door, though.”
“Agreed,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer returned her attention the real estate agent. “What is the asking price?”
“Three seventy-five.”
“How much are the owners still into it?”
“Two hundred,”
“How far are they in arrears?”
“Twenty two.”
“Property taxes current?”
“No, two years out, they owe nine grand.”
“How close are the wolves?”
“Forty days.”
Jennifer got her friends together and huddled and talked. Then Jennifer talked to the agent.
“I want my engineer, Ms. Jennings to go over the home more closely later today. I am going to go to the county and check the records. If we find no other problems and no other liens on the home, I will make a cash offer.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Let me go make a call.”
“Renee, can you check the house out, or will you need to call someone in?”
“I can do it. I will need to stop and get some tools.”
“Go change your clothes and get what you need. Then come on back here. Melissa, you can go home with Renee. You too, Mom, unless you want to dig in the records with me?”
“I think I would like to dig in the records with you,” Debra said.
“I will make us a big dinner tonight,” Melissa said.
The agent came back in and said, “I can be back in an hour and a half for your inspection. The owners are very excited.”
Renee went to the local Home depot where she picked up a tool belt and a couple of dozen items before she and Melissa went home. Renee dressed in jeans, a UTA Engineering sweatshirt and running shoes. Melissa wrapped Renee’s hair up in a bandana then took Renee back to the house in Renee’s Mercedes, leaving her there, as Melissa drove back home.
More suitably dressed, Renee went everywhere, in the attic, on the roof, she checked the plumbing, electrical outlets, breaker boxes, junction boxes, the central air and heating unit, the two car garage and checked the foundation, making cryptic notes on her iPhone.
When she finished, she told the agent that they would be in touch the next day. Then she called a cab and headed home.
Renee took a long shower to clean off the dirt and insulation. The house was clean except for areas like the attic and the garage. She came out of her room dressed in a skirt, blouse, no hose, and heels.
Everybody was back, so they sat down to dinner. Renee took out her iPhone as she took her place. They discussed what they had found.
“The agent was right, they owe nine thousand in taxes, plus interest and penalties, so make that ten grand. The house is appraised at five hundred fifty and there are no outstanding liens, other than the mortgage. The mortgage holder is BofA. How about you Renee?”
“I went over the place with a fine tooth comb. The electrical and plumbing are everything you would expect in the price range. They looked very good. The AC/Heater units are fair, but may need looking at in a couple of years. No signs of termites and the walls sounded solid. The insulation is above average. The carpet in the master bed, living room, and stairs could stand replacement. They are clean, but worn. The built in stove and ovens are good, but need cleaning. The kitchen cabinets are solid, but they could stand refinishing. The kitchen was used a lot, the grease and grime has built up on the woodwork . That affects wood; I would suggest sanding and refinishing them. I like them though. I didn’t see any cracks in the slab style foundation. Like I guesstimated, twenty-five to thirty thousand would clean it up nicely.”
Jennifer smiled, that is about what she would have said, “So let’s vote. Melissa.”
“I like it, it would be a good home to raise kids in. We just need to keep them in the house and back yard.”
Mom what do you think. “It is a good house to invest in. The neighborhood is still good, although I hope the other homes would sell to good people.”
Jennifer turned to Renee and asked, “What about you, Renee, it’s going to be your home too?”
“A good home, in a good neighborhood, Win/Win.”
>>>>><<<<<
The four of them were dressed in suits the next day when they met with the agent in his office.
“I am prepared to make an offer on the house. I propose to offer you two sixty on the home. Cash in thirty days and we cover the taxes.”
“The home is worth more than that.”
“It was when the market was booming. Have you checked the stock market? Some stocks are down over half their value of two years ago, even blue chippers. Let me guess. This home was owned by an executive who was let go. He had a wife and grown children. If he loses the home, he goes down the toilet. I could call Bank of America and offer to buy the note for one eighty five. They are holding tons of bad paper right now. They would be salivating over selling that mortgage. If you lease the home, you either pay on the note, or pay on the taxes, not both. Paying on the note will give you another five months. If you are leasing it, it will be harder to sell. In January, the home will be auctioned off to pay taxes; you, the bank and your client get nothing. Talk to your client.”
The agent made a phone call, the girls could tell that the call wasn’t going well, but they sat there quietly. The agent had to tell the seller the facts of life. He put his hand on the mouthpiece and turned to the women.
“Three hundred,”
“Not going to happen. Two seventy.”
He spoke on the phone and turned back, “Two seventy five, you pay arrears and we have a deal.”
“No, your client pays arrears and any secondary mortgages, we pay taxes.”
The agent sadly shook his head and talked on the phone, ten seconds later, he said, “Deal.”
“Great, send me the contracts.”
“The owner is in Seattle looking for work. I have signed contracts right here. I just need to fill in the amounts.” He opened a safe and pulled out the contracts. He inserted what the owner would pay, what the buyer would pay, and the price.
“Better, I will put a hundred thousand in escrow till after the title search. You get the balance 30 days after closing.” Jennifer said, writing out a check. “We will also lease it for three months, so we can prepare it and move in. That will give your client an extra eight grand.”
“That will be great. Will you need financing?”
“I don’t need to finance it. I could buy a couple of blocks around here. You can check me out at Dun and Bradstreet. I checked you out,” she said, handing him the check after she read and signed the contracts.
“I can’t say it was a pleasure working with you, but it is a relief for my client. We haven’t had a serious offer in months. I will notify BofA that the house is sold.”
The girls left the agent’s office. “Tough negotiator sis,” Renee said.
“That is business. He was going to lose it, his back was up against the wall. At least he will walk away with forty five thousand. It will help him a little. I think he bought too much house. When there is plenty of money and low interest rates, people sometimes overspend, which inflates housing costs. I got the Hillsboro home for two fifty, that place is worth twice this home.”
>>>>><<<<<
To celebrate they went shopping for clothes, Renee got two more suits, a DK in black, with a skirt and pants, and a burgundy, D&G, with just a skirt. Jennifer got a black Versace and Melissa got a fuchsia Saint Laurent. Even Debra bought a suit; she picked a sage colored Armani.
They then headed back to Hillsboro. Debra stayed four more days, then headed back to Kingwood. Renee got an official letter from the school acknowledging her name change. Renee Jennings was credited with all the coursework that Craig Lawson had taken, and she was scheduled to be in all the classes that Craig had signed up for. She also received notice that Renee Jennings was approved for fast tracking for a master’s degree in Civil Engineering.
That last bit was new news. Craig had requested Fast Tracking. That would allow her to take a few masters level courses in her senior year. She would have to call her advisor and see what changes could be made. She was carrying twelve credit hours this fall; she could easily carry fifteen.
She took out her iPhone and called her advisor. Dr. Morgan Samuels couldn’t remember having advised a student named Renee Jennings. He was assigned KLMNO’s not a J, however after he pulled up her file on the computer and saw that she was linked to Craig Lawson, he was a little surprised. The picture shocked him. Wow, she was a babe, but that was a line he wouldn’t cross. “Renee, did you use to be Craig Lawson?” He asked tentatively
It was a better reaction than she expected. “Yes, I am in transition to becoming a woman. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Your change just came out of left field. I see that you have been fast tracked, is that what you are calling about?”
He didn’t sound like it bothered him, “Yes, what would you suggest?”
They talked for about ten minutes and the advisor made a change in the fall and suggested two changes in the spring.
“You are still on track to graduate next spring. Come by my office late August, or early September.”
>>>>><<<<<
Melissa asked Renee to start wearing fuller skirts and looser undies at the end of June. She wanted Renee’s sperm to be stronger and more robust, was the way she put it. Tight undies tended to overheat testicles and made sperm less motile. Renee humored her. The clothes weren’t something she would like to wear every day and Renee would hate going to classes dressed like this, especially when she was making things and breaking things in engineering.
She loved breaking things. There was nothing like putting a concrete plug you’d made in a pneumatic press, and compressing it till failure. They did that to show the different compressive strengths of different formulas of concrete.
Melissa had her calendars out and was predicting ovulation around August thirteenth. Renee was to have her calendar clear two days before and two days after that day. She even insisted that Renee mark the date on her phone calendar. Melissa was so frantic Renee wanted to laugh, but that wouldn’t be helpful to her situation. So she kept her laughter inside and just hugged her friend.
When she got her new Texas Driver’s License; she rushed to show it to her friends. Jennifer thought her DL picture was one of the best she had ever seen. The people who take the pictures seem to take perverse pleasure in catching the people at their worst. The person who took hers though, did a great job.
When she showed Jennifer and Melissa the license, they had to compare theirs to her. Jennifer’s was better than Melissa’s but not as good as Renee’s
“That’s no fair! You have to go back and let them screw up your photo like everybody else’s,” Melissa said.
“You’re just jealous.” Renee pouted.
Renee’s action precipitated a pillow fight that lasted ten minutes, and ended in the destruction of three pillows. They fell into each other’s arm laughing.
When they were pretty much recovered, Jennifer held up the remnants of her pillow. “Why don’t you analyze this failure, Renee?”
To Jennifer’s dismay, Renee snatched the three pillows and began to do just that, leaving Jennifer and Melissa to clean up the mess. Four hours later, Jennifer and Melissa still hadn’t seen Renee, so they went looking for her. She was just coming out of the garage, as her friends were approaching.
She was just coming out of the garage as her friends were approaching. “Let’s eat, I am hungry. Then I’ll show you what I’ve come up with.”
Melissa hadn’t cooked, so they headed to the local Whataburger for some fast food.
Renee sat between her friends and opened her laptop. “You’ll have to forgive me if the results, are a result of guesstimations, but I didn’t have any of the school’s technical equipment like scales and strain gauges. I used a lot of estimation in my analysis.”
As they ate, she went through a power point slide show and CAD/CAM diagrams. Renee showed the locations of the individual pillow failures. Two pillows had end seam failures, but one pillow had burst on one side, about a quarter of the distance of the pillow’s length from the end. She talked about twenty minutes on the end seam failures. She even had camera phone pictures of the pillows at its best resolution, showing where the failures occurred. She determined that the thread used to sew the pillows had failed under the stress of repetitive loads put on the seams that exceeded the tensile strength of the thread. She went on to explain how the pillows might be improved to prevent such failures in the future.
She found the pillow whose side burst more interesting, spending thirty minutes on its explanation. Here is where there was more guesstimation. She had numerous photos showing the area where the fabric ripped open. She developed several hypothesizes of failure and began to work through each of them. She spent the most time explaining the most probable mode of failure in very technical detail. Her conclusion was that one of the girls’ pillow’s had failed because the pillow’s shell had been penetrated by an arc shaped sharp implement, causing a cascading failure of neighboring threads, due to continual impacts, till the pillows’ shell failed.
Then in simple language she said, “The pillow failed because the girl holding the pillow, gripped it so tightly that her fingernails ripped through the fabric. Repeated uses of the pillow in the pillow fight caused the tears to grow till the pillow ripped open and spilled the contents. I could be more exact if I had my instruments.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Jennifer said, clearly wowed by her friend. “Your explanation was remarkable. Save those files, Renee.” Jennifer was deep in thought for several minutes. “What would you need to do a more detailed analysis, without guesstimating?”
Renee opened Word and began typing as she thought about what she would need to replicate the experiment and garner hard evidence. The list included scales, accelerometers, strain gauges, high speed cameras, and a dozen other things besides pillows.
When they got back to their home, they all took a late afternoon swim and did topless sunbathing, on the back deck. All three of them had slowly gained a strapless golden tan, over the weeks.
Jennifer looked over at Renee and smiled. She seemed so comfortable in her role as a girl, “How does it feel having your own breasts, rather than wearing the breast forms?”
“I liked the looks of my breasts. If I didn’t have my own, I would wear the breast forms, but I think this is the real me. Having said that, I am glad I got the operation. The forms don’t have nerves and I couldn’t feel them. It was like wearing a heavy backpack on my chest. I can feel the sun warming my chest, I love the way silks and satins feel on my breasts, and believe it or not, I like the way they move as I move about. I am glad I met you and Melissa. Even if we didn’t love each other, I would still have loved how ya’ll changed me.”
“How did we change you?” Melissa asked, a worried note in her voice. She was afraid they might have hurt Renee.
“You made me care again, you showed me there was more to living, and you gave me love. That is how you changed me,” Renee said, in a knowing manner. “Don’t worry, you and Jennifer didn’t hurt me, or what I might have become. I wanted to succeed then, but I want to conquer now. That is a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that is a good thing if it is channeled in the right direction, and in my heart, I believe you are,” Jennifer said.
Melissa and Jennifer both held hands with Renee.
On the first of July, they ran up to Arlington and closed on the home. Jennifer made arrangements to transfer the final payment for the house. They contracted a decorator and put her company in charge of clearing the apartment, fixing up the home and moving their things in.
Then they hit the road to Kingwood in the Mercedes. This had become their favorite car as a family. It had a lot more room for all of them. When it had just been Jennifer and Melissa, or when it was just Jennifer on her own, the Jag had been more than enough car.
Debra, after she had greeted all of her children, just had to see how Renee’s breasts looked. It might have been strange, but it was alright with Renee. She took her jacket, blouse and bra off, in the living room and showed off her assets. She looked beautiful. The skin had almost totally relaxed around the implants, giving her breasts a more natural appearance. Debra checked the way Renee’s nipples reacted, gently manipulating them for a bit to get them to stand up. She realized that Renee would have to be on hormones for a while before they would become more sensitive, but there were other more important things that needed to happen first, grandchildren. She was so excited about that. She had been afraid that she would never hold a grandchild, but Jennifer’s happiness had been more important. They talked for a bit, then went out to eat. Debra wanted to show off her lovely daughters.
>>>>><<<<<
They all went down to Clear Lake to watch their fireworks display. Frank and Helen Rienfeld, friends of Debra’s, had invited them down to watch the event on their yacht. Frank and Helen had been friends with Debra and Thomas when they had all been college students. Frank was with NASA, and Helen was into the arts.
They met up at the docks and loaded the yacht with goodies, then motored out to the middle of the lake, and anchored away from the shore, out in the lake. They drank champagne and ate canapés as the fireworks burst in the sky. It might not have been as big as the show in Houston, but it was still spectacular, watching the display in the air and seeing it reflected off the smooth sparkling surface of the lake. It was a wonderful experience for them.
After the show was over they went below deck and sat down to dinner. They talked as they had a dinner of speckled trout almandine, steamed asparagus vinaigrette and wild rice, with broccoli, with a nice white wine.
“So tell me, Frank,” Jennifer said. “What do you do for NASA?”
“I am just what NASA needs, another administrative paper pusher.”
“Nonsense Frank, don’t lie to the girl,” Helen said, chastising her husband.”
“Alright, dear. What I do is trouble shoot the telemetry relay system. What that means is, we are constantly receiving telemetry and data from the space shuttle and the ISS. When the data transfer fails for whatever reason, I have to go crazy and try to track it down, if the problem is on my end.”
“Oh, so you are an electrical engineer,” Renee said.
“Yes quite so, and what do you do?” Frank asked.
“We are all students at UTA.” Renee indicated the other two girls too, “I am a senior, working for my BSCE.”
“Ah we have a civil engineer amongst us. What do you like doing?”
“I like to break things. Really though, I like to figure out why things break, then work to improve upon others peoples’ ideas, or work to diagnose and prevent future failures.”
“A worthy desire my dear and you, Jennifer, what are you taking?”
Jennifer told him what she was working toward and talked about what she wanted to do, as did Melissa. Melissa said nothing about being a momma, just what she hoped to accomplish from school. She really did want to be a psychologist.
Late that night they pulled into their mooring and spent the night on the yacht. The boat had three bedrooms and Renee slept on the sofa in the living room.
>>>>><<<<<
The girls moved into their home, and started changing it in small ways to make it their own. Renee was excited that not only did she have a bedroom to herself, but she had a room where she could set up her computers and work on her engineering projects at home.
Some women are regular as clockwork. They could almost set the atomic clock by their periods. Some girls, if they have had sex, and if their periods are late by one day, there is a very high probability that they are pregnant.
Melissa had been keeping up with her periods by basal thermometers and ovulation kits. She was somewhat irregular, within one or two days. Some girls are like that. One period might be 30 days, and later, another might be twenty-eight or twenty-nine. On the tenth, she noted a drop in her basal temp, so she ran an ovulation test, which was inconclusive. The next day, her temp spiked and the ovulation kit showed a spike in her Luteinizing Hormone.
She ran to Renee’s room, shouting, “Screw me, Renee.” Renee woke and was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, “What?”
“It’s time, Renee. I am ovulating,” Melissa said, pulling her panties off and laying on the bed beside Renee.
It may have been hard to admit, and nobody had asked, but Renee was a virgin. The only sex she’d had ever had was with Mary Thumb and her four sisters. Today though, she did have a morning woody, and managed to insert it into Melissa. She didn’t know too much about sex with a girl, but she did know it was supposed to go in and out.
Melissa, bless her heart, was going to lie there and take it like a woman. As far as sex with a guy, she was also a virgin, although her lover Jennifer had claimed her maidenhead with Leroy. She had seen Renee naked before, but never with a full woody. Renee was bigger than Leroy. Renee, for her part, tried to do right by Melissa. She had heard girls’ talking about so and so’s who were twenty-second wonders. She was upset that she didn’t have time for foreplay with Melissa, so she tried to hold herself back as long as she could. Melissa was surprised by Renee. She had been just going to lie there and take it, but after a few minutes, it just felt too good. She began to caress, hold, kiss and move with Renee. Renee varied her pace and the force she used, when she got too excited. She seemed to realize that this helped.
“When you come … ah …ah … stick it … ah … all …ah … the way in ah … ah … and hold it oooh … it there OOooo … for Sssssssome minutes ooooo … oooo … till you stop ohhhhh coming. AAAhhhh …OOhh …OOHH …OOhh, yes … yes … yes …YYYYEEEESSSSSssssss …”
Renee could hold it much longer and began going faster and harder. When she felt like she was about to explode, she buried herself all the way and let go.
Melissa wrapped her arms around Renee’s neck and her legs firmly held Renee inside her. She took time to stabilize her breathing. Renee was panting, too. They held onto each other, then began to kiss and cuddle.
After ten minutes Melissa turned around on the bed, so her bottom was facing the wall and arranged herself so her legs and pelvis were pointed up the wall. She wanted all of Renee’s seed to puddle around her cervix for as long as she could stand it.
Renee kissed Melissa. Sex with her had been great, better than jerking off, much, much better. Still, she felt guilty. Was it wrong for her to enjoy having sex with a friend’s lover? They knew it was going to happen, they had planned it, but they hadn’t considered the impact. Renee took a long shower. When she came out of the bathroom, Melissa was gone. She got dressed in her girly-girly, keep the balls cool, stuff and made up her face. Both she and Melissa were looking a little guilty about enjoying things.
“Renee, sit,” Jennifer said, pointing to a point next to Melissa. “We screwed up. I guess, I screwed up. We need to talk. Melissa, do you consider Renee part of the family?”
“Yes I do.”
“Renee, are you part of our family?”
“Yes I am, I guess.”
“There is no guess. Either you are, or you aren’t?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We should have talked about this earlier, but we didn’t. Melissa, you enjoyed yourself this morning, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Renee felt wonderful.”
“Renee, did you enjoy yourself?”
“Of course I did.”
“That is good. I don’t expect you to be a celibate in our family, Renee. Melissa, you are allowed to enjoy yourself with Renee. Renee, you are allowed to enjoy yourself. The reason we haven’t done it before, was timing for Melissa and I. We want to get the most out of our schooling. Stop feeling guilty about it, neither of you is cheating as long as it stays between the three of us. Now, you two kiss and like it.”
Jennifer smiled, as she saw her friend and lover kiss. She was glad to know Renee was good to her lover. She knew her time was coming too.
Renee and Melissa made love six more times over the next three days. They both got better at it. The twelfth day after ovulation, Melissa’s basal temperature began to drop. She didn’t get pregnant. They made love a couple of times when it wasn’t necessary.
School started and things began to get very complicated. Renee’s senior year was a lot more work, but she was proving up to it. Some of the students wondered who this brilliant young lady was. Some figured it out and didn’t like it, but the school’s code kept them in line. Some didn’t care who or what Renee was. Some were interested, but Renee wasn’t. Some of the professors didn’t like it. They found it better to just ignore her and just grade her on par with the others. There was some tension, but Renee could live with it.
A couple of weeks into school, round 2 with Melissa came about. There was less fumbling, more bonding and more enjoyment. They made love eight times over the next three days. Still, twelve days after ovulation, her temperature dropped. If they didn’t do it in October, she and Jennifer would both go on the pill till next summer.
In October, some of the bad vibes of school had played out and Renee began to have a better time with the other students. It was her personality, her knowledge, and her work ethic that won out. She was good to be partnered with. She carried her own weight and did her share of work on projects, something that couldn’t be said of all the students. By the second week of October, Renee was rereading the textbooks, and things that hadn’t quite made sense, made sense.
Jennifer began working on her Doctoral dissertation. September and October consisted of a massive research project. She spent long days in the library and online. Once her project was accepted, she began to work in earnest. She also began to help teach some classes for the professors while she worked. Melissa was wonderful for her. She helped keep Jennifer organized and inline. She did some of the typing, although it was hard to make heads or tails of Jennifer’s writings.
Round Three began and it went very easily. They made love another eight times over three days. They enjoyed it when they made love, and Jennifer was pleased with that.
One day Renee went to the living room when she heard Jennifer call her. There were three boxes there waiting for her, as she entered.
“You called me?” Renee said.
“Open the boxes. please.”
Renee reached for one box. The label was from a scientific supply company. She tore into the box. Inside were dozens of different sensor kits. She was like a kid in a candy store as she sorted through the sensors. She would have to do a lot of work to make them work, but she could do that easily. There was everything she had put on her wish list and more. The next two boxes, were more of the same. She grabbed the stuff and headed to her workroom. She got out her solder station and some tools and started on a simple vibration sensor.
An hour later, she booted up her laptop, loaded her O-scope software, and plugged in the sensor to the laptop’s USB port. She checked her work. The sensor seemed to be working right. She set the sensor on the table, increased the sensitivity, then lightly scratched the table. When she was sure it was reading, she set about following directions to calibrate the sensor. Then she set that aside and began to plan her work on the other sensors. Her reverie was only interrupted by the dinner bell.
The next week Melissa hid a smile as they all headed about doing their own things. She thought that she was pregnant, but wanted to wait a week till she could do one of those home pregnancy kits. They all had things they had to do.
November came and Melissa ran her pregnancy test. It came up negative, even though her basal temp was still elevated. But she was only a few days late. She knew it in her heart that she was pregnant and didn’t let it get her down.
She waited two more days and ran the pregnancy test again and got a positive. She was pregnant. From what she had been told, they were all going to be home tonight. Elated, she planned a big meal for Saturday.
Renee was pleased with her last lab reports that she got back. The grade was an A, but it was the grader’s comments that pleased her the most, “You are consistently at the top of your class, your work is clear, concise, and accurate. Keep up the good work.” And that was from her masters level course. She was running a 4.0 so far this semester. She was elated, as she headed home that Friday night.
Jennifer was pleased, she had shown her dissertation advisor the work she had done so far. She had a long way to go, but her advisor was happy with what she had done so far.
Everyone came home happy this evening, all for very different reasons.
Jennifer broke out a bottle of Red wine, as she and Renee shared their news. Melissa hugged the two girls, who did not notice that Melissa was just drinking grape juice. She kept her two friend’s glasses full, even opening another bottle of wine for them.
She had them dinner. She loved fixing her friends a quick dinner. She’d fixed grilled chicken, Caesar salads. When her friends switched to a white wine, she switched to white grape juice. They were half soused at eight that night. They all ended up in the same bed and somehow Jennifer wound up having sex with Renee. Jennifer was a screamer, even when Melissa used Leroy on her, or when they gave each other oral. Tonight with Renee, she was more so. For the most part, Renee was on the bottom and Jennifer rode her. They were sloppy from the wine, Melissa just giggled and helped keep things in line. Jennifer fell asleep on top of Renee, who fell asleep shortly afterwards. It was over an hour before Jennifer rolled off Renee, into Melissa’s arms.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday, Melissa woke and looked at her two lovers. Renee and Jennifer were sleeping on their sides, facing each other. Renee had another woody and Melissa giggled. She maneuvered Renee a little and tickled Jennifer a little and after five minutes, only half asleep, she had the two at it again, this time with Renee on top. They quickly woke, but were too lost in passion to quit. Jennifer orgasmed several times before Renee did.
“You did this to us. You little vixen,” Jennifer accused, as she and Renee got up to clean themselves up.
“You better believe I did,” Melissa said, giggling.
Jennifer started to swing a pillow at Melissa.
“You wouldn’t dare hit a pregnant woman, would you?”
“WHAT! You’re PREGNANT?”
Melissa just smiled and nodded.
Jennifer was still a little slow and said, “Renee, we’re Pregnant … I mean, Melissa’s pregnant … we’re gonna have a baby!”
All three of them began jumping up and down, hugging each other.
>>>>><<<<<
They went to Hillsboro for Thanksgiving, while Debra headed up from Kingwood to be there with them. Anita was ecstatic to see Jennifer, Melissa, and Renee. When Melissa broke the news to her, she made Jennifer and Renee do all the work bringing in their stuff.
When Debra arrived there was pandemonium all over again as she found out that Melissa was pregnant. They all sat down to talk. Anita called her family and said she would be very late. Melissa could tell them within two days, the date she conceived. The doctor said she was due sometime in late July, early August. Debra was excited; she just had to know when Christmas break was so they could come down to her place. She had plans to make.
Jennifer pulled out her phone and pulled up her calendar. She was about to tell her Mom when she saw a note she’d made. She then made a mental calculation. “Oh God, you little vixen,” Jennifer said, accusatorially at Melissa. “Melissa, I am working on my Doctoral dissertation and you got me pregnant”
You could hear a pin drop as the people there tried to wrap their minds around that. Debra and Anita both looked at Renee, who was just smiling innocently. She fluttered her eyes at them.
“How late is your period?” Debra asked.
“Four days, Mom. I have never been four days late, and a little over two weeks ago, Melissa navigated Renee and me, half-drunk, into bed.”
“And you two had sex?” a smiling Debra asked.
“Twice, Mom. I will be pregnant when I turn in my dissertation and do my oral defense.”
“Oh, this is going to be so good, two babies within a month.”
They all had a hug fest. It wasn’t that Jennifer was mad about having children. She had just wanted to wait till after she got her DBA. After the shock of realizing she was pregnant, she was happy, and whispered in Renee’s ear “Thank you, Renee.”
“So when are you going to have a baby, Renee?” Anita teased. She knew that Renee was born a male.
“I’ll have to give that some thought and I think there will also have to be a miracle in medicine first.”
Debra planted a big kiss on Renee’s cheek. Tears were streaming from her eyes, but she wore a big smile on her face, “Renee, you are a treasure, my child. I am glad you came into our lives and our loves.”
Nobody got to bed before midnight. Renee had to go to Hillsboro and find a store that sold home pregnancy kits. Once home, it was ten minutes till Jennifer came out and confirmed that she indeed was pregnant.
>>>>><<<<<
Renee sat at her laptop, viewing a diagram of a bridge, listed by the TXDoT (Texas Department of Transportation). The bridge was on the list of the top ten worst condition bridges in the State of Texas. It was located in Dallas and crossed the Trinity River.
Of the many bridges on major highways nationally, according the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Texas had 200+ structurally deficient bridges (those scoring less than fifty on a scale of one to a hundred). Renee had about thirty sensors out of nearly fifty that were suitable to study a bridge. She was plotting out just where she would place her sensors on the Wallace Street Bridge (fictional), in Dallas. This bridge, averaged seventeen thousand vehicles a day, and any detour would add five miles to commutes, and add more traffic to two almost as poorly conditioned, bridges.
The Wallace Street bridge had been built over the Trinity River, in 1907, and upgraded in 1930. The bridge, was two types of bridges. One portion was a 675 foot long Pratt through truss bridge (http://bridgehunter.com/nd/mchenry/25106400/), connected to a four hundred foot, concrete arch bridge (http://www.aaroads.com/northeast/pennsylvania075/i-076_eb_ex...). Both portions of the bridge were of concern, with the Pratt through truss of greatest concern, with a score of just 31.
Renee wanted to see what the sensors could tell her about the bridge. She decided to talk with the Dallas County Engineer and ask if she could put the sensors on the bridge some Saturday, in the next week or two. In this age of terrorism and Homeland Security, it didn’t pay to be crawling over a bridge without permission, and without anybody knowing about it.
Melissa got up at about nine and headed to the kitchen. She saw Renee dressed in her more usual straight skirt, blouse, hose and heels, working on her laptop. She hugged and kissed her lover and asked. “Whatcha doin, babe?”
“Just musing about something I want to do. I want to put my sensors on a bridge in Dallas. I was just figuring out placements and such.”
“Is school all you think about?”
“No, but I enjoy doing this type thing.”
“Well I need to get cracking. I’ll try not to get in your way.”
Melissa made two lattes and started working on Thanksgiving Day Dinner. In the next half hour, Debra and Jennifer came in and fixed bowls of cereal for breakfast. Renee followed them out of the now steamy kitchen into the dining room.
“Come March or April, you are going to need help around the house,” Debra told her daughter.
“I can imagine. I have known a few pregnant women, although I haven’t lived with one. There will be two in our household. Renee, I know you want to be more help around the home, you can help, but I don’t want that to detract from your studies. School first, nurturing egos second and help around the house last. We will hire some help if we need to.”
Melissa came out singing and delivering more Lattes as they were talking, “I know a girl we might be able to hire. She is a junior in some of my classes. She was talking about taking fewer classes due to the cost of schooling. She is in some of my psychology classes. She is a sweet girl,” Melissa said.
“That could be good for us, although we might need full time help by the summer,” Jennifer said. “We will see.”
Melissa headed back to her domain.
“I will miss this place, but it will be better for Melissa and me to live in the city this coming summer,” Jennifer said.
“I also want to talk to Tim Hartley about interning this summer. I hope he was telling me the truth,” Renee stated.
“You should call him in January or February,” Jennifer said.
Renee made a note on her iPhone to call him during the Christmas break in January. Renee joined Debra and Jennifer at the home theater to watch the Macy’s Parade. They caught the parade in full, live this time.
Come dinner time, they were all dressed in their finest clothes as they each offered what they were thankful for. Melissa out did herself this time. It was amazing what she could do in a kitchen.
Renee was glad that her dress had an open back. She wasn’t wearing a corset, so she could eat a little more. Constant corset wearing had brought her natural waist down to a twenty six, as long as she didn’t go without one for more than a few days. She had gained five pounds, not counting the implants, up and down. Her figure looked very good in her gown and her legs were luscious, not toothpicks. Her sisters just loved her legs.
After dinner, they all went to the theater to watch the UT/A&M game.
“It will be a shame if the UT/A&M rivalry ends this year,” Debra said.
“I understand that the Texas legislature may take action requiring the game,” Jennifer said.
“It may not pass. The legislature is in between sessions. The support is there, but I don’t know. We will have to see what happens. Ya’ll going shopping tomorrow?” Debra asked.
“Of course, it’s as traditional as turkey today. I thought we would hit Camp Bowie in Fort Worth.”
“Sounds good, Jennifer,” Debra said.
>>>>><<<<<
Jennifer and Melissa pulled Renee into their bedroom that night. They had fun for about two hours, before they fell asleep. Now that the tension was over and worrying about getting pregnant was past, they wanted Renee to realize how big a part of their family she was. Renee was in heaven, along with her dear friends and lovers.
When things began to wind down, Renee was left sleeping between Jennifer and Melissa. First she slept facing Jennifer. Later she rolled over facing Melissa, who wrapped her up tightly in a hug, as they slept.
>>>>><<<<<<
After a late breakfast, the women all got dressed up and headed to Fort Worth. Camp Bowie runs from downtown all the way to White Settlement. That four and a half mile stretch has some of the best in shopping and boutiques in the city, ending in Neiman Marcus at Ridgemar Mall. At one jewelry store, they bought three sets of Wedding Rings. They each gave one ring to one of the others. They decided to have a private commitment ceremony before school started in January.
At the boutiques they found, they acquired some more clothes. It was too early to buy expectant mother’s clothes, but there were plenty of other stylish things for them to look at and purchase. Renee also bought some new work clothes; work boots, coveralls, gloves, two hard hats in white and green, and safety glasses. The girls still had her model her things. Renee walked back and forth like she was on a runway modeling. The workers and patrons at the construction clothing and safety supply shop, just shook their heads, laughed and clapped for Renee as she put on the show. They got her to model tool belts and other equipment as she made her walks. Sales at the store actually jumped during her performances.
At Ridgemar Mall, she stopped at ‘Old Navy” and bought a half dozen flannel shirts, micro fiber t-shirts and boot cut jeans. She was doing more and more things at school for which wearing skirts was counterproductive.
>>>>><<<<<
The four women were cuddled up in the theater, relaxing and watching the TV when Debra said, “I can quit my practice and move in with ya’ll …”
“Don’t do that, Mom! You need something like your practice,” Jennifer said.
“I can’t argue with that, work kept me sane after Thomas died, but I can take a couple of months off after Melissa delivers. Grandbabies are important, too.”
“I will agree with that, but don’t quit doing what you love doing.”
“I won’t, but I wonder … I will stay here till Tuesday.”
“We can’t stay, Mom, we have classes.”
“Yes and you all will be there for them. I think I need to spend some time with Anita.”
>>>>><<<<<
When Renee finished class on Thursday she drove to the Dallas County Engineer’s office, dressed in her black DKNY suit. She had called ahead and made an appointment to see him this afternoon. When she was escorted to his office she found a man who appeared to be buried beneath a pile of blue prints. He appeared to be in his late fifties, or early sixties, balding, with gray hair around the sides.
“Mr. Beard, your two thirty appointment is here,” his secretary said.
“Oh yes, send her on in,” He said.
“She is already here, Mr. Beard.”
He looked up, then stood up. He might have been losing hair, but there was nothing old about the rest of his body. He was a mass of muscle from his chin down.
“Hello, Mr. Beard, I am Renee Jennings, a senior CE student at UTA,” Renee said.
“Welcome to my office, Ms. Jennings, I am Marvin Beard, Dallas County’s Engineer, but then I suppose you already know that. Please have a seat.”
Renee looked around for a chair and moved some blue prints around to take a seat.
“Now what can I do for you, Ms. Jennings?”
“I am a senior engineering student, and I came up with an idea that I would like to try out. The Webster Street bridge is one of the lowest graded bridges in Dallas County, especially the Pratt through truss portion of the bridge. I would like to place various sensors on the bridge and just see what I can see.”
“Tell me what you know about the bridge, Ms. Jennings.”
She spent the next ten minutes reciting everything she knew about the bridge from memory, including the year it was begun, the year it was finished, the year of the last major upgrade and what she knew of the bridge’s maintenance.
Mr. Beard added several things she didn’t say about the bridge. Many of the things were either harder to find out, or not common knowledge, all without the need to check any records.
“That bridge is a big pain in my ass, excuse the French. I would give anything to see it replaced. A new Wallace street bridge could help alleviate many traffic woes, but politics keep pushing other projects ahead of replacing it. What do you have in mind, Ms. Jennings?”
Renee took out her laptop and found somewhere to put it where he could see it. She pulled up the outline of her project and talked her way through it. Mr. Beard listened and looked at what the girl had.
“Who was your materials Professor?”
“Dr. Arnold Albright.”
“And have you had Failure Analysis?”
“Yes, under Dr. Wendell Davis.”
“And how is that ole Buzzard? I thought he was going to retire and take things easy.”
“He is sweet and ornery, as usual. I hear he can be a handful, but I never gave him cause to be so with me. He hates late and sloppy work.”
“That is him, alright. Let me make a couple of calls. Would you mind stepping out for a couple of minutes?”
Renee waited for about ten minutes. She knew he would call her professors and would find out about her not being born female. She worried about that as she waited, but she wasn’t going to turn and run, or back away.
“Ms. Jennings, Mr. Beard will see you again,” his secretary said.
Renee stood straight as an arrow and headed into his office.
“Come on in Ms. Jennings. Dr. Davis describes you as almost anal about your work, which from him is a good recommendation. Be at the eastern end of the Wallace Street Bridge at six am this Saturday. Do you have a green hard hat and reflective vest?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good, bring them, and dress appropriately for work. Your green hard hat marks you as a visitor, or a noob. That means you will take orders from everybody else on my crew. I am anal about safety, you got that?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good, I need to make some plans myself to check that bridge out to justify spending county money looking at it. See you on Saturday.”
Renee was up at four thirty. She dressed in her flannel shirt, t-shirt, jeans, cotton socks, and work boots. She loaded her sensors into her trunk, along with her coveralls, and carried both laptops down to her Mercedes. She stopped at a local Denny’s and had breakfast before she headed to the bridge.
At the bridge, she stepped into her coveralls, zipped down her legs and tied the arms around her waist. She drank coffee while she waited for Mr. Beard and his crew. At five till six, Mr. Beard and a crew of six men arrived. He barked orders to his crew and he and a Red hat walked over to her.
“Ms. Jennings, this is Timothy Warren. He is wearing a red cap and is in charge of safety. If he says jump, jump as high as you can, then ask if that was high enough. He will plant your sensors. Just tell him where.”
“Timothy, this is Ms. Jennings, an engineering student. Take care of her. I have a crew to see to.”
“Yes sir.”
Renee shook hands with him and told him what she wanted. Timothy made some suggestions to Renee as she pointed out locations.
“Okay, they got the bridge half closed, let’s get to work. We will leave the sensors up tonight and pick them back up in the morning. Can you record data remotely? That way you will have more data.”
“Let me think on that. Hmmm, can we draw power from the bridge’s lights? I can put a laptop on the steel I beams, then log it on the Internet. I can send blocks of data to my home computer.”
They walked out on the bridge, where Mr. Beard’s crew were laying out seismic data cables and attaching their sensors. Tim got to work doing what he needed to do while the bridge was half closed. Renee called home and talked Melissa through booting Renee’s home computer and connecting to her laptop. Tim arranged power for the laptop she would leave behind. He also checked with Renee after he placed every sensor to make sure it was running hot. Two hours later, they opened the bridge back up. Mr. Beard was reading data on his computer; Renee sat next to him and was watching her own laptop. She smiled as she began collecting hard data.
As the morning progressed, the traffic began to get heavier. Renee could see just how the bridge was vibrating. She didn’t have any experience with other bridges, but she didn’t like what she saw. At about nine forty five, she heard Mr. Beard say, “Oh shit, WTF is that truck doing coming over my bridge?”
Renee looked up to see an oversized load lead car on the bridge ahead of a crane on a low boy.
“I know TXDoT didn’t approve this route,” he said, taking his phone out and making a call.
In Texas, the routes of oversized, and/or overweight loads have to be approved by the Texas Department of Transportation. They know the clearances of every overpass, stop lights, and power lines and any weight restrictions of any bridges. There are huge fines for violations of TXDoT routes. Some routes are many miles longer and more convoluted than a straight shot, so some companies try to move things at night or on weekends, like today.
The low boy was on the concrete arch portion of the bridge, Renee didn’t have sensors there, but she was already starting to receive signals from vibrations that truck was causing. Timothy pulled the lead car over off to the side. Renee saw that the crane just made it under the bridge truss. The sensors were going crazy. She saw similar readings from Mr. Beard’s computer. Mr. Beard held his breath as the truck got halfway across. Renee saw standing waves echoing back and forth. As the truck cleared the bridge, it was greeted by the Texas Department of Public Safety who pulled the truck over and minutes later by a TXDoT supervisor.
On Renee’s laptop, the echoes the truck had created were diminishing slowly and things began to return to a less stressful state.
“Hey Marvin, you old reprobate, what are you doing out of the old folks home?” The supervisor from TXDoT asked.
“Well, they let you out of the funny farm, William. I was just checking out one pain in my ass, when that asshole decided to take a short cut on my bridge.”
“Well, they are catching fines out the yazoo about now. That Weight Watcher (DPS Trooper who deal with large trucks) is really hitting that truck driver hard. Who is the lady?”
“William Branch, this is Renee Jennings. She is a hotshot engineering student at UTA. She may have my job when I decide to retire.”
“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Jennings, and you ain’t gonna retire, Marvin. They’re going have to bury you in some foundation, onsite.”
“Nah, beside the foundation, I wouldn’t be strong enough to keep some structure up. Ms. Jennings, show Mr. Branch what you got just now.”
Renee played her data back for Mr. Branch.
“Ouch! You and I need to get crews on this bridge ASAP, Marvin. We might need to down grade this bridge.”
“If you authorize it, I will call in an outsider on this one to take a look at it. We need to do some serious maintenance on this one soon.”
“Yep and I will fast track a replacement, if he finds what we know he will.”
“Ms. Jennings, just keep collecting your data, we might want to use it later. I need to talk business.”
Renee just thought that she would be here for four hours or so, collecting data. Now she would have twenty four solid hours of data, and Mr. Beard apparently, wanted her to stay for a while. It was all good, she thought. She called home again and told her friends.
She saw a few more disturbing tremors over the next couple of hours. Soon there was another Dallas county crew and a TXDoT crew there. The bridge was again half shut down, with flag crews directing traffic. More cars arrived. Mr. Beard didn’t introduce her to the politicians, who weren’t happy. Some wanted the heads of the people who had driven that damn crane over the bridge.
About one in the afternoon, an H3 drove up and a man stepped out and donned a white hard hat. The man was Tim Hartley, and he was dressed for work.”
“Hey Tim, come over here,” Mr. Beard called out. “I would like to introduce you to Ms. Jennings.”
“Yeah, she is an Engineering student at UTA, if I remember correctly.”
“I see you have met her before. Anyway, come look at this.”
Mr. Beard showed Mr. Hartley his data and Renee showed him her data.
“These aren’t normal vibrations, Marvin. What do you want done?”
“We need to see if we can save this bridge for a few more years. I think we can push a replacement through now, but that will take time.”
“Well, let me get my crew working. Together we will give this bridge a head to toe physical. Renee, come with me please.”
She followed Tim over to his crew and he introduced her as the reason they were here. When he began to issue orders, people sprang to work. He headed onto the bridge and began to supervise and talk to Renee.
“Tell me why I am missing my Michigan State game.”
Renee laid out her project to Mr. Hartley and told him what she had expected to collect.
“I don’t have any data to compare with what I got, but I was disturbed by the oscillations I recorded.”
“I would be disturbed too. We have too many bridges in this country that need to be brought down and replaced. This bridge is on the state’s top ten list, and the only reason it isn’t the top one, is there are some on the interstate highways which have higher traffic levels. Tell me what you have on this bridge, and where.”
>>>>><<<<<
Renee was tired when she got home, at about five that afternoon, but she was hungrier, so she let Melissa feed her before she showered. She talked about what happened. Jennifer and Melissa followed her into the bathroom, where they’d made a tub of hot water, with bath oils, to relax in. Melissa got her a change of underwear and Jennifer helped dry her. Dressed in panties, bra and robe, she took them to her workroom. She was still collecting data, she saw. She would have a large wireless data bill the next month. She then showed them what had started all the fuss and some cell pictures she had taken of the truck crossing the bridge.
“Look, you can see the normal vibrations of the bridge and here is where the oversized load started on the bridge. There is the bad resonance. Mr. Beard, the county engineer, nearly came unglued. That oversized load didn’t have any business crossing that bridge. It was way too heavy for the bridge.”
“Everything is nearly off the scale,” Jennifer said. “I don’t know what it means, but it doesn’t look good.”
“It isn’t. There are a lot of people working on the bridge to save it. A replacement is years away.”
>>>>><<<<<
The next morning, Renee headed back to the bridge. As she was approaching the bridge, she saw a ‘Bridge Closed’ sign and she had to follow the detour around. Mr. Beard and Timothy Warren were there. She donned her green hat as she left her Mercedes.
“Hello Ms. Jennings. You stirred up a hornet’s nest, but don’t worry, you won’t get stung. We downgraded the bridge for demolition. There ain’t enough there to save. Mr. Hartley got the emergency contract for the bridge’s replacement.”
“What type bridge are they going to put in?”
“Not sure. He hasn’t put forth a proposal yet. That might take months.”
“It’s a real shame. This bridge was an artifact.”
“Everything comes to an end, sooner or later. Both bridge sections will come down in February. CDI (Controlled Demolition Inc.) is going to drop it.”
“Oh wow, this I got to see.”
“Collect all your data, see me and we will organize it. I will help you interpret the data. Write it up and turn it in to Dr. Davis. He is expecting it soon, this year if possible. Tim, get her gear.”
>>>>><<<<<
Renee was hustling the last two weeks of school. She had to study for finals, go over her data, see Mr. Beard, write up a paper she hadn’t expected to do until the next year, and go with her girlfriends to see their OB/GYN’s. They also met Janet, the girl, which Melissa had told them about. Janet Long really needed some help if she was going to be able to finish her junior and senior year. Their offer of food and housing, and two hundred a month was more than enough to make a real difference. She accepted the unusual circumstances of the relationships and never knew that Renee wasn’t female. Janet would move in come January.
The next to last day of finals Renee dropped by Mr. Beard’s office. She let him read her paper first. She didn’t have to wait. He let her straight in. He smiled as she gave him a copy. They had worked together on her data for four hours. He had helped her to interpret her own data, comparing it with his data, and she then did her own paper. After he read the paper he just smiled and said, “Good job. Dr. Davis should be happy. I will kick the old fart in the butt if he isn’t.” He picked up his phone and made a call.
“Hey, you old fart, what are you doing? This is Marvin. When are you going to roll over and play dead?”
“The same here. Say, that student of yours, Renee Jennings, is here. She got her paper done. A damn fine piece of work. You treat her good or I will come kick your ass. Okay, I will send her right over.”
“He wants to see you today and he wants to see your data. Show him the bit with that truck crossing the bridge. That is the most telling data.”
Renee hurried back to campus. She hadn’t expected to do this today, but she had everything she needed. She hadn’t seen Dr. Davis since last year, but she knew where his office was. She took her laptop and paper with her to his office.
“Sit down, Miss Jennings and show me what you have.” At sixty eight, he was still pretty fit. He read her thirty page paper in half an hour, then looked at her data.
“Ah, see those standing waves echoing back and forth? That shows us that the bridge is slowly destroying itself ….” He went on telling her what he saw on her laptop. “I would like a copy of all the data if you will. You don’t have to, but I can use this stuff in class. It’s amazing the bridge didn’t collapse under that load. I will try to work this in as a research project for you. You might have to expand your paper a bit. The reason we had you turn it in so quick, is that in Engineering, you might be called to write a quick paper which could save lives while you’re still working on your other projects. Marvin stayed up that night and turned a critical report into TXDoT, that night. We gave you two weeks. Do you have a test tomorrow?”
“Yes, in a master’s level class course.”
“Well, go get a crackin’ on it.” He took a card from his breast pocket and handed it to her. “Give me a call before school starts.”
>>>>><<<<<
Early in December, Melissa started feeling the effects of morning sickness. By the time they were headed down to Kingwood, TX, Jennifer was also throwing up. Poor Renee did whatever she could to make things better for her friends and lovers. There was an awful lot of clean ups around the house. They were lucky to have so many bathrooms. The worse thing about it was when one got sick; she often triggered the other to throw up too. They went through a lot of ginger ale and crackers.
Debra was exuberant when the girls drove up. She brought along a full time housekeeper for the girls. She helped Renee move the mountain of luggage in from the Car. Debra actually had some help for the girls when it came to morning sickness, whether it was a placebo effect or it was medically helping, the girls benefited from her assistance.
They spent a lot of time shopping for Christmas in Houston. They wanted to get each other just the right presents to express their love for each other. They also put on a fashion show for each other. They did hit another work clothes store and Renee vamped it up again. She wore a Carhartt coverall, white hard hat, tool belt and four inch heels as she strutted around the store. She almost caused some heart attacks, as she had not worn a blouse underneath the coveralls, and left her front zip low enough to show the bottom of her bra as a teaser.
Christmas came they all had presents under the tree. Renee was surprised that Debra didn’t go crazy with baby things. All the presents were sensible and well appreciated. Renee bought Melissa an antique silver brush, comb and mirror set. She gave Jennifer a custom-made leather attaché case. Renee received a eighteenth century surveyor’s transit from Jennifer and a slinky red evening gown from Melissa, who still had hopes of making a girly girl out of Renee. She though, was headed towards being a more business professional like Jennifer, even when she was dressed like Jack the Engineer. They gave Debra individual gifts and a professional portrait album with pictures of each of them in their best formal gowns. She had presents too, for all of them.
The last one for Renee was out back. The six year old S550 was gone and a new S600 had taken its place. Melissa also had a gift certificate for a Mercedes M class SUV, while Jennifer received the same for a new Jag XFR. Jennifer was partial to Jags.
“Melissa, I know you will be doing the bulk of driving my Grandbabies around. I hope you don’t mind doing that.”
“I don’t, Mom.”
“Renee, you seem to be the driver when all of you are together, so each of you will enjoy this car. I also want you to feel like the professional you are.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Renee cried.
“I have another surprise for all of you if you will have it. I am moving my practice to Hillsboro.”
All three girls mobbed Debra in a hug. They loved it that they would be able to see her more often.
Renee dressed in her Red Armani and disappeared for four hours in late December. She drove to Cut and Shoot, to see Melisa’s parents. Renee found just Melissa’s mom. Her father had passed away over the last year. Renee tried to convince Eliza to see her daughter. She told Eliza that her daughter was expecting.
“What, a test tube baby, or a turkey baster baby?”
Renee was incensed, but she kept her cool, “No, she is having my baby.”
Eliza spilled tea over her dress and almost dropped her tea cup, “How? You’re not … are you?”
“I am a pre-op transsexual. She wanted me to get her pregnant before I get my surgery. She desperately wanted to have babies.”
“At least she did something right, but with a pervert … She should be ashamed. Now please leave, and don’t come back.”
“You have a lovely, loving young daughter. Too bad you are a raging bigot underneath a cloak of dignity. I feel sorry for you.”
Renee stepped outside and took a handkerchief out of her purse. She leaned against her car, and cleaned the heel and sole of one shoe, before she did the same to the other, then got into her car. She had tried to show Eliza that she was making the wrong choice and that they were innocent. She also didn’t want to contaminate her car with hatred.
“Call Jennifer West in Hillsboro, if you change your mind, Eliza. You have a wonderful daughter, and you will soon have grandchildren who could use a grandmother.”
Renee talked with Debra and cried with her for two hours before everyone sat down to talk to Melissa. She cried for her father’s death, and for her mother’s hate, but it seemed there was nothing else she could do for either. Everyone had a good cry and they held each other. That was the last they heard of from Eliza Conroy.
>>>>><<<<<
Debra went to Hillsboro with her kids. She packed her car and shipped what she couldn’t carry with her. They would save the Kingwood home as a vacation place, but she would live at Jennifer’s home. The kids stayed two more days before they had to return to Arlington.
Janet was waiting for them as they drove up. “Hi Janet,” Melissa said as she hugged her friend. “Are you ready to move in?”
“Yes, and I really want to thank you guys.”
They let her in and showed her to her room.
Renee called Dr. Davis up and talked with him. He told her that she could use that paper as a start on her thesis. This would give her a head start on her thesis, it just needed to be better defined. If she liked his idea he could arrange to be her thesis advisor.
>>>>><<<<<
When classes started in January, Jennifer and Melissa worked doubly hard. They knew things would be more difficult in May. Janet fit in where she could, and even helped gather materials for Jennifer and did typing dictation style, which sometimes fit Jennifer’s mood.
Renee buried herself in study, as she was taking eighteen hours, six of which were master’s level courses.
The one good thing this year was being able to get away from things in Hillsboro. Debra was a lifeline, and helped anchor the girls. Janet went with them when she couldn’t get back home to Pecos, TX. Debra liked the girl’s charm and energy.
Another good thing was that Jennifer and Melissa both got over their morning sicknesses. Their energy and moods both improved. Their doctors were happy with their progress and health. They even got to see ultrasound pictures of their babies. Melissa was scheduled back sooner, as her doctor thought that there might be a surprise hiding behind the baby on the screen, she might be having twins. Two weeks later the Doctor confirmed that Melissa had twins growing inside her. The Doc said it was fifty/fifty for a boy and a girl or two boys and they appeared to be healthy. The doctor told Jennifer that she had a single healthy girl.
>>>>><<<<<
In February Renee was invited by Tim Hartley to be onsite when CDI dropped the Wallace Street bridge. She had never been to an explosive demolition before. Many people were there, who were upset about losing the bridge for a minimum of two years. Others hated to see the old historic bridge go. Renee sat with Mr. Hartley and Mr. Beard at the one thousand yard mark to watch the demolition.
Tim Hartley’s crew planted seismic sensors all around the area and videotaped every building within a half-mile. They helped build shields on the nearest buildings, taped the window panes and fenced off the safety zone around the demolition site. His men also cleared out the exclusionary zone.
They heard the horns and heard the countdown on the radio. There were a series of puffs on the two bridges. The truss bridge fell, and a few seconds later the concrete arch bridge came down. It wasn’t as dirty as some demolitions you see on TV, but the concrete arch bridge disappeared for about ten minutes. The last thing TXDoT did was to block the road with concrete rails and a wood pillar, steel guard rail in front at both sides. Renee caught it all on her camcorder. Two months of preparations, five hundred seventy-five thousand dollars, two days of planting explosives, three hundred fifty thousand dollars, watching it all come down in ten seconds, priceless.
>>>>><<<<<
Easter break wasn’t much of a break. Renee and Melissa were busy helping Jennifer get her dissertation ready to turn in. Her advisor had read and approved the final two chapters. Renee really helped a lot, as she was pretty sharp using publishing software. Melissa helped make sure that everything was in order. The paper ended up at two hundred twenty six pages. Renee got it formatted, then printed ten copies on very good 20 lb. white stock paper. They took the document and had it copyrighted, microfilmed, digitally stored and bound.
That done, they went shopping. Both girls were gaining weight and girth as their pregnancies progressed. It was time to graduate to Mommy clothes. Melissa, at twenty-three weeks had gained 17.5 lbs. Jennifer at twenty weeks, had gained eleven lbs. Debra came up to go with the girls to buy mommy clothes.
Jennifer was very pregnant as she gave her oral defense of her Doctoral Dissertation, in April. At twenty-five weeks she had gained 13 lbs. and was beginning to feel fat. She was grilled heavily on her topic. The way they grilled her, she wasn’t sure if they liked her work or not, but she presented her subject well and stood by her conclusions. She answered every challenge to her interpretation. A week later she received her nod. She would graduate with honors in May.
On the same day Jennifer did her orals, Renee took Melissa to see her doctor. Melissa would be seeing her doctor every week from this point till she delivered. She had gained 20.5 lbs. She was in the high normal range and considering she was carrying twins, the doctor was happy. The doctor told her to expect delivery anytime after July 4th. The doctor told her that July 4th looked to be the bare minimum and they would do anything they could to make that date, at least.
>>>>><<<<<
Graduation was at two pm, and the girls had to be there at one pm. They went to the salon at seven thirty that morning to get their hair and makeup done. Renee got highlights put in, and her first perm, a long curly hairdo like Carmine Electra. Jennifer had hers styled and straightened, like Eva Longoria. Melissa, who had grown her hair out since September, got a short blond bob with bangs, like Dianna Agron. Debra even updated her do to a younger style.
They hurried to get home to get their things and let Jennifer and Melissa to take care of their pressing bladders. They were just at the point of needing to be with in a hundred feet of a bath room, anytime they were out. They got their gowns, Renee got her mortar board and Jennifer got her Tam and Stole. The girls got to the Stadium at twelve forty eight.
Jennifer and Renee had their pictures taken by a professional photographer, then headed in to the hall where they were put in order and waited for the program.
Even though the students knew how important the day was to them, many students thought that the verbose speakers were getting their last shot at their students as a way to get back at them. They were eager to turn their tassels, do their walk and get their diplomas, even though they weren’t really handed their diplomas as took their walk. They would get them later.
Melissa and Debra met up with Janet, Anita and her husband Henry, her ten year old daughter Anna, and her eight year old son Philippe. They proudly sat through the two hour ceremony and watched Renee and Jennifer graduate.
Renee got her BSCE with honors and Jennifer got her DBA with honors. They took so many pictures of the ceremony they had to replace the batteries twice, and the memory card once. Debra got all teary eyed and hugged her girls, when they met up after the ceremony. Renee was surprised when Mr. Hartley and Mr. Beard both congratulated her after the ceremony.
They all went out to eat after the ceremony. Jennifer had been smart and made reservations back in early April, still the places were crowded. This was where being pregnant came as a bonus. The women were given the right of way to move about. Their reservations got them an early table.
“Well, how do you feel Dr. West,” Renee teased.
“Oh, please don’t call me Dr. West. Mom you’re the real doctor of this family.”
“Darling, you have worked hard to get that Degree. You don’t have to have everyone address you as Dr. West, but don’t dismiss the power that that title can grant you. Dr. Jennifer Marie West, DBA can open more doors than Jennifer West can. The title in many circles can garner a degree of respect. You are an expert in your field, Jenny, use that expertise and the title.”
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Renee started her internship with Hartley, Cole, Remington and Wilson. It was a salaried position that was just above minimum wage. She had told them that she didn’t need the money, but it did cover her expenses and a bit. There was a mountain of paperwork to sign, a two week course on jobsite safety put on by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and two days of HR training. She was told to keep a three day bag packed, work clothes, a suit, and casual clothes, packed in the trunk of her car.
Renee was put to work shadowing Tim Hartley. He had a PA at the office, but Renee went with him to the job sites. She had her work laptop loaded with any diagrams or plans that Mr. Hartley might need. She wore the green hard hat of a noob on site, and was restricted from high hazard sites for the time being. But she followed him most everywhere else. After using the porta-Johns at one jobsite, she carried a plastic bag with toilet seat covers with her the next day.
Tim worked with the various contractors, and Renee would take notes then, or reconstruct notes from memory at a later time. When they were alone they sometimes talked candidly about things, with Tim asking her impressions of the people, jobsites and the work she saw. Several times he would take someone out of site and dress them down about this or that, but when he could compliment someone he made sure to do it, where his coworkers could see and hear. He had an uncanny radar when it came to finding problems.
Melissa’s doctor didn’t like her blood pressure going up and she had some spotting. She was 33 weeks along and had gained 25lbs. They took a movie of the twins in 3D. The babies, almost definitely a boy and a girl, were doing well and were heads down, already. He placed her on strict bed rest till delivery, when she saw her doctor on the third of June. Janet came back from Pecos, and Debra was often up from Hillsboro to help around the house.
Renee was moved out of her office so they could set up a bedroom for Melissa downstairs. She moved her computers upstairs into the garage’s mother-in-law apartment they had built.
Jennifer was progressing well when she saw the doctor. At week thirty she was 20lbs heavier. She was doing good and she got to see a movie of her girl on the ultra-sound. Her baby was also head down.
Jennifer used the living room as her office. She jumped into researching businesses listed on the various stock exchanges, putting her knowledge to work. She had stacks of periodicals, the WSJ and more than fifty sites online that she would visit. Reading at better than 2500 words a minute didn’t hurt at all. She knew over 75 percent of the stock market symbols and kept up with a stock ticker on her laptop. She wouldn’t put out her resume till after her baby came and she was released to work, but there was a lot she could do at home to get ready. She also worked her investments hard now. The first part of the year she had let that slip a bit. Her money was in companies that weren’t losing money, but now she was looking to start making a higher return.
The middle of one work day on the eighteenth of June, Renee was with Mr. Hartley. They were at one of their worksites, checking with the contractors about what materials they were using. Renee took a sample of the concrete that was being poured while Tim was checking the ironworkers, who were tying rebar.
Tim got a quick phone call, hung up and gave a whistle at Renee. After he had found out that Renee was a good whistler they whistled signals back at each other. When she looked up, he pointed at the H3 Hummer.
She wheeled the box of samples to the H3. Tim had opened his laptop and set up a video conference.
“What’s up boss?” Renee asked.
“A problem at a bridge in San Antonio.”
He got the video and audio from the office. “Hello Mr. Hartley,” Margaret Keller, Mr. Hartley’s PA said.
“What’s up, Margaret.”
“It’s what’s down. A bridge in San Antonio came down. Not one of ours. NHTSB called and asked if we can come down for a week and help them out.” Margaret rolled some news footage for them of the bridge. It appeared to be a five section, fifteen to twenty year old steel beam bridge. The second section had fallen. The bridge had scored a seventy on its last inspection two years earlier.
“Okay, assemble an action team. I will be back in thirty. We will drop off some samples. Have the guys test them. Renee, can you drive down to San Antonio?”
“Sure thing, Mr. Hartley.”
“Good. Margaret, give Renee all the data you can get and give her a Company card. She’ll drive down and pick me up at the airport. The action team and I will fly down tonight. Let’s get rolling.”
Tim drove back to the office, where Renee turned in the concrete samples for testing. “Ms. Jennings, would you mind if I threw my bags in your car?” Tim asked. “I hate airlines losing them.”
“Sure thing, just let me pull around.”
Renee stripped off her coveralls and put them in the trunk, then drove behind her boss’s H3.
“That’s not quite the typical starving students car,” Tim stated as he saw her Mercedes for the first time.
“No sir, it isn’t. It was a gift from a dear friend.”
“Damn, I need friends like you have.” He laughed, “Go see Margaret , get whatever she has and get on the road. You’ll be in San Antonio before I get there. Pick me up at the airport. Alright?”
“Yes sir.”
Margaret had an office boy help Renee with the materials and gave her a corporate credit card. She got on the road as soon as she could.
“Call home,” Renee said. The car’s phone system dialed the number and Melissa answered. “Hey Missy how are you feeling, baby?”
“Bored to death from being in bed. How are you doing?”
“I am on the road to San Antonio. There was a bridge collapse.”
“I heard about that. Twelve dead and a hundred injured. How long are you going to be gone?”
“Maybe a week or so. I am sorry. I want to be there for you, but …”
“I know. This is your cup of tea. Mom is going on vacation and is coming up here. Jennifer and Janet are here, I have plenty of support. We will call you if we need you. Go make us proud of you girl. We love you!”
“Be safe! And come back home to us.” Jennifer added over the speaker phone. “We do love you.”
“I love both of you. When do you two see your doctors next?”
“We are both going in the day after tomorrow …” They made small talk for the next half hour.
Mr. Hartley called about an hour later, “Ms. Jennings, we have a motel reserved about a mile and a half away from the bridge accident.” He gave her the address. “See Dave Cole once you get there. I will be flying in on a NHTSB Gulfstream. We will get there about six thirty. Pick me up at the private terminal. Be ready to go to the scene tonight. We are going to put in a long day today.”
Renee got to the motel at about four thirty, where she found Dave Cole in the parking lot. They introduced themselves, and Mr. Cole gave her, her and Tim’s room keycards.
“So you’re that hotshot CE student Tim has been telling me about.”
“I guess, I am. Mr. Hartley offered to let me internship.”
“Marvin and Wendall speak highly of you. Go get settled and dressed out. I understand you are picking Tim up?”
“Yes sir, Mr. Cole.”
“Good, in private you can call me Dave. Do you know where the bridge is?”
“Yes sir.”
Dave pulled out a map and pointed to a spot on the map. “The incident command post is here. Bring Tim here after you pick him up.”
Renee took their bags to their rooms. She got cleaned up, then headed to the airport. She stopped and picked up some fast food on the way. She only had to wait at the airport for twenty some odd minutes before Tim got off the NHTSB Gulfstream. He and another gentleman approached her.
“Hey, Ms. Jennings,” Tim said. “This is Nick Stoddard from the NHTSB. Nick, this my intern for the summer, Renee Jennings.”
“Hello Mr. Stoddard.” Renee offered her hand.
“Hello Ms. Jennings. Is that your car Tim?”
“No, that is my esteemed intern’s car.”
“Can I get a ride to the command post?”
“Certainly,” Renee said. “Just hop on in.”
At the bridge site they headed into the incident command post. There were all sorts of people in place. FBI, Texas Rangers, firemen, EMS and people from the State Fire Marshall’s office. They were led to and introduced to the Incident commander, who stated that he had command of the incident till they had finished recovery.
He organized the engineers into parties under the operations commander. They were to help the fire and rescue to safely recover the dead and wounded. As an intern, Renee couldn’t go to the scene yet as there was still significant structure hanging. She would stay at the command post and could take notes and keep a record for the engineers.
Renee got to sit in front of a huge monitor with eight security cams focused on the bridge. She had her laptop out and began typing out a log of the engineers’ communication, adding a time stamp. She was sad that she couldn’t get out there and see the damage first hand, but she actually could see more, and definitely knew more about what was going on than any one engineer at the site. On the screen she could see cranes being moved into place to move the debris. Several times she was called and asked to make some calculations to recheck the engineers work as they tried to determine loads and safety factors. She also supplied materials references for them. It wasn’t until about four in the morning that they shifted from recovery to investigation. Some of the engineers were released to get some sleep. She and Tim were off till eleven in the morning.
After recovery ended the investigation process began. It was two more days before the site was judged safe enough for her to join the engineers at the site. She tried to stay close enough to be of assistance, but not in the way. She even got a chance to get geared up and go over the edge to look to inspect the critical damage they found. She kept a mental catalogue of what they found and entered it into her computer when they broke to eat or when ever she found a moment to do it. At the end of their day she would coagulate everything into a report. She asked questions when she didn’t understand things, but tried not to be a pest. She proved herself a very capable assistant to Tim.
It was on the fifth day, that they found what they thought was the smoking gun. An I beam had some significant damage that might not be associated with the structure falling. It was photographed and looked at, but only when it was moved to the lab could they say for sure, if it was the cause.
Teams were sent up and down the remaining spans to determine if they were suitable for retaining, and two more of the spans were marked for further analysis. One of the marked spans was marked for demolition.
As Renee organized her data into several reports, Tim drove Renee’s Mercedes back to Dallas. The first report was a day by day account of her boss’s actions and what he’d reported back to her. The second was a report of things reported to her at the command post and how she dealt with those reports. The third report dealt with the facts and clues they had found at the site.
Tim had more time on the drive to explain things Renee wanted to know. The last was an outline of the failure analysis of the bridge. Tim helped her organize the outline. It wouldn’t, or couldn’t, be finished till the lab got the material and finished their scientific analysis, which could take a significant amount of time.
Renee’s reports had no conclusions, but did have several hypotheses. She emailed her preliminary reports back to the office. She took a minute to think and with Tim’s permission, she CC’ed Mr. Beard and Dr. Davis copies, along with the hundreds of pictures she had taken.
At the office she turned in her credit card and a stack of receipts to Margaret, who handed her printed copies of her reports. It was late on the twenty eighth of June when she got back home. Jennifer and Melissa had hugs and kisses ready for her; Janet took her stinky things and threw them in the washer. They made her take a long bubble bath before they would allow her to sit down and eat.
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They all sat down to watch the festivities of the fourth from their living room on their big screen TV. They had just got to see the start of the rockets’ red glare from Boston Harbor when Melissa’s water broke. It was good that they were less than half a mile from the hospital, as Craig was born an hour later and his sister Debra was born twenty minutes after Craig. They were both healthy, but due to their weight, they stayed at the hospital another five days. Melissa got to go home two days after giving birth and returned daily to breast feed and express milk for her babies. She was in nirvana, at least till they got home.
Janet had moved downstairs into the room vacated by Melissa, and the room Janet had stayed in became the nursery. Jennifer, Melissa, Janet and Debra each took turns for the two AM feedings. Renee slept with her both her sisters for a change now, and took turns at diaper duty when she was home.
Debra went home on the fifteenth to get back to work. Melissa was given a clean bill of health and could now do things around the home. She became happier when she could finally start cooking a bit more.
Mr. Hartley fed Renee reports from the labs and NHSTB on the bridge failure as he got them. Mr. Beard and Dr. Davis both contacted her and gave her directions on how to improve and what to add to her reports. They thanked her for the data and pointed out areas she should investigate. She in turn added to her reports, and kept Mr. Hartley informed about her thoughts and conclusions in addition to her regular duties.
Renee didn’t know just how much mileage her reports were getting; she didn’t know Mr. Hartley forwarded her work to Mr. Stoddard with the NHTSB, and William Branch with TXDoT, who in turn forwarded them up the chain.
Jennifer’s doctor was pleased with her progress. He pointed to an early to mid-August delivery and highlighted the eleventh as most probable. Melissa started an exercise routine to try to get back some of her figure. She did ten crunches three times a day, toe touches (she celebrated just being able to see her toes), while standing, side stretches and walking a half mile in the mornings and evenings. She slowly built up her stamina.
Janet loved working with the babies and she really took a load off Melissa’s and Jennifer’s shoulders. The way they were sharing duties kept things from being too taxing on her, too. Renee had fun too, the babies were just so beautiful. She love pushing the triplets stroller with just the twins in it, with Melissa and Jennifer walking, although Jennifer was beginning to slow down more than just a bit.
On August first Renee was sent to Austin on Hartley, Cole, Remington and Wilson’s dollar to TXDoT’s Lab for two days. On the second August she was included in with a group of engineers, as they ran a series of tests on the bridge’s steel. She got to see how the big boys did it. She saw that they had more and bigger toys than the school had. The results of the test were inconclusive, but there were still many avenues of investigation going on. Some of the steel was sent to NHTSB’s DC lab for microscopic inspection. On the third of August, TXDoT did find some anomalous readings on an ultra-sonic test, but she couldn’t stay long enough see what came out of those tests.
Jennifer was restless and anxious on the eighth of August. There was nothing she could do to get comfortable. She couldn’t sit down for more than a few minutes and she couldn’t stand for too long. When her back started hurting, she called her doctor. He told her to head to the hospital and he would check her out there. Janet drove her to the hospital and helped check her in. The doctor saw her at about four in the evening, checked her out he saw that her cervix was dilated to over three centimeters. He had just finished when she was hit by a contraction.
“I think you are in labor, young lady.”
Renee got to the hospital with Melissa. Melissa had called a friend who was a part time LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) to watch the twins so she could be with her friend. Debra got to the hospital around seven. Melissa’s labor went pretty fast, partly because the babies were just 37 weeks and were smaller. Jennifer wasn’t so lucky. She was in labor for eleven hours before Renee was born very early in the morning.
Jennifer slept half the day, and was tired and sore when she woke. She felt like she had given birth to an elephant. Little Renee was eight pounds nine ounces and twenty inches long. She was over a pound bigger than either of the month old twins, who had started out at five pounds nine and five pound six. They were now up to seven pounds one and seven pounds. Jennifer smiled as Melissa handed her little Renee.
Melissa took a semester off from college; Jennifer worked at getting back in shape and started putting out her résumé locally. She didn’t want to leave the area. She found a local branch of an investment firm and began to work her way rapidly up the corporate ladder. Renee returned to work on her masters.
Renee and Melissa graduated together in December the following year. Melissa got her BA in psychology and Renee got her MCE with honors. Renee got a job with Hartley, Cole, Remington and Wilson. She worked with them for four years while also working on her Doctorate. She got to work with Mr. Hartley on the new Wallace Street Bridge. It was a marvelous single pier, cable stay bridge. By this time Renee had six children, four with Melissa and two with Jennifer. She started on HRT while Jennifer was pregnant with her second.
She finished her doctoral dissertation and her oral defense, and graduated with honors. Six months later she passed all of her exams and became a Professional Engineer at age twenty eight. Renee took four months off to have her SRS and fully become a woman. When she went back to work, she worked for TXDoT for six years and NHTSB for thirteen years.
Granny ‘Deb Deb’ was in seventh heaven. She worked in Hillsboro as a psychologist till she passed at eighty five. She had nineteen great grandchildren, and eight great, great grandchildren.
At forty-seven Renee came back to Hillsboro to teach engineering at UTA. She didn’t want to be away from her family anymore. The NHTSB had sent her all over the country. Jennifer and Melissa couldn’t have been happier when Renee took the job at UTA.
Jennifer made millions, but gave up the daily grind of business when she hit fifty five. She settled down to raise horses. Melissa never did go into psychology. She was more than happy to be the mom of the family. When Jennifer passed at seventy, Melissa and Renee both nearly gave up on life. An important part of their lives had been ripped away. They turned to each other for the strength to carry on. Seven years later at seventy, Renee also passed away. Melissa was almost shattered; she only survived by the strength of the love of their children. When she passed at ninety one, there were forty-five members of their family around her bed.
And all of this happened because of one beer run.
Roger Johnson a self made multi-millionare is on top of the world, till he runs into a witch with the power to bring it all crashing down. She switches bodies with Roger and has it all, or does she.
Bewitched & Beswitched
by
Paula Dillon
Roger Johnson was a self made man. He worked hard in college to understand Business, earning himself an MBA not at some Ivy League school, but at some back water state college. That kept some doors closed to him, but a few years later he kicked down some of those very same doors that had been shut to him. He had a very analytical mind and used that mind to hunt out business trends.
He then used that knowledge and a meager investment to begin trading in stocks and bonds. His big break came when he sold short on companies like Enron, World Com, and Yahoo before the dot com bust. It had been a big gamble when those businesses had been soaring, but he didn’t feel that those companies could sustain the growth they had. It was all just a matter of timing.
He made a bundle buying for dollars and tens of dollars, what would have cost hundreds of dollars just months earlier to fulfill his short. He had turned a modest forty-five grand into a modest three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He had been leveraged to the hilt before the collapses of Enron and World Com and the fall of the mighty Yahoo began. It was a small gain in capital that launched him on to bigger and better things.
Still a man from the SEC had come to talk to him. He produced his research and showed why he had done what he did. The man investigated his ties trying to find a possible link to inside trader information, but Roger was confident there were none.
Five things that he did he would really be glad for. He always paid his taxes. He was meticulous in seeing that every penny he earned was accounted for, and duly reported to the IRS and other regulating agencies. He may have even paid slightly more than his fair share of taxes. Choosing not to take some deductions that others might think were highly questionable, but which were perfectly legal. He had all the money he would ever need already.
He never listened to or allowed his decisions to be influenced by information not available to the general public. He made sure he had mountains of meticulous researched data on any of his investments. He had taken some hits, albeit minor hits due to the diverse nature of his investments but he was batting well above average compared to the thousands of other traders out in the world.
He never used other people’s money. He could’ve gotten rich sooner, investing for a big house, of that he was certain, but then he would have other people’s claws in his hide to deal with. He couldn’t have been as free with his trades and there was the very real possibility of breaking the taboo on his rule on inside trader information. Even the suspicion of using inside information was enough to ruin a career, and lead to bankruptcy.
He believed in computer security. It would take an organization like the NSA (National Security Agency) many weeks on their big fancy super computers to hope to break his encryption system. He knew it wasn’t totally foolproof security but it would take a really dedicated person and they would have to have resources out the yazoo, to break into his laptop and desktop systems. He spent a pretty penny on that security.
Finally he kept eighty percent of his considerable liquid assets in several offshore numbered accounts. The remainder of his assets could be liquefied simply by anybody calling his attorney and after some verifiers that would test the authentication of such request. The attorney, would then be empowered to use the ‘power of attorney’ over the assets, and would follow the instructions of the caller. The key to it was a two part encrypted system and included a validation code that was keyed to a book code, which was a certain passage, in certain edition, of Les Miserables. The attorney, even though Roger was certain he was an honest attorney, couldn’t even act on his own, at least not without a death certificate in hand. Still he wouldn’t know what to liquidate or could be liquidated without the two-part code. It was all perfectly legal. You see Roger was a little paranoid about his money after he earned it.
Nothing could go wrong. Nothing could go wrong, the famous last words of many a former, hero, tycoon, villain and business.
Roger ran afoul of a witch. Not that he really believed in witches he didn’t, but his disbelief didn’t protect him from what happened.
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Stacy Parker was a twenty-two year old witch; a Wiccan was a more accurate description of what she was. She had been cast out from her circle because she lusted for power, money and fame, and unlike many of her fellow Wiccans, she didn’t care how she got it. She hated the fact that men had it so easy in life, and lorded what they did over women.
How she came in contact with Roger Johnson was purely coincidental. She sat in a Starbuck’s reading her paper and just happened to see Roger enter the store. She had seen his picture a few times on the cover of some of the magazines she sold at her newsstand and in boredom, even read some of the stories about him.
Roger had come into the store with his laptop to log onto the Internet and several publications to do some research. He liked the relaxed atmosphere the store presented. The research he did was not the critical research he needed to make his decisions, but it was a precursor to his more important research. He had to know what the business world was saying about itself.
After an hour of doing general business, Roger packed up his laptop and his publications and left. He left his coffee cup on the table a decision he would later come to regret.
Stacy went over to his table, picking up the cup and making a show of disposing of her own. Walking out of Starbuck’s she now had a link to everything she could ever want, she thought. She had the DNA link to Roger Johnson and all his millions.
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It took her a couple of months to research the spell she would use and to gather the various components, that the spell called for. It then took a couple of more months for her to brew the potion and to inscribe perfectly, the spell in her own hand, on a papyrus she had made. Major works, like she was attempting, were not entered into lightly. Everything had to be just perfect, anything less could lead to a major disaster. She obtained the finest volcanic sand, sea salt and edelweiss. She bought the finest Athame she could afford, candles, and mistletoe. She even upgraded her crucible and brazier. She made her own charcoal from the finest Ash wood she could find. She would be nearly penniless when she was through, but then she would also have, what seemed to her, to be unlimited resources by then.
All she needed then was a solstice. A solstice was a night when magics, like she planned, had their greatest effects and chance of success. It was her luck, or destiny she felt, that she finished with everything she needed, just two weeks before the summer solstice.
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Three hours before midnight, Stacey put her plan into action. She had already cleared off a large section of floor, in her ratty old hovel and had ritually cleansed the entire area. She set her brazier in the center of her room and made sure she had all the articles she would need to complete her work there. Once she had constructed the pentagram she couldn’t break the circle for any reason before daybreak. She then started the coals burning in the brazier. She ground the sand, sea salt and dried edelweiss together, using her mortar and pestle.
Those actions complete, she carefully defined the pentagram with five red candles, lighting each from the Ash wood coals, in her brazier. She then began her construct. She took the sand, salt and edelweiss mix and drew her pentagram. The star completed, she drew the circle around the star and left one small section open. She then cleansed herself, taking a bath, using lavender oil in the water, before dressing in a silk robe.
Everything ready, she entered the pentagram and closed the circle. She was now locked in till daybreak. She called for the four winds to ward her and the work she was about to enter in. She took her cup and Athame; she pricked her hand and spilt some of her blood into the cup. She then added the potion; she had brewed, to the cup. She burnt the mistletoe in the brazier, along with incense of sandalwood. She then read the spell she had painstakingly written. As she reached the last line, she burnt the cup that had Roger’s DNA on it. She drank the potion and burnt the papyrus. As the last section of the papyrus carbonized, she felt herself struck down by a huge force.
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Across town, Roger had been asleep for two hours. He awoke in a sore distress, he was certain he was having a massive heart attack and was afraid that he was dying. At thirty-four he felt he was too young to die. He tried to move, but it was like he was being held in place by an eight hundred pound gorilla. The pressure and the pain he felt continued to grow, till at last he passed out in pain.
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Joyce Llewellyn moved in a rush, she had felt the tremendous burst of power, just minutes after midnight. She knew where and by whose hand the magic had been wrought. Stacey, who once had been a member of her circle, had been expelled from her group for her flagrant misuse of power. It seemed that she had gone and worked some great magic, under warded again.
She waved her hand at Stacy’s door, any locks that had been locked and any other restraints to entry just winked out of existence. The door opened under its own impetus, and Joyce entered. She followed the tendrils of power into one room. There she saw the prone form of Stacy, just beginning to stir. She couldn’t sense beyond the circle though, so she didn’t even try.
“Stacy! Stacy Parker, wake up!” Joyce said using the power of, “The Voice.”
There was this voice reverberating inside Roger’s head. Good at least that meant he wasn’t dead.
“Stacy! Wake up girl, you have much to explain!”
Roger weakly said, “Who… Who… is Stacy, is… that what you said?”
“Is that you Stacy?”
“Who is Stacy?” Roger said. He tried to move but was too weak.
“Who are you? What is your name?”
“Roger… Roger Johnson… Who… Who are you?” Roger said weakly.
“I am Joyce Llewellyn, Roger and we have much to talk about, but for now just lie back and rest, whatever you do, don’t move!” Joyce said in commanding, “The Voice.” It was the only power she had that could touch the figure inside the circle right now, and now he wouldn’t move if he could.
Joyce got out her cell phone and called Rita, “Hello Rita, it is just like we thought and worse. Get the others and come over to Stacy’s place and hurry.”
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Stacy woke, but she was very weak, it may be days before she was strong enough to do much more than to sleep, eat and hydrate this body, but at least she was in this comfortable bed, lying on silk sheets, wearing silk pajamas, she smiled. Her spell had worked.
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It was almost daybreak before Roger could even begin to open his eyes. He was weak, tired and very dehydrated. What had woken him was chanting coming from all around him. He seemed to derive some strength from it.
“Roger! Sit up and listen to me! Don’t do anything till we tell you to do it! Then do exactly what we tell you to do, when we tell you to do it!” Joyce’s “Voice” commanded.
Roger did what he was told; he felt that it would be impossible for him to do otherwise. He felt his strength increase enough to start moving a little, and in minutes he was in a sitting position, his eyes though were still closed.
“Good, we are sorry this has happened to you Roger. Your body has been stolen by a rouge witch.”
This didn’t make sense at all to Roger; the voice was saying something about a witch and his body being stolen. Jesus, these people are crazy. He just didn’t have it in him open his eyes, or to talk to the people he heard and straighten all this craziness out.
He could feel a shaft of light enter the room, the chanting increased and his eyes opened. He could see himself sitting inside a circle, with people all around it. He then saw his body and panicked.
“Easy Roger! We are here for you. We will explain everything we can to you in a few minutes, but if you ever want to return back to your old body, you are going to have to do everything we tell you to do in a few minutes, or you will be stuck like you are forever!” Joyce said in her soothing voice, not so much in a commanding way but to lend added strength to Roger. “Shake your head up and down if you understand me.”
Roger gingerly shook his head up and down. He felt like it was the morning after a New Year’s Eve party, a Saint Patty’s day, the fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day all at once in his head. He had a super massive hang over.
“Okay, you need to begin to disassemble the pentagram and the circle you are in and begin it now.”
Joyce told him step by step how to unmake the circle and wards. Roger found himself doing just what she said, even though he didn’t understand what she was saying. When the pentagram was unmade and the last candle blown out by Roger, he brushed open a door in the circle and collapsed into Joyce’s arms.
Very good Roger, we will take good care of you till you are strong enough to wake again.
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Stacy wished that Roger had the things that would have helped her regain her strength faster, but she would have been disturbed and confused, if she had found those things in this house.
She had fielded a few calls about missed meetings and such. She had handled them with her assurances that she was as sick as a dog, and no, she didn’t need to see a doctor, she needed just a few days sleep to get better.
She didn’t know it, but that response was so like Roger, that nobody would doubt it wasn’t him.
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The circle did have what they needed to help Roger and he felt himself getting stronger with every hour. Hours later he heard the voice telling him to sit up again. He appeared to be in a different location, this was the first thing he noticed, and then he started to panic, as he saw his female form dressed still in a silk robe.
One lady stuck a cup at his lips and urged him to drink. It wasn’t ten seconds later till he felt himself calm down and a sense of calmness overwhelmed him.
“Roger that cup you just drank from, contained a potion to help you cope for the time being. It will give you a sense of well-being and it will do one other thing. You will be able to sense whether what we tell you is the truth. If I were to tell you I was twenty eight.” Joyce said.
Not an unreasonable assumption, Roger thought, given her appearance, but Roger knew it to be a lie.
“You would know immediately that I did not speak the truth. I am fifty four.”
Roger knew that she spoke the truth.
The glamour she had cast faded and Roger saw a mature but lovely woman now.
Roger knew this to be her true form.
Now it is important for you to tell us what you can remember. The potion will also help you to do this.
What Roger said wasn’t much. The last things he remembered were waking from his sleep, he was in pain, and he was filled with fear and a foreboding. It was like he was under a tremendous amount of pressure and couldn’t move. He didn’t remember anything else until he was awoken by this voice that boomed inside his head.
“Well, know this Roger, you are safe now. We have moved you to my home and some of our numbers are sanitizing the place where we found you; others are warding this location and finally a few of us are here to help you recover. No trace of you will be at Stacy’s home for anybody to do anything else to you and hopefully we will be able to undo what was done.” Joyce said. “Are you the Roger Johnson, the papers called the ‘Wall Street Wonder’?”
“I never liked that name. It implies I did things other people couldn’t do.”
“Well let me explain what we think may have happened to you. We had a member of our group, or circle if you wish, that we expelled from our presence for misusing her powers. Yes Roger, we are witches, we prefer to be called Wiccan though. She apparently stole something you had used and contained your essence. Your DNA if it pleases you to call it such. She then cast a spell and the two of you traded bodies. She is now in your body.”
Roger knew that what Joyce spoke was the truth.
“But I think she may have made a terrible mistake, Roger. A mistake she would not have wanted to make. I still sense a lot of her power in this room.”
“You mean?” Roger didn’t complete the question, instead just pointing at himself.
“Yes, a lot of her power now resides in you. It is untrained and we will train you enough that you won’t harm yourself, or others, but yes it is yours.” Joyce said to him. “If we are able to reverse what was done, we will see that you will still have it. We will Not Have Stacey present us with anymore problems.” She said as her eyes flashed in anger.
At this moment, Roger knew he wouldn’t really enjoy having Joyce mad at him.
“Too bad she has access to all your money.”
“She doesn’t, unless she has what I have up in my mind. I can have her next to penniless and out on the street homeless in a few hours, with a phone and a computer, with a secure Internet connection. She could run up some credit card debt and bounce some checks but the access to my real money is up here, unless she has access to that also.”
“I don’t think she does. She wouldn’t have wanted her female mind to be contaminated by your male thoughts. She was much like that; she hated the male in the world. We can get you those things you need Roger, but we cannot cause her harm. We can leave her like she left herself though, like she left you.”
“I am pissed at Stacey, I already don’t like her. It borders on hatred, but I am not that way. I think she wanted to be me, so that she could have my riches and apparently what she thought was my power. She has neither. My power was, or rather is in the power of my mind. I have never sought out to destroy someone. Although I have profited in others miseries, I was never the cause of those miseries. I have even tried to help, after a number of the companies crashed, that I sold short on.”
Joyce felt what he said to be true. Roger couldn’t lie to her without her knowing it, that was in the potion also. “Well Roger, I have a computer and you may use my phone if you like.”
“No offense Joyce, I won’t use your computer, I need a secure computer. Let me use your phone and I shall have what I need, in a few hours.”
“Roger made a call to the computer company he customarily used. They were good, very good at what they did in producing secure systems for businessmen and others who were keen on having secure computer systems. He spent an hour detailing what his requirements were for laptop and desktop computers, software, security software and systems. He then gave out an account number he uses from memory. When asked for an address. He mouthed where am I? Joyce showed him an envelope with her address on it. The last thing he said over the phone was, “There is an extra ten grand if you can get it to that address in four hours. Hold on for just a second.”
“Is it alright if I stay here for a few days, at least till I get my feet back under me?”
The request staggered Joyce, “Of course we wouldn’t have it any other way. We were worried you wouldn’t want to stay. We would like for you to stay for at least a couple of months, you have much to learn.”
Roger returned to his phone call, “Go ahead with everything I talked about, and deliver it to that address,” Roger said, and then he hung up.
“I ordered a desktop computer, two laptops, a software firewall and security system, a hardware firewall, a couple of secure cell phones, a sat phone and a couple of other toys. They will be here in three hours, I’ll bet.”
“You told them four hours.”
“Would you waist time knowing ten grand is riding on the clock, and yet knowing these people, they won’t send it over if they detect a problem with the stuff. They will bring the equipment over set it up and have backup equipment with them in case it doesn’t work right. They are good people.”
“We will see if you re right. You are an unusual person, Roger and I can’t keep on seeing Stacy and calling you Roger. At least for now we need to call you by a female name.”
Roger thought for a few seconds and said, “Your right, it would really freak out the delivery people. Okay, call me Carrie… Carlyle… Yes Carrie Carlyle sounds good. I won’t use that bitch’s name. Okay what is next?”
“Well I don’t think you want to greet them dressed like that, either.”
Roger hadn’t looked too closely at the body he was in, or the thing he wore. Looking now at the robe, he could faintly see the color of his nipples and he could even see the tuft of red hair below his navel through the material.
“Please don’t be embarrassed Carrie, but I would like to have at least one of us to help you bathe, take care of you and help you to get dressed, if you don’t mind.”
A little embarrassed, Carrie knew there was a lot she didn’t know about her new body. She also found it interesting that she hadn’t taken time to look at herself, before now. She really didn’t know much about what she looked like.
Two ladies approached and said, “Come on Carrie, we will take care of you. I am Rita and this is Courtney,” one girl said with a thick Irish brogue.
Rita and Courtney were two lovely ladies. Carrie figured they were identical twins, about twenty, to twenty-three. Both were about five foot six, no more than a hundred and twenty five pounds soaking wet, had emerald green eyes, auburn hair, that fell to the middle of their backs, full busts, that jutted out proudly, slim waists and nice hips, that were not too large for their size. They both wore matching chiffon dresses, fitted at the bust and flared down to just below mid thigh, in a green that enhanced their eye color.
The girls led her to the bathroom. It was then in the clean freshness of the bathroom, she noticed her stench, a cacophony of odors the body had been subject to over the past two days.
“Good God, how could you people stand the smell around me?”
“We cared for you, we didn’t mind, Anyway a lot of it is your better sense of smell. You are noticing girl’s noses, generally, can detect more smells. We are use to it, while you are new to the phenomena.”
The girls began getting Carrie ready for her bath. One girl, Rita if Carrie remembered correctly, began filling the tub, pouring lavender oil into it, along with some bath salts of some sort. Courtney then helped Carrie out of her robe and then disrobed herself.
“I hope you don’t mind, we don’t want to get our dresses wet.”
Seeing the girls naked, as they had not worn anything beneath their dresses, Carrie was stunned. If she had been Roger she would be drooling over these goddesses, she thought. She still found herself getting moist between her legs and she could feel her own heart beating faster.
Courtney then assisted Carrie into the tub. The fragrance of the tub was mesmerizing and soothing. The girls let Carrie soak for a few minutes, relaxing in the warmth of the bath. Roger had always been one to shower, he could be in and out fully clean, in less than a quarter of the time it took to take a bath, but Carrie relished what the bath did to her senses.
Then one of the girls started shampooing her hair, while the other was shaving her legs. They worked with Carrie till they were satisfied. Then they opened the drain and helped her to stand and dry off her body. When she got out of the tub, the mirror was fogged. The girls turned her away from the mirror and started working on her hair. It took a while for them to blow dry her hair, boy was it long; it came to just above her hips. They had her hang her head and they flipped her hair in front of her. It was all Carrie could do to keep her hair off the floor, as the girls brushed and dried her hair. They had Carrie straighten back up and flipped her hair behind her, when they finished.
Sometime during the bath, a pile of clothes appeared on the counter. The girls helped her dress in a white satin bra and panties, and a green, short, kimono style robe. Somewhat dressed, they turned Carrie toward the mirror. It was a shock to see how beautiful she was. She couldn’t help but stare, Carrie had bigger breasts and she was an inch or two taller than the girls. Her hair was a darker Auburn and she had the greenest eyes she had ever seen.
Carrie’s face then turned dark, as she realized that she had seen this body before, “I know this girl Stacy,” she said, “Sort of at least. She works at a newsstand, at a building near where Roger has an office. I have also seen her at the Starbucks I go to, drinking coffee.” Carrie’s voice showing the anger she felt.
“Okay, we know how she at least might have come into contact with you.” Rita or was it Courtney said.
The girls escorted Carrie into the bedroom, where Joyce had some clothes ready for Carrie. It was an outfit similar to what the girls wore and included pantyhose and a pair of flats, that went well with the dress.
Carrie explained to Joyce, how Roger and Stacy’s lives had intersected, as the girls helped her dress.
Joyce pondered on what Carrie was saying and said, “That can explain how she got your DNA, to make a connection to you. She had to have something you came in contact with and left a trace of yourself on. She would have needed some hair roots, skin cells, blood, saliva or semen from you, to complete the magic she worked.”
“I meant to ask you earlier, why can’t you just zap me back into my body?”
“That’s not possible; the spell that forced the switch has to be unmade. This leaves several problems. There are several spells that could be the root of the switch. Stacy would have taken one and worked with it till it became a unique spell. We would have to know exactly how the spell was worded and what components she used. Our research may discover enough about the spell to counter it, but that could take months, or we might be able to force her hand and have her tell us.
Lastly you are not strong enough. It is by our magic that you have recovered so quickly. She is likely weaker than you were, for it was by her power that the switch was made and she only has a fraction of her power left now. If we were able to force a switch, it is likely that you both could die. I doubt she has recovered as much as you have and you are definitely not strong enough. Our first tenet in our Magic is; we can do no harm. It might be months before the two of you are strong enough to go through that ordeal again.
The soonest you could switch back is either at six months, nine months, or a year, at a solstice or an equinox. Those are the days our powers are at their greatest. No sooner.”
That news was devastating to Carrie; tears began flowing slowly from her eyes. “Okay, I need to create a new identity. I don’t really want to be or look like that bitch. I need to cut my hair, and or change its color. Anything, I just don’t want to be reminded of who did this to me.” Carrie was saying to herself frantically, working herself up and getting emotionally flustered.
“Calm down Carrie, we can handle your identity and appearance in just a second. We can use glamour, or a metamorphosis type spell. I think a metamorphosis spell, would be the best, glamour spells tend to fade with time.” Joyce said to her.
Carrie appeared to calm a bit, but it was apparent that she was still distressed. Rita brought her a cup of tea, its fragrant smell seemed to calm her a bit and after sipping it, the stress seemed to leave her.
Joyce looked at Carrie for a second and watched the potion take effect. “Carrie we have given you another dose of a potion to calm you. You need a clear head, I suppose, to do what you need to do today, but sooner or later you need to face what has been done to you, unaided. Do you understand this?”
Carrie shook her head and said, “Yes I do. Thank you. I am not use to feeling so weak and helpless.”
“No, I don’t think Roger ever felt like Carrie. Not only are you weaker and smaller, you are dealing with female hormones too. Those alone are enough to take you on an emotional roller coaster. From what I have seen though, I don’t think you are helpless. When you have decisions to make, you make them. It’s the times between decisions that are affecting you most.”
“Those were the times that affected Roger the most too. When he…when I made a decision and the die were cast, waiting to see if I crapped out, or rolled a seven. After the planning and research are complete, just waiting the days, weeks, or months, to see if I was right or wrong, nearly gave me ulcers. I had planned on retiring soon. I made my piece of the pie, a big piece I might add, I just wanted to catch up on living, I guess.”
“Well then, let’s hope you can make the most out of this Carrie. How old was Roger?”
“Thirty four, going on fifty.”
“And how was Roger’s health?”
“Oh, I had the best health care money could buy, but I was still starting to show some wear and tear.”
“And now you are twenty two and in very good health Carrie. Stacy did take care of her body, don’t you think?”
“I haven’t had time to really think about it really, I feel ok, besides being a little wrung out right now.”
“Well, I am our healer, and I took the liberty of checking you out. I wanted to be certain that her body was still in good condition. I couldn’t have stood it, if she had stuck you into a sick or dying body. You are in very good health Carrie, and we intend to see that you remain in good health.”
“Why are you being so nice to me about all of this, Joyce?”
“We owe it to you. We feel in some part, responsible for what happened. Stacy was a part of us. We taught her much of her craft and tried to instill into her, our sense of values. We failed on that account, and evicted her from our court. She was always just looking out for herself. She was greedy and vindictive. We didn’t see that, in her, at first. As much as she hates men, I find it hard to believe she actually choose to become one.”
The doorbell interrupted their conversation.
Carrie checked her watch. It had been three hours and fifteen minutes, since she had called. “That should be them.”
Joyce and Carrie went to the door. It was indeed the computer people.
“Where can they set this up Joyce?” Carrie asked.
“Courtney, be a dear and show these gentlemen to the spare bedroom. Carrie you can use that room as your office if you like, while you are here. It has a desk and some other office furniture there.”
“Thank you, Joyce,” Carrie said as she kissed the cheek of the woman who was her benefactor.
Joyce was and wasn’t surprised by those actions. It was a perfectly feminine gesture; coming from Carrie, it confused her a bit. It was a gesture that Stacy had never shown her. She had remained a little aloof from the group, even while she had learned her craft. For that gesture to have come from one who had just been transformed into a girl, was exceptional, but she liked it.
“This is going to be very interesting,” Joyce said to herself, smiling.
Carrie was excited, so much so, she was almost bouncing off the walls, as the guys were setting up the system on a secure wireless network. Two geekie looking guys wheeled dollies that were loaded down with goodies. They had laid out all the stuff on the bed and had included some things not in her order, but that interfaced with it.
The guys began putting things together very efficiently, asking where Carrie wanted this or that component to go. Mostly Carrie just stayed out of their way.
Joyce asked the guys if they wanted anything to eat, since it seemed that they were working overtime to complete their work. The only things the guys wanted was anything with sugar and caffeine.
It took the guys about an hour and a half to get everything set up, interfaced, online and running together. They ran some system integrity tests and security checks, to make sure everything worked properly before they logged off on the system.
As soon as she could, Carrie got to work on her computer. She first worked on several programs before she logged on to the Internet. She spent the next two hours doing what she needed to do. There was very little time that she wasn’t checking this or that, moving money from one account to another.
Joyce let her work. She brought her tea twice while she was working. At one point she asked how much longer Carrie was going to be working, she wanted to start dinner. Carrie responded about a half hour.
Joyce marveled at the focus and deliberation Carrie had as she worked. Carrie smiled as she finished working, logging out of all the accounts she had opened up, backing her way out.
When Carrie finished what she was doing and downloaded her encrypted files to an offsite storage facility she used, she encrypted all the important data and wiped all the temp files off the hard drive. Even if someone were able to start her computer they would find nothing that could help them. The encrypted files were even hidden on a virtual hard drive.
Carrie finally took time to relax. She had not left Roger penniless. She realized she was between a rock and a hard place. If she ruined Roger then when it came time to switch back, all Roger had could be in peril. She would have to contact Roger and inform him he was on an allowance.
Carrie then began to realize that things could get so bad that she wouldn’t want to change back. When that realization came over her she began to cry softly.
Rita came in, at least Carrie thought it was Rita, to announce dinner and saw Carrie crying. “What’s wrong Carrie?”
“I just realized, I may not be able to, or want to change back. I started to ruin Roger, but that would be ruining my good name, if I ever wanted to change back. Roger has the ability to ruin that name. I couldn’t leave him penniless, but he will definitely not like the budget he will be on.”
“It will be alright, whatever happens dear. Cats always land on their feet; it is no different for you. I feel you have the spirit of a Cat.”
“I guess, I feel I will have to confront him sooner, rather than later. It is something I feel inside me. I am not looking forward to that.”
“Either way, you still have some time before you have to do that, maybe not a great deal of time, but you do have some time. Now let’s go eat before you turn into a bag of bones. You haven’t had anything substantial in two days.”
“Ok Rita, I guess I am hungry.”
“I am not Rita, love; I am Courtney the pretty one.”
“Courtney, you both are gorgeous, I don’t know if I will ever be able to tell you two apart.”
“Sure you will, love.”
Courtney led Carrie into the dinning room, where everybody was waiting for her. There were six women, not counting Courtney and herself, already waiting. She sat down and Joyce rose to give her blessing to the Goddess. When she finished, all present said, “So mote it be.”
With that done, they started passing food around. Carrie found that she was famished, but Courtney kept her portions down saying, “We know you are desperately hungry, but you can’t eat like Roger use to eat. Eat what we give you slowly, and if you are still hungry later, you can have more. It is a sin to waste the bounty the Goddess grants us.”
The women kept asking Carrie questions, with the intent to slow her eating down, but also to understand who Roger was. Carrie answered as best she could, not knowing whether or not the information might help them help her.
She began to enjoy eating with these people. They shared a lot about who they were with her. What impressed her was that they showed genuine concern for her. That was something Roger seldom got.
Joyce then asked, “How did your computer work go, Carrie? Did you get done what you were going to do?”
“I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do. First, I need to go to a bookstore and get a rare first edition, English version, of Les Miserables, and then contact my lawyer. It will be expensive, but shouldn’t be impossible to find. I’ll do that tomorrow. Second, it kinda came to me. If I ruined Roger/Stacy, I would be ruining my own good name. I found I couldn’t leave him penniless.”
“Why not Roger, after all she did to you?” Joyce asked.
“If I ruined him, I would be ruining myself. He is a bitch, but I took pride in being a hardnosed, but good guy, in finance. He can drag all I did through the mud, doing enough damage to bankrupt me if I ever changed back.”
Joyce smiled, she liked the fact that Carrie stopped to think over what she was going to do, before she did it. If Stacy had taken the same care, she might not have been in this quandary. “So what are your plans then?”
“I am still going to secure my assets. She won’t be living high on the hog on my dime. I am going to put her on an allowance and make her learn how to earn money. I guess that means I will have to confront her sooner, rather than later. How long before she will be able to get out and about?”
“I am not sure, maybe as soon as tomorrow, more likely the day after that. The only reason you are up and about is because my sisters and I have been giving you strength and potions, to speed up your recovery.”
“Well, it will take him sometime to find my resources. He can’t sell anything legally; the condo, car and most of the things in my condo, are owned by a corporation. He’ll never find the information he’ll need to sell anything. I have a couple of hundred thousand in a safe in my Condo, but I doubt he will find it, much less be able to open it, unless he can use her magic.”
“I assure you Carrie, he does have a trace of power, but his old power came from our Goddess, he won’t be able to use that. He can learn to use the God power, but that will take time and research,” Joyce said.
“Then all she can do is ruin what I was. If she does that, she can keep that body of mine,” Carrie said, tears forming in her eyes.
“It is good that you have considered that possibility, Carrie. You have shown intelligence and compassion to one who wronged you. It will be our pleasure to help you in any way we can, as long as it doesn’t violate one of our tenets,” Joyce said, her sisters joined in voicing their assent.
“Thank you, that means a lot to me, and maybe I can learn something, after going through all of this.”
‘Maybe you will Carrie, maybe you will,’ Joyce thought. She was very pleased with what she had heard this night.
“Ok, when will I be ready to confront Roger?”
“We want you to be able to shield yourself first. We don’t feel Roger will be a threat to you, but it is important that you learn to control your power. It is possible, if you got angry, to lash out with the power you have. You don’t want to hurt someone by lashing out in anger. You also need to learn how to mask your mind and hide the power from others, who might be able to perceive those powers. We might be able to teach you the basics in a week, maybe two, but you can do it sooner, if you have a group of us go with you in say, two days.”
“A week maybe too long, so let’s do whatever we need to do, to make it in two days.”
“Ok, we will start tomorrow. Today we will change your appearance as you requested. Tell us what you want to look like.”
“I want to be tall; I got use to Roger’s six foot five inches. I don’t want to be that tall as a woman, say five foot ten or so. I really like my hair color, although it could be a little darker and a richer auburn. That was my mom’s hair color. I also like the proportions of my current body. I nearly fell in love, the first time I really looked at myself,” Carrie said blushing. “Change my face too, I don’t have to be a raving beauty, but a pretty face would be nice. I want to be where I can buy shoes easily. Roger had a hard time finding fifteens without special ordering them. How does that sound?”
“Not too bad Carrie. You need to get ready for bed, you still have some recovering to do. When you wake tomorrow, you should feel better and will look like you requested. Rita and Courtney, if you will see to our sister, the rest of us have some work to do.”
As Carrie rose to leave, all the women present gave Carrie hugs and kisses to her cheeks. Rita and Courtney led her back to her room. She was a little embarrassed about their helping her undress and then helped her into a long silky nightdress. What really shocked her though was when they dressed in similar nightdresses and joined her in bed, one of them on either side of her. She didn’t stay awake too long though, as they spooned with her, she drifted off in a gentle sleep.
************************
Roger woke, he still felt like shit, but he was starting to recover. If he had known that he would feel like this for so long, he would have made arraignments to be better prepared. It was that he never cast such a powerful spell before. He snickered to himself, as he thought about the real Roger in Stacy’s body; she would really be out of it. He figured it would take two more days before he was up to getting out and about, but he was strong enough, he could get around his new place.
He looked on his dresser, he found a Patek Philippe watch, a gold horseshoe diamond ring and put them on. He found his wallet, but was surprised that it contained so little plastic, two credit cards, two gas cards, and only eleven hundred dollars in cash. In the dresser, he found all sorts of male clothes, jewelry, although nothing overly impressive there, and other odds and ends. The closet held all sorts of three thousand dollar suits, shirts, pants, Tuxes, shoes, ties and other accoutrements one would expect.
Leaving the bedroom she entered the living room. Nice furniture, very exclusive and very expensive, but definitely masculine, no feminine graces anywhere she could see. Into the kitchen, she found a well-stocked larder, nice cookware, cutlery, flatware and dishes. He had a large, well-stocked fridge and about twenty bottles of wine, in a glass walled, wine storage cabinet.
Roger stopped and fixed himself a respectable meal, a four egg omelet, with hash browns, sausage, toast, peach preserves, butter, milk and coffee. More than Stacy would ever eat, but in her famished weakened state, it was just what she needed. He ate as fast as he could, he could feel the energy, the food supplied, replenish his strength.
Feeling a little better, she continued her exploration. She found an office that was very complete. Three computers, one desktop and two laptops, laser and ink jet printers, two very large, 27 inch, flat screen monitors, a large scanner, fax machine, cell phone, sat phone, a PDA, two, four drawer, file cabinets, with combination lock drawers, a large teak, wood desk, several paintings, a small library of books and an awesome office chair. Out of curiosity he checked behind the paintings and only found wood paneling. He sat in the large comfortable office chair and spun in circles. After two rotations he regretted that bout of exuberance, as he became dizzy and nauseated.
It took several minutes for his body to find an even keel and he could move again. He had come close to losing his lunch and knew that he would have to take it much easier.
He checked out the desk. All the drawers refused to open. He looked everywhere, but could find no lock or keyhole. He did find the power switch for the computer system. He switched on the monitors and the desktop. They booted rapidly, faster than any computer he Roger/Stacy had ever used, but the computer stopped. The monitors both showed a black screen with a huge number four as the desktop, a long white box one character tall, with a blinking cursor and nothing else. Damn, he thought, passworded. Just for kicks she typed p a s s w o r d and hit enter. The big number on the desktop became a three.
Damn again, he thought, he only had three shots left, he figured. He rebooted the system and the screen came up with the number two on the desktop. Damn it, damn it, damn it. He just left the machine on.
Roger felt desperately tired and tried to rise out of the chair. He found that he couldn’t do it, so he just leaned back and went to sleep.
************************
Roger had some strange dreams as he slept. He dreamt that he had become a woman, a very horny woman at that. He dreamt, he had his hands on a very nice pair of tits and was massaging them, even as his were being massaged. There was moaning coming from all around. A hand snaked its way under the cover to his crotch and his pussy. He could feel a pressure building all over his body, but centering on his lower abdomen. Just as the pangs of his orgasm began, he awoke and realized that he did have tits. Then it all came flooding back to him, or rather her.
Carrie found herself sandwiched between Rita and Courtney, who were still sleeping, giving off soft, barely audible snores. She felt alright, but she was a she. Then she began to cry silently. She didn’t know why she cried, she had plenty of reason too, but none of those reasons seem to bother her enough to warrant crying. She was just crying.
She found herself clinging to the girl in front of her tighter, as she cried. Looking out the window, she could see the sky beginning to lighten.
Rita awoke and found herself in a vice like grip. What woke her were the tears on her back. Her nightdress was becoming very wet between her shoulders, but her senses told her, that Carrie was doing as well as could be expected. Carrie’s breathing was shallow but even, her pulse was strong, but at resting rate. She figured that Carrie was awake, but chose not to disturb her tears, by showing she was awake and just let the girl cling to her.
After about twenty minutes, Rita rolled over facing Carrie and wrapped her up in her arms, whispering in her ear, “It’s going to be alright, you’ll see, you’re going to be alright.”
“I know. I don’t know why I am crying, I just am.”
“You are releasing all the tension that has built up deep inside you. I can’t begin to imagine what you have gone through girl, but just let it all out now.”
“Thank you, this helps a lot. Are you Rita?”
“Yes, I am Rita, I am the pretty one.”
Carrie felt herself being wrapped by another set of arms and heard Courtney giggle and say, “I am the pretty one love, don’t listen to her.”
Carrie giggled and said, “I think you both are the pretty ones, both of you are such wonderful girls.”
All three fell asleep for about another hour, before Carrie felt a pressure building in her bladder. It took a few desperate minutes to extricate herself, without overly disturbing the twins, but she finally got free and made a mad dash to the potty. Up came her sleep shirt, down went her panties, plop went her butt and she began to relieve herself, just in time.
She wiped herself dry, front to back, after she finished. She took her panties off, and then her nightdress, putting them in the hamper. She found a shower bonnet and put all of her long hair in it. She then turned the shower on, adjusting and waiting till it was as warm as she wanted, then she had herself a quick shower. She dried herself off and wrapped herself with a dry towel, under her arms and around her chest. She shook out her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. She realized that she looked very different. She was taller, her hair was a little shorter and darker, her face was much different but pretty enough and her figure was more alluring if that was even possible than it had been. Unconsciously she had found a new toothbrush, still in its wrapper and opened it, putting a small pearl of toothpaste on the bristles, before brushing her teeth. She rinsed her mouth out, gargled some mouthwash, applied deodorant and brushed out her hair, till it shined.
In the bedroom, she saw the sisters clinging to each other, still asleep. Carrie opened the dresser, got a bra and panty set out, and put them on. In the closet, she found a blouse and a pair of pants to put on, along with a nice pair of sandals. She sat at the vanity, put on a little eye shadow, mascara, a little powder to even out her skin tones, a touch of blusher, to highlight her cheeks and a rosy pink lipstick, to her lips.
Carrie stood and looked at the twins. They looked so cute together, she figured that it was more than just looks they shared, but it didn’t seem to bother her. She blew them a kiss and tiptoed out of the room.
She found the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. The aroma of the coffee was intoxicating. Roger had loved coffee, but he had hardly ever paid much attention to its aroma as it brewed. She found a large mug and filled it with the rich brew, when the pot finished brewing.
Carrie then left the kitchen; she found a sliding glass door that opened to a patio and a garden. She found a chair and sat watching the birds in the air and the squirrels play on the ground. She marveled at how lovely the garden was. There were a hundred or more species of flowers all in bloom and more species of plants than she could count, with a large mix of trees. There was even a Koi pond, that had a veil of fog hanging over it. There was a birdbath fountain and other small statuaries. A small concrete boy was tinkling into the pond. A concrete Pagoda sat on a small island and a pedestrian bridge, that crossed to the island. All of this on half of an acre back yard, Carrie estimated.
Carrie heard the sliding door open and Joyce joined her in watching the sun crest over the backyard fence.
“Morning Carrie, how are you today?”
“Doing ok, I guess. I was a little shocked and pleased to see the changes.”
“Yes we made the changes while you slept, did you notice the other change we made?”
“No, what do you mean?”
“Well did you need help dressing today?”
“No, I didn’t Joyce.”
“We did a little something to help you cope, till you begin to get comfortable in your current situation. You know, getting dressed and presenting yourself as a woman. It doesn’t come easy.”
“I hadn’t thought about what I was doing this morning, I just did it. Thanks!”
“We did that to remove a stressor from your life. You make a great cup of coffee, Carrie.”
“It’s one of those things Roger liked. He spent so much time around coffee shops around the world. I still have the taste for it at least, I am glad about that.”
“Disassociating yourself from your old self, I see.”
“I can’t see myself being Roger, right now. I don’t know if it is good, but I think it helps me right now.”
“You may be right.”
“Let me ask one question, Joyce? If I may?”
“Sure, go ahead?”
“Rita and Courtney are sisters, aren’t they?”
“Well… In the loosest sense they are, but you should talk to them.” Joyce said, with a mischievous smile on her face. “Well, are you ready to start learning, Carrie.”
“You mean right now.”
“Yes, I know you want to get out and get some other things done. I want you to at least be able to shield yourself.”
“Alright, I guess now is as good a time as any.”
“Turn your chair to face me Carrie,” Joyce instructed, “Now put your hands on my temples, as I put mine on yours. My mind is open to you, can you feel it?”
Carrie’s brow creased in concentration. She quieted her own mind and tried to sense Joyce. It took several minutes before she realized she could sense her mind. “Yes I can sense you.”
“I can sense you too, it is almost like you are shouting, ‘I am here’.” Ok feel what I do as I block you out.”
It was like a door closed and Carrie could no longer sense Joyce’s mind. Joyce then had Carrie try to shield her mind. She could sense her presence in her mind, but she couldn’t see the way to block her intrusion. Joyce showed her again and Carrie tried again. They went like this back and forth, before out of nowhere, Carrie slammed the door on Joyce.
“I must say, there was no panache about the way you did it, but it was effective.” Joyce said rubbing her temples from the slight headache she received.
“I am so sorry, I didn’t hurt you did I?”
“No, you did ok. It was like someone put a metal trashcan over my head and beat on it with a baseball bat.”
Joyce taught Carrie how to use her shields, hard shields and soft shields. She learned about things she could sense with her power, such as others with power, how to discern whether their intent was good, ill, or indifferent, towards them, how to send a mental flare, and how to send thoughts to someone with power. Joyce found that Carrie was a quick study.
Joyce and Carrie were both famished, as they finished their early lessons by about ten. Rita and Courtney had anticipated their needs and already had a brunch set out. The girls had prepared Caesar’s salads, with grilled chicken breasts for everyone. Carrie waited till everyone was seated and Joyce said the blessings to the Goddess, before she started eating. Before she started, she was a little disappointed in the proportions, but as she ate she found herself quite full, but not stuffed, by the time she finished.
As they ate, the girls asked Carrie what she needed to do today.
Carrie told them she wanted to go to some rare book dealers, then to head to a coffee shop for a while, to work out the code she needed. She had to send the information in code, to her lawyer, for him to act.
“Ok, Carrie, Rita will go with you, the rest of us still have work to do? Also, Rita will be able to handle any ID you might require from driver’s license, passport, birth certificate and help create an authenticateable legend for you,” Joyce stated.
“Sounds good, I had wondered about that. I also want to thank all of you for your patience. I know there are other things that you could, or should be doing, besides babysitting me.”
“It’s nothing Carrie, I have rather enjoyed the past few days. In fact, I see a lot of good coming out of our efforts, although, there will be some dark days ahead.”
Carrie went to her room and found her purse, she giggled as she realized that they had thought about almost everything, and how she thought to pick up something she had never used before. She opened it up, looking inside, she saw more stuff than she thought it would hold, cosmetics, a wallet, tissues, tampons, chewing gum, keys (what did she have keys for), a can of pepper spray, her PDA and cell phone (when did they have time to put all that together), a pen, pencil and a notepad. Carrie thought of her days, playing RPG’s. She now knew where they got the idea for ‘a bag of holding’. She almost expected to be able to reach in and draw out a sword and armor from the purse. She checked and repaired her face at the vanity, packed the lipstick; she used that day, in her purse, before heading to the office. She packed her less secure laptop into an aluminum, hard cased, wheeled carrier and went to meet Rita.
Rita also had her purse and a laptop in a wheeled carrier too. Together they headed to Rita’s car, a silver 2005 BMW 545i. The ladies put their laptops in the trunk and got in the car.
“Where too first, Carrie?”
“I need to go to my bank, first.”
Rita reached to her GPS unit and inserted the address of the bank and hit enter. The unit began giving directions. Rita drove like an expert, handling the powerful engine with care.
At the bank, Carrie got the attention of one of the bank officers. The woman found it strange to access an account by number only, but it had been approved by a VP. It was stranger when, in lieu of an ID and a signature, access was by a thirty-two-digit number, the girl provided from memory, but the documentation for the account, allowed for such access. Carrie withdrew seven thousand dollars from the account.
Carrie was brought a bank bag with the money inside. She thanked the executive and left.
On the way out, Rita told Carrie “You really had that lady scratching her head.”
“The transaction was legal, but some banks don’t like it. If I had gotten another three thousand, she would have needed an ID, so the transaction could be reported. I will close that account today and open another bank account, after I get some ID as Carrie.”
“Right, I will have some ID for you as early as tomorrow.”
“How?”
“You’ll see, it’s magic,” Rita said giggling. “Now where to?”
“I located about four rare dealers on the internet,” she said handing the list to Rita. “I believe the first, on that list, will have the book, they showed it on an inventory list they had online. I will buy it, once I verify it is the correct volume. Then we will head to a Starbuck’s, or any other wi-fi hotspot that’s around.”
“Sounds good girl, let’s go.”
They headed for the first bookstore. Yes they had a copy, but it wasn’t the volume that Carrie needed. They headed to the second and the third, finally at the fourth; they had the correct volume of the book. It cost Carrie twenty five hundred dollars.
At a Starbuck’s, Rita and Carrie wheeled their laptops into the store and set them up. Carrie asked Rita what she drank and went off to buy the drinks. They then settled in to work. Rita had Carrie set up an instant messenger account, so they could talk on the computers while they worked. Carrie got out her book and began working on an email to Roger’s attorney, that would liquidate the rest of his assets.
They messengered each other for Carrie’s legend. Rita needed to know what city Carrie wanted to be from and what schools she wanted to have gone to. Carrie told her Roger had been born in Van Horn, Texas, but she wanted to be listed from Huntsville, Texas. She knew a lot more about that town, as Roger had gone to Sam Houston State there and had spent six years at that University.
Rita took that information and began working, as Carrie opened Les Miserables and started working. They worked for two hours, minus a restroom break and a refill break. Finally, at two, Carrie used one of Roger’s online email accounts and sent an email to the attorney.
Rita then sent Carrie an email with an attached .doc file, for her legend, for approval. Carrie went over the legend. Carrie had been born at Huntsville Memorial hospital; she had the same birthday as Roger, except for the year. She was born in 1983, instead of 1972. They lived in the Forrest Hills subdivision. She went to Huntsville High School, graduated in 2001 and went on to Sam Houston State, graduating with a BS in Political Science, with a minor in Criminal Justice in 2004. She had a list of her, teachers, professors, and students who she knew and that knew her. She had a list of friends, accomplishments, work history and everything else a person would ever need. Carrie recognized some of the names of the college profs; Roger had had some of them himself.
“Wow,” Carrie said as she went over the ten-page document. You really have done a complete job on this. If only those people knew me, it would be air tight.”
“They will remember you after tonight. You will also have an authentic birth certificate, social security card, driver’s license, and passport by tomorrow morning.”
“How did you do all of that?”
“You are not the first person that has been transformed, and today it is hard to do anything, without a verifiable past. Especially post 9/11. We build legends for the people who are transformed and use our abilities to make them so. The Internet has been a big boost to us in doing this. So we work our magic two different ways, so to speak. The day after tomorrow, you could have a private detective, or a government agent, back track you, and be satisfied with what he found.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. That is great. Rita I have a question I would like to ask you.”
“Let me guess, you want to know about Courtney?”
“How did you know, did you read my thoughts?”
“No I didn’t read your thoughts, its just I have been asked that question before. To someone who doesn’t know me, she is my twin sister. To my friends, she isn’t my sister, she is my ex-boyfriend now girlfriend/lover, and no, it is what she wanted. She knew I was a lesbian and I just couldn’t love him. He asked me if he were a girl, could I love him. I said yes. He didn’t know all about me, but he started changing himself on his own with surgery, hormones and such. I found out what he was doing and well the rest is history. She is one of us now too. Not as powerful as you or I, but stronger than average, I guess.”
“Wow, I would never have guessed that, and what did you mean not as powerful as you or I? I am not powerful.”
“If you joined us and learned. You could probably be fourth in our group, maybe third. Britney, Shannon’s daughter, is weaker than you, but she can do more than you right now. I am fourth, or fifth. It is all relative, you see, and while precedence of ability is important, it isn’t the only factor that is important in ranking, in our group. Desire to serve, is the most important factor in our group. Stacey could have been first, or a close second; she really needed a lot more training to get that high. It hurt us when we had to shun her, but she just wasn’t a very nice person.”
“Couldn’t she have overpowered your group?”
“Singly she might have, if she had attacked any one of us at a vulnerable time. We didn’t give her the opportunity. If she attacked us as a group, we would have reacted defensively and would have forced her to drain her power. Then we would have put a compulsion to avoid doing wrong, on her. She knew this and we didn’t move against her, we stood united behind Joyce. Together she couldn’t touch us.”
“Wow, that is a lot to think about, Rita. Thank you for all that you have, and are, doing for me.”
“We have a couple of more stops to make before we head back, we need some pictures and we need to stop by Shannon’s place. She is the one making the ID’s.”
Carrie’s laptop chirped an alert, as she received a confirmation of her email from Roger’s attorney. The liquidation of Roger’s assets had begun.
************************
Rita and Carrie returned home just before dinner. The whole circle was there. There were twenty-four ladies along with eight little girls and three infant boys. After Carrie and Rita put their laptops away safely, Carrie was introduced to the group. She then found herself in a reception line; each lady personally greeted Carrie. Hugs and kisses were exchanged by each, who showed genuine concern and wished her well. Then she was led to the dinning room. Joyce then blessed the food that had been prepared.
The food had already been prepared; there were dishes that contained all kinds of delectable treats on the table, the two sideboards, and on the breakfast counter, between the dinning room and kitchen. Each lady had brought a covered dish this night. Carrie found it hard to describe the aromas of all the food. It made her mouth water. Everybody was encouraged to take a plate, load up the food and have a good time.
Carrie took small samples, of as many of the dishes she could, without trying to look like a hog. The more dishes she saw, the more she realized how famished she was. Her plate loaded, Rita then led her to an arrangement of two couches and two easy chairs, with a long wide coffee table between them.
Carrie was shown to one of the easy chairs and other ladies with their children, sat on the couches. The crowd shifted around her, as some left and others took their place. It was hard for Carrie to take more than two bites, without answering some question, or talking to this lady, or that child. Dinner seemed to last forever. She didn’t need to get up for anything. As her glass emptied, an arm appeared to refill her glass.
As Roger, she had been very good at remembering names and faces. She found that she still had that ability. As Roger though, she didn’t get out much, oh there were times that his business required him to attend this function or that, but he spent many days by himself, just doing the kind of research his business required. She was beginning to see how shallow her life had really been. She was having a good time just being around other people.
After two hours, she found herself with Rita, Courtney, and the little girls and infants.
“What’s going on Rita, are they all here to do a big magic?”
“No, not a big magic, but a multitude of little magics. We are going to take care of the little ones, while they work. They are each taking a part of your legend and making it happen. We found that the more bases we cover, the more complete the legend, the less likely it will be uncovered. You will be covered so well, you could pass an NSA security check. We even have you inheriting all those assets you squirreled away. So it will all be legal and won’t raise any suspicion.”
“They are doing all of this for me. Why?”
“Because we feel we owe you and after these past few days, many have grown to like you. You made a real impression on them tonight, by remembering all of their names and their children’s names.”
“Tell me something, all these children and the only boys are infants, ya’ll don’t change them do you?”
Rita choked on a coke she was drinking, and began giggling. After she recovered enough to do so, she said, “No we don’t do that. When we meet like this, it is women’s work, men and boys aren’t allowed. That is why, right now, you are with us. You might go back to being a male, after all. Boys over two have to stay with their papa’s.”
“Shouldn’t you and Courtney join the ladies?”
“No we are warders. This is our job, protecting you, protecting these little ones and protecting the circle.”
The three ladies escorted the children outside to play, till it got too dark. They then took them to a TV room where cartoons were playing. At nine, most of the children were ready for bed. All of them were led to a room where the girls changed into nighties and were helped into their beds that had been set up.
“How long will all this take, Rita?”
“Oh, they will finish about dawn Carrie. They have much weaving to do.”
“Then we will stay up and watch over the children.”
“No, you need your rest Carrie, you and I are headed to bed too. Courtney will watch over the children. You will need to confront Roger tomorrow. Joyce thought it was a good idea. Roger should be able to get out by tomorrow and you will need to let him know what is happening. That is, if you hope to return to being Roger with a good name.”
“I don’t know if I will be ready to face him.”
“You are. Joyce, Shannon, Courtney and I will be with you dear. There is nothing bad that can happen to you by going and much harm that could if you don’t.”
“Your right Rita, let’s go to bed.”
************************
Much stronger Roger was up and about the house. He realized that the place wasn’t as opulent, as the wealth he should have at his deposal. He also realized that he didn’t know how to get at it. The computer locked up and the screen showed a big zero. Even the laptop that was hooked up to the network, had a big zero, when he tried to boot it.
He attempted to open the file cabinets to check for financial documents, but they were like safes, made from heavyweight steel and combination locks. He couldn’t even push the file cabinets around; they were so heavy.
There was no directory, no speed dial function on the telephones, no business cards. There was a PDA, but it required a password also. There was another laptop, but there seemed to be nothing but OEM software on it. The browser had no history, no bookmarks, no cookies and nothing in the many temp folders that would tell where the man had been on the Internet.
He realized that he couldn’t even leave the apartment without setting off the alarm. Well he could always feign memory loss from sickness when the alarm company called, and show them his ID, which he did have at least, when they sent someone over to investigate.
He had some keys for a Mercedes; he didn’t know where it was. He had a hand full of moderately priced men’s jewelry, an expensive watch, two credit cards, two gas cards and eleven hundred dollars. He had an extensive collection of fine clothes and shoes. There were a few paintings; he didn’t know what they were worth.
The kitchen was the room that showed the most about its owner. He had very good kitchen ware; pots, pans, tableware, flatware, crystal and china. The fridge was well stocked with good food. He had a huge spice rack, and lots of condiments. The appliances were all top of the line except there was no dishwasher.
There was a laundry room that was well equipped. The media room was simply superb, including a 52 inch wide HDTV with a sound system to die for.
As nice as everything was, it could be owned by someone who had one percent of the wealth, Roger had. This place just wasn’t as opulent as one would expect, from someone worth an estimated three hundred million dollars.
Roger was more than a little disturbed that his powers didn’t seem to be coming back very fast. He could feel his powers, but they weren’t that strong. He could sense others presence, and shield himself, but not much more. That hurt.
What hurt even more though, was that nobody seemed to want to visit him and the phone hadn’t rung lately. As Stacy, she had lots of friends, and people who came to her newsstand, who treated her as a person. They would have called, or visited her, if she had failed to open her newsstand, the first day she missed opening up. No one seemed to care about Roger though.
It had never occurred to Stacy that she should have followed and eavesdropped on Roger’s thoughts to learn as much as she could have. She really needed more information. Well tomorrow she would get it, somehow.
************************
Carrie was woken up early by Courtney. “Wake up Love; we need to start getting ready dear.”
“Your, Courtney aren’t you.”
“Yes, you’re learning dear. How did you know?”
“You seem more feminine, even when you are dressed alike. What time is it, anyway?”
“A little after six. Rita is already making breakfast.”
Carrie took a quick shower, making sure she didn’t get her hair wet. Although it was now a little shorter, it would still take a while to sort out. She then put on a robe and headed into the kitchen.
The place seemed empty after having been so full last night. The place seemed to be in good shape, even though hours earlier, there had been over thirty people here. Everything was clean and where it had been yesterday morning.
Joyce and Rita met Carrie coming out of the kitchen. They were loaded down with food, heading for the dining room table. Five places were set.
“Who else is here this morning?” Carrie asked.
“Shannon is in a room, just getting ready. She’ll be going with us.”
“I just thought of one more thing Joyce, as much as I loathe it, I really think I need to appear as Stacy one more time. At least till our meeting is over.”
“Oh, that will be easy. I will just cast a glamour spell that will fade later today, or you will be able to cast it off by saying, ‘Carrie return’.”
“I want the best business type suit I can get. Do I need to do some shopping? I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Shopping is fun, but we can do that later. You can appear as well dressed as any Fortune 500 woman CEO, with just a snap of our fingers. It will be a glamour, just like your appearance as Stacy will be.”
Shannon joined them at the table, Joyce blessed the food and everyone dug in, talking about what they were going to be doing later today.
************************
After breakfast Joyce said, “Just put on some clothes, any clothes will do. I will make you look like a million dollars.”
Carrie dressed in a simple skirt and blouse, with the appropriate lingerie. She stood in front of a mirror and Joyce said a few words. Carrie appeared to morph into Stacy and she was dressed better than half the top women executives of any major corporation. A perfect woman’s business suit, perfect hair, makeup and she was well accessorized. She wouldn’t look out of place in a corporate boardroom, or a shareholders meeting.
Carrie winced a bit upon seeing Stacy’s face, eyes and hair, but smiled as she saw how she was dressed.
“Is your clothing okay dear?”
“Excellent Joyce, it is perfect. I would like all of you to dress and appear as nice.”
“As you have spoken, so shall it be,” Joyce said.
In the blink of an eye, Joyce, Rita, Courtney and Shannon all appeared in similar opulence to Carrie. The girls were giggling as they looked at each other. No girl was dressed the same, but all were well dressed.
Shannon opened a brief case and began handing things to Stacy, saying. “The glamour changed everything from Carrie to Stacy, but they will change back after the spell fades,” she said.
“Here is your wallet with your driver’s license, ID card’s, a valid checkbook, six valid credit cards, a phone card, mom and pop pictures, a thousand dollars, from the money that you got yesterday, and most everything a woman would normally carry in her wallet.
Here are your birth certificate, passport, bank statement, a probated will for all of your assets, a car title and other legal paper work. You can go over them in your leisure. Your car is in the garage, by the way.
You are now official, girl.”
“I want to thank all of you. I guess we need to head to my car now.”
“Nonsense dear, our limo is just pulling up now,” Rita said. “We are going in style.”
************************
The limo pulled up outside the exclusive high rise where Roger Johnson lived. The doorman almost fell all over himself as the limo came to a stop at the curb. He held the door open for the ladies, as they exited the limo.
The ladies followed behind Stacy, as she approached the front door. Another doorman opened the exterior door for them to enter. Inside the lobby, the security guard inquired of their destination.
“We are here to see Roger Johnson. I am Stacy Parker and we are expected,” she said.
The guard checked his clipboard. “Yes Ma’am, Ms. Parker, take the penthouse elevator,” he said, anxious to please the women. “He is expecting you.”
The girls got in the elevator and pushed the button for the penthouse.
“Who taught you how to influence people?” Joyce asked.
“What do you mean, Joyce?”
“You reached out with your mind and influenced him to see your name on the clipboard.”
“Is that bad, did I do wrong?”
“No, you did what I was going to do, only faster.”
“I just knew we had to get up there or we wouldn’t be able to do this.”
The elevator stopped and the door opened. In this building there were three apartments to the penthouse level. Carrie could sense that Roger was there and already up. Stacy led them to Roger’s door and pressed the button for the doorbell. She realized that she knew the names of the others who lived on this level, but she never knew much about them, and had never sat down to talk to them.
It took Roger a couple of minutes to open the door. The alarm panel beeped, as the door was opened. Roger paled visibly as he saw who all was there. Stacy pushed past Roger, walked over to the panel and punched a number into the panel to disarm it. She then walked to the phone and called the security company. She spoke the security code and gave her name to the operator.
Hanging up, she looked at Roger. He hadn’t shaved since he had been Roger and looked horrible. Stacy looked him in the eyes and saw how pitiful he looked.
“Well, I can see that you aren’t taking care of yourself, my old body is a mess.”
“Well bitch, I see you are still acting high and mighty. Too bad you are flat broke.”
Smiling, “Oh no Roger, I am currently worth about three quarters of a billion, you are the one that is flat broke. At least figuratively that is. You are currently worth about 200k. I didn’t want to leave you destitute till I am able to return to my old body.”
“What did you do bitch, did you steal all of my money?”
“Roger, it was never your money. You tried to steal it when you stole my body.”
Roger leered at Joyce and her friends, “Did you get these witches to magic the money for you, bitch?”
“No, I did it all myself. Me and my computer, was all it took, Roger. I had it all transferred out of your name and into mine yesterday, at least till I can get my body back. I left enough so you won’t have to live under a bridge, but you won’t be living the life of luxury.”
“Like that is going to happen.” Roger said. “I wrote my spell well, you’ll never unmake it without my help. That help will cost you five hundred million. Even if your friends could put together the spell I used, I will drag your reputation through the mud before they could even hope to break it.”
“Why do you hate me so Roger? What did I ever do to you, to make you do this to me?”
“You’re a man; you’ve had life handed to you on a silver platter. All guys have it easy.”
Carrie looked down at herself with incredulity. “Rita, you lied to me. You said I was a woman like you now, and here Roger tells me I am a man, but then again… I think he better go back and study anatomy.”
Roger’s face glowed red with anger; he hated this woman for mocking him so. “You know what I mean, Bitch.”
“You think so, huh. I worked three jobs and went to a backwater, two-bit, college in Huntsville, Texas, to get where I was. I risked every cent I owned, to earn the money I have. I came within one day of being bankrupt three times, but what I learned helped to make me what I am. I used my head Roger, to make the money I earned.”
“That is bull shit and you know it. Are you going to give me my money or not.”
“No, I don’t think I am.”
“Then kiss your good name goodbye. If you want your body back, it won’t be worth a plug nickel, by the time you can get it back.”
Carrie walked around, but never took her eye off Roger. She had a look of pity, at what he had become. “You can keep it then. You can ruin your own good name, if you want. You can see how hard it is to earn money and respect. You are thirty-four and unless you take care, you won’t make forty-five. I am twenty-three and healthier than I have ever been.”
“To show you I have acted in good faith, you have a home in Van Horn, Texas, that you still own. It was my parent’s old home. They are gone now and I don’t need it. You have another four hundred thousand in that watch and jewelry, although you won’t get that much from it, and another forty thousand in your checking account. I couldn’t bear to leave you like you thought you left me. I guess I have a heart after all.”
“You probably realize by now that there is no way to get to my accounts, and log on to my computers. You probably also realize that my filing cabinets and desk drawers are not easy to be broken into. You don’t even know the security code for the alarm system so you could leave or enter this apartment. You know absolutely nothing about my life. Oh, if you think you can read my mind, to get all of this information, guess again.
The anger inside Roger began to boil over. If Stacy had come here alone, he would have killed her, but he knew what the others could do to thwart that. “Bitch, I will come after all of you,” Roger said, “I will use my power.”
Carrie looked at Roger and just laughed, “That is an empty threat, Roger. Have you tried to use any of your powers yet? Thank you by the way. From what I have been told, I have your power. I’m told that that leaves you with very little. You are now weaker than anyone of our children. How does it feel to be a human ‘MAN’ Roger?”
“You’ll never get this body back.”
Carrie’s eyes showed sadness at the callousness of Roger’s heart. “As you have spoken, so shall it be, Roger.” She realized that there was no going back after she spoke those words. She would forever be Carrie now, but that prospect didn’t seem to bother her anymore.
Joyce, Rita, Courtney and Shannon all spoke, “So mote it be.”
Roger visibly paled at those words. He realized that he had no more leverage to use against Stacy, as she had just given up any rights to being Roger again. Power was being used, he could feel it. Stacy had just created a spell. He realized that he had made a very big mistake, He could never return to being Stacy. He started to shake and his eyes got large with fear.
Carrie continued. “Sisters, I have been grievously wronged, yet I hold no ill will toward Roger. He stole from me and tried to steal more. I have provided for him shelter, food and such sustenance as he might need for a time. Roger, you will see how easy life is in your body. I shall not provide you more than I already have. You will not do any harm to others, nor shall you harm yourself. You shall not speak my name again and you will remember me no more. I shall not abide to be in your presence, nor you in mine.”
The girls repeated, “You shall not speak our names again and you will remember us no more. We shall not abide to be in your presence, nor you in ours.”
The new Roger yelled, “WAIT!” With a terrified look in his eyes.
Then Joyce said, “As it was spoken, so shall it be.”
A thunderclap of power shook the room and Roger fell to his knees. Stacy had put a compulsion on him and had shunned him at the same time. He had been powerless to resist the spell.
“Roger, you have one hour to leave this place, you can take whatever you can carry out of here. Here is you checkbook,” she said handing him a checkbook, “You have forty thousand in your account, spend it wisely, but do with it as you will. Get a job, earn your keep. Now go,” Carrie said with a finality that shook the building, and then she turned her back on him, a rock hard expression shown on her face.
The other girls turned their backs on him one at a time. Roger got up and ran from room to room collecting things he thought might be valuable and that he might want. He packed clothing, jewelry and silverware, amongst other things. In fifty-nine minutes, fifty-five seconds Roger drug three suitcases out the door.
As the door closed, Stacy uttered, “Carrie return,” and then she broke down crying. Rita and Courtney helped her sit down on a couch and comforted her, till she was all cried out.
After she dried her tears, she walked over to Joyce, and said, “Mother, may I join with you and your sisters, and will you teach me your ways.”
“Daughter, you already have joined us, and yes we will teach you, my child,” Joyce said smiling.
Carrie went about the room and removed what things that were left from the apartment that she wanted. The rest of the things there, that were Roger’s, she just wished away. Taking one last look around, she turned her back on what she had been.
“Mother, take us home.”
“This way my daughter. This way.”
The girls left that apartment, never to return.
The end.
Bobby is a teenage boy that really wants to be a girl. He likes to video tape girls being girls so he can learn to imitate them. One day Bobby joins two classmates at the mall and things go wrong from there, or is it go right from there?
Bobby is a teenage boy that really wants to be a girl. He likes to video tape girls being girls so he can learn to imitate them. One day the boy Bobby joins two classmates at the mall and things go wrong from there, or is it go right from there.
Bobbi’s Run
by
Paula Dillon
It was a Saturday and Bobby Ray McDonald was at the mall engaging in his favorite pastime. He loved to cruise the mall looking at the girls, although not for the same reasons that most guys do. When he watched the girls it wasn’t for lust, but out of jealousy or curiosity. Today just as all the times in the past he watched how girls acted, the things that they did and how they looked.
Bobby always carried his video camcorder in the camera case his Mom had bought him for Christmas. In his mind it was like carrying a purse. He had rigged the camera case so he could record with the camera in the case and not be detected. He would either walk behind a group of girls at a distance or sit in the food court across from them just to tape them doing what girls do. At home he would then use his computer to edit the tapes so he could study the way the girls acted, how they dressed, and how they interacted with each other.
Bobby’s family consisted of his mom Agnes Elizabeth McCrea, but she goes by Liz and his sisters Darla Ann and Amy Blair. His father Angus Blaine McDonald had bailed on the family when Bobby was four so his mom took back her family’s name when she got her divorce. His mom was a good lawyer and worked long hours and it left the kids alone after school until about six pm. His sisters had their own friends that they spent much of their time with them, leaving Bobby on his own at home most of the time.
He would often sneak into his sisters’ rooms and in the bathroom clothes hamper to lift enough girls clothing so that he could wear them and practice being a girl. He would watch the tapes and imitate to the best of his ability what he saw the girls do. He had even managed to video tape his sisters and his mom as they did their makeup although he was never able to obtain anything but a stray lipstick or an almost empty mascara tube or such.
Bobby’s small size and stature lent itself well to appearing feminine. At fourteen he was just a hair over five foot one and weighed a little over a hundred and fifteen pounds. His face was almost a carbon copy of his younger sister Amy’s. His Mom had allowed him to grow his bright auburn hair down around his shoulders, and to get his ears pierced like a lot of guys his age had done. When dressed he looked better than he gave himself credit for, but he wouldn’t win any beauty contests. He did look as good as the average girl though, and maybe even a little bit better.
Bobby couldn’t begin to understand why he did this, but he felt as if his life depended on it. He felt so alive and complete when he was able to dress up. The times he couldn’t dress up he felt himself wither a little inside.
He was also very scared when he did it. He wanted to face the world dressed as a girl, but he just didn’t have the courage to go outside. Every day he tried to work up the courage to dress up and walk out the front door. Every time the strength to turn the door knob and open the door drained out of his arm. He was also fearful of what his Mom and sisters would say or do if they found out.
He knew how other people treated those who were different from the social norms. Bobby knew several openly gay boys at his junior high school and the macho jocks and the stoners gave these boys a hard time, often beating them up, verbally harassing them, and defacing their lockers. Bobby empathized with them, but didn’t want this complication in his life.
Bobby didn’t consider himself gay since boys had no attraction to him in any way. It wasn’t a sexual thing to him; it was just about being a girl. He wished that he had been born a girl, that he could be around girls and just be one of the girls.
Now that he was in high school the urges had gotten stronger. Seeing all the girls who dressed so nicely was hard on him. Living in two worlds was also having a toll on him. His desires made him a loner because he knew the vast majority of people would never accept him in a boy’s world or a girl’s world.
Bobby sat at a table inside the food court taping some girls there. He thought they were very pretty and he loved the way they were dressed. He didn’t worry about being caught since he had learned early how to be invisible. He sat facing away at a right angle to them with his camera case on the table and the lens pointed their way. Nobody ever knew what he was doing.
The girls sat and talked as they ate a light lunch. If Bobby was lucky he would be close enough to catch snippets of their conversations. After about thirty minutes the girls got up and headed to the restroom and Bobby changed tapes and batteries. He would love to know what went on in the girl’s restroom, why they always went together, and what they did while in there, but he would never invade their sanctuary.
Sadly Bobby got up and just began to wander around the mall. Bobby saw another couple of girls from his class window shopping and decided to follow them at a distance. As he watched the way one of the girls walked with such a cute wiggle his whole body just tingled. The girl’s name was Sandra Jennings and she was one of the prettiest of the freshman girls. She was in his home room and his English class. He envied her above all the others. He was just about her height and weight, but she had blonde hair and blue eyes to his auburn and green. The other girl was Becky Samuels. She was almost as pretty as Sandra, but with rich shiny chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes.
Sandra had on a really pretty blouse. It was a white button up front with frilly ruffles that went around the collar and down the front of the blouse. You could almost see right through it. Underneath he could tell she had on a bra and camisole. She wore a tan denim skirt that was fitted at the waist and hips and came down to just above mid thigh. She had on tan hosiery of some sort, probably pantyhose and brown flats that had a strap across the instep. She had on some very pretty dangly pearl drops earrings, a pearl drop necklace that hung just where her blouse was open, four or five gold and silver bangles on her right arm and a ladies watch on her left. Her purse was one of those black micro fiber purses that Bobby really liked. Her hair was long and straight. It was held by a scrunchie high on the back of her head and fell to the middle of her back.
Becky had a blue jean jacket over a red satin scoop neck tank top. Bobby noticed she had three necklaces on and her earrings were a bunch of dangles with odd shapes and lengths of gold. Her skirt had no waistband and fit just above her hips. It was white and was made of a lighter material than Sandra’s and was at least 2 inches shorter. Bobby watched how she controlled the skirt as she walked. He was amazed that she never let anything she had on underneath show. She had black stay up stockings with their lacy tops showing just below her skirt and black shiny pumps with maybe two inches of heels. Her purse reminded Bobby of a satchel in brown suede with fringes around the sides and bottom. Her hair do was big, with lots of curly ringlets that were stretched out and hung just below her shoulders.
The girls would stop in front of one store window and look at the mannequins, commenting on what they saw. They really seemed to enjoy looking at clothes, imagining what they would look like wearing them or they would laugh and giggle about how hideous they thought they were. Bobby got a good education this way on what ‘real girls’ thought. When the girls were satisfied that they liked or didn’t like something, they would stroll on down the mall. Bobby followed as closely as he could without being too obvious.
After about ten minutes Bobby knew it was time to move on. He was very afraid that the girls would see him following them and think that he was actually stalking them. So before he was discovered he made a move and walked past the two girls. He got about ten yards ahead of him when he heard, “Bobby is that you?”
Bobby stopped and turned when he heard Sandra call him. It wouldn’t do for him to run like he wanted to. “Oh, hi Sandra, how are you?”
“I am doing okay Bobby,” Sandra said smiling at the boy. “Do you know Becky?”
“Yes I have seen her around school, and I know her name but we have never been introduced. Hi Becky, I am Bobby McDonald.”
Becky had a big smile on her face as she looked at Bobby, “Hi Bobby, Becky Samuels,” she said.
Sandra reached out and took one of Bobby’s hands in her own and said, “Hey Bobby, we were just getting ready to leave. We are heading to Toni’s Pizza parlor. Want to come along?”
“I don’t know I should be heading home soon.” Inside he felt so confused, he had never had a girl come out and ask him to do anything with them before.
“Oh please, come on Bobby, why don’t you come with us? It will be fun.” Becky asked, almost pleading.
He hemmed and hawed for a few seconds then said, “Oh… ok I guess.”
Bobby had no experience in dealing with girls other than his sisters. This was the first time one had actually stopped to talk to him. Most girls chose to ignore him. He was worried that they had seen him following them and were going to expose him or worse.
The girls flanked him as they walked. Bobby fell right into pace with the girls. Most boys when they first start walking with girls they are interested in unconsciously walk the legs off of them. They never consider actually slowing down so the girls can walk at a comfortable pace. Boys just naturally have a longer stride and a quicker pace. This was a problem that Bobby didn’t have.
It was a short walk to the bus stop where they sat and waited for the next bus. Bobby sat on the end of the bench. He set his camera case on the bench between himself and the girls then he turned toward the girls.
“Tell us Bobby, we have seen you around school, but we have never seen you with any girls. Do you have a girlfriend right now?” Sandra asked.
Bobby blushed and had a sad look on his face, “No I don’t have a girlfriend right now. To be honest with you most girls just choose to ignore me. Look at me; I don’t look like boyfriend material to them, if you know what I mean.”
Sandra knew what Bobby was talking about and liked the honesty of his answer. “Yeah we know Bobby, but I really think you are kinda cute though. I think most girls are missing out. You aren’t like most of the guys we know. You are more polite than they are. You also don’t drool over us and you seem to treat all girls better. You are most definitely different.” Sandra said looking into Bobby’s eyes.
“Yeah, you never seem like you are trying to undress us in your mind, and you aren’t trying to look down our blouses, or up our skirts,” Becky added.
Bobby looked away and blushed as Becky said that. He knew exactly what the girls were talking about, and now he was ashamed of spying on them. “Yeah, my mom and sisters would kill me if I did that. I just feel that girls should be allowed to look good without having to worry about who is trying to see what.”
“Well good for them. I am glad you’re this way,” Sandra said.
Bobby felt that Sandra and Becky were comfortable with him. This caused him to relax and enjoy their company more. His earlier fears seemed to melt away. The girls also noticed the changes in Bobby and felt more in tune with him. They talked about things they would never really talk to most boys about and the girls really seemed interested in what he thought. They drew more out of him than he thought possible. He would have been embarrassed to have his Mom hear what the girls talked about and what they asked him about.
It was while they were talking that from across the road came a ruckus. A drug deal had gone bad and shots were being fired. When Bobby heard the first shot and caught the action beside them in his peripheral vision without thinking he pushed both girls off the bench and covered them with his body. It took only ten or fifteen seconds as a couple of dozen or so gunshots were fired, before the sound of squealing tires told them somebody was fleeing the scene, but it seemed like hours to Bobby.
When he felt it was safe he got up and helped the girls up, then grabbed his camera case and hustled the girls away from the area. They moved up the bus’ route. When they saw the bus they waved it down, got on it and moved to the back seat. The girls leaned into Bobby on both sides and held on tightly to him. They were still in too much shock to cry, and both were visibly shaking. No one had said a word since the shooting had begun. Bobby put his arms around the girls and tried to comfort them.
(to be continued)
After being at the scene of a grisly shootout. Bobby gets Sandra and Becky home safely. The question now is who do they tell what, and what will they tell their families.
Bobbi’s Run ch. 2
by
Paula Dillon
Bobby, Sandra and Becky rode the bus in silence. Nobody really felt like talking. Traffic was snarled and moved slowly as the bus drove by the bus stop at the mall. People were rubbernecking trying to see what was going on as they drove by. There were already police on the scene directing traffic. Bobby could see two bodies on the ground near the road as they drove by, their blood pooling around them. The girls turned their heads away from the grisly scene and buried them into Bobby’s shoulders. Bobby found that he couldn’t take his eyes off the scene until he was too far away to see it. Bobby could almost swear he felt ice run up his back and he actually shivered.
They rode on for several miles until they got to a residential neighborhood. The girls got up and pulled Bobby with them. Bobby found out that they were only about a block and a half from Sandra’s house. The three walked arm in arm together until they turned into a really nice home. Sandra pulled a key out of her purse and let them inside. She called out but nobody answered, so they went into the living room.
Together they sat on a couch with Bobby between them. In the safety of the house the girls let loose and cried on his shoulders. The crying made Bobby nervous. He wished he knew what to do to make them feel better. Bobby was exhausted and his once stern body turned to jelly as the adrenaline that kept him going till he got the girls here, drained from him.
It was in this position that Sandra’s mom, Tracy Jennings, found the three about thirty minutes later. She entered the room hearing some soft sobbing and saw her daughter and Becky crying on the shoulder of a boy she didn’t know.
“Alright girls, what’s wrong?” Tracy asked. She was more disturbed as she saw the grass stains on both girls’ clothes and a big gash in Becky’s skirt. Both of the girls makeup was a mess and they both had raccoon eyes.
“Nothing mom, really it’s nothing,” Sandra said, but her face betrayed the lie she spoke.
“Yeah right, and your going to tell me pigs fly too I suppose.”
“Mom it’s just…” Sandra said trying to carefully choose her words.
“Mrs. Jennings, let me explain,” a visibly shaking Bobby said.
“Okay young man; first tell me who you are?”
“Sorry Ma’am, I am Bobby McDonald. I go to Jefferson High and Sandra is in my homeroom and English class.”
“Okay Bobby. I am Tracey Jennings, Sandra’s mom. Now why are the girls crying and why are they in such a mess.”
“I am afraid that this is my fault ma’am. You see I ran into the girls at the mall. They saw me and hollered at me. They asked me if I would like to go get some pizza with them. We left the mall together and waited at the bus stop. We sat on the bench and talked while we waited for the bus to come. I have to admit that I really enjoyed talking to them. As we were talking to each other something bad happened across the street. I heard a gunshot and pushed the girls off the bench onto the ground. I guess it is my fault their clothes are ruined like that. When it was safe I helped the girls up and then made sure we got out of the area. We then caught the bus and came straight here,” Bobby said, his head hanging down afraid to look Tracey in the face.
What Bobby had said, startled Tracey and her face showed her fear, “Do what! You said there was gunfire?”
“Yes mom there was. Bobby pushed us down, and then he covered us with his own body until everything was over.”
“Are you girls alright? Were you hurt?” Tracey said as she pulled her daughter up and checked her before doing the same to Becky.
“Stop mom! We are okay. Really. Bobby saved us.”
“Mrs. Jennings I am okay too, thanks to Bobby.” Becky added.
“Are you okay Bobby? I guess I need to thank you,” an embarrassed, but relieved Tracey said throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek.
“Yes ma’am, I am ok too.” Bobby squeaked while trying to catch a breath because of her iron grip around his chest.
Bobby finally worked himself free of Tracey’s grasp and everyone sat down again. One at a time they retold their story from their point of view. Tracey would stop them and asked each questions as they told their stories. None of the three reported that they had seen anything because of what Bobby had done. As they talked Becky looked at Bobby’s bag and noticed under the top cover there was a hole with a corresponding hole on the other side.
“Bobby, look at your bag.” Becky said.
Bobby picked it up and looked at it. One hole had frayed fabric sticking out and the other was clean. He opened the camera case up and found frayed fabric on the inside too. His camcorder seemed intact except for a long scratch down one side. He opened the view screen and turned it on but the batteries were run down.
“Everything seems okay, but I think a bullet went through my camera case and nicked my camcorder.”
Tracey looked at the case. “I guess you three are telling the truth. Thank you Bobby. I need to take you and Becky home soon.”
“Mom, let Becky change into some of my clothes, her parents would freak if they saw her like this. I don’t think we should tell anybody else about what happened. There were two bodies there. Mom I am really scared.”
“Sandra, I think you might be right. I would hate not telling the other parents, but the fewer people that know about this the safer it will be for you kids.” Sandra hated it when her daughter was hurt and afraid and she didn’t have the answer to make her feel better.
Sandra, Becky and Tracey went upstairs and left Bobby in the living room. It was a nerve racking time while he was alone. When the girls had been here he worried about them. Now that he was alone for a short while he started getting a little jittery. Their presence had actually kept him stronger.
It took them about twenty minutes to get changed and cleaned up. Both girls still looked shaken, but they looked a lot better than before. They both had clean clothes on and their faces were made up again. Tracey herded them into her car and took the kids home.
The two girls flanked Bobby in the back seat. They held his hands for comfort. When they got to Becky’s home, Becky turned Bobby’s face toward her and gave him a big kiss on his mouth before she got out of the car. That was Bobby’s first kiss by any girl not related to him. It felt warm, strange, and thrilling but good.
It was a couple of miles from Becky’s home to Bobby’s.
“So this is where you live Bobby. You didn’t go to the same junior high as Becky or I did you?” Sandra said.
“I guess I didn’t. Sorry about the mess but I am glad we met,” Bobby said as he hugged Sandra.
“I am very glad we met too Bobby and I am glad you were there to help us.”
Sandra had seen how Becky kissed Bobby and she wasn’t about to let Becky outdo her. She liked Bobby and had seen him following them at the mall. So she planted a big juicy kiss on Bobby and even slipped a little tongue action into it. Bobby was nearly half out of his mind as they kissed. He felt oh so good as they kissed. He couldn’t understand what these girls saw in him. Sandra broke the kiss as she heard her mother giggling.
“Bye Bobby, take care ok,” Sandra said.
“Yes, thank you Bobby for helping the girls. You’re a real Knight in shinning armor.” Tracey said. His sincerity showed itself in her eyes.
“Yes ma’am, thank you for giving me a ride home.”
Bobby watched them drove off and waved to them. Mrs. Perkins their next door neighbor had stuck her head out to see what was going on. She smiled as she saw Bobby.
Half dazed, Bobby headed into his home. His sisters were already there and were in the kitchen cooking. Since their Mom worked such long hours, she depended on Bobby and his sisters to help out around the house. Darla did much of the cooking; she was a very good cook, keeping the kitchen clean and the laundry. Amy and Bobby did the rest of the house work.
Amy stuck her head around the corner when she heard the door open and saw her brother stumble in. She liked him but thought he was just a little goofy. He looked even goofier now, if that was possible.
“Hey bro, what’s up? Are you ok?” Amy said with a look of concern on her face.
“Yeah I am ok. I think,” he mumbled.
“Oh really Bobby,” she said as she approached him. “Oh my gosh Bobby kissed a girl. Darla come here and look at Bobby.”
“What are you talking about Amy?” Bobby asked.
“What is going on?” Darla asked as she came around the corner.
“Bobby kissed a girl, Bobby kissed a girl Darla, look.”
Darla looked at Bobby and saw the lipstick all over his mouth and giggled. “He did Amy, he really did. More than one by the looks of it. If I am not mistaken there are two colors of lipsticks on his mouth, and a third on his cheek.”
“Wait till we tell Mom, Bobby,” Amy said with glee.
A visibly shaken Bobby begged, “Please don’t tell mom! They weren’t real kisses. I just did something for a couple of girls from my school and they thanked me. I don’t think they’ll do it again.” Bobby said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
Darla saw the look in his eyes and knew there was more to it, but she also saw the sadness in Bobby’s eyes. “Don’t worry little brother we will keep your secret. Did you enjoy it at least?”
Bobby didn’t say anything but he felt himself blush from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.
Amy was itching to hear all about it but Darla intervened, “Amy don’t push it. You wouldn’t want him to spread what you and Don are doing would you? I don’t think so. He’ll tell us when he is ready. Better clean up your face fast brother or your secret will be out. I think I just heard mom’s car pull up.”
Bobby heard a car door slam so he ran upstairs. In the bathroom he saw that he did indeed have lipstick all over his face and traces of foundation and mascara on his shoulders. He licked his lips, the taste and feel of the lipstick along with his memories of the kisses sent shivers throughout his body. He hurriedly washed his face real good, making sure he removed all traces of lipstick from his face and then he went to his room to change his shirt.
(to be continued)
Detective Tara Collins is called to the scene of a grisly and brutal multiple homicide. There were thousands of people around but no witnesses. A poorly positioned security cam shows three teens, who may be her only chance to solve the murders.
Bobbi’s Run 3
by
Paula Dillon
Detective Tara Collins got the call for a grisly multiple homicide. The report she received was there were 4 DB’s (dead bodies) there. Her partner Sam Logan was off on a personal day so she picked up the unit’s newest detective Brian Williams to go with her.
Tara was a four-year veteran in this department’s Homicide Unit. She had worked hard to earn a slot here. She had to admit it wasn’t as hard for her as it was for the women who came before her, but there was still a glass ceiling for many well-qualified females who deserved a gold shield.
Sam, her first and only partner, had really taught her the ropes well in homicide. He didn’t seem to mind that she was a woman and treated her as an equal. Together they had worked many homicides and had a very good cases solved ratio to their names.
Tara arrived and took in the scene. She liked to work the outside, before working her way to the scene, and then work her way back out. The Newsies were already there and their antenna poles were up high in the air. Camera operators and their reporters were running around out side the crime scene tape looking for witnesses to interview. Tara chuckled to herself as she thought about what their crime lab people had said, ‘flies were often the first insect to reach a corpse’. These reporters must be flies then.
The crime scene was located next to Westbrook Mall, right on Carson Blvd. Police had closed off all four lanes to traffic, she noticed as she walked the perimeter of the crime scene tape.
“Brian, I want you to go to all the businesses a block up and down from here and check for surveillance camera tapes. I will check up on our crime lab and start interviewing witnesses.”
“Got it Tara.”
Tara saw the officer charged with preserving the crime scene and signed in on the clipboard. She saw three investigators from their crime lab and a coroner working the scene.
“Hey Robert! Whatcha got for me?”
“Hello Tara, did you draw this mess?”
“Yep, sure did.”
“Well let’s see. We have four dead bodies, all male, all of them died of gunshot wounds. So far we have recovered twenty-eight cases nine mil and forty-five. We are still coming up with shell cases so that number can go up. We have recovered three firearms, one Colt 1911A1 and two Taurus pt 100’s nine mils. I don’t know if we will be able to recover any slugs but we will try. We will also try to print all of our shell cases. Two of the DB’s are over beside that Mini-Mart, shot at close range according to gunshot residue and two over here by the road, shot at a distance greater than ten feet. These two by the road took double taps to the chest center mass. The shooter had to be a very good shoot that is for sure. The two over by the Mini-Mart also took two each but not in as good a pattern. We will know more after autopsy.
We have blood pools here at the road, by the Mini-Mart, and a trail of blood leading to there. A shooter from beside the store might have gotten hit and trailed his blood to where he got into a car on the passenger side. We have a partial shoe print here in blood. We will run DNA samples in each places and eliminate the vics from the shooter or shooters if possible.”
“This area is known for being a place to go to pick up your favorite recreational drug. I hear,” Tara said.
“That is what I hear. Tim Watson was the first officer on the scene; he is over by the Mini-Mart talking to the employees there.”
“Ok, fill me in when you have your report completed.”
Tara walked over to Officer Watson. She saw him talking to the storeowner, who appeared to be of Asian Descent.
“Hello Officer Watson, whatcha got?”
“Well Det. Collins, We have four DB’s shot in a high traffic area during a busy part of the day, and no witnesses if you can believe that. It went down at 1620 and the first 911 call was received at 1622.”
“Sure, witnesses just get in the way and make things easier. There were probably five maybe ten thousand people within a quarter mile of here when it went down, why should there be witnesses.”
“Right, Ok, I know two of the DB’s both were runners for the North Side Lost Boys. I assume the other two are with them as well, they are flying the same colors, but I don’t know them.”
“Does Mini-Mart have a security cam?”
“Yep, here is the tape. The store owner just handed it over to me.” Tim handed an obviously old dusty VHS tape cartridge to Tara.
Tara signed for the tape and went over to the crime lab van. She inserted it into the tape player and checked the monitor as she rewound the tape. When she hit play she saw that the camera wasn’t pointed at what happened; in fact it wasn’t pointed in any direction that could be of use. She stopped the tape and looked for the camera. She saw the camera up on top of the store. She would bet her paycheck that it had been re-aimed intentionally.
“Hey Robert! Get someone on top of that store to print that camera.”
Robert looked up where Tara was pointing and waved back at her.
Tara turned her attention back to the monitor and forwarded the tape till the time stamp read four fifteen pm, before running it at normal speed. The video was horrible and it was only in black and white. She figured the tape had been reused so many times that the ferric oxide was probably worn thin or non existent in many places, and the tape heads probably hadn’t been cleaned since it was first installed. The recorder was one of those that took two seconds of video every 6 seconds. In the tape she saw three teens, two girls, and one boy, maybe three girls she couldn’t tell, approach the bus stop across the road and sit on a bench there. At 4:19:35 one of them pushed the other two of them off the bench and covered them with his/her own body. That one was probably a boy, but maybe not. She punched the tape out and carried it over to Robert.
“This is the tape from that cam,” she said pointing to the one on top of the Mini-Mart. “It doesn’t show the crime scene but it could show three possible witnesses. See if your people can clean it up for me, I couldn’t recognize my own mother on that tape.”
Robert took the tape from Tara and looked at it with disgust, “Shit! I don’t understand why these people can’t invest a few bucks a month on new tapes,” he said, “This tape looks old enough to drink whiskey. I will do what I can but don’t expect miracles.”
Brian came up to Tara and said, “I checked for security cams, none were pointed in the right direction, but two of them showed traffic up and down Carson, I got the tapes from those. They weren’t pointed in this direction. They could have been repositioned.”
“I think they might have been. Do me a favor and go to the mall and check any security cams that might have been pointed in this direction. It probably won’t show the crime but there may have been witnesses on the bench by the bus stop at the time,” Tara said as they crossed the road.
She walked over to the bench where the kids had been sitting. She looked closely at the bench. She saw a hole in the back and upon closer inspection she saw a slug in the hole. It looked to be either a .44 or .45 caliber slug lodged into the wooden back. She took out her phone and called Robert. “Hey Robert, I found a .44 or .45 slug in the bench at the bus stop. It looks fairly fresh, might be related to our shoot out.”
“Ok we will get to it.”
Tara looked around the perimeter of the crime scene, trying to see if the people gathered there rang a bell. She didn’t think the shooter would show back up at the scene so soon but it wasn’t unheard of. Before the bodies were placed in body bags Tara got a chance to got through their effects. If they were dealers or runners where were their drugs, she thought. She found no ID’s but she did find the keys for a Porsche 911, along with three thousand four hundred twenty four dollars and thirty five cents on one.
She kept busy checking on one thing or another till the meat wagon left for the Medical Examiners office. The ME was waiting for these bodies. Tara didn’t look forward to four autopsies but it was just part of the job. She wouldn’t pass on it because the guys she worked with wouldn’t pass on it.
After Tara collected, tagged, delivered and logged the evidence into HQ it was late so she just called it a day. This was one murder that wasn’t going away she felt.
(to be continued)
Bobbi's story continues at his home. His Mom knows something isn't right with him and learns more than he wanted to tell her. Bobbi too learns more than he wanted to know and what he learns scares him even more.
Bobbi’s Run ch. 4
by
Paula Dillon
Liz was glad to get home. Work at the law office kept her away from her kids, but at least it allowed her to provide for them. She was proud that they lived well and didn’t need to depend on the kindness of others. Her daughters Darla and Amy were in the kitchen when she opened the door to their home. They both stuck their heads around the corner and said hi to Liz.
“Hi kids,” she said as she saw her daughters, “Is Bobby home?”
“Yes Mom, he is up in his room right now,” Darla the oldest said.
“Great, is dinner ready yet?”
“In a few Mom. Amy set the table, please.”
Liz went to her room, took her suit off and carefully hung it up. She dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, before heading downstairs.
Bobby changed his clothes, set his camcorders batteries to charge and just sat on his bed shaking. He had never been in this kind of situation before and he was worried. He wondered if and what he should tell his Mom.
“Bobby dinner is ready,” he heard Darla shouting.
Bobby got up and headed downstairs. He was the last to reach the dinner table. The rest were already seated and filling their plates. Bobby sat down and started filling his plate.
“Well what did you three do today?” Liz asked.
“Amy and I went to Sherry’s and then to the mall and a movie. We got back home at about four.” Darla said.
“I was at the mall too, but I didn’t see you guys there. I met a couple of girls from high school there, we talked a bit then I got home at about five thirty. How was your day Mom?” Bobby asked.
Liz raised an eyebrow and gave a little smile at hearing her son meeting girls of any age.
“I was busy meeting clients, you know we have a trial coming up next week and we spent most of the time getting depositions and evidence in order.” Liz said watching Bobby out of the corner of her eye. Something about Bobby just didn’t look right. He was paler than he should be and he had the ‘nervous look’ like she saw in witnesses at a trial. It’s probably just the girls he met, she thought, Amy was the child that always seemed to find trouble.
They chatted about this and that as they ate. Bobby picked at his food, which wasn’t unusual, but he ate very little which was. He liked Darla’s cooking better than his Mom’s. He always ate sorta daintily, sort of like a girl. Bobby’s stomach though was full of butterflies or rather wasps were more like it.
After they finished eating, everybody helped clean up the table and the kitchen before they headed to the living room to catch a little television. The girls flanked their Mom on the couch and Bobby sat on the floor leaning back onto his Mom’s legs. She liked having her kids this close to her. Liz pulled out the elastic that held his hair in a ponytail and combed it out with her fingers as they watched their favorite show. Liz felt him relax and would swear that she heard him purr.
After the show ended the news at nine came on. Liz always watched the news. The lead story was the shoot out at the mall as it was called. Liz felt Bobby tense up when the story came on. They watched the piece and saw a lady move under the tape and talk to several people as the reporter gave his spiel. Liz thought she would have to have a talk with Bobby later.
***********************************
Tara and Brian sat in the office and went over their preliminary reports. Tara had gone to the autopsies and collected the bullets recovered from the bodies. All of them were nine mil and the preliminary report from ballistics was that they were all fired from the same gun. Eight shots, four bodies, with lead flying everywhere and only one killer. He had to be one hell of a shooter. The comparisons with the guns collected were not in, but she knew the gun that did the killing would not be among those.
Brian got a hit on one the mall’s security cam of the three teens. The mall security camera showed the teens going out the mall entrance and towards the bus stop. They couldn’t ID the teens but they knew where they had come from at least. He said he would check some of the internal or store security cams tomorrow and they might catch them then.
**********************************
Liz followed her son into his room as they all got up to go to bed. “Ok Bobby what really happened today?”
“I already told you Mom.”
“Cut the crap son, I saw how you reacted to the news. Did you see the shooting?”
“No Mom, I didn’t see anything really,” Bobby said. His face showed his fright and concern, but in a way he was relieved that he wouldn’t be hiding this from his mother. “But I was close Mom, too close. I was sitting on the bench at the bus stop right across the street from it.”
“Were you there by yourself son?”
“No. I was with the girls I told you about.”
“Did they see anything?”
“No we were talking and we weren’t paying attention to what was going on around us. We were going to go to Toni’s for pizza and we were waiting for the bus. When I heard the first shot I pushed them off the bench and covered them on the ground. There was no way they saw anything. We didn’t stick around either, as soon as I felt it was safe we got out of there.”
“Who else knows about this Bobby?”
“As far as I know only Sanra's mom Tracey, we had to tell her. The girls were crying on my shoulders at her house when her Mom got in.”
“Who was the other girl with you?”
“Becky Samuels was her name. Becky and Sandra both go to my high school.”
“Do your sisters know about all this?”
“No they don’t know. I wasn’t going to tell them or to say anything to anyone.” Bobby said. Then he gave his Mom a more detailed description of that afternoon. He left out certain parts to his story that his Mom didn’t need to know about. She didn’t need to know he was taping girls at the mall and about the kisses the girls had given him.
“Ok, I believe you. I know the detective Tara Collins, from what I saw on TV, I believe she is working that case. I might try and talk to her Bobby. Son I don’t need to tell you how serious this matter is, do I?” Liz asked.
Bobby shook his head and said, “Yes Ma’am.”
Well I don’t know where all this is going to go son, but until I do don’t tell anybody else about this till you hear from me and I mean anybody son.” Liz said as she left and went to her room. Sunday should be soon enough to feel things out. She hated not coming forward but knew she might have too, but that could wait.
After his Mom left his room Bobby locked his door. He then booted up his computer and brought his camera over, hooking up its digital interface. He dressed in a bra, panties and a silky sleep shirt, stuffing the bra with some double-layered water balloons. He felt so much better dressed this way and seemed to be able to think clearer. He started the video editing program and turned on the camcorder. He liked to view the tapes he recorded and to edit the parts he liked into a clip that would help him with his girl time.
After rewinding the current tape he hit the play button on the recorder and the record function in the computer program. He watched Sandra and Becky as they walked by the various store windows. He got some good video of them and seeing them made him blush as he thought about their kisses. He heard the conversations he had with the girls. He followed the video from the mall up to the bus stop where he had set down his camera case.
The tape then showed a car pulling into the Mini-Mart across the street. One guy got out of the car and went around to the side of the store. Then shots could be heard, two guys went down. The camera skewed to the left as more shots rang out and he could see the car that had pulled up leave in a hurry.
Bobby sat there in shock for several minutes, before he stopped the camcorder and rewound the computer program and played it again. He stopped it when the man got out of the car. He had a full profile of the man and the picture was crystal clear.
He didn’t know what to do. What he saw scared him more than anything else he had been through in his life. He knew one thing though he wanted to make several copies of this tape. He snuck into the living room and hooked his camcorder up to the VCR, turning it and the TV on. He made four copies and broke the tab on the cassettes so they could not be recorded over. It was after one am when Bobby settled in the bed and another hour till he could fall asleep.
Bobby woke early, he was tired but he just couldn’t sleep very well. The clock by his bed read 7:00 am. He changed back to his boy clothes briefs, shorts and a white t shirt and went down to the kitchen. He started a pot of coffee and started to cook breakfast. Darla usually did the cooking but Bobby wasn’t bad either. Mom thought everybody should know how to cook well. It was a few minutes later that Darla came in the kitchen. Bobby already had breakfast almost ready and was on his second cup of coffee.
“Boy you are the early bird today brother.”
“I couldn’t sleep any longer so I went ahead and got up.”
Darla set the table and got the juice on the table as Bobby filled the plates. Within minutes Amy showed up looking to help.
“Wow Darla, how did you manage to get all this done in a manner of minutes?” Amy asked.
“I didn’t, Bobby did. I guess my cooking isn’t good enough for him.”
“No Darla, I just wanted to do it this time. I can cook too you know.”
“All of you can cook, and I want you to cook well. Bobby might have to cook for himself someday. It is good if he can take care of himself,” Liz said.
They finished up eating. Everyone complimented Bobby on his cooking and they went to their rooms to get dressed for church. Bobby put panties and pantyhose on under his pants making sure that his socks hid the nylon pantyhose. Everyone met up in the living room. Mom had on a white and blue floral print dress and three inch heeled open toed sling back sandals, a big change from her usual business suits she wore to work. Darla had on a lavender suit with a silky white blouse with ruffles up the front. Amy wore a slate gray suit with a scoop neck blouse in red. Bobby of course had on a black suit with a plain white long sleeve shirt and a red tie, he hated that he couldn’t dress like his Mom or his sisters.
They went to church. There they were greeted by friends, at least the girls had friends, some of the boys would talk to Bobby but they really weren’t close like his sisters and their friends. First they had Sunday school and then the main church service. The pastor was very long winded as he preached, all the kids there were squirming in their seats. Bobby found it hard to keep his eyes open but the sharp elbows of his Mother made sleeping impossible.
After church it took a while to get out the front door, everybody was stopping and talking. Liz and the girls were quite popular and there were people who just had to talk to them. Bobby knew being invisible in plain sight was hard to do but he had mastered it. Yet some of the ladies had to comment on the three kids but for the most part it was like he wasn’t there.
Liz took her family out to eat at a cafeteria; at least the food there was better than the schools cafeteria. When they approached an empty table with their trays they heard somebody call out, “Hi Bobby.” They turned and saw Sandra, her Mom eating at a table.
Sandra was a vision of loveliness in a pastel yellow knee length chiffon dress, suntan hosiery, and white pumps with a two inch heel. The fabric seemed to caress her body in all the right places and was fitted from the shoulders to the top of her hips where the skirt flared.
“Come sit with us there is plenty of room,” Sandra volunteered.
Liz looked from her son to Sandra and then at her Mom who nodded. The four of them went over to the table.
“Well Bobby, are you going to introduce us?” Liz asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Oh yeah, Mom, Darla, and Amy this is Sandra Jennings and her Mom ah… Tracey. Tracey, Sandra this is my Mom Elisabeth McCrea, my sisters Darla and Amy.”
They all sat down and started talking. Sandra had made room for Bobby to sit next to her, but started talking first to the girls. Darla and Sandra became thick as thieves and Bobby started feeling left out till Sandra laid her hand on Bobby’s leg and gave it a squeeze. She teased his leg a couple of times running her hand higher up his leg but never quite unseemly. Bobby felt himself flush and was drawn into their conversation with the girls. Liz and Tracey fell into their own conversations.
Sandra got up to use the restroom and Darla and Amy got up too, leaving Bobby there with the mothers.
“Bobby, is she one of the ones you were talking about Son?” Liz asked.
Bobby felt trapped and took a gulp of air before replying, “Yes Mom, Sandra was with me along with Becky Samuels.”
“Your son told you what happened, I suppose then.” Tracey said.
“I had to drag it out of him but yes he did. I wish it didn’t happen but it did.”
“Sandra and Becky told me how brave your son was and how quickly he reacted and looked out for them.”
“Really? He told me bits about it, but he never said what a hero he was.”
“Oh yes, both girls gave him real big kisses when we dropped Becky off and then dropped your son off at your home. I really want you to know how much I appreciate what he did for them Elisabeth.”
“Please, just call me Liz. I think he is kind of special. Who else knows what happened?”
“Just the three of them, you and I is all I know, maybe Becky’s parents but that would have been up to her to tell.”
“He told me but not his sisters right.” Liz said looking at Bobby.
Bobby nodded and said “I don’t really want Darla and Amy to know. Darla could keep it quiet, I don’t know about Amy.”
Liz nodded, “I think you are right Son. I may have to tell though, I am a lawyer and it could be held that I am obstructing justice. I wish I didn’t know but really I am glad you did tell me.”
Bobby knew then that he wasn’t going to show his mom the tape he had made. At least not right now.
When the girls got back, the Mothers then headed to the restroom. When they were out of sight Bobby felt a hand turn his chin towards Sandra and she planted a kiss right on his lips. It wasn’t one of those earth shaking kisses, but Bobby felt his knees go weak and his brain space out. Bobby was snapped out of his revelry by the giggles of his sisters, especially Amy’s. The kiss had felt like it was hours long but it really only lasted seconds.
“Thank you again Bobby.” Sandra said.
“For what?” Amy asked. She got an excited look on her face as she expected to hear some juicy gossip about her brother.
“Nothing Sis, nothing at all.” Bobby said.
“Yeah right Bobby, a kiss like that for nothing. How about it Sandra?”
“I’ll never kiss and tell,” she said realizing she nearly let the cat out of the bag. She just clung to his arm and leaned into him.
Bobby blushed as he felt her breast rub up against his arm.
Amy just pouted, Darla snickered at her sister and Sandra giggled.
They broke up after the parents got back and everybody headed in their own direction. Sandra had to give Bobby another kiss before they parted, a much more demure kiss of course.
Mom dropped the kids off at their home she had some last minute work to do before she took her case to court.
Amy didn’t give up trying to find out what her brother was hiding but her effort was wasted. They had school the next day and they all had homework to finish so they parted to study.
“Amy cut Bobby some slack, He is such a nice guy. You know we could have a far worse brother. We could have a brother like Casey’s, she hates him because he picks on her all the time, They fight like cats and dogs. Bobby is so shy I am surprised he found a girl that likes him don’t burn it for him.”
“I know, I just hate that he keeps secrets from us. He never use to keep to himself so much.”
“Yes he has Amy, you just can’t see how he is hurt and how he is hiding it all the time.” Darla said. She knew that Bobby got in her clothes all the time, but she never saw stains in them and he didn’t stretch them out being a little smaller than Darla. As long as he didn’t start ruining her clothes she was cool about it. Amy was younger than he was and her clothes would never fit him. Darla would hate for Amy to find out about that, she would never let him live that down. She kept Amy out of the house after school with her so he could have some time alone. Amy loved hanging out with the older girls, and Darla’s friends seemed to like Amy.
(to be continued)
Bobby prepares to go into hiding everything he has seen and heard scares him and he wants to protect his family.
Bobbi’s Run ch. 5
by
Paula Dillon
Bobby did his homework in his own room. After he finished he sat and worried about what could happen. He often worried, but now he had a really big reason to worry. He only hoped that his Mom and sisters wouldn’t get caught up in his problems. Bobby had seen how drug gangs went after any witnesses to their crimes. The TV was filled with those stories. Even the police had a hard time protecting the witnesses. So he did the only thing he could think of and started to make plans. Bobby figured the only safe thing to do was to get away from his family and hide. He got on the web and started surfing sites for fake ID’s and how to hide. He also counted what money he saved. He had saved just over five hundred dollars; always wanting to go out and buy himself some girl’s clothes but never quite getting the nerve to do it.
He found a web site that let him download a program that let him make a realistic fake ID; he just needed to add a picture. He twisted his hair into a tight bun like he had seen his sisters and Mom do, fastening it with some bobby pins he had absconded with from them. He got out some purloined makeup and did his face up. He wasn’t great with it but at least he didn’t look like a clown. He had put on foundation, mascara, eyeliner and lipstick. His sisters teen fashion magazines had taught him what little he knew. He dressed in a bra, which he stuffed, a camisole and one of Darla’s white chiffon blouses.
He booted up a photo capture program, sat next to his pale blue walls and turned his webcam toward him. Holding his mouse in his hand he smiled and clicked the left button several times. He then reviewed the pictures he had taken, made some adjustments to the lighting and pose before taking several more. Within a few minutes he had several pictures he felt would make a decent ID and saved them. He then started his ID program. He found one that wasn’t for a fake driver’s license; it was just a personal ID that looked official enough to pass as a proper ID. He typed in the personal data; Name: Leslie Blair Edmund (his grandmothers maiden name) Age: 19 (he really didn’t want to push this too far) Height: 5’ 1” (an honest measure) Weight: 115 (a little higher than actual) Hair: Auburn (no hiding that) Eyes: Green (or that either) Address: 1214 Old Newton Rd. Davenport, Iowa 52804 (his Gran’s old hometown address). He pasted in one of the pics and hit the finish button. He repeated it with several of the pictures and checked and compared them till he found one he liked. He set his ink jet to the highest resolution and printed out several copies of each ID’s.
He got several good copies and put them in his locking file cabinet. His mom let him get the file cabinet as long as he gave her one of the keys. He started to head out of his room, but he caught himself. He took off his girl clothes and as best he could wiped the makeup off his face. He would need to head off to the bathroom and wash. Dressed he headed to the bathroom passing Darla. She turned and looked at him smiling; he definitely had mascara on she thought.
Monday the kids got up made their breakfasts and got ready for school. Every thing went as normal except Bobby was startled to find Sandra and Becky waiting for him. He got hugs and kisses from both girls, which raised a little stir from the other students. They talked about what had happened the rest of the weekend. Becky pouted when she heard that Sandra and Bobby had lunch together Sunday. She hadn’t told her family about what had gone down. Both girls gave Bobby their cell phone numbers when the early bell rang and headed for their classes.
Whispers followed Bobby throughout the day. Word had traveled fast that he had not one girlfriend but two, both were foxy ladies. Some macho types boasted that that fag couldn’t possibly have one girlfriend let alone two, but they were shushed by some of the girls. At lunch Becky sat with him, unfortunately Sandra didn’t have the same lunch period. He got shelled a couple of times with wadded up paper and food wrappers. He had lost some of his invisibility by having a pretty girl by his side by guys who were jealous of his good fortune. Nothing serious happened though.
Bobby got off his bus by a craft store and picked up some lamination material and some other odds and ends before heading home. At home he found a card that had come in the mail. It was one of them fake credit cards that even had the brown strip on the back and fortunately wasn’t embossed with a name. He trimmed several of the ID’s and carefully glued one on the face of the card. It took two attempts before he was satisfied. He then laminated the card and carefully trimmed it. A big smile formed on his face as he looked at it. He hadn’t dealt with fake ID’s before but it looked pretty good to him.
**************************
Brian found some security cam pics of the three teens walking in the mall. He printed out some copies and started trying to ID the teens pictured. He was having poor luck, but hey detective work is two steps forward one step back at times and a detective wore out a lot of shoe leather.
Tara was at wits end, nobody came forward with any information on the shootings and even her CI’s (confidential informants, snitches) had nothing for her. Sam called in sick today so it was her and Brian again. She liked working with him. He knew she was senior and didn’t complain that she took the lead on the case. She went over the reports from the crime lab and the coroner’s office. All the slugs that hit the vics did come from the same gun. None of the guns recovered matched the slugs from the vics. The perp was a very good shooter. Blood evidence showed five different contributors. So maybe the perp wasn’t all lucky, but they had no hits from DNA on the source.
Tara called Brian on his cell phone, “Any luck yet Brian?”
“Yeah I got some clearer pics of the teens, they aren’t perfect by a long shot but we may be able to get ID’s from them.”
“Great we will make some more copies of em and spread em around to the blue shirts maybe we will get some hits that way.”
“Sure thing Tara, It is getting late I am going to head on home and start again tomorrow if that is alright. My feet are killing me.”
“Aw, does he hurt and have a temperature?”
“Oh shut up Tara.”
“Ok Brian it sounds good to me, Sam called in and said he would be out sick all week. First time in six years, I guess we will let him slide.”
“Yeah he has already talked to me too. I think he wants to be kept up to speed on this one.”
“It is hard to keep an old blood hound down Brian. Once a cop always a cop you know.”
“Yes I know what you mean. See ya!”
“Ok, take it easy Brian.”
**************************
While his sisters fixed dinner Bobby was up in his room sorting things he would need. He made a list so that he wouldn’t forget and prepared several notes. He checked the phone book for numbers he might need and carefully went over everything in his mind. He took a lot of things off of his computer and loaded them on his laptop, before wiping the programs off the hard drive. Tomorrow was a trash day so he disposed of the many tapes he had collected. He had what he wanted on his laptop anyway. He had two rolling suitcases in his closet, a large one and a carryon bag. He started packing these with the things he could easily get and marking it off his list.
Liz had a long day in court and then a long evening going over what had happened and what they wanted to happen tomorrow. She didn’t get home till late and had forgotten to call Det. Tara Collins like she had planned on doing.
The kids had already eaten, and the girls had gotten their showers in. Bobby told his Mom that he was going to shower just before he went to bed; one of his favorite shows was on. Liz was too tired to worry about it and Bobby was a good kid. She just headed on to bed.
Bobby filled the tub up and got in. He shaved his whole body even his face. That was the first time for him to shave his face, he really didn’t need too but he wanted to be certain. He carefully washed his hair and used his sisters’ conditioner on it. When he finished he dried himself off and as he had done many times before looked at himself naked in the mirror. He sat on a chair and worked on his nails they weren’t very long, but he couldn’t have gotten away with long nails. But he could take care of his cuticles and shape what he had. In the morning he would need to do his hair, pluck his eyebrows some but not too much right now, and finish getting his clothes together. He had made new breast forms from instructions on the Internet, larger and more natural looking in a bra at least. He even made some hip pads to round out his figure.
Tired, Bobby went to bed. He slept fitfully that night, worried about what could come. He was more than a little frightened, but also more than a little convinced he needed to do this.
In the morning everyone fixed and ate their breakfast before getting ready for school. Bobby took a swig of ipecac from a bottle before leaving his room. On the way to the bus stop he finally threw up. Darla told him to go on home and she would call Mom from school. He begged her just to let him go home and not disturb Mom. She has this important case and he didn’t want her to worry. He would tell a neighbor, Mrs. Perkins. Darla relented and let it go.
Bobby hurried home and got started getting ready. He threw up twice more before his stomach settled down. He took some of his Mom’s and Darla’s clothes and packed them. He plucked his eyebrows a little and dressed in a more gender-neutral fashion. He looked somewhat older he noticed. He put on one of his mom’s bras but didn’t stuff it yet. He got his money and an emergency stash he knew his Mom had. He hated touching it but thought he would need it. He had a little over eight hundred. When everything was checked off the list he called for a cab.
He directed the cab to take him to the Am-Trak station. He wheeled his luggage into the station and put the bigger case in a locker then headed to a ticket booth, buying a ticket to Chicago. A ticket he would never use.
He found a quiet place away from people, there was a lot of nooks and crannies in a place like this, and put his breast forms into his bra carefully adjusting them. He took off an oversized shirt leaving on one of Darla’s T-shirts showing. He looked again carefully nobody was around and dropped his pants to reveal a pair of pink lycra girls shorts and a pair pantyhose he had on. He then switched his shoes to a pair of low heel pumps. Nobody seemed to notice him doing this so he headed for the ladies room. He figured if he acted like the women in there and like he should be there, that nobody would notice him. There were a few women already there; this was his first time to venture into a ladies restroom. It was like the boys room but nicer and they had no urinals. He went into one of the stalls and started changing clothes. Bobbi took off his blouse and shorts. He put his hip pads on underneath the pantyhose and adjusted them, before pulling a girdle up, making sure his stuff was tucked back before pulling the girdle tight. He put his shoes on, a pair of his Mom’s silver pumps with three-inch heels; he had worn them before and knew he could walk well enough in them. He pulled on a baby blue silk blouse with a scoop neck; at least it didn’t show anything off, he thought, because he just couldn’t pass the cleavage test. Lastly he put on a black half-slip, a black denim mini-skirt and bolero jacket. He took his purse with what he would need and packed what he had worn into the carryon bag. He took a deep breath and opened the door to the stall.
There was still quite a few ladies there, just not the same ones of course, and headed to an open sink/mirror. He placed his bag next to him and set his purse on it and looked in the mirror. He took his hair out of his ponytail, brushing it well and started trying to work it into an acceptable twist. He had done this before but never under scrutiny. One nice lady actually stopped and helped him with it. He remembered to thank her. It looked pretty good as he looked in the mirror. He opened up his purse and started on his makeup. He remembered the saying less is more and that daytime makeup was lighter than evening. He did a pretty fare job especially on his eyes. They looked great. He lastly added the lipstick and remembered to blot it, before looking at what he had done.
He saw an older lady looking at him appraisingly. Bobby’s heart felt like it was beating a thousand beats a minute.
“I like what you did sweetie, not too much and not too little.”
“Thank you Ma’am, I am still a little rusty. Even in high school Mom didn’t let me use it too much. She was a little old fashioned, I suppose, but now that I am on my own though I like to look nice,” Bobby said giving the woman a big genuine smile.
“Well you look better than a lot of girls who use way too much makeup, that’s for sure.”
“Oh thank you so much. I just love your hair, it is so shiny.”
“Yes, and hard to work with too.”
“I guess that is part of our price for looking good.”
“You’re right about that,” she giggled as she moved away.
Bobby had made his first contacts and had survived. He had to hold himself to steady his nerves. He collected his things and wheeled out of the restroom and on his way. He saw a station attendant and went over to him.
“Hi sir, I wonder if you could answer a question for me?”
The man looked over toward her and said, “Sure, if I can, I will be glad too.” He looked at Bobby with a little lust in his eyes.
“I just put a bag I don’t need right now in a locker. I won’t need it while I am here for a couple of days. How long can I leave it there?”
“They clean them out every other day, but one can be rented for a longer period at the information desk.”
“Thank you sir,” Bobby said as she smiled, gave a little finger wave and headed for the information desk. Bobby rented the locker for a week, the longest they would go. They gave him a special key that would allow it to be opened and relocked without having to continuously repay for the locker.
She went back to her locker and changed some things out before heading back into the city. At the curb she hailed a cab and had it take her to a motel. It wasn’t an extravagant motel but it was in a fairly nice neighborhood. This was going to be a major test. Bobby knew that motels usually required a credit card and a driver’s license to rent a room; he just hoped he could do it without a credit card and that his ID would pass the mustard. The cab dropped her off in front and she wheeled her bag inside the office. An older lady was sitting at the reception desk.
“Hi, I am visiting from out of town; I want to check out one of the colleges. I am thinking about starting here for the next term. How much would it cost to rent the room for six days?” Bobby said to the clerk.
The lady smiled at her as she looked her over. “Hi, I am Betty Lou, the room is thirty five ninety nine a day plus tax, six days that will be $254.36 total, do you have a credit card?”
“Yes, let me see,” Bobby said, and she proceeded to dump her purse a little at a time digging and rooting through it. “Oh Fudge! I left my checkbook and credit cards back in Iowa.”
“Do you have cash and an ID?”
“Yes I do, I have enough for my stay here and food. I will have to get Gran to send me my stuff though.” Bobby said pulling out his ID and his wallet.
The clerk made a copy of the ID and handed a registration slip to Bobby to fill out. Bobby remembered to fill it out according to his ID card. He signed the form and handed it back to the lady. The lady rang up the register and Bobby handed her the cash.
“Ok Leslie, you will be in room 214, that’s on the second floor towards the end. The pool is open 10:00 am till 10:00 pm, the ice machine is in the breezeway and there is an all night diner just on the other side of the office. I hope you like it here and good luck at college,” Betty Lou said, smiling warmly at Bobby.
Bobby wheeled the bag towards his room it was heavy and she had a hard time getting it up the stairs. She found her room, opened the door with the key, wheeled her bag in and collapsed on the bed. Her first day as a girl had been exhilarating so far but she had a lot to do before she would feel safe again. After a few minutes she opened her bag, hung up the clothes so they would look alright, and put her lingerie into the drawers. The toiletries went into the bathroom. She hoped Darla and Mom would forgive her for raiding their things.
Bobby laid down for fifteen minutes or so. Throwing up so much had taken a lot out of her. She really needed to get something to eat. She grabbed her purse and repaired her makeup. She then made sure she had her key she headed out to the diner.
Bobby realized that now she was a girl, she would have to be extra careful, girls especially girls that were by themselves, were more of a target for violence than boys. Bobby also realized that she was more vulnerable to violence than real girls now. Boys like Bobby live a hard violent life sometimes.
The diner wasn’t too busy when Bobby entered she reckoned it was about 2:30 pm. The evening crowd hadn’t started and the lunch crowd had already departed. As she sat she planned out her evening.
She didn’t know when she would call Police Department, but she did want to get that detective Tara Collins on the phone.
The waitress came and brought her a glass of water and a menu.
“Hi I am Caitlin; I will be your waitress. What can I get you to drink?”
“I will have a diet coke and do you have a BLT?”
“Yes we do, do you want fries or a salad with that?”
“Yes a salad with ranch on the side.”
**************************
Brian called Tara on his cell phone, “Hello Tara, I may have a hit on two of those kids. One sales clerk ID’ed one of the girls as a Sandra and the other girl as Becky, they both went to Jefferson high school.”
“Great job Brian, I will head there now. How soon can you be there?”
“I am about fifteen out.”
“Ok meet you there in fifteen.”
Tara met Brian in front of the school. He handed her frontal pictures of the three teens. They were not good but they should be able to get an ID from them. They headed to the office flashed their badges and asked to talk to the principal.
Amanda Davis, the principal greeted them in her office and asked what she could do for them.
“Ms. Davis, three of your students may have witnessed a grisly murder and we desperately need to talk to them. Can you identify the students in these pictures?” Brian said handing the pictures to her.
“Yes that is Sandra Jennings, Becky Samuels and I think the other is Bobby McDonald.” Ms. Davis said. She got up and went outside and pulled their schedules and attendance. She went from one to the other checking time and attendance and wrote down the class and room they were currently in. “Ok, one of them, Bobby McDonald is out sick. He has a sister Darla, who goes here to, she said that he threw up on the way to the bus today.” Amanda said.
“I need to talk to Sandra and Becky and if you can, call Bobby’s sister too please.”
Sandra got to the office first followed by Darla and then Becky. She raised an eyebrow and then felt a knot in her stomach not knowing what this might be about. Darla just didn’t have a clue.
The three girls were sent into the office where Principal Davis, with another woman and man were waiting. “Girls, this is Detectives Tara Collins and Brian Williams. They would like to talk to you.”
“Well, we would like to talk to Sandra, Becky and Bobby. Ms. Davis said that Bobby was out sick is that right Darla?”
“Yes, he should be at home right now.”
“Well, Sandra and Becky we need you to call your parents and have them meet us. Brian you stay here till they make their calls and stay with them till their parents get here. Darla I need you to go with me to your home, we will need to contact your parents too.”
“My Mom is in court right now, I doubt if she can get away. She has a really important case right now.”
“Is she a lawyer?”
“Yes. She is Elisabeth McCrea.”
“Which court room?”
“I don’t know, it’s a civil case.”
“Ok, we will call her when we get to your home.” Tara said as she led Darla to her car.
“I saw you on TV the other day, isn’t that right?”
“I am not sure, I don’t stay up to see if I made the news but I could have been.”
“Yes, you were at the scene of that murder right. Is that what this is about?”
“That was probably me then, but I would rather not say what this is about.”
They drove to Darla’s home. Darla got out her key and entered the house and called for her brother. She didn’t get any response. She went to his room and he wasn’t there.
Tara entered and looked from room to room. Everything looked to be normal, nothing looked disturbed or out of place.
“Nobody is here right now; could he be with a neighbor?”
“He might be; he said he would notify one.”
“Which one?”
“Mrs. Perkins, they live right there,” she said pointing to the house.
“Let me go check, you stay here in case there is a call.”
Darla went to dump her junk in her room. She saw a note on her vanity and picked it up and read it.
Darla,
As you can see I am not here right now. I have gone. It is not safe for me I feel. I took some things from you and Mom. Please forgive me and don’t give away what I have taken. I was near that murder the other day and I have some evidence. I am dressing as a girl right now. Please be careful.
Love,
Bobby
Darla folded the letter up and tucked it into the waistband of her skirt. She heard Detective Tara call out for her.
“Was he there Ma’am?”
“No he wasn’t, in fact she said she saw a cab pull up and him get in it at about 9:30. Where would he have gone?”
“I don’t know. He was supposed to be in bed.”
Tara called the courthouse’s bailiffs office and asked them to locate Elisabeth McCrea.
The phone at the house rang a few minutes later.
“Mom, this is Darla, there is a detective Tara Collins here. She is looking for Bobby. He got sick this morning, but when I got home he wasn’t here.”
“Oh my god, I was afraid of this. Let me talk to her Darla.”
“Ms. McCrea, I am detective Collins, we really need to talk to Bobby. Do you know where he is at?”
“He was supposed to be in school. I didn’t know he got sick. I need to get a continuance and then I will come home. It will take me about thirty minutes.”
“Ok I will be here with Darla till you get here.”
“Can you two pick up my daughter Amy at the junior high? I know what this is about and it scares me. I will call them.”
“I can get a unit to pick her up.”
“No, I know of you, I don’t know of them whoever it is.”
Tara got on her radio and requested a unit to sit on this house while she and Darla went to the junior high. She also called the office and had a detective there start calling Cab companies to try to locate where Bobby had gone. She thought this kid might be the key to this murder.
Amy was confused as she was pulled out of class and called to the office. She was afraid when she saw Darla there with an unknown lady. Darla introduced Detective Collins and assured her that it was alright she believed, but refused to say what it was all about. The three of them arrived at the house about the same time their Mom arrived. An armed bailiff had accompanied her after she told the judge her son was missing.
Liz ran through the house looking for her son. He just wasn’t there. Tara told her what Mrs. Perkins had said. “I have a detective calling taxi companies trying to find out which one came by and where they went.”
They all sat down and were waiting to hear anything. Darla hugged her Mom and tucked the note into her blouse.
“Mom why don’t you go change, I will stay here with Amy till we hear something.”
“Good idea Darla. I will be just a minute.”
Liz went to her room, she had felt her daughter slip her the note and she could really do with a change of clothes. In her room she read the note and found a note of her own in her panty drawer.
Mom,
Things are more complicated than you know. I actually have a video of the murder going down. I have been taping girls for a while trying to copy their dress and mannerisms for a while. I am sorry.
I have taken some of yours and Darla’s clothes and am hiding as a girl. I am afraid I am not safe at home and that it is not safe for me to be around you or my sisters till this thing is resolved.
Please don’t be mad at me. I have messengered a copy of my tape to your office Mom.
Be careful, I love you guys,
Bobby
The police start hunting Bobby and her mother gets a hold of a tape of the shooting. Sandra and Becky along with their parents are placed in protective custody. Liz finally lerans some details about her son she didn't know.
Bobbi’s Run ch. 6
by
Paula Dillon
Liz cried as she read the letter. Then she made a decision. She flew out of her room into the living room. She grabbed Tara and pulled her into the kitchen.
“Tara, I don’t know where Bobby is, but I do know where there is some evidence. Come with me to my office, and don’t say anything to your Co-workers.”
“What evidence?”
“My son left a letter in my drawers that explained that he had a tape of the murder and it was messengered to my office.”
“Let me see the note Ms. McCrea.”
“I can’t, I flushed it down the toilet. There was some personal stuff I don’t want to get out.”
“I need to know and you should know that.”
“You cops always say you need to know things you don’t, you are voyeurs into everybody’s dirt, always wanting to know more and you can’t seem to get enough dirt. You need to get a killer and no, you don’t need to know what it said,” Liz said the lawyer in her rising to the top.
Tara’s face flushed as she tried to control her temper, if what Elisabeth said is true it could be the break they need on this case.
“Ok, but you better not be yanking my chain.”
They left the house. Tara had instructed the uniform unit to stay with the girls here at the house and not to let them go anywhere unless they hear from her.
Tara didn’t need directions to get to Elisabeth’s office; she knew her law firm well. The office was still open when they got there. The law firm’s personnel had been shocked that a continuance had been called on the case and nobody there knew what it was all about yet. When they saw their colleague and that detective enter without saying a word they began to speculate amongst themselves.
Elisabeth went to her secretary, “Monica, did I get anything delivered by messenger today?”
“Yes you did. A large envelope came for you marked ‘private for your eyes only.’ Very melodramatic if you ask me. It is on your desk.”
“Thank you.” Liz said as she headed into her office with Tara close on her heels closing the door behind her.
Liz grabbed the envelope and opened it. Inside was a VHS tape. Liz turned on her VCR and her TV and plugged the tape in hitting play. Sure enough it was Bobby’s tape.
Tara watched intently as the tape played, “Jesus Christ!” Tara said as she saw a man get out of a car. “I know that man.” She watched and saw the gunfight start the bag skewed left and then she saw the car leaving in a hurry.
“Your son may be in deep shit. It may be a good thing he is hiding.”
Tara pulled out her cell and called Brian. “Brian I need you to protect those girls and their families, don’t let anybody near them without my say and I mean anybody. I also need you to freeze all information on this case to anybody but me and you, do you understand. Nobody is to be given any information not even Sam.”
“What is going on Tara?”
“This is big; I don’t know how big but just take my word for it.”
“Ok I will trust you Tara. You can trust me too.” Brian said. Tara wasn’t one to exaggerate things. He knew her when he was a beat cop. “By the way that taxi that picked Bobby up went to the Am-Trak station.”
Tara then called Officer Watson, “Hey Timothy, get your butt over to Elisabeth McCrea’s house. I want you to sit on her kids there don’t let anybody near them, without my say so or Brian’s say.” Tara said as she gave him Elisabeth’s address. “There is another unit there but you have jurisdiction over those kids.”
“Which prosecutor do you trust the most Liz?”
“I don’t work criminal, but I hear that Bob Mason is pretty honest and is a real ball buster.”
Tara giggled she knew Bob very well and yes that description fit him well. He would have been one of her choices too. She dialed the DA’s office and got him on the line.
“Hey Bob, I got a break on that quad murder. I know who the shooter is, this is big and we need to keep it off the burners. Can you meet me at the Am-Trak station? Don’t say anything to anyone.”
“Sure Tara, on my way.” Bob could smell a big case coming.
“Let’s go Elisabeth.”
They grabbed the tape and went out the door. They didn’t stop to say anything. Elisabeth colleagues were dumbfounded, but many of them knew Detective Collins and they were worried.
Tara drove like a madwoman to the station. There they ran to the ticket booth. The ticket agents had a change of shift about an hour prior and none of the earlier agents were still around. They headed to the station’s security office and asked to see the tapes from earlier today. She was handed a huge stack of tapes from the twelve cameras they had. Bob came into the security office as she was handed the tapes. Tara took him into the office they used to question people at the station.
“Bob, I have bad news, the shooter for those murders was a cop.”
“Which one Tara?”
“Sam, and he might not be the only one dirty.”
“You sure about this?”
“Yep got it on tape. Very good video. You can even see the mole on his left cheek. Here watch the tape.” Tara said inserting the tape into a tape player in the interrogation room.
Bob watched the tape, “Shit. Who else knows?”
“Just me and you and right now.”
“Okay let’s get everyone tucked away safe for right now, do we need to protect anybody?”
“Do you know Elisabeth McCrea? It was her son, Bobby, who made the tape; she is in the other office right now. She needs to be protected along with her daughters. Bobby apparently went into hiding on his own. Also Brian is watching two other witnesses and their families at the station.”
“Well let’s get them all into a motel and put people we can trust on them.”
“With Bobby in hiding, we will need to keep Elisabeth and her daughters at their home in case Bobby calls, Bob.”
“Ok Tara, go ahead and get her home and then meet me at the State Police Barracks. We will work out what we will do after we talk to the OIC (officer in charge) there.”
****************************
Bobby was sick to her stomach. Her nerves were rattled and she was so unsure of herself and the course of action she had chosen. This was the first time she had been by herself away from home. She hadn’t been made as a boy yet and the chance of discovery just added to the pressure, but she also felt exhilaration at pulling this off so far.
She counted what money she had. She had started out with eight hundred and thirty five dollars. After taxis, train ticket, messenger and motel she had four hundred fifteen and some change left. Bobby knew she was ok money wise for right now, but for how long she didn’t know.
She put off contacting the Police today. She figured her mom would do that when she got the tape she had messengered to her. She sat in her room and watched TV. There was nothing new on the news. She was trying to act so grown up but inside she was still a little girl.
She did decide to call her Mom; she left the motel and walked to a nearby shopping center. Just getting out and doing something seemed to make her feel better. The Shopping Center wasn’t as big as the Mall but they did have a bank of pay phones. Bobby had been careful of surveillance cameras; she couldn’t miss them all, but she was able to reduce her exposure where she would stand out. She found a phone where she could make a call and dialed her Mom’s cell phone.
“Hello,” she heard Liz say.
Then in as feminine and as Scottish a voice she could muster she said, “Hello Agnes, This is Leslie Edmund, how ere ya today Lass.”
Liz didn’t need the hint Bobby gave her to know who it was. His voice sounded so sweet and feminine but there was no hiding it from a mother. “Oh hello Gran, I am sorry, but Bobby is missing right now. Please don’t tell Mom till I know more, she loves him so. I am sure everything will be alright, but I just can’t talk right now.”
“Oh I am so sorry ta hear that child, I know ya mus be verried so I will na keep ya. I will call ya later and me prayers er with ya.”
Liz was glad Bobby told her she was alright, and she knew that her son picked up that she was probably with the cops right now and couldn’t talk.
It was hard for Bobby to not run back and lock herself in her room. Bobby shook so hard she just had to stand there holding herself. Mom had to have been with the police or she wouldn’t have put her off like that. She had let her know that she knew who she was and she hadn’t asked her to come home. Bobby just walked normally and stopped at a restaurant and went in. She was hungry because of her nerves and she seemed to feel better after eating a small bite or two.
As she left the restaurant she walked by a juniors shop. She knew she needed to save her money, but she couldn’t resist going in and at least look around a little and maybe try a thing or two on.
**************************
Sandra, Becky and their families were very worried. The amount of activity around them shifted several times since they arrived. Det. Brian Williams became more protective of them after he received a phone call. They didn’t know what that was about.
Sandra and Becky filled in their parents about what they knew. It came as a shock to Becky’s parents; her mother and father almost went ballistic, they hadn’t known anything about the murders except what they had seen on the news. Sandra and Tracey got very worried when they heard that Bobby was missing.
**************************
Bobby wandered about the shop. She was in hog heaven and at the same time she was scared that she would be spotted as a fraud. She was overwhelmed by what she saw, all sorts of delightful dresses, skirts, blouses, lingerie and other women’s clothes. When the sales lady welcomed her, Bobby nearly jumped out of her skin but the lady was nice to her and helped her make some choices of clothes to try on. Bobby had a pretty good fashion sense from reading all his sisters’ magazines and just watching and observing the women around her. She knew what looked good on other girls and was able to pick out things that looked good on her.
Bobby must have spent two hours trying on various outfits. She did make a few purchases. She found a padded girdle her size, a bra and panty set and a blouse she just had to have. She saw a lot she wanted to buy, but she was pretty frugal with her money.
**************************
Bob and Tara met at the State Police Barracks and convinced the Lieutenant there to call the units Major and have him come in. When Major Crenshaw saw the tape they began making plans for a protective detail and for a raid.
Tara went over the tapes collected from the Am-Trak Station, she saw Bobby enter the station but lost track of him after he purchased a ticket.
Bob and Tara went to Judge Thompson’s Home after preparing affidavits for search warrants and warrants of arrest. The Judge sealed all the warrants till it was time to execute them.
**************************
Bobby left the shop and walked a little further and stopped outside a nail salon. They did wonders for her Mom’s nails so she decided to get hers done. Mary was her nail tech and she was absolutely delightful. Bobby had the best time talking to her as she worked on her nails. When Bobby left the Nail salon with ten shiny silk wrapped talons about three-eights of an inch long in a simply lovely shade of Coral Pink and she had a new friend in Mary. She almost felt like nothing was wrong.
As she reached her motel she saw Sandra, Becky, Tracey and two more adults being escorted to the motel. Sandra even looked right at Bobby as she walked by. Bobby went up to her room and went inside, but kept an eye on what was going on through her window. Bobby saw them being escorted to a couple of rooms on the second floor right near hers. She saw the police in the parking lot. There were two cars with at least four cops there. Somehow Bobby felt safer now and happy that the other girls were also safe.
**************************
Liz got Darla and Amy alone, both girls were visibly shaken by the day’s events, especially Amy, she knew the least.
“Girls I want you to listen to me and not say anything till I finish. I don’t know where your brother is but I think he is all right. He is hiding somewhere. The police tracked him to the Am-Trak station and he just disappeared. I will tell you what I know within certain limits, and then I want to talk to each one of you individually and alone. Ok?” Liz said.
Both girls nodded to their Mom.
“Ok, you remember those murders we saw on the news the other day by the mall?” she said. Both girls answered yes. “Well your brother and two girls from his high school, Sandra Jennings and Becky Samuels were pretty close to where it happened. In fact they were close enough to witness the events. From what I know Bobby and the girls were sitting on the bench at the bus stop waiting for the bus. When Bobby heard the shots he pushed the two girls off the bench onto the ground and covered them with his body. You got to admit that was a pretty brave and selfless thing he did. When things were safe he got the girls up and got them out of the area.
What nobody else knew was that somehow that video camera I got Bobby was running and captured the whole thing on tape. That is the only way the Police have for identifying the killers. Bobby probably didn’t know he had caught the whole thing on tape till sometime after he got home. Instead of doing the smart thing and telling me, he went into hiding. He must have had a bunch of money saved up and he hit our petty cash stash too, I have found. His reason for doing this is probably to protect us. I would rather he was with us but I can understand and respect his decision to hide.
I know something nobody else knows right now and I need to know from you two that it won’t go any farther than this room. Darla and Amy can both of you keep a secret and not tell anybody else and I mean anybody? Darla?” Darla shook her head. “Amy?” Amy shook her head.
“Ok… I have heard from your brother,” Liz said and waited a few seconds for that to sink in. “He called me on my cell phone while I was with the Police. In a few words he told me he was ok and safe right now. That is all I know for right now. Any question?” Both girls shook their heads no.
“Ok Amy let me talk to Darla for a few minutes alone and please don’t try to eavesdrop dear.”
“I promise Mom,” she said giving her Mom a big hug before heading to her room. Amy went to her room and began messing around on her computer.
“Darla, what do you know about what has gone on?”
“Well I know more than Amy for sure. You know he is hiding as a girl from my note.”
“Yes I know he left a note in my room too.”
“He took some of my clothes and stuff too.”
“Yes he told me that in my letter. What did he take?”
“As best as I can tell he took two dresses, a suit, three blouses, two skirts, three or four panties, four pair of pantyhose and two half slips. The twerp actually snicked my favorite blouse,” she said a tear forming in her eye. “Oh and I am missing quite a bit of makeup, but he didn’t take any bras from me. He must be going flat chested.”
“No he hit me for bras. He must have wanted to look older, you know bigger chested.” Liz said
Darla Blushed and looked at her mothers chest. Her Mom wore a 36C and Darla wore a 34B. While her Mom amply filled out her C cup bra quite nicely and maybe could wear a D cup in some bras, Darla didn’t actually fill her B cup very well. She wondered what Bobby would look like with breasts like Mom’s
“He also hit me for some camisoles, nighties, my waist cincher, a girdle, two of my slacks, some of my makeup, a purse, a wallet, two rolling suitcases and oh he took my shoes, the buzzard. He took at least three pair of my heels, two pair of flats, and my jogging shoes,” Liz said.
“Mom he has been dressing in my clothes for a while, and the other day he was on his way to the bath room to shower, I am sure he had on some mascara. He seems to take good care of my stuff. I don’t think he used my things to ah… you know ah…”
“Yes, I know what you mean. I know he has been borrowing some of my things too.”
“Is he going to be alright Mom? I don’t know what I would do if he got hurt or died or never came home again Mom?” Darla was visibly shaken and cried holding on to Liz tightly.
“I know Baby, I love him too and want him back. Go ahead and let it out dear, don’t keep it bottled up,” Liz said crying herself.
After Darla had cried herself out, Liz helped clean up her face and told her to smile to the world and keep a stiff upper lip.
“Darla, send your sister in please.”
‘Ok Mom.”
Amy came into Liz’s room. It was obvious that she had been crying too and she was acting a little scared.
“Amy don’t worry it will be alright dear. Now tell me what you know about what your brother has been up too?” Liz said hugging Amy.
“I don’t know much Mom but…”
“Now don’t be afraid dear, but I really need to know what he might be up too?”
“Well I know he has been dressing as a girl.”
Liz arched her eyebrow and looked at Amy with a touch of shock on her face.
“You see he has this video editing software on his computer, and one day I snuck into his room and started messing with his computer. He had the computer pass worded, but it only took me about fifteen minutes to break in. I now have administrative authority over his computer. I set his root directory to share, started a logging program that runs in the background and keeps track of what his computer is doing. I set it up to send what he does directly to my computer on our home network. Some friends taught me how to hack in you see. He has a whole bunch of .wmv files; those are video files, on his computer. Apparently he took a whole lot of videos of girls at the malls, nothing bad or anything, just girls talking, walking and doing things girls normally do at the mall. He would edit them and condense them to certain things. Then he would video tape himself, sometimes dressed up sometimes not, doing what the girls had done only in his room.”
Liz was flabbergasted at hearing what Amy had to say and actually shocked to hear what she had done.
“Amy I am ashamed of you hacking into your brother’s computer and you know you can get into real trouble hacking computers, but I am glad you told me of this. How was he, did he look good, did he do well?” Liz said, wondering where Amy learned so much about computers.
“Mom he did very good. You simply wouldn’t believe it. He could dress up and look as good as Darla or I could and he was pretty good with his makeup. I liked watching him on the computer. I even downloaded some of his files onto CD/RWs so I could replay it for myself,” Amy said, her face was flush with excitement as she told her Mom what she knew. “I have some files he recently worked with but I haven’t had time to look at them.”
“Get those CD’s Amy and have your sister and meet me in my office.”
“I don’t think your computer can handle them Mom. It’s not just the files you need, but you also need the programs, ram, video cards and other requirements. You have a great computer don’t get me wrong but it ain’t a gaming or video machine. We’ll need to use ours or Bobby’s.”
Liz shook her head in disbelief at her daughter Amy. What a little scamp she was turning out to be. Liz realized that she would need to harden her own computer’s security software. “Ok let’s go to your room.”
Amy sat at the computer she shared with Darla. She pulled out a notebook filled with CD’s and booted her computer. Her fingers flew over the keyboard without hesitation till she got what she wanted running. Liz and Darla both had gobsmacked expressions on their faces as Amy pulled up video after video of Bobby’s creation. They both gasped as they saw Bobby dressed in Darla clothes. Darla knew he was wearing her things, but she had never actually seen him dressed up
“Shit!!! She Looks good,” Darla let slip from her mouth.
Amy had multiple screens open showing one thing or another.
“This is my favorite of them all.”
Amy stopped all the video’s and opened one file making it full screen and started it. Bobby was alone in the living room dressed in Darla’s favorite blouse, a mini skirt, a bra could be seen through the blouse along with breasts somehow, pantyhose and Mom’s favorite heels. Bobby had a program on the TV with a bunch of teenage girls dancing and he was dancing with them. He wasn’t just good he was great. He was a better dancer than some of the girls dancing on TV. Bobby had good rhythm, style and grace. Amy giggled as Bobby swung his hips, swished this way and that, twirled and copied the moves of the girls on the TV. Liz and Darla’s mouths just hung open in disbelief. Lastly she pulled the video he had last made a few days ago, and it was of the crime scene. Both girls were shocked and started crying when they saw what went down.
“Oh Mom, they were right next to what happened weren’t they?” Darla asked. “Why did the camera move Mom?”
Liz thought she knew but went to her son’s room and found his camera and camera case. As she was returning to the girl’s room she notice three holes in the camera case a large one that Bobby apparently used to make the videos he had made and two smaller frayed holes. Also she noticed a long scratch or nick down the side of the camera. Her fears were confirmed by the evidence.
“Oh My God,” she almost screamed.
“What’s wrong Momma?” Amy asked.
Liz put her fingers through both of the smaller holes and pointed the scratch on the camera. “Guess what caused this girls.”
Amy turned back to her computer and replayed the video. Bobby had passed in front of the camera just about two seconds before the camera skewed to the left.
“Mom according to the time stamp he passed in front of the camera less than two seconds before it was apparently hit by a bullet.”
“Yep, he might have really saved his own life along with Sandra’s and Becky’s since they were with him.”
“Also Mom, I found that Bobby downloaded a program named ID Maker, and some Jpeg files.”
“Jpeg files?”
“Yes Mom those are a type of picture files,” Amy said as she opened several.
What they saw looked liked driver’s license pictures of Bobby with several different hairstyles and looks.
“Damn who taught him to do hair and makeup? He is good,” Liz said. “Was there something to show what ID, if any, he made Amy?”
“There might have been but he apparently deleted and wiped them.”
“Do what?”
“Well Mom, if you delete a file by putting it in the trash can it is still there. Even if you dumped the trash can, the files can still be recovered. Bobby used a mil spec program to wipe the program and files off his hard drive. The program overwrites the data hundreds and hundreds of times so that it could no longer be recovered.”
“Mil spec what?”
“That means Military Specification. It means it is a top grade program to delete files and clean the hard drive, one that the military would use to clean classified data off of their computers.”
“Where did you learn all this Amy?”
“From my friends,” Amy said smiling.
“Well Amy for hacking on your brother’s computer you are on computer restriction for three weeks. No using any computer except for what class work you just have to do at school or home unless a teacher, your sister or I am looking over your shoulder. If we catch you violating that it will be for three months Amy. Don’t get me wrong dear, it is good for us to know about this, but you violated your brother’s privacy.”
“Well he got into your things and Darla’s things.”
“Yes he did, and he will have to answer for that too, but that doesn’t make what you did right.”
(to be continued)
Bobby decides to get out for the day and to let her hair down. She even makes a new friend along the way.
Bobbi’s Run ch.7
by
Paula Dillon
Bobby awoke in her room at the motel. She hadn’t slept too well waking up crying several times that night, but at the same that she felt safer than she had been. It was hard being away from her family and being alone for the first time that rattled her nerves. Bobby even questioned why she was doing all of this. The one thing she did know was she had to get out of this room, at least for a little while.
With nothing else to do she decided to start her day refreshed. In the bathroom she turned on the shower adjusting the temperature of the water before stepping in. The water felt wonderful as she shampooed and conditioned her hair. Her sister’s shampoo had a wonderful fruity scent, and the conditioner left it feeling so silky. Bobby took time to shave everywhere, wanting to make sure she looked feminine enough.
Finished she dried off wrapping a towel around her chest and one on her hair like a turban. She then used her deodorant on her underarms and a good moisturizer on her skin. Bobby then worked on her hair getting out her blow dryer, her big round brush and hair spray. With her head in a down position, she started blow drying it while brushing it out. It took a while to get it dry but when she finished her hair had tons of volume. She sprayed it with hair spray after she got it sorted out. It looked pretty good, it could use a bit of shaping; maybe she would have it worked on today who knows.
Bobby dressed in her lingerie adjusting her breast forms. She wished she had better breast forms but those were expensive. Well anyway she thought she looked alright. Matching panties, the waist cincher (it was hard to get on and oh she hated it but she really did need it), pantyhose and her new padded girdle (it was tight, but it kept her boy bits looking smooth and feminine) came next. Looking at her clothes she picked out a cream colored blouse and a pair of brown slacks. She put on her sports trainers on her feet right now, but put a pair of strappy stiletto sandals in her purse. It was a big purse, which was her reason for choosing it from the others her mom had.
Makeup took just a few minutes; she didn’t use much just a little foundation, some powder to set it, mascara and lipstick. She looked at herself in the mirror and was proud of what she saw. She looked as good as her sister Darla and better than a lot of girls she knew.
She grabbed her key, put it in her purse and as an after thought got her backpack that held her laptop and carried it with her. She really didn’t have any plans for the day, but seeing that she told the motel clerk she was going to check out the college, she thought she might as well do that.
Bobby made her way to the diner. Caitlin wasn’t there but there was a pretty girl who said her name was Helen there to serve her. She asked Helen about taking the bus to the local college, Bobby already knew how to get there, but she enjoyed the interaction she had with Helen. Bobby had two eggs scrambled, dry toast, coffee and milk.
Bobby finished up her meal, leaving Helen a nice tip before paying her bill. She then headed to the rest room to repair her makeup, she had seen her lip prints on her coffee cup and her fork and she knew she needed to fix that at least.
Bobby waited at the bus stop for about ten minutes before the bus she needed came by and soon she was on her way. It was only a couple of miles away from her motel to the college. Bobby had seen it many times before but she had never been on the campus itself. She didn’t realize how massive it was until she stepped off the bus just before ten am and started wandering around. There were so many buildings with so many people going from here to there. Bobby saw a building she wanted to visit, the colleges library. She thought she might find a computer that was logged onto the net and be able to check her email and send some out.
She stopped at the entrance long enough to change her shoes to the stilettos, she wanted to look more adult and she believed that they helped her. Also Bobby liked to hear her heels click on the hard masonry floors of the library. Inside the door she found a directory for the building and located a computer lab on the third floor. The elevators were nearby and soon she approached the computer lab.
The lab had about twenty PC’s and Mac’s and about a third of them were occupied. Bobby found one available away from most of the students and sat down in front of it. She booted the PC’s browser but she came to a screeching halt when it asked for her to login.
“Oh crud!” Bobby said out loud.
“What’s wrong?” Came a girl’s voice from beside and behind her.
Bobby turned and saw a girl a few PC’s away looking at her, “Oh I am just visiting here. I am thinking about going here next fall. I saw these computers and thought I might be able to check my email and stuff while I was here.”
“Yeah to login on the college system you have to have an account set up. Come over here and you can use mine for a few minutes. I am just going outside to smoke a cig and I will be right back.”
Bobby got up and moved over to where the girl was, “Thank you so much. My name is Leslie, Leslie Edmunds.”
“Hi Leslie, I am Trina Scott, and your very welcome,” Trina said getting up from the PC and getting her cigarettes and lighter from her purse before heading out. Trina hadn’t bothered picking up all her things she just trusted Bobby to not muss her things up.
Bobby logged into her online email program and checked her in-box. She was surprised to see an email from Amy. “How the heck did she get this email address?” Bobby thought. She hadn’t given it to any of her family. She used this box for some of her online friends when she was pretending to be a girl.
Bobby opened the email and read it.
Hi sis,
Just thought I would drop you a line. Mom talked to us about what you are doing. She thinks it may be good that you are hiding.
Things are kinda hectic around here right now.
I need to apologize to you sis, I have kinda been hacking into your computer for a while. Mom got mad at me and put me on computer restriction because of it. If they knew I was emailing you now, it would really piss her off.
Bobby I know how you look, and while I don’t understand why, I really like having you as a sister. I am sorry I violated your privacy on your computer and will try to make it up to you.
Dig this, we each knew what you were doing, but we didn’t tell each other what was going on. Also I think that everybody is kinda cool about it too.
BTW we have two police officers sitting on our house 24/7 and we don’t have to go to school right now. Although I have to admit going to school would be better than being stuck in this house.
I have heard that Sandra and Becky along with their families have been put up in a hotel or motel somewhere; they didn’t say where so I don’t know what to say.
Anyway I just dropped you a line to say stay in hiding, keep your head down and stay safe.
Love,
Amy
“Shit!” Bobby said softly.
After checking her other email and doing some housekeeping, Bobby decided to send her mom an email. She used another of her online email accounts this one in Bobby’s name to send:
Mom,
Just dropping a few lines to say everything is ok. I am as safe right now as if I was at home, maybe safer. I am sorry again for all I am putting you three through. You can email me here, if you like.
I really miss you guys and I will be glad when I can get home. It has been fun being on my own and very scary at the same time. I really wish that all this hadn’t happened.
Oh Mom, I will repay the money I borrowed from you. I felt really bad taking it, but I felt I needed it.
I want to say more but am having a hard time putting what I feel into words so I will just say I love you and my sisters.
Love,
Bobby
It wasn’t long after Bobby finished and logged off his account that Trina returned.
“Well Leslie did you get your stuff taken care of?”
“Yes thank you. I really appreciate what you did for me.”
“No problem, I know what it can be like with no web access. I would have a hard time if I had to give it and my cell phone up.”
“Yep, the necessities of life. Whatcha up to here Trina?” Bobby asked looking at all the stuff she had spread around.
“Oh I need to make a presentation using Power Point for my speech class. It’s just I have never used the software before and I need it by tomorrow.”
“Well I can help you.”
“Really you don’t have too.”
“I know but I want to Trina, I have got to thank you somehow.”
“Ok, I will take you up on that Leslie.” Trina said as she began to describe what she was trying to do.
Bobby listened and started working in Power Point. She was fascinated by the girl’s presentation. Bobby worked rapidly and fleshed out her idea and started building upon it. Trina got into watching Bobby work and gave her directions to make it look like she wanted it to look. Bobby started by filling in the frames with the information Trina gave her. Trina saw that Bobby had a flair for art as she began to spice up the bland appearance with all sorts of clipart and pics.
They were about halfway through when Trina said. “Hey it is two thirty and I am starved. I wish we could eat here?”
Bobby was hungry to, but she was so caught up in what she was doing she didn’t want to stop. She knew though that she really needed to eat too. “Well we can save this to disk go out to eat and we can work on it on my laptop.”
Trina’s face brightened, “You have a laptop here? The whole campus is set up on a wi-fi connection, can your laptop use wi-fi?”
“Sure I use it from time to time at Starbucks’.”
“Ok burn a CD and let’s go girl.”
Bobby did just that, while Trina got her things together.
“Let’s head on over to the Student Union building they have a nice café there and we can eat and work on it there.”
It was a short walk to the Student Union but it seemed like miles to Bobby in her heels. Trina led them to a café on the second floor. They found a booth in a quite corner near an outlet and set up their work. Other students were there eating and working too, Bobby saw.
“Burger, fries and coke sound ok to you Leslie?”
“Make it coffee black and keep it coming.” Bobby said as she started working.
“Ok you got it.”
Trina watched Bobby work; it was apparent to her, that she really knew what she was doing with that software. They had forty slides to prepare and Bobby was at twenty eight. Trina like many other students had put off her project till the last minute. She might have gotten it done but it wouldn’t have been near as good as it was looking.
Bobby ate her burger as she worked and wound up being fed her fires by Trina as she typed. It took about another two hours and eight cups of coffee, for Bobby to finish. She had to make a mad dash to the rest room to deposit the coffee she had drunk and to fix her face before she finished. They played the slide show through twice before they pronounced their work finis. Trina logged on to the wi-fi and Bobby emailed the work to Trina’s account, and rewrote the CD.
“Let’s go to my room at the dorm and drop all this stuff there and let me take you to dinner. After all you just earned me my ‘A’ in my speech class, I think. I would never been able to make it look that good.”
“You don’t have too Trina I just enjoyed the work and your company.”
“I know I don’t have too and that is the point, neither did you but you did.”
“Ok, you talked me into it.”
Bobby did switch from her heels to her trainers this time.
“Oh a resourceful girl you are. I do that too. Heels look great but they can sure wear down your feet.”
Bobby followed Trina to her dorm. It was called Smith hall she saw. Trina’s room was on the second floor, but with all the things they had they were both glad of the elevator.
“This is my room Leslie,” Trina said as she opened the door.
Bobby saw that it was about the size of her hotel room maybe smaller. It had two beds, two closets and two study areas.
“I had a roomie but she dropped out about two weeks ago and now I have it all to myself. There is a bath room I share with my suite mates through that door.”
Bobby looked around glad for all the room she had at her home. She didn’t see a computer though. “You don’t have your own computer?”
“Nah, my parents could barely afford to send me here. A computer would just be an added expense.”
Bobby sat at the student desk built into the wall and they talked. Trina went around the bookshelf that separated the study area from the rest of the room.
“Trina, what is your major?”
“I am a Poli Science major. What are you thinking about going into Leslie?”
“I am not sure at this point; do I have to know before I start?”
“No not really, not for the first two years at least, but it wouldn’t hurt to have an idea of what your goals are.” Trina said as she came around the bookshelf just wearing her bra and panties.
Bobby was uncomfortable but she kept her gaze up at Trina’s face. Trina was so pretty and she had some fabulous breasts, larger than Liz’s and the fake ones Bobby had.
Trina just looked at Bobby with a smile as she sat down to redo her makeup. “So how old are you girl?”
“I just turned nineteen a month ago.”
“Where do you live?”
Bobby just started going over her fake history with Trina. They chatted quite a while in a give and take fashion. They were both laughing and giggling at times and Bobby really got to like this girl, not like she liked Sandra of course, but as a friend.
“Tell me something, Leslie. Now don’t get mad or worried. I am not trying to scare you or hurt you; I look to you as a friend, but…”
Bobby did start to worry hearing her talk.
“I would like to know, are you Transgendered?”
Bobby knew that term. He had been in several chat rooms for Transgendered teens. Bobby’s lip started to quiver and all sorts of scenarios started going through her head. She started to get up and run away, but a gentle touch and a smiling face held her in place, but nothing could hold back her tears.
“How… How did… you know? Was it something I did?”
“No, don’t cry girl. Leslie it wasn’t anything you did dear, and I am not going to out you. You have been nothing but nice to me. I just happened to boot your browser up at the café and saw some of your bookmarks. I took a course in Human Sexuality last semester and we covered the transgendered there. I thought it was fascinating subject.” Trina said as she reached over and gave Bobby a big hug. “I just never thought I would meet one, especially one I would never in my life have guessed about. You are great girl. Here I am sitting half naked in front of you and you didn’t gawk or stare, you acted like any normal girl would have. You looked a little uncomfortable at first then you were ok with it.”
“You mean I don’t disgust you.”
“How could you disgust me, you are a life saver. Come on I want to see you in a dress and then we will head out for a good dinner,” Trina said as she took Bobby by the hand and led her to her closet.
She got Bobby undressed to her undies and helped her in a little black dress. It was a little loose except at the waist, Trina had to help tighten the cincher, but it hid what needed hiding and showed off what was Bobby’s best feature, her legs. It was short but Bobby looked oh so good in it. Trina dressed in a pretty white dress almost like Bobby’s. Trina then had Bobby redo her makeup while she worked on Bobby’s hair.
“Get all your things dear, I will give you a lift to your room after we eat.”
Bobby grabbed all her things and headed out. Trina led her to a ten year old Mercury Marquis. It was easy to tell it was old but it was very well taken care of.
“My grandmother gave me this car. It only has thirty thousand miles on it.” Trina said as Bobby looked it over.
“Wow! For such an old car it looks great.”
“You know the joke about the little old lady who only drove her car to church on Sunday. That is my Mam ma.” Trina giggled. “I think Mom is really glad she doesn’t have a car to drive anymore.”
They got in and Trina drove to a nice restaurant not too expensive but nice. They sat and ate and talked. Trina was very curious about what it was like for her to be transgendered and did she have plans for hormones and surgery. Bobby answered as best she could, she knew what she hoped would happen at least. Bobby had never felt so alive and it showed on her face. They made a pit stop in the ladies room before they left.
“Well Leslie, you handled that short skirt well, I just wanted to see if you could do it.”
“Thank you; it’s just me, my two sisters and mom at home. Being around all those girls made learning easy.”
It was very late before Trina drove Bobby to her motel.
“What’s with all the cops Leslie?”
“Oh they have some kind of witness protection thing going.”
Trina came up to Bobby’s room long enough for Bobby to give her back her dress and exchange hugs and kisses on the cheeks. Without thinking Bobby and Trina exchanged phone numbers, emails and such promising each other to keep in touch.
After she went to bed Bobby put her hand on the wall and tried to sense Sandra’s presence. She was glad she was ok and it excited her that she was so near, but she was very afraid about how she would react if she knew what Bobby looked like right now. Bobby did feel safer though knowing that she was surrounded by police. Bobby fell asleep much easier knowing they were there.
(to be continued)
Things begin to happen, with Tara getting into the action. Things also begin to happen around Bobby and she gets caught up into them. What happens and who does what?
Bobbi’s Run ch. 8
by
Paula Dillon
Bobby put her hand on the wall and tried to sense Sandra’s presence. She was glad she was ok and it excited her that she was so near, but she was very afraid about how she would react if she knew what Bobby looked like right now. Bobby did feel safer though knowing that they were surrounded by police and she fell asleep much easier knowing they were there.
Bobby woke up very rested. She felt better than she had felt since this whole thing had gone down. She took her time to look sharp, spending extra time on her hair, makeup and clothes. She dressed in one of her mother’s suits; Darla’s suit wouldn’t fit over her breasts. The suit was a charcoal gray pin striped double-breasted suit, under which she wore the frilliest blouse she had, suntan pantyhose and her Mom’s four inch black stiletto pumps. She wished she had a different purse but the one she had would suffice.
She then headed over to the diner. The officers were still outside the rooms and there was a patrol car there. At the diner there were two cops in uniform and one cop in plain clothes inside the diner. Caitlin smiled as Bobby came in and sat at the counter.
“Hi Caitlin,” Bobby said.
“Hi Leslie. What can I do for you today dear?” Caitlin said in reply.
“Let’s see, I will have coffee, milk, OJ, two scrambled, hash browns, and toast,” Bobby said.
Caitlin took off with Bobby’s order and brought her, her coffee and juice, before passing through the diner filling coffee cups.
As Bobby sat there, the families that were under protection were brought in for breakfast. Bobby wondered about why they were being exposed like that, rather than having their food brought to them. She tried to do her invisible routine not realizing how much harder it was as an attractive lady.
Sandra walked in with her Mom, the cops certainly were acting more relaxed but they still were being watched over. She looked at the girl at the counter being served by the waitress. Wow was she pretty she thought. Sandra stopped and looked at the girl, something was so familiar, but she was sure she didn’t know who she was. She had, had an itch about that girl she just couldn’t scratch. The girl looked very nice; she had dressed well and had done a good job on her makeup. Sandra felt a like kick and her mom. She was surprised to find a waitress standing there waiting to take her order.
Sandra was glad she wasn’t cooped up in that darn room. Why the city couldn’t get them a fine hotel she didn’t know. Their motel wasn’t really bad but it wasn’t the Ritz.
Bobby sat at the counter and ate her meal all the while eavesdropping on the other conversations that were going on all around her. The food was pretty good and she really felt like eating today.
**************************
Tara called Sam Logan on the phone from where she was sitting on surveillance and they chatted. She had called to make sure that Sam was indeed home before hitting it with a raid. They talked about the current case. Tara made certain she didn’t contradict what she knew Sam already knew, but left out important details she didn’t want to give up. When she hung up she signaled the waiting swat team.
The State Police raided Sam Logan’s home. He was arrested along with two others present. One of them had been shot, it was a serious but not a grievous wound they had received. Also computer files had been confiscated that implicated several current police officers, who had yet to be identified. More warrants were obtained and arrests executed. The officers, the evidence indicated, had been involved in stealing drugs from dealers and selling it themselves to other dealers. It was estimated they had done twenty million dollars in deals in the last two years that the operation has been active.
The rip off that had led to the shootings had been a trap set by the dealers. It was the superior shooting skills of Detective Logan that had saved the lives of him and his accomplices.
In all, there were about a dozen arrests as a result of this operation led by Det. Collins. Tara had gotten very little sleep in the last two days. She and Bob wanted to go over as much of the confiscated information as possible and run down as many dirty cops as they could.
Tara called Brian and told him that the people they had in protection could be released after breakfast and that they could relax right now as it seemed they had the bad guys on the run.
**************************
Brian entered the diner and got everybody’s attention and told them that after they ate they could go home. Everybody affected stood and applauded. Sandra jumped up and down like a cheerleader.
Bobby had just laid down a ten-dollar bill, when heard that she got so excited she jumped up and down herself shouting in her best Bobby the boy voice. That action attracted the attention of Sandra.
She looked at the girl and started making connections in her mind rapidly, “Bobby, is that you?!?” Sandra shouted. “Bobby McDonald!”
Bobby froze when she heard her real name. She had a deer caught in the headlights type look on her face as she turned to face Sandra. She froze for just a second and then turned to run out of the diner.
Brian heard that name and knew they were looking for a Bobby Ray McDonald, a boy who was known to Sandra and Becky. When that lady made her move to leave he blocked her exit at the door.
“Are you Bobby Ray McDonald?” Det. Brian Williams asked sneering at the thing before him.
Bobby had a horror filled look on her face. Not only had she been found, she had been found in girl mode and identified as a boy. She sunk to her knees crying.
Sandra ran to Bobby and hugged the kneeling girl fiercely. “Bobby it’s ok. Bobby, I still love you,” she said not knowing where those words had come from. She knew that Bobby was hurting and she wanted those hurts to go away.
Tracey stood dumbfounded watching her daughter. Becky let out a gasp of recognition to what was going on, but she couldn’t resolve the old Bobby with this Bobby.
Brian got on his cell phone and called Tara. “Hey girl, guess what?”
“What Brian?”
“We found Bobby McDonald, that boy is all duded out like a drag queen queer.”
“Do what?” Tara said sharply, not believing what she heard angered and surprised by Brian’s audacity.
“Bobby McDonald the boy we are looking for is as queer as a three dollar bill and we have him.”
“Brian! That is enough of that homosexual shit your spouting,” Tara said in an angry and agitated voice. “I don’t want to hear that from you again buster and I am filling a report on this Brian. Get him over to the station. I am at the State Police Barracks right now. I will be there in about fifteen minutes,” she said hanging up her phone.”
**************************
If there was one thing Brian hated more than anything else, it was faeries and faggots. They didn’t deserve to live. Well Tara will lose some of her smugness today, that’s for sure he thought.
“Let’s go Bobby McDonald; I have to get you to the station. Det. Collins wants to interview you.”
Sandra and Bobby were clinging to each other. Sandra was trying to comfort Bobby who was crying his heart out.
Yeah go ahead and cry Bobby, you won’t be doing that much longer Brian thought. He was getting impatient and started trying to pry them apart so he could get out of there. He couldn’t make it too obvious there were other cops around here.
“Let go of him girl. Let go, you’ll get your friend back in a little while. Please let go!” Brian said. The last a little louder than he should have been. Some of his disdain for this pervert seeped through.
Sandra was shocked at the coarseness of the detective, let go and ran to her mother. Brian roughly grabbed the faggots arm and almost jerked him upright.
**************************
Tara was flushed red. She had thought better of Det. Williams. He may not get fired for it but she definitely wouldn’t work with him again.
“Bob, I am going to the station Det. Williams just found our key witness Bobby McDonald. He shot the tape that got the ball rolling.”
Bob was still reading reports. “Hold up! Did you say Brian Williams has Bobby?”
“Yes I did, He is going to bring him to the station.”
“Stop that son of a bitch. I just found his name here.”
Tara blanched she speed dialed a Sgt. She hoped was still at the diner.
“Jim this is an emergency, are you still at the diner where we have the protection unit.”
“I am next door at the motel, we are packing up.”
“You have got to stop Det. Williams he’s dirty and he has our key witness”
Tara never heard a reply; all she heard was the sound of a phone hitting the floor. She ran out to her car not realizing that Bob Mason was hot on her heels. They were both in her car and headed towards the motel in fifteen seconds. Tara turned up the sound on her cars police radio. There was some frantic traffic that was associated with incident at the diner.
**************************
Brian got Bobby headed to the door. He had just opened the door and stepped out when a half dozen officers with their weapons drawn came from around the front of the motel. Brian drew his weapon and put the barrel to the head of the faggot. The officers fanned out and pointed their weapons at Brian.
“Drop your gun Brian, you won’t get away from here,” said one of the cops. “We know you are dirty.”
“You drop your guns or this cocksucking faggot gets one in the head.”
“You know that isn’t going to happen Brian. You have been around enough to know what the score is.”
“Well then, this faggot is going to die.”
“You shoot and you’re dead in your tracks.”
“Then we will both die.”
Brian started squeezing the trigger. Before the action broke, Brian received a sharp pain in his foot as Bobby buried the heel of one of her stilettos into the arch of his foot. The gun barrel rose, Bobby went down and a hail of bullets hit Brian in the head. Brian collapsed on top of Bobby, the added weight forced her down and the shin of her left leg broke in three places.
**************************
Tara wailed out loud when she heard a ‘shots fired’ call and a call for an ambulance over the radio. “Oh my God Brian’s Killed Bobby!”
“Take it easy Tara you don’t know that yet. Don’t get us killed by your driving.” Bob Mason shouted.
Tara knew better than to get on the radio while the other cops needed clear lines to communicate amongst themselves, but she almost held her breath waiting to hear from the officer in charge of the scene.
After what had seemed like hours her cell phone rang. Tara fumbled with the phone and Bob took it from her.
“ADA Bob Mason,” he shouted in the phone when he got it flipped open. “Ok Brian is dead is that right, what about Bobby? She is on her way to the hospital. Which one? Okay. Stay with her Jim or I will have your ass,” Bob said. “Tara, Bobby is being taken to Memorial Hospital.”
“What is his condition?”
“I don’t know.”
“Speed dial 12 that is Tim Watson. He is at the McDonald, I mean McCrea residence. He needs to get the kids Mom to the Hospital.”
**************************
Tim Watson was tired, but everybody was on over time till what ever was happening got over or to a safe point. He had lost two officers in his protective detail without explanation. That was not good. There could only be one explanation for that and good cops hated that more than anything else.
As he pondered what was going on his cell phone rang. He chuckled as he heard the rendition of cop’s favorite song ‘Bad Boys’. Whatcha going to do, whatcha going to do, when they come for you, Bad Boys, Bad Boys.
Tim answered the phone casually at first, and then a serious look came over his face and he frantically wrote down some notes on his pad. He hung up and ran to the door, pushed it open and shouted, “Ms. McCrea, Ms. McCrea!!”
Liz cooking in the kitchen in her nightie ran out of the kitchen shouting, “What?”
“Get your clothes on. They found Bobby; he is on his way to the hospital.”
Liz nearly had a heart attack when she heard that and ran to her room throwing off her nightie and grabbing a blouse and pants. Her girls ran to her room as she dressed. “Darla you stay here with Amy, I am going to the hospital. Bobby is hurt,” and she was headed out the door. Liz had never gotten dressed so fast.
Tim shouted for Officer Melissa Sanders to stay with the kids as he and Liz jumped into his squad car. He flipped on his lights and siren and peeled out.
**************************
Tara left two black marks as she brought her car to a stop at the Memorial Hospital. There was a cordon of officers around the ER entrance. She flashed her badge as she and Bob ran up. Inside Sgt. Jim Albright stood outside an ER trauma room.
“How is he Jim!?!” Tara shouted as she drew near.
“She is ok, she may have a broke leg, I think, but nothing else that I know of.”
“She? He? We are talking about Bobby right?”
“Yes Ma’am, although her ID, obviously fake, said; Leslie, Female, nineteen.”
“Well legally she is Bobby, male, fourteen.”
“Yep, that is her. She is one tough gutsy broad if you ask me,” he said as a compliment.
Jim started to explain what happened after Tara had called him. He had run outside of the motel office where there were six officers there. When he drew his weapon running, they followed drawing weapons. Det. Brian Williams was exiting the diner when Jim and the other officers came around. He pointed his weapon at Brian and Brian pointed his at Bobby’s head. They had a standoff for several minutes. When it appeared that Brian was going to shoot Bobby, Bobby stomped on Brian’s foot with a stiletto heel. That heel broke off her shoe and is still embedded in his foot. Bobby fell; four shots were fired by us. Cops tend to shoot cops in the head where they have to, no body armor. Brian’s head had literally exploded from the impact of the rounds. He fell on top of Bobby whose shin met with the steps to the diner, where we think she sustained her injury.
Tim and Liz appeared while Jim was giving his description of the incident. Jim assured the Mom that it shouldn’t be serious.
A Doctor came out of the trauma room ahead of Bobby being wheeled out on a gurney. Tara stopped him and inquired about her injuries. The Doctor confirmed that she had a multiple fracture of the Left Fibula, and that she was on her way to surgery to have her leg set and a long metal rod inserted.
Liz signed a surgical consent form and Bobby was on her way.
The group followed Bobby as far as they could.
Liz, Tara, Bob and Jim went to the surgical waiting room. As they sat they rehashed what had happened. Bob took copious notes and looked forward to prosecuting this case. Liz listened to what happened outside the diner.
Tara reported the things that Brian had said to her over the phone. She was ashamed of herself for telling Brian to bring Bobby in. She should have requested that one of the other officers bring her in.
Bob told her that there was no way for her to know what Brian would do.
Liz sat and listened confused by the gender switching of pronouns from all present, they knew who Bobby was, but they all seemed more comfortable refer to Bobby as a HER. Liz knew she was having the same issue. With what she has learned so far, will she still have a son after today?
**************************
Liz looked at her watch it had been a little over an hour since Bobby had gone into surgery. She was fidgeting in her chair when she heard.
“Momma!”
Liz looked up and saw Amy and Darla running towards her with Sandra and Tracey on their heels.
“Kids, I am so sorry, I got so wrapped up in things I forgot all about you two.” Liz said hugging her kids.
“How is Bobby, Mom?” Darla asked.
“She is hurt; she has a broken leg but doing well other than that.”
“Sandra was so distraught when Bobby was taken away in the ambulance. She wanted to come right here when we were released from Protection. I didn’t know if you knew what had happened so I drove over to your place to tell you. Sandra fell in thick with your girls and they all convinced me and the lady cop that was with them to come here.”
“I am so glad that you did. I had forgotten that they didn’t know how Bobby was.”
“Sandra convinced them she wasn’t to bad off, but they still wanted to come here.”
“Where is she?” Tracey asked.
“She is in surgery right now. She had a multiple fracture of the fibula I think they said. She is in surgery to set it and to get a rod of some sort to support it.”
The girls and their Moms’ sat as a group talking excitedly together. Sandra tried to tell them how gorgeous Bobby had been. Liz said she and the girls had never seen Bobby in person as a girl.
Tracey began to explain to the group, what had gone on in the diner before the shooting there. Sandra added what she knew. Bob and Tara took notes as the girls told of their experience. You could hear their disgust as they talked about Det. Williams. Their conversation answered the same questions they would have asked in an interrogation.
As the girls finished up their story, a lady in surgical scrubs came out and asked, “Is there an Elisabeth McCrea here?”
“Yes I am her.”
“Well Bobby is in Recovery right now, the surgery went well, we were able to pin the Fibula back together and attach a rod for support. He will have a walking cast on, not much of one just something to protect his leg really.”
“That’s great, when can we see her?” Liz inquired.
“Well he will be out of recovery in about an hour, and into his room in about two hours. He will be a little groggy but you can see him then. We would like to keep him here for a couple of days.”
“Fine doctor, I just want my Baby back.”
With that pronouncement Tara and Bob made their goodbyes and left along with Sgt. Albright. Officer Melissa Sanders stayed with them. Liz and company were escorted out by one of the nurses. Liz had some more paperwork to fill out for the Hospital. By the time she had finished Bobby was being wheeled into a room. Only Liz was allowed in at this time and only for a few minutes. Liz also received Bobby’s things except for her clothes which had been cut and placed in BIO-HAZARD bags. Bobby had been totally covered with Brian’s blood, bone fragments and grey matter from his head wound.
Liz entered quietly and looked at her son. He had an IV in one arm that was restrained and was wearing a bland hospital gown. Liz could see that under the covers one leg was larger than the other. All traces of femininity that had earlier adorned him had been erased, except for his arched eyebrows and his long painted fingernails, several of them had been cracked. His eyes were open but appeared to see nothing.
“Hi Bobby,” Liz said.
Bobby turned his head toward the sound. “Mom,” he croaked.
Liz walked over to his bed and took his free hand and admired his manicure. “Don’t try to talk too much. They told me you had a tube down your throat. Are you feeling ok?”
“Groggy,” he mouthed, “Don’t really feel anything.”
She stroked his brow tenderly looking at the arch of his brows, “I know dear. Well you had quite an adventure there didn’t you? I am of the feeling that your hiding actually made you safer, considering who you were hiding from.”
Bobby had a confused look on his face and mouthed, “Who?”
“The guy that did the killing was a cop, along with the person that tried to kill you.”
Bobby’s face was filled with worry and fear.
“Don’t worry Bobby, you are safe now. I am told that you made a very pretty girl there. Did you like playing a girl?”
A tear formed in the corner of Bobby’s eye and she nodded her head. “Is not play.”
“My daughters tell me that they knew that you liked looking like a girl.”
Bobby’s eyebrows creased and tears started flowing.
“You can’t go back to pretending to be my son, can you?”
“I can if you want me to.”
“But that wouldn’t make you happy, would it? You would rather be my little girl, isn’t that right?”
Bobby croaked, “Yes, I liked being a girl.” His eyes looked very heavy and he yawned a couple of times.
“Well don’t worry about it now Bobby. You need to get your rest.”
Bobby’s eyes shut and her grip on her mother’s hand loosened. Liz watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest and gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek. Liz’s eyes were misted up with tears, but her heart felt freer than it had been in days. She got up and let her sleeping son rest.
Liz walked over to the nurses’ station and asked. “Hello, I was just wondering if you have a staff psychologist or psychiatrist on duty?”
The nurse knowing a little of the ordeal the family had gone through answered, “Yes ma’am we do.”
“If they are not too busy could you find out if I can see them?”
“Sure let me check?”
Liz went over to where her kids were with Sandra and Tracey.
“Tracey, I hate asking but can my daughters stay with you till tomorrow?”
“I would love to have them; they are welcome in my home.”
“Well, Bobby is ok but she is going to be resting most of the day. They have her on a lot of drugs so there is no reason for the girls to be sitting around here worrying all day. Girls, you can see her tomorrow. I am sure she will be more lucid then.”
The girls complained but they understood. They each gave Liz a big hug and a kiss, even Sandra and Tracey.
Liz went back to Bobby’s room and just stood inside watching, like any other mother with a hurt child. About an hour later a lady wearing a white smocked coat entered the room.
“Hi I’m Dr. Nancy Sullivan, but just call me Nancy. I am told you wanted to talk to me.”
“Yes, I would like to talk to you about my Bobby.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to talk to him till tomorrow, according to his chart he should be pretty out of it.”
“Yes I know but, I just feel I need to tell you a few things first, can we go some where and talk?”
“Sure, let’s go get a cup of coffee in the cafeteria. I won’t guarantee it’s not lethal but it’s hot and it’s strong.”
As they walked Liz poured out her heart for her child and described what she had learned about her. Nancy listened with interest, it had been noted how Bobby had been dressed when he was brought in, in the medical records and things just sort of fitted with what Liz said. Liz described how her daughters found videos of Bobby. She looked so happy when she was dressed as a girl and how she had so much fun when she was having, dancing as a girl. She described her going into hiding as a girl and that according to people who had seen her, said, she looked quite nice. The kicker was that for the most part she had done it all herself. Then Liz described the last conversation she had with Bobby before he went to sleep just now.
“It sounds as if you have a very special child Liz. I will take all this in advisement and will look forward to hearing it from Bobby. She has got to want it Liz, but from what you are saying you may have a new daughter.”
“If Bobby wants to be a girl, I will do anything I can to make her happy, and I am certain her sisters will too.”
“People who face this type of dilemma do better if they have a lot of family support. It won’t be a bed of roses for Bobby by any means if she wants to become a girl, but it can be well worth the effort. From what you have said Bobby seems to have a good survival instinct, many people in similar situations become self destructive, trying to reach their goal.”
“I have heard that Nancy, I don’t want Bobby to despair about this problem. I would rather have another daughter, even with lots of problems, than a dead son.”
“We shall see Liz; I don’t think you have that serious a problem right now. It is good that the Cat is out of the bag so to speak.”
**************************
Trina went to her speech class. She was scheduled to be the fifth giving her presentation that day. She sat and listened to the speakers and watched the slide show they presented. They were very good, the speakers were good on their oral presentation and their slide shows were a little on the plain side but effective.
When it came to her turn she loaded her program and faced the class. Although she had some butterflies in her stomach, she really enjoyed talking and was good at it. She began her presentation and flipped through her slides as she talked. Everything flowed well, she couldn’t really see the class’s reaction to her show in the semi-darkened room, but she felt good about it. She spoke a little longer and had more slides than some of the others, but her presentation was well received. She even received some applause when she finished.
Her Teacher then gave all the speakers their grades all A’s and one B for the group. The teacher though made special comments about Trina’s presentation. Her teacher especially liked her slide show.
Trina got hugs and congratulations from many of the students in her class. Inside she was so excited. It was hard for her to keep her feet on the ground. She didn’t have a class for two more hours so she decided to see if Bobby was at her motel room.
Trina pulled into the Motel and saw a bigger police presence than the day before. In fact with the crime scene tape up she became very scared. She asked one person standing nearby what happened.
“Oh the police had a hostage situation at the diner. One bad guy was killed and a lady was injured.”
Trina nearly came unglued, “Who was injured?” she nearly shouted.
“Some girl, who was staying at the motel.”
“What did she look like?”
“She was just over Five foot and had long red hair, I am told.”
Trina ran to Bobby’s room, the door was open and there were police there going through her things.
“Where is the girl who was in this room?” Trina demanded of the police there.
One officer came over and asked, “Who are you and why do you want to know?”
“I am Trina Scott and Leslie was a friend of mine!”
“Leslie, yes that was the name she went by. I am still afraid I can’t say anymore.”
Trina was furious and left. She knew there were two hospitals in the neighborhood so she hit the nearest first. Judging from the police activity there she figured she had the right one. She entered the place like she owned it and kept her ears open. There was a lot of talk about a crossdresser there. The talk made Trina want to scratch some people’s eyes out, but as she listened she picked up a name. Bobby McDonald.
Trina made her way to the information desk and asked the candy stripper there what room was Bobby McDonald in. The girl asked if she were family.
“Yes he is my brother. Mom called me and I had a long way to drive to get here.”
The candy striper checked her monitor and gave her keyboard a few clicks. “He is in room 314.”
Trina found the guest elevator and went up to the third floor. She followed the signs that led her to the right area and found her room. She opened the door and peeked in and saw the person she knew as Leslie. She walked over to Leslie and called out her name softly.
“Hey Leslie, are you awake.”
Bobby cracked her eyes a smidgen and smiled a little seeing Trina. “Hey Trina,” she croaked.
“Don’t talk dear. Your throat sounds rough. I just went by your room and saw the police there and nearly freaked out, girl don’t scare me like that.”
“You were scared,” Bobby mouthed slowly, “I was petrified.” Bobby said with a small smile on her face.
“Are you hurt Leslie?” Trina realized it was a dumb question even as the words spilled out of her mouth.
“A little; broke leg.”
“Hey girl, just wanted to tell you I got a great big A on our work. My presentation was the best of the day.”
Bobby gave her the biggest smile she could. “Great, I loved working with you.”
Trina reached over and gave Bobby a hug. Bobby drew her into the hug with her unrestrained arm and cried softly on Trina’s shoulder. A short while later she began to softly snore.
Trina managed to get loose without waking her friend.
Liz had entered her son’s room and had seen the strange girl hugging her son and saw her son holding her tight and crying on her shoulder. She kept quiet till the girl stood smiling. She didn’t notice Liz till she turned away from Bobby. Liz held her finger to her lips for Trina to be quiet and waved her over.
Trina smiled and went over to the lady who she figured was Bobby’s Mom and followed her outside.
“Hi I am Liz McCrea, I am Bobby’s Mom.”
“I am Trina Scott; I am a friend of hers.”
“Where from?” Liz asked. The girl looked way too old to go to Bobby’s school, and too young to be a teacher.
“I met her at college she came to visit. Leslie said she was thinking about starting there next term.”
“Leslie, Leslie Edmunds?” Liz asked. “Not very likely she is only fourteen, and her name is Bobby McDonald, Bobby Ray McDonald, at least for right now.”
Trina’s eyebrows arched sharply when she heard that. “Fourteen my God I knew she was younger than what she told me. I would never have taken her for fourteen. I met her at the library and she used my internet connection to read and send emails.”
“You do know she isn’t a girl, right?”
“She is too a girl Liz, she just isn’t in the right body.”
“You mean you know about her.”
“Of course I do. You should have seen her yesterday. I was busy working on a class project, a power point slide show for my speech class. I would have been able to do it without her help but not as well as she did. She just sat down and started working on it. Her fingers were flying over the keys. I turned did the presentation in today and got an A, my professor was just crazy about it.”
Liz would have believed that Bobby could fly after all she had learned over the last few days.
“So you two were together yesterday.”
“Yes we were. I really like her Liz. What was all of this about how did she get hurt.”
“Well did you hear about that quad murder over by the Mall?” Liz began. She then filled Trina in about all that had happened.
“Oh really, wow that is just almost too much to take in.”
“Tell me about it, the last time I saw Bobby before today, I had a son. Now it looks like I may have another daughter.”
“I don’t think you ever had a son Liz. We talked at diner last night. She told me, that she knew that she should have been a girl at a very young age.”
“Well how did you find out she wasn’t a girl? I was told she was very good at pulling it off.”
“She was very good at it Liz. I found out while we were working on her laptop. I don’t have a computer of my own. We got hungry, and went to the Student Union café and worked on my project there while we ate. When she got up to use the restroom I stayed with her stuff and opened her browser. Leslie had bookmarks to some transgendered sites. After we finished the presentation she came to my room at the dorm and I asked her about it. You see I had taken a course in human sexuality last semester and one section was on the transgendered. You really ought to read our text we used in that course Liz. Anyway at diner we had quite a conversation about it and then I took her back to her motel room.”
“Wait, so you know where she was staying Trina, I need to get her things.”
“Yes I just came from her room; the police were there at the time.” Trina said as she told Liz which motel Bobby had been staying at and her room number.
“Well it has been nice meeting you Trina but I want to get back to Bobby’s side. I hope to see you again soon.”
“Oh you will see me again Liz, I can’t just let my best girl friend just hang. I like her too much.”
The two hugged and Liz went to sit by her baby’s side. Bobby softly snored as her chest rose and fell. What were they to do, she thought.
(to be continued)
Bobby is in the hospital now and is recovering. Her friends and family pull together around her.
Bobbi’s Run ch. 9
by
Paula Dillon
Bobby woke late the next morning. Her head was much clearer but still a little addled by the drugs. She had to think for several seconds before she realized where she was. Her left arm and her legs were restrained and her left leg was throbbing. Then the whole incident at the diner had come to her. The guy who was suppose to be bringing her in, the cops surrounding the diner, the arm going around her throat, the gun pointed at her head, her stomping her heel on his foot, the shots being fired, her going down with his weight added to hers and the pain. She cried again as she thought about the pain.
Bobby gingerly raised her head and looked around. She saw her mother’s purse on the night stand, beside her bed. But where was her Mom? She heard sounds from the bathroom and then she knew. Seconds later the door to the bathroom opened and out came her mom.
“Hi Mom, morning,” Bobby said weakly.
“Well good morning Baby, I thought you were going to sleep all day.”
“Yeah I guess I needed it.”
“Yes you did. How are you feeling today?”
“Like, did anybody get the number of the truck that hit me?” Bobby said, with a sad attempt to giggle.
“Well you are going to be ok now. Your doctors should be in shortly to talk to you and to check you out.”
“How long will I have to stay in here?”
“They were talking about two more days before they release you dear, said that they should be able to tell us more later today.”
“Ok, how is everybody Mom?”
“Let’s see, your sisters nearly pulled their hair out, I got about two thousand more gray hairs on my head, over the last three days, Sandra and her Mom have called twice, your girlfriend Trina came by yesterday, I have had more dealings with the Police than I’ve ever had in my life, but other than that, everything is normal.”
“Where are Darla and Amy?”
“They spent the night at Sandra’s and her Mom will be bringing them here shortly, although I think Tracey made Sandra go to school today.”
“I am really sorry Mom, about all the problems I made for you.”
“You really did stir the kettle didn’t you Bobby. I am not really mad at you, except for your not trusting me enough to tell me about the tape and of course for running away like that. But given who the killer was, hiding might have been the safest thing for you.”
Bobby’s brow arched with concern and she asked, “Who was the killer, Mom?”
“Oh he was nobody special, except maybe that he was a cop, and that the tape you made brought down a whole slew of bad cops. It’s been all over the news Bobby. Where have you been? Oh that’s right, you’ve been sleeping it off.” Liz said with a big smile on her face and giggling. “But seriously, things could really have been bad for you.”
As Liz finished talking, a lady in a white lab coat and a nurse entered the room.
“Well good morning Bobby, how are we today?”
“I don’t know about your day, but I think my day really sucks.” Bobby said.
Liz lightly slapped Bobby’s arm and looked sternly at her, “Language Bobby, the doctor was just being polite. No need biting her head off.”
“Sorry Ma’am, I could be doing better though.”
“Well I can really understand that. I’m Dr. Marla Brosnan and I am your orthopedic surgeon. I put that puzzle you gave me, back together again. You had a pretty nasty break of your fibula; do you know what that is?”
“That is the shin bone isn’t it?”
“Yes it is Bobby. You broke it in three places and you had a few bone splinters around too. I put screws in to hold the three major pieces together, I removed the bone splinters and used a calcium based glue to fill in the gaps, it really is marvelous stuff, and lastly, I put in a rod beside the fibula to take some of the load off that bone, till it can heal. Do you understand what I did?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Unfortunately, I had to make an incision down the front of your leg to gain access to all the pieces. The good news is though, I made a very neat cut and I am very good at sewing and made tiny neat stitches, that will fade with time. So there shouldn’t be too much scarring. That is if you will take good care of your leg and not pull out my neat stitches. I believe by the start of school this fall, you should be back to normal.”
“Will I have to wear a cast long?”
“Not really a cast, we can’t cover your stitches. You won’t really need one, but you will have to wear a brace for a couple of weeks, till your bones mend together, just to keep your foot from moving. After a few months, I will go in and remove the rod and you will almost be good as new. Ok?”
“Ok you’re the Doc.”
“At least that’s what my nurse tells me. Now we need to take a look at my work. Becky is my nurse and she will help me take off the dressing, if that’s alright with you?”
“Ok.”
Becky uncovered Bobby’s leg carefully removed the dressings from her leg. Bobby grimaced as she saw all the bruising and such. Her leg was larger than normal and looked very ugly.
Becky saw Bobby grimace and make a face when she saw her leg, “It isn’t really as bad as it looks Bobby, Marla does very good work, believe me. It would have looked a lot worse if the bone had protruded out of your skin,” Becky said. “You were quite lucky.”
Marla and Becky inspected their work, even though it was black and blue and looked a little angry; it appeared to be doing well to them.
“Well Bobby it looks pretty good. We are going to keep you here till Sunday, probably and I will want to see you in my office next Friday,” Marla said, as Becky went about cleaning the area and redressing it. “I don’t want you out of bed until I see you on Saturday though. How is the pain right now?”
“It hurts some, right now, but I can live with it.”
“Well you don’t have to live with it. The nurses haven’t given you, your pain meds yet and by looking at your charts I see you will be due one shortly. We will be looking to reduce them beginning tomorrow, but that isn’t a reason for you to suffer. If it hurts, tell a nurse and I will leave instructions with them. I don’t want you to hurt and possibly do something bad to the work I’ve done. You’ll also be on antibiotics for the next ten days. OK?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Good! See you tomorrow dear.”
With their work completed the two ladies left, to be replaced by another lady in a white lab coat.
“Hello Bobby, I am Dr. Nancy Sullivan, but please call me Nancy.”
“Hello Nancy and we are doing well,” Bobby said trying to steal some of her thunder.
“Well that is good, dear. I am a psychiatrist; do you know what I do?”
“Yes Ma’am, you’re a nut… I mean head doctor.”
“I have been called a nut Doctor before and I don’t mind. I work with people who need some help with their emotions and feelings, especially, like your case after a trauma. If your mother doesn’t mind, I would like to sit down with you and have a long chat, just the two of us.”
“I don’t mind at all Nancy,” Liz said and then she bent down and gave Bobby a kiss on his head. “I am going to get a bite to eat and I’ll be back later Bobby.” Liz then got her purse and headed out.
A nurse came in and quickly gave Bobby a pain shot and then left.
Nancy pulled up a chair next to Bobby and sat down. She then asked Bobby to start at the beginning and talk about the last week. Bobby began at the mall, but didn’t tell her why she was at the mall. She told her everything she could remember at the bus stop and the shooting. She told her about helping get the girls she was with home, the way her strength left, when they finally got to Sandra’s home and so on. Bobby even told her about the kisses the girls gave her.
Nancy didn’t do much talking; she just did a lot of listening and asked a few questions. Bobby then continued on about the rest of the weekend. She talked about going to church on Sunday, meeting Sandra at the cafeteria and then going back at home. She spoke about editing the tape she made.
“What were you taping, Bobby?”
“Girls at the mall.”
“Why?”
Bobby was stuck on answering her. She was silent for several seconds and then decided the truth would be the best thing at this point.
“Well it’s like this, Doc,” and Bobby explained a little about the tapes he made. He tried to get on with his story, about seeing the shooting, but Nancy steered the talk back to the other tapes for several minutes. She finally let him continue on to seeing the shooting that he had recorded. He then told her of his decision to go into hiding. That brought on several more questions about her decision process, about her going into hiding. Nancy really latched onto that point and she kept asking about how she felt about this or that. Bobby had to go into depth on that point, to satisfy her.
After Bobby explained herself to death on that point, Nancy let her continue to her plans for going into hiding. This drew other questions and so they went back and forth to the day she went into hiding.
“Bobby why did you go into hiding, dressed as a girl?”
“I figured that it would make me harder to find, till I felt my family was safe again.”
“Couldn’t you have hidden as well, dressed as a boy?”
“No… Yes… I don’t… I just don’t know, Ma’am.”
“How did it feel, dressing as a girl?”
“I don’t know. Good I guess. Scary too, but good.”
Nancy sat there for several seconds looking at Bobby, who waited pensively for the next question, but Nancy let her off the hook and asked her to continue her story. Bobby continued on with her preparations that day, her using syrup of Ipecac to get sick, dressing a little like a boy and a little like a girl. She then told about her taxi ride and how she bought an Amtrak ticket and then changing her appearance to totally feminine to go to the motel.
Nancy watched Bobby carefully. She saw a change in his/her demeanor, as they talked. Bobby seemed to brighten when she talked about being a girl, her voice even seemed to sound more like a girls. All this was fascinating, she really wanted Bobby to continue, but Bobby was such an avid story teller and she used nearly two hours, to get to this point. Bobby was quite descriptive, taking a lot of care in describing her appearance. Her vocabulary was very girlish and fit in with girls her age. Nancy really needed to see other patients.
“Well Bobby, I have enjoyed our talk so far, but I have other duties. I will be back tomorrow, about this same time and we can continue then. Ok?”
“Sure.”
Nancy thought as she left, that she wasn’t ready to bet the farm yet, but in her heart she believed that Liz might be right about Bobby. Boy was Bobby’s file growing. She would have a ton of notes to transcribe today.
Liz had waited outside the door. Dr. Sullivan had left a do not disturb note on the door, while they were talking. She had taken an hour and a half to eat and call her girls. They had put off coming till they heard back from Liz. She still had to wait for a little over a half an hour, before Nancy left.
Nancy talked with Liz for a few minutes.
“Liz, I really loved talking with Bobby, you have such a wonderful child.”
“Yes Bobby is such a dear child.”
“I think that Bobby is doing very well, through all this. Considering what he/she has been through, we do need to be careful though, about talking about what happened that last day, we didn’t get that far in our talk, it could be an issue for Bobby. It can be so traumatic for the victims.”
“I can’t begin to understand what it is like.”
“Well Bobby seems to be holding up well, but it is still early. I have got to run Liz, but we will talk tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Nancy.”
Nancy left Liz and headed to her next patient. Liz entered Bobby’s room to find her watching TV.
“Well how are you doing, Bobby?”
“Ok, Mom. Just had a good talk with Nancy. I really like her.”
“That’s good dear. I am going to get you some clothes hun, so you can get out of those hospital things. Also I got your things that were brought in with you to the hospital and that the police brought from your room. Do you want me to setup your laptop?”
Bobby brightened when Liz mentioned the laptop. “Yes Mom, that would be great,” Bobby giggled. “Oh and hand me the white purse, Mom.”
Liz handed Bobby the purse. The hospital had cleaned the gore off it, but it looked horrible and was really ready to be discarded. At least it wasn’t one of her expensive purses.
“It doesn’t look to good Bobby; we will have to throw it away.”
“Sorry Mom, I tried to be careful with it, guess I screwed it up,” Bobby said going through the purse. He got out a key and handed it Liz. “I have the other suitcase with some of my clothes and my original tape in a locker, at the Am-Trak station, Mom,”
“Ok I will go pick it up, when Tracey and the girls get here. She will stay with you while I clean up and get some rest dear. We haven’t talked much about it, but what kind of clothes do you want to wear here and to go home in?”
“I guess my boy clothes Mom. I just need to get these nails off.”
Liz was a little disappointed, then looked at Bobby’s nails. “What kind of nails did you get?”
“The girl called them silk wraps.”
“Oh dear. Those are going to be hard to get off for a while Bobby, they are made for long term wear. They will have to grow out, I’m afraid you’ll be stuck with them for a little while yet, maybe a month or two and with your eyebrows plucked that thin, it will be a while before you could appear masculine.”
“But Mom, how will I be able to go home and school like this.”
“Well school is out for you for the next three weeks, at least. They want your leg to heal more before you get out on it and they also want you to go to physical therapy. There is only six weeks of school left. I’ll talk to your teachers about you completing your term at home.”
“It might be easier then, if I dressed as a girl for a while longer.”
“You might be right Bobby. I would also like to see what you look like as a girl, everybody but your family has seen you en-femme. I think we deserve to see what you look like.”
Bobby blushed deeply; Liz had to giggle to herself.
“Ok.”
“I will get you some clothes then, you know your measurements?”
Bobby gave her Mom her measurements and sizes.
**************************
Tracey showed up after school let out, with Darla, Amy and Sandra. The girls had been instructed not to harass Bobby about what had happened yet, which was ok with them, since Sandra knew pretty much all that happened anyway. The girls flocked to Bobby’s side and smothered her in hugs and kisses. They were a little disappointed to see Bobby as himself, but didn’t let their disappointment show.
They began talking to Bobby as girls would talk to each other at a breakneck speed of ninety miles per hour. The two adults were amazed that anybody could understand them and wondered how Bobby could follow the girls, but she was smiling and joining in with them.
“Well Tracey, looks like they are getting along great. How were my girls, last night?”
“They were Ok, Sandra was upset I made her go to school today. I kept your girls home, in case you wanted them there.”
“That is ok Tracey, they haven’t had a chance to see Bobby yet, but tomorrow is Friday and I want them back in school. I don’t think Bobby will make it back to school this semester though. Look at them they are getting on like four girls.”
“Yes I noticed that. So what is up with that?”
“Bobby wants to be a girl I think Tracey; I feel I have lost a son and gained a new daughter. How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t know Liz, to be honest; I have never been put in this situation before. I am grateful to Bobby for what he did and Sandra seems to love him either way. Yesterday when that awful detective caught Bobby, you should have seen it Liz, Bobby looked so forlorn when he was identified. Sandra ran over to him and caught him up in a hug shouting she still loved him. That took everybody there by surprise Liz, even Sandra, I think. I would hate to think about what might have happened without Bobby being there, when the shooting went down. I know some bullets flew in their direction. But I don’t know what to think about him becoming a girl? How do you feel Liz?”
“I love my kids Tracey. All of them. I would never have thought that Bobby would want to be a girl, although he was never a macho male type. I have asked myself, where did I go wrong, could I have done better, but did I go wrong. Bobby is a good kid, respectful, intelligent and courteous; he just wants to be a girl.”
“I like Bobby, I don’t understand it, but I guess as long as the kids are good to each other, I am not going to rock the boat on it. Is he going to continue being a girl, Liz?”
“At this point, I think so. Bobby is working with a psychiatrist right now and may continue to do so for a while. If Bobby wants to continue, I am not going to stop her Tracey. I just wanted to know if it will be a problem with you.”
“I don’t know Liz; I guess I am ok with it, at least for right now. I won’t mistreat Bobby, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“That is all I could hope for Tracey. Can you stay with Bobby for a while and let me go home. I will try to be back by nine. I need to clean up and get some things for me and Bobby. They are keeping her here till Sunday.”
“Why don’t you keep the kids tonight Liz and get some rest. I will stay here tonight with Bobby.”
“That would be asking too much Tracey.”
“I won’t hear of that Liz, you look wasted dear, go get some rest.”
“Ok, if it won’t put you out too much?”
“I will take care of Bobby as if he was my own child, and I will call you if there is any problem,” Tracey said, hugging her new friend.
They let the kids talk for a little while longer, before Liz herded them to her car.
“Kids we are going to do some shopping for Bobby tonight. I want you three to pick out some things Bobby can wear at the hospital and lounge in, dressed as a girl, nothing overly feminine but comfortable. Bobby is going to be stuck at home for a while. Remember she won’t be wearing pants for a little while because of her leg. I will have final approval before we buy anything,”
That had all the girls chittering about what they would choose. Liz knew of some things she was going to get Bobby. They drove to a nearby mall and hit the stores.
**************************
Tracey sat down beside Bobby, “Well how are you doing?”
“Better than I was, but they aren’t letting me get out of the bed. I hate using bed pans.”
Tracey giggled and said, “I know what you mean. I had surgery once and was stuck in bed for four days.”
“That had to be awful.”
“It was, but I really felt better afterwards. You know, you really made a very pretty girl Bobby.”
“Thank you,” Bobby said a little warily.
“If it isn’t too personal, can you tell me why you chose to look that way?”
Bobby was clearly embarrassed but knew that cat was already out of the bag. “Well it’s kinda hard to explain, I wanted to hide, this whole thing had me scared. I wish Sandra and Becky would never had been around there for the shooting. I knew the bad guys would be looking for a boy, if they were looking for anyone. But to tell the truth Tracey and God I hope you don’t hate me for this… but I’ve always felt like I should’ve been a girl.”
“I’m glad you were there for them Bobby, and I don’t hate you. How could I, seeing how you took care of my daughter. But what do you mean, you always felt like you should have been a girl?”
“I have always been jealous of girls. I like doing the things they do, I like wearing the clothes they wear. It feels more normal to me and I am happier when I am acting as a girl. It is scary Tracey, I don’t know why I am this way, I just am.”
“Do you like girls or boys, Bobby?”
“Yes I like boys and girls, but to me it has never been about sex. At least it wasn’t before now. When Becky and Sandra kissed me, those were my first kisses, other than family. I am so confused right now about that, I can’t think clearly.”
“What do you think of my daughter, Bobby?”
“I like Sandra more than anybody, other than my family. I feel so comfortable around her.”
“She seems to like you too. So how is that going to work out between you two?”
“I don’t know, I really like her, but I don’t want to hurt her. Should I stop seeing her?”
“I don’t think that is an option, Bobby. That would be traumatic for her. I guess I am going to have to accept you and ask you not to hurt her.”
“I won’t try to hurt her, but I can’t make promises, when I don’t know what the future will hold for me. I will do my best to be a friend for her Ma’am, I will promise you that.”
“Then that will have to do, Bobby just be the best friend you can be,” Tracey said, as she leaned over and hugged Bobby.
**************************
Tara and Bob were knee deep in the investigation. They had arrested as many of the bad cops as they could identify. Bob was in the process of going before the grand jury and securing indictments against them. Sam had sung like a canary, to avoid being tried for capital murder. There didn’t seem to be any reason for the families of the kids to be afraid. At least that was good news, finding fourteen bad cops and twenty three other people, wasn’t good.
“You know if it wasn’t for Bobby we wouldn’t have what we have. We are on the trail of confiscating between thirty and forty million dollars of drug money. I think we should put that kid up for a finder’s fee for alerting us. That would be seven percent of all funds recovered,” Bob said.
“I agree. I can’t believe all the people we have brought in. It makes me sick to think my partner was involved in all this, and Brian nearly killing Bobby, I would have died if that had happened Bob.”
“You have to stop blaming yourself Tara, you had no idea Brian was that bad. You did good girl, I can see you as Chief of Detectives in a few years Tara. I am going to start the paperwork on that finder’s fee.”
“I’m going to interview Bobby tomorrow, we won’t need her to testify because of the plea, but I want to get her statement for the record.”
“Ok, but keep the bit about the finders fee a secret for now. It has to be approved first, and we have to secure the money before we tell them.”
**************************
Shopping was something else. Liz couldn’t believe how much energy the kids had. Darla was happy to get her makeup, she lost, replaced and the kids were so excited shopping for Bobby. They had picked out some nice things. Liz bought panties, bras and some legitimate breast forms for Bobby, close to Darla’s size. She was afraid that they might look a tad bigger when Bobby got them on. The girls had picked out some gowns and a gender neutral robe that were nice; Liz was surprised they didn’t go overboard on Bobby.
At home the girls sent Liz to her room and they headed to the kitchen to fix dinner. A nice hot bath would feel wonderful to Liz. She started her bath and then called her managing partner at her firm. She informed him what had happened and that Bobby was in the hospital, but that she would be able to resume the case on Monday. This pleased him. Her case was a very important case to their firm and the client wanted her on it, specifically. Everybody at the firm were happy to hear of her child’s safety and gave her their prayers for his recovery.
**************************
Tracey and Bobby were getting along great. Talking about whatever and watching TV together. Tracey could see why her daughter liked Bobby, just from hearing her talk about things.
The nurses for the most part had no problems with Bobby. Even those who were a little gruff were quite professional. One nurse caught Bobby’s attention.
“I can tell you don’t like me, why?”
“Do you have a complaint about how I am doing my Job?”
“No, not at all, but I can still tell you don’t like me. Have I offended you at all?”
“You haven’t done anything to offend me.”
“Ok, then why do you look like I have?”
“I have a lot of patients, I give them good care. I don’t have to like my patients. I give the same quality of care for people I like and for people I don’t really like,” she said as she took care of Bobby’s dressings.
“Agreed, but why do you not like me?”
“You are just another patient.”
“Well I think you are a good nurse, and I am a good person too.”
The nurse stopped what she was doing for a second and looked bobby in the eye before finishing her work. “Thank you.”
When the nurse left Tracey asked Bobby, “What was that all about?”
“Oh I read some where that enemies were easy to come by, friends have to be won. I knew she didn’t really care for me, but she did a good job. I just wanted to know why she didn’t like me. I imagine it is all over the hospital of how I was dressed when I was brought in and who I really am. I just want them to see that I am a nice person too.”
“Yes, you are Bobby.”
They chatted on and off for an hour or so, while watching TV. It was about seven when a visitor came in to see Bobby.
“Hey Bobby whatcha up too?”
Bobby Brightened as she saw Trina, “Not much girl, just sitting here collecting dust. Tracey this is my friend Trina, Trina this is Tracey, she is the mother of a girlfriend.”
“Hi Trina,” Tracey wondered where Bobby met this apparently college aged girl.
“Hello Tracey.”
“Where do you know Bobby from Trina?”
“Oh I met her at college she was visiting the library on campus, I let her use my internet connection to do some emails and she helped me with a school project.”
“Really,” Tracey said with just a touch of skepticism.
“Yes she did, is that your laptop Bobby?” Trina asked. “Is my project still on it?”
“Yes and yes, as far as I know.” Bobby said booting her laptop.
“Yeah I had to write a presentation and illustrate it with a power point slide show, Tracey. Well the writing was easy, but I had never worked with power point. Bobby helped design my show.”
“Really, you are not pulling my leg.”
“Honest Injun.” Trina said.
Bobby began the slide show, and Tracey paid attention to the slides. Bobby had used all sorts of tricks with the slide show. Tracey had seen a few of these slide shows before and she thought that this show looked pretty good.
Tracey shook her head as the last slide finished. “You really did the slide show Bobby, didn’t you?”
“Well, Trina helped.”
“Yeah right, I only wrote the words everything else was Bobby. I got an ‘A’ for that show Tracey. So when are they going to spring you from this joint Bobby?”
“It will be probably Sunday, Trina.”
“When did you two meet, Bobby?” Tracey asked.
“Oh we met the day before yesterday, Tracey. I couldn’t stand being in my room all day; I wanted to get out, so I went to the college. I was staying in a room just down from you, Sandra, Becky and her parents.”
“You were at the same motel, that’s right. We saw you when we checked in,” Tracey said, as pieces started to fall together.
“I thought you had already figured that out Tracey.”
“No, yes, I don’t know, what room?”
Bobby told here her room number at the motel. It was two doors down from Tracey’s.
“Well, are you going to tell me your story girl or do I have to read it in the newspaper?” Trina asked.
For what seemed to be the thousandth time, Bobby told her story to Trina. Trina didn’t look as surprised as Tracey, who had heard it before, but not in as great a detail. She even blushed when she heard what Trina had done back at her room. Tracey stopped Bobby from retelling what had happened in the diner that last day, by saying that she shouldn’t tell anymore until they hear from the Police. Trina, who had been paying rapt attention to Bobby’s story, looked crestfallen but understood why she shouldn’t tell.
“So it was your daughter and this other girl, Bobby helped that day?”
“Yes it was. If Bobby hadn’t been there and moved so quickly, no telling what might have happened.”
(to be continued)
Bobbi's story continues, as her friends stand by her side as she recovers in the hospital from her injuries.
Bobbi’s Run ch. 10
by
Paula Dillon
Bobby woke early Friday morning. She was so bored being bed ridden, but the doctor’s told her it would probably be one more day before she could get out of bed. On top of that Bobby really wanted to take a bath, or a shower. Bobby looked over and saw Tracey sleeping, she didn’t look comfortable at all in the chair. She was snoring lightly and looked so cute to Bobby. She finally cracked one eye open and looked like she didn’t know where she was.
“Morning, Tracey. How are you today?”
“Oh, morning Bobby, They sure don’t make these chairs for comfortable sleeping,” Tracey said, trying to stretch out her cramped body.
“I’ll trade you.”
“I bet you would, and if I were able I would Bobby. I hate to see any child hurt.”
“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody Tracey. I still have one more day before I can get out of bed and get these tubes off and out of me. I won’t even get much to eat till I can use the restroom.”
“It really sucks I know. I was in once for an ectopic pregnancy, along with several other complications. I had to go in for an emergency hysterectomy, they nearly lost me. I was bed ridden for a couple of weeks.”
“I am sorry Tracey; I know I am a lot better off than I could have been.”
“It’s not your problem Bobby, I survived and I still have Sandra. I consider myself lucky.”
“You are lucky.”
Tracey and Bobby continued to chat for several minutes till Liz showed up.
“Morning Mom.”
“Well good morning Bobby, Tracey how are you two today.”
“We’re good, Liz. You’re looking better now that you have gotten some rest.”
“Yes, it was nice.”
“How were the girls?”
“They were great, they are in school today.”
“I wish I was too, Mom.”
“I know dear, but it doesn’t look like you will, for the rest of this year.”
“Tracey, thank you for everything. Why don’t you go on home?”
“Your welcome Liz, I really enjoyed talking with Bobby, but these chairs don’t compare to my own bed.”
The two mothers hugged and Tracey kissed Bobby on the head.
“You take care Bobby, I will see you later kid.”
“Thank you Tracey.”
After Tracey had left Liz sat down next to Bobby and took his free hand. “How did you sleep last night?”
“Ok Mom, but I am really starting to stink. I could use a shower, but they won’t let me get out of bed yet.”
“I know. They will probably give you a sponge bath today. I brought you some clothes to change into later today.”
“A sponge bath, oh that sounds glorious,” Bobby said with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
“Yes, but it will be better than stinking dear. Here are two bags of clothes. You choose how you want to look.”
Bobby looked into the bags. The first held some of his regular clothes. He opened the second bag and his breath caught as he looked in. Inside were some very pretty girls lounging clothes.
“Momma, is it ok with you?”
“Yes, it is ok, your sisters and Sandra helped pick out those clothes for you. You don’t have to be a boy, unless you want to.”
Tears started to form in Bobby’s eyes, “I am sorry Mom. I guess I never really felt like a boy. I have always wanted to be like Darla and Amy.”
“Bobby, I love you whoever you are. I don’t mind having another daughter,” Liz said as she gave Bobby a big hug.
Bobby sorted through the second bag. Inside she found a lavender sleep shirt, two panties, a bra, a soft terry robe in pink and a box that contained a set of breast forms. He checked out the brand name, they were high quality prosthetic breasts and had an adhesive that held them on for up to two weeks at a time.
“Mom, these are expensive, I should know I have priced them on the Internet. You shouldn’t have.”
“Bobby if you are going to look like a girl, we need you to do it right. Till you get your own breasts, wear these.”
Liz contacted one of the nurses and arranged to have Bobby get a sponge bath after the doctors checked her out today.
“Well Bobby do you have a name picked out. Are you Leslie Blair or something else?”
“Leslie was just so I could hide Mom and still be something you would recognize. I like Bobbi and want to keep it, so I guess I would like to be named Bobbi Agnes McCrea. I can’t stand to carry Dad’s last name.”
“Bobbi Agnes, you took my first name for your middle name.”
“Yes, Mom. I know it doesn’t sound too modern but I would love to have it as my middle name.”
“Well, we shall see what Nancy says Bobbi, and then we will go from there.”
“Ok Mom.”
Dr. Brosnan came in and looked at Bobbi’s leg. Becky, her nurse, changed the dressing. She then removed much of the tubing, except for the Foley catheter and had Bobbi shifted to a gurney to be taken to x-ray. Bobbi felt good just getting out of the room.
Two x-rays were shot; one from the front and the other a side view. Bobbi had to wait on the cold table while the technician developed the pictures and was sure that they were adequate.
Dr. Brosnan came in as Bobbi was being shifted back to the gurney.
“Bobbi I have checked your x-rays and I am satisfied with your healing. We are going to leave all the tubes off after you get back. Later today you may get out of bed only with the assistance of a nurse. If I catch you out of bed by yourself, I will have you glued to the mattress, do you understand?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Ok take care.”
Becky went back to the room and helped Bobbi shift back into bed and told Liz what the Doctor had said. Liz had to chuckle when she heard the bit about glue.
Another nurse came in the room she removed the Foley and gave Bobbi a sponge bath. She then asked about clothes.
“Do you have any clothes you want to wear or shall I dress you in hospital garb.”
Nervously, Bobbi handed her the bag with the things she wanted to wear. The nurse smiled as she removed the contents and sat them aside. She had Bobby lay down and cleaned and dried her chest. She then spread the adhesive that came with the breast forms,
“These are nice, I am sure you will be happy with them,” she said as she carefully applied one and then the other, making sure she had them placed perfectly. “Hold them in place for five minutes, while I finish dressing you.”
The breast forms looked huge on Bobbi’s chest and were much heavier than the forms she had made for herself. She couldn’t believe how realistic they felt. She wished though they had feeling in them but she was happy to see them on her.
The nurse then helped Bobbi with her panties she lifted one leg at a time and carefully pulled the panties up. Bobbi was able to shift her hips so they could be pulled up all the way. She then helped with her bra and nightgown.
“Now you be a good girl, if you need to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, be sure to call a nurse. You are not to get out of bed alone, or you will answer to me,” the nurse said as she shifted Bobbi into more of a sitting position. The nurse actually kissed Bobbi’s cheek before she left.
The bra’s straps tugged heavily at Bobbi’s shoulders, when the nurse shifted the bed up. Bobbi looked down at her chest smiling and cupped her breasts in her hands and felt their weight.
“What size am I, Mom? I forgot to check.”
“A 34B Bobbi. I think that is just about right size for my fourteen year old daughter.”
Liz set a purse on the hospital table. She rolled the table in front of Bobbi, popping out the enclosed mirror. “Fix your hair and face dear.”
Bobbi brushed her hair. It wasn’t as clean as she would like it to be, but she felt good about being able to take care of it. She brushed it and put it into a ponytail, using a scrunchie. Bobbi then went about fixing her face. She cleaned her face good and used an astringent on it. Then she used a little moisturizer. She skipped the foundation, but used a little mascara and eyeliner before penciling her brows. She then added lipstick, blotting her lips with a tissue. She smiled at the girl in the mirror and then looked to her Mom.
“Not bad dear, in fact you did pretty good. How long have you been doing this?”
“Probably since I was twelve Mom. I wasn’t this good at it till the last few months though. I hate to say it, but I have been pinching Darla and Amy’s cosmetics. I took them when they were low and had bought some new stuff to replace the old, or if they left them way out of where they should be. Like I found an almost new mascara once, stuck beneath the cushions of the couch once.”
“Bobbi I am ashamed of you, taking their things like that. I have them on a budget, for any cosmetics and expendables, like pantyhose, they buy.”
“I know Momma, I am sorry and I will apologize to them when I see them next.”
Dr. Sullivan came in while Bobbi and her Mom were talking. She looked at Bobbi and smiled as she took in her appearance.
“Hello Bobbi, I like what you have done to yourself dear.”
“Thank you. Mom brought me some clothes, and I was finally given a bath of sorts. The really nice nurse helped me dress.”
“Well excuse me girls, while I get some coffee. It really is quite horrid Nancy, but also addictive.”
“Yeah I think they add something to it, so that their sale of coffee doesn’t slip,” Nancy said giggling.
After Liz left, Nancy sat down next to Bobbi and checked her notes.
“Bobbi did you choose to look this way, or was it suggested to you.”
“No Mom brought two bags of clothes. One had some of my boy clothes and the other had these clothes Nancy. Mom said I could choose. So here I am.”
“And you like these better?”
“Yes Ma’am, I do.”
“If I may ask, what are you wearing?”
“Bra, panties and a nightshirt, and oh, Mom bought me some really nice breast forms. The nurse helped glue them on.”
“Really, it didn’t shock her?”
“No, she just smiled at me when she saw the clothes and just helped me get dressed. I liked her. She even gave me a kiss on my cheek when she left.”
“How do you feel, dressed like this and made up.”
“Nancy, it is hard to describe, but it feels so right, if you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean. Now, we last talked about your first day as Leslie. You just checked into a motel, continue from there.”
Bobby picked up her story. She had lain down to rest in her room, as she felt a little weak from throwing up and nervous from her first day going out dressed as a girl. She told her, of her going to eat and meeting Caitlin, the waitress. She then told her, of her call to her mom’s cell phone, the restaurant, dress shop and the nail shop.
“How did it feel to go into the dress shop and nail shop dressed as a girl?”
“At first I was scared. At one point I nearly jumped out of my skin when a sales lady approached me, but she treated me like, I would imagine, she treated any other customer. I got to try on all sorts of cool things there, Nancy. The nail shop girl was really nice too, she made me really relax and I had my first extended conversation as a girl, with a girl there. I don’t think they realized that I wasn’t a real girl. I think that stopping at those two places changed things for me. It was sorta like I was playing a game at first, but the dress shop and the nail shop, made things more real for me. It wasn’t a game anymore; I realized it was what I should’ve been all the time.”
“Ok continue with your story.”
Bobbi told Nancy that she headed back to the motel. She reported seeing Sandra, Tracey, Becky and what had to be Becky’s families, being escorted to the motel. In fact they were put into rooms just a little down from where her room was.
Bobbi then continued on to the next day and heading to college. Her face really brightened, as she told about meeting Trina and the day they shared together. She told Nancy she couldn’t believe it, when Trina asked if she was a transgendered. Bobbi related what had allowed Trina to figure it out and about the test she gave Bobbi.
“She came over to where I sat in her room, dressed in just her panties and a bra. I was a little uncomfortable; she is a very pretty girl after all, but I didn’t let it bother me too much. We just continued talking.”
“That is amazing Bobbi, what happened next.”
She continued to talk about how Trina helped her dress in some of her clothes and taking her out to eat, to thank her for the work she did on her power point presentation.
“You seem to like her a lot?”
“Yes, she is a good friend, I think. She has even visited me here twice, I understand. The first time I was out of it and didn’t see her, but she talked to Mom. The second time, yesterday, we talked about an hour. I had to tell her who I was and how old I really was. She didn’t really seem to mind that I was just a kid.”
Bobbi then told about what happened the next day, up to a point. She was kinda fuzzy about what happened, at the time in the diner, till she woke up to see her mom in the hospital.
“Well Doc, am I certifiably crazy,” Bobbi teased, smiling at Nancy.
“Yep, I am afraid so. We gonna put you in a padded room and throw away the key,” Nancy teased back. “What do you want to happen now, about this dressing thing Bobbi?”
Bobbi looked thoughtful for several minutes, before answering. “Nancy I really believe I want to be a girl. Even considering that I have broken my leg, and that I have been half scared out of my life by all that has happened around me, the last few days have been great. I have gone outside dressed as a girl and have succeeded in fooling most of the people I have been around.”
“How much do you know about transgenderism Bobbi?”
Bobbi began reeling off what she knew, from Harry Benjamin and the standards of care, to different forms of transgenderism, transgendered support groups and chat rooms and such.
“Wow you have done your homework, girl.”
Bobbi had a huge smile on her face from hearing Nancy refer to her as a girl.
“You know what comes next then don’t you Bobbi? We have a lot of work to do, you and me. You know what I mean?”
“Yes Ma’am, I have to convince you that this is right for me.”
“That’s right. I will also help you transition, if we feel it is right. Looking at you now, you are entering into early puberty for a male. I can’t recommend HRT or SRS for you yet, but I can recommend an anti-androgen. It will keep you from developing further masculine traits. It will make transitioning easier later. I have already consulted with an endocrinologist and she has already run some tests. She will talk to you and your mom later. Are you going to continue dressing as a girl?”
“Till I’m made to stop, and I don’t think mom is going to make me.”
“What does your family and friends think?”
“My Mom and sisters already know and are cool with it. My friends Sandra, Becky and their families now know. Sandra and her mom are cool with it, I don’t know about Becky and her family. Trina is cool about it too. Right now that is all I need.”
“Well if that is what you want; I reckon that you ought to keep on keeping on. You seem to have a good support base right now,” Nancy said smiling. “I have other patients to see girl. I will leave word for the hospital staff, that you are to be treated as a girl. For the most part this hospital is pretty good about that kind of thing.”
“Yes they are. Not all of em are, but most are ok with it.”
“Oh? If anybody here treats you poorly, just tell me. I will see that you are treated right.”
“I wasn’t treated poorly, but one showed she didn’t agree with the way I looked when I arrived. She did her job ok though.”
Nancy gave Bobbi a hug and then left. At the nurse’s station she made some notes.
Bobby appeared as an attractive young girl when I arrived. She had on a bra, panties, a girl's nightie, breast forms attached and had on minimal makeup for a teenager. She was quite feminine in her actions, her voice and appearance. Although she is only fourteen, I feel she is a good candidate at this time for transitioning, when she reaches eighteen and can make an informed decision on the matter. I look forward to having a long-term patient relationship with her. She can be quite delightful.
Nancy continued on with more notes on her observations of her patient. She made some notes in her patient’s hospital chart and left a note for the nurses to treat her as a teenage girl, in their interactions with the patient. Finished, she saw Liz in the hall and they talked for several minutes.
“Liz, although I wouldn’t have started her dressing as a girl so soon, I see no reason why she shouldn’t continue doing it. I feel that she will transition, when she reaches eighteen, but we shall see. Just keep doing what you’re doing right now. She really loves you and her sisters. I want to continue seeing her once, or twice, a month for a long while, if that is okay with you.”
“Ok Nancy, that sounds good. I’m sorry I jumped the gun on you. I see no problem with it at home, she won’t be going back to school this semester and I may have her change schools this fall, but we shall see.”
“She is a good kid Liz, and you appear to be a wonderful mother. If you have any problems and want to talk it over, call me anytime. I mean it Liz, anytime.”
**************************
Det. Tara Collins and ADA Bob Mason were tied up in the grand jury all day long. Tara testified for five hours herself, going step by step on how they had brought the bad cop drug ring down, like a house of cards and how they had identified the various participants. They had been able to work around having Bobby McDonald coming in to authenticate the videotape, using the confession of her ex-partner and his authentication of those early events. Bob then walked her through presenting the confiscated evidence and how it linked the various other cops.
Finally she broke free, as the forensic accountants were called in to testify. She really wanted a chance to talk to Bobby herself. She walked out of the courthouse and fifteen minutes later she pulled into the hospital. She located the room and entered after knocking.
Seeing a very pretty teenage girl, she stopped and checked the door. The nameplate said Bobbi McDonald. Looking back into the room she saw Elisabeth McCrea. “Is this the right room Liz?”
“Yes this is the right room Det. Collins. Tara this is Bobby Ray McDonald soon to be legally Bobbi Agnes McCrea. Bobbi, this is Detective Tara Collins.”
“Hello Bobby.”
“Hello Det. Collins.”
“I must say it’s a shock to see such a pretty girl here in the hospital, when I expected to see a boy.”
“Thank you Det. Collins, you’re not so bad looking yourself.”
That cracked Liz and Tara up. Bobbi just had a confused look on her face.
“I haven’t been called pretty in a while Bobby, thank you. I am here to take your official statement and to tell you that we won’t need you to appear in court, at least for the foreseeable future at least.”
Bobbi smiled and looked relieved not to have to go to court.
“Don’t smile yet; I’m also here to chastise you for producing and using a bogus ID. That is against the law kiddo, but under the circumstance, I don’t think the DA is going to press charges. I would bet a years salary on that. Now do you want a lawyer present or will your mother suffice?”
“I think my Mom will suffice Det. Collins. What do you think Mom?”
“I think I can advise you on any legal matters Bobbi.”
“Ok Shall we start at the beginning then.”
Bobbi told her story from the time she left the mall with Sandra and Becky. She reported what actions she had taken and what she knew. Det. Collins took copious notes. Tara would stop Bobbi at times and ask questions. She asked quite a few about the fake ID program and such. Bobbi took her through to the diner on that last fateful day. She reported that her recollections of the events at the diner were quite fuzzy. This account Bobbi left out a lot of her interactions with people covering just what Tara needed for the case.
When she finished and Tara had no more questions for Bobbi, they just sat and talked.
“Bobbi I just can’t get over how cute and pretty you are. If I hadn’t known you were a guy, I would have never been able to tell. I also want to compliment you and tell you how brave you are. I have several officers that want to put you up for an award and Bob, he doesn’t want me to tell you this, but he has put you up for a finder’s fee for leading us to drug monies that we have confiscated. I think it is only right that you should know, since your injuries were caused by a bad cop.”
“How much?” Liz asked.
“Seven percent.”
Liz’s eyes arched high in surprise, “Of how much?”
“Not sure Liz, so far we have rounded up about forty million. I’m not sure if all of that will be qualified under the program, but she should get between oh say two and a half, to three and a half million, somewhere in that ball park.”
You could have heard a pin drop after Tara said that. Both Liz and Bobbi’s jaws were hanging slack and both stared at Tara.
“On top of that, I’m sure a good lawyer should be able to get some damages from the city, for her injuries, although, I hope she doesn’t push too hard. But Bobbi does deserve some recompense. The city may settle out of court for say another half a mil. But you didn’t hear that from me. I’m sure that Bob Mason will push the city attorney to settle for that.”
“Oh Tara, I think that would be more than fair. I don’t think Bobbi’s lawyer would push too hard, if the city made that kind of offer in settlement,” Liz hinted.
“Well let me say this, I’m sorry you had to go through this Bobbi. I’m surprised that you have come out of this so well and I want you to know you have made many friends. If anybody gives you any shit, their lives are going to be hell. You just tell your Auntie Tara, Ok.”
Bobbi smiled and held her arms open to Tara, “Ok Auntie Tara, I need a hug on that.”
Tara saw this and couldn’t help herself. She leaned down and hugged Bobbi. Bobbi held on to her with an iron grip and cried on her shoulder for several minutes.
Liz looked upon her daughter and her new aunt, smiling. There had been a lot happening in their lives and many changes to come in the future she thought. Her reverie was broken by a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Liz said.
The door opened and Officer Watson entered with a large pot of flowers.
“Is this the right place?”
“Yes Officer Watson, come in,” Tara said.
“I got these flowers for Bobby,” Tim said, as his eyes grew as big as saucers when he saw Tara and a teenage girl.
“Tim, this is Bobbi, and yes she is a girl now,” Tara said, trying to gauge Tim’s reaction. She knew, that he knew Bobby was a boy; she wanted to know if he could accept her as a girl.
Tim just smiled and held out the flowers to Bobbi.
“Set them over here Tim, you don’t expect a girl to just hold a pot of flowers that big do you,” Liz asked.
Tim turned towards Liz. He had a big puppy dog expression on his face, as he saw her, “No of course not sorry.” Tim set the flowers on the table next to Bobbi and turned towards Liz.
Tara looked at Tim and at Liz, then at Bobbi who was looking at her. The two girls just giggled softly.
“I would say that your mom may have a new beau,” Tara said softly to Bobbi. “He is a good guy.”
“I think you are right. Mom looks a little hooked too.”
Tim and Liz were talking, when the door to the room opened and Sandra, Tracey, Becky, Darla and Amy entered the room. The girls were ecstatic to see Bobbi and mobbed her. Even Becky seemed to accept her.
“Girls, keep to the right of Bobbi. Remember it is her left leg that is hurt,” Liz said.
Liz introduced Tracey to Tara and Tim. The adults then separated and started talking in a group. Liz decided to be frank with all the adults here and so openly talked about Bobbi. They all seemed interested and listened closely, as she explained about why Bobby was now Bobbi. Even Tim smiled.
Bobbi told the girls why she was dressed as a girl, of the group, Becky knew the least about what was going on and listened closely.
“So it’s going to be Bobbi Agnes now, no more Bobby Ray, right?” Becky asked.
“Fraid so, I’m sorry Becky, Sandra, I just couldn’t tell you two when I wasn’t certain. I like you both dearly and Bobby Ray would have loved to have had either of you as his girlfriends, but Bobbi Agnes still wants you two to be her friends.”
“So Bobbi, do you like boys or girls?” Becky inquired.
“As friends, yes I like both, anything else I’m not sure. I just need all the friends I can get right now.”
“You can count on me,” Becky said
“Me too,” Sandra said with a wink.
“Yes, it’s great having another sister,” Darla and Amy agreed.
“I need you guys to teach me so much,” Bobbi said with tears pouring from her eyes.
“Group hug,” Amy said.
All the girls mobbed Bobbi in a hug.
“Are we having a party, girls?” Came a new voice to the room.
Everyone looked to the door and Bobbi called out, “Hey Trina come on in. Trina this is Darla and Amy my sisters. These two are my friends Becky and Sandra. Gang this is Trina, a friend I made this week. Over there, you know my Mom and Tracey, the other lady is Det. Tara Collins and the guy, stuck in the middle, is Officer Tim Watson.”
Trina made the rounds, giving greetings. Bobbi was happier than she could ever remember, seeing all her friends together at the same time.
A nurse entered and was shocked to see all the people there, “Ok People, listen up, no more than four visitors at a time. Some of ya’ll need to go to the lobby and rotate in and out.”
Tara made her excuses and left. Liz and Tracey started heading out with Tim in tow.
“Darla you come with me and you can switch out with Amy.” Liz said taking count of the people.
“Ok Mom,” Darla said, sneaking in a hug before she left.
That left Amy, Sandra, Becky and Trina in the room. The nurse took Bobbi’s temperature, pulse and blood pressure, logging them in her chart before leaving.
Trina gave the other girls a rundown on how she met Bobbi. She left nothing out and even mentioned how she’d come out in just her undies in front of Bobbi. This caused the girls to giggle and Bobbi to blush deeply.
“Bobbi, you’re really quite lovely. I know you’re going to make a good girl. Seeing you with your friends is good.”
“Thank you, Trina you’re one of my friends too. I need all of you.”
“You can count on me. I won’t let you slip away. I’m going to head on out and send your sister Darla in now,” Trina said giving Bobbi a hug.
For the next hour, people came in and out and talked with Bobbi. She just bubbled with joy. Finally everybody left, but Liz.
“Well that was exciting Bobbi.”
“Yes it was Mom.”
“You are officially out now, you know that.”
“Yes and I couldn’t be happier. I know it won’t be easy, or as joyful as this Mom. I also know that this had to happen sooner or later. I just wasn’t happy as a boy.”
“I can see that. You have made a lot of new friends now. We will always be there for you.”
(the end and the beginning)
Carly’s Adventures in Hair Design
by
Paula Dillon
Carl Simon sat with his mom Anita Simon, in his Aunt Margret’s home. They had just buried Margret, Anita’s sister and Carl’s aunt, after she had been involved in a multi-vehicle accident on I-35 near the I-20 junction. The accident had been a horrible Rube Goldberg sort of accident. On a very busy interstate highway, a Mazda RX9 entering the interstate; drove into a gap that was too small. A Honda Accord in the back of the too small gap, veered left to avoid rear ending the interloper. A minivan with children in the second lane, also swerved left to avoid hitting the Accord. That put the minivan in the pathway of a Peterbilt tractor pulling forty thousand pounds of fresh produce. He swerved right to avoid killing the occupants of the mini-van. The Peterbilt actually made his maneuver without a scratch; unfortunately the Mack truck carrying a dragline on a lowboy flatbed had nowhere to go. He locked the brakes up and violently fish-tailed hitting cars on either side of him. Margret Jennings had maybe been driving a little too close, or not paying quite enough attention, drove her BMW under the flatbed. The police determined whose BMW it was, but it took a week to officially determine that the body was Margret Jennings.
A traffic-cam caught the whole situation and traffic-control was able to identify the RX9 by its license plate. It was actually pulled over just before the I-30 interchange. The driver was an unlicensed fifteen year old boy, who stole his 20 year old brother’s keys to go joy-riding. The boy’s actions were found to be the cause of the accident and he was arrested for failure to stop and render aide and negligent homicide.
Anita Simon looked at her nineteen year old son. He sat on the floor in front of her. She pulled his long hair out from beneath his shirt, where he kept it tucked during the day, “Carl I need to get back to work. I can’t be gone any longer.”
“I know mom, so what do you want me to do?” Carl asked.
“I want you to run Margaret’s salon and ascertain its business condition. I know you are supposed to go to U Con (University of Connecticut) this fall, but I am asking you to put it off for a year. You can live here and keep up your Aunt’s house. Find someone to manage the salon and see if you can make the business prosper.”
“Mom, I don’t know anything about running a hair salon.”
Anita began to play with his long brown hair and braid it, “No and neither do I. I didn’t know much about your father’s business either, but I do now. You have a good head on your shoulders. I have an unlimited power of attorney that gives you the right to operate the business as the proprietor, till the will comes out of probate. I was named as Margaret’s sole benefactor and executrix. So I will transfer ownership to you. I will give you two hundred thousand for operating expenses, if you need it.”
“Why don’t you just sell the shop?”
“For two reasons, first it is a part of my sister and I don’t want to let go of it just now. You understand don’t you?”
“Yes, I know. I like being in this house right now. It almost feels like she is here with us.”
Anita smiled, reached down and kissed Carl’s cheek, “I know, I almost expect to see her come down stairs, make us a pot of tea and sit down to gossip with us. The second reason I don’t want to sell it is… Well, I think this is a wonderful opportunity for you. Running a salon… or any business, will give you a better education than four years at U Con. I will contact the university and arrange for you to start next September.”
“So what do I do first?”
“Find someone you can trust, who knows hair dressing, to be your manager. You go over the books, write up some reports, as you determine what condition the business is in and email me. Try to retain the shops clientele, take a look at the shop’s employees, you will have to make decisions about hiring and firing. You can call me daily if you need to talk. Go see what you can make of her Salon. She would be proud of you for keeping her business going.”
“Ok Mom. I will start on Monday. The shop is closed on Monday’s.”
“Take me to the airport in the morning and turn in the rental car. Stop at a dealership and buy yourself a good car. Have the dealership call the Dallas corporate headquarters, they will issue a purchase order and issue you an insurance card on the car. If you need clothes, buy them.” Anita said, tying off the braid with an elastic hair band.
“Ok Mom, I will.”
>>>>><<<<<
Buying a car, after he dropped his mom off at the airport, was interesting. He called the Dallas corporate office, when he arrived at the Arlington BMW dealership. He talked to the supervisor and told him that Anita Simon had authorized him to buy a car. The supervisor confirmed he had talked to Mrs. Simons and was aware of the situation. They had already issued him an insurance card and would fax it to the dealership after he made his selection. He wasn’t in the lot long before a salesman descended on him.
Carl was dress in black jeans, a baby blue polo shirt, a pair of New Balance running shoes and his hair was still in a braided ponytail, which came between his shoulder blades.
“Hi I am Rick Devereux,” the salesman said.
“Hi I am Carl Simon. I found myself stuck is Texas for a couple of years and I need a new car.”
“Do you have your eye on any particular car?”
“Yes, that Silver 535i.”
“Do you have insurance and a driver’s license?”
Carl got out his smart phone, hit the State Farm icon and after a few clicks, he showed the salesman. The screen showed he had comp, collision and liability for 150k/300k/150k, towing, driver assistance, rental car and uninsured driver, a lot more than your basic insurance package. He then showed the salesman his New Jersey driver’s license.
“Everything seems to be in order, I need to verify your insurance, make a photocopy of your driver’s license and get the keys to the car.” Rick said, as he led Carl to his desk.
“Where will you be staying while you are in Texas?”
“I am staying in my Aunt’s home, while I handle her legal affairs. She passed away on Monday,” Carl said, writing down her name and address.
“I am sorry to hear that Carl. How did she die, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“She was involved in that conflagration on I-35 on Monday.”
“Damn, I saw that on the TV, they had I-35 inbound and the service road on the east side, tied up for hours.”
Rex contacted State Farm who faxed him an insurance card. They got the keys and headed out to the car he wanted. Carl belted in and after the salesman did his spiel about the cars features. He drove a four mile loop around the dealership.
“I’ll take it, Rick.”
“Ok, let’s get the paperwork done.”
Rick took Carl to the finance office and introduced him to the finance director, Sam Walters.
“How are you going to finance the car, Carl?” Sam asked.
“Corporate purchase order,” Carl said, pulling out his Craig Simon’s Investments a LLC id and business card. He was listed as executive assistant to the president. “You can call the office in Dallas. They are expecting to hear from you.”
“Do you have their number?”
“Yes, but I am sure you would feel better looking it up yourself. I know I would.”
Sam thought it was strange that a corporation would be open on a Sunday, but he got their number from directory assistance and called. He asked for corporate purchasing and was put through to a vice-president and within thirty seconds his fax machine was humming and spitting out paper.
They filled out the paperwork and signed a stack of pages. “I just need to run this by my boss. I will be back in a minute.”
The Dealer showed up in two minutes, “Hello Mr. Simon. I am Mark Matisse. I own the dealership. Your car will be ready in two hours. Can we take you home and deliver the car to you.”
“That would be excellent,”
The dealer himself drove Carl, “Can you recommend a good computer store?”
“There is one just three blocks from here and they do all of our computers. Would you like to go there now, I believe they are open right now.”
“I would like that very much.”
Carl spent forty-five minutes buying a laptop, software and accessories and spent nearly seven thousand dollars.
They got all of Carl’s gear into Margret’s home, when Mark got a call. After a brief conversation, he told Carl his car was on its way.
While they waited for the car, Craig began to get his new Laptop lined out, and began installing software. He had just started installing MS Office Business when the doorbell rang. Carl and Mark inspected the car, and the dealer set the remote garage door opener and discussed many of the deluxe features. He set the home on the navigation system, demonstrated the system controls and had Carl signoff on receiving the car.
“The tags should be coming to this address in ten days to two weeks. The dealer tags are good for a month. Call me if you have any problems. Thank you for coming to us for your automotive needs.”
“Thank you, Mr. Matisse.”
“Please call me Mark.”
Carl spent a few hours getting the laptop set up the way he liked it and even ordered a pizza online. At three in the afternoon, he called the security company his aunt used and asked for a supervisor. He explained the situation to them, he didn’t have the alarm code, but he had a death certificate, a court order and a power of attorney. The supervisor asked that Carl call them when he was on his way to the shop, a security manager would be there to inspect the documents and to clear and reset the alarm codes.
>>>>><<<<<
The next morning Carl got up at six in the morning. He showered and shaved a few sparse facial hairs before he dressed in his dark gray “Bankers” suit. His long hair was hidden between his undershirt and his dark blue dress shirt. An Armani tie was around his neck. He called the security company and headed for his aunt’s shop. A response vehicle, from her security company, arrived minutes later. The two men talked and the man from the security company read all the documents.
“Do you have a key?”
“I have my Aunt’s key.”
“Let’s go inside then.”
Carl unlocked the door, while the man from the security company was on his cell phone with his office. He entered a code and a light on the key panel went from red (armed) to green (unarmed).
“Do you have a fax machine?”
“There should be one behind the reception desk.”
The security manager faxed the paperwork to his office and then instructed Carl on the operation of the security system. Carl then set his entry code and security password, “goodness, gracious, great balls of fire.” He also got the name of a reputable locksmith to re-key the store, open the safe and Install a key safe in his Aunt’s office. While he waited for the locksmith, he took a good look at the Salon. It was pretty clean but needed some work. It looked like the store had been closed during the day, as some things were left out, instead of being put up.
He booted up the store’s computer, created a VPN between his laptop and the store’s server. He found the accounting software and salon management software and began loading them into his laptop. When the three locksmiths came in, Carl had to go through his documents again, before they would begin to work. The doors took forty minutes; the key safe took an hour and was hidden behind a motivational poster. The safe took three and a half hours, at three hundred per hour, since Carl didn’t want it drilled out. The safe man then reset the combination.
While the safe man worked, Carl carried his laptop up front in the reception area, where there were couches and began loading Margret’s accounting files to his laptop, and read the personnel files. After the safe man left, Carl locked the front door and walked to the sandwich shop.
When he was coming back, he saw someone he recognized from the funeral, “Hello, I am Carl Simon, Margaret’s nephew and you are Kathy Brennan.”
“Yes, I am the assistant manager. My key doesn’t seem to work.”
“I know. I had the doors re-keyed. I didn’t know who had keys,” Carl said, unlocking the door. “Come on in Kathy, I would love to talk with you. Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I just came by to see if there was anybody here, make Monday’s deposit and try to find out any news to tell the stylists.”
“Sit down please, you can help keep me from being a pig, chowing down on a foot long sandwich and I hope I have good news for the stylists.”
Katy Brennan looked to be in her late thirties, but she could still turn heads. She had copper toned red hair, gorgeous green eyes and a wonderful smile, above some very prominent ah… lungs. They sat up front.
“I only have one drink…” Carl said.
“Don’t worry, we have drinks in the break room,” Kathy said, she got up and scurried to the back and brought back a diet soda.
They sat down and divided the sandwich and chips. They talked pleasantries, while they ate.
“So, what is the good news?”
“If the stylists want their jobs, we will reopen on Thursday, or Friday.”
“Who is going to be running the salon?”
“I am, I’m not a stylist and I don’t know a thing about what they do, but I want to make this business a success. Who has the most seniority and skills, right now.”
“I do, I was with your aunt for twelve years, Jeff Wilkes has been here for ah... ten years or so. I was Miss Jennings’ assistant manager and ran the shop when she wasn’t around. I also have a cosmetology instructor’s license. Carol Davis also has an instructor’s license, but she has only been here seven years.”
“Well, I need a manager and someone to handle staff development. Do you know anyone who fits the bill?”
Kathy smiled, “I think I know someone and I am glad that the shop isn’t going to fold.”
“Tell me something Kathy. If a zero was a beauty salon, that only a half-blind Aunt Beatrice would go to, and a ten was a salon, on Rodeo drive, where would you put this salon?”
“About a seven, with ambitions of being an eight. Margaret was saving money and trying to upgrade our stylists and the Salon.”
“I have read all of the personnel files and the employee evaluations, but I want your take on the stylists.”
“Jeffery Coleman is a good stylist, he is a little weak in Perms and coloring. Mr. Charming is his nickname, brings in the girls. Terry Upton is very good, he just doesn’t know it. He needs to work on his confidence. Carol is good all around, needs some work with her people skills a few days each month. She has a instructor’s certification, like I do. Bridget Cole is a mean one, when it comes to dying hair and adding highlights, or special dye jobs. Olivia Long is the wild one; she’s a cross between punk, emo and goth. She is very popular with girls wanting edgy hair styles and she’s a wizard with razor cuts. Danielle Murphy is our problem child, she is good, but sometimes can’t control her temper. Toni Abernathy is a rising star, she’s good, but thinks too much about her skills. She’s young and needs more experience. Liz Carter is our star at doing fingernails, she’s really quite the artist. She is also going to Paul Mitchell’s School in Dallas, to gain her skill and certification as a stylist. It will be four or five months before we can use her. We let her get some hours in training here. Our best esthetician is, Alesha Cooper, don’t call her Alice please. She is a wiz at makeup. Lorna Stone is our wax specialist. Lastly we have Regina Whitaker; she is our receptionist, keeps everybody’s appointments straight, collects monies and she is the coffee girl. She is insanely cheerful and could sell sand in the Sahara, we can’t lose her.”
“Are they interested in staying with us? Can we retain them?”
“I think we should have no problems keeping all of them.”
“We have one waxer and six wax rooms?”
“Yes, Margret wanted more, but waxing is a ‘sometimes’ thing.”
“What would you say we need, in regards to personnel?”
“We have nine stations and eight hair dressers, with me. I would like to see two more Jeff’s or Carol’s. Please, no drama queens. We could also use another nail tech and another esthetician.”
“Do we have enough business in waxing to require another waxer?”
“Possibly, I think two mani-pedi stations, would pay us more.”
“Do you think the shop is a little tired?”
“Yes, Margaret was saving up to remodel the place. She didn’t want a big debt.”
“Would you give me a tour of the facility?”
Kathy took Carl through the salon and told him who belonged to which station, “Liz and Alesha don’t have regular stations, they go to our clients to do their work.”
“Would you like to keep your station, or would you like to move to Margaret’s old station?”
“Till we get rolling again, I will keep my station, but I would like to move to Margaret’s in a little while. What are your plans?”
“Looking at the place, I would like to reopen, for about six weeks, to regain patronage with our clients. Then have a week of promotions, for our regular customers, before we close for remodeling. I assume that would take up to ten days. I want to possibly cut three waxing rooms and open two more hair stations.”
“I think that is what Margaret had planned. Are you really going to run a salon, dressed like that?”
“I want to look professional.”
“This isn’t a law office, this is a salon. Do you trust me?”
“I am about to make you a manager.”
“Lock up and come with me.”
“We’ll take, my car, it’s new and I want to put some miles on it.” Carl said.
“Just don’t think badly of me, Carl. I’m not saying anything about you as a person.” Kathy said, as Carl drove. “I am saying, if you are going to run a salon, you’ve got to look the part.”
Kathy led them to the parking lot of an upscale ladies boutique.
“Oh, I see,” Carl said.
“You don’t have to do this. What I plan to have you try on are ladies slacks, ladies tops and ladies shoes, flats mostly. That is all. You see Carl; the men in beauty, tend to dress rather flamboyantly. You won’t be embarrassed or ridiculed in there. Do you want to try it?”
“Sure, I can always wake up tomorrow and pretend this evening didn’t happen.”
Kathy and Carl entered the Boutique. The shop was somewhat busy, but not crowded. Kathy walked up to a sales clerk and asked, “Is the boss, in?”
“Sure she is in the back. You can go on back and see her Kathy.”
Kathy led Carl through a curtain that had a sign over it that read employees only. In the back there were racks of clothes, boxes of whatever, an office and a dressing area, off to the side. Kathy led him over to the dressing area.
“Aren’t we here to see the boss?”
“We already did see her. That saleslady is Dotty Gordon, she owns the store. “Is the boss in”, is the code for a special customer. Dotty has more than a few male customers who like, or need, to dress in lady’s clothes.”
“Ok girls,” Dotty said, after she came through the curtain. “What can I do for you?”
“Carl here, is taking over for Margret; in fact, he is her nephew. I was telling him, a three piece suit isn’t the key to running a Salon.”
“You could do it in a three piece suit, if you were a Justin Timberlake, a Zack Efron, or a Brad Pit type, which you are not. I still think you are a cutie. So, what were you thinking Kathy?”
“Low Rise slim fit slacks, in a solid color, some flamboyant tops, trouser socks and ladies flats.”
“Hmm, take off your coat and vest, Carl and step up on the pedestal.”
Carl took off his suit coat and vest, handing them to Kathy, who hung them up. He then stepped up on the pedestal. Dotty walked around the pedestal and inspected him, “Yes, flamboyant, but not too feminine, Ok take off your shirt.” Dotty said, retrieving a measuring tape.
When he took the shirt off, Kathy was surprised by the length of his hair. She stepped up on the pedestal and began handling it like she would a customer’s hair.
“Why are you hiding all this wonderful hair, Carl? You could use a dye job, a honey blond, or a warm brown, would look lovely on you.”
“I like my hair long, but I hide it under my shirt when I dress up. It doesn’t fit the business man image.”
“As a hairdresser, it is an asset.”
“But, I’m not a hair dresser.”
“You may not be a hair dresser, but you are running a salon, so keep it out. I will work on it at the shop.”
Dottie measured Carl in about a hundred different ways, or so it seemed to Carl. Then for the next two hours, he seemed to be in the middle of a tornado of clothes. He tried on the first pair of pants and a silk blouse that was a splash of colors. Carl actually loved the blouse. When Kathy saw the outfit, she said, “The pants needed something”. She disappeared for about ten minutes and came back carrying a type of panty.
“Carl, you need just a bit more tush, go into the dressing room and put these on.” Kathy said, handing him a padded spandex brief.
It took him a while. First he pulled the brief on over his BVD’s and it didn’t feel right, his BVD’s wanted to bunch up beneath the padded brief. He took off his underpants and pulled up the padded brief. When he got them up, he was very uncomfortable. He took a few minutes to get himself situated, balls up and penis back. When he got the pants back on, he had to admit they looked better and fit better through the seat. He especially liked the rounded seat that stood out a little. When he showed the girls, they were silent for a few minutes, as they carefully appraised him. Then the two women went into hyper-drive. He stopped going into the dressing room, as he didn’t have time to. He must have tried on every pant in his size the store had and maybe fifty or sixty blouses.
Somewhere, his suit disappeared, and when the girls were finished playing Barbie on him, he was left wearing a red, blue, green and yellow silk print blouse, a pair of black low rise wool/spandex slim fit slacks, red trouser socks and red suede ankle boots with a 3 inch block heel.
He wound buying a mountain of pants, at least eight pair, a mountain of blouses, a dozen padded briefs, two dozen trouser socks, in a rainbow of colors except no yellow, and ten pair of shoes, three had large block heels like he was wearing. He didn’t look at the bill or he might have fainted.
He drove back to the shop to drop off Kathy, get his stuff from the shop, set the alarm and lock up. The last thing he told Kathy was nine o’clock tomorrow, be here. When he got to Margret’s place he took all the clothes up to his aunt’s bedroom and carefully laid them out on her king size bed. Two of the tops stood out. He knew he hadn’t tried either one on. They were sort of tunic type tops, instead of tuck in shirt type, blouses. While they were both pretty, one was beautiful. It was sort of like a dress, the back of the blouse hem would come below mid-thigh, but the hem arced gracefully, as it came around the front. The front of the tunic probably wouldn’t hide the zipper placate. The fabric was a deep rich burgundy and Carl had no idea of what the fabric was. He picked it up and saw it was a cotton/linen blend fabric. It felt nice to the hand. Up the back were twenty-one pearl seed buttons.
He didn’t know why, but he took off the blouse he was wearing and tried to put this blouse on. He had to completely unbutton the back and the tunic had to come over his head. With it at his waist, he slipped his arms in the long sleeves and pulled the tunic up to his chest. It took ten minutes, starting over twice, to get all the buttons buttoned. He had to contort in a hundred different ways, to be able to reach all of the buttons. He then buttoned the six smaller pearl buttons, at the end of each sleeve.
He stepped back and looked at himself, in his aunt’s tri fold mirror. A girl couldn’t help but love this top. It looked like it was painted on, instead of being a piece of clothing. The fabric was taught everywhere, but moving was easy. The tunic’s one flaw wasn’t the tunic’s fault. There were two areas where the fabric hung a little loose, because he didn’t have breasts. It wouldn’t take much, a pair of A cup breasts would make the top look good and B cup breasts would make the top look great, he thought. The hem had a cute ruffle that went all the way around. He thought this top made him look good.
He then held the other tunic up. This one was silky fabric, in a deep blue. It had a square neckline, meant to show off a nice amount of cleavage, sleeves that flared from the shoulder and became asymmetrical at the wrists, which were awash in lace.
“That is definitely girly.” Carl thought.
He didn’t really feel like putting everything up, they were smoothly laid out on his aunt’s bed, so he would hang and fold them tomorrow evening. Carl went downstairs to the family room and watched about ten minutes of TV, while munching on a banana and a muffin, while drinking a diet coke. Carl wasn’t a finicky eater, but he often got wrapped up in what he was doing and didn’t eat enough, at times and a little too much, fewer times.
He got up and headed to his room, intending to undress and go to bed. He sat on the bed, set the alarm and laid back, staring at the ceiling. It wasn’t too long till he drifted into oblivion.
>>>>><<<<<
Carl awoke and desperately needed to use the restroom. It was a little awkward, walking in boots half-asleep, but he got there. It was really awkward though, having to raise the hem of the tunic, as he sat down on the toilet. After he finished the toilet duties, It took a while to undress, the boots, pants and padded brief came off easily. But the blouse proved to be a bit of a challenge. Carl got the sleeves unbuttoned and began working on the tunic. He got his mornings stretch in, getting undressed. He carried his clothes to his room and checked the labels; they were all wash warm/dry low.
He went to his aunt’s room to shower, since his new clothes were there. He had been in her room before, but he had never poked around in it before. She shouldn’t mind now, he thought. Carl used her bath body wash, loofah, and Paul Mitchell hair care products. He came out of the shower and put his hair up in a turban towel, his aunt had stocked up, before he dried. He looked at what she had sitting on the counter. He used her deodorant, she had some body lotion he used and brushed his teeth with a new toothbrush. He remembered how hot that padded brief had been, he was looking at the body powder by Estee Lauder. He went ahead and lightly dusted his whole body. He smelled wonderful.
In his aunt’s room, he grabbed a padded brief and started to put it on. He stopped, thinking he would like having something between his body and the brief. He knew his briefs wouldn’t feel right under the padded brief. He went to his aunt’s dresser and opened her panty drawer. He couldn’t believe how many panties he saw, thongs, bikinis, boycut briefs and full briefs. He picked up a silvery satin boycut brief. He looked at the panty for twenty or thirty seconds, before he took a deep breath, stepped into them and pulled them up. He thought they are just a piece of fabric and wearing them doesn’t mean a thing. He was surprised that they actually felt good. He then stepped into the padded brief and pulled it most of the way up, before arranging things down there and firmly seated the padded brief.
He dressed in a green blouse and green trouser socks. Carl stepped into a tan pair of slacks and a pair of tan, lace up, block heels. The slacks were low rise and fit nicely. His slacks had belt loops but he had no belt. His suit belt wouldn’t go with the slacks. He knew his aunt had lots of belts, and they were most likely in the closet. Just inside the closet was a rack of belts. Carl selected a gold chain belt. He got his wallet his keys, and his aunt’s keys, and realized the pockets were mostly token pockets and wouldn’t even hold his cell phone. His aunt kept her purses in a rack at the back. He selected a purple Gucci shoulder bag. Inside the bag were a few items, a makeup bag, tissues, tampons, perfume, breath mints and a few other things. He put his things in and shouldered the bag.
He stopped at a Wal-Mart before he hit a Denny’s. He needed a holster for his smartphone. He selected one that he could clip on the waist band of his pants, and paid for it with his debit card. He went to Denny’s, had their big breakfast and read the morning newspaper, even the fashion section.
He arrived at the shop, unlocked the door and turned off the alarms. In his aunt’s office, he started up her computer and his laptop, to log into the network. He pulled up her accounting software and pulled up payroll. He found that the employees needed to be paid. He had to go to the bank today and put his name on the account. The desk buzzed and he heard the doorbell ringing.
“Kathy, is that you?”
“Yes it is, Carl. You in the office?”
“Yes, come on back.”
When Kathy came in the office, she gave Carl a little hug.
“Can you sign checks, Kathy?” Carl said, as he began to work on payroll. He gave each employee full credit, even for the days since Margret died. It wasn’t their fault. He saw that there was plenty of money in the bank and paid each employee a bonus, based on their years of service. Each employee would get two checks.
“Yes, Carol and I can sign checks.”
“Call our people and ask them to come to a staff meeting tomorrow at nine, tell them they are getting their paychecks and a bonus. Tell them to be ready to clean this place from top to bottom. I want this place to sparkle. See if Regina can begin this afternoon. I want our regulars to know we are coming back,” he said, handing her a stack of checks.
Kathy got a pen and began to sign checks, but she stopped, “Are you sure this is right, Carl?”
“You can’t buy loyalty, but a good paycheck can gain a bit of goodwill. I need all the goodwill I can get.” Carl stated.
He took the checks and locked them in the safe.
“Also, check your supplies and order fifty percent more than what we need. I plan to run some promotions.”
They both got busy. Carl looked at the accounts payable and saw they weren’t late on any payments. He chose to pay bills according to the records. He made a note to get an accountant to verify everything.
He pulled up the balance sheet, the P&L, the debt ratio to assets, and the debt ratio to income. He wasn’t an expert, but they seemed to be in very good shape. The balance sheet showed an asset account marked remodeling fund. Margret was indeed almost ready for remodeling. She seemed to want to do it without financing it through the banks.
He wrote a report in which he stated the facts as he saw them, and what his intentions were. He included all the pertinent documents and emailed his mom.
The desk buzzed and the doorbell rang. Carl got up and outside the door, he saw a girl who could only have been Regina, “Hello Regina, You’re a couple of hours early,” Carl said. “I am Carl Simon, the new proprietor.”
“Then this is yours Carl,” the girl said, giggling as she handed him a postal crate a little less than half full of mail. “I got tired of counting the spots on my walls.”
“Oh, so you pick up the mail too!” Carl said.
“Yes sir. I am the go to girl.”
Carl sat down at the couches in the reception area and asked Regina to sit with him as he sorted through the mail.
“So tell me about yourself Regina,”
Regina sat next to Carl and began to help sort the mail. They sorted the salon’s mail, from the mail sent to the stylists, in care of the shop and the junk mail. Regina talked as they worked. She took the stylist mail and put it in their boxes. Carl then began opening the stores mail. Regina sat at her desk, and booted up her computer, she asked him to tell her about Carl.
Carl sorted out bills, business offers, letters from Cosmetology schools and product offers. He told Regina about himself, his aunt and how a nineteen year old boy wound up the proprietor of an upscale salon.
“Regina, Kathy and I have to go to the bank and get the account signature cards straightened out. Go through the salon’s appointment books for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, call the clients and tell them we will be open.”
“On it boss,”
Carl dropped off his mail in his office, got his purse and went to check on Kathy.
“Hey Kathy, how’s it going?”
“Almost done, whasup?”
“We need to go to the bank to get the signature cards sorted out.”
“I can stop now. Let me get my purse.”
Kathy and Carl headed out together, “Oh Regina, can we get you something to eat or can you wait till we get back, to go out.”
“You’re training him well, Kathy. No, I usually order a salad and a sandwich from the shop four doors down. They deliver to the mall.”
“Alright, we will be back as soon as we can.”
>>>>><<<<<
The bank was like pulling teeth. They read and reread every document Carl produced for them. Then they called to courthouse to confirm the courthouse documents. After two hours of just sitting there. They allowed Carl to sign the shops signature card, as the proprietor.
Carl was frustrated, as he and Kathy left, “The next time I deal with them, I am calling one of Mom’s sharks to go with me.”
“Sharks?”
“My Mom keeps some dedicated and efficient lawyers on retainer. She has a couple in Dallas. They would just love feeding on people, like those bankers. Are you hungry Kathy?”
“Thought you would never ask. There is a Crab shack just around the corner. I think some of the problem they had with you was the way you were dressed. You look like an effeminate male. I saw them looking you over when you weren’t looking.”
As they ate they talked, “I will take several lawyers when I go back to the bank then. Kathy, I need some blazers to go with my slacks. I feel positively naked without a coat or something.”
“We can get you some after work tonight. I hadn’t thought about that.”
“I want to get some jeans and some knock around clothes too. If I am going to dress like this, it is no good switching back and forth every day.”
“I see your left ear is pierced, is your right ear pierced too?”
“Yeah, I pierced my ears in my rebellious fourteen year old phase. Mom didn’t even flinch; she just stopped taking me to get my hair cut too. I have grown it out since then. She makes me take good care of it though.”
“That seals it. You’re in my chair when we get back to the office. No matter how good you take care of it, it still needs trimming to stay in good condition.”
Carl’s phone rang while they were finishing up eating. It was his Mom, “Hello Anita,” Carl said. “Really… I thought that banker was a dickhead. After all the paperwork I laid on him. We spent two hours trying to get control of the bank account. I was about ready to call one of your sharks in Dallas.”
“Oh, my manager and I got hungry after fighting with that banker, we stopped at a crab shack to get something to eat. Ok Anita, we need to get back at the shop. We have a lot to do, if we’re to open on Thursday. Ok, Love you Mom,” Carl said. He hung up and parked his phone in its cradle.
“You call your mom by her first name?”
“Bad habit, Mom was at work. When I act as her executive assistant I was told to call her Anita around her associates and Mrs. Simon around people she was doing business with other people. The bank called her to confirm that a nineteen year old kid was taking over a business. Let’s go make sure Regina hasn’t sold the salon.”
When they got back to the salon, Regina was sitting with two ladies and an exuberant four or five year old girl.
“Hello Regina, do you have company?”
“No, you do. Carly this is Mrs. Joyce Holder, her daughter Melanie Holder, her grandchild and Melanie’s daughter, Stacy Holder. Joyce this is Carl Simon and Kathy Brennan. Melanie wants to interview for a job.”
Melanie was beautiful, she had a heart shaped face, high cheekbones, cute little ears a small pug nose, black curly hair in an updo and blue almost violet eyes, a guy could get lost in
Carl decided to play with Stacy, he turned to the four year old and said, “Melanie, aren’t you a little young to be working?”
“I not Mel…lony, Mommy is Mel…lony.”
“Oh, sorry Joyce,”
“I not Yoyce, I are Stttacy. Granmaw is Yoyce,” Stacy said. Getting up and indicating her grandmother. “Tis is Mommy,” she said raising her mother’s hand. “An I Stttacy.”
Kathy, take Melanie back to Margaret’s station, I need to go to the office a second. Regina followed Carl back and asked, “Can I keep them, they are all so nice, especially Stacy.”
When he got to the door he wanted, Regina was still by his side. “Regina, can I go to potty alone. I promise to wash my hands.”
“Be sure that you do, going to the office, what a lame excuse.”
Carl did wash his hands and joined Kathy and Melanie. Melanie was laying out her paperwork, license, letters of recommendation, references and work experience. She had graduated from Paul Mitchell in Dallas, taken several seminars, the most notable being from Aveda, and had worked at one salon in Houston. Kathy was speaking the arcane language of Cosmetology, with Melanie.
After thirty minutes, Carl saw the smile on Kathy’s face, “Well, as we say, the proof is in the pudding. Kathy thinks my hair needs work, pretend I am your customer,” Carl said.
Melanie had him sit and Kathy went to get a clean cape, which Melanie put on Carl.
“Hi, I am Melanie and I will be your beauty consultant today. What can I do for you today?”
“I am Carly. It’s been five years since my last styling and Kathy thinks I have been a bad girl.” Carl teased.
“If it has been five years, you have been a bad girl.” She took a comb out of the sanitizer, rinsed it off and began to comb out and inspect Carl’s hair. “You have really nice hair, except for the millions of split ends at the tips. What kind of style do you like?”
“I like long relaxed curls, like Avril Lavigne or Keri Hilson, sometimes wear.”
Melanie turned the chair slowly giving Carl a close inspection, “I think you would look really nice, don’t you think so Kathy.”
“You have good tastes, Carly,” Kathy teased, as she took several photos from many angles with her digital camera.
“What about color?” Melanie asked.
“Let’s see… How about honey blonde, with small highlights, small lowlights and mixed in with just a few red hairs.”
“Why don’t you tell your family to go home? We’ll get you home when we finish, Melanie,” Kathy said.
An excited Melanie rushed to the reception area and sent her mom and daughter home.
“What do you think of her?” Carl asked.
“She has some outstanding credentials, just not a lot of time at work. So far though, she has been spot on.”
Melanie came back ready to work, “Normally, I would wait to cut your hair till last, but I really want to get these split ends out now, so I won’t lose them in the curls.”
Melanie showed the split ends to Kathy and proceeded to excise them. She then washed Carl’s hair. Kathy and Melanie spent a few minutes talking and then they both attacked Carl’s hair, sectioning it and rolling it on rods. Carl had lots of hair, so this step took a bit. Carl thought they were pretending pretty well. When they finished, they both left for a few minutes. Carl was half asleep when Melanie started adding the chemistry for a perm to his head.
“I guess they aren’t pretending.” Carl thought.
They covered his hair, placed him under a dryer and disappeared. After a long hot time under the dryer, Melanie checked his hair and pulled him out from under the dryer. They rinsed his hair, neutralized it and rinsed it again. Then came the coloring, another tedious job. Carl could swear that he had enough aluminum foil on his head; he could block psychic intrusion and hear BBC London in his head. Thirty minutes later, Melanie rinsed and conditioned his hair.
Carl didn’t know much about perms and coloring, but he knew they lasted a long time. He was going to look like this a long while, so he decided that he loved his long hair and didn’t want it cut off. So he decided to go whole hog. While Melanie was partially drying his hair, Carl said, “While Melanie is drying and styling my hair, Kathy, why don’t you give me nail extension and gel nails.”
The girls realized what had happened and knew the lasting consequences of what had been done so far. So they got right to work, with Kathy doing his nails as Melanie was styling Carl’s hair.
“What shape nails do you want, Carl?”
“I don’t think square tips look elegant and I don’t want pointed. Oval sort of.”
“We will go with a squoval. We can change them later, if you like.”
At some point, Carl was leaned back and Melanie began working on his brows. She didn’t give him a skinny arch, but she followed his natural brow line, which gave him a bold “me girly” arch, like Camilla Belle’s, which Carl had to admit to himself, looked fantastic. Kathy was buffing his new longer nails, while Melanie began working with makeup.
The two women finished and stood back to look at Carl, “Looks wonderful, but needs something?” Kathy said.
“Jewelry” Melanie said, as she took one ear in hand and looked at both sides of it, then the other. “Ears are pierced, she needs long dangles.”
Kathy headed to the office and asked, “Is your top drawer unlocked, Carly? Margret use to keep some spare earrings there.”
“Should be.”
Kathy came back with some very pretty jeweled chandelier earrings. Melanie inserted one, Kathy inserted the other.
Carl was stunned, as he looked in the mirror, Kathy didn’t say anything, she just shot more pictures with her Digital camera. Before Carl had just been a girly guy. Now he was a Lady that the titty fairy had missed. His hair looked wonderful. The coloring almost glowed, the highlights, lowlights, and reds gave his hair a vibrancy he had never had before. The long relaxed curls did something for his looks that he just couldn’t describe in more than one word, “WOW!” The earrings helped, but he needed more jewelry. He looked in the mirror and saw Regina standing there with a fish mouth look, you know the lips parted in an “O”.
“Close your mouth Regina, you are drooling. Kathy, how much would you charge for what I had done?”
“Two hundred for the dual process color, fifty for two extra colors, a hundred for the perm on long hair, fifty on the hair styling and another seventy five for the nails. So four fifty total. The prices are higher because your hair was so long.”
Carl got his purse, took out his wallet and counted out five hundred dollars and handed Regina the money. He handed Kathy forty and Melanie a hundred dollars as a tip.
“Kathy, move to this work station and Melanie will move into your old station. Melanie, you can do this nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Dress for cleaning detail. You can fill out your employment paperwork tomorrow. Clean up this workstation while I shut down my computers. Oh, and I guess Regina was right, call me Carly now. Melanie I will be ready to give you a lift home in a few minutes.”
Carl went to his office and sat for a few seconds. He closed his eyes and relaxed. How had all this happened to him. Things started fast and reached warp nine in hours. There was a mirror in the office; he looked at himself… no she looked at herself. She couldn’t see Carl and probably wouldn’t ever see him again. Was this inevitable? He had never dressed as a girl before, not even for Halloween. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at things, SHE liked what SHE saw. Carly began shutting things down, and made some notes on what she should do tomorrow.
The girls were ready when Carly left her office.
“Do you still want to do shopping tonight, Carly?” Kathy asked.
“Not tonight, I have a lot to do. I expect we will finish tomorrow early in the afternoon. Can we do that after work. Is that alright with you?
Carly heard, “Great! I can be there! Me too!”
“Do we go potty together, also?” Carly asked.
“Now we do, we’ve got to look after our little sister now.” Regina added, giggling.
Melanie’s eye got really big, when she saw Carly’s new car. Carly saw the girl’s reaction, “I got a good deal on the car. My Mom knows the Dealer.”
Carly programmed the navigation system with the address Melanie gave her and began to follow its directions.
They had just left the shop’s parking lot, when the dam broke on Melanie’s emotions and she began telling Carly her life history. She had just packed up and left an abusive husband. He divorced her and as a part of the settlement, he wouldn’t contest her custody of Stacy, if she would sign away her share of his property. He couldn’t do anything about child support the State of Texas sunk their fangs into him for that (his words not hers,) but Melanie wasn’t getting half of shit. Her mom works, but was barely making it on her own. Melanie felt she had to do something. She had been a good stylist, working a good salon in Houston.
Carly saw a branch of her bank, she pulled into the bank lot and up to one of their ATM’s. She could only get forty twenties so she took the max.
“Melanie, tomorrow I am handing out a lot of money to my employee’s. I know it’s extremely early, but I consider you to be one of the top three or four. Consider this a signing bonus. I just need you to sign this ATM receipt so I can add it to my business records. Just don’t tell the others.”
Melanie started bawling, she had a hard time signing the receipt, because she couldn’t see through her tears. When she did get it signed, the receipt looked like it was written in Hindi or Farsi instead of English.
“Now stop crying. I would do that for any of my stylists. We are going to be the best salon. Now fix your face, you want to look beautiful for your daughter. I am starving; do you feel up to eating?”
“Can we pick up Mom and Stacy? I know they are waiting for me.”
Carly was a little disappointed; she had hoped to spend a little time with Melanie. She really like the girl, but she said, “Sure, just clean up your face and we will go pick them up.”
Melanie quickly cleaned her eyes and the tear streaks in her makeup, put eye drops in her eyes to remove the redness and repaired her face.
Stacy ran to her mother and jumped into her arms, before she had taken a look at Carly. When she finally had time to look at her, Carly wondered what was going on in that little girl’s mind. She had an absolutely strange expression on her face. She then reached out to Carly in the universal hold me gesture. Melanie passed the little dynamo over to Carly. Grandma couldn’t believe her eyes. She had seen an effeminate Carl earlier, but what she saw now was an entirely feminine, flat chested woman.
“ Get yer handbag Ma, I’m a taking this posse out to get a bit of vittals, ta ahner my newest stylist.” Carly said, in a cowgirl type voice.
Carly drove to I-HoP. They were given a corner booth and after they ordered, they sat talking. Melanie did most of the explaining for Carly, to her Mom, while Stacy was drawing on her children’s placemat and telling Carly what she was drawing. It was hard paying attention to Stacy and eavesdropping on Melanie and Joyce. Stacy’s determination won out, when she handed Carly a crayon and asked her to draw with her.
As they were finishing up, Carly needed to go to the restroom. She whispered to Melanie, Melanie took Carly’s hand and told her mom that they were going to the girls’ room. “Me too, Mom,” Stacy said. Joyce came with them. There were three stalls in the ladies room, Carly took one, Melanie and Stacy took another and Joyce the third. Carly came out and Melanie asked Carly to watch Stacy while she did her business. Carly and Stacy were washing their hands when Joyce joined them.
“You have such wonderful hair Carly.” Joyce said, fussing with Carly’s hair.
“Melanie is a real wizard with hair.”
“Yes she is and thank you for hiring her.”
As Carly drove the trio home she asked, “Can you be ready by fifteen of eight? I will drive by and pick you up.”
“Sure, I will be expecting you.”
>>>>><<<<<
Carly got home and was too keyed up to sleep. So she put up all her new clothes in Margret’s closet and drawers. In the closet she noticed her aunt’s jackets and tried them on. They were alright as long as she didn’t button them up. They were tailored for her Aunt’s bust. When Carly tried to button them, they emphasized the difference between Margret’s and Carl’s chests. His aunt had big lungs. She found one that wasn’t too bad and selected an outfit, which went well with the blazer, for tomorrow. She wanted jeans and a T, but decided on a more professional look. Tomorrow she’s the boss.
>>>>><<<<<
It was easy getting up the next morning, Carly kept waking up throughout the night. She gave up getting any sleep by four twenty. The funny thing was, she wasn’t tired. She decided to take a quick shower.
Somehow she got her huge mane into her aunt’s shower cap. She knew that would cut the time it would take getting ready. For some reason, she shaved her underarms, arms, legs and face. She dried herself, moisturized her skin, used deodorant, powdered herself and brushed her teeth, before she took off the shower cap. Her hair looked OK and after combing it with her fingers it looked better.
In the bedroom, Carly went through each drawer of Margret’s dresser. She picked up a bra. The cups looked ginormous. The label on the bra said, 38DD. Carly took all the bras out and set them on top of the dresser. Carly saw a lot of things she would try on later, and some, like the bras, she could never fill their potential. Her aunt had nothing that would give her the illusion of having breasts. There were four corsets, but two had cups and were out. She selected a panty, a pair of pantyhose and put them on, with the padded brief.
Margret had a lot of three and four inch stilettos, all of them were too small for her feet. She did find a few stretch jersey dresses she might be able to wear. There were some winter coats she could wear. Carly’s gold mine in the closet was accessories and purses. There were nine high dollar bags besides the Gucci. In fact the Gucci didn’t go with her selected outfit, but there was a Channel bag that looked nice. She sat on the bed and transferred her stuff to the new shoulder bag.
She opened the nightstands next to the bed and received many surprises. The first was a baby Glock 21 in a .45 ACP. Carly had fired guns before. She removed the magazine, racked the slide several time to clear the chamber and looked at the gun. She loaded the loose round back into the magazine reinserted the magazine into the gun and racked a round into the chamber. She knew Texas had a concealed carry license program. She would have to take the course and get licensed.
Carly then pulled out three… ah… (do I really have to tell you what some women keep in their nightstands besides firearms.) long cylindrical items. One vibrated, had pearls that rotated and had this soft gel thing on the side. In the other nightstand there was another handgun. A M1911A1, “Damn Aunt Margaret, you could have killed a bear with these.” Carly made a note to check everywhere for guns, before she brought people over, make that before she brought Melanie and Stacy over.
Carly’s second alarm went off at five thirty. She finished getting dressed and put her phone on her belt. She walked over to her aunt’s jewelry cabinet. The cabinet was eighteen inches by eight inches by six feet tall. Carly could sell jewelry for a month and not run out. She selected a pair of long chandelier earrings and put them on. She found a thirty inch, twenty six inch and twenty two inch beaded necklaces that looked similar and put them on. She selected a broach for her jacket, a gold cuff bracelet for her left wrist and four bangles for her right.
She looked at herself. She went to the bathroom and took one of her aunt’s large round brushes and brushed out her hair. Carly was pleasantly surprised at how easy her hair fell into shape. She grabbed her stuff and went to a coffee house for her coffee fix and to read a newspaper.
Carly first read the fashion section of the newspaper as she drank her mocha latte. Carl never read the fashion section. The comics section was excellent and the business section she scanned briefly. After her second cup, her phone alarm told her it was seven-fifteen.
If you are wasting time before an appointment, the time sometimes crawls at snail pace. If you are running late, time travels twice as fast you need it. Carly drove past Melanie’s place twice, before seven forty five arrived, while Carly was a mile away. She was only a few minutes late. Melanie waved for Carly to come to her. Stacy it seemed had to get her hugs from Carly, before she would let her mommy go.
On the drive to the shop, Melanie commented on how good Carly looked, and asked her why she wasn’t wearing makeup.
“I don’t know how to use that stuff. I just got the nerve to do my lipstick and out of self-defense, I brushed out my hair. Nobody told me what to do?”
“Oh… I guess we forgot something. I will make you beautiful again when we get to the shop. We will teach you everything you need to know. Or do you want to go back to being Carl.”
“I don’t know if I was ever him at all. I think this is me.”
Melanie patted Carly’s arm, “We didn’t go too far did we. Kathy and I got so wrapped up with the things we did. I kind of snapped when I covered your hair with the perm solution, that I was working on a guy. I was worried that you would be mad.”
“That is when it hit me too, but when I saw my curls and hair color, it all just fell together. I Sort of surrendered to what I became. I am Carly now. Carly is a woman.”
>>>>><<<<<
At the shop Melanie gave Carly some quick easy lessons and gave Carly some beginning makeup lesson as she created a Hairstylist’s makeup job, which was a little more sophisticated than normal daytime makeup.
Regina was the first one in, she hugged Carly and told her how good she looked. Carly asked Regina to send Kathy back when she gets here and have the others wait in the reception area.
“Regina, it is of the utmost importance for you and the rest to realize nothing bad is going to happen this morning, to anyone. Keep their spirits up. It’s all good news, unless an asteroid hits the salon.”
Regina smiled as she hugged Carly, “Roger boss, I got you covered.” She then scurried over to her corner of the world.
“Dang Melanie, they ought to bottle whatever she is on and sell it.”
“She is high on life Carly. Do you want me up front?”
“No come in my office. I want to face them and then introduce you. I need to feel them out first.”
Kathy came back and adored the way Carly looked. The three of them talked in the office till Regina knocked on the door and said that everybody was present.”
“Go on up front Kathy I will be there in a minute.”
Carly got everything she wanted and put it in her briefcase.
She grabbed her purse and briefcase, and headed up front. She had Melanie wait just out of sight. She took a deep breath, smiled and walked around the corner.
“Hello everyone I am Carly Simon. I am the new proprietor of this salon and I have some exciting news for you. First I know we will all miss, Margret Jennings. She was my Aunt and I was devastated by her death and I know she touched all of your lives, but life goes on.
“I have paychecks for all of you. I couldn’t spend the money till the courts ordered that I could run the business till it comes out of probate. I promise you this; I will still be here after probate.” Carly opened her briefcase and removed the paychecks. She handed each person there, the correct paycheck, she knew who they were by their personnel files. “Please open the envelopes, sign the receipt and return it to me. I am new at this and I want to cover my bases. You will notice that I made up for the fact that you didn’t work for a certain amount of time. It wasn’t your fault and it wasn’t my fault. I just wasn’t authorized till Friday to run the salon till then.”
“I want you to know your jobs are still here and the dawn is breaking on you all. My aunt cared for all of you. Even though none of you were specifically named in the will, I know she would want you to know how she felt. I have personally written checks for each of you based on the years of service you gave my aunt. Take it as a small token from me and my mother, to all of you. It is a gift, so I didn’t take taxes from it.” Carly then began passing out the bonus checks. A few gasps could be heard as they looked at the checks.
“Now on to business. We are a stylist down now. So Kathy and I have hired a new stylist.”
Carly then told them about Melanie Holder. Telling them of her licensing, schools and abilities.
“Is she any good,” Jeff asked.
“You tell me, she did my hair and makeup. I’m not just the president of the hair club. I am the first victim, no make that client.” Carly pulled out a picture of her before her makeover. Kathy had made it last night. Some of the stylists checked Carly out looking at the picture and at her.
“I would give her an A,” Carol said. Carol was the other stylist with Instructor’s certification.
“Melanie, please.”
Melanie came forward and introduced herself to the group. Regina saved her a spot to sit after introductions.
“Now on to business. I can’t operate a salon. I don’t even have a student’s permit. I am here to run a business. I am the proprietor. Kathy Brennan has been with my aunt for ten years. She is the designated operator and manager of anything dealing with Cosmetology. Cosmetology questions go to her. Any business or people problems come to me. I will deal with them. Kathy and I will do the hiring and I will do the firing.”
“As of today, each of you have a clean slate.” Carly said. Pulling out a stack of envelopes. “These are your personnel files. I will take all your atta boys in these files to your favor and unless you totally screw the pooch, I won’t hold any black marks against you. So you can start building up more atta boys today and you have no oh shits against you.”
For the next two hours they talked back and forth about the business, rules, vacation and such.
“Now for my plans for the future. This salon isn’t old and antiquated, but it is a little tired. I want all of us to work hard and reconnect with our clients, for the next six weeks, because I am going to remodel this place from top to bottom, so we will be the best looking salon in the state.”
“Make it four or eight weeks Boss. We don’t want to miss the beginning of college or Labor Day.” Regina said looking at her tablet.
“Alright we will make it eight weeks. We will close for ten days and have a Grand Reopening on the eleventh day. You will each receive a week of pay for that time and five hundred dollars of mad money.”
“Rest up that week, because the day we open we will hit the ground running. We will be running promotions for two weeks to get customers in. This will be the only time I stress speed, but I want speed with quality. Next, the first non-holiday Monday of the month, staff meeting at nine, with training after the meeting and on the third Monday. You will receive comp time for your efforts. Regina make friends with the girls at the stores around us. Free hair services for one girl on training days. Kathy set the curriculum. Also I am going to try to send you to seminars once every two years. I need to study that issue.”
“Questions.”
After she answered their questions she made one last statement. “Since all stylists are responsible for the sanitation of your own stations, please, I want all of your work stations gleaming for tomorrow. You can leave as soon as Kathy checks you out. I would like to spend a few minutes with each of you today in my office. Oh and look sharp no holey jeans, Olivia.”
“Are studded leather jeans alright?” Olivia asked giggling.
“As long as you leave the whips, chains and handcuffs at home.”
Olivia had a surprised smile on her face, which sent chills down Carly’s back. Carly went to her office to work on the books and pay bills. She received a note that Kathy had ordered the supplies that Carly had requested.
Kathy herded one employee after another through Carly’s office, for their talks. Everyone was hopeful and happy, the economy still wasn’t near a hundred percent healthy; so it was good to have a job. Olivia asked one question, “How did you know?” Carly gave Olivia a deadpan expression and had a two word reply for her, “Know what?” Olivia just hugged her and left.
Carly was typing a report of what they had done today and about how she felt about it. Just after two she received her last knock, “Enter,” Carly called.
Kathy, Regina and Melanie entered. “You should have seen everyone cleaning today Carly; ready to go shopping?”
“Just have to send my Mom my report.” Carly said, typing the last few lines.
“Reporting to your mother?” Melanie asked.
“I am mother’s Executive Assistant. You could say I am her ‘go to girl’, gopher and muscle. Margret was her sister. Mom is financing me. I’m not taking pay out of this business. I am reinvesting it back into the company. Can one of ya’ll give me a braid while I finish up. It should make changing clothes easier.”
Melanie went and grabbed two brushes and a pink ribbon. Kathy and Melanie worked together. They started to braid at Carly’s temple and met at the back of her head. Melanie then braided down to the last two inches and Kathy tied it off with a ribbon and a large bow.
When they finished, Carly was ready and was shutting down the system.
“Oh Regina, do we need to get your morning startup money?” Carly asked.
“Got it in my safe. I have a safe in my desk. I start every day with two hundred dollars, in tens, fives, ones and change. Most of our receipts are in plastic and checks, but we get a lot of fifties and hundreds.”
The, three girls played rock, paper and scissors for the front seat. Carly just banged her head on the steering wheel. Regina won.
“Ok, what do you want first?”
“Well, I need breasts while I am in the salon. It would be nice to remove all doubt, if you know what I mean.”
“Monica’s Boutique, North Side Mall,” Regina said, and when everybody looked funnily at her, she said. “I have some friends who know about things like that.”
Carly had to wonder about Olivia and Regina. Regina programmed the navigation system in a blur of motion.
“Do you own a Beamer?”
“No, but I have driven a Lambo. My cousin drives a Beamer, we went on a road trip, boy is she freaky. I have driven Rolls, Bentley’s, Bugotti’s, Porsche’s and Mercedes. I am a bonded parking attendant at the country club during special occasions.” She showed Kathy and Melanie a picture on her iPhone of her in a Tuxedo skirt and shirt leaning seductively on a Lamborghini and behind the wheel of a Rolls Phantom extended wheelbase.
“Didn’t the Lamborghini owner get mad at you leaning on his car.”
“He took the picture and posed me. He gets a kick out of collecting pictures of girls leaning on his car. He’s a bit of a pervert, but he won’t date the hired help.”
Everyone was stunned silent and in the absence of other people’s voices, Regina filled the void with her own voice. Soon though everyone joined in and Regina was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
>>>>><<<<<
Everyone could see that Monica’s sold a line of lingerie that was a little on the racy side. Monica greeted Regina with a cheek kiss.
“Aunt Monica, it’s so good seeing you.”
“How’s my favorite niece doing?”
“I will ask her the next time I see Beverly.”
“How can I help you girls?” Monica asked.
“One of us here needs a very good pair of TITS! Aunty.”
“Well since I see six very nice examples,” Monica said, walking up to Carly. “What are your thoughts dear girl?”
“I ah… was ah… thinking of a large A, small B.”
“Oh what a waste, you would make a nice double D or E cup.”
Carly blanched a bit, as she thought of her actually wearing one of her aunt’s bras. Monica led them into the back. With very few words spoken, Carly was soon on her back on a padded table and Monica was soon affixing two medium sized blobs on her chest. She then air brushed the breasts to match the skin and hide the ultra-thin seams. Carly raised her head to look but was told to lie there for a few minutes. The adhesive needs to cure before she could stand. Kathy and Melanie were amazed and shocked. Amazed that the breasts looked so natural and shocked that Monica did all of this with them standing here. The breast forms actually changed shapes as Carly changed positions and jiggled like real breasts. Carly poked them with her finger, but she had known nothing to compare them to.
“The adhesive I used will last for a month. You can remove them with a solvent but that will affect the life of the breast form. See you can’t see where the seams are.”
“Do you have any bras, I can try on.”
“You are much too nice a girl for my lingerie. Go without or head over to Victoria’s Secret, if you must have a bra. I do have some other things you might be interested in. Monica pulled out two boxes. One box contained silicone hip pads and the other contained butt pads. They felt like the same high quality as the breast forms. I will ask you ladies to give us some privacy. You don’t get to see the goods yet, but I do.”
Carly was fitted with the pads and Monica spent a bit of time teaching Carly how to hide herself without a gaff or a stiff girdle. When she finally got dressed without the padded brief, or pantyhose, her pants fit rather tightly across the backside and from her hip down the leg a bit. She put her shirt on and was pleased with the look, people could easily see where her nipples tented the blouse, going braless sometimes, might be good; sometimes. The jacket still needed something across the bust, but she and the jacket looked much better.
The breasts, hips and butt are eleven hundred dollars except to friends of my favorite niece; for you though, because I like you, eight hundred. Ah, what’s your name again?”
“I never got the opportunity to say it, but I am Carly Simon,” as she peeled off eight one hundred dollar bills. This was one store Carly didn’t want her mom seeing on her American Express bill.
“That’s one fine tush you got there girl,” Monica said, looking at the seat of her pants. “A butt like that needs tight jeans. The GAP is four stores down on your right and Victoria’s Secret is around the corner to your right almost all the way to Macy’s.”
Carly had to scurry out the door as Kathy and Melanie were both trying to assault her butt. From Monica’s they did head to The GAP. The GAP is a store that sells many different name brand jeans, along with T’s and tops. While Carly was showing off a particularly form fitting, butt lifting pair of jeans, Regina snuck in and took Carly’s slacks and her jacket, and wouldn’t give them back to her. The shirt with those jeans though, was well worth having Carly harangue her. Carly crossed her arms across her breasts as she walked from The GAP to Victoria’s Secret.
It was even more embarrassing having no idea what size bra she needed. Melanie explained that their sorority sister had experienced some growth and that they had stolen her bra so she would be encouraged to get fitted. She explained that Carly was wearing the same size bra she had worn as a junior in high school. Carly had to take off her shirt so she could be fitted. The sales lady told her that in most bras, Carly would be a 34C and maybe a 34D in others.
“The bra measurement just gets you in the ball park. Its how one size or the other feels and fits that’s important. Shall I get you some bra’s to try on?”
“I think that pack of thieves is already doing that. The old one and the smiley one are the most dangerous.”
“It always is. There is always some mischief behind an innocent smile, but I can tell they all love you.”
Carly laughed, “That only makes it worse. Only someone you love can get away with so much.”
“Damn straight,” Melanie said, kissing Carly’s cheek.
The girls tried to mess with Carly again. They left her in a bra they selected. It was a padded to add two cups, which made her look like Dolly Parton. She had to leave the top three buttons open, not out of a sense of style but because the buttons wouldn’t button. She finally convinced the girls that because she wanted to buy work clothes and the fact that she would never wear this bra to work, caused them to relent to a pretty 34C T-shirt bra.
At Nordstrom’s Kathy’s help was indispensable, between her memory and fashion sense and Carly’s memory, they were able to select a number of blazers that would complement her entire wardrobe. Carly didn’t like heavily tailored clothes and appreciated the fact that the jackets she bought were a size large, because of her waist. She had a boy’s waist, which was larger than a woman’s waist of similar weight. She would need to work on that, but Carly was happy to have coats that fit and looked good. She also stopped and picked up some more ankle boots.
All in all, Carly picked up twelve bras, six pair of jeans of which two were a relaxed fit, seven blazers and three high heel block heel ankle boots. She wore one of her new blazers out of the store and Melanie transferred the broach from Margret’s Blazer to Carly’s new blazer.
On the drive back, Carly asked about Regina’s kinky aunt.
“Monica is not my aunt. She likes to tease me when she sees me and asks me to call her Aunty Monica, but she isn’t my aunt.” Regina said laughing. “I am a friend of her niece, Beverly. Monica can be a sweet lady though; she is into some pretty heavy kink. Nothing illegal though. She wasn’t kidding about you being too good a girl for her lingerie, but she has some of the best breast forms on the market.
>>>>><<<<<
At home she put up her new things. The first thing she did after taking off her jewelry was to gather and sort the laundry. She had neglected doing this during the past week. She started a load of colored clothes, stripped the bed and taken the sheets down to the laundry. She took fresh sheets and made the bed back up. She then tackled Margret’s closet and dresser. She took a box of garbage bags with her. Many of her aunt’s clothes were too big, or not something Carly would ever wear. She began to bag those things up, along with the shoes, that were too small. By eight, the laundry was done and there were six large bags of clothes in the living room. She then put her new things in her new closet.
Carly then looked at Margret’s vanity. On the floor next to it was a large aluminum rolling case. She sat and opened it and found lots of makeup, makeup brushes, hairbrushes, blow dryers and applicators. She closed it up and began to search the vanity. On top were the products she was using and in the drawers were boxes of unused makeup, nail care products, and in the middle drawer were her personal makeup utensils. There were no surprises in the vanity. She made a note to herself to get one of her new friends to come over and help her decide what to keep and what to get rid of.
>>>>><<<<<
Carly woke at five and got up. She cleaned up and looked at herself in the mirror naked. Except for his penis, which was about five inches flaccid, everything she saw was female. She turned sideways and looked at her breasts and her backside. She loved the curves she had now. She took a thong out of the drawer and stepped into it and did as she had been told.
She dressed in the uniform of her new profession; a bra, blouse, trouser socks, slacks, ankle boots and blazer. This pair of slacks hugged and lifted her rear like a second skin. She took her hair out of the braid and brushed it out. She selected some different jewelry, wrapped a scarf once around her neck and a different purse.
At six thirty she was at the coffee house for a Carmel Macchiato and a Danish. Carly started reading in the fashion section and was surprised to see a small article about her shop reopening under new management after the death of Margret Jennings. Carly knew it had to be Regina, bless her, but she wished she had been told about it first. Carly now realized she needed to check on advertisement.
Carly left to pick up Melanie at eight. He had to again come up and hug Stacy who didn’t really want to let either of them go. She eventually let mommy and Carly go to work.
The schedule for the salon was; three stylists opened, three stylists at ten and three at eleven. Carly and Melanie got to the shop to find that Regina had already gotten there and was making coffee. Regina smiled at Carly.
“When did you contact the fashion department at the newspaper?” Carly asked,
“Well, she is a client and when I contacted her, we talked. Oh, I should have talked to you about that.”
Fifteen minutes before nine, Melanie, Terry and Bridgett were getting ready; a florist truck arrived and started bringing flowers in. Even Regina was surprised. All hands began collecting cards and arranging the pots. Carly had Regina go through the cards. Many were from customers and friends of Margret.
At nine, there were customers waiting for the doors to open. Carly was with Regina and began greeting the women as they came in. Regina called the third shift and told them about the crowds, as the second shift should be on their way already.
By ten fifteen, the salon was firing on all cylinders; Carly found herself working the front with Regina and also running towels and supplies for the busy stylists. Things started to slow down to normal traffic, but many of the customers stayed around talking to other customers and commenting on all the flowers and how nice the place looked. Carly received lots of hugs and condolences, from the women. At four thirty, the numbers dwindled down to just their appointments. They had a really great day and the customers were really happy the salon reopened. Carly asked a happy Kathy, if she would close.
About noon, Carly had called Mark Matisse at the BMW and set up a deal. Talking with Mark, she explained Melanie’s situation and that she wanted Melanie to have some reliable transportation. Carly asked if she could buy a SUV that was in dependable condition. He said he had just the car she was looking for. He had a two year old; certified, pre-owned, luxury SUV, they had repossessed. The SUV looked really nice, unfortunately, the owner was in no shape financially, to get it back. The agreement was, he would sell her the car for seventeen and Carly would pay twenty six.
Carly and Melanie left at four thirty. There were five appointments and four stylists were on duty. As Carly drove, she explained, “Melanie, I know the situation that you are in. My mom was a single mom. She got pregnant at college and had to drop out, but she married a kind man, who was a good business man. He adopted me and treated me as his own. He died when I was sixteen and Mom took over his business. She began teaching me how to run a business, knowing that someday I might have to run the business too. While I have never known want, I am sensitive to the needs of others.”
“What I am trying to say is, I believe in you Melanie; I think you will become one of our star stylists. You worked hard today and I want to help you and your mom out. I have bought you a used repossessed car, so you can get rid of the clunker you own. I love picking you up in the mornings, but you need a good car. I only ask that you keep this to yourself.”
There was an awkward silence and Carly glanced over at Melanie. She was sitting quietly crying. For the second time in a week Carly pulled over and handed Melanie a tissue from her purse.
“Is this a ‘yes’, that I will graciously accept a gift, that will help you make your family successful?”
Her answer surprised Carly, she moved quickly, she leaned toward Carly, when Carly turned toward her, she caught Carly’s face in her hands and planted a kiss on her lips. Melanie’s tongue invaded Carly’s mouth and had them both panting.
“I am sorry,” Melanie said. “I have wanted to do that since you let me work on you. I know you believe in me. You gave me a chance. I wouldn’t take the car, but I really need one and you better keep on picking me up, Stacy loves you. I have never seen her take to anyone like you.” Melanie called her mom and told her she would be a little late with a surprise. She told her mom to get ready to go out to eat.
Melanie cleaned up their faces; before Carly drove off.
Mr. Matisse had the car ready. Melanie had to be taught to use the controls. They were totally foreign to her. She would have to teach her mom how to use the car too. The test drive went well; Melanie fell in love with it and liked all the storage space in the back. It would be good for grocery shopping. She was like the child in the Miracle on 42nd Street who found out there really is a Santa Claus.
Carly wrote a personal check out for the car, an extended warranty and a service agreement. Carly programmed Melanie’s home into the navigation system and taught her how to use it, by programming her own in. Melanie insisted that Carly follow her home.
When they got to Melanie’s home, Stacy ran to her mom for a hug and then to Carly to be picked up. Joyce was flabbergasted that Melanie drove a BMW home and almost fainted when Melanie told her it was hers. Melanie put Stacy’s booster seat into her car and hooked her in. She handed the keys to her mom and had Carly teach her about the car. Stacy told her grandma to drive to I-Hop, she loved their funny face pancakes.
Joyce asked Melanie how her day went.
“I know it will probably slow down shortly, but I had nine clients today and two wanted double process color jobs. I got one ninety in tips today.”
“You didn’t send clients to her, did you Carly?”
“We were so busy today, we needed Melanie, and we called in everybody early to handle the overflow. It was a zoo. Oh Melanie, what did you think about the flowers. I might have them sent to us weekly and I need to see about putting an ad in the fashion section. Toni and Olivia said, they were coming in early tomorrow.”
“I love the day lilies and the marigolds at my station. Jeff and Olivia did the best today and I came in third, with just walk-ins.”
“You probably got more than a few of Margret’s clients. She was usually pretty booked.”
“Four told me that they wanted me to be their regular stylists.”
At I-HoP they sat in a long booth with Stacy next to Carly. Carly didn’t have to be asked to color with Stacy. She even cut up the funny face and poured syrup on it for the little girl.
“Oh Melanie, I have tons of makeup and a huge rolling make up kit that has curling irons, hair dryers, makeup and such in it.”
“That is probably what your Aunt used when she went to a client’s home.”
“That’s what I figured, but I mentioned it because I want to learn how to do makeup. So I can do my own makeup.”
“Are you always going to be like this?” Joyce asked.
“I think so, I hope it doesn’t bother you, but I like the look and it fits the job.”
“I will teach you makeup; you are a walking billboard for me. I can’t have you looking tacky. I was pleasantly surprised to hear all the comments about you. Some even knew you were a guy?”
“Really”
“Yeah, they knew your aunt and she told them she only had a nephew.”
“It didn’t bother them?”
“No, as long as you look nice, they know there is hope for them.”
>>>>><<<<<
Friday was much the same as Thursday; the salon business was up by thirty percent; all the stylists were kept very busy. Carly was in greeter mode, with Regina. Their customers seemed to want to meet with Carly and offer their condolences. Carly was charming and expressed her thanks to all the clients, along with her hopes that they would continue to be valued clients of the salon.
The accountant showed up at about ten thirty and Carly was ensconced with him for a time, as he performed an audit and verification of her books. He reported that the books seemed to accurately reflect the condition of the business. The salon, he said, was in the black and doing better than many of the businesses he dealt with. He identified the accounts for remodeling and stylist seminar budget, where Margret was setting aside funds to send her stylists to hairstyling seminars. He told Carly, that he would go over the information and prepare his report for the courts by next Friday.
Carly asked the accountant a slew of business questions and he informed her of when the quarterly tax payments were due and of the tax accounts that she was required to deposit the monies into. He would be glad to assist her in keeping abreast of all the laws and requirements from a business perspective.
When the accountant left, Regina brought Carly a sandwich, chips and a diet cola. Carly didn’t realize that she had been busy with the accountant for four hours. At four in the afternoon, Carly came out of her office and saw that all nine of her stylists were still busy. Melanie was in the middle of a perm and color.
In reception, Regina was talking to some women and thanking them for their patronage. Carly looked over to the shelf with the hair care products and saw many vacant spaces. When Regina was free, Carly spoke to her.
“How have things gone today?”
“Very busy, our busiest days are Friday and Saturday. Women want to get ready for a big date, or for the weekend, or don’t have time to get in on a weekday. Tuesday is busy, because some women couldn’t make it in earlier.”
“I see you sold a lot of shampoo and hair care products.”
“A little above average, we usually sell a lot of product. They don’t sell name brand hair care products at Walmart.”
“So how is appointment scheduling going?”
“Very good, we are up to par compared to the previous weeks. Melanie is even getting her fair share of appointments.”
“Who do we contact for advertisements?”
“The Mays agency does most of our ads. We contact them; they will design the ads and after our approval, will see they get to the right places. Oh, tell Melanie that there is a new Disney movie out this week, it’s supposed to be good.”
>>>>><<<<<
After work, Carly told Melanie about the Disney movie. Melanie told Carly to pick her up at seven. Carly hadn’t planned on asking Melanie out, but thought “Why Not.” She dropped Melanie off and drove home to change. After a quick shower to wash the salon smell off, she dressed in tight fitting jeans, blouse, socks and flats.
Melanie dressed casually also, but Stacy looked so cute in her princess costume. At the movie, Stacy sat in Carly’s lap, while Melanie leaned into Carly and held her hand. Stacy stayed awake the entire movie, but Melanie was softly snoring on Carly’s shoulder and had to be awakened when the movie credits began to roll at the end.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday was mostly for the businesswomen, the workingwomen, or the women getting ready for a party or a date. They generally spent more money, and had more done, than the stay at home mom. Most already knew what they wanted done and left more generous tips, when they got what they wanted.
The salon was very busy, but Carly was able to greet and mix with her customers. Clients were calling her over during their consultations to talk and asked her opinion. Carly would talk with them, but said she wasn’t a stylist and that she had to leave any opinion to her professionals. They still enjoyed talking with her.
Everybody was still there at the close of business. When Regina locked the door, Kathy pushed out a cart that had two buckets with champagne. Carly was offered a glass, but she turned it down, as she was under 21, but she let her stylists celebrate.
“I want to thank all of you for your patience and your work. Together we can make this salon the most successful in the state. Monday, I will meet with a contractor and we are going to redesign this salon. I want your input, so be thinking about it… and I want to thank you for what you’ve done for me. Go have a good Sunday and Monday off, you deserve it.”
>>>>><<<<<
Carly was driving Melanie home and she asked, “What do you plan on doing on your time off?”
“Well tonight I plan on watching TV and tomorrow I am going to a baseball game.”
“Who’s playing?”
“The Rangers are playing the Yankees tomorrow. Darvish vs C.C. Sabathia.”
“Why don’t Stacy and I come over tonight? Stacy can watch TV, I can go through your makeup, and then I can teach you how to use it.”
“If you like, that would be alright. Just give me time to take a bath.”
“Ah, don’t you know it, I love taking a bath after work too, just to get the smell of the salon off of me.”
>>>>><<<<<
Carly hurried home, took a quick shower and washed her hair. With her hair in a turban, she dressed in a thong, a pair of her aunt’s spandex shorts, bra and a T-shirt. She was blow-drying her hair when the doorbell rang. She answered the door to find Melanie and Stacy there.
She took Melanie and Stacy on a tour of her home; yes, she knew it was her home now. She ended in her bedroom. Stacy ran and jumped on the bed. She loved the bed immediately. Carly asked Stacy if she wanted to watch Disney on the TV, and she said NO! She wanted to watch Mommy and Carly. Carly wheeled the mobile beauty salon over to Melanie. Melanie then cleaned out the makeup kit, discarding open cosmetics.
“I know Margret being a cosmetologist, used sterile procedures when using her makeup and hair kit, but I am not going to put my license in jeopardy, risk ruining my reputation and being involved in law suits, because a client gets an eye infection, or skin infection, from my use of cosmetics.”
After she finished with the makeup kit, she dug into Margret’s vanity. She first found Margret’s makeup brushes rolled up in a felt pouch. The brushes were really high quality brushes, so she took them to the bathroom and washed them and the pouch, in warm soapy water. She found a spray bottle, a bottle of Everclear (95% potable grain alcohol), and a bottle of distilled water. She made a disinfecting spray, of half distilled water and half Everclear, then sprayed the brushes and let them sit for ten minutes, before blow-drying the brushes and the pouch.
“Washing the brushes every now and then, is good. We sometimes use brushes, instead of disposable applicators, on our clients; because we get better results. When we do, we disinfect the brushes with the alcohol and water, in front of our clients.”
She replaced the brushes into their pouch and she went to the vanity, “I don’t know if Margret used sanitary procedures on her personal cosmetics, but I bet she did. Still, if it is open, we get rid of it.”
Melanie discarded much of the cosmetics on top of the vanity. She took more of Margret’s tools to the bathroom, to be cleaned in the sink. Things like eyelash curlers, some white porcelain makeup palates, her nail care equipment and such, went into the sink with hot soapy water. Melanie then sprayed the marble table top, of the vanity, with the disinfectant she had made. She then went through the unopened cosmetics and matched them to Carly. She took a whole box of lipstick out and put it with her makeup kit. Margret had cool skin tone, but Carly has a neutral skin tone, with slightly warm skin tones.
“You could wear these lipsticks and they wouldn’t look bad on you, but they aren’t the best colors for you. The foundations and blushes will be wrong for you too.”
Melanie began setting out makeup Carly should use, eye shadow palates, eyeliners, mascaras and more. She arranged them in a logical order, so Carly could go from right to left as she did her makeup. Melanie did find some foundation, in the rolling makeup kit, to give Carly, which fit her skin tone and complexion.
Melanie then began to teach Carly the sanitary method of doing makeup. First she cleansed and moisturized her face and décolletage, “Do that several times a day, whether you use makeup or not.”
Melanie then taught her how to use concealer, to minimize problem areas. She used a disposable applicator and never went back to the concealer, once the applicator touched her skin. Carly did the same on her side of her face. Carly blended it in to her face till it disappeared and she brushed on powder to set the foundation.
She took a porcelain palate and poured a small amount of foundation on it. She took a sponge and began applying foundation to half Carly’s face. Carly had to match and then blend the two halves of her face together.
“A little foundation goes a very long way. Use just enough to get a complete coverage, but not so much that it looks ladled on with a spatula.”
“Those are the first steps you do, regardless of what else you do. I usually do eyes next, but you can do eyes or lips, next. You don’t need to shape your brow for a while, but I will show you how later.”
Melanie then began to show Carly how to do a basic daytime look. Melanie would do one side and Carly would do the other. Then Carly was tasked to clean her face and start over and over and over.
“Now do that several times a day, over the next ten years and you can be as good as any girl,” Melanie teased.
“Carly, Stacy and I love baseball, can we join you tomorrow?”
Carly took out her phone and returned the reserve box seat ticket she had near the dugout. It had been a single and will easily be resold. Carly did find some box tickets down the foul line, on the first base side and near the top of the section.
“Ok, I bought us some tickets.” Carly said, showing Melanie where their seats were.
“Stacy and I will meet you at the salon at nine thirty and get you some foundation, powder, concealer and some eye shadow palates, that match your skin.”
“Now, I am going to wipe that makeup off that face of yours,” Melanie said, with a sinister tone to her voice.
She planted a deep kiss on Carly’s mouth. Carly saw that Stacy was sleeping quietly and returned Melanie’s affections. Carly was backed into the wall and Melanie was groping Carly intimately.
Melanie finally broke the kiss and realizing it was late, said, “Remember where we were for the next time. I need to get the little one home.”
Carly carried Stacy down to Melanie’s SUV and buckled the child in her booster seat. Melanie grabbed Carly one more time and kissed her, before getting into her car and driving off. Carly didn’t know what to make of it all, but she decided she wasn’t going to complain.
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The next morning Carly got up at five and spent an hour practicing doing her makeup. After cleaning up and doing her other morning things; She got dressed in a thong, red trouser socks, tight jeans, bra and blouse, with a pair of her flats. She added bangles, bracelets, watch and a necklace. She emptied her Gucci bag, dumped her makeup bag and restocked it with the things she could use and filled up a denim shoulder bag, which Margret had.
Carly drove to Denny’s, after grabbing a Sunday newspaper. She ate her breakfast and drank her coffee. After reading the comic pages, she got into the paper. She read every page of the fashion section, paying close attention to the salon adds and promotions they offered. She made notes on her Galaxy note pad, of things she wanted to consider and made a note to call the May’s agency.
She got to the salon about five minutes before Melanie. Being a Sunday, she had to call the security company and give her security password. Melanie came in with an excited Stacy. Carly hugged and kissed, Melanie. Then Stacy wanted her hugs and kisses too. So Carly picked her up and gave her a kiss too.
Melanie got right to work and after she painstakingly matched Carly’s skin, she selected two each, of about a dozen products. She had Melanie write up a bill for her and she taped it to Regina’s desk. She would have Regina bill her on Tuesday. Melanie checked Carly’s face and made a few corrections. She also made a show of giving Stacy a little strawberry chap stick, before they left the salon.
Melanie insisted that they take her car, Carly’s was too nice to drive to a scratch and dent parking lot. They picked up their tickets and wandered around till they found the gift shop. Carly bought Melanie and herself game jerseys in red, Stacy a red Rangers T-shirt and they all got matching baseball caps. Carly also bought Stacy a baseball and a sharpie pen. From there, they leisurely strolled around to the Diamond club, where they all ate. An hour and a half before the game, the players were out on the field warming up.
Carly took Stacy near the dugout, and told her to hold the ball and pen up when the players came near. One player saw the girl holding the ball and a pen; He autographed it and had another half dozen player’s autograph if for her. She even had her photograph taken by Carly, when one of the players picked her up and posed with her.
They were eventually run out of the reserve box area, as the time for the game to start got closer. Stacy ran to her mom and showed her the autographed ball; then her mom put the ball into her purse.
Carly was surprised by how much Melanie knew about the game and the players. Being a Houstonian, she had been to many Astro’s games, but they weren’t that great. But, she still was a Rangers fan. Stacy covered her ears and Carly’s eardrums were shattered, when Melanie gave a very loud shrill whistle, when Beltre hit a two run shot in the first inning. The Yankees tied the game in the third and then jumped ahead in the fourth inning. Elvis Andrus hit a three run shot in the fifth.
After Andrus’s homerun, the cameras panned the crowd in the stadium. Melanie was so vocal and active in her support, the camera stopped and panned in on her. She was shown on the big screen and the image was shown on national TV. The Rangers got two more runs, one in the eighth and one in the ninth, to win the game seven to three.
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Two hundred and fifty miles away, in a sports bar near Minute Maid Park, a man drained his beer and slammed his mug down, as he watched the Ranger’s game on the large projection screen TV. There was that bitch. He was glad he didn’t see her with any guys. That bitch owed him and he was going to see that she paid him in full.
>>>>><<<<<
Carly did her makeup and dressed for work, as she headed into the salon, at eight o-clock, on Monday morning. She checked the mail, did the bookkeeping and paid the salon’s bills. Kathy came in about nine, to check the inventory and to be there for any deliveries. The salon paid to have ten a.m. deliveries. Kathy and Carly sat and talked about how they thought things were going and about any problems they might have overlooked.
At about ten, William Cargill and Donna Adams, from Salon Consultants Inc. came in. They talked about the salon and what they hoped to get out of the remodel. Three times Carly emphasized that the work would need to be done in a week and that there would be a penalty/bonus clause in the contract.
The two consultants then inspected the place from top to bottom and front to back. They already had the salons blue prints, so they knew somewhat what to expect, but checking the facility was always important. They took the measurements of the reception area, work areas, waxing areas, chemical storage, storage areas and the employee break room.
They all went out to eat at the Olive Garden for lunch, the consultants said they would work up some drawings with preliminary plans and return in two weeks.
>>>>><<<<<
The salon was still busy through the next week. Carly got ads into the newspaper, with ten percent off coupons for perms or hair coloring, and twenty percent off coupons if they got a hairstyle, a perm and a dye job. Satisfaction was in the high nineties. Two women however, had problems; they didn’t have realistic expectations when they came in. One woman they worked on, they made as right as they could. They had plenty of before and after shots, to cover their butts. Kathy and Toni wrote up the reports.
The other client got into a shouting match with Danielle. Melanie took over for Danielle and Carly took Danielle out the back door to cool off. Kathy and Carly had to counsel Danielle and had to add a black mark to her personnel file. Danielle stated in her defense, that she had done a great job improving her looks and the woman had called it garbage. Carly apologized to all of her clients and offered them half off for today. One client from one of other stylists, asked Carly not to be too hard on Danielle, she had done a very good job on that woman. Some others agreed that it was the woman’s fault. Kathy and Carly told Danielle, that no matter what the client said, you can’t get into a shouting match with them. They informed her that any more serious infractions of company policy would lead to her termination.
“Look Danielle,” Carly said. “If a client is rude, insulting, or troublesome, you don’t have to deal with them, come get Kathy or me. We will smooth ruffled feathers and ask her not to come back. I will pay for you to take some anger management classes. You are too good a stylist to lose.”
“Take the rest of the day off with pay. Go get your head together.”
Alone in her office; Carly made copies of the security camera files on her computer and saved them. She wasn’t an expert, but it looked to her like the customer was attempting to provoke Danielle. She made notes to contact the salon’s lawyer. She also needed the lawyer present for the contract negotiations with the Salon consultants.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday, Carly took Melanie and Stacy out after work to a Chuck E Cheese’s. They ate some pizza and salad, before they went to the arcade. Stacy played Whack-A-Mole very well. Carly racked up a lot of tickets playing SkeeBall, while Melanie won a lot of tickets on Deal or No Deal. She got the big prize the third time she played. Stacy went home with a five foot stuffed snake.
After they left Chuck E. Cheese’s, Melanie took them to the mall, where she got Carly into all kinds of skirts and dresses, much to the delight of Stacy. Melanie stole Carly’s pants, while she was modeling a mini-skirt for Stacy. Carly wound up in a black mini skirt, stay up stockings and black stilettos. Having walked in her ankle boots, helped her to be able to walk in the stilettos. Stacy couldn’t help laughing at Carly’s discomfiture. Carly picked up a laughing Stacy around her waist and got even with Stacy, as she got Stacy into all sorts of pretty dresses. Carly swore she would get even with Melanie when she least expected it.
Melanie took Carly home, but there was a strange car parked in the drive… a rental car.
“Oh shit, Mom is here.” Carly said. “She is expecting a boy, Melanie.”
“Don’t worry, we are here with you.”
Instead of just dropping Carly off, Melanie got out and got Stacy, and went in with her.
Anita was asleep on the couch when they came in. Carly knelt on the floor in front of Anita and gently shook her awake, saying, “Momma I’m home.”
Half asleep, she gave Carl a hug, but things didn’t feel right. She sat up and held Carl back a bit, shaking her head a bit to wake up. She took a good and confused look at Carl. “Oh my, is that you Carl?”
“Yes momma and this is my friend Melanie Holder; and this little rambunctious pest is her daughter Stacy.”
“I ‘m not a pest, Carly. I’m Staaacy.”
Carly picked up Stacy and said, “Yes you are a pest, Stacy,” Carly said, tickling the girl.
Stacy laughed and giggled until Carly stopped, Stacy kissed Carly’s cheek and hugged her.
“Melanie, take Stacy upstairs and put her in the bedroom on the right. We need to talk to mom.”
Stacy pouted, as her mom took her and headed upstairs.
“I have been gone almost two weeks and I see a lot of things have changed. Why?” Asked Anita.
“It’s a long story momma, but basically, Kathy, my salon manager, didn’t think the three piece Italian suit was the proper image for a salon proprietor. She thought that a slightly effeminate, possibly gay male would be better, since I couldn’t do the Brad Pit or Justin Timberlake bit. So, I bought shoes, pants, and Blouses. I thought I made the clothes look good,” Carly said.
“And then I happened, Mrs. Simon. I was an unemployed hair stylist, with a daughter and a Mom, I needed to help take care of. Mom works some, but not enough to keep three people fed and clothed. I applied at Carly’s salon and to prove myself, I cut, colored and permed Carly’s hair.”
“I told them to pretend I was a client and asked what she would do. Kathy and Melanie got carried away and forgot that I was pretending. I realized I had stuck my foot in it, when they started using chemicals. I guess I could have stopped it at that second, but I wanted to see what Melanie could do and Voilà here I am.”
“I did the styling, color and the perm, Anita. He realized once he looked at himself, that there was no halfway. He would have to cut all his hair off, or go whole hog, he opted for the full treatment, which included brows, makeup and nails.”
“But he has breasts, hips and a derriere too.”
“The girls took me out to celebrate the reopening. I told them I wanted to look somewhat normal for a girl and the rest is silicone. Mom I’m not going all the way, but I like what I am now. I don’t think I will ever go back to being obviously a boy.”
Anita was frustrated, that much was apparent. She had a lot on her plate right now, “Ok, I guess I have to accept what you have said. Now tell me about you three?”
“I like Melanie and Stacy very much; I might want to keep them around for twenty, thirty or forty years. We are just very good friends right now. It’s too early to say.”
“I would like to keep Carly for forty or fifty years too, Anita. Coffee or tea, Anita?”
“Good idea, coffee please.”
The three women moved their talk to the breakfast table.
Anita just couldn’t get over just how feminine Carly was. Yes, she was Carly; there was no doubt of that. Two weeks tomorrow, was it even possible to change your whole core being in just two weeks, apparently without intense training and brainwashing? Or had she missed who Carl had been. Carly looked comfortable in her heels, she sat nicely, tucked and smoothed her skirt. How had she learned that?
“Is that Margret’s skirt?”
“No, I couldn’t wear many of Margaret’s things; she was too big in the chest and the hips. Aunt Margret was a 38 DD and thirty-eight through the hips. I am a 34 C and thirty-six through the hips, with my enhancements. I bagged almost everything and sent it to goodwill.”
“Do you wear her underwear?”
“I wear her thongs; they fit me best and keep me held back. I can wear her bikinis, but they are loose enough to let me accidentally rearrange myself. Goodwill doesn’t sell panties. Also, she had tiny feet for someone five foot seven. She wore a seven” Carly said, raising her right foot to show her, her heel, “I wear a nine or nine and a half.”
“Well, we can share shoes then,” Anita said, without thinking. “Do you live here, Melanie?”
“No, I live with my Mom. We took Stacy out on a play date after work.”
“Oh, I need to go up to Auntie’s bedroom, Melanie check on Stacy,” Carly said, springing to her feet and rushing out of the kitchen.
Melanie didn’t know what was going on, but she did as she was told. Anita followed Carly. Melanie found her daughter was asleep. So she went to Carly’s room.
Carly was removing the magazine from the Colt 1911 A1; a Glock and its magazine were laying on the bed.
“Oh, do you shoot too?” Melanie asked.
“I have shot shotguns and rifles, Dad’s family owned an armory of weapons. I wanted to make sure these guns were safe from little fingers.”
“I know you didn’t buy those weapons. You have to be twenty one,” Anita said. “Did Margret own them?”
“Yes she did, Mom. She might have carried them to her business.”
Melanie then got on the bed and ran her hand between the headboard and the mattress and came out with a 9mm Glock 34 and held it up. “It’s where I hide mine,” Melanie said. “Don’t worry about Stacy and your guns, my ex had way too many guns, she knows not to touch them and I have a CHL (concealed handgun license).”
When everyone was looking at the petite girl holding a gun, she said, “What? I got it when Jimmy started coming home drunk, wanting sex and wanting to use me as his punching bag.”
“Maybe we can go shooting sometime?” Carly asked. “Put that one back.”
Melanie put the 9 mil back.
“I’ve come over to clean out Margret‘s makeup and to begin teaching Carly how to use her makeup.”
“Do you have jeans Mom and ear plugs?”
“No, why?”
“The jeans are to wear at the ball game; we are going to the Rangers game tomorrow.”
“And the ear plugs?”
“This little petite thing will burst your ear drums out.” Carly said, indicating, Melanie.
Melanie went all sweet and innocent saying, “Moi. I am just a sweet innocent little girl.”
“And you are, till you get in a baseball stadium. Then you become a fire-breathing dragon. She could give a Yankee fan lessons on how to be fanatical.”
“You’re kidding, aren’t you Carly?”
Melanie still did the sweet innocent routine, and Carly shook her head no and said, “She made the big screen last week, whistling, screaming and rooting for the Rangers.”
“Sit on the floor by the bed Carly and let me take a good look at your hair.”
Anita sat next to Melanie and Carly sat in front of her mom. Anita ran her hands through Carly’s hair, “It feels good, is it easy to take care of Carly?”
“I brush it out in the morning, before I do my makeup. Melanie touches up my hair and makeup at work, before we open. Kathy says I am a walking billboard. I need to look good.”
“She’s right; you’re working in an image business. The better your image, the better your business is. You dyed her hair blonde, with highlights, low lights and red?”
“That’s what she told me. I think it looks great.”
“Yes it does. How did you do the perm?”
Anita and Melanie began speaking in the arcane terms of the beauty shop, as Melanie explained how she did Carly’s hair.
“I would never have thought that you could get as good a result on such long hair,” Anita said, as she began to braid it.
“I see where Carly gets wanting her hair braided. You braided it for him didn’t you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just something I like to do when I see long hair.”
“Don’t stop, momma.”
“Braiding is alright, with this hairstyle, Anita. It reinforces the curl from the perm.”
“Why don’t you call your mom Melanie and sleep with Stacy, and tell her she is going to the Ranger game also.” Carly said.
Melanie called her mom and told her about Anita, invited her to the game, then said that they had a lot to talk about. She was going to spend the night here with Stacy. Anita went to Margret’s bedroom to get ready for bed, but Melanie and Carly got undressed in Margret’s bedroom also and put on one of Margret’s nighties. All three of them lay on the bed and talked for about an hour. Anita was the first to fall asleep. Melanie and Carly tucked her in and snuck out. Melanie kissed Carly and then headed to where Stacy was sleeping. Carly went downstairs and fell asleep in the lazy boy.
>>>>><<<<<
Anita awoke with a start at five, as Carly’s alarm went off. She turned off the alarm and went back to sleep, only to be awoken at five thirty. She really hated Carl for about ten seconds, “Who in God’s heaven sets two alarms for five and five thirty. Does Carl get up this early?” She saw no hope of going back to sleep, so she got up and did her thing. Carl, no make that Carly, still had several of Margaret’s robes around, so she took one and went in search of Carly, to wake her ass up. She looked in the bedroom she used and no Carly. She went to the room Melanie and Stacy used, and found only a sleeping Melanie. She went downstairs and stopped. Carly was asleep on the lazy-boy, with Stacy in her lap.
Anita went back to Melanie’s room and woke her up. She panicked for a second, not feeling Stacy in bed with her. Anita made a motion for Melanie to be quiet and to follow her. They went down the steps till the staircase turned and pointed to the lazy-boy recliner. Melanie giggled, as she saw her daughter.
“After Jimmy, Stacy hasn’t trusted many guys, but with Carly, she has been best buds. What time is it?”
“About five forty five. My Carly had one alarm set for five and another set for five thirty. I was going to wake her up for leaving the alarms on, but for the life of me, I can’t disturb that picture.”
Since they were awake, they went to the kitchen to make some coffee, “You said, Carly picks you up in the morning; what time does she get to your place?”
“If she opens at nine, she picks me up at eight and we drive to work. Stacy makes her come up and hug her before we leave.”
“What does Carly do for three hours? Let’s see, half an hour to get cleaned up, another half hour to get dressed and made up, and two hours to sit on her hands?”
“I have no idea what she does.”
Carly woke stark awake at the smell of coffee, she found Stacy on her lap and moved her to the couch and followed her nose to the kitchen. She saw Anita scrounging around for food. “You’re not going to find much to eat here, Mom. I have been eating my meals out every day. I just keep some snacks, since I leave early and come home late.”
“What do you do after six? I know you are dressed and out of the house around then.”
“I drive to either the coffee house, Denny’s, or the IHOP. I drink coffee, eat a meal, and read the newspaper. Since I have been running the Salon, I read the fashion pages every day. Most days there is something about hair or makeup, in the fashion pages. I need to know my business.”
“Do you get any Salon management or professional magazines,” Melanie asked.
“No, I’ll have to ask Regina about that and subscribe to some.”
“Well, I am going out to get us some food,” Melanie said. “Give Stacy half a banana, when she wakes up. I will be back in about thirty minutes.”
Melanie got dressed and went out to the local Walmart and bought a couple of sacks of groceries: eggs, milk, turkey bacon, biscuits, avocados, cereal, strawberries, orange juice, green onions, tomatoes and such. When she got back, Stacy was keeping the adults amused. She had Anita doing the itsy bitsy spider thing. Stacy sang and Anita did the hand motions, while she had Carly drawing things with her. Stacy was a multi-tasker, when it came to manipulating adults. She stopped and ran to Melanie to hug her, when she saw her come in.
After breakfast, they all headed out to Walmart. Anita got herself a pair of tight jeans and then went by the salon. Carly gave her mom a tour and explained what she had in mind for the salon remodel. Anita had been in the salon many times, just not in recent years. She remembered it looking better and newer and agreed with the plan to remodel the place. At eleven, the pack picked up Joyce and headed to the stadium. Stacy was in heaven, placed between Grandma and Carly’s mom, whom she began to refer as Aunty Nita.
The seats Carly got, were a little higher up in the Lexus club Box, on the first base side, but they had a better view of the action. They again arrived very early for the game. Carly got Stacy another baseball and they caught some of the Mariners players’ signatures this time. Her charm seemed to attract the players over. She had a crowd of about ten players passing her ball around and signing it. Carly even photographed her in a group photo with the players, on her cell phone. The players crowded around her and Stacy, holding her ball up, with a big smile on her face.
The game started out very badly for the Rangers, they dropped five runs in the first inning and it wasn’t till the fifth inning, when the Rangers picked up their first run. It was in the eighth inning, when the Rangers bats came alive. They scored four runs and tied the game, winning it in the eleventh inning. Melanie, who had been rooting hard for the Rangers, went nuts, when an eleventh inning home run won the game.
>>>>><<<<<
Jimmy, who had been watching the game from his usual seat at the sports bar, never saw that Bitch Melanie. Maybe she didn’t make this game, who knows? It is hard to spot one person in a crowd of thirty thousand.
>>>>><<<<<
Stacy slept on the ride home, Joyce and Anita got along famously, while Melanie drove talking with Carly. They stopped and picked up some Chinese take-out and headed to Carly’s home, because it was more comfortable. Stacy got to watch the Disney cartoons while they ate.
Melanie then talked Anita into staying late on Monday, so they could take Carly clothes shopping at the mall. Carly and Melanie had to go into work for some staff training. A girl from the sandwich shop was getting a free double process dye job, and an instructor from Melanie’s school, in Dallas, was going to be doing the girl’s hair. They would be free to go shopping at eleven or twelve. Plenty of time to make Carly and the stores, scream in terror.
Melanie took a sleeping Stacy and a tired but happy Mom, home with her. Anita made sure she went to bed in the bedroom she normally used, when visiting this place. She liked her sleep. Carly slept in what she took as her room, Margret’s bedroom and yes, she made sure her alarms were set.
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Monday, Carly got up at her usual time and got dressed in Boss mode, in tan slacks, a cream-colored blouse, a brown blazer and brown ankle boots. Anita was still asleep when Carly left for the coffee shop. She got her newspaper and sat down to read, drinking her coffee and eating a slice of banana nut bread. She missed reading the Sunday paper yesterday, so she read it today. There was a nice article on fall hairstyles. She read it twice, before clipping it out and putting it in her purse.
Carly picked Melanie up, at fifteen after eight and drove to the salon. Fifteen till nine, the stylists started to arrive and at nine, Regina arrived with Bethany Carter, the lucky girl from the sandwich shop. Minutes later, Maurice Charmant arrived from Paul Mitchell.
When Maurice saw Carly, his hands were in her hair. He led her to a chair and fanned her hair out across the back of the chair; as he began to teach about double process hair color. They moved to another chair, beside Carly, and had Bethany sit in that chair. Maurice asked Bethany a few questions about what she wanted and then he started working on her. Carly was turned, so that she could watch, as Maurice started to work his magic for his client and the assembled stylists.
Maurice was a very good teacher, he worked with his client’s hair and demonstrated the technique; while answering the stylists questions. Coloring and perms, are two things that once you start using the chemistry; you can’t stop and talk about what you have done, or are doing. You are under the clock the second you begin. He took Bethany’s dirty blond hair and turned it into a rich medium brown, with two shades of highlights. He kept a few strands of her natural hair color and blended in some lighter, brighter blond in. He didn’t make her hair look striped, but a few strands here and there, gave her hair depth and texture. The brown glistened and shined, something the girl’s hair didn’t do before. On top of everything, Maurice gave Bethany, a great new style; that added to the girl’s mile wide smile.
A happy Bethany, put on her sandwich shop uniform and cap, before she headed off to work. Maurice pushed Paul Mitchell’s products for a bit, and an upcoming 3-day seminar, on doing perms, coming up in late August in Dallas. Kathy thanked him for coming and he spent an hour talking to her stylists again, using Carly as a model, of how to do certain things.
Anita met the girls at the salon. She looked Carly over; she hadn’t seen her son, come daughter, this morning. She was impressed with how she looked, and how she had accessorized her appearance. Carly wore a lot of jewelry, but it all worked together and sold her as the boss. Regina was still there; she had taken pictures, while Maurice was teaching the stylist. Regina was introduced to Anita. A few other stylists were just getting their stations extra spiffy for tomorrow. Anita knew Kathy, she had met her before, then she was introduced to Jeff, Olivia and Bridget.
Anita, Melanie, and Carly, went to Melanie’s home to pick up Stacy and they went shopping. Anita and Melanie went crazy, using Carly as a Barbie doll. At the same time, Carly was beginning to put some of the things she had read, into practice. Anita and Melanie concentrated on skirts, blouses and dresses. They knew Carly could do pants already. Melanie told Carly to see Lorna and get her legs waxed tomorrow. Her legs were a little scratchy today.
Carly, wore a lovely dress out of the store; Melanie had struck again. It was a summery candy pink bodice, with a pink azalea print skirt, that came just below mid-thigh and candy pink pumps, with a rounded toe box. Melanie told Carly, that she could wear that outfit to the salon. She didn’t mind losing her pants, the dress was much cooler and it was getting quite warm outside.
They went out to eat, before dropping Anita off, at her rental car. Anita got kisses and hugs from Carly, Melanie and Stacy, who said, “Bye, bye Anty Nita.” Anita, drove off to the airport.
>>>>><<<<<
Two things happened on Tuesday, at work. The first thing was, William Cargill and Donna Adams from Salon Consultants Inc. came in with a plan. They found that for four years, the salon had been renting space that they didn’t have, nearly two hundred square feet worth. The sidewalls were narrower, than the building plans showed and the stores rental agreement indicated. They talked to the landlord, who came out and measured the inside wall to wall. This was significant, since Margret had been paying a fee for the salon’s square feet, according to the original rental agreement. What was also significant; the space next door was vacant, and would be for the next ninety days. Starbuck’s was moving in next door to the salon, Starbucks only needed half of the space.
So the landlord was going to let the consultants actually come in and start building a wall, and set up the plumbing and the electrical service ahead of time. Then when the salon closes, they will take the current wall out, take the three waxing booths out, move the office next to the storage and washing machine room, which will be across from the chemical storage, and the break room. Add six inches between current stations; add two mani-pedi stations; two nail stations; and four stylist stations, without a feeling of being crowded. The plumbing would all tie in, in the storage room. Or the other plan would be, the store could stay the same, but add two more stylist stations; two mani-pedi stations; and a nail station; with just a little more crowding. On top of everything, they can use the space next door to stage from; they could quickly ascertain if they had everything they needed, before they started.
Carly and Kathy poured over the plans. They gave tentative approval of the first design of the plans; the consultants would do concept drawings now, and return in a week. The plans showed an efficiency of space and added comfort at the same time.
The second thing that happened, changed everything above.
Regina called Carly, shortly after William and Donna left, “Carly, a man from Lloyds is here.”
“Send him back, Regina.”
A short man, in a strange shade of green suit, came in Carly’s office. “I am Carly Simon, proprietor of Margaret’s Chalet Salon, what can I do for you.”
“I am Rory Cousins, from Lloyd’s Insurance. It’s not what you can do for me. It’s what I might do for you. I need to verify the Salon’s information, see any court orders and legal documents, giving you authority to operate the business.”
“For what purpose do you need to see my documents?”
“I am so sorry; I put the carriage in front of the horse again. Margret Jennings, proprietor of Margret’s Chalet, had taken out a key man insurance policy, so that her business and employees, would be looked after, and taken care of. I just need to verify that you are indeed the proprietor of Margret’s Chalet.”
Carly took out her papers and handed them to Rory. Rory took out his glasses and put them on. He read every line of every page. Still it didn’t have the same feel as she had with the banker. He honestly appeared to be the sort that was just thorough.
“May I see two forms of personal identification?”
Carly got her purse and pulled out her New Jersey driver’s license and her passport. She was listed as C.A. Simon on both and male on both.
“These say you are a male, is that correct?”
“It is correct. I am a male, but in this business looking like this has been an asset.”
“Yes, just so. I was verifying the particulars.”
“Now Carly, may I call you Carly?”
“That is fine. Rory.”
“Yes. Let’s get down to the point of this meeting. I have a check for Margret’s Chalet. The Key Man Policy was taken out six years ago, and Margret faithfully paid the policy. The policy is in the name of the business. The proprietor may, if they feel they aren’t able to continue the business, cash the policy in and sell the business. The funds of the policy, are to be split sixty percent amongst her employees and forty percent to whoever the proprietor, or executor, of the estate is. If the business continues, the monies may be used to further the business’s interests.”
“My mom is my Aunt’s Executrix and she has asked me to make this business, successful.”
“Good, I hate to see businesses fold, but the economy has been so dreadful. Then if you’ll sign this receipt,” Rory said, handing her a paper, which Carly signed, after reading the receipt. “This check is now yours.”
Rory stood and handed Carly a check. She thanked him and he departed, before she looked at the check. Carly then turned back to her desk and looked at the check, getting ready to make a deposit slip out. Instead of reading the amount written, she just saw a two and started counting zeroes. There were six of them. She recounted them, a two followed by six zeroes. That would make it two… “TWO MILLION DOLLARS!” she said out loud.
Kathy and a few others, heard the shout, but didn’t understand what was being said. Concerned, Kathy knocked on the door and stuck her head in the office.
Carly was white as a sheet. Carly said, “Come on in and shut the door.”
Kathy sat down and held Carly’s free hand, Carly handed her the piece of paper. She saw it was a check and read the amount. She read the check for two minutes.
“I am calling the consultants back here today and calling my mom. Tell everybody, there will be a staff meeting after we close. Tell them, that they won’t believe what is going to happen. Don’t tell them about the check, but smile when you tell them about the meeting, Kathy.”
Carly and Kathy, spoke about what they wanted to do. Kathy might end up doing more supervising and teaching, but a lot less hair styling. They fired ideas back and forth.
“You do know Kathy, that we are going to have a second salon, in a year or so. We could use this as a training salon and have a new elite salon.”
“I will put in a call to Paul Mitchell’s school, and Aveda’s school, looking for excellent new students.”
William and Donna returned and asked what was up.
“I gave you a budget of Three hundred thousand. Something has come up.”
“Did your financing fall through?” Donna asked.
“No, the three hundred thousand is cash on hand. I got news today that was earth shattering. My aunt had a key man Policy. What would it take to go first class, with the plans you drew up? Strip this place bare and rebuild it, first class. Instead of a week, you could have it done in three weeks? The sooner the better still, would another two hundred fifty thousand cover it?”
“Most assuredly, Carly,” Donna said.
I will have a preliminary payment for you Monday, on the order of a hundred thousand. I want to start planning a new salon, built from the ground up, in a nice location, also. We will own the property and build the building. The budget for the new salon is seven hundred fifty thousand dollars and I have the cash in hand. We would tentatively open in say, a year’s time?”
William and Donna were speechless, because the wheels were rolling to fast in their heads.
“It’s doable and I will put that in writing.” William said. “Let’s get this shop looking great and worry about the new salon later. Come by our office and begin selecting décor and fixtures; so we can begin ordering supplies. Donna, call the landlord here, and rent the space next door for two months, negotiate for ten feet, instead of four. Call Starbuck’s and see if we can build the store for them, at a discount. Salons aren’t that different from a coffee shop.”
The landlord showed back up and was quickly convinced, he would have papers for Carly to sign tomorrow, and he would visit Salon Consultants Inc. LLC later the same day.
William and Donna rushed out, to scrap and redraw the plans they had.
>>>>><<<<<
Carly stood in front of her stylists smiling, “How many of you have health insurance for you and your families?” About half were paying for it, out of their own pockets. “I will be in negotiation and within thirty days, I will institute a group health policy. I understand what the norm is. A single person will be free, or very low cost to the employee. Married, will be more and family, should be higher, but the cost will be lower than what any of you could buy on your own, don’t drop any policies, till we see it in writing. To pay for this, new employees will receive a dollar and a half an hour raise and the rest a suitable amount, based on tenure. Jeff and Carol, you can expect maybe three fifty, to four dollars an hour raise.”
“On Remodeling, we will be closing for slightly longer period of time, three weeks. You will each have two weeks paid vacation, with a bonus and one week paid training. Some of you will get your training at the beginning of our closing, some at the end, and hopefully not in the middle. We don’t know yet. This will be a first class salon. Think money in your pockets. We are going to have so much more room for new stylists; mani-pedi stations; new nail stations; a nicer break room and all new equipment. We may have new shampoo stations, so some of your work will be handled for you. I need ideas from you. I want all of you, in our family. The sky is the limit right now.”
“Regina, we need you even more now, we may need one full time, maybe two part time girls you could supervise. We are looking to go to six days a week operation.”
“Beverly, would be a great person to work with me.” An excited Regina said, giggling.
Carly recognized that person as Monica’s niece. Things could get interesting.
“Carol, get with Kathy, one of you will be Saturday and Sunday off and the other will be Sunday and Monday off. Let’s work that out together. Carol will be the assistant Manager, because of her instructor’s license.”
“If money has been a problem with you working on upgrading your licenses, we will subsidize your training, talk to me and Kathy. Also, we may be opening another salon in a year or so. We are that well off right now. I won’t keep you any longer, but we are now on the yellow brick road. Just keep an eye out for the Wicked Witch of the East.”
“We are not in Kansas anymore,” Regina said.
“You don’t know how right you are, Dorothy,” Carly said.
>>>>><<<<<
As soon as Carly and Melanie were well away from the shop, Melanie made Carly stop and tell her what brought the big changes on.
“Did you see that man that came in after lunch?” Carly asked.
“You mean that short man, with that horrible green suit?”
“That would be the one. He brought the Salon a windfall. My aunt had a key man policy on herself. The salon is rock solid for the next ten years, at least, and I mean rock solid. All the changes are totally funded.”
“You mean you have the money to do it all with no financing.”
Carly reached over and gave Melanie a big kiss, “Yes ma’am, that is exactly what I mean. Or I could shut down and give everyone a hundred thousand or so.”
“Building the business is better.”
“That is what my momma told me. If I gave everyone a hundred thousand, how many would be broke by the end of the year.”
“Most of them; Kathy, Carol, Jeff, Olivia, Regina and maybe I would be ok. The rest might spend, spend, spend and be looking for jobs in six months, its human nature. I am iffy because my work history would be hurt by the closing.”
“What am I? Chopped liver?”
“I don’t want to be a kept woman, not even by you. I want to be with you and I might even love you Carly, but we will take that one step at a time. Until then, I expect you to train hard on how to kiss me. First lesson,” Melanie said, planting a scorching kiss on Carly’s lips. “Place that in your second memory slot.”
“How long will these lessons last, Melanie?”
“See me later, we can discuss that. Unfortunately, the Rangers are on the road for two weeks.”
“So, how many autographed baseballs will Stacy need? I think she enjoys flirting with the players too much.”
“She loves them; we need to buy her some of those Lucite cubes, to put them in. She has those baseballs on the shelf, with her dolls. That is a place of honor for her, more so, because you bought them for her, than for the ball players who signed them. She would sleep in that rangers T-shirt, but I told her she would need to wear it for games.”
“Then she is going to need some more shelves, if that is acceptable.”
“That is acceptable,” Melanie said, kissing Carly.
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday, Carly called one of her Mother’s sharks and asked them for a favor. She asked if they could meet her at her Salon. One of them was Riley West, she volunteered. Around eleven, she met with Carly, in her office.
“Is it Mrs., Miss or Ms?” Carly asked.
“Just call me Riley, now what can I do for you?”
“First, does it bother you that I am transgendered?”
“Only if it bothers you that I am a woman.”
“I have no problems with you, but I do have some problems with my banker. My aunt passed away and I had a court order and an unlimited power of attorney, to run the business, till it comes out of probate. I gave him a ton of paperwork and the court order, and they dawdled around for hours, just to get my name on my salon’s signature card. Now, I have a big check to deposit and I am wondering if I could do better.”
“How big?”
Carly handed Riley the check.
“That’s big. Which bank do you use?”
Carly opened her box of checks and showed Riley.
“That’s a good bank, some of the management are misogynistic old bastards, but as far as I know, they are honest misogynistic old bastards. I have dealt with them before. I wouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket though. If the bank folds you’re only protected to two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Who is your accountant?”
Carly handed Riley a business card. Riley took it and made a call. Riley and the accountant talked for half an hour.
“Mr. Carter and I, will be here tomorrow, to help plan how best to protect that money. Let’s go make a deposit.”
>>>>><<<<<
Mr. Graham will see you now, the executive assistant to the bank’s president said. Riley followed Carly into the Office.
“What can I do for you ladies,” Mr. Graham asked.
“Carly Simon had some problems the last time she was here, she was getting her name on her salon’s signature card, I believe. She has some more business to conduct and she wants to make sure there are no problems before we conduct business. She had a court order, a power of attorney and your people called her Mom? Do you know how embarrassing and petty that was? Did you check Dun and Bradstreet for a C.A. Simon? Carly can sign a six million dollar check, under her own authority and your bank called her Mom.”
“We were just verifying that what the documents stated were true. Margret was an important client, and we were being careful that her assets weren’t being pillaged, by the wrong relatives.”
“I know you asked Mrs. Simon more, than if she signed that unlimited power of attorney. I have spoken to Mrs. Simon many times over the last two weeks. We just want to make sure that if Carly Simon commits a large portion of the money, we may deposit today, that there will be no problems. Carly Simon is preparing to significantly expand the business and she wants to find a decent bank. Changing banks for a business can affect their credit worthiness after all, but is not out of the question. I would have to make recommendations to Greg Simon’s Investments LLC, about the bank that gave C.A. Simon, Executive Assistant to the President, a hard time.”
Mr. Graham’s face was beginning to mottle. “There will be no problems. I will instruct my subordinates, C.A. Simon is a preferred customer.” He had indeed personally checked out C.A. Simon last time. He just couldn’t believe an effeminate son of a bitch, who was only nineteen, was placed in charge of a business valued at half a million dollars. Now C.A. Simon, the fruit, (yes he recognized her, she was even more of a fruit now, but money is money) and her lawyer, was swinging a big hammer.
“Well, on your word, we will deposit this check with you.” Riley said, handing him the check. “We want two hundred and fifty thousand in the operating account, by noon tomorrow and the balance in an interest bearing account. I am sure you can verify the authenticity of the check by then. No holding the deposit for seven business days, to collect interest. Also, we will be spreading the money between many different interest bearing instruments.”
“Mr. Carter, Carly’s accountant and I, will see you tomorrow.”
“You can verify the deposit at ten thirty Miss Simon and I can see you at one thirty Ms. West, if that is acceptable?” Mr. Graham said, handing Riley the receipt of deposit.
“That is acceptable,” Riley said.
“Oh, Salon Consultants Inc. will need a certified check, for a hundred thousand dollars, by the end of the week.” Carly said, just to get her two cents in.
“That will not be a problem. Miss Simon.”
>>>>><<<<<
“My philosophy is, when attacking problems, ‘Why use a tack hammer, when a sledge hammer works so much faster,’” Riley said, as they were entering the salon. “By the way, I was just noticing your hair and nails. Who does yours?”
“Melanie did my hair, and Kathy did my nails, but Liz is actually better with nails. She was off duty when mine were done. Would you like to have your hair and nails done?”
“Yes, I have been so busy, I have neglected them and that isn’t good for my image.”
“Regina, would you please see if Liz and Melanie are available.”
“Liz is available now and Melanie will be ready in ten minutes.”
“Have Liz attend to Ms. West at Melanie’s station and send me the bill.”
“You got it boss. Oh, Beverly Grant would like to speak with you this week, about a job.”
“Have her come in at ten on Friday.”
“Oh Riley, can you make a note of negotiating a group health care policy, for my employees and families.”
“That is easy,” Riley said, making a note on her smart phone. “I will have some bids and details, by Wednesday.”
>>>>><<<<<
Friday was a good day for the salon. They were as busy as they could be, without using a whip on the stylists. Carly got to meet Beverly Grant. Beverly was maybe five ten, in her stocking feet, but she wore five-inch heels. She also wore a mid-calf pencil skirt, which she filled quite adequately, and a silk/cotton blend blouse, that displayed only a little cleavage, but was taught across her ample bust. She wore sensible jewelry, nice daytime makeup job, long blood red talons and long fiery red hair.
Carly, could imagine her in black leather hip boots, corset, short skirt and holding a long leather riding crop.
“Our receptionists have to be salesladies, sell yourself to me,” Carly said.
Beverly started out slowly, but then seemed to build up steam. The woman talked nonstop for four minutes, talking about herself and what she hoped to accomplish. She seemed bright, cheerful, her wonderful voice had some nice melodious tones and her cadence wasn’t too fast or slow. She wasn’t anything like Carly pictured in her mind.
“I think I like you. We are in an image business. I need my receptionist to have a good image. If we hired you, we would like you to wear less severe clothing and lower heels. Would that present a problem?”
Beverly looked a little disappointed, she knew exactly what Carly meant, but she said, “No, that wouldn’t be a problem.”
Can you start Monday? Beverly smiled warmly and said that she could, and thanked Carly, as she left.
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday, Melanie and Carly went by themselves to a gun range, south of town. Melanie bought half a dozen targets, four boxes of .45 ACP and four boxes 9mm x 19 ammo. The Range master was a retired Gunnery Sergeant USMC. He told them to call him ‘Gunny’, he didn’t get in their faces and scream, but he made it clear whose range it was, what you could do, and when. When the line was clear, they went down range and stapled their targets to the target frames. The Range master then inspected the two .45’s and the two 9mm handguns and declared them fit, but said they could use a little cleaning. The range master gave them the short course on shooting a fire arm and range safety.
Melanie and Carly took their positions. Melanie was shooting a Ruger SR9c and Carly chose the Colt 1911. They both fired two magazines at their targets. Neither girl was going to give anyone any trouble at the Bianchi Cup competition, but both girls kept most of their rounds in the silhouette.
Carly’s shots, fell mostly in a pattern, six inches from left to right, but eighteen inches from top to bottom. Melanie’s shots, fell in a pattern about ten inches top to bottom and fourteen inches left to right. The range master, going up and down the line, stopped and looked at their targets.
Gunny said, “You’re doing great, Blondie, your problem is your breathing.”
“I kinda like breathing.”
“Yes, but not while you are shooting, put your gun down and hold your hands like you are shooting a pretend gun.”
Carly did as she was instructed.
“Now, take a deep breath, hold it and watch your hands as you inhale.”
Carly did as she was told, and she saw her hands rise.
“That is your high shots, keep steady and let out all your breath and watch.”
As she let out her breath, her hands fell.
“That accounts for your low shots. Now take a deep breath, let half of it out and hold it. Now you are steady enough, to get off a shot or two. Repeat that as you shoot. Those three shots into the arms, you jerked your trigger; squeeze it slowly, let the gun going off be a surprise.”
“Blue eyes, your problem is that you’re alive. Every shooter out here has the same problem, I hope. Not so sure about the guy on lane seven. As they hold the gun out in front of them, the tips of their barrels traces a horizontal figure eight. Even I do it. The trick to good shooting, is knowing when to squeeze the trigger, so that the gun goes off as it passes through the middle, keeping that figure eight as small as possible. Hold sight on your target, shoot a few rounds, relax a bit, hold sight and shoot a couple of more and so on. The longer you try to hold your gun on the sight out there, the bigger your eights will be.”
“Both of you, at ten yards, should be keeping all your shots in the eight or nine ring. At twenty-five yards, your shots would be killing birds, in the next county. Shoot a couple of more magazines.” Gunny said, as he moved on to other shooters.
Carly and Melanie shot four more magazines, trying to follow ‘Gunny’s’ instructions. They both saw some improvement. They took a few minutes break, as the range went safe and they had to step away from their handguns.
When the range went hot again, Melanie tried the Glock 21, in the .45 ACP and Carly shot her full sized Glock 34, in a 9mm. Melanie found the .45 ACP, a little harder to control, especially on the second round. Gunny came around and asked Carly, if Melanie could shoot her 1911.
“You are still going to see significant rise from the .45. Slow down and bring your barrel back down on target, before you shoot it again. Practice with your longer barrels more. Your smaller guns are for concealment. You practice with them out here, but concentrate on practicing with your long barrels.”
Carly was quite a bit better with the Glock 34. All her shots with the 9mm, were inside the eight, most were in the nine and ten rings. Gunny told her to shoot the 1911, and the Glock 34 every time she came out here. Melanie even shot the 34 and found she liked it better than her Ruger. When they had both shot off about two hundred and fifty rounds, and each had shot each gun, they called it a day. Gunny told them to go into the shop and buy two gun cleaning kits, two 9mm brush sets, two .45 brush sets and have Smithy teach them how to clean the guns.
Paul Smith, was the shops gunsmith. He took them aside, after they had bought the gun cleaning kits and a toolbox, to store their un-shot rounds and their cleaning kits in. He taught the girls how to break down the weapons and clean them. He would break one gun down and reassemble it and then he would have the girls do it. Each gun had its own quirks, but between the two of them, they got them clean enough, that Smithy passed them on their work.
>>>>><<<<<
They hit Carly’s home first. They took all the guns inside and put Carly’s up. Melanie’s went into her purse loaded, with one in the chamber.
Carly grabbed some clothes and headed to the shower. She was surprised minutes later, as a naked Melanie joined her in the shower. They cleaned themselves first and then they played a bit. Melanie was pleasantly surprised that Carly didn’t press her to have sex, even though they were both naked and aroused. She did make him come with her hands, as Carly had made her come. Melanie promised herself to take charge, the next time they got together.
Melanie found a clean pair of leggings, in Carly’s drawers and put them on with an oversized T-shirt. Carly dressed in relaxed fit jeans, flats and one of her pretty blouses. Melanie felt so good to her, in those spandex leggings; she wanted to bed the girl right here and now.
They got prettied up and headed to Melanie’s, to pick up Stacy. They took the little bundle of energy to a Mc D’s, let her eat, and then let her burn off a ton of energy, at the playground, inside the store. From there they went to the zoo. Stacy loved looking at all the animals, she wanted to go play with them, but Carly told Stacy that they might not like her coming near them, a good compromise was the petting zoo, they found later. There were potbellied pigs, llamas, sheep, goats and donkeys. From there they took a train ride around the park.
As the sun was going down, they took Stacy to a children’s movie. Stacy and Melanie didn’t make it all the way through the movie; they were both sleeping, with Carly’s arms around both of them protectively.
>>>>><<<<<
Monday, dressed for business, Carly picked up Melanie, after her coffee and Danish, then went to the salon. There were five stylists, Jeff, Tony, Carol, Bridget and Olivia there, along with Regina, who was teaching a much nicer dressed Beverly, how to use the stores computers, to make appointments, take payments and such. The stylists knew Carly was meeting with the consultants and wanted to go too. Riley arrived, just after Carly got her things she needed, as they were going to the cars.
The caravan drove over to the consultant’s office, where they were escorted to a conference room. There were drawings all around the conference room, and two models of the salon. One model on the table was the salon as it was now and the other was the proposed salon. They were like toy houses that you could move the furniture around in. They all could see that they would have more room and they loved the concept drawings. Carly and Kathy began picking out the colors, flooring, furniture, lighting and fixtures out of books, asking the others their opinions, as they progressed. Carly then would sign off on the details.
At the end, it was just Carly, Kathy, Melanie and Riley. The others had tired and gone home. Riley would stay and hammer out the contracts and Carly would sign them at her office.
They found out that Salon Consultants Inc. had indeed won the contract with Starbucks, who would open within days after the salon reopened. They were very happy the salon was remodeling and going upscale, as it would affect their business.
>>>>><<<<<
The last two weeks, before closing the shop for remodeling, they had a push, Carly’s ads and promotions were having a big effect and many new customers were coming in. Sales of products were up, because Regina and Beverly were able to trade duties and work their clients, while the other was able to make appointments and schedule stylists. Carly and Kathy, interviewed a slew of new stylists, including a pair of identical twin sisters.
They were an interesting pair, both of them were very good, both had kids and both were living together. In fact, they had an unusual request. Angelica and Felicia wanted to share the same station, one girl wanted to work from open till close, three days a week, and the other would work the other three days from open till close, three days a week. The other twin that was off would be home, taking care of their kids. Both would get to spend some quality time with the kids.
Carly liked them and Kathy said that they had good credentials and skills. Carly loaned them some money to tide them over, till the salon would reopened, while Kathy arranged for them to attend different training sessions.
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday, the Rangers were back in town. Carly scored a season ticket license and season tickets for the rest of the season, for four people, in a first base side reserve box, on the internet. A family had to move and wouldn’t be able to use the tickets. Stacy didn’t need a ticket for another two years, but they could bring a couple. The couple at this game was Regina and Beverly. The two receptionists weren’t as boisterous as Melanie, but only by a degree. Beverly even brought a baseball glove, to catch foul balls.
Stacy got her souvenir baseball, collected some more Ranger signatures, some of which were the same signatures that she already had. She just loved waving the ball and pen at the players warming up.
An Idea came to Carly, about letting her stylist have all four box seats at times, so their families could go to the games, Carly couldn’t, or didn’t want to go to. Some may not be up for it, but others might. She would talk to Melanie about it later.
All four of them made the big screen; Beverly caught a foul ball, which was a screaming line drive. It was amazing how fast she stood and stretched forward, to snag the ball. That shot was shown on ESPN and clearly showed all five girls. The commentator said, that some team should sign up that girl. Carly found out that Beverly pitched for a ladies fast pitch softball team. Beverly gave the ball to Stacy, with a kiss.
>>>>><<<<<
Jimmy was sitting in his living room watching ESPN, before he went to bed. Damn he thought, there is that bitch on TV again. How could she afford box seat tickets? The more he TIVO’ed (DVR system) the play, the madder he got. There was that blond bitch too, holding his daughter, again. Maybe Melanie had gone lesbo.
He had some time off coming, beginning in November. He could get his two bambi (deer hunter) and then F*** that bitch. She owed him.
He called a Private Investigator ‘PI’, in Dallas, the next day and got him onto finding her. That bitch and her Mom had moved, cut off their phone and no telling what else.
>>>>><<<<<
The Salon Consultant Inc. contractor, already had the Starbucks restaurant side, over half done, a week before the salon closed and they had the new salon wall, ninety five percent done. The electrical and plumbing work had already been done; the rest would be done when they tore the old wall out, next week. Ninety percent of the stuff going into the salon, was already present and sorted out. He just needed an empty space, to get busy. He wanted that bonus and had lined out a double crew, for the first week and a half of work. The workers knew, no bonus meant their jobs were on the line.
Carly put up a sign up sheet for tickets, to the baseball games. There were eight games, during the period the salon was closed. Her stylists would be allowed to sign up to four tickets, for their two favorite games and Carly would see that they would get one or the other, hopefully. Carly sat with her stylists and went through the names and the tickets. It took some negotiating, but all her employees that wanted tickets, got tickets for a game.
>>>>><<<<<
The last day before work on the salon was to begin, they closed at two pm. It was then all hands on deck, clearing their stations out, putting everything into a pod container. Regina and Beverly, had already moved the products out of the storeroom and the front shelves. Kathy and a couple of strong bodies they hired, were clearing the office; the computers were backed up online, to DVD and on Carly’s laptop. An expert sanitized the old computers. At nine pm. the clock started on the contractors, as Carly handed off her keys. The old wall was torn down and out of the salon by midnight.
>>>>><<<<<
Melanie was signed up for training, the first week off. Carly was on Stacy duty during this time. Joyce really appreciated being able to get out and do things, now that she and Melanie had money to relax with. She took a few days for herself and spent some time with Carly and Stacy.
Carly wasn’t paranoid, but after seeing a car that was sometimes outside her place, also outside Joyce and Melanie’s place, she had an itch. She didn’t tell Melanie, but she called Riley from the bathroom at Melanie’s place.
“Riley, I think someone is pulling surveillance on me, or an employee. I have seen the same car outside my house and outside Melanie’s place. Today, I saw a camera with a big lens.”
“Sounds like a PI; you wouldn’t notice government surveillance that easily.”
“I have a plate number, that I took with my cell phone,” Carly said, and she gave Riley the number.
“Any reason someone would be mad at either of you?”
“Me, I am not sure, people can always make enemies they don’t know about. With Melanie, that is an affirmative, an ex in a messy divorce. He took all the community property, so he wouldn’t sue for custody of her little girl. He is a slime bag.”
“Too bad, I didn’t know her then. I don’t usually do divorces, but I would love to rip a hole in that bastard. Let me get someone on that. You won’t see my PI, but she will see you and them. Do either of you have a home security system?”
“I do, she doesn’t.”
“Upgrade your home security system.”
“Melanie is training for two more days, I am on Stacy duty. We start vacation on Friday.”
“Where are you going?”
“Galveston for a week, for a festival.”
“Her mother?”
“She wants to visit friends in Colorado, for two weeks. I bought her plane tickets.”
“I’ll call you later tonight. Don’t worry Melanie yet. Someone will be watching over her, starting tonight.”
>>>>><<<<<
Carly sat playing dolls with Stacy, having a tea party and Melanie was due home in an hour, when Carly got a call.
“Hello,” Carly said.
“Hi, I am Ginger, a friend of Riley’s. You and Melanie are being watched, her ex, Jimmy Nelson is still in Houston. Take Melanie bowling tonight, we want to get a close look at your tails.” Ginger said, giving Carly an address for a bowling alley, where they would be setting up.
Carly called Melanie and asked her to go straight to the bowling alley and she would meet Melanie there. Melanie thought it was strange, but she didn’t question Carly.
Carly and Stacy were waiting for Melanie, at the entrance to the bowling alley. Stacy got her hugs and they went in. They all rented shoes. Melanie was amazed they had shoes to fit Stacy. Stacy’s shoes just didn’t have a slick area to slide with. They found balls and went to their lane.
“So, what is this all about, Carly?”
“We will talk at McDonald’s. Stacy just loves their playground, don’t you?”
“Yeah, McDonalds,” Stacy said, anticipating a happy meal and a toy.
Melanie knew something was up and knew Carly wanted to talk, while Stacy was occupied. Stacy bowled one game, mostly Carly and her Mom would help her carry the ball to the line and they would help her push the ball. This was a surprisingly effective strategy, because she beat Carly the first game. Melanie stuffed Carly into a pipe and smoked her. Melanie bowled a respectable 175, Carly with one spare and no strikes, found the gutters very easily, bowled a dismal 82 and Stacy with help, rolled a 97. Melanie wanted to bowl a second game. Stacy sat this one out and watched her Mom and Carly bowl.
A lady and gent joined them on their adjoining lane. Carly’s eyes perked up when she saw the name Ginger, light up overhead.
They bowled a couple of more lines, and then Carly said to Stacy, who was sitting on her lap, “We are going to the McDonald’s on Westway and Trent.
Melanie knew Carly was losing it. Stacy didn’t know Westway from no way, but she noticed that the couple next to them seemed to stop bowling and leave ahead of them.
At McDonald’s, Melanie and Carly got Stacy her happy meal and went over near the playground to Eat. Carly was surprised to see Riley and another woman, playing with a child there. After they ate, Riley joined them.
“You were right Carly.” Riley said. “Both of you are under surveillance, by a Dallas PI.”
Carly then explained to Melanie, what was going on. Carly told Melanie that the lady, that was bowling in the next alley, works for Riley. She had asked her to get Melanie to the bowling Alley, so they could get a better look at the pair of PI’s.
“Melanie,” Riley said. “We think your ex hired these PI’s for some reason. Carly, I want to harden your home, while you are away on vacation. It won’t be visibly hard. We will replace your doors, with what we call five minute doors, your windows, with break resistant glass and improve your alarm system. Melanie, do you think you could live with Carly, when you two come back?”
“I don’t know? If Carly asks nicely, I might be able to do that. What about my mom?”
“We can harden her home, install an alarm system and give her a four footed companion, that has a buzz saw personality for intruders. We think, that Mr. Nelson would be after you and any love interest. We are not sure when, or if, he will do whatever he will do.”
“That is easy. He takes four weeks off for deer season. He is very selective about his kills. He won’t shoot a deer with less than ten points. He has two racks that are highly rated by Boon and Crocket. He has hopes of bagging the White Tail Deer record. He pays thousands of dollars a year for deer leases. When we were married, I hardly saw him from November to January. He’ll get his deer first. He isn’t a hide and wait hunter, he is a stalker. He is dangerous, are you sure you want to get involved with this Carly?”
“Damn straight girl.”
“Riley, can we get to the rifle range without our tails?”
“I’ll talk to Ginger and ask her to arrange it. If we can’t eliminate your tails, don’t go. What about Stacy?”
Melanie and Carly looked at each other and both said, “Regina.”
“You two need to go, one of your tails just came in the McDonald’s, you’ll be safe tonight.”
Carly corralled Stacy and Riley corralled her nephew. They departed in different directions.
>>>>><<<<<
“Melanie, would you and Stacy consider moving in with me. All I have to offer you is me and a few other things, but I think me is the most important.”
“What about Gramma?” Stacy asked.
“She could come to, but you will still see her bunches.”
“I think we can work things out squirt,” Melanie said. “We’ll move in after vacation and before the salon reopens. Grandma was asking me what was taking so long any way.”
>>>>><<<<<
Melanie got through her training Friday and came home to help her mother pack for her trip. Melanie told her about Jimmy putting a PI on them and her moving in with Carly. Joyce said she would love keeping Stacy, while they worked and this would give her more time to relax. She could keep Stacy 24/7, but she would love being able to kick back some too.
“I could put Stacy in half a day care so she can play with other kids.”
“Bring her to me in the morning and I can drop her off at daycare at noon, that is a wonderful idea,” Joyce said. “I love her, but she can be a handful to have all day every day.”
>>>>><<<<<
Regina and Beverly arrived bright and early at Carly’s place. An hour before Melanie, Joyce and Stacy arrived. Carly told them about Jimmy and the PI’s that were stalking them. She even pointed out the car to the girls. She told them that she and Melanie were going to drop off Joyce of at the airport and then switch cars and go to a shooting range.
“Don’t worry, Stacy will be safe with us,” Beverly said. “You’re taking Melanie’s car to the airport.”
“We are taking Stacy to our place and then the park. You can call us”
Melanie, Joyce and Stacy arrived. Stacy hugged Carly, Regina and Beverly. Regina moved Stacy’s car seat to her car. Stacy hugged Grandma and then was buckled into her seat.
The posse departed Carly’s place. Regina and Beverly went to their place with Stacy. Carly rode in the back of Melanie’s car, with Joyce in the front, and Melanie driving to the airport. Melanie had four tails as she drove. Two Riley’s PI’s and two Jimmy’s PI’s. Regina and Beverly just had Riley’s PI’s. They cleared her baffles and prepared for part two of today’s circus.
Melanie drove up to the drop off point, at the airport, a skycap helped unload Joyce’s luggage and after checking her ticket, sent it on to her destination. Melanie only got a quick hug, before they were telling her to move on. Carly got behind the wheel of Melanie’s car and drove out of the airport. Back at Margret’s home, Carly parked in the garage and drove out in her car.
As soon as they drove out, Melanie got a call on her cell phone, that they had their tails. Ginger gave them directions that led them sort of out of the way of the shooting range. Carly drove past a tractor trailer rig, who pulled out behind her and stalled, blocking the highway. They were then told to take a left and a car similar to hers, pulled out and headed in the same direction they had been going. A few minutes later, Ginger told them that they were clear to go to the range. The look alike had two tails and was headed to Waco.
Carly then headed to the range. Carly bought an ammo can of 1200 9mm rounds, a can of 800 .45 ACP rounds and 4 empty plastic boxes, that could hold 100 pistol rounds. Melanie bought six silhouette targets. When they got to the pistol range, they waited by their shooting station, they began loading the plastic boxes with rounds. When the range went safe, they went downrange and stapled their targets up. They returned and finished loading the plastic boxes. Melanie took the Glock 34 and the Glock 21 .45. Carly was left with the 1911 and Melanie’s SR9c. With the range hot, they began shooting. Carly was better with the 1911 this week and not as good with Melanie’s SR9c, but still killing the target. Melanie did better with the Glock 34, and was a bit wild with the Glock 21, the Glock’s recoil was a little stronger.
Gunny came over and stood behind them watching. When Melanie set the Glock down, he came up.
“The baby Glock in a .45 is a bit much for a lady’s grip, Blue eyes.”
“My name is Melanie, Gunny. I have access to each of these guns at times and I want to be able to use any of them.”
“Troubles?”
“My ex is stalking me and he is good with guns. He doesn’t use a deer stand, he stalks his deer every year. I’m not looking for trouble, but if he thinks he can lay a hand on me or my daughter…”
“I understand,” Gunny said.
He then began working with her and the Glock 21. He helped her adjust her grip and the way she stood. He also got her to slow down and get used to the weapon.
Carly took the Glock 34 9mm and shot it. She was better with the full size gun. Melanie was starting to get the hang of the small Glock .45. She still had a lot of work to do.
After they had each shot two hundred rounds, they reloaded the plastic boxes and magazines. They cleaned the weapons as they had been shown, loaded the guns and carried everything to the car to put in the trunk.
>>>>><<<<<
Carly and Melanie packed her car for the trip to Galveston and then had to go rescue Regina and Beverly, Stacy had literally tied them up. They could have just slipped off the ropes, but that would have been cheating. Carly threatened to tie them up herself.
Carly again headed south, her tails gave up as she was really headed to Waco this time. They figured they were being taken for a ride twice in one day. Their job was over anyway at sundown. The customer paid for a week of surveillance on a child custody dispute and he got a week of surveillance.
Melanie got a call from Ginger that their tails had gone home. So Carly took a left at Hillsboro on the way to Galveston. It seemed like a long drive. Carly arrived in Galveston at almost six. She might have sped a bit between Mexia and Conroe, but she lost some time in Houston to traffic. Melanie and Stacy were sound asleep. They had stopped at a truck stop north of Huntsville for a bathroom break and food, but the girls were asleep again by the time they passed General Sam on I-45.
They checked into the hotel, across from the beach. Carly stood for a few seconds and just felt the warm breeze come in from the Gulf of Mexico, before she went to hang her clothes. Melanie was already sorting the hanging space: her clothes, Stacey’s clothes and Carly’ clothes. Carly saw a few sundresses, skirts and blouses, on her side, that were new and fewer pants, than she had packed. If she didn’t love Melanie, she would be mad at being had again.
They all went out for an early evening walk in pants, long sleeve shirts and bug repellant, on the seawall. They stopped for some crab cakes and fries, from a shop across from the gulf, before calling it a day.
Sleeping together had been wonderful for Carly and Melanie. They agreed that they wouldn’t do it, with Stacy sleeping on the bed next to them. They were both frustrated, but they were adamant in their intent. They did cuddle and kiss a bit, but mostly they slept in each other’s arms.
>>>>><<<<<
The three girls went to visit the tall ship Elissa and the museum. Stacy was a handful there; she thought all the rigging was a giant jungle gym, which she wanted to climb and if Melanie wasn’t careful, Stacy would be climbing the rigging. The Elissa wasn’t a pirate ship, but Carly had Stacy believing it. It would be easy to imagine the decks swarming with pirates. It was equally easy to imagine the ship ferrying the highborn from England to the New World.
Melanie told them about coming here in December, for “Dickens on the Strand” She loved all the Victorian costumes the people wore then. Carly said they might try to come down then.
After lunch, they headed to Moody garden, where Stacy could burn some energy running around chasing butterflies, looking at all the flamingoes, playing in the children’s exhibits. Melanie and Carly loved all the beautiful plants and flowers. They also both enjoyed watching Stacy have fun. She could have fun doing the strangest things and if Melanie or Carly weren’t paying her enough attention, she’d find ways to get them involved.
During their week, they went up to the space museum, watched an Imax of the Grand Canyon and the American Indians. They went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Melanie wasn’t worried about running into Jimmy there. They saw the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas. Stacy loved AstroWorld, although she could only go on the children’s rides. Carly won her some prizes at the arcades.
Melanie and Carly both felt better leaving Houston behind and coming north again. They picked up two bushels of peaches, from Fairfield and fifty pounds of unshelled pecans, from Corsicana.
Melanie called Regina, when they left Corsicana. Regina and Beverly were both at Carly’s place, when they got home Friday night, with their new house keys. Ginger had supervised a lot of changes to Carly’s home, while they were gone. They had replaced the front and back doors, with intrusion resistant doors built into a heavy steel frames, hidden by wood molding. All the windows had also been replaced, with energy efficient, bullet resistant windows, that were more secure. There were motion sensor lighting, all around the house and an upgraded security system. The house couldn’t prevent a determined adversary from entering, but it would give them several minutes minimum, to prepare.
Beverly took Stacy to her bedroom and helped her get ready for bed, while Regina showed Carly and Melanie the new security system. The keys were unique to the security company and replacements, or new keys, had to come through them. Bump keys and lock picks, wouldn’t work on them. The keys were a combination of mechanical and magnetic. A combination lock key safe, was hidden in an electrical panel, behind the garage, if they got locked out. Using or tampering with the box, automatically sent an alert to the security company. The alarm system had a master control panel, in the master bedroom, which was converted into a thirty minute home safe room. The laundry room, was now qualified as a steel plate and brick, twelve person storm shelter. The house alarm had zone alerts, so they could see where intruders were. Once the alarm was tripped, ultrasonic and infrared detectors come on, tracking the intruders. All key panels, had panic buttons that notifies Police and the security company. Carly and Melanie both called into the security companies separately and set their passwords.
Regina and Beverly also took it upon themselves to redecorate Stacy’s room and she was bouncing off the walls, checking her new room out. She moved things to where she wanted them, even if the move was only inches. Beverly picked her up, so she could reach the top shelves.
Carly wanted to drive by the salon to see what they had done, but Regina said the workers wouldn’t let anybody in and the glass windows were covered with black plastic. Beverly and Regina even tried dating a couple of the workers to get a peek. The foreman told them that the work would be finished almost a week early, on Tuesday and they would unveil their work on Wednesday, letting Carly and the stylists to begin to get it sorted out that afternoon.
“Salon Consultants Inc. are planning a big party Wednesday morning and we are all invited. Ads for the Grand Reopening Monday, are already in the paper. Starbuck’s is going to open on Monday too. The manager wants you to call her this Monday.”
“How many of our people are out of town?”
“Six, four of whom will be back by Tuesday and we have nine stylists in training, Monday through Friday. We need to stay open on Wednesday, long enough for those who are training, to get to see the new salon. Everybody will be at the salon on Saturday and Sunday, as needed. Call Kathy tomorrow.”
Regina and Beverly had been communication central for the employees, while they had been closed. Even the new stylists called them for updates. Donna and William were playing it close to the vest, but passed some information to the two of them.
“Okay, pass the word. Let’s get all the stylists and their families if they like, at the unveiling. Do you two know any big time competitive BBQ’ers?”
“Beverly’s brother is a member of the ‘Double Q Crew’. They compete all over the state. They would love to cook for us.”
“Call them and get a head count from our people and from Salon Consultants Inc. There will be no work on Wednesday, except to clean up from the party. Thursday, we will be getting our Stations set up.”
The four women finally got an exhausted Stacy, to go to bed, by threatening to paint her room puke green. The girl was asleep before the adults made it downstairs. Regina and Beverly, left shortly after that, with a dozen peaches and two pounds of pecans. Melanie invited them back for tomorrow afternoon, to help her bake a dozen peach pies and a dozen pecan pies.
Melanie hauled Carly up to their room and kept her very busy for two hours, till they both fell asleep from exhaustion.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday morning, Melanie was in charge of getting breakfast sorted and Carly began taking care of a mountain of dirty clothes, as Stacy played in her new backyard and watched TV on the huge LED TV. She loved all the cartoon channels and anime channels. They all stopped to eat and Melanie made a shopping list of what she needed for all the pies.
While Melanie went to the store, Carly kept Stacy occupied by playing with her dolls, swinging on the new swing set, playing on the seesaw, or playing in the new sandbox. Stacy wanted to do it all at the same time.
Before Melanie got home, Kathy and her kids showed up. Her kids were older, but her daughter Renee, liked playing with Stacy, while Ricky watched his favorite anime’s on TV. Angelica and Felicia, with their four girls arrived and lastly, Regina and Beverly showed up.
Once Melanie got home, the girls began a pie production line. Carly took a poll on what everyone wanted for lunch and went to rob Colonel Sanders of his daily output of chicken, mashed potatoes, beans and corn on the cob. When she got back, she had to park on the street, because there were cars everywhere. She was relieved of all of her burdens and sent out for more food, as two-thirds of her employees had showed up. Carly returned with twenty pounds of barbecue, buns and fixings. Carly found her Mom in the kitchen, with the other girls, some of the husbands and male stylist were in the living room watching college football, in the living room, and ten kids were in the back yard playing. Melanie was smiling, working with her friends and Carly had fun just watching everyone enjoying themselves.
The half-life of the pies, as they began coming out of the oven, had been just under two minutes for the first four peach pies and the first six pecan pies. Carly thought someone was going to die from sugar shock, for sure. She got an eighth of both pies and couldn’t make up her mind which was better. The girls cleaned up the house, as they began to leave around six that evening. By ten that night, it was just Carly, Melanie, Anita and Stacy. Stacy was asleep in Anty Nita’s lap.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were having a picnic at your place today?” Anita asked.
“I didn’t know, till I came back with the barbecue. I can’t believe there is no food left, except two dozen pies. How many pies did you girls cook?”
“I don’t know, we lost count. I could count the empty pie tins, but they are already in the trash,” Melanie said. “We’ll have to go out for breakfast tomorrow. There are only pies in the fridge and maybe a dozen peaches.”
“Stacy was in heaven with all the kids playing with her, in her yard today,” Carly said. “Oh Mom, we’re living together now.”
“About time, I knew when I first saw you two together that you were made for each other. Carly, if you leave her, or treat her badly, Melanie and Stacy can come live with me and you can find another Mom.”
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday, Carly dressed in her tunic top with all the buttons, jeans and stilettoes. Melanie and Anita just loved the top. They all dressed up, Melanie made them all beautiful and hit the I-Hop. Melanie wouldn’t let Stacy order her Happy Face pancakes; today she had to eat eggs, bacon and hash browns. Stacy had two pieces of the peach pie the day before. She pouted, but she loved eggs and bacon too.
Anita stayed in town working out of the Dallas office on Monday and Tuesday, so she could be there for the unveiling and she would be here for the Grand Reopening. Carly talked to Kayla Denton, the manager of the Starbuck’s opening next door, they talked about coordinating their openings, plus a few other details. Carly invited her to the unveiling party Wednesday and offered her and her female employees, a one-time only offer, of free hair services, on the Saturday before they opened. She said, girls under 18 need their Moms here.
Monday afternoon, Carly got a call from Salon Consultants Inc. to come to the salon, with Kathy. They were having a professional inspector come through, doing a punch list inspection. Melanie was out with Stacy, so Carly called Kathy and drove on in.
Kathy was at the door waiting for Carly. William handed the two women a clipboard, paper, pens and rolls of blue tape, before they were escorted in.
“We have professional inspectors in, but we wanted you two to do your own inspection, before we unveil the store Wednesday,” William said, escorting the ladies in.
There were about a dozen people inside already, doing the same thing. Kathy got to work immediately, while Carly wandered around, taking in the big picture. She did give her empty office a very good look, there were only three pieces of blue tape in her office. The larger break room looked good, it had the fewest pieces of tape for its size. The whole place looked absolutely cavernous, without furniture, moveable fixtures, or products in the place. It looked to have possibilities, there was plenty of cleaning, that needed to be done, furniture and equipment, needed to be moved in, but this was her place.
After two hours, the inspectors left and the contractor’s trouble-shooters came in to knock out the punch list. Tonight, at around mid-night, they would finish. The foremen would double check their work and pull the blue tape.
Tuesday, the cleaners would come in, followed by the movers, who would move in the moveable equipment and furniture. A computer company came in and installed computers, printers, software and reinstalled the current business data. The phone system was installed and checked. Carly, Melanie and some of the girls, just stood out of the way and watched the workers work, but that got boring.
At six in the evening, on Tuesday, ‘Double Q Crew’ moved their big barbecue pit in, along with their motorhome and started getting things lined up.
Things would begin tomorrow at ten.
>>>>><<<<<
At nine forty five, Carly, Melanie, Stacy, most of her stylists and their families, that were in town and not in training, were waiting at their salon. At ten, William and Donna came up to the door.
“Carly, it has been a great pleasure working for you. We hope you love your new salon,” Donna said, handing over the keys.
Carly thanked them for their hard work. She took the keys and unlocked the doors. As the doors opened, the black plastic was pulled off the windows, letting in the sunlight. The place came alive. Carly walked in and saw Regina and Beverly at their post, taking appointments. Their station had a large Lucite desktop, a computer monitor floated on a pedestal, two printers and two file cabinets to their right. Display shelves for products were in front of the window to their left.
The reception area was beautiful and there were flowers everywhere. There were pictures of celebrity hairstyles on the wall, gorgeous couches lined three walls and a circular Lucite table with current publications. The crowd came in; they saw Kathy and Carol standing in the styling area. As the employees came in, the two began assigning employees to their stations. The whole place looked fantastic. The employees were wandering around, like kids in a candy store.
“Ok, listen up!” Carly said. “No work today, Stay as long as you like. Tomorrow and Friday, you may come in and get your station set up, like you like it. We will start bringing in our products and chemicals tomorrow. Your stations have to be setup by late Sunday, If you finish early, you can help the stylist that are in training, to set up their stations. Kathy will open Monday with her stylists and Carol will be here from Tuesday to Saturday. In a few minutes, the barbecue will be ready. I want all of you to give William and Donna a big round of applause.”
The employees gave the two, a hearty round of applause.
“I also want to thank all the people who worked on this salon, give them a hand too. They have done a really great job.”
Her employees gave the construction workers a hearty applause.
“Explore this place and have fun. We are truly a family here.”
There were long lines at the barbecue pit. Kayla Denton and a few of her girls came by. They loved the new salon; Kayla said, she and maybe three of her girls, would be there Saturday.
“Just tell Regina, so we can make plans.”
“Oh and I know I will be spending lots of money at your place, to get my caffeine fix.”
Anita was a dear and took Stacy home, when she got bored. People were in and out all day. The visitors were suitably impressed with the salons new look. Most of the stylists, in training, came by after five thirty, to look around. Kathy assigned them to stations and Carly told them that they had till late Sunday to get their stations set up.
Carly and Melanie were the last to leave. They locked up and headed home at almost seven thirty. It took a while to clean up the shop and parking lot after the feast and haul the garbage to the dumpster.
The two of them took a nice shower together, to clean the smoke and grease out of their hair and off their skin, maybe not as long as they took, but they had fun. Melanie and Carly got to kiss Stacy before she went to bed.
They went downstairs and sat with Anita, to talk.
“Now all you need is customers,” Anita said.
“This is like the field of dreams, Momma. If you build it, they will come. Once they are there and see how good my stylists are, and how great they look, they will come back. I have good people, from good schools. We will be in the black by the new year.”
“What about UConn?” Anita asked.
“I will go to UTA or TCU, I’m not worried about that. Being here with Melanie and Stacy, is more important to me now.”
“I think you may be right,” Anita said, smiling tenderly at Carly.
“I know she is right,” Melanie said, kissing Carly. “Anyway, we are going to work to send her to Paul Mitchell’s school.”
“I have to go to New York tomorrow and New Jersey on Friday. I will be back here on Monday, for half a day.”
>>>>><<<<<
Anita was gone when Carly, Melanie and Stacy headed to the salon. Carly unlocked the POD container and then unlocked the Salon. They propped the door open and Carly started wheeling a dolly, with storage containers for all her stylists, in. When Regina and Beverly arrived, Beverly manned the desk, Regina unloading her products and setting the boxes in front of the reception desk. Kathy had setup the product display at her station and asked the stylists, that came in, to copy her display.
Melanie left with Stacy, to find a good daycare.
A beauty supply company that sells mostly the “tools of the trade” called and said they would have a truck, which was loaded with stylists’ supplies, there on Saturday. They were like the Snap-On tool dealers, who bring a truck full of tools, to the mechanic. Regina made a note to call all the stylists to inform them of the truck. A few stylists came in after training, to begin to get their stations in order. Carly again closed up and headed home.
Melanie told Carly, that she needed her to come to the daycare and have her photo taken, so she could pick up Stacy when needed. They only allow pickups by people who have their picture in the child’s records. One of them would have to be there, when Joyce came in too.
“What does Stacy think of the daycare?”
“She loves it. She likes playing with kids her age. I think the teachers are pretty nice too. I checked the daycare online, I checked their references and I checked for complaints with the state.”
>>>>><<<<<
Everyone was present for a short staff meeting, then given a tour of the new Salon, on Saturday. Stacy was with Grandma, who had returned. All of the stylists were trained in the new system, for dealing with the chemicals used in perms and hair coloring. The stylists manually draw the chemistry, use their unique ID to log the chemicals they need, chemicals are linked to the procedures, to the client and to the billing.
Each station had a touch screen computer, connected to the salon’s main server, through the stores LAN. Stylist could call up their appointment schedule, input client’s procedures and even use the computers to help customers select styles and view a virtual picture of what the client would look like, with the selected hairstyle, color or perm. There are high-resolution cams at each station. Before and after pictures are taken and stored, on the salons computer. Clients who want the same hairstyle, of a certain celebrity, in the past, could be a problem. Celebs change hairstyles like they change their clothes. Now, if a client wanted Jessica Alba’s hairstyle, the stylist had internet access and, could pull up a series of pictures, of Jessica Alba, for the client to select from and they could see how they would look with that style. The computer system, had been a part of the training, that they had been receiving, the past week.
They got to try the system out on the manager and girls, who would be working at the new Starbuck’s. The girls really ran the stylists through the new system. Many wanted to see how they would look in this hairstyle, or that hairstyle. Kayla was easy to please. She liked her hairstyle and it looked good on her. She did try the look with various colors, but she opted just to have her hair trimmed, her makeup and nails done. A couple of her girls went for a perm and one girl, Shelly, went whole hog, double process color, perm style, nails, facial and makeup. The girl was ecstatic, when she saw how nice she looked.
Carly had a fright, as she was surrounded by all her employees, including Melanie. She was taken to a waxing booth and stripped. Her enhancements were temporarily taken off and she was receiving a complete body wax job. They just left a strip of hair above junior. She was allowed a knee length robe and received a mani-pedi, had fills done on her French nails and her toenails done in a matching pink color. She had her brows waxed, given a facial, and had semi-permanent eyelashes added. She had her roots touched up along her part and her hair was given a deep treatment, that made her hair much more vibrant. Melanie took her in the back and they had a shower, shampoo and conditioning. Her enhancements were reattached, semi-permanent makeup was used to hide the seams which match her skin tone. Her makeup was done; she was given a daytime, professional look. She was finally allowed to dress in new undies, including a below the bust corset, pantyhose, an Armani blouse, skirted Armani suit and Armani stiletto pumps.
She had to stand there and pose for her stylists, who took a slew of pictures, before she was made to redress in three more outfits, all business professional skirted suits, have her makeup readjusted appropriately and then more photos were taken.
All Carly asked during all of this was, “My Mom?” and Melanie answered, “Your Mom and your stylists wanted to do something for you.”
Carly looked quite professional in all her clothing. She would be perfectly at home with her Mom at a board meeting. Many of the blouses she owned, would fit in nicely with the suits, she apparently owned now. She was dressed in a power red suit and heels, with a white chiffon blouse.
“This is your uniform for the first week we will be open,” Kathy said. “Monday, we have the Chamber of Commerce and one of the Mayor’s staff, will be here. You and Melanie are assigned to be off tomorrow. That means, you don’t show up here tomorrow! Melanie, you are fired if you let her come in.”
“You don’t want me to be fired do you Carly?”
“No, I will go quietly, but I have a surprise for all of you. I was going to tell all of you earlier, till I was assaulted and my clothes stolen for the fifth or sixth time.” Carly said, counting on her fingers. “I can’t keep track. I seem to lose my clothes faster than a stripper, but I have a room reserved for tonight, at the Texas Blue Bonnet Steakhouse, at seven. That is, if any of my thieving employees and their families feel like eating Steak or Lobster?”
Not much was said, but there was a beehive of activity. People were calling their significant others, stylists were doing each other’s hair and makeup.
The Blue Bonnet, was a five star steakhouse, done Texas style. They are famous for being the home of the four inch thick, Cowboy Ribeye steak. A family of four, could easily spend four hundred dollars. Waiters wear jeans, heavily embroidered cowboy shirts, Lucchese boots and black 10x Stetsons. The Waitresses wear blue bonnet embroidered square dancing skirts, with petticoats, fancy western blouses, Lucchese boots and white 10x Stetsons. The wait staff has to contract for a year, or pay three thousand dollars for a week’s worth of clothes. The staff also has to train six weeks in line dancing, square dancing, song and dance, as they provide ten minutes of entertainment, every hour, on the hour.
A fifteen percent tip, won’t get you a table at this place, at a later date. A ten percent tip or less, will get you into the rogue’s gallery of low or no tippers, that can’t get a table without paying a bounty, and it shows the bounty, which is up to twice the check they had. One East Coast US Senator holds the record. There is a twelve thousand dollar bounty on him. Patrons can actually pay, to raise the bounties, by matching them. The Texas Governor heard the Senator had a six thousand dollar bounty, and matched that himself. The bounties go to the wait staff. The Senator and his staff came in, spent three thousand on food and drink in 4 hours and left a hundred dollar tip.
Physically handling the wait staff; will get your wanted poster into the rogue’s gallery. Patrons who paw the staff, have their wanted poster hung with a noose. The wait staff is for looking at and for serving you, not fondling. There are deputies, with tin stars and wearing replica colt single action army revolvers, (non-firing) making sure everyone is having a good time and behaves themselves.
Most restaurants couldn’t get away with posting a rogue’s gallery. The Texas Blue Bonnet Steakhouse has thrived because of it. People pay, for the privilege to have pictures taken by their favorite rogue, or buy copies of their wanted poster.
Melanie got her hair and makeup done; then she rushed out to get dressed and to get Stacy dressed.
Carly got home and Melanie and Stacy met her. She thought they both looked so cute. Melanie was dressed a blue chiffon evening dress, that came four inches above her knee and blue stilettos and Stacy wearing a pink princess dress and white Mary Janes.
They entered the Texas Blue Bonnet Steakhouse, through the rogue’s gallery. There were about forty wanted posters, printed to look like an old fashion wanted posters. The posters showed the offender’s photograph, in black and white, detailed their crime and listed a bounty. It was surprising to see who all was up there. There were a few well know celebs, besides the US Senator. There were eight posters that were framed by nooses and marked “Wanted Dead or Alive (mostly dead)”.
Carly got tickled when she walked up to the greeter’s podium and deadpanned, “Carly Simon, Party of fifty five,” she said, in proper high English. “Oh and Princess Stacy; will need her throne.”
The greeter, a woman in her early twenties, dead panned back, “Let me go push a few dozen tables together. I will be just a minute.” She was dressed in a silver square dancing outfit.
While she was gone a few others started arriving. They were led to the back room, They still had clear sight of the stage.
As they sat, a woman and three guys, came out on the stage. The girl dressed in tux shorts, tux coat, top hat stilettos and a cane, came out and Started her Shania Twain Routine. ‘Man, I feel like a woman’, ‘That don’t impress me much’, ‘You’re still the one’, ‘From this moment on’ and ‘Forever and for always’. She used digital instrumental tracks, but the voice was all her own and she sang a credible cover. The guys danced with her and were her props.
Regina and Beverly were wearing contrasting, really fancy square dancing outfits, cowgirl boots and the full getup. They each had enough organza in the petticoats, that they were sitting on the rumba panties, when they sat. Their modesty was protected by their petticoats.
As the last of her people were coming in, Carly noticed two teens.
“Do they belong to us, Kathy?”
“I don’t know Carly. Could be one of the new stylists’ kids. No, they are too old,” Kathy said.
Carly got up and snuck behind the boy and girl, “Hi, I am Carly Simon.” She said, startling the pair. “Which stylist are your parents?”
The girl turned toward the boy and said, “I told you it wouldn’t work.”
The boy looked sheepishly at his feet. “Damn… Sorry, I meant dang it. Sarah here is my girlfriend, I am John. We tried to get a table. I didn’t know this was a reservation only place. We kinda tagged along with two people and were going to hide in a corner and get something to eat.”
Carly looked around and had an evil idea, “Come with me,” Carly said, as she led them over to a table where Regina, Beverly and Olivia sat. “Regina, this is Sarah and John. They are not to leave this table till they have had some fun and eaten. Have fun with them” Carly said, leaving the two with them.
Regina shoehorned the couple between herself and Olivia.
When everyone was seated the servers descended on them, passing out menus and taking drink orders. Sarah couldn’t take her eyes off of Olivia’s black and purple spiked hair and razor cut sides, and Olivia started talking hairstyles with Sarah. Regina asked Olivia, if she thought, if both of them would look good with identical hair like hers? Both teens shuddered and Regina apologized for teasing. She then introduced the others at the table, “Don’t worry about the cost. This is on the boss lady, who sat you down here, it’s on her dime.”
“That young lady is your boss?” Sarah asked, in amazement.
“Yes ma’am. She just spent half a mil, spiffing up the joint. Olivia and the rest are some of the best stylists in the county.”
“Who did her hair, it’s wonderful?” Sarah asked.
“The lady sitting next to her in blue did it.”
Many of the people there wound up splitting their steak, with a friend or spouse and getting extra sides. The steaks were just that big. One table got the cowboy steak for husband, wife and three kids and they couldn’t finish it all.
Six guys and six girls took the stage for some precision line dancing. It was fascinating, watching the highly choreographed dance. After they finished the dance, a guy with a fiddle and an older gentleman with a mike, came out and started calling for a square dance. The square dance started out slowly, but after five minutes, the calls were coming out rapidly and the dancers were doing a great job following the caller. Everyone was clapping to the rhythm of the caller.
Carly could hardly understand what was being said and she had no doubt that she would never be able to dance like that. When the calling got too fast, two couples both turned in the wrong direction and ran into each other. Two girls fell into the missionary position. The guys helped the embarrassed girls up off the floor, while the patrons were clapping and laughing.
As much fun as Stacy was having, she was starting to nod off. Melanie was taking blackmail pictures with her phone, you know, those cute pictures parents take, to and threaten to show their sons’ or daughters’ dates. Carly called a deputy over for her check.
“Now deputy,” Carly said, signing the charge slip for her group. “I love this place, and I don’t want to wind up in your rogue’s gallery. Do you reckon, this will keep my picture off a wanted poster.”
The bill for all her people and the two lovebirds, was just over forty two hundred. Carly added a fifteen hundred dollar tip.
“Ma’am that will not only keep you out of the Rogue’s gallery, that will get ya a front row seat, the next time you come. Ya’ll do come back. Ya hear.”
Carly turned to her crew and said, “The tab is paid. Ya’ll can stay, but anything else you buy is on your dime. The little one is sleeping in her pie.”
Melanie and Carly received hugs and thanks as they got up to leave.
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Melanie tucked Stacy in bed with her snuggle bunny, after undressing her. In their bedroom, Carly took off her suit and Melanie took off her dress. Melanie then attached garters to Carly’s corset, took off her pantyhose and rolled up stocking up her legs. Carly nearly passed out from the sensation.
They shagged for hours, touching, kissing, making love and playing with each other. Carly snuck a hand into her nightstand and pulled out one of Margret’s toys and stuck it in Melanie, turned on the beads and vibration, while the two were kissing deeply. Melanie let out a holler that was mostly muffled by Carly’s mouth, as the vibrating rabbit hit her clit. That literally blew Carly’s mind. Melanie then rode Carly to a wonderful orgasm, for both of them. Exhausted, Melanie went to sleep on Carly’s chest, with Carly still inside her.
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Little hands woke Carly in the morning, “I’m hungry, Carly,” Stacy said.
Carly looked at her clock and it was just after eight thirty.
“Can you play for a bit, and let Mommy and me get cleaned up, a bit.”
“I go play, but I am hungry,” Stacy said, as she turned and left the room.
Carly shook Melanie awake and told a groggy Melanie, “Wake up honey. Hungry mouths are awake.”
“I know, my mouth is hungry for you,” Melanie said, giving Carly a scorching morning kiss.
They both crawled out of bed. Melanie released Carly from the corset and began to get herself sorted out. They took a quick shower together, only playing a little. Later, in panties and a robe, they headed to the kitchen. Melanie started the coffee pot; Carly cut a banana in half and gave it to Stacy, who scarfed it down. Melanie then gave her a bowl of cereal, with milk. Stacy sat in Carly’s lap and contentedly ate her cereal. Carly would have to wash her robe, Stacy had dripped milk on it, but she didn’t mind at all.
Melanie and Carly shared an English muffin, with cream cheese and strawberry preserves, plus a sliced peach each.
Melanie and Carly went to get cleaned up and dressed, after dressing Stacy. Melanie laced Carly into an over the bust corset, that had cups, “You need a girly figure, since you are going to wear those suits to work, next week.”
“I don’t mind, well maybe I do a little, but does it have to be so tight?”
“The longer you wear one each day and the more days you wear one, the easier it will get. Your body will get used to it and will actually arrange itself to its shape. You may get to like wearing one.”
They dressed in sundresses and flats. They then took Stacy out to the duck pond, so she could run around, feed the ducks and get some sun. She loved feeding the ducks, but got a little scared as they crowded around her, vying for the mealworms she was feeding them. Carly was surprised that Stacy didn’t find the mealworms a little yucky.
They went to I-HoP for lunch. Carly picked up a Sunday paper to read. She had to read all the comics, as Stacy looked at the pictures and laughed at the jokes, even when, as Carly suspected, that Stacy didn’t know what the joke actually was. She loved the colorful drawings.
Carly then hit the fashion section, she stopped when she came to the salon ad for their ‘Grand Opening’.
“When were you girls going to tell me about this?” Carl said, holding up the ad for the salon.
“Oh, you weren’t supposed to see that ad.” Melanie said. “Kathy got all your employees together and they all agreed, the salon needed a new name. Blame Regina, it was her idea, the name that is.”
“Am I something they can all play with?... Scratch that question. I know I’m not. The only choice I seem to have had, was the ah…” Carly started to say ‘Tits’ “Curves and even they are bigger than I wanted.”
“Unless we elect for surgery, Carly, none of us get very much say in that department. I think you look wonderful. Promise me, that you’ll try to act surprised tomorrow.”
“I’ll try to act surprised. Nice ad by the way.”
“Beverly and Regina worked it out between themselves.”
“Let me guess, they are installing new signs today and painting the front window.”
“Yes and no, yes they are installing the new sign and no they aren’t painting the windows, except for the door. They are installing an awning banner.”
“So, what time am I supposed to be at the salon?”
“No earlier than nine thirty. The representative from the Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor’s Office, will arrive at nine forty five. Then the ribbon cutting will be at 10:00. So, what do you think of the name.”
“Should have thought of it myself. I would have left Carly out of the name. Adventures in Hair Design is a good name, but I don’t design anything.”
“You enable and inspire others to create.”
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Melanie dropped Stacy off with Joyce; she would bring Stacy to the ribbon cutting. Back home, Melanie began to fuss on Carly, getting her look just right for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Carly was dressed in a corset, stockings, white cowl neck blouse, and her skirted, burgundy, Armani suit and pumps. Melanie worked on her hair, makeup and accessories, to get her just the right look.
Carly found it hard to wait for the clock to tick down, so they could head to the salon. Her stomach was filled to the brim with butterflies. Her mom called from Dallas and said she was on her way and would be at the salon by nine thirty.
“Would you stop fidgeting Carly? You are going to have eye liner from the edge of your eye all the way to your ear.”
“I just don’t want to sit here. I should be at the salon, doing something.”
“Everything is done, that needs to be done.”
Melanie added a few more touches to Carly’s face and pronounced her ready, “Get your purse and keys. We need to take both of our cars. One of us needs to pick Stacy up at five. If you are ready, let’s get going.”
When they pulled into their parking lot, they had to park in the back row, of the lot, as there was a crowd of people, mostly women, milling around in front of Starbuck’s and the Salon. Kayla was making coffee and several of her workers were passing it out to the people. Both of their signs, by the road, were covered, but both of their awesome new awnings, proudly sported their businesses names. The salon had a rather plain awning before, but she loved the new colors and the great ads on the awning and its skirt.
Beverly was at the door and let Melanie in, but she made Carly wait outside. Carly could see that the front of her Salon looked like a flower store and that Regina was extremely busy on her phone and computer. Her eyes arched as she could make out a large cake, much like the grooms cake, at a wedding, before Beverly stood in front of her and asked her to please move away from the window. She was kind to her boss, but made her point emphatic. Carly found her Mom; they hugged and talked a bit.
Two women, one from the Mayor’s office and one from the Chamber of Commerce, arrived with three gold ribbons. A news reporter, videographer and photographer appeared and began shooting this circus. Aides held up gold ribbons in front of both shops. The representative of the Chamber and Kayla, stood side by side. She and the Mayor’s representative spoke a few words and all three held the scissors as they cut Starbuck’s ribbon. Then it was Carly’s turn. After words, she and the other two women cut the Salon’s ribbon. Then Kayla and Carly stood, flanked by the two representatives’, to cut a ribbon with two scissors. After that, they got to uncover their street signs. The two businesses were officially open. Kayla led customers into her shop and Carly led customers into her shop.
The salon was set up for a party. They were serving cake and drinks in the salon. That meant they couldn’t offer salon services, till they cleared the food away. There were caterers there, serving. All of her stylists were by their stations, were wearing pink smocks, with Carly’s salon’s name embroidered on them, greeting customers and talking with them. Olivia looked cute, with her spiked black n purple hair, studded black leather pants, black stilettos, with their metallic silver heels and her pink smock. Carly was in a meet and greet mode. The new salon was spacious, yet comfortable and had more to offer than before.
At Regina’s desk, the products section offered hair care products at half off, with salon services, limit one per customer. First time customers also received a discount, just by registering their email addresses, so they could receive promotions online.
Familiar arms hugged her legs and Carly picked up Stacy, as Carly walked about her store. Melanie relieved Carly of her burden and set Stacy in her chair, covering her with a pink cape and gave her a small piece of cake and a cup of punch.
They were in party mode for an hour and a half. Customers were politely shooed out and what was left of the cake and drinks, was moved to the coffee table, in reception. Joyce took Stacy to her daycare. The stylists sprang into action, quickly cleaning up. At noon, the salon began to offer services. All of her service employees had customers escorted to them and they all sprang into action.
Carly smiled, as the salon began to smell and sound like a salon.
By three, Regina was already restocking the shelves with their top selling products. By Four thirty, the Salon was still very busy. Felicia left about the same time as Carly, to pick up Angelica’s and her children, while Carly headed out to pick up Stacy. Melanie told Carly to take Stacy out to eat; she would be busy till about seven.
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Stacy and Carly went to Chuck E Cheese’s. Carly made Stacy eat a small salad, before she got a piece or two of pizza. Stacy told Carly all about her day, in astonishing detail. Once she started, she covered every minute detail she could remember. Carly dutifully listened and commented at appropriate times. Stacy even asked Carly questions, to make sure she was really listening. She was excited, that she had two people who actually listened to what she had to say, even if she didn’t know how to express her feelings with words.
Carly picked up a salad and a small peperoni/mushroom pizza, for Melanie. Melanie got home at six thirty, gave Stacy a hug, and Carly a toe curling kiss, then sat and ate. Stacy dominated the time talking to her mom, telling her about her day, before she had to go to bed.
Melanie and Carly did some housework and laundry, and then talked about how the salon did. Regina had sent Carly a report on the day’s receipts and broke it down by departments. The salon had its single biggest day in history. A note from Kathy said, the stylists were superb and their clients were ecstatic.
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The next few days were almost as busy as that first day. New customers were coming in and taking advantage of the promotions, Regina was selling shampoos, conditioners, and all sorts of hair care products. Makeup sales were high. Most women came in for a shampoo, cuts and blow dries, but perms and color were up, nails were sky high and the whole salon was doing Land Office business. The stylists weren’t being drive to churn people out, but most got a few minutes between clients, to clean up their station and to rest a bit.
Carly did the books, paid bills and did the laundry a couple of times a day, so the stylists always had dry clean towels and capes for their clients. She also received shipments at the backdoor, while Regina and Beverly received smaller shipments at their desk.
State inspectors came in on Friday and left about an hour later. Even though they were busy, everybody was cleaning as they worked and proper procedures were being followed. Still the inspectors rarely give a score of 100, Kathy was given a 98.
Carly and Melanie were off. Saturday, Joyce watched Stacy for two and a half hours, as Carly and Melanie went to the shooting range. Strangely, the pair enjoyed their time there. They shot the 9mm Glock 34 and the Colt 1911 and traded guns a couple of times. Both girls were actually getting pretty good. Melanie actually used this time to take out the frustrations of the week, on the paper targets, although thoughts of Jimmy were never far from their minds.
Stacy went with them to the duck pond, when they picked her up. She wasn’t as afraid of the ducks, when they began to crowd her while she was feeding them this time.
Sunday, the rangers were out of town, so they went bowling again. Carly and Melanie bought their own shoes, bags and balls. Stacy sat at the scorer’s table, content in just watching, rooting and laughing, as the two adults bowled a couple of lines. Melanie rolled a 173 and a 182, while Carly broke a hundred, rolling a 105 and a 118.
At home, Melanie began teaching Carly to cook simple meals, which were good for Stacy and them. Carly could cook a little, boiling water and dropping in a bag meal, or using the microwave, to heat up hot pockets and such, had been all the cooking she was use too. Even Stacy, who wasn’t allowed to touch the stove or microwave, was giving Carly instructions. She loved Mac and Cheese after all. Carly though, she added steamed cauliflower and broccoli to the mac and cheese, to satisfy Melanie. Stacy ate the cauliflower and broccoli, because they were covered in cheese.
October was a busy month, there was Halloween and a couple of formal and semi-formal functions in the DFW area. Women going to the functions, wanted to look their best. The salon got a lot of business from these functions. There were also several weddings on the weekends, where Melanie and others would come in, to get the brides, mother of the brides and bridesmaids ready.
The week of Halloween, the stylists had more fun with Carly. For three days before Halloween, she was stuffed into three different bunny costumes. Not the cute bunnies for children, type bunny. She was, yes, the other kind of bunny. She had spent most of the month in a corset, even when she got back into her slacks and blouses. These bunny costumes weren’t the cheap fetish versions either. Her costumes appeared to be the well-made satin, bare shoulder, high cut leg and very tight outfits. She also wore the ears, collar, cuffs, powder puff tail, tights and stilettos. She would be dressed at work and made up. If she needed to go potty, Melanie, or one of the girls, had to help her get unzipped and zipped up again. The costumes were that tight. She would undress, and get into her regular clothes before she went home, or to pick up Stacey.
Melanie wore a Vampira dress, Beverly wore a Betty Boop costume. Regina played a busty cop. Kathy played Gaia. Jeff surprised everybody. He did a half Robert Mitchum/half Marilyn Monroe costume. He used a lot of face putty to achieve the Mitchum half. He wore a boot on one foot and a stiletto on the other. Angelica and Felicia played wood dryads, that were just decent enough for public. You can guess what Olivia wore and it was black leather from the chin down. Bridget was an all adult, not ready for prime time, although she was as decent as Angelica or Felicia, Bo Peep. Terry was the Joker. Carol was Poison Ivy. Toni was Xena. Lorna was the Phantom of the Opera. Alesha was, I am not kidding, Alice Cooper. Shauna, a new stylist, was a Linda Carter, Wonder Woman. Ricardo, a new male stylist, was the Scarlet Pimpernel, complete with rapier and Sheryl, another nail tech, wore a Guy Fawkes costume. Lastly, Danielle wore a Yellow Uma Thurman “Kill Bill” costume, complete with a katana.
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The day after Halloween, a boy came in and presented them a challenge. His girlfriend had permed his collar length, blond hair. Something very wrong had happened and he now had long, tight pencil sized curls, wound like springs. He was sent to Melanie’s station.
“Hi my name is Madison Baker and I have a problem. My girlfriend gave me a perm and it turned out like this. When Mom saw it wasn’t a wig, she told me that I would either have to get it fixed, or get a bur cut. My hair was about two and a half inches longer. I don’t really want it cut, but it looks like I have dreadlocks.”
Melanie ran her hands through his hair. It was damaged, but not really that bad. The curls were just so tight. She took a web cam picture of Madison. Carly and a couple of stylists, came over to look.
“She kept me under her drying bonnet too long, I think. I fell asleep.”
Melanie got to work; she wet his hair and began to deep condition it. “What exactly did she do?”
“Well, she washed my hair and sectioned it off. She took perm rods and perm paper and rolled my hair really tight,” he then gave a point by point description of a perm, missing nary a point.
“Do you take cosmetology at high school? You seem to know a lot about how to do a perm.”
“Yes. Dad just shook his head and mom nearly freaked out, but we talked about it and they said if I really wanted to do it. It was ok with them. I am in my second year. I love working with girls’ hair.”
“And you wanted to see what a perm was like. You do know that you could have shampooed most of the curl out. I think I can leave you with softer curls,” Melanie stated. “Or I could take most of the curl out. Your choice.”
“Let me have the soft curls.”
“How is school? Do they give you a hard time?”
“Some, but not too bad. They know I am strange, but I like it.”
“You can play this two ways at school. You can fake it, and play the damaged hair card, doing something for your girlfriend, or you can own it, go androgynous. Wear slim fit, low rise pants, colorful shirts, clean your brows a bit, not too much though and take great care of your skin, use cleanser, astringent and moisturizer. I know a transgender person who did that. She owned the look.”
“Could you do my brows?”
“That is something you need to do yourself and not your girlfriend either. You can ask her advice, but just pluck the few stray brow hairs. Prove to yourself that this is what you want. I’ll be here to fix your work if necessary.”
Melanie dried his hair and got the curls to stretch out a bit. She then styled his hair, giving him a Meg’s Mop hairdo. He looked surprisingly good with his hair done. Even he admitted that he liked it. She then took an after picture.
She taught him how to take care of it in the morning and then told him, “Don’t shampoo it for a couple of days. Your hair isn’t too damaged, but you really need to condition it real good, every time you shampoo. We sell some excellent shampoos and conditioners. I’d love to give you some low lights and some reds someday.”
“I’d love to let you; I’ve got the camel’s nose into the tent, so to speak.”
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Just over four hundred miles away from Melanie, Jimmy was unsaddling and making his deer camp, on his deer lease, north and east of Kingsville, Texas. Out here, horses beat those four wheeled metal monsters, people ride. He would camp here and hunt for the next two weeks, seeking out a B&C 200 + white tail deer rack. He had his Remington 700 .308, a Winchester model 94 in a 30-30, a Desert Eagle in a .50 and his Action 7, compound bow. He would stalk the deer, till he was inside forty yards, then that deer would be dead and would be hanging on his wall. The guns were for coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions. Too bad wolves are protected; he never shoots protected species.
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Carly Simons drove to Dallas on Tuesday. Admission at Paul Mitchell informed her that she was accepted as a student at their school. Funny thing though, she didn’t remember ever applying. It had to be Melanie, Kathy or Anita. Yes her mom had to be in on this too. How else could they get her birth certificate and high school records?
She had thought about it a lot since she had started working at the salon. To obtain a cosmetologist operator license, requires 1500 hours of classroom and practical work, then undergo a rigorous testing procedure. She would go to school for fifteen months, going to school for five hours a day, then go to the salon, to do the books, putting in three hours a day, Monday through Friday. She would have no end of people who’d volunteer to tutor her. She was afraid she knew one, who could be a harsh taskmistress. Carly smiled thinking of her, but then again, it could be interesting.
Her first day at school, they got their ten pounds of flesh, as she wrote a check to pay for the course in full, had her mug shot taken, for her student permit (a lot better than her driver’s license shot), bought her books and her students beauty kit. She got the deluxe, Pro styling kit, that included more than the school required, makeup kit and the large rolling aluminum stylist case. She also got a half a dozen, Paul Mitchell smocks, on which she had her name embroidered in pink, on the black smocks and three coloring aprons. Carly met her teachers and was given a class schedules, syllabuses and reading assignments.
Carly went directly from school, to the salon. She got a couple of hours of work in the office, then met with her stylists and Customers. Kathy, Melanie and Jeff told her to keep up with her studies. The teachers weren’t known for being forgiving to students, who weren’t prepared.
Carly worked around the salon, while Melanie went to pick up Stacy. She sat with Regina, as she ran the days totals. The salon was averaging thirty to forty percent better, than the same period last year. Regina made her next day’s starting money and made her deposit. Carly was surprised when the girl pulled out a Beretta and checked it before she left.
“Do you have a CHL?”
“You bet your booty, I do. A girl can’t be too careful.”
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Jimmy’s first kill of the season wasn’t a deer. He was stalking a heard of deer and there was a really nice buck about five hundred yards and a bit. He was looking for a path to the heard, when he saw something else. He saw a large mountain lion stalking the same heard, about three hundres seventy five yards out. He didn’t want to stumble across that thing by accident and he didn’t want that thing to get his buck first. He moved around until he had a shot on the profile and made his shot. The big cat fell in its tracks and the deer sprinted off in a hundred different directions.
He had a hell of a time getting that big cat on the packhorse. The cat was a young male, about seven foot long and about two hundred pounds. That wasn’t the problem, the problem was the horse could smell the cat and didn’t want anything to do with it. The horses were pretty skittish. He put blinders on the horses and used Mentholatum on the horse’s noses, to cover up the smell of the cougar.
He called his Taxidermist friend and had him come pick up the dead animal. He wanted a full rampant mount. Jimmy would also talk to the King ranch; they might have an unofficial bounty on the big cat, mountain lions do prey on the calves of cattle.
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Carly spent time with Stacy and Melanie, till it was time for the little one to go to bed, then Carly began to do her reading. Carly didn’t have an eidetic memory, but she had the ability to read and understand the material, with the right training, she could apply the knowledge that she had gained. She sailed through high school advanced placement courses, with minimal effort, as long as she did her reading and did some of the practical work, to reinforce what she read. That was why she could look at the salon books and assess the condition of the salon. She had done that with her Mom enough times, that it was now a rote ability. Working with her mother, she also had the ability to spot books that had been cooked.
Carly looked at her syllabuses, she quickly scanned the chapters she had to read, making notes about the high points and then read her assignments. She then talked to Melanie about the material she had read, forming the necessary mental connections, to assess what she read and file it in her long term memory. Melanie was frustrated and amazed, by how easily Carly learned things.
Melanie and Carly sat for a while, talking about what Carly should expect, in the first few weeks at school. They then talked about the practical aspects, of what she would have to learn. Melanie promised Carly, that she and their friends would help, when it came time for her to learn her tasks. They had a certain reputation, which they expected Carly to maintain, after all.
Melanie knew just what to do to keep Carly’s attention, when they got to bed. They had more than a little fun, getting to a peaceful dreamlike state of mind.
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It had taken Jimmy two days of serious tracking, to narrow down where the deer had finally wandered off to. He began his hunter’s stalk. The damn buck that he wanted was near the middle of the herd, watching over all of his does. He could drop it from where he was hiding, he was only 650 yards or so away, but where was the sport in that. He would allow himself a week, to get close to that big buck.
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Carly went to school dressed in jeans, blouse and a pair of her block heels. She wheeled her kit to the car and carried her books in her Paul Mitchell leather tote. The first real day of class, the future stylists learned necessary things. They were drilled in the importance of sanitation, cleaning your station and your equipment, when you come in, in the morning, after you finish a client, before you begin to work on your next client, and at the end of the day. They also learned personal sanitation, hand washing, checking yourself over for stray hair, using gloves, for certain procedures. Carly put what she was being taught, together with what she had seen all her own stylists do. She mentally created a file cabinet in her mind marked “Cosmetology” and inserted a folder for sanitation. By the end of her time at Paul Mitchell, there would be a whole slew of stuffed folders in that drawer.
At her salon, she did her bookkeeping and took time to read her next assignments. Melanie was busy, so she left at four thirty and picked Stacy up. Stacy was so happy to see Carly, she ran right up to her, jumping into her arms. Instead of going home, Carly took them back to the Salon. Regina came over and got her hugs. Kathy came up front and got her hugs. Stacy had a big smile on her face. Carly took her to see her Mom, who was just finishing up. Melanie smiled, she put her booster seat in place, then picked up Stacy, putting her in the booster seat. Melanie then began to work on her hair, talking to Carly while she worked. She sprayed Stacy’s hair with water, so she could do a quick trim and style, before rolling it on curlers. It dried quickly under the dryer hood. Back at her station, she taught Carly how to do a comb out.
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Jimmy moved his camp to the backside of a ridge. The deer were holed up on the other side of the ridge;; tomorrow he would climb the ridge and claim his prize. He tethered his horses to a tree, where they could reach water and fodder.
That night he dreamed about what he was going to do to that bitch and to anybody she is involved with. Like that blond she was with; she was a nice piece of ass. He would do her if he could.
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Saturday, Stacy spent some time with her Grandma, while Melanie and Carly went out to the range again. They were both enjoyed going shooting. Carly invited Regina and Beverly and they both came out.
Gunny smiled as he saw the four beautiful women come out of the gun shop, headed for his range. He was beginning to get a better class of shooters, at least looks wise.
The range was hot, so the girls set their stuff down, and put their guns and ammo, on the counter. Carly put their Glocks and 1911, up on the deck. Regina set a custom compensated Colt Gold Cup pistol and Springfield XDM 9mm Competition, with her 9mm Berretta on the counter. Beverly set her S&W model 686 .357 magnum revolver, her custom compensated 1911 Gold Cup, and her Colt Commander on the counter.
Gunny checked out all the weapons and pronounced them fit. He then moved on, shaking his head.
When the range was safe, they moved down and stapled their targets to the frames.
Melanie and Carly started when the range went hot. Before they had shot three times, Regina and Beverly had both shot six rounds, did a tactical reload and shot six more rounds before they fired seven. Gunny was hovering behind Regina and Beverly, till they set their guns down. He saw the results of their shooting. Regina had shot twelve, in the ten ring, with five x’s. Beverly had an X ring blow out. You could count maybe five shots with the rest passing through the gap at ten yards.
“Girls you need to shoot at a more leisurely pace. I will give you a chance to rapid fire on the twenty five yard line. You two might also help your friends, they have need of practice.”
Regina turned to Carly, “What did he mean by you need practice?”
“Ah… we just don’t shoot as good as you?”
“Carly, I think they are our friends now. What Carly didn’t say was. My ex hired a PI a few weeks past, back when the salon was closed for renovations. My ex and I didn’t have a good break up. He is a hard drinking roughneck and he may be as good as you and Beverly at shooting. He also liked knocking me around, even when I was pregnant with Stacy. I left him when she was one, took back my maiden name and moved here with Mom. He isn’t going touch me again.”
Regina then began working with Carly and Beverly with Melanie. The two were already shooting better; Regina and Beverly began to teach them to shoot faster double taps. After they had each shot about a another hundred rounds Melanie was still shooting a little side to side and Carly was still a little up and down, but both were shooting tighter groups.
Gunny was as good as his word. He took Regina and Beverly down to the twenty five yard range. They put up two targets each at twenty five yards. Someone with sensors, then stood behind both girls.
“Hold your loaded weapons at 45 degrees until you hear the beep and then begin shooting. This will be a speed shooting course, of eighteen rounds, followed by another course of eighteen rounds, after you reload, shooters ready,” Gunny said.
A crowd had formed behind the two girls, on the shooting line. Gunny pushed a button and an unspecified time later, there was a beep. The two girls aimed and began shooting, in under twenty seconds it was all over. The girls quickly reloaded their three magazines. A minute later, and they were ready for their second round. It too was over in under twenty seconds.
Regina and Beverly retrieved their two targets. Regina stuck her tongue out at Beverly. As usual, Beverly had out shot her.
Carly looked at the girls targets, even at twenty five yards, both girls were better, than she or Melanie. Then she looked up at both the girls.
“By the way, who is working the desk today?”
“Nellie Parker is a retired stylist. She is a very sweet older lady. She is the one who worked the desk when I went on vacation. She called in and asked if there was anyway she could work the desk regularly for a while. She isn’t sickly but her medical bills still add up. Kathy told her she could work Saturdays. With me and Beverly both working, our product sales have been way up.”
“I noticed that, you two are more than making up, for the two of you to work together. Which of you sell the most?”
“Beverly is good at selling, but she prefers to work the phones. I love mixing with our clients, so I wind up talking to them about hair care products. I couldn’t do that as much, when I worked the desk alone.”
“Let’s go pick up the little one, and go get lunch.” Carly said, heading to her car to put her guns in the trunk.
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In the twilight of the morning, Jimmy slowly and quietly worked his way up the ridge. There was a pond at the bottom of the ridge on the other side. The deer slept around that pond and there were enough scrub oaks, with acorns and wild oats for them to eat there. He knew just where he wanted to be, as the deer moved through the area. He left his Remington there, but kept the bolt in a pocket. With his Winchester on his back and his Desert Eagle on his hip, wearing his gillie suit, he let out.
He came down the other side of the ridge as the sun just broke the horizon. The deer used both sides of the pond. If he was lucky, the big buck would be on this side. It was just about forty five yards to this side of the pond. He hid in a crevice of rock, he had seen a couple of days ago. There was nowhere closer he could get to.
He pulled a broadhead arrow from his bows quiver and waited. He saw the rack first, just above the brush. His pulse quickened, but he calmed himself down, as the buck was headed to Jimmy’s side of the pond. The buck was skittish, he would slowly walk, stop and sniff the air, before continuing. Jimmy was lucky enough to be downwind from the buck.
When the buck was fifty or sixty yards away. Jimmy slowly drew the bow, and held it at full draw. The buck stopped, unsure if he had seen some movement. After a few seconds, he continued up to the water. Jimmy smiled; he almost had a perfect profile shot. He hadn’t accounted for the fact that he was twenty feet higher than the deer from his perch on the ridge, as he released the arrow. He was going to miss the deer by six inches, at least he would have. The deer’s sharp ears had picked up the twang of the bow and ‘jumped the string’, deer hunters would say. So instead of missing, the arrow, lodged in his chest and collapsed his left lung. Jimmy let out a loud whoop, but didn’t move. He knew better than to approach a wounded deer. A deer can kill an unwary hunter with its rack and most often his hooves. He move back into the crevice’s shadow and drew a second arrow. He would wait half an hour for the deer to die.
He was surprised to hear voices cussing in English and Spanish. He slowly looked around. Jimmy had been so target focused, that he didn’t see the forest for all the Cannabis plants all around him, with lots of buds. He had stumbled upon an illegal marijuana farm. He pulled himself deep into the crevice. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t be seen and could move away from where he was, in twelve hours, after the sun set. He saw more than a few men armed with AK’s and a machine pistol.
He took out his cell phone and plugged his auxiliary battery into it, making sure all the volumes were down on it. He had three bars on the phone. He texted his father.
“Dad N deep shit. In MJ farm 6-8 armd bad guys NE part of lease S of Kingsville. SND Help.”
He made himself as small as possible. Stupid Druggies, they should have known this place would be covered with deer hunters this time of the year. This far south, their plants got some extra grow time. He made himself as small as possible in his crevice.
One dark skinned man found the deer that Jimmy had killed and looked around. Jimmy dialed 9-1-1 on his cell phone, set his Winchester to his side, and drew his bow back. When the guy started working back to where Jimmy was. Jimmy released the arrow. One shot and a quick kill. The guy didn’t make a sound and helpfully he spun as he went down. He got another arrow ready.
He heard shouting and cussing in Spanish and English. He would kill one more with an arrow, then use his Winchester 30-30, and lastly his Desert Eagle. He heard careful footsteps and just saw two men approaching their friend. A man with a machine pistol, maybe an H&K MP5 was scanning the area, covering his buddy, who carried an AK 47 one handedly. The AK man checked their friend. The guy with the MP was next to die. The AK man heard the bowstring, but didn’t see where the arrow came from. The MP5 man reflexively pulled the trigger on his weapon, sending a dozen bullets flying nowhere. The AK man began shooting blindly. Jimmy was wounded, by exploding bullet fragments and small bits of stone broken off the rocks, by the bullet that hit it. AK joined his two friends, as Jimmy shot him.
The remaining five men now warned, carefully approached. They had a million dollars of marijuana in this area and no gringo was going to take that away from them. From cover, they began to shoot, without being sure where to shoot. They all had plenty of ammo. Jimmy got hit by a ricocheting bullet, in his back. He took careful shots and reloaded every few shots he took. They now had a pretty good fix on him. He had killed another one and wounded two more, but they could still shoot. He loaded his last two 30-30 rounds into his rifle, leaving him with six shots. He stayed quiet a few seconds, when a barrage of fire, from four guns, kept him pinned down. One gomer raised his head and Jimmy blew it off. Jimmy took another ricocheting bullet, to his left arm. Jimmy fired one more round from the Winchester, hitting the man he had previously wounded.
Unable to cock the Winchester, he drew his fifty cal Desert Eagle. There were just two guys left. He thought. One guy, with a fresh clip, began shooting the rocks, just over Jimmy, the other began a rush from the other side. Jimmy saw him coming, but just kept down. He would need to get closer to guarantee a kill. The man doing the bull rush, started shooting from about thirty yards. Jimmy took two more hits, but he raised the Desert eagle and dropped him in his tracks.
The other man beat feet. He had a shoulder wound and there was no way he was going to rush that dude.
The GPS fix the 911 operator received, was an incomplete fix. The unit never completed a triangulation, with three or more satellites. They narrowed down the search grid by polling cell towers, and looked at a record of the reported signal strength. They were able to determine which ranch the deer lease was on and with help from the rancher, they narrowed it down to ten thousand acres of rough territory, with Mesquite, Scrub Oak and tumbleweeds.
A search party, of mounted DPS Troopers and Sheriff’s Deputies, moved out on their horses, while helicopters, full of DEA officers, FBI, and ATF, flew in a search grid. The FBI were the first to find the carnage, and reported it to the other groups. FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) wasn’t showing any live people in the area. There was nowhere to land, so the agents repelled from the helicopter, a mile from the site and slowly worked their way to the site from the north. DEA and the ATF, came in from the west, while the Sheriff Deputies and DPS, came in from the south east. The helicopters flew high cover. The parties had to check for booby traps as they moved in.
It was sunset as the parties met. They found five bodies pretty quickly, a search of the area around the pond, found two more and an analysis of the firing of the bad guys, narrowed the search for Jimmy Nelson. They found him tucked in a narrow crevice, his busted cell phone, and all his weapons. A mounted deputy found his camp hours later, on the opposite side of the ridge. A ninth body was found the next afternoon, by following the vultures in the air.
The investigation wasn’t taking anything for granted. Everything appeared as though Jimmy Nelson, a hunter, had stumbled onto a marijuana farm, tracking a deer. The deer was found with an arrow in its side. The marijuana farmers took his presence badly and began to attack. Jimmy Nelson returned fire, first with his bow, then with his Winchester rifle, and lastly his pistol.
Late Sunday, Harris County Sheriff’s office sent deputies and a forensic team to Jimmy’s home. There they found some disturbing details, pictures with scope reticles drawn over one woman, addresses of two homes and a place of business, that corresponded to some of the ID’ed photos and surveillance reports. Harris County contacted Dallas and Tarrant Counties, asking for their assistance.
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Monday morning, Dallas County Deputies were sent to the offices of a Private Investigator, while Tarrant County sent Deputies to two home addresses and one Business address. They found Joyce Holder, with Stacy Holder, at one home address and escorted them to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. The second home address, appeared to be vacant and the Deputies that went to the business, found the female, pictured in the photos with the reticle drawn on them, before the salon opened. They escorted her to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.
Melanie called her Mom, who was about to call her. She also called Carly, at Paul Mitchell’s school in Dallas. The Tarrant County Deputies asked Carly to drive to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, as they needed to talk to her.
Units remained in place at the three addresses, until they were sure they knew what was going on.
While Carly was driving back to Fort Worth, she called Riley and asked if she could meet them at the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. She said, she was on her way.
Carly arrived at the Sheriff’s Office, followed shortly by Riley. They were led by a Deputy to a conference room, where Joyce, Stacy and Melanie sat. Stacy ran to Carly, to get her hugs. They were invited to sit down and the deputies would explain shortly.
A few minutes later, the Tarrant County Sheriff entered with a deputy from Harris County.
“Morning ladies, sorry for disrupting your day, we don’t have all the pieces yet and we had concern for your safety.”
“Can a deputy take Stacy outside, to play for a bit?”
A female deputy asked Stacy, “Would you like to play with me?”
Stacy was always ready to play and she knew her mommy needed to talk.
“It’s about Jimmy Nelson right?” Melanie asked.
“Yes ma’am. We found evidence that he had hired an Investigator in Dallas to do surveillance on you.”
“Yes, he is my ex.”
“I am Carly Simon’s Attorney, Riley West. Carly spotted the surveillance and asked me to investigate. My investigators followed Mr. Nelson’s investigators. We determined that Jimmy Nelson was having Melanie followed and also Carly Simon. Is Mr. Nelson to be seen as a threat to my client and her girlfriend?”
“Not at this time,” The Deputy from Harris County fudged. “Mr. Nelson is dead we believe. He was involved with a massive shootout near Kingsville Texas.”
“Jimmy had a deer lease down there,” Melanie said. “Along with a lease near Lufkin, a lease near Huntsville and a lease near Waco, he may have had more I don’t know. What happened?”
“We think he tracked a deer into the middle of an illegal marijuana farm and got into a fire fight with the marijuana farmers.”
“How many of the drug farmers survived?”
“We are not sure. We found eight dead, near where we found Mr. Nelson. Was your divorce a nasty one?”
“Very nasty, he was a heavy drinker after work. He never drank on the job, but afterwards, he drank like a fish, at a sports bar, near Minute Maid Park, in Houston.”
“Do you know the name of that bar?” the Sheriff asked.
“Not off hand. I never went there, he didn’t want me to call and I certainly didn’t want to get on his bad side.”
“There are only four bars in that neighborhood. We will find it.” The Harris county deputy said.
“We first wanted to make sure, that you people are safe. Would Jimmy confide with anyone else, or would he be inclined to have someone do his dirty work?”
“No, if Jimmy wanted to hurt me, he would do it himself. He took pleasure in hurting me. I divorced him and had to sign away my share of the community property, to keep him from contesting, for custody of Stacy.”
“Did you file a restraining order on him?”
“No, I didn’t want him to know where I was. To get a restraining order you have to tell him where to stay away from.”
“Restraining orders only impose a penalty, if he violates the order. They don’t keep someone from violating it.” Riley supplied. “Are my clients suspects?”
“No, right now we are looking to make sure they are safe. With what we found at his home in Kingwood Texas, we had concerns. We only have a few more questions and then you may go. Did your ex have any drug connections.”
“No, the only drug Jimmy did was alcohol. He hated drug dealers. He hated addicts; he thought they were weak. His only other vice was deer hunting. He fantasized about getting a Boone and Crocket record holder.”
“He may posthumously get his wish. He killed a monster buck, by using his bow, I am told, right in the middle of a marijuana patch. It may have cost him his life and saved your own.”
The Dallas County Sheriff was happily grilling the three investigators involved with the Tarrant County Surveillance, they had undertaken. They found nothing illegal, just bad ethics. They didn’t check out Jimmy’s claims, that Melanie Nelson had taken the child, Stacy Nelson, in violation of a custody order.
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The Kleberg County Sheriff was amazed by the firepower Jimmy had shown. He had taken a deer tag out of Jimmy’s wallet and tagged the buck and delivered it to his Dad in San Antonio. They took it to a taxidermist, the meat had already gone bad, but they had a full mount made. Boone and Crocket paid the taxidermist a visit, read an affidavit that stated it was a legal kill and measured it for the record. The rack scored two hundred and fifteen points, for a typical buck. In the June issue of Boone and Crocket. The new record holder for a typical White Tail Deer was listed as Jimmy Nelson. A picture of the deer standing was included.
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When Carly got to the salon, after leaving the Paul Mitchell school, on the 18 th of November, she was handed a certified letter from the probate court in Tarrant County. She received a court document officially granting her the ownership of the salon, formerly titled Margaret’s Chalet, now Titled Carly’s Adventure in Hair Design.
On December 5 th, she celebrated her twentieth birthday at the salon. Melanie got Carly alone in her office, while Regina was cutting the cake.
“Carly, will you marry me this month.”
“Of course I will, what’s the rush?”
“Well, sometime in June, you are going to be a Papa.”
“You’re pregnant! When how?”
“I won’t go into how a mommy and daddy get together and summon the stork bit. I think you know very well how, to summon the stork. I had my period in September on the thirteenth, but missed October and November. I went to the doctor last week, while you were at school and it’s official. We are pregnant. I think it was that first time we made love, dear. That was the fifteenth day, or so, after my last period. I tend to get horny on the day I ovulate. When we screwed after that party at The Texas Blue Bonnet Steakhouse, you got me pregnant. I sat down and figured it out on paper.”
“Do you want me to go back to being Carl?”
“You better not. If you think, I spent all this time and effort in training you to be a decent person, just to have you go back, after you got me pregnant, you had better think twice. I own to many pair of scissors to let that happen. I love you just the way you are.” Melanie said, sealing Carly’s mouth with a kiss.
They cleaned up their faces and Carly opened the door, but she couldn’t go out. Kathy, Carol, Regina, Beverly, and Olivia all had their ears pressed to the door.
Carly just shook her head and smiled, “Ok, who wants to be Maids of Honor.”
Everyone held up a hand, “You get first pick, Melanie.”
“I choose Kathy, without her and you Carly, this might never have happened.” Everybody clapped.
“Alright, I choose the conniving Regina.”
“You bet your booty, you had better choose me.”
“Bridesmaids, I choose Olivia.”
“Carly chooses Beverly,” Regina said, sticking her tongue out at Carly.
“Why not.”
The two went back and forth till all the girls were chosen, like kids choosing a baseball team.
“It will be here on the twenty third,” Carly said, looking at Regina, who was looking at her iPad.
“The twenty third is good for the salon, but the honeymoon will be kind of difficult. We need Melanie here the week before New Year’s Eve, and Carly has to be back in class on the fourth.
“I should be able to work till the middle of May, Regina, I need three or four weeks off, sometime beginning in June, for the baby.”
There was silence for a few seconds, till the bomb Melanie dropped went off with congratulations and hugs.
“We’ll need a rather accepting preacher or judge, do you know of one Regina, or Beverly?” Carly said, while Regina just smiled.
“The wedding will be just a semi-formal, here at the salon. Just my mom, our employees, Carly’s Mom and whatever accepting friends we might have.”
“I am going to hire a bookkeeper, so I can go to school eight hours a day, beginning in January, so I’ll still have time for Stacy and Melanie. I think I am going to like being a stylist, with you guys.”
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Carly had bought two matching sets of rings, for twenty thousand dollars, after school on the sixth of December. Melanie loved her ring, and she loved putting its mate on Carly’s finger. Carly called her mom at work, in the middle of the day and said, “Hello Grandma,” instead of hello Anita. She almost fainted, before she said a word.
“Hey Grandma, can you get down here on December twenty-third, for the wedding?”
Anita was in the middle of a boardroom meeting with her executives. “I take it that this is a necessity?”
“You got that right, Grandma. Somewhere around the middle of June, Stacy is going to have a brother or sister.”
“I may be able to make room in my schedule in December and June. I will call you later. Take care.”
Anita resigned from being the president, but being the majority stockholder, she retained the title of Chairman of the Board. She just wouldn’t be involved with the day, to day operations. She felt being a Grandmother was more important at this time, but she threatened to hold the new Presidents feet to the fire, if he screwed up.
The county clerk chastised Carl, for not moving his driver’s license to Texas, since he had been a resident for six months or more. Riley handled the name change from Carl Anthony Simon, to Carly A. Simon. The clerk issued a marriage license; Seeing Carly was a male. After seeing a judge for a name change, Carly did in fact, get a Texas Driver’s License.
The wedding was set to take place after work, on the twenty third. Regina had indeed found an accepting Minister, to perform the wedding. She and Beverly handled all the details, because Melanie and Carly were both tied up doing what they needed to do. They did ask the two lovebird’s, what their opinions were regularly.
Carly got a new perm and her coloring was redone. Everyone loved her honey blond hair, with highlights and lowlights. A full body wax was in the works, and she had her nails redone after school one day.
Saturday, Regina and Beverly took the pair out to their range. They had a full Hogan’s alley layout, with pop up targets. They also introduced them to pin shooting, where people shoot bowling pins, by shooting to knock the pins off a table. It took Carly three magazines, to clear five pins off a table, and Melanie didn’t, the first time she tried. They kept on trying, and Regina and Beverly kept coaching them. It was getting easier to learn, now that they didn’t have to worry about Jimmy.
After shooting, they all cleaned up at Carly’s place. Regina and Beverly used the guest bathroom, while Melanie and Carly used their bathroom. Both couples showered together to save water.
They picked up Joyce and Stacy then went wedding dress shopping. Carly got a white evening dress and Melanie chose a similar dress in black. Regina and Beverly took pictures of dresses, sending them to the girls, with texts on where to find them.
At the Paul Mitchell school, Carly was already becoming the star of her class. She learned quickly and her stylists helped reinforce what the instructors were teaching. She and Melanie played with their hair and makeup, even Stacy got to play along with them. Stacy started insisting, that Carly do her hair. She wanted her Carly to do good in school. She also loved being close to Carly, but she didn’t need to say that. Carly knew. Stacy even had fun doing Carly’s makeup, although the results were dreadful, Carly loved it and left it that way, till Melanie got home and had a good laugh, then a tickle fest with Stacy.
Anita moved to Dallas, close enough to be a good grandma, but far enough away, so it wouldn’t seem like she was hovering. She didn’t notice how good life could be, without all the day to day pressure off of her shoulders. She did have to pay off Carly’s car, since she was no longer President, she no longer needed an Executive Assistant, but that was just a drop in the bucket.
Carly was off from School, from the 20th of December till the 4th of January, for Christmas. Carly hired, Bobby Combs, a boy going to UTA taking accounting, to be the bookkeeper, three hours a day. She still got daily receipt reports from Regina, Kathy or Carol, had to sign all checks and Carly could still log in from home and check Bobby Combs work on the books. He also had to report quarterly to Carly’s accountant, so he could check the work, and pay quarterly taxes.
Bobby was cute for a boy, he had chin length hair; the girls were trying to get him to let them do his hair. He would laugh with them, then head to the office to work.
December 23rd was a regular workday till two in the afternoon, when they closed early. They did a thorough clean up, then worked to get themselves ready, for the seven o’clock wedding.
Anita and Joyce spent the day playing with Stacy, then getting her ready for the wedding. After the wedding, the three of them would go to Anita’s place in Dallas, for a couple of days.
They had met with the minister once, he knew Carly was a male and it wasn’t a problem with him. He just wanted to talk to them about the importance of marriage, love, living together and caring for each other.
Carly expected about thirty people at her wedding, there were sixty five, the salon was crowded. The minister came out and then Carly and her bridesmaids came out. Stacy came out throwing flowers right and left, followed by Melanie and her bridesmaids. The minister gave his sermon, Carly and Melanie exchanged vows, that they had written and exchanged rings. Kathy and Regina, signed the Marriage License as witnesses, then mailed it back to the county clerk, to be registered.
They had a short reception, after the vows, then everyone headed home. Melanie had four must do appointments for the next day. Melanie and Carly had some fun, before they had to go to sleep.
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Carly and Melanie went into the salon early, after today they would have four days off. They stopped off at Starbucks, had a latte and a muffin each. Carly liked going to school, but she missed being around her stylists too. She helped the stylist keep the common areas clean and running the washer and dryer. In her office, Carly wrote each employee a bonus check, from the salon’s account, for a base amount of one thousand dollars, plus five hundred for each year the stylist had worked at this salon.
As the last client left, and the stylists finished their cleaning around five thirty, Carly passed out the bonus checks. The twins, Angelica and Felicia almost cried, as they saw theirs. They both had bills, left over from their divorces. Their salon jobs more than met their needs, living together had made them comfortable, but this had still been an austere Christmas for them. The two women hugged Carly, kissed her cheeks and hurried out to do some late Christmas Eve shopping.
Carly and Melanie locked up, drove to Dallas, where Stacy and their Moms were. Stacy was ecstatic when she saw Mommy and Carly. She gave them both big kisses, when they arrived. It had been a week since she was last here to spend time with her Mom, because of all the things she had to do, but the changes to the place were overwhelming. Her Mom’s home went from being a nice slice of suburbia, to a suburb of the North Pole. There wasn’t a square foot of space, that didn’t have something Christmassy in it.
Carly and Melany had their first crisis, since they got married that night. Carly and her Mom waited till Christmas morning to open their presents, Melanie and her Mom, opened their presents on Christmas Eve. They settled by having each person open two presents, of their choice, on Christmas Eve and the bulk of their presents on Christmas morning. Stacy was a little disappointed, but she gave her approval, as she had more presents than she ever remembered. Anita and Joyce steered Stacy to her presents, letting her select two presents. Then she took it upon herself, to select two presents for everybody else to open, with Grandma Joyce’s help.
The adults sat and watched Stacy open her presents. She selected one from Grandma Joyce and one from Grandma Anita. Grandma Joyce bought her a Leap Frog Leap Pad, which was full of games she could play. Grandma Anita bought her several Legos sets that leaned towards girls her age.
One at a time, the adults then opened their gifts, and thanked the gift giver. When Joyce opened one box, there were keys to a BMW in the box.
“That gift is from me, your daughter and my Mom, Momma Joyce,” Carly said. “Follow us please, Momma Joyce.”
They went through the kitchen led by Carly and Stacy, out the kitchen door. Carly had to use her keys to unlock the side door to the garage and then turned on the lights in the garage. There sat an Imperial Blue Metallic, BMW X5i. Joyce was in tears. Her car was about to be on the fritz again.
“You shouldn’t have,” Joyce said. “That is too much.”
“We can afford it Momma Joyce, we wanted you to have a better car for Stacy and our Baby, when he or she comes,” Carly said.
“When she comes,” Stacy corrected Carly. “Mommy is gonna have anutter girl.”
Melanie picked up her daughter, put her finger on Stacy’s nose and said, “We are going to have whatever we have, and we will love that child, Stacy.”
“I know, but I know it’s gonna be a girl.”
“Are you going to be upset if it’s a boy?”
“No, but it’s going to be a girl,” Stacy said, emphatically.
“Let’s go for a drive,” Joyce said.
Carly sat up front with Joyce, while Anita and Melanie sat in the back with Stacy in her booster seat. Carly gave Joyce a ten minute lesson on her new BMW, showing her how to start and drive it, all the gizmo’s and the navigation system. All of their addresses were already pre-programmed into the cars navigation system. The car also had a built in garage door opener, Carly hit a button to open the garage door and Joyce backed out.
Joyce loved her new car and was surprised as much by the power, as she was by the purported gas mileage. Joyce drove a couple of miles, till Stacy began nodding off. Back home, Carly got Stacy, carried her to her room, and dressed her for bed.
“Be prepared to be awakened at six in the morning, since Stacy has to wait till then to open the rest of her presents.” Melanie warned. “She’ll be waking us all up in the morning.”
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Melanie’s words were prophetic, as a wide-awake, rambunctious, five year old, came bouncing into their bedroom. Stacy jumped up on the bed with Carly and Melanie. Carly was already half awake, but Melanie was shocked out of a deep sleep. Carly grabbed Stacy and began tickling the girl.
“OMG, what time is it,” Melanie grunted.
Carly looked at her Rolex and said, “Oh, it’s a little after five forty five.”
“Dang it, I told you so Carly.”
“Oh come on, it’s just in a once a year occurrence, Melanie,”
“Remember that, when the two o’clock feedings come around, Carly.”
“I will help if we use bottles, no need for you to get up every day, at two in the morning.”
“We’ll see, what happens.”
Stacy was disappointed that she wasn’t allowed to immediately ravage her pile of gifts, or by the fact that her Mom and Carly didn’t let her wake up her Grandma’s yet, but now that she wasn’t the only person awake, she was a little happier. While Melanie fixed breakfast and coffee, Carly played with Stacy, while she played Scooby Doo Adventures on her Leap Frog Leap Pad.
After they had eaten, they sat around playing with Stacy, Anita and Joyce finally made an appearance around seven. Melanie told Stacy, to give the Grandmas time to drink a little coffee and eat a bit, then she could open her presents.
When Stacy was finally allowed near the presents, she passed out everybody’s presents, although she had to have help with some that were a little heavy. She then began opening her presents. She didn’t tear through her pile, but she was as careful as any five year old child can be. She wound up tearing the paper where her little fingers couldn’t peel the tape off.
She got really excited, to open a box with a new Princess style dress. She had to stop right there and put it on, before she continued opening her other gifts. Her grandmas helped with the costume. Stacy got a three foot tall jewelry box, on legs, filled with little girl jewelry. She got a dollhouse and half a dozen dolls. She got three children’s board games, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, and a picture matching game.
The adults just watched Stacy having fun. This was the best Christmas she had ever had. They eventually opened their presents. Melanie was almost in tears, as received some nicer things than she had ever received, she had to kiss Carly and Anita several times. Joyce was surprised too, by her new son in law and his mother.
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Life started back at the salon, they were very busy, as women and teens, came in to update their styles and nails, getting ready for New Year’s Eve parties, and to pamper themselves after a hectic Christmas. Carly came in to work, after taking Stacy to Joyce’s place. She worked with Bobby Combs, getting the year end paperwork done, and doing prep work, to begin getting tax forms ready, for the January tax crunch. They couldn’t begin to work on the taxes till January 2nd, but there was a lot they could do to get ready.
December 30 th a lady came in to see Melanie and to get her hair done. She was an attorney from the Clear Lake area, it had taken a bit of work for her to find Melanie. It wasn’t till Harris County Sheriff’s Department had released the paper work, that they had confiscated, that she had been able to find Melanie.
Only, when Melanie began working to color and style the ladies hair, did she say what her purpose was.
“I am Samantha Beckley, of Beckley, Colson, and Malone. I was your ex-husband’s attorney. There was a mix-up, because your ex-husband went with some other divorce attorney. I refused to do what Mr. Nelson wanted done to you. It wasn’t right. Anyway, he went with a high powered divorce attorney, that didn’t know that Jimmy had executed a will and had filed it with the courts. After Jimmy died, the family did a search for a will. They found a copy of the original will, which I had written and contacted me, to see if he had drawn up another will.
When they notified me of his death, I filed for probate, with the court. The family was really pissed with what I did, but as an officer of the court, and because I thought that Jimmy was a really big jerk, I wanted to protect the will. The court allowed the family forty-five days to do a complete search for a newer will. That time passed, a week ago. That is when I began to search for you.”
“So, what did the will say?” Melanie asked.
“This is the fun part of my job, Jimmy was such an ass. The will, left everything to you. No mention was made of any progeny, which I understand you have.”
“Yes, we had a daughter together, after the divorce, I took back my maiden name and Jimmy didn’t object to Stacy’s name change to Stacy Holder.”
“Yes, well you are the executrix of the will and the sole benefactor of the will. I have a document that outlines the assets the will covers. I will share it with you, after we finish. I also expect the family to challenge the will, but that won’t fly. They don’t have a legal leg to stand on. The will was filed with the courts, before the divorce and no will was proffered that challenges the original will. You need to thank Jimmy for being such an ass; stupidity isn’t legal grounds to challenge a will. I will be proud to serve as your lawyer on this issue, if you will let me.”
Melanie worked with Samantha, and gave her a really outstanding hairstyle, double process hair color, and Liz gave her some outstanding blood red, gel, squoval talons. She and Melanie headed to the office after they were finished. Melanie introduced Samantha Beckley to Carly… her husband.
“Oh my, Frank Nelson would just bust his carotid artery if he meets you, Carly. I want to be there, when he does.”
Frank Nelson was a preacher and a misogynist bastard. He believes women are lesser creatures, who were put on the earth to serve their men; his sons are the same way.
Melanie and Samantha explained to Carly why she was there. Then Samantha opened her briefcase and pulled out a document.
“This is an accounting of Jimmy’s estate. He is survived by his father, two brothers and a sister. His home is valued at one point three million, but Jimmy’s brothers have already basically, looted Jimmy’s home and his gun vault. The Sheriff, down in Kingsville, is still holding on to the guns and the bow, he had with him when he was hunting, waiting on someone, with legal standing, to claim them. This is a list of accounts and investments, that have been frozen, till the probate courts rule.”
“That son of a bitch. He was worth four and a half million, he just didn’t want me to get a penny. He didn’t even want to pay the two thousand a month for child support. The State of Texas figured twenty three percent of his earnings, as a roughneck. When we were married, I had to scrimp and save. I knew he had money, just not how much. All I want is a million for me, and a million for Stacy. Let Rebecca Nelson have the house, and the rest of the money. Jimmy, Frank, David and Gordon treated her like dirt too.”
“I will love to do this for you. I just need to be your attorney. Also, didn’t you ever wonder how the court decided to pay two thousand a month, for child support? Jimmy was earning nearly nine thousand a month. He wasn’t a roughneck, he was a driller, for Shell Oil. He supervised three crews.”
Melanie gladly signed an agreement and a Limited Power of Attorney, for Samantha Beckley to act for Melanie, within the confines of her wishes, as she specified and listed in the Limited Power of Attorney. She used the salon’s computer and printer, to draw out the documents and printed them on the salon’s laser printer. Melanie had no need to appear in court and Samantha would be paid a percentage of the estate.
“See what you can recover from the brothers too,” Melanie said. “It was supposed to be mine.”
Samantha was licking her chops; this was going to be fun, paid for by the Nelson’s. She would faithfully execute Melanie’s wishes.
>>>>><<<<<
Carly and Melanie shared New Year’s Eve in Dallas with the Grandma’s, Stacy tried to stay up to watch the fireworks at midnight, but fell asleep before ten. Carly set up her HD video camera, to record the fireworks for her step-daughter, no Carly wanted Stacy to know she loved her as much, as if she were her own daughter.
New Year’s Day, they all dressed up and went to the Texas Blue Bonnet Steakhouse. Carly and Melanie had chosen dresses, which would look good on any current female country and western singer. They were loaded with fringe, boots and cowgirl hats. Stacy wore her new princess dresses, while her grandma’s just dressed nicely.
Anita was tickled pink to see her New Jersey Senator’s face on a wanted poster. She bought a dozen copies of the wanted poster, to send some of them to her friends, back in New Jersey.
The special for the day was Cowboy Ribeye steak and black eye peas, with caramel pecan cheesecake. Anita had to be taught how to say pecan. A Pee-can was a male urinal used in a hospital; the waitress emphasized and has no place on a caramel Pe-can (pronounced Puh-con) cheesecake.
“We keep a Pee-can in the back for northerners, who insist on a piece of pee can pie, with the owner’s approval.”
“And how do the northerners take getting a male urinal pie?” Anita asked jokingly.
“Most take it in good spirits, but the owner says, we are a Texas Steakhouse, not a New York five star restaurant.”
Anita loved the food and the entertainment was outstanding. She and Joyce shared a cowboy Ribeye steak, not the four inch steak and had more than they could eat, as did Melanie and Carly. Stacy had chosen a steak mac n cheese casserole, which had small, tender sirloin chunks, baked with macaroni and cheese and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with caramel pecan topping. The steak mac n cheese proportions were more for a ten or eleven year old, so Carly and Melanie got a taste and loved the combination.
While they ate, Carly explained how the Senator from New Jersey had wound up on the wanted poster.
“This place expects you to tip the wait staff well. After all, they serve the food and provide the entertainment. When someone comes in and either doesn’t tip, or tips small, on a large check, the waiters and waitresses can put a bounty out on the person dinning here. The wait staff then gets to sell wanted posters. The good senator spent four hours wining and dining, spending over three thousand dollars and left a hundred dollar tip. As long as he was here and the tab on the meal, he should have left at least a five hundred dollar tip. He won’t be served here again, till he pays that bounty.”
“A twelve thousand dollar bounty?”
“Yeah, the Texas Governor met and raised the bounty.”
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The salon reopened, and Carly got back into her classes, working eight to ten hours a day, to get her hours in for her license. She loved the work and was beginning to get very good at it. Stacy loved staying with Grandma and going to daycare, to play with kids her age. Anita worked out of her Dallas office, flew twice a month to have board meetings, to keep her hand in the pie back in New Jersey, but loved not having the daily pressure on her. Melanie started wearing Maternity clothes, to work in. She looked positively radiant being pregnant.
Toward the end of January, they heard from Samantha. She had the Harris County Sheriff’s office serve Jimmy’s brothers and father, with papers to return the items they had looted from Jimmy’s home, on threat of being charged with theft. Jimmy had kept a good inventory of guns, furniture and assets. She had located Rebecca Nelson, now Rebecca Dawson and told her of Melanie’s plans. They had a good laugh after that. Rebecca sent her warm wishes.
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Carly was asleep in bed, with Stacy sleeping in her room, one night February. Carly was half asleep, with an eye cracked open, looking out the bedroom window, at the night sky. Suddenly, the back yard lights came on. She was awake in seconds, wondering why the motion sensor lights came on. When she heard something slam into the house, she was up and hollered at Melanie to get the guns as she ran to get Stacy. When she returned, holding Stacy in her arms, she slammed the bedroom door and hit a button that would turn her bedroom into a safe room. Eight bolts, two on each of the doors four sides, slammed into the reinforced solid core bedroom, locking it in place as a thirty minute door. Melanie hit the panic button, on the security control.
Melanie called the police, while Carly was on the phone to the security company.
Carly, Melanie and Stacy could hear the kitchen door burst open, after minutes of pounding. It was a couple of minutes, as the intruder searched for his goal, before he was outside the bedroom door. There was pounding on the bedroom door, cursing and gunfire from the other side, accompanied by more cursing, yet the door never budged a centimeter.
Carly was informed, that the security company and police were on the scene. She told them the back door was open, the intruder was at their bedroom door, that shots had been fired at the door.
The security man stated that if the door still held, they would get a police tactical unit, before they entered, Carly was to inform them if the door began to fail.
The tactical unit took eight minutes to arrive; they too entered through the back door. Flash bangs were thrown into the house and upstairs. There was a brief shootout, with the police, the cops weren’t hit, but one intruder was hit.
Carly told the security company to give the safe words when it was safe. A minute later, she heard a laughing man holler; Olly, Olly oxen free, come out, come out where ever you are. Carly passed Stacy over to Melanie and took her 1911 to the door with her. She hit the button to unlock the door and opened it. She saw a policeman and a security man on the other side. She set her gun down and opened the door.
Melanie was called on, to see if she could identify the two intruders. One was David Nelson and the other was Gordon Nelson, her ex’s two brothers. They had been pissed, that they were losing their brothers millions. Dave had been injured, not by the police, but by the ricochet of a bullet on their bedroom door. The brothers were arrested for conspiracy and attempted first degree murder. They had used metal wedges and two sledge hammers on the back door.
“What about Joyce, my mother,” Melanie hollered, as she ran to her phone. She got no answer.
Police were dispatched to her residence, to inquire. The brothers had indeed been there and had forced their way in. They had tied and gagged her, looking for Melanie. They had no dispute with the old lady.
Melanie and Carly gave their statements and drove over to Joyce’s place. The security company had called a team over to fix the back door, and would watch over their belongings. They recommended a company to do a clean-up. Carly asked that they send a team to Joyce’s home too.
The three of them got dressed, Carly packed the Glock 9mm in her purse. They went to Joyce’s place and picked her up, after she gave her statement to police and dressed. They waited till a security car came to her home. Then they took two cars and drove to Dallas, to spend the night at Anita’s place. Anita had tears of joy, as the four of them came inside. They put Stacy to bed. The adults were too keyed up to sleep, so they sat in the kitchen drinking tea and talking about what happened that night.
“I had my house hardened, the security people came in and replace the outer doors and door frames, my windows were replaced, with steel frame windows with poly carbonate windows and my bedroom is a safe room now. I would hate to have had to shoot them, but Melanie and I were ready to do just that.”
“David and Gordon Nelson, Jimmy’s brothers, were armed too. One of them had a shotgun and the other had a colt 1911. David got hurt, when Gordon shot the bedroom door with a shotgun. He caught two double ought buck shot pellets, into his leg. I didn’t know just how tough that bedroom door was.”
Joyce asked, “Do you reckon that, Frank was involved with the attacks?”
“I don’t know, but if he was, he could go to jail too, for conspiracy,” Melanie said. “He could do almost as much time as David and Gordon are facing, from what I understand.”
“Are you two going back to that house?” Anita asked.
“As soon as the doors are replaced and the house is cleaned up. I love that house now,” Carly stated.
“Mom, we are going to fix your home up too, if you want it,” Melanie said.
“I too am going back to my home. I love keeping Stacy for half a day. I’ll fix my house up too.”
“I am going to school tomorrow, or rather today. Joyce, can you take Melanie to her doctor and get her checked out.”
“I am alright,” Melanie said.
“You are still going to see the doctor,” Joyce said. “I agree with Carly.”
“Guess I am out voted.”
>>>>><<<<<
Carly went back to school and Melanie rode with her Mom and Stacy to Fort Worth. The security company already had Joyce’s front door fixed, when they got there, Melanie called Kathy and informed her of what had happened, and that she’d be in tomorrow. Kathy told her to take care of herself first.
A detective came by later that day and detailed the charges that the Nelson’s were facing. Harris County was talking to Frank Nelson about what his sons did, and also about possible charges he faced, if they found out he knew about what his sons had planned to do. Both he and his sons denied that their father had anything to do with this.
In February, the probate courts found for Melanie. She met with, signing over the home and a share of the money, to Rebecca Dawson, who had heard about her brothers doing. She apologized for their stupidity.
During the Easter break, Carly went under the Knife, and got her own breasts. She just had to convince a psychologist, that that is what she wanted and all she wanted. Carly came out of surgery a 36C.
Melanie worked until the twelfth of May, the swelling of her feet and ankles got to be too much. Her doctor said the baby was in a heads down position and could come at any time.
Memorial Day, she felt lousy, she was in the middle of her thirty eighth week. She wasn’t having her baby that day, but she knew she wouldn’t make the third week of June. Anita moved in to Carly’s home, and Joyce was always over in the mornings. Carly programmed her Mom’s navigation system, with the route to the three nearest hospitals and a dozen more.
May thirtieth, Melanie couldn’t get comfortable, but didn’t feel like she was in labor. She and Anita walked a block, while Joyce and Stacy followed in her car. It was slow going, but she felt better, when she got back.
It was just after ten that evening, when the contractions began. Carly was nervous, but focused. She got her Mom, who had just gone to bed, reading reports on her laptop. Anita called the doctor, Joyce and Kathy. She would stay at home with Stacy and then come by in the morning.
Carly drove a practiced route, while her nav system kept her on track. She got to the hospital in twenty minutes, following all the rules of the road. A nurse in ER checked the mother and sent her right up to labor room. She was already very dilated. Joyce and Kathy made it to the hospital, followed by Regina, Beverly, Angelica and Jeff. The doctor moved Melanie to delivery, with Carly by her side. Two hours and forty minutes later, Melanie at three forty five in the morning, delivered a baby girl, they named her Candace Annette Simon. Carly came out and greeted the crowd.
“Candace Annette was born at three forty five. She is seven pounds, twelve ounces and twenty inches long. She has a rather healthy set of lungs, twenty fingers and toes. Total that is, not twenty fingers and twenty toes. Melanie and baby are healthy. Melanie is exhausted and went to sleep shortly after they took her to her room and she breast fed the baby. She can have visitors after noon tomorr… make that noon today,” Carly said, checking her watch. She called up a short video on her phone, of Melanie nursing Candace, for their friends there, “Mother and child are expected to go home, the day after tomorrow, after nine. Joyce, you can come with me. See you guys, later.” Carly said, getting hugs from the others.
Joyce came back to Melanie’s room. Melanie was sound asleep, so she just kissed her daughter’s cheek and sat with Carly for a bit.
“I called my Mom as I was coming to talk to you and our friends. She went to bed to get some sleep.”
“Regina said she would be going over there to watch Stacy, so your mom can get some sleep. We called her an hour ago. I gave her my key and security code. You get some rest, I am going home to get some too.” Joyce said, kissing Carly’s cheek.
Saturday was a busy day, after eleven. Melanie fed Candace again, while eating herself. She was sore but happy. After she was awake, nurses began moving flowers that had been delivered into the room. Melanie’s room looked like a flower shop. Regina came in with Stacy and Anita. Stacy was tickled pink when Candace grabbed one of Stacy’s fingers.
Anita stayed for a while and Regina took Stacy home via the salon. A pink sign was posted on the door, “It’s a girl.” Stacy had a crowd around her, as she told the stylists and patrons about her new sister. Some of the stylist traded places, to let the others go visit Melanie. Regina and Stacy worked the desk and let Beverly go visit mother and child. Regina actually paid Stacy a dollar, for all of her help.
At the hospital, Carly and Melanie went for short walk around, while Anita and Joyce stayed with the baby. There were others at the room, when the two got back from their walk. Melanie sat to talk for a bit, but then got back in bed. She fed the baby again and then took a nap.
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Monday, Carly took mother and child home. She sent the flowers to the shop, with thank you cards for everyone. Melanie was still a bit sore, but she was in good spirits. Stacy was glad to see her Mom and Carly. Melanie had all kinds of support, that she didn’t have, when she had Stacy. Stacy had an incredible time entertaining the visitors. She was so proud to show off her baby sister.
Carly threw a big barbecue for her fellow students and employees, at a nearby lake, where there would be fireworks for the fourth. There were a little over a hundred people there. Melanie was treated like a queen there; Stacy, who was now six, had loads of fun playing with all the kids. The cars were packed up, except for the drinks, as the sun set and the sky darkened. A marvelous fireworks display ensued, which had everyone oohing and ahhing.
Melanie came back to work at about six weeks, she and Carly had hired a live in Nanny, while Melanie began pumping her breast milk. Candace was a greedy eater, she didn’t care if food came by breast or bottle, she just wanted her food, when she wanted it.
Carly began working with Kathy after school, on a promotion, celebrating the anniversary of the salon’s reopening. Business was very good, and at the beginning of September, they began promoting a two week long hair and body special.
She was also talking with Salon Consultants Inc. about the new salon on her own property and her new building. They were doing a demographic study to determine the best location for an upscale salon. An upscale salon had to be near where higher income women routinely traveled. They had a map with the different subdivisions of the city, highlighted by income, and the major high end stores, like Nordstrom’s and Neiman Marcus.
“I like the area between I-30, Hwy 183 and University Blvd.,” Carly said.
“The Property in that area may well cost you a million, add in another million for the building and contents, but that would be an excellent area for an upscale salon,” Donna said. “Neiman Marcus may be moving here,” she indicated on the map. “There is an upscale grocery here, banks here, here and here, TCU is here, Colonial Country Club is here, it’s on a major route of access to the city, from many well-heeled areas, and this area is all upscale housing. Let us check for a suitable location.”
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When Carly had just over fourteen hundred hours, Kathy and Carol had Carly practice her State Examines, several times while under the clock. They were very anal about procedure, but so had Carly become, from her time at the Paul Mitchell School. She went through three test mannequins, doing everything she was supposed to do.
One of the last classroom lessons was to watch a sample state exam, which covered every procedure beginning to end. They had an instructor play the student, and an instructor who administered the procedure. The administrator and student covered every single step and action, the student was to perform in the time they were allowed, for each step. The class was taught how not to lose any points on any step, what each requirement was and how to meet each requirement.
Two days later, they had a mock exam, where they did the test. Afterwards, they did all the paperwork to apply for and schedule their examinations in Dallas.
Carly knew she was going to pass, but just passing wasn’t enough. She was expected to excel at the test. Melanie promised to spank her, if she didn’t score at least ninety five percent. The spanking might be interesting, but not in context of doing poorly.
She leased her test kit from Paul Mitchell School, bought her mannequin, for the hair work and had asked Regina to be her face and nail model.
Carly choose to do the written and practical exams on two different days, so she took her written test for the State on Monday. It took an hour and a half for her to answer all the questions on a computer. She got an immediate grade of a hundred percent. She had learned her lessons well.
She came back on Tuesday with Regina and took the practical exam. State Cosmetology examines is about ninety percent procedure, ten percent results. The fifteen hundred hours is where the student learned to achieve results. They focused on whether the student knew what to do, and if they followed proper sanitation.
Carly set up and followed the tester’s instructions for the next three hours and a half. Despite being a little nervous, Carly began to relax as she began to work. She had this in the bag. The person administering the test never gave a perfect score, she always nit-picked a few deductions from every student and Carly was no different. Still she had an aggregate score of ninety eight percent.
A much relieved Carly cleaned up, repacked her test kit, before taking it back to school and returning it. She visited with her Mom, till it was time for her to go back to pick up her new Texas Cosmetology Operators License.
Carly had intentionally not called the salon or Melanie with the results of her test. They knew she would pass, they had made sure of that. She picked up her license, signed it and headed to her salon.
Carly had to smile when she got to the salon; they had posted a sign over the door that said, “Congratulations Carly”. The salon was closed down, because they had cleaned up and there was food in the salon. Carly held up her license, as she came in and was showered by confetti from her friends.
Carly was led to one of the central salon stations. Above the station was a banner that read “Carly’s station”. Carly sat in her salon chair and smiled broadly. The station was fully equipped, all the scissors, curlers, combs, curling irons, blow dryers, etc, were hers and her responsibility to take care of.
Melanie took her license and put it in a nice frame, placed it where it could be easily seen as required by law. They ate their fingers sandwiches, cut the cake and talked.
“Thank you for this Party. I plan to start slowly. I don’t want to take any clients from you guys. I will assist where I can, catch any overflow and walk-ins, but your clients are your money. I also want to learn from all of you. I know I can do the job, I want to learn how to do it better with your assistance.”
“Well let’s cleanup, we have a lady coming in for our monthly training session. Carly is going to supply the labor. We got a call from a woman whose marine husband is coming home from Afghanistan tomorrow. She agreed to let our newest stylist do the work.”
“Ok then, she gets the works for only a dollar, ya’ll help with the nails and anything else she wants.”
Carly turned to her station and began her sanitization. She went to the back, got a clean cape, coloring apron and towels. When Kathy was satisfied with Carly’s station, she smiled.
The lady came in at six and was escorted back to Carly’s station. The woman was a pretty twenty-two year old girl. She had mousy brown hair, that came between her shoulder blades. It was easy to see that she was in a bad way, she needed a lot of work.
“Hi, I am Carly, I will be your main stylist today. We hear that your husband is coming back from Afghanistan tomorrow and we all want to give you your fantasy make over. So today, anything you want done, will be done and it will all cost you but one whole dollar, which we can loan you, if you need it. So what is your fantasy make over?”
“Hello, I am Cindy Delong. Anything?”
“Anything and everything, your wish is our command. We will stay open for however long it takes, as long as you have the time.”
“So, if I want a style, perm, color, nails and a facial?”
“Just tell us what style, what color of double process hair you would, like and what type and color of nails. Then sit back and relax.”
They played twenty questions, looked at a stylebook and got to work. Carly did the shampoo and perm roll up, under Kathy’s watchful eyes. Melanie brought the perm solution, and helped Carly do the cotton wrap and dispense the solution. The stylists did what they could do in a production line, style. Carly checked the perm; she rinsed the perm solution out of the hair, added neutralizer and rinsed.
Kathy and Melanie assisted Carly, in doing the double process color, to save time and to see how well Carly did her work. Carly did the rinse, after the required time, partially dried it and began to style the hair. She impressed her stylists with her work. Olivia did her brows, her facial and her makeup.
Cindy was so happy with her makeover, she began to cry. She had appeared, in her own mind, to be rather dowdy. It had been a long time since she had looked this good. Marines don’t get rich, she scrimped and saved while her husband Gene was overseas. She got hugs from the stylists, who happily redid her makeup, when she was all cried out. She happily paid Carly one dollar.
“Would you autograph it? It is my first dollar earned as a stylist.” Carly asked.
Cindy signed the dollar bill. Carly said she was going to frame it and put it next to her license. Kathy took pictures of Cindy with Carly and the team.
Melanie and Carly were tired when they got home, but Stacy was already in bed asleep. Anita had come over from Dallas to pick up Stacy and stay with her and Candace.
The next morning, everybody was up early, Anita said, she was going to spend the morning with Joyce and Stacy. Carly dressed in her pearl button tunic top, slacks and heels. Melanie took time to use her breast pump after feeding Candace. Megan, the nanny, took the bottles from Melanie, capping them and refrigerating them. She took Candace and gave her a bath, as Melanie was ready to go to work.
At the salon, Regina and Beverly were already at the phones. They applauded, as Carly came in.
“Regina, keep my appointments down to a minimum, I will take walk ins, when everyone else is tied up. I’m not taking clients from my stylists.”
“You got it boss.”
Carly first went to her station, after dropping off her purse. She was surprised to see her dollar bill, and the before and after shots of Cindy, already framed above her license. Carly made sure it was clean, had supplies, and was ready for use. She went to the back and checked their towels, capes and other supplies. The break room and mixing room looked good; they had plenty of perm and coloring supplies. The whole salon looked good.
She then went to her office to work on the books. Her solitude over the salons numbers only lasted till nine thirty. Regina called her and told her she had an appointment. She was a little irritated when she came up front. When she found her mother there waiting for her, she smiled.
“What can I do for you mom?”
“I came to get my hair done by my favorite child.”
Carly called up a sophisticated picture of Michelle Pfeiffer, “I think you would look good like that,” Carly said. “It looks like a little younger style, after all, you are much like me, get rid of the brown, go honey blond like I did, and now that you are no longer a corporate president, your makeup could use a bit of updating.”
“Just so I don’t have tiger stripes in my hair. I like the way your hair looks.”
Carly shampooed her mom; then with Melanie’s assistance, they did a double process color on her hair, to give her honey blond with added highlights and lowlights. She rinsed the color out and partially dried her hair. She then began to style her Mom’s hair. First she lightened, then thinned her mane of hair a bit. Her Mom had a large mass of shoulder length hair. Carly had removed a lot of excess weight, without shorting the overall length, she then began to shape it, like the image of Michelle Pfeiffer, she had up on her monitor. Carly was only a beginner and she knew it, there was a lot she still needed to learn, but she also knew that she was good. Carly worked her magic on her mom.
She had many watchful eyes on her as she did her work. Anita was very pleased with the results she saw. Carly was right,, when she finished.
When Carly finished, she turned her Mom over to Alesha for a facial, nails and a new makeup look. Alesha was very good at what she did. You could almost hear Anita purring as Alesha first massaged; then did a facial on Anita, then makeup, while Liz did her nails.
Anita gave everyone hugs, when they finished with her. She looked spectacular. She was so thrilled that she was headed to Neiman Marcus, to buy some new clothes, to go with the new look.
At three, William and Sarah came in and wanted Carly to look at a piece of property. They were excited about a find, but Carly had to act immediately. She and Kathy went with them, to see the property. Carly had expected an empty lot, but what they saw was a fully developed property, that was larger than what she was planning. The builders and the future occupants had both gone under and the lot was in tax foreclosure, which was to be auctioned at noon tomorrow, on the courthouse steps.
William was showing them the outside and said, “We can’t get a look inside unless we buy it, but with less than a hundred thousand, we can get the outside of the building and your parking lot gleaming. You can see the inside somewhat, from that hole in the paper, at the door. From what I could see, the inside was pretty fair. The building had never been occupied. It was supposed to have been an upscale boutique. I flew a camera droid over the building; the roof and AC appear to be in good condition. The building is a risk, but at a tax auction, it could be a real gem.”
Carly saw the potential in the building, “What would the tax evaluation on the building and the lot be?”
“The property would be evaluated at a million five. The property has sat here empty for forty months. Taxes are eighty five thousand in arrears. The minimum bid has to cover those taxes. You might get the property for three to four hundred thousand.”
“Hmmm … I think I’ll go to the auction tomorrow,” Carly stated, they all decided it was time they all went home.
The next day, Carly decided she would dress up in her Armani red suit, to look professional at the auction.
When she got to the salon, Regina was the only one there and said, “Wow, what are ya’ll dressed up for?”
“Keep this under your hat Regina, but if everything works out today, we may have our second salon, in a ritzy neighborhood. If things go well, we can move in, in about 6 weeks, hopefully.”
“So soon? No way! That would be like totally awesome. So why are you so dressed up?”
“There will be an auction for this property, at twelve noon. I want to come off as being a professional ritzy business woman, rather than a slovenly 20 year old girl, who couldn’t pay for a McDonalds meal. Besides, I could distract some of the bidders there, and maybe they will let me have it, to try to impress me or something, you never know.”
“Oh my, I think we have created a monster, your really are learning our tricks, girl. Besides, you could never pass yourself off as a slovenly 20 year old girl, a ritzy 20 year old girl, maybe. That’s just a long shot though.” Giggling at me.
“I had good teachers.” Giggling at her comment.
I spent time in my office looking over the books, then looked into our bank balance to see what was accessible in the way of funds, making sure I had at least five hundred grand available to me; and there was. Feeling good about the funds, I decided to go out into the salon to see how things where going and was complemented by everyone there on my attire. Some of the stylist started to complain I was playing hooky, not working at my station, I just looked at them and said, “It’s good to be the boss!” I giggled, as I walked away. I helped Regina and Beverly, till it was time to go to the auction.
Regina said, “Good luck boss.” Waving at me.
“Thanks Regina, here’s hoping. Keep your fingers crossed” I saw Beverly turn to Regina asking, “what was all that about?”
The Auction started at noon; there weren’t a lot of people here; that seems to be a good sign. I wonder if it was because of not being able to see inside the building, and knowing the building might not be complete yet. Well, they started the bid at eighty five thousand, no surprise there. I held up my hand. I heard the bid go to ninety thousand; someone raised a hand. It kept going up to two hundred thousand; when it seemed to stall. When I heard the Auctioneer saying going once, twice, I raised my hand. He went up again to two hundred ten thousand, going once, twice, three times, sold! The bid goes to the pretty young lady in red. I wanted to jump with joy. This turned out better than I hoped. I finished the transaction, paid the auctioneer, got the deed to the property and the keys to the building. WHOO-HOO! I smiled all the way to the car. Once in the car I called Kathy. I told her to meet me at our new salon. She screamed and whooped, saying, “I’ll head there right now.”
I also called Salon Inc, and asked that William and Sarah meet me at the new salon. They too were exited, and said, “Where on our way.”
I was on such a high, I don’t even remember how I got to the NEW salon; I was sooo ecstatic. I waited for the others to get there before going inside.
When everyone arrived, I unlocked the door and we all entered the building. The insides were a mess from the construction, but it seemed like everything was done or near to being done for the previous owner. I let William and Sarah know they have got the floor, to start designing the salon, and drawing up concept plans, checking out if everything that needed to be done has been done, plus what needed to be done for our salon. Kathy and I were really impressed with what was all there. I let William and Sarah go to it, and told them I would get duplicates made from the keys, so they could have a set, to work on the shop. I left them to it.
Kathy and I returned back to the other salon, both of us on a high.
When we arrived, everyone wanted to know what was going on. I held up my hands and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we will be opening another salon, with in the next few months. We just purchased the property and the building. We are expanding!”
Everyone cheered and they started peppering us with questions; like where is it located and such.
We told them to be patient and we would type up all the details so everyone would have them. I asked Kathy and Carol to come into my office.
“Ok ladies, I guess you probably know why I asked you in here. First, I want all of us to be able to input what we would like in the new salon, I want this to be a collective involvement, meaning all of our present employees will have input into this project. Also, if you didn’t realize it already, we will need more staff, stylists, manicurists, estheticians, body waxers, masseuses, schedulers, receptionists, trainers, mangers and accounting people. We pretty much have our work cut out for us. The bad part is; I think we need these people soon; I would say in at least six weeks. I also want to make sure all the people here are rotated through the new salon. My original goal was to make this a training salon and the other the most elite salon in the state. You think we can do this?”
Kathy and Carol both said, “It was aggressive, but they thought all this would be possible, at least we could give it our best shot.”
I also asked them, “Do you know of another one or two of our employees that would make a good manager?”
They both looked at each other, then looked at me with a ‘Duh’, kind of look, like it should’ve been intuitively obvious, and said together, “Melanie!”
I just went “Oh sh.., I mean oh crap, she is so going to kill me.”
“Why would she do that?” Kathy asked
“Like she doesn’t have enough responsibility raising our two daughters, taking care of the house, dealing with me, working her station, and running a shop? She is soooo going to kill me if I suggest it.”
“What's wrong with you taking care of the house, taking care of your daughters and Melanie, huh? After all, you’re a woman like the rest of us, and we all have to do those things already?” Kathy said.
I realized I put my proverbial red high heel into my mouth this time. I sighed, “Your right of course, sorry I just got caught up with the realization of what I need to do with the new salon, and it just started to hit me, and it overwhelmed me for a bit.”
“Don’t worry so much Carly, we all are here to help, it isn’t just you. We are all excited, that we get to start a new salon, and yes, it can be a bit overwhelming. Let us do our jobs, and we will get the staff for you. We both feel Melanie is ready for this, I think she will be as excited as the rest of us, and she will be proud to be one of it’s managers; she will do a good job.” Kathy stated, and Carol agreed.
“Ok ladies, let’s get to work.” I stated.
I called Melanie and told her the good news; she had screamed with excitement and managed to wake the baby. I waited while she went and got Candace, when she got back on the phone, she was nursing Candace. I decided I might as well tell her the rest of the news. “Honey, Kathy believes you are ready to become a manger and wants you to be one.”
There was dead silence on the phone. “Melanie, are you still there?” Thinking the line went dead.
Melanie replied with, “Your joking right?”
“No, I am not. She wants you to be one of the mangers at the salon. I told her you didn’t want to do that, with all the other responsibilities you have.”
“What are you talking about? YES! I accept, I want to be a manager; I can do this. Yes, yes! I love it,”
“You do?”
“I always wanted to run my own salon, since I was a little girl. Now I will.” Giving one of those little squeals girls do when they are excited, not to loudly to disrupt Candace, but loud enough for me to know she wants this. I guess I’m out voted.
“Ok honey, I will let Kathy know she has another manager.”
“Thank you dear, thank you, thank you, thank you.” I could tell she was a bit excited.
The next morning I told Kathy that Melanie accepts. Kathy went, “I knew she would.”
After about a week, Salon Inc. came through with their proposal, everyone got a chance to see it and the inside of the new salon. Everyone was excited and couldn’t wait until everything was done.
William told me that everything was just about done on the inside of the building that the former owner wanted, they just ran out of money to finish the small stuff, as did the contractor. William told me that there was little to do to finish the shop for them and it would be completed in a couple of days so we could start on our modification. He told us, it would be at least six weeks; just to put in the plumbing and electrical circuits that we require; plus the walls and rooms we wanted. I gave them the same incentive we did the last time, that if he finished early he would get a bonus, if he finished after the six weeks he would be charged a penalty. William went for it and we signed the contracts and off they went.
As before, the windows where all taped up and no one was allowed in, so we just waited for the six weeks to be done. We noticed a large work crew going in every morning and leaving very late in the evening.
During this time, we contacted schools and advertised for certified stylists and stylists with teacher licenses, as well as support staff for all the things we do. We had at least five to ten people to interview almost daily. This isn’t as easy as it was before, because we needed to see what everyone could do, so they needed to be tested. We had special salon heads where the interviewees could show what they knew, before we would let them work on a real person. We offered free hair care styling to the girls that worked the shops close by, stating we wanted to use them as guinea pigs, and we let them know that. They were more than happy oblige.
We found some good people and we found a lot of bad people, whom we thanked for applying, but wouldn’t be calling back.
By the time five weeks rolled around, Salon Inc was ready for us to come and check everything out for the punch inspection. I had all of our mangers come for this, so they can see the new salon and make sure they will have everything they would need, utility wise, and working for when we move in. We got our clipboards and our blue tape; then started our own inspection. We all were totally flabbergasted with what Salon Inc. had accomplished, it was totally fabulous, and presently cavernous. It looked like it was three times the size of our original salon; we really will have a lot of room here, and we have lots of storage space; for which we are extremely thankful. We can have more stylists here than at the other salon, probably three times as many. We have more private rooms for massages, waxing rooms, skin care rooms, tanning booths, a separate nail room, where we could fit like six to eight nail techs into without feeling crowded, we can have a separate changing room, if we wanted, we could have a mud bath room, if we wanted to go that route and still have room for more. This place looked phenomenal. Everyone was walking around like they were in a trance, going “Oh Wow!”
I turned to William and Sarah and said, “You truly outdone yourselves this time. I simply love it! You earned your bonus for sure.” William was smiling from ear to ear, and Sarah was too. They told me the awning would be arriving soon, and they would install it before the week was up. I realized then, I never told them what I wanted to name the place. So I turned to them and asked, “Will the name of this place be on the awning?”
They said, “It sure will.”
I said, “How can you do that, I never told you how I was going to name this place?”
“We were told what to call it.”
“Who told you that?”
“Why Kathy of course.”
I turned to Kathy and said, “What name did you use and how did you get it?”
She just turned red, and said, “Your just going to have to wait and see. We all voted on it at the shop, and we all agreed it was perfect.”
“And you never consulted me?”
“Nope!”
“I’m upset. This is my shop, and no one ever asked me what I wanted to call it?”
“Your shop? I thought it was our shop, the salon collective?”
“Ah…Ok you got me, IT IS OUR SHOP. You are absolutely right. But don’t I get a say in it?”
“Nope, you are but one person, and you are over ruled. You are just going to have to wait until we reveal the name.”
I sighed, and pouted a little, “Gee I feel left out. You girls always steal my stuff, you steal my clothes when we go shopping, you don’t listen to me, you force me to go to school, and you work me to death. I would think you all just want me for my money, to buy you things.”
“Oh you poor baby. Do you want us to get you a binky? So you don’t feel so bad, or would you want us to change your diaper first? We really feel sorry for you. I’m sure I could get Regina, and Beverly to help with the changing of your diaper, I’m am sure we could get some cute party dresses for you too, if you want?”
“Don’t you dare pull that card on me dear Kathy, I’m sure I can get my revenge, when you least expect it.”
Melanie came around the corner of a room and said, “What did I hear? That Carly needed her diaper changed and put into a cute party dress? I would love to see her in a nice party dress; maybe I can arrange that. Where was that shop that Beverly’s aunt owns? I’m sure we could get something there, don’t you think so Kathy?”
“Oh, I’m sure we can get a cute party dress, for baby Carly, there. I think she would look fantastic in that type of a dress. Maybe we should get it for her for Halloween and make her wear it into the new salon, whatever the new salon will be called, what do you say Melanie?”
“Hmmm, I love that Idea, I’ve got a lot of baby stuff right now, we can do that.” They both started laughing and I decided if I wanted to keep any respect, I better take control now, Or I may be in trouble come Halloween.
“OK, ok, you had your fun. Let’s get back to inspecting the new building.”
“My, if I didn’t know any better, I would say Carly changed that subject rather quickly? Don’t you think so Kathy?” Both of them laughed even louder; I just blushed. The original subject of what the salon was going to be called, sidelined for the moment.
When we got back to the original salon, we called the furniture and equipment places and told them we would be ready for delivery on Thursday. The Salon Supply truck was going to be there on Friday. So I told all of the employees and the new employees that it would be there on Friday, and to plan accordingly. I also told all of the old and new Employees, that I wanted them all there, sometime on Thursday, to get their assigned area from Kathy, Carol, or Melanie, then set up their stations for the following Monday, when we will have the open house, at ten in the morning till noon; when we will start taking clients and be open for business.
Since the salon was so big, we were able to set a room aside for a party room, as well as our break room. I thought this might be useful for having salon parties for pre-arranged guests, like those coming in for a wedding; we could put everyone up in the party room, to have little food and to celebrate, then take the girls out to get there hair and whatever else done, when it was time for them. Hopefully it won’t get too rowdy, and I think it could be a good draw, without disrupting other clients.
I was thinking of hiring photographers for glamour makeovers; setting a room aside to allow us to doll up a client, so they are absolutely gorgeous, let them get dressed, in whatever outfit they brought with them, then having a photographer take professional beauty shots of them. I think that would be an interesting draw; maybe inviting the people in a TG support group, for beauty makeovers and pictures? I wonder if I could get local business to help support these functions?
To bad we do not have a Starbucks attached to this building. It was nice to just go next door and get my caffeine fix.
The week rolled on, and everything was getting into place. The awning was put up, but the name was covered over, so I still could not see it. I couldn’t even get my hands on the brochures; that Regina made arrangements for; she wouldn’t let me near them. She made all the arrangements for business cards and advertisements and she would not tell me a thing, she just looked at me, smiled, turned and walked away from me. Since my managers, new and old, had everything under control, there was little to do but set up my area at the new salon, and make sure everything was in place, cleaned, sanitized, and ready for work on Monday. We had the same computer system put in as in the original salon. The company that installed them, linked them up with the server in the other salon. So now we all shared the same databases; so the client could go to either salon and we would have all of their data, which was necessary for proper colors and other treatments. This will also help if a nasty client would show up at one salon, and tried to pull a stunt to make us look bad, to get a free hair treatment, then later go to the other salon and try the same thing, they would be flagged by our computers, then told that we do not have time for them, that we are all booked up. This should keep what happened to Danielle to a minimum; it will also tell clients, we will not put up with unscrupulous behavior.
Sunday, I woke up early. I found everything was set for tomorrow, I tried to sneak out of the house so that I could get my morning coffee, a paper and peruse the fashion section to see if there was anything in there about our new salon, especially what the name of the salon would be.
FAT CHANCE!
Melanie totally stopped me; handing Candace to me, then told me, “Give her a bath, put on a fresh diaper and dress her, then take her downstairs and feed her. While you are handling her, I’ll handle Stacy.”
Hmmm, I think I am being set up again. I washed Candace diapered and dressed her, took her downstairs, got her breakfast food made and started to feed her. I decided I would turn on the TV for the morning news, while I fed Candace; but Melanie turned it off. I turned on the radio, but she turned that off too.
Anita showed up and I was happy, thinking I could now get away, from the house for a few, but nooooo, neither one would let me leave. They would find some excuse to keep me from leaving the house. Fix this or do that, I felt like I was their slave.
Joyce showed up a bit later; I thought, good this will let me escape, NOPE! She had some things she wanted me to fix, that she brought with her. I could definitely see where this was going.
This was a beautiful day and Melanie said, “Why don’t we take the kids to the zoo?”
Anita and Joyce both agreed before I could say anything.
Melanie turned to Stacy and said, “You want to go to the zoo Stacy, Carly will take all of us there and we will have a great day.”
Stacy couldn’t say, “YAY!” quick enough. I guess I know what I will be doing for the rest of the day.
“OK Ladies, lets get ready and head for the Zoo.” Melanie stated; I put some comfortable walking shoes on, for I figure we will be doing a lot of walking today. We spent the rest of the day at the zoo. Candace was fussy a few times, but Melanie would take her to an inside restaurant or shop and breastfeed her, which would satisfy Candace. I had to take her a few times to the women's room to change her, but that wasn’t that big of a problem. I must say, the ladies were definitely making sure I stayed away from any TV; Radio; or other news media; today.
We got home late that evening. Candace was asleep, as was Stacy. I was starting to feel the day also. I’m sure Melanie, Anita, and Joyce felt the same way. We all crashed at our house that evening.
I awoke without an alarm clock at four thirty in the morning. Everyone was still asleep. I think I heard Melanie get up in the middle of the night because of Candace. She was sleeping soundly now. I went to the bathroom took a shower and quietly got dressed as not to wake Melanie. I Dressed in my silver Armani skirted suits, white camisole, white silk blouse with white Victoria Secret satin bra and panty set, one of my sexier sets; I know Melanie loves it. I put on Sheer nylons, and my Silver 3 inch heels, get my silver clutch bag, Do my makeup, and stuff my purse with the things I will need today and do my hair. I try to leave the room quietly, and headed for the kitchen to get the coffee going for the others, but I wanted to go to the Coffee shop and get a newspaper to see what is happening in fashion section and see what is happening with my salon today, since our grand opening is at ten o’clock today. I wonder if anything was said about it.
I was just about to head out the door, when Anita was standing there, in her nighty, with a smirk on her face saying, “And where do you think your going my lovely daughter?”
“Mom! You scared me half to death. What are you doing up at this hour in the morning?”
“Take a guess Carly? I know you’re a smart girl.”
“Your keeping me from finding out what is actually happening at the new shop today and making sure I do not find out what the name of the new shop is, I would gather.”
“Bingo, I knew you where a smart girl. You take after me, to be truthful.”
“How did you manage to get up so early, this is after all, the middle of the night for you?” Trying for some levity with my mom.
“I know when you usually get up remember, you usually have the alarm set for five and five thirty. Don’t worry dear, I WILL get my revenge one of these days, for me having to get up this early. Now, let’s get into the kitchen, make us some breakfast, and forget about what is going to happen today, until it is time.” Busted, I guess I might as well capitulate.
“Ok mom, you win, I’ll make breakfast. What would you like? The coffee should be ready soon.”
“Why don’t you cook mommy an omelet, a ham and cheese omelet to be exact.”
“Fine, I’ll start making it.” Boy, they aren’t giving me a chance to find out what the new name for the salon is, they are really determined to make sure I do not find out until it’s time.
Joyce woke up shortly after I started cooking and the coffee was done. She was also in her nighty, I realized the nighties hardly hid anything, they might as well come down without anything on, yet they were comfortable with me seeing them, so I guess it is official, they see me as one of them, a complete woman. I cooked an omelet for her too.
Joyce said, “Good morning darling. You look lovely today. Why are you up so early and dressed? It wasn’t because you wanted to get out early to look up a newspaper was it?” Gees, busted again.
Gees, these women can read me like a book. There is no getting anything past them. I said, “Maybe?”
Joyce and Anita both chuckled, “We figured you try to get out early, Anita and I had it all arranged to stop you if you would try.”
“Gees mom, give me a break. I want to know what my shop will be called is all.”
“Your shop?” Anita stated.
“Well ok, OUR SHOP!”
“Well, to bad my darling Daughter, you’ll just have to wait for the open house. Keep your voice down; you don’t want to wake your wife and children. Melanie was up at two o’clock, feeding a fussy Candace; I’m sure the poor dear is exhausted. Be lucky you’re not lactating, for I’m sure she would have made you get up to feed her.”
“In a way I wish I could, I know this is rough on Melanie.”
“You know dear, that could be arranged. I could take you to my OBGYN and I am sure she could prescribe some pills that would make you lactate. That would be so awesome to see my daughter nurse her baby.” Anita stated.
“I would consider it, but I should talk this out with Melanie first, before I make any decisions.” Hmm, me nursing my own daughter, I would love to feed her and have her be a bit depended on me. That would be really awesome, her father breastfeeding her. I could see that it would help Melanie get some much needed sleep too.
About that time I heard Candace making some noise. I went upstairs to her room and saw she was awake and crying. I picked her up and she quieted to a whimper. “What’s up my baby girl? Are you wet and hungry, Huh? Let’s check your diaper, shall we? Yes you are very wet, and it smells like you left a surprise for me too. Let’s go change your diaper; then get you dressed, darling,” giving her a hug. I changed her diaper and got her dressed for the day. She had a cute smile on her face, when I kissed her forehead, and she cooed at me. “Let’s go downstairs and see your grandma’s; then get you something to eat, shall we?”
I checked on Melanie before I went downstairs, and found her in the bathroom. She saw me and said, “Don’t take her downstairs just yet, I want to breastfeed her first. My breasts are full and I need the pressure released. Just sit on the bed and wait for me please.”
“No Problem dear. I’ll sit here and play with her for a bit until your ready. You know my mother came up with a crazy idea, and I wondered if it was possible?”
“What’s that Carly?”
“She said, that she could take me to her OBGYN and get some pills, that would let me … ah … lactate, that I too could breastfeed Candace. Isn’t that a weird thought?”
“Hmmm that would be interesting, I wonder if that would, or could work. That way you too could feed her in the middle of the night and give me a chance to catch up on some sleep. That is not such a bad Idea; after all, you are as much of a woman as me anyway, except where it is important. We should look into that. We should have started you sooner; so we could’ve share in that responsibility.”
“Are you serious?”
“Definitely, I like the idea.”
“Don’t you think it is a little weird? Your husband, a man, breast feeding our daughter?”
“What man? I see my wife sitting here holding our child. I’m your wife, as you’re my wife. We share in our duties as two mothers. Ask anyone out in the street and ask them what they see when they look at you; it certainly will not be a man, that’s for sure. You are a lovely woman, my wife and mother of our two daughters, as am I, and I like it that way.” As she gave me a hug, and a kiss, to make me feel better.
Well I guess she told me. I’m not her husband, but her wife, as she is my wife. That makes me a woman, which means it would not look weird to be able to breastfeed my daughter. I looked down at my daughter, as Melanie took her from me and was breastfeeding her while she sat on the bed, in her nighty and nursing bra. Noticing how Candace was looking so lovingly at my wife. Would she look at me that way if I was breastfeeding her? Melanie looked so lovely and relaxed doing it. I wonder what it will be like if I was able to breastfeed my daughter, would I be that relaxed? Am I getting jealous of Melanie? Oh boy, these thoughts are starting to get me aroused. I left my wife to it. These thoughts were starting to eat away at my resolve, could I do this? Do I want to do this? When I got downstairs, I saw Anita cleaning up the used dishes and setting a place for Melanie.
“Mom,” I asked, “Were you serious when you said it would be possible for me to take pills that would make me lactate and be able to feed our baby girl through my own breasts? Is it really possible?”
“Yes it is dear. I was not kidding. I was definitely serious. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I just got done talking to Melanie about your crazy idea. About me being able to breastfeed. I had asked her if she wouldn’t find it strange, that a man breastfed his children. She told me, what man? I only see my wife and the mother of our children, sitting in front of me, as I’m your wife. I don’t see a man, I see a beautiful woman, and that is what I want to see. She sees me as a woman and her wife, mom, not a husband.”
“I agree with her dear. You are a very beautiful woman, and you’re my beautiful daughter. I see nothing left of my son, but in one little area, and that is not that important, other than to make me more grand children. If you take these pills, you would be like any other mother, being able to give sustenance to your daughter. You should feel proud to be a mother; that could breastfeed her daughter.”
“When can we go to see your OBGYN mom, I want to be able to breastfeed my daughter, so I can help Melanie.”
“Wise choice dear, I’ll call her later today to see about getting you an appointment.”
Well that pretty much took my mind off of the new salon. I was adrift with thoughts of being able to breastfeed my daughter, was I making a mistake, or am I making the right decision? How long would it take before I started lactating? Would my daughter find it strange that I start breastfeeding her so late into her life? Would she remember when she gets older?
I was off into my own little dream world about breastfeeding. I didn’t even realize the things that where happening around me; when Melanie finally walked over to me, tapped me on my shoulder and said, “It’s time to go dear, go check your makeup and hair, get your purse and coat and let’s go.”
I checked the clock and saw it was ten twenty. Were had the time gone? I rushed to check my face and hair, got my purse, made sure everything I would need today was in it, grabbed my coat and followed the ladies from the house to the car. Melanie decided to use Joyce’s car since it had the children’s seats in it, so I got into the passenger seat. Stacy was in her child seat and Candace was secured into her child’s seat too. Anita and Joyce would drive our car, and when the children got fussy, they could drive Joyce’s car back with the children.
When we arrived at the new salon, it appeared to be a news media circus already. There where a lot of women there already that I recognized as customers of ours, all talking excitedly. There were several news media trucks and television cameras about. Wow, you would think we were opening a new government building or something, instead of just a salon. I was overwhelmed.
Some of the ladies saw me arrive and they screamed my name. The news media started towards us, as we got out of the cars and started bombarding me with questions. Some of the questions I couldn’t answer yet, because I was just shocked at the turn out, and Melanie took over. She stated to the press, that we would be opening today at noon for business, and that now was the open house from ten to noon.
Anita and Joyce got the children from the car. Stacy ran to my side, kind of frightened by the news media people.
I noticed the windows were still covered so I could not see inside as of yet.
It was nine forty five, and a representative from the Mayors office and another from the Council chambers where there to help with the ribbon cutting. I looked at all the smiling faces and it was just exhilarating to see so many well wishers and clients.
The name was still covered up on the awning, so I still had no idea what the salon was called and I was getting nervous, for I would look like a fool if I didn’t know the name of my own salon. Melanie came to the rescue and gave the speech I thought I was suppose to say, but she just jumped right in and we all got to cut the ribbon, as Melanie stated, “Welcome to the grand opening of ‘Carly’s Adventure in Hairstyling Part Deux’.” We cut the ribbon and Melanie pulled on the string that removed the cover off of the awning, stating the name of the salon ‘Carly’s Adventure in Hairstyling Part Deux’. All the covers over the windows dropped.
My jaw just dropped, I thought it would have been drastically different than the other salon, but I was happy with the name. I hugged Melanie and kissed her and I saw some photos being taken. I’m sure we will make some news splash saying ‘Lesbian Couple, Opens New Salon’. I was so happy; I could care less what they said. We opened the door and we all entered. Everyone was there with smiles on their faces. There were flowers everywhere you looked; we definitely looked more like a flower shop than a Hair salon at the moment. There was a huge cake in the center of the reception area; which was immaculate and the cake looked delicious. Stacy want to run right over to it and steal some icing from the cake. The employees all screamed “SURPRISE CARLY!” I was just so overwhelmed I started crying. I loved my employees and it was apparent they loved me. The salon was just beautiful.
I was interviewed and told the news media about this being an Elite salon. I told them about some of the salon services that we will be providing. That the original salon would be just as good as this one; but it would be more geared to training new stylists to feed both salons. My wish is, that I hope, both salons will become the best salons in the State.
At eleven forty five, we wound down the open house and asked everyone to please exit the shop for at least fifteen minutes; so we could clean up to open the salon for business, at noon. Everyone politely obliged and waited outside in the parking lot, for the official opening, for business.
When noon arrived, everyone came back in and the clients were taken to their stylist’s stations. I too had a customer waiting for me, so I changed out of my suit, got into my working clothes and my pink smock, with ‘Carly’s Adventure in Hairstyling Part Deux’ with my name Carly printed above my left breast. A lot of the people came to socialize that stayed around the reception area and the party room to chat and wish us well. Regina and Beverly were going to town with the two new receptionists making sure they were doing everything right. The other salon was closed today, so that we could all celebrate this grand opening.
All the new stylists were quite busy and I looked over what was being done, to make sure everything was going smoothly. The manicurists were all hard at work, the masseuses where busy working, the cosmetologists were busy, the people doing facials were all busy, even the new tanning booths were in use. Everywhere I looked everyone was busy and everyone appeared to be happy. There seemed to be no glitches, and people where calmly awaiting their turn to have whatever they wished done, done. We were getting compliments from everyone.
This was turning into a truly banner day for everyone. I hoped that we could keep it this way always.
The day was a very long and hectic day. We were all tired but happy, we didn’t get home until after nine PM. I could see we’re going to have to hire even more stylists to keep both salons open and busy. Yes we were all working today, but we were all here at the new salon. We couldn’t always do this; we needed some of the stylists at the other salon too. I would love to see everyone rotated through both of the salons, so everyone gets equal time at both places and then let the stylists choose a permanent spot, once we fill all our open spots, with new stylists and making sure that they are properly trained in how things work in our salons, and being able to work without a lot of supervision.
A few months have passed. We have the full complement of stylists to man all of the stations at both salons, 6 days a week, from ten Am to Nine Pm Monday through Saturday, except for holidays or special occasion, where we might be open on a Sunday for a wedding party. Both salons are completely booked 6 days a week, and the business is good. We still expect walk-ins and are able to fit them in. We have an agreement with a lot of cosmetology schools, to help train their interns in a true environment of being out in the real world, and we find that some are really talented. We may end up keeping a few, or find other salons for the interns, when the time comes, when they graduate. We get free training for our stylists when it is time for recertification, or new techniques, when they come out. It is a win, win scenario for both the school and us.
I keep busy with styling and helping the other stylists, when they need help, but I will not infringe on my stylists clients, unless they ask me too when they are to busy to get to them. I still spend time in the office, to make sure the books are properly kept, and my accountants are doing their jobs properly. Things are hectic too, for I have to travel between both salons daily. But I love it. I don’t think there are any of the clients that remember me as being a man. They talk to me like they would talk to any other woman. About men in their lives, fashions, makeup, periods and the messes they have had to deal with, break-ups, husbands, abuse, kids, pregnancies, diseases, alopecia, hair products, and much, much more.
I finally got to see that doctor my mom wanted me to see, about being able to lactate. I explained the situation, “I would love to help my partner, who gave birth to our daughter, to help breastfeed her.”
The doctor said, “That would not be a problem. I’ll prescribe the medicine that would allow you to let down milk. It will probably take a month before you start lactating. You shouldn’t have a problem once it starts. You continue breastfeeding until you two decide to wean your darling, from being breastfed. When the time comes to stop breastfeeding, just stop taking the medicine, and your breasts should dry up and return to their normal state.”
I never told her I was a genetic male, and she never asked or questioned it. I wonder if she knew?
She went, “I know a lot of lesbian couples that both want to share in the responsibility of breastfeeding their children. So don’t feel this as being weird or anything, it is perfectly normal and I have no trouble helping you two ladies share in the responsibility of breastfeeding. Please schedule with me in two weeks, to see how you are doing and I want you to see me two weeks after that, until you start lactating, then we can do it every other month, to make sure you do not have any other problems. When was your last mammogram? We might want to get that done before you begin lactating, to have a base line to compare things to.”
I told her, “I haven’t had a mammogram. I’m only twenty two years old.” I didn’t like where this was going, I may be found out and she may decide not to help me if she knew I was a genetic male.
“Well, you’re never to young to start getting mammograms. I recommend you do one at least every other year, Breast cancer knows no age. Oh, when was the last time you had a pelvic exam? I see you are a new client for me, and I don’t have any records for you on file. Can you tell me who your previous obgyn doctor was, so I could ask them for your files?”
Oh boy, now I’m in it deep. What can I say?
My mother chimed in with, “Her last doctor passed away last year, and the practice was closed, all the records were lost. When Margret died, Carly moved out here to her house and had her stuffed shipped here, we lost all of her records too. We haven’t been able to find them.”
“Well, we should get her in for a pelvic exam soon, so we have her records here. I can schedule a time if you would like?”
Mom said, “For the moment, things are very hectic for her with opening the new salon. She came out here to keep the one salon going, but opened a second one a few months ago and things haven’t settled down yet.”
“Oh, what salons are they?”
“Carly’s Adventure in Hairstyling and Carly’s Adventure in Hairstyling Part Deux”
“Oh, I’ve heard about them. I hear they are fantastic. I have wanted to go there to check them out. God, it seems like ages since I have been able to go to a salon to get my hair worked on and be pampered.”
“Well, I will tell you what, you let me know when you want to go. I will personally do your hair and whatever else you want done. It will be my treat; we will treat you like a princess. Here is my business card, just give me a call.”
“Carly Simon, owner of Carly’s Adventure in Hairstyling and Carly’s Adventure in Hairstyling Part Deux. You’re the owner of these salons? You’re just twenty two years old, and you own these two feminine palaces of beauty? This can’t be possible; your kidding me aren’t you? You’re just a young girl. You couldn’t possibly.”
I smiled at her. “I’m also a stylist, make-up artist, nail tech, accountant and a boss, plus I’m a mother of two darling girls. One is six years old, and the other is about 5 months old.”
Anita stated, “She is a very good stylist, she did my hair, if you want a reference.”
“I love your hair, the color and the style.”
“Well, that was all Carly.” Pointing at me.
About four weeks later, my mother’s and now my OBGYN doctor, showed up for getting her hair styled and the works. She just about had everything we had to offer. She was ecstatic with her look, after we finished with her, she looked twenty years younger and she couldn’t stop gushing about how she looked.
While I was working on her, she discretely asked, “How are the pills doing? Are you lactating yet?”
I told her “It’s going great, it’s working beautifully. I have been breastfeeding my darling for the past week, and I loved doing it, it was so exhilarating, actually it was so sensual too, I never knew it could be so great. I just loved being able to breastfeed. My nipples are really getting sore though, they seemed to get irritated easily.”
“Did I give you a prescription for a breast cream? To sooth your aching breasts?”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Stop by my office tomorrow, I will write a prescription for you to get some breast cream that will help keep your nipples in good shape.”
“Ok, thank you I will.”
Well it has been an awesome few years. I got the breast cream and it did help relieve the ache in my nipples, breastfeeding my baby, has truly been the highlight of my life. I truly understand what it is to be a mother and to give of yourself to your children.
The salons are doing fabulous. My OBGYN doctor has truly referred a lot of her pregnant clients our way, to get them to feel better about themselves. We also now have a TG support group that schedules our salon for some beauty and makeover parties, with fashion photography, which seemed to thrill them. I was amazed, several of the TG girls, I thought would have a tough time passing, but with our makeup girls, they are miracle workers, it was simply amazing. Every time a TG party is scheduled we see more and more TG girls showing up. Some have become regular customers, and it is to their credit, none of my other clients have sussed them out as not being true girls; or if they have, they haven’t said anything derogatory; they just accepted them. Business has been so good, and Melanie has really come into her own as a stylist and a manager, that she simply blossomed, and she is extremely happy that her wife can breastfeed our daughter, so we share that duty, which is simply wonderful.
Melanie took me out to dinner, bought me flowers, and treated me like such a princess; that I started thinking something was up. Sure enough, something was up, she just told, “Carly, the rabbit died, and Aunt Flow hasn’t been around for the past three months.”
Me being the intelligent one said, “Huh?” I didn’t get it, with a blank look on my face.
She laughed and said, “Not quite the complete woman yet are you?”
“What are you talking about? We don’t know anybody called Aunt Flow. And what is this about rabbits dying?”
She couldn’t hold it back, she just started laughing, and laughing, she was laughing so hard, she was crying.
I was starting to get worried and a little upset, because I didn’t get the joke. Kathy our manager at the salon came over to our table. I didn’t see her sitting in the far corner of the restaurant with Regina and Beverly. She asked, “Wow, what’s the occasion you two? Here you are all by your lonesome, no kids, or your parents; and Melanie gave you a bouquet of roses. This must be some occasion.
Melanie was still laughing saying, “Oh, hi Kathy, where did you come from?”
“Regina, Beverly and I thought we would go out for some dinner, just to do something different, and we find you laughing up a storm and wondered what the joke was?”
“Well, I was telling my darling wife something cryptic, and she didn’t get it. It is something all of us girls should know, but unfortunately Carly missed out. Mainly because she doesn’t have to worry about it, the lucky girl. We have to deal with it every month, where as she doesn’t.”
“Let me guess, I bet your talking about Aunt Flow aren’t you?”
“We don’t know any one called Aunt Flow, that I recall, so I don’t know who she is talking about.” I said.
At this point, both girls crack up laughing loudly. I was getting ticked. I wasn’t getting the joke.
After a bit, Melanie started to settle down, whimpering and crying at the same time, Kathy was doing the same. Everyone in the restaurant was looking at us and smiling too. I was feeling really embarrassed, for I just didn’t get it.
“Darling, what does a woman have to worry about, every twenty eight days without fail? At least you hope it doesn’t fail, unless you want it too.”
“You have a period. So?”
“What happens when I get my period?”
“You have blood Flow…ing, oh… Ah… right, I get it now Aunt Flow. I feel so stupid.” Then the penny dropped. I looked at her, than at Kathy, then back to her and a smile grew across my face, then I said “REALLY! When?”
I got up from my seat went around the table and I hugged her. “This is fabulous news.” Both of us were smiling from ear to ear.
Kathy was looking at us, and she wasn’t getting the joke. Then she got the connection, looked at Melanie, let out a little scream and said “Really? When is it due?”
About this time Regina and Beverly, came over to see what was going on and why we were both hugging Melanie. Kathy turned to the two and said Mel is expecting again. The two girls let out a scream and hugged and congratulated both of us. The waiter came over to see what was going on, and the girls told the waiter that Mel was expecting another baby, that she just found out today. The waiter went and told the manager, who happened to be one of our clients at the salon.
The manager came over and congratulated both of us and said, “The meal is on the house.” She brought over the most expensive desert they have, and hugged us both.
We thanked her, and said we would see her later at the salon. I just realized I would be taking the pills for a lot longer than I thought I would. But this time, I get to start nursing as soon as the baby is born, not five or six months later. I can’t wait. My breast are substantially larger then when this all started, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
One year later, we had a baby boy; we called him Carl. Stacy loves him as much as she loves her baby sister, who is now going on three and getting into all kinds of trouble. Stacy is seven now and she is growing up to be a beautiful young lady, just like her mom. I have officially adopted her and she has taken my last name. She is now Stacy Simon, my oldest daughter, Candace Simon, is my middle daughter, and Carl Simon, my youngest son. If Carl turns out to be like me, I will gladly help him/her to become the best lady she could be, if she so wants.
After a couple of months after the birth of my son, Anita showed up. “Carly, are you happy that I had you take over your Aunt’s hair salon?”
“I thought you were a little crazy at first, but I wanted to prove myself to you. I had wanted to follow you into your business. Now though, I wouldn’t trade where I am, for anything in the world. I have a wife I love and she loves me, a family that loves me, a business I can thrive in, and become exceptional at. No Mom, I wouldn’t trade my life for a life in the board room or for anything in the world.”
“Good. I was sort of worried when I saw all the changes happening a couple of years ago. I was afraid of losing my son, but I gained a beautiful Daughter; who is a professional business woman; Stylist; Wife, to very understanding and beautiful wife; and mother to three wonderful children. I just want all of ya’ll to be happy.”
"We are Momma, we are."
The End
A young boy is chased by bullies and hides in a dress shop. What happens there? Is it luck or chance that he finds refuge and is his life forever changed?
Chased to Silk
by
Paula Dillon
Terry moved quickly as he left school. He carefully looked in all directions before leaving the protection on the school grounds. The school took pride that bullying was at a minimum at the school, but they only counted incidents of bullying that took place on school grounds. The bullies learned that it was open season just blocks away. There were about eight older boys who tormented and beat up Terry at least once a week since he was ten, whether he needed it or not. At school he was the butt of many of the jokesters, and called all sorts of sissies, faggs, and shrimps.
There was no mistaking that Terry was different. At four foot eight and seventy-five pounds, Terry was small for his age being in the lower ten percent of height and weight for boys or girls twelve years old. He had a head of long bright auburn hair that almost glowed in the sunlight, and came just below his shoulders in a pony tail. He didn’t know why he kept it that long he just liked it. The women his mother knew said he had an angelic face and just gushed over him any time they were around him. Many mistook him for a girl till he was introduced; even then many refused to believe he was a boy.
Terry learned to run like the wind and he was very fast. He had been a little chubby but he had run so much in his bid to survive it caused him to lose thirteen pounds and grow lean; the only exception was the fat under his nipples. He looked like he had budding breasts that, along with his hair and face, was at the root of his problem. He hid his chest under tight fitting t-shirts under loose fitting pull-overs. He still caught hell in gym when he had to dress out in gym clothes and showering.
Terry walked at a normal pace his head moving back and forth like a radar dish, looking for danger. At least, he was glad, it was Friday and he could rest over the weekend. His books and school supplies were in his back pack. He had to walk about a mile to get to his home and safety. He never took the same route home more than twice a week and often took routes that were more than twice as long as required. He was one hard kid to catch. He crossed the road when he came up to a corner he had to take to go home. This gave him more distance between him and his tormentors if they were hiding behind a wall there.
The way appeared to be clear and he started to cross back when he saw feet behind a dumpster. He turned and started running, he didn’t need to look back to see if he was being chased he could hear them. He ran about a block when one jumped out in front of him; he turned and made a break crossing the road in the middle of the block just being missed by a car by inches, heading for a nearby mall.
He cursed himself for having all his books that day, but he needed them for his homework. Quick glances right and left showed his four pursuers were closing in on him. He made it into the mall and hit the stairs down. This helped him put some distance between him and his pursuers. He took a corner that took him out of their sight and headed for a lower exit. He came up to an open shop turned into it and hid in the middle of a rack of clothes.
His heart was pounding but he started to recover from his run. He controlled his breathing as much as possible so he wouldn’t be heard. He then realized that he was hiding in a rack of dresses. Looking around he couldn’t see out, so people couldn’t see him hide there, this was a great hiding place. Terry waited about fifteen minutes before exiting the rack of clothes away from the exit. He tried to navigate the store to the exit without being seen and almost made it when he heard.
“Well hello young lady, where did you come from?”
Terry turned and saw a sales lady coming towards him. She was gorgeous like his Mom, “Hello Ma’am, I was jus over there looking,” trying to sound as girlish as he could.
“My name is Helen. Is there anything I can help you find? We have some lovely dresses your size. I am sure your Mom would just love to see you dressed up in.”
“My name is Terry, Ma’am. I am jus looking cause I don’t have any money.”
“You are so polite, and cute to boot. Bring your Mom here we specialize in Mother/Daughter combinations.”
“Thank you Ma’am, you look real nice too. Your dress is so pretty, I like it so much. I will tell my Mom about this place.”
“Why thank you dear. Do come back.”
Terry turned to leave the store, but drew up short when he saw the biggest of his tormentors standing at the entrance smiling. He couldn’t help himself when he saw the boy, he cringed as his bladder let go and he pee’ed his jeans. He started shaking and his eyes teared up.
Helen saw this fear reaction from Terri and stepped past her and stood between her and this boy that scared her, “Young man, why are you here are you looking for a dress for yourself or are you just terrorizing my customers.”
“Don’t get your panties in a crack Bitch! I am moving on,” the boy said laughing. He move toward the center of the mall and sat on a bench keeping an eye on the store.
Helen saw that he was joined by a couple of other kids. One walked past her store and sat on a bench just outside the exit. She turned and saw the puddle of urine that Terri stood in. She had a look of fear in her eyes and was still shaking.
“Sandy will you take over the front and Carol will you get a mop to clean up the floor. I am going to take Terri in the back and get her cleaned up.” Helen said. She just hated the type of boys that would terrorize this poor girl. She took Terri into the back of the store and led her to the restroom, as the other ladies sprang into action.
“I am so sorry Ma’am for making a mess in your store. I just don’t know what happened.”
“Don’t worry about it dear, it happens sometimes when we are scared. Now I want you to go inside this restroom, take all your clothes off and clean yourself,” she said handing her several small towels and a plastic bag. “Put your dirty clothes in this bag, use one of these towels as a bath cloth and then dry yourself with the others. I will get you some clean clothes.”
Terry set his backpack down, took the towels from her and went into the restroom. He followed her directions and stripped off, putting all his clothes in the bag. Wetting one towel he used it to wash his face, armpits, and the rest of his body. He hated smelling of urine and he was so embarrassed.
Helen went to the front of the store and saw that the boys were still hanging around. This just wouldn’t do with her. She called Mall security and informed them of what happened and described the boys to them in detail. She then went about finding some clothes for that poor girl. She got everything for her from the skin out. She had a good eye for size having been in the clothing business for twenty years. She found some pretty panties, a nice bra, she’d noticed that the girl was starting to blossom, a camisole, a half slip, some lace trimmed knee socks, a pair of Mary Jane’s in a size she thought about right, a nice blouse and skirt combo completed the outfit. Helen was proud of the clothes she selected; they would look really nice on Terri. It was her store so she didn’t worry about the cost.
Helen knocked on the door of the rest room and Terri opened it enough for her to pass the clothes to pass him.
Terry took the clothes and was shocked when he looked at them. She thinks I am a girl. He cursed himself for not telling her right off. He didn’t really want to put his urine soaked clothes back on so he decided to put these girl’s clothes on. He went through the pile and sorted them out. He put on the panties; they were white nylon with lots of lace. He picked up the bra, he really didn’t want to put it on but Helen would know if he didn’t. He looked at it, it was a match for the panties and the label said it was a 30 A. He unhooked it and pulled it on, it took a couple of tries but he got it hooked up right behind him. He was shocked when the flesh of his chest filled the cups of the bra and then some. He now had titties. The camisole was like a sleeveless t-shirt and he knew about the half-slips he’d seen his mom wear. The blouse was very pretty white long sleeve embroidered chiffon; he trembled at the smooth silkiness of its feel. It gave him a lot of trouble buttoning it up, it buttoned backwards compared to his shirts. The skirt was black silk; it fit nicely at his waist and came to just above the knee. He then put on the knee socks and shoes; he was amazed how everything fit.
It all felt so strange, but so nice. He looked at himself in the mirror and was shocked; he looked no different from any other girl and maybe better than some. Although he had never worn any girls clothes before they looked very good on him.
Helen waited impatiently for Terri to come out. The poor child had to be frightened, but she was not going to hurry her.
A female security officer had come into the store and informed her that the boys had been photographed, read the trespass act and escorted off the premises. The boys were persona non grata at the mall now. They would be arrested for trespass if they reappeared at the Mall. The management of the mall was very good about keeping the riff raff out of the mall. They valued the businesses and their customers.
Terry sheepishly exited the restroom. He was notice by Helen and the lady in the uniform.
“Oh Terri you look so nice in that outfit,” Helen said, her eyes brightening and a big smile formed on her face. “Tell this nice lady what happened dear. Her name is Terri also. Terri Carmichael this is Terri. I don’t know her last name.”
The officer squatted down to Terry’s level looked her in the eye, offered her hand saying, “High Terri, it is nice to meet you. What is your last name?”
Terry shook her hand and said, “Hi Ma’am, I am Terry Allen, it is nice to meet you too.”
“My but you look very nice. I understand you had some problems with some boys dear. Can you tell me what happened?”
Terry explained everything that happened, leaving out only that he was not a girl. Terri was very nice to him and treated him with respect. Something he didn’t get as a boy much.
“Is your Mom here at the Mall?”
“No Ma’am she is at home by now. She works days and gets home about four thirty everyday.”
“What is her name dear?”
“My Mom is Kelly Allen. I jus came into the mall cause I thought I could loose the boys here. I am sorry to be so much trouble.” Terry said his voice trembling slightly as he spoke.
“No Terri don’t ever feel that way. We want our customers to feel safe in this Mall. Please if you ever think you are in danger or being stalked do come in the mall and have one of the stores contact us at security. You did the right thing girl, I am proud to help you. Do you want us to call your Mom so she can pick you up dear?”
“That won’t be necessary, Terri, I am going to take this nice girl home so I can meet he Mom,” Helen said.
“Okay Helen, I will leave her to you.” Terri reached out and gave Terry a hug before leaving.
Terry felt good at being hugged by this lady. It gave him a warm tingly feeling, somebody actually believed him. He almost cried.
“Now young lady let me look at you.” Helen said checking the fit of the clothes. “Did everything fit ok dear.”
“Yes Ma’am. Everything fit just right. I like them very much. They are nice clothes, but I don’t have any money to pay for them.” Terry said trembling.
“Don’t you worry about that Terri. I am just glad that you are safe. Too many children are attacked and hurt. I just didn’t think you should have to go home smelling like pee dear. You should have some dignity.”
Terry started to cry when she said that and reached out with both arms to Helen for a hug. Helen seeing this leaned over to her and gave Terri a big hug, holding her as she cried softly. When she was cried out Helen let go and looked deep into huge green puppy dog eyes. She handed Terri a tissue to dry her eyes.
“Before we take you home let me do something with your hair dear,” she said taking a brush out of her purse. “You have such a lovely head of hair dear. I really like the color and shine it has.”
Helen took the rubber band off her ponytail and brushed out her hair. It was in very good shape, but could use a little styling. She parted it in the middle and brushed it to the sides of her head. She then reached into her purse and took out a mauve lipstick and lightly coated her lips. She finished with a spritz of her perfume on one wrist. She had Terri rub her wrists together and had her rub them to her neck. It was a light flowery scent.
“Sandy will you be ok closing by yourself? I am going to take Terri home to her mother.”
“Sure Helen, go on I can take care of it. Terri please come back and visit with us. You are such a pretty girl,” Sandy said hugging the girl.
“Come now Terri get your bags and I’ll take you home now.”
“You don’t have to Ma’am I can make it home now.”
“I won’t hear of it dear, those punks could be waiting for you. Now please let me do this for you.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Terry said with some trepidation and fear. He grabbed his backpack and bag of clothes and took Helen’s hand. He wondered what would happen when he got home and Helen would find out his lie.
Together they went out the back door; Helen clicked her key fob to her Caddy and told Terri to put her backpack and clothes in the trunk. She then opened the front passenger side door for Terri.
Terry tried to step into the front seat like he always did.
“No dear, you don’t sit like that in a skirt.” Helen demonstrated. “First you sit back into the car like this smoothing your skirt and then turn into the car.” She got out and watched as Terri did as she instructed. She wondered a little why she didn’t already know this. Terri was a quick study and sat very demurely. Helen helped her with her seat belt.
Terry gave Helen instructions on how to get to his home as she drove. He really liked the lady and worried what she would think of him. All too soon they pulled up to his house. It wasn’t a very nice or big house and the neighborhood wasn’t too nice either. Helen got her Terri’s things from the trunk and holding Terri’s hand they went up to the front door. Terri started to open the door but Helen stopped him.
“Let’s knock dear; I don’t want to surprise your Mom with strange women entering her home.” Helen knocked on the door and Terry’s Mom came and opened it.
“Hello.”
Helen looked Kelly over she couldn’t be over thirty. “Hello Kelly, my name is Helen Samples. I run a mother daughter dress shop at the mall. Helen’s Fashions is my store. Some big boys chased your daughter into my store, and I would like to talk to you. If you don’t mind.”
“My daughter you say, oh yes do come in please.” Kelly’s eyes turned as big as saucers as she recognized the pretty girl as her Terry. She led them to the living room. “Please have a seat. Sorry this place is such a mess but I work long hours and I have just gotten home. Can I get you a cup of coffee, I need one myself.”
“Yes I think that would be nice Kelly.” Helen said as she sat on the couch.
“I will get it Mom, you go on and have a seat. How do you take your coffee Ms. Helen?”
“Two sugars dear.”
Kelly took a seat opposite Helen and watched her son go to the kitchen. This was going to be an interesting story, and her son looked so adorable in that outfit. She didn’t recognize him at first and decided not to embarrass him till she heard his story at least. She and Helen made small talk till Terry came back with two coffees, milk and cookies on a tray. Terry served the ladies and sat next to Helen.
“You know Kelly, you have a delightful child, and she is so polite. The girls at the dress shop really like her.”
“Terry is a good kid. She helps me a lot around the house. I love her a lot. Now you were talking about some trouble? What kind of trouble.”
“Mom I have told you before about the boys but I didn’t tell you everything, I am sorry. Ms. Helen I have sort of lied to you too, and I am sorry to you too. I am not a T-E-R-R-I but a T-E-R-R-Y. I am a boy.” Terry then went into a detailed description of his woes, crying as he went on. The two ladies let him tell his story and only stopped him to ask questions. “You must hate me now Ms. Helen I was so scared, I was afraid to tell you the truth. Mom I am sorry I tried to be a big boy, but I didn’t do a very good job.”
“Terry you did nothing to be ashamed about. I am so proud of you. I need to apologize to you. I didn’t realize what you were going through.”
“And Terry, you didn’t lie to me either. I just made some assumptions that were wrong. I am sorry for dressing you up as a girl. I should have asked, I guess.”
“Ms. Helen, you helped me a lot. I want to thank you.”
“Well Terry, you ought to change into your boy things I guess.” Kelly said.
“Do I have to Mom. I really like these clothes. I don’t understand it but it feels so right.”
That had the mouths of both ladies hanging open.
“No, if it is ok with Helen, I guess you can.”
“Of course you may Terri. I think you look very cute in them,” Helen giggled, “Please get your Mom and me some more coffee if you would.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
After Terry left Helen turned to Kelly, “Kelly, would you let me buy you and Terri dinner tonight. I feel we have more to talk about.”
“I would like that, how much do I owe you for the clothes though. I would never have guessed my son would look so good and would like dressing as a girl.”
“Let them be my gift to Terri, Kelly, I am well enough off that it isn’t going to hurt me a bit. I am sorry I did this to him but he is such a dear.”
“I don’t understand it Helen, I don’t think he has ever been dressed as a girl before. All I can say is thank you for being there for him,” Kelly said tears forming up in her eyes.
“There is nothing to be ashamed about dear. You have raised a simply delightful child. You couldn’t have done that without giving him lots of love.”
Terry came back with the coffee and served his Mom and Ms. Helen. He started to sit in a different chair but Helen directed him to sit next to her.
“Terry, Helen has invited us out to eat, do you want to go out like that.”
Terry looked thoughtfully for a few seconds, and then said, “Yes if it wouldn’t embarrass you or her.”
“Ok Terry you sit here with Helen and keep her company while I get ready.”
“Tell me Terri why did you let me dress you like that?”
“I was afraid of those boys, ma’am and I was embarrassed that I pee’ed all over myself. I didn’t want to walk home smelling like that. I started not to but after I started getting dressed I realized that I liked the feel and the looks of the clothes. Everyone treated me so nicely. I don’t know it just felt good inside.”
“Well you had me fooled dear, and I believe that, that isn’t easy. You only made a few mistakes, because you never had any reason to learn otherwise. You are good to your mother too I see.”
“We only have each other ma’am, and Mom works from four to four, five days a week to make ends meet.”
“Where is your Dad?”
“I don’t know. Mom was kicked out of her home she said, before I was born.”
“Oh, so have you met your grandparents.”
“No.”
Helen hugged Terri to her. She thought she knew what Kelly and Terri had gone through. Her heart went out to both of them. Kelly wore what had to be her best dress. It probably cost less than the blouse she had dressed Terri in. Kelly handed a little purse to Terry. Helen powdered Terri’s face and refreshed her lipstick and gave them to Terri.
“Put those in your purse Terri, girls always carry at least that much. Well girls let’s go have a good time. Kelly do you work tomorrow?”
“No, I am off weekends Helen.”
“Good, let’s go enjoy ourselves. Let’s take my car, Terri sit up front between me and your Mom.”
Kelly opened the door for Terry. She watched her smooth her skirt sit and turn into the seat like a girl, Kelly then sat next to Terry. Helen made sure that everybody put their seatbelts on before they drove off. Kelly was surprised at the restaurant they went to. It was a very nice one. She hadn’t been in such a nice restaurant in ages, since before she got pregnant at least.
The maitre d’ led them to a table and assisted them with their chairs. He complemented the ladies on their appearance and introduced their waiter. The waiter took their drink orders and passed out their menus. Kelly looked at the menu; no prices were listed so she knew it was going to be expensive.
“Helen I can’t afford anything here. How will I ever pay you back?”
“Don’t worry about prices. It is my pleasure to be with you two. Otherwise I would be eating at home alone. Now be good girls and order whatever you would like or I could order for you if you like?”
“Please do, I don’t know what some of these things are.” Kelly said.
“Neither do I Ms. Helen.”
“Do you two like seafood?”
“Yes,” they both agreed.
Helen ordered for everybody when their drinks arrived. Helen and Kelly began talking about things while they waited. Terri sat quietly as the adults talked. Helen asked about the things she and Terri had talked about. Kelly blushed as she realized what Terry had revealed. Kelly filled in what Terry didn’t know.
She had been seventeen when she got pregnant after graduating. Her boyfriend ran out on her and her religious parents kicked her out. She worked hard as a waitress at a truck stop to support Terry and herself often not having a lot of time to spend with her son. She had planned to go to college but never got a chance. She hadn’t planned to be so open but Helen seemed to draw them out. Kelly felt her load ease as she told her story.
The food came and it was delicious. Terri had stuffed shrimp while Kelly and Helen had seafood platters. Terri imitated what her mom and Helen did at the table. Placing the napkin on the napkin on her lap, using the fork they used, she took small bites and ate as neatly as any twelve year old can eat. She listened intently as the two adults talked. She really liked Helen a lot.
Helen and Kelly watched Terri as they ate. She was being only what she appeared to be. Her manners were impeccable. Helen and Kelly both got Terri talking. She gave thoughtful answers to them both and treated them with respect. Kelly was proud and Helen was delighted.
“If you two have nothing planned for tomorrow, you must spend the night with me at my home. I have not had such delightful company in a while.”
“We will need to get some clothes and I am afraid that Terri only has what she has on unless she wants to change.”
“If Terri wants to stay like this not to worry, after all I have all the clothes both of you would ever need.”
“I would like that Helen, but it costs so much.” Terri added.
“Now you two don’t worry, I can find ways for you to pay me back and it might just be good for the three of us. Let’s go to the ladies room, girls.”
Helen whispered to Terri to make sure she sat to do her business and roll off a little bit of tissue to wipe with.
Terri followed the big girls lead she balked a little at entering the ladies room but her mother’s reassuring hand gave her the confidence she needed. Terri was first out of the stall and she waited for her Mom and Helen. She mimicked them when they fixed their faces powdering her shiny spots and fixing her lipstick. The adults smiled as they watched her.
They drove to the mall and entered Helen’s store from the rear. Sandy was excited to see Terri again and to meet her Mom. Helen told her girls that she wanted five outfits for Mother and Daughter from the skin out and extra underwear and sleepwear. Helen just sat back and watched as Sandy and Carol went crazy, Terri and Kelly didn’t know what hit them. Helen called her home and had two rooms prepared. When the girls finished Kelly and Terri had three outfits that matched and at least four more outfits each along with tons of hosiery and underwear. The things were selected and packaged and placed in Helen’s car. Finally it came time to leave.
Helen drove back to the Allen’s home and told Terri to pick up her book bag and Kelly to pick up anything else they needed for the weekend. They went inside and got their things before returning. They then headed to Helen’s place.
On the drive to Helen’s place, an overwhelmed Kelly said, “Helen this is all too much dear. I really love the clothes, but I just don’t know if I can take them.”
“Kelly I am well off, I am widowed with no children. That is why I run the mother/daughter store. I could just pay someone to run it, or just shut it down. I don’t need the income from it. I love being able to dress mothers and their daughters in nice clothes. I am quite fond of you and Terri. No matter how Terri thinks of her or himself. Please let me help you two. I think I know a way for you to repay me also.”
Helen turned into the driveway of a big house. It was not quite a mansion but it was very big. Two people a lady and a guy, waited at the end of the drive for them. Kelly’s and Terri’s doors were opened for them and they were assisted out. Helen joined them and instructed her servants, “Tom, Barbra these are my guests Kelly and Terri Allen, girls this is my maid and butler. The blue packages go to Kelly’s room and the white to Terri’s room. Barbra would you assist Terri and Tom will help Kelly please.”
The two servants attacked the trunk of the Caddy. Barbra just fawned over Terri who ate it up. She got all of Terri’s white bags. Tom and Helen got Kelly’s blue bags.
“My, what a lovely young lady you are Miss Terri, just come with me and we will get you sorted out,” Barbra said with genuine affection in her voice.
Terri just floated with exuberance beside Barbra. Kelly and Helen giggled at her enthusiasm, as they followed behind. Kelly had not seen such joy in a while from her child.
“It is so wonderful Helen to see Terri like that. She looks so happy. I have tried to be a good Mom, but it has been so hard.” Kelly said starting to sniffle.
“Come now Kelly, you have done a marvelous job under the circumstances. Terri is a wonderful child. I have seen the quote privileged kids who don’t have the courtesy and grace Terri has.”
“Yes, she is special.”
Kelly and Terri just oohed and ahhed over the home, as they were led upstairs. Barbra and Terri went in one room, while Helen, Tom and Kelly went into another.
They then went about sorting out their bags. Terri started to just stuff her things into a drawer but Barbra stopped her. “No, no dear a lady just doesn’t stuff things in her drawer. She carefully puts her things away after neatly folding them.” Barbra demonstrated for Terri and then had her complete the tasks. She helped her decide how to arrange her things. Barbra then showed her how to hang her things and arrange her closet. Terri eagerly followed her directions. It would have been easier for Barbra to just do it herself but she thought young ladies should be taught.
After they finished Terri reached out and hugged Barbra saying, “Thank you Ms. Barbra for helping me and showing me how to do things right.”
Caught off guard by this delightful child, she returned her hug and said, “You’re very welcome Missy, now you get undressed and put your robe on and I will draw your bath.” Barbra started the water and returned to select panties and a nightgown for Terri, who had undressed and carefully laid out her things clothes on the bed.”
“Ma’am, where do I put my dirty things?”
“Right in the hamper in the bathroom and I will take care of them for you. Be sure to wash good dear and use the shampoo and conditioner on your lovely hair. I will be here when you finish to take care of your hair dear.”
Helen assisted Kelly with her things; she could see her eyes mist over as she handled her nice things. Helen saw a child in Kelly. She went over and hugged the dear girl. “In many ways Kelly you have had to grow up too fast and your child hood was cut short. You have had a rough life and did your best. You should be proud of yourself. I was going to wait and ask you this later but I think I shall ask you now. I want you to go to work for me full time. I would like you and Terri to move into my house. I would expect you and Terri to continue your educations and work part time at my shop. I want you to learn my business and maybe take it over when I get too old, to run it. At this house you will be treated as family, as a sister I never had, at the shop you will just be another of my employees. Think this over dear before you answer. It will mean a lot of changes. I will also help Terri to find out who she or he really is and will treat her as my niece or nephew.”
Kelly hugged Helen to herself very tightly and cried on her shoulder. Helen’s heart melted and she cried along with her.
Terri washed as well as she ever had. The bath water felt great and the bubbles caused her to giggle. She found a bottle of shampoo and one of conditioner. She had learned to take good care of her own hair, but often had not the things to do it with. The shampoo smelled really great, she washed her hair once and rinsed with a sprayer nozzle and shampooed it again rinsing after she finished. The conditioner was really great it left her hair feeling great and helped take out her tangles. She got out of her bath and found two towels and her night clothes on the counter. She carefully dried off with one towel and tried to wrap her hair in the other like she had seen her Mom do.
It was funny, how she thought of herself as a girl now. She just took to being a girl. She dressed in her panties and nightshirt and stepped into a pair of mules that were set out for her. She dried up the floor with the towel she had stood on and wiped down the tub before putting them in the hamper.
In her room Barbra was standing by a vanity in the room waiting for her and smiled warmly when Terri entered. “Sit here dear and let me see what I am working with,” Barbra said. She combed out the girl’s hair and inspected it. “If you don’t mind Missy, I would like to trim your hair a little to help me style it?”
“I would like that very much Ma’am, Mom never had enough money for us to go out and do it, so I jus did the best I could.”
Barbra got a pair of scissors out of the dresser and began to work on Terri’s hair. She was a very good stylist, but liked working for Helen better than working in a shop. She then rolled her hair and put a drying bonnet over the rollers. She then worked on Missy’s face putting a mask on her while her hair dried. After ten minutes she removed the mask and used a toner and a good moisturizer on her skin. Terri just ate it all up, she thought Barbra was such a neat lady. She painted her fingernails and her toes a lovely shade of pink after shaping them as best she could.
“Do this to your skin at least twice daily if not more Missy and your skin will always be so lovely,” she said as she took the bonnet off her head. She then unrolled and combed out Terri’s hair.
Terri was facing away from the mirror and didn’t see herself till Barbra finished and turned her toward the mirror. Terri’s faced lit up with a joyous look on her angelic face.
“Is that really me there Ms. Barbra?”
“Yes it is, do you like it?”
“Like it! I jus love it. It looks so pretty. Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you Barbra,” Terri said squealing with delight as she jumped up and hugged Barbra. “We got to go show Mommy, she will be so happy.” She grabbed Barbra’s hand and drug the lady behind her as she ran to the room she had seen her Mom go into. “Mommy! Mommy! Just look at my hair! Ms. Barbra made it so pretty.”
Kelly broke her hug with Helen and looked at Terri with raccoon eyes as her makeup had streaked her face. “Oh my gosh, you are so beautiful Baby.” Kelly ran to her daughter and threw her arms around her and hugged her. “I can hardly believe it is you dear.”
“Are you ok Mommy? You have been crying.”
“Yes, I am ok dear. I just had to have a good cry. Thank you Barbra for making my daughter look so lovely.”
“My pleasure Ma’am, me and Missy are good friends now. May I draw your bath and fix your hair Ma’am.”
“Go on Kelly, Barbra is so wonderful. Terri and I will have a glass of milk and a cookie while you get yourself cleaned up.”
“Ok.”
Helen took Terri’s hand and she showed her around her home. She was like a kid in a candy store, and her eyes got really big taking everything in. She liked the game room and the TV room. They wound up in the kitchen where they got their milk and cookies. “Thank you Ms. Helen,” Terri said as she drank her milk and nibbled on her cookie.
“You’re very welcome dear and you must start calling me Aunty or Aunt Helen. I want you to think of me like that. OK.”
“Yes Ma’am, Aunt Helen.” Terri said smiling.
Terri finished with her milk and started to clean her glass and plate.
“You don’t have to do that dear, I have kitchen staff who will take care of it.”
“No Ma’am, Aunt Helen, I will not leave dirty dishes in your house. My Mom wouldn’t like it if I did and I wouldn’t feel right about it.”
“Well alright, I like your attitude young lady. Tell me. I would like to have you talk to a friend of mine. She likes working with people who want to know their real self’s. You seem to like being a girl, does it make you feel happy?”
“Yes Ma’am it does. What does your friend do?”
“Would you like to stay a girl always, or do you think this is just a sometimes thing.”
“I am not really sure right now Ma’am. I really liked being one today. I mean I really liked the clothes and how I have been treated as a girl. It feels so right. I liked the look in Mommy’s eyes when she saw me like this. Why was she crying earlier Aunty?”
“Girls do that when they are happy, when they are sad or sometimes for no reason at all.”
“Is it alright if I cry too cause you have made me so happy,”
“Yes it is alright for you to cry too.”
Terri hugged Helen and cried softly on her shoulder. All the stress she had felt earlier just melted away. She knew she had made a new friend. No not a friend, an Aunt, she knew in her heart they were better than friends. They cuddled in the kitchen for a while. Helen didn’t know if she could break Terri’s grip even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. This child had awakened something in her heart also.
“Helen, Terry, you just got to see what Barbra did for me,” a joyful Kelly was heard to say. “Are you alright Terri why are you crying?”
“Girls just do that Mommy, you should know they cry when they are happy, or when they are sad, or even for no reason at all.” Terri said.
Helen couldn’t help herself but laugh till she cried when she heard Terri parrot her words to her Mom.
“Mommy, you are so pretty, I am so happy. Thank you Barbra so much for making my Mommy look so pretty,” Terri said running to her mom and hugging her and crying some more.
“Helen you can have my answer now dear. I know I can never repay you for all you have done and will do, but especially for making my child so happy.”
“Barbra from now on Kelly is to be considered my sister and Terri my niece.”
“Very well Ma’am I shall inform the staff, and Missy is now my special project now, if you don’t mind Ma’am.” She said smiling a big warm smile.
“Of course Barbra, I expect you to teach her to be a proper lady. You don’t have too much work to do, but silver is always prettier polished isn’t it.”
“Of course Ma’am, if there is nothing else I will be retiring for the day Ma’am.”
“No nothing else dear, and thank you.”
Barbra left the girls to hug and cry. It was good seeing Helen happy like this. She really liked Kelly and that adorable child. She suspected she was a boy on the outside, but he was all girl inside. It will be fun. She just loved Missy.
Helen showed her sister and niece the family room. They all sat on a big comfy sofa and cuddled on either side with Helen. It seemed like Kelly turned into the nineteen year old she never had time to be, hugging a sister she never had a chance to know. They all fell asleep like that, much to the consternation of Barbra who looked high and low to find them cuddled up there in the morning.
Barbra carefully woke Terri and took her upstairs saying, “Morning Missy I just wanted to get you ready for breakfast and then we will get your homework done.”
Terri rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretched. “Homework! It’s Saturday can’t I play?”
“Homework first and then play, young lady. You need to exercise your mind as well as your body. Now come with me and we will start your morning routine.”
She helped Terri to stand and took off her robe and nightie. Yep she was right, but it didn’t matter to her, she could stand there naked, with a willy a foot long and Barbra would still see her Missy. She handed Terri a pair of clean panties. “A lady always starts her day in clean panties Missy.”
Terri hesitated taking her panties off but Barbra cut her off. “Don’t be shy I have seen it all before and I know your secret. It doesn’t matter to me. You are still my Missy,” she said hugging this child.
Terri smiled and changed out her panties. Barbra then led her to the bathroom where she cleaned herself with a bath cloth. “Remember Missy a girl always sits to take care of her business, and wipes herself dry afterwards to prevent bad smells and infections dear.” After looking Missy over, “We will shave off your body hair today but in the future we may use a depilatory or waxing.” Barbra took a razor and shaved Missy’s armpits and looking she got some lather and soaped up her legs before shaving them. Not a hair remained below her chin. She used a lotion and powder on her body. Terri giggled as she was tickled, by the powder puff.
“All you have right now are skirts, blouses, and dresses so that will have to do. We will correct that later today, so you can have some fun clothes to wear. Since you are going to be dressing nicely today I will show you how to do it right.”
She got a matching bra for Terri and helped her with it. She smiled when she saw that the child filled out her bra. Next she had Terri put on a pair of pantyhose, she had to show her how to pull them on, but she learned easily. Terri shuddered as the silky material was pulled up her hairless legs. They seemed so sensitive and the pantyhose felt sooooo goooood. A lacy camisole and half slip followed. She could see the wonder in Terri’s eyes as she was dressed. Barbra then showed her how to select a blouse, a skirt and shoes that matched. That wasn’t hard right now cause she didn’t have that much to choose from but that would be corrected today.
Dressed, Barbra led her to her vanity where she did her hair, “I will teach you to take care of your own hair. It is such lovely hair and you must take good care of it.” Barbra then worked on combing her hair out, it retained most of the shape she had put into it earlier, and rapidly fell into place now. “Ok, now in the mornings you will use a cleanser, a toner and a moisturizer on your face. That will keep your skin looking good.”
“Gee, it is a lot of work being a girl, isn’t it?”
“Yes Missy it is, but it will be well worth the effort when you get older dear. You should always strive to look your best dear. Now for your age you will use a little powder on your face to even out the texture and a little lipstick dear.” Barbra had Terri do this herself; she did a nice job at it as she smiled watching the child. “Now let me look at you child.”
Terri stood there in a pretty pastel yellow silk blouse, a royal blue chiffon skirt that came three inches above her knee and black patent leather Mary Jane’s. She needed jewelry befitting her age, earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces. Purses, slacks, T’s, some athletic clothes, Barbra thought compiling a mental shopping list.
“Ok let’s see you walk dear. Smaller steps dear, relax your arms more, it is ok to swish a little but not that much dear, turn, chin up back straight, push that chest of yours out dear be proud of it, not that much, don’t be so silly girl, walk, that’s it dear, nice turn, not bad at all. Don’t run dressed like this, unless you have to dear. Ladies don’t run. Now sit dear smooth your skirt under you so you won’t wrinkle your pretty skirts, knees are kept together or your legs are crossed at the knee or ankle dear, back straight chin up, hands folded together on your lap and smile like you mean it, good girl. Stand, walk, turn, walk, turn, and sit. Nicely done. Now let’s go see what Helga has fixed for your breakfast.”
Terri followed Barbra down to the breakfast room where she was introduced to Helga.
“Helga this is Ms. Helen’s niece Terri Allen, but I like to call her Missy, Missy this is Helga.”
“Hello Ms. Helga it is nice to meet you Ma’am,” Terri said throwing in a curtsey that had Barbra giggling.
“Well hello Missy, you don’t mind me calling you that too, do you?”
“No Ma’am, I would like that very much.”
“You are such a sweet adorable little lady. Now please sit, I have some wonderful cheese blintzes for your breakfast.”
“Thank you Ma’am,” Terri said as she sat demurely at the table.
Barbra went to see after her two other charges and met them coming down the stairs looking quite refreshed. Ms. Helen looked so much better today, “Ma’am Missy is having breakfast in the breakfast room, and you Ms. Helen shouldn’t sleep in your makeup dear.”
“Oh I know Barbra but it felt so good being hugged by Kelly and Terri. Thank you dear we are headed to breakfast ourselves.”
Helen and Kelly entered the breakfast room and oohed and ahhed over Terri.
“Morning Mom and Aunt Helen, Ms. Helga is a great cook Mom.”
“Morning Terri you look so adorable dear and don’t speak with food in your mouth. That is a no no for girls.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
The two ladies sat on either side of Terri, and Helga brought them their breakfast. Terri was so bubbly today it was like a whole different person than from just days ago.
“Kelly said, “I like you so much like this, but even if you want to stay this way, you have three weeks of school left and you will have to dress in your other clothes, and after the summer if you want we will see, how does that sound to you?”
Terri frowned for a second then looked to be deep in thought and then said, “Ok Mom, but I can change when I get home can’t I.”
“Of course you can dear. I am also quitting my job at the truck stop and am going to work for Aunt Helen.”
That brought a big smile to Terri’s face, “That is great Mom!”
“And we are going to live with Aunt Helen, if you would like.”
“Yippeee,” Terri said jumping out of her chair and hugging Helen. “Oh sorry Aunt Helen, that wasn’t too lady like.”
“That is quite alright, little lady. Even ladies are allowed to be excited at good news dear.”
Barbra came in and saw that Missy was finished eating and said, “Alright Missy, I see that you have finished your breakfast. Now hug your Mom and your Aunt. Then we will fix your face and get cracking on your homework.”
Terri hugged Kelly and Helen and then followed after Barbra.
“Who is that child and what have you done with my Terry?”
“Yes she is wonderful, isn’t she?”
“We will leave Terri with Barbra. Give her your house key and she will pick up some of Terri’s school clothes and anything else you two might need. I would like to take your back to my shop for a few hours and get you sorted out there and do some more shopping for you, sis. How does that sound.”
“That is fine by me, I won’t miss working for those pigs, at the pigsty. I never got use to the abuse there. I can’t believe I put up with it for so long. I just wanted to give Terry my best.”
“Well you did a good job Kelly. You sacrificed a lot for her and now I want to help you both.”
“Thank you Helen. I promise to do my best.”
“I know you will.”
Terri was finding out what kind of taskmaster Barbra could be when it came to homework. She was relentless, but also she helped in many ways. She was able to communicate to Terry in ways his teachers couldn’t. Terri wasn’t a bad student she got mostly A’s and B’s it was the C’s though where she needed help, Math and Science. Barbra helped her in those subjects, she made her do all her own work, but she also made it easy for Terri to understand and succeed. Terri spent more time than she wanted but in only two hours had read her chapters and finished her homework.
“Ok Ms. Barbra, what now?” Terri said eagerly.
“Now we need to do some shopping and go by your old place and pick up your other clothes. Freshen up your face, get your purse and meet me by the front door in five minutes.”
Terri went to her room and touched up her face grabbing her purse. Barbra drove around in a White Range Rover. This car gave Terri a little problem in her skirt, she couldn’t just sit and turn in because of the ground clearance but she worked out how she could demurely enter and exit.
“Nice Terri, you worked it out on your own and maintained your dignity doing it.”
Terri smiled at Barbra. They drove over to Kelly’s and Terri’s home. Barbra opened the door and Terri led the way to her room. Barbra could only despair when she saw what was in Terry’s closet, but she picked out four or five of his best outfits and his best underwear.
“Is there anything else here that you or your Mom want or need soon?”
Terri went from room to room. She found the box where her Mom kept her important papers, and her Mom’s jewelry box, plus a few other items. Satisfied that nothing important or of real value was left; they then locked up and headed to the mall.
Barbra was a very competent shopper. She could power shop like girls learn to do or hit just what was needed. The clothes Terri had were nice Mother/Daughter type things or Sunday go to meeting type clothes but they were not really teen fashion type things. Terri received a good lesson on buying teen fashions from Barbra. Terri knew what she liked on other girls and found she already had a good sense of fashion. Some of the clothes were to risqué or too far from center and Barbra put her foot down. The clothes they chose would grace any refined young teen. Like Barbra promised they got lots of casual and exercise clothes. Barbra even got her some two to three inch heels in several basic colors. Barbra arranged to have everything delivered home.
Barbra went down her mental checklist of supplying Terri. They would hit one store get what they needed and then hit the next. Terri got her ears pierced in one store and got her jewelry.
Next they hit a computer store where three desktops and three laptops were ordered. A couple of laser printers were also purchased. Terri’s new computers were more like what teens would want and the rest leaned toward business computers, but all were top rated.
The longer Terri was around Barbra the ‘kewler’ she seemed to her. In other words things went from good to better between them.
Helen and Kelly started out at the shop. She filled out employment paperwork and was shown around the place. Helen and Kelly then hit a salon Kelly got the works. Fixed up, Helen and Kelly did the same type things Terri and Barbra had done, buying more clothes.
They all returned home thoroughly exhausted about seven that evening. Helga provided a light meal for them and then they went to the family room.
“Terri, I would like you to dress in your school clothes, I made a call to a friend of mine and I would like you to talk to her. This is about the problems you had at school. Susan Carson is a police officer and she deals with juvenile crime. She will be here soon.”
“Yes Ma’am.” Terri said heading to her room. She found Barbra there with some of her boy things.
“Kelly, I am afraid that since those kids saw Terry in my store and that they have been banned from the mall, they might want to take it out on her.”
“I hadn’t thought of that Helen, I don’t want Terri hurt. What do you have in mind?”
“It wouldn’t be good to take Terry out of school so late in the school year, Barbra can pick him up at the school so he doesn’t have to walk home that should help, but I will be damned if I let those boys who chased Terry and called me a bitch get away with that. You will like Susan she runs stings on juveniles who are bullies, gangs and such.”
They chatted for a few minutes; Terry came back down stairs a much different person his hair in his usual ponytail and all boyed out. Oh he was still polite but he had lost his effervescence and was the shy scared boy he had been. Both women vowed at that moment to do what ever was needed to get Terri back.
“You don’t like this do you Terry?” Kelly asked.
“No Mom, but I know that there is a reason and purpose to it. I love being a girl but I can do this till summer. Just promise me I can be myself then.”
“Terry, you have my word. If being a girl makes you happy, you can be the best girl you can be.” Kelly said hugging her son.
They were interrupted by the door bell and Barbra led a pretty teenage girl into the room. She appeared to be thirteen or fourteen on the outside.
“Hello Susan, my you look pretty tonight. Are you in your role?” Helen asked.
“Yes I am, I just got through working and it is fun driving like this. It kinda freaks people out.” Susan giggled.
“Kelly, Terry this is Susan Carson, Susan this is Terry and his Mom Kelly whom I have told you about.”
Helen and Kelly hugged the girl who fussed over her. Susan turned to Terry and asked, “What no hugs from the cute boy, for a foxy chick like me?”
“Sorry Ma’am,” Terry got up and hugged her.
“Thank you Terry, a girl can never get enough hugs. Now tell me your story Terry.”
Everybody sat, even Barbra stayed knowing what was going on. Terry told Susan everything. He left out nothing even him running into Helen’s store and wetting himself. He told her about him dressing as a girl and all that Helen, Kelly and Barbra had done. Susan was fascinated as he told her about all the girl things he had done. She saw that he was hooked and would probably become a girl. She saw his eyes light up and his face sort of glowed. When he finished his story Helen added what she knew.
“Ok I think I have an idea. Stand up Terry.”
Terry stood and Susan stood next to him. She was way taller than Terry but she kicked off her heels and although she was still over four inches taller, when she slouched like most boys do she was close.
“Do you have more boy clothes here(add comma) Terry?”
“Yes Ma’am,”
“Let go to your room, I want to see how your things fit.”
Terry, Susan and Barbra headed upstairs. Susan took Terry’s arm like a girl who was walking with her boyfriend.
“Okay I want to try to look as much like you as I can, I won’t have to be a hundred percent but close.”
Barbra got some of his older things, they were larger than the ones he bought today and she went with Susan into the bathroom. When she reappeared she looked a lot like Terry, wrong hair color, and the pants and shirt were too short, but the pretty teen age girl was gone. Even her mannerisms were like a boy's.
“I can get some clothes like these that will fit and a wig to match yourhair color is no problem. I love your hair color Terry. I think I look enough like you to fool people not looking too closely. What do you think Terry?”
“Yeah I wouldn’t believe you were a girl.”
Susan smiled and said, “Now I want to see that cute girl, I heard you talk about.”
Terri’s face brightened and he ran to his drawers and started getting out clothes. Susan went to his closet and picked out a skirt and blouse. Barbra helped him and Susan just stepped back and watched his transformation. Now with jewelry they had picked up Terri looked so much more darling, and with his first heels she was just over an inch shorter than Susan wearing trainers.
“My gosh, Terri, you are beyond pretty girl. You are beautiful. Let’s go show your Mom and Helen.”
Susan held out her arm to Terri and she took it. Susan recognized that she was having a little trouble with the heels but with the added support she did fine.
Helen and Kelly’s faces lit up when they saw Terri.
“I just had to see Terri, Kelly. I saw the longing in his eyes, I hope you don’t mind.”
“No I don’t mind. I love my son and my daughter. My little girl is such a delight though.”
“Now here is what I have in mind. Your son is going to finish the school year right?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, he will wear what I have on now. I am going to get a wig to match, I so do love Terri’s hair, and I will dress like him. One of you will pick him up at school and I will walk his route home. Then we shall see.”
They talked for about an hour about his routes, what he did and how he acted. Susan was amazed at the lengths he went to, to survive. They had a firm plan by the time Susan needed to go. She headed back to Terri’s room and changed back into the teen age girl. She kissed at Terri’s cheeks like girls do and hugged everyone before leaving.
It was time for bed so they headed in that direction. Barbra saw to Terri and made sure she followed her cleansing routine and got her ready for bed. Terri gave her a big hug that lasted for several moments and a big thank you for all she did. Barbra tucked Terri in and gave the child a real kiss on her cheek, before turning out the lights and closing the door. The bed was wonderful so much better than Terry’s old mattress and the soft silky sleep shirt teased him to sleep in seconds.
All too soon Terri was woken by Barbra. She got out of bed and took care of her business and Barbra started working on her.
“Helen always goes to Mass on Sundays dear, so we have to get you ready.”
Terri got all her underwear on and Barbra sat her down at her vanity. Barbra worked on her hair rolled it into a twist and pinned it to the back of her head. Makeup was a little powder, lippy and a touch of blush. Then her blue suit, navy pumps with two inch heels, white gloves, a little white lacy thing was pinned on her head and a white purse.
Aunt Helen, Kelly and Terri all met in the hall. It was easy to see that Barbra had arranged for all to be dressed in matching suits. They all smiled and fawned over each other. They really did make such an attractive family.
“It will be nice to go to church again,” Kelly said, “When I was working so hard it was the last thing on my mind.”
Barbra was waiting for them in the Caddy. Terri sat up front with Barbra while Helen and Kelly sat in the back. It was a nice church. It didn’t take long for Terri to fall in the clutches of other teen girls, at first she was a little shy, but she paid attention to how the other girls acted and fit right in.
“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Kelly asked.
“Yes, there is only so much us older girls can teach Terri, if she succeeds it will be because she will fit in. I suspect that she has always watched how girls acted. She picked things up too fast. Look, could you have picked out Terri from that group if you didn’t already know?”
“Not without watching her for a long time. There is still some boy to her, but it’s like a tomboy becoming a pretty flower, than a boy dressed as a girl.”
Helen introduced Kelly around to the ladies and pointed out Terri to them. Kelly started to warm to them they were really a nice bunch. Too soon it was time for them to go inside. Terri joined her Mom and her Aunt. She was told to do what they did inside. It seemed to go on forever this was Terri’s first time ever in church and while it was hard to sit and pay attention, she did better than most kids there.
Finally it was time to go. Helen stopped a couple of her friends and their daughters and invited them to lunch together at a restaurant. A troop of about twelve headed out together with Helen’s bunch. It was four mothers, Helen, Kelly, Terri, five girls from nine to fifteen and three boys, seven and nine.
At the restaurant the girls sat together and the boys and adults sat together.
At the girls table a pecking order was setup by age which left Terri in not too bad a position in the middle. She was a little awkward at times but she learned fast. It was a first for her to be accepted. The other girls wanted to know all about her. She did a very credible job of relating her story, without letting the cat out of the bag. She told them that she and her mom met Helen and that they became fast friends, almost like family. Her Mom was now working for Helen and they were living with her. She admitted their humble beginnings and her Mom’s hard work, and was glad that things were looking up for them.
The girls were genuinely interested in her story, and completely accepting of her. They laughed, joked, flirted with the waiters who flirted back. They were just being girls, all under the watchful eyes of the adults.
The adults talked too. Kelly was up front with them and gave her story. She told them of her early pregnancy, her being kicked out of her house by her dad, her working long hours to support her daughter and such. She too was accepted by Helen’s friends. Helen laid her claim out that Kelly and Terri were now her sister and niece. The others accepted that claim and welcomed them into their group.
Too soon it was time to go home. Everybody hugged and said their goodbyes. Terri couldn’t stop talking about her new friends. They might have initially accepted her because of Helen, but she won them over on the strength of her own personality.
Terry had never been one to make friends, Kelly marveled but here, every person Terri met she won them over with her charm and personality.
Back home Barbra had Terri change into casual girls clothes, a T and girls jeans. Terri was surprised that she could still look so girlish in jeans and a T; the bra helped of course. Terri couldn’t figure out why his chest was like that. His boy parts were small, he understood from health class that they should grow when he reached puberty, but he hadn’t reached that point yet. His voice, face and slim build all belonged to a girl.
Terri found his Mom and new Aunt downstairs, they were talking about lots of things. Mom was going to let the house go back to her land lord they were living there on a month to month basis. She wanted to return her uniforms to the truck stop, and pick up her car. Helen convinced her to sell the car. It was a twenty year old Chevy on its last legs anyway. They discussed Mom going to college starting this summer. Mom said she would check with the local university. Helen suggested she take business courses.
About four that afternoon they had another visitor. Another pretty lady who said her name was Vanessa Williams. Helen introduced her to Kelly and Terri.
“Terri, Vanessa here is a psychologist, do you know what they do?”
“Yes, she helps people that have mental or emotional problems, right?”
“That is a good way of putting it. I like to think that I help people to rise to their potential, so they could be the best people they can be. I like to work with people who feel that their body doesn’t match their minds. In other words girls who feel they should be boys or boys who feel they should be girls.”
“Like me?”
“That is possible.”
Vanessa sat next to Terri on the couch, “Why don’t you tell me your story.”
“Maybe I should write it down,” Terri giggled, “Everybody keeps asking me to tell it.”
Terri then told Vanessa her story. She was very thorough, telling Vanessa her feelings and thoughts. She showed a lot of poise for a twelve year old. She included as much detail as she could. The adults could see her face brighten as she told about dressing as a girl. All the while her body language was that of a teen age girl. When she told about dressing as a boy for Susan she looked down, but she said she really loved it when she wanted to see Terri. She giggled when she told Vanessa about how much fun she had with the girls from church today. She told her about their plans for the boy to finish school this year so that Terri can come back this summer and to start school the next school year. She emphasized that she really like being Terri, and couldn’t see going back to being the boy again all the time.
Vanessa asked her some questions which she answered the best she could. Her favorite class at school was art, she hated math and science but she realized that they were important. She did very good in English, she loved writing. No she never got in her mothers clothes before. She wasn’t interested in sports. As a boy he didn’t have many friends at school, they all made fun of him because he was so small, even most of the girls were bigger than he was. No, this was all her in the bra.
Vanessa’s brow arched when Terri said that. She asked how long had her chest been like that.
“Well I use to be chubby when I was ten, but I had to run from so many fights I lost a lot of weight, thirteen whole pounds according to Mommy’s scales at home. As I lost weight the fat I had stayed there.”
“Terri, would you like to watch TV or something while I talk to you Mommy and Aunt?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Terri said hugging Vanessa before leaving.
“Kelly, tell me what you know.”
Kelly told her all she knew. Terry has always been so helpful around the house. He wasn’t unhappy that she knew of but he never made many friends. She told of her family life and such. That she loved her son or daughter very much. She told Vanessa what a different person she was when she was being a girl. Everybody she has met as Terri has been wowed by her. She seems to pick up girls mannerisms quickly, is very talkative and huggy. As a boy she was never too huggy.
Helen told her of mistaking her for a girl, she never said a word about being a boy. She was certain she was a girl and when she came out dressed she was rough around the edges but very pretty. Her mannerisms and politeness were the things that had won her over. She was honest about everything when she told her story to her Mom and I.
Vanessa talked almost two hours with Helen and Kelly. Barbra interrupted them for dinner. Terri was waiting for them outside the dining room, dressed in a very pretty black dress. It had a scoop neck; it was fitted to the waist, with a straight skirt. The hem came to below mid thigh. She wore off black pantyhose, a pair of strappy sandals with a modest two inch heel. Her hair was still up behind her head, and a touch more makeup than she had worn earlier. She had the biggest smile on her face when they saw her.
“Ms. Vanessa I just wanted you to seem me dressed nicely. Ms. Barbra helped me but I picked this out because I like it.”
They entered the dinning room; Tom helped the women with their chairs starting with Terri. She sat very nicely, smoothing her skirt under her as she sat, back straight, head high, chin up, and her hands in her lap. When everyone had sat Terri took her napkin and set it on her lap. The adults talked about this and that as they ate. Terri ate small bites and chewed her food and listened while they talked. When Vanessa inquired why she wasn’t joining in the conversation, she replied her Momma told her that dinner was time for adults to talk, but that she could talk when she was asked too.
“Well Terri, we are talking about you so you may join in with us.” Kelly said.
“Yes Ma’am, thank you,” Terri said smiling big.
Conversation flowed between the four there. Terri wasn’t bashful in the least. The meal seemed to take forever but everyone enjoyed themselves.
When all had finished Helen asked Terri to assist Barbra in serving coffee in the sitting room. Terri excused herself to the kitchen.
“Well it is still early but I am confidant that you were right. I would like to see her once a week till summer break and twice a month during the summer. I think she will be able to start school next year as a girl. I do want her to have a complete physical; I don’t know why her breasts are like that, she is bigger than most girls her age.” Vanessa said as they headed back to the sitting room.
They all sat around the coffee table and resumed their conversations. Terri arrived with a tray with a silver coffee pot, three cups and saucers, spoons, a glass of milk, sugar, cream and a plate of cookies. Terri poured a cup black for her Mom and served her, she poured a cup and added two spoons of sugar for Helen, and then she asked Vanessa how she would like hers. Vanessa replied two sugars and cream. Terri poured, added the sugar and cream, and served Vanessa. She then offered cookies to the ladies, before taking the milk and a cookie for herself and sitting.
“Very nicely done Terri, but serve the guests first in the future dear,” said Helen.
“Yes Terri, I think you make a lovely girl. I would like you to come visit me on Fridays after school so we can talk some more. Would you like that?” Vanessa asked.
They all talked for about an hour before Barbra called Terri for bed.
“I think that Terri is a very well adjusted child considering her circumstances. Many children caught in a web with bullies are emotionally scarred. I don’t see that here. You say she has always helped you to cope around the home. In a lot of ways that is a very feminine trait. For having dressed as a girl for only three days she is too feminine. She may have picked up a lot of that like you imagine from you Kelly or girls she looks up to or would like to be like. I agree with your plans to have her finish out the semester and to start the summer living full time as a girl. I will have some suggestions later that may help her pass as a girl. We should be able to tell if this is what she really wants or if this is just a fad. Really though not much can be done till she reaches eighteen. She can’t begin feminizing hormones or have surgery till that time although there is a course of treatment that could postpone puberty for a while. I really need her to see a doctor and have her get a complete physical though. I won’t lie to you hormones can be dangerous if they are misused. I don’t want her taking any without being in a doctor’s care. They are too easy to order over the internet.”
“I don’t want my baby hurt Vanessa, I just want her happy. If you ever think it is wrong or needs to be stopped tell us and help us help Terry to adjust,” Kelly said.
“I agree with you Kelly, it is Terri’s well being that is most important. We will do what ever we can to make him or her happy Vanessa.”
Barbra helped Terry to undress. She worked with his hair till it looked as much like it had been when he dressed as a guy. She even had some of his boy clothes out for him to sleep in. He frowned but didn’t complain about it. He could still feel the soft silkiness of the sheets he slept on and liked very much his room’s femininity. There was no mistaking it for a boy’s room. Barbra kissed him goodnight and shut off the lights as she left.
It didn’t seem like he slept too long till he was awoken the next morning. He looked at his rough drab boys clothes and his book bag and got up. He sat to take care of his morning business and then went about using his skin care products and such, before dressing in his clothes.
Helga had breakfast ready for him when he came down. He acted much like he had on Friday before his episode at the mall. He wasn’t rude or anything like that but he wasn’t as polite as he had been. It was like a whole different person in many ways.
He got hugs from Helen, and Kelly before heading off with Barbra to school. Barbra dropped him off a couple of blocks away from school so he could arrive as normal, but she kept good watch on him till he got to school.
Barbra then went out and did some more shopping for Terry. If he was to wear boys clothes she would find him some that were better and she thought he would appreciate more.
At school things for Terry went as usual with a couple of exceptions. First one of the boys who tormented him told him that they were going to get him for screwing them up with the mall. Second he was pulled out of lunch after he had eaten to go to the principle’s office.
Mr. Dawson, principle at his school, was a grouch. All he ever did was just enough to make eighty percent of the people happy enough that they wouldn’t complain. If he was being graded he would get a c+ for a grade in how he ran the school. He also didn’t like to make waves or have waves made around him. Well that was tough Terry found out. His office was full of waves. Terry found his mother, Helen and Susan in the office and from Mr. Dawson’s appearance that had made a ton of waves for him.
Susan was dressed as a teenage girl she looked a little old for middle school but she certainly could pass Terry thought.
“Hi Terry, how are ya guy,” Susan asked when she saw him coming in.
“Ok Susan, what are all of yall doing here?” Terry asked.
“We were just explaining all the problems that Mr. Dawson was just too dense to see.” Susan said. “I have been wandering about the school seeing who is who, and identifying all sorts of problems. I even heard your name mentioned once or twice and heard how dead you are after school today.”
“Yeah, I have been told a time or two myself.”
“Well this is how we are going to play it today and everyday till we get this settled. You are going to come by here after your last class, Barbra will pick you up here with a disguise. We don’t want the bad guys picking up that your routine has changed. I will leave her looking as much like you as I can and walk one of your routes home and see if we can’t trigger a strike from them.”
A visibly shaken Mr. Dawson then added, “Any student Ms. Carson identifies as a trouble maker will be dealt with severely by this school, I can assure you.”
“Don’t assure us of anything Mr. Dawson,” Helen said, “Just do what is right.”
Helen frightened Mr. Dawson almost as much as Officer Carson did. He knew a couple of the boys who picked on Terry were sons of well heeled parents. Whatever he did was going to hurt. It all depended on who could hurt him worse. He was afraid that it was Helen and Susan that could hurt him worse.
After a bit more conversation Terry went on to his next class. The rest of the day Terry felt calmer about things than ever before. He really trusted Susan for some reason.
After his last class he reported to the office as he was told. Nobody paid much attention to what he did on school grounds. Susan was there waiting for him. It was a shock seeing how much like him she appeared. She had on the same worn jeans, T shirt and sweater he had on now. She had a wig on, and except for the height difference she could be his twin brother.
Barbra was there too, she had Terry take off his trainers and put on some cowboy boots. They were ladies boots and had a higher stacked heel over three inches. She also had a black duster some of the guys liked and a black cowboy hat. She helped him hide all his hair inside the hat. That was almost an impossible job but she did it. He really didn’t much look like he had looked just a few minutes earlier. Together they went out the front door for the short walk to the range rover.
Meanwhile Susan walked toward where Terry used to live. She picked up that she was being followed by some kids and reported this to her team. They had her wired for sound and she spotted the teams three vehicles that were following her. As she neared one of the last points where they could easily hit her she noticed that a noose was being tightened around her. She broke and ran just like Terry did. She heard her team identify targets as they closed in on Susan. She stumbled and fell on purpose, she didn’t want to make it too hard to catch her. As she stood she felt a rock hit her in the head. It made her dizzy, but she fought it. One guy came up behind her and caught her in a full Nelson. She yelled police as one started to rip open her shirt. Another jerked down her pants and caught her panties too leaving her totally exposed. The guys saw what kind of mistake they had made and started to flee. They were already caught in a net though. Susan used her training and flipped the guy holding her over her shoulder, she landed on his chest and her elbow just happened to strike him in his groin.
Seven arrests were made, two of the boys were over sixteen and were related to other of the kids. They had an Assistant District Attroney (ADA) waiting for them as they reached the jail for processing and such. The two sixteen year olds were processed as adults which included a strip search, photo’s DNA swabs and everything else. The rest were processed as juveniles, but all were thoroughly shaken by the time their parents, their lawyers and the ADA got together.
The ADA had only to go over the tapes once to see what had happened and to listen to the audio. He was livid when he saw it. He got all the accused in one room with all the parents.
“I have a deal for all of you and I hope that you don’t take the deal. If you want to roll the dice and take it to trial I will gladly prosecute each of you and win. The two sixteen year olds will come out with fifteen year sentences and be registered as sex offenders. The rest will come out with being sentenced to a juvenile facility till you are twenty one. Here is the deal all of you will plead guilty to assaulting a peace officer. I will recommend probation for ten years. 2000 hours of community service, a five thousand dollar, and no drivers licenses till twenty one for the sixteen year olds, 500 hours and a two thousand dollar fine for the rest. All of you will spend this summer in a juvenile boot camp. Break probation and I will file sexual assault cases on the two older kids meaning they will have to register their location as a sexual offender after they serve a ten year sentence. The rest will spend the rest of their childhood in a juvenile facility for breaking probation. If you pass probation without any further offenses the records will be expunged.” The ADA played the tape for all to see. “Any takers?”
Without much hesitance the kids and their parents took the deal.
“Oh one more thing, if anything happens to Terry Allen, and I mean anything. You will all go down if I can tie it to any of you, along with a conspiracy rap. Do you understand! You may also be sued for recovery of medical damages, and pain and suffering of Officer Susan Carson, she was the one you brave boys assaulted.”
Some of what the ADA had specified was just for the benefit of the boys and their parents, but his offer was generous, so none of the attorneys contradicted him. None of the boys went home that night. Two were in isolation in jail and the rest at a juvenile facility, till their arraignment and pleading the next day.
At school the boys were mailed notice of their expulsion and their reassignment to an alternate school (A school where kids who have violence or destruction of property in their records attend school segregated from the normal population of students. They are usually returned to normal classes after a semester or two of good behavior) next fall where they would have to retake the last semester. Since they would miss finals, all would be shown failing.
(to be continued)
Drawn Together
by Paula Dillon
Robby's Mom always dressed so frumpy and he always wanted her to look pretty. Frustrated with his nagging she challenges him, "if you want me to dress up you dress up." What does Robby do?
Drawn Together Ch. 1
by
Paula Dillon
Sandy took her fourteen year old son shopping for shoes. It seemed that every time she turned around he needed shoes. She didn’t mind Robby was a good kid. So they both took off dressed in jeans and identical oversized Texas Rangers T-shirts. Robby didn’t realize how much alike they both looked. Together they headed to the local discount shoe store. She found four pair of shoes for him and decided that she could use a pair of flats herself.
The store had this thing about wearing socks or stockings when trying shoes on and she didn’t have any on, she hated those sometime dirty footies they provided, so bought a three pack of knee highs and went back to the ladies shoes section. While she was putting on the knee high’s, Robby had been looking at some of the ladies shoes. He brought her a darling strappy pair of stiletto sandals in a cream color, complete with four inch heels.
“Mom why don’t you try these on I think that they would look very good on you.”
“Son you know I don’t wear heels that often, especially heels that high.”
Robby was always trying to get her to dress more feminine and to some extent it irritated her. It wasn’t that she dressed ratty; she just liked to dress comfortably. He would often sit next to her and point out outfits he thought would look good on her in a J.C. Penny’s or Spiegel’s catalogue. He had a good fashion sense she thought, but since her husband divorced her she just hadn’t felt like dressing up for anyone.
“Mom that is it, you dress more like a boy, than most tomboys I know. I think you are pretty, and should dress that way. Not all the time mom but at least some of the time. You could be mistaken for a boy except for your curves. I can’t remember the last skirt or dress you have worn, and you hardly wear any makeup.”
Sandy was getting frustrated and wanted to object to her son’s taunts, when an idea popped into her head. The store was fairly empty at this time. As a matter of fact, they were the only customers there at the moment. “Ok, I will tell you what. I will buy two pair of shoes that you and I can agree on if you will try a similar pair on for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I won’t buy em unless you try on a pair just like the ones you want me to buy.”
Robby’s face went a shade of crimson. Sandy knew Robby would never agree to wear these shoes. Although he was small for his age at five feet, 105 lbs and his auburn hair went below his shoulders in a pony tail, he always tried to be so masculine. She knew he never messed with her clothes. When he did the laundry she would see him handle her under things as if he would catch some strange disease from even just touching them.
She nearly had a heart attack when he sat down next to her and he pulled off his shoes and his white crew socks and pulled on a pair of knee highs. She went off and found the exact pair of shoes he had wanted her to try on and returned with them, not believing he would try them on.
“These are just like the ones you want me to try on, in your size.”
They both wore sixes, she in women’s shoes, he in men’s. The pair of shoes she handed him were seven and a half’s. The dear child put them on. She had to help him a little he had obviously never threaded the tiny straps these shoes had before.
Sandy giggled as he tried to stand in them. She had to help him to keep him from breaking his neck. He walked to and fro in them bringing several giggles from her. He then walked over and found another pair that he wanted her to try on and handed them to her. Sandy went and found a similar pair in Robby’s size. She like his taste in styles, except these too had skyscraper heels.
Robby remained standing as Sandy tried on the first pair. She admired his determination and intended to keep her word. He offered her his hand to help her stand, not that she needed it she had gone through the heels phase and was accomplished enough at wearing them, but it was a nice gesture.
“This is how you walk in heels dahling. Take shorter steps and swing your hips a little as you walk,” she said in a seductive voice as she walked back and forth.
Robby tried to copy her, but it was rather comical. She had to catch him as he caught a heel in the carpet. They both had a quiet laugh. He was taking this in a good humor. They both sat down and changed shoes to the second pair. The second pair were patent leather black pump with small satin bows and four inch heels. They were the classic “fuck me” pumps with a pointed toe, but she wouldn’t mention this to Robby. Sandy checked his toes, snug but they fit alright.
Sandy stood and helped her son to stand and demonstrated the walk for him. “Walk mostly on the balls of your feet dear, not heel to toe like boys do.”
She walked gracefully away from him and turned and waited for him. Robby followed walking much better but a little inept still. About the time he reached his mom, a sales leady came from the back, not paying attention to where she was going, almost running into him. He caught himself though and didn’t fall.
“Excuse me ma’am, I am so sorry. Are you ok dear,” she asked looking Robby up and down?
Robby his face in full crimson blush stammered, “I am ok, no problem ma’am.” His throat was so tight in fear that he sounded feminine.
“Are these your first pair of heels dear, and oh I see your mom has a pair just like them. It is so nice to see mothers and daughters dressing alike.”
“Thank you so much dear,” Sandy said, “She just wanted to see just how hard they are to walk in. She was pestering me to get some.”
“Well they look so good on both of you. You both should get them. Well I need to get busy,” the lady said hugging both Sandy and Robby before leaving them.
When they were again alone Robby still a little red faced said, “Mom why did she think I was a girl?”
“I don’t know honey, but we are dressed alike, and your hair is long and in a pony tail. She just saw what she wanted to see.”
They both sat down and changed back into their own shoes. Robby didn’t bother to take off the knee highs; he just put his trainers on.
“I want to wait in the car for you while you pay for the shoes mom.”
“Ok dear, take my purse the keys are in there just let me get my wallet out.”
Robby walked away carrying Sandy’s purse over his right shoulder. The sales lady waved at him as he passed. Sandy didn’t know why but she bought both pair of pumps, along with the sandals for her and Robby’s shoes.
“I hope I didn’t make your daughter feel to self-conscious dear but those shoes did look good on her.”
“Yes they did, I am going to surprise her with them I think.” Yes ma’am it will definitely be a surprise Sandy thought.
Tomorrow is Friday, but school is out for a teachers work day and she will have a surprise for him. He wants her to dress up we will see how much he wants her to dress up.
Sandy dropped Robby off at home and went shopping for a few things. She would see how serious he was about her dressing up. She bought a package of three satiny panties his size, a couple of pair of pantyhose, a heavily padded brief, two 32A water bras and small silicone inserts, two pair of low rise fancy styled boot cut jeans a size or two too small in black and stone washed blue, several very girly glittery tops with a scoop necks trimmed in lace all around in lavender, royal blue, and black and a small purse that fit a girl his age. These combos would leave about an inch or two of bare skin between the top and the jeans. They would be fairly girlish outfits but would look good.
She got home; Robby was doing his home work and watching TV at the same time in the living room. She should complain but he was a straight A student at high school. She got the pumps she had bought and carried them with her other purchases down to the living room.
“Robby you have been bugging me for a long time wanting me to dress up nicer for a long while. You just don’t know what it takes for a woman to look nice. So I have a proposition for you. You want me to wear more dresses and skirts and to look nice, you’ll go shopping with me all weekend, and I emphasize ‘All weekend’. One catch though you will wear what I have in these bags.”
“Ok, I will.”
“You better look at what is in the bags before you commit Robby.”
Robby opened the bags and saw the pumps he had worn earlier and the rest of the clothes his mother had bought. His face went red and Sandy was afraid he was going to cry or get angry but the look of determination she was so proud of in him filled his face.
“I said I will mother, I will not go back on my word.”
“I know dear but I just wanted you to know what it’s like for me to dress up. I’m not trying to make fun of you. Well you better try them on and get use to the heels cause we are going power shopping tomorrow.”
Robby started to get up and take the bags up to his room but Sandy stopped him.
“It’s just us girls here this weekend. Besides I know you’ll need my help with some of it so here is as good a place as any. He opened the bags and laid out the things in an organized manner. He was very methodical at his approach. He then stood and stripped down to his shorts. Sandy turned to allow him time to take off his shorts and put on his panties, she wanted to give him a modicum of modesty. She turned and saw a very unladylike bulge in the front of his blue satin bikini panties.
“You’ll need to tuck your stuff between your legs dear if you’re going to be able to wear this stuff Robby.”
It took Robby several minutes to get himself adjusted and his panties pulled tight to keep himself in place. It was amazing he looked like any prepubescent girl of twelve or thirteen, standing there in just her panties.
“Next put the padded brief on dear; to give you some hips.”
He pulled the padded briefs on which further disguised his figure. Sandy helped him with the bra and inserts. The bra fit very snuggly around his chest and looked natural. Mom then gave him instructions on pulling on the pantyhose. Now came the hard part the ladies jeans. He had selected the black jeans. Both pair had intricate designs in a contrasting thread embroidered throughout.
“Mom these jeans are way too small I will never get them on.”
“Sure you will Honey, girls do it all the time. That is how they wear their jeans Robby.”
He couldn’t argue with her. He knew she was right; still it was a five minute struggle to get them on. The jeans fit like a glove, no that isn’t right and skin tight wasn’t even a good description. He felt his butt cheeks part as he at last pulled them that high. He started to try to button the jeans but his Mom stopped him and tucked his underwear beneath the waist band of his jeans. The jeans buttoned and zipped, he looked at the tops. He took the lavender top to go with the black jeans. It fit nicely, but he saw when he raised his arms that he exposed much of his soft tummy for all to see. Lastly came the ‘FM’ pumps.
Sandy couldn’t believe the transformation. Robby looked like a very pretty teenage girl in her Mom’s shoes. He had gorgeous legs for a girl his height. Even his hairless tummy looked girlish. She helped him stand and walked him slowly over to the hall closet. She opened the door to expose a full length mirror and Robby looked at himself.
Robby’s jaw dropped as he looked in the mirror. Sandy removed the scrunchie that held his pony tail and combed out his soft, silky, shiny hair with her fingers over his shoulders. His hair fell to the tops of his faux breasts and enhanced his girlish appearance.
“Now we need to get you comfortable in those heels dear.”
“You get your heels on too, if we are going to do this.”
“Ok, I guess that is fair.”
Sandy went to her room and put on the strappy sandals Robby had picked out for her.”
Together they walked back and forth in their shoes till Robby started to look like he was doing fine in them. Sandy then had him practice sitting, standing in the heels, walk some more, turn, walk, sit knees together crossed at the knee or ankle (never spread eagle). Robby seemed to adapt well. Sandy showed him feminine gestures, brushing his hair back with his hands, folding his hands demurely in his lap and such. It took about two hours before he fit the image he projected.
Sandy went to her room and got a lipstick, mascara, eyebrow pencil, compact, clear and pink nail polishes, blush, tampons, a wallet, which she put some cash in, tissues, tweezers, nail file, gum, earrings, necklace, bracelet, watch, rings and a perfume. She grabbed the purse she had bought him and they went into the kitchen. She went to work on his face. Ten minutes later and he had very light makeup on (powder, blush, mascara, eyebrow pencil, and lipstick). She then worked on filing his nails, they were a little ratty for a girl but not overly so, but longer than most boys nails for sure. She then put on a coat of clear polish, two coats of pink in a shade to match his lips and a clear topcoat. This was fun for her she missed not having a daughter to do this with. She put her rings on him they were a little loose on his fingers, the pearl tennis bracelet, watch, a string of faux pearls around his throat and pearl drop earrings on his ears.
Sandy couldn’t believe her eyes. Her jaw hung open. Robby was not just pretty he was gorgeous.
“What is wrong Momma?”
His voice sounded even more feminine now.
“Nothing dear, you’re just so incredibly lovely.”
“Stop teasing me Mom. I look like a guy trying to look like a girl don’t I?”
“No you don’t dear, come look.” She took his hand and led him to a mirror.
He looked at himself. He even pinched himself, but the vision didn’t go away. His eyes started to water and his lip began to tremble.
“Don’t cry, Robby I can take this off and we can forget about this silly dare dear. I am so sorry. I didn’t want it to go this far, I never believed that you would agree to it.”
“That’s ok Mom. I just wanted you to look as good as other mom’s I know. You are so pretty; I just wanted the other kids to be jealous of me. It’s just I never thought I could be so pretty myself.”
“Well you just clean your face off, and take those clothes off. I will take them back. You are too important to me to hurt you like this.”
“No Mom, we made a deal, I will go shopping with you dressed like this, and you will dress up for me a couple of times a week.”
“You don’t have to do this dear, I will dress up more often.”
“No Mom, I want to show you how serious I am about all this. You are too pretty to hide in your baggy shirts and pants all the time. I will dress up for you occasionally, I saw how much fun you had doing it and you will dress up for me occasionally. I think you wished I was your daughter instead of your son. I can be that daughter for you occasionally. Ok.”
Robby brought tears to her eyes. They hugged really tight and had a good cry there in the hall.
“I love you Robby no matter what. The clothes don’t make any difference in that dear. I am glad to have you as my son.”
“I thank God everyday that you’re my mom. I see so many of the kids around me whose parents don’t care for them. I know you love me. I never have to wonder with you Mom.”
“Well then can I roll your hair before you go to sleep dear, and comb it out in the morning?
“Yes Mom, almost anything for you.”
“Then let me get you ready for your bath. Wash and condition your hair then come to my bedroom.” Sandy said reaching under his top to unhook his bra.
They went to his room and she helped peel him out of his jeans. “Shave your legs and arm pits too Robby.”
“I don’t have any razors yet I don’t shave at all.”
Sandy didn’t realize that, she went to her bath and got him a new razor.
“Be careful dear try not to nick yourself, slow smooth strokes she demonstrated in the air.”
He went to his bath and she to her bedroom. She got her rollers out and thought about what Robby had said to her. She had forgotten her years of growing up. He was right, she promised herself to be the kind of mother he deserved. Robby had made her proud. She got her rollers out. She would probably need them all for his long hair.
Fifteen minutes later he was skipping into her room in panties and bra. Sandy just had to smile. She got out a setting gel and worked it into his hair as she rolled it on her rollers. She explained as best she could what she was doing and he paid attention as she worked. It didn’t take too long till she was putting a hair net over his rollers.
“Now when you get up in the morning I will comb it out for you and we will see what we have. How are your feet dear?”
“They’re kinda tender but I can live with em.”
“Off to bed girl, we have a big day tomorrow.”
Robby gave her a big hug and a kiss on her cheek,
Sandy awoke to the smell of coffee brewing and breakfast cooking. It was only seven thirty. Robby usually didn’t get up this early on a weekend. She got her robe on and headed downstairs. Sandy peeked around the corner and Robby was busy at work, he wore her apron while he cooked and was fully dressed, jewelry and all, in his blue stone washed jeans and black top wearing his heels. It wasn’t unusual for him to cook she had taught him that much, but to be dressed as a girl with his hair in curlers made Sandy giggle.
Rob looked up and saw Sandy and smiled. “Oh hi Mom, good morning,” he said and skipped over to her and gave her a hug, before returning to finish their breakfast.
Sandy set the table, and poured a coffee for herself, as Robby brought the plates with omelets for them.
“You seem quite chipper this morning.”
“I am excited about you getting you some nice clothes, Mom.”
“I can tell, but the shops don’t open till ten dear and it isn’t even eight yet.”
“I also wanted to see if I could get it all on by myself.”
He did indeed have it all on. He had even done his own makeup and not a half bad job. “You haven’t done this type thing before have you?”
“No Mom, I haven’t.”
“Well you sure picked it up all right. I want to redo your mascara and blush but not a bad first job for anybody.”
As they ate Sandy told Robby what they would do and where they would go. There was a new Mall on the other side of town where neither of them would be recognized, yet had some of her favorite stores. Robby wouldn’t have to try on any clothes because it would take forever to get in and out of those pants.
“For the most part Robby you have a pretty good fashion sense. I might adjust it to my age styling, but I will promise to give your picks serious consideration. I might reject some, but I will explain why instead of just giving you an outright rejection. There might be some room for negotiation.”
“That is acceptable. I just want you to look as pretty as I know you are.”
“Ok Hun, let me get my shower and get dressed while you clean up here. Then I will fix your hair and makeup. You don’t mind cleaning up here do you?”
“No Mom, I am glad to help.”
Twenty five minutes later Sandy was dressed and doing her makeup. It had been a long time since she had used a lot of makeup and she wanted to look nice for her son. She made a note that she would need more makeup since she would have to be doing this more. She just hadn’t felt like doing it after Dave had moved out with his secretary. She felt old and frumpy, even though she was only thirty six. She took care of herself but she just didn’t dress up or makeup anymore. She just didn’t feel it was important anymore. At least he had the decency to leave before she inherited her Granddad’s estate and didn’t have to share any of that money with him, she giggled. Good thing he isn’t here to see his son right now that would really chap his ass.
“Ok Robby, come on in.”
“Mother, I thought you were going to dress nice.” Robby said a little exasperated, after seeing his Mom.
“I have dressed so it’s easy to change clothes dear. If I had dressed like you are it would take twenty minutes just getting in and out of those pants. This way I can try on more of the clothes we pick out. I did wear the sandals you picked out. I chose those pants for you hoping you would reject the idea, but you’re made of sterner stuff than that. Now sit!” she said in mock sternness.
“Oh!” Robby said.
“Take your earrings off Robby, You have lots of gorgeous hair, I am going to give you a big Do.”
Sandy took out the rollers and started back combing and teasing his hair. She could tell when she wound up pulling his hair to much as he would wince and give a little whimper, but he bore it stoically. She must have used half a can of hair spray as she added her final touches. She then turned him to the side and cleaned the eye makeup and blusher off his face. She curled his lashes and added two coats of mascara.
“Blusher should be added with a brush from the ear forward and should add just the hint of color, not shouting it, other than that I would give you a B+ for your earlier efforts.”
Robby beamed a smile at his mom.
She finished her job, replaced his earrings and asked him to close his eyes and to turn to the mirror. She told him to take a deep breath count to three and then open them and look at himself.
“Whooooa Mom! This is the kinda look that would be great on you.” Robby said turning his head left and right.
Sandy looked in the mirror as Robby turned his head back and forth. “You know something, for special occasions you are right, but my hair is way too short for it now, but there are other styles I could wear till mine can grow out some more. Go get your purse dear and let’s get ready to go we have lots of shopping to do.”
Robby looked so sexy as he walked away, he should have been born a girl Sandy thought. They met at the stairs and descended carefully down to the first floor. Robby was so giddy and wasn’t paying attention to where he was going as he opened the front door and stepped right into a girl who was fixing to knock on the door. Sandy had reached out and caught Robby by the collar of his top and Robby’s and the girl’s arms went around each other in a hug, to keep each other from falling over.
There were apologies muttered and Robby said, “Tiffany?” and the girl just stared.
“Come on inside Dear, It is Tiffany I presume?”
“Yes it is. Mrs. Davis?”
Robby a little slow on his feet realized that he didn’t look like he was suppose to look, and said, “Oh shit and started to rush to his room.”
“Running won’t do any good dear. The cat is or soon will be out of the bag.”
Tiffany just stood there starring and finally headed where Sandy directed. Robby followed everyone into the living room.
“Tiffany it’s nice to meet you and you are probably wondering about Robby. I take it you know each other?” Sandy said as she directed everyone to sit. “Well let me explain please. Yes this is the Robby you know.” Sandy went on and told her everything. “You see Robby just wanted me to dress nicer and I foolishly dared him to dress that way if he wanted me to dress up so much. He took up my dare and we were headed to the mall when he ran into you. He doesn’t generally do this sort of thing.”
Robby had been on the verge of bawling for the fifteen minutes that his Mom had been talking. He had sat there ladylike hands in his lap. Tiffany just looked at him with a smile on her face. After Sandy had finished Tiffany got up and sat on Robby’s lap and gave him a big hug and comforted him.
“Robby don’t cry, I think it’s so wonderful. I respect what you are willing to do for your Mom. Don’t worry dear; I am not going to hurt you by saying anything. You look so incredible I am in awe.”
Sandy checked out Tiffany as she comforted Robby. She was about two inches taller than Robby and had a very mature figure for a thirteen or fourteen year old girl. She was a real doll. She appeared to be enjoying comforting Robby, a bit too much possibly.
Tiffany released her hug on Robby and stood. Robby had raccoon eyes. She looked Robby up and down, “I love your outfit and your FM heels.”
“FM heels?”
Tiffany blushed and held her hands to her cheeks and looked at Sandy.
“You opened that can of worms dear, you explain it.”
She whispered in his ear. Robby turned red and he fanned himself.
Sandy looked at her son and said, “Let’s get you cleaned up dear,” and led her son to her room.
Tiffany followed as they left. Sandy took a wet wipe and cleaned away the makeup and set about reapplying it. It took just a few minutes and Robby looked as good as before.
“Mrs. Davis, may I go with ya’ll. I could stand to pick up some things, myself.”
Sandy looked to her son, who nodded. “Call me Sandy, Tiffany. If it’s ok with your Mom, it’s ok with me.”
“It’s just my Dad. Mom passed away years ago. May I use your phone?”
“Sure dear. It’s over there by my bed.” Sandy said pointing.
“Dad this is Tiff, Robby’s cousin and Mrs. Davis are going to the Mall can I go with them? Ok Dad here is Mrs. Davis”
“Yes this is Robby’s Mom. His cousin Marci and I are going to the mall clothing shopping. No he is out of town right now; they just sorta traded places for the weekend.” Sandy thought for a second and put her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. “He wants to know if you want to spend the weekend here. It’s ok with me, as long as there is no monkey business between you two.”
The kids looked at each other and shook their heads.
“Ok we will be there in ten minutes John. No problem,” Sandy said. “Tiff he wants you to pick up some of your things and get some money from him. So let’s get rolling. Make sure you get something decent to sleep in, if you know what I mean.”
“He will probably sneak out of the house and go fishing if I know him, and I do. I hope it’s ok with you Robby?”
“I think I am Marci now, at least for this weekend. It’s ok with me I guess.”
Sandy looked down at Tiffany’s feet, “What size shoe do you wear?”
“A six ma’am.”
“I have a pair of FM heels just like Marci is wearing if you would like?”
“I would love it Sandy, if we can bring them along and I could change after we leave my home. I am afraid dad wouldn’t understand.”
“No problem.” Sandy said as she handed the shoes to Tiffany. “Let’s get a move on the Mall is calling.”
It was a short drive to Tiffany’s home. The three of them went into her house. Sandy felt herself flush when she met Tiffany’s Dad, John. He was a real hunk, Tiffany would probably say. Sandy thought he was such a handsome fellow.
“Hello I am John Thomas, Tiffany’s Dad.”
“I am Sandy Davis and this is Marci Duncan my niece.”
“Well it’s nice to meet two charming ladies.”
“Come on Marci help me pack.”
Tiffany pulled Robby with her leaving Sandy with her Dad. In her room she had Robby pick out some outfits while she got her lingerie and sleep shirts. She also smuggled a baby doll into her suitcase not sure if she would wear it. She liked Robby. She liked him much more than he knew, but she liked Marci also. She had stumbled on the perfect guy for her. She didn’t understand her feelings, but she was sure she didn’t want this person to get away from her, and here she was getting to spend the whole weekend close to him. She went to her closet and selected a white chiffon blouse and a black Mini-skirt that came to her mid thigh. She got a camisole and pantyhose out of her drawer and started to strip. She saw Robby looking at her in the mirror. He wasn’t looking at her with lust in his eyes but confusion. He really was a nice guy. His was tongue tied as she pulled on her hose and camisole. She finished dressing.
“Go to the bathroom for a minute or two. It is just the next door down. I will be packed by the time you finish.”
Robby did as he was told. He needed to use the facilities anyway. It took him considerably longer than two minutes to relieve himself. He liked Tiff. He had always been afraid to speak to her and here she shows up at his home as he is dressed like a teenage girl. He checked his face like his Mom told him to, whenever he went to the restroom dressed as a girl and touched up his makeup. When he came out he heard his Mom say.
“And if you want John, Tiffany can spend Sunday with us too, and I will see to it she gets to school.”
“I really appreciate that Sandy; it’s so rare I get to spend time alone. I love my daughter but sometimes I need to get away.”
“Ok girls lets get away. I would like to hit the mall by noon.”
John handed his daughter a wad of cash which she put in her purse, and then they headed to Sandy’s car. Tiffany’s suitcase went in the trunk and they all piled in the front seat.
“No, he isn’t seeing another woman Sandy. He will be on Toledo Bend fishing before the sun goes down. He is a big bass fisherman.”
“I wasn’t going to ask that Tiffany.”
“No, but you were wondering it.”
Both the girls were giggling and Robby was wondering if they were aliens. Tiffany slipped off her flats and slipped on Sandy’s heels.
They reached the Mall about noon so they headed to a restaurant at the mall. The waiter held the chairs for all three of them. Robby felt at ease in his role and it showed. They talked about what they would do this weekend. It sounded like it was two days of shopping, and Sunday for relaxing. Tiffany counted the money her Dad had given her twelve twenty dollar bills.
“Dad must really have needed to get away, he gave me over two hundred to shop with. Plus my own money I can see a lot of new clothes coming my way. He is really glad when I find other girls to hang with, he is afraid to leave me alone and I am not into that fishing bit. I am sorry Sandy if I spoiled any plans you had with your daughter, I mean niece.”
“That is ok Tiffany; Marci doesn’t seem to mind do you?”
“No I don’t, I like you Tiffany. I just never had much of a chance to speak with you. It was a big surprise when I ran into you. Why were you coming over?”
“Cause to be truthful, I really like Robby and I felt he liked me too, but I figured you were too afraid to talk to me. I see him as a neat guy, who isn’t afraid to take a stand for things he believes in, but a little afraid or shy of girls. I think Marci can really help him there.”
“While we are being truthful I think Dad likes you too Sandy.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Well Dad aint nevah let me out of his sight for three days before girl, and I saw the way he was lookin at ya. He is probably afraid there is a Mr. Davis. Is there?”
“Was, he left both of us about eight years ago. He divorced me and married his secretary, and yes John ferreted that fact out. Maybe we can trade kids some weekend.”
“Nope, where Marci goes, I go.”
“Don’t I get a say in this?”
“You can say yes,” they both chimed in giggling.
“But really, Robby could use some male influence in his life.”
“Ok girls let’s head to the ladies room, Marci, you need to be sure you sit to take care of your business and roll off some TP no matter what you do dear.”
The three of them headed to the ladies room. They had to wait in queue as the stalls were all occupied, but they got their opportunity to go. The girls let Marci go first. He didn’t need to go as bad but still took this opportunity to empty his bladder. Either the jeans were stretching or he was shrinking under the pressure, or he was just getting better at pulling up the pants but he was getting faster. Still his Mom and Tiffany had beat him out. Robby powdered his nose, forehead and cheek, and repaired his lipstick.
Leaving the restaurant they headed to one of the major stores in the Mall. The first department they came to off the main concourse was the cosmetics. Sandy and Tiffany seemed really excited to be be there and together they moved between counter to counter looking at the samples and charts. Robby saw a chair near one of the displays and sat for a minute. The heels while nice in appearance but were hell on his feet, so he welcomed a chance to sit.
“Hello Sugar, I see you are next.” A lady said to him. “My, what lovely hair and skin you have, it’s nice being young. Well lets get started Sugar. My name is Nancy; I am a makeup and skin care coordinator.”
“I am Marci ma’am.” Robby said rather sheepishly.
“Don’t be shy sugar. It is good seeing girls your age checking out skin care and makeup. Now let me start with our skin care.”
Nancy was really attractive and about twenty-five, Robby thought. She took some kinda makeup wipe and started cleaning off his makeup and went from one potion to another cleansing, toning, and moisturizing his skin. He saw his Mom and Tiffany looking for him, when they saw him he mouthed the word help, but they just smiled at him and watched. Nancy explained what the products were for and how to use them. The skin care felt really good he could feel his skin tingle and get tight but not uncomfortably so. Then she started with the makeup. Sandy paid close attention as Nancy made Robby up.
“You have such lovely skin Sugar, and you need to be careful not to clog your pores with too much makeup. Our base is lighter than most and is real good for young girls. We don’t want you to have an acne outbreak because of your makeup. Your powder was a little dark for your skin dear, this will compliment your natural skin tone and hair color better Sugar. I know your Mom over there, probably wouldn’t let you use this much makeup but we are going to give you the works, just for today.” Nancy said as she went to work selecting colors and blending them on Robby’s face. “I just love your eyes girl they are so expressive, now close them as I use this eye liner on your lids.”
Robby felt a wet brush of sorts trace his lids just behind the lashes both lower and upper.
“Okay open your eyes Sugar. Now I am going to curl you lashes and add some mascara. Now your Mom may not let you use much eye shadow but we will use it today just so you can see how to use it. Use a lighter color here and here then overlay and blend in a darker color like this. It deepens your eyes and makes them more alluring, Sugar. My, my you are such a cutie. Now we take this lip pencil, this color takes your normal auburn hair color and compliments it. Now I trace the outside of your lip and this gives you the illusion of fuller lips. Now your lipstick will be just a shade or two lighter. When possible Sugar, use a brush for your lipstick. I know it’s not always practical but you get a better finish. Just fill in the middle don’t cover the lip pencil dear. Like your Mom use to say stay inside the lines dear. Now you can add a clear gloss for really luscious lips or you can go with just what you have on, either way you’re a real knockout Sugar. Oh I forgot your blush. Take a brush like this get just a little color, we aren’t out to paint your cheeks, we just want to add a hint of color. Start at the ear and brush to and swish it toward the corner of the eye. Voila let me get a picture girl, my bosses like to see the results I get.” She got a Polaroid out and took Robby’s picture. “Now look in this mirror and tell me what you think.”
Robby turned to the mirror indicated and a wow formed on his lips but no sound came out. Robby was mesmerized by what he saw.
“Is it that good Sugar, or are you just lost for words?”
“Oh yes, excuse me Nancy. I love what you did. I can honestly say I ain’t nevah looked this good. What do you think Mom? Tiff?”
“Marci you are lovely, that is a little more makeup than I am comfortable with at your age, but you would look lovely for a special occasion or such. Tiffany what do you think?”
“I am jealous that my sister looks better than I do.”
They each took turns getting made over, Nancy was a master at makeup and sales. Sandy bought a complete set of makeup and just the skin care, lipsticks, compacts, and blushers for Robby and Tiffany.
“You didn’t have to buy all that for me,” Tiffany said.
“Well I couldn’t buy it for one of my daughters and not the other could I?”
Tiffany liked the sound of a woman calling her, her daughter. She was taking a real shinning to Sandy.
“Thank you Mom,” Tiffany said as she hugged Sandy. “I love you Sis,” as she hugged Robby.
Tiffany’s words affected Sandy and Robby; it brought all three of them closer together.
Just past the makeup in this store was the lingerie. Robby would never have been caught dead in this section before, but with encouragement from Sandy and Tiffany he became less self-conscious and actually started liking being here. Two-thirds of the shopping went to Mom, but Tiffany got Robby’s assistance in making a selection or two. Robby got over his embarrassment when Tiffany brought a bra and panty set to him for his opinion. Sandy made a few purchases even for Robby, a couple of sleep shirts, a couple more bras and more panties, on the sly.
Next they hit the Misses Coordinates. Tiff and Robby dug in selecting outfits for Sandy to try on. She let them have their head. Each of them would pull a blouse or skirt or such and hold it up to the other as they dug through rack after rack. Sandy was amazed at Robby’s fashion sense he must have gone through catalogue after catalogue checking out clothes he thought would look good on his Mom to be able to make such brilliant selections. Tiffany was assisting but she even bowed to Robby’s advice. Together they handed Sandy a huge pile of clothes to try on. Their choices were younger looking, smart, sexy and a little too short for her tastes but she tried them on. Not a single pair of slacks or a plain T shirt or blouse. Everything was soft, silky, full of color and simply gorgeous. She didn’t keep anything above mid thigh, but there were plenty of skirts between mid thigh and the knee. She even felt younger as she tried the clothes on.
The girls were enjoying the fashion show that Sandy was putting on. Tiffany brought Robby back into the fitting room and made Sandy try on some of the shorter skirts she had rejected. Feeling a little self conscious she put them on and was persuaded to keep one or two of the mini-skirts, but most of the clothes she tried on looked good on her. Sandy did have some awesome legs as Robby put it and she still had a young figure. They made her keep on one of the shorter outfits and a silky blouse, and packed her frumpy comfortable clothes in a bag.
Hitting the racks again she was finally rewarded with some slacks and shorts, they were nothing like her favorite clothes though. Some were even like the clothes she had gotten Robby in. She guessed what was good for the goose was good for the gander. She found herself getting caught up in their enthusiasm. It was becoming difficult to realize that one of the girls was a friend of her son, the other was her son and not her own girls.
They then hit the misses dresses. Robby was really showing bright here. The dresses he picked were really quite nice, and flattered her appearance. Her son was important enough for her to give all this a try. Tiffany not having a mom, hadn’t had an opportunity like this either and was really into it to. She might be able to help Tiffany out with mother like duties. There were a few questions she would like to ask her.
After four hours of Sandy, Sandy, Sandy, shopping. Sandy maneuvered the girls to the 5’s, 7’s, and 9’s sections for Tiffany. Robby showed a good eye here too as he helped select stuff for Tiffany. Tiffany gave as good as she got though and dared Robby to try some of her selections out. Robby looked trapped and finally relented. His first change into a short skirt and blouse took a while, but his subsequent changes came rapid fire. One blouse Tiff chose was a white chiffon blouse with puffy long sleeves for him was buttoned up the back. Tiffany helped him dress in that one. Sandy told Robby to set that blouse aside and a black mini-skirt he had tried earlier and went off to get a camisole that would flatter him and the blouse. When Sandy got back the kids were fawning over some other clothes. She handed the camisole to Tiffany and whispered in her ear.
Robby came out in that blouse, camisole and skirt, next.
“Leave that combination on Robby I like that on you.” Sandy said.
The sales lady pulled all the tags. Robby came out with four blouses, three skirts, two shorts, a pair of slacks with a flat front, that zipped up the back. Tiffany really came out big, Sandy bought her some really nice clothes too. About twice what Robby got but these were her everyday clothes. Tiffany gave her a big hug when Sandy paid. They made a quick trip out to the Buick and hit the mall again.
Robby was slowing down and walking more gingerly than either Sandy or Tiffany, but he didn’t complain. Some of that was the skirt he was wearing, but the heels had to be giving him a pain. They talked to Robby about wearing a skirt and how to move about in one. He paid close attention to what they were saying. Sandy led them to a different restaurant and the girls were glad to have a seat.
“These heels are hell on my feet Robby, I can just imagine how your feet feel,” Tiffany complained.
“Yes my feet hurt also, but I was determined to carry through on my part. Mom I know this may be strange but I like wearing some of these clothes. I don’t understand it.”
“Women’s clothes for the most part are made to feel good; they seduce the wearer and the looker. Unfortunately the heels just make you look good, and they don’t really feel all that good.”
“But does it make me gay because I like wearing these clothes.”
“Not at all Robby, you did it originally to gain my compliance in dressing better. Do you like girls, would you rather make out with a girl or a boy?”
“I don’t think I could make out with a boy Mom, I am really turned on by a nicely dressed girl. I know I wouldn’t want to dress this way all the time, but it has been nice today, and I think I could hang with it for this weekend.”
“Thank you, I like you both ways Robby, it would be nice if I could have a sister sometimes, and a boyfriend most of the time. Would you be my boyfriend Robby, please?”
Robby blushed and leaned over as if to whisper into her ear and kissed it. Tiffany hugged Robby and giggled.
“Well you are right about one thing Robby, John expects Marci to spend the weekend with Tiffany, not Robby so you will have to tough it out.”
“I figured that out Mom, its ok Tiffany has been pretty cool about it, and I like her. I am pretty cool about the clothes too; I know I need them if I am going to spend the next two days this way. I think I might like doing this at different times too.”
“Robby I know I shouldn’t have done this to you, but I want you to know how proud I am of you. The way you have withstood this and stuck to your guns is inspiring. I know it’s unusual for guys your age to be into fashion, but you should really consider a career in fashion. I think you would excel in it. Think about taking tailoring and fashion next year at high school but remember it won’t make you popular with the guys.”
“I know Mom, I already have a hard time because I am so small and I like my hair long, but mostly I try to stay invisible. When I do that I don’t have as much trouble. I do draw pictures Mom. I have a lot at home you haven’t seen. I will show you when we get home. Tiffany I like you but I don’t think I would ever have gotten the nerve to speak to you. I always thought about how pretty you are. Why me?”
“You were always nice to me Robby. When you meet me you look me in the eye, not starring at my chest or legs. I never felt you were trying to get in my panties,” Tiffany giggled and turned red before continuing to speak, “You are a nice guy and believe me there are a few girls out there that want you, so I just made my move. I kinda liked that you would go to this sort of extreme for your Mom, she is very pretty.”
“My clothes aren’t that bad, Tiffany.”
“It is not bad for a grand mother or for some of the time, but you live all the time dressed in cutesy stuff Mom. You never dressed nice, at least not since Dad left. I know he took out a lot of your spirit Mom; he ripped out my heart too. He hasn’t seen you or me in six years. You are beautiful Mom get out there and shine. I would wear sack cloth shirts and pants if it got you to dress up.”
“He is right Sandy, your as beautiful as my mom was, you need to look as young and sexy as you can be.”
They finished eating and made a trip to the ladies room, and then hit the mall again they hit shoe stores next. Sandy found some moderate heels between two and three quarter inch heels to three inch heels she bought quite a few of these matching them to what she remembered of the clothes she bought. She found one style that matched for all three of them a blue satin sling back with a three inch heel. She also got Robby a pair of Mary Jane flats for him.
Robby began to notice that since dinner Tiffany was always so close to him, touching him, looking at him, and talking to him. Their little show and tell session had amazed Robby and he was glad for Tiffany’s company.
“Honey while we are at the mall and dressed up can I get a portrait of you like this? I just can’t believe how beautiful you are,” Sandy asked.
“I guess Mom as long as I can get one of you like you are.”
“Tiffany, we can get a portrait of you for your Dad too.”
“Yes Ma’am, I think Dad would really love that.”
The photographer did a lot of walk in business and we didn’t have long to wait. They did three individual shots, Robby and Sandy, Tiffany and Sandy, Robby and Tiffany and then a group shot. They were told that the proofs would be ready for selection on Monday.
The last stop at the mall was at a piercing boutique. Tiffany egged Robby to get his ears pierced. He relented to a single piercing but wound up with two gold ball studs in each ear. Sandy had never had her ears pierced so she got a single piercing. They were told to leave those studs in for at least two weeks before changing them and had to have a stud in full time for a month before they could go without earrings. Tiffany bought a bunch of new earrings.
Eight hours at the mall began to show on Robby so they decided to head on home. The trunk and back seat were full of bags. Everything was dumped in the living room for sorting except for Tiffany’s suitcase which went into the guest room. Robby plopped down on the couch exhausted but Tiffany made him stand and sit like a lady.
He finally got a chance to kick off his heels though Tiff sat on one side of him and Sandy the other and they sorted through their bags. They had another fashion show as they tried on all their purchases. They changed their clothes right there in the living room. Robby was treated no differently than any girl and changed his clothes right there where they were.
He didn’t blush as Sandy and Tiffany undressed and tried on their things. Tiffany was big chested for a fourteen year old a 34C all most as big as Sandy who was a 36D. Robby looked scrawny next to them. He tried on the few clothes he had gotten and modeled them for the girls. He finished with the satin sleep shirt. Tiffany got one of her night gowns on as Sandy did the same.
Tiffany had Robby sit on the floor in front of her and proceeded to brush his hair out. His Mom got the nail polish they had used on his fingers and did his toe nails. Tiffany started to work his hair into a French braid. Robby then painted his mom’s and Tiffany’s toes. They cleaned their makeup off and taught Robby how to use his skin care products. Robby had to promise to use them three times a day regardless of whether he looked like a boy or a girl.
Over three bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream they watched the late Friday movie, Never Been Kissed, cuddled together on the couch. It was like a real sleep over.
“Promise me that you won’t engage in any Monkey business and I will leave you two alone.” Sandy said.
“We won’t, Sandy.”
“I promise Mom.”
Tiffany cuddled close to Robby as the Late, Late movie started. Robby never had, had his arm around a girl before but it felt good. They both got a little bored with the movie and started a petting session. Tiffany slid on Robby’s lap and they started a tongue hockey session. She ground her breasts into his chest, but he kept his hands in safe areas like her waist and back. She leaned back and looked into Robby’s eyes and moved one of his hands to her hip.
“We aren’t going to screw but we can feel each other a little Robby. I love the feel of your satin sleep shirt. Just hold me now.”
Robby caressed her all over. Her nightgown was layers and layers of soft silky nylon. It was very uncomfortable in his panties, but he made no effort. She was purring in his ear as he drifted off to sleep.
Sandy checked on the two kids about two hours later and they were both asleep in each others arms Tiffany on Robby’s lap and her head on his chest. She covered them with an afghan and cut the TV and lights off. She left the bathroom door cracked and its light on before she retired.
(to be continued)
Robby continues to amaze his Mom and his new girlfriend Tiffany. He becomes more like a girl and his drawing becomes more life like, and spectacular.
Drawn Together Ch. 2
by
Paula Dillon
Saturday Sandy woke up first. Tiffany had been in Robby’s lap last night now Robby was cuddled up in Tiffany’s lap. She just sat there watching them. It was so cute seeing her son in a French braid being held by a girl. Sandy got up and made a pot of coffee. When she returned to her seat Tiffany was awake. Tiff held a finger to her lips to hush her. She seemed to enjoy holding Robby. She handed Tiff the cup of coffee and got another for herself.
Sandy got her Polaroid camera out and took a picture. Tiffany smiled for the pic and the flash didn’t bother Robby. Tiffany slid Robby’s butt off her lap but then his mouth was at her breast level. Tiffany had a shocked expression as his mouth covered her hard nipple through the nightgown. Sandy couldn’t resist another pic. Sandy pantomimed pulling her nightgown to expose her nipple to Tiffany. She blushed at the suggestion but then managed to accomplish it without waking Robby. He latched on to her nipple like a nursing baby. Sandy took another picture getting a good shot of his mouth on her nipple. She pantomimed sleep to Tiffany and took the coffee cups away. Tiffany closed her eyes and laid her hear back on the couch. His sucking on her tit was wonderful but she figured what was coming next.
“Robby!!! What do you think you are doing young man?”
The two kids startled at the loud noise, but Tiffany kept her nipple firmly plugged in his mouth.
“Robby! How could you,” Tiffany parroted.
Robby finally awake enough to be cognizant realized he had Tiffany’s breast in his mouth and flushed beat red. He tried to pull away but Tiffany had firm control of his head. He finally made his escape from her grasp and began muttering his embarrassed apologies. He was in tears when he heard the giggles of his Mom and Tiffany. The two girls mobbed him in a hug and dried his tears.
“We love you Robby. We set you up for that dear; you looked so cute suckling on Tiffany.”
He finally calmed down and started giggling himself. It felt good to be held by these two girls.
“I love you Mom, Tiffany. I would never do anything to hurt you two.”
Robby was nearly half chocked to death when he mentioned Tiffany’s name and love. She planted a big kiss on his mouth.
“Ok you two come up for air. Robby go take a shower and try not to get your hair wet. Tiffany and I will make breakfast.”
Robby got up and headed for his bathroom. Tiffany and Sandy headed to the kitchen.
“That was fun Tiffany did you enjoy it.”
“Yes Sandy, to tell you the truth it felt so good as he sucked on my tit.”
“Let me ask you a mother/daughter type question. When was the last time you saw an OB/GYN?”
“I haven’t, it’s kinda hard to tell daddy I need to see a female type doctor. I would be very embarrassed, doing it. If you know what I mean.”
“I know the feeling dear; I will talk to your dad and make an appointment for you if you want. If you ever need someone to help you with girl type things Tiffany just ask me. I can honestly say I love you like you were mine. I know you love my Robby too, please don’t hurt him.”
“I won’t I promise, he is so different from most boys. It is refreshing, and thank you so much.”
Tiffany and Sandy hugged.
“I don’t mind you two getting involved with hands and such, but I don’t want you two becoming early parents. There is plenty of time for sex when you two are much older, if you two stay together.”
“I know Sandy, and I have a strange feeling that we will be together for a long time.”
“I feel that way too, but don’t hurry your relationship along too much.”
“Thanks Sandy.”
Robbi bounced down to the kitchen dressed in a powder blue long sleeve silk blouse, a gray twill mini-skirt tan pantyhose and his black Mary Jane’s. His hair needed some work but he was cute. They had scrambled eggs and English muffins with strawberry preserves. After breakfast Robbi cleared the table while Sandy and Tiffany hit the showers. He put on his Mom’s apron and had the kitchen clean before either girl made it down stairs so he started to work on his makeup.
He had done a fair job when Sandy and Tiffany came down the stairs. They both had mini skirts on. Sandy had on a pleated tweed skirt in a medium gray and a powder blue silky scoop neck tank. Tiffany had on a Kelly green stretchy mini and a royal blue cashmere tank. Robbi whistled at the two, it was good to see his mom dressed this way. He got frustrated though when he went to give Tiffany a hug and her chin bumped his forehead, she was wearing her three inch heels.
He ran upstairs and came back down in his four inch pumps. Sandy thought his legs and butt look much better like that. Tiffany was still taller but Robby came up to her forehead. She had Robby sit down and undid his braid, brushed his hair out and redid the French braid. It looked much better. She tied it off with a pink ribbon that hung between his shoulder blades. Sandy touched up his makeup, they got their purses and then they were ready.
Today at the mall, they alternated between fine clothing stores and cheaper stores. Robby proved he had a good eye time and again. He showed no fear entering dressing rooms and seemed to really enjoy modeling clothes as much as watching the other girl’s model for him. A couple of times he wound up sharing a dressing room with his Mom and with Tiffany without embarrassment. They made fewer purchases today just picking up essentials and accessories but they had a marvelous time. Nobody suspected that Robby was anything but what he appeared to be a teenage girl shopping with her sister and Mom.
They walked by a shoe store that had some incredibly tall heels he just had to try. He was tired of being the shortest of the three. With the four inch heels on his head came up to Tiffany’s forehead. The shoes he tried on had really precarious six inch heels. He had to mince as he walked and they were really more taxing on his feet but his mom went ahead and bought them for him. He looked incredibly sexy in them and it was hard to believe he was just fourteen. He stayed in them for about an hour before he changed back to the four inch heels.
They stopped by a bookstore Robby found a couple of sci-fi novels he was looking for and he also picked up a copy of Cosmo, Seventeen magazines, a Spiegel’s catalogue, a book on fashion design and one on tailoring. Robby stopped at an art supplies store and bought a drawing pad some art pencils and charcoal. Sandy took them to the food court for drinks and Robby started drawing. Sandy knew he liked to draw, but never paid much attention to how good he was. His current model was a college age girl sitting at the food court, just relaxing. In just twenty minutes he had a very nice drawing of the girl. He signed it Robbi with a little heart dotting the i. He carefully removed it from the pad and walked over to the girl and presented it to her. She just gushed over the drawing and invited Robbi to sit.
“I am with my mom and a girlfriend right now.”
“Ok would they mind if I join them then.”
“Sandy waved them over and the girl joined them.”
“I am Robbi; this is my mom Sandy Davis and my girlfriend Tiffany Thomas.”
“Hi I am Christy Benson. I just love the picture Robbi drew of me. I am going to have it framed and matted here at the mall and put it up on my wall.”
Christy sat and talked with them for about twenty minutes. They were as thick as thieves while they were together. Christy’s boyfriend showed up and she showed him Robbi’s drawing of her. They headed off to get it framed.
Robby saw another Lady standing by a store and started drawing her, this drawing was more of a fashion drawing as he experimented with her clothing. He drew her in a full length flowing gown with a ribbon tied in a bow just beneath her augmented breasts and the ends of the ribbon hanging down to the middle of her thighs. She was gone before he finished but the drawing was excellent. Sandy took the group to a fabric store and had Robby and Tiffany look for fabric swatches that would compliment that drawing. They could find nothing to do the drawing justice and were headed back when the store owner asked if she could help. The three came to where Sandy was standing and holding his pad. He showed the lady his drawing.
“What I envisioned was something in lavender four layers deep. It is fitted at the bust and just flows like water beneath this ribbon. The top layer would be fairly transparent and each layer beneath a little more opaque with the bottom layer an opaque nylon tricot or chiffon. The ribbon would be a darker shade of lavender.”
“That would be gorgeous my dear let me call my suppliers and see if I can get you some swatches.”
Sandy started looking at some of the professional sewing machines and bought one of the better machines and about twenty yards total of different type fabrics, and arranged to have them delivered to their home.
Sandy treated them all to dinner; she was amazed how comfortable her son seemed in his role. She was also amazed at Tiffany; she was really into Robby as Marci, and also as himself. She was amazed at herself how she took to Tiffany. John had been so handsome, he seemed to be a good father, and Tiffany made sure she knew he was available. She was even amazed at her son how could he have such a talent and she overlooked it. She was ashamed she never knew.
“Robby tell me how do you really feel about all this? I mean you looking and dressing like this. Did I force you into this or is this something you wanted to do?”
“Mom I never wanted to dress like this. I was a little shocked that you pushed me into a corner like that, but I am not mad about it. I could have gone my whole life and never have dressed as a girl. Now that I have tried it though, I like it. I have never been treated so good by people who don’t know me. I would have never known how much I like the way the clothes look and feel on me, and I might not ever had made such a friend in Tiffany. Besides in my heels I am almost normal sized for my age.”
“Now don’t say such a thing Robby. I had already made my mind up about you. I was going to have you as a boyfriend regardless. I am just so glad I can have you as a girlfriend too. I can’t explain it either Sandy.”
They finished their meal and made for the exit. On the way out they passed a specialty lingerie shop.
“Wait here kiddos.” Sandy said as she went inside
Robby took this time to draw. Tiffany was his model time. He already knew the nuances of her face, the slope of her shoulders, her pert breasts (he knew them a little better now), her slim waist, the flair of her hips and her long slender legs. Tiffany tried to look over his shoulder but he kept his pad between them.
Sandy was inside for about twenty minutes before she rejoined them. She looked over Robby’s shoulder. Damn he is good. He was drawing Tiffany in a fashion pose, and showed her in a cocktail dress that came to just above her knee. The bodice and oh so narrow waist were fitted and the skirt flared out. Sandy giggled when she realized that her son had enhanced Tiffany’s already ample breasts. Yep he is still a boy that is for sure.
“She would need a very good corset to look like that Robby but that is a very nice Drawing of her.”
“Let me see Robby please.”
“Just a couple of more minutes Tiffany.”
Robby’s hands moved with skill and precision, as he added a few final touches that brought the drawing to life, and pop out of the paper. Again he singed it Robbi with a little heart dotting the i. That was so cute. He carefully pulled it out of the pad and gave it to Tiffany. She looked at the drawing and her eyes began to mist. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.
“Ok kiddos if ya’ll get anymore friendly, you’ll need to get a room.”
Robby and Tiffany both blushed at that and broke from their activities. On their way out they saw a frame shop. Tiffany took her picture and hurried on in. Sandy and Robby followed close behind her. Tiffany was showing the lady her picture.
“I would recommend just a simple two tier mat for it, a buff green mat over a burgundy mat. I will bevel all the edges and spray the drawing with a fixative. It will cost twenty five dollars. Such a lovely picture dear, this is the second one by this artist I have seen today. Who is this Robbi?”
“Her,” Tiffany said pointing.
“Ahh the artist herself, hi I am Alice, Alice Cooper, and yes my parents had a tremendous sense of humor. I had to grow up listening to Alice Cooper.”
“We’re not worthy,” Sandy quipped.
Sandy and Alice just broke out laughing, Robby and Tiffany just had a confused looks on their faces.
“I am Robbi Davis, this is my mother Sandy and this is my friend Tiffany Thomas.”
“Got anymore in your art pad dear, come on let Alice see.” Alice said in a pushy manner.
Robby pulled out his other drawing and showed Alice.
“Wow this is nice dear, but you didn’t sign it.”
Robby took out his art pencil and signed it, with his classic signature.
“I did that as a fashion illustration, I am going to try to make that dress.”
“Honey if you don’t make it in fashion, you could most definitely make it as an artist, and I have no doubts that you will succeed in fashion design. You have excellent taste. I need you to set up a booth some weekend outside my shop and draw your pictures. I could sell lots of mat jobs.”
Alice set the picture next to Tiffany’s and sprayed them with what smelled like hair spray. “This is fixative dear it will help keep your drawings from smearing; it makes them easier for me to handle without ruining them. Never fix em till you are finished with em honey.” She then centered and taped the drawings on heavy illustration board. She measured the usable drawing area and calculated the mat size and started cutting various colored mat boards. “What color would this dress be honey?”
“I pictured it as lavender with a darker lavender ribbon just below the bust. The gown has four layers each just a little more opaque than the one above it.”
“Honey that dress would make some girl, the bell of the ball, at a prom. Ok how is this board for the lighter lavender, and this for the over mat,” Alice asked holding up two mat boards.
“I love those shades Alice.”
Alice worked fast in no time at all both prints appeared presentable. “No charge for your mat job Robbi I feel we are going to be doing big business together,” Alice said handing Robbi a card. “And really I would like to sponsor you for a drawing session out in the mall, honey please call me. Mother’s Day is in 3 weeks, keep that in mind.”
“How much should I charge for something like this?”
“That would be hard to say, forty to eighty dollars more if there were several kids in the picture. Say forty for a single person and another ten to twenty per additional person. How long did these pictures take you?”
“About thirty minutes.”
“You could make four to five hundred a day maybe more. You need to charge more the more detailed the drawing, and enhance the people’s looks when possible, without making them look too different, like you did with Tiffany here. Her waist in the drawing is a little narrower and her bust a little more prominent but the overall effect is outstanding. Oh and dress as sharply as you are now. The better looking you are the easier it will be to part your customers from their cash.”
“Set it up for this weekend Saturday and Sunday, Ten to nine, with two hours off, nine hours each day Alice. I am going to make some sample drawings for you to display during the week if that would be ok. Tiffany can I leave your drawing here for a couple of weeks?”
“Sure that is great, I will be here to help ya.”
“Sounds like a plan. What name do you want to go by dear?”
“Just Robbi, that’s all.”
Robbi hurried to the art store and bought some better paper and more art supplies. He had made sure to buy about six cans of spray fix. Then they headed home.
“Mom and Tiffany find a bunch of pictures of various hairstyles on the internet. You know Wedding hair, Prom hair, fantasy hair, that type stuff, and gown designs so I can study them this week, and make some sample pictures. I like the Idea of mixing Fashion looks with Fantasy looks. What do you two think?”
“Sounds Great honey, you are really getting into this aren’t you?”
“I am sorry I forgot to ask first, I just realized. Is it ok for me to do this?”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea. We will need to get you some more clothes though I can already see that,” Sandy said.
Tiffany jumped in there, “How about a leather mini-skirt with a green or blue blouse, those six inch heels he bought today off black sheer pantyhose, big drop earrings, bangles and that big hair he wore yesterday. That should be one of your sample drawings a sort of fantasy self portrait. Stop by my house Sandy for just a second.”
“Ok. I got something that will enhance his image. I will show you when we get home.”
They stopped at Tiffany’s house and she ran in and got her digital camera, before resuming their trip home. It took fewer trips to unload the car and everybody sat down to rest.
“Tiffany take Robby to his room and take his blouse and bra off and make sure his chest is hairless, clean and dry, then blindfold him. I will be up shortly.”
Robby was stunned at the request and even Tiffany was looking askance at the directive, but they quickly complied. Tiffany not only checked his chest, but everywhere above his waist. She shaved a few hairs off. She cleaned his chest real good and dried it. Tiffany then blindfolded Robby with one of his clean T-shirts, and had him lie down. Robby heard the door open and a few minutes later he felt a heavy mass placed on one side of his chest and then the other it felt sticky and heavy. His hands were restrained by Tiffany to keep him from exploring his chest. He then felt something wet being spread around on his chest and a heavy weight set on both sides. After a few minutes he was made to stand. He still had his FM heels on, he felt that his center of gravity had shifted, and he was led to where his dresser mirror would be. The blindfold was removed and as his eyes adjusted he saw huge tits on his chest.
“Oh my god, I know they aren’t real but they look so life like. They are humongous.”
“They are not humongous they are not much bigger than Tiffany’s, a little bigger maybe but not much.”
Sandy took a tape measure and took Robbi’s measurements and for good measure Tiffany’s.
“Ok the way I work it out. I am a 36D, Tiffany is a 34C, and you are now a 32D. That is only about an inch more at the nipples than Tiffany, and eight inches wider at the chest than Robby.”
Sandy helped him into a new bra she had bought. It was a shelf bra that gave his breasts a platform to rest on. The band of the bra was a little tighter around the chest and the straps dug into his shoulders a little more. It felt a little better when Sandy adjusted the straps a little. He shook his shoulders a little and his tits swayed back and forth. That would take a lot of getting use to. He looked and saw that the edges of the breast forms were almost invisible covered in a heavy makeup that matched his skin tone well. Next he put on a silky blouse that was a pull over and had a deep V neckline. You could see the curves of his breasts plainly.
“You will need to blend your foundation more down your throat and chest now, but they will look natural.”
“How do I get them off?”
“It is only a short duration adhesive; you will need to redo it everyday or so. I also have a remover dear. This will make you look more mature dear, closer to your mental age I think. What do you think of Robbi now Tiffany.”
“To tell the truth, I am a little jealous. She looks marvelous.”
“Oh let me get my pictures,” Robbi said reaching behind his dresser, pulling four art pads out. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”
Robby found he had to be more careful going down the stairs. His weight had shifted decidedly forward now and he was forced to walk with his back straighter. He jiggled as he went down the stairs now.
Three of the art pads were 16X20 and one was 24X30. He set these on the table and they went through them one at a time.
“I am ashamed of myself Robby, I knew you liked to doodle and draw but I never knew you were so good.”
A lot of the pictures were of Sandy, all of those she was dressed so nicely, her hair so pretty. She looked quite fetching in the pictures. Others pictures were of other people Sandy recognized a few. He drew men as well as women and children. If she had known she would have gotten him lessons and kept him well supplied in art supplies. Most of the pictures were unsigned. Sandy sorted out the best of those. In his newest books were not a few pictures he had drawn of Tiffany. He had really made an effort to bring out her best qualities. The same kind of effort Sandy had seen in the ones he did of her. They were his fashion pictures. Where had he learned so much about dresses, they were gorgeous!
“Where did you learn so much about fashion Hun, you have drawn some very lovely dresses? I don’t have anything as nice as these.”
“Neither do I, but I sure would like to have a few of them. You were smitten by me weren’t you? I kinda wished you would have said something, but I know you were probably too shy.”
“I have never had many friends, most of my friends are girls but I just don’t fit their image of Prince Charming. Most girls my age are taller and bigger than I am. That is why I like wearing my heels around you Tiff. I just don’t see anything in me that would make a girl like me,” Robby said hanging his head down, crying softly.
“I like you because you treat me special when I am around you. You are a nice guy Robby. So what if I am taller and bigger than you. It’s your heart that makes you different, you treat people as if they are all important, and you do a marvelous job at sucking a nipple, Ooooh wee.” Tiffany said giggling and blushing.
Robbi gave her a mock punch in the arm.
“Be nice we got some pictures too. You wouldn’t want those to get out around at high school would you,” Tiffany said.
“Mother, Tiffany is not playing nice. Spank her.”
“Ok Tiffany lay across my lap.”
Tiffany was shocked by the suggestion but she complied just to see what would happen. She felt her face flush when Sandy actually pulled up her skirt leaving her pantyhose and panties exposed. Sandy gave her five good pops on her butt. They stung but didn’t hurt. She couldn’t explain it but she kinda liked it. She felt Sandy actually cared for her. Afterwards she was made to sit in Sandy’s lap and hug her. Yeah right. She did that because she wanted to.
She whispered in Sandy’s ear, “If I am ever bad or I hurt you or Robby you have my permission to spank me Sandy. I love both of you.”
Tiffany made Robby sit down and she sat on his lap and hugged him and whispered in his ear, “Anytime you want to spank me like that just tell me. I love you lots. I may even spank you too.” She then stuck her tongue in his ear.
Robby was beet red, Sandy couldn’t hear what Tiffany said to him but she could just imagine it.
They went through his pictures and chose two of his mom, two of Tiffany, two of guys, two of other women and four of children boys and girls. Those of the guys were nice but he didn’t use the same care as he did pictures of women and children. His forte was definitely drawing women, but his children’s pictures were full of life and vigor. He signed them Robbi in what was becoming his classic signature.
They were interrupted by the door bell, Sandy went to get it. It was the sewing machine and the cabinet for the sewing machine. They went into one of the downstairs rooms they used as an office. They set it up and insured that it worked, before they left.
“Sandy how long would it take to give Robby a big hair do he really ought to do a self portrait like he did ours.”
“It might take an hour and a half but it would just be a waste so late in the day. Do you think you could give yourself a fantasy hair do, Robby and draw yourself as a woman, without looking the part?”
“Maybe open the hall closet and I will sit in front of the mirror there. Get me some light and let me give it a try.”
Tiffany thumbed through Robby’s Cosmo magazine and found a picture she was looking for. “Try to use a pose similar to this one Robby.”
Robby stood in front of the mirror and turned this way and that striking several poses watching his shadows and form. He tried to look into the soul of the woman he saw, and then he became the woman he saw.
Tiffany and Sandy were thunderstruck by the transformation in Robby. He had fit into a roll before and took to it like a fish in the water, but in the second that he shifted he actually became the fish. He had grace and poise.
He changed into the six inch heels and grabbed his pencil and 24X30 pad and began drawing. He spent a lot of time getting the eyes, nose and mouth right then the rest just started flowing. He drew a graceful pose, long elegant arms with dainty hands, and long shapely legs. The figure was nude but he started clothing it in a spectacular wispy flowing gown. The gown had a deep V with the graceful curves of the breast exposed, the bodice was smocked to an oh so narrow waist. The sleeves were puffy cap sleeves at the shoulder and then tight fitted from the armpit to the wrist with lace overlaid. The voluminous skirt gave the impression of layer upon layer upon layer of a soft gossamer material. The bodice formed V down to his crotch to his waist. His hair was enormous flowing out from his scalp down almost to his knees. He had worked on the drawing for about an hour and a half.
This was Robby’s best drawing to date. The woman in the drawing was sexy and sophisticated. She just oozed femininity and sensuality. You would swear you could see here breath. It was her face that was the center of attention. Her eyes, lips, cheeks, and nose were perfect. The large earrings were dainty and graceful. She wore a three strand pearl choker around her throat. Her shoulders sloped gently. Words just failed to describe the woman they saw. The amount of detail one could see under close inspection was incredible. It was easy to see Robby in the drawing but at the same time you would never guess it was him.
Tiffany took the drawing pad and stood it on the hall table. She carefully squared the camera to the drawing and at the highest resolution the camera had took several pictures of the drawing. She took shots of all the drawings signed Robbi about forty five shots. She then loaded the contents of the 256 meg memory chip onto the hard drive on Sandy’s computer and burned several CD’s with those pictures.
“Tell me Robby how much would you want for a portrait like your self portrait,” Tiffany asked.
Robby looked closely at the picture and thought about it, “Oh about $1500 there is a lot of detail in that drawing, not that anybody would ever pay that much.”
They spent some time going over the rest of the pictures, developing a pricing schedule according to the amount of work involved. They sprayed fixative on all the prints, and organized them. They had forty dollars to two hundred dollars and then the fifteen hundred dollar portraits.
Tiffany then went online and started searching gowns and hairstyles for Robby. She was very good at making the internet work for her. Sandy helped make the selections they saved. Robby was alright on the internet but he couldn’t compare himself to Tiff in this field. So he messed with the sewing machine. He had never used one before but followed the instructions and had it going. He had plenty of fabric to work with. The manual had a small tutorial that taught him how to use it. He went to his mother’s room and found an old dress that was too small for her and way out of date. He brought it to the office and turned it inside out and studied how it was sewn. It was a very nice dress but about ten years out of style. Tiffany and Sandy would look over at him every now and then to see what he was up to.
He went through several of Sandy’s dresses doing that to them. He took off his skirt and looked closely at it too. He was caught up in what he was doing and soon he was checking out his blouse and bra. His mom got up and got her lacy silky peignoir she wore on her wedding night. It was made up of many layers and was as close to some of his designs as anything she had and handed it to him. He studied it as intently as a doctor would study a patient. The girls giggled as he put it on and saw how it draped his body. Sandy helped him on with the robe and tied the ribbon that came beneath the bust into a bow. She then took the braid out of his hair and combed it out with her fingers. Tiffany had gotten his brush and Sandy brushed out his hair till it draped down past his shoulders. They led him over to the hall mirror and let him look at himself. He swished too and fro in a magic of the moment.
“Go to bed Sandy,” Tiffany said in almost an order, “I promise to take care of him, and we won’t be making like rabbits.”
Sandy hugged Tiffany and then her son, “You two take care, I trust you both.”
Tiffany escorted Robbi to the couch. She sat down and had Robbi sit in her lap. Robbi smoothed the peignoir beneath her as she sat on Tiffany’s lap. They kissed and felt each other for a long time. They had passion but it wasn’t wanton. Getting late she escorted him to the bathroom and helped him with his peignoir so he could take care of his business. She told him to keep the panties and pantyhose on. She cleaned the makeup from her face and Robby’s face, and then took care of business while Robby stood there.
She took Robby to his room. She sat on his bed and unbuttoned her blouse and unhooked her front opening bra and started to nurse him. It felt so good to her. After about twenty minutes she shifted him over to the other breast for him to suckle he kept falling asleep but by stroking his cheek he kept suckling. He finally fell deeply asleep. She arranged him comfortably on the bed and pulled the covers over him. She buttoned up her blouse her nipples were tender from being sucked so long, but she felt indescribably good and spooned up with him on the bed. Shortly she was snoring softly.
Tiffany woke while being softly shaken her eyes opened to see Sandy smiling. She reached up and hugged her, kissing her cheek. Sandy helped Tiffany stand and together they went down stairs to the kitchen where a fresh brewed pot of coffee waited. It was about eight. Robby was still soundly asleep. Tiffany realized that her bra was open and unbuttoned her blouse so that she could hook her bra. And re-button her badly wrinkled blouse.
“That was amazing Tiffany it was like he became a different person when he did his self-portrait. I looked at it this morning and I just can’t believe it.”
“It didn’t end when he finished Sandy; I think he was the feminine Robbi when he went to sleep. He was incredibly tender. We never got undressed but my panties got wet and sticky several times I know I didn’t wet myself I just can’t explain it. I felt a flood of warmth; I shuddered and then was all tingly all over.”
“That my girl, was an orgasm. Wonderful aren’t they. I wonder who will get out of bed today?”
“I don’t know, but it was fun. I hope it doesn’t hurt him mentally.”
“I don’t think it will.”
They heard a tha-dump from upstairs. “Did he still have those stilettos on when he went to bed?”
“Yes he did.”
“Well I think it is Robby with a Y then,” Sandy giggled.
It took about five minutes of waiting for Robby to come downstairs and reach the kitchen, still dressed in the peignoir.
“Morning Momma,” he said with a hug, “Morning Tiffany,” hugging her also.
“Momma I know you didn’t give me this to wear last night, why did I put it on?”
“We were kinda wondering that ourselves Honey.”
“I don’t know it just kinda felt so right to do it.”
“You were like a different person, Robby, when you went to do your self portrait. It was like you became the adult woman named Robbi. Sort of like you had a multiple personalities.”
“No it’s not multiple personalities. I was fully aware of what happened but it was like I took a back seat while a part of me took over. She told me how she wanted to look. That isn’t right. There is the male me and the female me. I was whole for that time. I knew how the woman inside me wanted her picture to look. There were two parts of me working together to draw that picture. I needed both parts of me to do what I did. I now know that I won’t ever fully commit to one or the other but seek to be both. Does that make sense and can the two of you live with that.”
“That makes more sense than you realize son, and yes I can take you anyway you want to be,” Sandy said.
“Robby I love you both ways; I can take what ever you want to give me. I was just afraid that… I don’t know. I just want you to be alright.”
“Just one thing Tiffany never put me to bed again wearing these monster heels please, or I might just have to spank you.”
“Promises, promises. Alright dear I promise to take better care of you. Let’s take it easy till about two today and then take those drawings over to Alice’s so she can prepare them. We will need to figure what you will need for next weekend, and you need some more clothes if you are going to do this.”
“Sounds like a plan Tiff, Ok with you Momma.”
“I like you calling me Momma when we are alone or with very close friends. That is part of your female persona coming out right.”
Robby blushed and smiled. “Yes Momma, I guess it is.”
“Ok then we will laze around till about noon and start getting ready.”
Robby got out his books on tailoring and fashion design to read while he sat on the couch. He was joined by Tiff in her baby doll, she snuggled up to him and watched TV. Sandy was in the office going over the pictures they had saved from the internet, and set about organizing them. Robby got some fabric a fine needle and thread and started practicing hand stitches. He had a good eye and developed a nice stitching technique.
Sandy made lunch for them at about eleven and then Robby headed to the shower. He shaved his arms, legs and underarms. He washed and conditioned his long hair. He dried himself off and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. It was hard for him to believe what he had gone through in just the last few days. He touched his breasts and wished they had feelings, but he definitely liked their appearance. He wrapped a towel around himself and went to his room. He put his bra on, it wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be, and his panties, he really loved the panties. He then dashed to find his mom.
“Momma will you roll my hair like you did before.”
“Sure baby lets go to my room.”
The three headed to Sandy’s room. She plugged in her hot rollers and started combing out his hair. Tiffany took one side and Sandy took the other. In no time he was rolled up.
“Get dressed baby, let us get our showers and we will all start getting ready.”
Robbi headed back to her room as Sandy and Tiffany hit the showers. Robbi put on her silkiest blouse, pantyhose, she loved and hated them, padded girdle, a matching skirt and her three inch heels. She took her makeup and tried to do his best on his own. She liked doing this for herself. She took care of her skin care routine, cleanse, tone and moisturize. Then she started her makeup. She worked very hard on her eyes; mascara and eye shadow went a long way. She was pleasantly surprised with the results. She added her foundation, powder, a little blush and penciling her brow. She couldn’t explain it, she just loved doing this. She looked strange with her hair in rollers but her face was lovely.
Sandy and Tiffany were still occupied in the shower while Robbi waited, so she began sketching. She loved drawing. She started sketching Alice. She wasn’t a particularly comely woman, but her face had a strength of character. Robbi tried hard to bring out the woman’s inner strength and beauty.
“That is wonderful Robby, where have you been hiding that talent dear.”
“I don’t know where it comes from Momma; it’s just something I do.”
“Let’s go Kiddo.”
Robbi got up and followed her Mom into her room. She had her sit down and started working with her hair. She unrolled it and started backcombing and teasing it. In about thirty minutes she had it done and sprayed.
“Your makeup looks very good, I don’t need to do anything else to you baby.”
Robbi beamed a smile and said, “Thank You Momma. You’re very beautiful too.”
Tiffany joined them she worked hard on herself. She didn’t want herself to be outshone by her boyfriend. She giggled at that thought.
“Well are we ready?” Sandy asked.
“Just let me get my purse and drawings together. I also need to get a large portfolio for these.”
They headed out to the car and carefully loaded the pictures in the back seat, before pilling into the front seat. Robbi was maneuvered into the middle. All the stocking legs rubbing on both sides of her made her shudder, but she could live with it. It was like her Mom was waking from a long sleep. She liked the fact that she was dressing nice now.
They arrived at the mall and headed straight to Alice’s frame shop. They put the drawings on the big table and Alice went through the stack. She fawned over them as she went from drawing to drawing. Tiffany went over the price schedule of the prints as they went.
“Oh my gosh Robbi you are just so gorgeous in this drawing. That is what I was talking about Robbi. That is obviously you but you have enhanced your image. Very nice dear.”
When Alice came to the picture Robby had done of her she just held it.
“Robbi dear, you are so generous to me. You know how to make an old woman look good.”
“It’s yours if you want it Alice. I did it for you.”
“Ok I will mat all these pictures for you in exchange. I have gotten the Mall approval for you to set up right outside my shop. If you have anybody that wants to use (a) credit card I will handle that for you. I believe you will have a very successful business venture dear. If you do well do you want to try it every weekend till mother’s Day?”
“That’s a deal if it’s ok with Momma.”
“Robbi it’s OK with me.”
“Ok may I display these in my window till this weekend then? I plan to get some publicity for this event.”
“That sounds ok with me.”
“Ya’ll have fun shopping then and leave this to Alice.”
Tiffany led them to a 5-7-9 shop and they were soon up to their necks in shopping. Today it was all for Robby. The emphasis was on items that wouldn’t get to dirty from art pencils and charcoal. Robby tried on four leather mini-skirts. They kept three brown, black and burgundy. The blouses were long sleeve silk in cream, white, blue, and red. Robby would just have to be careful with his blouses. Sandy seeing some of the blouse insisted that Robby get some camisoles to go with them. So they headed back to the lingerie shop for camisoles, a bunch more panties, a dozen more pantyhose in various shades, some more Bras to fit his new frame and a few odds and ends. Then the shoe store for some more heels. Robby bought four pairs of four inch heels to match his new skirts.
They next went to a computer store where Tiffany bought a few things, some laser printer business card stock, an art program, and some other things.
Robby then wound up in the art supply store. He checked out the different quality paper buying samples of them. He bought a box of art pencils, sharpener, charcoal, easel and a couple of portfolio cases. He talked to the shop owner and explained what he was going to do.
“Ok, you’re Robbi; Alice has told me all about you. I am Debbie Bright I own this store. I can set up an account for you and if you need any supplies that weekend just come get them. I will keep track of what you use and just bill you once you’re finished for the weekend. I just loved those drawings you made and I can guarantee I am going to be one of your customers.”
“Ok Debbie this is my mom Sandy Davis and my friend Tiffany Thomas. Alice is matting some more of my drawings right now you ought to check them out too.”
“Ok I am looking forward to this weekend. I hope you do well.”
“Well kiddos we need to get home tomorrow is a school day after all.”
“Bye Debbie, thank you.”
We grabbed all out purchases and headed home. Tiffany held Robbi close as Sandy drove. It all seemed a dream to everyone, a strange but happy dream.
At home they took all their purchases to Robby’s room. Tiffany helped Robbi sort out his girl things in his dresser and closet. Robby showered and the girls fixed his hair so that it wouldn’t betray this long weekend, and Robby put on a sleep shirt, and studied his lessons for school, while Tiffany and Sandy showered. He and Tiffany cuddled a little and after the news on TV they went to bed separately.
(to be continued)
Robbi discovers more about herself and her abilities as she becomes more feminine.
Drawn Together Ch. 3
by
Paula Dillon
Robby woke early. He went to his bathroom and took care of his morning business. This weekend had seemed like it had all been a dream, but the satin sleep shirt brought it back to him. He smiled as he looked into the mirror. He did his skin care bit and wanted to try the makeup, but he knew that it would never wash at school. He secured his hair in his favorite pony tail and left the bathroom.
He opened the door to the guest room and saw Tiffany sleeping there. He knelt besides the bed and gently shook her. She opened her eyes and looked into his. She smiled, reached out and drew him into a kiss.
He broke the kiss and said, “We need to get ready for school. I love you Tiff.”
“I know, I love you too, Robby,” she said giving him another more passionate kiss.
“The bathroom is yours Tiff.”
“Ok, thanks.”
Robby trotted off to his room. He took off his sleep shirt and saw the panties he had on. “Well I don’t have to dress for PE today I might as well keep these on,” he thought. He reached into his drawer and pulled out a camisole, instead of his usual white t-shirt. Dressed he found a dark pull over polo and his regular jeans. He started to pull on his jeans, stopped and grabbed a pair of pantyhose. What he wore underneath was his business he thought. These pantyhose were nearly opaque and he liked the feel. He finished dressing tucking his shirt into his pants and pulling on his trainers on.
He got his school stuff together but today he carried an 11X14 art pad with him, and several art pencils. He bounded down the stairs to the kitchen his Mom had just gotten up and had made coffee.
“Morning Momma, how are you today,” he said giving his Mom a big hug.
“Morning Robby you are awfully cheery today. I could go with you being like this all the time. Tiffany get up already?”
“Yes ma’am she is in the bathroom last I heard,” he said sipping a hot cup of coffee. “She drinks hot tea Mom, can you boil her some water.”
Sandy put on a kettle and started cooking breakfast for the kids. Tiffany popped in as Sandy was putting the plates of food on the table.
“Morning Mom… I mean Sandy,”
“That is the second time you have called me Mom, in the morning,” Sandy giggled, “You trying to tell me something.”
“Sorry Sandy, it just popped out. It feels so right.”
“Don’t apologize; I kinda like it too dear. Well you two finish up and I will get dressed.”
Robby whispered to Tiffany about what he was wearing. She checked him out closely, and said, “Nobody will be able to tell,” giving him a quick kiss.
Tiffany and Robby cleared off the table, and washed the dishes. Sandy showed up her face made and in one of her new dresses.
“Momma you look wow,” Robby smiled.
“You’re just terrific Sandy,”
“Well thank you.”
The kids hustled out to the car. Tiffany got in first in the front seat and Robby followed. He sat and turned in his legs together.
“Robby guys don’t get in a car that way. You need to be careful today.” Tiffany said.
“Ok, don’t worry.”
In a few minutes they were at school. Robby and Tiffany had no classes in common so they agreed to meet for lunch. In his homeroom class he saw Beth. She was a nice girl but she had a problem. Every few days her face would erupt with a mega case of zits. She had a fresh outbreak today. She would be so pretty if she would stop having out breaks. He heard the kids teasing her often, it kept them from teasing him so much. He was the shortest and smallest boy in the whole school; most of the girls were taller and bigger than him. He decided to draw the real her at lunch. He looked her over memorizing her features.
Robby’s concentration was broken when Kelly came in the class. She was the Captain of the Junior Varsity cheerleaders. She gave everybody hard time, Beth and him were her special projects,; they were just not the right people. Today was no different.
“Oh Beth, you’ve had another out break,” Kelly said dripping with sarcasm loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s a real shame that you can’t have flawless skin like most girls. You really ought to take better care of your skin.” As if there was anything she hadn’t already tried.
Robby saw Beth flush and saw her pulse pounding at her temples. He had to give her credit she kept her tongue.
“Hey shrimp how are you today.” Kelly said to him.
“It is good to see the Neanderthals at school today; did you ever learn to read Kelly, oh and did you finally get your period back?” Robby said.
Kelly went livid; nobody had ever talked to her like that before. He should have bitten his tongue but he just had to open his mouth. It felt good. It brought a chorus of laughter, but he would probably have to pay for that remark later. Kelly’s boyfriend was a six foot sophomore and a linebacker on the varsity football team.
When the teacher got to class Kelly complained to her and Robby found himself outside the office of Vice Principal Karen Stringer.
Ms. Stringer found him sitting there and said. “What is Robby Davis doing sitting outside my office? I know this is going to be a strange day now. Come on in. Now tell me why one of my straight A freshman who has never been in trouble anywhere is sitting in my office. It had better be good.”
Robby just handed her his disciplinary slip. She took it and read it.
“You said that to her,” Ms. Stringer asked with amazement in her voice.
“Yes Mam I did. I am not proud of it, but I got tired of her picking on me, and she verbally attacked Beth about her pimples.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right. Robby you are a good kid and there may be consequences to what you said to her. You can’t go around implying girls are or have been pregnant. I believe everything you’ve said, but I am giving you five hours detention. One hour every day this week. I will deal with Kelly; she needs to be taken down a notch herself. Sit outside and then catch your second period class.”
Robby took that time to draw Beth’s picture. He was very careful to draw her skin flawlessly, a lovely hair style and emphasized her better facial features. When the bell rang he hurried to his next class.
School really drug that day, word had traveled fast about what Robby had done. He wondered if lunch would ever get there and whether he should go to the cafeteria. He could hear the whispers. He made if safely to the cafeteria and got his tray. He found Tiffany who had already heard what went down. A whole lot of eyes were drawn to him as he sat next to Tiffany.
“Ooooh wee son, you know how to stir a kettle.”
“I know I was bad I’ll let you spank me later. I have detention everyday this week. I just couldn’t let her get away with dissing Beth.”
“I heard she was horrible.”
Robby opened his pad and showed Tiffany his drawing, “That is how Beth should look like. She has a pretty face. Why don’t you give this picture to her Tiff? I think she’ll like it.”
“I know she will, you sure you’re not falling for her?”
“No, I just felt sorry for her, I love you.”
That comment drew a smile and a quick kiss from Tiffany.
“I will tell your Mom, she is going to pick me up so I can get my stuff home. She ain’t going to be happy, but I am proud of you. Just keep an eye out for her boyfriend Justin. At least Justin and Kelly don’t have the same lunch we do.”
The bell rang and they separated and hurried off to their next class. Robby was reaching into his locker when he head was propelled forward and bounced off the back of the locker. He was pulled out and turned around, his pony tail was put in his locker and the door shut and locked by Justin. At least he wasn’t bleeding and nothing else was done to him. A teacher found him standing in the hall she got a school maintenance man to get the lock cut off the locker, and he was taken to the nurse’s office. He just had a small bump on his head, but nothing serious. He found himself outside Ms. Stringer’s office again.
“Well Robby, we now know what consequences are now do we? Who did this to you?”
“I’m not sure Ma’am.”
“Of course you know. Who was it?”
“I can’t say.”
“Ok but be careful. I will put the word out that, that is unacceptable behavior, and teachers will be out in the halls. Maybe that will be enough. Just in case I will specifically talk to Justin. Yes I already know. He will know that if nothing else happens he got away with one, but if something else happens and it won’t have to be him that does it, he will be suspended, and probably arrested. My school is not going to be the scene of class struggle. Now get on to your regular class.”
The rest of the day went smoothly, and after his last class he reported to study hall. He giggled when he saw that Kelly was in detention also. He always kept up on his homework so he didn’t have anything to do. He had a crazy idea. He drew a very pretty Kelly sitting on the lap of Robert Adams. Robert was the freshman and an honest to god computer loving geek. He then drew a picture of a very pretty Beth on the lap of Justin. Justin wasn’t a bad guy, he just had bad tastes. His time went fast in detention. Kelly was miserable, but he had enjoyed his time.
His Mom and Tiffany were waiting for him, when he emerged.
“I am not happy with you son. We are meeting John for dinner in an hour I want you to get dressed in some nice clothes Robby and we will have a talk when we get back.”
“Yes Momma.”
They drove home; he had time to put on a dress shirt and suit pants, he carried his suit coat in his arms. He had to hurry so they could get to the restaurant on time. Tiffany whispered in his ear.
“I can see you still have on a camisole dear.”
“Is it bad?”
“Put your coat on, and don’t take it off,” She giggled, “I like knowing a secret like this.”
They got to the restaurant and Robby put on his coat. John already had a table. Robby helped Tiffany with her chair, while John helped Sandy with hers. The parents hit it off just fine without any help. Tiffany sometimes held hands with Robby under the table. Robby got up to use the restroom, and Tiffany got up with him. He finished before she did but waited for her.
“The olds seem to fit together just fine Robby,”
“Oh yes, they seem to be doing real good.”
They headed back to the table, both parents seemed to be intent on the kids where abouts, and smiled as they came into view.
“Well we better call it a day; I need to talk to Robby and tomorrow is a school day. We must do it again soon John,” Sandy said.
John nodded and said, “It was very nice dinning with the two of you. Yes we must do it again soon.”
Tiff and Robby were a little disappointed in seeing just a handshake, but hey it was still early. At the car Tiffany retrieved her luggage and hugged Sandy and Robby before everybody saddled up and headed home.
“Now young man, tell me two things. First what the heck happened at school.”
“Well Momma I kinda stuck my foot in my mouth up to the knee. Kelly Graham, one of the junior varsity cheerleaders, verbally attacked Beth Jennings. Beth has an acne problem. Kelly rubbed Beth’s nose in it loud enough to be heard by the whole class, and she then called me shrimp. I can live with me being called shrimp, Mom. Heck I know it is true but she had no call in hurting Beth. So I kinda implied that she was a Neanderthal, that she had a reading problem, and she might have terminated a pregnancy.”
“Robby!!! Tell me you’re joshing.”
“I could but I would be lying if I did, and I don’t think that would make you happy. That cow deserved what I said.”
“Robby just because, she is a snob doesn’t give you reason to lower yourself to her level. It only feels good for a short while when you do it.”
“Tell me about it. I got my ponytail shut in my locker door and somebody else’s lock to keep me from getting loose. Ok what is two.”
“Why are you wearing a camisole?”
“I like em. Don’t worry I won’t wear em when I have to dress out for PE, and I will check to see my clothes conceal them if I do wear em.”
“Ok, I can live with that. I just worry about you son. I love you. Technically you are grounded while you are on detention dear. No friends over but Tiffany, no TV, or video games. Ok.”
“Sure Momma, I know I screwed up. You should have heard Ms. Stringer when she saw me outside her office. It was way cool.”
“I can just imagine Robby.”
Robby went to his room and changed out of his clothes and took a shower. He dressed in a different sleep shirt and laid down on his bed. He got his 24X30 drawing pad out and started drawing. He started drawing John and his Mom together. He gave John a Rhett Butler type appearance and his mother a Scarlet look complete with an multi-tiered white with green and red trim antebellum gown. John had his arm around Sandy’s narrow waist, and she looked lovingly in his eyes. He put the drawing away as it was getting late.
He went to his mom’s room and knocked. He entered when she called out to him. “Momma, why didn’t you change your last name when you divorced dad?”
“Well I wanted you to have the same last name as I did. The name thing can cause, some problems.”
“Well if you changed back to your maiden name, I would be willing to change mine to your maiden name. I would rather be a Howard than a Davis. Dad never cared a flip for me and I know he never paid you a cent in child support.”
“Well he paid some, but I could buy a very nice car and then some with what he has missed. I will check it out son, but I think your dad might object.”
“Let him I will give him what for. I love you Momma, you ain’t nevah given up on me.”
“Momma’s nevah do give up on their children, son, or they shouldn’t at least.”
Robby hugged and kissed his Mom and then headed off to bed. Sleep came easy and before he knew it, morning came.
Robby dressed as a guy fully, because he needed to. He took his gym clothes and stuffed them in his bag, and got the rest of his school stuff ready. He then headed on down to breakfast.
“Morning Momma, you look very nice today,” Robby said giving a big hug to his mother.
Sandy was dressed smartly, a thousand percent better than frumpy.
“Thank you son, you look alright your self kiddo.”
“Thanks Momma.”
They ate their breakfast and chatted. It seemed as if his Mom was a different person more open and cheerful. He gave her a quick peck on her cheek, as they cleared the table. He helped with the dishes, Sandy washed and he dried. Afterwards Sandy put a big glop of hand cream more than she needed so she rubbed her hands together and then rubbed Robby’s hands. Robby noticed the smell of jasmine but it didn’t bother him, he just rubbed the excess cream into his hands. He liked the feel.
All too soon it was time to head to school. He smiled as he saw Tiffany waiting for them. She reached into Mom’s open window and gave her a hug and a kiss.
“Morning Sandy, it is so good seeing you.”
“You too Tiffany, you look so nice today but watch how much you are showing behind you dear.”
Tiffany blushed and pulled her skirt down in back. She hooked arms with Robby and headed to the building.
“I think your Mom made a hit with my Dad, I have never seen him so happy this morning.”
“I know it was weird Mom, was the same way. I for one am glad. By the way Mom said I am grounded, but that you can come over.”
“I am glad too, Dad has been a loner for about four years. I’ll just have to keep you company then Robby.”
They hung around each other talking till a few minutes before the bell. Robby got a lot of jealous looks from the other guys. In his home room Beth was already in her chair, she smiled when she saw Robby and slipped a note in his shirt pocket. Her face looked much better today, she had fewer zits on her face. Robby took his seat and pulled out the note.
Thank you Robby for yesterday, I know you paid
a price for yesterday, but you have got a friend
in me. Thank you for that lovely picture you drew.
It means a lot to me. Tiffany and you are the best.
Beth
Robby looked up to see Beth smiling back at him. He smiled back at her. Kelly was one of the last students to come in before the bell. She didn’t look happy at all. The rest of the morning went well. A lot of students that had never spoken to him were stopping him and wishing him well. The last period before lunch he received a shock Justin was waiting by his locker. Robby held his breath as he approached.
“Hey kid you kept your tongue when you could have ratted me out, football is important to me and any trouble could have hurt my chances. Thanks you’re alright.”
“Ok, thank you Justin.”
Wonders will never cease, he thought. I just might survive high school.
At lunch he found Tiffany, there were four girls around her but there was a chair open next to her. He took that chair.
“Robby hi, these girls are in my computer class and we are working on a project together. This is Carol Miller, Marge Hamilton and Katy Wilson. Mr. Brown assigned a group project and this is my group. We have to design a web site.” Tiffany said and introduced the girls.
They chatted while they ate, he was the center of attention but he didn’t know why. Robby related what had happened so far to Tiffany, she was shocked to hear of his latest encounter with Justin. It was a lot of fun eating with the girls. Several asked him to do their portraits when they heard he drew. All too soon lunch was over. Tiffany gave him a big hug and a kiss as they parted.
In no time at all it seemed he took his seat in detention. They had a different teacher today, some female teacher he hadn’t seen before. He sat and took out his art pad and started drawing one of the girls from lunch Carol. He was in a different place when he was drawing, and didn’t notice the teacher had moved from her seat.
“Why aren’t you in my art classes, Mr. Davis?”
Robby startled and nearly jumped out of his skin. When his pulse returned to almost normal he said, “I don’t know I just never gave it any thought.” Robby looked at his drawing it looked almost like his was drawing a nude in high heels, but he wasn’t. He found it easier to get the clothed body right if he first got the body right and then dressed the form. He was afraid that the teacher got the wrong idea.
“I am Janice Sanderson I teach art here, Mr. Davis. Continue what you are doing but stop at my desk before you leave today.”
He started drawing a gown on the figure. A bridesmaid gown fitted tight from the waist up off the shoulders and had like a peasants top, long sleeve gloves and a very full skirt that extended out from the hips. Just a hint of lace extended past the hem of the skirt. He gave the girl a page boy hairdo with a of hint fullness and highlighted the features of her face. He was almost finished when the bell rang. He collected his things and then stopped by the teacher’s desk, and showed her the work.
“Did you add the clothes to make me happy or was this your intention to begin with.”
“Ma’am I find it easier to get the clothes right if I know what the body should look like first. Miranda Rollins wanted me to do her portrait. I drew her as she should look and then added the clothes.”
“Yes I know Miranda it is a very good likeness of her, you were very generous to her. I would give you an A+ for this drawing. I expect you in my art classes Robby Davis, and I will throw a tizzy fit if you aren’t in them this fall. Now go, your Mom will wonder where you are.”
“Yes Ma’am, and thank you.”
Sandy and Tiffany were waiting for him as he exited the school. It was good that he didn’t have to walk to or from school alone. It was always nice to see friendly faces.
“Hi Momma, Tiff.”
“Hi Robby, We have to go by the Mall, I talked to Alice and she says she already has orders for you. You need to change into Robbi real fast.”
At home Robby ran to his room and threw his clothes off, he pulled on a pair of panties, pantyhose and put his breast forms in his bra. His put on his black blouse and stonewashed jeans, the jeans seemed to fit better. He put on his heels and brushed out his hair, putting it back in a ponytail. He put on mascara and lipstick before grabbing his purse and one of his portfolio cases all in less than thirty minutes. They were off to the mall.
“You did that very well Robby; even like that you look so nice,” Sandy said.
“The jeans seem to be fitting better, they are still tight but it wasn’t a struggle to put them on.”
“Your Mom is right though you do look good.”
“Thanks Tiff,” Robby said beaming a big smile.
At the mall they went directly to Alice’s. Alice smiled when she saw the trio coming.
“Hello Robbi, Sandy and Tiffany, I am so glad to see you. How are you?”
“We are fine Alice; we got here as soon as we could. What do you have for Robby?”
“Well I have six preorders, three 11X 14’s, two 16X20’s and one 24X30 for about three thousand dollars. They have brought me pictures for you to work from,” she said pulling out the pictures and sheets of paper detailing the work. “One lady is a past Miss Texas from years ago and wants to remember her youth. Here is her picture today and her picture back when she won. She wants you to work your magic and bring the two pictures together dear. She is a wonderful lady, but time has not been kind to her and I believe you can make her feel better.”
“I like her looks now Alice, sure she is not as pretty but I can see she has a warm, caring, loving personality.”
“That she is Robbi, she is a lot like many women though who are a little vain about their appearance. She just likes to dream. Don’t erase all the years, she knows she’ll never look twenty again, but make her picture more pretty than she is. She likes her Miss Texas hairstyle, you don’t have to take out the gray, she can live with it.”
“I think I understand. I will give it my best shot Ma’am. I may modernize her hair a little but it will be close. I will try to have these done by Sunday. The others appear pretty simple.”
Robbi hugged Alice and the three left for the art store. Robby selected better paper stock for these drawings each wanted more than just the basic picture. Debbie was very helpful in this regard. Together they found the right paper for each application. This would also help Robby decide on paper for this weekend. Robby was glad he had brought his portfolio.
They didn’t stay long at the mall, They needed to get Tiffany home. Robby gave Tiffany a kiss when they got to her house. Robby stepped out to let Tiffany get out of the car, just as John drove up. Sandy got out of the car and walked up to John, and Tiffany brought Robby with her. John looked strangely at Robby who felt like he was doused in cold water.
“Your Robby aren’t you.”
“Yes sir, I am,” Robby said, more than just a little afraid.
“I figured as much after seeing you yesterday. Also seeing my daughter with two color lipsticks on her face just now didn’t help.” John said. His voice had a little edge to it, and his face showed he wasn’t happy right now.
“I am sorry sir; we didn’t mean to deceive you. It would have been hard to explain. I like Tiffany very much and I like looking like this at times. Don’t get mad at Tiff it wasn’t her fault. I just don’t know what to say.” Robby said.
“I am sorry John, it is mostly my fault. Don’t get mad at the kids they have been good for each other,” Sandy said.
“I don’t know how I feel about it, I am not mad at the kids or you Sandy. I would like to know more about Robby, but not just now. I love my Tiffany very much and she has been so much happier these last few days. We’ll talk again later.” John turned and walked into the house.
“Don’t worry Robby, I will talk to him. I don’t think it is that bad. See ya tomorrow.” Tiffany said kissing Robby again.
Sandy and Robby headed home. Robby could see the worry on his mom’s face. But for some reason he felt calm about it. He believed that Tiffany knew her father better and she wasn’t worried.
“Momma I think he likes you and I think he will accept me.”
“Maybe son, maybe,” was all she could say.
At home Robby went to his room and started working on the pictures he was to draw. He roughed out three of them before dinner. He was determined to do a good job. He worked fast but he was accurate. He was really into it when he made the shift to Robbi. His already fine skills took on a greater degree of control. It was Robbi who went down to dinner.
She moved with grace and elegance, she hugged her mom tightly and reassured her. They chatted while they ate and it seemed as if a dark pall lifted while they talked. Robbi put on Mom’s apron and did the dishes as she relaxed. Robbi gave her mom another hug before she retired to her room.
She finished two of the drawings before nine and then she pulled out the one of Sandy and John. She drew Robbi in front of John his hand resting on her shoulder and then she drew Tiffany in front of Sandy like a civil war era family portrait. She felt hope as she drew and her spirit soared as she drew. It was still rough but it would be her best work. About ten thirty she showered and got ready for bed.
Robby woke early got up and dressed for school. He wore his pantyhose and panties as he only dresses for PE on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He put the pictures of the Lady in his art pad and headed down. He ate fast and encouraged his mom to take him earlier to school. Tiffany had arrived just a minute before. She waved excitedly as they drove up. Sandy got out for a minute and they hugged.
“I think it is going to be alright Sandy, Dad was a little moody for awhile last night. I talked with him and told him almost everything. Later his mood seemed to improve. He was like nothing bad had happened this morning. Also call him today I think he wants you and I to do what we talked about earlier Sandy.” Tiffany said and seeing my confusion she said, “Don’t worry about it Robby it is girly stuff.”
“Ok Tiffany, I will call him, you two take care.”
Tiffany and Robby got some snuggle time in before school. She just wanted to be held. It made Robby feel good too. Beth came up to us as we were hugging each other. I was amazed her face was so much better only three or four zits remained and she just beamed. That was a major break through for her. Beth was jumping up and down and wrestled Tiffany from Robby’s grasp (sort of at least) and hugged her. Her enthusiasm was contagious she drew a crowd of girls around her. Robby was just happy for her.
Robby saw Kelly come up she avoided everyone. It was not like Kelly to pass giving jibes to someone.
Tiffany swung her elbow around and hit Robby in the chest.
“OH SHIT!!! Oh my god, that hurt,” Robby exclaimed.
It almost hurt as bad as if he had been kicked in the crotch. He rubbed himself where he hurt.
“You ok Robby,” Tiffany asked with concern.
“Yeah I caught your elbow between ribs. Remind me never to get you mad at me, girl with the killer elbows,” Robby chuckled.
“Remember that,” Tiffany said giggling, “We girls have many weapons to handle the lesser sex.” She had a look of concern even though she displayed mirth.
The first bell rang and the kids rushed to get to their homerooms. Kelly was sitting in her chair dark circles under her eyes, clearly she looked unhappy, when Robby entered his home room. Compare that to Beth who was on top of the world, a stark difference in just three days.
The day went better for Robby than it had in a long while. People seemed to treat him with more respect than he could remember. He gave Miranda her picture. She had a look of wonder and amazement on her face, as she looked at her picture. She whispered in Tiffany’s ear and Tiff just looked at her and nodded. The girl came over and gave Robby a kiss on both cheeks. She then rubbed both his cheeks.
“Sorry I left lip prints on you Robby, Thank you for this picture. I think it is just fab.”
Tiffany giggled as she saw looked at Robby. Miranda had not completely rubbed off the lipstick. It looked like Robby was wearing blusher. She figured that Miranda did that intentionally. She whispered in Robby’s ear and handed him a tissue and her compact. Robby blushed as he looked in the compact mirror and wiped the color off his cheeks.
The lunch bell rang and they parted their ways. His remaining classes went well and he found himself in back in detention. Ms. Sanderson was over Detention again. Robby took his art pad up front and asked.
“Ms. Sanderson may I ask you a question?”
“Sure Mr. Davis.”
Robby laid out the two pictures of the lady. “I have been asked to take these two pictures and create a third picture, kinda morphing them together. The lady doesn’t want to look twenty one again but as you can see she hasn’t aged gracefully.”
“Well even though she is not as pretty as she use to be, what do you see in these two pictures?”
“In her young picture she is pretty, but she also appears vain and uncaring. That may just be me I don’t know. In the other picture yes she is wrinkled and gray, but she has warmth and a caring look in her eyes. I like her gray hair it adds to her character. If I met these two people separately it is the second that I would like to get to know.”
“I think you are right in some ways Robby. Women who compete in beauty pageants are often seen as vain. They have to be, to be able to compete. I suggest you take the features you like most about the second picture and enhance them and add the best from the first. What about clothes Robby?”
“I like that suit on her. I think a more youthful style suit would be a happy medium. For a grandmother type her legs are alright.”
Janice giggled at Robby’s comments.
“She just wants to look a little more like she use to.”
“There use to be an actress named Lucille Ball, Robby. She was a lot like that. In her old age she had to wear tons of makeup to regain her youthful look. Other actresses subject themselves to rounds and rounds of facial plastic surgery so they can look young. I think this lady just wants to know what she would look like. Take out most of the wrinkles but give her face the warmth and caring you see in her and I am sure she will be happy. Also give her a more youthful bust and waist I think. See how gravity has lowered her bust.”
“You mean her breasts appear lower, closer to her elbows than in her youth. I don’t think an hour glass waist would look good on her?”
“Maybe not an hour glass figure, but she doesn’t have to be as thick waisted as she appears in the second photo. It is the female hormones that help keep a woman’s figure feminine Robby, after women stop ovulating their hormones drop drastically. When that happens they sometimes take on more male characteristics. Some develop heavier facial hair, not as thick as a males but not feminine. Their breasts sag, their skin loses its translucence and their waists grow thicker, some more than others.”
“Thank you Ms. Sanderson I think I know what I am going to do. I hope she likes it.”
“I think she will. Now let me ask you a question?” She said in a softer tone and volume. “You are Robbi, am I right? I have been hearing rumblings about a female artist. I have been to the mall and have seen your work.”
“Ah I don’t know what you mean,” he blushed.
“Yes you do, I don’t care what you look like, if you can draw like that. I will see you this weekend Robby. I want to watch you work, and I would kill anybody that tried to hurt you dear, myself included. So don’t worry.”
“Yes it is me, please don’t say anything about it.”
“I won’t, but I expect you in my art classes this fall.”
“I am going to take tailoring too, Ms. Sanderson.”
“Really that is good. Are you thinking about fashion as a career? I just love the way you dress your women.”
“Yes ma’am, I am.”
“I think you will be good in it.”
The hour up, Robby left and met his mom, he was a little disappointed that Tiffany wasn’t there but that was ok. His Mom looked nice; she seemed to have abandoned her frumpy ways. At home he worked on the rest of his smaller drawings. He had them all roughed out by dinner and by bedtime he had completed all but the last drawing. He even had time to work on his family drawing. He never pictured himself wearing an antebellum gown before, but it just seemed so right. Tiffany, his mom and himself looked so adorable dressed for a southern ball. John’s expression showed so much pride in the three.
At ten thirty he put everything away showered. He noticed a bruise next to his right nipple where he caught the elbow. Both nipples were a little tender, but he just ignored it. He dressed in his satin sleep shirt and hit the sack.
Thursday Mom was dressed very smartly.
“Robby I talked to John yesterday. He was a little put off by our deception but I think he is over that. Tiffany and I are going to be doing something today and I am sorry but you can’t go. I am picking her up at eleven and we will pick you up after detention.”
“Momma, it just ain’t fair.”
“I know dear, but that is life. I love you, you know that don’t you?”
“Yes, I know.” Robby said with a little disappointment in his voice.
They departed for school, Tiffany was waiting for him when he got there. They shared a hug and a kiss. She was very excited.
“I think dad is ok with you as Robby or Robbi. He just wants to know that we aren’t active if you know what I mean.”
“That is great and how about him and mom.”
“He trusts her enough for her to take me to a doctor, Robby. Your Mom and I both have appointments today.”
“What are ya’ll sick or something? Mom didn’t say anything about a doctor.”
“No silly it’s a female doctor.”
Robby looked perplexed, so Tiffany whispered in his ear. That had Robby blushing, much to Tiffany’s amusement. They sat out front, holding each other as much as they could get away with decently.
Beth arrived and for the first time in years, since puberty hit her, her skin was flawless. She was radiant; it was like she was a whole different person. She was full of confidence and zeal. She even wore makeup, something she had been afraid to do, fearing she would make her condition worse. She was even dressing nicer; apparently her mom was so thrilled they had gone shopping.
If Robby hadn’t had Tiffany, he would have been interested.
“Tiff she looks so much like my drawing now. It is so strange.”
“Yes she does, I am so happy for her. You know at one time she was so embarrassed about her acne she had considered suicide. She got help for how she felt, but nothing she had done had any affect on her acne.”
“Tiffany have you lost weight, your waist seem smaller?”
“Not really, my waist is smaller but I picked up in my hips and bust.”
“Your butt doesn’t look bigger, I think it looks nice.”
“Yeah but my skirts are fitting tighter at the hips though and looser at the waist. I may have to get bigger bras too soon. I hope they don’t grow too big. My boobs are already bigger than most girls my age. I sure could use an inch or two in height.”
“I could use four or five there myself. Would you still love me if you were 5’8” and I were 5’?”
“You know I would. We could be like Mutt and Jeff.” She giggled.
“Who?”
“Nevermind.”
The bell rung and they hurried to their classes. Kelly didn’t show up this day. School was still on the upswing for Robby. He was enjoying not being a target.
Tiffany’s friends met him for lunch. They treated him as one of the gang. Some of the girls wanted their pictures but Tiffany had explained to them that he had some things that were keeping him busy. Still he missed eating with Tiffany.
At detention he started working on blending the images from the two pictures. He was working on a smaller pad doing just the head for now. Ms. Sanderson was there again and came by to see how he was doing. She made a few comments about some of the changes and he worked on those. He was beginning to like what he was seeing. She didn’t look as youthful or pretty, but she was taking on a vibrancy and life that neither picture had shown, she almost looked regal. That is best how he could describe it. He pictured her in his mind as a queen. Older, wiser, but full of compassion and caring.
Ms. Sanderson had to snap him but to reality. His hour had passed and he had been engrossed in his drawing.
“Robby I think you have gotten it. That is wonderful dear, but it is time to go.”
Tiffany and Sandy were waiting for him as he hit the exit of the building. He got hugs from both sides.
“Guess what Robby?” Tiffany asked
“What?”
“I am spending this weekend with you again. Dad wants to go fishing again. He seems so much more relaxed. I can’t tell you how worried I have been about him. I am coming over to your house tonight, after we all go out to eat. He wants to see Robbi tonight though and dinner is at seven.”
“You mean with ah everything,” he motioned in front of his chest.
“Yeppers. You have got it.”
They hurried home and Robby took a quick shower. Tiffany braided his hair in a French braid as his mom did his makeup. Tiffany was very good with his hair. There were very few stray hair to be seen a sign of a job well done. He dressed in his white lace bra with breast forms just in the cups, matching panties, nude pantyhose, padded girdle, one of his leather mini-skirts, a silk scoop neck tank, with a matching long sleeve silk blouse, and his four-inch black pumps.
Tiffany and Sandy both got dressed as Robby waited. The three of them would defiantly turn heads tonight, but Robby was still a little worried. He checked his purse to see if he had all he needed. Somewhere in the middle of all this he became Robbi. She walked downstairs. She looked at herself in the full length mirror in the hall closet. Her waist seemed narrower and her hips were fuller.
They headed out to the restaurant it was a fairly nice establishment. John and the waiter helped the women with their chairs. Somehow he was sitting next to John one side, while his mom was on the other. John was really being charming. He treated Sandy and Robbi quite well, and doted on his daughter. It was hard to believe how things were going.
The kids headed to the restroom and spent quite a bit of time checking their faces and talking, anything to give the olds a little time to themselves. When they came back Sandy had a face that showed mock concern about how long we were gone.
“Everything alright girls you were gone a while?”
“Yeah we are alright Mom. Tiffany and I were talking about school, while we were checking our faces.”
John paid the tab and we headed out to our vehicles. Tiffany gave her dad a big hug and a kiss. John also gave Sandy and Robbi a hug. Tiffany and Robbi left Sandy talking to John and headed to Sandy’s Buick. The kids snuggled a little, nothing unseemly for two girls, while the parents talked. Tiffany giggled and squeezed Robbi’s hand as John kissed Sandy, before getting into his car and driving off.
On the drive home Robby asked his mom a question. “Mom have you lost some inches around the waist and hips and gotten bigger in the chest maybe?”
“Yes a little why do you ask? Cause Tiffany and I have gotten smaller in the waist, larger in the hips, Tiffany is larger in the bust and I don’t know about mine.”
“Say that again.”
“Tiffany has gotten bigger in the hips and bust and lost in the waist. I have lost in the waist, and gotten bigger in the hips. I don’t know about my chest. All in just the last week.”
“That is right Sandy,” Tiff added.
“I don’t know why that would happen. Tiffany is a growing girl that is not unusual for her. I should be fairly stable in those areas, and you should be growing in the waist and chest son, not the hips. We’ll check it out when we get home. I have your measurements from last week.”
At home all three of us got undressed and Mom got her measuring tape out. Tiffany measured mom first Mom was 37D-27-36, she said she gained an inch across her bust, lost an inch in the waist and lost an inch at the hips. Mom then measured Tiffany. We didn’t have a baseline on her but she was almost a 35C almost a D-25-34, she wore a 34C bra. She showed us where a skirt she had worn last week that had fit at the waist tightly was now a little loose, but hey women gain and loose water weight regularly. Then came Robby’s turn, he was a 31-28-33, he gained an inch at the chest, lost and inch and a half at the waist and gained an inch in the butt. That wasn’t the kicker though, Mom and Tiffany both looked at the area around his nipples, and swore that they were darker. It didn’t mean much to him but Tiffany carefully massaged his nipples.
“How does this feel Robby?”
“Hmmm nice.”
Tiffany, ever so lightly, rubbed her fingers across the tips of his nipples. Robby almost came unglued.
“That good huh? I don’t know Sandy, but that looked like a girls reaction to her sensitive nipples.”
“I think your right Tiffany, we might ought to set up a doctors visit for Robby. Step outside for a second Tiffany and close the door. Robby I want you to check yourself out. Check your penis and scrotum that area and tell me bigger, smaller or the same.”
Robby was a little self conscious about that, but did as he was told. “About the same really I don’t know really, I never measured myself.”
“Well do it. Measure the length and circumference of your penis.”
He did it; he was about four and a half inches long and a little over 4 inches in circumference soft. He knew he was longer and fatter erect but he wasn’t going to do that now.
“Do you get erections son?”
“Yes.”
“No problems with em.”
“No except for the timing of em.”
“Does Tiffany give you erections at bad times occasionally.”
“Yes.”
“Do you ever have a sticky white fluid erupt for your penis.”
“Yes.”
“Good if any of those answers change or you start getting smaller don’t be embarrassed tell me. It’s that important son. Go get your sleep shirt on and send Tiffany back in.”
He sent Tiffany into his Mom’s room and he went in to his own. He put on his sleep shirt and went down to the office. He remembered the drawings on the computer. He brought up the pictures of his mom and Tiffany looking at them closely. He then checked out his Robbi portrait. Tiffany joined him and sat on one of his legs.
“Estimate her size Tiffany.”
“Tiffany looked closely at the portrait. About 5’ 6” 36D-22-36 I would guess.”
“Ok estimate just your bust waist and hip here.” He said pulling up her portrait.”
“About 36D-24-36 , but I am just guessing.”
“Ok come with me,” Robby said. They went to his room and he pulled out his large drawing pad. “Ok look at this. Assume your dad and my mom are as tall as they are normally. Now guesstimate.”
“Oh my, I love this. You have me standing next to Sandy showing me to be about 5’ 6” you appear to be about 5’ 4” and I would guess about the same as before for the rest. I love everything in this picture you, me, Sandy and dad. I love our gowns especially your moms how precious.”
“Just remember those measurements ok, and don’t say anything about this picture. You don’t have any hidden birthmarks do you.”
“No, why do you ask?”
“I want to try something. If you see any come up. Right about here tell me.” He said pointing to a spot covered by her panty.
“Here you mean,” she said moving her panty from the spot he pointed.
“Yes,” he said blushing.
“Whatever,” she giggled.
She grabbed Robby and they fooled around for about twenty minutes. Kissing, hugging and some petting. She was sure Robby worked alright without getting down and dirty so to speak. They kissed and parted.
Robby should have gone to sleep but he wanted to try something he drew a good picture of Robbi and before he drew clothes, he enhanced himself in one area, just a bit, okay maybe a bit and a half, no make two bits. He drew Tiffany with a small strawberry shaped birthmark an two inches above and an inch to the left of her pubic mound.
Sandy had to wake Robby up on Friday. He was just a little groggy. He poured a cup of coffee down his throat, after he got dressed and down to the kitchen. He wore a camisole under his dark shirt, panties and pantyhose beneath his jeans. The camisole felt good to his itchy nipples. He liked seeing his Mom happy, and she was happy. He liked seeing Tiffany in the mornings. He got all kinds of hugs and kisses.
“I have five out of six drawings done I just have the last one to do and I will be finished. I already know how it is going to look I just need to get it on paper.”
“How long will that take you?” Sandy asked.
“About two to two and a half hours Mom. I could do it faster but I want to get it right.”
“At the prices you are charging you need to get it right. From what I have seen though I am not worried. I still have a hard time believing all this.”
They drove to school and took their usual position outside the doors waiting for the bell. Today they saw Beth come up looking beautiful again, but this time talking to Justin. Kelly came up too she was smiling and by herself.
“Tiffany keep an ear out for Kelly it looks like she and Justin are no more, tell me if she is seen with someone else, and no I really ain’t interested in her. I got you.”
“Boy you have some strange requests lately but yes I will. I heard Justin split with her after he almost got in trouble over you. Word was she wanted you pulverized. I have not heard anything else.”
“Here can you keep these two drawings and not look at them till I tell ya to.” Robby said handing her two folded drawings.
“Sure baby, anything for you.”
The bell rung and everybody hurried off. He got a final kiss before he departed. Kelly was already at her desk and he stopped by.
“Kelly I am really sorry for the way I talked to you, the other day. You didn’t deserve to be spoken to like that.”
“I am sorry too Robby. I have learned what a snob I was. I have mistreated too many people, and I know you are a really good kid. I need to apologize to Beth also. Thank you for showing me what a fool I was. If you and Tiffany were not a number I would kiss you, but you two were made for each other.”
Robby went to his seat and sat. When Beth came in Kelly really did speak to her. Beth’s expression went from anger to guarded to understanding. Kelly was almost in tears. Teacher came in and took a double take seeing two girls who really didn’t get along getting along. She sent the two to the Nurse’s office with a note to let them talk it out.
The rest of the morning went well and soon it was lunch time. Tiffany and her friends were waiting for Robby. Miranda handed a stack of paper to Robby. He ate as he flopped through the pages of http://www.Robbiart.art a website they had designed for him. They had all his drawings that Tiffany had copied and it was an awesome job. The background was a grayed out version of his Robbi.
“That is a real website Robby it was just going to be our project then after we saw your work we Kinda posted it and mailed it off to the copyright office. When you go home type that URL up and see it on the web. We put it on a free site and bought the name for two years. It even has a counter on it.”
Tiffany handed him a large stack of business cards with his new email address on it and a cell phone number.
“This is nice but I don’t have a cell phone.”
“Yes you do,” Tiffany said handing him one, “and it is already programmed with all your important numbers. Mine. Dad wanted you to have one in case you had problems you can call for help. He got four phones you can guess where the other three are, and 1000 minutes, but talking to each other is no charge. I think you have won him over, either you or Sandy that is.”
All too soon lunch was over and they had to go their separate ways. Time flew and I found myself in detention for my last day. Ms. Sanderson was there and Kelly looking happy also. I did a small drawing similar to what I wanted to do for the Lady. I incorporated and the features but was a bit soft on the details and I showed her the results.
“Ms. Sanderson this is what I have in mind. The final drawing will be 24X30 and contain more detail what do you think?”
“If she isn’t happy with that she won’t be happy ever Mr. Davis. It is lovely.”
Kelly came over to see what we were doing and looked at the picture.
“Oh, is that Mrs. Marshall.”
“You know her?” Robbi asked.
“Yes she is a friend of my mom’s. Mrs. Marshall’s daughter and my mom went to school together. She was a Miss Texas years and years ago.”
Robby showed Kelly a Picture of the lady wearing the Miss Texas sash.
“Yes she was very pretty Robby, but I like your depiction of her better.”
“Ok detention is over Robby you are free now, Kelly you owe us one hour.”
“Yes ma’am,” we chorused.
Robby handed one of his new business cards to Ms. Sanderson, collected his things and left. Kelly was waiting for him and they walked to the door. Sandy and Tiffany were waiting for him. Kelly raced to Tiffany and they walked off talking quietly for a few minutes. They talked and then hugged before parting.
“Looks like Kelly has decided to join the human race,” Robby said to Tiffany, “but never worry, I am all yours Tiff.”
“Your right Robby she has changed, and you’re mine, don’t forget that or your ears won’t be the only thing pierced.” She said hugging Robby.
They hurried home, Sandy had Robby dress as Robbi, with undies, breast forms, makeup, jeans, top, and heels then they went out.
“I have an appointment for you Robby,” she said as they pulled into a salon. “I got you in for hair, nails and a facial, same for you and me Tiffany.”
“Momma I need to be able to change back.”
“They know dear, nothing will be permanent, dear. Trust me.”
Robby had been in a salon before with his mom, but he had never been a customer. They checked in and were led back to the stylists. Sandy explained to them all that was to be done, and then went with her stylist.
“Hi Robbi I am Stacy. I am your stylist today. How are you dear.”
“I am fine, thank you and how are you.”
“I am great. Your mom has shown me a picture of how you want your hair,” she said showing him the picture. “Is this right?”
“Yes I just love the big hair look.”
“Your hair is beautiful dear, it will look just fabulous. Follow me to a shampoo station dear.”
Robby followed her, and it was wonderful being pampered. Stacy was a delightful lady and made Robby feel at ease. The fragrance of the shampoo and conditioner were lovely scents of coconut. He never realized how sensual coconut could be. Her hands felt divine as they worked on his scalp and hair. Stacy wrapped his hair in a towel and led him back to her workstation. She unwrapped his hair and inspected it.
“You haven’t had it worked on in a while have you?”
“No it has been two years or so.”
“Well honey you ought to come in a little more often. I will need to take off an inch or two to shape and remove the split ends but overall your hair is in great condition. You seem to take pretty good care of it.”
“Mom, told me if I was going to let it grow long I had to take care of it.”
“Well she is right Honey.”
They continued talking as she worked Stacy was a very interesting lady. Robby found it fun talking with her. After she trimmed his hair she rolled it and covered his face with a gunk before putting him under a dryer hood. He was joined on one side by his Mom and on the other by Tiffany. They all looked quite a fright in rollers and a mask. It was impossible to talk over the roar of the dryer so he just closed his eyes and relaxed.
Robbi woke with a small start as she was gently shaken awake by Stacy. She followed her to her station and sat. Stacy cleaned toned and moisturized her face before working on her hair. Robbi was familiar to the sensations of backcombing and teasing. In a matter of minutes she finished and started on her makeup. Stacy was wonderful Robbi tried hard not to laugh at some of her jokes as she talked afraid she would mess up and make her look like a clown. Finally though Stacy turned her chair towards the mirror and held a mirror behind her. Her hair was gorgeous, her makeup was flawless, she brought her hands up to feel her hair and noticed her long red talons. ‘When did this happen?’ she thought.
“Not bad for a fourteen year old girl is it?”
“I didn’t know you were fourteen, Honey. I thought you were seventeen or eighteen. I wouldn’t have used that makeup scheme on a fourteen year old.”
“That’s ok, I will get the lecture from Mom, she will smile and love it for today.”
“Yes I will, you are very lovely dear, your hair is so shiny and silky, we have to get you some of that shampoo and conditioner.” Sandy said.
Sandy and Tiffany were standing behind Robbi.
“It is a little mature for my baby but very nice.”
“Robbi I am jealous, you are gorgeous girl,” Tiffany added.
Tiffany looked very good, but her makeup was more age appropriate. Sandy looked downright glamorous too bad John was communing with the fishes. Robbi got up and joined them. She hugged her Mom and Tiffany.
“Well let’s go get something to eat girls,”
It wasn’t a fancy restaurant but it was nice. All three of them were drawing lots of attention, male and female. Several ladies elbowed their male escorts as we passed them. We ate our meal and discussed what we were going to do Saturday and Sunday. Tiffany would take orders and schedule sessions, Sandy was going to help Alice and keep up with Charge slips. They needed to be at the Mall at eight thirty to set up. Robbi told them she would need two hours tonight to finish Mrs. Marshall’s portrait.
“Mrs. Marshall, how did you find out her name?” Sandy asked.
“Kelly saw a rough draft of her drawing and recognized her. I don’t know what happened to her but she is a changed girl.”
Tiff jumped in saying, “Oh, I meant to tell you, she was seen sitting with a ah…”
“Robert Adams?” Robbi provided.
“Yes, how did you know.”
“Check out those drawings.”
Tiffany opened her purse and looked at the two drawings.
“Oh my god, when did you draw these?”
“In detention on Monday.”
Tiffany looked kinda strange at Robby.
They headed home early so Robbi could finish her drawings. Robby got her big paper out and started working. Everything she planned started coming out as she worked. Time and her pencil flew as Mrs. Marshall took form and then came to life in front of her. Robbi loved drawing and that love flowed through her pencil into her drawing. In a little over two hours and twenty minutes she finished. She stepped back and looked at her work. Mrs. Marshall appeared majestic, regal loving and caring. It really was a work of art. She showed Tiffany and her Mom. They just stood there with their mouths open speechless.
“Is it that bad?” Robbi asked.
“No it’s that good Hun. You need to sign it and spray it dear.”
Robbi took care of all her work, and after they dried she carefully put them in her portfolio. Tiffany joined Robbi in her bedroom closing her door.
“Robby I have something to show you and you have a lot to explain.” Tiffany said.
She took off her skirt and pulled down her pantyhose and panty a bit, showing Robbi a strawberry shaped spot. “This has just come up since last night. Robbi touched the spot, it was definitely in the skin like a birthmark or tattoo. Tiffany rearranged her undies as Robbi pulled out a drawing he made last night and showed Tiffany. The position and shape were identical.
“My god, how did you do that.”
“I just drew it and it happened. Don’t ask me how. I don’t understand it. Those pictures I drew of Beth, Kelly, Robert and Justin have all come true. Your figure, mine and mom’s are all changing. It seems if I draw it, it just happens. The smaller the change the faster it happens it seems.”
“He took his pencil and drew a matching spot on the other side and gave her a heart shaped pubic mound.”
Tiffany giggled when she saw that and punched Robbi in the arm.
“What other things have you enhanced dear.”
Robbi was a little embarrassed but she showed Tiffany her drawing. “Mom made me measure myself down there when ya’ll started noticing my changes. I wanted to see if I could enhance myself down there.”
“Well get out the tape Robby and check,” Tiffany giggled.
Robbi went and found her measuring tape and returned to her room. Tiffany helped her change into her sleep shirt. Robbi’s nipples were definitely darker and larger. Tiffany felt all around them and said, “They are growing Robbi. They are firm and look like a girl’s who just hit puberty. Now measure yourself.”
Robbi hesitated till, Tiffany said, “I have shown you mine now you show me yours.”
Robbi pulled down her panties and measured she was five by four and three quarters. “I am a half inch longer and three quarters larger in circumference.”
“How big did you draw yourself.”
“About seven and a half maybe eight by six, it is hard to tell,” Robbi blushed at the pun.
“Ooo I can’t wait to see,” she said hugging Roby
Robbi hugged Tiffany dropping the sleep shirt over her crotch covering herself. Soon though there was no hiding it as her sleep shirt was tented in front. That had Tiffany giggling.
“It seems your going to be as much male as female Robby. I think I like that very much. You will know what it is like as a girl, but you will be able to make this girl very happy. To bad though, I have made promises I intend to keep, to your mom and my dad, that we won’t make whoopi. So you are going to have to take care of that yourself. I am going to get my sleep shirt on dear, take care of Mr. Happy then meet me in the office.”
Robby took care of his problem and tucked himself in his panties. Down in the office Tiffany and Sandy were at the computer.
“Robby have you seen your website,” Sandy said. “Tiffany and the girls have done a great job.”
“Let me see, I have seen screen prints of the site but not the site itself.”
“I hope you like it Robby the four of us got an A for our work. We printed out all the material and sent them to the copyright office and we trademarked your logo. So your drawings are now or rather soon will be copyrighted.”
Tiffany showed Robby how to log on to his website and navigate around it. She gave him the site password if he wanted to change it. She checked the site counter and his site had received 335 hits. “You have gotten just over 300 hits Robby. We accounted for 33 hits setting it up; the counter was the first thing on your website.”
“They are just random hits Tiffany. A blank page with a name would get hits.” Robby said. “Tell the girls I appreciate their efforts and when I get time I will do a portrait for each of them, and let’s take them out for pizza next Saturday Mom.”
“That is very thoughtful Robby I think that is a very nice idea,” Sandy added. “Instead of Pizza though Robby, we’ll take the girls to Lombardo’s. You have earned enough to do that much for them.”
“I assume they know about Robbi, is that right Tiff?”
“Kinda, they are not dummies.”
“That reminds me Ms. Sanderson knows too. She is the art teacher at school. According to her I have to take art this fall. I told her I am taking tailoring, but she emphasized I will be taking art. I think she knows Alice.”
“She is cool. I like her,” Tiff said.
“Well ni ninight, night girls, we have a busy day tomorrow, Oh Robby let me net your hair so it will be easier to handle in the morning.”
Robby and Sandy headed to her room. He sat at her vanity and she brushed his hair and covered it with a hair net.
“With that shaping you got today it should be easier to handle in the morning dear. We have to get up earlier as it is to get us all ready and there by eight thirty. So straight to bed dear.”
“I love you Momma, thanks for all you have done.”
“I love you too, Robby. You really are one sweet kid.”
Robby stopped by Tiffany’s room on the way to his bed, they hugged and kissed a bit before he headed off to sleep.
(to be continued)
Robbi learns more about art and her abilities.
Drawn Together Ch. 4
by
Paula Dillon
Robby woke to a passionate kiss. It was still suite dark in the house. He started to get into the kiss, when Tiffany said, “Time to get up sleepy head.”
Only when he was awake were the lights turned on. What a nice way to be woke up he thought.
“The bathroom is yours go ahead and take your shower, but don’t get your head wet use the shower cap.”
Robby showered and took care of his business and put on his panties. His mom came in and attached his breast forms with glue and helped him on with his bra.
“I will do your makeup after breakfast; just wear your robe and underwear right now.”
They ate a good breakfast, not knowing when they would be able to eat again. Then they went to get dressed. Robby selected a camisole, dark green long sleeve silk blouse, a black leather mini-skirt, off black pantyhose and his black patent leather pumps.
Robby’s mom did his makeup in a very mature style and really highlighted his beautiful eyes. He loved the way she did his hair; he was glad it grew it so long and that it was so full. He was really gorgeous. Tiffany came in, she looked really good to similarly dressed.
“Just hugs no kisses dear, we don’t want to ruin our makeup.”
Sandy finished dressing in a suit that came just over her knee. The suit was new and looked fab on her. Her makeup was more subdued than Robbi's or Tiffany’s but much better than two weeks ago.
They got their stuff together, purses with all their makeup, the portfolios and drawing supplies. The stuff went in the backseat while they got in up front, with Robbi in the middle. They stopped at Wally world and got several packs of Polaroid film. At the mall they were all carrying stuff in through the service entry to set up outside Alice’s Frame shop. There were already some wire frame walls so Robby could hang his displayed pictures, and a decorated trellis for a background. By nine o’clock everything was setup and Alice was opening.
“Hello Robbi, Tiffany and Sandy how are you. Are ya’ll ready for today.”
“As ready as we can be Alice, and nervous as all get out,” Robbi said.
“Well, you will get over it dear, when you start working. I have another two thousand in orders dear, did you finish the others?”
“Yes ma’am got them right here,” Robbi said opening the portfolio. “I think I did a pretty fair job.”
Alice went through the drawings and said, “You did more than just a fair job dear. These drawings are wonderful. I am sure the people will be pleased.”
“The one of Mrs. Marshall is the best of that group. I really like that,” Robbi added.
“Yes it is. Her daughter will be pleased to present it to her. Well let me get these matted and get ready to open dear.”
Robbi took her orders and started working on them, as Tiffany set up a table and got ready to take orders. She had finished two of eleven orders when people started coming into the mall. She drew a crowd as she worked. She didn’t have long to wait before she had customers. Some dropped pictures off and Tiffany would write down what they expected. One family with Mother, Father and three children came dressed to the nines, and Robbi took them immediately. She took a photo of the group and roughed out the drawing and let them go. She worked on that drawing for the better part of an hour before she finished it.
One girl who was there in a crop top and shorts wanted a fantasy makeover drawing. She had a picture of a gown and a hairstyle. Robbi got right into the drawing. She was pretty but not really gorgeous. That would change as Robbi drew. She brought out her inner beauty and made her shine. The more she worked the more she became Robbi, and it showed in her work. The girl just gushed when Robbi finished it.
There was not a time when she was not busy. One a handsome young man was her next model. She started drawing but felt something was not right.
“Sir, I have been busy since nine this morning, could we go to the food court and get a bite to eat and talk a bit?”
“Sure I know you have been busy; I have watched you for a while. It would be my honor to join you for lunch.”
Robbi informed Tiffany what she was going to do, got her purse and asked her to join them in about ten minutes. Tiffany nodded.
As they walked to the food court Robbi said, “Hi I am Robbi Davis and you are?”
“I am James Morgan.”
“Well James it is good to meet you. I don’t know how to ask this so if I offend you please don’t get mad. It is just I feel there is more to you than most see. Tell me do you feel like you are a girl at times?”
James stopped his mouth wide open in shock and said, “What do you mean? Why would I want to be a girl?”
“I am sorry it is something I have felt, as I was drawing I wanted to draw high cheeks, arched eyebrows and luscious lips. I can’t explain it but that is how I felt. I can finish it as you are James. I am sorry I mentioned it.”
“No you are more correct than you think. It was strange you saw that in me. I do feel that way but I know I would never pass as a girl.”
They got something to eat and talked James opened up to Robbi and she comforted him. He really needed that drawing as James for his mom, but in his heart he wanted to be Jamie. Robbi told him she would give him that picture. James showed her pictures in his wallet of his mom and dad. They wouldn’t understand him becoming Jamie; he loved them but wished he could come out to them.
Tiffany joined them eating and talking. She was glad to get away for a few minutes. Robbi had enough orders to keep her busy for a while. They cut it short after Tiffany finished eating and Robbi and Tiffany went to the ladies’ room and touched up their faces and returned to work.
Ms. Sanderson showed up and just watched Robbi work. Robbi felt a little nervous working with her there but she just concentrated on her drawing. She finished James' portrait and went on to the next. She started working faster but no less accurate as she went. She enhanced many of the patrons who were requesting her drawings. She loved it when they let her draw what she saw, and they were very pleased with her work. No one had any complaints for the work they received. By the nine pm closing time she had done twenty two drawings for two thousand three hundred dollars and had orders for another two thousand on top of the order that Alice had for her.
“I am not going to be able to take many more orders and finish before Mother’s day. Thirty five requests and the ones from tomorrow, I will be swamped. I won’t be able to do this again next week end for sure but I will get these done.”
“Yes I see that,” Alice said, “I will cap off orders here till you are ready for more. I have never been so busy matting and framing Robbi. I am glad you did this.”
They looked at some of the work that Alice had completed. The finished works looked really nice matted and framed. Alice had a big smile on her face. “It has been a real bonus to my business.”
“Well kidos let get something to eat and head to the house.”
“I am all for that,” Tiffany said. “Robbi was so busy we only took one 45 minute break in eleven hours except for some quick bathroom breaks.”
“My hands are sore from drawing but I’ll get over it. Let’s go.”
They headed out. They stopped at a diner and had a quick meal. Sandy talked to the kids while they ate. Robby we worked out that you are contractually working for Alice she will keep 10% of all credit card receipts since it costs her to use it for us and I think it is fair. You are paying Tiffany ten dollars an hour if that is alright Tiffany.”
“That is cool Sandy. I can go with that,” Tiff giggled.
“Make it fifteen dollars an hour though for Tiffany, Momma, she can use the extra five.”
They headed on home and got showered before they hit the sack. Robbi was asleep fast.
Robbi woke first and was able to get her hair fixed and dressed before the others woke. Her hair was almost as good as the beautician had done it and as good as her mom had done it. While the others got ready she started on a picture of Jamie and her parents. She showed a loving Father and Mother with a hand on their beautiful Daughter.
Tiffany looked over her shoulder and said, “I wondered what that was all about. I knew you were up to something.”
“Yes he was unhappy with being a guy but afraid of what his parents would think if he came out. I had a gut feeling that something was up when I first tried to draw his portrait.”
Robbi put that drawing and went down to eat breakfast. They did their makeup Robbi doing her own showing much skill as she worked. They headed to the mall earlier so that Robbi could work on some of the orders before the mall opened.
Robbi started drawing as soon as she got to the mall at eight-ten. She had done six drawings from pictures before the mall opened. She was very free with her enhancements, making the guys and girls look better than they did. Some showed greater enhancement in some than in others, but still the subjects were easily recognized.
Once people started showing up she took over working on them. Robbi really enjoyed this work, it seemed to energize her and she didn’t get as tired as she would have thought. She worked very quickly completing one after another. She had one patron that caused her to slow down a bit though. It was a teenage girl whose face had been scared years earlier. She would have been very pretty if not for the scar. Robbi worked to minimize the effects the scar had on her appearance, but still faithfully represent the girl. She added warmth, confidence and character to the girl’s appearance. She would eork on that girl's appearance later she thought if her art had any magic at all. Tiffany saw what Robbi was doing and agreed in spirit to it. She finished with a gown that was heavenly, lots of frills and lace. The girl cried when she saw her portrait and hugged Robbi. Tiffany took the girl and helped her clean her face up after she had a good cry. Alice had the girl’s picture matted before they returned.
Another girl who was clearly sort of flat chested and appeared to be about eighteen wanted a lot of enhancement to her figure. Robbi took her from an A to a C cup. It brought lots of smiles from the girl. Boy is that girl in for a surprise, Robbi thought.
Robby handled a lot more pictures this day; many were requests for smaller less detailed portraits. By the end of the day she had done twenty for patrons who were there for fourteen hundred dollars. When she finished the work she will have made over ten grand for her efforts. Sandy said six would go to Robby’s college fund, two for whatever Robbi wanted, while the rest would pay taxes and other expenses.
Some of the expense money took them to a nice restaurant. They really enjoyed being pampered there. The food was excellent, along with the décor.
They got home about eleven and prepared for bed. Robbi’s breast forms came off and the growth of her own boobs could be clearly seen. She was an AA on top with large dark circles around her nipples that were larger and protruding, she lost and inch in the waist and gained that inch in the hips and butt. Robby could see where his other enhancements seem to be working in his length and girth. Tiffany came to his room and showed him her matching birthmarks but only told him about the pubic mound, where the hair growth was thicker and beginning to show a heart shape.
“I think I want to do this again not this weekend but the following week end and just do walk ups, and maybe this summer four days a week for a while.”
“We have six weeks of school left before we are out. We will have to see what happens between mom and dad. I have a feeling we will be steps before school starts.”
They made out for a few minutes, before Tiffany left him alone. Robby got his pencil and pad out and started working on a picture of his Mom. He couldn’t say why, it was just something he felt he should do. Like something was guiding his hand as he drew. After all the enhancements he had drawn he drew her a little thicker of waist and a little fuller of breast, before clothing her form. He then realized that she looked pregnant in his drawing. He put that one away and vowed not to mess with it again.
He went to sleep and rested well that night. He awoke the next morning; his nipples were really itching and irritated. He wore a camisole under a dark shirt, a long with his panties and tights under his pants.
Sandy was in a really great mood that day. Robby asked her to make a doctors appointment for him because he was growing and shrinking in places. He got across that his male stuff was only growing. She agreed that, that was a good idea. They ate and got ready for school. Robby took the drawings of Jamie’s family and the girl with the scarred face with him.
The kids snuggled up in their usual place waiting for the bell. Beth and Kelly showed up happily together now. They had big smiles on their faces and were chumming like real girlfriends. Now that was a sight nobody ever really expected. The two joined them for a few and they chatted. They were off at the bell though and headed to their class.
At second period his teacher called hi to the front, “Ms. Sanderson talked to me and since you would have to work hard to get a grade lower than an A in my class she asked if you would drop by her room 275 and visit with her. I said it was alright for one day.” Mrs. Carson said handing Robby a pass.
Robby got his stuff and headed to room 275. It was an off period for Ms. Sanderson apparently; she was the only person in there right now.
“Hello Ms. Sanderson.”
“Hello Mr. Davis, come on in. It was good seeing you Saturday. I have to say I was really impressed, with your appearance and your talent. I also looked at your work that you had displayed. How long have you dressed that way?”
“A little less than two weeks Ma’am.” Robby felt no antagonism and decided to be open with her. “I won’t go into the why but it is something I like.”
“I am not out to ruin you Robby and anything I can do to help you, I will and I am sure there are many teachers who currently don’t know but would be interested in helping you.”
“I may need their help Ma’am; I have a doctor’s appointment later this week. It seems that, how can I say this; I am developing some characteristics that are not exactly masculine. I may have to get out of gym, if you know what I mean.”
Ms. Sanderson had a lost expression on her face until Robby held his hands cupped chest high and she said, “Oh, ok. Well then you will need a doctor’s excuse to get out of class. You might get a nurse’s excuse if you explain it to her till then. Robby I love your artwork. I wanted to talk to you about your class schedule for next year and get you into the classes you want for then, but we may want to wait till we hear from your doctor. Let me go ahead and send you to the nurse’s office and let you explain it to Nurse Wilson.”
Robby headed to the nurse’s office. Nurse Wilson greeted him with a smile on her face and asked, “How can I help you Robby.”
“Ms. Wilson, my mom is getting me a doctor’s appointment for this week and I will need to get out of PE for at least till I meet the Doctor.”
“What seems to be the problem?”
“It would be easier if I showed you than try to explain; can I go into the back and take my shirt off then let you come in?”
“Sure if you feel it is necessary,” she handed him a small gown.
In the next room he took off his shirt and camisole and hid the camisole under his shirt, before dressing in the gown. Ms. Wilson came in and had him show her. Her lips took on an O as she saw his breasts. “Ok may I feel them Robby.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
She started checking them out clinically, “They seem to be normal breast tissue for a girl entering puberty, you really do need to see a doctor about this. I won’t check your genitals dear but they need to be checked. I expect to hear from the Doctor soon but drop by here when you have gym. I will clear it with the coach.” She took out a measuring tape and checked his chest. You are almost a 32A dear. Ok get dressed. It is good that you trust me enough to show me this dear. I won’t violate that trust.”
She left him alone and he dressed. It was almost third period when he left Ms. Wilson’s office.
“There you are Robby; I was just looking for you.” Ms. Stringer said, “your mom called she said she will be by at twelve thirty to pick you up you have a Doctor’s appointment. Nothing serious I hope.”
“No Ma’am just a slight problem.”
Lunch came and Robby met Tiffany and told her about his appointment. He had to hurry then to the front to be waiting for his mom. She showed up and he got into the car.
“I talked to my OB/GYN and told her about you. I asked her recommendation for a doctor and she told me to bring you to her dear. You have a one thirty appointment.”
“If I am going to a female doctor let me go home and change Mom won’t take me fifteen minutes.”
“Ok but you have to hurry.”
At home Robby ran up to his room taking his clothes off as he went. He put on a pink silk tank and his black rayon ladies slacks that zipped up the back, with his pumps. He looked very feminine but neat. You could easily see his breasts through the soft silk top. He added a touch of lipstick grabbed his purse and headed downstairs. “If I am going I would rather look the part Mom.”
“No problem dear, I understand fully.”
They arrived at the office he fit in well. His mom filled out the patient information sheet and they waited. Robbi’s name was called by the nurse and he was weighed and his height measured 5’ 1” and 107 lbs. Nurse took his temp and blood pressure 98.4 deg. and 106/70, pulse 66. Robbi was led to a room handed a gown and instructed to undress to her panties and put the gown on. Robbi did this and sat down on the examine table. In a few minutes a lady who looked to be a doctor entered.
“Hello I am doctor Brenda King and you are Robbi, right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You’re a male and you are developing secondary female characteristics right?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Ok drop the top of your gown dear and lay back on the table.”
He did this.
"Yes I can see the breasts dear. I am going to examine them,” she said and began to examine each breast. They feel like normal breasts, your nipples are larger than most males and your areola’s appear dark, normal for a pubescent female. Ok take your shorts off I need to examine your genitals.”
She smiled when she saw they panties, but didn’t say anything. “Now I need you to sit on the table, put your feet in the stirrups and scoot your tush forward, till I say stop. Ok stop. Ok dear I know this will be embarrassing but I need to inspect your genitals.” She pulled the gown up and observed poked, prodded, felt and such. “You seem to have well developed, male genitalia, everything seems normal for a boy your age. Testes are descended and normal. Now for another indignity, I need you to lie across the exam table like you are going to get a shot. That is right.” Robbi felt some lubricant being applied to his anus. “Now you know where I am. I need to feel inside for your prostate gland dear.” Her finger probed him. His penis got hard as she felt his whatever. “Prostate feels normal good reaction to the stimuli. Ok dear I need you to do what boys do when they are alone in that rest room, in other words masturbate and I need you to collect your ejaculate in this specimen jar.”
Robbi absented himself and masturbated into the jar. After a few minutes, his deed was done. Back in the examine room the doctor took it and looked at it. “Good volume normal appearance, I will send it off for tests. Ok stand by the wall and take off your gown. Ok you have early breast development, your waist is slim and your hips are developing, turn to the side, you have a fat pad forming on your buttocks. Your appearance except for your genitalia appears normal for a pubescent girl. Your genitalia, and reaction to stimuli are normal and you are well developed for a boy your age. I need to take blood samples and send them off for a hormone analysis. Get dressed and a nurse will take blood and show you to my office in a few minutes.”
Robbi went behind the screen and got dressed. He sat on the table till the nurse came and took his blood. She was then escorted to the doctor’s office.
The doctor was waiting for them and looked Robbi over. “You look very nice dear; I now need to ask you some questions. Are you using any illegal drugs like marijuana or opiates?”
“No.”
“Are you taking any medicines?”
“No.”
“Are you taking any hormones, male or female?”
“No.”
“Are you taking any birth control pills?”
“No.”
“Well, I didn’t think you were but I had to ask. I will find out the truth anyway when the blood tests come back. I see you are dressed as a girl Robbi is that your choice.”
“Yes ma’am. I thought I would fit in better like this.”
“You dress this way often?”
“Lately yes. I like the look and feel. Also I am treated with more respect as a girl.”
“In polite circles you might be as long as your secret is kept. Do you desire to become a girl?”
“No Ma’am. I have a girlfriend who likes me very much.”
“Are you sexually active?”
“No ma’am we have promised our parents that we won’t be till it is right for us. We kiss, hug and feel each other but we have never done it. Tiffany and I are still virgins.”
“Is that Tiffany Thomas?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Well if everything you have told me is true I see no problems at this time, other than the obvious. I want you to get some X-rays for me and to come back on Friday for a follow-up. You may come dressed as a girl it will be easier on my patients too. I may be able to make a diagnosis. It looks like it could be something called gynecomastica, but it is a little early too attach that label right now. What that means is a guy that grows breasts, but you seem to be maturing as a male also. We shall see. If it is what I think it could be, it may go away on its own. If it doesn’t, we shouldn’t do anything till you stabilize your growth. It may get worse before it gets better.”
“Momma, could I have a short word alone with Ms. King.”
“Sure dear,” she said standing and leaving them alone.
“Two things ma’am I would have a hard time in gym looking like this ma’am could I get excused out of PE till we get a handle on this?”
“I can arrange that, but you need to promise me that you will exercise at least four times a week for an hour on your own. I mean real exercise, running, cycling, swimming or such. And?”
“Ma’am, do you believe in magic?”
“Not really, are you telling me this all is magic.”
“I am not sure, but let me ask, do you have any birthmarks on your right shoulder about here?” Robbi asked pointing to his right shoulder.
“No I don’t.” she giggled.
“Don’t be afraid then if a little strawberry appears there right at the top of your bra cup, but covered by it.”
“Ok I won’t, but put it by the navel not by my breasts,” she said humoring him. This seems to be a good kid, he might have a few loose screws, but hey, that is what makes the world go round, she thought.
“Ok two inches down and two inches right. How is that?”
“Ok.”
Robby and his mother left they picked up Tiffany and headed to the clinic for his X-rays. That took about thirty minutes.
They got to their home Tiffany went to get her bags and Robby put on a bra and his breast forms. They then met John at a restaurant. He looked genuinely glad to see them. Sandy and John flirted all through dinner.
“Mom, Tiff and I are going to call a cab. You and John have fun together; we will be at our home mom.”
Both adults looked stunned at Robbi as she and Tiffany got up to leave.
Sandy blushed and said, “Ok but no fooling around, get your homework done and be good.”
Robbi and Tiffany got hugs from both olds. A cab arrived and the kids left.
“Good call Robby, Thank you. They need some time together,” Tiffany said.
They got home and Tiffany made Robby spill about the doctor. He told her while he drew the doc’s picture adding a strawberry down and right from her navel. He also enhanced her bosom and narrowed her waist somewhat while trimming her hips and butt. He touched up her cheeks and straightened out a slight bulge in her nose, gave her fuller lips and drew her in a long flowing gown. She was quite fetching in the drawing.
“Ok and your reason for the drawing.”
“Another experiment. I am not sure she believed me when I told her no drugs or anything made me this way.”
At ten thirty they both went to bed separately.
Morning came with Tiffany rummaging through Robby’s closet and drawers. Robbi woke as she was busy. “I ran out of clothes Robby, going to borrow some of yours. My dad, your Mom spent the night here. Dad has already headed to work. I think it is kinda funny here me borrowing girls clothes from my boyfriend,” Tiffany giggled.
Robby got up and gave tiffany a hug; your bra might a little tight but should work. Our panties are the same; I’ll borrow some of mom’s shoes. Robby got up and dressed he wore a camisole because it was easier on his nipples, panties, pantyhose and his pants.
Downstairs mom was dressed and ready for them, “Morning kiddos I see ya’ll have managed to cope. Tiffany we need to get some of your wardrobe here for your use. I see those are Robbi’s clothes, I think, I never imagined my son sharing clothes with his sister. Opps!”
“Did you say sister, does that mean what I think it means, Mom.”
“Yes but don’t spread it around kids till we make it official.”
Both kids hung around her neck kissing her. “Congrats,” Tiffany said.
“John is even Ok with you Robby, for some reason he trusts you kids. For some reason I do too.”
“Mom you need to come with me to the nurse’s office. I need to turn in an excuse not to go to PE. I hope he will adopt me so I am no longer a Davis.”
“Ok I know that this would be a hardship to you. We’ll have to see about the adoption though dear, that could be a problem. Let’s go kiddos.”
At school Sandy and Robby headed to the nurse’s office. She took Robby’s excuse and talked to Sandy about his condition. She told them it was more common than people believe and depending on the cause it could go away in two or three years on it’s own. She told Robby if he had any problems at school at all to come and tell her, or come by just to talk.
We had to go from the Nurse’s office to Ms. Stringer’s office. Ms. Stringer listened as we explained about my medical excuse from PE. She said she didn’t need to know the particulars as long as the nurse notified her of the necessity. I asked if I might speak to Ms. Stringer alone. We had finished our business so Mom thanked Ms. Stringer and left.
“Ms. Stringer I know you don’t have to know, but I would feel better if you did. It may effect how I am treated here. You see I am developing both Male and Female secondary sexual characteristics. It’s not my fault but I may start looking more and more like a girl.”
“You mean you are developing breasts?”
“I am developing breasts, a narrow waist, hips and a padded backside, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh dear, I know exactly what you mean, and your male parts?”
“Although my voice is still childish, my beard isn’t growing, but my male parts are well developed. I will be regularly seeing a doctor ma’am, till we get a handle on this.”
“We will try to make things easier for you Robby; you are a good kid and a bright one too. Would you tell me one thing though?”
“I will try.”
“How is it that you, Beth and Kelly have seemingly buried the hatchet?”
“I don’t understand that myself. I apologized to Kelly for my actions and she has been like a different person.”
“We will look out for you Robby, let’s keep an open line of communication dear, if you need any help talk to us. Oh since you are now out of PE, report to Ms. Sanderson’s class in room 257 during fifth period instead.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Go catch the rest of your first period Robby and good luck.”
Robby went to his first period class and gave the teacher his pass before taking his seat. The rest of his morning went off without a hitch, and he met Tiffany and her friends at lunch. It was fun being accepted in a group. Kelly and Beth and their friends expanded the group. Kelly it seemed became more popular now that she wasn’t acting snobbish. Beth just glowed; she had been down for so long that when her confidence was restored she just exploded with cheerfulness. Robert, Justin and their friends were also accepted in our group. It was strange seeing jocks and geeks getting along.
“Tiffany I am now out of PE for medical reasons and into art now.”
“Wow, that was fast, but I understand the need for it.”
After lunch he headed to Ms. Sanderson’s room. Robby was introduced to her class many he already knew. He took a seat in the back of the class. He was told that he could work on anything he was currently doing. Robby figured she knew he had lots of orders to complete. He just had to let her inspect and comment on them so she could give me a grade. He worked on the picture of Jamie. He made her a very attractive girl, drawing her anatomically correct from the skin out. Then he clothed him in mini-skirt, blouse and heels. Her parents looked proudly at their daughter. He then worked on the picture of the girl with the scar. Her scar gone and her face looking better than it ever did, she showed grace and confidence with a warm loving heart.
I turned the two drawings in at the end of class. Ms. Sanderson commented that she knew the girl, her name was Rebecca Snider, and the drawing although not true to life showed what the girl was really like, inside. I got A’s for both works. Ms. Sanderson then showed me where she graded the drawing’s I had done that weekend. I already had about fifteen A’s in her class.
All too soon school was out Mom picked us up and took us to Tiffany’s home. It was smaller than our house but nice. The three of us headed to Tiffany’s room.
“We are going to pack Tiffany up and move her to our home Robby. John and Tiffany are moving in with us. This June if all goes right John and I are going to marry.”
Tiffany had me take the clothes out of her closet and lay them on her bed as she hit her drawers. We went through every thing getting rid of some older stuff and keeping her better things. It felt strange helping her with her clothes but I loved doing it. I think she loved me being there too.
“Tiffany, one thing bothers me in all this.”
“What is that Robby?”
“What if it was my drawings that influence you to make your move on me, would you hate me if I had made you fall in love with me?”
“Robby, I am so happy now I don’t really care what got us together. I am as happy as when my real mother was alive. My dad, I was afraid he was slipping away and I was going to lose him but now he is so different and full of hope. You could have made me as ugly as a witch, if you made my dad happy I would still have loved you. I am going to marry you someday, mark my word you are not getting away from me. You can start designing our wedding gowns Robbi. Robbi can you get that gown made that you drew your Mom in. That would be great for her and Dad in that Tux you drew. We need to get busy, Robbi.”
“They need to get married soon Tiffany, I feel Mom is or soon will be pregnant, don’t tell anybody. I just started drawing her and I pictured her waist thicker and her breasts heavier. I realized that I was drawing her expecting.”
“Is it a brother or a sister?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ok let’s get working.”
They got Tiffany loaded into our Buick and headed to home. At home Tiffany got moved in. She began planning changes to her room. It was larger than her previous room, but it was a little drab. She wanted to put her things in my room till she could get hers painted. He didn’t think his mom would go for it, but she did. His closets and drawers now had more girls’ clothes than boys’. Robby had to make room for a lot of her things. Tiffany and Mom went through her new room planning the paint and decorations. Robby left them doing their thing and started work on his commissions. He worked till dinner time. John came in and we had a big family dinner. The kids were in heaven, the olds, were so good together.
After dinner instead of watching TV with everyone Robby retired to the office to work. It wasn’t too long till he realized he had an audience. John was watching him work intently.
“You are very good at that.”
“Thank you, sir. I don’t really know how I came to be so good it is just something I just started doing. I guess it is a natural talent.”
“Your Mom and I have had several long talks about you son. I know you like to dress as a girl at times. I just want you to know you have nothing to be afraid of from me. Dress however you like. I still will love you. Be true to yourself. We can do some guy things in the future or whatever you’re comfortable with. I know my daughter adores you Robby and she is happier than I could’ve ever hoped for. Please don’t hurt her.”
“I won’t I love her also. I know I could never replace you in her life, but we seemed destined to be together.”
“I agree but there will be plenty of time for that in the future, Robby. Don’t rush from being a kid to being a husband. I want you to know though that I trust my daughter to you.”
John hugged me and left me to my work. That was their first interaction together alone and it went well. He got five more drawings finished before bed time. John had left and went to his home while Tiffany stayed with us. Mom explained that it was for propriety’s sake that John was staying at his place, but he would join us each night for dinner.
Tiffany got on the internet looking for Tux’s that fit Robby’s design and I looked through catalogues for a similar dresses. I found a close design to the one I drew. It was plainer having no decoration. I figured it might be easier to get a dress and add frills to it.
“My sister and I need to go shopping without our mom.” Tiffany said.
It was late and mom made us got to bed. The week went by and Friday Mom and I wound back up to the doctor’s office. I was completely dressed in skirt and blouse this time.
After some similar checks and a brief physical we were again led to Doctor King’s office.
“We’ll I can find no overt reason why Robby is developing in such a manner. He seems to have grown a bit in his breasts and it is an amazing rate of growth but he should grow no bigger than you Mrs. Davis. I want to see him twice a month for the near future to mark his growth. His hormone levels are normal, his sperm count is normal and the sperm are active and motile. There are no signs of disease or drugs in his system. He is quite healthy. He is the lower ten percentile on growth for weight and height for his age but he is in good health. I am afraid I just can’t explain it, we can only monitor it for now. Sandy may I have a few words with Robby alone please.”
Mom left us alone.
“I believe you Robby, I thought you had a few loose screws, or were just kidding, but now I believe. I won’t show you but the mark is there and quite cute. You made some other changes too. I wish you would have consulted with me first, but they are not objectionable. I just have to alter my wardrobe and get some new clothes. I like the facial changes you made. Now tell me are you stuck like this.”
“I haven’t tried to change back. I too like the changes at least for now. I may start to live as a girl. I have given that a lot of thought but I won’t change my boy parts I’ll just hide them.”
“That is a tough road Robby, I may be able to help you a little, but please be careful. Also check with me before you make any more changes to me, please. You don’t have to try to undo anything just be careful.” With that she gave Robby a big hug.
Robby and Sandy headed to the mall. He had finished all the drawings and turned them over to Alice. She gave Robby a check for the works he had been paid for and he would have to drop back by for his last check, when his patrons picked up their art. Everybody was very complimentary of their drawings; there weren’t any complaints at all, which Alice said was very unusual, considering the price.
“I want to do this again next weekend Alice but just for walk in traffic. I want to have a life besides drawing.”
“I hear you Robbi; I never believed it would take off like that. I knew you were good but that was amazing dear.”
“Mom you talk to Alice for a second I want to check something out ok.”
“Sure dear, I would love to sit and talk.”
Robby headed off to the fabric shop. He found the lady he had talked to the last time he was there.
“Ma’am may I talk to you in confidence?”
“Sure, how are you Robbi? I am Cindy by the way.”
“I am doing great. Mom is getting married again in June and I wondered who would be able to make a gown for her in that time.”
“That’s great dear I know you are so happy. That depends on the gown dear.”
Robby opened his portfolio and showed her the dress.
“Oh my, that is gorgeous. I just love the antebellum look. The other gowns are quite nice too but that is a beautiful dress to get married in. That is a lot of work dear let me check. Let me get my digital camera dear. I need your phone number dear.”
Robby gave her his card. He still had quite a few of those left. She took several shots of the drawing at the highest resolution the camera was capable of.
“I will give you a call Robbi, as soon as I know anything.”
“Thank you dear.”
Back at the frame shop the olds were having lots of fun when Robby got back. They were sharing cups of hot tea and talking about girl stuff. Robbi had picked up enough from the girls at school that she fit right in.
Sandy and Robbi soon left for lunch. Sandy twisted Robbi’s arm and convinced her to play hooky. It didn’t really take that much convincing. Robby had a straight A in all his classes and had not missed that much school. They stopped at a sandwich shop and ate.
“Robby with you out of PE and Brenda wanting you to exercise for at least 4 hours a week, what would you like to do dear?”
“I think cycling and running, Mom I have always been a good runner. I am use to running from fights.”
“Well I know of a few shops we need to stop at. I want to stop at a dancers supply shop. We need to get you some Dancer’s belts.”
“Some what?”
“Dancer's belts. They will help you camouflage your male parts, you can ditch that hot heavy girdle, I know it has got to be uncomfortable. You might even be able to wear a bikini with one on dear or at least a nice one piece swimsuit. I assume your going to look like Robbi with an I more this summer.”
“Mom, I have thought about it and if I don’t stop changing I might have to start living as a girl full time. How would you feel about that? It could be easier to pass as a girl in a little bit.”
“I have thought the same thing. I hope this didn’t come out of anything I did Robbi. I didn’t force it did I?”
“No Mother, don’t even worry about that. Nothing that has happened to me is your fault. I love you Mom and I always will. I want to thank you. I understand more about women than I ever would have. John and I talked. He will support me as a daughter or a son. I like him Mom.”
“I saw him go into the room where you were working. I wondered what was going on. I am glad you like him. Let’s go dear.”
They went to the ladies room and relieved themselves and took care of their faces.
They went to the Dancers supply Sandy found the dancers belts and bought about a half-dozen. They stopped at a gas station she handed Robbi one belt and told him to go try it out. It had a set of printed instructions. It took a few tries to get things sorted out, and it wasn’t the most comfortable piece of clothing he wore, but it was alright. It was a lot cooler that was for sure, and he could feel the nylons and satins better. He also noticed that the skirt fit better now not as tight.
“Mom look at my hips and butt, without the girdle.” Robbi said when she got back to the car.
“Yes dear you have a very nice figure. I wonder where it is going to stop.”
“I don’t know.”
They drove over to a bike shop next. Robbi started looking at high end bicycles. This was one time she wished she didn’t have a skirt on. She did see some cycling clothes though she found a jersey and bib her size and tried them on. Her tits were plainly visible through the tight jersey, her nipples looked huge sticking through. She got a sports bra to go with the outfit. Her male parts were safely tucked out of sight, she noticed also. She looked like a girl. She liked the fit though and bought it. Free of restrictions although barefoot, she was able to try out several bikes. She found a bike she liked and fit her. She bought it and a bunch of other gear she would need. She spent about three grand on bike, clothes, safety gear and shoes. She changed back into her other clothes as the salesman attached the bike carrier to the Buick. He was demonstrating how to rack and un-rack the bike when Robbi joined them. The rack could hold two bikes.
Next Sandy got Robbi some aerobics tights, leotards, sport bras and trunks, along with a couple of tapes. Sandy intended for Robbi, Tiffany and herself to use the tapes.
It was Time for school to be getting out and they drove by. Tiffany was waiting and was excited to see them show up. Robbi didn’t get out of the car to greet her, but did scoot over.
“Nice bike Robbi.”
“Yeah since I am not in PE anymore Mom and the doctor insist I get 4 hours of exercise a week. Do you want a bike too?”
“I don’t know may I ride yours to.”
“Sure but it is hard for both of us to ride at the same time. Mom also got us some jazzercise tapes Tiffany so get ready to shake your fanny.”
“After you dear,” Tiffany giggled.
We went home and Robbi unloaded her bike and stuff. She had a pair of hooks that could be screwed into the wall studs to hold the bike. She would let John do that. Tiffany looked at the bike.
“Those are weird pedals on the bike.”
“Yeah you have to wear special shoes to ride this bike. They shoes lock into the pedal.”
Tiffany and Robbi headed on to her room.
“You are not wearing your breast forms and you have a nice set of boobs Robbi.”
“Yeah I had to buy a sports bra to try on some riding clothes, my nipples stood right up through this tight jersey.”
Tiffany locked the door to Robbi’s room and had him take off her blouse, camisole and sports bra she still had on.
“Whoa, let me get a tape and measure you off with your skirt.” Tiffany said getting Robbi’s measuring tape. “Even without your padded girdle you have nice hips and backside girl.” Tiffany measured Robbi. “You are a 32 B-26-34 now. I like your front. I see your not wearing your girdle Robbi, how are you hiding yourself like this?”
Robbi dropped his panty a bit and showed her his dancer’s belt. “It is a dancer’s belt it’s a bit uncomfortable but I like it.” Robbi put on her girl’s jeans; a regular bra with her breast forms, a blouse and her pumps. Her jeans slid on a little easier till she got to her hips, they were as tight as when she worn them with her padded girdle. She swore her butt was being split as the back seam of the jeans lifted and separated her backside. At least they buttoned easier. Her bra really felt cramped when she put it on, her own boobs and the breast forms fit tightly together.
“Can I try one of your older bras without the forms Tiffany?”
“Sure Robbi,” she went over to the dresser and got out an old 34 B bra with stretch cups, “I haven’t worn this one in a long time but it was too nice to throw away. I never thought I would be loaning it to my future step brother.”
Robbi took his off and put on Tiffany’s bra, it fit much better. The cups were not quite filled, but it looked pretty good. “I never thought I would be wearing bras. It will be hard to hide my breasts for four more weeks Tiffany. I will need to bind them I think come Monday.”
“You are probably right Robbi.”
With her silk tank top on she looked good. Everything was all her now. They went down to show Mom.
“Mom what do you think?” Robbi asked posing for her Mom.
“Is that all you dear?”
“What about your male parts? Are they ok?”
“Mom I am growing there too, not as fast but they are growing?”
“Oh we are going to have to buy some ace bandages and athletic tape dear.”
The phone interrupts them. It was John and he wants Sandy to get ready for a date.
“Will you kids be alright alone; ya’ll can order a pizza or fix your own dinner, if you like.”
“We’ll be fine Mom, don’t worry, let’s get you fixed up.”
They hurried Mom upstairs, Tiffany helped her get undressed and into the shower while Robbi selected a short sexy LBD, undies, garter belt and stockings. Robbi left while Tiffany helped Sandy get dressed. Robbi watched as Sandy started on her makeup and Tiffany worked on her hair. Robbi handed her mom a pair of black stiletto pumps. Sandy was gorgeous in under an hour and ready for John when he drove up at seven.
Tiffany drew Robbi to her in a hug. They held each other tightly for several minutes.
“Pizza or my cooking,” Tiffany asks.
“Pizza, I don’t want to be separated from you long enough for you to cook.”
They phoned for a pizza and then they made out on the couch till it arrived. After eating they went up to Robbi’s room. Tiffany had Robbi sit on the bed and stripped for her. She let her see the birthmarks Robbi had given her and the heart shaped pubic mound she bore. She then hit the shower. When she came out she had on a fresh pair of panties and a sleep shirt. Robbi did the same for Tiffany. Robbi showed her the dancer’s belt. With it on she looked like any other teenage girl. Robbi took off the dancer’s belt; Tiffany could see he was just over six inches flaccid. It was then Robbi’s turn to shower. She returned in just her panties, dancer’s belt and a silk sleep shirt. Tiffany had Robbi sit next to her and she suckled on Robbi’s nipples. It drove Robbi wild unable to get an erection still she felt a pressure build up in her belly, her whole body tingled as Tiffany worked. Robbi trembled and spasmed as his body exploded in ecstasy.
“You just had a females orgasm this ‘IS!’ going to be fun baby.”
“God that was awesome, Tiffany. So that is what girls call an orgasm.” Robbi said putting on his sleep shirt.
“I will never let you get away without giving me one, when we get married. I want you working both ways. I love the bush you gave me Robbi. It is about four times thicker than before and of course heart shaped now.”
“I love everything about you, Tiffany.”
“Do me a favor Robbi I want you to draw us, you and me married to each other, both of us in wedding gowns. Draw us about twenty to twenty three years old. I want to know that you will be married to me. We will wait till we graduate from college but we will be married. Please Robbi, do it for me. Have us looking lovingly in each others eyes, totally committed to each other.”
“Are you sure Tiffany? Are you really sure you want to be married to me?”
“Yes I am Robbi; I have never been more sure about anything dear. I love you so much.”
“Tiffany find me a day in June, a Saturday and not the first Saturday, at least six years from now on the computer. Will you do that for me?”
“Sure dear.”
Robbi took out his pad and started drawing. He drew Tiffany and Robbi both in wedding dresses holding each other and gazing lovingly into each others eyes. Robbi drew a college graduation ring on her right hand. Tiffany came up with a June 10, 2006 as Robbi continued to work. He drew for two hours and drew a ribbon banner with the inscription:
Mr. and Mrs. Robbi Thomas, married today the tenth of June in the year two-thousand and six.
Tiffany giggled she was still two inches taller than Robbi. At the bottom he wrote Mr. Robbi Thomas and his wife Ms. Tiffany Thomas.
“Happy dear,” Robbi said.
“Very happy, dear. Well are you going to get down on your knees and ask or are you just going to assume I will marry you?”
Robbi got on his knee before Tiffany. “Tiffany will you consent to be my wife?”
“What no ring?” she giggled.
Robbi trudged over to the jewelry box his mom had put in his room with some rings and things she use to wear and found a ring with a large sky blue topaz.
“Sorry it is not a diamond and I don’t have anything more suitable but Tiffany Thomas will you consent to be my wife?” Robbi said sliding the ring on her ring finger.
“Robbi of course I will marry you. I just love blue topaz dear.”
They heard the door open and Sandy call out, “Robbi, Tiffany come down,” in a very excited voice. “Hurry! Hurry!” They ran to her fearing something bad had happened. She had raccoon eyes, her face was a mess. She was waving her left hand. She had a huge rock on her ring finger Tiffany realized what was going on before Robbi snapped and hugged Sandy.
“We are getting married on Saturday June 10th, Tiffany, Robbi.”
“So are we Mom?” Tiffany said.
“What are you talking about Tiffany?”
“Robbi and I are getting married on Saturday June 10, 2006. We set a date tonight.”
“John and I are getting married Saturday June 10, 2000.” Sandy said thoroughly confused.
Tiffany ran to Robbi’s room and got her drawing. She showed Sandy when she came back downstairs. Sandy starred at the drawing, and then hugged her two kids. “You kids aren’t kidding about this are you.”
“No Ma’am,” they both said.
Don’t tell John for a few years kids, not for at least five years, you will give him a heart attack.”
“Don’t worry about your dress Mom, Me and Robbi have that all planned out, and Dad’s tux too.”
“How long have ya’ll been planning this?”
“About two weeks,” Robbi said.
Robbi went and got his portfolio and showed Sandy the picture.
“Oh my gosh, Robbi, I hope you can do it. That dress is gorgeous, dear, and that Tux John is in. I just love it. Sort of like Gone with the Wind, Rhett Butler and Scarlet O’Hara. I love that movie.”
“I don’t know nuthin bout birthin no babies, Miss Scarlet.” Robbi effected.
They all laughed at Robbi. They all sat down to recover from the bout of laughing. Sandy was overwhelmed; she looked at Tiffany’s hand at the sky blue topaz ring. “Tiffany that ring! My mother gave me that ring when I went off to college. I loved that ring, I am proud to have you wear it as an engagement ring till Robbi can put a real one on your hand dear. I hope you love Robbi as much as I love John.”
“Thank you Mom, I am never going to get tired of calling you that. I love you, Dad and Robbi.”
“Tiffany will you be my maid of honor, and Robbi will you be a bridesmaid. I see you kids in such lovely gowns, please say yes.”
“Mom I would wear anything for you. Of course I will.” Robbi said.
“Me too Mom,” said Tiffany.
“Kids we are going to have an engagement party next Saturday night at seven-thirty, at La Chez Danni. I think it will be a good time for Robbi to make an appearance. So guess what we do tomorrow?”
Tiffany and Sandy both shouted, “Shopping!”
“You kids get to bed we will start early and shop all day.”
Tiffany followed Robbi to her room, hugged and kissed for a few minutes before parting.
Robbi woke to kisses in the morning. Tiffany was very cute in the mornings.
“Wake up Robbi,” Tiffany said.
“What time is it?”
“Six in the morning. Mom is still asleep, I just wanted some time with you,” she said crawling under the covers with Robbi.
They made out for about thirty minutes. They so wanted to go farther but they kept there word to their parents. Still it was enjoyable to both of them.
We got up; Mom was still asleep so we went to the kitchen. Tiffany and I whipped up breakfast, French toast, sausage, orange juice and coffee. Mom made it downstairs as we were setting the table. She hugged us both and sat.
“Ya’ll are industrious today. I like having you two cook for me. Kids we are going to fix up the house in the coming weeks. We are all going to live here. We will start with your room Tiffany. Then we will hit Robbi’s room, and then mine. We have a lot of work ahead, kiddos.”
“Mom I think this summer I am going to go full time as Robbi, I can’t hid my changes, nothing can be done till after I stabilize anyway, and I think I like this regardless.”
“I feel you are right Robbi. There will be no hiding your condition soon. I will check out the legalities. Let’s get dressed girls we have a lot to do.”
Robbi and Tiffany headed to Robbi’s room. Tiffany found Robbi another of her smaller bras a nice white lace cup bra. The bra really enhanced Robbi’s bust. It fit well and they could see Robbi’s nipples through the lace. “Your still growing Robbi that wouldn’t have fit yesterday I don’t think. You really need a camisole with that one.” The kids got dressed; they showed no qualms about dressing in front of each other. They even helped each other make choices of clothing, makeup and hairstyling. Robbi was a quick study on things feminine as he was on schoolwork. Tiffany thought it was delightful and was enjoying the attention. Soon they were dressed, made-up, and their hair done. Sandy watched them as they worked it was hard to believe how many changes have come about in less than three weeks.
Tiffany took the big drawing that Robbi had drawn and made a digital copy. She then printed it out on the laser printer all in high resolution.
It was a very good copy although everything was a lot smaller everything, but you could see the detail of the dresses well. They got their purses and left. They hit the wedding/prom dress shops at the mall but found none they liked or who would try Robbi’s drawing out.
They stopped by the fabric shop; Cindy was excited to see them.
“I was just going to call you today Robbi, I found someone who wants to do your gowns dear. I think she wants you to work with her too. Here is her card. Call her tomorrow she is making a delivery up state today.”
“Thank you Cindy,” Robbi said, “I will do that.”
They then went to check out party dresses. They found some nice dresses for each of them to try on. They concentrated on Robbi who had none. Robbi fell in love with chiffon there. The feel and the way it draped her frame was just fabulous. Robbi found several colors that complemented her Auburn hair and green eyes. They made sure they would fit her expanding bust before they settled on three. She got her LBD with spaghetti straps, a square neckline and a fitted waist. The skirt flared out from the hips and came to two inches above the knee. Robbi also got a royal blue dress with a deep v neckline, short cap sleeves, fitted from shoulders through the hips, and an asymmetrical hem line from just above the knee to mid-thigh. The last was a white scoop neck dress, long gossamer sleeves, high waisted, with a clingy bias cut skirt down to just below mid-thigh in a ruffled hem.
Tiffany just picked up her LBD. Her dress was sleeveless, its neckline was a little more daring than Sandy liked, but she looked fabulous in it. The bodice was fitted to the waist with a straight skirt in a charmeuse that came to two inches above the knee.
Sandy found a jacket and skirt in lavender. The jacket had a wide lapel, a modest neckline, fitted to the waist, three buttons and a slim fitted skirt with inverted box pleats in a linen silk blend.
Sandy was pleased that they selected no really short dresses; they had tried on a few almost obscenely short, but selected more modest hemlines.
They then headed to a shoe store to find matching shoes. Robbi kept finding four inch heels for her dresses and talked Tiffany into getting three inch heels.
They found handbags and accessories for their dresses. Robbi got another lesson in accessorizing. They went over a lot of different things to complete an outfit. Robbi had already picked up a lot in some of the fashion magazines, but still learned quite a bit. This kind of shopping was new to Robbi but still lots of fun.
They found some faux pearls that looked really good with the black dresses, along with pearl drop earrings, for each of them. Robbi picked up a bit more jewelry, than the others.
They stopped by Alice’s; she had Robbi’s last check. It was significantly higher than they had expected.
“Mrs. Marshall’s daughter was very pleased with your work Robbi and left a big tip for you.”
“A thousand dollar tip, Mom.”
“I have it set up for you for next weekend, too Robbi.”
“Oh momma is getting married Alice.”
“That is wonderful Sandy,” she said rushing to hug her.
“She is marrying my dad.”
“I know that you will all be happy.”
They all joined in a big group hug. They stayed about a half-hour talking about their plans. Alice was invited to the engagement party.
They hit one of the restaurants at the mall. They were escorted to a table. As Robbi sat she heard a familiar voice.
“Well hello Sandy and Tiffany, and who is this?”
Chills went up Robbi’s back it was Ms. Stringer. Robbi really wanted to run, but that wouldn’t do any good.
Robbi turned to where her voice came from. “It is me Ms. Stringer Robby.”
She had a look of amazement on her face. She was apparently alone judging by the one place setting at her table.
“Would you care to join us, we would be delighted if you would?” Robbi asked.
“I would really love that Robby; I do enjoy charming company and being with two of my best students. I am sure to hear an interesting story.”
Ms. Stringer joined them at their table and everyone exchanged pleasantries. The waiter passed out menus and took drink orders. Ms. Stringers drink was brought to their table and the rest got their and orders were taken all around. Sandy started to give an explanation but Ms. Stringer interrupted and asked Robby to explain.
“Sandy I know there is an explanation but I would really like to hear it from Robby.”
So Robby began, he started with the truth and continued with the story. From the time his mother challenged him to the medical explanation for his appearance. He explained that it was going to be hard to conceal his condition and so his Mom and friend were helping him get use to appearing as a girl. “This is all me Ms. Stringer not a spot of padding from my bust to my hips. I had a choice of looking like a feminine guy, or a girl. I chose looking like a girl. I am probably going to have to go to a different school next semester. I am all boy, except for no beard, my voice, and my apparent female traits.”
“Very well said Robby, so you may be stuck this way for two to three years you say.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You were very eloquent and to the point, further I detected no deceit in what you have said, it might be rough Robby but I would like to see you back this fall as a girl. We will see what accommodations we can make. Let me talk in confidence, with our staff and legal, your name won’t be smeared dear. I must say you are quite lovely and you handle yourself well.”
“I just hope that I can conceal my breasts for the rest of this semester. We have just over four more weeks, right Ms. Stringer.”
“Twenty three more school days Robby. Ms. Sanderson is quite complimentary of your art work. She wants to give you two semesters credit for art.”
Tiffany took out the copy of the picture that Robbi drew, and handed it to her. “Robbi has a web site of her artwork and worked at this mall last weekend doing drawing. She earned over twelve thousand in two weeks.”
Ms. Stringer had a shocked expression on her face as she took the drawing from Tiffany. Robbi grimaced as Tiffany talked, wishing fewer people knew the truth.
“Some of her works are still at the frame shop.” Sandy added.
Ms. Stringer inspected the drawing carefully. It was extremely well done she thought and she recognized everyone in the drawing. “You did this drawing Robbi?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“The dresses are gorgeous dear where did you see them?”
“They are my design; Mom loves Gone with the Wind so I decided to give them an antebellum flavor. I want to go into fashion design. I love drawing nice dresses, and I hope to take tailoring and other courses along those lines. I want to create what I draw. Mom is going to get married in that dress if I have my way.”
“You’re engaged to John Thomas, Sandy?”
“Yes we are getting married this June.”
“That is wonderful; I wondered what changed Tiffany so. She hasn’t been bad but she is so much happier now I hear. That will make you and Tiffany sisters I suppose Robby.”
Tiffany blushed and looked at Robbi. She knew there was more to the story. Robbi handed Ms. Stringer one of her business cards. “It has my website on the card if you would like to check it out.”
“Well it has been very educational Robby, don’t give up hope about coming back this fall. If you have any problems please fell free to come by my office. I would hate to lose the two of you as students.”
Ms. Stringer left them sitting.
“Well that was interesting.” Sandy said.
“Yes, I wonder how things will change at school.” Robbi said.
They visited the ladies room, touching up their makeup before returning to shopping. They hit the major women’s stores. Robbi expanded her wardrobe a little more. Things she didn’t know she needed but that her Mom and Tiffany agreed she needed. It was fun, it was exasperating, and she guessed it was necessary. They gave up and called it a day as they had to get ready for a trip to Lombardo’s.
Tiffany and Robbi dressed side by side helping each other and coordinated their outfits. Robby had never had such fun dressing before and began to understand why a lot of girls really enjoyed the process. Robbi dressed in her Royal blue outfit and Tiffany in her little black dress. The girls went all out on their makeup and hair. Robbi was becoming quite good at makeup but needed help with her hair. Mom wore her new lavender suit and looked very good.
Tiffany took Robbi by her arms and looked in her eyes and said, “Robbi stay up in your room till I call you the girls should be here shortly. I believe everything will be alright, they really like you dear.”
Robbi just realized that he would be outing himself to more people. “Oh my gosh, Tiff I didn’t realize. I have become so comfortable as Robbi I just dressed as her.”
“Well don’t worry, I won’t let them hurt you love.”
Tiffany and Sandy went down stairs and waited. They agreed that Tiffany would get the door and bring them to the living room. Sandy held her new daughter closely. She had always wanted a daughter to share her life with and now she had two. Robbi couldn’t be a better daughter or son, she was so proud, and Tiffany God Bless her soul soaked up all the attention Sandy gave her.
“Mom I love you and I love calling you Mom. You would have loved my real Mom, she was such a lady.”
“I know Tiffany. I can see her in you dear. I would have loved to have known her and I know I will never replace her, but I am glad to call you my daughter now. Now don’t you start crying dear and ruin your makeup.” Sandy said fighting back her tears.
The doorbell rang and Tiffany jumped as she was startled. She went to the door and let Carol and Katy.
“Hi Carol, Hi Katy. You two look great.” Tiff said hugging the two girls
“Wow, you look fabulous Tiff,” Carol said.
“Thank you, where is Margie?”
“You do look great Tiff. Love that dress is it new? Margie will be here shortly, her brother is bringing her here.” Katy said.
“Yes it is. My new Mom bought it for me. Follow me; she is in the living room.”
Tiffany introduced the girls and Sandy. It wasn’t five minutes till the doorbell rung again and Margie joined them.
“Robbi will be down in a minute. I know ya’ll have your suspicions, but please you really need to keep this between us. Agreed?”
“Sure we all love Robby.” Cindy said, “I really love that picture of me he drew.
Tiffany went and brought Robbi to the living room. Three sets of jaws could be heard bouncing on the floor figuratively speaking that is.
“Girls, may I present Robbi.”
The girls were gob smacked and wordless for several seconds as they looked her up and down. Tiffany turned her like a dancer turns his partner.
“Oh my gosh Robbi your beautiful. I am jealous dear.” Cindy said.
Margie and Katy echoed her sentiments and they three of them rushed to hug her. Robbi felt a burden lifted from her shoulders. The girls accepted her and were excited about her.
“I just wanted to say thank you, for being my friends and for building my website. All of you really did a wonderful job on it. I like it very much.”
The girls were herded to the Buick by Sandy and then they headed to Lombardo’s. Lombardo’s was an upscale Italian restaurant. None of the girls had ever been there. The six lovely ladies really made an impression as they entered. Sandy had made a reservation so they were quickly escorted to their table. The wait staff were very helpful in assisting them. They all talked about Robbi asking tons of questions. Robbi answered as best she could and promised Katy and Margie to do their portraits as well as soon as possible.
Sandy just watched the girls; they had adopted Robbi completely in their group. She had to giggle as they talked about clothes, makeup and guys. Robbi had lots to say about the guys they were interested in and showed he could hold his own in the other areas. They also talked about Beth, Justin, Kelly and Robert. The food here was delicious, even here Robbi fit in well, her manners were impeccable. Her son would go through his food like a hurricane had struck, decimating the food on his plate, especially food this good. Robbi ate with small bites at a relaxed pace savoring the food as he ate. It made for an interesting time with good conversation.
As promised Robbi paid for the meal, she was proud to be able to do it. The girls got together with Sandy, as Robbi was paying and decided they wanted to have a sleepover. They all called home and got permission to spend the night with Tiffany. Sandy assured the parents that their girls would be well looked out for. They stopped briefly at each home and picked up whatever the girls would need for a sleep over.
Sandy drove them home and helped them get their things inside before saying, “Girls, I am going shopping to get some snacks and ice cream for you. I will be back in about an hour to an hour and a half; you can lay out your sleeping bags in the living room girls.”
Robbi and Tiffany both ran upstairs and got their own sleeping bags and brought them down. After Robbi laid out her bag she stood and found herself surrounded by the others holding their nighties.
“Tiffany, get a nightie for Robbi and yourself, then we need to talk,” Cindy said, “Sit Robbi.”
Robbi sat on the floor as Tiffany ran upstairs. She returned with two sleep shirts. The girls started to undress in front of Robbi and Tiffany joined them. When they were all down to their panties Margie spoke, “You can see us now Robbi let us see you.”
Robbi stood a little unsure of what the girls were up to, but they were all smiling at him. She reached behind herself and unzipped her dress she pulled it off her shoulders and then pulled it over her head. Next her camisole and half slip came off leaving she standing in her bra, panties, pantyhose and heels. There were exclamations from the girls as they saw his feminized body.
“Are those real?” Katy asked.
“Yes my doctor has told me I have a condition called gynecomastia that is where a guy develops breasts. They are as real as yours are,” Robbi said as she unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor. “I may look like this for quite a while I am told before anything can be done.”
“Is the condition serious?” Cindy asked.
“Not overly serious unless you call a guy looking like a girl serious.” Robbi said as he took his heels and pantyhose off.”
“Where is you thingy Robbi?” Cindy asked.
“I have it restrained with a dancer's belt or gaff as some call it. They are used in ballet and dancing where certain bulges would not be appropriate I am told.”
The girls and Robbi sat bare-chested as Robbi explained what had been happening to her these last few weeks. Cindy had asked if they could touch Robbi’s breasts. Robbi told them you would have to ask Tiffany, because they we are sort of promised to each other. The girls giggled and Tiffany beamed a smile nodding her approval. The girls then gently felt Robbi’s breasts.
“Oh my gosh, they are real, how do they feel Robbi, are they sensitive like ours?” Margie asked.
“If Mr. Happy were not restrained I would be very embarrassed right now girls, I believe they are just like yours,” Robbi moaned as the girls felt her breasts.
“Oh my, they are bigger than ours except for Tiffany and look at those areolas and nipples. Are you sure you’re a guy?” Katy asked.
“Robbi go to the bathroom and take off your dancer’s belt, but put your panties and nightie on before you come back,” Tiffany said.
The girls dressed and started picking up their things, straightening up the room as Robbi headed to her bathroom to finish getting dressed. Tiffany got her things and Robbi’s picked up and took them to their rooms. Robbi was glad that the nightie, a pink silk nightie with lacy ruffles at the hem and sleeves with a matching robe, Tiffany got him was at least as long as the dress he had worn tonight. She took time to clean her own makeup off and take care of her skin care. Robbi took time to get her art things before heading back down.
When Robbi got back the girls were all dressed in their nighties and were joking around. Robbi didn’t need to raise her gown for the girls to see that she was definitely a guy.
“Girls, Tiffany and I have something we want to ask you. It is obvious that I am finding it hard to disguise my tits. I have talked to Mrs. Stringer and she wants me to come back to school next semester. I am going to have to live as a girl full time starting the day after finals. I hope I can make the last three weeks of school. I plan to start in the fall as a girl will ya’ll help us? Treat me as a guy till summer and then as a girl, I need your help for me to fit in.”
Robbi was gang hugged by the giggling laughing girls; Tiffany smiled as she looked in Robbi’s eyes. That is how Sandy found the kids when she returned.
“Ya’ll be nice kids now. No hanky panky now. Who here is up for mint chocolate chip or rocky roads ice cream?” Sandy quizzed.
The kids stampeded toward her and helped her with her load.
“Mom you are overdressed now. You need to get your nightie on too,” Tiffany said.
“Allrighty, I will be right back.”
Robbi got her pad and pencil out and started drawing Katy as they ate and had fun. She used as much care as she could the girls looked over her shoulder as she drew. They blushed as they saw Katy naked in his drawing. “I do that girls to help get the body correct before I start adding clothing. Tell me Katy what does your ideal self look like?”
“Well I wish I was taller and fleshed out a little more,” she said. Katy was the smallest of the bunch except for Robbi of course. “I love Tiffany’s chest and wouldn’t mind having tits like hers. I love your hair Robbi in the drawing you made of your self. Long flowing hair at least to my hips. I would like not broad hips but shapely, a narrow waist and long legs.”
Robbi incorporated these features into the drawing, maybe not to the degree she wanted yet but she looked pleased none the less. She gave her a sexy yet intelligent appearance and drew her in a very stylish business suit. Not exactly what one would expect for a portrait but it tickled her pink. She had a couple of facial flaws, her nose in real life had a slight crook to it and a small scar near her right eye from being shot by a BB gun by her little brother. Robbi polished her face nicely. Robbi couldn’t say why she came out this way except it just felt right.
After finishing Katy’s portrait she started on Margie. Margie was the athlete of the group. She loved tennis and soccer. Robbi gave her a bigger chest and powerful but graceful arms and legs. She made Margie prettier; she really enhanced her face giving her lovely expressive eyes and cheeks with pouty lips and a very cute nose. Margie blushed deeply as she saw her naked form. Robbi added a warm and a loving expression to her. She was the shyest of the group, but the portrait showed strength, confidence and determination. Still of the three girls, her picture was the sexiest of the ones he drew. She dressed Margie in a very short but lovely gown flared from the shoulders to just below her hips and showed off her shapely powerful legs. Her hair was shorter but beautifully coifed framing her luscious face. Margie was very pleased with her picture.
“Girls it is getting late, we are going shopping tomorrow and we need our rest so don’t stay up late,” Sandy said heading to her bedroom.
The girls all kissed Robbi’s cheeks leaving lip prints before heading to the bathroom to take care of their faces. Tiffany kissing Robbi deeply on her lips, before she too left. Exhausted Robbi got in her bag and was asleep before the others returned.
(to be continued)
More changes come in Robbi's life and she takes them all in stride. She chooses to embrace rather than reject the many changes.
Drawn Together Ch.5
by
Paula Dillon
The girls all got up early the next day. Tiffany and Robbi had been the first and they had quickly dressed and went down stairs to begin breakfast. The rest got up and began getting themselves together. When Sandy came down already dressed, Cindy was setting the table. The girls sat the food down and began passing it around. Everyone was very excited and chatting as they ate. Sandy’s pending wedding and Robbi’s pending arrival at school were the main topics.
After breakfast Cindy, Margie and Katy insisted that they do the cleanup while Tiffany and Robbi got themselves ready. It would be the six of them all day long.
Robbi got her portfolio ready along with her purse. In such a short time she had gotten very good with her makeup and hair. She had rapidly picked up the feminine skills she needed.
They all piled into the Buick in time to arrive at the dress shop at its ten a.m. opening. Robbi took the message out of her purse as they arrived at Miss Christie’s Bridal shop.
They made their way in and soon found themselves directed to Christie Myers, the proprietor of the shop. She was an older lady, about her mid fifties, but she had a commanding aura about her. She had blonde hair definitely bottle blonde, and a waspish figure, a very narrow waist, large bust, and a prominent tush. Sandy knew she was heavily corseted. Her posture was very erect and proper. Everything about this lady shouted she was a very proper lady who didn’t tolerate incompetence.
“Hello ladies and how may I be of assistance to you?” She asked.
Robbi was the first to speak, “Miss Christie my Mom is getting married in a month and I was wondering if you could make her gown for her. I believe that you have been told about the dress I want made for her.”
“Ah, Yes. I believe I have if you are this Robbi I have heard about?”
“Yes Ma’am I am the one.”
“Well come now girl,” she said, “Let us see this design that you have done?”
Robbi was a little confused at this point; she had been given to understand that she had already seen the design. None the less she opened her portfolio up and showed her the drawing.
Miss Christie accepted the portfolio and looked closely at the drawing. She then flipped through the rest of the drawings there. “I am given to understand that these are really your work. Is that correct?”
“Yes Ma’am they are.”
“You have art supplies with you. No?”
“Yes Ma’am I do.”
“Well let us see you at work,” She said and pointed at a lady who was being fitted for her Bridal Gown. “Draw this Lady as faithfully as you see her and we shall see.”
Robbi took her art pencil and pad out and began to work. The dress was a very ornate dress and had a lot of beads and lace work. The lady while not gorgeous was attractive. Robbi quickly concluded that the dress, the lady’s hairstyle and figure just didn’t work together. Yet she gave a faithful representation of it all. It had taken her a little under a half hour and she gave Miss Christie her drawing. She then went to work on what she would have rather seen the lady in. The lady while not fat was a little on the stocky side and the dress she was being fitted in was just that too fitted for her figure. A beautiful dress should hide what flaws cannot be corrected not flaunt them.
Miss Christie chuckled to herself; this beautiful child had seen what she had tried to tell the lady herself. She agreed that the dress Robbi was drawing now really accentuated her better features and would look much better. Many ladies fall in love with a picture and sometimes fail to see the reality.
Yes she would make this girl her dress. It would have to be started on today to have it ready. She had already herself surmised this child’s secret, and she had seen the other girl’s look of possessiveness. This Robbi definitely had a place in the fashion industry and she would mold her.
Robbi handed Miss Christie the second drawing it had taken less time to draw because everything had fit well together and looked much better than the other. Robbi’s friends and her mother had just stood behind her and watched her work.
“Well Miss Christie the first drawing was exactly what she looked like, but I feel she would look better in something like this dress.”
“I do too, but to convince the buyer she is wrong is sometimes hard.”
Miss Christie walked over to the lady and showed her both drawings and asked her opinion of them. It took very little effort after that to convince her to finally take her advice. Sure the gown they were adjusting was basically ruined from their attempts to alter it to fit right on her, but it was more important to have her name on a gown that would make the lady look stunning than to let her wear something that would bring discredit to the dress maker. Besides the cow would be paying for it in the end she thought.
Miss Christie returned to the group and said, “Sandy Davis I would be proud to make your wedding dress on one condition.”
“What is that?” Sandy asked.
“That your beautiful daughter and her friend work with me on this one. I am given to understand that the wedding is in early June and it will take a lot of effort to have it ready by then, and of course to have their dresses ready also.”
“It is up to you girls, it is your choice,” Sandy said turning to Robbi and Tiffany.
Tiffany whispered in Robbi’s ear, and Robbi said, “We can work with you after school and weekends except for this coming weekend. I have a prior commitment, which I must honor.”
“Honor is a very important principle Robbi, I agree with you very well let’s get started.”
Miss Christie led them to a room for them to get undressed and measured. Sandy, Tiffany and Robbi were all undressed by her assistants and were thoroughly measured even their shoe sizes were taken.
“Since it is an antebellum theme, we need to fit all three of you with corsets. These Ladies are very good at corseting my customers.”
It wasn’t very long till the assistants were heavily binding the three of them. More measurements were taken. Of the three of them Robbi actually needed the least taken off and Sandy the most. Miss Christie insisted that Sandy wear her corset as much as possible from now till the wedding. She even thought of trying to get the groom corseted, fine gentlemen were sometimes even corseted back then.
Tiffany’s friends were actually put to work helping the three of them. It was good practice for them to help them when they too would be brides or bridesmaids themselves Miss Christie thought. She so wanted to get these young ladies corseted also.
Miss Christie had actually cheated a little. She had fallen in love with this design when she first saw it and had roughed out a pattern for the three dresses. She just needed the actual measurements and of course come up with the sizes she actually wanted the dresses to be. In a way she had a mean streak inside her she loved forcing women into corsets and smaller dresses than they normally wore. After all, it was for their own good. Her clients after came out looking spectacular after all.
She had to stifle a giggle as she heard them groan. Sandy really looked great, Tiffany did too, but the effect it had on Robbi’s appearance was the greatest. She was developing a figure but the corset brought out her figure very nicely.
“Ok Robbi come Monday I expect you here with Tiffany at four thirty, no later and we shall begin your dress. Now I suppose you have some more shopping to do to be ready. No?”
“Yes Ma’am we do.”
Miss Christie dismissed them at that point and turned her attention back to the other lady she was fitting that day. She already had a dress that was a lot like the second one Robbi had drawn ready for her.
The three girls helped the corseted ones get dressed.
“Robbi remind me if I love you dear? I am not so sure of that now. How about you Tiffany?”
“Oh god Sandy, if I knew we were going to be tortured I would have shot Robbi.” Tiffany said in jest or at least in what Robbi hoped was jest.
The troop finally left Miss Christie’s shop. All the girls were standing a lot straighter. Cindy, Katy and Margie were trying to emulate the others as best they could.
Back in the shop, fabric was being laid out and the creative process was being started. Yes this would be a grand design and the start of a new career for the next genius of fashion.
“I wonder if these things are bullet proof, and I just thought of something Mom. She never talked about price. What if the price is unacceptable?” Robbi asked.
“We will have to see what it is going to cost us, but we are not hurting dear.” Sandy said. Robbi didn’t know how well off they were. She didn’t want it to go to Robbi’s head. They owned the house and had a large nest egg in the bank and in investments. Sandy had a good head for money and had done well with the money her grandfather had left her.
Shop they did, though at a more sedate pace at least. Even in pain they all had fun. New clothes would also be required for their new figures to. How was Robbi going to pass for a guy Sandy thought? She was sure that Miss Christie would want Robbi to be corseted daily. She would see her almost everyday too.
They stopped at a store that sold girls jeans all three of them got fitted for tight girl’s jeans. There would be no doubt and no hiding it after today. Robbi’s Dream had caught them all in a trap and the dice had been rolled. They would just have to see where they stopped rolling. Sandy would call Mrs. Stringer and at least give her a heads up tonight.
Robbi bought six pair of jeans. Some were high waisted, some were low rise and all very form fitting. It was the same for Tiffany’s and Sandy’s jeans. They also picked out some tops they all could wear, that showed off their best features without looking indecent.
While Robbi and Tiffany were changing those same thoughts came to Robbi. “Tiffany it looks like I am coming out before the end of school. I have never been so scared or nervous.”
The light flipped on in Tiffany’s head as Robbi spoke. She knew exactly what she meant. “Well all you can do is hold your head up high and not let them drag you down. The girls and I will be by your side all the way though. You won’t have to go down that road by yourself.”
“Well let’s do it right then Tiff. If we are going to do this let’s not go half hog about this.”
The six of them got together and discussed it in between clothing changes. Robbi would start out wearing these jeans and tops before maybe changing into skirts and dresses by the end of the semester.
As they were talking Tiffany saw that girl whose face had been so badly scarred. She was amazed at what she saw. She couldn’t see any scar at all. “Robbi look that is the girl you drew last week isn’t it?”
Robbi had to do a double take before she realized that it was indeed Rebecca. “Yeah it is Rebecca Snider. She looks great.”
They waved at her and she came over as she recognized them. She was jumping for joy as she hugged them.
“Gee Rebecca what happened to you, you look simply great?” Robbi asked.
“I don’t know what happened. It seems like magic. Even my Doctors were perplexed about it. My plastic surgeon couldn’t say five words without stuttering.”
“You look beautiful girl,” Tiffany stated.
“You look two look great also, how did ya’ll get those tiny waists,” Rebecca asked as she looked over them.
“Well Robbi’s Mom and my dad are getting married and the dressmakers corseted us today, so we can fit in our gowns. They are pre-civil war era southern Belle type gowns.”
“Oh I can just imagine what they look like.”
“Yeah they are my design too, and I am going to have to help sew them,” Robbi added.
“Really, you are so talented Robbi. I just want to thank you for that portrait you did of me. You really helped me when I was so down. I have done a lot of crying the last few years, but since last week they tears were tears of joy,” She said as she hugged Robbi.
Tiffany joined them in their hug. She felt a kindred spirit in her.
It was late evening after dropping off the girls when they finally got home. Tiffany smelled fresh paint when they came in. She hurried to her room and squealed with delight as she saw that her room was done. Sandy had paid some painters some big bucks to do the job on a Sunday while they were shopping. They were too tired really though to appreciate the job and after loosening the corsets they were wearing they just went on to bed.
Even though it was a little late Sandy did call Mrs. Stringer and explain the situation to her. It seemed like she expected her call. She told Sandy not to worry after Sandy told her what Robbi would be wearing. Mrs. Stringer did request that Robbi, Tiffany and Sandy come to her office before school. She also assured her that the wheels had already been greased.
Robbi had strange dreams that night of being buried alive, being crushed and other such dreams. She awoke early the next morning and realized that she was not being crushed she was still in her corset. She managed to get free of her burden and took a shower. Miss Christie had given each a spare corset so they could alternate wearing them from one day to the next. Robbi managed to get her other corset on but not sufficiently tight and looked at herself in the mirror. It was really quite pretty. It was a jumble of colors of blue, green and teal with black lace, it was decent enough to wear as a top, but not at school she thought. The corset covered her breasts except for the swell in her cleavage. She looked hot in it she thought.
Robbi put on her panty and pantyhose and slipped into a pair of her new jeans. The jeans came up to her natural waist and accented her narrow waist and hips. The legs of her pants were so tight she doubted that she could have gotten in them without the pantyhose. She turned this way and that way looking at herself in the mirror, she looked like any other teenage girls. She then chose a pair of open toed sandals with a two inch heel. She brushed out her hair in her favorite Robbi fashion and looked at herself. She looked very feminine. She had gone this far, so what the heck, she went ahead and made her face up. She just used foundation, powder, mascara and lipstick on herself. She looked much like Tiffany did when she went to school.
She met Tiffany leaving the bathroom. Tiffany looked over her sister and said, “You’re not going to school like that are you?”
“No of course not I plan to put a nice blouse on, but I so like this look I may go out later like this.”
They hugged and gave each other a quick kiss before Robbi headed to the kitchen and Tiffany to the bathroom.
Sandy found Robbi in the kitchen fixing breakfast. She whistled when she saw her. “My gosh Robbi you look so good, but you are not going out like that in my lifetime at least.
“I know Mom; I have a blouse chosen to wear with this I just wanted to hang around like this. I also suppose I need you to help tighten the corset more too,” Robbi said giving her Mom a big good morning hug.
Tiffany came down and Sandy helped tighten both girls in their corsets. They both then had to help tighten Sandy’s corset. After they finished eating, much smaller portions than they each normally ate, they each finished dressing. Robbi chose a very pretty crepe blouse to go with her outfit and fixed her purse. Sandy and Tiffany both approved of her choice of looks for her first day to school.
All three were very nervous as they headed to the school not knowing what to expect that day. Sandy parked the car and they headed to Mrs. Stringers office. Tiffany and Sandy headed in first and Robbi followed about a minute later. Nobody recognized her but she caused quite a stir as she walked by the other students. Everyone wondered who the new girl was, although some thought she looked somewhat familiar.
Robbi made it to the office where the staff and Nurse Wilson were assembled. They had already heard about the ‘New Student’. There were a few murmurs as she entered and some comments about how ‘Darling she looked’. Mrs. Stringer was in her office with Sandy and Tiffany, her eyebrow arched as she saw Robbi, but she greeted her warmly as she entered.
“Well Robbi, you look so good dear. I have no problems with the way you are dressed.”
“Thank you ma’am. I just hope that I survive the next three weeks till the end of school.”
“You may have some problems dear, but they are nothing that we cannot overcome. I have alerted my staff and teachers and although some of them think this is a travesty and that I shouldn’t allow you back like this, they have all agreed to look out for you the rest of the school year. According to legal you may come to school dressed like any other student male or female as long as it is decent and doesn’t cause too much of a stir. I also checked and found that you may use the girl’s restroom when you look like this as long as you don’t dawdle or display you male parts. So no strip teases in the rest room or masturbating allowed. You are already out of PE so that is no problem. We will have a general assembly at second period to talk to the students as a whole about what is acceptable behavior to a student like you and what is not. I think by then we should have covered all the bases by then. As long as things don’t get out of hand dear, we are going to let the chips fall where they may, but rest assured you are well liked here by students and teachers. I don’t anticipate anything we can’t handle.”
Robbi was still a little unsure about things but she held her head up high and smiled. “Thank you for everything ma’am.”
Tiffany and Robbi headed to their homeroom when the bell sounded. Seeing them together the other students started recognizing who Robbi was, and yes there were some jeers and catcalls. Tiffany heard some people calling her a lez and telling her to get a real man, but many of the students stopped them and spoke encouragingly to them. Kelly and Beth really flipped over Robbi accepting her totally. Robbi and Tiffany parted a few minutes before the final bell and they all headed into their home rooms.
The teacher was already in Robbi’s homeroom and first period class. She smiled when she saw Robbi, Beth and Kelly enter.
“Students we have a student you all know, Robby Davis. Robby has a medical problem that has made him look more like a girl than a boy. I sure if you think about how he has looked over the past year you will be able to see how she has developed. Well it has become too much for her to hide and she has decided to attend as a girl now. I am telling you this and you will also be told today in a general assembly these same facts. All students are being told today as we speak. You will treat Robbi no differently than before except he is now a she. I don’t care where your feelings lie in this area or what you think about her. I personally think she is brave to come here and face her friends and fellow students. I will tolerate no spectacles or misbehavior directed to her or around her. For all of you girls this is notice that she will be using the ladies facilities to take care of her needs. If you don’t want her around then use the facilities in another part of the school or just ignore her. She won’t be trying to make moves on you or to embarrass you. She has already been through enough embarrassment and personal problems herself. She won’t be parading around nude in the rest rooms and neither should you for that fact. She doesn’t have PE so you don’t have to worry about that either. Robbi is a very good kid and I would like to see you treat her as such. Feminine pronouns are appropriate for her now. Thank all of you for your continued good behavior.”
Robbi had not expected all this and wasn’t sure if she was glad or not for all the attention she had received in class. All things aside though homeroom and first period went as well as could be expected. As she left the classroom to go to her next period she had a group of girls with her including Kelly and Beth. Robbi still heard the occasional jeer, name calling and such, but she seemed to be well received. After second period roll was taken all students headed to the auditorium for the general assembly.
Everything there was just a rehash of what the teachers had already been instructed to say to the students. The only thing Robbi could not do was to go to the girl’s locker room, and that was because of the nudity problem there.
Robbi found out throughout the day that she had a lot more friends than she had enemies. Most of the girls were more accepting of her than the guys which surprised her greatly. Some girls left the restroom when she entered, but many took that opportunity to show her their support and tell her how brave she was. She saw she was readily accepted by about sixty five percent of the students, twenty percent who didn’t care one way or another, ten percent who didn’t like the situation but were not vocal about it and the last five percent well there are dissenters everywhere she supposed. She had that five percent when she was just plain Robbi too and maybe a few extra dissenters because of her cross gender appearance now.
What was good though, were her friends kept her nearby now. She hardly went anywhere without her entourage. They were not always the same students but they were there to look out for her.
At lunch it was good to finally see Tiffany. She smiled when she saw Robbi their lunch group had greatly expanded, although some of the jocks had a hard time dealing with Robbi. Justin still stood by the group. The girls had to hear about what had happened and shared what they had heard so far that day. They also shared the fact that Robbi’s website had been shut down as it took too many hits and downloads. The counter it seemed was over fifteen thousand hits so far and she had over two hundred emails to respond to about her work. They divided the emails up to read among themselves and to reply to if necessary. All too soon though lunch was over and it was back to the grind.
During art Ms. Sanderson raved over her appearance, she and the students complimented her looks. Ms. Sanderson had Robbi start on pastels that day. It was the first time she had used color in her art. She showed some promise but she needed a lot of work matching the colors she wanted and blending them together. Ms. Sanderson already promised her an A in the course as is. Robbi made a mental note to pick up a set of pastels and watercolors to practice with on her own.
After the last period and still surrounded by friends she found her locker decorated by some who were obviously not pleased with her. She was kept from seeing exactly what was done, but it shook her up to say the least. Tiffany met her at her locker and they left together.
They had to give her a run down of their day. Tiffany too had a hard day. Robbi hadn’t thought of that but she was teased and taunted too. Robbi may have had a better day only because of the people who had always been around her. Tiffany just snuggled in close to Robbi for comfort.
At the dress shop Miss Christie was waiting for them. They were early but still she got right down to business. The three girls were taken into the back and measured and tightened again. Then Miss Christie then put Robbi to work doing odd jobs that freed up her people and she discussed the dress for a long while with Sandy. Robbi got to see her design roughed out in a cheaper fabric as the seamstresses worked out her concept. She smiled when she saw it. There was a lot of work to do in a month and very little time to do it.
Miss Christie had dresses for Robbi and Tiffany to try on. Robbi now understood why they had the corsets on. Robbi was 26 inches in the waist and the dress she tried on was at least 23 inches or maybe 22. It was gorgeous though. Tiffany’s was the same way. They both still had to go down about another two to three inches for the dresses to fit properly. Miss Christie told them that Mom had another three to four inches to go down to the proper size. She assured them that it was doable in the three weeks before the final fittings.
Robbi paid close attention to details as they worked on the dress.
They were dismissed at six thirty and went home. John was there and a confused but amazed look when he saw the three of them. He gave each a hug as they came up even Robbi. They ate a light meal at least the girls ate lightly. A side effect of the corset was it prevented them from engorging themselves. They had to eat small meals and snacks to get enough nourishment inside them.
After dinner Mom got out the exercise tapes and the girls were glad to get out of the corsets for any reason at all, even if it was only to exercise. After 45 minutes Robbi would never call girls the weaker sex that was for sure. She was impressed with her Mom’s and Tiffany’s stamina. After a quick shower it was back in the corsets and to their homework, before bed at ten.
Robbi’s dreams weren’t as grim this night as her body adapted to its constraints. She dreamed of dresses and all things pretty and feminine. She awoke to Tiffany nibbling on her ears.
“I don’t know about you Robbi but all this is leaving me perpetually horny. I know we can’t do anything about it and that is leaving me frustrated.”
Robbi looked at the clock by her bed and it was 6:30. A half hour before the alarm was set to go off, so for the next twenty minutes they explored each other’s body till they felt better. After taking care of their needs in the rest room they both got ready for the day. Looking in the mirror Robbi could see that the forced good posture actually made her look taller. Tiffany was still taller but not by as much as before.
Dressed and fed they headed to school. Everything was as the day before except there were a few parents there holding signs up when they saw Sandy drive up to the school. Though graphic in language, at least the signs weren’t as distasteful as the graffiti on the locker the day before. Hey this is America they have the right to protest she guessed. They were relived to see a group of their friends waiting for them. Tiffany and Robbi received hugs and kisses from their friends as they walked up.
The rest of the day went as before, she always had friends around her not as many as before but enough that she never felt alone. At lunch the girls talked about her website. The teacher who had been so impressed with the design of the site had found them another site to set it up on with a little more bandwidth and a larger storage capacity. She was even starting to get donations to help support her site as it was still not considered a commercial site. The girls had sorted out the emails by type. Most were fan mail, some were requests for her art work and three were requests for a showing of her works.
After school it was straight to Miss Christie’s where they were measured and tightened. She was pleased with their progress. She got Robbi more involved with her Mom’s dress. The girls working on it took time to show her what they were doing and explain why they did the things they did. Robbi just soaked it up like a sponge. Soon she was working side by side with them. The fabrics for the dress came in; they were beautiful luscious fabrics, and laces. There was also a delivery of a thirteen crinolines. Five were for Sandy and four each for Robbi and Tiffany.
Robbi and Tiffany were also given lessons on how a dress shop runs. Robbi was surprised that Tiffany was so interested. She even talked to Miss Christie about setting up a website of her shop. They were again dismissed at six thirty.
Wednesday and Thursday were more of the same. At school there were still those not happy, still their friends there and still Miss Christie’s after school. Friday Miss Christie gave the kids a walk so Robbi could prepare for her drawing sessions this weekend. Sunday would be Mothers’ Day.
Robbi woke in a very good mood a lot of the tension from the previous week had just melted away. It was very early so she started getting ready. She had become quite accomplished at lacing her corset and although it was still a pain she understood the need for it right now. Her waist without it was now a 24.
Her Mom was even happy at the differences her corset was making although she still complained about being bound in it. She had been ecstatic when she had seen Robbi’s drawing and that was enough for her.
Tiffany hung in there also; she loved Robbi and Sandy so much. The dress she would wear as a bridesmaid looked absolutely gorgeous. She would do almost anything to get in that dress.
As Robbi dressed she really saw how much of a change in her figure the corsets had made. She didn’t have to get rid of her skirts and stuff but they rode lower and tighter at the hip as the corsets forced things up and down. Her breasts had seemingly stabilized she was now a 34 C almost a D. Tiffany came in while she was doing her makeup to use the bathroom and stripped next to Robbi. They had become so close and Robbi so feminine it was hard for her to see the guy in him.
After eating breakfast they headed to the mall. It was good to see Alice again. She greeted them warmly as they arrived and gave Robbi the last of her money. They sat and talked for several minutes before the kids got to work setting up their stuff.
Robbi started drawing in the past week she hadn’t been able to just draw for herself, to have fun and to draw no one in particular. It energized her as she drew. She drew a beautiful lady in a dress she had seen in some movie or museum. It was fitted from bust to the waist, with a large flowing skirt. The sleeves were puffy at the shoulder and fitted at the wrist. They had slits and other fabrics had been sewn in the slits giving it a Victorian or earlier feel to the dress. It had a stacked lace collar and all kinds of added decorations added to it. A very Renaissance piece of work.
As she finished the drawing customers came flooding in most wanted a quick drawing something to surprise Mom with in the morning. She did a bunch of children that day, and fidgety children can be so exacerbating to the nerves, but Robbi handled them well though. The kids seemed to want to make her happy, so they behaved as she drew them.
It was after lunch when she had a problem. An extremely beautiful lady came in and wanted her portrait. On a scale of one to ten Robby would have given her an eleven or twelve. Robbi though had a hard time drawing her. Every time she looked at the lady she shook as if she were freezing. She knew in her heart that this was an extremely cold lady, not a touch of warmth in her smile or her eyes. She tried to add warmth, she tried to show a compassionate lady, but it was like trying to teach an alligator to fly. It scared her badly dealing with this portrait. It was a high dollar portrait the lady wanted. When she finished she didn’t even sign the picture, she didn’t want her name associated with it after the lady left. She had captured the lady’s outward beauty but couldn’t hide the coldness of her spirit. She was internally in distress and took a break. Alice was looking at her as she hurried into the frame shop. Alice gave her a knowing half smile. She hid out in the restroom for ten minutes, till a soft knock brought her back to reality.
“Hey Robbi, how are you?” Alice asked.
Robbi opened the door and stood next to Alice. “I am ok, I think. That Lady, she just felt so cold. It was like she was twisting my soul. I just don’t know how to explain it.”
“Don’t worry about it dear, I felt it too. I came out to see what that was all about. There are just some people that are that way. She wasn’t evil although a push one way or another and she could very well become that way. She just had no love or compassion in her Robbi. She could very easily become sociopathic. You can do a lot of things with your art dear but there are some things no one can do anything about.”
“You know about me don’t you.”
“Yes Robbi I do. It is because of me and some others you have this gift. You have the gift to draw what you really see in people and to make changes in what other people see, you can change some realities, mold some opinions but you still can’t force a square peg into a round hole. That goes for the good things and the bad things. You have a noble spirit and have refused to hurt people with that art, but have sought to do good with it.”
“You mean you did this to me?”
“Did this, no we didn’t do that to you. The art choose you, it sort of found a kindred spirit in you. You just took it where your heart felt it should go.”
“How will I know what I can change?”
“Just listen to your heart.”
“Will I always be like this?”
“As long as the art is inside you and you want the art. The art doesn’t stay where it is not wanted. If you need to know more just talk to me, Miss Christie or Ms. Sanderson. If you feel better there are still some patrons waiting for you girl?”
Robbi hugged Alice and said, “Thank you for everything Alice.”
The rest of the day went by. Robbi felt better knowing more about her gift now. She made a more effective use of the gift, letting it lead her where it needed to go. Robbi had been forcing it before but now it flowed. She knew in her heart now that Jamie would be a happy girl. Not a complete girl that was one reality she knew she couldn’t change, but happy none the less with her loving parents. She knew Rebecca and Beth would be whole again that was something she could change. She knew now that Kelly, although she appeared happy wasn’t really happy inside and that Richard brought that gift to her. She knew that Tiffany was her soul mate as John was her Mom’s.
It was the gift that molded her in this form. It sought things feminine in Robbi and brought them out in her. She knew that it sought out an artistically gifted male and brought out the female it found there. The gift and the artist were drawn together.
Her patrons would swear that this day Robbi’s art went to a new level. Her drawings radiated warmth and light like never before.
Sandy’s wedding went off and was a glorious affair. Robbi and Tiffany stayed with Alice while their parents Honeymooned. The dress bore the label Robbi’s Bridal wear. Miss Christie gave credit where credit was due.
Robbi and Tiffany are due to be married next year, their sister five year old Tracy will be their flower girl. As Robbi’s drawing suggested, both are to graduate early from college. Robbi has a dual career as a world renowned artist and a fashion designer. Tiffany went into marketing and handles all their business decisions with their friends Cindy, Katy and Margie. Together they could sell sand in the Sahara and refrigerators to Eskimos.
Beth became a dermatologist, her husband Justin a securities broker, Kelly a motivational speaker, and Richard soon to be her husband a multi billionaire software designer and engineer by unseating some guy who lives up somewhere in the Northwest. Jamie was elected to congress where she served fourteen terms. Rebecca married and became just a happy house wife to an average family.
Mrs. Stringer now lives with Nurse Wilson and they are happier than they ever were, still motivating and caring for young minds. Robbi’s and Tiffany’s youngest will be in their last graduating class. A certain graffiti artist is doing 25 years for child molestation and is the not so happy companion to a man only known as Bubba.
Robbi did see her natural father one more time. She saw in him, the same things she had seen in the ice queen that had so startled her. She sent him what love she could but he was a square peg. He ate a bullet when everything he worked for came crashing down after his fourth divorce. He had married someone as cold as he was.
Finis
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by Paula Dillon
Young Jimmy Swenson finds himself in some unusual circumstances. He looks so much like his twin sister, they call him her little sister. He is tormented by a hair dresser that has an agenda of her own,and is lusted by boy he knows. Then things get really strange.
A Whateley Fanfic
Fadeaway
by
Paula Dillon
Today was special for Jimmy and Tammy Swenson, it was their fourteenth birthday. Their mom was taking them out to eat to celebrate their birthdays at a nice restaurant. They were having a party but that wasn’t till Saturday, when school was out for the Christmas break. Their tests were already over but they had two days of school to go. All of Tammy’s friends couldn’t help referring to Jimmy as Tammy’s little sister. He hated that. For all this Jimmy and Tammy got along better than most brothers and sisters, they did love each other. They had their spats sure, but nobody picked on Tammy while Jimmy was around. He only wished it were the same for him.
They were as identical as twins could be considering that one was a boy and the other was a girl. They were five foot four inches tall. They both had blond hair (his cut in a short boy’s haircut ((that could easily pass as a girl’s pixie cut)), hers in a pageboy that just brushed the tops of her shoulders) and blue eyes. They clearly showed their Nordic decent. Their faces were perfect diamond shapes, being narrow at the chin, wide at their cheeks and slightly narrower at the forehead. The only real difference was that Tammy after her twelfth birthday had starting to develop different curves than Jimmy. Not that she was that different. She was a large A cup and beat Jimmy’s chest measurement by two inches, she was also two inches wider at hip and three inches narrower in the waist. She even out weighed him by five pounds.
Jimmy for his part had yet to hit puberty. This wasn’t unusual in his father’s family; their boys didn’t start puberty till late thirteen to early fifteen years old. Then they exploded in their development till they were tall, rugged and handsome men by the age of sixteen. His voice was still childlike, his body hair was thin or non-existent and of course he didn’t shave because there was nothing to shave. This irked Jimmy because Tammy was already shaving her legs.
Julia Swenson, their Mom got home for work, hugged her kids and headed to her room to cleanup a bit and change. Jimmy and Tammy were already dressed. Jimmy looked sharp in his navy blue suit that had gold buttons with the Swenson crest on them. Tammy was dressed in a very pretty baby blue floral print dress that clung to her body showing off her young curves, baby blue heels, a matching purse, suntan pantyhose, a silver heart shaped necklace and earring set and just a smidgen of makeup (as much as her mom would let her get away with).
Julia came out of her room looking dazzling in a sapphire blue silk chiffon dress, matching heels and suntan pantyhose. She had on a necklace and earrings that matched Tammy’s. She looked more like a twenty six year old woman rather than her thirty six years.
Jimmy’s eyes got real big, “Whoa Mom, you look good, really good.”
“Why thank you, kind sir. I must say you look dashing in that suit, and you look really nice too Tammy. We’ll talk about makeup later. I guess my little girl is growing up. Maybe you can wear a bit more makeup but nothing too sexy or sultry though, you still are my little girl.”
Tammy squealed with delight, “Thank you Momma.”
Jimmy had a far away sad look on his face. This didn’t escape the notice of his Mom. “What’s wrong Jimmy?”
“I just wish Dad was here.”
Eric Swenson had died on an oil derrick accident out in the Gulf of Mexico three years ago. He was pushing pipe when the chain that held a machine broke. The machine spun around on the drill stem and hit Eric in the chest crushing his ribcage and killing him instantly. Insurance and compensation from the company paid off all their debt and bills and made life comfortable for them, but it couldn’t fill the hole in their lives.
Julia hugged both of her kids fiercely, “I know sweetie. I miss him too, but let me tell you both; your father would be proud how both of the way you two have turned out. Are you guys ready,” she asked.
Both kids answered, “Yes Ma’am.”
Julia fumbled in her purse as she walked to the door. “Now where are my keys?” She said to herself.
“On the dresser next to your jewelry box,” Jimmy answered.
“Now how would you know that Mister?” Julia asked with emphasis on the mister.
“I don’t know, but I think they are there? I guess,” Jimmy wondered where that had come from himself.
Julia went to her bedroom and found her keys right where Jimmy had said they would be. She just shook her head and joined the kids at the car.
The Swenson’s weren’t unadept at eating out, they ate out at least once a week, but this place was a lot fancier than the restaurants they usually went to. The kids’ eyes got big as they looked around. They were taken to their table by a real maá®tre’d. Jimmy insisted on seating their Mom and Tammy stood by her chair till he helped her too.
They had a good time eating and talking, but towards the end Jimmy felt a little unwell. He thought he might have a slight fever and his stomach was a little unsettled. He made an effort not to show his discomfort and for the most part succeeded.
**************
The last two days of school came and went. On the last day they had an assembly where the Principal wished her students a Happy Holidays. She dismissed them directly from assembly.
Jimmy was glad to get home; he still wasn’t up to snuff. He had been feverish the last two nights. He thought he might have a mild case of the flu except he didn’t have any congestion.
**************
Early Saturday morning found Julia and her kids at the hair dressers. Jimmy was there for a trim while Julia and Tammy were there for makeovers.
Cindy took care of Jimmy’s hair. He wanted a more masculine look, but no matter what he said she kept his hair Metro sexual or somewhat androgynous. She liked him looking a little feminine. She even cleaned up his brow with just a bit of arch; his weren’t as thin or arched as Tammy’s and Julia’s brows but they were different from any boys Jimmy knew. It tickled Cindy that despite all his bluster, he never complained to his mom who kept bringing him back. She also took some of his hair to forward and made some fringe. She showed him pictures of famous guys who had bangs, so he relented a bit. She would pierce his ears and give him some lovely butterfly earrings she had in starter sets if she felt she could get away with it. Maybe later she thought.
Cindy stood back and looked at the boy. She thought he was so cute. If he were her child she would have him in dresses. His hair didn’t scream girl, but there was nothing he could do to it to make it more masculine short of cutting it off, into a flattop or buzz cut. This was fun for her.
Jimmy sat up front at the salon while he waited for his Mom and sister. It took them at least three or four times the amount of time to get their hair done.
There were some girls there that talked to him and asked his opinion on hair styles and color as they waited their turn. They just assumed he was a girl, albeit a little flat chested. He figured as much, but at least they were friendly to him and he liked sitting next to and talking with them. There was a very cute red head sitting next to him. She was a little too close for comfort actually; her hip and thigh were touching him. He thought she was hitting on him.
Julia and Tammy came around the corner and saw Jimmy before he saw them. His Mom couldn’t believe how much he looked like a girl. She had asked Cindy about his hair, she said that he had insisted on that look. Seeing how good he looked and how well he was getting along with the girls around him she kinda believed it. She also noticed his brows and wondered if he were gay or something. No matter she still loved him the same. She would just have to have a talk with him in the next week or so.
Jimmy looked up when he heard his name called. He looked up and smiled really big when he saw his Mom and sister. They looked even better than they had been on Wednesday.
“Wow Sis, you look incredible. You too Mom.”
Tammy was so pleased by the compliment he paid to her she squealed with delight and ran to her brother and giving him a big hug, “Thank you Jimmy, I really love my makeup.” The Makeup Technician had taken a lot of time and taught Tammy how to apply her makeup right and gave her a DVD to study. Her Mom finally let her use eye makeup; eye liner (only for special occasions), mascara, and eye shadow (as long as she didn’t go too dark); Jimmy honestly thought his sister looked incredible. He looked over her shoulder and just winked at his Mom, who smiled back at him.
Tammy stood back and looked at Jimmy; inside she was a little confused. He looked good, very good for a girl, not quite a silk and lace girl, but definitely not a tomboy girl. “You look… great too,” she said in an unconvinced manner.
Julia similarly agreed.
Jimmy was hurt a bit and it showed a little. He was hoping they would say enough of this and insist that he get it cut more like a boy.
Julia and Tammy saw the hurt and decided that if he wanted to look like this, they would accept him.
Julia paid up and they had to hurry home for the Party.
**************
Jimmy and Tammy dressed in identical red Polo shirts. Jimmy wore tan khaki slacks and white decks shoes. Tammy wore a Khaki mini, nude pantyhose, white deck shoes with pink piping and of course she used her new makeup. She wasn’t perfect, but achieved some nice results. Her Mom fixed the few flaws she could find.
They had fifteen guests, eleven girls and four boys. The girls fawned over Jimmy’s looks a bit; they were Jimmy’s friends as well as Tammy’s.
Three of the boys thought he looked gay, but hey they were there for the girls and one of the guys had the hots for Jimmy. Tom loved the way that Jimmy looked. This was not the time or place, he was still in the closet, but he couldn’t wait to get Jimmy alone.
They played games; the boys played GTA (Grand Theft Auto) on Jimmy’s X-box while the girls just had to try Tammy’s makeup. Julia served cake and ice cream after the twins blew out the candles. Lastly the two kids opened their presents. Jimmy got a pair of gold studs from one of the girls. He knew it was for him, because the same girl had given Tammy a pair of gold studs too. They were ok he supposed, he would have to get an ear pierced now.
**************
Jimmy got ready for bed early; his mom hugged him and then felt his head.
“Into the bathroom Jimmy, your head feels a little warm.”
Julia put a thermometer in his mouth and waited ten seconds before it beeped. She then read the digital display. It showed 100.5 degrees (38 degrees C).
“Honey you got a little fever, not too bad though. How are you feeling baby?”
“I have sort of been out of it for a couple of days, since Wednesday, I guess.”
Julia sent him to bed. As she tucked him into bed she said. “Stay in bed tomorrow, just get up to take care of your bathroom needs. Holler if you get to feeling worse.”
“OK Mom.”
**************
When Jimmy woke up he was sitting at a table leaning into a mirror putting on lipstick. He saw a girls face with a full face of makeup on. She had a frilly blouse on and really looked good. He also saw his sister in the mirror. She was sitting on her bed, wearing just her baby doll and panties, watching him. She had a concerned and amazed look on her face. He startled as he realized that the girl he saw in the mirror was him. He stood up fast to run out of the room, but stumbled when he caught a heel in the carpet.
Tammy jumped up when he stood and caught him when he fell. She helped him to walk over to her bed and to sit down. Then she sat down next to him putting her arm around his shoulder.
“What is going on Jimmy?”
“I don’t know. I was asleep till I woke up putting on that lipstick.”
“Yes you were sleep walking, but why were you putting on my clothes and makeup. What gives? Are you Ok?”
Jimmy hung his head down and started to cry lightly, “I don’t know what’s going on. Am I going crazy or something? I don’t know.”
“Let me look at you. I have been sitting here for forty minutes watching you get dressed. Let’s see how you turned out.”
Tammy helped Jimmy stand. He looked a little unstable in her heels now where just minutes ago he looked like he had been wearing them all his life. She couldn’t believe how well put together he was. Tammy liked how her brother looked and was a little jealous.
**************
Tammy had awoken moments after the light overhead came on. She figured he was sleepwalking; he had done it before just after their Dad had died and knew not to wake him. Tammy felt herself blush as she watched him take off his pajamas, but found she couldn’t turn away. Jimmy then started dressing in her clothes. He had his back to her as he pulled on a pair of her panties. Her mouth hung in an “O” as he gracefully slipped on one of her bras as easily as any girl she knew and better than some. He expertly pulled on some pantyhose, a half slip, and a camisole. He went to her closet and chose one of her best blouses and a cute mini skirt. He had a little trouble though with her shoes; her pumps were a little small for him. She handed him a pair of strappy sandals, which he put on.
Jimmy walked gracefully to her vanity, then sat and began by polishing his nail a pretty pale pink. He applied the polish flawlessly like he had done a hundred manicures. He then began working on his face. Tammy was only fair with makeup, she still had trouble getting her eyes right. Tammy couldn't believe how well Jimmy was putting on his makeup. It looked like he had been there with her as the technician had taught her. She paid attention to him so she could copy what he was doing.
She had seen the change that came over him as he finished putting on the lipstick.
“Jimmy I like the way you look. You put that outfit together quite nicely.”
Jimmy was scared and it showed. Tears fell from his eyes streaking his eye makeup. “Yes, but why did I do it?” He said in a trembling voice.
“I don’t know Jimmy; you have been looking more fem all the time. I mean look at your hair and eyebrows. I can’t believe you actually wanted to look that way.”
“I didn’t, Cindy said that this is the way Mom wanted my hair.”
“OMFG!!! That bitch eeewww,”
Jimmy was startled to hear his sister say that, he wondered if Tammy was mad at their Mom or at Cindy.
“I think that witch did that to you on purpose. She told Mom that that was the way you wanted your hair.”
“No, I swear, I didn’t ask to look like this. She even plucked my brows.”
“Well let me help you get cleaned up, so you can dress up as a guy again?”
“Thank you Sis.”
Tammy unbuttoned the blouse and took it off. Next she unbuttoned and unzipped the skirt. She helped Jimmy step out of the skirt. Her hands lightly brushed Jimmy’s legs. He jumped a bit and almost swooned at this brief contact. Tammy loved his legs; they were just as incredible as her legs were. Next off was the camisole. Tammy then looked strangely at her brother. Her bra fit Jimmy good, a little too good. The cups were a little loose but that was an A+ bra. She reached around him hugging him to her as she unhooked the bra. When she leaned back away from him she let out a gasp as she looked at his chest. He had two mounds on his chest and was probably a full A cup.
She snatched his hand and started towards their Mom’s room. Jimmy was frightened and stumbled after her, still wearing heels.
“MOM…MOM!!! You have got to see this!” Tammy shouted.
Julia woke at the noise and groggily looked at the clock on her nightstand it read 3:30 AM. She flicked on her bedside light just before her door burst open and her kids entered the room. For a second she couldn’t understand why her daughter was bare chested.
“Tammy cover yourself now young lady!... Jimmy!!! Why are you wearing your sister’s nightie?”
“Mom I am Tammy, and that is Jimmy, look at his chest!”
Julia was shocked wide awake now, she nervously looked at Tammy and then Jimmy. Her eyes nearly popped out as she looked at his chest, she had to get up to take a closer look. “Jimmy is this really you?” she asked rhetorically. She already knew in her heart that it was him. “Oh my, how long have you been like this?”
“Mom, you saw me last night. I didn’t look like this.”
“You were wearing a pajama shirt last night.”
“Yeah but it was tight enough I couldn’t hide these!!!” he said lifting his breasts up a bit. He looked like he was close to crying.
She touched the two mounds on his chest. “They certainly feel like breasts.” Julia then looked more closely at the way that Jimmy was made up and dressed. He looked good as a girl. What was she thinking, this was her son. “Why did you dress your brother up like this Tammy?”
“I didn’t. I think he was sleepwalking again. He came into my room and dressed himself. The only thing I did was hand him a pair of sandals I would have worn with this outfit. My pumps were two small for his feet. He dressed himself and did his own nails and makeup.”
Julia looked again at Jimmy. His nails were polished and his makeup looked very good even though it was streaked down his cheeks, “I don’t believe that.”
“It’s true; I recorded it on my web cam Mom.”
“Go outside a minute Tammy.”
“Mom No,” she said.
“Just do it. We’ll be just a minute. Go get dressed.”
Tammy pouted a bit then left.
“May I look at your boy parts Jimmy?” She asked.
Jimmy didn’t speak but just nodded.
As she raised the half slip and lowered the panties and pantyhose, she had to stifle a gasp as she uncovered him. Julia hadn’t seen his penis in a while, but it was smaller than she remembered and looked like the penis of a four or five year old boy. It was no more than an inch and a half. His testicles and scrotum were shrunken and looked like two peanuts in a shell.
“Go back to Tammy’s room and get dressed again. Get her to pick out a bra for you. I am going to get dressed. Come down to the kitchen when you’re dressed.”
In Tammy’s room Jimmy was too in shock to complain. Tammy dressed Jimmy back up in the clothes he had earlier put on. She did her own makeup and then fixed Jimmy’s face where his makeup had run. They headed on down to the kitchen. Tammy brought her laptop down with her.
Julia was boiling a pot of water for tea as the kids came in. Tammy set up her laptop.
“Tammy, go get the thermometer out of the bathroom. Jimmy was running a fever earlier.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
Julia sat down and looked at her son. It was hard to think of him as her son looking so much like Tammy but for the hair.
After she checked his temperature which was now normal, she made them all a cup of Earl Grey. “Ok let’s talk about this. Start at the beginning Tammy.”
Tammy explained from the moment the lights woke her till she dragged Jimmy into her mom’s room. Jimmy said he didn’t know what was happening till he woke looking in the mirror with a lipstick in his hands. Tammy then showed what she had recorded on her laptop. Jimmy was just rolling up the pantyhose on his legs when she started recording. Julia noticed a far away or vacant expression in Jimmy’s eyes. He definitely wasn’t cognizant of what he was doing. Tammy kept the camera on her brother except for when she got him the sandals. He walked back and forth a couple of times in the heels, very confidently and had a sexy swagger as he walked. He then sat to do his face. Tammy positioned the camera on the vanity adjusting it to best show Jimmy at work. Julia saw Jimmy competently apply his makeup; she also saw how much attention Tammy was paying to his work. Tammy had a look of awe and concern on her face. The video showed when Jimmy snapped back into consciousness. Julia was proud of the way Tammy helped and comforted Jimmy.
“Ok, we have a problem. Make that several problems. First apparently you started sleepwalking again, your dressing in your sister’s clothes and your physical problem. Are you taking any hormones, pills or drugs of any kind?”
“No Mom.”
“Why have you been getting your hair and eyebrows done more femininely?”
“That wasn’t me Mom, Cindy said that was what you wanted.”
“You’re kidding, she did this to you.”
“She said you wanted me to look like this.”
Julia’s face filled with rage, “Why that bitch, how dare she do that to my child and then lie about it. I’ll claw her eyes out the next time I see her. No Jimmy, I didn’t give her any instructions about your hair or eyebrows.”
“Why didn’t you ask me about it, Mom? I thought you wanted me to look like this.”
“Jimmy you are my child, I don’t care, how you look, if you are straight, gay or whatever. I love you no matter what. I let that acceptance keep me from asking. In fact Cindy came to me and told me that this was what you wanted. I screwed up; I guess part of it is my fault.”
“You thought I was gay!” Jimmy half screamed, crying.
“I didn’t know what to think hon. Cindy had me convinced that you wanted to be more feminine. I was stupid for not talking to you about it. You seemed happy so I never asked. That was my bad and to the best of my ability it won’t happen again. You can kick my butt if I ever overlook something like that again. So you hated the haircut?”
“Yes and no. I hated being mistaken for Tammy’s sister, but the hair and all looked good. I wanted to look more like Dad. I look good though now. I don’t feel bad dressed like this. I hate not knowing why I did this to myself. I don’t know, I don’t understand, I am just so confused right now. Am I turning into a girl?”
“I don’t know. You’re body is going through some changes. Just like puberty, only a whole lot faster and yes you look like a girl right now. It’s Sunday and way too early to do anything. Tammy take your brother and help him clean off the makeup and he can dress in his own clothes. Jimmy you will need to wear a bra, for now.”
“Do I have too?”
“Yes you have to wear a bra?”
“No, I mean change my clothes?”
Julia sat aback in her chair astonished, “You mean… you want to look like a girl?”
“I don’t want to become a girl, but… I don’t know. I like how I look now. What upset me was thinking that you wanted to change me into a girl. I know that was Cindy now. I’m sorry I ever thought you would do something like that to me, Mom. I can’t explain it but I am comfortable dressed like I am now.”
Julia had a strange look on her face and shook her head, “I guess you don’t have to change. I think we need another cup of tea and we can talk things over in the living room.”
They talked like they hadn’t talked in a long while. Tammy sat on one side of Jimmy and Julia on the other, both huged him tightly.
Jimmy said he loved Mom and Tammy, but he was afraid that he was getting lost in the middle somehow. He had friends but they were also Tammy’s friends. He got along with girls easier than he did guys. What upset him was when their friends referred to him Tammy’s little sister instead of Jimmy. He was thirty minutes older than his sister anyway. Tammy apologized for not realizing that this bothered him. She said that they looked so much alike and her friends noticed the changes in his appearance. They liked how he looked and acted. They were just willing to accept him like this.
“I love you Tammy, but I just wanted to be me,” Jimmy said, just before a button between his breasts popped off the blouse and landed three feet away on the coffee table.
“Oh no you appear to be growing fast Jimmy. Tammy go get one of my bras and a tape measure. Jimmy take off that blouse.”
Julia hadn’t seen him in just a bra but he was really spilling out of the cups of Tammy’s bra right now, “Jimmy that bra can’t be comfortable.”
She saw that he was a little flushed and felt a little warm to the touch, as she stroked his cheek. When Tammy got back, Julia helped Jimmy change bras. She wore a 36 C cup bra and as she fastened it around Jimmy she saw he almost filled out the cups but the band was just too loose on him. She used the tape measure on him and after some calculation she figured Jimmy was a 34 C. She measured his hips and waist and came up with 34-28-35. She checked Tammy and got 33-27-34. “Oh my Jimmy, you’re as big as I was when I graduated from high school, except I had a 25 inch waist.”
“Yesterday my khaki’s with a 30 inch waist fit tightly Mom.”
“I know, son. Tammy leave the room for a bit.”
“Mom, he is my brother and I am worried about him too, can’t I stay?”
“I want to look at Jimmy’s privates.”
“Please,” Tammy said crying.
“It’s up to Jimmy.” Julia said giving up.
Tammy looked at him with her sad puppy dog eyes. She did that real good, Jimmy thought. It was hard to tell when she was sad or putting it on, but he knew she was probably not faking it now. He just nodded his head ok.
Jimmy pulled up the skirt and half slip and carefully peeled the pantyhose down. Julia gasped as she saw that his penis was barely larger than a big clit now. His scrotum had migrated back and was beginning to look like a labial fold. There was no sign of his testicles anywhere.
“Sit down Jimmy, I need to see something.”
Jimmy sat down and Julia raised his legs a bit. Jimmy’s scrotum definitely looked like a girl’s labia and it appeared to be thinning in the middle, but there was no vaginal opening, at least not yet.
“Tell me Mom, I am becoming a girl aren’t I.”
Julia considered what she might say; she started to lie but then stopped. He deserved the truth, at least as much as she knew. “I am not a doctor Jimmy, but as far as I can tell… Yes it appears like you’re becoming a girl.”
Jimmy didn’t know why he said what he said next. He was scared and confused, but what came out was, “That’s cool… I guess.” He was confused as to why he said it was cool; he added the rest because he was so unsure of himself.
“Get dressed Jimmy; I need to get you one of my blouses. Nothing else will fit you.”
Jimmy pulled up his panties and pantyhose up.
Tammy couldn’t help herself; she hugged Jimmy tightly and cried lightly on his shoulder, “I love you as a brother or sister Jimmy.”
Jimmy didn’t know what to think. He had always been close to his sister, he guessed he loved her even more now that she didn’t reject him, “I love you too sis. I love you too.” He then started crying on her shoulder. Julia had to smile as she saw her kids, she had done something right at least.
**************
Monday found them in the office of Julia’s OB/GYN. Julia had confirmed that morning that all visible traces of Jimmy were gone, ‘even the scar on his knee he’s got when he took a fall on his bike a last summer was gone,’ she marveled to herself. She didn’t know what the doctor would find, but on the outside Jimmy looked no different from Tammy or herself. The three of them had talked it over and decided that they should give Jimmy a girl’s name and not tell the doctor anything about what had happened, at least at the beginning
They had to wait from nine to a little after eleven before they could get Annette Renee Swenson (that was the name they came up with) in. Julia explained that her daughter hadn’t had a gynecological exam yet and her recent development convinced Julia of its necessity.
Dr. Brenda Gordon looked at Annette and severely admonished them both. She had her nurse take blood and she gave Annette a complete exam. She talked as she worked. She asked about periods. Annette said what her mom had prompted her that she had started two years ago. Her last period was two weeks ago. Dr. Gordon asked what had made them insist on coming in today. Julia stated that her daughter had gained a cup and a half in the last month.
“You’re kidding right?” she asked
“No Ma’am,” Julia said in all honesty.
“Well that kind of development, though extremely rare, it is not unheard of. Every thing looks good from down here. It’s good to see you’re still a virgin young lady.”
“There is only one problem Dr. Gordon, yesterday my daughter was my son.”
“Now I know you are lying, that girl has never had a sex change. She is as much a girl as you or I.”
“Brenda you know my son. You delivered him.”
The doctor had a lost expression on her face. She had indeed delivered Julia’s children and didn’t remember a son. Nurse get me Julia Swenson’s chart. She would end this farce here.
“You delivered my twins Jimmy and Tammy, don’t you remember.”
“Yes and surely this is Tammy that you are masquerading as Annette, I don’t remember a boy named Jimmy.”
“Tammy is in the lobby. I’ll go get her.”
The nurse brought Julia’s chart in. Looking back fourteen years she found her entry where she delivered twins, a girl 6 lbs 8 ounces and a boy 6 lbs 10 ounces. Both babies appeared normal, she noted. She also noted the name of the Pediatrician she handed them off to.
“Excuse me Annette, you may get dressed now. I will be right back.”
Tammy and Julia entered the room where Jimmy/Annette was finishing getting dressed.
“How are you Jimmy?” Tammy asked.
“Alright for a girl I guess.”
Dr. Gordon came back into the room and said, “Hello Julia and Tammy, who is this young lady?”
The Swenson’s looked at each other confused.
“That is Annette or Jimmy really. You just examined him!” Julia said, sounding irritated.
”I don’t think I have.”
“Check the notes you’re carrying!” Julia demanded.
Dr. Gordon read the notes and saw that she did indeed just a few minutes earlier had examined someone named Annette.
Dr Gordon called for her nurse who did blood work, “Did you draw blood from this girl Mandy?”
“No Ma’am do you want me too?”
“No check her arm.”
The nurse saw the bandage there but couldn’t remember drawing blood.
“Go get your blood tray and bring it here,” Dr. Gordon asked.
Mandy left and came back. “Do you want me to draw this girl’s blood?” she asked.
“You don’t remember drawing it?” The doctor asked going through the rack of tubes.
“No, I haven’t drawn her blood.”
“Then what are these tubes here?” she asked.
“I don’t know doctor. I don’t remember taking blood from anyone here.”
“This is your daughter Julia?” Dr. Gordon asked showing the tubes to Julia.
“Yes, that is her,” she said pointing to Jimmy, “and that nurse drew her blood. I was here when it was done.”
“Mandy Bring me the ultra sound unit, Annette I need you to put this gown on again.”
Annette started to go behind the screen to change.
“No I need to see you Annette!”
Annette was a little uncomfortable about changing in front of the Dr. She reasoned though that this woman had already seen everything she had, so she just undressed and put the gown back on.
Mandy brought the ultra sound machine in and got the things out to prep the girl.
“No Mandy I will do that. You can take care of your other duties. The girl’s Mom is with me. We will be ok.”
Dr. Gordon covered Annette’s legs and raised the gown above he navel. She then spread a cold gel all over her abdomen.
Annette flinched at the cold gel, “Geez,” she exclaimed. “What did you do refrigerate that stuff?”
“Certainly it’s required, just like we refrigerate our stethoscopes and speculums,” she teased.
“I don’t think she is kidding either,” Julia said giggling.
Dr. Gordon then began her examination. She started at the mons pubis and worked her way up. She pointed out the structures to the Swensons as she went, starting with the vagina. It was sometimes hard for the Swensons to tell what they were looking at, but Brenda’s practiced eye could easily tell. She was shocked though at what appeared to be immature ovaries. They should have matured years ago; in fact she would almost swear that they were growing as she watched.
“Get dressed Annette, please again in my presence. Julia I can’t believe what we just saw. You’re not pulling my leg are you?”
“No we aren’t,”
“Come with me to my office,” Dr. Gordon asked the Swenson’s.
Once in her office she said. “I don’t know what is going on, I never forget my patients. Especially one I have so intimately seen just minutes earlier. It’s also clear that Annette is a girl, at least from my tests. I am going to do a complete DNA breakdown on her and genetic comparisons to both you Julia and Tammy. Now start from the top and explain things to me.”
The Swenson’s explained how Jimmy came to be called Annette leaving nothing out. Even checking Julia’s records and finding a male birth to her, she could not remember a male birth.
Dr. Gordon called Mandy back in. “Do you know these people?”
“I know Tammy and Julia; I don’t know the other girl.”
“Did you draw blood from her?”
“Not yet, do you want me to?”
“No not right now.”
Mandy left.
“Something strange is going on,” Dr. Gordon said as she started writing notes furiously, “I need to call a friend.”
“Hi, Gina I need you to come to my office right now, stat. I have a case you might be able to help me with…. Ok see you in half an hour. Oh and bring a Polaroid camera and plenty of film.”
On the intercom Dr. Gordon called Mandy back in. “Mandy I want you to draw blood from all three ladies here,” she said as she handed the orders to the nurse. The nurse raised her brow when she saw Annette’s orders. She had never seen such a complete request from one patient before.
Mandy drew blood from all three ladies there; she raised an eyebrow as she saw the bandage on Annette’s arm. “Did you give blood today?”
Jimmy didn’t know what to say he was confused as it was.
“Don’t worry Mandy, just use the other arm,” Dr. Gordon said.
After the nurse left Julia clearly frustrated asked, “What is going on have all of you lost your minds,”
Dr. Gordon answered, “We may be doing just that. I have taken extensive notes on this. If what you say is true I may have an answer for you. You say this girl was Jimmy yesterday right?”
“Yes, we told you that at least four times,” Julia said.
“Well if what you have said is true then Jimmy/Annette may be a mutant and she has some kind of mind control powers that make people forget they even have seen her.”
“What?” Julia said.
“Jimmy/Annette is a mutant. When they hit puberty strange things can happen. Some mutations involve gender changes, almost all develop powers. You’ve seen them on TV surely.”
They had indeed seen them on TV, “Then why aren’t we affected?”
“I am not sure, maybe because you were there when she changed, maybe because you are genetically related, I just can’t say. All I can say is that according to my notes Annette is a healthy young lady. But for some reason people forget they ever saw her once they leave her.”
“Who is this person you called?”
“Gina McDonald, code name Stop Light. She is a mutant and a high order Esper/Telepath. She might be able to detect any powers Annette has.”
Julia had heard about Stop Light, supposedly she had the ability to mentally stop a fleeing person, or something like that. She wasn’t happy having a mutant come in to check her daughter. It wasn’t that she was prejudiced against mutants, many did a lot of good things... it was just that many also did bad things too.
A knock at the door signaled the arrival of Stop Light.
“Enter,” Dr. Gordon said.
A lady entered. Her appearance was remarkable. She was gorgeous and had tons of charisma. Julia found herself lusting for this lady and she knew in her heart she wasn’t that way.
“Hello Brenda,” Gina said, “Hello Julia, Tammy and Jimmy. I am Gina McDonald,” she said smiling, as she greeted everyone. She then turned back to Brenda and said, “Yes Dr. Gordon I felt her presence fifty yards away.”
“How did you know his name,” Julia asked, “everyone else seems to be forgetting him.”
“Mentally he is broadcasting ‘I am Jimmy. I am Annette. Somebody, anybody please recognize me!’ That mental shout is one thing he’ll need to control. He would have every high order telepath looking for him. So people meet Jimmy/Annette and forget about him, Dr. Gordon.”
“Yes I have been affected, and my nurse Mandy has been affected several times.
“Annette, can you calm down your inner turmoil? I want to see if I am affected.”
“I’ll try,” Annette said. She sat there for a couple of minutes and tried to find a calm place in her mind.”
“Good girl that is much better, but I can still sense you. So I wouldn’t be able to forget you, but then I am a TP 6 by mutant standards.”
“Julia, do I have permission to show Gina, Annette’s records.” Dr. Gordon asked.
“Yes,”
“Annette, is it okay with you?” Dr. Gordon asked.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
Gina was a queen of speed reading. She read the seven pages of notes in ten seconds.
“Call Mandy back in; I want to see this happen.”
“Mandy,” Dr. Gordon called on the intercom, “Please come here I want to introduce a new patient to you.”
Mandy came in and acknowledged everyone but Annette. “Mandy do you know Annette?”
“No Ma’am,” She smiled. “It is nice to meet you Annette.”
“That will be all Mandy?”
Mandy left and all Stop Light could say was, “Wow, I didn’t sense anything, no deception, no recognition, nothing except a genuine sense of caring.”
“I have lost count on how many times Mandy has met Annette and each time is new all over again.”
“What other powers do you have? Annette, do you want to go by that name? We need to know if that is what you want to be known as, don’t you think?” She asked Jimmy.
“I guess so; Mom and Tammy helped me come up with that name. I don’t know what other powers I have?”
It came to Julia, “She knew exactly where my keys were, when she couldn’t possibly have known where they were?”
“Interesting,” Gina said. “Has she had blood drawn yet?”
“Twice,” Brenda said.
“Where is your blood now Annette?”
She thought for a second. “There are two tubes in the refrigerator here. Four tubes are on the way to Kelly Genetics, two tubes are on the way to Dyna Gen, and four tubes are going to Grayson labs.”
“Could she have known that Brenda?”
Dr. Gordon shook her head no, “I didn’t even know where they were going?”
“Interesting, Julia, Annette really needs to go some where so she can find out about her powers. She has some kind mind control power. Annette needs to get that power under control or she is going to lead a very, very lonely life. It is very important that she learns control. I can’t say that enough. Something like this could lead to suicide. Also she’ll need a place where she is safe, as her other known power, that is being a finder, could be highly coveted. I won’t candy coat this. Depending on how powerful her skill is, she could find herself at risk of being kidnapped or coerced to use that power for illicit purposes. Right now she is relatively safe, as only the five of us know. So keep your powers to yourself right now. If you develop some other powers, think before you share them.”
“Is there a place where she can be safe?” Julia asked.
“Yes, I went to such a place. There is a school that teaches mutants about their powers and protects them. They help the students there to achieve the most from their abilities, and to find their place in this world. I would like to see Annette go there too. The Whateley Academy. If you would like I can see about available space and a registration packet.”
(to be continued)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Note <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
I intend to update this story every two weeks, give or take a few days. I hope you enjoy and look forward to your comments.
The Swenson’s have a lot on their plate. They try to sort out how their lives will be affected by what has happened. They worry about how family and friends will react. They suffer a little separation anxiety. Annette gets to meet someone special.
Fadeaway 2
by
Paula Dillon
After that fateful meeting in Dr. Gordon’s office, Gina McDonald code named Stop Light went home with Julia and her daughters. They talked as Julia drove. They agreed that, while they would miss having Annette around home with them, it might be best if Annette went to this Whateley Academy.
“Is there anyway that Annette can ever revert back to Jimmy?” Julia asked
“Annette’s form is consistent with her BIT or Body Image Template, for whatever reason her BIT was that of the girl you see. I won’t say it is impossible stranger things can happen, for instance you could win the next four power ball drawings. It’s that kind of odds Julia,” Gina said.
“So there is no cure?”
“What is there to cure? Is Tammy sick because she is a girl, of course not? Jimmy is Annette now I’m afraid there is probably no going back now. The sooner Annette absorbs all that entails the sooner she can get on with her life. In fact she is already doing so well, far ahead of the norm. I am surprised. Did you ever want to be a girl, Annette?”
“No Ma’am. I still would like to be a boy. I can’t explain why I am comfortable with the way I am. I don’t hate being a girl, I think Tammy looks great and it’s ok looking like her I guess.”
“Annette, I wished I looked half as good as you do now!”
“The only difference between what I look like and you look like is curves Tammy. Look at Mom I am sure you will develop just as much as she.”
“That is very insightful, Annette, and yes Tammy, she is more than likely right. It is possible though that Annette will always look better; I suspect that she is an exemplar. Exemplars exhibit exceptional physical, mental and appearance traits. That isn’t going to be a problem for you is it?”
“I am jealous of how nice she looks, but she is my sister now and I love her. Just don’t be stealing my boyfriends,” Tammy giggled, hugging Annette.
Gina told them, “I would like to extend an invitation to all of you, to spend some time at the Gulf Coast Champions Association’s headquarters. We really need to perform other tests. It will take about three days for the tests. We have some excellent accommodations. You guys can relax there, while we begin to get a handle on just how special Annette is.”
“When? Christmas is just around the corner. We would like to spend time with family,” Julia said.
“We can do it after Christmas, say the twenty seventh. It will give you time to relax, get some information from your family and get Annette use to being a girl. Mutations are often found in family groups. We would like to know if there have been other Mutants in the family. Why didn’t Tammy mutate? Are you a mutant Julia, I mean you really don’t look old enough to have two teenagers that are fourteen years old? There are a lot of questions we would like to answer.”
At home Gina was like one of those CSI types you see on TV. She looked about and tried to collect remnants of Jimmy’s DNA before his transformation. She took his toothbrush, hair brush, sheets from his bed and the shoes he had worn. She hunted for anything that might have a trace of the old Jimmy.
After she left Julia sat with her children in the living room. “It has been an interesting day. I am beginning to understand that ancient Chinese curse, ‘May you live in interesting times.’”
“Tell me about it Mom. I am living it. I am so scared; I don’t know what to do.”
“Well you certainly don’t show it. You know what we need to do next don’t you? We need to call your Grandparents, I don’t know if they will remember you or not. If they don’t, how do we explain you to them when they come here for Christmas?”
“Oh shit!” Annette said. “I hadn’t thought about that and what about our friends. Who knows and who doesn’t, if they do remember me will they accept Annette?”
“Annette I won’t have a daughter who talks like that, but yes you are right. Your true friends will accept what you have become; it may take some of them a while to come around. We will just have to see dear. Let’s just take one thing at a time though.”
The call to Grandma and Grandpa Erickson, while a shock, went as well as it could. They remembered Jimmy and Tammy and asked about how they were doing. Julia only knew one way to break it to them and just flat out told them what had happened. There was disbelief, crying, arguing and finally acceptance. They told Julia, that whatever Annette was, she was still family. They would come down on the 24th to see their grandchildren.
The talk with Grandma Swenson was a little different. Julia picked up quickly that she didn’t seem as surprised to hear about Jimmy.
“Ok Margaret spill it, I know you know more than you are saying.”
There was a silence on the phone for several seconds, “Well I don’t know for sure, you see. Magnus’s family didn’t talk too much about their heritage, but I delved into family records a bit. I wanted to know about our family genealogy. There was a boy on Magnus’ father’s side of the family, a Samuel Swenson I believe, that disappeared around age thirteen. He would have been an uncle to Magnus. Yet there was a woman that appeared around at family times some years later. They called her Aunt Inga Bruhn. I thought it might have been an honorary thing you know like sorority sisters or close friends of the family. I thought it odd though because she had the Swenson look about her. I haven’t seen her but twice since Magnus died twelve years ago. She’s a remarkable woman, Julia. She really doesn’t look her age. She must be eighty now but I bet she won’t look fifty. I think I might contact her. She left me her contact number the last time we met.”
“Please do, Margaret; I would be interested to find out if she were Magnus’ uncle. Well you are still coming down on the 24th aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss seeing my granddaughters, Julia, I will be there. What are her sizes?”
“Well she would be a junior size 11 in dresses and blouses, a junior size 9 in pants, six and a half in shoes, a 36 C in bras and a size 5 in panties, if her figure has stabilized. Her growth has been rapid but she hasn’t expanded in the last few hours.”
“Well that sounds like full grown. I think Inga is only a little bigger than that. Let me go, I have a lot to do. If it is alright I may come down this Friday.”
“Of course we would love to have you. Bye we love you.”
“I love you and the kids too. Bye.”
“Well kids, you don’t have to worry about the Grands they all know you Annette.
“Yeah that is good, but what about our friends?” Tammy asked.
“We will go with the cover story that Annette is a distant cousin and Jimmy traded places with her, but that can wait. We will try to connect with some of your best friends later to see how that goes. Tonight and tomorrow we need some mother/daughters time. We need to shop tomorrow. Annette doesn’t have anything now besides my clothes.”
Julia and Tammy began teaching Annette about all things girl. They worked on how to eat, how to act, how to move as a girl and do all the things girls do without thinking. Julia was surprised to see Annette doing makeup. She had seen her new daughter expertly apply makeup in a video Tammy shot, but Annette struggled to get her eyes right. When she walked in her Moms heels she had difficulty but was slowly picking it up.
“Mom what am I going to wear for bed. Nothing I have fits and Tammy’s stuff won’t fit these,” Annette said, hefting her boobs.
“I guess, you can wear one of my nighties, they are a little sexier than I would like you wearing, but I guess they will have to do for now.”
Annette just blushed, she had never seen her mom wear her nighties, but she had seen them hanging in her bathroom.
“Can I wear one too?” Tammy excitedly asked.
“I guess so Tammy, I can’t treat you any differently than your sister now can I.”
Annette borrowed a nightie from Mom, and met in the living room to eat popcorn and watch girl type movies.
Hours after they went to sleep Annette got up and headed towards the bed rooms. Tammy woke and saw Annette, she whispered her name but she didn’t respond. She then woke her Mom and they followed her to Julia’s bed room. There she began to get dressed; Gone was the awkwardness of her earlier practice. After she dressed in a smart outfit she did her makeup flawlessly. She awoke after she had finished her makeup.
“Oh my,” Annette said as she looked in the mirror.
She was startled a bit when her Mom said, “Oh my yes. You dressed and put your makeup on just as nicely as I or any woman would Annette.”
“I was sleepwalking again wasn’t I?”
“Yes you were. Stand up let us look at you.”
“She looks good, Mom,” Tammy said.
“Yes she does,”
“Mom, why am I sleepwalking again?”
“It’s probably the stress that you are under dear. Don’t worry we will get you some help for that too.”
**************
Annette thought, 'letting Tammy and Mom have their head in shopping might have been a mistake.' It wasn’t that she was averse to shopping and she had been shopping with her Mom and Sister before, but it was the feral look on the two women’s faces as they hit the racks that scared Annette.
Julia started them off at the Junior’s section: pants, tops, blouses and dresses. Annette was in shock, she thought Jimmy had a pretty eclectic selection of guy’s clothes. It was nothing like she saw now in the Junior’s section. Differences in fabrics, colors, textures, collars, sleeves, lengths, fits, linings, buttons, where it buttons, zippers, belts, broaches, scarves, layers and decorations be it print, bead, embroidery, appliqué, silk screened, jeweled and so on seemed almost overwhelming, yet part of her loved it. Annette was confused but tried keeping her game face on. She helped her Mon and sister pick at first but she was so overwhelmed with clothes the first time she hit the changing room she didn’t get out for two hours. As she sorted keepers from losers, after Tammy, Mom and she got their say, other clothes took their place.
At one point Annette sought refuge in the electronics department while her Mom was busy paying for everything. They had big screen TV’s and everything. She noticed that there had to be a video camera somewhere because she could see herself approaching the area. She looked at herself turning left and right and she could even see what she looked like behind.
She checked herself out on the TV’s. She kinda wished that she could hide herself from the camera. She was startled that her image actually disappeared from view. Annette jumped when she saw that. She looked down at herself worried that she just actually disappeared, but she could see herself and her reflection on glass. Looking back at the TV’s she saw it was just on the video she disappeared. “Appear damn it,” Annette said to herself. Her image slowly appeared back on the screens. Annette promised herself that that is one thing she would keep to herself.
All in all Annette wound up with seven bags of clothes and Julia was down nearly a thousand dollars.
Next came shoes. Annette couldn’t go in and just select shoes. She had to match shoes to outfits. There were heels; short, medium, high and really high (Mom didn’t buy any of these but she had fun watching her daughters try to walk in them) in every shape from blocky to spiky, flats, lounge, sports, slippers, sandals, and boots. Jimmy had just four pair of shoes, Annette came out with ten pairs and four purses at just over six hundred dollars.
Next Tammy and Annette got upgrades to their makeup, Lancá´me, Estee Lauder, Channel, and Dior. Then all three hauled in complete skin care products, Julia was getting into this deal too.
Annette was exhausted from all the shopping, but the most traumatic shopping was yet to come as Julia headed her daughters into a lingerie shop. Annette was professionally fitted for bras. The intimate contact of the sales lady lit up her cheeks. The sales lady just giggled and tried to comfort Annette.
The sales lady came up with either a 34D or a 36C whichever was more comfortable. She said in most bras the D cup would give her breasts better support, but she might find the band too tight on some.
“The most important property of a bra is the comfort. If it doesn’t feel good, it’s tight, pinches or is too loose don’t buy it. If there isn’t enough support your breasts well don’t buy it. If the shoulder straps can’t be adjusted to give comfort don’t buy it. A bra should feel good as well as look good. Always try your bras on before buying them young lady,” the sales lady admonished.
All of that was more information than Jimmy wanted to know about bras, but Annette knew that she would have to live by what she learned. She surprised herself, her Mom and her Sister, in the bras she chose. She choice some very pretty bras in silk, lace and satin (nothing too sexy or exotic though), some plain but cute T shirt bras along with several sensible bras that were fit for exercise and yard work. Then she got matching panties; bikinis, hipsters, thongs and briefs, slips, half slips, camisoles, pantyhose and nighties.
Tammy was fitted too and wound up buying about a half dozen bras in a 34B. In a way she was jealous of Annette’s figure, but she was glad she wasn’t a D cup. She thought Annette looked too big up top in a way.
**************
At home Annette received a not so short lesson in the care of her things. Jimmy, while not a slob, had been a little haphazard with his clothes. Those were bundled away to be shipped to Goodwill. Annette learened she had to take care of her expensive clothes, especially her lingerie. She learned to hand wash rather than launder her skimpies.
Annette also turned Jimmy’s desk into a makeshift makeup table and took down some of Jimmy’s things to make her room appear a little more feminine. Into storage went her prized collection of baseball rookie cards, his autographed Killer B’s poster.
Tammy took some of the many things that made her room special to her and arranged them in Annette’s room, including a couple of her favorite porcelain dolls on stands she collected. This surprised Annette because she had been so protective of them and some of the dolls cost a couple of hundred dollars. Annette hugged Tammy and was surprised when Tammy held on tight and started crying on her shoulder.
**************
Wednesday and Thursday were just as Annette feared. Tammy and Jimmy’s friends knew Tammy, but didn’t have a clue as to who Jimmy/Annette was. Annette was introduced as a cousin of Tammy’s. The girls readily accepted Annette but couldn’t remember her if they lost sight of her for more than a couple of seconds. One of their girlfriends, Brenda, absolutely fawned over Annette and was overly affectionate. That didn’t help Brenda’s memory though. Tammy gave her sister a knowing smile.
Tom came over and looked at Annette strangely. He didn’t know her and wasn’t attracted to her but there was something about her he just couldn’t put his finger on. Tom was as subject to forgetting Annette as all the rest of their friends.
After those early contacts Julia figured it was best that they avoid contact at least, till Annette got a handle on her power.
Annette sat by herself on the couch and began crying, “Mom, what am I going to do? Nobody seems to know me except family? Is it always going to be this way?”
“I don’t know dear, I would like to say that one day you will get this thing under control,” Julie said crying a bit herself.
“Am I going to be alone my whole life?”
“No you will always have us with you, for as long as you need dear.”
“And why am I crying so much, Jimmy never cried… or at least hardly cried.”
“That is easy, Annette. You probably cry so easily now, because of hormones dear. That is why girls can cry so much.”
Thursday afternoon Julia and the kids spent most of their time getting the house ready for guests. They cleaned the two guest rooms, did the laundry, dusted, vacuumed, and cleaned every inch of their home.
Julia could see that Annette was becoming more comfortable at being a girl and was quickly learning her girl 101 lessons. She was better at makeup than Tammy and could put together her clothes into smart appropriate outfits. Annette still had some of Jimmy’s quirks. Annette still read the sports page and comics in the local paper. She still liked her Xbox games. Julia was grateful for the things she saw that were still Jimmy. Those were the things that made Jimmy stand out.
Tammy also noted that Annette was different from Jimmy, but Annette seemed to still like many of the things Jimmy did.
**************
Friday found a flurry of activity in the Swenson home. Everybody was busy getting dressed, and fixing one of Grandma Swenson’s favorite meals. The girls wore their best outfits and paid extra attention to their makeup. Julia inspected the twins and fixed any flaws she found in their appearance, but she took exquisite care of her looks too.
Tammy and Annette stationed themselves by the picture window after helping their Mom in the kitchen and setting the table. A few minutes after noon grandma’s car appeared. The kids hollered out to their mom as they hurried out the door to greet their Grandmother.
The kids swarmed the lady who stepped out of the car shouting, “Mammaw!”
“Ok kids, calm down. My haven’t the two of you grown. Tammy you are so adorable. Annette, you do look so grown up, and just as pretty as your sister,” Margaret said, inspecting and correctly identifying her grandkids. “You two are almost identical, I see.”
“Margaret, it is so good seeing you,” Julia said, coming out to greet her mother-in-law. “Kids, get grandma’s things out of her car and take them to her room.”
Margaret popped open the trunk and left the doors to the car unlocked. Tammy and Annette were stunned to see everything. There didn’t seem to be room for Grandma Swenson to have been in the car. Almost every square inch was filled with presents, packages and luggage. It took the two kids almost half an hour to empty the car, a full sized Buick Lucerne.
Margaret directed where everything went. Presents went under the tree, luggage in her room and packages went here or there. They had just about gotten everything sorted, when the rumble of a well tuned auto caught their attention. It came up the highway next to their subdivision and turned in. They were all standing outside as they saw a Corvette turn on their road. The car slowed and turned into the Swenson’s drive way parking next to the Buick. The Vette was painted in a metal flake orange/red and gold. Inside sat an incredibly gorgeous lady in her 40’s.
“Inga, it is so good to see you,” Margaret said, after the lady exited her car.
“Oh! It is so good to see you too, Margaret. You are still looking so good, dear.”
“Harrumph, I wished I looked half as good as you at my age. Inga this is my Daughter-in-law Julia, and her twins Tammy and Annette. Girls this is your great, great Aunt Inga Bruhn.”
Tammy and Annette gawked at Inga, except for her age she could have been their sister. On top of that her looks outshone everyone there, only Annette came close to her in that department.
Inga hugged the speechless kids and kissed their cheeks in the way Aunts have done for ages. As the adults greeted each other the kids turned and looked at the Vette. They thought the car was awesome.
“Oh my,” Annette said. “That’s not just a Vette that is a Calloway Sledgehammer.”
“A what?” Tammy asked.
“A Calloway Sledgehammer, Tammy,” Inga said. “I took it out to Bonneville last year and ran it up to an average of 262.58 mph on my two way run on the salt flats.”
“Tammy, Annette, get her bags out and into the other guest room,” Julia said.
“You don’t have too, Julia, I can stay at a local hotel.”
“Nonsense, Inga, you’re family. We would be honored to have you stay with us.”
Inga tossed Annette the keys to her Vette. “In that case, please do Annette. Be a dear, Tammy; don’t forget my sable, please,” She said in a playful manner.
Tammy was almost drooling like a cat on catnip, as she picked up the full length sable and rubbed the soft fur on her cheeks. Annette could hear her sister purring.
“Keep that up and you’ll turn into a catgirl, Sis,” Annette said giggling as she got two of Inga’s bags there just wasn’t much room for too many suitcases in Inga’s car.
“Oh hush Annette; I just never felt anything so incredibly soft before.” Tammy put on the fur and grabbed the other two cases and followed her sister in.
Inside Inga noticed Tammy wearing the sable coat. You know, Tammy, if you were ten years older I would let you have that coat, it looks good on you.
“Sorry, Aunt Inga, it was easier to carry your cases wearing the coat.”
“Don’t be sorry, Tammy, it’s ok for a girl your age to dream. I know I dream a lot when I wear that coat.”
Annette set another place at the table, while Julia and Tammy began bringing lunch. Julia broke out a bottle of wine and poured a half glass for Tammy and Annette and full portions for the adults.
The ladies sat around the table and had some pleasant conversation as they ate. The kids talked about school and their friends, Julia talked about her job, and Margaret talked about family happenings. Inga got to know Julia and the kids.
After lunch Inga insisted that she and Annette be allowed to clean up. Julia put on a pot of coffee, Tammy put some biscotti on a tray. Inga washed while Annette dried.
As everyone relaxed in the living room Inga began.
“I know you are probably dying to know about me so I will start since no one else here has the courage to.” Inga smiled and they laughed at her joke. They all were relived Inga had taken the monkey off their backs. “
"I was born Samuel Swenson to Rudolf and Helga Swenson. My father was a brother of Svenne Swenson Magnus’s father. I am, believe it or not, eighty three years old. I am what they now call a mutant; I didn’t know what to call it when it happened to me. Unfortunately my father knew what to call me and I can never forget his words and how they hurt. When I transformed I had it rough, my dad kicked me out of the family right in the middle of winter. I thought I was going to die. He thought I was demon possessed or something like that."
"Anyway Momma had some old family friends. Eberatt and Urika Bruhn took me in and raised me. I had to make my way from Sigtuna to Upsala Sweden that is near Stockholm Sweden, in the dead of winter through snow two to three feet deep in places, with only some provisions my mother gave me. At least Dad let me take my winter clothes. Still it was a harrowing journey. Eber and Urika were sweat people they were in their fifties and had never had any children. They were happy to take me in. They didn’t understand anything about my transformation, and they couldn’t fathom how Rudolf could just turn out his daughter like that."
"They took me in and named me Inga Bruhn, they told everyone I was their niece and that my parents had passed on. This was in I guess 1938. The war in Europe was beginning to ramp up. So Poppa Bruhn sold everything and got up all the money he could and we emigrated to the U. S. Years later I learned that the Swenson clan did too. It was a terrible time in Europe you see."
"Poppa found a good job in the defense industry. He had been what would be called here a 1st class Machinist, but he started out here in the states as an apprentice machinist. It didn’t take him long though, in 6 months he became a foreman. He worked hard for ten years till he died. Momma passed two years later."
"I didn’t keep up with the Swensons till Helga tracked me down. At least Momma still loved me. She said it nearly killed her when father threw me out. That was two years after Rudolf died. I met with the family off and on through out the years, I was just a friend of a friend from the homeland. There were too many bridges that had been burnt for me to come out to the family. We felt it was best this way."
"You are probably wondering about my appearance and not believing that I am an old as I say I am. A week or two after my transformation, I looked much like Annette. I aged normally till I was about twenty two. I didn’t notice it at first, but now I seem to age about one year for every three I live. That has been a real blessing and a curse. I had to learn to use makeup to make myself look a lot older, so I wouldn’t look out of place."
"I did very good in school here in the US. I found that I could learn anything at an amazing pace; I just had to put my mind into it. After high school I got a full scholarship to Dartmouth. I was one of four women who went there to study Business, in 1946. It was hard to get in because women back then were being pushed back into the home after the war. I graduated in the top five percent of my class. I knew I would never find a job in business but I was able to use what I learned to invest money."
"I took care of Momma Bruhn after Poppa died in 49. Momma was just a shell of a woman after that; she would have just given up if I wasn’t there. Don’t get me wrong we were happy together, but I could tell she really missed Poppa. I know she died of a broken heart. She only kept on going because of me, I think. After I got my MBA in 52 it was only a year and a half when she passed away."
"I have never married, but I came close a couple of times. I didn’t because I was afraid that I would out live everyone. This Sable had been given to me by a fiancé. Dave was a wonderful man. We were going to marry in 57, but he died a couple of months before the wedding. There were a couple of others, but I was afraid. I could tell by that time that I was aging very slowly. So I kind of gave up on love, I was going to live my life alone till Margaret called; I knew I couldn’t live alone then. I came here to help Annette in anyway that I can, and I have considerable resources now."
Tammy and Annette had snuggled up to Aunt Inga as she told her story. Inga covered herself and the kids with the sable. There wasn’t a dry eye in the living room. Julia had gotten up and passed a box of tissues as Inga had told her story.
When Inga finished, Margaret then began, “I have known Inga for 47 years, so I believe her story. I always suspected there was something special about her. Oh, you hid it well, Inga, but those few times I saw you I knew you weren’t aging anywhere near as fast as you should. This is actually the first time I have heard the true story of your past and it is more amazing than I imagined. The part about the transformation would have been hard to swallow except for Annette. I called Inga right after I spoke with you, Julia, I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, no I appreciate you doing that. I was going crazy with worry about what was going on. That you, Inga, have managed so well is a great relief to me and to my lovely daughters I imagine.” They all smiled and the twins giggled softly. “It is good to know that Annette might have a bright future after this.”
Margaret looked tired the long drive had taken a lot out of her, “I need a nap, six hours on the road can take a lot out of you.” She got up and headed to her room.
“Ok you have heard my story, now tell me Annette’s story.”
Annette, Tammy and Julia each told the story from their point of view. Inga was surprised to hear about the mutant school.
“It would have been nice,” she said, “if I could have gone to such a school. I was just stupefied by my mutation; there was no one around to help me. I remembered reading about some of these heroes; I just didn’t know that what I went through was the same thing that many of them had gone through.”
“So Annette, you sleep walk too?” Inga asked.
“You sleep walk too, Aunt Inga?” Annette asked. She smiled in an odd way when she heard Inga’s reply.
“Yes I do, let me tell you about it, but this has to stay between the four of us. Do I have your word on that?”
After everyone agreed Inga began,
“Well sleep walking is related to an ability I have. When I was young I think that my sleep walking helped me learn what I needed to do to fit in. You know girl things. After Poppa died, I was worried about how to keep me and Momma going, they had been frugal and saved but he had no pension and the savings wouldn’t have lasted long. One morning when I woke, I was dressed up with a newspaper in my hand open to the financial section.
“Apparently I had made some notes from the paper about certain stocks. When I checked my data I found that nothing matched up with what I saw. So I tracked the stocks. It was two weeks later that everything matched up. In the meantime I had had three more similar episodes. This time the data included the dates that for that data. I kept this up for two months till I was sure I was a hundred percent correct. I didn’t want to invest what money Poppa left us and loose every penny we had."
“When I finally started investing, I had pushed my vision about six months ahead. From my notes I saw a stock that was going to skyrocket. I invested twenty thousand on that stock and was sitting on pins and needles. The stock slowly started to rise and then the company announced they had landed a big government contract. The stock I had bought at twelve dollars a share jumped to forty, I sold. I set back the original twenty and began working with the balance. I started buying small shares in a lot of companies, through several brokers. I didn’t want to draw attention to what I was doing. I even bought small options in some losers.”
"Why, Aunt Inga?” Tammy wondered
“So no one would catch on that you were picking stock like you knew the future, right Aunt Inga,” Annette said.
“Exactly, Annette.”
Annette stuck her tongue out at Tammy and they giggled.
”I took out enough money for Me and Momma to live on and I reinvested the rest."
“Nowadays I can see about eighteen months into the future and I am still one hundred percent correct. I didn’t know at the time but from what I have read since that ability makes me a precognitive. The slow aging makes me a regen or regenerator. It is rumored there are a few regenerators that are all but immortal. If you are like me, and I think that you are, you are a very special girl, Annette.”
“I heard about mutants and powers on a TV show and in science class. A regen and a precog that makes you really special Aunt Inga,” Tammy pointed out.
“Getting back to my story, it didn’t take but a couple of years before money started rolling in. I wasn’t greedy I never bought a whole lot of stock in any one company. I am extremely diverse right now.”
“How often do you sleep walk?” Julia asked.
“Two or three times a week. At least I never have left the house. I set an alarm that sounds when I open the outside door without entering a code in the alarm panel.”
“Is it just stocks and financial stuff that you can see, or can you see other events happening, like to avoid bad stuff?” Tammy asked.
“I don’t know Tammy, I just never thought about it.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you worth, Aunt Inga?” Annette asked.
“Annette, it’s not polite to ask that kind of questions,” Julia said.
“That is ok, Julia, I don’t mind telling family. In fact it might help me with a problem. I am worth forty five million in stock and about another ten in cash, property, and other assets.”
“How can we knowing that help you Inga?” Julia asked.
“Well I am eighty three years old. I have pretty much stayed off anybody’s radar. How long do you imagine I can stay that way? I might live till I am a hundred sixty, maybe two hundred. Helping your family can help me. This way I don’t have to try and assume a new identity. I can just be myself. Julia, with my help you can assume and manage my stocks and keep me in the money I need. It will be work; I have a lot of different stock that I own. I will send you the information and you can make the deals. As time goes on, Tammy and later Annette can take over the responsibility. That way we will all be financially secure and no one will suspect about Annette and my real ages.”
“Let me think about it Inga. I don’t know a whole lot about investing, and I don’t know about taking money from you.”
“Julia, I have lived, a long lonely life. I was afraid that the people I know would grow old and I hate funerals. When I was kicked out by my father I missed being part of a family. The Bruhns were wonderful people but it was not the same being an only child to an older couple. You have two wonderful kids; I would like to be a part of their lives. I want to be a part of your life, Julia, please let me.”
“The Whateley Academy is an expensive school. I read a brochure Gina had given her. There are many scholarships that might be available, but still it would be a strain.” Julia said. “I will seriously consider it Inga. I can see how it would benefit the both of us.”
“Now tell me about this school, Julia.”
Julia handed Inga the packet of information that Gina had provided her.
Inga chuckled as she read.
“What so funny Inga,” Annette asked.
“I have a summer home in Providence, Rhode Island. I know the area pretty well Annette. Julia, you could sell or lease this home out and move to New Hampshire. There is a small city nearby, a Berlin, NH. You could buy a house there and visit Annette there regularly, to keep her and yourself from being so lonely. There are some major cities within a couple of hours drive from there. It’s really pretty country up Julia. Tammy could go to public or private schools up there. I guarantee she will get a better education In New Hampshire or Rhode Island. At the least you will be seventeen hundred miles closer to Annette if you stayed in Providence.” Inga knew just how to play the heart strings and damn it she liked this family. Inga was tired of being alone and she really did want to see them succeed.
“Inga you really know how to play hardball.”
“As a woman in a man’s world you learn pretty quickly, Julia. You can even take care of your Mother and Father on what I will pay you, when they get to the point where they need help. Also I want us to watch for other Swenson boys who change. I know now that I wasn’t the first Mutant and I don’t think Annette will be the last. Rudolf was an ass, excuse the French and he isn’t the only one.”
“Does it only happen to boys in our family?”
“As far as I know, yes, I haven’t found any girls that were affected, but maybe girls don’t change sexes if they mutated. Regardless, if they are out there, we need someone to be there for them too.” She winked at Tammy; Inga didn’t want the girl to feel left out.
“Ok I give up. You sold me.”
Inga smiled and hugged the kids, “Oh it is going to be so much fun having a real family again.”
**************
Annette woke up in the middle of the night thirsty, so she headed down stairs to the kitchen. Aunt Inga was there making some hot chocolate, two mugs sat on the table, “Hi sweetie couldn’t sleep?”
“I was thirsty.”
“Want a cup of hot chocolate?”
“Yes, ma’am that would be nice.”
Inga poured two cups of hot chocolate and said, “Let’s drink this in the living room. Do you want to talk?”
Annette took her cup and nodded. She followed Inga into the living room and sat on sofa next to her.
“Why did this happen to me? I was happy as a boy.”
“I don’t know Annette. Why did it happen to any of us? It’s just the luck of the draw. I’ve researched this a great deal and becoming a mutant is a rare and special thing dear, at most one in a few hundred thousand people. In a way that make us special. It might help you to feel better about what happened by thinking of it in that way. I have to say you appear to be a normal girl to me, Annette. I am impressed how well you are taking the change.”
“Mom and sis think I am taking this well. To tell the truth I am doing better than I thought I would, but inside I am more scared than I have ever been.”
“I was scared too; on top of that I was kicked out of the home I grew up in. I had to travel thirty miles on foot in the dead of winter. I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it but I did. You are stronger than you think Annette; I can see it in your eyes. Yes it will be hard, but I have faith in you. I know it won’t be easy, you have to be strong for your family and yourself.”
“If you could would you change back?”
Inga laughed when Annette asked that question, “When I first changed, I would have been more than happy to go back to being a boy. That only lasted a year or so. Now though I wouldn’t change back for all the gold in Fort Knox. I like being a lady!”
Inga smiled wistfully. Annette giggled in response, guessing why Aunt Inga liked being a lady. Jimmy had been at the stage where boys started *noticing* girls. She knew that now she would be the one being noticed and a part of her, a growing part, was happy and scared.
“I took a long time for me to adjust, the Bruhns, God bless them, helped me so much. You are a lucky girl,” Inga said, emphasizing ‘lucky girl’. “You already have a loving family and that is on top of people that want to help you. Just be careful who you let help you, there are some unscrupulous people out there.”
“Do you hate your real father?”
“I don’t hate him anymore. It took me a long time to get over it. I still feel bad about what happened at times. I loved him as a father; I couldn’t understand why he forced me out of the house. I know more now, it was how he was raised. It was too much for him to accept. I wish we could have reconciled or at least spoken to him again but that never happened. I won’t say I love him now, but I let go of the hate.”
“How am I ever going to do this, I don’t know anything about being a girl or a mutant?” Annette cried as she snuggled up to Inga?
“You are going to be smashing as a girl. Your strength and determination are going to carry you through. We are more than enough to succeed dear.”
“You mean that? I mean about the ‘We’ part”
“I can’t let my favorite niece down now can I. I really meant what I said about helping you succeed.”
Annette fell asleep in Inga’s warm embrace. She really hoped what she said rang true.
**************
Breakfast was interesting. The five ladies discussed what they would do that day.
“Let me ask you a question,” Inga addressed Julia. “Do you intend to send Annette to this Whateley Academy?”
“Yes I do. I realized that she needs to get this mind thing under control or she’ll never have any friends but family. From what Gina the young mutant who evaluated Annette said, Whateley is the school best equipped to help her adapt to her change and to train her to control her powers.”
“Ok we have that settled. Now what about moving nearer to New Hampshire?”
“My daughter needs to be able to reach us. If it wasn’t for the problem of her being forgotten I might not move. As it is she will need to be close enough to reach out to us. For her sake I think it best.”
“Good I agree. if that is your intent we need to go shopping.”
“Why do I need more clothes I already have a whole new wardrobe?” Annette stated flatly.
“How cold is it outside here Annette?”
“I don’t know forty maybe forty five degrees.”
“It’s a balmy ten degrees in Concord, NH right now and it hasn’t really gotten cold yet. Do you think your clothes would keep you warm there? We won’t really go overboard here; they don’t really have a lot of cold weather clothes here in south Texas. You will need enough so you don’t freeze to death getting off the plane. You’ll need three or four changes of clothes. We can buy the rest when we get there.”
“Damn I thought it was cold when it got down to the low twenties here last year.”
“Annette, watch your tongue young lady,” Julia admonished her daughter. “We will all need some additional wardrobe.” Julia paled as she began to calculate how much that would cost.
Inga knew what put the furrow in Julia’s brow. “Don’t worry about the cost Julia we aren’t going to dress them in sable and Versace. Consider this an advance.”
**************
Annette thought shopping had been scary with her Mom and Tammy. She found out they were rookies compared to Grandma and Inga. Delta force had nothing that could compare to those two women.
Annette, Julia and Tammy learned about layering clothes for warmth and that warmth was a relative term.
“If clothes are warm they were probably too warm. It is better to be a little cool, than to sweat in your clothes, during the winter,” Inga said.
They each got a large set of luggage, so they could travel. There was almost no room in the Caravan for anything else.
Julia was graced with two laptops on top of everything. One was to use online and the other was forbidden from being online. Together with all the software that Inga wanted installed on them the bill was over twelve grand. Inga ordered a laser printer, scanner and other essentials to be delivered to Julia’s home.
**************
Things were a little tense on Christmas Eve as the Erikssons arrived. Julia’s mother Britta and father Bjá¶rn didn’t quite know how to react to Annette. Inga kept back and tried not to stir the pot too much. To Annette’s credit she really turned on her charm, taking a page out of Tammy’s play book. Tammy winked at Annette as she put on her best puppy dog face and hugged her Grandpa and Grandma. It was her Grandpa who cracked first. The tears in Annette’s eyes then melted the heart of Bjá¶rn.
They had a long family conference. Annette told her story, leaving out the parts that could be construed unseemly, to the Erikssons. She didn’t say anything about the mutant school, about Stop Light and being tested. Then Julia filled in what she knew and learned from the doctor. She followed Annette’s lead, her mom and dad had already had a shock to their system, they didn’t need anymore. When they asked about how Annette was going to be able to go to school, Julia told them the plan she had. The Grandparents listened as Julia laid out the idea.
“Mom, Dad, I hope you understand that it is best for Annette, if we moved. She would have a hard time going to school here. We found a school that will accept Annette as she is and help her in many ways. Unfortunately that school is in New Hampshire.”
Grandma Eriksson cried a bit, she really would miss her daughter and grandkids.
“You can come up to my place in Providence Britta, the grandkids could meet all of you there,” Inga added.
With the Eriksson Grands, Grandma Swenson and Inga there Annette slept with Tammy. Tammy was happy to share as little kids they had slept often together, but that had stopped eight years earlier. Tammy was dreading going to school without her brother/sister there with her. She relished the warmth her sister provided her as she spooned with Annette.
**************
Christmas, Annette woke Tammy up early and together they headed downstairs to the kitchen. They decided to surprise everyone by having breakfast ready for everyone. They planed on having OJ, biscuits, sausage, gravy, eggs, and pancakes. They sorted out the jobs and got to work.
Inga was down next and started a large pot of coffee and then she began setting the table. Julia was surprised to find breakfast almost ready and poured herself a cup of coffee. The rest of the family was drawn to the kitchen by the wonderful odors wafting up from the kitchen.
Julia smiled as she saw all her family sitting around the table and wondered if this would ever happen again. The food was surprisingly good, considering that the kids had fixed it. The mood at the table was joyous and pleasant.
The kids had fun opening presents. Annette was overwhelmed by all the clothes she had gotten. “Dang it I have more lingerie now than Jimmy had clothes and underwear,” Annette said.
Grandma Swenson had bought Annette a black lace thingy that had four straps hanging down. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out what it was, till her sister whispered in her ear. That caused Annette’s face to glow like a Christmas tree and everybody else to giggle and laugh.
“No Fair! Tammy, you have to say it out loud,” Inga said.
Annette was beat red as Tammy said. “It’s a garter belt to hold fancy stockings, Annette. So you can look sexy for some guy.”
Tammy and Annette also received iPods, iTune cards, games, books and jewelry. The kids then passed out the presents to their Mom and Grandparents.
Mom and the Grandmas retired to the kitchen to fix their Christmas dinner, while Tammy and Annette cleaned up the mess in the living room, while Bjá¶rn and Inga watched TV.
At lunch Grandma Eriksson wanted to know more about the change.
“I don’t know much. I guess it started on the twelfth, our birthday. I started to get a bit sick that day. From Wednesday through Sunday I was feverish at night. Not a high fever but enough to cause some discomfort. I also had a sour stomach and mild cramping on those days. Saturday night I woke up feeling different. Most of the changes had started to be apparent by then. By Monday I was completely a female,” Annette explained.
“Completely female you say?” Grandpa asked.
“Yes, Mom’s doctor did an ultra-sound and checked my lower tummy and stuff.”
“You mean you’re going to have periods and be able to get pregnant?” Grandma asked.
Annette looked terrified at the thought of being pregnant, “I don’t know? I am still having some tests done. Thursday through Sunday I am suppose to be staying at a clinic,” Annette didn’t think they needed to know what kind of tests.
“Is there anything that they can do to change you back?”
“That is what some of the tests are about, but they don’t think so. Grandma, I really want to be a boy, I didn’t ask for this change, but living as a girl is better than not living. That is why we are moving to New Hampshire. I would never be accepted as a girl in my old school and this new school will be able to help me.”
Britta was visibly shaken by what Annette implied; she hadn’t taken the time to think that through. She desperately wanted her grandson back, but she was unwilling to see Annette die over this.
“Yes Annette, you’re right, living is better than dieing. While I would love to see Jimmy again, you are a precious life Annette. Don’t waste that life, please,” she said shedding tears from her eyes. “I am surprised though you seem so natural, for so short a time.”
“I guess a part of that is due to my change. The first time I dressed as a girl, I really didn’t need that much help. Inside I was screaming that I want to be Jimmy, but I seemed to know the basics about of being Annette.”
“Well you are a lovely young lady,” Britta said. “We’ll love you no matter what.”
The Erikssons had to leave the next day; everyone shared tearful goodbyes and hugs as they got into their car. Grandma Margaret could only stay for a few more hours. Inga planned to stay till they were ready to leave for New Hampshire.
Inga and Julia got together and started working on their computers. Inga transferred files from her laptop to Julia’s. They then went over their encryption routines, how she wanted the data handled and how they would communicate, when they were apart. Inga showed Julia how to send and receive encrypted emails, how to import the data received into her Excel spreadsheets and how to run comparisons on that data.
“I was never as aggressive as I could have been in investing my money, but if we are going to do research and possibly help other Swenson’s, we will need to be a little more aggressive.”
“That should be easy; you know what the results are before they come out.”
“The SEC keeps up with anyone making too much money too fast in the stock market. I try to avoid the appearance of trading using inside information. I don’t always buy stocks at their lowest and I generally sell before they peak out. Lately I have been letting the stocks sit in companies I know will be earners. I am very diversified, I always make sure to make some bad choices and I avoid buying too many stocks that skyrocket, especially if they skyrocket and then plummet. I also extensively research stocks before I buy or sell them. So it will look like I did my homework, because in fact I did my homework. Research is where I can use the most help. I have a lot of stuff to teach you Julia.”
Tammy and Annette got together working on girl things. They did each others makeup and had a fashion show with their new clothes. Logged on to some fashion sites some teen chat rooms, and hit the iTune site to download their favorite music to their new iPods.
At bedtime Tammy wanted Annette to sleep with her in her room. She was afraid it would be a long time before they could be this close again what with her sister going off to that school. They were always close but it took the fear of separation for Tammy to realize how much she had depended on Jimmy and now Annette. They fell asleep in each others arms and Tammy’s fears eased for a while.
(to be continued)
Annette goes to the Gulf Coast Champions headquarters and finds out a bit about herself.
Fadeaway 3
by
Paula Dillon
At ten Gina showed up at the Swenson’s home, in a stretch Hummer with another lady.
Gina introduced herself and her friend Angel Chapman, code name Hot Tamale.
“Gina this is Inga Bruhn. Inga is a distant Aunt of Annette’s and she is a lot like Annette,” Julia said.
“I use to be named Samuel Swenson, till my father kicked me out of the house because I mutated into Inga.”
“That happens all too often with mutant children. Its sad how many families can’t accept that their child is a mutant. How old are you by the way?”
“Let’s just say I am older than Julia.”
‘Probably a lot older,’ Gina thought. ‘Damn that lady looks fine.’ “What powers do you have?”
“I don’t know. I do know I don’t have any earth shattering powers. I seem to age slower and I am very lucky. I have a very good memory, not quite photographic, I can’t quote what I read word for word, but I know the meat of what I read.”
“Lucky yeah, is that your Sledgehammer out front?” Gina said giving Inga a knowing smile. ’Lucky my ass, I’ll bet she’s some kind of a precog. With that sexy body, maybe she’s an exemplar and a regen.’ Gina speculated.
“It might be.”
“Would you care to join us, so we can check you out?”
“I’m not super at anything; I have managed to stay off anybody’s radar. I don’t really want to be identified as a mutant. I have heard horror stories about how mutants are treated.”
“We won’t make your identity known to anyone! Our staff and doctor’s will just know you are a relative of interest.”
“Can I drive down there? I would hate to leave my baby sitting here. I have a state of the art security system, but still.”
“Can you store it in Houston? You don’t want to leave it in Galveston for three days.”
“Alrighty, I have some people there that I use.”
Gina and the Swensons got their bags and piled into the Hummer and followed Inga in her car. It was easy to see that this was no normal Hummer, as the speed kept creeping up and up and up.
Annette paled as she looked at the speedometer then decided that was a bad idea. ‘We’re going THAT fast? I’d better think about something else. I wonder what my period will be like?’ she thought.
At least Inga slowed a bit near Houston’s city limits. That helped the ladies relax. They followed her into a secure parking garage.
After picking up Inga, they drove for about an hour and a half more, the last half hour of the drive the windows magically darkened and a dark partition popped up behind the driver. The Swensons couldn’t see where they were going. They stopped and heard a garage door open and the vehicle drove about thirty feet more. When they heard the garage door finally close they were let out. They found themselves at a security checkpoint. Gina introduced them to the Gulf Coast Champions Association security personnel that photographed, fingerprinted and did retinal scans of everybody.
“Ok, just follow me. We have an orientation planned for you. You will meet with the Doctors who will be testing all of you. We want to be able to compare how Annette measures up compared to a normal, I mean non-mutant, sibling/parent baseline. We also want to compare her with Inga,” Gina said. “I will be Annette’s mentor and we will have someone who will be at each of your sides throughout the test. They will be happy to answer any questions any of you have.”
“Why all the security,” Julia asked.
“The security is there to help keep the location of our base secret. We deal with a lot of new mutants. There are hate groups and other nefarious types out there who would love to get their hands on these mutants. You have heard of the Humans First group haven’t you? They are infamous for their torture of mutants. Other groups would eagerly enslave mutants with lucrative talents given the opportunity.”
“Being a mutant is that dangerous?” Annette asked in alarm.
“Sometimes but then that’s what all this testing and your schooling at Whateley is for, to prepare you for such risks. Non-mutants face risks everyday too, it’s just a matter of perception and scale.”
They were led to a conference room with seven other people there. Julia, Tammy and Inga were introduced to their mentors, and the testers were introduced.
One of the testers, Dr. David Creighton stood and addressed them, “I want to welcome all of you here. It is always a privilege to get to work with new mutants. I am informed that you, Inga, are a mutant too. Is that correct?”
“Yes, I think I am. I used to be a boy like Jimmy was.”
“Excellent, we like to test and compare related mutants. It’s suspected that mutant traits are inherited but with the small numbers involved research is difficult. We are very fortunate you came along, Ms. Bruhn. You all have nothing to fear here. Though not all of us here are mutants, we are very understanding of what mutants go through. We want to help Annette identify her powers and begin to gain some control over them. We already know to heavily document any interaction with Annette. I already understand one of your powers due to the excellent data Gina provided. I hope you will learn something new about yourself and your family, Ms. Bruhn. I’m sure your stay here will both educational and, I hope, enjoyable.”
Inga smiled at the younger doctor’s attempt to put her at ease. She noticed he was attracted to her; she didn’t need mutant powers to see the signs. She also made note of how the testers reacted to Annette. ‘Annette will need to learn how to evaluate both men and women soon with her looks. At least I’ve decades of experience handing their overtures. She’s going to need all the help she can get,’ she thought
Tomorrow is Thursday and will be medical tests for all of you. Saturday will consist of physical tests; Sunday will be mental acuity, psychic, and other powers tests. Monday we will summarize everything we find informing only those present of our determinations. With your permission we will then make our recommendations to Whateley Academy’s Administration and then assist in filling out her application if that is your desire. Today since you are all ladies we have a special spa treatment for all of you. We want you to be relaxed and in a good mood for your tests, you’ll need it” They laughed at his joke. “Your bags are in your rooms and your mentors will assist you.”
Tammy held up her hand to speak.
“This is not school Miss Swenson. You don’t have to raise your hand to speak.”
“Can I stay in Annette’s room? I want to be there for her.”
David thought for a few seconds before answering her. “I have just one request first. I want you to promise not to reveal how you did on your tests, till Monday. That goes for all of you, and then if you chose to reveal your results to the others, you may do so,” he said giving Inga a glance. He was certain Inga was holding back information about her history and powers but he needed her cooperation if the research was to be of any value. “We don’t want our results skewed, but given Annette’s problem it might be best that you comfort her.” He suspected it was more for Tammy’s benefit but if it helped Annette cope with the testing it was all good too.
Everyone agreed not to reveal their results.
They were led to a dinning room and found an amazing buffet of delectable treats there for them to eat. Even Inga, who was use to such culinary delights, found them excellent.
After lunch they were led to their rooms. Annette and Tammy saw two bikinis on their bed with matching cover-ups; one bikini was dark blue with red and white stripes extending from the sides of the cups meeting in the middle and the left leg on the panty. The other bikini was white with similar blue and red stripes. There was no mistaking which was for whom. The white bikini’s top was definitely Annette’s size.
They found their mentors outside, when they finished dressing. Julia was wearing a bikini that matched Tammy and Inga matched Annette. Annette knew that she and Inga had been tagged mutants at that moment. She was shocked and pleased at how young Aunt Inga appeared and how much she and Tammy resembled her. ‘Mom is quite the looker too. I see why dad married her,’ she thought.
The spa treatment consisted of mud baths with masks on their faces, massages, and a full beauty treatment. Annette and Inga sensed things going on during the treatments, the testing had begun, but everything felt so wonderful. Several times during the treatments Annette found herself trembling with delight at the sensations. Except maybe for the eyebrow plucking, that was one thing she was not thrilled with. She was uncomfortable when her hair which had grown at least four inches since the change was rolled tightly on rods. The chemical smells were horrible and oh the waxing was pure torture too. She figured that they were gauging her pain tolerance.
Annette was giddy to the point of giggling, that her fingernails were extended a quarter of an inch and painted the same as her toenails, her eyebrows thin and highly arched and her hair was a mass of pretty curls and her makeup was expertly applied.
All four of them were giggling and squealing with delight as they inspected each other’s appearances. ‘None of them had ever looked better than this,’ Inga thought. She wanted to give their attendants a big tip for their work, but they turned it down, she settled with giving them all big hugs. All four ladies shared hugs with their attendants.
The staff informed the ladies that dinner was a dress up affair and that they had gowns waiting for them in their rooms so they hurried to their rooms to get dressed.
On their bed they saw two gowns and lingerie laid out for them. One set was blue and the other white. The girls helped each other dress in strapless basques, stockings, heels and halter top gowns. Again the white set had the extra room in the top.
Annette was glad to have Tammy with her; she was unsure how to dress properly.
“I need your help, Sis. I don’t know what to do and I don’t have the time to *sleepwalk* the solution. I am at your mercy,” she pouted and Tammy giggled.
“’Kay, *sis* but you owe me.” Tammy was thrilled her twin wanted her help. She had been so afraid they might drift apart what with Annette being a mutant and all. It wasn’t like she was jealous of her siblings powers or looks, just that she wished they were twins in every sense, that things could be like they were before she entered puberty or since he became a she. That would be so ‘Kewl!
They found Julia in a similar blue and Inga again in white. Their mentors were all in red.
The dinner was excellent. Annette had to stifle a giggle at seeing one guy, Inga’s male escort, in a Tux. He was well over six feet tall and maybe five feet wide. She knew he was a mutant and didn’t want to make him feel bad. Each of them had a male escort, Tammy and Annette’s escorts were older than they were but still appeared to be teens. They sat boy, girl, mentor, boy around a long table. Dr. Creighton sat at one end and a Doctor Karen Silsbee at the other end. A toast was offered to the guests, Dom Pérignon for the adults and sparkling grape juice for the teens. A recording of violin, clarinet, cello and piano played throughout dinner.
After dinner they were escorted to a lounge area and separated into adult/kids groups. The guys with Tammy and Annette were real gentlemen. Tammy was absolutely fawning over her guy and Annette was surprised how comfortable she was with hers. The four of them talked about everything and nothing for a couple of hours. They each talked about themselves. Tammy’s date was a brick whatever that was and Annette’s was a flyer of some sort. Annette got the feeling that they were being gently interrogated, in an *I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours* kind of way. She also felt that they were being observed. She had felt that off and on all day but now she was certain. ‘At least,’ she thought to herself ‘This is a pleasant way to be tested.’
At eleven they were encouraged to get plenty of rest; the next three days would be extremely busy for them. As they lay in bed Tammy talked excitedly about her date, “Shaun was such a dream. You should have felt his arms. I bet he is incredibly strong. What did you think about your date Annette?”
“I don’t know; I liked the way he treated me. He didn’t talk down to me and he seemed to appreciate what I was saying. I have to admit though he was a handsome guy.”
Annette had a good time; it felt good being with William, that scared her a bit. She had never felt like that with anyone before. She was also surprised to see how animated her sister could be. They had been close as brother and sister, but Tammy had never talked with her like this.
**************
After breakfast the tests were overwhelming. At various times throughout the day the four of them were poked, prodded, bled, EKGed, EEGed, MRIed, CTed, PETed, full immersion BMIed, Allergy Scratch Tested, sonogramed and had their heads shrunk. They only had time for a brief lunch and dinner, before they headed to bed. Julia and Tammy were very tired, Annette and Inga not so much tired but mentally exhausted.
The next day found them up at six, all wearing long sleeve unitards and cross trainers by six thirty. Julia and Tammy in dark blue with red and white stripes going from their underarms, crossing under their breasts and tapering to an end at their hips. Inga and Annette were in white with blue and red stripes. The suits molded to their figures like a second skin, they hid nothing at all except for the nipple shields in the built in bras. Tammy was excited by their appearance, Julia was a little embarrassed and a little proud of her figure, Inga was all smiles, and Annette was shy and a bit confused.
Annette was proud of her 50kg bench press, but was astounded to see 1000 kg weights and 500 kg weight bars in the gym. The weight room didn’t take long. She just wasn’t overly strong.
Next they had her run 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 10000m. She was surprised at how well she did. She got tired but then she recovered faster than she remembered.
Then she was the target for a hellacious dodge ball game. She found herself a hard to hit target, but the few times she tried to throw the balls back, her efforts to hit the players on the other side were so feeble she quit trying.
At one point she found herself in a crossfire. The balls were coming in from many directions and were traveling way too fast to avoid getting hit. She couldn’t find a safe place to avoid being hit; she panicked then went sort of shadowy. The game was brought to an end after that.
Gina debriefed her for ten minutes asking her; what happened, what she felt, did she actively want to disappear, did she sense where the balls were going to be, and a myriad of other questions.
Next Annette was run through gymnastics. During warm-up she found that she was very limber. Instead of just touching her toes she was able to touch her forehead to her knees, her palms flat on the floor. With very little instruction she was amazing. She could tumble; do some simple balance bar routines, vaults, rope climbs and jumps.
At the self defense section, she was good and bad. For the most part she was able to prevent herself from being hit; only super fast opponents could touch her, but she was unable to effectively strike her sparring partner. She faded away, ducked, dodged and avoided the strikes launched at her to keep from being hurt.
At one point Gina gave Annette a hand full of smoke bombs. She was told to avoid being hit as long as possible, then cast the smoke bombs between her and her opponent, wait a few seconds then walk calmly past her opponent. They sent in a brick to the mat. For five minutes she dodged, ducked and avoided her opponent. She cast the smoke bombs, a huge cloud of smoke engulfed her and then she calmly walked by the brick. He had forgotten she was his target.
The physical portion didn’t end till way after dark. She had put in a twelve hour day; it was nearly eight before she got an opportunity to eat. While exhausted, she quickly began to recover as she ate. She had eaten more power bars then she could remember through out the day, but this last meal was more satisfying.
The testers had kept an accurate record of her caloric, vitamin, mineral, electrolyte and water intakes. They were surprised a little at the totals, but it made sense. She had a very high metabolism and was burning a lot of energy. The heat exchange left the air around her five to ten degrees higher than ambient. Suit sensors showed little fluctuations in core body temperature only during extreme exercise. Her skin had acted almost as efficiently as an aluminum heat sink to dissipate heat.
The next day found them dressed in casual clothes. After breakfast, each of them took IQ tests, memory tests, MMPI test (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory), reading comprehension tests, manual dexterity tests and visual acuity tests.
Annette was given a large box of parts and instructed to make what ever out of it. She built several things out of the parts that worked. The most ingenious of them were a spring loaded ejector that could launch the smoke bombs she had used the day before and a CO2 cartridge powered water gun that had incredible range and accuracy.
She then found herself being questioned about where certain objects were, like Jimmy Hoffa, the hope diamond and various other people and about 40 other items were located. She pulled up google earth on a computer and pointed out a spot in New Jersey for Hoffa (who ever he was), Fort Knox, Kentucky for the Hope Diamond, and various places for the remaining items. There were ten items where she had no idea where they were.
At six that afternoon Gina asked Annette to give her account of the testing. She thought a few seconds and then said,
“Well, I think testing started shortly after we got here. I could sense strange things happening from the time we hit the spa till just a short while ago.”
“I don’t know what to make out of the medical, except that maybe I heal a little faster than normal. The scratches from the allergy test on my back were hard to see after I showered yesterday afternoon. The scratches seemed to be deeper and larger than necessary, but now they are gone.”
“I am quick but not overly fast, I am not very strong. The dodge ball game scared the hell out of me. I couldn’t believe how fast the balls were coming at me and how fast they were traveling. I seem to know where not to be, to keep from being hit, if you know what I mean.
“I discovered another power. I didn’t quite disappear, but I faded to shadow.
“I am incredibly agile; I have never been like that before. I couldn’t climb ropes or tumble. I use to have fair balance but nothing like what I have done here. My standing jump measured twelve feet, I didn’t know that was possible.
“Mentally I am brighter, genius level I think. I read faster than I ever read before and remembered more. I have always liked building things, so I liked working with those parts, that was fun, but I never built anything from scratch like that before.”
Gina smiled at Annette in a knowing manner, “Well you are very bright. I can’t make any comments right now, but we will inform everyone tomorrow about their tests. You need to get back to your room and change for dinner. We are going to have a farewell dinner for all of you.”
The next day everyone was in the conference room at nine. Dr. Creighton took a position at the head of the table; the Swensons sat with their mentors.
He began;
“I will start with Julia and Tammy. Julia you are the mother to these two wonderful girls. You are baseline normal, meaning you are a normal person. You are very healthy; your IQ comes out at about 125. Almost all your test were high baseline or baseline. You could stand to get some more exercise, you don’t need to lose any weight. Your bad cholesterol was a little above average but not high.”
“Tammy, you are a normal teenage girl, you are healthy, in good physical condition, and you can cuss like a sailor after getting hit by two dodge balls. Your IQ is about 130, normal ability on reading and comprehension. You have good dexterity, agility and endurance.”
“They hit my boobs and my butt. It really hurt,” Tammy complained.
“Inga we are glad you came in. As a mutant you are borderline baseline except in several key areas. I would say you are:”
Exemplar 2: meaning 1. your appearance is above average. 2. You heal faster than normal, maybe a low level regen. 3. You are above baseline in strength for a non body builder, and you can run well, not quite world class, but very good and your recovery is very good. Your IQ is higher than you tested out we think. Our tests indicated an IQ in the 150’s, but I would be surprised that further testing might place you a lot higher. Your math and science scores were radically higher than your linguistic scores.
ESPer 1: You have some Esper traits such as danger sense and Precog. We have tentatively classed you as Precog 2 and Danger sense 1.
We think you have Precog and danger sense because you lasted five minutes in the dodge ball test. A normal human wouldn’t have lasted a fraction of that even if frightfully fit.
TK 2: You mentally sent a 220 lb. brick flying into a wall after you got hit at your dodge ball test.
“I don’t know what happened, I just got mad at the guy and the next thing I knew he was flying through the air,” Inga said in her defense. “Is he alright? I’d hate to think I hurt him.”
“That is why we use mutants that can take some serious hits for these tests Inga. He’s fine though embarrassed that a beautiful woman *took him out* so to speak. These are all rough just estimates of your abilities. We would need to do some more thorough tests to better classify you.”
“We also want to thank you Inga for the lock of Samuel’s hair you donated to us. We possibly have an interesting connection, to you and Annette, but we will talk of that later.”
“That brings us to Annette. You are healthy even by mutant standards. Your IQ is between 160 and 170. You score better in math and science related areas of the tests and not as well in the linguistic sections of the tests, although both were in the genius range. You read at about 7kwpm and have a high retention level.”
“You also have to understand the following classification is just tentative. You really do need more testing to firm it out. Also one tester might rate you one way while another might have a different rating, but here is what we came up with.”
Exemplar 2 or 3: Due to the many traits we found in you. These are quite similar to the traits we explained for Inga.
Regen 1: You were right about the scratch test Annette, Sensors in your clothing indicated that you were a low level regen. We are interested in how you deduced that, but we only had a limited amount of time to test you.
Esper 1: meaning you can’t control when you use some of your powers.
Precog 2 or 3: We haven’t plumbed the depths of this ability yet. You seem to know where not to be.
Psi 3 or 4
Finder 5: you are a high level finder, Annette.
Danger sense 3: this is tied into your precog
Gadgeteer 1 or 2: you seem to know how things should go together.
“For your information Annette out of our staff of thirty only three people were able to keep up with who you are: me, Stop Light, and Minds Eye.”
“You are also possibly a shifter, but more likely a warper, we need more tests to determine. This is just a preliminary ranking and needs more study. I won’t go into the specifics for you Annette. The scientist at Whateley can explain in better detail after they do more testing.”
“I will say this, you answered a lingering question about where Jimmy Hoffa is. We couldn’t confirm that the Hope Diamond was at the repository at Fort Knox, but a super in DC confirmed that the diamond on display at the Smithsonian was paste.”
“Who is Hoffa?” Annette asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Inga said.
“We faxed all our findings to Whateley to facilitate your application there, Annette and we have completed pages four to eleven of that application. If you and your Mom will fill out pages 1 to 3, we will get that off by special courier.”
Julia and Annette began filling out the forms. They had never seen male, female or complicated on a form for sex before. Julia teasingly scolded Annette a bit, when she wanted to say yes to that question. They decided to be honest and check complicated.
Julia asked a question while she was filling out the forms, “You said something about a connection between Inga and Annette earlier, can you explain?”
“Yes I was saving that for impact. Now is as good as any time I guess. You are Swedish, are you not Mrs. Swenson?”
“Yes my family emigrated sometime in the 1880’s.”
“That might confirm what we have found. It will take a bit more work to authenticate. It is harder tracking the maternal linage, Julia, but we think that somewhere in that line, your matriarchy and Annette’s patriarchy crossed paths before. Our preliminary genealogical explorations indicate that yours and Inga’s linage may cross at a town called Bá¶rlange.”
“You mean Grandmother Filippa Elofsdotter?” Inga asked.
“Yes your mitochondrial DNA is 99% percent consistent with Julia’s. Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to children without the usual genetic mix up at the ovaries. It is subject only to genetic drift and periodic genetic mutation. You two might have met at Filippa’s X chromosome, in other words she may be a common ancestor to both of you.”
“I can’t go back quite that far in my memory, Dr. Creighton,” Julia said. “I could ask my mom, but I don’t really want to.”
“I understand, Mrs. Swenson. We have some excellent genealogists who were able to find Britta Eriksson’s lineage. While we aren’t 100% sure at this point, that it was at Filippa where the cross occurred, the records are kind of sketchy, but we are certain that you did cross near her. In Nordic countries the naming system gives us fits. Prior to 1900’s, the sons took their fathers first name and add son to it. Hence Swenson was the son of Swen X. The girls would be Swensdotter. Therefore Filippa Elofsdotter was the daughter of Elof X. Girls also retained their last name in marriage. Filippa Elofsdotter was married to a Hans Niklasson. It is quite an adventure doing family genealogy in Nordic countries. We will be more certain of things in a few weeks as our record checks come in.”
“Girls can be either single or double recessive for what we are calling the “Filippa X trait”. If what we suspect is true Inga and Annette, are both double carriers. If either of you married into the Swenson Y linage, all your males would probably be mutants. Of course there may need to be other dominant or recessive genes needed for a mutation to occur. Tammy has a 25% chance of having that trait. We are running genotype tests on all of your X chromosomes. We want to isolate the “Filippa X trait”; your family has helped in that endeavor immensely. Guys can carry the “Filippa X trait” too; they get it from their mothers and can only pass it on to their daughters.”
“All Swenson males in your linage Inga might carry what we are calling the “Swenson Y”. Where your two families cross we would expect that one in two or better males would have the potential to mutate. We really would like to see more Swenson Y chromosomes.”
“I will help you on one condition,” Inga said. “We want to help other relatives who mutated because of this. I have done a lot of research on the Swensons. I may have identified a couple of other males, who just disappeared so to speak.”
“We would welcome working with you Ms. Bruhn. We would have some additional security concerns before we establish open communications with you, but at the present we see no complications to it.”
Julia and Annette finished their work and handed the forms to Dr. Creighton, who stuck them in a fax machine, before handing them off to a courier.
“Our fax machine will take a few minutes shaking hands in a secure encryption routine before it transmits your application Annette. Julia you should hear from Whateley shortly. There is only a one in ten million chance she won’t be accepted. The nature of you mutation, the family history and the nature of you powers all make you a prime candidate for admission, Annette. They may wish to test you, Inga, as well or through an associated but independent lab studying mutants called ARC. So go home and pack your bags.”
Everyone met with their mentors before leaving. Annette actually found herself a little sad for leaving. She gave Gina a big hug.
Gina and Angel rode with them on the way back to the secure storage lot. Instead of just dropping Inga off, she had them all get out. Inga called for her other car at the lot and in a few minutes a 2006 Lincoln Town Car pulled up to them. Annette suspected it was as much a stock Lincoln as the *Hammer* was a stock ‘vette but kept quite.
Tammy asked, “How many cars do you own Aunt Inga?” as they drove home.
“A little over a dozen in various cities, Tammy. The sledgehammer is my favorite though. I just hate renting cars.”
At home Inga convinced them, that they should get dressed and head out for a New Year’s Eve celebration somewhere. Tammy complained that they didn’t have the striking gowns they had worn at the Gulf Coast Champions Association fancy dress dinner, but each of them had some really nice clothes to dress in.
Their preparations were interrupted at six thirty by a knock at the door. They found a courier standing there; he had correspondence from Whateley.
“Oh my,” said Julia. “It couldn’t be an acceptance letter. It has only been five hours since we left that facility.”
Opening the letter she found that it was indeed an acceptance letter dated today.
“My god they would’ve had to fly it out here shortly after the application was faxed to them, or they were already certain that you would be accepted. Either way I like their organizational skills,” Inga said.
“Annette they want you there five days before school starts,” Julia said. “We will have to pack tomorrow, fly on Tuesday and to get to school on Wednesday.”
Annette wasn’t entirely comfortable with all the attention she got that night at the Hilton Hotel. She didn’t want to dance with the guys that flocked around her and her sister. Tammy wanted to dance, but wouldn’t if her sister didn’t. Annette relented when a tall handsome boy asked her.
Jimmy had never been much of a dancer; he suffered from two left feet syndrome. Annette though seemed to flow with the music. She surprised herself at how graceful she was. Once she got on the dance floor she wasn’t allowed to sit by the guys already on the dance floor. She began to enjoy the attention she was getting.
Tammy, Julia and Inga, oh Inga had scads of men eighteen to eighty vying for her attention, were never without partners either. Annette was surprised to see how good Inga danced. Inga could really shake her booty.
Annette was surprised at midnight. She had been standing with her family watching the New York ball fall replay on a big screen, when she found herself spun around and a kiss planted on her lips by some boy. He held the kiss through the countdown from ten to zero and a few seconds after.
Annette struggled in the boy’s strong arms. She nearly freaked as he started to force his tongue into her mouth, but she was able to resist that. She was furious about his actions.
When he finally let Annette go he was smiling at her; she promptly left her hand print on his face when he broke the kiss. She came close to knocking the boy down and said, “Ask before you kiss someone, you pervert!”
The boy, an eighteen year old jackass in a tux, moved to slug Annette. Inga reacted in a flash; she grabbed the wrist that he was going to punch with, rotated that arm sending the boy to the ground and trapping him in a pronating wrist lock and said. “You touch my niece again and you might wind up missing something very dear to you!” The sole of her heel was on his butt and her stiletto spike inches from a very tender spot.
“Tom get your no good, sorry ass to the car now,” an older man said, pulling the boy’s collar. “Sorry Ma’am, young lady, I apologize for my son’s atrocious behavior. I am Thomas Beckham and that boy “was” Tom Jr.”
“I am Inga Bruhn, and your son was manhandling my fourteen year old niece Annette,” Inga said.
This caused Mr. Beckham to blanch. ‘That dumb ass son of his chose to assault a minor,’ Mr. Beckham nervously thought to himself.
“This is Julia Swenson, her Mom, and Tammy, her sister.”
“I saw that ma’am and if you will allow me to handle it, he will be dealt with. I offer my heartfelt apologies to you and your family Annette, that boy ain’t got a lick of sense in his skull. I have even threatened to cut him off if he didn’t straighten up. Then he goes and pulls a stunt like that. I think I am going to put him to work rough necking in the oil fields next week rather than sending him back to Rice University.”
“That might make him a strong, tough, slob Mr. Beckham,” Julia said.
“He’ll be a dead broke, strong, tough, slob, but I think my foreman can give him an attitude adjustment. I’ll shut off the well that keeps him afloat. As it is he just earned a ten year old chevy to replace his new BMW.”
“As for whether to call the authorities that is up to Annette and her Mom,” Inga said.
“Just keep him away from me Mr. Beckham, that is all I ask.”
“He needs to be taught a lesson Mr. Beckham,” a furious Julia said.
“Thank you Annette. Again I offer you my apologies. If he acts up again, I may wind up gelding that boy and he’ll never see a penny of my money. I don’t know why he thinks he is entitled, just because his daddy is rich. The money just goes to his head. I never raised him to act that way and his dear mother, God rest her soul, would have skint that boy alive,” Thomas said bowing to the lady’s and making an exit.
Tammy and Julia flanked Annette, trying to comfort her. Annette was not disturbed as much as she was angry.
“Annette I am sorry you had to face a slob like that,” Inga said. “I think you handled yourself well. I would have hit the SOB a lot lower for doing that.”
“Thank you Inga for keeping that boy from hurting Annette,” Julia said.
“No problem, I didn’t want Annette to do her thing with all those people around,”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that,” Annette said.
“It’s not something to be ashamed about, but you don’t need to be advertising it either. I haven’t lived this long, ‘flying under the radar,’ without learning the importance of keeping a low profile power wise. Use them when you need too, preferably when you can’t be discovered or identified,” Inga said.
“Where did you learn to do that thing, Aunt Inga?” Tammy asked.
“Oh that was nothing. An old boyfriend of mine was a Navy Seal, a Commander Shaun O’Dougal. I dated him for a couple of years when I lived in San Diego.” Inga said blushing. “Seals have amazing stamina.”
“Where is he now?” Annette asked
“I don’t know, last I heard was something about him being an Assistant Chief of Naval Operations.”
Annette had a lot to ponder as she and Tammy went to bed that night.
(to be continued)
Annette and family finally leave Texas and head Up to New Hampshire.
A Whateley Fanfic
Fadeaway 4
by
Paula Dillon
Morning found them up about 10 am and started a flurry of activity in the Swenson household. After a good breakfast the kids were given their tasks. Inga helped everyone select appropriate attire for the weather up north and then made quite a few calls on her cell phone. She informed them that they had to fly tonight; she had gotten four seats on Continental leaving IAH at 10:45 pm arriving in Providence just after 4 am. She then left to find some boxes, taking Julia’s minivan. Inga decided to go to Providence first as she wanted to change the clothes she had with her and to pick up a vehicle.
Julia made sure she had all their important documents packed in her bags and made a list of what she wanted to have shipped to her back east. She would have to come back to the old house after the kids were in school to finish what she needed to do.
The kids began packing their bags; they were told that they could take three bags each. They were allowed two full size suit cases and their carry on in which they were to have a full change of clothes in case their bags got lost. Anymore and the airline would have charged them an exorbitant excess baggage fee. Since Mom told them they would buy cold weather and school clothes up north, the girls didn’t object too much. The rest of their belongings would be packed up and sent by moving van.
Annette had a hard time packing, the three bags would only a small portion of her new clothes. She thought it unfair, what with having been a girl such a short time. Tammy *knows* what suits her best, I’m all new at this. But she realized that was being selfish and Tammy was in the same boat, so to speak plus she had to choose among a lot more clothes. That would not be easy for her sister. The thought made Annette giggle. She chose some of her best clothes considering the weather and added some of her jeans and knock around clothes. She did include most of her lingerie. There was very little of Jimmy had that she wanted to keep, but she kept her most valuable baseball cards and her Nolan Ryan autographed Astro and Ranger ball caps.
After Tammy packed her clothes, she packed her prized collection of porcelain dolls. She wouldn’t take them on the airplane; she had heard horror stories of how suitcases were treated. She would hand carry some of them to be safe.
Inga bought fifteen new boxes and packing material from a storage locker place. She gave Tammy and Annette two each. The rest of their clothes were packed into them. Tammy packed a suitcase with her dolls and padded out the case with her clothes.
After they packed and marked their own boxes with their names and contents, they helped their Mom and Inga pack their family things. At four that afternoon they all came to the conclusion that anything else would have to wait till later.
They had several pizzas and drinks delivered. As they ate they talked.
“Julia, I found a boarding school for Tammy as well. An old friend of mine is headmistress at a girl’s school, Elizabeth Caldwell’s Preparatory School for Girls just north of Concord, New Hampshire. They have girls from twelve to eighteen. She said that they could board Tammy there.”
“Great, I was wondering what I was going to do about Tammy, with the move and all. This will give me time to get our stuff settled here after school starts,” Julia said with a tear in her eyes. “I will hate not having my kids around me all the time though.”
“I don’t think we look forward to being on our own either Mom,” Tammy added. “But we know you will have a lot to do after school starts.”
“I have checked Concord out on the internet. It is only an hour and a half away from Whateley and from what you have said Inga, close to where Tammy will go to school. I think I want to get a home for us there.”
“That is pretty country up there girls, I think you will all like living up there once you get use to the winters.”
All of them shivered at the thought of how cold it was there.
“I get cold just thinking about the weather up there,” Tammy said. “What about you Aunt Inga?”
“Oh I have seen my share of cold weather; I remember having to go out to get wood when it is thirty below, or getting dressed for the weather to use the outhouse.” Inga shivered so much as sh said that, that it sent chills up everybody’s back. “I can survive in the cold, but I don’t have to love it.”
“Outhouse you had to use one of those things?” Annette asked.
“Honey we are talking about the nineteen thirties and out in the boondocks. Everyone had outhouses back then.”
**************
Inga made sure the home was secure and Julia informed a neighbor of where they were going and why (a highly edited story that is). The neighbor was sad to see them go, but she understood. She told Julia that she and her husband would look after the house.
Piling into an airport limousine they headed to the airport at seven thirty. It was a good thing they left so early, Bush Intercontinental Airport was swamped. It took them nearly two hours and a half hours to get through security there. They arrived at their gate with fifteen minutes to spare.
The four of them were scattered all over the aircraft. Julia and Tammy were in separate seats in first class and Inga and Annette were assigned separate seats back in coach.
**************
It was a chilly windy ten degrees in Providence when they landed in Providence when they landed. A quick taxi ride brought them to Inga’s home. Their first stop was the garage where they loaded their gear into a Yukon Denali.
“What no Lincoln,” Annette joked.
Inga replied, “Of course I have a Lincoln here Annette, it’s in a secure storage facility in town. I use the Yukon in the winter when there may be snow on the roads. Julia this is your car while you work for me.”
Everyone was glad to hit a bed in Inga’s house; it had been a long, tiring night. They didn’t even care to explore. Tammy and Annette didn’t bother getting undressed; they just found a bed and collapsed.
Tammy woke before Annette, at about ten and found Inga dressed sitting at her kitchen table. She had the financial section of the WSJ she had picked up at the airport. She was staring blankly at the paper. Her right hand was making notes in a notebook. Inga didn’t acknowledge Tammy’s presence. Tammy looked at her Aunt and thought about how it was so like the way Annette looked and acted when she sleepwalked, so she just sat and observed her.
Inga had worked up pages and pages of notes that she had written. Inga finally made a squiggle at the bottom of one page and laid her head down. After about two minutes she sat up and saw Tammy.
Smiling she said, “Morning Tammy, you caught me doing my thing, didn’t you?”
“Yes Ma’am. What is it like, when you are doing what you did?”
“I don’t know. I just see the results when I wake up. I have no recollection of what I was doing or thinking. I don’t think I even dream when I do it. As to what I feel, I just can’t say. Want to help me enter this data.”
“Sure.”
Inga got her secure computer out and booted up after scanning her thumb and typing a password. She decrypted her Excel file and with Tammy’s help started entering the data. Inga let Tammy enter some data when she felt she knew what she was doing. Tammy saw in some of the hand written notes the reason for whatever caused the changes Inga noted in the Excel spread sheet. This company released a new product that became a hot seller, or a company had quality control problems, another announced better or worse than expected results over the last quarter, while another had conflict in the boardroom.
Tammy didn’t know too much about why people picked one stock over another in the stock market. But looking at Inga’s notes she began to gleen out little tidbits.
Inga then booted up her internet computer and downloaded the last stock market closing data. She transferred that to a smart drive. After checking it for nasties she showed Tammy how she merged data.
“Now this is how I work my magic Tammy. I take the information I have gleened from my sessions and merge it with the last closing of the market. I look for stocks that are well below the new data I collected. I shoot for companies that show between twenty and thirty percent growth over that period.”
Inga saw that she had three new listings for companies she had yet to foresee any data on. One was a company that just recently announced their IPO (Initial Public Offering) for this Wednesday. Ten million shares were to be offered at two dollars a share, eighteen months in the future the stock would be up at thirty-eight fifty a share. Inga would put in a buy order for two million shares. She set up a spider to gather all the information it could about the corporation it could on her internet computer.
“When I see an IPO that looks really good, like this one, I often buy in. It is harder to make cases of insider trading in IPO’s.”
The other two showed well above average growth over the next eighteen months. She flagged those stocks for action. She would invest heavily into the new company, and buy big into the other two also. She made notes on the stocks she owned, which to buy and which to sell. She intended to operate more in the green.
Julia and Annette showed up at about eleven thirty to see Inga and Tammy busy. Inga got Julia up to speed on what they were doing.
Annette checked the kitchen for food, but alas the cupboards were bare. She thought that was strange then realized with Aunt Inga traveling so much food might spoil. Well this was no good. She was hungry.
“Mom I am hungry can I have the car keys so I can get something to eat?”
Annette was surprised when her Mom actually handed the keys to her. She took the keys, went to her room to get her purse and coat before going into the garage. She used the key fob to unlock the Yukon’s doors and turn off the alarm system and then she hit a button on the wall to open the garage door. She got in the passenger seat started the car and counted to five.
Inga and Julia looked up at each other when they heard the car start.
“Annette doesn’t drive yet does she?” Inga asked.
“No she is still too young to get her license,” Julia said.
Julia and Inga rushed into the garage to see Annette smiling with a got cha smile on her face.
“There is no food in the house. I am hungry and I bet you are too.”
Inga laughed and said, “Julia, stay here with Tammy, Annette and I will get something for all of us to eat.”
It was cold and the wind was brisk and out of the northwest, but the streets were dry. Inga drove to the nearest golden arches about a mile and a half away. Inside she and Annette ordered enough food to feed a girls basketball team.
At home they ate the food that Inga bought. Inga and Julia talked about stocks, Julia told her the she and Tammy had already started to research the three companies that Inga had listed. On paper the companies looked good, not great but good. Inga then took Julia over to her internet computer to show her how to make the trades she wanted and to check what information the spiders had gleaned. She put Julia on the account as a trader and they executed the appropriate trades.
Tammy and Annette talked about the house. They were impressed at what they saw. The home wasn’t overly large but it was very nicely appointed. It had four bedrooms and three and a half baths. The kitchen wasn’t any bigger than the one they had, but everything in it was top shelf.
“Kids, your mother and I want to get closer to Dunwich so we won’t have to drive so far to Whateley. So look around and have fun for about an hour and then we hit the road.”
The twins did explore the place, starting in the bedrooms. They found Inga’s and poked their head into the closet. It was positively huge and lined everywhere with dresses, skirts, blouses, slacks and racks of shoes. There were even more fur coats to lust over, but none as extravagant as the sable.
The outside was like the rest of the homes in the area. It was like someone took a cookie cutter and built three dozen homes. There was little variation in color and trim. They would find out later that the homeowners association had to approve of any landscaping, exterior renovations and painting. The back side of the house had a deck, stairs leading down a grassy backyard to the beach and a pier on the Providence River. Also out back was a swimming pool, not as big as their school’s pool but larger than they had ever seen in a backyard.
The kid’s exploration of the grounds was cut short by the cold. They were glad to get in the car that had already been warmed up for the trip.
Julia drove tentatively at first, till she got out of town and then with more confidence. Driving a small tank takes some getting use too. They left Providence, skirted around Boston and into New Hampshire. The drive to Concord had taken about two and a half hours, due to traffic on the loop around Boston.
As they neared Concord Annette said, “Stop here Mom, please,” with a worried sound to her voice.
“Why dear.”
“Just stop here Mom please; I need to use the rest room,” again a little more emphatically than the request suggested.
“I hate these tourist trap gas stations, but I guess we can stop. I need to put some gas into this monster.”
Tammy and Annette went inside and briefly visited the ladies’ room. They then went about browsing, while Julia and Inga tended to gas and food. Almost as soon as Annette started browsing, she felt her senses resonate. She made a bee line to a display that had all sort of quartz, hematite, malachite, agate, pyrite, obsidian, cat’s eye, coral, onyx, beads and crystals.
Annette took a bag and started picking through the display. Tammy watched open mouthed as Annette picked through the stones. She had about a pound of stones when a display of necklaces and earrings along with some individual stones and geodes caught her attention.
“Tammy, get Aunt Inga please,” Annette said almost frantically. She had enough money to pay for what was in the bags, but not for what was resonating with her right now. She was buzzing so much she appeared hyper.
“Ok, but you’re acting strange.”
Inga and Julia came in following Tammy.
“What do you need Annette?” Inga asked.
“I know I shouldn’t ask this, but I have too. You can take my iPod, my laptop and whatever else. I need to buy some of this stuff,” she said pointing to the displays. “It’s hard to explain Aunt Inga, It relates to things *we* know about.”
Inga didn’t know what Annette was feeling but she could sense it was important to Annette, “Point out what you need dear,” she said.
Annette went to the display and pointed the things she wanted out. A clerk pulled down six geodes, four rose quartz necklace/earring sets, some Amethyst jewelry, a large obsidian obelisk and two smaller ones along with some assorted objects.
“That is just too much Annette, put some of that stuff back,” Julia said.
Annette looked absolutely heartbroken when she heard that.
Inga whispered into Julia’s ear, “I think it is important enough to her to get them, Julia. It’s strong enough that I can feel her need.”
“Ok, but we have to pay you back for this.”
Inga smiled knowingly. They had already paid her back.
The final tab for all the stuff that Annette picked out was over three thousand dollars. She felt bad about it, but Inga just smiled at her.
Back in the car Annette was putting on all four rose quartz necklaces underneath her sweater and blouse touching her skin. She then tucked the earrings into her bra.
“Ok, what is going on Annette?” Julia asked.
“All these stones were resonating with me. I can’t explain it. I feel bigger in a manner of speaking since I put the stones on. I think it is another ability of mine. I didn’t buy all the stones there just the ones that seemed to feel right.”
“Why did you put all those necklaces on and those earrings in your bra?” Tammy asked.
“I don’t know, I think it’s like I am charging a battery and attuning the crystals to me. I got one set for each of you. I don’t know why at this point but it feels right. I think that tomorrow I will give each of you one set and we will trade them everyday till I have to go to school. I don’t know what that will do but I need to do it.”
Julia was confused about what Annette was saying, but she felt the sincerity with which she was speaking.
“Once they are attuned, I think that we will like feel strong emotions one of us is giving off or something. I just don’t know at this point.”
Julia didn’t know if she believed what Annette said or not, but Inga and Tammy, believed everything she said.
“Okay, say I believe that, what about those geodes and obelisks? They were very expensive.”
“I am not sure right now, but I feel safer having them. It doesn’t make much sense right now, but I feel I will know more about it. I see myself placing the geodes about my room, making necklaces of some of the stones and making jewelry with some of the stones, Mom. I don’t know why right now, but I feel I will know.”
“Is that precognitive?” Inga asked.
“Yes Ma’am, I think so. I know I will need them at some point. I will feel better that you guy’s have some of them. I just can’t say why right now.”
“I believe everything she has said Julia. I don’t feel what she feels but, I do feel what she is saying is true. It won’t hurt to trust her.”
A few miles down the road the traffic came to a slow crawl. It took twenty minutes to get to the scene of a logging truck that had flipped over. Annette gave a sigh of relief.
Another hour and twenty minutes and they were near Dunwich. Julia nearly drove right by it. It was a small town by small town standards, but Inga’s sharp eyes caught a store front that said ‘School Uniforms’.
“Stop here Julia, we can get uniforms for both girls here I think.” Inga said.
They pulled up to Rogers’ Fabric shop. Inside they met Miss Rogers.
She said, “Welcome to my store. What can I do for you ladies?” with a warm smile on her face.
“I have two nieces going to private schools, they will need uniforms. Can you help them?” Inga asked.
“Certainly, which schools?”
“Annette here is going to Whateley, and Tammy is going to Elizabeth Caldwell’s,”
“I can handle both of them. Tammy, if you will please, just step inside this booth and take all of your clothes off. The booth is a machine that will calculate your sizes and produce your uniforms. You don’t have to come out. When the machine is through it will tell you when you can get dressed and come out. There are drawers you can put your clothes in.”
“All of my clothes?” she asked, a little embarrassed.
“Yes dear, all of them. You don’t have to come out as the machine will fit you.”
After about fifteen minutes Tammy came out and Annette went in. When Annette came out the lady was handing Tammy a uniform to try on.
“Annette I will have a uniform ready for you in about fifteen minutes.”
“You mean you remember me.”
“Of course I do, I never forget a client.”
All four of them thought at that moment that there was more to this lady, than they had thought.
Tammy found a complete uniform from skin out. The fit of the uniform amazed her. She was between sizes in bra and panties, but the ones the lady handed her fit like they were custom made. Not only the fit surprised her, the lingerie enhanced her own assets. The bra lifted and maximized her bust and the panties gave a shapelier tush. The skirt, was a pleated red plaid similar to the Royal Stewart tartan with a couple of differences, it came to just above the knee, longer than she usually wore her skirts. She liked to push the school districts three inch rule, when she chose to wear one. The jacket was a navy blue, three button jacket with gold buttons on the sleeves and the school patch on the breast pocket. It struck her just at the top of the hips. The shoes were navy Mary Janes. Everything worked together to make her look terrific. She came out to show her mother.
“What do you think Mom?”
Julia and Inga closely inspected the uniform. The fit was superb and was demure enough for their tastes. They felt of the fabrics, but could not identify the material, but the two women could tell it was a very high quality material.
“That looks better than the school uniforms, I wore. I am impressed with the material and construction. I like it; I may come here later to have some clothes made for myself. You look wonderful in it,” Julia said.
“Red plaid is not my favorite, but I like these clothes. The jacket fits better than any other jacket I have worn. The skirt is longer than I like.”
“They are very strict about skirt length at Elizabeth Caldwell’s, Tammy. If you show up and the skirt is too short… well you would never forget to triple check your skirt length the next day,” Miss Rogers said.
She left the room and came back after a few minutes. She handed Annette a uniform. Tammy and Annette went back into the dressing rooms. Tammy left her new underwear on except for the slip as she dressed in her jeans and blouse.
Annette dressed in her school uniform. Like Tammy had said everything fit so nicely. Annette did like skirts, but she wasn’t crazy about dressing in skirts all the time. Most girls at her old school rarely wore skirts. They preferred jeans when it was cold and shorts when it was warmer. She did absolutely dread wearing one in this cold weather.
When Annette was dressed she made her appearance. She looked very nice in her uniform too. Inga and Julia checked her over very thoroughly.
“Now I know I am definitely coming back.”
“Me too Julia,” Inga replied. “I have had designers who couldn’t make clothes half as well or quickly. Tell us Ms. Rogers who made these clothes and fabrics?”
“My machine makes the clothes, I have a trade secret that I will carry to my grave. Would you two like to step into the booth so I will already have your body size on file? Then you can call me when you want something.”
“Julia is my new personal assistant; I would like to get her several business suits.”
“Business ladies, what do you do now?”
“We handle investments for a limited group.”
“Ok, Julia, step into the booth if you will.”
“I want five uniforms each for the girls and three suits for Julia, Inga said.”
“I can one suit ready for Julia, the girls have one uniform each now and I can have the rest by Friday. Shall I have them delivered?”
“No we will pick them up by closing on Friday. We are here early to take Annette in for testing. She will be with us at night. I want to get us each a gown later; I need to find out where the GCCA had them made. Those halter top gowns were simply scrumptious.”
“The Gulf Coast Champions Association? I made those gowns for them; they keep them on hand for special guests. I can have those ready by the next Friday also,” she said.
“Ok white for me, scarlet red for Julia, royal blue for Tammy and kelly green for Annette. Will we need to come in for a fitting?”
“No the clothes I make fit right, first time, every time. Where are you going to be staying?”
“I think in Berlin, for now. Julia is moving from Texas to New Hampshire. She likes the area around Concord and will probably move there.”
“It is lovely country up here.”
Julia came out and Inga took her turn in the booth. The girls told their Mom that this is the lady who made the gowns they wore last week. She was excited to hear that and happy that she would be getting a gown too.
By the time that Inga came out of the booth, the lady handed Julia a hanger that had a ladies business suit, blouse, lingerie, hosiery and heels. Julia had to try it on. She couldn’t remember a suit that fit her better and the hosiery and lingerie were the best she had ever worn.
**************
They eventually made it to Berlin and found a decent motel. They took one room for five days and another for two weeks, explaining that they would be in and out over the next two weeks.
After showers and a change of clothes they went out to eat. When Inga got out of the car she found herself drooling over an Old Indian motorcycle that was parked outside the restaurant.
“I can’t believe how nice, that Indian motorcycle looks. It’s really old, but it looks almost in showroom condition,” Inga said.
“It might be a rebuild or a reproduction of an old motorcycle,” Annette said.
“I don’t think so Annette. I believe it is authentic and in original condition.”
“Do you ride?” Tammy asked.
“No, I don’t. You know what doctors call motorcycle riders? Organ donors.”
**************
Wednesday found everyone headed to Whateley Academy. Julia insisted that Annette wear her new uniform. Before they left to eat Annette passed out a set of jewelry to everyone and asked that they put it on. They then headed to the restaurant to eat. They had a good breakfast and then headed back to Dunwich.
At Dunwich they followed the signs to Whateley. They parked in the visitor’s parking lot. The Admin Building was easy to find, out front there were three flags, the US flag, the New Hampshire flag and the Whateley flag trimmed in red.
Inside Shuster Hall they found the offices. A very proper lady sat at the nearest desk. She had a lapel pin that was a stylized ‘A’ on her suit lapel. She was busily working at her computer.
Julia walked up to her desk and said, “Excuse me Ma’am; we have an appointment to see a Ms. Carson.”
The lady looked disgruntled at being disturbed, “All appointments to see Ms. Carson go through me. I am Ms. Hartford, what do you need,” she said, somewhat brusquely.
“We are here to register my daughter, here at Whateley. We were sent an acceptance letter that said for us to meet a Ms. Carson today.”
“May I see the letter please?”
Julia dug into her purse for the acceptance letter while Inga read the nameplate on the desk.
Inga knew the Hartfords in Providence; they lived just a short distance away from her. Ms Hartford’s Mom worked for some of the same charitable organizations that she did. If Amelia was anything like her Mom, oh brother, if they were the same Hartfords.
“Excuse me, you’re Amelia Hartford, is that right?” Inga said.
Ms. Hartford looked up at the Lady who spoke to her. She recognized the look she had seen so many times, “Yes, that is my name.”
“You’re not the Amelia Hartford, the computer genius I have read about are you.”
Ms. Hartford sat up a little straighter if that were possible. She always sat like she had a ramrod shove up her backside to her skull. She sounded a little friendlier, up to only slightly disturbed that these people dared bother her. “Yes, that is me Ms…”
“Inga Bruhn, it is my niece registering here today. It is such an honor to meet you. I have read so much about you in the trade magazines.”
Julia handed Ms. Harford the letter. She brusquely took it and read it before making a few keystrokes on her keyboard, “That is funny; I don’t see anything about Annette on my computer.”
“I will handle that, Ms Hartford,” a voice said from behind Ms. Hartford. “This way please, Mrs. Swenson, Ms. Bruhn and kids. I am Mrs. Carson.”
Inga noted the way Ms. Hartford and Mrs. Carson looked at each other; it was easy to see that they just tolerated each others presence. She had Amelia pegged in her mind, she knew the type of person she was.
“I want to welcome you to Whateley Academy. It is so good to see you’re already in your uniform Annette. You look so good in it. It looks like it was made for you.”
“Thank you. Yes Ma’am, it was, Ms. Rogers made it to fit...”
“I thought so it has her touch to it. Well have a seat. You must be Julia Swenson and these must be your daughters,” she said to Inga.
Julia smiled and said, “I am Julia, but then you already knew that. This is Inga Bruhn, Annette and Tammy’s Aunt, and of course this is Annette and this is Tammy.”
“Yes of course, but you don’t look old enough to have two such lovely young daughters. I did get a report from the GCCA that included pictures of all of you. I am so glad that you decided to send Annette here.”
“I am afraid that I and my daughters are new to all this mutant stuff. I was so happy to hear that there was a place where Annette could go and learn to survive and thrive.”
“That is our goal here at Whateley. As important as survival is to a mutant, they should also thrive and excel to the best of their abilities.”
“She really needs to get a hold of a problem she has.”
“I know of that problem. I have had several discussions with staff of how we can operate around it and how she can use it to her advantage.”
“Advantage, Ms. Carson?” Annette asked.
“Yes it can be an advantage. Just consider that there will be fewer people who will have a grudge against you. If you accidentally insult someone, while not good, you can start all over again. Anyway we want to start with some tests with Annette this afternoon and running through Saturday afternoon. This afternoon we will give you academic tests. Tomorrow through Saturday will be powers tests.”
Annette groaned and frowned at hearing this, “Why so many tests Ms. Carson, Did GCCA mess something up?”
“Of course not Annette, I am sure the GCCA did a fine job of testing. We at Whateley like to do our own tests and I am proud to say we are by far the best at testing the abilities of our mutant students.”
“From the information we glean we will come up with Annette’s courses and schedule. Students start coming back on Sunday and school here starts Tuesday. The campus is all but deserted right now, but there are a few students and staff here already. I have a student coming in a couple of minutes to give you, ‘the nickel tour’ Annette, while your mom and aunt hammer out the rest of the details.” Mrs Carson said winking at Inga.
“About the details, how are most of the teachers and staff going to know me?”
“A couple of your teachers should have no problems; they are a lot like Gina and immune to your autonomic selective memory blanking defense or ASMBD. We may need to change that definition to get you a better acronym.” Annette giggled at Ms Carson’s joke.” Good, you were too tense, child. Whateley can be intimidating at first, it need not be. You have a wonderful smile when you laugh, you need to do that more. For those that are susceptible to your power we have started a hard copy system we think should allow you to take classes and get credit. That will be explained to you later.”
“We are staying in Berlin till Monday. We want to take Annette home with us and we will drop her off on Sunday night,” Julia said.
“That is perfectly alright.”
“Can I go with my sister?” Tammy asked.
“I have no problem with that,” Mrs. Carson said.
A knock at the door announced an arrival. Mrs. Carson said, “Enter.”
A girl who looked to be ten or twelve entered and said, “Am I late, Mrs. Carson?”
“No, Jade, you are just in time. Jade Sinclair, this is Annette Swenson and her sister Tammy. Annette will be joining us this semester. After your tour, please take her to the Crystal Hall cafeteria, she needs to be ready to begin academic testing at one.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
Jade, Annette and Tammy left Mrs. Carson’s office. Jade chatted with the two girls as they toured the academic areas, showed them where security was and a place she called the “Hall of Heroes”. She showed them the tunnels that connected the facilities and walked them by the various dorms.
“Your dorm will be Poe, which just happens to be my dorm.” Jade said, as she pointed to a bust of Edgar Allen Poe. “People have tried to steal that bust, but they didn’t count on us resisting them.”
Just inside the dorm door they ran into Ms. Horton, “Annette, this is Ms. Horton, she is the dorm mother for Poe Cottage. Ms. Horton, this is our new student Annette Swenson and her sister Tammy.”
“Hello, Ms. Horton, it’s so nice to meet you.
“It’s so nice to meet you too,” Ms. Horton said, smiled and went over the dorm rules with her. She said, “Annette, the dorm is currently full, last semester we actually had to put someone in the third-floor linen closet, but they built a room up in the storage area of the attic for you. Don’t worry; you actually have more room than most of the freshman rooms here, though you will have to use the freshman bathroom on the second floor.”
She led the group of girls up to the room slated to be Annette’s, pointing out the restroom and showers on the second floor. Annette’s room was above the fourth floor. It was rather bare, and smaller than her room back in Texas, but Annette could see that it was serviceable. It was nice and toasty without being too hot.
“Are you staying tonight, Annette?”
“No Ma’am, I am going to be staying with my Mom, Aunt and sister in Berlin till Sunday. I will be bringing a lot of my stuff over during the week.”
“That is fine, we will do a bit more to make this room livable in the meantime. I can’t guarantee you won’t have a roommate. We are always getting new students at odd times, if you know what I mean.”
“I think I understand. This will be all new to me. It is the first time that I have been separated from my family, but I am going to try to make the most of it.”
Lunch time came around and Jade led them to Crystal Hall.
“The food is pretty good compared to some schools I have seen and there is plenty of it,” Jade said.
“That is good. Let me ask you a question, we been separated a couple of times and considering my powers, how have you been able to keep up with who I am?”
“Oh that was easy, it deals with my powers.”
“Are you a psychic?”
“That isn’t how I have kept up with you. I have the… ah… spirits of my sisters… so to speak and they don’t seem to be affected by you.”
“Spirits as in Ghosts?”
“Close enough for government work. Oh another thing I would like to explain about our dorm, before we get around other people. All the students at Poe are a little different. Some are gay, others are lesbian and some are ah… different.”
“You mean boys that are now girls and vice versa?”
“Exactly. That is our secret; please don’t let that slip out to the other students. Many of us have enough problems without being picked on for more things.”
“I know, I use to be a guy.”
“Me, too. Don’t be asking about it, though. The kids may tell you when they get to know you.”
“If they get to know me.”
“Oh yeah, right.”
“Well this is the chow hall, let’s eat.”
Annette and Tammy found their Mom and Aunt already there. They followed Jade through the short lines.
“Oh one other thing about the chow hall, be careful where you sit. The students are pretty territorial around here,” Jade said pointing to a couple of neutral areas.
Annette felt that there was a lot that Jade wasn’t saying because of Tammy. She figured that she would learn a lot more starting Monday.
“Avoid certain areas too,” she said pointing out where groups like the Alphas sat. “It is ok today nobody is here hardly. Oh, just a word of warning, don’t let appearances fool you. There are a whole lot of students that have the exemplar trait. They look good and can be quite charismatic. Just because they look good and feel good, it doesn’t mean they are good. And just because they might look like a monster or demon doesn’t mean they are *EVIL*.”
“The Bible says that Lucifer can appear as an angel of light, so I guess that makes sense,” Annette said.
At their table, Annette told her mom all about what they did and saw. She left out certain topics, because she didn’t want to worry her Mom and Aunt.
They finished eating and Annette was taking to where her testing was to take place. Despite the boost to her IQ, the tests that they gave her had been hard. She knew nothing about Theoretical Geometry, Quantum Mechanics and only a little about Relativity, but seeing a section on Alchemy really threw her. She had thought that all that was hogwash or was it Hogwarts.
Annette was mentally exhausted when she finally finished the last test. She was amazed at how fast it had gone. What she knew she was able to recall fast and zipped through the tests. The tests she took were on a computer. She could see the grading she received as she finished each module. Figuring out what the grading meant puzzled her. She blessed the powers that be; her speed reading and recall were really great. Annette thought, ‘If the tests are this hard, then maybe they are really smart enough here to help me.’
Annette was glad to see her family drive up to pick her up. They drove into Dunwich and stopped to get something to eat. Annette had to tell them about all how thorough all the tests were.
“Tammy has to go to her school after we drop you off tomorrow, Annette, for her to register and be tested. So if I am not here to pick you up, Aunt Inga will be. Also I am going to start house hunting in Concord tomorrow. Do you have any special requests for a house?”
“I would like to have an area that I could work in. I think I am going to start learning how to make jewelry.”
That raised a few eyebrows around the table.
“I think that would be a very good idea,” Inga interjected. “It is always fun to have a hobby that can become a well paid job.
“I guess we can work that one out,” Julia said.
**************
Over the next four days Annette registered her codename, Fadeaway, and was tested in every manner conceivable, Physical, Mental, Sensory, Extra sensory and Powers. The tests were more extensive than she had at the GCCA HQ. Everyday she was glad to be joining her family. The tests were mentally exhausting more than anything else, except when she was taken to Hawthorne to meet Lou. Lou was something else. He called himself Fubar. Annette felt something strange when she first saw the man.
“This isn’t you is it?”
“No it isn’t, I suffer from a GSD that leaves most people feeling disgusted. This body you see is just a mental construct.”
“Can I see you?”
“Maybe in the future, but we need to get to work on you.”
Fubar spent the better part of two hours getting Annette used to controlling her mental state. With his assistance she got where she could stop her broadcasting to where she could keep her mind under a virtual Master Lock. He then began to assess just what her mental powers were.
Annette met with Fubar everyday for an hour. She came out of her meetings feeling better about herself. On Saturday Fubar let her come through the door to see him. She steeled herself for the worst and was in control enough not to be disgusted or revolted. She couldn’t feel anything but gratitude for what he was doing for her.
Another of her memorable contacts here at Whateley came when she met Sensei Ito. He had brought another of his students with him. He introduced himself as Stark Raven Vlad. He looked to be a cross between Jackie Chan and Marilyn Manson. He wore a black karategi and a brown belt. He had white makeup and red lips like Annette had seen in a Kabuki theater play her school had gone to see. Sensei Ito asked Annette not to use any of her powers to avoid being hit, just what she could do physically.
Vlad, as good as he seemed, and he was good, couldn’t lay a hand on Annette, but then neither was she able to make an offensive attack on him. She was able to dodge, avoid and move out of the students attack. The poor boy was showing clear signs of frustration, as his attacks became more furious and at the same time sloppy.
Sensei Ito sensibly called a halt and then took the students place. Annette knew she was in trouble when she couldn’t sense what she usually sensed. She didn’t know where to go to avoid him. The only things that kept her from getting hurt were her excellent reactions and that she felt Sensei Ito wasn’t going a hundred percent with her. She thought he wasn’t even going fifty percent. Annette found herself hit, thrown and restrained. At least she was able to quickly recover when she went down.
Inwardly Sensei Ito was impressed by her reactions and her spirit, she never gave up, she just worked harder.
“What was different from my student and myself?” Sensei Ito asked.
“Against Vlad, I could sense where not to be and I had the ability to avoid harm. Against you, I don’t know, you were like a black hole to me. I couldn’t sense from where the attack was coming from or where to go to get out of the way, Sensei.”
“Despite your miserable efforts, Fadeaway, you may be trainable. I am putting you in my baseline Basic Martial Arts class.”
The testers tried every way to get her to fade away; the only way she did it was under threat of harm, which the testers happily supplied at least until tazer darts passed through where she was into another tester. They determined that she had a minor warping ability. One tech told her, that according to their instruments she was 99 and 44/100ths (yes he was a geek who watched too many shows about old commercials) percent on another plain when she faded away, leaving only her mentality, a semi-transparent, permeable form of herself and a link to her physical self. It wasn’t astral projection with its silver thread and it wasn’t like shadow power. She couldn’t control how long she was faded either. She stayed faded from twenty seconds to ten minutes. In her faded form she couldn’t go through walls and wasn’t affected by wind. She could blend into shadows and become virtually invisible and gave off no IR (infra-red) signature in her faded form.
In the physical training room they found that Annette scored about ten percent higher than in her initial tests back at GCCA, still she was far from super. Though not blessed with exceptional speed or strength, she did have an exceptional resistance to fatigue. Blood tests taken before and after exertion showed abnormally low Lactose Acid levels from what was expected. She didn’t show the normal oxygen debt, but did show lower glycogen levels than expected.
Although Annette held back on some tests, so she wouldn’t score too highly, the testers’ instruments sometimes picked up synaptic response to some tests. They just scored her for what they could prove though.
The testers tried several tests for clairvoyance and psychometry, they suspected a strong tie to her finder ability, the results were ambiguous, but hopeful. She couldn’t quite profile a killer known by the testers when handed an object that was tied to a known victim. She got bits and pieces of the crime and the bad guy but nothing definitive, not quite enough to specifically identify the killer.
They also tried remote vision tests on her, her finder ability allowed her to know where the test subjects were, she could pin point them on a map or go to them on Google Earth, but as to what they were seeing the results were somewhat dismal. In other words if they were in a building she could point out the building, floor and room much like a GPS locator, but she couldn’t identify features, people or security inside the building that were visible to the subject.
Again the telepathic tests had some unusual negative results. The tests revealed a less than chance results. On a multiple choice test, a complete idiot is likely to achieve between twenty five to thirty five percent correct answers depending on the number of available choices. Her scores were well below normal probability. She showed no TK, mind control, or mental projection abilities. The testers didn’t know if she was playing with them and had telepathic abilities or that she had antitelephatic power, with the results being so spectacularly negegative. Of magic the tests showed that she couldn’t use it, but she seemed to have an ability to detect when it was used in her vicinity.
Annette was glad when Saturday was over. She couldn’t remember all the tests she was given. A lot of the time she knew that what was being tested wasn’t what she was told was being tested.
**************
Annette and Tammy were taken for some last minute shopping to make her dorm life more bearable. They bought their linens, towels, toiletries and a lot of other miscellanea students need. Julia and Inga made sure that that the kids had everything they needed and then some. Inga got everyone cell phones with the family locator capabilities, webcams for their computers so they could meet up on the net and see each online.
After the shopping trip they went to eat, before heading back to the motel. They got all their stuff that they would take to school sorted out and then it was bedtime.
Tammy was clinging on Annette as they lay there they talked.
“I am so going to miss being with you Sis. We have never been apart like we are going to be,” Tammy said.
“I know, I will miss you too, but I think this will be good for both of us. You are so independent you will do alright.”
“I just seemed like that, when you were my brother, I knew that if I got into something too deep that you would be there for me.”
“Well you are a strong girl, Tammy. I know that you will do all right. I just don’t know about what it is going to be like for me. This is all so strange still to me.”
“Well we can call each other on our cell phones, and we can get together, see each other and talk on the internet.”
“Yeah let’s do that.”
That night the two girls slept in each others arms.
(to be continued)
¬Fashion Star
by
Paula Dillon
Robert Wilson was a teenage tailor who loved to help his mom sew dresses.
Monique Lawson stood behind the cosmetic counter in her store at Honey Brook Mall and looked out towards the concourse of the mall. It was a Saturday, early in September and she was watching a person sitting on the bench in front of her shop. She owned ‘Monique’s Chalet’, a large, high end, non-chain fashion store, which sold women’s clothing for everything from Casual Chic, Club Wear for the most sophisticated clubs, business wear for the top corporate board rooms, bridal fashion and high society fashion, all in her four thousand square foot, two story store.
She thought about the person, because she couldn’t frame in her mind whether it was a very nicely dressed casual young male, or a female. The person was midland in height, to tall, depending on the person’s sex; the person had long hair, in a low pony tail and was dressed in a long sleeve white shirt, a vest done in an embroidered Manhattan city skyline (prior to 9-11), with a gray satin back, slim fitting black slacks, a scarf, plain black cowboy boots with a stacked heel, Gucci glasses and an off white fedora with a black band. Whatever this person was, she thought they were good looking.
The person sat on the bench, with an art pad and red leather messenger bag purse, which contained their supplies. This person would often stop drawing for a few seconds, to glance up at the store front displays, before resuming their drawing. This person had been there for nearly two hours.
“Anna, I am thirsty. I think I am going to get an Amaretto Cappuccino.”
“Get one for me too Boss, if you can get your mind off of that boy out front.”
“Is it a boy?” Monique asked.
“I believe so, but I wouldn’t swear to it on a stack of bibles. If that’s a girl, she sure wasn’t visited by the titty fairy.”
“Still… I will be back in a couple.” Monique said, as she stepped from behind the counter and headed to the Mall’s Starbuck’s.
She glanced over her shoulder at this person, now that she was closer, decided that Anna was right; this person was a male. Starbuck’s was just five shops away from her store. Monique went in and ordered two medium Amaretto Cappuccinos. As she headed back to her store, she came up behind the person of interest and looked over their shoulder.
She was amazed at what she saw. This person was drawing a very nice rendition of one of the store’s mannequins. It was as good as any concept drawing she had seen when she had worked for one of New York’s top fashion houses. She was almost mesmerized, as she sat down next to this person and watched them add the finishing touches, to the drawing.
Unconsciously, she tapped the person on the shoulder and handed the person a cappuccino, “May I look at your drawings, please?.”
Robert was startled by the woman’s sudden appearance, and her beauty. She had to be the prettiest lady he had ever seen. He mechanically accepted the drink from her, as he handed her his pad. He had been so intent on what he was doing that he didn’t realize that he was thirsty himself. He took a careful sip, tasting the drink, and was immediately in love with it. He also tasted a touch of lipstick and looked at his cup. Sure enough, the cup bore the lady’s lip print, but he didn’t care.
“These drawings are very good, are you an art student?”
“No, but I have taken some art classes. I really want to be a fashion designer, so I spend my time studying ladies fashion.”
“Are you taking fashion classes at college?”
“College, no I am just a junior at high school.”
Monique looked up in surprise into this person’s incredible sapphire blue eyes. “These drawings aren’t just good, they’re great!”
Monique’s eyes lingered on this person’s face. He/she had a pretty heart shaped face for a girl, or a very feminine one, if it was a guy. Their lashes were longer than average and full. The person’s skin was a clear and clean, peaches and cream, but their lips were a little thin, if they were a girl’s. Their ears sported ten millimeter gold ball studs. This person also had some gorgeous, below the shoulder, blond hair.
When Monique realized that she was staring, she startled and said, “Oh, forgive me for staring. Hello my name is Monique Lawson.”
“Hello Mrs. Lawson. I am Robert Wilson.”
“Its Ms. but you may call me Monique, if I may call you Robert?”
“Ok, Monique,” Robert said, giggling.
“I have seen you out here since this morning drawing and I just had to come out and see what you were doing. I own this store.”
Robert looked shocked and a little afraid, “I am sorry, I wasn’t trying to steal any designs or anything. I was just practicing my design work. I need to know what women are wearing, if I am going to design clothes for them.”
“Don’t worry. Although the fashions are up to date, there are already knock-offs of these designs on the way. Anyway, I don’t design clothes, I just sell them. I was just curious… What kind of fashion are you interested in, Robert?”
“All kinds of fashion. I want to be like Michael Kors, Gianni Versace, or Jean Paul Gaultier.”
“Those are very admirable role models, if you want to get into fashion. Why don’t we go to my office, so we can talk?”
Robert was hesitant, “I would really like too, but…” His stomach, audibly growling, told the story.
“Let me call my store and tell them that I am going out for a late lunch,” Monique said, pulling out her cell phone. “Anna, I am going out for lunch. I will be back in a couple of hours.” When she rang off, she turned to Robert, “I am going to buy the next Versace a lunch and I am not going to take NO for an answer. So gather up your things.”
Monique stood, as Robert put his colored pencils away, in his messenger bag. It really was a purse, after all. Robert slung the bag over and across his shoulder like some girls carry their purses and stood up. Monique guessed that he was about five foot nine and with his boots, he stood nearly six feet. He was very slender for a boy, maybe a four, or a six, if he wore ladies’ fashion items. She took his hand firmly and emphatically, but not crushingly.
“So how long have you been interested in fashion, Robert?”
“Since I was young,” Robert said. “My Mom is a dress maker and I always loved the things she would make. I thought she was a magician.”
“Oh, is she a name in fashion?”
“Nah, she is just a humble dress maker. She does a lot of dresses for women with problem figures, which are hard to fit off the rack. Don’t get me wrong she is very good at what she does. She taught me everything I know.”
“I know exactly what you mean. A good fifty percent of the female population find it hard to get a good fit, off the racks. That is why we hire seamstresses, to give them a good fit for that exceptional look.”
Monique led them to the escalators and went up to the third floor. Robert’s eyes got really big when he saw where she was leading him. He had never eaten there, but he knew one could easily spend a hundred dollars, there.
“I can’t afford that place, Monique.”
“I can, so just be a good boy and come along,”
Monique could be more than a little domineering at times. It was one side of her personality that she really took pleasure in. She wasn’t overbearing or cruel, but she rarely took no for an answer, especially on something trivial as lunch.
Carlos Luigi’s was the restaurant at Honey Brook Mall. It wasn’t a four star restaurant, but it was close, they were just one great review away. As they entered the restaurant Robert started to take off his hat, but Monique stopped him. The Maá®tre’d snapped to attention as he saw them.
“What can I do for you two ladies?”
Robert just blushed; this wasn’t the first time he had been mistaken for a girl. Monique smiled and ordered an intimate booth for two. The Maá®tre’d led them to a table in the back where many power lunches and liaisons take place. Their booth faced a flower garden and fountain, and really was intimate.
The waiter pulled the table away from the curved seat and the two of them sat side by side, with Robert on the right. He then handed them their menus and took their drink orders.
“Do you mind if I order for you Robert, I am sure you have no idea about what is good on the menu?”
“Alright.”
Monique smiled and asked, “Do you like seafood, beef, pork or chicken?”
“I love seafood.”
“That is good, Robert.”
When the waiter arrived, Monique ordered a seafood platter for herself and a grilled tuna steak for Robert.
“So let me see what you know about fashion Robert.”
For the next two hours they sat and talked about the latest in New York, Paris and Milan. Robert could recall who showed what, where and when. Monique was amazed, but what surprised her more was when Robert pulled out Elle, Vogue and Allure from his portfolio bag and began showing her what he liked and what he thought was not so good.
Over dessert, Monique asked to see his portfolio again. She inspected each drawing closely. One thing she noted was how Robert accessorized each outfit. It was slightly different from her own displays and it was clear to her, that he was very good at choosing things to go with each outfit.
“So have you ever sewn any of your own creations?” Monique asked, as she paged through the drawings.
“A few. I’ve even sewn my own clothes, like what I am wearing now,” Robert said.
He then pointed out some of things he had sewn; that were in his portfolio. Robert showed her a silver mid-thigh sheath dress, which would be in-style at Studio 54, or any other sophisticated night spot.
“Did you wear this?” Monique teased.
“No, I did that for a friend at high school. She needed a dress for the Junior Prom and didn’t have the money to buy a dress like you sell. I just charged her forty dollars for the material.” Robert reached into his messenger bag and pulled out his smart phone. He opened his gallery and panned to the picture. “That is Laura West and that is the dress. I took that after the final fitting, so she isn’t made up and her hair isn’t done.”
Monique looked at the picture. Even though she was not quite ready for the night life, the girl looked very nice. The dress looked exquisite on the girl. “If the dress is well sewn, you may have a career in fashion in your future. She is very chic.”
“I saw her at the dance, she looked like a dream come true, she had her hair done in an up do and her makeup was phenomenal,” Robert said, with a touch of longing in his voice. “I would have had her makeup done a little differently.”
“Did you go with your girlfriend?”
“No, I went with a ‘Girl Friend’ not a girlfriend. I have lots of ‘Girl Friends’, but not any real girlfriends right now.”
“So, you are a junior this year, why did you go to the junior prom?”
“A friend of mine, Debra Langston, her date canceled the day of the dance.”
Robert took his phone back and panned to a picture of the two of them together. Debra looked nice, but she wasn’t a “dream come true” kind of girl. She was a little overweight and her hair really needed a lot of work, but even in his suit and tie, Robert’s appearance was ambiguous at best, but quite cute.
“He asked her out and had planned to stand her up from the start. He already had his real date lined up.”
“I would have cut his heart out and served it to him on a platter. There isn’t anything wrong with this Debra.”
“Except that she is smarter than ninety-nine point eight percent of the students at our school.”
“What about you? How smart are you?”
“I have a three point six five average.”
“Not bad.”
“Debra is a four-oh senior, student taking all AP classes, this year. She should be Valedictorian this year, if she isn’t screwed out of it.”
Monique smiled at Robert, as she thought about what she was going to say next, “So you want to learn fashion. I think that you’re well on your way. How would you like to work fifteen hours a week, in the back, at my store? You would work in shipping and receiving, help in designing my store fronts and dressing my mannequins. The storefront mannequins are dressed where they are standing. The in-store mannequins are dressed in the back and wheeled out to where they are displayed. We change our in-store displays, twice a week and our store front displays, every ten days to two weeks. You would get to see the latest fashion and inspect how they are sewn.”
Robert’s brow creased, as he sat thoughtfully thinking. He really wanted to and was about to accept.
“Before you answer, why don’t you ask your mom and dad?”
“No dad; just my mom. Mom didn’t get married. While Dad wasn’t a one night stand, he ran after he got her pregnant.”
“Does she know what you want to do?”
“Yes and she is encouraging me. I couldn’t do this without her.”
“Give her a call.”
Robert punched the icon picture of his mother on his smart phone and held the phone up to his ear. After several seconds he began to speak, “Mom, do you know Monique’s Chalet… Yes that’s the place. Monique Lawson is offering me a job there for fifteen hours a week… In the back, doing shipping and receiving, dressing mannequins and such… Didn’t ask, probably minimum wage.” Robert then turned to Monique. “Here, she wants to talk with you.”
“What’s her name?”
“Caroline Wilson.”
“Hello, Ms. Wilson, I am Monique Lawson… Yes I own Monique’s Chalet. No he didn’t… I just saw him drawing and sat down to talk with him. He is quite talented… Yes I have seen his portfolio. He is quite the artist. I have no doubt that he will make it in the business if he can create what he draws. He just needs the right contacts. Oh, none of my girls make minimum wage, neither would he. I would probably start him at eight and a quarter. No, he would be near the dressing rooms, although he might work with my seamstress in fitting. Let’s go eat at Guido’s somtime… Tonight… Yes I can come by in two hours, I will bring Robert with me… Thank you, here he is.”
Robert’s Mom confirmed what she had told Monique, “Ok Mom, See you in a couple.”
“Let’s head back to my office and fill out some paperwork.”
>>>>><<<<<
Monique observed Robert as he filled out his employment form. He wrote with a neat precise script, which was easily readable. She also took a closer look at the boy. She just had to reach out and touch his white button up dress shirt. It was made of a really nice cotton silk blend. It was made for a man, as it buttoned left over right, but the collar was a little larger, the points were a little longer, and there were no chest pockets. The stitching appeared to be excellent.
“You sewed that shirt too, didn’t you?”
“Yes, it was a sewing project for me.”
“Did you use a pattern?”
“Yes, but I made my own. A fashion mogul doesn’t start out with a pattern. They make their own. I didn’t use a pattern at all on Laura’s dress. I just cut and pinned it to a dress form. I made it work and then I finished it on my sewing machine. Mom taught me how to create.”
Monique was really impressed now, “You have your own sewing machine.”
“Yes, I have a Janome Memory Craft 6300. Mom has a better machine. I also use it to do machine embroidery, of designs I create on my computer. I embroidered a twenty inch macaw on a pair of girl’s jeans,” Robert said showing her the picture on his tablet. “I made two hundred dollars doing that design.”
Monique couldn’t stand it anymore, she had an itch. She picked up a phone and made a call, “Rachel, hi. Could you bring me one of those new Jackets we got in… yes, that one, in a size 6 tall… yes, in black. Yes, bring it to my office if you would please. Thank you.”
“Always be nice to your people, Robert. I have worked for tyrants and saints. I am somewhere in between, probably closer to tyrant, but when I talk with my people, I treat them with courtesy, even when I am seething inside. I can hire and fire with a smile on my face. Please don’t be a tyrant.”
Monique saw Rachel heading her way. “Robert, don’t take this the wrong way, but I would dearly like to see you in something, please would you try it on?”
Rachael knocked on the door and was waved in. “Yes Rachael, would you help Robert on with that jacket.”
Robert was a little hesitant, but he stood and Rachael helped him with the black velvet jacket. The sleeves were a little puffed at the shoulder and fitted to the wrist. Rachael turned Robert and buttoned it. It was a little snug at the waist, but it surprisingly fit and looked good on him. Monique fiddled with it a bit and pulled the shirt collar over top of the jacket. It just needed a broach on the left lapel and have Hana do his makeup, but Monique wasn’t going to press it. It didn’t scream feminine, but looked quite chic. A woman could look quite fetching in it at the market, and in the Hamptons, wearing this jacket.
“Thank you Rachel. That looks good on you. Please wear it for me. You are such a dear.”
Robert turned to a mirror stand, in Monique’s office. He wanted to take the jacket off, he didn’t want Monique to think he was a puff, but she was right; it did look good on him. He stood there and planned how he would accessorize a girl wearing what he wore and how her makeup should look; or was it fantasizing what he should look like. He didn’t know.
“It looks good, I just wish it came in a man’s cut.”
“That jacket will be part of your uniform. You have to look good, if you are going to sell good clothes. Are you still in?”
He would be there out front from time to time and everyone he saw working for Monique, were dressed very nicely, “Well if you put it that way, I guess you’re right, yes, I am still in.”
“Good, we will get you two more jackets on Monday. You will need to keep them immaculate and fresh. I will pay you an allowance to keep them in A1 condition. How are you with shirts like this and black pants? Oh, I like those boots, can you wear the pants leg on the outside?”
“Yes I can,” Robert said, sitting down. He then pulled his pant legs up and over his boots. “I have two pair of black pants, including this pair and three white shirts, like this one,” she got his sizes and made a note. She smiled when she realized just how close she was. She would get him a pair of high heeled boots, with the chunky heels, ladies boots that is.
“I will get you another pair of pants then, and you are ok with the shirts then? This will be your uniform.”
He had to admit that even though he looked feminine, he looked good.
“Now I will give you the nickel tour and then we will go pick your mom up.”
Robert picked up his things and shouldered his bag.
Monique took Robert around and showed him where things were and introduced him to her girls. She did have a few males working there; Robert would be number nine, out of eighty three employees. Monique knew everyone’s first name and introduced him to all of the department heads. Something she rarely did. HR usually did that task. It was left unsaid, but implicit that this was her hire. She did asked Velma, who was in charge of the art department, and Carmen at the loading docks and inventory, to teach him the ropes. She really did want him to work, but he was also to be given time to look the clothes over closely. She would later tell her shipping and receiving supervisor, that she wanted him to handle some of every type of clothing. Carmen just smiled and giggled.
>>>>><<<<<
When they got to Robert’s house, they were met at the doorstep by Carol Wilson. Her eyes got really big, as she saw her son and her eyes started to mist over a bit. She was glad to have a son and wouldn’t trade him for a million bucks, but she had always longed for a girl, to teach her how to be a woman. She would love him, if he was three hundred pounds and had warts. She didn’t try making him this way or that, but he slowly moved himself that way. In the fashion industry, that is mostly alright. There are totally straight men doing fashion and more than just a few men, who had all kinds of… orientations. She was glad that he totally despised the macho lifestyle other teenage males lived. Seeing her cute son come up the walk, sent her heart fluttering.
Monique reached out her hand towards the lady and said, “Hello, you must be Ms. Wilson?”
“Please call me Carol, everyone except Robert does. Robert, is that your jacket? I don’t remember it.”
“No, it’s my new uniform at Monique’s Chalet. This will be what I have to wear,” Robert said, striking a very feminine pose, turning a quarter, pointing a toe, elbows in, shoulder towards his mom and patting his hair.
Carol reached out and felt the lapel, inspecting what she could see, “It really is a nice jacket and it looks good on you. Make sure you take good care of it. I would hate to have to buy another. Well I guess we should go.”
“Just let me drop off my portfolio,” Robert said, as he just stepped inside their home.
Monique was a little surprised, when he just opened his messenger bag, took out several boxes of colored pencils and came out carrying the bag over his left shoulder.
“Do you often carry a shoulder bag, Robert?” Monique asked.
“I like this messenger bag better than a backpack. I need something to carry all my art stuff. I also have my tablet, my smart phone, my keys and my wallet in it, as you have seen. Mom suggested this messenger bag. It was made for my smart phone, tablet and had room for the other things.”
“Do you carry it to school?”
“Yes, and I do get kidded about it, but hey, I like it and my real friends are ok with it. The school comes down hard on anything more than a little teasing.”
Monique and Carol talked on the way to Guido’s. To Robert it was just all small talk about nothing that was earth shattering. The two women were just letting their hair down, reducing their stress level from the day. At least till the conversation turned to Robert.
“Oh, Robert told me he sewed his own shirt and that cute vest he has on.”
“He sewed every stitch by himself, I am so proud of him. He also helps me when things get really busy.”
“What, at prom time, holidays and such?”
“Oh yes, I would be lost without his assistance. He hasn’t done any fitting, but he knows how to do it, but you know, most women don’t want a man fitting them for a dress, unless the man is openly gay or something. I don’t think Robert is gay; although it wouldn’t matter to me if he was.”
They then shifted gears again and talked about other things. Robert was amazed at how girls jumped from one topic to another. Sometimes, it seemed like Monique was talking about one thing and his Mom about another thing.
Still what his mom had said, was comforting, but still a little unsettling at the same time. He really liked girls. He thought of himself as straight and hoped to find a girl someday. He also liked the things they got to wear and he appreciated a good looking woman. Guys, for the most part, were just yucky slobs, who didn’t care how they looked, unless they wanted something. Robert liked to look nice. He just didn’t know where that would leave him.
>>>>><<<<<
At Guido’s, Robert again kept his hat on. He knew that it only served to announce himself as a girl, to the people there. Monique wanted him too and now his Mom gave her silent approval. Men don’t wear hats inside, especially inside a restaurant. Waiters appeared at their table to assist the women, there was even one that helped Robert take a seat. Monique just smiled, when he didn’t say anything.
They talked fashion, for the next half hour, as they ate. Carol was in heaven, to actually sit down and talk with another woman, who wasn’t in for a fitting and it had been weeks since she had been out like this. It is so easy to just get locked into a routine.
After they finished eating, Monique had to catch herself, and not ask Robert if he wanted to go to the ladies room, with her and his mom. Robert could have gone to the men’s room, he needed to go, but not badly enough to go into one dressed as he was now. He could hold it for another hour. After all, the people here probably thought he was a girl.
When they finally got home, Robert did hurry to the bathroom. Monique came in with Carol.
“Monique, while Robert is out of earshot, what are your intentions. I will scratch your eyes out if you hurt him.”
“Nothing prurient, if that is what is worrying you. I see genius in Robert. I also see a guy who would look like one hell of a girl. I won’t force anything on him, except for his uniform, which will always be black pants, white shirt, with no tie, one of my jackets and black dress shoes or boots. If he wants, on the other hand, to try more on, I will assist him, as long as it is voluntary.”
“That has been my attitude, to let him wear what he wants. Hell, he sews most of his own clothes right now. I never told him what to sew. He could sew a dress that would fit himself; if he wanted. I just want him to be happy.”
“There is just one thing I want you to know Carol, I am domineering, without being overbearing. I expect to get my way, but I am never cruel. I let my presence speak for me. I won’t make Robert into something he is not, but working for me may change him. If he feels he has to leave, for whatever reason, I won’t be vindictive.”
“I can live with that.”
Robert came back and his Mom made him give Monique a tour of their work areas. The dress shop portion of the house, was the largest part of their home. There were dress forms, sewing machines and a raised pedestal, to mark hems. The sewing machines indeed, were professional quality, Monique noted, better than she had used at the fashion house. Robert had spoken the truth. He showed off his pictures of the many things he had sewn and handed her a few examples of his work for her to inspect. Monique critically inspected what she saw. It was very good, but he still needed work and that came with time. Robert was still young, but going places.
After an hour or so, Monique made her excuses and hugged the two of them, kissing their cheeks. On Robert, she left her lip print.
“Monday after school, 4:00pm, don’t be late Robert.”
>>>>><<<<<
Monday had been a strange day at school. He had worn the black jacket to school and was definitely noticed. He took some jeers, mostly from guys. A girl asked if he knew that that was a ladies jacket. He told her it was part of his work uniform for Monique’s Chalet. Her eyes got kind of dreamy, as she told him that she just loved their clothes and asked if he could get her a discount. He didn’t know whether he got one or not, and told her probably not, as he was just a part time employee. She also teased him about working in the lingerie department, but he told her he was working in shipping and receiving and in the art departments. He hung the jacket in his locker, but the word had spread. Not just a few girls asked about discounts.
After the last bell, a teacher almost made him late, she had stopped him to tell him about what a good job he had done on a report. It didn’t pay to be rude to a teacher who gave you good grades.
He got to HR with five minutes to spare and spent a half hour reading and signing paperwork. He then had to sign for and put on a pin that was essentially a large broach. It was one and a half by two and a quarter inches. It consisted of the stylized initials MC decorated with the initials in pink CZ’s on a background of sapphire blue cut stones. He hadn’t noticed before but all office people and sales people wore them. It was valued at two hundred-fifty dollars if it wasn’t returned at termination. Candace Walters did the honors of pinning Robert. She was about fifty, but she was very pretty for her age.
“Gee, does this mean that we are going steady?” Robert teased.
“I will have to ask my husband first, but if you are available we may be able to work things out,” she teased back. “But that is enough sexual harassment for today.”
From HR’s office, he was sent to shipping and handling to meet Carmen Baraga the supervisor there. Carmen had to go over the safety rules there. Then he was taken to the art department to see Velma Davis, who explained all of his duties there.
Velma first checked his appearance and smiled in approval. She then got down to business. First she taught him how to assemble and disassemble the mannequins, how to dress and undress the mannequins, how to move them and she showed him the thirty day plan for the fashions they were going to display on a dry erase board. They had twenty in-store display points and four window displays that he saw. She already had several racks with clothes on them, tagged with the dates they were to be displayed, where they went and how long they were to be displayed. There was also a list of suggested accessories to adorn the mannequins with.
Velma then had Robert dress the next four mannequins. She arched her eyebrow in surprise at how adept the boy was and also at how much attention he paid to details. Finally, she went with him to deliver the mannequins. She was going to help him set them up, but he just handled it, double checking his work to see that they were optimally positioned. Velma knew then that they had a good employee and that he wasn’t here just as a friend of the boss. After they got all the mannequins back, Robert undressed them, neatly hung the clothes and took care of their work station.
At seven he left the store and caught the bus home. His mom had dinner ready for him. They talked about their day as they sat and ate. Carol admired the broach on his jacket.
“Yes, all employees that work in the offices and on the sales floor wear them, except for the janitorial staff. I have to keep up with it Mom, it’s worth two hundred fifty dollars.”
“I can see. It is very nice. It looks good on your lapel, too,” she said, as she admired it.
>>>>><<<<<
Tuesday he wore his jacket to school, but kept his pin in his coat pocket and again he hung it in his locker. He received a little more teasing but the halls were filled with teachers and volunteer parents. The school had taken a hard line on harassment, since all the school violence lately and after an openly gay student was injured on campus. The school was sued and four teachers lost their jobs when they didn’t react fast enough. One football coach watched the boy get hurt for over a minute before moving in to break things up.
At work, he was fitted with two more jackets, a wool three button jacket in royal blue, and a scarlet red brushed stretched twill jacket. The blue jacket had padded shoulders and a larger lapel, and the red jacket was longer, had a narrow lapel that went down to the single button at the belt line. Both jackets were more feminine than his black jacket. He also received a pair of ladies slacks size eight tall, which had been altered to fit him, he guessed. At least the fabric was good and the zipper was in the front.
He worked in shipping and receiving today. He was tasked with randomly selecting garments from a shipping crate and giving them a close inspection for quality control. The store received three pallets of lingerie and he was expected to closely inspect three percent of the incoming merchandise. Carmen showed him what to look for and set him to work.
Robert made his selections and then sat down at a large table and began his inspection. He didn’t handle the clothes like most guys would, but like someone who had a job to do, without consideration for what the garment was. He even used a magnifying glass to inspect some of the seams. It really looked like he knew what he was doing. Carmen was surprised at how quickly he went through the stacks. He inspected the insides and outsides of the garments and placed them in two piles, a large acceptable pile and a smaller rejected pile. Carmen was alarmed about the size of the rejected pile. She worried about his being overly critical.
When he finished, he brought Carmen the smaller pile, it contained several expensive bustiers, several handfuls of panties, and bras, along with other lingerie, for her to see. They had crooked or pinched seams, missed stitches, or small kinks in the fabric, and several other defects he thought shouldn’t be there. One pair of panties even had a hole in the back, where the gusset was sewn in. The sewing machine had apparently cut the thin material of the panty. All of the garments he brought her had legitimate reasons to be rejected. Carmen brought in more employees to inspect a larger percent of the shipment. She also notified Monique, who personally came down, looked at the rejects, and inspected some herself. When she saw the growing pile of rejects, she furiously rushed out to call the manufacturer to give them a piece of her mind. She ordered that lot set aside, as it contained a full seven percent of defects.
At the end of the shift, Monique called Carmen and Robert into her office.
“I want to thank you Carmen and Robert. The defects would eventually have been found, but it was good that they were found by you two, rather than by our customers. I can’t express just how important that was. You two have protected the reputation of my store. Monique’s Chalet isn’t some bargain basement seconds store, after all. I am awarding the both of you two hundred dollars of in-store credit. Robert, I am sure your mom or girlfriend will be happy to collect.”
“Thank you,” Carmen and Robert said.
“Carmen, this maybe too much to ask, but can you Give Robert a lift home? He has two suit bags to carry.”
“I would be happy to, Monique.”
>>>>><<<<<
Robert was off on Wednesday and Thursday, after school on those days, he spent the extra time working with his mother. They had some bridesmaid dresses that had to be finish by Friday. Robert was tasked to sew the hems that his mom had marked for him. There were five dresses, with seven feet of hems each, while his mom put the final touches on the bride’s gown. He also used this time to get ahead in his studies.
>>>>><<<<<
Friday, after school, found him working again in shipping and receiving. The pallet that had held the lingerie was now gone and in its place were three hanger trollies, filled with fall fashions hanging on them. After they were inventoried, thank god for bar code scanners, Carmen and Robert went through the entire shipment and were both satisfied with what they saw. Robert was good at rehanging and straightening the garments. Carmen could hardly tell which garments Robert had already inspected.
Carmen had fun teasing Robert. She would hold a dress up to him, or tuck one edge of the dress beneath the blue jackets lapel, she would then comment on how the dress looked. Robert took it with a smile on his face and did the same to her. Unfortunately, the fashions were too young, too short and too small for Carmen, but she would smile, giggle, or blush, especially when he teased her about one mini-dress with an impossibly short skirt.
Carmen exclaimed in Spanish and then in English, “Oh my, I would get arrested if I wore that one outside. It is suited for one younger like you.”
“Fraid it ain’t my style either. I could just hear the guys in the locker room talk if I wore that one to school. I would need an army to get out alive.”
Robert then used the back way and service elevators, to deliver the product to the appropriate departments. The department supervisors signed off on receiving the shipments.
Just before he left, Velma Davis came in and said, “Oh Robert, good thing I caught you. Be here bright and early at 7:45 tomorrow morning. We are doing the first floor store front displays. We have from eight to nine forty-five and we open the doors at ten. Look sharp, we will be there for the whole world to see.”
“Yes Ma’am. I will be here on time looking good.”
“Just come to the shipping door, the guard will let you in there.”
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday, Robert appeared at the shipping door at seven-forty. The guard looked him over for a few moments and checked his id card, before letting him in. Velma was talking to Rosalyn, another girl who worked in the art department. She smiled and waved Robert over.
“Hurry, we have a lot to do. Rosalyn, you will clothe the left store front and Robert, you have the right store front, I will do the decoration and final inspection. So let’s get cracking, we’re burning daylight girls,” she said, as she hurriedly led the way.
They found trolleys that were already loaded. They just needed to get the jewelry sorted out. Robert loaded his jacket pockets, on his red jacket, with some, but as they started to fill he just put on several necklaces and more than a few bangles found his right wrist.
Once they got all their things together they headed out. As they walked to the store front pushing their trolleys, Velma noted, “Ooh those necklaces go well with that red jacket Robert.”
Robert looked down and saw that it did, “Yes, but I am just wearing it till I get the mannequins dressed, then it goes on them.”
“I know, we all do the same thing,” Rosalyn said, lifting up her necklace that she was wearing. “Still they do go well with your outfit.”
They got to their store fronts and hurriedly got busy. Velma did the backgrounds and foregrounds, while Robert and Rosalyn were busy undressing and redressing the mannequins. Velma had responsibilities in both store fronts, but she kept a closer watch on Robert for a few minutes, till she was sure he was doing alright. Then she got really busy. Robert got all his mannequins dressed and accessorized, and then stepped back. All three of them gave both displays one last check before they cleaned up and left, twelve minutes before the store opening at ten.
Robert had gotten so comfortable, that he didn’t realize that he still wore a beaded necklace and a large wooden bangle, as they headed back. Monique met them at the art department as they returned. She smiled as gave air kisses to the three of them as they returned.
“I checked the monitors and I like what you three have done. Splendid job girls. I would like you three to circulate separately through all the departments and come up with some ideas for October’s designs. Come to my office after lunch and we will talk,” Monique said.
They dropped off their trolleys and that was when Robert heard his wrist jangle. He looked down and saw the bangles and the necklace, he still wore and started to take them off.
Rosalyn noticed and said. “Oh leave them on. The boss already saw you and didn’t say anything. They look good on you and everything we are about is image. You give us a good image.”
Robert got his messenger bag and started in on the first floor. The store was beginning to fill up with shoppers, as he came in the doors. He took out his tablet to make notes on what he saw. The makeup counters were at the front and on both sides of the mall side entrance. One makeup technician saw him and offered him a free makeover. He smiled but turned her down. There were four major brand name companies. He talked to a technician and found that their own companies were responsible for their artwork, subject to Monique’s approval.
Behind the central makeup counter was the jewelry counter, to the left was the teen fashion and to the right was the club fashion. Across from the jewelry counter, was a large casual chic section. Upstairs was the bridal and evening gowns, young professional, business, lingerie and salon. Robert slowly trolled the isles looking like a shopper. He would stop and check out the racks, pulling this or that out, to take a look at things, just like the hundred odd shoppers around him. Nobody took any notice of him, except the occasional shopper, who would ask a store employee a question. The lapel pin was easily recognizable, by the female shoppers in the store. He would smile and answer their questions, or point them to someone who could answer them.
The salon manager Janice smiled when he came in. She took him on a tour and when they got towards the back, she told him emphatically to take a seat.
“But…but… I ah…”
“I know, but I think your hair needs a touch up. Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn you into a Jennifer Lopez.”
She took the small black band out of his hair and threw it away, “Don’t use those things. They grab your hair and tend to pull it out. If you have to use something use a scrunchie, they treat your hair a lot better.”
She combed his hair out, parting it in the middle. She then trimmed off the few split ends he had. She then gathered his hair and used a baby blue scrunchie to give him a high ponytail. She so wanted to do his makeup, he was so cute he would be a real babe, but she restrained herself.
He took the longest time in bridal and evening gown section, looking at many of the dresses there, noting the little things that made each gown unique. He got roped in, by a bride to be, for about twenty minutes. She wanted to know his opinion about this dress or another. Robert gave her his honest opinions and shooed her away from several lovely dresses, which simply would not flatter her. He took several dresses out by himself to offer for her perusal. He gracefully passed her off, once she had found a couple of dresses she liked, to one of the ladies, who worked in that section to help her find her most flattering size.
>>>>><<<<<
He went to lunch at one, and at one forty-five he reported to Monique’s office, as requested. Monique’s EA sent him on into her office. He was the first there besides Monique. Velma and Rosalyn arrived just as he sat down on the couch. They sat next to him, while Monique sat in a comfortable armchair.
Monique asked them to critique their own work and then she gave her critique. For the most part, her feedback was positive, with a few minor details, which could be improved on. They then began discussing their ideas for October. The store would begin their fall look on the first of the month and Halloween wouldn’t come in till the twentieth. They each gave Monique their ideas for the store. The Boss thought they all had good ideas and told them to work together and come up with some concept plans by next Saturday.
As they were leaving, Monique asked Robert to stay for a couple of minutes.
“Robert, you have impressed me this week. If I didn’t know better, I would say that you have been here for at least three months. I watched you today, I have cameras throughout the store and I like how you helped my customers. Thank you for your hard work. Also, I like this whole look you have right now. Save the red jacket, necklace and bangles for the weekend look, if it doesn’t embarrass you too much. I will take the cost of those things out of your store credit. You really do look good.”
“Yes Ma’am, I don’t mind, I guess.”
>>>>><<<<<
Robert then went straight home. He met his mom just inside the door; she had been waiting for him.
“Hi Robert, you look nice. How was your day dear?”
“Ok, Mom. I really like working there. All the people are so nice and… you were right Mom. I think they want to feminize me.”
“I kind of figured that from my talk with Monique. How do you feel about that?”
“Alright, I guess. I have always been so jealous of what girls can wear. I also love looking at all the dresses and things they have. As long as they don’t try to chop my Johnson off, try to feed me hormones, or try to pimp me out, I can take what they dish out. Oh, Monique wants me to wear this red jacket and jewelry on the Saturdays I work there. It’s kinda cool. I can hang with it and blame it on her, if some kids, tease me about it.”
“Will you do me a favor Robert?”
“What, may I ask?”
“Put on one pair of your breast forms, let me do a little makeup on you, and let’s go get a bite to eat.”
Robert had three sets of breast forms, an almost an A cup set, a B+ set and a small D cup set. He wore them with a bra, when he helped his mom hem a dress and the girl was unavailable. It had been his idea; he knew it really made a difference in the hem. He had also worn a corset before to get a better shape, but he had never worn makeup before and they had never gone out before. He could now see that it was almost inevitable, that he would indeed wear makeup, because of his job. Why not see how it would look now.
“Ok, I will wear my almost an A cup set, no bra, my black three inch pumps and not quite an evening glamour makeup look, with what I have on. Just let me take my MC broach off and we go somewhere farther from home.”
“Deal.”
Robert just opened his shirt and attached his A cup breasts with adhesive pads. The pads weren’t strong enough to hold the B cup or the D cup forms without a bra, but it was more than enough for the A cup breast forms. He then took off Monique’s broach. He also took off his pants and put on a heavily padded brief over his panties, to give him some hips.
He had worn panties and a gaff for years, he just loved panties, the gaff not so much, but he felt it was necessary. He wore panties at school, on days that he didn’t have PE. His mom finally contacted a doctor who wrote him an excuse to remove him from PE totally. She was afraid he would slip up one day.
He had pumps in three, four and five inch heels. He knew they made a tremendous difference in getting the hem straight and looking professional. He could walk quite well in them, although he had never worn them out.
He sewed his own clothes, so he could wear all his enhancements. Well he couldn’t wear the B and D cup breast forms with his boy shirts, but he did have some blouses he had sewn for those. The D cup breast forms and corset, had their own blouse, which even his Mom hadn’t seen. It was very tailored to fit his enhanced body. He loved the combination, but was afraid to show it off.
He wondered just what he could get out of Monique. He liked his own designs, but he also liked some others, only time will tell. He would let her give him the store, if it floated her boat.
He took one last look before he went to his mom’s room. The breast forms looked great beneath the jacket. It draped much better now, now that he had something pressing out at the bust. He also loved the way the heels made his legs look longer. He lifted the jacket and looked at his butt, wishing that his own hips were wider and his tush rounder, like they were now.
Dressed, he went to his Mom’s room. He didn’t have his own makeup. He liked girls wearing it and he kind of wanted it, but it would be another step he wasn’t sure about. Would he become a boy who wore makeup every day? It wouldn’t end his life; it might just forever change it. He felt it was inevitable, but still it was a big step.
Carol had fun making him up and her enthusiasm was contagious. She went with a straight evening look, not quite ready for the red carpet, but further than Robert had intended. Carol had trimmed his eyebrows and plucked a few stray hairs, but left the shape alone. She then gave his eyes that smoky look; at least she hadn’t gone trashy, like some of the girls’ at school every day look. He also wore foundation, powder, blusher, lipstick and press on nails that matched his lipstick.
“Well, what do you think, Robert?”
“That you better not call me Robert looking like this Mom. I look fantastic.”
This was the first time he had gone whole hog. He now had the whole package on, that is with pants, instead of a skirt or dress. He wasn’t ready for a skirt or dress yet. He looked not just good, he looked better than half the good looking girls at school. He had height over them and height can make a tremendous difference in how girls look. The woman in the mirror just needed more help in the breast department, but then, he knew forty year old moms that had the same size breasts. His mom handed him a smaller handbag. He could just carry his wallet, phone, keys and a little makeup, his mom gave him to carry, lipstick, mascara, powder and blusher. He almost didn’t have room for the phone.
“So what shall we call you?”
“I was thinking about Robbie, but that might be too close to my own name, but what about McKenzie Wilson, mom?”
“I think that would be wonderful McKenzie.”
“I might legally change my name to that, what would you think of that.”
“I would love McKenzie, just like I love Robert.”
His mom did a few more things before they left. She unbuttoned his top two buttons and changed his jewelry from stud earrings to some jeweled drop earrings, his necklace to a matching necklace with a drop pendant, a lady’s watch and his bangles into a silver cuff bracelet. She also pinned a jeweled butterfly on his jacket’s lapel.
>>>>><<<<<
They did go out that night. McKenzie’s mom drove them across the state line and down to Atlantic City. McKenzie had started out kind of nervous as they drove. He looked at himself in the makeup mirror in the visor, as his mother drove, and in his heart he knew that he could do this.
At the same time, he worried about being caught. He knew that that was a possibility. There was more to being a girl than just clothes. Girls and guys just acted differently, but his looks would never betray him. Luckily for him, his voice was close enough in pitch; he would only need to adjust how he talked and how he said things. He never developed that deep resonate voice. He was often mistaken on the phone for a girl. If he acted just a little like his mom and the girls he knew, he should be ok.
In Atlantic City, nobody knew him. While Atlantic City wasn’t known as a Mecca for gays, lesbians and the transgendered, it wouldn’t matter if someone stood up and shouted pervert, he wouldn’t do anything to get arrested. He would be gone and nobody would care the next day.
They stopped at a fairly nice restaurant and went in. They were seated, and again he had a waiter assist him and his mom take their seats. They order their drinks and scanned the menus.
“So where is all this going, McKenzie?”
“How should I know Momma? It seems the whole world wants me in skirts and makeup. I just want to sew them,” McKenzie giggled.
“I didn’t have to twist your arm dear. I didn’t make you come home from work, looking like a professional business woman.”
“I know. It’s not so bad Momma. It’s almost fate, kismet or a giant conspiracy that has gotten me this far.”
“If I ever push too hard, please tell me. I don’t ever want you to hate me.”
“I will never hate you mother. You mean too much to me. I wonder how long it will take Monique to try to get me into a skirt or a dress.”
“No longer than Halloween, most likely.”
“If not sooner. I didn’t tell you. but I have almost two hundred dollars in, in store credit, from where I found all that defective lingerie, Mom.”
“She should have done that. You helped save her stores reputation. Those kinds of things are important to women. If you are going to be some big shot designer, you need to be mindful of the quality of your garments. Quality is more important than Quantity.”
“I know, I almost thought she had set me up, till I saw how pissed she was. She was genuinely glad that we found all those defects.”
“Just don’t use people and at the same time, don’t let yourself be used.”
“I won’t Momma, I promise you that.”
McKenzie was surprised when his mom then took him into a Casino, after they finished eating. Considering New Jersey has a twenty one year old age restriction, McKenzie was surprised when he wasn’t carded. Still he just watched his mom play black jack for an hour; using dollar chips and was down about two hundred fifty dollars. She then stuffed another fifty dollars into a slot machine; on the last pull she hit a jackpot worth several thousand dollars.
“You are my lucky charm McKenzie. I have played slots for ten years and never won more than twenty-five dollars before.”
They went from there to a Wally’s world to buy two sets of clothes each, two sleep shirts and fresh clothes for the next day. Carol bought a bra, panties, a pair of slacks and a floral print blouse.
He whispered to his mom, “I guess that if I am going to end up in skirts, I might as well do it, when I choose.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more, dear.”
McKenzie bought a bra, some panties, a waist nipper, a white, long sleeved, ruffled poet’s blouse, pantyhose and a gray mini-skirt, along with some jewelry that teens go crazy over. He did try on the skirt and blouse inside the store. The nipples of his breast forms, really stood out and the dark circles could easily be seen through the blouse. Carol insisted that McKenzie also buy a lace camisole, after seeing him in that skirt and blouse.
Carol bought makeup for the two of them, some Paul Mitchell shampoo and conditioner, some hair rollers, a scarf, a package of ladies razors and some deodorant. They also found some perfumes they each liked. McKenzie also picked up another shoulder bag.
She checked the two of them into a nice motel. In their room, McKenzie took his bath, he first shaved his arm pits, legs and his pubes, leaving just a narrow strip. He then washed and conditioned his hair. He then washed his panties, padded briefs and gaff, hanging them to dry. When he came out, Carol rolled her new daughter’s hair.
Sunday they got up bright and early. After putting on his bra, gaff, panties and padded briefs, he worked the pantyhose up his legs. This was a first for him; if his Johnson wasn’t so restricted, he knew that he would have sported one heck of a woody. The feel of the hose gliding up his freshly shaven legs, was intoxicating. He put on his skirt, blouse and heels.
Carol then unrolled McKenzie’s hair, styled it, and set it with a heavy dose of hairspray. If McKenzie looked feminine the day before, she shouted girl today. She felt that she could go to school like this and not be recognized by ninety eight percent of the students she knew. There would be a few that would recognize him as Robert in a skirt. He wondered how many would really care.
After Carol got dressed, she found Robert still checking himself out, “You look marvelous, dear. Nobody will notice.”
That interrupted McKenzie’s train of thought, “Ohh… I wasn’t worried about that. I was just wondering who would care at school.”
“You’re not seriously considering going to school like that are you?”
“No not really, no matter how good I look, there would be some Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon there who would love to kill me. They give me a hard time as it is. This would just give them an excuse to go ahead and do it.”
“You don’t want to become a girl do you?”
“No Mom, being a guy is alright, but to me, looking like this is alright too.”
“Well you could certainly fit in, in the fashion industry. There are a couple of she males already in high fashion. On top of that, there are quite a few models too.”
They went to a local I-Hop and had breakfast. McKenzie handled the short skirt, as she sat at the table and appeared at ease, but he still had some turmoil over the situation. The main thing was that he didn’t do anything to give himself away. In fact, he had actually started to enjoy his deception. They enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and coffee.
She even went to the ladies room, after eating with his mom. After she took care of business, she washed her hands, powdered her nose and put on some fresh lipstick.
Carol then drove them back to New York. Carol had to hurry as she had a one o’clock appointment. They got back in time, but the client was early. Mrs. Wilma Burlington didn’t recognize Robert and Carol introduced McKenzie Wilson to Wilma as a niece.
“McKenzie, would you take Mrs. Burlington back into the studio and keep her entertained for a few minutes. I need to go to my room for a few minutes.”
“I would be happy to Aunt Carol. When do you expect Robert to be back?”
“He won’t be back till late, I suspect. You know how boys can be when they are having fun.”
McKenzie led Mrs. Burlington back into the shop.
“Would you like some coffee, Mrs. Burlington?”
“Can you make me a cup of tea?”
“I think Aunt Carol has some Earl Grey, will that do?”
“That will be fine, thank you. I have to say you are such a pretty girl.”
“I think it runs in the family.”
McKenzie went to the kitchen and prepared a tray and a pot of tea. He carried it back to the shop and saw his mom sitting with Wilma talking. He poured three cups of tea, served the guest, his mom and took his own and sat down.
“So what are you doing in town, McKenzie,” Mrs. Burlington asked.
“I came down to visit some friends at NYU. I think I may transfer there next fall.”
“Oh, are you a junior.”
“No I am just a freshman, at Hudson Valley. It’s not bad, but I really want to go to NYU.”
“I am sure that you will love NYU,” Wilma said.
“Well, let’s get started Wilma,” Carol said. “I have another client coming in at two for a fitting. McKenzie would you like to assist me?”
“Sure, Aunt Carol, if Mrs. Burlington doesn’t mind?”
“We’re all girls here and I don’t mind.”
This was Mrs. Burlington’s first fitting and the dress was basically basted together. Carol pinned while McKenzie kept her in pins. Mrs. Burlington was quite matronly, but still wanted the dress fitted. Carol had to work her magic and come up with a formal where the bodice was fitted and yet still look stylish on the lady. Not impossible, just a lot of work. Carol had McKenzie watch her very closely as she checked each area to see if it needed altering.
“Are you into sewing too, McKenzie?”
“No ma’am, Mrs. Burlington, but my Aunt is trying to get me into the business, with her and her son. Me, I am all thumbs when it comes to sewing.”
“Don’t believe her, Wilma. She just needs more practice.”
“Well your Aunt can do magic with a needle and thread, and I have seen what her son can do to. If you take after him, I can see you making it big. Carol why didn’t you ever try to become a fashion designer?”
“I couldn’t travel with a young son. On top of that, designers are under constant time pressure. They have to come up with new designs every quarter. They have to perform constantly and consistently; a single dry spell, and the show can all be over. It isn’t as good a life as TV makes it out to be.”
“I see they have to be a super alpha type personality,” Wilma said.
“Not really, but that would certainly help.”
Carol had McKenzie help Wilma out of the pin filled dress. It would be quite easy to get stuck a couple of dozen times, taking that dress off, but McKenzie got the dress off of Wilma without spilling a drop of blood. She didn’t even yelp from a stick.
After Mrs. Bloomington left, they both got down to sewing. Carol worked on the dress they just pinned and McKenzie was working with a needle and thread doing hemming on another dress.
McKenzie found it different sewing with the press on nails and it took a little while to get a rhythm going. He couldn’t use a thimble over the nails, but after about twenty minutes or so he was working faster. There was also another distraction that slowed him down, the dang pantyhose, as he crossed and uncrossed his legs as he worked, they distracted him to no ends. He liked the feel too much.
McKenzie finally gave up and changed out of the skirt and hose to a pair of black pants, putting the heels she had been wearing, back on. The pants had an embroidered scarlet macaw, on the left leg. Her mother hadn’t seen them yet. When he came back in the shop, she saw the pants and made her model them for her. McKenzie stepped up on the platform. Carol noticed that they were hemmed for wearing heels. She would be walking on the cuffs of these pants if she had been in flats. Also, the seat fit her perfectly with the padded brief she was wearing.
“Excellent work, McKenzie, when did you find the time to do that embroidery?”
“Believe it or not, it is machine embroidery. I just programed the design on my computer and transferred it to my sewing machine.”
“I believe you. That design would have taken months to do by hand, on your schedule.”
“It still took a while. I worked one color at a time.”
“Why did you change clothes?”
“The pantyhose were getting to be too big a distraction.”
“I see, well let’s get back to work.”
They worked till dinner time and Carol made carne asada, refried beans, rice, guacamole and a seven layer Mexican salad.
After dinner Robert had to wash his hair and blow dried it straight that night, to get the all the curls out. His mom gave him a pair of ice blue silk hostess pajamas. Dressing in them, he had to smile, they weren’t his mother’s size and she already had them. Carol was a size ten, these pajamas was a size four and they would hardly pull over her hips, but because of the draw string waist, they slipped over his hips and fit his waist.
They cuddled in front of the TV together. They talked about where this was all going. Carol asked again what Robert really wanted to do.
“I don’t know Momma, but I am going to keep going in the direction I choose. I suppose that I just like the way I look. It may be reckless, but… I don’t know.”
“I like this you, I love you Robert, don’t get me wrong, but McKenzie can be so much fun for me. However, what is important to me, it is whatever you want. Don’t let yourself be forced into a mold you don’t fit.”
“I won’t Momma.”
>>>>><<<<<
During the week things settled down, Robert was still kidded pretty heavily by the schools malcontents, but they used words only. The girls of the school seemed split sixty/forty, they teased, rued or avoided him; or they seemed more relaxed, talkative and friendly towards him. It didn’t matter to Robert, except he liked to talk to people. He also got to listen to their discussions.
When they talked fashion, he was all ears. He paid attention to what they had to say. He cemented the label gay on him, when he began expressing himself about fashion. The girls were surprised to have an intelligent discussion about current fashion, one that cited many of their favorite magazines, when he talked. He moved up in their eyes, when he began to give honest advice on fashion to the girls. That was a hard pill for some to swallow for some, but he wasn’t catty, like some girls, about giving his advice and sought to build up their esteem rather than tear it down.
Wednesday he even opened his portfolio up and showed the girls his drawings at lunch. The pack of girls started out at six, but by the time the bell rang, there was close to twenty girls looking at and passing his drawings around. Robert was worried that he wouldn’t get them all back, but the girls rounded them all up for him.
>>>>><<<<<
Friday working in shipping and receiving, Monique’s Chalet received a large shipment of high end corsets from a couple of the best ready-made corsetieres. Carmine asked Robert to inspect each one very closely, as they were each over four hundred dollars. She sat down with Robert and inspected the first three with him.
“Tell me what you notice and what each of these corsets have in common, Robert.”
Robert looked closely at the three corsets, one was a below the bust corset, one was a cupped corset and the last was an over the bust corset, that didn’t have cups per se. It was made to flatten and push up the breasts. They each appeared to be totally different in fabric, accents and styling. He then began to look for similarities.
“Well, they are made from superior fabrics, they are heavily boned, so they have the ability to shape the body more, they are well constructed, they are beautiful, each is a piece of artwork, a refined woman could wear them without looking slutty, or trashy and they feel good to the hands. Tell me Carmen, aren’t they uncomfortable, do real women actually wear these corsets?”
“Corsetry was at its heyday in the Victorian days. I would hazard a guess that thirty to forty percent of women, over 12 years old, wore one on a daily basis. The corsets back then, were a lot more restrictive than these are. Corset use fell in the early twentieth century, but began a slow return to use, in the late 1980’s till today. I would say five to ten percent of women today have worn one, and one to two percent, wear one on a semi-regular basis, and less than one percent, wear one several times a week. Today, that one percent is a huge number of women. Considering their cost and our retail price, they produce a significant profit. There are many women today who wear them over their blouses, or as outer wear by themselves.”
“They can’t be comfortable to wear. I can’t believe women would actually wear them,” Robert said. He actually knew what it was like wearing one. When he helped his mom, he often had to wear one to get into the dresses his mom was sewing. He also liked what he was looking at; these were better than the ones he had worn.
“How would you like to try one on, take your jacket off Robert.”
Robert stood and took off his jacket. Carmine took several minutes to carefully take his measurements. She then dug through one crate till she found what she was looking for, a shiny golden brown, quilted, under the bust corset. Robert thought it was beautiful, it didn’t shout girly girl, but rather it had that refined quality about it. Carmine then gave Robert a tutorial on how to dress in a corset. She wrapped this corset over his white shirt and hooked the busk up. She positioned the corset above the waistband of his pants and beneath his nonexistent bust before turning him around. She measured his waist over the corset and began tightening it in several passes. She worked it till she had taken two inches off his waist.
“Tell me how does that feel Robert?”
“It is very restrictive. I can’t bend as easily in it, it is tight, but it isn’t that uncomfortable.”
“It will feel better in a few minutes. I would retighten it on my daughter but you can forgo that. Put your jacket back on and finish inspecting the corsets. I will be back in an hour to help you take it off.”
Robert put his jacket on as Carmine left. He supposed that she was going to call Monique and report to her. He then got back to work. It was a little harder doing his job, but he quickly began to adapt to wearing the corset. It actually felt and fit better than the one his mom had him in.
Carmine did report to Monique and tell her that Robert was now wearing a corset. Monique thought for a few minutes.
“Carmen, after he wears that corset for a few hours, it will adapt to his figure. It won’t adapt to a buyers figure as easily after that. Just let him keep it. I can’t require him to wear it though, but it is alright if he does. Let him know, that it is his. Also let him know just how expensive that corset was. Oh Carmen, in the future, check with me before we spend seven hundred plus dollars like this. I will probably approve it for Robert, but I would like to know beforehand.”
The store’s cost on that corset was one hundred forty dollars and with a 400 percent markup it retailed for five hundred sixty dollars. It really was a high-end corset after all.
Robert was almost finished inspecting the corsets, when Carmen returned.
“I haven’t found a single corset that has any flaws in them. Whoever sewed them was good, very good Carmen.”
“That’s good, they are very good and for the price they better be. I did a bad thing, Robert. I shouldn’t have left you in that corset. The stays are made of steel and they bend to adjust to the shape they are constricting. That is alright if you were the buyer, but you aren’t. I told Monique and she told me to give that corset to you. You see, the stays have adjusted to your shape. A lady might have a higher waist than yours so the corset might try to force them into an unnatural configuration. We don’t want our customers to be displeased with what they buy from us.”
“You can take the cost out of my store credit Carmen. I will just keep it, although I don’t know when I would have need to wear one.”
“No need for that Robert, it wasn’t your fault. It was my fault. Monique wasn’t upset, she just wanted to make sure we didn’t put it out for sale. She also said that it is up to you, whether you wear it or not.”
“Then would you mind tightening it a bit more? I want to see what girls go through wearing one. It might help me in designing fashions they might wear with one.”
“I won’t help you tighten it, but I will show you how to do it. Stand up and take your jacket off.”
Carmen made Robert take the corset off and then instructed him on how to put it on and tighten it himself. Roberts’s mom had tightened him in the corsets he had worn for her, so this was a real lesson for him. He first measured the waist before he loosened the corset. He took it off and stretched it out before redressing in it. It was fairly easy to tighten, till he got to the last round. After he finished, they measured his waist and found that it was one and a quarter inches smaller than this morning and three and a quarter inches smaller than before he had come to work.
He took a couple of minutes to get used to it and then put his jacket on and made the deliveries to the bridal and lingerie departments. Gemma Carter, the department head for the store’s lingerie department, signed for her portion of the shipment and saw what Robert was wearing.
“Robert, is that one of our new line of corsets?”
“Yes it is. I mistakenly tried one on. I learned that that is a no-no, because it alters the shape of the corset.”
“That’s right. The ladies who try them on here can’t tighten them, because the stays change shape to accommodate the wearer. If one lady tried one on and tightened it, it might not fit the next lady. May I take a look at it?”
“Sure, let me take my jacket off,” Robert said.
Robert took off his jacket and Gemma gave him a close inspection.
“I like the fabric, the detailing and the feel, Robert. How does it feel to you?”
“It’s very tight right now. This is the first corset that I have ever worn. I am three inches and some change smaller at the waist. It is fairly comfortable, all things considered,” Robert giggled and then said, “I know that I am standing and sitting straighter.”
What Robert didn’t say was, that it was more comfortable than the ones his mom had put on him and his waist was smaller than they took him down to.
“It looks good on you. I see that you have three more inches or so that you can take off with this corset. It looks just about right for you. Talk to me if you would like to buy some more corsets. Guys use to wear them all the time also. I think that men wearing corsets is a good idea.”
“Ok, I need to deliver six dozen white corsets to Angela in bridal.”
“She out sells me on corsets twelve to one.”
“Do you wear corsets, Gemma?”
“A couple of times a week, if I am going to sell them, I will wear them. I almost have two different wardrobes, one that the corsets go with and another for without corsets.”
>>>>><<<<<
Robert wore the corset home after work. His mom just had to take a good look at the corset. He explained to his mom how he got it.
“Do you think they did it on purpose?”
“I don’t think so mom. Not this time. I think Carmen really did make a mistake.”
“Well I like this mistake. Go put on your embroidered jeans and your cowboy boots let’s go out to eat.”
“I have to work tomorrow.”
“We will be home by eleven.”
Robert changed his pants, put on his boots, a black vest and his fedora. His pants fit a little better, he noted. He put on a little mascara and lipstick that his mom bought him and grabbed his purse.
They drove a few extra miles away from town to an all-day diner. His mom reminded him to order smaller portions, because of the corset, so a double burger and double fries was out of the question. He had a grilled chicken Caesar salad for dinner. He left about a quarter of the salad in the bowl.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday Carol had to drive Robert to the store as he had slept late and missed the seven o’clock bus. At least he made it to the store ten minutes early for work. He had dressed in a camisole with the corset on top of it, his white shirt, black ladies slacks he got from the store, his boots, the jewelry and his blue jacket.
He had put his hair up in a high ponytail and even though he was tempted to use a little makeup, he didn’t. He looked like a girl without breasts rather than a boy in women’s clothing. He would have to decide soon how he was going to present himself. He would have to go to male or all the way fem. It was hard going back and forth. He just liked the fem him, too much.
At eight ten they headed out to do store front on the second floor. He again wore several necklaces and bracelets as he pushed his cart. Velma and Rosalyn had a lot to say about Robert’s appearance, they drooled over him as they got their carts loaded. A hand to the back confirmed to Velma that Robert wore a corset. She had to check, with the way he was standing so straight. Velma was proud of the way he looked.
They took an hour and half to get the new store fronts set up. Robert thought that they had done a good job. Monique met them in the back and complimented them on their job. She again invited them to her office after lunch and had them wander about the store.
Robert got his purse and was wandering through the store making notes on his I pad. He was in the business section, when he saw a heather gray skirted suit, on display, on a mannequin, with a stain on the skirt. He squatted down to check it out. It was wet and very sticky. He figured that some child had a lollipop that they had been eating and stuck it on the skirt. He called Velma and she told him to go into the back and dress a replacement for it. He informed the department head and went into the back. He checked the art board and selected the next outfit and dressed the mannequin. Velma met him as he was leaving.
“You have a good eye Robert, it isn’t good to have dirty clothes out on display.”
“What do I do with the suit when I get back?”
“Set it aside, Monique will have us dry clean it and sell it to one of the girls that work here, for pennies on the dollar. A lot of our sales displays are disposed of in that manner. You wouldn’t believe what people do to our displays. One lady cut a swatch of fabric off the mannequin’s dress, so she could match it. Some people will slightly damage garments and then try to buy them cheaply.”
He changed out the displays and was heading back to the back, when he saw a girl he knew from high school. He didn’t think, but said, “Hello Madison,” to the girl.
Madison Munford looked up and over at Robert. Her eyes got really big when she saw him. She almost said, “Hello Robert,” but what came out was, “Hey girl, you’re looking good.” They were standing in an area crowded by women.
Robert realized just how deep the smelly stuff was he just stepped in, but he didn’t let it show, “Thank you. The store likes us to dress nicely.”
“So this is how you dress for work,” Madison said, looking Robert up and down. He looked sexy in a feminine way. She thought with even some small boobs he would look as good as any girl at school.
“Although I don’t have as much contact with our customers as some of the other ladies that work here, it is advantageous for me to look like this.”
“When do you get off?”
“Five, but I need to get home. I have to help my Mom.”
“What do you do at home?”
“I am a tailor. My Mom is a very good dressmaker and I help here finish the garments she makes. I really have to get back to work Madison, but it has been good seeing you.”
Madison gave Robert a hug and said, “Ok, see you later,” and then in a whisper she said, “Girl.” She was giggling as she walked away.
Roger watched Madison walk away; she had a cute wiggle to her butt. Robert felt a stirring in his loins, but he knew the gaff he wore daily was more than up to the task. He then turned and pushed the cart through the door to the back.
Madison’s heart was in a flutter. She had seen the feminine boy before, but seeing him, no her today almost gave her a case of vapors. Her whole body was tingling and she could feel the moisture in her panties. She hurried to the ladies room to put a panty liner in her panties.
Madison hadn’t considered Robert to be a romantic heart throb, but she did like guys who took good care of their appearance. While she wasn’t especially vain, she took care of how she looked. She found the way that Robert looked today, especially intriguing. He looked nicer in many ways than she did today. On top of the very nice clothes she could see, she knew that he had on a corset underneath.
Madison wondered about how Robert would look with a little makeup on and wearing a really hot dress. She couldn’t explain it, but there was something about a boy wearing some really pretty clothes that she really liked. Not every boy could do it and look good, but Robert could.
>>>>><<<<<
Robert reported to Monique’s office after lunch. He was five minutes early, but he was also the last person to show up. After everyone had their coffee or tea they all sat down for Monique’s critique.
“You have done a very nice job on the store fronts. I don’t think I have seen any better displays, at my store or at the mall. Good Job.”
“Yes, I have to work twice as hard to keep up with our newest acquisition Monique. Robert is a godsend. When we talk, the wonderful ideas just flow out,” Velma said. “Actually Robert should be called Velma and I should be Scooby Doo.”
“No you are definitely Velma, you don’t have enough fur to be Scooby,” Robert said.
Monique and Rosalyn were having conniption fits giggling and Velma was blushing crimson at some private joke. The double entendre went right over Robert’s head and it took more than a few seconds for him to catch the point.
Red faced and with an indignant look to her face, Velma had to drive the point home when she complained, “I’ll have you know, that I don’t go in for a full Brazilian wax job, but I do have a nice landing strip. Want to see it Robert?”
Robert was red as a beet when he caught on, “That would make me Shaggy, as he was always sticking his foot in his mouth.”
“Ok that is enough of that girls,” Monique said, “Robert didn’t intend what he said to be taken in a sexual manner and I don’t want to put all of us on report for sexual harassment. Whatever else girls, you all did a great job.”
“Now on to October. The Mall management announced they are having a couple of contests. First the stores are competing with each other in three groups, Small stores, Large stores, and Massive stores. The prizes are display space in the concourses for November and December. We are going to win the massive store contest. Secondly they are having a costume contest for best store employee costumes male and female. The best male and female employee wins five thousand dollars. Both the store contest and the costume contest will be reported in the local paper and on local TV networks. The major cost of any costume, has to come from products purchased from or on loan from stores in the mall, receipts will be required,”
“Girls, the display space they are offering, could mean extra dollars in sales for us, or for any store lucky enough to win. I expect us to win and you girls will have Cart Blanche. So scrap what you have done so far. Robert, you are working solely for Velma, till the end of October.”
“We will meet on Wednesdays and Saturdays to discuss our progress. So change all our store fronts on the 29 th of September and then our contest display and store dressings will change on Friday after the store closes on the 12 th of October.”
“The costume contest will be on the 27 th of October. It will begin with a parade around the lower floor of the mall at eleven and end outside the food court in the pavilion, where judging will take place. I really want us to take best massive store, and the best female costume, so get cracking, girls.”
>>>>><<<<<
Robert got off and decided to take a lap around the Mall to try to get an inspiration for the contest. He had just made the turn by Sears when he ran into Madison again. She had seen Robert and snuck up behind him. She made him jump as she tickled his neck.
“Well Robert, I thought you told me you had to go home to help your mother. Are you making her wait or was that just to get rid of me.”
Robert took a few seconds to regain his composure, “I do have to get home to help my mother. I also was given an assignment for work. The Mall is having a big Halloween contest and the boss told me, Velma and Rosalyn that we are going to win it. She doesn’t take failure well I am told. There is also a store employee costume contests she wants one of our girls to win. The prize is five thousand dollars.”
“That sounds like a good excuse, you are forgiven. So what are you going to do?”
Robert shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know yet. I came out here to get inspiration.”
Madison smiled, she took hold of one of Robert’s hand and asked, “Do you mind if I tag along with you for a bit?”
Robert was a little uncomfortable with Madison holding onto his hand, especially since he still looked a lot like a girl, but said, “No, I don’t mind.”
Madison almost took over and got them slowly moving, “So what are thinking? What kind of theme are you going to suggest?”
Robert’s mind was blank right now. “I don’t want to do the usual witch, ghost, goblin, vampire, or Frankenstein thing. Too many stores would probably go with that theme. So what do you think, Madison. I need a really smash up idea.”
Madison had a really big smile on her face. No boy had ever asked her opinion about a project before the project was started. Boys usually do something and then ask what she thought about what they had done.
“I agree, the ghost and goblin thing is a worn out cliché for a Halloween theme. I still think it should be fantastic though.”
Madison and Robert talked about the possible sci-fi or fantasy themes, as they covered one and a half arms of the mall. Madison still held onto Robert’s hand , they were both comfortable with that arrangement. She was almost jerked off her feet, as Robert saw two life size cutouts of Tolkien characters. Robert knew just who they were. One was Galadriel and the other was her husband Celeborn. Galadriel was wearing the beautiful gown she had worn when Frodo met her at the mirror of Galadriel. The detail of the gown on the cutout was phenomenal and was so gorgeous.
“Oh my, let’s sit here; I need to draw that gown.”
Robert let go of her hand and hurried to a bench that gave him a good line of sight on the cutouts. They were outside the store Fantasy Worlds Collectables, a store that sold collectable items from different fantasy worlds. They sold stuff like copies of Harry Potter’s or Hermione Granger’s wands, Dart Vader and Luke Skywalker’s light sabers and items from other memorable movies and books.
He got out his supplies and started on a pencil drawing of the gown. He had forgotten all about Madison, who just sat down beside him and watched him work. She was surprised to watch the speed with which he had roughed out Galadriel and the gown before he began to add detail to bring the picture alive.
“That is a great idea, Robert. I understand that they are getting ready to release the movie, ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ this year.”
“Yes, sometime in December, I understand. Want to go see it.”
“Wow, that is the first time I have been asked out on a date, three months in advance,” Madison giggled.
Robert looked up in shock, “A date,” he squeaked out.
“Good, it’s a date then.”
Robert was blushing, but he got back to work. In forty minutes, he was adding the small details that made the costume drawing come to life.
Madison was awestruck, “Robbie, that is a wonderful drawing.”
“Yes it is,” a third voice, which startled both Madison and Robert. “I would dare say, it is the best piece of artwork I have seen on Galadriel. I am David Hampton by the way. I own Fantasy Worlds Collectables.”
David Hampton stood about six feet tall and had long, straight blond hair, which was not unlike the picture of Celeborn in the cutout next to Galadriel’s.
“Hello, I am Madison Munford and this is my friend Robbie Wilson.”
David held out his hand and said, “it’s good meeting you Madison and Robbie. I really love your work.”
Robert was embarrassed, but took David’s hand, even though it was being offered as a man offers his hand to a woman.
“Thank You, Mr. Hampton. I was just trying to get an idea for the costume contest.”
“I can see that much. You work for Monique’s Chalet, don’t you,”
“Yes sir. I do.”
“Well, if you are going to do Galadriel, maybe you can help me out. I always wanted to do Celeborn. Come inside, let me show you something.”
Madison and Robert stood and followed David into Fantasy Worlds Collectables. Robert leaned over and whispered to Madison, “He thinks I am a girl, Madison. What am I going to do?”
“I don’t know, but just go along with him. We can always just disappear later,” she whispered back to Robert.
David led them back to a region of the store that dealt with Tolkien Memorabilia, “Just stand there and let me get my prizes,” David told the two of them. He set three ring boxes on the counter and two hand woven wire crowns or something. “This is Celeborn’s Coronet from the Lord of the Rings and this is Galadriel’s Coronet. The three ring boxes contain ‘Narya’, ‘Nenya’ and last but not lest ‘Vilya’ or the three rings of the elves.
“ Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,” Robert quoted.
“Exactly, it is good seeing people who still know the poem of the rings. So talk to me. Tell me what you are up to.”
“I work in the art department for Monique’s Chalet and Monique tasked us with not just competing in the store art contest, but also the costume contest. I am a dress maker, as is my mom. When I saw your cutouts. I knew I had to make that dress.”
David pondered things for a few seconds and then smiled, “Is Monique still in her office?”
“I don’t know, but I think she might be.”
“Call her and see if she can come down here for a second, if she is still here that is. I have a call to make.”
Robert felt that he was in deep doo-doo, but made the call. Monique was still in and his call was passed right on back to her, “Hello Monique this is Robert, I am at Fantasy Worlds Collectables and David Hampton would like you to come over if you could.”
“Whatever for Robert?”
“Well he saw me drawing Galadriel’s gown in a store cutout. It is so beautiful, I thought some girl at the store could wear it for a costume. He also has some things that would make the costume a real winner. He also has an idea, but didn’t quite share it with me.”
“Well, let me talk to him.”
“He is busy on the phone right now.”
“Alright, I will be there in five minutes.”
David came back after making his phone call and after Robert told him that Monique would be here in five minutes. He smiled. At least it was a warm smile and not a devious smile, Robert thought. Two men came in. David introduced them as Jason and Timothy Ford.
Monique smiled warmly as she saw the men, Jason, Timothy and David it is so good seeing you. Now what is going on. My employee hasn’t been bothering you has…” Monique looked at Robert and wheels began to turn. Quick on her feet she came out with a gender neutral word, “have they.”
“Not in the least,” David said, “In fact she gave me an idea. Come on back into my office and let’s talk.”
David picked up all the things he had set out and led the troupe back to his office. After they all set down he began to explain things.
“I was walking in the mall and I saw Robbie drawing, Galadriel’s gown. She told me she was getting an idea for a costume she was going to wear. That is when I hit on a really big Idea. Monique your store falls into a massive store category. Jason your bookstore falls into a large store category and my store falls into a small store category. I was thinking that maybe we can work together and help each other win.”
Jason and Monique both wore thousand watt smiles.
“December twelfth, there is to be a release of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’. So I was thinking.”
David spent a half hour telling them of his idea, “This is where you come in Monique. Jason and I can help supply us with Tolkien type things, but we don’t have an art department. You have an art department and this wonderful artist who just happens to be a seamstress. We can get together and do a Tolkien Halloween. Also Robbie might be able to do costumes for Jason, Timothy, Madison and me and maybe one or two others. She could win the girls costume award in her Galadriel costume. I could be Celeborn, Jason could be Gandalf and Timothy could be Aragorn and Madison could be Arwen.”
“I’m not an employee here at the mall,” Madison said.
“You’re not, how would you like a job, Madison,” David said.
Madison thought about that for a few minutes. Her Mom had been making strong suggestions about her getting a part time job. Not that they needed the money, or anything like that, but she thought it would teach her some responsibility. Something she sorely needed but had yet to see. Still she could just picture herself as Arwen with a dreamy Aragorn. Too bad Robert wouldn’t make a dreamy Aragorn, but she knew he would be a fantastic Lady Galadriel.
“Ok, I guess, as long as my grades don’t drop. My Mom has this strange idea about me going to Bryn Mawr. I would have to check with her.”
“Good do that.”
“I am sorry, but I need to get home to help my mother. She has a lot of dresses we need to work on. Would you mind if I go home.”
“No, Robbie,” Monique said. “You mustn’t keep your Mom waiting. David, Jason and I can work out the details. I love their ideas. Do you two need a ride home?”
“No I can give Robbie a ride and Mr. Hampton I will call you after I had a chance to talk to my mom.”
“That is great.”
>>>>>><<<<<
As Madison drove Robert home, he asked, “Why are you taking an interest in me?”
Madison shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know, you get my juices flowing. I had my fill of the shallow jock types, the ‘Me Caveman, You My Woman’ types. You don’t give a hassle to anybody and you don’t look down on people.”
“I am not exactly a big catch. Are you willing to accept guilt by association? To be honest to you, I will probably be wearing skirts and dresses soon. Can you accept that?”
“Are you gay?”
“Would it bother you if I was?”
“No, I can always use a new friend, but I don’t think you are gay. You might be feminine, but gay, I don’t see it. Are you really a seamstress?”
“A male that makes clothes is usually called a tailor. I guess I like wearing what I make and I really like making dresses. I want to be a Michael Kors or a Jean Paul Gualtier and also wear my fashions. And to answer your question… no I’m not gay. I may have to act more than a little feminine, but I like girls.”
“So, are you going to wear Galadriel’s dress?”
“While there are a lot of pretty girls working for Monique’s Chalet, I have tried picturing any of them in that dress. A girl who wears that dress would have to be tall and thin. We have tall girls and thin girls, we don’t have any tall and thin girls. The way I see Galadriel, even you Madison, wouldn’t make a good Galadriel. You will make a great Arwen. Galadriel and Arwen are both beautiful. Galadriel is pale and blond like me and Arwen is not quite olive skin and brunet like you.”
“I agree. So tell me, do you want to be my friend Robert and we can see where things go from there?”
“We can give it a go, at being friends first and maybe more later.”
As Madison pulled up to Robert’s home, he said, “Come on inside and meet my Mom, I also want to take your measurements for your Arwen dress.”
Robert opens his front door and lets Madison on in, “MOM! I’m home and I have a friend along with me.”
The teens heard an alto voice reply, “Bring her on back to the shop, Robert.”
Madison followed Robert as he headed back to the back of the house. Her eyes got really big as they entered a large room. There were two large cutting tables, several sewing machines, racks that held bolts of fabric and lace, a half dozen dressmaker mannequins and a pedestal with two steps. Caroline sat at the larger sewing machine and was sewing the side seam on a bridesmaid dress.
“You weren’t lying about being a tailor were you,” Madison stated.
“No I wasn’t. Just step behind that dressing screen and strip down to your bra and panties. There are some robes back there on a hanger bar,” Robert said, as he gave his mom a hug.
Caroline’s eyes got big, as she heard her son give this pretty girl those directions, “How was your day at work dear?”
“Wonderful Mom, I may also have about a dozen Halloween costumes to sew between now and the 27 th of October.”
“Tell me about it.”
Robert showed her the picture he drew, explained about the store decoration contest and the costume contest. Caroline looked at the drawing as her son explained.
“Oh, my. Who gets to wear this confection, Robert?” Caroline said. She loved the drawing and in her heart she kind of knew that this was to be McKenzie’s costume.
“I think that Monique wants me to wear this one. I am the only employee that has the right combination of height, slimness, skin tone, hair color and boss to wind up in it.”
Madison came out from behind the screen tentively, “Mom pull up a size page on the computer,” Robert said, as he picked up a cloth measuring tape. “Madison, take the robe off and set it on the chair.”
Robert smiled a smile that only he could see. He then began to measure Madison.
“What costume is Madison wearing?”
“She is going to be Arwen. That would be the daughter of Elrond and the wife of King Aragorn. I will also have to do Gandalf, Aragorn, Celeborn and I don’t know how many other costumes. I will find out Monday and start getting measurements,” he said, as he also called out Madison’s measurements.
“Who is paying for all of this?”
“It had better be the stores that want these costumes.”
“I can agree to that. Your Galadriel costume might have two or three hundred dollars of lace at our cost.”
The doorbell rang, as Robert was measuring Madison’s trunk. He had just held the metal tab on top of her shoulder and dropped the tape behind her. Caroline said that she would get the door. Robert reached between Madison’s legs, careful not to bump her and drew the tape forward.
He had just completed the measurement, when he heard Caroline say, “Its Monique, get decent if you want, Madison.”
“We’re all just girls and dressmakers back here, bring her on back,” Madison said.
Robert had Madison step up on the platform as Monique came back with his mom. He then began to measure her legs and caught his Mom up on the measurements. The one time he did touch Madison, was when he measured her inseam.
“Monique, you can step behind that divider and strip down to your bra and panties. There are robes on the hanger bar. I’ll measure you next. If I am going to wear that costume, I will most definitely have something for you to wear also.”
Everybody’s eyes almost popped out of their heads when he said that, especially when Monique stepped behind the divider to change out of her clothes.
“What size shoe do you wear Madison?”
“A six and a half.”
Robert went over to a rack that had about twenty open toe sandals and selected a size seven with a four inch heel. He told his Mom the heel size and re-measured Madison’s inseam.
“I am going to sew the dress with heels in mind Madison. So I need to measure you in heels. How many inches off the floor, Mom?”
“Just get the floor measurement and top of the ankle. We will figure that out later, Robert.”
“Ok, Madison you really need to get some more bras. Your band is too tight and you’ll have spillage from your cups,” Robert said. He stepped behind her and checked the tab on the bra. It said it was a 32B. He did a mental calculation and said, “You are wearing a 32B, I think you should be wearing a 34C bra, but you will want to get that checked out professionally.”
“You are right on the spot, Robert,” Caroline said.
Robert then went to one closet, selected a dress and handed it to Madison, “You wanted to see how well I sew, Madison. Step behind the screen and try this dress on. It should fit you pretty well. Your turn Monique, you can set your robe on that chair over there.”
Robert then began to measure Monique. She was a little red faced, she hadn’t expected to be measured by anybody today. As she took off her robe, Robert could see that Monique wore a demi-cup bra, that left her nipples and areolas exposed, a black lace garter belt, a wisp of a black lace thong that hid nothing, sheer black stockings and black pumps, with a four inch heel. To her credit, she took it like a woman. To Robert’s credit, he measured her like a professional, even when he had to get intimate.
He then checked the dress that Madison put on. The dress basically was a fully lined, pink stretch, jersey bandage dress. It showed off Madison’s curves well. It came to just below the knee, but Robert showed where it could be hemmed to fit whatever the client wanted, by removing one or more bands. Monique even had to check the dress. It almost looked like it was made for her, rather than a dress pulled off a store rack.
“What do you think about the dress, Madison?” Robert asked.
“I love it. How much is it?”
Robert turned to his Mom and asked, “Mom,”
“You made it, you price it.”
“Two hundred and fifty dollars.”
“That is a discount price. I think it is well worth the price,” Monique said.
“I will have to check with Mom, first. She might go for it, when she sees me in it. Here take my phone and photograph me in it. I want to text my mom.”
Robert checked the dresses fit a bit more, photographed her in it and then helped Madison take it off.
After he finished Caroline said, “Now it is your turn Robert. If you would do the honors Monique.”
“I will assist Madison in measuring Robert, Carol.”
Monique only put on the robe as Robert got undressed. He had Madison help him remove the corset. Monique and Madison were surprised to see that Robert wore panties and more surprised to not see a bulge.
“Are you wearing a gaff, Robert?” Monique asked.
“Everyday, bloody tight buggers they are, but I like the look when I am wearing one.”
“If we are going to fit you for a dress Robert, we need you to put on this bra with the breast forms in the cups,” Caroline said, as she handed him his 34B bra and B+ breast forms.
Madison and Monique were fascinated to see him dress in the bra. He did that very easily.
“Robert sometimes helps me and you girls know a dress is made to go over breasts. So we have these available.”
Monique taught Madison how to take measurements. She would tell the girls what measurements to take and how to take them. Madison wasn’t as professional as she measured his trunk and inseam measurements. They even had him put on a pair of pumps in a nine, with four inch heels. When they finished, he had Madison help him put the corset back on and left the bra on. He opened a drawer and pulled out a tank and shorts, which he dressed in.
“Ok Monique, what is the damage going to come to? How many costumes did you guys decide on?”
“Eight, David and Jason wanted to go crazy. They wanted to have a half dozen standard bearers, hobbits and an entourage. We settled on you as Galadriel, Madison as Arwen, David as Celeborn, Timothy as Elrond, Jason as Gandalf and Wes Green as Aragorn. Wes wasn’t at our meeting. Lastly, we settled on two banner carriers. I was tasked with checking with you, on whether all this is possible in six weeks.”
“Mom, do we have time to get it done.”
“No problem, unless we get a half dozen weddings come in at the last moment.”
“Who is paying for all of the costumes. Mine might cost six or seven hundred. Madison’s might cost four and a half. Yours, Monique will be on me. Also you might want to start getting corset trained.”
“Can you get six done for two thousand, the two standard bearers can be off the shelf stuff and some dressings added.”
“It will be close, twenty three-hundred will be better.
“Deal, I will get the cost out of the other stores for their costumes. Check with me if it costs more than that. I will probably say yes, but… try to keep it there.”
Madison’s phone rang, her mother wanted to know where she was and she wanted to know about the dress. Madison started to hand the phone to Robert, but he passed it off to his mom.
“Well, I need to be going,” Monique said. “I can’t wait to see what you do for me.”
“Expect to take your waist down to twenty-three. I am sure that is where Mom will want my waist for this dress,” Robert said. “I need to start training my waist down too. I have farther to go.”
“See Gemma, Monday after work. Tell her what you need, it’s on me.”
After Monique left, Caroline said, “Mrs. Munford is coming over. Madison, put that dress back on and fix your face. She will be here in twenty minutes.”
Robert hurriedly made himself masculine again, even as Madison made herself more feminine. Rita Munford loved the dress and was greatly surprised when Madison told her that Robert had sewn it. She took time to take the dress off her daughter and check it closely. She was pleased with what she found.
“That dress could sell in Neiman’s or Saks’, it’s hard to believe a boy sewed it, but I will take your word on it. I will buy it and I may get a dress for myself for the Christmas party circuit. Thank you.”
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday, Robert became McKenzie before breakfast. McKenzie had her mom tighten her down in a corset. She dressed in her white blouse, pantyhose and gray mini skirt, with black pumps, with three in heels. McKenzie then spent the rest of the day drawing her costume concept drawings. She first did some research on the internet on Arwen Evenstar. Many of the pictures of Arwen showed a lot of bare chest.
“Mom, look at these drawings, I like the forest green though, maybe in a velvet, with cutouts filled with a white velvet insert and some machine embroidering all over the dress.”
“Yes, very nice drawings dear, I would make Arwen’s gown with a fuller skirt.”
McKenzie looked at the drawing and visualized Madison wearing the gown, he was glad that he was wearing the gaff. His interests in her were just a little prurient; I think you’re right Mom. He sat down and began making adjustments.
By dinner time McKenzie had a stack of concept drawings. The three most elaborate costumes were Galadriel, Arwen and Aragorn’s. Aragorn’s costume would be worthy of a coronation, but without the mail and were surprisingly intricate. If McKenzie did them like the drawing, Aragorn’s costume would cost almost as much as Galadriel’s. She also had two Gandalf costume drawings, Gandalf the gray and Gandalf the white. She really hoped that they would choose Gandalf the White. Arwen’s gown was simply beautiful; it would only be out shown by Galadriel’s gown. Words couldn’t express how fabulous Galadriel’s gown was.
>>>>><<<<<
Monday, Robert carried the lot to school, on top of already wearing his uniform. His uniform had already become a non-issue with most of the students, most of them just figured that he was a little flakey and treated him with a little indifference. There was a core group of girls who were fashion conscious, that really liked his new looks. They treated him as one of them.
After school, Robert headed to work. He punched his time card and headed to the restroom. He took his hair out of the ponytail, brushed it out and styled it a bit with his brush. He used a bit of foundation and powder, used a touch of clear mascara on his lashes and a lip balm that had a little gloss, but no color to it, on his lips.
When he left the restroom, he received a lot of compliments on his looks, as he headed to Monique’s office. As he arrived at her office, Brenda, Monique’s assistant, sent him on in. She whistled after the door closed.
Monique gave Robert the head to toe look, catching the whole picture of this boy, “Hello Robert, you are looking good. How are you today?” She asked unconsciously licking her lips.
Robert gave his boss a coy smile, “I am doing very well today, and how are you doing?”
“Good, do you have the preliminary costume designs for me?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Robert said, as he headed over to the conference table, opened his portfolio and setting them out face down.
“Let me call the others and get them here.”
>>>>><<<<<
Thirty minutes later; Madison, David, Jason, Timothy and Wes were all present. Robert presented the drawings for the costumes, one at a time. Starting with David who was Celeborn, Timothy, who was Elrond and Jason, who was Gandalf, Robert revealed his designs. They talked about the minor costumes for a bit, they all knew that the last three were the major pieces. Everyone was flushed with excitement about the costumes. They looked as if they came directly off the screen of the movie. Jason liked Gandalf the white costume the best and David said that he could come up with Gandalf’s white staff.
Robert then introduced the group to Wes Green’s Aragorn costume. Everyone was speechless, as they saw this costume.
“Wes, as Aragorn, you will wear plain black, tight, form fitting leggings and boots, with this coat,” Robert said. “I will make the leggings and the coat.”
“Didn’t Aragorn wear plate mail at his coronation?” David asked.
“Yes but my metal working skills aren’t up to par, and making that would take more than the five weeks, I wouldn’t even have the time to make it. This coat is made of dark green velvet, with cutouts, with white velvet sewn into them and is embroidered with vines and leaves of the White tree of Gondor.”
“That is very nice, Robbie,” Wes said. “Can you actually do this?”
“You bet your bottom dollar I can. Now for you Madison,” Robert then slowly revealed Madison’s costume. “Your costume is similar to Aragorn’s, dark green and white velvet, cutouts and embroidery. You’ll have to wear three, maybe four, crinolines to hold your skirt out.”
Madison and the guys were practically drooling, as they saw her costume. Monique even shared a smile with Robert, and asked several questions about the design. Madison groaned, when Robert told her that she would have to be corseted down to twenty three inches.
“My god, I will have to start wearing a corset, today; Robbie, I hate you?” Madison said, with a smile to show that she wasn’t really serious about hating him.
“Go see Gemma, in lingerie, Madison. I will clear it with her. You will have whatever you need,” Monique told the girl.
“Well, that is it, people,” Robert said, taking a seat.
Monique smiled, and said, “Don’t you have one more costume to show us, Robbie?”
“Oh, that one,” Robert said, pointing at the one remaining drawing turned over on drawing board. “I guess I do. It isn’t much, just one I pulled out of the top of my head.”
Robert turned the drawing over. He had done a lot of work refining the drawing since they had last seen it. Robert heard gasps, as the collective people present saw the design.
“If that doesn’t win the contest, I will shoot the judges, myself,” David said.
“That could be a wedding gown.” Madison said.
Robert smiled and told them, “No it’s not a wedding gown; it is Galadriel’s Mirror gown.”
“Only better,” Monique gasped.
“I have Madison and my measurements, I need to measure the rest of you. Monique if you will assist me.”
“I will be happy too.”
>>>>><<<<<<
After Robert clocked out at seven, he went in the back and visited Gemma in lingerie. He showed her the pictures of his, Madison’s and Monique’s costumes and talked about corsetry and crinolines. Madison, Monique and myself, would all need corsets, while Madison also needed crinolines. Gemma had asked how wide the skirt would be on Madison’s dress. After they discussed it, they settled on two or three, so they ordered four.
Gemma asked, “Robert, so what is your waist going to have to be and what is going to be your bust size?”
“I need to get my waist down to 22 to 23 inches and my bra size will be a 36D.”
“Take off your coat and shirt, let me measure you, Robert.”
Robert took off his coat and shirt
“You are going to need a taller corset, Robert. Your back is too long for the corset you’re wearing. Let me check my stock.”
Gemma came back a few minutes later and said, “Robert, let’s just dress you back in this corset. I have put in an order for three corsets that will fit better. Come see me on Friday.” She tightened him down till he was twenty five inches, in the waist.
Robert was silent for several minutes, trying to get used to the corset. It was a good thing the pants he wore were low rise. The pants would be bunched up, if he had to tighten up his belt. As it is, he is going to start wearing the ladies’ slacks he had made.
“How much will all this cost me?”
Gemma pulled out a memo that she had been sent and showed it to Robert, “Since this is for the contest, Monique has given you carte blanche; she wants to win at all cost. You also need to see Janice, she needs to see what hair and makeup will best go with Madison and your costumes. She, as well as myself are also itching to see what costume you are getting the boss into.”
“Promise me you won’t say a word to Monique, unless you have too, to save your job?”
Gemma was almost giddy, as she thought about this costume contest, “It is going to be fun pulling off that look on the boss. She won’t fire us, sweetie. I can’t wait to get her in a corset. In fact, I am headed to her office after you leave. You know that this will cost you, Monique isn’t vengeful, but she gives as good as she gets.”
Robert leaned closer to Gemma’s ear and in a soft conspiratorial voice said. “I know, between you and me, I am coming in on Saturday in a skirt and a blouse. I need to get used to wearing feminine finery; if I am going to be able to win this costume contest. Call me McKenzie when you see me Saturday.”
Gemma smiled and whispered back, “I look forward to seeing McKenzie.”
In the salon he sat down with Janice and discussed makeup for the costumes. Janice was even more excited about this than Gemma had been. She was even more surprised when Robert asked her to give him a makeover and sell him a set of makeup a girl of seventeen would use.
She had him sit in her chair. First she took a good look at his face. She cleaned up his eyebrows a bit, trimming them and plucking a few stray hairs, before brushing in a light brown filler. She used a concealer and kept his foundation as natural as possible. She curled his lashes and used a clear mascara, but no eyeliner. She finished this with a teeny bit of a matte finish, mauve lipstick, which gave his lips just a hint of color. Janice then filed his nails, used a hardener and a clear satin topcoat nail polish.
“How do you like your look, Robert?” Janice asked tentatively.
Robert looked into the mirror. On the scale of androgyny, he was feminine and way past being metro sexual. He was a little more femme than he wanted at this stage, but he liked what he saw.
“I like it, it’s a little more than I wanted, but this is the way I am headed. Go ahead and give me a complete makeup setup.”
Janice first put the things she had just used in a makeup bag and had him put that in his purse. She then took a free makeup case, they gave to ladies who purchased over two hundred dollars, and filled it with makeup, makeup freebies, a set of fine makeup brushes, a makeup DVD, a gift size fragrance, fingernail polishes and a nail care kit. Retail, he had almost six hundred dollars in cosmetics, but he was charged just a little over three hundred dollars, after his employee discount. That didn’t include almost a hundred and fifty dollars of things Janice just threw into the deal.
Being almost nine when she finished, Janice let her assistant close for her and she gave Robert a ride home.
Caroline noticed her son’s look when he got home, “You look nice dear, be sure to clean your face off before you go to bed. Did you get any makeup remover?”
“I don’t know what all I have. I asked for a complete set.” Robert said, as he handed his Mom his makeup case. “I need to learn how to use this stuff.”
Caroline shook her head, “You are going to be one busy girl till after Halloween. Don’t over tax yourself dear.”
“Your right and I won’t. It would be taxing if I didn’t love what I was doing. I might be very busy, but I am having fun in all of this. I will take it easier in November.”
“It is never easier in Retail. After Halloween comes Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don’t burn yourself out.”
>>>>><<<<<
Robert wore his A+ breast forms, no bra, spandex t shirt, white blouse, gaff, panty, pantyhose, trouser socks, ladies slacks, a loose fit sweater and a loose jacket, with no makeup. He switched from his messenger bag to a larger shopper purse. If someone looked close enough they could tell that he looked quite a bit more feminine, but he was just in bounds of being gender neutral. Several teachers and a handful of students noticed the difference. Others just thought he was taking better care of his appearance.
Madison gave him a ride from school to the mall. At her car, he took off his guy jacket and sweater and put on his work jacket. As Madison drove they talked and he took off his shoes and socks and put on a pair of pumps with a three inch heel. He then took the scrunchie out of his hair and finger brushed his hair.
“So what is going on with you, Robert?”
“I am going femme, Madison.”
“Does that mean that you want to be a girl?”
“I don’t think so, at least not all the way, but I don’t know. I just like where I am headed so far. Does that bother you?”
“I don’t know, but I like the way you look. I do want to see where we are going, though.”
“How do you like your corset, Madison?”
“Robert, I really hate you right now, but I know that you are going to be laced tighter than me. Turn your back to me and let me get at your hair.”
Madison quickly did something to his hair, after they got to the mall, to make it look a bit more feminine.
The ladies at work treated Robert as naturally as possible, except they gave him suggestions on how to act feminine. Velma and Rosalyn grilled him about why and he told them while they were working, that he always liked the look and feel of women’s clothing. He often helped with his mom’s sewing and occasionally wound up dressed for her. The first time he had dressed he was hooked, he told them and that it helped foster his love of sewing.
Later that day, Robert stopped by HR. Candace raised an eyebrow, as she smiled at Robert and invited him to have a seat. He told her that he was going to transition and wouldn’t be presenting himself as male at work anymore. After some discussion, she asked for his feminine name and made him a new name tag.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday was almost a non-issue as McKenzie wore her B+ breast forms, over the bust corset, stockings, padded brief, necklace, chandelier earrings and pink walking shoes with a red knee length straight skirt. Caroline helped her new daughter with her makeup, hair and press on pink fingernails. Of course she had to take a couple of dozen photographs of McKenzie.
Velma and Rosalyn had to check McKenzie out closely, after giving her a hug. They had to hurry to get the store fronts done. They worked quickly, this wasn’t a big change, but they still had a certain level of quality to achieve, in dressing the displays and scenery. McKenzie found working in a skirt was a little harder, as she handled the mannequins. She also found the chandelier earrings a little distracting, but she also liked the way they brushed her cheeks.
Monique noticed the changes, as she glanced at McKenzie in her security monitors and approved of the look. She looked in on her girls as they finished up their work, to see how well the displays came out.
After they finished their work and McKenzie had pushed her cart into the back, she changed to her heels and picked up her purse before she did her slow walk through the store as it opened. She stopped and talked to several coworkers and interacted with a few customers.
Monique had a short meeting with the three of them, as the girls gave her the updates and showed her the concept drawings of the store design. She asked a few questions, made a few suggestions and signed off on their work. The girls then hurried back to the art department to make it happen.
>>>>><<<<<
The store closed at ten and then it was all hands on Deck. The store was busier than Hobbiton, on market day, as they began their assault on the store’s decor. Associates were scrambling everywhere changing the overall look of the store, as they turned their department into as much of a look-alike as possible, of Hobbiton. The morning shift employees left at 1 am and the evening shift stayed another three hours.
The art department workers, including McKenzie, found themselves working and supervising their co-workers. At four-fifteen in the morning, they gave the store one last walk around before heading home. McKenzie was driven home by Monique, for three hours of sleep.
She had to be back at eight, so they could do the work on the concourse. Their work would be judged at noon, but the results would not be made known till the Halloween parade and the store would have to keep their decoration up till after Halloween.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday McKenzie dressed in clothes she had designed and sewn. First, she dress in a B cup bra, corset, gaff, panty, sheer off black pantyhose, her own Charmeuse long sleeve blouse, that buttoned up the back, her own knee length red suit skirt to go with her red jacket and a pair of ladies walking shoes. She would carry her sling back black stilettoes with her.
She combed out her hair, moistened it a bit and rolled it up on a curling iron. Carol helped by adding the finishing touches to her daughter’s hair and sprayed it down with hair spray.
She did her face in a glamorous daytime fashionista look, not unlike many of the store’s employees. With her mother’s assistance, she did her eyes were a little heavier than a normal daytime look, but not as over the top as a nighttime glamour look and her lipstick was a little redder than she had ever worn.
Finally, McKenzie packed her red messenger bag purse and Carol drove her daughter to the mall, instead of letting her take the bus. McKenzie gave her mom a quick peck on her cheek, before heading in for work.
There were about a dozen workers there that morning, they all looked a little shocked by McKenzie and mobbed her in hugs. That didn’t last long, as they had to assault the concourse on the first floor.
McKenzie and Velma supervised and assisted the workers in creating a fantasy entrance to the store. They used hot glue and double sided tape, to attach a façade of Hobbiton to the entranceway to the store. They completed their work about ten minutes after ten.
After they finished, McKenzie retrieved her purse and did her walk through. She received a call from Monique, who told her to be ready to check all the displays in the mall. Monique wanted her to be waiting with Velma and Rosalyn at the cosmetics counter in five minutes.
Monique gave everyone hugs and kisses before they set out to troll the mall. She didn’t say a thing about the way McKenzie dressed, but said the girl’s all looked so nice. Monique handed McKenzie her high dollar Cannon Digital camera. First they took in their own store front, which consisted of a replica of the city of Hobbiton. McKenzie took lots of pictures. They then strolled around the Mall for the next two hours. About a third of the stores were participating, none looked anywhere near as nice as the three stores that were allied.
They picked up Madison, who made a bee line to McKenzie for a hug, David from Fantasy World Collectibles, and Wes and Jason from the bookstore. Most of the stores participating did follow conventional Halloween motifs. One store that would give Dave a run for his money was a lingerie shop, and they were doing a Macbeth weird sisters look. Monique put her money on David. His store looked like Bilbo’s hobbit hole in Hobbiton. It was a much nicer façade.
Finally Monique took them all to lunch, at the same nice restaurant that Robert had first been to with her. Everyone wormed details about how their costumes were coming along, except Monique. McKenzie would say nothing about her costume.
>>>>><<<<<
McKenzie, with Monique’s blessings, took off the rest of Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, to finish up the costumes. On Wednesday, the guys would be over to try on their costumes and on Thursday the girls would try on their costumes.
McKenzie was in full girl mode in a pink mini skirt, white blouse, makeup and heels, before David, Timothy, Jason and Wes all came over to try on their costumes. They all loved their costumes, especially David and Wes. Wes was a Society nut and came dressed in a hunting outfit that looked right on Aragorn, especially with his trimmed beard. His wedding outfit consisted of leggings, poets shirt, tunic, the elaborately designed coat and three inch wide belt, upon which a sword, an elaborate scabbard, and a jeweled dirk, were attached. He had a pair of period soft kid boots, into which two boot daggers were inserted.
“My, you look dangerous,” McKenzie said, a little flirtatiously.
Wes gave McKenzie a warm smile and said, “Well, Aragorn was a Nobel man, but he was also very dangerous. I love what you have done and I may be commissioning many more period outfits, if you are available. I will have to change my usual bad boy image to a genteel man, at Society get togethers.”
McKenzie then flirted with David; she wrapped her arm around his bicep and kissed his cheek, “Well my husband Celeborn, you look handsome and fit today.”
“My Lady Galadriel, I am but a thorn compared to the beauty of your rose.”
McKenzie then gave Jason a little curtsey and a nod of her head, “Gandalf, you look well too. How fare the rest of the wizards?”
“Radagast the brown, sends his regrets. Saruman, I fear, has gone over to the dark side of the force,” Jason said, mixing up his allusions.
McKenzie had to laugh and give Gandalf a hug. He had the dignity to blush and smile at her.
Finally to Timothy, she gave a little nod as equals, “My Lord Elrond, how do things fare in Rivendale and how is your fair daughter?”
“Rivendale fares well, although Sauron’s evil has reached even the borders of my realm. We fight the Orcs and goblins, even as the ring bearer heads to Mount Doom, to destroy the one ring… I have yet to see my fair daughter and eagerly await to see how well adorned she will be.”
The guys changed back to the street clothes and McKenzie and Carol safely stowed the clothes away.
“I will bring the clothes to Monique’s Chalet on Friday. Monique said we will need to get together then and talk about Saturday,” McKenzie told the guys.
They each kissed her cheek, causing her to blush as they left.
“You’re really getting into this, are you happy about the way things are going?” Carol asked her son, come daughter.
“Mom, I have loved everything I have done since I started working at Monique’s Chalet. I even engineered some of the things that have happened to me. I even wished that these breasts were real.”
“Do you still like girls? You were flirting so outrageously with those guys tonight.”
“It felt natural to flirt with them. I still like girls, but I may also like guys too. When I get married though, I will do everything I can to remain faithful. I don’t think I could sleep around with a bunch of people, but a little teasing doesn’t hurt does it?”
“Flirting is important in the fashion industry, but you have to be careful, there are people who will try to take what they want. What about Madison?”
“I think I could spend my life with her, but time will tell, Mom. I am certainly going to give her my best efforts.”
>>>>><<<<<
Thursday, Carol and McKenzie found their home inundated by women. McKenzie had on her corset tightened all the way down to twenty one inches. She had her bra with her big breast forms on, gaff, panties, stockings and heels, over which she had a short pink flowery kimono robe on. Madison showed up first with her Mom, followed by Monique, Gemma and Janice.
They all oohed at McKenzie. Gemma helped Monique with her clothes while Carol assisted Madison, since her mom was there.
First they worked on Madison. After bra, corset, stockings and heels, there came three crinolines. Three women helped raise the dress and start it down Madison’s body. It was a wonderful dress, in white greens and browns, with extensive embroidery and twelve buttons up the back. She was then topped off with a coronet from Gondor, made from silver vines and white leaves. It took thirty minutes to get her outfitted, but she looked like a million bucks, after the jewelry was added. The dress was perfectly fitted to her body and hung a half an inch off of the floor.
“I love this dress McKenzie,” Madison said, “Mom; it makes me look like an elven princess.”
“You are a princess. A Princess from the Realm of Gondor and Rivendale,” McKenzie said.
Gemma used Monique’s camera and took about three dozen pictures of Madison up on the platform.
“Me next, Galadriel,” Monique said.
“I have debated springing this one on you on Saturday. Mom convinced me to do it tonight, under the threat that she would tan my hide. I believe her… So shall we get it on? I have a Jessica Rabbit dress for you, my dear Boss.”
McKenzie turned to pull out the dress in red sequins. It was simply marvelous. Monique dropped her robe and approached the dress. Gemma and Janice lifted it up and helped her to get into it. It was a strapless number. The cups of the dress were pointed up at the highest point and the bodice fit tightly to the top of the hips. They carefully zipped her up. Monique was shocked to find a slit all the way to the waist. McKenzie smiled at this and showed her the four buttons she could close to bring the slit to mid hip. Either way, she would need a red thong for the dress. The back, on the right, was all the way to her heels, but the left came down to the left knee and then curve almost to the right heel.
Gemma added some jewelry and other bits and turned Monique to the mirror. A moan escaped her lips as she saw herself.
“I have a second costume if that is too racy for you?” McKenzie said.
“No, that won’t be necessary McKenzie. Gemma, Janice do you think this could be R rated enough for the store?”
“It’s Halloween Monique and as long as you keep those four buttons on the side buttoned, you would be presentable.”
“Do we have red sequined heels my size?”
“We just happened to have a pair in your size, special order from Prada.”
Monique took her place on the pedestal and Gemma took a couple of dozen pictures of her.
“You have done exceptionally well McKenzie. The lining feels divine, I love the way it fits, the seam work is excellent and I like the sliver sequins at the hem and the edges of the split. I would put a value of three to five thousand dollars on this gown.”
Monique gave McKenzie a kiss to her cheek, “I won’t fire you this week at least, but I will get even for this, my girl. Now it is your turn,” she said putting on her robe.
McKenzie just let the women work around her. She knew her gown was fabulous; she had made it and even had worn it twice, while her mom checked the fit and did some pinning. First she went from three inch heels to white five inch heels. One layer of crinolines was added and then she held up her arms for her dress. She felt her arms caressed by the sleeves, as the dress began to float down over her body. Her senses were in overdrive, if her Johnson were not restrained, she would have a big problem right now. There were twenty three pearl buttons, that would close up the back encasing her in her cocoon of silk. Lastly, a cloak was draped on her and pinned at her throat, with a silver leaf pin. She wasn’t allowed to see herself yet, as Monique, Gemma, Janice and Carol got their heads together to talk about what she would need on Saturday.
The gown was gorgeous; it had a high neck that came just below the chin, five layers of silk chiffon, a layer of tulle, with lace covering every inch, in an off white instead of a bride’s pure white. Seed pearls were sewn in a careful pattern over the whole dress, except for the sleeves, which were just chiffon. The cape was made of white silk brocade, trimmed in white faux fur.
Monique then turned McKenzie towards the mirror, “Girl, you have outdone yourself on that dress. My dress is worth three to five thousand dollars; Madison’s is worth over five. Yours, I would sell for ten thousand. It really is a masterpiece. We need to make sure we keep it as clean as possible, Saturday. I would like to schedule a photo shoot of you, me and Madison next week. I have a friend at Elle magazine; I am more than sure that she will want to see our dresses. To show you how serious I am,” Monique said, as she grabbed her purse and took out her checkbook. She scribbled and signed a check. “I have this for you.” She handed McKenzie a check for eighteen thousand dollars. “That is on top of the twenty three hundred for the rest of the costumes, but I get to keep the dresses.”
McKenzie’s heart fell, it was hard giving her dress away, but Monique was paying the bills, “Deal.” Instead of shaking hands, McKenzie gave Monique a big hug.
Madison was so excited for her friend, she wanted to leap into her arms, but the dress she wore wouldn’t let her. She did give her a kiss to end all kisses, before she realized her Mom was still here, “Mom, if you are wondering, this is my boyfriend.”
Gemma then had the three girls pose in their costumes separately and together.
“Carol already told me. I don’t care. Anybody as talented as she is, is alright by me. This might make it easier for him in Fashion. I see he will be going places. Just promise me, that he will wear a Tux when he marries you.”
It took an hour to get everyone undressed, dressed in regular clothes and the fine dresses put away safely. McKenzie dressed in a flirty black chiffon mini, blouse and heels. The welts of her stockings couldn’t be concealed. Madison and Monique got dressed in the clothes they wore there. They gathered in the kitchen to drink coffee and talk.
“Ok, Gemma and Janice what will we need to do on Saturday and how much time will we need to get ready? The parade of costumes is at eleven,” Monique stated.
“I will need five hours to get the three of you ready with two of my girls and myself. That is if you want to win the costume contest.”
“Ok, then we need to get there at five am. I will authorize the overtime for the girls, get volunteers. I don’t want anybody forced to be there at five except us.”
“I think my whole staff will want to help, just so that they can get their hands on you and McKenzie.”
>>>>><<<<<
Friday McKenzie and her mom brought all the costumes to Monique’s Chalet and secured them in her office. They then met with Madison and the guys to plan things out. The girls would come in at five am to begin getting ready, and the guys would come in at nine and use the large art room to get ready.
Janice came in and took molds of the four elves’ ears and talked make up with everyone. David told everyone what jewelry he was bringing in for everyone. He had the three rings, all the coronets, Gandalf’s staff, and some necklaces for both Madison and McKenzie. Wes had two society members, brothers, who dressed as elves for events for Elrond’s banner and Galadriel’s banner, and a shield bearer for Aragorn’s shield. Thank goodness they had their own costumes.
Monique told them to come to the back entrance of the store and they would be met there. The guys were to use the art department to get ready and the girls would get ready in the salon.
>>>>><<<<<
McKenzie got up at three in the morning. She attached her D cup breast forms with a long term adhesive. She could wear the breasts for two weeks, but they could be taken off with the solvent they had. Carol also attached some silicone pads to McKenzie’s hips and tush, to give her a more natural look. McKenzie then pushed her balls up into her body cavity and her penis went to the back, she was taped up and superglued. Her scrotum provided her an almost natural appearing vulva. No gaff today, yay. Carol then shaved McKenzie’s pubic hair into a small strip.
McKenzie put on her bra and was then laced down in her corset, till she had the required twenty-two inch waist. Her mom helped her with her stockings and panties. She stepped into her red pumps and her red suit skirt, before donning her white blouse. She did her makeup, using just a minimal amount of makeup, lipstick, mascara and a touch of blush.
Carol prepared a bag with a lot of small nibbles, a couple of water bottles and they headed out, stopping to get a breakfast burrito each. McKenzie ate about two thirds of hers, she could usually down about three of them.
Monique met McKenzie and Carol on the loading dock. The three of them talked for about five minutes before the guard met them and opened the back door. Madison and her mom arrived just a minute later, just in front of Janice, Gemma and two thirds of the salon staff.
“I tried to limit it to two girls, but…” Janice said.
“Don’t worry about it, let them all clock in.”
The troop all headed up to the salon. Once there Janice told them all to strip to their panties and put the robes she had drape over three chairs. “Shelley, you work on Madison and Della, you have McKenzie’s hair. Monique, I have a wig cap and a wig for you.”
The three girls looked at each other, just shrugged, and started undressing there in front of each other. One girl, or the other, took care of their clothes. McKenzie got down to her skivvies and was about to put on her robe, Della stopped her and had her turn around.
“This won’t do, the breast forms and silicone pad’s don’t match your skin tone.”
“I won’t have much skin showing, Della.”
“No, it’s no good. Come with me back into the back.”
McKenzie shook her head and followed Della.
“I am going to do a full body spray foundation on you. You are the fair Galadriel. I have a very fair spray dye that will last about a week of baths and showers. You will almost be glowing when I’m finished with you.”
She put McKenzie’s hair into a bonnet and had her take off her panties. Her eyes got big as nothing fell, like expected for a boy.
“I have taped up and glued myself back.”
Della inspected the work and smiled, “good job, I will have to remember to do that with my boyfriend,” she giggled.
Thirty minutes later, McKenzie did indeed glow; she was totally fair, except for her nipples, which Della did in an almost a chocolate brown. She looked at her nude form and couldn’t see where she ended and the attachments began. She put on her robe and followed Della to her station.
“How into the ‘girly thing’ are you, McKenzie? Can I do a permanent, or a curl and set?”
McKenzie knew a perm would give the best results, but would last for months.
“Madison, would you still like me all girly?”
“Go for it girl. You could always get it cut.”
“Heavens forbid that,” McKenzie replied, “Alright, give me a perm and I will go whole hog for the girly thing.”
Three girls began working on McKenzie. Della was doing the roll up, Cindy was working on her toes and Roberta was adding individual lashes to her eyes. Roberta almost doubled the thickness of the lashes and the new lashes were a good quarter of an inch longer. When she finished with the lashes, McKenzie was put under a dryer, while Cindy worked on her fingernails giving them inch long silk wraps. Roberta gave her brows a very feminine arch, gluing bits in place to make a more radical elvish arch.
The other girls were being worked on too. Madison was being treated much like McKenzie, while Monique was getting her usual treatment, without getting a set, or perm done. Her hair had already been tucked into a wig cap.
After her perm, McKenzie was given a golden blonde dye job and then it was back under the dryer.
At about nine, the salon staff was all finished with McKenzie; she had long spiral curls all around head. She wore seven falls, mixed in with her own hair. Her skin was finished with an iridescent powder, with a light pink blush to her cheeks. Her lips were full and pink. Her eyes had been lined in brown/black giving her a cat’s eye look; her eyelids were light gray and pink. Her finger and toenails were an iridescent pink and she sported two inch pointy elven ears.
Madison was given a hair wave, a dark brown dye job, her eyebrows were arched, her ears added and her makeup done. Her complexion was now closer to olive, her lips and nails were a luscious warm red. She too sprouted two inch pointy ears. She giggled as she saw them.
Monique was absolutely gorgeous, with a very long, copper red wig. Her lips were full and inviting and her eyes were smoky, sensuous and dark. There was liable to be many heart attacks today.
They were taken into the back to dress, so the guys could come in and get their makeup done. Gandalf had to age; Celeborn and Elrond needed their ears and a touch of makeup.
McKenzie was frustrated at how long things were taking and asked Monique, “Is this how it is when a girl gets married?”
“Oh, it is much worse on a wedding day, especially for a fancy wedding. It can be a seven, to eight, hour day, to get ready for an hour long wedding.”
“She isn’t lying, McKenzie. My sister was a maid of honor and I was a bridesmaid at a wedding. It was like a zoo, which started at eight that morning for a four-thirty wedding. The bride was frantic that we wouldn’t be finished on time. We were of course, with a half hour to collect ourselves before the wedding.”
Finally at ten thirty, the guys met the girls. First Arwen came in and walked up to Aragorn.
“How do I look Your Majesty?”
Wes as Aragorn said, “I would marry you today for real, if you were ten years older, my Lady Arwen. I can’t believe anybody could look more lovely.”
“You haven’t seen Galadriel yet, my Lord.”
That was cue for McKenzie to enter. As she came in, she could hear a gush of wind coming from those present.
“My Lord Celeborn, How do you fare today?”
“I think I died and am in the presence of a Maiar, my dear.”
Monique came out and leaned against the door frame. She hadn’t button up the side slit yet and stretched out her sheer to the waist encased leg, with the four inch red sequined stiletto heels. Gandalf broke out in a fit of coughs.
“Why don’t you come up and see me some time, Gandalf. I can do something for your staff, which you can’t do.”
After Gandalf was given CPR, she finally then did the four buttons up, standing right there. David got out his things and added finishing touches to everyone. Gandalf wore the ring Narya, Galadriel wore Nenya, and Elrond wore Vilya. The ladies were helped with their necklaces, earrings and coronets. Gandalf placed Aragon’s crown on his brow.
A professional photographer came and took everyone’s picture, individually and in groups. He also took many shots of Monique, with and without the slit buttoned.
The troop managed to get downstairs by the cosmetic counter, five minutes before the parade Marshall came by the store. Aragorn, with Arwen by his side, were led by the shield bearer. The shield was black and bore the white tree of Gondor’s image. Elrond and Galadriel flanked Gandalf, and had their banner carriers behind, while Celeborn followed behind his lady.
They fell in behind the Parade Marshall. McKenzie cursed herself for wearing the five inch stilettos. It was a long march around the first floor, as they snaked around picking up people from other stores and passing the judges for the costume judging. They walked about three fourths of a mile that day.
The costumes McKenzie had made were far superior than any of the other costumes. The best other lady, in her judgment, was a Lady Macbeth costume, she looked good, but her clothes weren’t truly period. None of the men looked as good as Aragorn. It would be between Galadriel and Arwen.
The parade ended in the pavilion by the food court, for the judging. The judges pulled the five best males and the five best females. Of the males Gandalf and Aragorn were in the finals, and Galadriel and Arwen were in the finals. The ten people stood side by side on the stage; as the mall manager came to the mike.
“First, I would like to do something unusual. First, I would like to make a new award for a cohesive group of costumes.” She motioned for Celeborn and Elrond to come on stage, with their banner carriers and shield bearers. “Never have we had such outstanding costumes, as the group from Middle Earth. I have been informed that one girl was responsible for ninety five percent of the costuming. McKenzie Wilson you deserve a round of applause and each of you will receive a one hundred dollar gift certificate. Now, on for the best costumes. Third place male, goes to Zorro. Second place male, goes to Gandalf the White, Third place ladies costume, goes to Lady Macbeth, second place, goes to Lady Arwen. Now for the winners. First Place male, and the winner of five thousand dollars is… of course there is no doubt, Aragorn of Arathorn, and the first place lady, and the winner of five thousand dollars, is the Lady of Lorien, Guardian of Lorien, The White Lady, the Lady Galadriel. Boy is that a mouthful.”
One female voice in the distance could be heard shouting, “But he ain’t no Lady.”
The Mall manager smiled and pointed her manicured nail at the offender and said, “She is more of a lady than you are. The decisions are final.”
After some commotion, the prizes were awarded to the top three male and female winners, with pictures taken.
Lady Macbeth, who hadn’t taken her eyes off of Galadriel finally asked, “Are you really a guy?”
“Fraid so, does that bother you?”
“Only that you look so fine girl, you put me to shame.” Lady Macbeth said, “How about you?” She asked pointing to Madison.
“Nope, I am all girl. She is my boyfriend.”
“Oh my, and you really did all the sewing yourself?”
“I had a little help on my gown. My mom helped me fit the dress, but I sewed every stitch myself.”
“Oh my, my, you should be a dress designer.”
“I am and I will have my own label someday.”
Lady Macbeth gave Galadriel a hug. Afterwards jokingly, Galadriel checked her back for any daggers.
The contestants joined the crowds for the store awards. McKenzie was mobbed by Carmen, Rosalyn, Velma and the other girls she worked with.
“Ok, on with the store awards, boy is this going to sound like a broken record. Best Small business award goes to Celeborn, AKA David Hampton of Fantasy Worlds Collectibles, for their Hobbit Hole Design. I always wanted to say AKA, I just never had the opportunity before now.” Celeborn came on stage and was handed a plaque.
Best large store design goes to Gandalf, AKA Jason Ford of Ford’s bookstore, for their Bree Tavern Store front. Gandalf came on stage waving his wand and received his plaque.
Best Massive store was actually closer, but Jessica Rabbit, AKA Monique Lawson of Monique’s Chalet, Beat out Sears, for the prize with their Hobbiton Design. Jessica nearly started a riot, when she came up to accept the Award. There were many wolf whistles and shouting as she ascended up the stairs. She stood on the stage; feet spread and blew a kiss to the crowd, before taking a pose with the side slit facing the crowd.
“Oh and ladies,” the mall manager said. “McKenzie Wilson, AKA Galadriel sewed this gown also, I am told. You might want to see her about your next special occasion dress. I know I am.”
>>>>><<<<<
Monique took them all out to eat at a first floor restaurant. McKenzie was on pins and needles worried that she would get a stain on her gown, but she was careful. She sat opposite of Monique next to Madison who held her hand. As they were eating, a lady came in and sat down next to Monique.
“Hello Eleanor, I am so glad you came,” Monique said.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for one minute. I just loved the pictures you sent me of those costumes.”
“I thought you would. This lady is McKenzie Wilson; she was the genius that came up with all those designs.”
“Hello McKenzie, I am Eleanor Black, I write for Elle magazine,” She said, holding out her hand.
“Hi and this is my girlfriend Madison Munford.”
“You both look so elegant. Is it true that you are a male?”
“Not when I am dressed like this, but yes, I am.”
“Well, I must say how gorgeous you are,”
For the next hour, Eleanor interviewed McKenzie, asking the usual and not so usual questions. McKenzie told the lady why she was dressed thus and what her hopes and aspirations were. All the while their pictures were being taken by a staff photographer. They all returned to Monique’s Chalet and had their pictures taken there also. Eleanor even went with them to the salon and into the back, as they got out of their costumes. She even helped McKenzie with her gown.
Carol helped her daughter get dressed in her street clothes. Eleanor inspected the gowns. She even got permission to inspect the clothes sewn for the men; after she told them she was doing an article on McKenzie. After they were all dressed, the men came into the back.
“McKenzie, I am really impressed by your work. You designed and made all of these costumes in six weeks?”
“With my Mom’s help, she is a dress maker too.”
“Yes, I am, but McKenzie will far outshine me,” Carol said.
“Does it bother you that he wears dresses and skirts?”
“Not in the least. Whatever makes him, or her, happy, is fine by me.”
“Now that all of you are here, I would like to ask you all to dress up again for a photo shoot next Saturday. I may get a four page article out of this.”
The guys heartily agreed, but the girls groaned, at the thought of being corseted again, but they too agreed.
After Eleanor and the guys left, McKenzie had a worried look on her face.
“Oh my, I guess I am going to school en femme, if I have to do this again.”
“We could switch you to you’re a cup forms,” Carol said. “Or no forms.”
“No my B cup forms. I have gotten used to these things now. I wish they were real.”
“Real B cup or real D cup.”
“Real D cup, my frame can handle the larger breasts.”
Monique was still there and said, “I will go with you Monday and explain it is for business. Many schools have learned it can be bad, dealing harshly with transgender people.”
“I’m not transgendered.”
“There are more flavors of transgendered, besides boys who fully become girls. You are transgendered.”
“She is right McKenzie. I knew it years ago. I just had to wait till you discovered it.”
Epilog
Monique and Carol both went to school Monday with McKenzie. She wore a black suit skirt, her MC jacket, with the pendant attached and heels. She had her B cup forms on and was fully made up.
The school already had their suspicions that this was happening and had discussed the problem already. They still had problems about rest rooms, but they did have four Handicap access restrooms, she could use these, till she had her SRS surgery, they told her. She found it inconvenient, but it would have to do.
The photo shoot with Elle went well. They had gone to a studio with a set design reminiscent of Lothlorien. Monique wasn’t in those shots, but she was with them on a white background set, with all the slit buttons open, as she really vamped it up.
After the shoot, Gandalf took Jessica Rabbit out to eat, breaking Roger Rabbits heart.
Finis
Can happiness flourish after tragedy?
Forensics Studies
by
Paula Dillon
Eighteen-year-old Elliot Dresden was helping his father, Robert, load his sister’s things in the 6x12 U-Haul trailer. Rebecca, 22, had just graduated with a BS double major in Chemistry and Botany, with honors. Now she was headed to East Lansing, Michigan, to start on her PHD in Forensic Botany. She loved the idea of being able to solve crimes using trace evidence that she or others had collected.
Robert had gone with Rebecca when she had spoken to the people in Michigan State’s Graduate Admissions. After a favorable interview, Robert and Rebecca had gone out in Lansing and had found a nice 3-bedroom Condo and made an offer to buy, as Rebecca would be spending the next four to six years in Lansing, Michigan.
Back in Gainesville, Florida, they had hit the local Ikea, the Bed Bath and Beyond and Pier 1 Imports to help Rebecca flesh out her new Condo. From late spring to early summer they had stored all the boxes in the garage displacing Danika’s 2014 Yukon. Of course, Robert’s Lincoln MKZ still had its place of honor in the garage.
Rebecca’s 2012 Escalade had been heavily insulated, winterized and rust proofed, along with being made mechanically sound, to handle the epic winters that Michigan is famous for. Lansing averages just over fifty inches of snow a year and its winter temperatures can range from negative numbers to an average temp in the teens.
Danika, 48, had taken her daughter to many different shops to winterize her daughter’s wardrobe. Danika was born in Stockholm Sweden, where she spent her first fifteen years. Her father’s job moved to the United States and they came along too. Danika only missed the snow and the cold a bit, snow can be fun to play in, but being able to wear a bikini outside in January, in Miami, was very nice too.
She drilled Rebecca on the dangers of winter in the north. She helped Rebecca build a survival kit to store in her Escalade, that contained high energy foods, blankets, jumper cables, snow chains, kitty litter, flares, reflectors and such. Rebecca knew to keep her kitchen stocked for a month with non-perishable food, she was given four cases of MRE’s in ration heater packs. She was told to check the seven-day weather forecast and to check the daily weather forecast every day in the winter. Her ham radios had the capability to act as weather alert radios. Cold weather could come on like a juggernaut.
Robert, a 63-year-old electronics engineer, had insisted that everyone in his family be an Amateur Radio Operator. All of their cars were equipped with a minimum 2-meter/440 dual band radio and a separate 6-meter radio. He himself could talk to New Zeeland, South Africa or Europe from his Lincoln, on his mobile HF radio. Danika had actually contacted a Swiss Guard, who was a ham radio operator at the Vatican, on the same trip, as she had a contact with Pitcairn on a vacation trip. Two very rare radio contacts.
When the 6x12 U-Haul trailer was filled, all four of the Dresden’s sat around the kitchen table to have a conference, after Danika brought home a bucket of chicken, with all the sides. Robert, the head of the family, was in charge and set the agenda.
Rebecca was leaving in the middle of July, so that she could set up her condo, learn the city of Lansing, collect specimens of the local fauna and begin reading in her doctoral classes. She knew the classes she would be in already.
“Ok, tomorrow is Tuesday,” Robert said. “We hit the road at eight a.m. We will drive to Atlanta and spend the night, next to Cincinnati, then to Toledo and arrive in Lansing after a short drive. So we won’t be so road tired when we get to Lansing. Your Mom and I will spend the next two weeks helping you get set up, Rebecca, and then we will fly home.”
“Elliot, you will be here. I know there won’t be any wild parties and that you won’t tear the house up. You won’t starve, there is food in the house and I know you know how to cook and clean up after yourself.” Robert said, chuckling. “We expect you to start at the University of Florida in August.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to sell the house and steal your car, Dad.” Elliot said. “I am already registered and have my classes. I have my own money, if I eat all the food and my 70 Chevelle SS is in great shape and is a lot more Rad than your car or Mom’s. I wouldn’t drive something as respectable as they are.”
Elliot was a great driver and he hardly ever exceeded the speed limit, although he could with the twin turbo charged, EFI 396 engine, that Robert helped him piece together. He could go a lot faster. It had been one of Robert’s dream cars, but when they got it all together, Robert gave it to his seventeen-year-old son on his birthday.
They ate and discussed the move and their plans in some detail. Robert was a very meticulous man and a famous list maker. Danika was more extemporaneous in her actions but they all put up with Robert, because he could get the job done.
The rents headed to bed at nine-o-clock that night and left the kids in the living room. Dad was a little chauvinistic and would do the lion’s share of driving over the next four days. Rebecca and Elliot were sitting next to each other talking.
“Geez, I am going to miss you, Elliot.”
“I will miss you too, but if Dad gets his way, I will be coming to Lansing also, in two years.”
“He just wants to see you get into your studies before you join me. The first two years at any college are just basics anyway.”
“I know. I am going to be studying chemistry and geology. I think I like to think of us both going into Forensic Science.”
“Michigan State has one of the premiere graduate college programs for the study of forensic science.”
“I just hate to think about all that cold weather, it might be nice to go snow skiing for a week or two, but give me warm weather the rest of the time.”
“Tomorrow, I left some things for you in my room. We should be near Atlanta about six p.m. you can follow us on Google.aprs. Skype me and be ready to text me.”
Google.aprs was set up for ham radio operators. APRS stands for automatic packet reporting system. When an APRS unit is set up with a GPS system, you can follow the target on Google.aprs, in real time on a Google map. An APRS unit reports the GPS location and possibly other data, such as weather, if a computerized weather station was attached to the unit, every few minutes. There are ham radio stations all over the world that receive APRS signals and report their current location on Google.aprs on the internet.
Rebecca, stifled a yawn, she hugged Elliot and kissed his cheek and said, “I need to go to bed. I have to get up at six if I am to be ready to go at eight. You know daddy, he will leave me sitting here if I’m not ready to go.”
Robert wouldn’t actually leave her here, she was the reason for the trip, but he would be extremely impatient waiting for her and would remind her what this was doing to his time table. So, they both headed to bed at ten that night.
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Elliot and Rebecca were both awake within minutes of each other. Their parents would still be asleep for another forty-five or fifty minutes. When Rebecca was dressed in a Michigan State jersey and cut off shorts, no not daisy dukes, Elliot came into her room dressed in a basketball tank, gym shorts and running shoes. He helped his sister pack all her bags and loaded them in her Escalade. Elliot sat on the bed as Rebecca sat in front of her vanity to fix her face. She was leaving about half of her clothes here, along with her makeup. She was mostly just taking her new things and makeup with her.
“Don’t forget to check my closet after we leave. I will know when I skype you.”
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For five years, Elliot had been intermittently wearing her clothes, with her blessing. It started just before his thirteenth birthday accidentally. He got up one Saturday morning and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. The jeans were incredibly tight in the waist and loose through the hips, but he still got them on. He came out of his room complaining about his new blue jeans shrinking. His sister, who was sixteen at the time, had a giggle fit, when she saw him wearing a pair of her mid-rise jeans.
“Come here and let me look at you.” Her Guess mid-rise skinny jeans fit him pretty good, except the waist was a little tight and his hips and derriere were a little loose. “I have got just the thing to help you wear these jeans, come with me little brother.”
Rebecca took Elliot to her room and dug around in a drawer. She pulled out a spanx control padded brief. “I use to wear these before I started growing hips and butt. They pulled in my waist and gave me a butt. Pull the pants and your underwear off and put these on,” she said herding him into her bathroom.
They were always playing with each other and getting each other into trouble, having fun while doing it, so he did what she told him. He knew what she was handing him, but they were alone and he liked her. The spanx were really tight and sucked in his tummy, but the pants fit really well afterwards, at least they did after he found that he had something that needed to be relocated, to keep them from being crushed. He also realized that the pants weren’t his pants. His mom made a mistake returning the laundry.
Rebecca got him into a padded bra, one of her blouses, when he came out of her bathroom and into a pair of her high heel sandals. They were both surprised by the results. Even without putting on any makeup on Elliot and with his boy’s haircut, he still looked like his sister. They weren’t twins, Rebecca was two inches taller than he was and he was a little skinnier than she was. His face was narrower and his nose was smaller and cuter. Their feet were basically the same size. His feet were just a little wider than hers.
They stood together and looked at each other in a mirror. They looked good together. Elliot looked a year or two younger than his sister, but a year or two older than the boy he was. Rebecca wanted to make up his face, but she didn’t want to push it just now. She hadn’t thought about doing that before, but now she noticed how girlish his face was, not unlike Natalie Portman when she played Queen Amidala.
They had fun that day. Rebecca taught him how to walk in heels, after a rocky start falling, and almost falling a dozen times, he found his stride. The practice lasted an hour and maybe a half, till he had to sit down and rub the arches of his feet. They stayed dressed for four hours and he changed back an hour before they expected the rents back.
Elliot dressed up in Rebecca’s clothes once or twice a month, when their parents were at work. Robert worked on designing printed circuit boards for dozens of devices, from hand held radars, to differential global positioning systems. Danika worked as the director of design for a company that produced swimwear, bikini’s and accessories.
Danika discovered Elliot’s proclivities by accident. She was off one Saturday when Elliot was fourteen. She had trained the kid’s in doing their own laundry, but during final’s week for school, she decided to help them out. She went to the kid’s bathrooms and emptied their hampers. She found a pair of plain nylon panties, a padded bra, a spanx padded brief, a pair of Tommy Hilfiger low rise boot cut jeans and a tunic style top. The pants were Rebecca’s size, but the bra definitely wasn’t. There weren’t any girl’s clothes in Elliot’s closet or drawers. She washed the clothes and set all of Elliot’s things on his bed, for him to put up.
Elliot looked a little sheepish the next time she saw him, but she didn’t say anything to him. She knew that he knew, that she knew. Over the next few years, she still bought his clothes, but she also bought him a few plain looking but very nice panties, padded briefs, bras, ladies’ jeans and tops. She never saw him dressed in them, but she knew somebody was wearing them.
Over the years, Rebecca couldn’t get Elliot into a dress or a skirt, although she did teach him to do his own makeup. It didn’t make sense to her but she didn’t force him to wear anything or make him do his makeup.
She had been right in her thoughts, when Elliot did all of his own makeup. She got him to grow his hair out a bit and taught him to style it. He was a real babe when he was all done up. He seemed to like the post grunge look of Avril Levigne. He was better at doing his eyeliner than Rebecca was. Before some of her dates, she actually had him do her eyes.
>>>>><<<<<
Elliot and Rebecca prepared breakfast for their parents, when they heard them begin to stir at around seven that morning. Elliot cooked as Rebecca made the orange juice, coffee and set the table. Robert always had a good breakfast and today was no different. He had two eggs, over easy, two breakfast sausages, hash browns and two biscuits, with strawberry preserves. Danika had two eggs, poached, a biscuit, with orange marmalade and a sausage. Rebecca and Elliot ate the same, two eggs, over easy, a sausage and a biscuit.
When Robert and Danika finished, they got up and went to their room to get ready, as did Rebecca. Elliot cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher, before going to get ready for work.
Elliot worked from nine to three, four days a week, at Carson’s Bookstore. He worked checking new shipments and then stocking the shelves. He also relieved the people working the registers at times. He loved circulating and helping patrons decide on this book or that book. One lady tried to embarrass him by asking him about a couple of lesbian romances. He didn’t know anything about the books except which authors’ works sold better.
They all met up at the Escalade at five till eight. Elliot got his kisses and hugs. Danika told him to be good, Robert shook his hand and told him to hold down the fort. Rebecca cried a little and kissed her brother, sometime sister on the cheek. Then they were gone.
Elliot went back inside their home and had to check his sisters closet. He opened the door and nearly fainted. There on a hangar with a bow on it, was a long sleeve, v neck, fuchsia dress, along with a Victoria’s Secret bag and a shoe box on the floor.
Elliot had never worn a dress or a skirt before. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted too. He was afraid to. He liked wearing ladies’ pants, panties, the padded brief and tops. He even loved the makeup. He was afraid of losing himself. He was almost wearing panties all the time and loved them way too much. He wondered if he put on a dress that maybe he couldn’t go back to just being Elliot.
The crux of the problem was, he had promised his sister, whom he loved.
>>>>><<<<<
Elliot had a busy day at the bookstore. He had fourteen boxes come in with just over three hundred books to check off the invoice and they needed to be shelved. Some books went on the just arrived table, others went in their subject/author area, which sometimes meant rearranging upwards of a hundred books, to make space, also rearranging books in their proper order, as customers didn’t always return the book to the space they came out of.
He once found a racy romance novel, mixed in with some children’s books. He was glad he caught that one. He could just see a twelve-year old picking up a soft core romance book and reading about what he did and she did, in the language of romance novels. Some of them could be quite steamy.
All the while he was at work, he thought about what he and his sister had done over the past few years. Rebecca, even at high school, was always interested in botany and chemistry. She and Elliot often went out in the woods to collect plant leaves and such. Often Elliot was dressed in his girl clothes, as the areas they went to, didn’t have many people that they would run into. They would mark the location on a map, GPS location, photograph, and then collect samples. This was the time that Elliot also became interested in geology. The areas they went to sometimes had very different geology.
Back at home, Elliot would help Rebecca sort out the cuttings of the plants and mount the specimens by sealing them between layers of wax paper, using an iron. Rebecca then identified the specimen by its taxonomy, listing kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species, if she could. Genus and species can be quite tricky at times. Rebecca had four footlockers that contained her collection of over a thousand specimens.
Elliot got books on chemistry and geology and began taking a rock hammer out with him and started collecting rock specimens. Some were easy to classify, many weren’t. Unfortunately, his school didn’t have a course on geology, so he found a college level class in geology, online.
On top of all of this, Rebecca gently put girl lessons on Elliot’s list of things to do when they were alone. She taught him the things girls do, how to do them and why they did them. He wasn’t an unwilling participant. He often found the things they did interesting and fun. He read Seventeen magazine, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle at various times. He became quite knowledgeable in what was fashionable, mixing and matching, make up looks and accessorizing. He also got quite comfortable in three, or four inch, heels and he kept his grades up while doing all this.
He had two B’s in four years of high school, in Spanish I & II. He and the teacher, Mr. Sanchez, just really didn’t get along. He did well in AP Chemistry and AP Calculus.
>>>>><<<<<
Elliot got home from work and realized that if he was going to do this for Rebecca he had to get started, so that he could be dressed by six. He ran and took a shower in his sister’s bathroom, shaving his face and the rest of his body. His face didn’t need it, but his pits, arms and legs had a bit of peach fuzz since he last shaved them. He shaved his bikini area also, except for a small triangle. He also shaved off his sparse side burns after taking a close look in a mirror. He loved using his sisters bath gel, but couldn’t use it all the time, it had a fragrance of lavender that persisted for hours. He did have the same shampoo and conditioner as his sister. She used Paul Mitchell’s hair care products and they smelled of coconuts, almost good enough to eat and left his hair silky and smooth. He dried off and used his sister’s body moisturizer and scented powder, before partially drying his hair on a cool setting.
In his sister’s room, he put on his panties, a padded brief and one of his padded bras. His mom had bought him a bra that gave him a modest 34B bust line. He really should have worn a 36, but the 34 was less likely to twist around on him while he was wearing it. He sat at his sister’s vanity and began to work. He put his hair up in a high ponytail, pulling his hair back tightly. He then used curling gel and hot curlers to roll the ponytail up.
He then took some white glue and foundation and mixed them thoroughly. He used this concoction to hide his masculine eyebrows. They weren’t bushy or overly large, but they were far from feminine. He took a makeup stick then and did a lot of work contouring his face. He highlighted his cheeks, worked to make his nose smaller and more feminine. He worked on his jawline and his throat. After working in all the contouring, till it wasn’t obvious, he applied foundation.
If he had done nothing else, he would never have been mistaken for a boy. In a way he mourned, how easily he was transformed, but paradoxically the transformation also excited him. Not sexual excitement, junior hadn’t stirred, but from the of joy in looking sexy and feminine.
Then he began his real artwork. He used makeup to create two really sexy arched eyebrows. He lined his eyes, creating wings to the outside, applied false eyelashes as his were not really adequate and used three shades of shadow to create a ‘barely there’ effect, but one that dramatically added depth and color to his eyes. On his cheeks he brushed just a hint of cool pink blendable blush, without overwhelming his natural color. Lastly he did his lips in MAC’s Ruby Woo filling them in a natural pointy style lip.
He couldn’t help himself as he stared at the woman reflected in the mirror, whom looked a lot like Taylor Swift, except for his light brown hair, to her blonde hair color (at times). He leaned into the mirror and kissed the woman. He thought he could send his mother a picture and it would take her several minutes of looking at the woman to recognize her as Elliot. He fixed his lips and cleaned the mirror before he looked doe eyed, pouty smile, with some pearly whites showing, straight into the mirror and took a selfie, sending it to Rebecca. Seconds later he received a “WOW, you have got to teach me that look!” back.
Elliot had to revert to the feminine name he had thought about Michelle Briana Dresden. It was a name he had picked long ago, but never told his sister or anyone else for that matter.
He, no she thought to herself, she went to Rebecca’s closet and retrieved the dress, the Victoria’s Secret bag and the shoe box she saw. Michelle hung the dress on a door hook and put the shoe box and lingerie bag on the bed. She opened the bag, inside were bra, panties, another padded brief, garter belt, stockings. She stripped and began to dress.
She had never worn a garter belt and stockings before, although she had worn pantyhose. Rebecca still had taught her. Rebecca had worn a leotard and tights, demonstrating how to wear the garter belt and stockings. First came the garter belt. This one was a tummy trimming garter belt. She had ten hooks to do up the back and was made in a shimmery champagne color stretch fabric covered in lace. It took almost eight minutes to get it in place, pulling and hooking. The belt snugged her waist in a little over two inches and felt bullet proof. Four straps hung down. She sat and worked the lace pattern stockings up her legs. The feeling was tremendous, like electric shocks of pleasure up her spine. It caused Michelle to shiver in pleasure.
Panties and brief followed the stockings. The padded brief had more silicone padding than she had ever worn. It added almost four shapely inches to the hips and derriere, instead of the two and a half inches to the backside. The bra had large silicone breast forms store in pockets in the cup. The label said 34D. It weighed over twice what the bra she took off weighed. She put the bra on and adjusted the padded (thank god) straps. The shoe box label stated that it contained a pair of size 40 Shimmery Silver Satan Ferragamo pumps with 10cm stiletto heels. The shoes were just a tad narrow at the toe and heel, but they looked so gorgeous on her feet. A size 41 might fit better she thought.
The dress was a radiant shimmery fuchsia. The hem would be just below mid-thigh, but there was three layers of shimmery fringe strings that would hang down just above the knee. Michelle unziped the dress and stepped into it. She never had to work a back zipper before and it took a couple of minutes to zip it up. The dress fit like a glove from the bodice to mid-hip where it just hung straight to above the knee. The back and neck were v-ed but covered the bra completely.
Michelle sat and adjusted her makeup a bit to go with the dress. She unrolled her hair and four ringlets hung down from the elastic band she used. She sprayed her hair with hair spray to set the look. She opened Rebecca’s jewelry box. There was a large Austrian crystal and silver necklace, with many large crystals, matching chandelier earrings, silver bangles and a large silver cuff bracelet. She could wait to put them on.
She stood and looked in her sister’s full length mirror. She was gorgeous from head to toe. Michelle knew she had crossed a barrier, Hell make that, she blew the frigging wall down. She wondered if Elliot could ever come back or whether she should pack him away. No she had to be Elliot for her family. She could still come back and play though, she thought with a giggle.
She took a couple of selfies, as she posed from several angles and sent it to her own email account. Her backside reminded her a little of Christina Aguilera, as she now had big breasts, hips and a nicely rounded posterior. Rebecca could wait to see the dress. In the radio room, she sat and fired up the three computers with large computer monitors. On the left screen she opened her email up and looked at her picture. It would have been so nice not to have her iPhone in the mirror shot but it was still quite startling.
On the right screen, she pulled up Google.aprs. Michelle saw that her family were approaching Atlanta from IH 85. They had diverted to Tallahassee to visit with a friend, but now they were about twenty minutes out. She knew her Dad wanted to get through Atlanta and find a motel on the north west side of town. It would be ten to twenty minutes before Rebecca could get a good 4G signal so she could Skype her, so she went ahead and forwarded the picture to her sister by email.
She got a text back on her iPhone, “Gawd I can’t believe it’s you.” “Mom and I bought that outfit for you.” “She is shaking her head looking at those pics.”
Michelle texted back, “She knows.”
“She talked to me years ago. She found out doing the laundry. Don’t worry she doesn’t mind. Might be too much for Dad. But he loves you. So, it’s just between us girls. We didn’t want to push you. But it was time to either fish or cut bait.”
“I love you Rebecca, I expected the dress. You should have told me about Mom.”
“Why and spoil the fun. It was her idea. I think she is going to miss not having a daughter around.”
“She wants me to dress for her?”
“It wouldn’t hurt. She knows after all. She has been hoping, that you would talk to her. She gave you hints.”
All of the sudden Michelle gets a Skype request. “Hello, Elliot. How did work go today?” Rebecca said.
“Hello Elliot, we are just getting to Atlanta,” their dad said.
“Hello sweaty,” Mom replied. “Having a good day?”
“Great Mom. Dad I am following you guys on APRS and Sis, work was busy. I had a ton of books to shelve and dozens of customers to help. That new Patterson book came out today.”
“I really love that last FB post.” Danika said.
Michelle then got a text, “Find a cute cat or dog pic. Mom is referring to the dress pic. We’ve been texting back and forth about you.”
As if on cue, Danika texted, “Elliot, I can’t believe how pretty you are.”
“Sorry Mom. I was afraid of talking about it with you.”
“No problem, cat is out of the bag now with me.”
They talked back and forth on Skype for ten minutes. Then all of the sudden the picture Michelle was receiving shuddered, rolled around and then went blank. Michelle tried calling Rebecca, her mom and lastly her dad nobody answered. She kept trying for twenty minutes, using her cell phone, skype and a land line to call, she didn’t get anyone. Google.aprs showed the family car hadn’t moved in all this time.
Michelle Googled Atlanta PD’s telephone number and called them using her land line connection.
“Atlanta Police Department how can I help you?” A woman asked.
“My dad was driving my sister to Michigan State. I was talking to my sister as they were driving on IH 285 on the west of Atlanta and we were suddenly cut off. Was there a big traffic accident?”
“What is your name?”
“I am Elliot Dresden of Gainesville Florida. My father is Robert Dresden, my mom is Danika Dresden and my sister is Rebecca Dresden. There were driving in a black Cadillac Escalade, towing a U-Haul trailer.”
“Can I get a phone number and I will call you back as soon as I know something?”
Elliot gave the woman his telephone number and after a few more words were exchanged, he hung up.
He then Skyped his Aunt Susan Bergstrom in Syracuse New York. She was his mom’s sister and worked at home editing books. She was at her computer working when Elliot called.
“Aunt Susan, Mom, Dad and Rebecca were headed to Michigan. I was talking to them on the phone and then nothing.
“Elliot is that you?” Susan asked, seeing a very pretty girl on her monitor.
“Oh god,” Elliot said, realizing he still was in a dress and had on makeup. “Yes it’s me. Oh God, I am so afraid Auntie. I called Atlanta PD, that’s where they were when I lost them.”
“Slow down sweetie, start at the beginning and tell me again.”
Elliot stopped and took a breath and began telling his aunt about talking to his sister, texting his mom, as he was following them on the computer.
“They haven’t moved in a half hour Aunt Susan.”
Susan looked up Google.aprs on her computer and saw her borther-in-laws call sign on IH 285, “Let me make some inquiries and I will get back to you. Take some time to calm down and fix your makeup. You look quite lovely. I expect you to look very pretty when I call back.” Susan said as she disconnected.
Michelle was shaking as she went back to her sister’s room. When she looked in the mirror, her makeup was streaked from tears. She took a makeup wipe and cleaned her face. She thought about reverting to Elliot, but found herself reapplying her makeup. She did a normal makeup look instead of the glamour look she had used before. She then went to the radio room and waited by the phone and the computer.
It took thirty minutes before Aunt Susan Skyped back, “Elliot they won’t say anything over the phone except that there has been a major accident on IH 285. Stand up and let me get a good look at you.”
Elliot did as Susan asked. He stepped back far enough for the computer’s camera to get a full length shot.
“Oh my you look so good.”
“I am Michelle when I look like this Aunt Susan. Michelle Briana Dresden.”
“Ok Michelle. Now look Michelle, I don’t think they will tell us anything over the phone. If it is bad, they will contact the Florida Highway Patrol or the Gainesville Police to make any notifications. As much as I love the way you look, they will need to speak to Elliot. So go ahead and dress as Elliot, but don’t think that this is the last time I will see my niece. I am going to start packing and making travel arrangements. So go ahead and get yourself straightened up.”
“I will call you if I hear anything Aunt Susan.”
“Good I will be waiting.”
Michelle went to Elliot’s room and undressed down to her padded brief, laying her things out on the bed. For some reason she didn’t want to take the padded brief and stockings off. She set her jewelry out on the dresser. Even though she brushed out her hair it did nothing to make it look more like Elliot’s. Elliot then made a mental shift but still he dressed in his girl jeans and a University of Florida football jersey and his running shoes. She just barely got the jeans over her hips, but the waist actually fit better now, but the garter straps were visible, when he sat. The jersey came down three inches below her crotch, Michelle could belt it and wear it as a mini-dress. Shit he couldn’t think straight right now mixing pronouns in his head.
Elliot was hungry but he didn’t feel like eating. He sat and fretted. He again tried calling. His sister’s car fell off the map after two hours without an update. It was close to nine thirty that night when the door bell rung.
Elliot got up and answered the door. There was a police sergeant and another man that looked like a chaplin.
“Are my Mom, Dad and Sister all dead?” he asked.
“Hello, I am Sergeant William Greavey and this is Chaplin Davis. May we come in.”
Elliot just turned away and walked into the living room. The policeman and the chaplin followed him in.
They stood in the living room and Sergeant Greavey said, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I see that you already had an inkling as to what has happened.”
“I was following their car on the internet and talking to my sister at the time. My family are all ham radio operators. My sister’s car was equipped with a APRS unit connected to a GPS unit. I could see that they were near Atlanta, Georgia on Google.aprs.”
“I am sorry, Danika and Robert Dresden were pronounced dead on the scene. Rebecca Dresden died on the way to the hospital.”
Elliot sat and started crying in earnest. The policeman and the chaplin also sat and tried to comfort Elliot.
“You said, you were talking to Rebecca at the time?”
“Yes my Father was driving and Mom was in the front passenger seat. Sis was in the back. When she got near enough to Atlanta to get a 4G signal we began Skyping. Mom also texted me.”
“Did your father text you or talk to you?”
“No, he never took driving for granted, although he did give me a shout out. We talked about ten minutes and then the picture went topsy-turvy and then black. I tried to call several times, but no one answered.”
“I know what time Atlanta said it happened, but what time do you say it happened?”
Elliot looked at his iPhone and read the last time stamp on the last chat he received and showed the Sergeant. Sergeant Greavey made a note on the time.
“Witnesses and the Escalade’s dashcam showed the accident. An 18 wheeler apparently merged right hitting the Escalade, which rolled over several times. You need to contact Sergeant David Preston of the Atlanta Police Department.” Sergeant Greavey said, handing Elliot a piece of paper. “Again we are very sorry for your loss.”
They two men shook hands with Elliot and wished him the best before leaving. Elliot went to the radio room and skyped his aunt.
“They’re gone Aunt Susan. Mom and Dad died on the scene and Rebecca died on the way to the hospital.”
“I am so sorry, Elliot. How are you doing?”
Elliot started crying and said, “I am all right, I am going to miss them so bad.”
“I know sweetie. I will miss them too.”
“I was given a phone number of a policeman in Atlanta and I wonder if you would like to hear it too?”
“You bet I do!”
Elliot dialed the number on their land line and hit the speaker button. The phone was picked up on the second ring.
“Sergeant Preston, Atlanta Police Department.”
“Hello, this is Elliot Dresden, in Gainesville Florida and I have my Aunt Susan Bergstrom, in Syracuse, New York listening in. She was my mom’s sister.”
Sergeant Preston gave his condolences to the two of them and began to give them details of the accident echoing what they had been told. He hated to do it but asked if one of them or both could come and identify the bodies and make arraignments. They both said that they would be there tomorrow afternoon. After a few more words were spoken, Sergeant Preston hung up.
“I know that this is going to be hard on you Elliot, but there are some things you must do.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Call your dad’s lawyer tonight. Give him all the pertinent information. I need you to get some clothes for your family to be buried in. Did your sister leave a suit there?”
“I will check, but I think so. She got a whole new wardrobe for school.”
“Good. No jewelry though. Some funeral homes have been known to steal things like that. Can you be in Atlanta by one?”
“Yes ma’am, that is a five-hour drive.”
“Pick me up at the United terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.”
“I can do that.”
“Don’t leave Gainesville unless you get at least five hours of sleep, Elliot I don’t want to lose you too. Be strong for the next week sweetie, there will be time to grieve after we take care of our family. Love you and oh bring Michelle’s things too, I would like to meet her also. Well spend the night there and maybe another day, till we get things sorted out.”
“Love you too, Aunt Susan. Bye.”
They hung up and Elliot found the phone number for his Dad’s lawyer. His lawyer was Adrianna Weston. He called her home number and informed her. The call lasted over thirty minutes as Adrianna wanted certain information and gave Elliot some information too. When he told her that he and Susan were going to identify the bodies and make arrangements, she said that she would meet them at the Fulton County Coroner’s Office tomorrow.
“Don’t worry Elliot, we can get over this. Please take care driving.”
Elliot did all the things he was told to do and got six hours of sleep waking at five-forty-five. He dressed in Michelle’s lingerie and jeans, with his dress shirt, dress shoes and sports coat. After loading his dad’s Lincoln, he headed out.
He picked up his aunt and they had a good cry in the car, before they left the airport for the short drive to the Coroner’s Office. Ms. Weston raised an eyebrow when she saw Elliot. He looked to have womanly hips and derriere. She hugged Elliot and Mrs. Bergstrom after she was introduced.
Together they identified the family. There wouldn’t be open caskets due to injuries. The coroner wouldn’t release the bodies till his reports came back. The autopsy on Robert Dresden’s, needed to be complete first, since the deaths were a result of a traffic accident and charges could be pending on the truck driver. He cited the possibility of contributory factors of Robert’s age and health. They should release the bodies within two days, though.
“Would you two wait outside? I would like to talk to the coroner for a second. I want to take you two out to dinner tonight,” Ms. Weston asked.
Susan and Elliot stepped out and waited in the corridor.
Ms. Weston came out a few minutes later with a large bag of personal property of Robert, Danika and Rebecca Dresden.
“I just remembered to ask for their personal property. I also took time to get us a couple of suites at the Sheraton Hotel, a suite for you two, and I’m in the next suite. I can’t tell you how much I will miss your dad. I was a new lawyer in town and he was my first big client. I would do anything for him.”
Elliot called up the hotel on his iPhone. It was just a few miles away, “Ok we will meet you at the hotel in fifteen minutes.”
Susan and Elliot drove to the Sheridan and took everything out of the car and let a valet park the car. They met Adrianna at the check-in desk. In their rooms a bellman unloaded all the bags.
“The black suit bag is Dad’s, the white suit bag is Mom’s and the pink suit bag is Rebecca’s” Elliot told his aunt. “I got everything you asked for, for them.”
“You have done well, Elliot I am so proud of you. Let’s shower and get dressed for dinner. Did you bring a nice suit for Elliot?”
“Yes, I brought my black suit.”
“Good, also you might take the padding off, I think it makes your tush look good, but it looks unusual on a boy.”
“I didn’t realize it till I was dressed. I came close to putting on a bra. I will leave it off.”
“Ok sweetie, get a little rest, shower and be ready to leave in two hours. Don’t be afraid to come to my room if you need a good cry.”
Elliot took the bags containing his family’s personal property and sat on his bed, as he went through them. He checked to see if everything appeared to be there. As far as he could tell their ID and credit cards were there. He put their money in his wallet. From his sister’s and mom’s purses, he took out their makeup bags. In his Mom’s makeup bag, he found a matt nude lipstick. He took it, and a compact, and used it on his lips. It changed his lip color a little but looked somewhat natural. Best of all, his mom had used it last. He dreamt of her kissing him as he put it on. Elliot put their makeup in his suitcase.
He did have a cry as he held, what was left of his family’s things. He knew that they had been more than these trinkets, but he derived some comfort by holding them.
Elliot opened his eyes after some time had passed. He had to hurry to get a shower in and get dressed. He dressed in panties and off black lace patterned pantyhose, leaving off the padded briefs. He looked like a million dollars when he finally got dressed in his white French cuff dress shirt, black suit pants, tie, dress coat and black patent leather oxfords.
Danika had taken him shopping for the suit. They, or rather she, spent five hours looking for the right look. On his slim build, the jacket and pants had to be heavily tailored to fit right. If you asked him, he could have gone without getting a suit.
Just before he left his room, he stood in front of the mirror and added some nude lipstick. It did add a little color, but his dried lips needed the touch.
Ms. Weston and Aunt Susan were sitting in the living room of the suite talking, when he exited his room.
“Oh my, you look good Elliot,” Susan said, coming over to take a good look and to adjust the tie.
Elliot giggled to himself, why do most women adjust a man’s tie. It didn’t look any different to him than when he had adjusted it.
“Mom bought this suit for me at Christmas, I think it’s Givenchy. The tailor had to take a 36R and heavily tailor it to fit.”
“You look very handsome,” Adrianna added.
Susan was dressed in a chiffon teal, knee length, cocktail dress that was fitted to the top of the hips and had a multi-layered flared skirt, with silver stiletto pumps. Adrianna was wearing a red, just above the knee suit, with a white blouse and several pieces of gold jewelry, with red pumps. Her jacket was fitted at the waist and the skirt was a straight skirt.
Adrianna came over to Elliot, “Elliot your Aunt and I were talking. I want to ask you a question. It doesn’t matter one Iota to me, except I can help you out. Are you transgender?”
Elliot stood there and thought for a few seconds. If someone had asked a week ago he would have been terrorized inside and would have staunchly denied it. His sister had seen it in him, his mother seemed to believe he was, heck even his Aunt had seen him in a dress, heels and makeup.
“Yes. I am. My sister and mother got me to admit it to myself. Internally I was in denial.” He took out his cell phone and showed Adrianna.
“Oh my gawd, you look gorgeous. Tell me you have that dress here.”
“I have the dress and heels here with some makeup, I left the jewelry back home.”
“Do you have a fem name?”
“Michelle Briana Larsson, I had used Dresden, but Larsson was my mother’s maiden name. I loved my Dad too, but I would rather carry my Mom’s maiden name.”
“Mine too,” Susan said.
“You are so dressing up tomorrow. Now let’s go eat, I am starving.”
While they ate Adrianna laid out what she was going to do tomorrow. She was going to talk with the police accident investigators. They were talking about charging the truck driver with vehicular homicide but, wanted to make sure that Robert hadn’t driving impaired, suffering from low blood sugar or under the influence.
“Dad installed dash cams in all our cars, he had seen accident video’s on You Tube before. The dashcam would really help investigators in the accident reconstruction.”
“I need to get a hold of that video.”
“It probably is up on his cloud. It does that when it gets a solid 4G signal.”
“Regardless, we are most certainly suing Jenkins, Smyth, Erickson trucking company. Witnesses have said the truck merged through your family and rolled them. I have already seen the car, but couldn’t touch it yet. Can you get into your father’s cloud?”
“Yes, I can.”
“We will do that when we get back to my hotel room. You can use my laptop.”
“Ok, I can do that, but I don’t want Aunt Susan or myself to watch the video past first contact.”
“You might have to in court, but you won’t have to tonight. Also, don’t worry about money. I don’t know how much you know about your parent’s finances, but they were doing much better than average. They also had nice insurance policies. You can’t buy the QEII or Trump Plaza, but you don’t have worry about your finances. I will have a better reckoning for you in a month or so. I just need to speak to your father’s accountant. Also, your father and mother did have a will, your sister didn’t, that I know of. Except for a few friends that received certain small bequests, everything is yours.”
“Are you going to college this year?”
“I was, I am registered and paid. Classes start next month.”
Susan and Adrianna both agreed, that even if he didn’t feel good about it, he should go anyway. Having something to do would only help him get on with living.
“I will call your dean for you if you want. They may make some accommodation if your grades fall for a semester. Also next week, I will have a list of doctors for you to see, so you can live full time as a girl. Susan can you spend an extra week or two with Michelle.”
“I am a book editor and I work from my home, I save all my work daily on my publisher’s server. So as long as I have a good computer I’ll stay, although I will have to go to New York for meetings with my authors two or three times a month. I can spend about a month in Florida easily.”
“Dad has a hell of a computer system.”
Back at the hotel, they went to Adrianna’s room. Five minutes after Elliot booted her laptop he found the dash cam videos. One spilt screen front and interior of the SUV and one rear of the SUV. He joined his Aunt sitting on a couch as Adrianna played the videos. They could see her flinch at one point.
“Shit, you may own the company.”
“I don’t want to own them, but I want them to know just how they hurt me.”
“Oh they will know your hurt. Don’t be surprised if I can get five or ten million dollars.”
“Just don’t run them out of business.”
>>>>><<<<<
Elliot slept fitfully and finally got up at four-ten according to his watch. He showered and shampooed again and shaved his body, he could feel a little stubble. Today he went full Michelle. Her pants were nicely tight at the hips, but the waist and legs fit well. She went with the 34D bra and had to bring some of her mom’s tops, because the tops Elliot usually wore in girl mode wouldn’t fit at the bust. Her mom did have some really nice, stylish tops. She chose a white poet’s blouse with large ruffles hanging from the throat and her Ferragamo heels.
She then gathered the makeup she had and began to create a dramatic daytime look. She first did her nails, she filed them into ovals. She wished they were longer, but Elliot would have looked strange with opera length nails. She then used Opi Red Hot Rio nail polish as she was going to use a bold red lipstick. Michelle then got to work on her contouring, foundation and pressed powder. She plucked a few stray brow hairs although she wanted to arch them a bit. She used makeup and a brush to give them a slight arch. Since her lips were going to be bold she went subdued on her eyelids. She lined her upper lid added a shorter false eyelash and used cream, light gray and charcoal eye shadows. She hollowed her cheeks a bit with just a touch of blush and finished off with DNA Really Red lipstick.
Her sister’s Hobo bag was in the best shape, because she had it inside a large tote bag. She just had to clean it a bit. Inside the tote was a large flannel roll up of some sort. Michelle unrolled it and found her sister’s nice jewelry. She selected a maroon velvet ribbon choker with an amethyst cameo. She picked out a brass cuff bracelet for her left and four bangles for her right, along with several rings. She also put on her mom’s wedding set, with her dad’s wedding band on one of Rebecca’s 30-inch gold chains, which hung on top of the ruffles, where her cleavage would be. She put Elliot’s Tablet and iPhone into the Hobo bag, along with his wallet and keys. The hotel keycard went into the purse’s side pocket.
She took a sheet of stationary and wrote a note. Couldn’t Sleep, got dressed, wandering around, be back at eight, or call me.
Michelle then left the room. Elliot would have been afraid to go out dressed as a girl. Michelle didn’t give a shit. She was staying in the hotel, she didn’t want to be discovered as transgendered, but she didn’t give a shit if she was. She would be gone from here in a day or two.
When she opened the door to the suite, there was a newspaper lying in front of the door. She knelt like a girl and picked it up, carrying it with her. She took the elevator to the lobby and went to the hotel’s restaurant, which was just opening. She was escorted to a booth and ordered a cappuccino.
“I want to wait till my Aunt gets up before I eat, but I want to read my paper and check my e-mail.” She told the waitress.
She took her tablet out first and began checking Elliot’s e-mail. His boss sent him an email asking where he was. Elliot had missed work. Michelle sent a reply, stating the obvious, he was out of town and the reason he hadn’t been at work. She also emailed a few of his friends, mostly girls he knew and told them. She asked one girl to call when she had time.
She then checked Elliot’s Facebook account and updated it with the announcement. She posted a message on all three of her family’s FB pages and on Elliot’s, including birthdate and the day they passed away, ringing the announcement in black. Michelle then wrote a four-sentence explanation about what happened, signing the note as Elliot Dresden.
Michelle then started reading the newspaper. She found a story and a picture on the accident. The picture came from a traffic cam set up to monitor traffic flow. It was easy to see that the truck was diving for an exit onto another highway. She was reading the paper when she heard, “Excuse me.”
Ms. Weston was there dressed in a black suit. “Oh Hi Ms. Weston. Please have a seat.”
Adrianna sat and asked, “You couldn’t sleep?”
“No, I have been up since a bit after four.”
“I must say you look marvelous. Is your aunt up yet?”
“No, I didn’t want to wake her. Here is a story about the accident and it includes a picture.” Michelle shared with Adrianna.
“Well that picture is the nail in that driver’s coffin. Oh, I am so sorry; I shouldn’t have said it that way.”
“That’s ok. I know what you meant. I posted on Elliot’s FB page and each of my family’s pages, about their death’s. I need to call my father and mother’s employer and let them know. Oh Ms. Weston, what about my sister’s condo in Lansing Michigan.”
“She owns a condo in Michigan?”
“Yes, he bought it for me and her. It’s in Dad’s name though.” Michelle opened Rebecca’s wallet and pulled a piece of paper out with the address.
“I will call and check on it. It’s no big deal we just have to file a court order there after probate. Do you have money?”
“I have eight thousand in my own account and a debit card. It’s listed as E.W. Dresden. Plus, my dad had about a thousand dollars in his wallet and mom had three hundred or so. Rebecca had about five hundred. I can live six or seven months.”
“Money should start coming in about two weeks from the insurance. You’ll have millions tax free, that won’t have to be probated. Get a bunch of those newspapers. It could make things easier along with their death certificates.”
Michelle’s cell phone rang, “Hello… I am down in the restaurant with Ms. Weston… Not yet. I was waiting for you… Ok see you in a bit.”
“Aunt Susan just got up. She is going to shower and get dressed. She’ll be here in thirty minutes.”
“I will need to be on my way in a little bit. I need to meet the investigator in an hour.”
Adrianna ate and talked with Michelle. She took the paper with her to show the investigator. A few minutes later, Susan came down to the restaurant. She raised both eyebrows when she saw Michelle.
“What’s good Michelle? You look absolutely fabulous by the way.”
“I haven’t eaten yet, but Ms. Weston had the Southern Breakfast: two eggs, two sausages, two strips of bacon, grits, gravy and a biscuit. Their cappuccinos are pretty good too.”
They ate and talked. Michelle stated that the week after the funeral, she was going to live full time as Michelle. They talked about the implications. Elliot had never been so direct, but Michelle said, “I don’t have many friends, never needed them. I don’t care what Mom’s and Dad’s friends think. I am going to live my life my way. If I have to move to a place where nobody knows me I will. I could move to Syracuse for a while couldn’t I.”
“I would be glad to have you for a while, if college doesn’t work out, but I really want you to give the University of Florida your best shot first.”
“I will Aunt Susan.”
Elliot’s phone rang, “Hello,”
“Hello Elliot. Ben Carson. I just read the Facebook notice, is it true.”
“Yes, Ben I am afraid it is. I am in Atlanta, Georgia, with my aunt and Dad’s lawyer waiting to get the bodies released. You are Dad’s closet friend, can you arrange for pallbearers for Dad, Mom and Sis.”
“Sure, don’t worry about it. I will spread the word at the office and call your Mom’s workplace for you. You have all of our prayers buddy, be strong.”
“I will.”
“Call me when you get the information about the funeral home and such. Bye.”
“Goodbye Ben.”
“Turn your phone off for now, or you will get flooded with calls. Today is for the living, tomorrow we mourn.”
Michelle changed Elliot’s voice mail message, “I can’t answer the phone today, I am busy dealing with the loss of my family and their remains. Leave a message and I will get back to you when I can,” and turned the phone off.
“So what are we going to do today, Aunt Susan?”
“I am taking my niece shopping for clothes. Adrianna has my number if she needs us. What does Michelle, have for clothes?”
“One dress, four pair of ladies’ jeans, and about a dozen tops that don’t fit with these breast forms on.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes, Elliot was in denial till a couple of days ago, I had never worn a dress or a skirt, till the day before yesterday. This is mom’s blouse.”
“You’ll have plenty of jewelry.
“Yes, I will have Mom’s and Sis’s. I am wearing Mom’s wedding set and Dad’s wedding band on one of Rebecca’s necklaces. So I will have a piece of all three of them with me. I need to recover Rebecca’s costume jewelry box and I have Mom’s jewelry box at home. Sis had her good stuff in a flannel roll up in her tote bag.”
“Shoes?”
“I can wear Mom’s. Rebecca’s shoes are too narrow and short. I can wear Mom’s suits. I will need to lose about two inches in the waist. Mom had a 27” waist, I can’t hope to get down to Sis’s 24” waist although I can wear her low rise jeans.”
“Do you want to be this size up top?”
“Mom selected it. Sis had me in a 34B, I am wearing a 34D right now. I like it.”
“Well, we will just have to get you everything.” Susan said taking out her tablet and making a list: Bras, panties, padded briefs, corsets, hosiery, shoes, dresses, skirts, tops, jeans, slacks, shorts, workout clothes, “How are you on makeup.”
“I have some, plus I have Mom’s and Rebecca’s.”
“Get rid of any open eye makeup that belongs to your mother and sister. I’ll just add it to my list. You’ll want your own ‘first’ nice purse and wallet. Your probably covered pretty good on accessories.”
“I have Mom’s; Rebecca’s was in the Escalade. We haven’t gotten their suit cases back yet.”
“Right. We will get you some more of your own makeup.”
As they drove to the mall, Susan asked if Michelle knew her measurements and sizes. Elliot had known his sizes 31-inches in the chest, quite small for a guy, 30-inches in the waist and 35-inches in the hip, with a height of 5-foot 7.5-inches and a shoe size of seven and a half C in a men’s shoe. Michelle was 38-28-38. She wore a 34D instead of a 36C bra because the tighter bra kept her breast forms in place better. The padded brief added three inches to her hip and her shoes were a ladies 9W. Her top and bottom sizes were 6 and 12 respectively according to a U.S. Standard size chart.
“But the rule is, try everything on, to see if it fits, Michelle. That size chart is just a guideline to manufacturers, who sometimes play with sizing, to flatter women.”
“I know. I read that in Elle Magazine. It’s a boost to some women’s ego to know they can fit a smaller size. Also, just how many standard women are there. There are more guys who fall into standard sizing than women, because women’s curves complicate matters.”
They first stopped at a specialty lingerie shop. This shop also sold high quality breasts forms to mastectomy patients and transsexuals. They were very discrete. Susan selected some breast forms to fit the 34D bra, but after measuring the Attendant suggest either a 36C or a size larger to 36D. Her breast forms were made to attach with two different adhesives, either a short-term adhesive that releases in a day or two and can easily be peeled off or one that can hold on for up to two weeks and needs a solvent to remove. Susan suggested the 36D.
The lady attached the breast forms with the temporary adhesive. Michelle was then laced into a waist nipper corset, that brought her waist down to a 26, and had hip and silicone butt pads attached like the breast forms, but with the long term adhesive. They felt better to Michelle, than the padded brief. The lady also used a dye to match Michelle’s skin tone and texture. As long as someone didn’t closely inspect them they would pass for her skin, as long as she didn’t tan.
Michelle then was measured; she gained an inch and a half in the bust, but lost an inch in the waist and hips. She tried on dozens of bras and bought eight, four more corsets, three under the bust and one over the bust, plus the waist nipper. Susan also selected a small mountain of other bits of lingerie, including panties, stockings, camisoles, baby doll nighties, two satin robes and such. Michelle selected a half dozen spanx control briefs, to help her keep some things hidden.
Susan paid for everything, but refused to tell Michelle what she had spent for everything.
When Michelle dressed, everything fit better, her mother’s poet shirt fit better and the camisole made the blouse look better. The stay up stockings felt the best to her, under her jeans, without the garters.
Shopping as a girl came as quite a shock to Michelle. Aunt Susan seemed to go crazy. Having Michelle try on various outfits. Michelle was quite knowledgeable from reading all of Rebecca’s and Danika’s fashion magazines and started picking out looks that she really liked for her. She was surprised at the cost of all the clothes. Elliot bought pants at seventy-five to a hundred dollars, the skirts they were looking at started at a hundred and a quarter, to four or five hundred. She was talked into wearing a wool, above the knee, black pencil-skirt, out of one store, instead of her jeans. She found it easier to get in and out of the skirt, to try on other clothes. They ravaged a shoe store by buying ten pair of shoes; then Susan filled a large rolling makeup kit, with new makeup. They both got free makeovers with their purchase, and she had her own scent ‘Commodity Magnolia’. Michelle loved the smell of Magnolia.
When Michelle called ‘Uncle’ to stop the onslaught of clothes, they had touched everything on Susan’s list.
“Now, that is a good starter to your wardrobe.”
“I think this is everything I will need for a year.”
“Oh no, didn’t you ever check your sister’s or mother’s closets?”
Susan was right, Rebecca had about twice what she now had and her mom had even more, because she had stopped growing years ago.
Susan had also bought Michelle a new luggage set and garment bags. It took two bellman carts to get everything up to their suite. The message light on the phone was blinking, so Michelle called up the message.
It was Adrianna. “Got some news, the Coroner called and they will release the remains at ten o’clock tomorrow. I have contacted an Atlanta funeral home to prepare the bodies for transport. Do you have clothes for your family, or do you want to let them make arrangements? The remains will be in Gainesville late Sunday. I have made arrangements for a funeral home in Gainesville. You can speak to them about what you would like after they get the bodies. The D.A. has charged the truck driver with 3 counts of vehicular homicide. Dinner tonight with Michelle and Susan at seven, dress nice. See ya.”
“Aunt Susan we have just over two hours to get ready for dinner. Adrianna asks that we dress nice.”
“Ok, take a quick shower and let’s get a move on.”
Michelle took a quick shower and reapplied her deodorant. She put on one of her new bras , panties and new stockings, before she dressed in the dress her Mom bought her. Makeup took the longest to do. She went for a full evening glamour look, with darker smoky eyes, with eyeliner wings, darker blush and glossy red lips. She changed Rebecca’s jewelry, unfortunately she didn’t have as many silver bits. Michelle liked silver with this dress, but she found some rose gold that looked pretty good. She changed shoes, seeing she was wearing gold now. She put on a pair of gold pumps
Michelle and Susan met up with Adrianna, in the lobby of the hotel, just outside the restaurant. They greeted each other and then headed in. They had reservations and so were escorted directly to their table.
“Well I have all the information I need.” Ms. Weston said. “The driver that hit your parents, had a long list of moving violations, from speeding to reckless driving. The investigator thinks he was trying to cross three lanes to hit an exchange to another highway,” she said, pulling a document out of her briefcase. “We need to sue the shipping company. They knew, or should have known, that he was an accident waiting to happen. He killed three good people. I need you to sign this, so I can start to work on it.”
Michelle and Susan both signed the agreement with Ms. Weston.
“My investigators will begin working on it tomorrow. I have contacted Craig Wilson’s funeral home here, to handle the embalming and transportation of your families’ remains. We will go there tomorrow, to give them the clothes you have for your family and to select caskets. I have contacted Wood Lawn Cemetery and funeral home back in Gainesville. They will receive the remains and make accommodations for their internment.”
“I have asked Ben Carson, one of your Dad’s friends, to make arraignments for Pall Bearers and such.”
“Do you want one big funeral, or three separate funerals?”
“One big funeral, we were all one family.”
“Alright that limits, the number of churches we can use for the funeral. Your mother and father will have many people who knew them, who will want to come. What about your sister?”
“She had a lot of friends. Some like her, will be back in college. I can’t say for sure. I posted on mom, dad and sister’s Facebook pages, but I shut my phone off and haven’t checked, in two days.”
“Facebook good idea, do you have a tablet to check their Facebook pages?
“I have my tablet back in my room.”
“We will check it when we go upstairs. You are so lovely, I hate to say this, but I need you in boy mode tomorrow. This is the bigoted south, let’s get your family taken care of, and then after the funeral, or when you’re at home, you can dress as Michelle.”
“I would really like to be Michelle on the drive home. I will dress as Elliot to go to the funeral home. Then come back to my room, change and then head home. Aunt Susan can you drive back for us.”
“Yes, I can do that. If we leave at between one or two, we will get back to Gainesville at what… six to seven?”
“Not if we stop along the way and eat, I would put us getting back between eight and nine.”
“Good, I will call you the day after tomorrow, and tell you for sure when your family makes it back home.”
“How did the autopsy go?” Susan asked.
“Robert wasn’t impaired and didn’t have any demonstrable medical conditions that contributed to the cause of the accident. He and Olivia died from head injuries, Rebecca died from blunt force trauma to her chest and abdomen, she bled to death internally. The shipping company won’t be able to claim Robert had a problem, that contributed to the accident. He had the heart and lungs of a man fifteen years younger. The police recovered the dashcam and have looked them over very carefully, but won’t release them till they have a conviction.”
“We’ve already seen them from dad’s cloud server.”
“Those would need authentication, and nobody is left that was there. The dashcam is still best evidence in this case, ‘IT’ was there.”
They all returned to Susan and Michelle’s suite. Michelle started up her tablet and checked her families Facebook pages. All three of them had hundreds of hits over the last twenty-four hours. Michelle composed a few paragraphs to add to each.
Saturday my family will be released by the Fulton County, Georgia Medical Examiner. My aunt (mother’s sister) and I will be bringing them back home on Saturday or Sunday. Sorry, due to the nature of the accident there will be no viewing or open caskets at the funeral.
We will post here and in the local newspaper the time and date of the funeral, most likely Tuesday. My aunt and I will be fit to receive callers on Monday, please give us some time to morn alone.
Elliot Dresden
Michelle posted the blurb and checked Elliot’s E-mail. She was surprised by all of the e-mail he had. Some from people who didn’t have Elliot’s email address. Apparently one of Elliot’s few friend’s was sharing his e-mail address. She read a few and wrote an e-mail that she sent globally to all the inquirer’s and well-wishers. She sent Ben Carsen a more detailed e-mail and inquired about Pall Bearers.
Ms. Weston hugged them and left to go to her room. Susan and Michelle sat on a very comfy couch and just hugged each other and cried for a bit. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Michelle woke at about three forty that morning. She got a blanket and covered her aunt up, after she made a bathroom run.
She stared in a mirror and giggled to herself. She was a mess. She took a few minutes to clean her face and take her jewelry off. She then took a shower and took time to take the breast forms off and put them away, although she still left the silicone hip and butt pads on.
Elliot dressed in his suit. He just barley was able to wear the suit pants. Through the hips the pants were tight. He wore panties and a non-padded brief over his silicone hips and butt. He also wore a camisole under his dress shirt and left off his tie. One thing his coat did that was good was, it covered the hips and made him look less feminine there.
Elliot packed almost everything else, now rather than later. He left out Michelle’s breast forms, short term adhesive, an over the bust corset, a camisole, a white Chiffon blouse, a denim miniskirt, a knit hoodie, black stiletto sandals, makeup, jewelry and Rebecca’s hobo purse. Most of Michelle’s clothes went from shopping bag to new luggage. There was a mountain of new things.
He went down to the restaurant at six, with the newspaper that was at his door. He had a cappuccino while he read the newspaper. He was through his third cappuccino when he finished the paper just before eight. He went back to his room. Susan was in her room getting ready, he called out to her when he came in.
In his room he buttoned the shirts top button and tied his tie. He checked to see that all traces of Michelle were gone from his face. He was sorely tempted to add a little makeup.
Susan was waiting for him, when he came out. She looked immaculate in her black sheaf dress, jacket and heels. Her makeup was nice, but she used little eye makeup. She didn’t want to have to clean up black runny eye makeup.
“You look wonderful Aunt Susan. I love that dress and jacket on you.”
“You don’t look so bad either Elliot. Come your tie needs to be retied.” Susan said. His tie didn’t really look bad, she just had to do something.
They met Adrianna in the restaurant and had breakfast. Adrianna was wearing a black pantsuit and looked ready to do battle. Her makeup was a sophisticated ‘don’t fuck with me’ lawyer make up.
“Good, you two are here. I got a text, the police are releasing the contents of Rebecca’s Escalade and the U-Haul. I made arraignments for it to be shipped back to Gainesville and stored in a storage locker till you are up to going through it.”
“Rebecca had some good stuff in the U-Haul. I hope it isn’t all broken up… I hate what I just said. I would rather have my family back unhurt.”
“I know sweetie. The U-Haul turned on its side and slid. Can’t say what it will look like till you look at it, but it may not be that bad.”
They arrived at the funeral home. Elliot brought the clothes for his family in. Ms. Weston made arraignments for the services this funeral home would provide, transportation and payment. Susan and Elliot chose the caskets and a spray for each casket. They were told that it would take twelve hours for them to be ready to ship the bodies to Gainesville. Three hearses had been contracted to handle shipping overnight.
They left about noon and headed to the police impound lot. The Escalade was junk and was headed to a junkyard for scraping. The family’s luggage went into Adrianna’s trunk as Susan stated that the Lincoln would already be loaded to the max. Adrianna said she would come over Sunday to deliver the luggage. There was some damage to the contents of the U-Haul, but a truck would be by later to load it up into a pod container and ship it. Elliot spotted some things that they put in Adrianna’s car. He knew where his sister had put her nicer things.
Adrianna headed back to Gainesville and Elliot and Susan went back to the hotel. Michelle made her appearance shortly after, Elliot had gotten undressed. She attached her breast forms with Susan’s help. She put on her above the bust corset, Susan pulled the laces tightly on the corset and took off the garter tabs. The blouse was off both shoulders, but left the breast forms totally covered. She finished with the skirt and sandals, before doing a nice makeup job that included emo eyes, fully lined with wings, a little darker than normal eye shadow and longer false eyelashes, mascara. She painted three mascara tears, using eyeliner like J. M. Linsner’s Dawn. Lastly she used a dark red lipstick.
Michelle called Linsner’s Dawn up on her tablet, when Susan inquired about the makeup job.
“It’s very striking, Michelle. I can’t say that I like it on you, but you are beautiful,” Susan said, as she braided Michelle’s hair.
“It’s the way I feel Aunt Susan.”
They were late checking out, but finally got on the road about three-thirty, stopping at a Shoney’s to eat. The two of them drew stares as they came in. Michelle just held her head up and smiled. They stayed quite a while, Susan made sure that Michelle ate slowly, so she could eat enough to sustain her. She was wearing a corset after all and couldn’t eat as much, or as fast, as Elliot could. Also it was good to stretch their legs and walk around a bit, not too fast, considering their heels.
They got back on the road and arrived in Gainesville at around ten that night. Susan had casually driven down IH 75. Michelle read many of the Facebook posts on her tablet, while Susan was at the wheel. Susan really didn’t need directions, except for the start and when they got to the interchanges just outside of Gainesville. The cars garage door opener, automatically opened the garage door as they turned at Elliot’s home. She pulled in right next to Elliot’s Chevelle and the garage door automatically closed.
Michelle opened the kitchen door and reset the alarm’s. They only brought in what they needed this night and changed into sleepwear. Susan took the guest room and Michelle entered Rebecca’s room. When Michelle had her skirt and blouse off, Susan came in to loosen the corset for her. Michelle needed it to ensure that the breast forms would still be in place the next morning. Besides, she loved the corset and could live with the looser lacing.
They sat on the couch and just held onto each other. Michelle was smart and had brought a blanket with her, after she dressed in a baby doll nightie. Susan was dressed in a pink, knee length, ‘Hello Kitty’ sleep shirt.
Michelle started to get up and go to Rebecca’s room to go to sleep, when the grandfather clock struck the half hour after eleven.
“Stay with me Michelle, please. I miss my sister, your mom so much.”
“I know; I miss all of them.”
“I need to hold onto someone tonight, too many ghosts live here now.”
Michelle got some pillows and they made themselves as comfortable as they could.
>>>>><<<<<
They both woke up just after six, as the sun came streaming in through the large garden picture window. They hugged and kissed before going to their rooms to get dressed, for the day. Michelle took a shower and dressed in a waist nipper, jeans, running shoes and a bra. She went to her mom’s closet and put on one of her Mom’s pretty blouses. It fit nicely.
After bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice and coffee, they began to empty the Lincoln. Rebecca’s Closet had the most room since she had taken a lot of her things with her, also most of her clothes would be going since the figure Michelle cut right now, wouldn’t fit in many of Rebecca’s things. They emptied many of Rebecca things out and began putting Michelle up. Susan bagged up Rebecca’s things for Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
After two hours, they got it done.
“Michelle, I want to see if your mother’s suits will fit you.”
“Mom does have six or seven really nice suits. I think she bought a couple of new suits each year. She bought a really nice Prada and a Versace suit this year. Also mom’s waist was larger than Rebecca’s.”
They went to her parent’s bedroom and Michelle took off her pants, the blouse she wore would work with the suits. She took a pair of pantyhose out of the dresser and put them on as Susan went through Danika’s suits.
Susan tightened the waist nipper because Danika’s waist was smaller than Michelle’s and her skirts fit at the waist and not the top of the hip. Danika had six suits in her closet and was now wearing her dark green suit. Michelle could wear four of her mom’s suits the other two she needed a much smaller waist for her to wear them.
“We could have these tailored down to your hips and they would look great on you,” Susan said.
“Mom put on a few pounds around the middle these last two years. I have heard about a program where women can donate their suits to women who need nice suits and clothes for work, or to get jobs and can’t afford them. Instead of me trying to fit them, why don’t we give them away.” Michelle said, looking at the red Armani she was wearing. “I like this suit very much.”
“That is a wonderful idea Michelle and yes that suit suits you very well,” Susan said, selecting some of her sister’s jewelry for Michelle. She chose a heavy gold necklace, some gold bangles and a gold Rolex. Michelle had to adjust the band of the watch for it to fit her.
“Let me fix your braid, before you do your makeup, in a business professional look. I will make us some lunch, while you get ready.”
Susan brushed out Michelle’s hair and began to re-braid it, “You know, you should probably get your hair dyed blonde, if you are going to be a girl. It would speak to your Nordic heritage.”
“I think I might just do that, Rebecca’s hair was a golden blonde, while Danika was a light blonde and Dad’s was Dark brown.”
Susan took a pink ribbon from Danika’s vanity and tied off Michelle’s braid, with a nice bow, “Now go fix your face.”
Michelle went to Rebecca’s room. She selected a pair of her new red pumps with a four-inch heel and put them on, before sitting at her vanity. She had much more to work with now. She took out her tablet and called up a business professional look, when she found one she liked, she tried to copy it. She contoured her face, added her new foundation, lined her top eye lid, used medium light shade shadows, a touch of blush, not too much, and a light red lipstick in a warm tone. Lastly she polished her nails in a red polish.
She used a UV dryer and in minutes she was ready. She got up to go to the kitchen. When she was in the living room the doorbell rang. She didn’t think much about it and went to answer the door. When she opened the door there stood Kimberly Green.
“Hello, Kimmy come on in.”
Kimberly was a little shocked, how did this relative of Elliot’s know her. She was already inside and Michelle was closing the door when she snapped.
“Elliot is that you?”
“No, I am Michelle, Michelle Larsson when I look like this Kimmy. I know this may come as a shock to you, but I am a transgender girl. I hope that doesn’t bother you?”
“No, I was just shocked. You look better than I do.”
“Smoke and mirrors. Come on back to the kitchen, have you eaten yet?”
“No,” Kimmy said, as she followed Michelle. “I heard about your family and just came over to see you.”
“Kimmy this is my Aunt Susan Bergstrom. Susan this is Kimberly Green. We went to high school together.”
“Hello Kim, please have a seat. Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I haven’t Mrs. Bergstrom.”
“Call me Susan, please, I’m not old enough to require young adults to be so formal. I am fixing hot Rueben sandwiches with some minestrone soup.”
“That sounds awfully delicious, Susan. Thank you.”
They all sat at the breakfast bar, after Susan brought them their food.
“When did all this happen Michelle, is it?”
“About me being Transgender or my family.”
“Both I guess.”
“My parents were taking my sister to Michigan State, where she was going to work on a PhD in Forensic Science. An eighteen-wheeler hit them on the northwest side of Atlanta, Georgia, killing all three of them.”
“Me dressing up as a girl, started I guess when I was twelve. My sister got me in some of her clothes, pants and blouse you know. That sort of thing, although I never wore a skirt, or a dress, till Wednesday. Rebecca taught me how to be a good girl. I read mom’s and Rebecca’s fashion magazines; Seventeen magazine and such. Mom found out because I was sloppy with my laundry. I usually did my own laundry, but when I was fourteen and busy about finals, I let it slip a few days. I left some incriminating laundry in my hamper. She never said a word about it to me. I was afraid to say anything. Mom started buying me more things like she found, again no skirts or dresses. I probably would have freaked if she did. I wasn’t ready to come out to myself, much less to her and dad. I guess Rebecca always knew and was just biding her time. Anyway, when she left to go to Michigan State. She and mom had a surprise for me.”
Michelle took out her cell phone and called up a picture, to show Kimmy, “They bought this dress and jewelry for me.”
“Oh wow, you are gorgeous. I love that dress. Did you really do that makeup?”
“Yes, Rebecca was good at makeup. She taught me and I am better at creating looks like that, than she was.”
“Oh gawd, if you are that good, you have got to teach me. I wish I had clothes that nice.”
Michelle looked at Kim. She was just a little smaller than Rebecca. She had to be a small size four, “My sister was a four to a six. I am a size eight. I am going to have get rid of her things, would you like to see if you can wear them?”
“I could look I guess. I have always wondered what nice clothes were like. I am splurging when I go to J. C. Penney’s. I’m not complaining, you understand. I love my parents very much. We aren’t poor, we just don’t make this kind of money. The suit you have on, is it Versace or Armani.”
“It’s Armani, it was my Mom’s suit. You know she worked in the fashion industry. She was director of design for swimwear, for the company she worked for, and they were part of a major label, Delmonico’s.”
“No, I didn’t. I love some of their swimwear. Can’t afford it, but they had this one bikini…” Kimmy went on describing it.
Michelle knew exactly which suits she was talking about. Danika sometimes brought home their stylebooks to make notes after they were shown. It would take an army to get the book out of the building before the swimsuits were shown. Rebecca and Elliot used to look over their mom’s shoulder at the pictures.
They finished eating and Kim helped Michelle put the dishes in the dishwasher; while Susan cleaned the kitchen.
“Let’s go try on those clothes,” Michelle said, leading them to Rebecca’s room. “By the way, how did you know where I lived.”
“I saw you working on an old Chevrolet, while I was on my way to Cynthia Hawthorne’s place, to babysit.”
“Yes, she lives two blocks away on my street.”
“She told me it was your place when I told her I saw you.”
“So, you babysat the gruesome twosome.”
“They aren’t so bad when they are scared shitless of you. Once they got to know me, they were really nice.”
“You can have anything on the bed, or in the trash bags. It is just going to Goodwill, if you don’t want it. Also, my sister’s suitcases will be here tomorrow for sure. They are being brought here.”
Kim opened a bag that had lingerie in it. She picked up a bra and looked at the label, “Shit, I have never worn La Perla, this is my size too.” Without thinking she took her T-shirt off and stopped for a second when she saw Michelle. “We’re all girls here,” she said, and continued taking off her bra and trying on Rebecca’s bra, after checking how worn it was. “There is little sign of wear in it.”
“No, she wore them about once every week to ten days. She had tons of bras.”
“I counted twenty,” Susan said, “and that isn’t counting what she took to college with her.”
“That will be new or hardly worn. Mom bought her a new wardrobe for college.”
Kim then began trying on Rebecca’s clothes. Most were just a little big on her, but looked good. With a little tailoring they would look great on her.
“I can take the seams in on these clothes.”
“I will take you to a tailor. I need Mom’s suits tailored for me. How about we go on Saturday. Try on her shoes too. They are a bit too narrow and an inch too short for my foot.”
Kim was wearing a DKNY black pantsuit and blouse. She found a pair of black pumps and sat to try them on, “Oh my gosh they fit. I love you Michelle.” Kim said, throwing her arms around Michelle’s neck and kissing her. “Can you do my makeup.”
“If you have some makeup I can. I am fair skinned and you are slightly olive skinned. What do you have in your purse?”
Kimberly pulled out a large makeup bag from her purse. It wasn’t nearly enough, or the right things to create the look that Michelle wore and the brands were definitely inferior, but she could do a fair job with what she had.
While Michelle worked on Kim’s face, Susan set out some hair care products. She would fix Kimmy’s hair, when Michelle finished her face. Susan was smiling, as she thought, her hair was long enough and thick enough for a ponytail thru a bun and then curl the tail. When they both finished, she looked ready for business.
Susan then had Kim put on one of Rebecca’s older burgundy skirted suits that was really nice. Kim went back to the bags that held Rebecca’s lingerie and pulled out a garter belt, a different bra and panty set by DKNY and a package of stockings. She undressed all the way, before she began to put on the garter belt and stockings. She stepped back into the heels before she stepped into the panty and put on the bra. Kim then selected one of Rebecca’s prettiest, most feminine blouses in a mustard yellow, silk.
The suit fit almost perfectly, Michelle was surprised at how well the mustard blouse looked with the deep burgundy suit. Michelle had Kim sit down and adjusted her makeup a bit, to fit the new colors she wore. She brought out the girl’s eyes more, as she used pink and gray eye shadows, a pink blush and lipstick.
“My, you girls look so nice. You have to take both of those suits, Kim.” Susan said. “Let me go get dressed and we can go out to eat.”
Michelle got the keys to the Yukon, after touching up her makeup and selecting a red handbag. As she worked on her face; Kim and Michelle talked.
“I love the clothes, Michelle, but I don’t know if I can keep them. They are so expensive.”
“Kimmy, you have got to keep them, otherwise they will go to Goodwill, or the Salvation army. I would Rather you have them. I could never get down to the size my sister was in less than a year. You will be doing us a favor. Kim, I am going to be Elliot, for the next three or four days and then I will live as Michelle for the rest of my life. I really need you as a friend. I share what I have with friends. Are you going to college next month?”
“Yes, I will be attending the University of Florida. I have a grant and a partial scholarship. I will still need to work about twenty hours a week.”
“What do you do?”
“I wait tables at TGI Fridays, Monday through Saturday from five till closing, which is nine, week days and midnight on Friday and Saturday. Are you going to U of F?”
“Yes, my lawyer is working on things so I can go to U of F as Michelle. I plan to go there for two years and then head off to Michigan State. I plan to do a degree in Forensics.”
“So, you’re are going to be a Gil Grissom, I haven’t given a thought about a major yet.”
“More like Stella Bonasera. What do you like to do?”
“I love photography, I am pretty good at chemistry and biology. I love to read a good mystery. I have all of James Patterson’s books, Patricia Cornwell, J.D Ross and others, but I usually have to wait till they hit the library.”
Susan finally got ready, they left the house at just about three, with Susan driving, “I love this Yukon. I may have to get me one when I get back home.”
“You can have this one, Aunt Susan.”
“No, aint no way. I’m not driving any vehicle over a thousand miles. Even if it is free. Keep this one and the Lincoln.”
“Yes, I think I will. I think I will sell the Chevelle. I was never one to appreciate all that power. Dad wanted me to have it and I liked working on it with him. Turn right here and about three miles.”
“Are we headed to the Clarice Chateau?” Susan asked.
“Yes, I haven’t been there in over a year. I don’t think I will be recognized there. I’m not ashamed for what I am. I’m just not ready to come out yet. Let me get my family buried first.”
“I don’t think you will be recognized, Michelle. I’m your aunt and I saw you transform yourself. You don’t look anything like Elliot. People who knew your family might think they know you, you do have a bit of your mother in you, but they won’t be sure.”
“What she said. I know you, but I still can’t believe it is you. How did you learn to act so much like a girl? I mean you’ve got it down cold.”
“Rebecca drilled it in me for five years. From standing, walking, talking, make up, hair and my mannerism’s. I thought it was a game when I was a kid, but she was training me for this. She must have seen something in me that said I was a girl. Mom must have seen it too. I loved what Rebecca and I were doing.”
They got to the restaurant, which was an upscale surf and turf establishment (seafood and steak). Fridays and Saturdays, you had to have a reservation to get in, other times it was just crowded.
“Remember Kim, I am Michelle, Michelle Larsson, if you need to introduce me.”
“Alright Michelle, Michelle Larsson, secret agent double O9,” Kimmy said, giggling, “don’t worry. I doubt if I will see anybody I know here.”
Kim was very wrong. There were many people that she knew from high school and from her job waitressing. She flawlessly introduced Susan Bergstrom and Michelle Larsson. A few of the girls she knew commented on how lovely Kim looked, inwardly they knew how pretty Kim was, but had never seen just how beautiful she could look.
One girl asked, “Who did your makeup, Kimberly? I love what they did for your eyes.”
“Susan did them,” Kim said, to protect having Michelle flooded with requests.
“I spend a lot of time in New York, working as a book Editor. I have to look sharp,” Susan said, picking up Kim’s intent. “I could do better if I had a professional makeup kit. Me and my cousin just don’t have the same skin tone as Kim, so our makeup just doesn’t match her well.”
One girl said, “Hey Kimberly, did you hear about the Dresden’s?”
“Yes, I went to see him. We talked for a bit and then he went for a drive. He has this awesome restored 69 Chevelle.”
“Should he be alone?”
“He was distraught, about his family, but he isn’t suicidal.”
“I am his Aunt and he and I will make it. He just wanted to be alone.”
“So, you are both here for the funeral.”
“I am, but Michelle has an appointment in New York she just can’t miss. She has to fly out tomorrow, she has a business meeting she just has to be at.”
They had a nice meal and a good talk.
“I can’t believe all the compliments, I have been getting,” Kimberly said.
“I knew you were a beautiful girl, Kimmy. You just have to dress and use a little makeup to bring out the look. The real beauty is inside you. You just need to let it out.”
“These clothes are most of it. I could never afford to dress like this.”
“You don’t have to be a millionaire, to dress like a million bucks. You just have to know how to shop. I could show you next week, but if you take my sisters clothes, you won’t have to shop for a while. Except for fun.”
Kimberly rubbed the arms of the suit she wore. She loved the looks and feel of the clothes, “Ok, but you have got to let me pay a little for them.”
“Goodwill would sell them for what, five or ten dollars, Aunt Susan?”
“At least that, but not much more, because of the people that shop there.”
“Kimmy you can pay me Goodwill prices over a year or so. Oh and the underwear you keep is free, they don’t sell used underwear or lingerie.”
Michelle’s phone rang, she answered it. It was Adrianna, “Hi Adrianna…”
“I am getting ready to head over to your place and I wanted to make sure that you are there. I have your parent’s and sister’s luggage.”
“Ok, we are at Clarice’s right now. We will be home in twenty minutes.”
“Good, I will be there in thirty minutes then.”
They all went to the ladies’ room to take care of business, powder their noses and reapply lipstick. They got back to the Dresden home about five minutes before Ms. Weston. The garage was open and the Lincoln was moved out of the way.
“Hello Ms. Weston,” Michelle said.
“Hello Michelle, Susan and who is this?”
“This is Kimberly Green, Kimmy this is Ms. Adrianna Weston, my families’ attorney.”
“Hello Ms. Weston,” Kim said.
“If I’m not at work, please call me Adrianna. Now I got your families’ things. Help me unload them.”
There were about fifteen suitcases and boxes. The trunk was full as was the back seat. As they worked Adrianna said, “I have the funeral set. St. Marks, at eleven, on Wednesday, with interment to follow at Wood Lawn Cemetery. I have already talked to Ben Carson and Sandy Davis, who works with your mother. They will start the phone network. Notices will appear in the paper the next three days. There will be three wakes. Tomorrow at six for your Dad, Tuesday at one for Danika and Rebecca’s at seven. Had to do it that way, three different groups of people want to get together. I will call tomorrow with their locations.”
They carried all the bags and boxes into the livingroom, Michelle sorted them into Robert, Danika and Rebecca’s things. The bags were slightly beaten up, to almost crushed, but none of them popped open.
Michelle explained how Kim had come to be in on Michelle, “Kim just found me dressed like this and so I let her in on it. She is cool with it. I want to go through all the bags tonight, so we can get them out of the way. I expect we will be very busy tomorrow. I am selling Kim, Rebecca’s clothing, at Goodwill prices, Adrianna.”
“An excellent idea. Let’s dig in and get this sorted out then.”
They began to dissect the bags. Michelle Identified the bags belonging to Rebecca. The first box contained her electronics. The laptop, computer, printer and monitor were toast. They sealed that box and marked it trash. The next box was shoes, Kim tried on a dozen pair and they all fit. Michelle told her 48 dollars for all the shoes, which cost well over a thousand dollars, as there were four pair of designer shoes. Most of the lingerie was new and unused. Kim offered a hundred for the lot. They hit the clothing and Kim tried on about a third of it, everything was about a size large on her, but she could wear all of them. Michelle did make a pile of dressier clothing that she would have tailored to Kim. Kimmy again complained that she could do the sewing, but Michelle was steadfast. Rebecca had three very nice suits, a Prada, a Donna Karan and a Ralph Lauren. The Ralph Lauren looked fabulous on Kim.
Michelle, found her sister’s jewelry box. It contained lower cost things, like silver, gold plated, wooden and beaded jewelry, “Kim, this is all costume stuff, I have my sister’s expensive gold, diamonds and pearls. You can take what you want, at no charge.”
Kim sorted out about a third of what was there. She took most of the rings that Michelle couldn’t hope to wear, because her knuckles were too large. Rebecca loved silver rings.
Kim looked at her watch, “Let me call my Mom and tell her that I will be late.”
“Ask, or tell her, that you are going to spend the night. We have an extra bedroom or two.”
Kim liked Michelle/Elliot, she didn’t treat her as a lower class girl, “I will do that.” She dialed her mom and when she answered, she said, “Mom, I am going to spend the night with Elliot and his Aunt. They both need a good shoulder to cry on.” Kim then blushed as her mom told her something. “Mom, I can’t believe you actually said that. I just might go ahead and do it. Love ya mom. Oh by the way. I am going to have a ton of really nice clothes; Elliot’s sister, Rebecca, wears the same size as I do…. Alright goodnight Mom.”
“What did your mom say?” Michelle asked. Susan and Adrianna wanted to know too.
Kim blushed crimson, and started not to say, but, “She said, cry on your shoulder hell, shag the dude. Maybe he’ll marry you. Mom can be a little course at times, but she is a good woman.”
“You ought to hear the way my sister and I use to talk,” Susan said. “Women can use that kind of language too.”
“Just not in polite company,” Kim said.
Adrianna told them she needed to get to bed and hugged the three of them.
The final price for all the of Rebecca’s thing came out to six hundred dollars, for over ten thousand dollars of clothing, or much less than ten cents on the dollar. They moved much of Kim’s new clothes to the garage. Kim kept a bagful of things that she would wear the next few days.
They moved Robert and Danika’s things to their room and cleaned up Rebecca’s room.
“Kim, you can stay in Rebecca’s room, Susan is in the guest room and I will stay in Elliot’s room.”
“No, I will take Elliot’s room; it is more gender neutral. You need to stay in Rebecca’s room Michelle, it’s feminine.”
Michelle showed Kim to Elliot’s room and showed her where the bathroom and towels were. Kim gave her a kiss that was more than sisterly, then Michelle went to her room to shower and get ready for bed. After she showered, she dressed in panties, bra and a baby doll nightie. She turned off her lights, which turned on some very low light LED nightlights, above the baseboards and crawled into bed. There wasn’t enough light to keep you awake, but you could see the shape of things in the room.
She laid there for ten minutes thinking about her family and finally closed her eyes. Her door opened and in came Kim, wearing a thong and a very sexy baby doll negligee. She came in and got in bed with Michelle. “
Don’t tell anyone, but I am Bi, and this is something I wanted to do with Elliot. Michelle can be more fun though.”
Michelle started to complain, but was cut off by a smoldering kiss. They kissed and groped for more than an hour, but junior never came out to play. The grandfather clock chimed once several times before they went to sleep, legs scissored and in each other’s arms.
>>>>><<<<<
They woke in the morning after six and had a shower together. Kim peeled off Michelle’s breast forms and took solvent to remove her hip pads, but left the butt pads in place. Elliot put on a pair of panties and a non-padded spanx brief. They then went to Elliot’s room to get dressed. Elliot put on a white shirt and his black suit. Kim dressed in Rebecca’s black pantsuit, four-inch black stiletto pumps and a very pretty white blouse. She did her makeup simple, foundation, powder, mascara and lipstick.
Susan just came out of her room in a robe, when Elliot and Kim came out of Elliot’s room.
“Dressed already, my gosh. Elliot, I don’t know how you do it.”
They had a light breakfast and then Susan got ready.
Several flower trucks arrived before nine, a wreath was put on the door and a dozen pots of flowers were placed about the rooms. People with dishes of food started arriving after nine, from the neighbors, from work, and from friends of the family. They could feed an army for a week, it seemed.
From ten to three, there must have been three hundred people in and out. Kim played hostess, made coffee, served drinks and cleaned up paper plates, plastic cups and coffee cups. Elliot and Susan helped a little, when Kim would let them. Their job was to sit and talk with the people. They shooed people away at three, so they could get ready. Adrianna had come by and had given them the locations of the wakes. Today at the Holiday Inn at five, tomorrow the Ramada Inn at one and at Billy Miner’s Bar and Grill at seven. There was still a lot of food in the house. They refrigerated what needed refrigeration and cleaned up.
“I’ve got to get ready for work,” Kimmy said. She took a few sets of the clothes and none of the clothes that needed altering, in her 95 VW Golf. She kissed Elliot before she left.
Susan changed dresses and Elliot dressed more casually.
There was an open bar at the Holiday Inn. Only a few got really drunk and they were taxied out of there by one of the senior management, from Robert’s company. Elliot and Susan said all the right things and met with a lot of people, many Elliot didn’t even know. They didn’t get out of there till eight-thirty.
The next day the wake for Danika was a higher class of people. Elliot and Susan dressed smartly, as they knew some of the people who would be there. They were the upper crust, but they could still down the booze. There were models, fashion designers and co-workers there. Elliot was glad, Kim wasn’t here, all these beautiful people could give her a complex, although she could fit right in. She just didn’t know it. They spent two hours there and the place emptied.
The wake for Rebecca was a wild one, they filled the side room they were put in and half the rest of the place at the Bar and Grill. Kim was there and stayed by Elliot. He didn’t know how, but he had been drinking an iced tea, but at some time during the wake, he found a he was drinking a Long Island iced tea, Susan was drinking them too. A taxi got them to the Dresden home and somehow, they got in and fell asleep together on the couch, without setting off the alarm.
Kim got them both up and in the shower. She delivered her nasty, disgusting, gut wrenching hangover remedy and Tylenol to both Susan and Elliot, laughing at the two of them, while they were in the shower.
Susan was halfway alive by nine and dressed herself. Kim helped Elliot dress in panties, camisole, spanx, pantyhose, dress shirt, and his black suit, with his patent leather dress shoes. He put on Rebecca’s chain, with his mom’s and dad’s wedding ring set, before Kim tied his tie.
Kim drove them to Denny’s in the Lincoln, at nine thirty. They had coffee and breakfast at Denny’s. Kim sat next to Elliot and had her left hand high up on Elliot’s leg. She rubbed his leg, when the waitress wasn’t there, which drove Elliot crazy.
They got back, just as the limo arrived for Elliot and Susan. Elliot tried to get Kim to ride with them, but she said, “Family only, Elliot. I will be there to support you, but you need to be with your Aunt.” She compromised with Elliot by driving the Lincoln, instead of her VW.
St. Marks was filled to capacity and then some, almost five hundred people were there. Ben Carson, Sandy Davis and Janice Wentworth (a friend of Rebecca’s) spoke, along with Elliot Dresden and Father David Mason. The most profound thing said at the whole funeral, was when Elliot said, “Life doesn’t end when you lay your family to rest, for those that are left behind. We must pick ourselves up and live life to the fullest. The legacy they leave behind demands it. We will morn their passing, but they will never leave our hearts. We stand up and we go on living, knowing that one day we will be together again.”
The eight-mile drive to the cemetery took half an hour. Kim drove the Lincoln, right behind the family’s limo. Two hundred people were there to say Goodbye to Robert, Danika and Rebecca Dresden. Elliot and Susan dismissed the limo and Kim drove them home.
Another eighty or so people were in and out that afternoon. Kim again played hostess, while people came in and out. Four ladies stayed and helped clean the place afterwards and took care of the trash. Kim made plates of food for Susan and Elliot before she left for work.
Adrianna came by at six, to talk to them. She had been at the funeral and the graveside, but gave them some space. Now she was Ms. Weston, who came to talk business. She told Elliot not to worry about money; he had plenty. The house was paid for, and beside some small bequests, everything was his. She would pay the bills and provide Elliot four thousand a month, from Robert and Danika’s accounts, till the will was probated, in about six months. Their life insurance policies would be paid directly to Elliot. A paralegal would come by tomorrow to do a search for important documents.
“I want to start at the University of Florida as Michelle Briana Larsson. What can you do for me?”
“I can petition for a name change to M.B. Larsson, male, till you qualify for a change of sex. You have appointments tomorrow for a psychologist at eleven AM and a doctor at two PM. Don’t attach your breast forms, but wear them and dress up for your psychologist at eleven. The legal name change will take two weeks and you will have to appear in court. I have some paperwork for you to fill out now. To change the gender marker on your driver’s license or passport, you will need a statement from your ‘Attending Physician’ that you are under his care and that you are in transition to becoming female. To get that, your doctor and psychologist have to get together. It might be a year or so before they agree to issue you the paperwork you need.”
Elliot signed an agreement for Ms. Weston to be his attorney. He filled out the paperwork for a name change and some other paperwork, registering Michelle Briana Larsson as a nom de plume associated with Elliot D. Dresden.
“Write me a short story about your life, using Michelle Briana Larsson as the author and I will get it copyrighted. I will pay you ten dollars, so we can say it is published.”
“Your psychologist will call me if she agrees to the RLT and I will begin legal paperwork for you. You can use it if you are pulled over by the police, while dressed as Michelle. You will still need to carry Elliot’s Driver’s License. If the cop is an asshole, that paper won’t help at the time, but I will own his ass later in court.”
“Your psychologist will tell you about legal requirements for hormones and surgery, should she approve, and about the legal sex change on your documents.”
“You may open any mail for your parents, but bring me the bills that need to be paid or if you have any questions about it. Refer any certified or registered mail to me. Don’t sign for it yourself, unless it is for Elliot. I have an attorney in Lansing, Michigan, that is looking into your sister’s condo there, while I work on it from here.”
“I want to keep it for school in two years. He can lease it for nine or ten months. He can use the lease money for his fee. I want to move into it next year.”
“He will be one happy attorney. That place could lease for two grand a month. I will contact him.”
“If you have any trouble, or just want to talk, CALL ME, Elliot.”
“Alright, if you insist Elliot, although I would rather call you Adrianna.”
Susan and Adrianna laughed at Elliot, who gave them a Cheshire cat grin.
Susan went to bed at about eight. Elliot stayed up watching TV, intending to go to bed after the ten o’clock news. Kim came over at nine thirty. Elliot told Kim about what Ms. Weston had to say. At ten they went to Rebecca’s room and had a shower together. They each made sure the other was very clean. They dressed in baby dolls and played around a bit before going to sleep.
Susan dressed in a robe. She was surprised to see Kim and Michelle having breakfast. Michelle was dressed in Danika’s black Prada suit and heels. Kim was dressed in her black pantsuit and heels. Both of their makeup and hair were immaculate. Kim got up and made Susan a plate.
“Are you coming with me to the doctors’ offices, today?” Michelle asked Susan.
“No, I think I will stay here, with the paralegal. You have to tell me what happens though.”
“I forgot about the paralegal. Check my parents’ bedroom and the office. You can also use the computer if you need to work on editing. My password is sycamore56Bluebird, all lowercase, except for the b in blue, one word. Let’s go ahead and login while I am here.”
Susan turned on the computer and after booting up, she logged in without a problem. The paralegal arrived just before Michelle left. She showed the paralegal where the important stuff was kept.
Kim went with Michelle for her appointments. Beverly Greyson was the psychologist, after filling out some paperwork, she and Michelle talked for an hour and a half.
Michelle told her when she first knew she should have been a girl. She talked about what dressing she had done. The girl lesson’s she went through. The death of her parents and sister. She approved of Michelle starting her RLT. She did say she believed at this point that Michelle was a girl, but she had to get to know her better, before she approved of anything else like anti-androgens or hormones. Approval for surgery was way far away. She gave Michelle some resources and paperwork to read.
“I will contact your doctor and attorney and tell them what I believe. Set up a schedule with my receptionist, visits twice a month, beginning this Wednesday, Michelle. I have some tests I want you to take, so be prepared for at least two hours.”
“Yes, Ma’am and thank you.”
Kim and Michelle had a late lunch, before heading to the doctor’s office. Dr. Drew Carson was a male who was in his late thirties. He gave Michelle a grueling physical. She had blood drawn, gave urine and stool samples. She had x-rays taken. Her ears, nose and throat were checked. Her blood oxygen was checked, along with her temperature and blood pressure. She had to smile and cough, as he checked for a hernia. Her prostate was checked. He checked her reflexes, poked and prodded her. She was doing something every minute for the two hours she was at the doctor’s office. He told her to come back tomorrow morning, for a fasting blood sugar test, at eight in the morning.
Kim left to go to work, when they got home. She told Michelle she would be over after work and they kissed.
Michelle found that Susan had cleaned many of the dishes and disposed of the food that would go bad soon. There was plenty left to eat for a few days.
Susan wanted to hear about all the gruesome details. So, while they ate dinner, she filled her Aunt in. Susan told her about what the paralegal found, there was nothing earth shattering. She had a printed list of what the paralegal found and a list of what she had taken for Ms. Weston.
Michelle took all the trash, and recycling, to the curb, as Friday was garbage day.
Susan attached Michelle’s hips and breast forms with long term adhesive, making sure Michelle knew how to do it and apply makeup to hide the seams. They both changed into lingerie, shorts and T-shirts. They held onto each other and had a good cry, while they watched TV.
Kim came over after nine and changed into shorts and a T-shirt after showering.
“Doesn’t your mom wonder about where you are?” Susan asked.
“No ma’am.” Kim said. Tears began to slowly fall. “I love my mom and I know she loves me, but our relationship is kind of strained. Dad ran off a couple of years ago and Mom has been on the prowl and drinking lately. She isn’t a blind drunk, but she is three sheets to the wind on weekends. At least she takes a cab, when she drinks. I think in some way, she is eager for me to move out. I think she wants to bring her dates home, but she loves me enough not to do that if I am home. She isn’t going to push me out but…”
“Do you argue with each other?” Susan asked.
“We get in some shouting donnybrooks, but we don’t hit each other.”
“Kim, anytime you need somewhere to get away from things, you are most welcome here. Mi casa es su casa,” Michelle said.
Kim reached over and hugged Michelle.
Kim and Michelle got up early and dressed in jeans, blouses and heels, at around six-thirty. They made Susan a pot of coffee and left at a seven-forty-five to go to the doctor’s office, to give more blood, for a fasting glucose test. Michelle stopped and had a door key made for Kim. They picked up sticky buns and sausage and cheese kolaches.
Susan was up and eating eggs, bacon and toast, but she didn’t feel averse to having a sticky bun.
“Today, I need to clean out my mom and dad’s room, Susan if you want to do some editing. I won’t need any of dad’s things, and I only want some of mom’s things, but I will keep their jewelry and important things.”
“I will work on Saturday. I’m not going to let you face their ghosts alone,” Susan said.
“They probably have a lot of stuff; I will be there if you want some help.” Kim said
“Alright, I will hit the dressers. Susan, you can go through Mom’ things, set aside what I might want to keep. Kim go through my dad’ clothes, check his pockets.” Michelle said, heading towards her parent’s bedroom. “Anything you two aren’t sure of, goes on the bed.”
Most of what Michelle found, she bagged, although she did keep a couple of corsets, one was a black leather corset, that she would try on later. She did find some papers in Dad’s drawer, it was the deed for the house and Rebecca’s condo. In the nightstand she found her dad’s M9 berretta 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
Robert had been in electronics and worked in the cryptographic and intelligence on their electronics in the Army. He was required to carry a sidearm at times. He bought a gun, like the one he had carried and qualified with. It was loaded with one in the chamber and safety on.
“Firearm on the nightstand,” Michelle stated, for the others’ benefit.
In the other nightstand, Michelle was shocked about what she found, “Oh my gosh.” Two heads poked out of the closet, to see Michelle holding a ten-inch dildo, fur lined handcuffs, riding crop and a ball gag.
“Your old enough to know what those are,” Susan said, while Kim giggled.
“Yeah, I know what they are, you just never expect to find them in your parent’s bedroom.”
“Your dad was out on the road enough, that Danika could use the dildo and I won’t speculate about the other two items, but use your imagination.” Susan said.
“I will say that that dildo would be on the impressive scale, very impressive,” Kim said, giggling.
“La, la, la, la, la, I don’t need to hear that. Listen, I know my parents had sex at least twice. My sister and I are proof of that. I don’t need the details of their bedroom activities,” Michelle expressed. She was also getting rid of the black corset.
“These things are going in the trash, it may be childish, but I don’t want to think about such things.”
“Does that mean you don’t want the black thigh high boots either?” Susan asked, seeing the corset.
“NO, I don’t want them either. I can get my own.”
“Mmmm, yummy,” Kim said, eyeing Michelle. That had everyone laughing.
Susan found a dozen blouses, several pair of pants, a few winter coats, and some odds and ends. Danika’s skirts and dresses fit in the mature category and were not something a girl of nineteen or twenty would wear.
“You should try on her shoes Michelle, and you too Kim. There are some Jimmy Choo, Prada, Michael Kors, DKNY and Ferragamo shoes. I emptied your mother’s purses of makeup and panty liners, she didn’t have any tampons. Before you ask, older women sometimes wear panty liners to feel dry down there, when they perspire or leak. I know Danika was beginning to have problems leaking, when she laughed, but she wasn’t incontinent yet.”
“Mom was laughing all the time. I can see how that would be a problem.”
They loaded up three cars with bags and headed to the local Goodwill center, the Lincoln, the Yukon and Michelle drove the Chevelle. The Chevelle was a great car, but it had way too much power, in its current configuration, to suit Michelle. It was dynoed out at 535 HP and 490 ft lbs of torque at 4200 rpm. Robert and Elliot had taken it out on one long straight strip of low traffic highway and had gotten it up to 145 mph and they still had some revs left, just not enough courage to go faster. The Chevelle was beginning to act a little squirrelly. It needed more down force to keep it on the road. The Chevelle had to go.
The good people at Goodwill were excited to receive the exceptional clothing in their store. They gave Michelle a receipt for the clothing and estimated the value at six thousand dollars, far less than its actual worth, but what the heck it was used clothing.
When they got back to the home, Michelle picked up the landline, “I have to call my work and offer my resignation. I don’t want to go back to work there now. That would just announce who I am. I also want to lease this house out and get an apartment near campus, I think.”
She dialed the bookstore’s phone number and said, “Hello, Mr. Lipscomb, this is Elliot. I have talked things over with my Aunt and I am leaving Gainesville tonight. There are too many ghosts here for me. My second cousin… Aunt Susan is it my second cousin or second cousin twice removed?”
Susan chuckled, “I think it is your third cousin. I need to get the family tree out to be sure.”
“Well Mr. Lipscomb I am moving to Syracuse, New York and my cousin is moving into my home temporarily. I am going to lease out the house.”
“I am sorry to hear you are going, Elliot. You have always been a good worker for me. If you need any references, please feel free to use my name.”
“I appreciate that Mr. Lipscomb. I think I may be headed to NYU in a year. I just need to get away.”
“I don’t know how I would feel if I lost my wife and kids. You take it easy and call me if you need to talk. I will tell everybody here. I will mail your last check and your cousin can mail it to you.”
“Thank You. Take care,” Michelle said.
“Well, I have sown the seeds of Elliot’s disappearance and Michelle’s appearance. I just need to alter my appearance enough, to look like a relative.”
“You already look like my Grandma,” Susan said. “You are taller than she was, but she was broader than you.”
“Tomorrow you and I, Kim, are going to a beauty parlor. You too Aunt Susan. I am going all in. I want a light honey blonde head of hair and feminine brows.”
“You should get a wax job too,” Kim said.
“Oh yes, you’re all in and that is part of it Michelle, light blonde fits your Swedish heritage better and yes I will go too.”
“Oh, I didn’t ask you Kim, but if I got an apartment near campus, would you move in with me?”
“Yes, I will share an apartment with you.”
“Then the Yukon will be your car. I don’t want to sell it, and face it, your VW Golf is about dead. I will drive the Lincoln.”
“Why are you being so nice to me Michelle?”
“You are my first friend with me as a girl. I liked you at high school, but I was afraid to talk to you. Then when I first saw you on Sunday, I thought, I can’t let you get away.”
“Boy are we a pair, I liked you, and was hoping for you to approach me. Then I felt that we were two different social classes, so I didn’t tell you that I liked you.”
“Boys are dumb creatures Kim,” Susan said. “Many of the good ones are too shy. You need to hit them between the eyes with a two by four, to get them to notice you. You showed up when Elliot/Michelle needed you. Also, Michelle is a lot more open, I think.”
“How long are you going to stay, Aunt Susan?”
Susan pulled out her smart phone and checking her calendar, “I was ahead in editing till the accident, and now I am about four days behind. I can work here for the next three weeks, I think. Then I really need to be back in New York. I have to meet with a senior editor and a new author. I really need to get to work Sunday and keep to the grindstone for at least six solid hours a day. I could be called back as soon as Tuesday, but I doubt it.”
Michelle then called Ms. Weston and talked to her about getting an apartment near school and leasing the big home. Adrianna informed Michelle, that she could find an apartment, and that she would lease it for her and take the rent out of her allowance.
Kim had to get ready to go to work. This was Friday night and Friday’s were always very busy. When she came out of Elliot’s room, she gave Susan a hug and Michelle a kiss, before heading out.
Susan headed into the office to get to work on her editing. So, Michelle spent time in Rebecca’s room practicing at adding just a touch of a Swedish accent to her own voice. Elliot didn’t have what one could call a masculine voice. He was misidentified on the phone all the time, but Michelle didn’t want to use the exact same voice that Elliot used.
She knew a little Swedish for family reunions, so it only took a little effort. She didn’t go ridiculous, like that Muppet the Swedish Chef, bork, bork, bork, but she did change her diction, inflection and added a few Swedish phonemes to her English. That touch of Swedish really transformed her voice; she had a sultry, sexy voice when she tried. She just had to practice, practice and practice it.
She went to the office to try out her voice on her aunt, “Aunt Susan, how do I sound to you now?”
Susan turned laughing, and said, “I was wondering when you were going to change the way you talk. I was going to suggest it, if it didn’t come to you. You sound wonderful. It’s almost like I was listening to my friend Sophia. It took Sophia years to lose her accent, so she could fit in. I think she should have kept just a tiny bit, so she would sound like you do now.”
“So, I sound different from Elliot?”
“Oh, heaven yes. You just need a girl’s vocabulary,” Susan said, turning to get back to work.
“I am going to fix us a bite to eat.”
“That is a wonderful idea sweetie. I am about ready for a short break and let’s talk a bit of Swedish.”
They ate and spent about an hour talking in broken Swedish. Neither of them had much practice, it had been over twenty-five years since Susan talked much Swedish, but it took a few minutes to get back into the groove. They then shifted back to English with a Swedish accent. Where Michelle had had an androgynous sounding voice before, the changes she made, shifted her voice sultry, not unlike Scarlett Johansson. It sent shivers up Susan’s spine.
“You need to be careful with that voice, or you’ll have guys and girl’s lining up wanting to have sex with you.”
“But I don’t want…”
“I know you don’t, sweetie, but with a voice like that, you can get people’s juices flowing.”
“Should I change my voice and make it less sexy?”
Susan sat looking at Michelle and thought. “Considering how you look; I wouldn’t change a thing about your new voice. It fits you like a glove. You will just have to be careful about the signals you send other people. You will learn just how to do that with time.”
After they ate, Susan went back to work and Michelle went to bed. She woke about one in the morning, when Kim crawled into bed with her. They kissed for a couple of minutes and then they both went to sleep, in each other’ arms.
>>>>><<<<<
Susan woke them both up at seven-thirty. They needed to get ready, if they wanted to go to the salon. Kim dressed in a T-shirt with a denim mini-skirt and had Michelle do the same, adding a waist nipper, without stockings. They both wore sexy heels.
Michelle switched to her new voice, when she finally had a cup of coffee down her throat. Kim just starred at her for a second, before smiling and saying, “Girl, you have got to learn to sing with that voice. You could sell millions of records.”
“Can’t carry a tune in a bucket, Kim. I have tried.” Michelle said truthfully.
“Elliot might not be able to sing, but I believe Michelle could learn,” Susan said.
They hit Mc D’s for a fast bite to eat, before heading to the salon. They were greeted at the salon and after Michelle told them to spiff her and her friends’ images up, they were taken to separate stylists.
“Hello, I am Becky, and I will be your stylist. What can I do for you today?”
“I want a cut, color and perm. I want to be a light blonde with just a touch of honey, makeup and nails, plus anything you can think of. Think Taylor Swift, Emma Stone and Scarlet Johansson, mixed into one.”
“Ooh, I like your boldness. Let me take a look at you,” Becky said. “You have a nice, pale skin tone.”
“I am half-Swedish.”
“Yes, I can see that; it also explains your accent. I think… We will do long acrylic nails, about a half of an inch. Your lashes need extensions,” She said, calling up pictures of Emma, Taylor and Scarlett on her computer screen. “I think these curly hairstyles will look great on you. What do you think?”
“I like Scarlet Johansson’s look, on the red carpet, at the Golden Globe Awards. She looks so hot in that red dress.”
“Her brow would look good on you too. Let me start on your brow and lashes, then I will do your hair.”
Becky got to work thinning out Michelle’s brow. She didn’t go very thin, but she created a nice arch, that followed natural contours of her face. She then began attaching individual lashes to her natural eyelashes, both upper and lower lashes. She was very good, but this was a very nice salon after all.
While Becky was doing her hair, Cindy, a nail tech came in. She first polished her toenails, as Becky sectioned and rolled her hair on perm rods. While Michelle was under the dryer, the nail tech added full acrylic nails to Michelle. She painted them with the same brilliant red gel as her toes now bore. The stylist bleached her hair and added a light honey blonde dye. Becky even bleached Michelle’s brow. Becky then cut and styled her hair.
Simon then came in and did Michelle’s makeup. He created a smoky daytime look, giving Michelle tips on how to recreate this look. He contoured her face, then added foundation and setting it with powder. He made her brows bold, lined her eyes and used mascara on her. Simon then spent a little time working with cream, light gray and charcoal eye shadows, blending it heavily. He brushed a reddish blush on her cheeks and finished with a really red lipstick. He sold her everything he used on her face.
Michelle then got to see herself. She definitely had Emma Stone’s blonde hair now. She also had curly hair like Scarlet Johannsson’s, with Taylor Swifts swept bangs and makeup. She sat there looking in the mirror with her mouth hanging open. If there had been any doubt about Elliot being a female at heart. Her image now erased them.
Becky took Michelle to a dressing room, where her red Armani suit, blouse, pantyhose and. red Prada heels, along with a bag of gold jewelry was waiting for her.
When Michelle came out of the dressing room, she could literally hang with Emma, Taylor or Scarlett at a business meeting with their producers and not look out of place. Also she looked more than a little different from Elliot. It would be a one in a hundred million shot for her to be recognized as Elliot. Susan and Kim both gushed over Michelle, while she was googled eyed looking at them. Kim was in her black pantsuit and Susan was in a maroon suit.
Susan was gorgeous, she looked better than she had in years. She had just gotten a little complacent over the years about doing the beauty routine. She only fixed herself up when meeting with senior editors or her boss and with some writer’s, since she lost her husband. This was a good reminder of what she could look like if she tried.
Kim looked better than she ever remembered looking. Her stylist went to town on her hair and Simon won a gold star from Michelle, on Kim’s makeup. Kim had no reason now to feel less worthy than some of the well-heeled girls around town.
Simon got kisses and the stylists got hugs from the girls. Pictures had been taken of the three of them and of them kissing Simon’s cheek’s. Michelle and Kim made regular appointments for hair and nails.
After a nice late lunch, they made their way to a seamstress. Michelle had four suits to be altered. When the seamstress felt the waist nipper, she insisted on tightening it tighter. Unless Michelle was able to get her natural waist down, she would always have to wear a corset, or a waist nipper, to wear the skirts and jackets. Kim was fitted into Rebecca’s three suits. She looked great in each of them. She was also fitted into a couple of Rebecca’s gowns.
They had to rush home, so Kim could head for work. Her usual tips ran to ten to twenty percent of the ticket, with a third stiffing her, but tonight she found she had fewer stiffs and larger tips than she usually received. Her Friday and Saturday tips averaged $120 a day, tonight her tips were just over $220, mostly because she sold more alcohol and her guests stayed longer. She tipped her bartender forty bucks. She looked better and had more confidence when dealing with guests. Her coworkers, raved over her appearance and her boss had lustful eyes toward her. He would never make a move on her, other managers had been raked over the coals and fired for sexual harassment. He needed this job for his family.
Her confidence was sky high when she got back home. For the first time, she woke and shagged Michelle ragged, when she got home. They were at it for almost two hours of kissing, cuddling, screwing and touching. She found her favorite position was cowgirl. By three, they were both exhausted. Kim fell asleep on top on Michelle.
When Michelle woke that morning at about eight-thirty, Kim had her legs locked around Michelle’s legs. Kim mumbled, “Let me sleep a couple of more hours.”
Michelle needed another shower and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, when she left her room. With just a little fuss, her hair looked great, she just had to brush her hair and spray her bangs in place. Susan was at the computer editing a book, “Morning sunshine.”
“Morning Aunt Susan, have you eaten?”
“I would have starved if I had to wait on you two. I like your hair sweetie.”
“You look great too. I am going to nuke a couple of breakfast burritos and then I need to check e-mail and my Facebook pages. That coffee smells wonderful.”
Michelle returned to the office about ten minutes later.
“We need to pick out headstones for your parents and Rebecca on Monday, Michelle. This is something we should do and not put it on Adrianna.”
Michelle was spreading the news by e-mail, that Elliot was now in Syracuse New York and he was doing fine. He thanked all the well-wishers and family friends.
After Kim got up, they went out to eat, dressed casually. They then went grocery shopping. Kim was very picky about some food items. She ate a little healthier than Michelle did. They selected a lot more produce and leaner meats, more chicken and fish, less red meats.
“Becky did a wonderful job. They look like your real lashes. Just don’t be rubbing them too much.” Kim said.
“I know and I can’t wash my hair for two more days, I have to use a color safe shampoo/Conditioner. Being pretty is a lot of work.”
“I know, but it is worth it. I have been slipping on that count for the last four years, since Sam passed away. I am going to take better care of myself. Make sure you do the same.” Susan said.
“I will, I promise.” Michelle said.
Michelle did get some of her favorite foods, which Kim and Susan approved of.
“You need to try to lose about five to ten pounds, to make your clothing fit better.” Susan said. “You’ll need to do some ab work, to make it leave from your waist. Your arms and legs could use a little toning too.”
Kim had a lot of suggestions on how they both could get fitter. They could get a couple of bicycles and ride them.
“Yes, but we will store them inside our apartment, or in bicycle lockers. I don’t want them stolen.” Michelle said. “I read about a guy who chained his bike to a tree outside an apartment and someone chain sawed the tree to steal the bike.”
Back home they put the groceries up and relaxed, watching TV.
“That TV has got to go with us,” Kim said.
We can furnish the apartment with stuff from my home. We will have four computers, counting my laptop, an entertainment center, couch and chairs, all this stuff is fairly new and whatever we want for this apartment. Aunt Susan do you want a computer shipped to you?”
“Thank you, your computers are nicer than mine. I want the one I am working on now.”
“We will pack it up and ship it to you. I want to begin creating a fictional life for Michelle and open a Facebook page for her.”
“First make it a private page, till we get a history for her decided upon. That way we can edit it, before you make it open. Let me work with some of our kin and see if we can hook them into it. Some of my relatives won’t be as understanding, but some might. We should also talk to Ms. Weston and your psychologist.”
Michelle created her Facebook page. Aunt Susan took a digital photo of Michelle, after she dressed in a skirt and blouse and made up her face. They uploaded it and began creating a fictional Bio for Michelle. Susan chose a city for Michelle to come from. They discussed small schools, versus large schools, large schools are more anonymous than small schools. She also helped create a fictional family for Michelle.
“We need to check with Ms. Weston and your psychologist before we change it to a public profile. I don’t want any trouble,” Susan said. “I know a few family members that will probably be amenable to helping Michelle. I will touch base with them when I get back to New York. You will also need to keep up Elliot’s Facebook page. At least till you want to come out as Michelle. I will email you some photos from New York.”
Kim went and made dinner for them, as Susan and Michelle worked.
Michelle worked for a while, and then she began working on a fictional story about herself for Adrianna. She was surprised at how easily it came to her. She wrote about a boy who discovered that deep inside, he knew he really was a girl. Alesha Ryan got into all sorts of hijinks on her road to becoming a girl. She had a group of girls who were there to help her along the way. Alesha did face some ridicule and criticism, when she was discovered, and it took a couple of years before her parents accepted her as their daughter. She had twenty pages done in an hour. The story just seemed to flow like water, from her heart.”
The next day they got up early. This would be a busy day for them.
Michelle went and fixed them something to eat, while Kim and Susan got dressed and did their makeup. She took the food to Susan’s room and Elliot’s room, where Kim was getting dressed. Michelle went to her room and started to get dressed also. Michelle chose a nice white business blouse, a knee length black wool skirt, a bubblegum pink blazer, a corset laced tightly, with garters attached, stockings, panties and black pumps, with a modest three-inch heel. Kim came in her room, as she was doing her makeup. She was dressed similarly, with a light gray blazer and dark gray plaid skirt.
They went to the funeral home that had received the bodies from Atlanta, Susan handled the business transaction with help from Michelle. They chose a companion monument for the parents and a single monument for Rebecca. Michelle and Susan wrote the inscriptions. The funeral home said they would bill Ms. Weston. Michelle wanted flowers on the grave yearly at the anniversary of their passing and made arrangements for an endowment to pay the bill.
They were a few minutes late into Ms. Weston’s office. Adrianna was very complimentary of her appearance. She loved Michelle and Susan’s appearance.
Michelle gave her the story she had written. She had to sign some papers and they talked about some things that Adrianna had found. The lawyer she contacted in Lansing, Michigan, found the deed for the condo and would be working to transfer it to Michelle’s name, as soon as it became legal and the probate came through there. The request for a name change was published, no court date yet. Ms. Weston also talked about what to expect with the Dean of Students.
“He wants to see what you look like before he greases the wheels. It’s not illegal in cases of a transgendered student with a psychologist’s statement, but it won’t be official, till the legal name change comes through, in two weeks.”
“I have already messengered him your doctor’s report and your psychologist’s statements.”
At the University of Florida, they went to Wilbert Cummings office. He was expecting them, but not what he saw when they arrived.
“Hello Ms. Larsson. I can’t believe that you are a transgender student, but I have no reason to doubt you.”
“Thank you, Dr. Cummings, I assure you, that I was Elliot Dresden. If I hadn’t lost my parents, I might have still been in denial, but I am as certain of that now, as I am of being in your office . It’s a fact.”
“I have all your records in my office and have Michelle Briana Larsson listed as a temporary student. Here is your schedule, Elliot was withdrawn from all classes, you, however, will have three different classes and two of the same classes, as Elliot would have had. I am not going to ask, and don’t tell me, which restroom you use. Just don’t get involved in any problems in the restrooms, if you can avoid it. Take this note to registration and get your ID card made and photo taken. Classes start in four weeks.”
It was over within twenty minutes. Michelle got her picture taken and her ID card, with the name listed as M.B. Larsson. They bought books and souvenirs, before heading home.
Kim waited an hour before getting ready for work, “I need to do laundry tomorrow. I have to wash my uniforms.”
Kim kept her new appearance up and made her face up in a more dramatic way, yet ready for work makeup look, after she dressed for work.
“Leave them on your bed, I will do them,” Michelle said.
Kim had a strange look on her face. She had done things for herself for several years now, as her mom had done less and less for her. “Okay, I will leave all my laundry on my bed. If you would help me out.”
“I will be glad to do it. Mom had insisted that I do my own laundry since I was fourteen. I can read labels and follow direction.”
Kim reached over and kissed Michelle on the lips.
Kim left and Michelle started on her laundry. She first sorted them out by whites, colors, uniforms and delicates. She washed the delicate items first. It was a short run in the washer. She put them all in a lingerie bag and started the load. Ten minutes later she put them in the dryer on low heat, still in the bag, while she loaded the whites. She started reading her books, till the dryer dinged. She folded Kim’s bras, panties and hosiery. She then switched the whites to the dryer at medium heat and started the colored clothes in the wash. She sat on the washer, an interesting experience, while she read some more. The washer dinged only a minute after the dryer. She took the whites and pulled down the ironing board and set about ironing. She made sure to iron the synthetics and silks first, on low heat, then she did the cottons and wools on a higher heat. She hung them up after she finished each item. Within two hours, she was finished and she took Kim’s clothes to her room, where she put them up.
A bleary eyed Susan had gone to bed, after a grueling session, with a book whose author really needed to go back to remedial English. She kissed Michelle and then headed straight to bed. Michelle was reading her chemistry text, when Kim came in, and almost leapt into Michelle’s lap, and kissed the girl.
“Wow, what has brought on this change in you?” Michelle asked.
Kim smiled and pulled out a wad of ones, fives and a ten, “I used to draw in between a hundred to a hundred and twenty dollars in tips on Fridays and Saturdays. Mondays through Thursday I usually draw forty to sixty dollars in tips. This Saturday, I earned over two hundred, and tonight I drew seventy-two dollars. My boss has seen the changes in my looks, and commented on it, and he also says I appear more confident and diligent, in my actions. I know I am more confident since I have been around you, and these tips are just so important. You see, TGI Friday pays me three dollars an hour, the bulk of my earnings comes from tips. I doubled my tips on Saturday and was almost doubled my tips tonight. You just don’t know what that means to someone who needs tips. I know it won’t be this way every day, but every dollar helps. I am just so happy.”
Michelle kissed Kim, “I am happy for you. I did your laundry and put it up, for you.”
“Thank you, you are so sweet for doing it for me. I too have done my own laundry and cooking for years. The last two years I have had to do my own shopping too. I am going to take a shower and change clothes .”
Michelle went to her room and changed into a baby doll nightie and a robe. Kim came into her room and hugged her tightly.
“Thank you for doing my laundry and even ironing it. I hardly even ironed my own things, most of my things are wash and wear. Ironing them makes them look so much better. Thank you.”
“I just wanted you to look your best. I iron my own things; I wouldn’t do less than that for my best only friend.”
“Only friend? You are such a nice person; why would I be your only friend?”
“Because, I was hiding from myself. I truly feel… no make that I knew in my heart that I was always different from other people… normal people. People whom I couldn’t let them see the real me. This is the real ME Kimberly. Only once I discovered the real me could I begin to make friends with myself and other people. You were my first friend, the first of maybe many more, but you are special to me. Kim I love you too. I surprised myself when I said it, but it’s true. I love you.”
Kim smiled a coy smile and closed the distance between them, “Maybe I too have been in denial, but I really do love you too.” She gently pushed Michelle over on the bed, crawling on top of her. That night they made love in a comfortable less desperate, but no less satisfying manner.
“No matter how far you go to being Michelle, you have got to save some sperm in a sperm bank. You might find someone who wants to bear your children, Michelle.”
“Someone like you,” Michelle teased.
“We are getting there, but I have been on the pill for three years now. My cycle was highly erratic when I was a young teen. Maybe twenty-three days one month, and thirty-eight days the next month. My OB/GYN put me on the pill to prevent pregnancy, yes, but mostly to help regulate my cycle. You are my second… let’s say you are my second XY. I was sort of date raped as a teen.”
“Sort of date raped?”
“Yes, I liked the guy and I might have done it with him, but it was the way he… He never asked; he just took. He didn’t even… I don’t know… He wasn’t bad and didn’t hurt me; he just expected sex and took what he wanted. I hate him now. I didn’t do that to you did I?” Kim looked shocked at her own realization of what happened Saturday.
Michelle just kissed Kim and rolled her on top again. Michelle loved this position too. She got to look at how beautiful Kim was, as the girl rode her. To Michelle, the sex act wasn’t important. Sure it felt good, but what mattered to her was the look of bliss on Kim’s face. If she never had coitus sex again it wouldn’t matter to her, unless it hurt the one she loved.
After she came, she began to explore other ways of creating that look of bliss in Kim’s face. Her fingers and especially her tongue, were especially gifted at getting that reaction, plus they could keep on going much longer than her penis. At one point, Kim almost shoved her own hand in her mouth to keep from hollering. Michelle thought maybe that was why, Danika had a ball gag, Elliot or Rebecca were at home a lot of the time, Robert and Danika were off from work.
Kim slid down and laid on top of Michelle saying, “Oh gawd, that was great, no more, please need sleep.” She fell asleep on top of Michelle again.
Michelle soon fell asleep with Kim on her tummy.
>>>>><<<<<
The next morning, after they ate, Michelle, Kim and Susan went apartment hunting. “The Apartment Hunters” was a listing service to help people locate apartments and for apartments to list their openings. The low-cost apartments were all gone to college students, but there were three upper mid-range apartments open. All three were nice places, with plenty of amenities. The apartments were all nice and were aimed at urban professionals. The second was the most expensive and its there-bedroom apartments had room for a washer and a dryer. Which was good, since Michelle now owned a washer and a dryer, they wouldn’t have to haul their clothes to a laundry room, or a Laundromat.
Michelle called Ms. Weston, who sent her paralegal, Amanda Peterson, to handle the details. Amanda brought a check for first and last month, plus a hefty security deposit. Michelle, Kim, and Susan used their cell phones and a HD video cam, which Kim just happened to have in her purse, to do a pre-move in, inspection of their soon to be first floor, 2 bed, 2 bath apartment. They took photos of each room, hunting for little defects. All of the rooms had a small, barely visible, rail around the top of the walls, from which pictures and things could be hung. The courtyard was green, with lush vegetation and there was a pool, with a five-foot steel safety fence around it, with a barbecue pit and lawn furniture. There was controlled access and video cameras, covering 95% of the walkways, and security was on duty 24/7/365.
At first, the apartment manager, Mrs. Wilson, didn’t want to rent to students, they didn’t like partiers or rabble rousers.
Amanda looked at the two girls, “Would rabble rousers be wearing Jimmy Choo and Ferragamo shoes, with a Louis Vuitton handbag. They own Prada, Versace and Armani. Sure rich kids can be a pain too, but these are nice young people.”
It took a call to Ms. Weston and her assurances that they would be good tenants and a veiled threat to get them in.
“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Wilson said. “When we opened, we greeted students openly. After the first year, we had nearly half-a-million in damages, there were dozens of loud parties in the courtyards and some of our better heeled tenants, were moving out or threatening to. So, we began denying students housing.”
Amanda actually signed the contract with Ms. Weston as guarantor. They were given the keys, two gate remotes and a back-up pin for entry.
“We are replacing the carpet and painting your apartment. It will be ready for occupancy on Saturday, please don’t be bad tenants.”
“I will notify power, cable, internet and telephone to come and hook you up, Michelle.” Amanda said. “Anything else I can help you with just call me. I will be happy to help you.” she said, handing a business card to Michelle and Kim.
After stopping to eat, they went through the house, deciding what was going to their apartment, and what was going to be sold out of the house. The fridge, stove, washer, dryer, and dining table, along with some of the kitchenware was going. The apartments kitchen was half the size. They only chose one set of dishes, half the pots, pans and skillets, the microwave, the vita-mix, the food processor, the Krug coffee maker. Kim fell in love with the crystal and china, so it had to go, along with the flatware. Three bedroom sets were going, even though they were only going to use one bed it seemed. Rebecca’s vanity would go, two of the three computers would go, the big couch was too big, but they had a second couch, cushion chair, recliner, coffee table, entryway mirror, with table, and a few wall hangings. They marked everything with post it notes, things tagged with a yellow post-it would go and things marked by a green post-it note would stay. Susan kept them from choosing a ridiculous amount of wall hangings or too much furniture. Balance in the kitchen would be the hardest.
“What are you going to do with the things you aren’t going to sell, but won’t fit in your apartment?” Susan asked.
“There was a storage locker place, right next door to the complex. In fact, you can access it by driving to the southwest corner of the complex. I want to keep Rebecca’s botany samples. I helped her collect about half of them. We then identified and label each sample. The apartment had bicycle storage lockers all along the perimeter. The apartments are close enough to school that we can ride our bikes to campus on nice days.”
“I liked the fact that the apartments are only one deep. There is a back door near the laundry room,” Kim said.
“They may be apartments, but they are more like town houses,” Michelle said.
“Ok, I know some guys with pickups who can help us move, if we pay their gas and pay them a little. We have some night shift dishwashers, and bus boys, who really need some extra cash.”
“I will pay their gas and twenty dollars an hour, from nine till one, if they will help us move on Saturday. They can invite others too. Six would be good.”
“I will talk to them tonight and see if they have any friends.”
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday was quite interesting for Michelle. She had two tests to take on a computer, that dealt with gender and how the patient sees them self. Michelle scored mostly female, at about eighty percent, on both tests. Beverly and Michelle spent half of their time talking about the results of the test.
“I don’t use the results of the tests to make my determination on gender, but it gives me ideas of areas that we need to explore. According to the tests you should be a good candidate for gender reassignment. I just need to assure myself that you didn’t skew the test one way or another.”
“I can see how that could happen, Beverly. I could tell what the female choice for the questions were, or might be. I know that I am not so desperate to become female that I would self-mutilate and I have too much to live for to consider harming myself. I don’t hate my penis and testicles, but I do want to become as fully female as I can be.”
“That is why, it may take a little longer. We can move a little slower and you will still get there. If that is where this all leads too. You are already past puberty and you can already pass as a woman. I will talk to your doctor and recommend anti-androgens, but hormone replacement therapy will be six months to a year down the road, with surgery over a year away. Slower appears to be better.”
“I have a friend named Kim, who wants me to save some sperm before I commit to hormones. So we can have a child that is mine, later down the road. She is bi-sexual and I think we might be a couple.”
“Then you need to do that before the blockers. The sooner, the better. I can recommend a fertility clinic.”
Thursday and Friday, Michelle, Kim and Susan began preparing for the move. Michelle bought a small microwave and a dorm room style refrigerator so they could have hot and cold food, till Susan went home. Michelle and Kim would stay in the Dresden home, till Susan had to leave, the Wednesday after this Wednesday. She got a confirmation of an appointment with the Senior Editor and a writer on Friday, after she got back.
Friday, Ms. Weston called, they had a court date for Michelle’s name change. A week after Monday, they would appear in court to make M.B. Larsson legal.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday they had seven guys show up. One was an appliance man. He came in and disconnected the electric dryer, the water line for the ice maker on the fridge and the induction range. The major appliances were the first things to go. They loaded the range, washer, dryer and the refrigerator.
Michelle led the caravan over to the new apartment. The appliance man then began to setup the appliances and made sure they all worked. The refrigerator just fit vertically by less than half an inch beneath an overhead cabinet and sideways you could fit five sheets of paper on both sides to the counters.
Michelle stayed at the apartment and would direct traffic there and Kim supervised loading, while Susan was in the office working on a computer. Michelle and Kim had it all planned out about what went first, second and etc.
By twelve, they were all at the apartment arranging things and hanging wall hangings from hooks and wires. By the time Kim had to shower and get dressed for work, their apartment looked like a home. Michelle and Kim would stay in the Dresden home till Susan had to go back to New York, a week from Tuesday. The guys were paid either a hundred ten dollars, or a hundred fifty if they drove their truck.
When Kim got home found Michelle dressed in one of her mother’s peignoirs and robes. It was clear that she had been crying. Kim didn’t say a thing, she just wrapped Michelle up in her arms and hugged her. They went to the master bedroom. Kim had to take a shower before she joined Michelle in bed. Michelle was like a little girl being held by her big sister, Kim, till the thunderstorm passed and she fell asleep.
Michelle dreamed, she dreamed she was in a field of flowers. Here, she was 100% girl and she knew it. She felt the grass crunch beneath her feet. The fragrance of lavender, heather, echinacea and peonies wafted in a gentle warm breeze. She could hear all sorts of birds that were flying and resting on the ground. Then she saw her family standing on a rise. Michelle ran to them and hugged her Mom, Dad and Sister, kissing their cheeks. They all sat on a blanket in the field and talked.
“Mom, Dad, Rebecca, why did you have to leave me alone? I should have been with you three.”
Robert hugged his daughter Michelle and said, “None of us know our time Michelle, we came to the end of our threads and we had to go. Your thread continues in the tapestry of life, Michelle. But we are still with you. Memories of us are in your heart and our spirits are right there beside you.”
“I miss you guys so much; it hurts so much. Will the hurt ever go away?”
“With time, the pain you feel will lessen, but it will never truly go away, till we are back together again,” Danika told Michelle.
“I would have loved going to college with you, little sister. I will miss going with you through a field and collecting specimens. We had so much fun doing that,” Rebecca said. “I am glad you have Kim with you. You two were meant for each other, I think.”
“I agree,” Danika told her. “She is a keeper. Treat her well Michelle.”
“I agree with your Mom,” Roger said. “I wish I could have known you as my daughter, but it wasn’t time for you to come out of hiding. Go Michelle, don’t be afraid of the future, know that we will always be there beside you and that we love you very much.”
They talked for a while, Michelle was comforted by their words, but she just couldn’t remember what they had said. They all hugged and kissed one last time and then Michelle woke up. The clock said six-thirty. She only had close to five hours of sleep, but her world felt right to her.
She quietly went to the bathroom to clean her face. Tears she cried, while she was asleep, were dried and crusty on her cheeks. The traces of Elliot were still there with her, but she wasn’t bothered by them. She knew that she would be whole soon. The pain of her road would remind her of the love her family had for her.
Michelle changed her underwear, dressed quietly in her closet, in a skirt, a peasant blouse and flats, before fixing her hair and doing her makeup. She took her laptop to the almost bare living room. She set it up on one of Rebecca’s footlocker, that they were now using as a coffee table.
She fixed herself a cup of coffee and sat on the large couch they left here. She then began to type what she could remember of her dream into a word document. She described the field that she met her family in, described the clothing they wore in detail, and what she was told and what she said, in a journal format.
Michelle had a good cry, as she typed and poured her heart out. The words just flowed from her fingers to the screen of her laptop. Her burdens, though still present, seemed lighter and less taxing to her.
She attached the document to an e-mail and sent it to her psychologist Beverly Greyson with a note explaining the dream to her. Telling her that the dream felt so vivid, so real. I could see colors, feel textures and smell fragrances.
Michelle set her coffee and laptop aside and opened up the footlocker. There were between fifteen and twenty albums in the trunk that contained her sister’s specimens. She took one out and began to page through the album, not reading the legend, but still naming the plants as she flipped through the pages.
“I didn’t know you liked plants,” Kim said, looking over Michelle’s shoulders.
Michelle startled, her heart racing for a few seconds, “Oh Kimberly, you startled me. I was so focused that I didn’t hear you get up. I should know them, I helped my sister collect them, name them and then drilled her on them.”
“How many specimens do you have?”
“I don’t know, but it is over a thousand. There are three other footlockers with albums.”
“I have an idea, why don’t you use one of these albums as a coffee table book and rotate them. I would love going through them. I might not want to learn all of those Latin names, but the albums are interesting.”
Michelle sat debating what to do next, “Kim have a seat. I need you to read something.” She then let Kim read her journal entry.
Kim read what Michelle had typed and blanched, “Oh man, this is crazy.”
Michelle was a little offended, “What… that is straight from my heart.” She sounded a little perturbed.
Kim looked confused a second and then said, “No… I don’t mean what you wrote… I mean yes, it’s about what you wrote, but not exactly… I mean… I had this crazy dream last night too. That was sort of like yours… I met these people whom I never met before. One old man, a somewhat younger woman and a girl a little older than me. We sat on a blanket and talked. It felt like a talk… well, like getting to know you talk… The man was German, the lady was Swedish and the girl was their daughter. Your description is spot on, with what I dreamed. For the life of me, I didn’t know their names, or what was said. I can only remember impressions.”
“Did you see colors, smell flowers, felt and heard things?”
“Yeah, man I wished that I had my camera. It was a birder paradise; swallows, larks, orioles, a great blue heron, puffins, egrets and blue jays.”
“That’s right, you said you liked photography. What kind of camera do you have?”
“Just a cheap Sony Cyber-Shot. It cost about forty dollars. Bought it with my undeclared tip money.”
Michelle had a glint in her eye, “Stay here a minute,” as she got up and went to the garage. She hadn’t gone through all of her parents’ things yet. She just didn’t have the stomach till now. She searched till she found an aluminum case that belonged to her father. She returned with the case.
“This case belonged to my father. It contains a Nikon D3s and spare lenses. This is more camera than I can use. I have my own Canon EOS Rebel and I don’t know all of the features on it,” she said, setting the case down between them. “You can use it anytime, and all you want, and get to know it, but let’s see if it works first.”
Michelle opened the heavily padded case and picked up the D3s body and mated it with a 50mm normal lens and turned the camera on. It powered up beautifully. Michelle snapped a picture of Kim in her kimono robe, still wearing her baby doll negligee. Kim was shocked at first and then started posing, even after her robe fell open. Michelle shot a dozen pictures and then showed Kim. Kim blushed as she saw her own nipples, through the nightie, along with her fury patch, in one shot.
“There are four lenses, charger units, the manuals are in the top, and there are filters and other gizmos.” Michelle could really use the camera, but the Canon was more on her skill level. She just used cameras to document the botany and geological specimens she collected, and it was fun on a vacation.”
Michelle wanted to give her the camera, but it was very expensive and she didn’t want Kim to try to pay her for it, or overwhelm the girl with the gift.
“Wow, I can use it! It is better than the one I used at school. They were cheaper than your EOS.”
Kim then began shooting pictures of Michelle. Michelle was embarrassed and tried to block the lens with her hand.
“Fair is fair Michelle. You shot pictures of me.”
“Ok, give me a second.”
Michelle waited till she felt her face cool from her flush and then she stood and started to pose. Kim had taken the time to put the flash on and power it up. She then began to shoot Michelle like a fashion photographer.
Michelle talked as she posed, “We have Photoshop Professional on the computers at our apartment and on my laptop. You can upload the photos to it or on the cloud and then work with them and make prints.”
“What do we have here,” Susan said groggily.
“Oh, I am letting Kim use my Dad’s camera and gear. She is a photo-nut. Get dressed Aunt Susan, I am hungry. Our kitchen is now at my apartment.”
“Bring your laptop, I want to upload these photos,” Kim said, heading off to get dressed.
While Kim and Susan went to get dressed, Michelle uploaded the photos to her laptop. She put them in a file folder on her desktop.
They sat in a semi-circular booth at the Denney’s. After they ordered coffee and breakfast. Michelle booted her laptop up and displayed the photos.
“These shots are pretty good. You should be a model Michelle.” Kim said.
Michelle looked around to see who was nearby, “I know I am tall enough, but I am too big to be a model. Those girls are a size 0 or 2, no more than a four. I have too much meat on these bones. I know boobs can be reduced and I could lose ten to twenty pounds, but it would be impossible for me to get that small. My ribcage is just too large.”
“She is right Kim, but she does look good in your photos.”
“Tell me Susan, did you have a strange dream last night?” Kim asked.
Susan blanched a bit, “What makes you ask that?”
“Kim and I both had strange dreams. Before you tell us, can you type what you remember, so we can compare notes.”
Susan began typing, after closing her eyes in thought. She typed for about four or five minutes. Kim and Michelle read as she typed, looking at each other and nodding. When she finished typing, Kim typed what her experience was in a separate Document. Michelle then called up her journal on Word.
“Oh my gawd, that just isn’t possible,” Susan said. “Dreams are just fiction the mind writes… aren’t they? I felt my sister Danika wanting me to look after and take care of my niece, Michelle for her.”
“I only remembered what would be a few minutes of what we talked about, Aunt Susan. Also, all of our dreams bordered on hyperrealism. All of the scene’s looked better than real, they were idyllic.”
“This would make a better novel, than some of the stories I have to edit. Michelle, maybe you should write all of this as a novel.”
“I don’t think so; it is too real to me. I think I look as the start of a new life for me. Like that saying, ‘This is the first day of the rest of your life.”
“This is the first day of the rest of our lives, Michelle.”
“I can say amen to that kids,” Susan said.
They all moved on with their lives together from that point. Kim and Michelle together in love, with Susan spending much of her time with the two of them.
Finis
This is the story of how James helped his sister into a whole new life for him.
Foxy Lady
by
Paula Dillon
The salon doors opened and an elegant, but cutting edge, woman entered. She was well endowed; average plus in height (about five foot eight); slender waist; and small, but shapely hips. The woman glided in on her black patent leather pumps, equipped with four-inch heels, and her smile displayed her perfect pearly whites. Her face was immaculately made up in a daytime glamour look and her hair was new edge, but still tastefully done. She was dressed in a pair of ultra-high waisted, black slacks, which came up to within two inches of her breasts, and a white, long sleeved silk blouse.
Amanda, the receptionist smiled and said, “Oh my, you are gorgeous today Jamie.”
“Thank you, Amanda. I will be ready for my first appointment in about ten minutes.”
“Okay, Jacqueline Fleming is already here.”
“I know, I am late, the twins gave Susan and I a hard time at breakfast.”
“They can be a handful at that age, but you still love them to death, don’t you.”
“You know it girl, let me put my things up and I will be right back.”
Jamie put her purse and things in her locker, slipped on a pair of black trainers on her feet, she then checked her hair and makeup before heading to reception. Out of the twelve stylists at the ‘New Solution Salon’, she would be rated in the top two or three. Maurice, his real name was Willie Dunham, you can see why he chose a different professional name, was without a doubt the top gun and proprietor; with Jamie or Barbra Dent coming in second, depending on who you listen too.
Maurice was the classic image of a male hairstylist. In other words, he was gay in his demeanor and actions, but honey; he could work magic with the ladies hair he styled. Barbara came in second and Jamie was third, but nobody at this salon was better at the whole package, hair, nails and makeup, than Jamie. She could visualize and create works of art.
“Hello Jacqueline, I am ready for you now. I am sorry for making you wait.”
“That’s alright dear; I overheard you telling Amanda about your babies. I envy you. I sometimes wished that I would settle down and make a family.”
Jacqueline looked like a classic runway model; she lists her height at five foot-twelve inches. Yes, she really is six feet tall, but her vanity makes her do it this way, and one hundred and twenty-two pounds, size zero.
“You know, you really need to put on a few more pounds girl, there is thin and too thin,” Jamie admonished.
“I know, but I figure that I only have a few years to make my mark.”
“Modeling is such a vicious business, Jamie. If I don’t get down to size, there is always someone there willing to make the sacrifice.”
“But it’s not worth losing your life over.”
“I will put on a couple of pounds Jamie, I promise.”
Jamie had Jacqueline sit down and they discussed what she wanted to have done. Models that have hair styled in a flexible manner were in demand. Jacquie checks with her agency and clients, before she ever had a single hair trimmed on her head. When they came to a consensus, Jamie leaned the chair back and began to shampoo the girl.
“I heard a rumor about you the other day, Jamie.”
“About me being a male?”
“Yes that one.”
“I don’t advertise it, and I am not ashamed about it, but it is true.”
“I find that hard to believe, you are so beautiful.”
“Thank you, Jacqueline, but this city is full of girls far prettier than I am.”
“And they have the personalities of a bitch.”
“That may be true. I have some clients like that.”
“I know you do. How old are you girl?”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to ask a girl her age. I am twenty seven, married to a loving wife and I have three kids, ages five and nine months.”
“Sorry, I just had to know.”
“You could have kids too, but you need to put on about twenty pounds.”
Jacqueline made the sign of a cross, like she was fending off a vampire, towards Jamie, “I know, I really love kids, but staying thin is an addiction. If I am getting too personal tell me and I will quit, but how did you wind up like this.”
“I don’t mind sharing with you, I really like you girl. It is a long story. I guess I really blame my sister for this.”
“Don’t tell me she forced you to be a girl.”
“Oh heavens no. Patricia is a sweet girl and I really love her. This,” Jamie said, indicating her whole look, “was all my choice. You know how it is with male hairstylists. They are either like Maurice, loveably gay or poor. Women need non-threatening hairstylists. A macho male would never make a good cosmetologist. This is my disguise; or at least it used to be. Now, I just love looking like this.”
“This is how it all started when I was fifteen.”
I was fifteen and my sister was sixteen. I was a freshman in high school and Patricia was a sophomore cheerleader. I use to be and really still am quite the artist. I worked with acrylic, oils, watercolors and pastels. Don’t get me wrong, I knew I was good, but the old masters have nothing to fear from me.
When I started in high school, I really thought that I might be a commercial artist, or something like that. Patricia was into dance, gymnastics and cheerleading. You think I am pretty; you ought to see her.
I went to our first football game of the season, just to watch her. Our cheerleaders were a hundred times better than our football team. We lost that game 45 to 9 against a second rate team.
Anyway, our nationally rated cheer squad consisted of eight girls and six guys in the fall and that expanded to twelve and eight in the spring, after we announced the freshman cheerleaders.
My sister is really athletic, she was one of the girls that got thrown up into the air and was the top of any pyramids they performed. She was also one of their best dancers. Our cheer squad had a lot of good dancers.
At that first football game, she was climbing to the top of a pyramid. Our stupid male cheerleaders were either lost in a dream or caught up in panty watching. They weren’t spotting for the girls like they should have been. Michelle, a girl in the bottom of the pyramid, was on her period and chose to cramp up at that time and the pyramid collapsed. Two of the guys on the squad lost their position, after the cheer coach reviewed the tapes.
Patricia fell at an odd angle and landed on her right shoulder. They loaded her into the ambulance that was at the field and headed to the hospital. I called my parents on my cell phone, as I ran to the hospital. It was about four miles and I made it there in less than twenty minutes. I was just a couple of minutes ahead of Mom and Dad.
Patricia didn’t break anything, which can actually be worse than straining your ligaments and tendons. Broken bones heal stronger; damaged ligaments and tendons don’t. She was out of school for two weeks, before she got bored and determined in her heart to go to school.
Mom and Dad both worked, they were out of the house each day at six and often didn’t return till five or so. They commuted together to the big city.
Patricia wasn’t an invalid, although greatly handicapped at the time. So one morning she told me she was going to school with me. I left her in her room after breakfast to get ready. I heard her crying in her room when I came out of mine.
“Sis,” I said, “are you all right?”
“Don’t come in, I’m not dressed,” she yelled back.
I heard her struggling and whimpering.
“Can you give me a second, then come in and help me,” she said barley above a whisper.
Now, we were an average brother and sister at that time. We loved each other, don’t get me wrong, but she went her way and I went mine. We helped each other a little around the home, but we weren’t super tight.
When I entered her room, she was naked and holding a towel to her chest. She couldn’t dress herself. I threaded her bra up her arm; she couldn’t use her right arm at all. I turned my head to look away and got it hooked up. Then piece by piece I helped her get dressed.
She melted my heart when she kissed my cheek.
Our school had a policy about makeup. It wasn’t a ‘no makeup policy’, but they sent girls to the restroom to clean away any glamour looks and passed out detentions. Our cheerleaders kinda were trying to push the envelope, if you know what I mean. Each step they took gave the rest of the girls more room. As pretty as she was, she still wanted to look sharp, so I asked her, “Do you want me to do your makeup, Sis.”
“You don’t know how to do makeup.”
“Sis, you know I am a pretty good artist. With your help I know I can do it.”
So I did it. I admit it wasn’t a perfect job, but Patricia’s eyes got as big as saucers as she watched me work. She had one of those mile wide smiles when I finished. She carefully hugged me with her arm in a sling.
To show how much I didn’t know about makeup. She had me use one of those twelve-hour lipsticks and she didn’t let it set before she carefully kissed my cheek. You got it; I didn’t check my face till her friends swamped her with hugs and giggled when they looked at me.
I was all kind of teased, as I went to the boy’s room to scrub my face. I think some of the guys were jealous, they thought I got a kiss from some girl and they wanted to know who.
I was glad that Patricia never spread it around that it was her. I found out at lunch though that she did tell the cheerleader girls. The girls came to me as a group and each of them kissed my cheeks.
You got it girl, I sported seven sets of lip prints. I got a lot of nasty looks from some really big guys. I just knew that I was going to be murdered by a jealous boyfriend. The girls only had to threaten anybody that hurt me. Can you imagine a good-looking, two hundred pound jock, that couldn’t get a date? It scared the bejesus out of them.
The girl captain of the cheerleaders, took me aside and thanked me. It helped their morale to see my sister at school.
I didn’t have to help her dress anymore, they rotated girls who would come over and help her get dressed, but they did insist that I learn to do her makeup. I had a way of blending colors of her eye shadow. They gave me pointers and shared their makeup tips with me. They also taught me to do her hair. By December, the girls considered me a defacto member of their squad. I had something that most guys would give their right arms for, eight of the prettiest girls, treating me as an equal. I got to do things no other guy at school did and was privy to things, that none of the guys at school knew about. There were also times that I was with all of the girls, as the only guy.
Mom and Dad just didn’t know what had happened. I had girls calling me on the phone. They didn’t know that it wasn’t romantic and I didn’t tell.
I became immersed in makeup. I read all the magazines the girls read and practiced with the makeup, by doing it on the back of my left hand. Two or three girls would visit my sister and we would practice makeup and hairstyling. I got very good, very fast. I just never wore any makeup myself. That was true at least, until the Easter holidays.
They were planning a three-day sleepover, at three different homes, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All twelve girls were at our house on Thursday, as the freshman cheerleaders had joined the squad.
Mom and Dad abandoned ship at five and went out on a date, after the girls promised no drugs, alcohol, or trips away from home during the night. I think that they were very afraid, but I didn’t know any better. I holed up in my room, after sharing their pizza. There are just some things that girls have to do with just girls around, I reckoned.
I should have paid more attention to what the girls had promised my parents, I guess. They had failed to promise that there would be no shenanigans.
Courtney Martin, the senior Captain, and Veronica Masters the Junior Captain, led all twelve of the girls into my room. Other than my sister and my mom, I have never had a single girl in MY ROOM. Now I had twelve. If I wanted to run, it was now impossible. My bedroom was the smallest room in our house. As it was, I had four girls on my bed, for all of them to be able to get in, in the first place.
“James, you are probably wondering what is going on, I guess,” Courtney said.
“We got together, talked it over and voted you an unofficial member of our squad,” Veronica added.
“And, as you can see, it’s just us girls here tonight,” Courtney said.
If I had thought about what Courtney said, ‘it’s just us girls here tonight’ I might have jumped through the closed window. That was the only exit available from my room at the time.
“So, do you want to join us?” Veronica asked.
I honestly thought that they just wanted me to join in on their games or whatever they had planned, so I said OK. I knew immediately that that had to have been a mistake. All twelve girls began squealing with joy and fell on me.
They picked me up and carried me to the bathroom. Somewhere in those fifteen feet, all my clothes had disappeared and I was dumped into a bubble bath naked. Four of the girls were naked also. They scrubbed, cleaned and washed me. I think I fainted when Veronica produced a straight razor. I just knew I was going to wind up being castrated.
The next thing I knew, I had nary a hair below my nose, except for a one inch strip of hair above Peter and his two friends. It had taken years to grow all fifteen or twenty hairs on my body and I was proud of each and every one of them. Seriously, I probably had more than twenty hairs, but I was eons away from being called a hairy ape.
I was again picked up, dried off; my shoulder length hair trapped by curlers; my body powdered; two globes permanently adhered to my chest; stuffed into a corset, that took my waist of thirty inches to twenty seven inches; manicured; pedicured; painted; stockinged; and shoed like a horse. The girls used plastic wire ties on the corset, so it could be tightened but not released without a pair of wire cutters. The shoes were stiletto pumps, with a four-inch heel, t strap and something I had never seen before, small padlocks. I am not talking about cheap jewelry, pot metal padlocks, I swear that they were gold plated Masterlock ® locks. I heard some zinc oxide tape being pulled and Peter and his two friends disappeared. Where these girls learned to do things like that, I don’t know, but I would hate for them to hate me, if they did things like this to their friends.
I was then made to do my own makeup for the first time. I learned that it is a very different act putting on your own makeup by looking into a mirror. It took a lot of getting used to. I had to do it five or six times to do it fast enough and good enough to get their seal of approval.
I was then stood up in front of the girls in the living room, still only wearing what I had earlier described. Three or four of the girls were similarly dressed. Patricia wore the most and I can’t blame her, not wanting to be provocatively dressed in front of me. Veronica scared me again, she had on a leather corset, stockings, thigh high boots, a leather and feather mask, and a leather riding crop. She never hit me with it, but she did give me hugs.
We then played poker, instead of strip poker; I had to win some clothes. If I won a hand, I was handed an item of clothing. If I lost, I had a forfeit to do, to get the clothes. I think they cheated, I didn’t win a single hand and I am a very good poker player. I won’t say what they made me do, but I wore a permanent blush. I will say that nothing penetrated anything. I was still a virgin and as far as I knew, they were too. After my first forfeit I received a skirt, which I was allowed to wear and so on. I wound up dressed in a cheerleader uniform, with Jamie embroidered on my right breast. Yeah, I had breasts; I was a 36 C Patricia told me. One thing I never won and wasn’t given, would have relieved the draft under my skirt.
I had to practice walking and dancing with the girls, for an hour and a half, to earn my panties. The four-inch stiletto heels made walking a huge challenge for this noob. If I would have had room to fall, I would have broken my neck in the first ten minutes. By the time I earned my panties, they all told me I was walking like a pro.
The girls started dropping off to sleep at about two in the morning. Susan had warned me not to go to sleep first. I was very glad after seeing what they did to Delores Green. She should be able to get the magic marker makeup job off by the time school starts again. At least the girls did a good job and didn’t clown her out.
I found a square foot or two of floor to lie down on. I was just about asleep when Susan woke me. She whispered that it was too crowded to sleep here. She took my hand and pulled me towards my room. Somewhere in that twenty foot walk, I lost my cheerleader uniform. How she got me undressed, I was just too tired to know.
By four in the morning, Susan and I lost our virginity in ways I would never have imagined. We were both asleep when my parents got home. I am only glad they didn’t look into my room or I bet my sister’s room. We had heard some muffled pops of a riding crop before we fell asleep. We never found out, who might have been with Veronica and were afraid to ask.
Morning found thirteen girls getting dressed for breakfast, at ten thirty. Mom nearly dropped a couple dozen scrambled eggs in a serving bowl, when she saw one girl. I just smiled demurely at her, as I took the bowl from her. Somehow I had gained a black denim mini skirt and a white rayon blouse. She looked at me from head to toe, stopping to look at the padlocks, securing the heels. I could see sympathy in her eyes, before she turned and walked away. She never asked me about that day, but she did tell Dad that I had gone to be with friends. He said he didn't blame for heading to the hills.
One thing the girls did, that I respected them for, was when Courtney organized the girls and restored the homestead to better than its original condition.
Thirteen girls left in an organized fashion and terrorized the local mall. I wound up carrying a dozen bags, a lot of what they contained, was for me, but I never spent a penny. By two I was hurting. I couldn’t believe what I saw. Susan was four inches shorter than Veronica was and two years younger, but using just her evil eye, she convinced Veronica to turn over the keys to the locks on my pumps. I was in heaven as two girls massaged my feet and put a pair of pink cheerleader trainers on them, at the food court.
For the next two days, I can’t say what we did. We all made pinky promises with each other. It was just one heck of a party. I never knew girls could be so flexible. A few of the Catholic girls in the group, might have an interesting time at confession.
Somehow, I wound up wearing a really old, beautiful, engagement ring. Susan proposed to me and told me that I accepted it. She told me that I only had to wear the ring when I was en fem. A condition I found myself in many times over the next few years. I also wound up with three piercings, one in each ear and one near the belt. I don’t remember signing any releases, but I did realize just how many of the girls had pierced navels. All of them did.
I went to work for Veronica’s Mom, Candace, at her salon “Unique Changes”, that summer. She had a cosmetology instructor’s license and I got a student’s license. Dad got a funny look when I told him what I was doing that summer. Mom and sis had big smiles on their faces.
I began to notice the way most women treated me. It was like I had invaded an enemy beachhead. One woman though, Vanessa’s Aunt Emily, insisted that I work with her every time she came in. She invited me out to lunch and had a talk with me, explaining things. I had a lot to think about and some decisions to make.
I didn’t want to do the gay hairstylist thing, I like Susan too much, although I now have a lot of respect for their hard lives. So I got Patricia and Susan together for a discrete talk.
Mom nearly dropped a plate of sausage and I think Dad had a coronary, when I came to breakfast the next day. Patricia just acted like I was normal. Things really got strange, when Susan sat down to eat with us. None of us said where she came from. The big deal I guess was what I was wearing. It was strange sitting there wearing a corset, mini skirt, blouse, stockings, panties, full makeup, engagement ring and carrying a hand bag. At least I had a smaller bust now, a 34B, compared to what the girls had first given me.
It took Mom thirty seconds before she saw the engagement ring. She was afraid to say anything, after having to resuscitate Dad once already. She really didn’t want to be a young widow. She promised me a good talking too that night.
At work, it was almost treated as a non-issue. I did notice that everyone called me Jamie and that I already had a nametag for my blouse. Also I found the customers were more relaxed and they were more willing to have me work with them.
Candace was a taskmaster, not like Vanessa was shaping up to be, but she made sure she got her monies worth of work out of everyone and she insisted that her customers always had an enjoyable experience.
I soaked up the instruction like a sponge. I never realized what the women who work in salons have to know to do their jobs right. It isn’t as easy as most men think. Cosmeticians are required by law to know the proper uses of so many chemicals, cosmetics and sanitary procedures, besides having to know about styling hair, hair care, nail care and so much more. There were so many tests I had to take with the state and thousands of hours of work to be eligible to test. I was twenty one before I was fully certified.
My sophomore year was different. I went to school in a shirt and pants, just not men’s clothes. My hair was perm’ed, I wore long nails in neutral colors and as much makeup as a cheerleader.
I was called to the office several times. Some teachers seemed to think that my appearance was a distraction. It seemed to me that it was their problem, as only a handful of people were opposed to the way I dressed. That is when I found out that Courtney’s Mom is a very successful attorney with LGBT ties. She ironed out or caused a few wrinkles, I don’t know which.
The school had a well-respected Cosmetology program. The teacher didn’t want me in her class at first. She said she had a lot of reasons, but most of the girls liked me there and those that didn’t kept their distance and their mouths shut.
I was better than many of her seniors at many things, but she tended to grade me lower. At least till the vice principal had me do her hair and makeup. She liked my work and became livid when she saw my grades from her.
The teacher was made to hold me to the same standards she held her other students to. By the end of the school year we actually became friends.
Also that year I became the equipment manager for the cheerleaders. It was mostly an honorary title and it just meant I did a lot of their makeup for events and such. They also got to drag me to these events wearing my cheerleader uniform.
They also taught me their dance routines. I liked dancing and learning to dance like a girl, was a lot of fun. Susan helped me with my flexibility exercises and stretches. It was amazing just watching her range of motion, when compared to mine, but by November, I could pretty much do what they did.
Dad and I both had to start seeing a psychologist, me for gender issues and him because I was driving him crazy. He was never mean or hurt me, for that I am eternally glad. He just couldn’t understand why I was the way I was. I just liked ‘the me’ I became. That is the important thing isn’t it? I will admit that I am strange, but strange can be good, can’t it?
That year, the cheerleaders went to the area hospitals for Christmas dressed up as elves. The guys made cute male elves, while all the girls were sexy, but tasteful, female elves. Yes, I was one of the female elves. My Dad, bless his soul, was finally getting into the spirit of things and agreed to don a fur trimmed red suit, white wig and beard to play Santa to our elves. We hit four hospitals, passing out presents to the children and bringing joy to the people, who were stuck in those places trying to get well. The kids loved us and were crawling all over us as much as Santa. I couldn’t walk five feet, without having to pick up this child or hug that child. It broke my heart, but I loved every minute of it.
Susan and I went shopping with my sister Patricia, as it was the time for her senior prom. Patricia was so excited by all the beautiful gowns. We dug through the racks for hours. Susan and I also tried on many of the gowns. I found it odd to be dress shopping with my sister and my fiancé. I often wound up in the same dressing rooms with them and changing clothes side by side. Having been around the cheerleaders in various states of dress, had an effect on me. I found myself able to look at other gorgeous, beautiful girls, in an appreciative manner, instead of leering lustfully like most guys would.
We found the perfect dress for Patricia that day. On her prom date, she went to the salon for her hair and to be pampered, but she came home to me for her makeup. I spent hours, mentally composing the right look for her. A look that brought out her natural beauty and wonderfully complimented her dress. I also did makeup for two other senior cheerleaders, but Patricia was my piece de resistance that year. Patricia would have cried when she saw herself, except for the fact that it would have ruined her makeup.
After Patricia and the girls had left with their dates, I looked at Susan. What I saw almost scared me. She had the look of a big cat stalking her prey. She pounced on me and hauled my carcass off, where she could be alone with her prize. That was my second most memorable night of my high school years. We did things; Susan moved heaven and earth that night.
Summer brought more work at the salon and more testing. As I learned more and upgraded my license, I could do more without direct supervision. I now had a facial license and a nail care license. I also got more comfortable in my role. I got to where I knew I wouldn’t dress any other way. I would wear ladies slacks to work in and dresses, skirts and blouses around the house for Susan.
My senior year, I was an honorary co-captain, with Abby. We became tight friends and no, there was never anything between us. Susan became better friends with Vanessa, and I would hate to have those two think up something sinister. Van, I heard, was getting some professional training in interpersonal relationship therapy. Yes, that is a good way to put it. She got to wear her black leather and use her whips and chains, while she assisted in counseling.
She was gorgeous when she was dressed up. She had me help her design her whole personal image from hairstyle, makeup and nails. I always made sure Susan was with me when I worked with her.
Van also asked me about how I would make some very masculine type faces look feminine, for the life of me, I don’t know why (giggle giggle). She would give me pictures of some males and asked me what I would suggest.
She always had some strange things around her home, like spools of rope, chains, fur lined cuffs, trapeze bars and blocks and tackle, you know those sorts of things. I had a chill down my spine when she asked if I would like to try some different things out. I politely declined, causing her to giggle.
Susan was my date to my senior prom. She and my sister went shopping and I found out that they had bought my outfit for the prom. My waist was comfortably was down to twenty five inches, with a corset that I hardly noticed anymore, but for two weeks before the prom, Susan had me in a new corset. Every day for two weeks, she took off another third of an inch or so, till I was down to twenty inches.
I was pampered at the salon and Candace insisted on doing my hair and makeup. I was blindfolded and taken in the back. I found it strange and relieved that they took the corset off. I could feel stay up stockings being put on, before my heels. Peter and his two friends, were restrained with tape and dermabond (a topical adhesive that is often used in surgery). I was made to stand and realized just how tall the heels were. I was afraid of getting nose bleed. They then helped me into the dress. The material was textured and incredibly sensuous. I also noticed a breeze on my back down to my waist. I felt some adhesive where the gown touched both shoulders. That was all that I had on. I was covered beneath the chin, by a sheet so my makeup and hair could be double checked after the blindfold came off.
When they finished, they stood me in front of a mirror and dropped the sheet. My jaw bounced off the floor when I saw myself. I sparkled in the light. The gown was a black cowl neck, floor length gown, which had one slit up to bottom of my left hip. The back of the gown was open down to just below my waist. The shoes I wore matched the dress exactly and had a five-inch stiletto heel. Mom came in and was in tears when she saw me. She said I was so beautiful. She only gave me a careful hug, promising me more later.
I then heard a knock and then Susan appeared in the doorway. I almost cried. She was dressed in the same dress in white. Mom and Candace took about a thousand pictures, before we were herded into the back of a stretch limo. The other senior cheerleaders and their dates were already in the back. We received applause and wolf whistles as we took our seats.
At the prom, we were the bells of the ball. I found my name, with five other girls, on the ballot for prom queen. No one had told me this. Fortunately, I was only a princess. I later heard that I came in second by two votes. I had voted for Abby, who won.
Susan and I didn’t get home till just before sunrise. She is so incredible, that she brings out the best in me. We had brought a change of clothes with us, but somewhere my flats had disappeared.
I graduated and got my operator’s license, meaning I required no supervision and could do everything except teach. I worked at the salon the next year, saving up for college. I also attended several clinics put on by the major cosmetic and hair care companies, to get some professional certifications.
I did well at them and had several that wanted to sign me to exclusive contracts. I would be paid bonuses for pushing their product lines. A few were quite lucrative. If the cosmetics were just for me I might have dived right in, but I knew that not every woman could get the best results from just one line of cosmetics. Also, there are many companies that have products I like to work with. I am sure you know what I mean. I turned them down.
Susan and I got married after she graduated. It was a different kind of ceremony, I got to wear a wedding dress and she wore a feminized Tuxedo. Vanessa was her best man. I pitied Abby, my maid of honor; I think Van had designs on her.
We both came out west to go to USC. I went to school and found a salon to work in. Two weeks after our graduation Susan gave birth to our first Jamie Jr. and six months ago to Vanessa and Abby.
"Well that is how I became this way and I wouldn’t change a thing."
I looked at Jacqueline, who had a dreamy look in her eyes. I did a wonderful job of her hair, makeup and nails, but she didn’t see a thing.
“Is there another guy like you out there, darling?”
“I am sure that there is. You just have to get out there and look. I could give you Van’s number; she might have a lead or two.”
“I don’t think the guys she knows are much like you, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt.”
She finally looked at herself and smiled. “You did a wonderful job Jamie. I think I might go eat a Big Mac.”
She air kissed my cheeks, careful of her makeup and turned to go. “Thank you dear.”
Finis
Three boys have a fondness for MMORPG’s and for Fantasy books, by authors like Katherine Kurtz, Robert Jordan and Fred Saberhagen. Life was good and then MAGIC HAPPENED on a Magical Day.
Gallagher Rising
by
Paula Dillon
Three boys Micheá¡l (Michael) Gallagher sat with his two friends Risteard (Richard) Brodie and Séamus (James) McIntyre in his grandmother’s house, where he and his mother, Gillian, also lived. They were congregated in Blair Morgan’s library. Blair was Michael’s grandmother. The boys went through her Science/Fantasy, swords and sorcery type books. Gillian loved that particular genre very much. She liked Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni novels in particular.
The boys were fascinated by magic. When they played their MMORPG’s online, the three of them always selected characters that had magical powers, to fight the forces of evil, restore the balance of nature, or heal the wounded. The thought of wielding magic powers was seductive to them. They often fantasized about having powers themselves and talked about what they would do if they had the power.
Michael and his buds had just finished another online session. They had kicked butt on their last team quest. Three fifths of the group being in the same room with their kick ass laptops on one hot assed WiFi didn’t hurt one bit. The boys were quite impressed with their local connection speeds at Blair’s home. Her connection was off the scales. They never suffered from lag or rubber banding.
The other two team mates, the Warrior tank and the ranger talked with them on Vent. Ventrilo was the next best thing to being there. Michael always played the enchantress who had the powerful nukes and buffs, especially buff that helped manage mana. For some reason he liked to play female characters, the more stunningly beautiful the better. James liked playing small balding priests who healed and buffed. He probably got his characters appearance from Krillin in Dragon Ball. Richard was their multi-purpose druid who could tank, heal, nuke and buff. His played both male and female characters, that had a woodsy, but deadly appearance. His male characters had faces only a mother could love. His female characters were so beautiful everyone would love to know them.
When Michael, Richard and James were together their play is almost intuitive. They seemed to know or anticipate what was needed when, to make their team successful in their adventure. They could take three level one characters and max out their levels in less than a month. By the end of the month they had plenty of gold, Uber stats, and the best armor sets.
Boys being boys and on their own, they began exploring the library like they would a room in their adventure, searching for treasure or hidden loot. The only exception was Grandma Blair’s desk, she seemed to know, if anybody touched her desk or sat in her chair even, divining the fact, it seemed and knowing just who the culprit was. The boys found that more than a little creepy, but since she let them read any of the books in her library, they didn’t want to anger her. The boys truly believed that Grandma Blair could make a Navy Seal cringe in fear.
They went about their search in a systematic manner. They divided the area in quadrants. There were over three thousand books on shelves along the walls in five tiers of shelving. They moved books flipped through some of the newer books, they weren’t quite brave enough to flip through the ten volume, leather bound, first edition, Victor Hugo “Les Misérables” in French of course, dated 1862. Unbeknownst to the boys, the way they were working caused a secret door to open and a jeweled earring to fall out of a secret compartment. As they put the books back the door closed pushing the earring out of the way.
“Hey Michael, look at this,” James said, as he moved some less valuable books.
“Hey man, that is awesome.” Michael said.
Michael and the boys sat down to look at the earring. It had three stones a yellow/gold stone, a green stone and a purple stone, held together by a gold wire. The earring was meant for a pierced ear, “That purple stone is an Amethyst, The green stone I believe is an emerald and the yellow stone; I am not too sure about.”
“My mom has a topaz ring that color,” Richard said.
“I thought topaz was blue,” James said.
“Nah, they can come in a lot of colors, they are all probably cut glass, but let’s look em up on the NET,” Michael said.
They got on one of their laptops and checked it out. Richard was right, it could be Topaz, but then again Michael could be right. They weren’t experts and the stones could still be cut glass.
“That could be a pirates earring, since there is only one,” Richard said.
“Hey that could be like that earring in that book… Deryni Rising,” James said.
Michael had to think for a few seconds, he had read the book many years ago, “Hmmm… You mean the earring that Duncan McLain and Alaric Morgan used on to awaken Prince Kelson’s Deryni powers.”
“Yeah that one,” James said.
“Let’s just put it back and forget about it.”
The boys did put it back, but boys being boys, none of them would forget about it.
>>>>><<<<<
A couple of weeks later the boys were again together. They were in on a large raid. Michael, Richard and James were with the main tank of the raid, Ramos Kingslayer, with another healer on board. They had one responsibility, keep Kingslayer alive. James and Richard were setup heavily on heals and buffs, while Michael had mana management and buffs up A second fighter heavy team was assigned to keep the four casters safe. Other healers would heal Kingslayer with low agro spam heals, in fact they would be responsible to the first healing to reduce agro on Michael’s team. Michael’s team was actually out of AOE (Area of Effect. An AOE hits a larger area like an air burst mortar round. Many people can be hit with one spell) spell range till they were needed. James, Richard and the other healer would move in and kick in with heavy heals when Kingslayer firmly had the agro. That is when everyone else would start dumping nukes on the boss mob.
Everything went as planned. The raid killed off the lesser mobs and low level bosses as they followed the path to the Big boss mob. This is not to say that getting there is a cake walk. There were several Epic battles just to get to the Demon Boss. The early battles threaten to overwhelm the raid in sheer numbers of lesser deadly mobs, but the raid leader gave good directions and these lesser mobs were dispatched.
When the raid finally reached and cleared the ante chamber, they took time to rebuff, change their setups where needed and prepare for the final battle. The raid leader sent groups to circle around the boss mob just out of agro distance. The Demon Boss had a very large circle of agro. Luckily the chamber was very large. One group got a little too close and within seconds that team was toast. The team did what they were supposed to do, DIE IN PLACE and not draw the boss back to the rest of the raid. The Demon Boss wins every time in a cluster f***. Everybody else backed off as far as they safely could. When the boss reset and sat back down on his dais, rezzes, heals and buffs were made to get everybody ready for the fight.
They tried it again and finally got everyone in position. Kingslayer was fully buffed and cloaked in invisibility to let him get ten percent closer before he was detected. The boss mob reacted to him and Kingslayer charged to get in melee range. He was hit for some serious damage and healing at about the same time. Kingslayer did everything he knew to make the boss mad at only him and it worked. With only Kingslayer hitting the demon boss, damage was slow, but certain. Michael’s team moved in to keep Kingslayer alive. When the boss was down had taken about thirty percent damage, the raid leader called for the all-out attack. Nukers nuked, rangers fired arrows, shot their guns and sent their pets into the fray, while the grunts moved into melee range. The boss demon started hitting them with AOE spells when he was halfway down and large portions of the Raid died, just to be rezzed, healed and buffed back into the battle. When the demon was down to ten percent everyone went into a frenzy of attacks, they had to kill him before the respawns came. Still they had a few addons, but they were quickly dispatched. One final push dispatched the Demon Boss. Small groups set up to catch the respawns as the bulk of the casters took time to refresh their depleted mana. They had six minutes to get their looting done and begin their retreat.
The boys could have claimed their share of the major loot, but they passed on it. There were many players that needed a serious upgrade to their stuff. That was one thing the raid leader like about them. They were in it for everybody, not just for themselves.
It took a few minutes to arrange for a ride for everybody on the raid. It would take longer to fight their way out, than it did to get in. Dying was expensive in the game. Armor and weapon repair was expensive. Gamers call that the cost of dying. Every game has its own cost of dying.
Michael, Richard and James were mentally spent after the raid. You can say it is just a game and that they weren’t really in a fight and weren’t really dying, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have an effect on the player. Blood pressure elevates, adrenalin is spiked, breathing can become ragged and mentally everybody is stressed.
They popped into the kitchen to recharge their batteries on the few precious junk foods, Gillian, his Mom allowed in the kitchen. Michael had a specified number of goodies. Sharing them took away from his allotment, but he was a gracious host.
“Hey our moms are going to be busy on Halloween after we get through raiding let’s role play the Deryni power ritual,” James said.
“None of us had pierced ears, you ditz,” Richard said. “My mom would kill me.”
“My mom would too, but it might be fun anyway,” Michael added. “We’ll have to think on it.”
“We have a week to gather stuff,” James said. “If we do it, let’s make it our own ceremony. I think we can come up with something.”
“Sounds good,” Michael said. Not knowing if they were really going to do this or not.
>>>>><<<<<
The boys caught an early Raid on Halloween; they were finished by seven forty that evening. The raid had been rough. Only the survival of two healers kept the raid from being a total wipe. Michael’s team went early as one of the lesser warriors booked it right through Michael and his friends after the MT went down. That mistake caused a cascade and one last massive AOE attack brought almost everyone down. A Priest on his first max level raid and a well-seasoned Druid managed to pull back far enough to not be noticed till the big boss settled down. They then began the long process of rezzing healers, fighter types and finger wigglers. The gun shy warrior was banished, just for the rest of the raid. Noobs are allowed a few mistakes. They reset the raid teams and finally crushed the Boss Mob.
The boys chilled out for a time and talked about what they intended to do tonight.
>>>>><<<<<
The reason the boys spent a lot of time together was that their Moms also spent a lot of time together. What the fourteen and fifteen year old boys didn’t know was that their Moms were into real magic. Some people would call them witches, but they did not see themselves witches in the classical sense, they saw themselves as a group of Sorceresses, formed like a coven of “Sisters”. The power fell only to the women, to all of their daughters and the daughters of their sons, if they were properly mated. It was much like a recessive genetic trait tied to the X Chromosome, but the Sisters weren’t sure of that kind of connection. Their power was neither good nor evil, it was just power. The wielders character is what made one either. The “Sisters’ ” character was good, there were others who weren’t.
Blair Morgan, Michael’s grandmother, was a Sister and a magical archeologist, as was her Grandmother. Magical archeology was a trait that seemed to skip a generation in their family. Blair sought out items of lore long lost and forgotten magic. She would bring home items, she wasn’t sure about or that she needed to look deeper in. She would lock the items in her magical vaults and research them to determine if they were or weren’t magic and if they were what was the magic they held. She and many of the Sisters didn’t like to think about some of the items they found falling into evil hands or unknowing hands. Not all items required a person of magic to use or misuse them.
Tonight, Halloween, they were all together, they had a divination to do, and some Sisters had a sense of foreboding that was worrisome. They also had a ritual of sealing to do; every year without fail they would renew the bonds on an old enemy. They didn’t need to do it every year, but this way on this very special night, they were reassured that the bounds would not fail on their watch.
>>>>><<<<<
The boys were hip, when it came to stories about magic and power. They had gathered together a pile of things, the boys had a bag of perfectly square dice, (sixteen black and sixteen white dice) to use as Deryni Ward cubes, a really wicked looking winged dagger to use as an anthame, a small silver cup of wine and lastly the earring.
They moved into the backyard, where there was this really cool mosaic on the concrete patio. As the moon began to rise high into the sky, they began to do their thing. Michael started stacking the dice eight dice in two layers alternating colors, in each corner, starting in the south. When he had four cubes done, he then took a breath and said. “unum, duobus, tribus, quattuor,” he said touching each lower cube in order. He then touched the top cubes in order saying, “Primary, secundarii, Tertiariis, quaternary,” before heading to the next corner, repeating himself.
James then did a little spiel, “I, Séamus McIntyre call upon the angel Michael to be a witness and protect us,” in the east. “I call upon the angel Raphael in the south to be a witness and protect us,” in the south. In the west he said, “I call upon the angel Gabriel to be a witness and protect us,” and in the north, “I call upon the angel Uriel to be a witness and protect us.”
*****
Underground a sentience awoke. It had awoken when magic had been used around it many times, but the source never made a request. The magic here now was much weaker and much different. but it still felt it. It listened and looked into the minds behind the magic.
*****
Elsewhere three mothers and a grandmother knew something was happening. The mothers no longer felt their sons’ presence and the grandmother could no longer touch the mosaic in her back yard. She used the mosaic as a focus to teleport to.
All four women were tied into the spell they were working on. They couldn’t leave without breaking the spell and that could be worse than not renewing it for the next year. Illandra, their diviner could sense no ill intent, so they continued their work.
*****
Risteard then took the cup and sprinkled some powdered rosemary, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme and clove into the cup. He stuck Michael’s finger with the knife drawing a drop of blood into the cup and he placed the earring into the wine. He cleaned Michael’s ear with the solution in the cup. He carefully used the knife to pierce Michael’s ear. It stung a bit Risteard poked just a small hole in the ear.
“I Risteard Brodie call upon the ancestors to grant Micheá¡l Gallagher Deryni Powers by right of birth.”
“I Séamus McIntyre call upon the ancestors to grant Micheá¡l Gallagher Deryni Powers by right of birth.”
“I Micheá¡l Gallagher ask the ancestors grant me, Micheá¡l Gallagher Deryni Powers by right of birth. So mote it be.”
“So mote it be,” James and Richard said.
*****
A lot of things began to happen with the sentient being; it analyzed each boys’ memory and their bodies down to the atomic level. It found the spark of magic in each of them. It also played back memories they had. It rejoiced when he found they were battle tested. The sentience also saw the problem they only had one copy of what they needed to wield their own power. It also found power in the earring. The sentience took away what it found that blocked their power and it traded copies with each boy to give them a source from the one of the other boys. It took an X gene from James to give to Michael, an X gene from Michael to give to Richard and an X gene from Richard to give James. The sentience then gave each boy a part of its power and presence. It then awakened the power of the earring.
The earring came from another magic, used long ago in ancient Peru. It had a different flavor and construct, and given time the sentience could understand it and used its power. It was strong and the sentience hoped that it would be strong enough.
The sentience also analyzed what the boys knew about Deryni Powers. It read the minds of all three boys and constructed a fairly detailed account from the three of them. It worked out a solution and caused the magic to be.
*****
Just as Richard and James finished their declaration, there was a loud clap of thunder within the ward and all three boys fell unconscious.
******
The women finished their spell and did another divination before leaving the place where they were at. Illandra again felt no foreboding. Blair tried to teleport everyone to her house but was blocked. They were able to transport to Nansaidh’s home and then make their way to Blair’s home, but that took time. Blair lived many miles from Nansaidh’s home.
>>>>><<<<<
Blair rushed into her backyard and saw three forms lying on the patio. She tried to approach them, but couldn’t, “Dammit, how could they cast wards, our men have no powers.”
Gillian and Blair called out to the boys, but they didn’t stir. Eirica, the sisters ward mistress tried everything she knew to help them get to the children, but she failed.
“They are still alive. If they weren’t their wards would fall I think. I have never felt the power that binds them. The children will need to bring them down themselves, I fear.”
“Let’s set watch then and wait a bit,” Blair said, observing the forms. “Look at them, they have changed.”
“I see Mom, they seem smaller, more fragile. Oh my they are becoming feminine.”
“I see it,” Blair said. “And look there is that earring I collected in Peru. I think Micheá¡l is wearing it. How the hell did they get past one of my magical locks?”
Blair was furious, but not at the boys. There would be hell for them to pay when she got her hands on them, but she was madder at herself. What had she done wrong?
It was daybreak when the girls started to stir. There was no doubt, their boys were now girls, no, make that women. They looked like eighteen to twenty year old women now. James was the first conscious.
“Séamus is that you?” Nansaidh asked.
“Yes Mom,” Séamus said in a soft alto.
“Good, are the others alright?”
James was shocked at his appearance and voice, but something inside him spoke to the truth. His hands went to his head and found skin instead of hair. He had never played a female priest before, but she had to look like some he had seen in the game. From what she could see without a mirror, she looked like a wet dream. She then looked at her two friends. She put her hand on what had to be Richard’s chest. Richard looked just like one of his favorite female druids. James’ hand glowed as she touched the girl.
“Richard is okay, he should be awake in minutes,” James said. She then checked on Michael, her hand glowed as before, “Michael is okay too, but is a little weaker. He should be awake in ten or fifteen minutes. What happened, Mom?”
James took a few seconds to look at her friends. Richard looked like an overly buxom, red headed, female druid, sexy but deadly. He looked like his female druid Davina Rochette. Michael was a dead ringer for “Chantrelle”, his Enchantress in full glamour mode. Her breasts were big, but she wasn’t as buxom as Richard. On a scale of one to ten, James was a strong ten, Richard was a twelve, and Michael was an impossible fifteen. Richard was a red head, but Michael was a fiery red head whose hair seemed to give off its own light.
“We were hoping you would tell us. Can you bring down your wards?”
James instantly knew how to do this. “I can dismiss the Angels, but Michael set the ward cubes. He will have to bring them down.”
“Don’t dismiss them yet. They might be of some necessity till you are all okay. What Angels did you call upon?”
“Michael in the east, Raphael in the south, Gabriel in the west and Uriel in the north.”
“Where did you get the ritual of warding from?”
“Grandma Blair’s Deryni books. Richard, Michael and I got this harebrained idea after we found an earring.”
“I’ll say it was harebrained, but I want to know how?” Gillian said.
“I don’t know,” James said.
“We will talk about this later. James, see to Richard. He is beginning to stir,” Blair said.
James helped Richard now that he was conscious. James had recovered some and poured some mana into Richard. Richard was speechless over his own change. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but soon understanding began to flood into his mind.
As Michael began to stir, James and Richard began to pump her up. She stopped them though and reached out with a hand to touch a ley line. She pumped up rapidly and then pumped her slowly recovering friends all the way up. It takes a long time for high level casters to revive without mana potions or other items to recharge and they had nothing except for the power of the ley line. Michael looked at herself and her friends. Their male clothes had buttons popped and seams ripped, where their bodies had changed from male to female. With a wave of her hand they were game clothed, and their hair and makeup done immaculately. James was in the softs silks of a monk, a miter of office, mace, relics and bags. Her bald head was concealed by a white silk coif and her face clear and simple. Richard was in the leather and linen, daggers, bags and staff. His long red hair was contained by a braided leather band and she had mystic symbols on her face in makeup. How to describe Michael. She was a mass of gauze, silks, ribbons and lace on a gown worthy of a coronation. On her head was a jeweled tiara with a large diamond hanging on her forehead, matching jeweled cuffs on her wrists, jeweled necklace around her neck, rings, a silver willow wand and her bags. She inadvertently substantially increased her wow factor.
“Okay, Michael and James, take your wards down,” Blair told them.
James thanked and dismissed the Angels, and Michael reversed his previous action with the dice. He was shocked though when he disassembled the cubes, the dice they had used were just black and white plastic. Now though they were different, the white dice were silvery metallic, possibly silver or platinum and the black were heavy unknown material, possibly basalt. She popped them into a black velvet bag and placed them in a bag held by her belt.
“Not a bit ostentatious, Michael,” Gillian said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Sorry mother. I don’t have much experience with girly stuff, except in the game. This is what we look like when we play our online characters.”
All three boys, now girls, were enveloped in hugs by their mothers and other ladies. Michael and his friends took some time to explain what they did before they passed out. They were strangely un-bothered by the change.
Blair was amazed by their cavalier attitude over the change and asked, “Doesn’t it bother you in the least, that you are all now girls?”
“I think ‘IT’ is helping us get over the change. ‘IT’ has a purpose for us.”
“What is ‘IT’?”
“I don’t know. ‘IT’ was the power that changed us. I can see power in all of you now. You all have magic don’t you? ‘IT’ is a form of magic too. There is something buried beneath the mosaic that was the source of part of the power that changed us.”
“Yes we are sorceresses. For whatever reason, the females in our families have magical abilities,” Blair said.
Michael closed his eyes and thought, “Do you have to marry in family so to speak?”
“Yes our daughters and sons are attracted to each other. That is why we move so much to other regions when we have sons. We have researchers who track our genetic lines, to prevent too much inbreeding,” Blair said. “We have just over eleven thousand sisters, from just fewer than eight hundred female lines and around seventy thousand males from almost five hundred male lines. We find new males at times but we rarely find females we don’t know about.”
“So your powers are a recessive genetic trait tied to the X chromosome.”
“We believe so, but we haven’t proved the point. I sense that you have our power but there is something more.”
“My auras are different from yours grandmother. James and Richard’s auras are different from you and mine are different from different from James and Richard,” Michael stopped deep in thought. “Since we are men of your line, we each already had one X chromosome. A recessive genetic trait needs two copies of the gene, I think the entity saw this and traded X chromosomes between us. You might want to check that. That gave us your magic. I think that the entity then gave us a part of its magic. I think it thought we were magical warriors, because of our gaming. I also think a part of my magic came from the earring. I believe it is an old magic.”
“How did you get that earring? I had it under magic locks in the library.”
“I don’t know. We were being a little silly and did a search for trap doors and secret compartments, searching for treasure in your library. When we were searching we found it behind some novels.”
“‘Les Misérables’ was the trigger but it still takes a word of power to open the compartment. It was locked, I still feel my locks. They have never been broken; I should have known when the compartment opened.”
“Maybe it is like Coinspinner.”
“Fred Saberhagen, could it be that the earring was seeking a new owner. Michael I am a Magical Archeologist, like my grandmother, I seek items like that earring. I found that earring in Peru, at a temple site. I sensed something, but it didn’t seem strong. I set it aside for further research.”
“Anyway, I think whatever is beneath that mosaic, the earring and our own magical heritage together triggered the change.”
“I need to check with my grandmother,” Blair said.
“What about James and Richard?” Nansaidh asked.
“In Katherine Kurtz’s book, Morgan and McLain were helping Kelson gain Deryni powers. Morgan and McLain were Deryni. We all had one copy of your X gene I think so we all had the spark. I think it needed us to have its power. Something is coming isn’t it?”
“Our diviners have been sensing something, but we can’t tell when or where. Many of our groups control magical beings we don’t have the power to kill. Every year on All Saints eve, or Halloween if you will, we renew the seals on them.”
“Sort of like the seals in the ‘Wheel of Time’?”
“Exactly, we don’t have to do it every year, but if we have the power we do it in case we don’t have the power the next year. The seals last various amounts of time depending on what they are binding. Tonight we were binding something really bad. It’s early. We are all about to drop and you boy… girls I mean, look like warmed over death. Sleep is a debt we all have to balance, let get some rest. Nansaidh and Rosaline you and your girls should stay here too.”
“Can you change back into boys?” Rosaline asked.
“I could probably make us look like boys, but your magic requires us to be girls and the entity need us to have magic. I don’t think it would feel right, anyway.”
“Can you take that earring off Michael?” Rosaline asked.
Michael tried to take the earring off and even with his Mom’s assistance, it couldn’t be removed. It seemed to be magically bound.
“We will have to find you some new clothes,” Gillian said. “You can’t sleep in those things.”
Michael looked at James and Richard; having been a boy he had a fascination with lingerie catalogues. He thought about something racy, but decided on something a little more conservative. He waved a hand and they were all dressed in something girly. He was surprised though when Richard still had two daggers in a thigh sheaths and James still had a coif on, “Will these clothes be better?”
“Dang, you could save a bundle on buying clothes.”
“I think not, these clothes aren’t real, they are illusions. We wouldn’t need a huge wardrobe, but we will still need some clothes. I fear we would be naked or in the clothes we had on earlier, if I died or was knocked unconscious.”
“I am not giving you permission to die. I will kill you if you die. Don’t even joke about such things. This is not a game, Michael, when you die; there is no resurrection or whatever.” Gillian said. “But I see where loss of clothes could be a problem if you were not in control.”
“Whatever. We need some real rest,” Blair said.
>>>>><<<<<
Michael, James and Richard seemed to sleep all day. It was nearly four in the afternoon before they got up. James did his thing and refreshed them, it was strange going from a little smelly to smelling good in ten seconds, but it was rather nice. They still didn’t have any clothes, so Michael provided what he usually saw other girls wear, but the magic shifted a bit for each girl.
James was without the coif for the first time. She was bald, but damn was she sexy. She wore a cream colored white embroidered tunic, a matching sleeveless embroidered overtunic, corded belt, slacks, a silver Ankh on a long silver chain, two sliver cuffs bracelets and tan Kung Fu style slippers. She wore very subtle makeup; to an unpracticed eye she wore none, except for a neutral lip color.
Richard was dressed in a pair of tight faded blue jeans, a long sleeved forest green silk blouse, long brown braided leather belt, leather vest, laced leather bracers and calf high, flat soled, fur trimmed boots, was still extremely voluptuous, but she still had a pair of knives in her boot tops. She said that she liked having them, so Michael managed to conceal them for her. She also wore a braided leather head band with a silver druid’s knot to help control her voluminous waist length auburn hair, two moonstone pierced earrings and a long bone bead necklace with an enameled gold acorn. Her makeup was bolder but in earth tones, even her lip color was a reddish brown.
Michael was the high school beauty queen image. She wore a flowing skirted, mid-thigh, pastel blue, fitted from the waist to the bust chiffon dress, which had long transparent sleeves, puffed up at the shoulders. The neck came down to a V between her ample bosom. Her legs glistened from honey-colored hosiery and her feet were perched pastel blue, skyscraper, high heel pumps. She was covered in gemstone jewelry, a mix of rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds on a tiara, earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets and a silver jeweled belt, from which the black bag hung. Michael’s makeup was subtle and bold. She was a neutral skin tone. The magic emphasized her eyes with eyeliner and mascara, but her eye shadow was subtle, light rose blush and true red lip color with a diamond glaze. She was one sexy vixen and way over the top.
They headed to the stairs and were surprised. The homestead seemed twice as large and there were many more women and even some girls their age, or rather the age they would have been before the magic and older. Michael, James and Richard looked seventeen or eighteen rather than their fourteen, fifteen years of age. They were finally seen as they had descended about half way down the stairs, everybody stopped what they were doing turned and stared at the girls.
“Oh my, still quite ostentatious, Michael.” Gillian said.
“I’m sorry, mom. I tried to cast more natural clothing and this is what I came up with.”
“How can you walk in those heels?” One of the teens asked.
“I hardly feel like I am touching the ground,” Michael said, as he jumped the last three steps of the stairs and gently landed on the floor.
Twenty five hearts nearly stopped between the time Michael jumped and landed. The skirt acted according to the laws of physic and floated up to her waist, showing off her sheer to the waist pantyhose and lace pastel blue thong.
“Don’t do that again, Michael. It’s not lady-like and you could break your neck. Not to mention take years off of our lives,” Gillian said. “You three need to eat and then we need to seriously talk.”
They sat down for a quick meal and then it was to the library. The library before might have had room for eight comfortably. Now it was as big as a meeting hall and all twenty nine were comfortably ensconced.
The boys were brought forward and each of them made to tell their story, from first till last. Even after repeating themselves countless times there was no deviation from the facts they presented. Several women tested them. All three had powers common to the assembled women. James and Richard showed more powers and Michael showed the most. The women then debated back and forth as if the three boys, now women weren’t there. Even the teens asked questions of their elders about the new girls.
“They aren’t old enough to teach. We don’t begin to teach our daughters till they are sixteen,” one woman said.
“Look at them, they’ve aged four years. Even their wisdom teeth have come in,” Blair said. “And our diviner’s have said that they are necessary.”
“What about their wild magic, can they control it?” Another asked.
“We should drain them of power.”
“They likely could drain us of power,” Blair said. “They have magic we can’t see or touch.”
“They need to learn to control what they have,” a woman who looked a lot like Blair, though a few years older. “We all know the portends. They have echoed our concerns, though they were never a part of our divinations. Their stories fit too well, what we know and feel. Lastly they are family, would you drain your own daughters? We have no choice, but to train them, not only about magic but on how to be women. That is where our teenage daughters come in.”
Enough was said about ‘if’ and things shifted to ‘how’. The first things they needed were new girl names as the prospects of their ever being males again looked to be nil for the time being. The three mothers consulted with their moms and after a few minutes they were given new names.
James or Séamus as he was correctly named became Seasaidh (Shay-see) McIntyre. Which was fitting for the priest like girl, Seasaidh means ‘God is Gracious’. Richard or Risteard became Rhiannon (rye-ann-nun) Brodie. Michael or Micheil became McKayla (mick-kay-la) Gallagher.
The older form of Blair approached them. She spoke a few words in Celtic, which the new girls recognized now. She stood in front of James and asked her name, “I am Seasaidh, but you may call me Jesse.” She stood in front of Richard, what is your name? “I am Rhiannon, but you may call me Riana.” She then stood in front of Michael, what is your name? “I am McKayla, but you may call me Mickey.”
She then said, “So mote it be,” and was echoed by the Sister’s.
“Mickey, I am your great-great Grandmother Sine (Shee-nuh) Gallagher. Welcome to the Sister’s,” Sine said as she hugged her grandchild.
Mickey knew it had to be the magic. Even by conservative estimates the woman had to be ninety, but she looked a few years over forty, “May I call you grandma? you don’t look a day over forty.”
“Yes, you may. I understand that these clothes could vanish. Is that right?”
“Yes ma’am, they are an illusion. Just a glamour.”
Sine looked at the women and then to the new girls, “Well that must be reconciled. Mothers measure your daughters for new clothes. Michael drop your glamours and illusions.”
The three girls stood in the tatters of their old clothes. The seams had ripped and the fabric had ruptures as they couldn’t fit the changes the girls had undergone. The girls were taller now and significantly larger in the bust and hips, but smaller at their waist. Even without the glamor they were gorgeous. The new girls were mobbed by the women who removed the tatters. Measuring tapes appeared out of thin air and the mother measured their daughters, while the sisters watched
Jesse was five foot seven inches tall; her measurements were 34C-26-38, and an estimated shoe size of an eight. Riana was five foot ten inches tall; her measurements were 38DD-28-40 and an estimated shoe size of a ten. Mickey was five foot nine inches tall; her measurements were 32D-25-36 with an estimated shoe size of an eight.
Some of the Sisters had the power to produce some basic clothes in the girls’ sizes, that weren’t illusions. As the girls put the clothes on, Mickey’s magic kicked in. Mickey worked very hard to tone things down her glamour, but it was Riana who supplied the key. Her magic allowed her to blend in, in a forest. She cast a camouflage spell that toned them down to near normal. Still what had started out as a dress on Jesse was in a blue silk Chinese tunic and pants set with matching slippers, Riana was in chocolate leather vest, pants, boots and a headband, Mickey was in a stylish green silk dress suitable for work and heels. At least they weren’t over the top now.
The mothers with two or three teens each then went out shopping. What started out as exciting for the teens soon became bewildering. Whatever the girls got for their new girl became more like what they were wearing. The colors and styles changed a bit, but in the fitting room Jessie wore tunics with pants, Riana wore pants, blouses and boots and Mickey wore different dresses and heels. So the disappointed mothers kept it simple and let the magic do its work. They each came out with ten days of clothes from the skin out. Makeup was one area they could work on, the girls found. So the mothers bought them complete makeup kits. Jesse found she could also wear wigs, although she didn’t like them.
When they got home, the teens began critiquing the girls’ performances. They thought guys were bad about nit picking; guys have nothing on a teenage girl when it comes to picking nits. The older women let the young girls have their time for a while. Mickey especially felt under the gun. She was without doubt a girly girl. She had much more to learn about being a girly girl. Riana and Jesse could play the tomboy card, but not Mickey. If she was going to wear the clothes of a girly girl, she had to walk the walk.
>>>>><<<<<
Everyone settled in for the night. Mickey, Jesse and Riana still stayed together. The Sisters worked some magic, and Michael, James and Richard, the boys, no longer lived in this area, they moved east, west and north to different parts of the country and Mickey, Jesse and Riana became real as the Sisters gave them a history and legend.
The routine for the next several weeks consisted of girl training and basic magic training. The boys gaming heritage made the girls fast studies on magic training. The girl training slowly began to sink in. As Mickey began getting more comfortable and more used to being a girl and a sorcerous, she gained more control over her glamour. She and her friends found that they could dress more normally, although they were most comfortable in clothes that fit their roles.
Jesse found that she was a healer in two magics and that she had a bit of divination. Riana had her druidic magic, an ability to null other people’s magic and to drain magic, a skill many Sisters shared. Mickey was the wild card. She was a powerful enchantress, she had nukes like no other sister and could manage and she power like no Sister could. She could null, drain and bind. These skills were just the tip of the iceberg she became.
One night, they sat down with their mothers, Blair, Sine, Kenzie McIntyre (Nansaidh’s mother) and Heather Brodie (Rosaline’s sister). They talked about what the Sisters did.
Sine stood and faced the new girls, “Our major duty is to stand in the breach. There are things that go bump in the night. We stand against these things. Here, we are the guardians that watched over the demon Jocquin. He is the strongest of the hundred. The Sisters stand against these hundred.”
Mickey was deep in thought, then asked, “How do you do your thing against these demons?”
“We drain them and then bind. Every year that we can, we renew the bindings on them.”
“I know that you can make fire, call storms and freeze things. Have you used these abilities on them? Can physical damage hurt them?”
“No we haven’t tried these things to the best of my knowledge. We do as we have been trained to do. We teach our daughters from age sixteen these critical skills.”
“How did the battle that bound Jocquin to this site go?”
“Jocquin came into our area full of hate a hundred thirty seven years ago. We met him with four hundred Sisters. We rushed him as a group and overwhelmed him after a protracted battle.”
“Losses?”
“We lost a hundred and eighteen Sisters,”
Mickey paled at the thought of such losses, “Oh my, that was a Pyrrhic Victory,”
“Very much so,” Sine said. “We were on the verge of total collapse before reinforcements arrived.”
“Shit, a total wipe?”
“Watch you language young lady, but yes.”
“Do you have two to three hours or so? I want to show you something?”
“I guess. If you feel it is pertinent. You three have already brought so much to the Sisterhood.”
“It could be crucial; I don’t want to lose any of you. Jesse and Riana, let’s get our laptops. Meet us in the living room, please.”
The three girls logged into the same game as their favorite characters. Mickey patched her video into the big screen TV and then made a few discreet calls to friends and formed a party. He explained to his team that he was training a new guy and wanted to show how, and how not to fight a boss mob.
One guy said he needed something from one mob and they agreed to take him down.
“Let’s show the noobs what they look like first,” Mickey said.
The team attacked the boss mob in a jumbled, chaotic fight, with everyone doing their own thing. It was a short fight and a wipe. They rezzed, healed and buffed up and Mickey began to bark orders and giving direction. The Mob they were fighting was usually considered a two team mob, but they were going to try him with just one very good team. They sent the tank in and supported him from a distance. When the tank had done significant damage, they went all out on him. It was a long fight, they came close to losing it twice, but they held things together and brought the boss down.
“Ya’ll up for a short raid?” Mickey typed
“Sure bro.”
Mickey sent a one word text to Kingslayer, “Raid?”
Ten seconds later Mickey received a reply. “You name it, I’ll tank it.”
Raids can take hours to fill, but when some super players call raid, they can fill a raid out in minutes. People drop what they are doing to get in on an epic raid with a super player. Kingslayer, a super player called for another super player to be a raid leader. With two super players the raid filled out with the cream of the crop. The Raid leader looked at the roster and set the teams. Mickey, Jesse and Riana were teamed with Kingslayer and another healer.
Mickey started recording on a DVD when the raid got under way. For the next three hours Mickey explained what they were doing as they did it. The women were surprised at the degree of coordination that was shown. During the final battle, Kingslayer got a bad hit and went down, but another tank, Bruhahaha filled in his place. The battle went on and just before the boss mob went dow,n Kingslayer was assisting Bruhahaha. Mickey actually supplied the killing nuke and turned that 30 foot tall boss mob into a seven foot tall heap. There was an Epic drop that Mickey actually needed and she was happy when she saw that she won it.
“We need to chill, but I want ya’ll to think about the mechanics, about how we did what we did. Not the spells and abilities we used.”
>>>>><<<<<
The Sisters actually had a big conclave to discuss some of the things Mickey had brought up. Many were hesitant at first, but not just of few of the younger Sisters were gamers too. Mickey, Jesse and Riana gave them a presentation on the way they battle online and their philosophy of battle. The elders separated themselves for a four day discussion.
Mickey met one of the historians, Edina Knowles, and got to look at her records. She was younger at twenty-two than many of the sisters and had actually converted much of the old records to digital media. Mickey was amazed to see so many soldiers, martial artists and such amongst the male lines.
“Why aren’t the men being utilized? It seems like there are not just a few of them who could be used.”
“For the most part our men are clueless. They father our children, but are kept out of the loop. Women live seven to eight times longer than our men. We generally leave them after twenty-five or thirty years. It would be too much to explain things.”
“There are some men in on this? Would it be possible to talk to some of them?”
“That would have to be approved.”
Mickey continued to scan names on the men’s list, when she ran across a familiar name. Eric MacAskill, was an unusual name, “It couldn’t be,” Mickey said to herself. She noted Eric’s mother/father and grandparents. Eric MacAskill’s mother was Dolina MacAskill. Eric was twenty two, he had four Martial arts listed, including Kendo, Wushu, Gracie Jujitsu and Escrima. Whoa, this is one bad dude, Mickey thought.
“Can I speak with Dolina MacAskill?”
“Sure you can talk with any Sister. Let me contact her.”
Mickey began to formulate an idea in her head and didn’t hear Edina till the woman shook her shoulder.
“Dolina will be here in five minutes,”
“She is here?”
“No she is porting in.”
Mickey went in full glamour mode for the first time in a while, as she thought about what she would say, she hadn’t really anticipated talking to the woman so soon.
A pretty woman who appeared to be in her late twenties came in the room. She smiled when she saw Mickey. “Hello I am Dolina MacAskill. Are you McKayla Gallagher.”
“Yes I am, please call me Mickey. You have a son named Eric right.”
“Yes I do,” Dolina said smiling brightly. “Would she be a good match Edina?”
Edina buried her head in her records for a few minutes and Mickey was confused. ‘Match’ Mickey thought.
“Ah yes she would, she would be an excellent mate for Eric, but you would need to consult with Sine. There is an asterisk by McKayla’s name.”
Dolina nearly jumped for joy, “Let me go talk to her,” she said as she whisked her way out of the room.
“What just happened, Edina?” Mickey asked.
“She is going to ask for a mating with you?” Edina said. She then blanched as she realized that Mickey didn’t understand. “Oh my, I made a mistake. Most girls when they ask to see the records are interested in a mate. Then I contact the mothers of the sons. She is going to ask Sine about a marriage.”
It was Mickey’s turn to blanch a bit. She knew she was a girl now, and that girls did things like that, but…
The room was suddenly filled with women. There was Dolina, Sine, Blair, Gillian, Nansaidh, Rosaline, Kenzie, Heather, Jesse, Riana and many other women that Mickey didn’t know yet.
“Did you broach a match, Mickey?” Sine asked with more than a little surprise in her voice.
“I am sorry, that is my fault,” Edina said. “I was so use to opening records for girls that were seeking mates that I didn’t think before I contacted Dolina.”
Sine almost broke out laughing and many of those there were giggling. “Still it is a good time to talk with the three of you about this.” Sine said, looking at Mickey, Jesse and Riana. “You three have brought some new skills that would help the sisterhood greatly. We would be much worse off without them. From what we have determined, you three could pass on the skills to your children. When Dolina came to me, Nansaidh scryed and saw that Eric would be a good match for you. We just couldn’t believe it. So we came here to ask you if you were certain. Why did you want to talk to Dolina?”
“Well I was going through the records to try to understand the Sisters better and I got an idea. Tell me, why don’t your men fight against your enemies?”
“Men don’t have our powers, and we outlive them by several hundred years. We just don’t tell them. When it comes time, we wipe their memories and give them a happy life and move on. It would be hard to tell them.”
“I think you are missing a huge resource in your fight. A high percentage of your men are warriors and fighters. From what I have seen, they are very good at it. Think about that. I also know Dolina’s son. I think. Dolina, is Eric a gamer on top of being a very capable martial artist?”
“Yes he is.”
“He has a character named Kingslayer. I know him.”
“I’m not sure.”
The women looked from Mickey to Dolina.
“Call him and tell him you met Chantrelle Fairslayer,” Mickey said.
Dolina looked to Sine, who just nodded.
Everyone could hear Eric’s exhilaration when his Mom told him she had met Mickey Gallagher, aka Chantrelle. When she explained that Mickey was really a girl about his age, he was really happy. He said that he just had to meet her.
“I will see if I can convince her to come home with me. Love you Eric.”
“Please do what you can. I love playing with her. She is great. Love you Mom.”
“Now would someone explain to me what is going on?” Dolina asked.
Blair, Sine and Gillian told Dolina about their girls and how they happened to be in this situation. Mickey, Jesse and Riana took their turns in weaving the tale.
“Your group knows the portends as well as our group.” Sine said. “Mickey and her friends have brought many new ideas to the Sisters; we can’t afford another battle like we had with Jocquin, as Mickey has already pointed out to us. I have seen a lot of wisdom in her words, we can’t do things the way we did in the past.”
Dolina then looked to Mickey, “Well, would you like to meet my Eric?”
Gillian thought about warning Mickey, but hesitated. It seems that among sisters, that when excellent matches are made, they tend to move with incredible momentum. The potential attraction between them could be incredible. Gillian blushed as remembered when she and Aedan fell in lust together in their teens. Yes they fell in a lust that grew into a tremendous love. He had passed ten years ago when he was sixty-two. She wanted to warn Mickey, but the need was great. She looked to Sine and Blair and just nodded.
“Stay with us tonight, Dolina, and tomorrow we will meet with Eric.”
“Can we go to?” An excited Jesse asked for her and Riana.
Rosaline and Nansaidh looked at each other and nodded too. These two women wouldn’t take another match from Dolina’s group, but they too would soon be seeking matches. They wouldn’t force a match, but they wouldn’t have too. All they had to do was just had to find a good to excellent match and make the introductions. Sooner or later nature would take its course, generally sooner.
>>>>><<<<<
They next day, the women met up at the Mosaic.
“Grandmother Sine, you have got to tell me what is buried beneath this mosaic. I still feel the presence of the entity that helped change me.”
“It is a silver Javelin. We were unsure of it, so we magically buried it.”
“Is it needed to make the mosaic work?”
“No our magic makes the mosaic work. All the mosaic is, is just a focus, so we know where we are going to.” Sine said.
“You girls go on,” Rosaline said, she wanted to make sure Mickey’s introduction went well, first. “Nansaidh and I will follow in a couple of minutes.”
Edina, Sine, Blair, Gillian, Dolina and Mickey linked hands and they were gone.
After they arrived, Gillian said, “Memorize this mosaic Mickey, so you may traverse here on your own.”
Mickey looked at the mosaic and it started to dance around in her mind and then crystalized into a link.
The women met some more women and talked a bit. Sine turned to Blair and said, “Ya’ll go on. I need to talk to some Sisters here.”
They packed into a car and Dolina drove them to her home. She had called Eric and told him that they were coming. She smiled as she noticed that Mickey was so pretty. They would make some great babies.
Mickey for her part was still in full glamour mode. She hadn’t been thinking about how she looked. Ten minutes later, they were at Dolina’s home. Inside Mickey a tension was building, she was so happy with the thought of meeting a super player in RL (Real Life).
Eric was almost coming out of his skin, to him; Mickey was one of the top super players. She would be the first super player he had actually met. Eric was waiting in the foyer of his home when his Mom drove up. He had spent an hour getting dressed up nicely. He wanted to make a good impression on Mickey. It was all he could do to not run out the door.
Dolina opened the door to find Mickey there. She gave her son a big hug. “Hello Eric, I see you dressed up nicely. Eric, this is Blair and Gillian Gallagher, Edina Knowles and lastly the person you have been waiting for, McKayla Gillian.
Mickey gave him a smile that could melt Adamantine. Eric rushed to pick her up in a hug, “Oh wow, you are so beautiful,” he said as he swung her around. “It is so good to meet you at last. You are one of my idols online.” They both felt something incredible as they hugged. Eric then greeted the other women.
Eric stood about six feet and was a mass of muscles bound in a wonderful looking body, Mickey thought. He had red hair, but not as red as hers, brilliant green eyes, a wonderful smile and some really cute freckles.
“Corrinthrall and Davina will be here shortly,” Mickey said.
“Wow. They are great too, but when you guys are together, you're awesome.”
Eric took Mickey’s hand and led her to the living room.
“I guess we will be moving to your area now,” Dolina said.
“Sine is working out the details now.” Gillian said. “We can expect a marriage in two months.”
“I am so happy; you have such a lovely daughter.”
Another car arrived and the rest of the women arrived. Jesse and Riana rushed over to them. “I’ll show the girls in,” Edina said. “You ladies have a lot to talk about.”
Eric hugged Jesse and Riana as they came in, but they hadn’t clicked with Eric as Mickey had. The kids sat around and talked about gaming. It was easy to see that Eric was acting possessive over Mickey. Jesse and Riana seemed to forget things and were giggling at seeing the two carrying on together.
“Who is that new kid, Bruhahaha? He did good.” Mickey asked.
“He is some guy named Alec Callaghan; I met him on another game. He’s a Michigan State football player, he says. He is good, but he is still learning.”
“Let’s look him up,” Jesse said.
Eric got on the Internet and looked up the Michigan State football team. They indeed had a player named Alec Callaghan. Edina was amazed to see that the kids had found another of the Sisters male linage, he had the look and the name was in the records.
“Oh, he is cute,” Riana said.
Mickey made a mental note to check him out.
“Do you go to college?” Mickey asked.
“Yeah I go to New Mexico State, but I hope to make a change this fall.”
“If you came to my neck of the woods, you could go to TX A&M.”
Dolina came into the room jumping for joy, “Eric guess what? I just got a great job offer. I will be working for Blair Gallagher. It will mean more pay, better hours and a nicer home.”
Mickey thought that that was awfully convenient, but her heart leapt at the thought.
“Oh the wiz Bangbangboy was asking about ya’ll. You three had disappeared for a couple of months.”
“Real life got in the way of gaming.” Mickey said.
Bangbang was another of those almost super gamers. It takes a lot of play time with good people teaching you to get to be that good. Mickey wondered how the original super players got to be that good.
In a matter of weeks Riana was paired off with Alec. Rosaline found a match for Jesse the old fashion way. She found Alasdair Hampson. Alec and Alasdair were both excellent matches, and even though the girls were now in the know, it made no difference, the urges they had were just too strong.
The three of them were pregnant within four months. Mickey found Bangbangboy, Fergus McLaughlain, to be a strange person. He also was of the male linage, but he was unhappy with his strong strapping body. He desperately wanted to be a woman.
Mickey warded herself on the mosaic, using her ward cubes. She then sat on down in the lotus position and tried to communicate with the entity.
“Hey there,” she thought. It was kinda corny, yes but she didn’t know what to call ‘IT’. She felt rather than heard the reply. “Yes,”
“There is another male, who wants to be made whole. Can you help him/her?”
“As long as they have what you had, and another.”
“Can you take from me and share?”
“It has to be like before.”
“I see. Are you the javelin?”
“No I am much deeper, but the javelin has power. You can use too.”
“Can you help me bring it up without disturbing the mosaic?”
“Yes.” The ground shook a bit and the javelin came up mostly above the ground.
Mickey took down her wards and walked over to the javelin. She pulled it out of the ground and hefted it. The javelin hummed in her hand. It was magical, but didn’t feel right to her. She wouldn’t use it. There was a boulder the size of a VW Beetle nearby. It was cheesy, she thought but she plunged the javelin into the boulder. The javelin sank a foot into the stone and released a wave of power that woke the household.
Sine came running out followed by Blair and some others.
Sine was shocked to see the javelin she had buried a hundred years ago. “The javelin, how did you get it?”
“The entity dug it up for me. I stuck it in that stone. We can use it.”
Sine walked over and tried to pull it out, but couldn’t. “How can we use it stuck in the stone?”
“Whoever can pull it out can use it.”
“Oh no, not a T. H. White reference,”
“Yes, but it is true. Pulling the javelin out won’t make anyone king, but it will identify who can use it.”
>>>>><<<<<
Alec saw the javelin in the rock when he was over with Riana. He chuckled at he walked over to it. On top of being a football player, he threw the discus, hammer and javelin. He chuckled and went over to it and pulled it out. He hadn’t been in on the secret, but after he pulled the javelin out, he stood there in full Spartan armor and shield, the Sisters talked over Mickey’s idea about using the men in their linage.
Sine, Blair and a dozen other magical archeologists dug through the things they had found. They used Mickey, Jesse and Riana to identify more items that could be useful.
Mickey poured through the linage records, she found Fergus and saw a strange notation by his name, “What does this symbol mean Edina?”
“That symbol carries the connotation of being faerie, not a good match. They are gay or something along those lines.”
“There seem to be ten or twenty marked that way.”
“Eighteen to be exact. They are good kids from what I hear, but they just aren’t interested in girls.”
“Let me see… Gavin Murray and also Sean McLean are also designated that way. Can you take me to see them?”
Mickey and Edina visited the two boys and Mickey felt the same kind of thing she felt with Fergus. She talked with the mothers and then the boys. They were shocked that a girl neither of them had seen before, yet seemed knew their deepest secrets, that they were gamers and that they weren’t happy as males.
It took a lot of convincing to get permission to approach the three boys with her proposal. She met with all three at the same time. She felt good as she entered the room where they were sitting.
“I know you don’t know each other, but I know more about you than you do about yourselves. You are all three alike. You are transsexuals that haven’t come to grips with it enough to do something about it. Am I right?”
She smiled warmly as none of the boys denied the fact. “What would you say if I told you that you could wake up tomorrow and be what you should have been from the start?”
“I would say you were crazy,” Fergus stated. “But I am game. What could you do?”
“I need all three of you to agree that this is what you want.”
“Okay,” Gavin and Sean said, as they agreed with Fergus. “But what can you do about it?”
>>>>><<<<<
Mickey was joined by Jesse and Riana. The boys Fergus, Gavin and Sean thought these girls were crazy, but what the hey, it was only time. Even though they weren’t into girls, they found these three girls captivating.
Mickey set her ward cubes and Jesse called upon the angels to witness and watch over them. The Sisters watched from inside the house as the ceremony went on.
Mickey then began, “These three brothers are forlorn and seek redemption from their woes, oh spirits. Open their eyes and let them taste life anew, give them the power to do good and live well. Fergus McLaughlin is it your desire to be made whole?”
“Yes it is.”
“Gavin Murray is it your desire to be made whole?”
“Yes it is,”
“Sean McLean is it your desire to be made whole?”
“Yes it is,”
Jesse moved to stand before them, “I ask the spirits to make these brothers whole.” Riana stood before them and spoke as Jesse had spoken and then Mickey repeated those same words.
“As it has been spoken, so mote it be.” Jesse said. “So mote it be,” replied Mickey and Riana. As the echo of their words died out, there was a clap of power. The three boys fell to the ground and began slowly change. The girls kept the wards up and sat by their new sisters. The mothers and other Sisters sat around the outside of the wards, keeping watch. After four hours Jesse and Riana began to minister power to the new girls.
Three lovely girls came too and were greeted by Mickey and her sisters and then by their Mothers and the Sisters. They were named Fergie, Sauna and Gavenia. They found that Sauna and Gavenia could channel energy like crazy, and Fergie had an awesome nuke, that left her all but drained.
Mickey sent word out to be on the lookout for males in the linage, who might rather live as women. Fifteen were found and converted. Many of them were excellent channelers.
Eighteen out of over a hundred groups of Sisters began to change how they prepared and trained their Sisters. Gaming was a bigger part for the young Sisters. Mickey, Jesse and Riana along with many male gamers taught them gamer strategies. Ninety men were brought into the secret and began training for battle, giving each of the eighteen groups five capable men. Many of the men were avid gamers and incorporated their tactics into their training.
Mickey and her sisters also got a taste on Halloween of how the Sisters renewed the bounds on Jocquin. Mickey had made some suggestions on how the binding might be made better and stronger, but they didn’t want to experiment with doing it on Jocquin. He was the mightiest of the demons. The binding did go smoother and faster though as the new Sisters on their own began to pump the Sisters doing the binding
Mickey did though run through a simulation of how they would battle Jocquin if he did escape his bindings. Eric would tank Jocquin with sword and shield, Alec would be secondary tank and would handle addons. The healers would only heal or shield Eric at first. Mickey would start nuking Jocquin after agro was established. The Sisters would hold back till Sine gave the word. They would begin draining after Mickey’s second nuke or if the demon’s attention was drawn to Mickey. Jesse and Riana would heal and shield Eric. Fergie would nuke from the opposite side. She had a really wicked first strike. It would nearly drain her, but there would be new Sisters there to pump her up. The Sisters’ healers would be throwing heals Eric’s way too. The Sisters would then begin chain draining. Mickey came up with this strategy. A chain of six Sisters would link, only the first Sister would be draining and be in range of retribution, the others would be channeling mana to her through first the chain. This strategy got the same power through but put fewer sisters at risk. The third Sister was a new Sister. Like Mickey, they could take mana from the environment and could channel ley lines like crazy.
Mickey had twins, a boy and a girl. The girl Erica was going to be strong like Jesse and Riana. The boy, Micah, surprised the Sisters. A check showed that not only would he be a good father, but he would have the power not of the Sisters, but like the power granted to the new Sisters.
Jesse had a son named Iain, who was like Micah, and Riana had a girl named Evanna who showed much promise. Edina was going crazy over who she would select as a mate for Iain and Michah. The other new girls were doing their part at getting mates and getting pregnant, months after their change.
Three years after Mickey’s and her sisters changes, the portends started coming to fact. A long forgotten minor Demon broke his bounds. He had escaped and bided his time. He managed to find two other minor demons and release them. They managed to disrupt the Sisters binding Shardquin, a major demon and affect his release. Shardquin was not one of those watched over by groups with new Sisters. The Sisters fought valiantly and rebound two minor demons, but the third was able to overcome the weakened Sisters and release Shardquin.
Shardquin killed the third demon and drank his power before heading to release his brother Fellquin. Word of this didn’t get out till the epic battle over Fellquin. Shardquin attacked the bindings, and not the Sisters first. The Sisters fought bravely, three Sisters were dispatched to send a warning out, two made it to safety and then went off separately to spread the word. One sister went directly to Jocquin’s cell. There were sixty four Sisters’ at Jocquin’s cell; they had just finished the bindings when they received word. Shardquin or Fellquin would not be able to break those alone, but together they might be able to.
Sine reacted, she divided the group in two. Fergie and Alec were in one group and Eric and Mickey were in another. Each group started issuing their own orders. A temporal rip formed and Shardquin and Fellquin stepped forth.
They were coming in together, which was bad. The two demons would be harder to defeat if they fought together. Two sisters charged in from opposite direction and blasted the demons and then ran. The demons separated and charged after the woman that hit them. The sisters were goners, they weren’t nearly shielded as well as they needed to be, but the two women got them separated enough to have two battles.
A heavily shielded and buffed Eric charged Fellquin with sword and shield, while Alec equally shielded and buffed attacked Shardquin and the battle was on. Never had so few Sisters stood up to two major demons, but the new strategies and magic seemed to be working. Other sisters started showing up and Sine divided them as she felt they were needed. Many of the new arrivals were of the eighteen groups that were retraining and fell right in with the plan. Fergie let loose with her nuke and within three minutes Shardquin was down. Fifteen sisters began the process of binding while the rest ran to the attack on Fellquin. Alec had just gotten to Fellquin when Eric went down; he seamlessly began to press his attacks. Mickey’s heart was filled with grief, but she continued her assaults with nukes. Riana became an angry eighteen foot she-bear and charged in. Jesse and Mickey rushed to get her shielded and buffed.
More Sisters arrived and pressed in attack. It was enough. Fellquin weakened and tried to fall back, but the envelope had already closed in around him. Fergie applied the coup de grá¢ce and knocked him down powerless. The Sisters started the binding process, but were stopped. Mickey came up barking orders. Five new Sisters began pumping her. She called for Alec to plunge his javelin into Fellquin and get the hell out of the way. Everyone backed off as Mickey started pumping power into the javelin like it was a lightning rod. This went on for a couple of minutes and she shot the power of a nuke into the javelin. What had been left of Fellquin shattered and the combined Sisters could no longer detect him. Alec was surprised to find that his javelin still existed. The Sisters had done something they had never done before. They had obliterated a Major Demon.
They repeated the process on Shardquin, with the same results. Then they took the toll. There were two hundred twelve sisters there as Fellquin fell. They had lost three new Sisters, four men and twenty five Sisters. Eric was gone, Alec comforted Riana. Gillian led a distraught Mickey away. A sad Jesse ministered to a prostrate Mickey and pronounced her pregnant with twins again.
Sine and the elders began to assess the battle, never had two hundred sisters bound two major demons. Fewer than a hundred had initially engaged them. There were a hundred and six when Shardquin fell and two hundred twenty when Fellquin went down. Previously it took over three hundred to stop either of them with major losses, far more than they had lost today. On top of that, Shardquin and Fellquin no longer existed.
There were many changes after the battles in the way the Sisters were trained. There were some that didn’t accept the new ways, but most did. The number of new Sisters grew to over two hundred, under Jesse, Riana and Mickey. Almost a thousand men joined the ranks. Alec became their task master.
It was only after the birth of her second set of twins, that Mickey could smile again. Dolina and Gillian were the prettiest little things; Mickey couldn’t frown when holding her babies. She started living again. She was ok with the other Sisters taking her ideas, expanding on them and running with them. A big part of her had died that dreadful day. She liked finding the new Sisters and working with them.
She found a new mate, Gordon O’Connell and two more sets of twins, two boys and a mixed set. When Gordon passed at seventy-two, she started hunting artifacts with Blair. She had become something of a Legend, but she just wanted to fade into the background.
The End
Gender Confusion
by
Paula Dillon
Jane: You Tarzan, me Jane.
Tarzan: You Tarzan, me Jane.
Jane: No, no. You Tarzan. Me Jane.
Tarzan: No, no You Tarzan, Me Jane.
Hook Shot
by
Paula Dillon
What can a simple game of 'Make It Take It' lead to. Surely it can't change a life or several lives can it.
Thursday Cody finished his reading and did the assigned work for his classes at the University. He just needed to go by the library for some research on an English paper, which he needed to turn in, in two weeks. He always tried to keep ahead in his class work so that he had plenty of free time. He was a nineteen year old, first semester freshman at the University of Texas Arlington.
He grabbed his basketball and headed out to the basketball courts his apartment had. It was a cool November evening. A couple of the courts already had some people playing, but he went directly to an empty court and started dribbling and shooting. Cody was a deadly shooter and if he played on a team, he would be an assassin at point guard shooting ninety percent from inside of fourteen feet. He was also a good fast break artist, if he wasn’t guarded by somebody when the opposition scored or turned over the ball, nobody was going to catch him, if his team threw the ball deep enough that he didn’t need to slow down.
His main problem was that he was only five feet four inches tall and he couldn’t play well against swarming zone defenses, nor could he shoot outside twenty feet very well. He played high school ball for four games. He chewed up the team on the first game and made a name for himself.
In the second game the defense wouldn’t give him any room, because they could see that he wouldn’t shoot outside the three point line, where he was only one for ten. If he drove in the defense would collapse on him and he would have a hard time passing the ball back out to his teammates. If he were one on one with six foot plus players, he could eat them alive; he just never learned how to handle being double or triple teamed. Five on five was absolutely no joy for Cody, if the players were competent. On top of all of that he only shot about fifty percent from the charity stripe, so he was always a prime candidate to be fouled.
So he was just content to shoot hoops by himself. He practiced his jump shots, layups, hook shots and free throws.
He had been playing about twenty minutes, when he heard a woman say, “Hey you’re pretty good. Wanna play some one on one?”
Cody stopped, retrieved the ball and turned to the voice. A very tall girl was coming on to his court. The girl had to be six foot two, maybe six foot three. She had long blonde hair up in a bun, a very pretty face, small boobs for her size, no waist or hips and looked to be as stout as a telephone pole. He knew who she was, he just had to think, “You’re ah… Crystal Davis, right? I am Cody Dalton.” He said, throwing her the ball.
Crystal was one of the players on UTA’s Lady Mavericks basketball team, she played power forward.
“You got it right Cody. Make it, take it for twenty points?” She asked.
“Your ball, let’s go,” Cody said, tossing the mountainous girl the ball.
“The game is on.”
They played a hard fought game. Crystal sunk her first three shots from the outside. On her fourth shot, she rimmed it and Cody was all over the ball. He then began to school her on how point guards play and used his whole repertoire of skills. He sank his next six shots. They were both wearing silly grins on their faces. She finally blocked his seventh shot from behind and recovered the ball. She was just as fast as Cody, just not as quick on her feet. She drove the basket on him and his jaw hung wide open as she jumped up and dunked the ball.
They went back and forth a couple of times, but Cody won their first game, by two points. They then played another game. Cody was brutal towards Crystal, driving past her to shoot a fade away jump shot, hook shot or a backdoor layup shot. Crystal was built of stern stuff though and once she got the lead she didn’t let go of it.
They started a third game and Crystal was frustrated by Cody driving right by her and scoring. The next time he tried that on her she hooked her arm across his chest, snaked her hand into his arm pit and picked up a loudly complaining Cody. He was hollering for her to put him down, he was disturbed, but he wasn’t about to try to hurt her though. She shut him up the only way she knew how too. Still holding him off the ground, she kissed him and stuck her tongue down his throat. Cody just melted in her embrace.
After a minute or so, the kiss ended and they were both smiling, although Cody’s eyes were glazed over a bit more.
“That was interesting,” Crystal said.
“Yes it was, will you please put me down now?”
Crystal gave him another brief kiss and put him down on the ground gently.
They sat on the ground and talked about basketball, school, basketball and other mundane things, till it was late and then they parted. Crystal told him that she would be back here tomorrow at five. She needed to get into shape for the start of the season in two weeks.
>>>>><<<<<
The next day after his classes were done, he got dressed in his sweat pants, jacket and basketball shoes. He got down to the court at about four thirty. He did his stretches and warm up, before he began shooting baskets.
About five after five Crystal showed up and after a quick warm up they began playing again. They played four quick games, with Cody winning two. Crystal was a quick learner and began adjusting to the way Cody played. There weren’t any blow outs, both players were just two good.
“Why aren’t you playing on the Mavericks team, Cody?”
“Too many University teams are playing zone defenses. A good point guard has to be a scoring threat, or he hurts his team. I just can’t seem to get a hang of playing against zone defenses. I attack, they swarm, I pick up my dribble and can’t find my teammates because of all the much taller players. I get a five second count or I get tied up. That ain’t no good. I can’t stand being the reason my teams were losing. I tried for months, with no improvement in high school, so I left rather than penalize my team.”
“I see what you mean. There have only been a few great point guards below five foot ten.”
“Muggsy Bogues was five foot three. The next shortest was Earl Boykins and he was taller than me at five foot five inches tall. Five foot seven is where you start seeing more players.”
“I’m hungry and we stink. Let’s get cleaned up and go out to eat, my treat,” Crystal said.
“Ok, sounds good to me. What apartment are you in?”
“Apartment 2215, be there in an hour.”
Cody hurried to his apartment. He did the three S’s, although there wasn’t really much sense in shaving the few hairs on his face. They only poked their way out every seven to ten days. There were three places he had any hair. He wore his auburn hair shoulder length; he had hair in his armpits and pubic hair.
He then dressed in nice pair of Levis’ 501 jeans, a blue long sleeve pearl snap western shirt and a pair of Lucchese full quill ostrich boots. He had the boots custom made in El Paso for his last birthday. They had double thick soles, a three inch stacked heel and an inch of lift hidden inside the boot. Lucchese had made boots like that for other short men before. He wore his pant legs inside the boots so the fancy stitching on the shaft could be seen. It was like a girl wearing a pair of four inch platform heels. He just never thought of it that way.
As he walked over to Crystal’s apartment, he wondered about what the hell he was doing. This girl was pretty enough to be way out of his league and standing next to her made him look like a ten year old boy standing next to his adult big sister.
When he got to her apartment he knocked and was surprised when another girl who had to be six foot five opened the door. He had to look up to see her face. Her large tits, they must be 36DD’s or larger, could have poked his eyes out. He recognized her as the Lady Mavericks center, Linda Cooper. She was six foot five inches tall, it didn’t help that she was wearing maybe four inch stilettoes. Crystal was beautiful; Linda was a stone cold fox, except her face was a little too long. It threw her face out of proportion.
“Hi, I am here to see Crystal.”
“Oh hello, you must be Cody. Please come on in. Crystal is just putting on her makeup. Then we will be going out. I hope pizza is ok with you.”
“Pizza sounds great to me,” Cody said, as he came inside.
He was certainly glad he had worn his boots; still he got a crick in his neck looking up at Linda’s eyes. He felt like cracking a tall joke, but restrained himself. They must have heard them all and not appreciated a single one.
He sat on the couch and she sat opposite him, which was a relief as he didn’t have to look up as much and her breasts would have been at eye level to him.
“Crystal tells me that you are a hotshot basketball player.”
“I’m only so-so. I am good on break away plays and man on man. If the defense is playing a zone defense that swarms on the ball, I blow chunks. I wind up picking up my dribble and tying up the ball. I can’t shoot from three point land and I am fifty/fifty from the foul line. I am pretty good at defense though, I am all hands when someone tries to dribble past me, but defense alone won’t get you a seat on the bench.”
“Don’t I know it? It took me a lot of practice to be able to shoot well. Young girls aren’t taught to shoot baskets, like guys are taught. It’s just been in the last two years, that I have gotten so good.”
“I saw ya’ll play in the tournament last week. You had what ten blocked shots and scored twenty three points.”
“I am surprised. Most guys don’t pay us girls that much attention, when it comes to sports.”
“I like watching the girls play. I liked the game Amy Lindstrum played when she scored thirty eight points. Fifteen of them from three point range.”
“She actually scored a four point play, when she was fouled while shooting a three pointer.”
“Then Crystal intercepted the inbound pass and sunk a three pointer.”
“Nothing but net,” Linda said. “That seven point swing saved the game for us.”
Crystal came out of her room wearing a pretty pair of shiny black slacks, a cowl neck metallic powder blue blouse and high heeled pumps. Her hair was nicely curled and the makeup made her look like a model.
“I hear ya’ll talking basketball. I told you he was good Linda.”
“And so cute to boot.”
They took Crystal’s Escalade to the pizzeria. Cody held the door open for Linda who was quite awkward getting into the SUV. She had to duck forward, more than just a bit, to get in. Cody could have seen the thong she was wearing, if he was looking. He then got into the back seat.
They hit CiCi’s pizza buffet. Cody got a large salad and four pieces of pizza. He was shocked though to see how much pizza the girls had on their plates. CiCi’s wasn’t making any money this hour at least. They talked about school and basketball, while they ate.
“Tell me how do you two eat so much?” Cody said, regretting the fact that he had actually said it out loud.
“We burn it off in the gym every day. I have to run a lot to build up my stamina and add some extra mass to my body” Linda said. “So at dinner time I am starving.”
“What she said,” Crystal said. “You ran me ragged back there on the basketball court. You won’t believe it Linda, but I got so frustrated with him just driving past me to get to the bucket, that I just had to literally pick him up off the ground to keep him from scoring.”
“I did score that play, I scored a kiss from you.”
That had both the girls giggling.
Soon Cody was surrounded by a host of female athletes and a couple of their guys. They stayed there almost two hours before they headed back to the apartment complex. Two more girls rode back with them and Cody was stuck in between two girls, Rebecca Green and Susan Coffey. Rebecca was the small forward for the Lady Mavericks and was only six foot. Susan Coffey was their backup shooting guard and was about five eight. He had to stick his hands in his arm pits to keep from touching the girls inappropriately. They stopped at a convenience store and then Rebecca, a senior, went in to buy four six packs of Guinness Stout, before they headed back to Crystal’s apartment.
They made it back to her place in time to catch the start of the Dallas Mavericks, playing the Lakers, at L.A. The five of them drank and watched the game on a large LED TV. Linda taught Cody how to drink Guinness. You always pour it into a glass and let the head settle before you drink it. The head keeps the stout tasting its best.
Cody was sitting hip to hip with Crystal and Linda. The girls both had an arm around Cody, while he rested one hand on Crystal’s leg. The girls’ fidgeted and rooted for Dallas. The dress Linda wore was now up to her hip and she didn’t seem to care. Cody couldn’t help but glance occasionally. The hand he had on Crystal’s leg, accidentally wound up in her crotch, where she kept it pinned with her thigh pressure and she had some really strong thighs. So he would tickle her there every now and then.
After three cokes at CiCi’s and two beers, Cody had to get up and go to the ladies room, for relief, at halftime. As he was washing his hands one of the new girls came in in a rush and sat down on the toilet.
“Sorry, I couldn’t wait any longer,” the girl said to him.
When he got back, Linda was four sheets to the wind. Her fuchsia heart shaped thong on display, when he sat between her and Crystal. Crystal took his hand and put it right back between her thighs all the way up.
He couldn’t remember much about the second half of the game, but somehow he got in a drinking game where he had to take a drink, whenever something happened in the game.
His next conscious thought came about four thirty the next morning. He had to get up and use the restroom because his bladder was screaming. He was in a bed and a girl was using him as a body pillow. When his eyes cleared, he saw it was Crystal. She had her arms and legs wrapped around him. She was wearing a baby doll nightie and her breasts were on either side of his face. It took a couple of minutes to get untangled from her grip.
Cody was very disoriented; he seemed to have breasts himself as he staggered to the bathroom. He recognized that he was wearing Linda’s dress and it came to his knees. He pulled the dress up to his waist and pulled the underwear he was wearing down. He had on pantyhose and blue satin panties. He sat to keep from falling or getting the dress wet. When he finished he pulled everything back up and went back to Crystal’s room. He was just too wasted to get undressed. Crystal began kissing him and wrapping him back with her legs and arms. The kissing only lasted a few minutes, till they both fell asleep again.
The next thing he knew was he was in ecstasy and agony. He had his morning woody, he needed to pee, and he had a hangover. On top of that his woody was being used so wonderfully. When he opened his eyes, he was on his back and Crystal was riding him slowly, with a look of bliss on her face. When she saw he was awake, she scrunched down and planted a kiss on his lips. Crystal then stretched out a bit and her breasts were bouncing on his face. Out of defense he latched on a nipple with his lips and began sucking on it. He caught her other breast with his left hand and began massaging it.
When she orgasmed, Cody slowly and painfully rolled her over and continued pumping. He sorely needed release so he could run slowly to the bathroom. Sex and hangovers don’t really go well together, especially when coupled with the need to pee. Crystal’s next orgasm helped Cody out, she almost cut Cody in half as she locked her legs around her lover and squeezed. Cody then came in gushes inside her.
“Sorry I have got to run and take a piss badly,” he said as he pushed up and hurried to the bathroom.
Crystal followed Cody into the bathroom, he pulled the dress up and plopped down on the seat, letting go with a torrent of urine. Crystal undressed and turned on the shower. When Cody finished, she helped him with the dress and the bra, as he pulled down the panties and pantyhose.
They both took a couple of Tylenol and then stepped into the shower together.
“What happened last night?” Cody asked, as he began to scrub Crystal’s back.
“We were all pretty well drunk, you said something about Linda’s dress and before we knew it, we were undressing you. We then dressed you in my bra and panties, Susan’s pantyhose and Linda’s dress. Rebecca wanted to put her heels on you, but her shoes were too large.”
“I didn’t insult Linda, did I?”
“No, you said, that she either needed to pull her dress down or take it off. She smiled and took it off.”
The hot shower was working its magic on both of them. Cody felt he just might live past the morning.
“She then poured you another Guinness, before she sat next to you. It was at the final buzzer and when the Mavs won Linda and I jumped up and you spilt the whole glass on your shirt and pants. I guess I told Rebecca and Susan to undress you. I went to my room and got a bra and panties. Linda went to her room and got her makeup kit and curling iron. We had fun dressing you up and you looked like you were having fun. You know, you and I would have the same basic figure, if you had breasts. From the chest to the waist and the hips, I am just a little bigger than you.”
“You have some really strong legs though.” Cody said looking at her well-toned legs.
“Yeah, I run, I am a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, swim and play basketball. Let me tell you something. I was horny for you since we started that second game of make it take it, that first day. Last night I came several times from just your hand contact on my clit, through my pants and panties, while we were watching the game. This morning was wonderful, it could have been better if I didn’t have a headache.”
“I was wondering if I was the only one with a hangover; remind me not to let Linda feed me alcohol.”
When Cody’s hand went down to wash his penis and balls, he saw that most of his pubic hair was now gone. Crystal began giggling when she saw that.
“Rebecca gave you a landing strip down there. As drunk as we were, it’s amazing she didn’t cut anything else off with the straight razor she used.” Crystal said, as she held Cody’s head in her hands and kissed him. She then looked at his face. “Oh my, Linda arched your eyebrows.”
They hurried out of the shower and dried off. As Cody was drying, he took time to assess what he looked like.
He was wearing a pair of chandelier earrings, which was ok, he had both his ears pierced when he was a kid. His mom made him wear a pair of her studs till his ears healed up. Now he keeps the holes open by wearing studs every so often. His brows were indeed arched, the few hairs he had on his chest and stomach were gone. He now sported a pierced naval with a diamond or CZ stud there. His pubic hair was shaved into an inch wide strip, while his fingernails and toe nails were done in a deep dark blood red polish.
At a knock on the door Crystal wrapped towels around both of them and they hurried out to let the other girl’s in. Linda looked like death warmed over and Rebecca looked worse, there was no sign of Susan.
Back in Crystal’s room, Cody asked, “Who pierced my naval and is that a real diamond?”
“Susan pierced your naval. That is my naval ring and yes it is a diamond. Mom didn’t like it when I got my naval pierced, but she insisted that I wear decent jewelry instead of cheap crystals. She had it made for me. Please wear it for me, I like the idea that it is there.”
“Look Cody, I like you a lot. I’m sorry about what happened to you. I know we were drunk and we had no right to do it to you… but it was fun. Please don’t tell me that you hate us.”
Cody looked up at Crystal’s face. She had a worried expression that caused little wrinkles around her eyes.
“I don’t hate you or your friends. Yesterday was the most fun, I’ve had since I been at UTA. How did that dress fit me, I know girls are supposed to have small waists.”
“Not all girls have small waists. Your waist is smaller than mine. In fact you could wear all my clothes except for my pants, you’d be walking on the legs of my pants. I have a rectangular or athletic figure. In fact my capris would be too long for you even. I can also wear Linda’s clothes, except for her bras, she is huge there.”
“Well I need to get dressed; I have to go to the library. Where are my clothes?”
Crystal still naked went out and got Cody’s clothes, when she came back she said, “You’re clean, your clothes aren’t, you don’t want to wear these clothes, they stink of beer.”
“Well can you go to my apartment and get me some clean clothes?”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
Crystal went to her dresser and got a couple of pair of panties and a bra. She handed one pair of panties to Cody, “Put these on.”
He took the pink boycut microfiber panties and put them on. He actually liked them better than his briefs. Crystal in the meantime had already dressed in her bra and panties. She pulled out a couple of Spanx leggings. She put on a pair and had Cody put on the pair that looked like blue jeans after he put on some ladies trouser socks. The jeggings bunched up a bit at his ankles, but his boots easily covered the gathered fabric.
“The girls just loved those boots. You’re lucky that they were too small for them. Otherwise they might have stolen them from you.”
“They are custom made Lucchese boots and cost me two thousand dollars.”
“I need to get me a pair, where did you get them made?”
“El Paso. My dad knows one of the executives there. The boots have a double thick sole, sort of like platform heels and a three inch heel with another inch of rise hidden inside the boot. I don’t mind being short, but I don’t have to look so short.”
Crystal brought Cody a long sleeve blouse. He let her help him into it and buttoned it up for him. The sleeves were four inches too long, but after Crystal buttoned them at his wrist they looked like puffed out sleeves, rather than sleeves that were too long. The shirt felt exquisite on him, way much better than his cotton polyester shirts. Cody gawked at himself. He could wear the shirt as a dress without underwear and be totally decent. The shirttails hit him just below mid-thigh. The blouse was just a little loose at the chest but fit well at the waist and hips.
Still wearing the chandelier earrings he looked totally like a girl, “All I need is a pair of boobs and I could walk into your locker room.”
“Even without breasts you could probably get away with it right now if you wore a bra. Wanna see?”
“See if I could walk into your locker room no, but see with a bra, why not. I am already there.”
Crystal took off his blouse and went to her dresser. She pulled out a WonderBra and what looked like chicken cutlets. When she put the bra on him, pushed the underarm fat forward and added the cutlets, Cody definitely had boobs.
Crystal told him, “You can borrow my bras anytime you want. I have to wear them or I giggle too much. I almost wish I was as flat chested as you,” she said brushing, Cody’s hair into a feminine do.
“I like your breasts; I worry about Linda’s though.”
Crystal smiled and giggled in some ways she wished she was more like Linda instead of barely a B cup that she was. Cody was right though she would hate not having her breasts. She couldn’t help but kiss him for that.
Now with the blouse on, he was a five foot four inch girl, who weighed a hundred twenty five pounds with his boots on he looked five foot eight.
Crystal surprised him as she put lipstick and mascara on him. She then put his keys and wallet into a cross shoulder handbag along with the lipstick. She showed him how to wear the handbag and adjusted the strap for him. She then put his dirty clothes in a bag, grabbed her purse and backpack before ushering Cody out of her apartment.
It didn’t sink into Cody’s still hung over brain, at first, that boys shouldn’t look like girls in public, but when it did, he started to balk. Crystal sort of read his mind, “Don’t worry for now, as far as anyone is concerned you are a very pretty girl.”
When they got to his apartment, he reached into the handbag and pulled out his keys. He noticed it was a Louis Vuitton handbag. Crystal appeared to be from money, at least on the surface. He let them in. His apartment was a one bedroom copy similar to Crystal’s two bedrooms. He had two book shelves in the living room, an L shaped couch, coffee table, TV (not as grand as Crystal’s but nice) and a lazyboy. Crystal sat on the couch while Cody went to his bedroom to change.
He sat on his bed and looked at his reflection. He thought about changing, he really did, but he also liked Crystal and she seemed to like him like this. The only anomaly he saw to this girl he saw in the mirror came when. he unbuttoned the last four buttons of the blouse. He saw where his genitals were grouped together inside the jeggings. He wondered… he peeled the Spanx down a bit and tried to rearrange himself a bit and when he pulled the Spanx leggings back up. He looked quite feminine down there. He took the blouse off and put on a UTA T-shirt and wore the blouse as a jacket. He went to his bathroom and trimmed off the little bit of sideburns he grew. He really liked the chandelier earrings and left them in.
He put his laptop in his backpack and came out of his bedroom.
Crystal smiled when she saw Cody, “I thought you were going to change.”
“I thought that today, I could be your girlfriend.”
Crystal picked him up and sat him down on one of his barstools by the breakfast bar, “Well then girlfriend we need to do something with your hair.” She pulled out her butane curling iron and set it to heating. She took a tube of hair gel out and began rubbing it in his hair. She quickly began to curl his hair with her curling iron and separated it into hundreds of individual ringlets. He now sported a nice Meg’s Mop. She also used a couple of light shades of eye shadows on his eyes. When she finished Cody looked much like Eva Green with curly dark auburn hair.
Crystal then drove them to the campus. She was on the meal plan provided to scholarship athletes so they stopped in at the campus cafeteria. Cody wasn’t on the campus meal plan but bought many of his lunches on campus. They got their food and sat down in a corner of the cafeteria to eat.
“So what is your major Cody?”
“I am leaning on doing an BBA in marketing and possibly a second major in English. So much about marketing deals with clearly communicating an idea. Something some businesses clearly miss the mark on. What about you Crystal.”
“I am working toward a degree as an athletic trainer, but possibly also coaching. I like the idea of helping other girls get into sports, women’s professional sports leagues don’t tend to do very well. Women’s tennis and golf are the most viable professional sports. I don’t play tennis, but I do golf back in New Jersey. My mom though, wants me to study business, so I can join her. She owns her own ad company in Philadelphia.”
“So why aren’t you going to Harvard, Yale or Columbia?”
“I could have gone to them, but I am mostly here on my own skill. I want to impress my own Mom and on top of that I am a bit rebellious. How about your parents?”
“My dad and mom, live in west Texas. Dad is a free-lance geologist he spends six to eight months a year out in the middle of nowhere prospecting for half a dozen companies. Mom is a pilot for Richardson Aviation.”
“Wow, it seems they are doing quite well.”
“Sort of, Mom would like to see more of Dad, but his work is everywhere. I worry about them; it seems they are growing apart.”
“Empty nest syndrome.”
“Maybe. I still worry.”
Cody hadn’t been nervous, at least about how he dressed and looked. He was becoming more and more infatuated with Crystal and he enjoyed being out with her. He never noticed the looks he was receiving from interested guys and even a few girls.
They left the dining room and then headed to the library after they used the restroom. Crystal pulled Cody into the ladies room and told him to wash his hands and fix his lipstick after he sat to empty his bladder. He did as she told him.
Both of them really needed to do some study and research there. They headed in separate directions but met back up at the same table. Cody was making tons of notes on his laptop. He was doing a comparison on how various authors subtly used language to communicate their fundamental beliefs.
Crystal was studying sports medicine and trying to learn how to prevent injuries, by early intervention, changing the way athletes do repetitive motions that could lead to injury. Like correcting a pitchers throwing motion to protect his elbow and shoulder from the injuries that occur far too often. She was also interested in seeing if exercise and stretching routines could be developed to reduce the likelihood of an athlete injuring themselves.
Crystal began giggling as she thought of repetitive motion. She looked at Cody and could envision a particular repetitive motion she would like to engage in again soon.
“What is so funny Crystal?”
Crystal blushed a deep crimson, “Oh… nothing really. I was just thinking and something funny popped into my head.”
“Looking at the way you are blushing, it has to do with sex.” Cody said, and then he blushed himself. He couldn’t believe he said that.
Crystal took out her phone and texted Linda that she would be with Cody… hopefully.
After four hours of work, Crystal looked at her watch and said, “Time to go Cody, I need to get a bite to eat and we need to relax for the rest of the evening.”
Her tone left no doubt about what she meant by relax. Still Cody was a little unsure. He hadn’t been a virgin before he came to college, but he could count the number of girls he had been with on two fingers, before he had met Crystal and they had both initiated the act themselves. His first was very aggressive. She had learned about the joys of sex and wanted to try it again, Cody was just conveniently available at a time when she wouldn’t be disturbed. At least Cody was able to ring her bell several times. She didn’t want anything to do with him afterwards.
His second time was a girl he knew from school; Cody tried to comfort her after she lost her sister. He hugged her and one thing led to another. She used him assuage her grief. She was tender, but she was still controlling. She hugged and thanked him afterwards. It was good, but they both knew that they wouldn’t be doing it again, at least with each other. She still sometimes calls him just to talk.
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They got back to the apartments. Crystal said she had to go do some drills, as they had a game next weekend.
“What do you have to do?” Cody asked.
“I need to do some wind sprints and some agility drills.”
“Ok, I see you at the court in fifteen minutes.”
It took Cody a little longer than fifteen minutes. First getting the bra off was fun, not! He had to scrape the polish off his fingernails and almost wash his hair to get the curls out; still he had to wear a cap backwards to keep his hair from giving him away.
He and Crystal began by running twenty half court wind sprints and then he assisted her in a half hour of agility drills. One drill they threw the ball to each other without dribbling or traveling all the way from baseline to baseline. In another drill, Cody dribbled down the court zigzagging and Crystal had to guard him and then Cody guarded Crystal as she brought the ball down. Crystal then zigzagged across the key from the foul line to the baseline and back. They then passed the ball back and forth, from the top of the key to the baseline and half a dozen drills more, ending with another dozen wind sprints.
Cody collapsed on the ground after the last wind sprint and he was joined a few seconds later by Crystal. They had pushed themselves as hard as her coach pushes her every day at college. It had been a long time since Cody had been pushed this hard. Although on some of the drills he had been almost stationary and just threw the ball to Crystal or caught the ball she threw.
They got up off the ground and made a couple of slow laps around the courts, before they wound back at Crystal’s place in her bathtub together taking a long warm soak.
Linda was on her Pro-Form Tour de France exercise bike, hooked up to their TV, set for rolling hills, where she had been for over an hour. Rolling hills gave her a warm up on a level ride, periods of exertion on climbs and times of lower resistance on the downhill portions of the ride.
The coach wanted her to strengthen her legs, hips and knees to help prevent injuries and to build up stamina. Riding a bike was, for her, less stressful on her knees. Tall athletes tend to have more knee problems. Linda added a lot of muscle tone to her legs since she arrived at UTA.
Cody again wound up wearing a bra and panties along with a pretty pink “Girl Power” T-shirt and black Tommy Copper power shorts. The T-shirt had been a custom job, as it was long enough to be a dress on him. He had just tucked the edge of the T-shirt into the power shorts and let the shirt double over to just below mid-hip. He had also tucked his stuff out of the way so they wouldn’t be obscenely on display.
Crystal was wearing a black strapless compression band top, which just covered her breasts and a pair of leggings, which were a splash of many very vibrant colors.
Crystal picked up her sport duffle and said to Linda, “Give the hot water heater a chance to recover. I’m going over to Cody’s place to study.”
“Cody, what is your cell number so I can call if necessary.”
Crystal had a cell phone, Cody thought, why would she need my number? He gave it to her anyway.
When they got to his place, Crystal suggested that they watch TV for a bit.
“Ok Let me tell you about my couch, this half is a double recliner and the other half is a sofa-bed. I don’t know what my Mom expected, but four people could sleep on that thing, if you moved this half away from the other.”
“Let’s try the sofa bed; I would really love to lay down a bit while we watch TV.”
They moved the coffee table and pulled out the bed. Cody brought two wedge shaped pillows and two standard pillows. They turned on the TV and caught a HBO movie while they lay down. Within ten minutes Cody found himself snugged up to Crystal, trapped by an arm and a leg and she was softly snoring. Another twenty minutes and he too was asleep.
Cody awoke about two-two thirty and it was beginning to get cold. It felt good sleeping with someone. He got up, turned the heat on and set it at about 68 degrees. He used the bathroom and got a blanket for him and Crystal. Crystal missed his warmth so after he covered them both up, she grabbed the boy and pulled him back to her. She moaned a bit and then began to purr, as she felt Cody’s warmth again.
They awoke Sunday morning, just before six. If they didn’t have the compression clothing on, they might have had sex again.
“Morning Cody,” Crystal said, as she cracked an eye open and saw his open eye’s near hers.
“Morning Crystal. I have never slept, like in sleep, with anyone before since I guess I was a little kid. I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed waking up in someone’s arms,” Cody said kissing her.
“I don’t understand what has happened with us, but I like it. Dressing you as a girl wasn’t too much was it?”
“I have never done it before, but it’s not too bad. In fact I like it. It lets me wear my boots for a reason.”
“Would you like some girl’s clothes of your own? I can’t have both of us wearing all my panties. You need to get some of your own, plus we can get you some sexy sportswear.”
“Why do you like me dressed as a girl so much?”
“I don’t like you, because I can dress you as a very pretty girl, I like you for being you. I like you because you push me hard on the court, yet you don’t gloat. I like you because you seem to be a very nice guy, you’re gentle and fun. My friends like you AND you make a very pretty girl. I feel something about you, which I can’t put into words. Ever since that first kiss out on the court, I have wanted you, Cody.”
Cody kissed Crystal, “Admit it; you want to see me in skirts.”
“I want to see you in skirts, dresses, lingerie, girl’s clothes, boy’s clothes and anything else you like, but you have to like it. I am not going to force you into doing anything.”
“Good, can you put some curls in my hair before we go shopping and maybe some more nail polish?”
“Sure we have plenty of time before the shops open. Let’s get dressed and go on campus to eat. I have a meal ticket after all.”
Crystal dug out her hot curlers out of her duffle and set them up. She massaged a setting gel thoroughly through his hair and rolled it up. They then got cleaned up and Crystal did the makeup for both of them. She then began pulling out clothes from her duffle bag. She got them both into a bra and panty sets, stuffing Cody’s bra with silicone cutlets. Crystal chose a push up bra with gel cups to enhance her figure. She adhered the silicone gel cups directly to her breasts. They added a couple of inches to her bust size. The enhanced bust looked good on her. She then got them both into padded briefs.
“I wear padded briefs, because like you I have a flat ass. I can’t reduce my waist with a corset or a cincher, because I am mostly solid muscle in my waist, with very little in the way of fat, much like you. Muscle doesn’t compress as well as fat does. So people like us have to do other things to enhance our figures, like padding our busts and our hips.”
“Put these knee high stockings on, with a pair of your jeans and your boots, but don’t put anything in your pockets. I have a shorter blouse you can wear with them. It is much too short for me to wear; it was tailored for my high waist jeans. A lot of my clothes are tailored because tall clothes for girls six foot two are hard to find. It is also hard to find ladies size fourteen shoes.”
“Try finding men’s jeans in 32-28 or men’s dress shirt in 15.5-28.”
Crystal let out a laugh, “We are truly a mess, when it comes to buying clothes. I know I can find men’s clothes easier than ladies and I am sure you can find ladies clothes easier, but we are both the same basic body shape.”
They finished dressing and Crystal did their makeup. They then headed onto campus at about eight-thirty to get something to eat.
“I might have to get a meal ticket if we keep eating on campus,” Cody said. “It would be cheaper for me and I like eating with you and the girls.”
Linda and a few other of the female athlete’s had a corner to themselves. They were a little surprised to see Cody dressed as a girl, but it didn’t bother them. When Crystal mentioned that she was taking Cody out clothing shopping, there were three other girls who wanted to go. Susan Coffey, Amy Lindstrum and Karen Quinton were fellow female basketball teammates.
Susan went with Amy and Karen back to the dorms, so they could make clothing changes and grab some things. Susan took this time to talk to the girls, while Crystal and Cody waited in the lobby. The girls thought it was great fun. They had had no idea that Cody was a boy. They promised to help.
The five of them got together and then headed to a very large mall. Anna took them to a lingerie shop that doubled as a sex shop, which sold “Marital Aids”. The manager handled them herself; she loved feminizing young adult males, but she was never mean or cruel about it. She gave Cody hips, tush and breasts, along with bras to fit his new chest and thong type gaffs to keep Cody’s assets in place. Every piece of silicone was dyed to match Cody’s skin tone. Cody now wore a 36C bra. The girls couldn’t believe how realistic they looked and felt.
Cody made sure to buy plenty of adhesive and solvent to attach and remove the breasts forms. He wasn’t concerned about his hips and butt. They were larger now, but still weren’t that extraordinary on a guy. He was also fascinated by the breasts; he wondered what it would take to live with them on 24/7. He dressed and they got back to shopping.
At ‘The Gap’, Cody got really excited. They had some ladies jeans, all be it low-rise jeans, which actually fit him nicely, especially when he put his boots back on. He hadn’t noticed before how his legs changed shapes, when he wore the boots. He was too busy thinking about things when he wore the leggings. The girls also got Cody to try about a dozen tops on. He walked out with three pair of jeans, that didn’t scream girl, but looked great, three pair of girly jeans with fancy bits and embroidering on them and six tops.
Next came a shoe store. Cody was pretty fair walking in stilettoes. He bought six pair of size seven and a half’s at an end of season two for one sale, two pumps, two sandals and two ankle boots, all of them were four inch platform heels. They took the jeans and shoes back to the car. Cody switched to a pair of ankle boots, before they headed back in.
They then hit one of the anchor stores at the mall, where Cody tried on most of the clothes the store had in her size and age group. Cody fell in love with ladies dress shirts that had a silk/cotton blend. He didn’t care that the shirts were ladies shirts; he was going to wear them boobs or no boobs. Crystal went in search of the perfect outfit, a pink ruffled front, silk/cotton dress shirt, a black Chanel mini-skirt suit and a black Chanel belt with the silver CC logo buckle. Cody looked marvelous in the outfit. A lady came out and marked the skirt and blazer for a better fit, along with a couple of other mini-skirts. The seamstress wasn’t busy so she asked them to come back in an hour and a half.
Crystal paid for the Chanel outfit and about half the bill, while Cody paid for the rest of the bill for the clothes. He wasn’t really worried about the cost, he had enough in the bank to buy a couple of vets, but he knew that quality being equal, ladies clothes were more expensive than men’s. He could have bought comparable men’s clothes for what he paid for his half, which would have cost less.
They then stopped at the lingerie section, bought and bought a massive amount of lingerie. At the sports section Cody bought plenty of feminine sportswear, leggings, sports bras and feminine basketball shoes, plus a pair of wedge athletic shoes. He also got some low cost bling at a separate jewelry stores. He wore gold tone cuff bracelet and a heavy gold plated necklace with a crystal covered pendent in the feminine circle cross sign. The girls had a hoot over that, but it was a nice pendant at two hundred dollars. Cody went to town when it came to earrings; he bought about three dozen earrings and a dresser top earring cabinet, with the girls help. He liked the dangles, but the girls helped round out his selections with studs and hoops.
Cody and Crystal returned to get her suit and skirts. She changed into the Chanel suit. Crystal liked her looks. The blazer was fitted at the waist and flared a bit over the hips. It created the illusion of hips and a tush. Cody wore the suit out of the store. They met the girls at the Lancôme counter where Cody got a makeover and enough cosmetics for what seemed like a year. Cody looked fantastic in her new suit and fully made up by a Lancôme expert.
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Cody had spent just over three thousand dollars, not including the twenty five hundred Crystal had spent on him. Back in Odessa, Texas all the purchases had not gone without notice. Amanda Dalton was getting alerts on her smart phone. She had never told Cody about the fact that she had put a spending alert function on his account. She had meant to take the alerts off his accounts when he turned eighteen, but she had forgotten. She was thinking that the card was stolen and someone was using it illegally as she saw the various shops the card was hitting at, but a detailed look at the purchases caused her to raise an eyebrow and wonder. It was his money and if he wanted to buy clothes for a girlfriend, he could do what he wanted. Still she had an itch she just couldn’t scratch.
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They went directly back to Cody’s apartment, where the girls were a big help sorting his clothing and creating a space where he could set out all his makeup. Crystal and the other girls promised to help him learn to dress and use his new makeup, take care of his fingernails and use his nail polishes. They were all kinds of excited about helping feminize Cody.
They all agreed to go out for diner, but they had to go to their places to get dressed up. Their vanity wouldn’t let a boy look better than they did. Crystal took the girls where they needed to go and Cody went to Crystal and Linda’s apartment.
Linda couldn’t believe Cody’s appearance when he arrived at her door. She let him in and sat with him to talk.
“I can’t believe this is you Cody. We only dressed you as a joke because we were all drunk. I hope you’re not doing this just because of what we did.”
“I’m not, Linda, don’t blame yourself. It was like a switch was thrown on in my brain when I first saw myself dressed like this. I liked it, I liked myself. You know how easy it is being overly tall. I imagine that in some ways you hate it. I was the same way being short. I kind of hated myself, hated though maybe too strong a word for it, maybe seen as insignificant is a better word. For all intents and purposes I was invisible. You, Crystal and the female athlete’s don’t treat me that way and if they don’t mind, this is how I will hang around them.”
“Just don’t go stealing their boyfriends. A girl can get really possessive when it comes to boyfriends.”
“I’m not out to steal anybody’s boyfriends.”
“Boys are brain dead creatures once they see a cute girl. You don’t have to do a single thing to steal their boyfriends. The boys just move on to different prey. You are way past cute Cody.”
“Oh, then I will become a Misandry, no I don’t want to hate, but how about being a male lesbian,” Cody giggled.
Linda looked at the pendant that Cody wore; it reminded her of another pendant she had seen before. She took out her tablet and looked it up. It was the transgendered pendant. Linda ordered a really nice transgender pride pendant and matching earrings.
Crystal arrived back and kissed Cody, and pulled him to her room, so she could get dressed. Crystal pulled out a really nice pant suit. She freshened up a bit and then dressed. Crystal liked pant suits or knee length pencil skirts. Anything not tailored for her height was libel to show her underwear, if it was a short skirt.
“I hope you don’t mind me wearing pants?”
“No I saw from Linda how embarrassing short skirts can be on a tall girl. Sitting I could see up her skirt if she was standing. I avoided looking though as long as I could. She has a right to her own dignity.”
“I know, she gets a little strange when she drinks and I appreciate you not looking. I think she already thinks of you as one of us.”
“I think you are right. She apologized for what happened and then asked me not to steal their boyfriends.”
“Yes, that is a big sin in a group of girlfriends. You can’t even date a boyfriend they dropped for a long while. They have to be ok with it before you can go out with him. Otherwise things can become more than a little awkward within the group. Nothing can break up girlfriends like boys can.”
Cody was just another of the girls when they went out to eat. She was just a girl that never had a period. They talked about everything; Cody listened at first and then tried to blend in his conversations in a manner that best fit. He had never felt the group dynamic of belonging to a group bigger than himself before. He had friends back in Odessa, but the group dynamics was not as close as this group.
Cody was expected to go to the restroom with half the girls while the other half watched their food and drinks, then they did the same for the other girls once they returned. Crystal had to have Cody change his lip color because he hadn’t put the lipstick the Lancôme lady had used. She also told him to carry some panty liners and tampons in his purse and backpack.
“You need to be prepared for a period and some girl might need some help when she forgets. You can become a hero to that girl.” Crystal taught him some code words girls use for their periods, like Aunt Flo is visiting, their monthly, Code Red, flying the Japanese flag and riding the cotton horse were just a few of the inventive phrases.
“A girl’s purse or backpack is like Batman’s utility belt, it has a little bit of everything a girl will need.”
“My mom’s purse weighed six or seven pounds.”
“She’s just a light weight,” Crystal giggled.
Linda and Crystal helped Cody become less feminine at his apartment. They took off the breast forms, but he left the hip pads on. He dressed in an ankle length gown. Linda and Crystal gave him hugs and kisses before they headed back to their apartment. Crystals kiss was a little more personal.
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The next day Cody got up and got ready for his day. He wore plain gold ball stud earrings and filled his brows in with a pencil. It only took a few minutes to get his brows looking a little more masculine, he just needed a sharp eyebrow pencil and to take short strokes, like he was drawing individual hairs. Still he put on one of Crystal’s smaller bra and filled it out with just a couple of cutlets. He changed his gaff and one of his new panties. He put on a pair of ladies slacks and one of the ladies long sleeve dress shirts. He wanted to wear a pair of his new ladies shoes, but chose his boots. His gray warmup suit jacket covered up any anomalous bulges and looked good, with what he now wore.
His hair still looked a little like a Megan’s Mop, so he brushed it a bit. It looked neater but still… He put the purse he had in his back pack and headed out. Mentally he almost made the switch back to assuming his male persona, but he had been so comfortable acting as a female, that he kept some feminine details. The boots weren’t that different from his heels, but he had changed the way he had walked in them. He had a slightly feminine walk, he knew it and he didn’t care.
He had three M day classes and two T day classes, with a lab on T days. His first class was Chemistry and was inside a big theater class, students just swiped their ID’s in for attendance. Cody changed the side of the class he entered and sat closer to the middle instead of the front. He had turned his homework into the graduate assistant upon entering and took a seat behind some girls. He was hardly noticed, but not in the same way as before. It was almost like he was just another girl, rather than an invisible boy.
English was a more intimate size class and he was noticed. He hadn’t been a sloppy dresser before, but he was much neater today and looked better put together. Also some girls noticed the blouse and ladies pants and his nail polish, black/red nails are hard to miss. A girl who sat next to him made a quiet whispered, “you look nice today Cody.” The girl also noticed the purse inside the backpack as Cody got his book and laptop out. A savvy girl isn’t likely to miss a Louis Vuitton bag after all. The girl was very distracted thinking about Cody becoming a girl for half the class. They had been grilled at freshman orientation about being accepting of other lifestyles or at least tolerant. She made a mental note to have a talk with Cody this week.
Cody decided to buy a weekly meal ticket for lunch. He then went to the cafeteria the athlete’s used. There were several girls there he recognized and they greeted him. They sat around and talked about their days. Linda came in about thirty minutes after Cody. She smiled as she saw his overall appearance. She told him that Crystal was in class from eleven to two and then they had basketball practice from five till seven Monday thru Friday.
“I will be by the ladies gym at five, I would like to watch you guys practice.”
“Just keep out of the coach’s hair; she sometimes loses her cool if the team gets too distracted by bystanders. So Cody are you going to live full time as a girl?”
“I think so; I like how I look right now. I’ll start out wearing the pants and shirts, I can decide on the rest later.”
“Well you already have some friends that accept you girl.”
“Thank you.”
Cody went to his two o’clock class. He caused a little stir in his government class. One guy didn’t want to sit next to a fag. The professor was of like mind, but he was two years away from a possible tenure and a black mark like letting a student abuse another student might jeopardize his expected tenure. He got things in order and reminded the student about the university’s policy on discrimination. The student didn’t want to be put on suspension or probation and just shut up. He realized that he had made a public spectacle and if a report was made to the Student Conduct Board his ass could be grass, but he didn’t have to like it.
Cody moved to a seat in the back and he was left alone. He was asked by a couple of students if he wanted to report this conduct. He told them, “Not this time.” He knew this was bound to happen and as long as it didn’t get worse than words, he would try to hack it.
After the class several students apologized for their classmate’s rude comment and they told Cody that not everyone was like that.
Cody made his way to his car. He drove to the mall and went back to the lingerie shop. He told the proprietor that he wanted a smaller set of breast forms to wear to every day to school where he was just coming out. She selected a size that would be a little larger than an A cup on him. She attached the forms, dyed them to match Cody’s skin tone and attached moderately sized nipples, instead of the relaxed size or the large naughty size nipples, to the forms. She had Cody put his blouse back on without the bra. It was clear he had breasts now and the nipples made themselves known, but the effect was quite nice. He bought half a dozen 34B bras. He put one of the prettiest bras on, you could still see where the nipples were, but they weren’t patently obvious then he headed back to campus.
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda looked at the latest purchase alerts; it didn’t take much imagination to figure what was going on. She would wait till the weekend after this Saturday and then she would visit Cody in Arlington. She would find out if her suspicions were right or not.
>>>>><<<<<
Cody went to his apartment and emptied out his back pack putting his purse and basketball shoes into the backpack. He also changed into a pair of platform pumps, before heading back to campus. Inside the ladies sports complex he changed into his sports shoes. He was there before practice, so he was able to greet Crystal when she came out of the dressing room. She hugged him and then ran out on the court to warm up.
Cody sat up in the bleachers to watch the girls. He studied them as they went through the various exercises and stretches the coaches put them through. He then attempted to put names to the faces he saw. When the girls were warmed up and stretched out the coaches began to run agility drills and ball handling drills. Cody made notes of what he saw on a writing pad as the girls worked out. He missed being a part of a team.
He paid close attention to them when they began their shooting drills. They all started out shooting on the three point line at the baseline, then moving around the circle. The lady mavericks had a few really good three point shooters. Some of the poorer three point shooters were sent across court where they began shooting from eighteen feet or less, while the others began another round of three point shooting. When the five girls finished the second round of three point shooting they began a layup drill. Girls were going back and forth between the shooting drills.
They then began five on five drills. The starters were played defense, while the backups came at them time after time. Cody began sketching plays he would like to see the backups run and how he would like to see the starters defend. After fifteen minutes they took a five minute break. When they started back the starters were attacking with the ball. The backups were playing a one-two-two zone defense, Cody could see that the inside of the zone was spreading too much, but the starters were playing both outside thirds of the court. They were doing well, but they were missing chances to come inside the paint. That was Cody’s bread and butter. Linda was picking up rebounds and making shots, right and left. It would be better if their point guard would drive up the middle and take the shot or pass it out to the forwards or to Linda.
“Dang it Amy, drive the key and shoot a layup,” Cody said, to himself.
“What do you see?” A lady asked.
“I see a one-two-two zone defense, that is pushing the starters out to the perimeter. Linda is getting a lot of rebounds and scoring, but she isn’t getting passes into her. The defense will soon win out. If they were playing full court, the starters would be run ragged. They could score more points by shooting in the paint and making the defense adjust.”
Cody then ducked and covered his ears, as he heard a loud whistle. He turned and saw Coach Davis walking down the bleachers. She made some changes to the lineups, gave the girls a rest while she told them what she had seen and then had them begin playing full court.
The flow began to change, the backups tended to be shorter and faster. They were setup and waiting for the ball. When the zone began to spread the starters were indeed spread out. The new point guard though began to own the key and the zone had to play an honest game. Linda had fewer rebounds but scored more from passes she was able to receive.
Then Coach Davis stopped the game had the girls do four full court wind sprints and then head to the shower. She came over to where Cody sat and said, “Hi, I am Coach Davis. Are you a student here?”
“Yes, I have a couple of friends on the team and I just came to watch them workout.”
“Do you play basketball also?”
“Yes, I am pretty good, but I can’t play College ball I am too short. I am great on a hands defense, bringing the ball down and scoring quick points, but I get lost in all the bodies, legs and arms. I tend to get tied up in a swarming defense.”
“There have been some very good short players.”
“Yes, but I’m no Muggsy Bogues. It might be a mental thing, but I get freaked out when I am double or triple teamed. I’m not a good shooter outside of fourteen feet. Your guards need to be shooters.”
“I might be able to help you.”
“I can’t play for the girls teams.” Cody said, and then he whispered. “I was born a male, but I think I might be a girl on the inside.”
Coach Davis stepped back and took a good look at Cody, “So do you still have…”
“Yes and I’m not sure if I will ever do the snip, snip thing.”
Coach Davis was standing next to a ball. She picked it up on her toes and foot tossed it to Cody, “Let me see you shoot.”
Cody went on the court and began working his magic, inside of eighteen feet. He hit twelve of fifteen and then he moved out to about eighteen feet where he only hit three of eight. Strength wasn’t the issue outside of twenty feet, he jokingly put one over the back board. He sunk one out seven from three point land.
“If I can get inside the paint, unmolested I am a killer. It’s that I am so easily molested.”
“Come back tomorrow and bring some gym clothes, you can use my bathroom to change in.”
Crystal, Linda and a few other players joined the coach and Cody, “I see your friends are here now, I will let you go, then. I know they need to eat diner now. See you tomorrow, Cody.”
They were headed to the cafeteria that stayed open late for the athletes, “What was that about Cody?” Linda asked.
“I’m not sure, but I think I am part of the practice squad playing against you.”
“I’m surprised that she didn’t try to recruit you.”
“She did, so I told her I was a transsexual in transition.”
>>>>><<<<<
Crystal spent the night with Cody at his place, she dressed him up in some lingerie he hadn’t seen before, did his makeup and hair before having her way with him till early in the morning. Cody and Crystal were wrapped up in each other’s arms and had smiles on their faces as they contentedly drifted off to sleep.
Cody woke early the next morning, well before sunrise. He had some serious study to do before he went to class today. He let Crystal get her sleep and quietly took a shower and got ready for the day. He used some curling gel on his hair as he blow dried it using a round brush. He didn’t get the results he hoped for, but he did a fair job at creating a feminine look. He dressed in a dressy pair of slacks, blouse and heels before working on his face. Today he didn’t hide the arch of his brow, but made his brow look a little bolder, added mascara and a mauve lipstick. He selected the pendant on a chain, large hoop earrings and cuff bracelet
He set his alarm for eight, as Crystal had a nine-thirty class and crept into the living room with his books. He nuked a breakfast sandwich as he started a pot of coffee as he read for today’s classes. He drank his coffee and nibbled on his sausage, egg and cheese biscuit as he was reading his calculus and doing the problems at the end of the chapter. He also redid his nail polish as he read his chapters; he really liked the way his dark red fingernails shown in the light.
Today he had calculus, history and chemistry lab, one right after the other. He would get out of classes at one thirty today. He would go to the Student Union to eat lunch and study for a few hours.
A little after he heard the alarm go off, and then the shower running, Crystal came out wearing a pair of Cody’s panties. Cody popped three sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits in the microwave as Crystal poured a large mug of coffee. She then kissed Cody.
“I like your new breast forms, when did you get them.”
“I went back to the lingerie shop. I didn’t want to come out wearing those large breast forms. These are a B on me; I could wear them without a bra.”
“You would look good without a bra, but don’t. Guys seem to think the girl is sending a message that she is available for a quicky. Some of those same guys don’t like to take NO for an answer.”
“I never understood why some guys think it is their right to have sex with any girl, they choose, whenever they choose.”
“That separates you from the Neanderthal’s out there Cody, that and the panties you are wearing,” she said giggling. “It is hard for me to look feminine Cody. So I wear lots of pants suits. In some way, I like making you look feminine. I hope that that doesn’t bother you.”
Cody stood and threw his arms around Crystal’s neck and planted one of those toe curling kisses on Crystal. He even curled his right leg up and pressed his abdomen into hers. Crystal wanted to ravish, Cody right here, but they both had to get ready to go to the campus. Cody ignited an itch in Crystal every time he touched her.
“Go for a lighter cool pink lipstick Cody,” Crystal said, cleaning his lips. “Mauve is good on you, but a pink that is almost there might be better for the time being.”
Crystal went to Cody’s room and selected a better lipstick, which he put on. It looked quite nice.
“Carry the lipstick you put on in your purse. You will need it throughout the day. Crystal dug through Cody’s drawers and selected a t shirt and a pair of Cody’s boy shorts. Crystal looked cute, they were both very short on her, but she was adequately covered.
“I need to go to my room; I will be at the cafeteria at twelve.”
“I am in the lab till one thirty. I can see you at five at the gym.”
“Okay sweetheart.”
They hugged and then separated. Cody got his stuff together and headed out. Cody looked a lot more feminine today and once people recognized him, they did a double take, but there wasn’t any outright hostility.
Calculus went pretty good. The professor kept everyone on their toes, by popping question out to her students. She didn’t mind students being confused about a point if they had put in an effort to understand, but students who were clearly unprepared ate at her. She in her own gentle way could demolish a student’s ego; that wasn’t paying attention or was unprepared.
After class Dana Bosworth, the math teacher spoke to Cody, “When are you free today Cody? I would like to speak to you. I am an advisor for the LGBT Alliance on campus.”
“I can’t today, I am very busy. How are Wednesdays? I am free from noon till two.”
“Good come by my office after lunch. I like the way you took your stand.”
Cody hurried to his next class. He heard a few derisive remarks, but nothing obscene or overly offensive. He just concentrated on the clicking of his heels.
After chemistry lab, Cody hurried home. He got his sports duffle and put a sports bra, shorts, jersey and shoes into the bag, along with a towel and personal hygiene supplies. He also put some clean clothes into the bag. He cleaned off his makeup, reapplied lipstick and then headed out to the gym.
Just outside the gym Cody took his heels off. He didn’t think that heels would be good for a basketball court. In fact he saw a sign just over the door which stated that as a rule. He would need to get a pair of slippers if he was going to do this regularly. He wasn’t the only lady who was stepping out of heels that used the gym door rather than the locker room door. One of them put on a pair of ballet slippers, before entering. He liked the way the slippers looked.
Cody saw Coach Davis come out of a door and walked over to meet her. She smiled as she saw him, “Hi, Cody. You can use the bathroom inside my office to change.” She opened the door to her office and let him in.
Inside the office was a nice video console, 56” TV, her desk, lots of books and other things. In the back was another door. Cody knocked and when he didn’t hear anything he opened the door. It was indeed a restroom with a shower and a massage table. He changed into his sports gear and came out.
One of the assistant coaches put him to work, trying to see what he was made of. He was indeed in good shape and had excellent agility. The gym was soon full of activity. Cody began working with the girl’s team; it was easy to see that he wasn’t a braggart.
They had him playing point guard with the backup players. He scored three quick buckets by driving rapidly up the key before the defense got set and played a fair enough man on man defense against his counter-part. He was near mid-court when a basket was scored; the girl who inbounded the ball was sharp and made a Hail Mary pass to him. He had an easy layup.
The next time down the court; his opponents were on him at mid-court. He began to run the offense making passes left and right, hitting the open girl. He scored a four more points as the backups managed to spread the defense. The other girls also managed to score as Cody kept finding the open girl. A couple of times the starters did manage to trap him and force a turnover. The starters were made of stern stuff and slowly won out the day.
A whistle stopped everything. The players all turned to the sound and Coach Davis waved them all over to her.
“Hey everybody good workout, so do we keep her on the practice squad? She really smoked some of you royally.”
“She was no harder on us than our opponents are. She is good, I say we keep her,” Linda said.
Several other girls also echoed what Linda had said. Three of the girls picked Cody up, “Let’s initiate her in the showers.”
“I’m afraid you can’t do that girls and I know you know why. If not ask Linda. Cody will use my office to change and shower in.”
“We have a hard game, coming this Saturday. Cody plays much like their point guard, learn from her. Go ahead and hit the showers.”
Coach Davis let Cody into her office and he hit the shower there. After he dried and blow dried his hair changed into bra, gaff, panties, pantyhose, blouse and mini skirt. He was just brushing his hair out when he heard Coach Davis.
“Are you decent?”
“Yes, I’m dressed; I’m just brushing my hair and getting ready to put some makeup on.”
“It’s too bad you’re not eligible to play on my team. You made my bench girls and practice squad look good.”
“I just can’t play with the big guys. Their point guards are over six feet and can do what I do better.”
“I won’t disagree with you, but I think you might could if you weren’t transitioning. Diversity is being pushed, but you in their locker room would be like fawn in the middle of a pack of wolves. I checked the rule book. You would need to be on female hormones for two whole years before I could use you. You haven’t been on hormones for two years have you?”
“No and I can’t say I ever will. I don’t know where I am going,” Cody said, coming out of the bathroom.
“You do make a pretty girl. Go on girl, go meet your friends, they are waiting for you.”
Cody met up with his friends and several other girls. They all checked him out now that the rest knew his secret now.
“You can look, but don’t touch, she belongs to me,” Crystal said.
“Oh shit,” some of the girls said. “And I had dreams of getting her into my bed.”
“Sorry, girls,” Cody said. “You heard the boss.”
Cody clung to Crystal’s arm, as they headed out. He put his heels on and felt better around these tall girls as they left the gym. He went along with the flow. They stopped at his car and he put his duffle away. Then he went with Crystal as they went to a pizza buffet. They had eight tables at a different CiCi’s. The girls were interested in what Cody had to say about their play.
Cody didn’t lie to them or pull punches, yet he was still diplomatic about it. The girls needed to react faster when confronted with different tactics. He didn’t give specific ideas as that depended on Coach Davis. Cody emphasized that the girls should be more confident in their own skills. He assured them that they had everything they needed to win. They just had to believe in themselves.
Crystal smiled; she already believed what Cody was telling them. She was proud that he was building them up. Too many guys wouldn’t have done what Cody was doing and actually mean it. Most guys are just too full of themselves. It was a good thing she was on a birth control implant; she was going to shag Cody again tonight. Seeing Cody in the cute blouse, mini-skirt and heels sealed the deal. This boy was going to work her to death trying to keep up her grades, but it was worth it, girl could she ring her bell.
>>>>><<<<<
Coach Davis worked her team hard the next two days. She gave Cody direction on how he was to play and he was able to follow her directions. There was a marked improvement in the teams play as a whole. Thursday they played a mock game where the assistant coaches acted as referees. Coach Davis mixed the two squads together, changing out both sides from the bench. Cody and all the girls played on both sides.
Cody was exhilarated and was happy playing at this level. It had been a long time since he felt he could compete. It didn’t bother him that it was on a girls’ team, these girls had skills. When the game was over, Cody was picked up and carried into the girl’s locker room. Crystal helped to disrobe him and carried him into the showers.
One of the girls asked Coach Davis for his duffle bag and clothes. She let the girl retrieve his things and followed her into the locker room.
“I want to see all of you in the team room after you all get dressed.”
The girls did a first rate job on Cody; they did his hair and makeup. They did let him dress himself though. He dressed in a nice skirt and blouse. Cody had very little to say in anything. Crystal just watched to see that he wasn’t hurt or molested. The girls insisted he take the locker between Linda and Crystal. They even put his name on the locker.
In the team room they all sat as the coach stood before them, “I’m not going to tell you not to do what you have done. Now that it is done each of you will have to protect Cody. She could be harmed if this became common knowledge. Cody you will travel with us and be on the bench with us. Bring a nice suit to wear, if you have one. Busses leave tomorrow at six be here on time or walk to Oklahoma for our non-conference game. No sex tonight or tomorrow night, get plenty of sleep, Coach Davis said, looking at Crystal. “Eat and get to bed, no late night adventures girls. Dismissed.”
The girls all headed to the cafeteria and ate before heading to their rooms to go to bed. Crystal went with Cody to his room.
“I may have to make room for my stuff if we keep sleeping together.”
“I wouldn’t mind as long as you help Linda with the cost of her room. I suspect money is tighter for her.”
“It is, but how did you know?”
“I don’t know. She just didn’t seem as loose with her money.”
“She isn’t, I live with her cause the dorm beds just don’t fit us. I pay for the room and bought us the two queen size beds. She helps with the utilities and gas for my Escalde. We both have our own cell phones. I also slip her some money in her purse. She could live on campus, but her feet would hang off their beds. As a freshman, I would have to live on campus too without her. Or if it doesn’t embarrass you, you could move in with us.”
“Hmmm, let me think. It could possibly cause trouble for you and Linda, if I am discovered. It may be best if we both keep our apartments and just visit each other.”
Crystal kissed Cody and they got in bed to sleep. Cody assumed the position as Crystal’s body pillow.
Cody dressed for school the next day. Crystal had gone to her apartment to pack after helping Cody to pack for the trip to Oklahoma. He left his bags in the living room and would pick them up after school. He had a shopping list of things to get after he got out of class at three.
He hurried to the mall when his last class let out. He stopped at the Lady Foot locker and got a nice pair of low top hard court athletic shoes in a feminine style. He found a dance supply store and got a couple of pair of ballet flats and then he began picking things off of Crystal’s list adding a few other things, like a dozen pair of pantyhose in various shades.
He got home at his apartment at four thirty and packed his car, making sure he had everything. Finally he changed out of pants and into a skirt, before doing his makeup and heading out to the ladies gym.
He parked next to the bus and loaded his bags. He then moved his car so others could do the same. One of the assistant coaches gave him a clip board and had him help check the girls in when they arrived. Crystal and Linda arrived early and Cody got hugs from them.
His short size made it easy for him to crawl up inside the storage bays to help load the luggage. He got a few wolf whistles from the girls trying to look up his skirt as he worked. He just looked back and stick his tongue out at them.
The girls then went to the locker room and got their uniform duffle bags and these were specifically logged in on Cody’s clipboard. Woe be a girl who didn’t have her uniform bag on the bus. Cody then logged the girls onto the bus to their assigned seats. Cody’s seat was up near the coaches next to Crystal. An assistant coach passed out burger bags after Cody marked each girl as being on the bus.
Coach Davis was the last person to board the bus and then they hit the road. Cody sat next to Crystal and after getting his burger bag and drink. Crystal had already finished eating. Crystal was snoring softly when Cody finished his meal. He pulled a blanket out of the overhead storage bin, raised the arm separating him and Crystal, and snuggled up to her covering them both. Four hours later they pulled into a motel. The coach assigned rooms, Crystal was with Linda, but when she was about to assign a room to Cody, he was nowhere to be seen. In Crystal’s room, they mostly undressed and crawled into bed.
Cody woke at four thirty and decided to get his shower out of the way. He took off the smaller breast forms and cleaned them. He then took a shower. Crystal joined him in the shower and they helped clean each other and wash each other’s hair.
As they stepped out of the shower, Linda stepped in. After Cody and Crystal were dry, Cody used the blow dryer on Crystal and she rolled his hair on hot rollers after massaging setting gel into his hair. Back in their room, Crystal helped Cody apply the larger C-cup breast forms. Crystal liked the larger breast forms with the larger nipples on her friend better. Cody dressed in bra, gaff and panties, while Crystal helped dry Linda’s hair and put it up in a bun. Crystal bullet proofed Linda’s bun with a couple of dozen bobby pins, a can of hair spray and a bun cover, the bun wasn’t going anywhere till she showered.
Crystal had Cody put on a blue satin scoop neck blouse and she did Cody’s makeup, in a daytime glam style. She unrolled and styled his hair spraying it with hair spray. Crystal and Linda dressed in slacks and tops. Cody wore his black platform pumps.
They went to the local IHoP at six thirty to eat breakfast. Cody paid for his own breakfast, without being asked.
The coach addressed them while they ate, “Ok girls, the game is at eleven, we go back to the room, pack and be ready to check out by eight thirty. At nine we will be at the stadium and at ten we will be on the court for our warm up.”
Cody changed into his pantyhose, his Chanel suit and had his makeup and hair touched up a bit. Coach Davis raised an eyebrow as she saw Cody’s Chanel belt and assumed the suit was also Chanel. She recognized quality, compared to the Worthington suit she wore from JC Penney.
Cody supervised the loading again, but she let one of the other girls crawl into the storage bins. At the campus, all the girls took out their uniform duffle and their day bag for after the game. The coaches and the trainer saw to unloading the other things they needed. Cody carried a small duffle, which held his shoes and a couple of pair of pantyhose. In the locker room he changed from the heels to the new pair of hard court shoes. While the girl’s got dressed he pushed out a cart that had towels and chair back covers. He put the Lady Maverick’s chair back covers on every chair on their side of the court and placed a towel on each chair. The chair back covers covered the OU logo on the chairs, with the UT Mavericks logo.
The team came out and began their slow warm up routine, trotting around their half of the court. They began some easy passing drills and then set up shooting drills. Cody was on the sidelines at about thirty-five feet, watching her girls. A stray basketball got away from the girls headed to her. She let it roll up her toe and caught the ball. She gave a two handed overhead shot at the backboard. The ball went through the hoop, hitting nothing but net.
“Thought you couldn’t shoot from the outside,” Coach Davis said.
“I was aiming for Coach Baker. This was the farthest I have ever hit a basket.”
Coach Baker was under the net feeding the balls back to the girls.
Fifteen minutes before the game they all headed into the team dressing room. Coach made her pep talk and starting assignments.
Then it was, “SHOW TIME,” The starters and coaches were introduced one at a time, while Cody and the backups took their seats.
The game started with Linda winning the tip off and taking the center position Amy the point guard and Karen the shooting guard were bringing the ball up. Karen tried to drive the key and was repulsed; she got a bounce pass into Linda who scored an easy layup.
The ball went back and forth in the first three minutes with UTA scoring eight points and Oklahoma scoring six. The Oklahoma point guard began driving on Linda just like Cody had done to Crystal. Linda picked up two fouls in quick session. Cody made a note and passed it to Coach Davis. The note read Crystal 5 and Linda 3, meaning move Crystal to Center and Linda to power forward.
Play stopped on a foul on Oklahoma’s point guard. Coach Davis sent in Gina at the five and Melanie at the three positions. She was running her shoot and scoot offense and her man on man hands defense. Coach Davis then squatted in front of Linda and Crystal.
“Linda they are trying to foul you out of the game. We can’t hope to win without you. Crystal take the post on a two one two defense, Linda take power forward and help in rebounding.”
At the next stop in play, Oklahoma was up by five. Crystal and Linda came back in with a full squad change. Crystal proved to be a tough center to drive in on and picked up a charging foul on the Oklahoma point guard, while Linda was cleaning up on the missed shots. Linda pulled in one missed shot and threw the ball all the way down to Amy who had made a break. She made a layup and was fouled by the Oklahoma shooting guard. After scoring the free throw Oklahoma brought the ball back down the court.
It was a tight game up to half time Oklahoma was up forty two to thirty seven.
In the locker room Coach Davis looked at her girls, “Girls I won’t lie to you. We are up against a highly rated division one team. You have played well, but you are going to have to play harder to win this game. Amy, Karen, let’s begin trapping them on the inbound pass and start picking them up at the mid line. We need to be more tenacious on offense. Crystal you are our top scorer, keep playing on the paint, make them work. Linda you are doing very good clearing the ball, keep looking for fast break opportunities.”
In the second half UTA was playing Oklahoma tougher and tighter. Oklahoma was starting to get frustrated. After a score by Rebecca, Amy was all over the shooting guard, trying to prevent the inbound pass; Karen joined her double teaming her. The OK point guard was trying to get position so the girl could pass the ball. Linda was on her and she seemed to be all arms. The shooting guard tried to force the pass in and Karen got two fingers on the ball and Linda caught the deflection. She went up and shot a jump shot.
OK’s small forward came in hot and late. She jumped to block the shot after Linda was on her way down, but before the ball went through the net. The small forward raised her knee before she hit Linda. Linda scrunched up a bit, bracing for impact. Linda caught the knee in her stomach and the forwards body. Linda was going down hard. She remembered something Crystal taught her. Her hands went behind her head and she rolled as she was going down. Her groan was heard up in the rafters. She hit the floor and rolled onto her stomach.
Both referees blew the foul, the head referee then crossed her wrists for a flagrant foul and the other referee dramatically ejected the forward out of the game. Oklahoma was upset, but the foul was so blatant, it was hard to honestly argue against ejection.
Linda was down for about three minutes; at least her legs weren’t hurt. She got up slowly and atarted to make her way to the bench. She felt like she had been gut punched by Mike Tyson. Coach Davis ordered her to be taken to the medical center, partially against her will; she had wanted to play on. Cody and Coach Baker went with her.
Crystal shot two foul shots on the flagrant foul, sinking both. UTA then brought the ball in. Amy hit Karen with the pass. Karen drove the middle, but back passed the ball to Crystal coming behind her. Crystal dunked the ball in exclamation, for an eight point turn around. The Lady Mavericks never lost the lead again and the referees were very anal on fouls by both sides.
At the medical center Cody held Linda’s hand except while she was in the MRI and the CAT scans. They were checking her spleen, stomach, bladder, liver, kidneys, uterus and intestines for signs of bleeding or ruptures. Cody got a text from the Coach that they had won 89-77. The text also said that Crystal and an assistant coach were on the way to the hospital. Cody texted Crystal that they were in the Imaging Department and that Linda wasn’t being a good patient. She wanted game updates. Linda was in a room with Cody when Crystal and Coach McDonald arrived.
“How is she?” Coach McDonald asked.
“They are checking the MRI of her stomach, but they did say that they didn’t find a brain in her head. She got mad at me in the ambulance, when I couldn’t get the game on my smart phone,” Cody said.
“So she is probably ok,” Coach Baker said.
“Yes, she never had a brain to begin with,” Crystal said.
“I can hear ya’ll. I’m not deaf and I will get even with you two,” Linda said, laughing and wincing. “I have a nice bruise on my belly,” she said, showing everybody there.
The doctor came in while Linda was showing off her stomach. He blushed but he needed to inspect the girl anyway. He did get everyone, but the coach out of the room for five minutes.
He let everybody back in and told them that she would be alright, “She can leave in about six hours, we want to observe her a bit more, she can’t eat yet. The nurse will bring her something sweet to drink. She can go to the bathroom with assistance. She will be sore for a few days. Stay in bed Sunday, soft food till Monday, and no exercise for a week and she should be herself in ten days or so. You should go and get a second opinion back in Arlington.”
Coach McDonald texted Coach Davis who called back, “We are in the parking lot right now and we are going to head back to Arlington. Crystal should return with the team. Send Cody out to get her bag, plus yours and Linda’s bags. Rent a car and drive back, when Linda is released.”
On the way to the bus Cody gave Crystal his key, “We’ll keep Linda in my apartment. It’s closer to the parking lot and is downstairs. Linda can sleep in the recliner or the fold out bed. I’ll text you when we are near Arlington.”
“I’ll get her some soft food to eat and something to drink. Take care Cody,” Crystal said giving him a kiss to his cheek.
Cody got his day bag, Linda’s day bag and the Coach Baker’s bag. She traded her court shoes for her stilettoes, and headed back in after kissing Crystal.
Cody brought the bags to Linda’s room. He saw the cafeteria on the way back, “Hey coach are you hungry. I saw a cafeteria as I was coming back. Can I get you something?”
“Yeah, you can get me a tuna sandwich and a salad, while you are there. A coke too.”
“I want a burger,” Linda said.
“No can do Linda,” Cody said.
Cody went to the cafeteria and bought some food and drinks and headed back to Linda’s room. He and the coach ate as they sat with Linda. They did help her to the restroom once and everything came out alright. The coach called a car rental company and had a large SUV delivered to the hospital in the name of the University of Texas Arlington. Cody helped Linda into the shower chair when the doctors let her get up. He stayed with her and helped her dress in panties, sweat pants and a jersey top.
>>>>><<<<<
Back in Odessa, Amanda Dalton just had enough, when she saw charges from a hospital in Oklahoma. She called Cody’s cell phone.
Cody answered his phone, “Hi mom, how are you?”
“I am doing alright; tell me are you in a hospital in Oklahoma right now?”
“Yes ma’am, how did you know?”
“Are you OK?”
“Yes ma’am, I rode with the ladies Basketball team to a game in Oklahoma. One of the girls got injured and I am sitting here with her in the hospital.”
“Ok, when I got you your card on your sixteenth birthday, I instituted spending alerts, to make sure you hadn’t gone crazy, or you lost or had the card stolen. I meant to take them off, but I have been too busy.”
“That’s ok Mom. You can keep the spending alerts on.”
“So how is your friend?”
“She took a hard knee to the stomach and crashed hard on the floor. She’ll be alright, but she has to take it easy.”
“Ok, I won’t keep you any longer; call when you get a chance. Love ya.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Amanda called the Richardson Aviation and reserved a Cessna 425, which had a full avionics package, for the next weekend after she checked the basketball schedule. The lady Mavericks were at home the next week. She would fly to Arlington airport on Thursday and find out what the heck was going on. Amanda had her commercial pilot’s license, multi-engine, land, night, multi-pilot and instrument ratings. She has over five thousand hours of flight time and she loves flying. She worked for Richardson Aviation as a ferry pilot or cargo pilot and ran short hauls in the continental United States.
She had gotten her license when she and her husband use to fly everywhere he needed to go. She racked up lot of hours flying with Roger Dalton, and now she flies business executives and cargo all over the country. Their business actually thrived with the economic slowdown, as smaller companies couldn’t afford to purchase and maintain their own planes and they still needed to fly into Po Dunk, Wyoming, or Middle of Nowhere, Kansas.
>>>>><<<<<
“Was that your mother Cody?” The coach asked.
“Yes she wanted to know if I was in a hospital. I paid for the food by debit card and she got an alert.”
“It’s good that she cares about you.”
>>>>><<<<<
They left the hospital at eight after the doctors had one final check on Linda. He gave the discharge orders to the coach along with small packets of muscle relaxers and a mild pain reliever. The coach wheeled Linda out while Cody handled all their gear.
On the ride home, Linda threatened to get out and walk till the coach stopped and Cody bought her a large chocolate ice cream shake. They had to stop again at Denton to buy her another shake.
Cody texted Crystal that they were a mile out, come and get us. Cody gave the coach directions and they were met by three teammates. The girls helped Linda while Cody took care of his and Linda’s things.
When Cody got to his apartment Linda was ensconced on his lazy boy and checking out the controls for heat and vibration on the reclining portion of the couch.
“I’m in love Cody. You either have to marry me or I’m stealing this couch,” Linda said.
Amy and Karen were on the fold out laying down watching TV. They began laughing when they heard that. Crystal was giggling as she herded Cody into his room, she helped him remove his makeup and change into shorts and T-shirt. She planted a big kiss on his lips. When they got to the living room Linda was already complaining about being hungry.
“I’ll make you some oatmeal,” Cody said. “She has already had too much ice cream and the doctor said no solid food till Monday.”
Cody microwaved a large bowl of oatmeal. Crystal added sugar, cinnamon and butter to it and delivered it to Linda. She wasn’t happy, but gratefully accepted it. It was ten times better than the hospital oatmeal. When she finished the oatmeal, Crystal helped undress Linda down to her panties and into a t-shirt, as Linda had a hard time standing up straight. She was asleep in minutes. Amy and Karen striped to their underwear and laid down to sleep on the sofa bed, while Crystal pulled Cody into his room.
“Bet you never thought about having four naked girls in your apartment.”
“That wasn’t even on my bucket list. Linda is going to miss the next game, if she follows doctor’s orders.”
“We’ll miss her, but she will follow doctor’s orders.”
Crystal and Cody made love that night a lot more sedately than before. They both had itch’s that needed scratching and they didn’t want to disturb their guests.
The next morning Linda was still sore, her stomach muscles were tighter, but she was in better spirits. Amy had helped her go to the bathroom once during the night and Karen had helped her take a real bath this morning. Crystal fixed a mess of scrambled eggs and toast. Cody was sitting with Linda and watching sport center on TV.
Although the UTA game was only broadcast in Oklahoma City and Arlington, there were highlights of the game on Sports Center where they showed the collision. The OK forward was clearly trying to take Linda out. The ball was out of the picture, before she jumped to block the shot, she never could have touched the ball. She received a one game suspension for her flagrant2 foul. They recorded the whole Sports Center on Cody’s DVR. The sports casters were being quite anal about replaying the hit three times in seconds.
“The only thing I was conscious of was the need to cover my head and rolling.”
“It’s a good thing you did. We need that skull uncrushed,” Crystal said. “I was told they didn’t find a brain.”
“No they didn’t cause they didn’t look,” Linda said. “They were concerned about my tummy and everything around it. I’m glad that I got my stomach tensed a bit before the hit. And thank you Crystal for all that training on falling.”
Crystal hugged her friend.
Daniele and Rebecca from the practice squad came by and relieved Amy and Karen. Crystal helped Cody get dressed and taught him a bit about getting girlied up. Then they went to the mall for a bit. They wound back up where Crystal bought the suit for Cody. She had him try on a few more suits. The seamstress marked a Prada suit and an Armani suit along with four more skirts and half a dozen girly blouses. The seamstress told them to come back on Tuesday to get the suits and skirts.
“You like girly stuff on me. Don’t you.”
“Yes… I guess I do. I can’t wear girly things and do them justice. You don’t mind do you?”
“No I don’t mind and I think you are quite pretty Crystal and I like every inch of you.”
They stopped at one shop and bought something for Linda, a cuddly bear almost as big as Cody, without heels. On the way home, they stopped and bought her another large chocolate shake.
Linda was half asleep when they got back; she had to take another muscle relaxer and a pain pill. Cody pulled the straw out of the shake and touched it to her tongue. She became alert and grabbed the straw and sucked it dry.
“Were you feeling bad,” Cody asked.
“No I got up to stretch and do some crunches. I found that I was still tender in the stomach.”
“I ought to spank you Linda.” Crystal said. “You could have hurt yourself.”
Cody stepped outside and got the bear, “If you have to do something squeeze this,” he said, putting it in her arms.
Linda laughed and hugged the bear, she was almost in tears, “I have wanted one of these since I was a little girl. Tell me whose idea was it.”
“It was my idea, Linda,” Cody said. “When my Grandfather went in for a triple bypass surgery, they gave him one to squeeze when he had to cough after surgery. He passed away two years ago, in an accident.”
“I have an Uncle that had bypass surgery,” Linda said.
Crystal gave Linda the chocolate shake and she drank the mostly melted shake down, while holding onto her bear.
“I’ll try to be good, but it is so frustrating.”
“You go to the clinic in the morning, at eight,” Cody said. “Wait till you hear from them, to go back to exercising.”
“Come here girl, give me a hug,” Linda indicated to Cody. She hugged Cody and reached out to Crystal, who joined them. Crystal’s big arms encompassed Cody, Crystal and the bear. “Did I tell ya’ll that I am stealing this couch.”
“Fraid not, my mom bought me that couch.”
“How much did it cost her?”
“About two grand for that section of the couch. That includes the heat and massage units.”
“At least can I come and visit it. I know it gets lonely. You two probably use the other section, Linda said, giggling like a school girl.
“You can visit the sofa anytime you want Linda.”
The next morning Cody still wore his large breast forms. He dressed in a bra, panties, pantyhose, skirt heels and a frilly blouse. Crystal had gotten up earlier, and was helping Linda get dressed. According to the Hospital’s discharge orders Linda wasn’t to eat, till she saw her doctor till after the exam.
They headed to the school clinic, after eight. Crystal didn’t have to wait too long as they were expecting her. The doctor saw the huge bruise on her abdomen, and he poked and prodded around. He had already seen the MRI and the CAT scans.
“I want you to go to St. Marks and get another MRI. I don’t think anything is wrong, but I would like to see if there have been any changes. You can eat solid food as soon as you’re through with the MRI. Come back Wednesday. You can go back to class tomorrow, but no exercise or Phys Ed, till after you see me Wednesday. I have a prescription for you for more muscle relaxers. Take them as prescribed.”
“Can I get a whirlpool treatment?”
“I’ll call your athletic trainer that will be ok.”
Imaging took a while, she had to wait in line and the test took another hour. From Imaging they went straight to the hospital’s cafeteria. Linda was that hungry and glad to be able to eat solid food again. It took Crystal and Cody both to keep Linda from overeating. She had a banana, a bowl of mixed fruit, orange juice, two granola crunch yogurts and three sausage, egg and cheese biscuits. She had wanted to eat more, but thirty minutes later she felt a little over stuffed.
>>>>><<<<<
While Linda paid a visit to the trainer’s office, Crystal and Cody visited the Coach Davis. Coach Davis was glad to hear that Linda was doing alright, but she wasn’t happy that Linda was out for this weekend.
“Oh and thank you Cody for going with her to the hospital with her, Coach Baker told me how you helped Linda. That note you passed me was good too, I had been thinking about that also.”
“What note?” Crystal asked.
“I suggested that Coach Davis switch you and Linda. I think that might be good for other games too. Crystal is stronger, quicker on her feet and more durable. She has excellent elevation too. Linda played more freely from power forward. May I make a suggestion?”
“Go ahead Cody, I will listen to anything.”
“You’re playing Georgia State, this week end. They live or die by the fast break. Go shorter and faster. Work on a hands defense. Give them a dose of their own medicine.”
“Coach McDonald suggested the same thing. Can you run my girls ragged Cody?”
“Do bears take care of bodily functions out amongst the coniferous and deciduous trees.”
Cody and Crystal picked Linda up. The trainer told Crystal to take Linda home and put her to bed, till tomorrow. She didn’t want to see her here for practice, “She told me you threatened to spank her if she exercised; you have my permission to do it.”
Linda stuck her tongue out at the trainer.
>>>>><<<<<
The coach ran them ragged; they practiced fast breaks, fast break defense and a swarming defense. Coach Davis found that Crystal and Karen were the best at a fast break throw in, Janice was a close third. She had four girls that could make the fast break and besides Cody, Amy and Karen had the best shooting percentage off the break.
Coach Davis was good about switching people in and out, to keep the players from getting overly tired. Everybody had the opportunity to play with everybody else. They had a high speed game going for thirty minutes straight that way, till the coach called a break for them to take a rest. They cooled off for a few minutes then got up to do slow laps. They were soon back at it for another twelve minutes.
The practice ended with wind sprints, a cool down and showers. The girls almost looked like they were moving in slow motion as they headed to the showers with Cody in tow.
Cody and Crystal headed home, instead of going to the cafeteria. They stopped at a burger joint and bought seven burgers. Linda greeted them with hugs as she smelled the food. They all sat and after Cody got drinks, they ate. Cody ate one burger, Crystal had a half burger more, while Linda ate two and the other half of Crystal’s half burger, the rest went into the refrigerator. They all sat on the recliner couch and talked for about five minutes, till they fell asleep.
In the morning Crystal and Linda went to their apartment to get dressed, Cody changed breast forms. Dressed in slacks and a blouse and went to his classes. After getting out of his lab, he drove by the mall and picked up his two suits and four skirts before heading home. He got to cracking on his books. He wasn’t behind, he just hadn’t read ahead as much as he liked.
At four thirty he dressed and headed to the women’s gym. Linda was sitting up in the bleachers watching practice. This was as close as the coach let her get to the court.
Coach Davis again worked on speed drills and had her girls driving the ball from midcourt to do layups. The girls also started from their usual defensive positions and made fast breaks from there, with Crystal, Karen and Janice doing the throw in’s for the break. Defensively they played a full court press designed to slow the ball down. Also the shorter, faster girls practiced running back on defense to be able to interdict any attempt to score a fast break.
Cody was sore, Coach Davis had worked him the hardest, but he delivered in spades. The girls were using Cody’s name in some very unladylike manners. They didn’t really hate him, he just pissed the hell out of them trying to stop or slow him down. He loved a running game; defenses couldn’t set up fast enough for him. He was playing against the starters again, at one point, after the starters scored; Crystal picked up Cody and carried him slowly down court. All the coaches were laughing.
Coach Davis blew her whistle and everybody stopped. She walked up to Crystal and said, “Crystal, you do know, you can’t do that in the game, don’t you?”
“I was giving my girls a break.” Crystal said. “This little fart is running us ragged.”
Cody was loudly complaining and asking Crystal to put him down. Crystal put him down when she got down court. Cody was alright with it too, because all the girls were laughing at the situation and not at him. They thought the way Cody was complaining to Crystal and her deadpan expression was hilarious. He got a dozen hugs before the basketball was brought down the court.
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday Linda headed to the clinic while Cody and Crystal headed to class. The doctor cleared her to begin exercising on Sunday. She wasn’t to be at practice till then, but could sit on the bench Saturday in street clothes. The Doctor told her that he would be at that game and would know if she played.
Players really had to obey their doctors. Coaches have been known to break their plates for a while, if players violated their doctor’s orders. Breaking their plates was code for shutting down their meal tickets. Meals are a big part of a scholarship athlete’s benefit.
Linda got a ride back to the apartment before Cody and Crystal. She then took their clothes and sorted them, before heading to the apartment complexes’ laundry. She was bringing a load back, when Cody and Crystal arrived. Cody went to start another load and Crystal took over handling clothes. Linda and Crystal had two irons going and Cody helped fold and cleaned the apartment. He debated about getting a two or three bedroom apartment next fall and get Crystal and Linda to move in with him.
Wednesday practice was a little slower and concentrated on ball handling drills and shooting. They closed with wind sprints. Linda texted Cody and Crystal. She had taken a Taxi to campus and was at the cafeteria. After they showered, they joined Linda, who was having the time of her life talking to her other friends. She had been missing the social interaction with other girls, besides Cody and Crystal and of course she was eating. Cody and Crystal got their food and joined her in their corner.
>>>>><<<<<
Thursday Amanda was supposed to be off, but a newspaper had her fly a couple of reporters to Austin to meet with some legislators. They would be there a week but would fly back by Southwest Airlines. The paper would pick up most of the cost of the plane.
Amanda filed a flight plan from Odessa Texas to Austin, Texas to Arlington, Texas and then checked the weather across the state. Weather in Texas is interesting. It could be sunny and cool in Odessa, snowing in Amarillo and eighty degrees and cloudy in Houston on the same day. Today though the temperatures were in the sixties across most of the state, the winds were variable but mostly in the five to ten mph range. There were some storms in Oklahoma that could impact her arrival in Arlington, so she also planned for several alternative airports to divert to.
Amanda then began crawling all over the Cessna 425, doing her pre-flight inspections. Richardson Aviation kept all their planes in very good shape. They had a dozen planes from single engine puddle jumpers, student pilot planes, twin prop planes the oil companies liked to rent and two business jets. Most days only one or two planes were in their hangers, while the rest were out making money.
When the reporters arrived, Amanda stowed their luggage and saw that they were seated, buckled in and comfortable, before she began her checklists, set her presets on the auto pilot and radio.
Cessna 425: Midland Departure, this is Cessna 425 holding short of 11 at ODO requesting clearance to EDC.
Midland Departure: Cessna 425 hold… Cessna 425 Squawk 2421, wind 030 at 10 knots, takeoff by VFR, runway 110 magnetic, no traffic within twenty, contact Midland Departure when you are ready to take off.
Amanda parroted the information back and made the adjustments and prepared for takeoff.
Cessna 425: Midland Departure this is Cessna 425 ready for takeoff
Midland Departure: Takeoff by VFR, no traffic within 20, climb to 3000 turn right to 120 Contact Houston Center at 131.95
Cessna 425: Roger, takeoff by VFR, no traffic, climb to 3000 turn right to 120, contact Houston Center 131.95
Midland Departure: Have a good flight.
It became a dance from Midland Departure to Houston Center to Austin Arrival as it was a short flight for the Cessna. She Landed and was on the ground for an hour as she helped the reporters get sorted out on the ground and do a pre-flight check. She had plenty of fuel so she bypassed refueling. She went through her checklists and then contacted Austin Departure.
>>>>><<<<<
Thursday Cody dressed in a cute blouse, skirt, pantyhose and heels to go to school. She had been working on getting a girlier appearance each day and decided to jump in with both feet, although she still wore her smaller breast forms. She worked on her hair and then used just a little makeup, just mascara, eyeliner and lipstick. Cody wore her cuff bracelet and her necklace with the pendant. She grabbed her purse and backpack and headed out. Cody got hugs from Crystal and Linda as they headed in to grab a bite to eat. Crystal told Linda to take her Escalade when she got out of class today. She would ride home with Cody.
The earth didn’t split open and swallow Cody up for fully dressing as a girl today. They had seen it coming and it was almost entirely overlooked by the students and teachers, they had their own issues. The teachers began to get them ready for the semester finals.
Amanda landed in Arlington, refueled, obtained hangar space for the Cessna. Insurance was cheaper when the plane was in a hangar instead of just being tied down outside in the elements. Texas weather was just unpredictable enough and hail storms could be quite devastating to light planes. Hell big planes can be destroyed by hail and heavy weather. Amanda was known at this airport just as she was at hundreds of other airports. She rented a car and drove to Dallas to take care of some business for Richardson Aviation. This allowed her to write off more of the cost of the rental.
Cody and Crystal came home to get some study time in before practice. Linda was sitting on the recliner with her books all around her. This time off had been good for her as it allowed her to catch up and get ahead in several courses. Her grades hadn’t been slipping but she did need the study time.
Crystal and Cody left at four thirty to head to practice. They dressed out and watched thirty minutes of Georgia playing on the monitors. The coaches were pointing players out and the type of plays they ran.
“We have our hands full girls,” Coach Davis said. “Georgia is one of the stronger teams we will play this year. We are thirteen and a half point underdogs in this game. Maybe more since Linda is out for this game. We need to work hard on stopping their offense. Today we will be doing shooting and defensive drills; tomorrow we will work on fast breaks and defense. Let’s go girls.”
Cody did her best in defense, the girls had to be sure handed when they dribbled near her. She had hands everywhere and stole the ball four or five times. One of the starters tried her best to do the same thing to Cody, a hip fake and between the legs dribble had that girl face plant on the floor. Over all the girls were doing much better and Cody did make a few intentional flubs to see if the girls would take advantage of the situation. Most of the girls did well stealing the ball and starting a break.
Linda was watching Sports Center on TV when she heard a knock at the door. She got up and answered the door.
Amanda was a little shocked when the mountain of a girl answered the door, “Hi I am Amanda Dalton, Cody Dalton’s mother.”
“Sorry where are my manners. I am Linda Trent and I am a friend of Cody. Come on in please, Cody is still on campus with Crystal Delong, his girlfriend.”
Amanda came in, “You must be the girl that Cody stayed with in the hospital.” She sat on the couch away from all the books.
“Yes ma’am, that is me. I caught a knee in the stomach and went down hard,” Linda said, showing the nasty bruise to Amanda.
“Oh lord, that bruise is ugly how did it happen?”
Linda showed Amanda the Sport Center footage of the hit, which she had recorded.
“That was an ugly collision.”
“The girl was thrown out of the game for the flagrant foul and received a one game suspension. I am out for this week; I can only go to the gym for a whirlpool treatment. I can start working out again this Monday.”
“That’s good, so what has Cody been up too?”
“He is helping our girls’ team. Cody is such a tenacious basketball player.”
“Yes, he tried playing high school basketball, but he was handicapped by how short he was.”
Linda finally snapped that there might be a problem. She got her smart phone out and sent Crystal and Cody a text. Cody’s MOM is here now. They wouldn’t get the text till they finished, so she texted Coach Davis to tell Cody to check his phone when she was through, please. Coach took notice of the text and didn’t say anything till she sent her girls to the shower.
Cody and Crystal had a quiet chat, as quiet a chat as you can have in a girl’s locker room. It would take hours for Cody to look like a guy. So they both showered and did their hair and makeup, before heading out. Cody texted Linda, bring Mom to IHoP.
Crystal and Cody were the first there; they got a booth in the back. Crystal waved at Linda and they came around to join them. Amanda spotted Cody and confirmed her suspicions. Cody was beautiful, Amanda expected something, but she never expected what she saw.
“Hello Cody and this must be Crystal. I am Amanda Dalton.”
“This is Crystal Delong, mom. When did you get in?”
“A couple of hours ago. I leased a Cessna 425, flew some reporters to Austin and then I had some business in Dallas. I thought I would come and visit my daughter, it seems.”
“Yes well let’s get some coffee and something to eat. This is going to take a while. These two are stuck right in the middle of this and already know everything.”
They ordered; Amanda was quite surprised how much Crystal, Linda and Cody ordered to eat.
“Well it started like this…” Cody then began the tale of how he wound up in skirts. Crystal and Linda added color commentary when Cody was a little fuzzy about the details.
“So this isn’t a fad with you.”
“No I like myself like this and the girls on the basketball team all know about me and they accept me like I am. I think I am really helping them improve the quality of their play, like I could never do with the guys. I am an unofficial member of the UTA Lady Mavericks practice squad.”
“And I sort of adopted the recliner coach with the heat and massage,” Linda said, which got everybody laughing.
“Well I am going to be here till Monday. I have to be back at work on Tuesday. Sunday we, you and I need to talk for a bit.”
“Dad is leaving you, isn’t he?”
“Yes, I haven’t seen him in a year, although we have talked a few times. Right now he is in Papua New Guinea. His lawyer and I are talking. We still care for each other, but we don’t love each other. We are being civil adults about it all. I imagine you guys need to get some sleep. I have a room at a motel, so you don’t have to change any sleeping arraignments.”
Linda dropped Amanda off at her car and then went to sleep in her bed for a change. Crystal returned to Cody’s room and held him while he had a little cry before going to sleep. Amanda liked what she saw and wondered inside her to see if she could have foreseen this in Cody. She was strangely at peace with everything. She rolled in bed till early in the morning and fell asleep.
>>>>><<<<<
As Cody and Crystal were getting ready for the day, Cody wore a skirt and blouse, he asked, “Do you think we could get one of the large three bed room town houses here and invite Linda to move in with us?”
“I think we could look into it. Just as long as we take care of Linda. I would hate to see her have to move into the dorm she’s like a sister to me.”
“I would hate to lose my couch,” Cody laughed. “I think she really would steal it.”
“Let me talk to Linda, it’s all in how we phrase it and I will get back with you. We need to do something with your hair, its ok, but it could be better.”
“Maybe tomorrow the game isn’t till six.”
“I am sure your mother would like to be there.”
“I will text her and see if she would like to go with us to the hair dressers,” Cody said, as he texted his mom. She texted back, that she would make appointments for the four of them. Cody texted Crystal and Linda. Linda texted them that she got permission from coach to watch practice.
Three o’clock seemed to take forever. Cody texted his Mom at one that he would be home at three thirty and asked her to be there.
Cody was home at three fifteen and Amanda was already waiting for him.
“Hi Mom, come on in,” Cody said, after unlocking the door.
“You’re coming to watch us practice; I just wanted to give you a heads up. Also we have to be at the stadium at five tomorrow, for the game.”
“I called and got four appointments at a place called Carly’s Adventure in Hair Design, at nine.”
“We’ll have to ride in Crystal’s Escalade. Linda can’t ride in my car.”
“The Escalade is your girlfriend’s car.”
“Yes, she lets Linda drive it and ride with her. She has a hard time getting into most sedans.
“How tall is she and Crystal?”
“Crystal is six-two to six three and Linda says she is six foot five, but I think she is closer to six foot six. Crystal and I are talking about getting a townhouse here and inviting Linda to move in with us. Crystal and I have money, Linda doesn’t. So we’ve kind of adopted her. It was either that or she was going to steal my couch.”
“After a long day at work, I like mine too. Don’t worry about college honey that is all funded.”
“I know and I still have a lot of money that gramps left me. So it really is over, between you and Dad.”
“Yes it is really over. Your Dad has a new squeeze that goes with him all over the world. I suspected it and he finally confirmed it. We each have our own money and I get the home in Odessa. We have a clear division of property. I am doing very well.”
“You have most of gramps money. I know how much he was worth.”
“Yes I still have his home in Kingwood Texas and his fishing cabin, with his boat near Port Aransas. I don’t have to work, but I will.”
“Could I take Crystal and Linda down to Port Aransas for spring break, I would like to use the boat too?”
“I will make you a key, and call to have the Utilities turned on for you. I would rather ya’ll stayed there rather than out on the beach.”
Cody went to his room and got his duffle after making sure everything was clean, “Let go Mom. I need to get to the gym.”
“You’re still wearing heels?”
“I’m still five four without them, with them I stand five eight. I even have a pair of wedge basketball shoes, but I won’t play in them. Balance would be an issue.”
Amanda found Linda and they sat together on the bleachers.
The girls and Cody came out and began to stretch, warm up and do drills.
“If Cody had a double X, he could be a starter for us,” Linda said.
“Does it bother the girls to have him change in their locker room.”
“The girls see Cody as a girl. They carried him into the locker room and put her between me and Crystal,” Linda said as they began shooting drills. “They all know, but they adopted her as a mascot.”
Cody was then put on the practice squad and they played fast break for twenty minutes. Cody would shoot and the team would try to fast break it on down the court. The starters had to catch the ball before it hit the floor and hit the open girl. The practice squad had to play it straight and then try to break up the fast break. They changed sides every five minutes so the starters got a chance at defending a fast break. When Cody got away cleanly, he made a basket. Amy and Karen were running ragged trying to stop him.
“So where is Cody during the game?”
“She dresses up in a suit and sits on the bench.”
“Men’s suit?”
“A skirted suit, Crystal has good taste in clothes.”
“Oh really.”
“Yeah, she wore a Chanel Suit in Oklahoma. Cody has a good brain for basketball.”
“Have her dress up really nice tomorrow. I want to see her in her suit.”
The Coach then began defensive drills, one side had to dribble the ball and maintain control while bringing the ball down. The other side had to harass and try to steal the ball. Cody was good at both sides one on one.
For two hours Cody worked harder than any girl on either team. The coach wanted him to give the girls hell.
“Too bad Cody can’t play, she is looking good,” Amanda said. “Better than she ever has.”
The coach had one last talk and sent the girls to the shower. Linda introduced Amanda to Coach Davis.
“Cody has been a godsend for us and our practice squad. She plays as hard as any girl on our opponents’ teams.”
“Linda go get a bunch of girls and let’s go eat at IHoP, my treat. Tell Cody that I have taken the car and I am on my way over there now to reserve the tables.”
Linda headed into the locker room and Amanda headed to the IHoP. It was fun for her to order for seating for party of twenty.
Girls started arriving five minutes later. It took the eighteen girls about thirty minutes to get seated. IHoP became like a zoo as the girl’s took over. Cody was stuck in between Crystal and Linda, a few seats away from Amanda. They drank gallons of coffee and iced tea. Some of the girls ordered breakfast; some burgers, salads, steaks and most had deserts. At one point, for fifteen minutes, the girls took over the men’s restroom, with their teammates standing guard at the door.
>>>>><<<<<
The next morning they all got up quite grumpy. It was a Saturday, Saturdays were meant for sleeping late, this was not sleeping late, and it was six thirty. Crystal got Cody into his large breast forms, bra, panties, pantyhose, dark pink Armani suit with a white chiffon ruffle front shirt, long dangle earrings, necklace, and pendant and cuff bracelet. Linda and Crystal dressed in pant suits.
Amanda came by at eight and picked them up. They ate quickly and then headed out to Carly’s Adventures in Hair Design. A fifteen minute drive later and they pulled into the parking lot. The first thing Linda noticed was the Subway sandwich shop, next to the Starbucks, her two favorite places in the whole world. Crystal had to not so gently nudge her friend away from the sandwich shop.
“You’ve just eaten, Linda. You can’t be hungry already. Girl you are going to have to earn a couple of hundred thousand a year, just to keep yourself fed,” Crystal said.
“I’ll do better when I can get back to exercising.”
“You ought to see how the basketball team can devastate a pizza buffet mom. They have to rotate which buffet they hit.”
“I can imagine it. I was part of it at Texas A&M. We had one girl that ate a sixteen inch special pizza in forty five minutes. She never gained a pound over one hundred sixty five pounds. Once a week she would bike from College Station to Huntsville and back. She rode over a hundred miles in just four hours.”
“I could do that, but I would need a custom bike, with my height and all. I could eat that pizza too.”
“We know that Linda,” Cody said giggling.
“Hello I am Beverly. Welcome to Carly’s Adventures in Hair Design,” She said, greeting the ladies with a warm smile. She couldn’t help having to look up at Linda.
“Mom is everybody in the whole world taller than me?” Cody asked.
Amanda laughed, “I am sure there are some ten and eleven year olds that you are taller than.”
“You’re not helping MOM.”
“I am Amanda Dalton and I have appointments for four.”
“Yes we are expecting you. Follow me please.”
Beverly led Linda to Jeff Coleman; he was the tallest stylist and would have fewer problems with her height. Amanda was led to the next station which belonged to Melanie, Crystal was dropped off at Olivia’s station and Carly got Cody.
The stylists spent a few minutes getting to know their clients and what they would like to have done. Carly and her stylists had become very good at seeing what the client wanted, showing them their opinion and blending the two into something that looked spectacular and where everyone was happy.
Linda had an oblong face. Jeff showed her pictures of actresses who had oblong faces and showed how their faces were accentuated to improve their looks. He suggested that she take a lesson from Jordan Dunn. Linda, who had never been overly concerned about being vogue when it came to hairstyles, did see a picture she liked.
“I like that picture. I play basketball with the other tall girl in our group. I just need to put it up in a tight bun or knot when I play. Will that hairstyle look good on me?”
“Darling that hairstyle would suit you very well and yes you can still put it up, to play basketball.”
Amanda’s current style was plain and old and did nothing for her looks. She asked Melanie what she could do to look younger and fresher, “I don’t need to look as young as my daughter, but I am soon to be single again and…”
“Been there and done that, got the divorce papers to prove it. You are pretty enough to still go fishing and I have a few ideas.”
Melanie showed her pictures of Marg Helgenberger with a curlier style. She also suggested that Amanda do something about her tired hair color and freshen up her makeup style. Amanda told her to have at it.
Crystal was having a conversation with Olivia, “I play basketball and I am good at it. I need it shorter, but I want it sexier and girlier for my girlfriend. She complains that I am plain while I am keeping her in sexy skirts and frilly blouses.”
“I could give you spiky bangs just short enough to keep out of your eyes, clipped short on the sides and sassy on the top and back.”
Olivia showed Crystal some pictures of what she was thinking. Crystal loved one and asked if she could show Cody. Olivia went over to Cody to ask if she would like this look on her friend. Cody loved the look, so Olivia got right to work.
“So what would you like Cody? I like that name for a girl.” Carly said.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know what would make me look good. I tend to blend in, so I wear heels all the time, except for when I play basketball on the practice squad at UTA. I want pretty, but spectacular.”
“So I will give you pretty spectacular,” Carly studied Cody’s face and hair. Cody had a lot of hair for her to work with. She called up a few pictures of girls very similar to Cody. They worked the group down to three pictures and Cody selected one.
“Ok Carly do your worst to me.”
Carly did her best witches cackle and said, “Yes my pretty. We have much work to do,” giving her a bone chilling witch’s laugh.
Amanda couldn’t see her daughter asked what that was.
“Oh that was Carly; she is doing the short one’s hair. She must have given Carly Carte Blanche, to work on her.”
“Oh dear, that is my daughter.”
“Don’t worry, Carly has only been a stylist for a couple of years, but she is one of the best at creating new looks. Your daughter is in good hands.”
Crystal, Amanda and Linda were fawning over each other, when they finally got up front. Regina had to take photos of each of them and asked permission to feature them in the salon’s style books. Crystal had the most change in her edgy hairstyle. She looked spectacular. Linda loved her new look and liked that Jeff took time to tell her how to bring it out each day. Amanda looked fifteen years younger after her hair and makeup were done; she just needed a suit like Cody wore. She too leaned to pants and slacks, way too much. It was understandable considering her job.
Linda and Amanda had gotten perms, Amanda and Crystal had coloring, and all three had radically different cuts. Crystals cut was the furthest out there, but it fit her looks. All three were instructed on changing their makeups.
Beverly reported back that Cody would be another hour. “Cody is getting the works. If you three want to get something to eat, we will hold Cody hostage till you get back.”
Linda headed to Subway to get two and a half feet of sandwiches, while Crystal and Amanda went to get orally injectable caffeine for everyone. They met back up at a bench and table just outside the salon. They ate and fidgeted as only women can do. Linda finished her sandwich, before Amanda finished her six inch, while Crystal finished last. They all finished their coffees and sandwiches and were sitting around talking, before Melanie came out to get them.
Amanda, Crystal and Linda all looked good, but when they finally saw Cody, she looked spectacular. She wasn’t over the top like a drag queen, or made up like a working girl, but one look at her and there was no doubt that she was all girl. Her hair had hundreds of small ringlets that framed her face; it had body texture and shine. It had dark brown low lights and blonde highlights added a few strands at a time. Her brows were more defined, arched and feminine. He makeup proved that less was most definitely more. Her lips had been conditioned and were much plumper. She had individual eyelashes bonded to her own. She was as polished as a fine diamond.
Crystal was in lust and Cody was in for one hell of a shagging tonight.
They went home to relax before a game. Crystal liked to sit and watch TV, anything but sports. Cody was surprised that she was crazy for the movie, ‘The Princess Bride’.
“I suppose you imagine that I’m Buttercup, Crystal and that you are Westley,” Cody says.
“As you wish, Buttercup.”
Cody sat in Crystal’s lap as they watched the movie. Linda reclined on the couch and was working the heat and vibrator. Amanda made them something light to eat and shook her head at the spectacle.
At three thirty left to go to the stadium. Linda wanted to get there early enough to get a whirlpool treatment. All of them were noticed as soon as they entered the locker room. They were all asked about their makeovers. Cody’s makeover made a big impression on the girls. They all had to tell their teammates about what they had done, where and who their hairdressers were. Several girls wanted edgy styles like Crystal sported, a few loved Linda’s hair, but most loved Cody’s.
Cody switched out of her heels and then worked with the equipment managers to get everything set up. The equipment managers liked having an extra pair of hands to make sure they had everything. Cody was as nervous as any of the players were, but she didn’t show it. Mostly she wished that she could play with the team. Nothing short of full SRS and two years of HRT would make that possible according to what Coach Davis told her. She liked having sex with Crystal way too much to go down that road.
The players started filtering onto the court to begin their warmups. Cody and Linda helped by throwing balls to the girls to shoot at the baskets. Some did some slow runs up and down their half of the court. While others did stretches.
Coach McDonald came out and began organizing the warmup by doing some drills. They didn’t tip their hands, by doing any of their new drills. Still the girls worked as hard as they did before any game and they looked good.
Georgia State came out and showed their strength, as they were running their drills. Their philosophy was to terrorize their opponents with their prowess. They weren’t rude about it; they were just good and showed it.
A couple of their players even made inquiries about Linda, telling her that she got a bad hit last week and that they actually wished that they could play against her. She still had some ugly bruises on her stomach and showed the girls.
Both sides went to their team rooms twenty minutes before the game. Coach Davis stood before her girls and said, “Vegas have us eighteen and a half point underdogs. I don’t think that is true, what do you think.” She paused to let them think on that. “I won’t lie to you. Georgia is going to be our toughest game this year. Their team is strong and they know it. Our team is strong and they don’t know it, yet. Let’s show them how good we are.”
Cody came out and took her seat, before their team was introduced. Amanda was sitting about four rows up behind her. The Georgia girls were introduced first and then UTA.
Crystal didn’t win the tip-off, their center out jumped her, but she got her finger tips on the ball and deflected it enough that Amy got the ball. She threw it to Karen who shot a three pointer, nothing but net. Georgia inbounded the ball and brought it rapidly up the court. Their shooting guard drove to the top of the key and did a jump shot just inside the three point line. Crystal took the ball out and launched all the way to Amy who was under the goal, she had an easy layup.
Barely twenty seconds into the game the score was 5-2. Amy was already set on defense when Georgia brought the ball in and for the next eleven minutes and forty seconds of game time there was bedlam on the court. The ball went back and forth; both teams were scoring on the fly. The lead went back and forth. Georgia received a warning and a couple of technical fouls, when they tried to bat the ball away so UTA couldn’t fast break back on them.
Coach Davis was moving girls in and out every time the clock stopped, for a foul or violation. Georgia followed suit. With four minutes in the half, the game slowed down to almost normal pace and the opposition began to play a conventional game. Coach Davis called for a swarming defense and UTA forced three turnovers, scoring twice. Both teams’ scores were well above average, by half time UTA was ahead at 53 to 50.
The girls on both teams slowly drug themselves to their team locker room. Coach Davis was happy, but worried. Happy that her girls had done so well and worried at the toll it took on the team. If only Linda was available, but she wasn’t going to go down that road. She was going to have to slow the game down. It is Counter-intuitive, but a full court press can slow the game down for most of the girls. Karen and Amy would take most of the pressure.
Georgia scored first in the second half and Crystal shot the ball on down the court to Janice. Janice was covered and didn’t get the fast break, but both teams had to run down the court to help. UTA rimmed the shot; the Georgia small forward recovered the ball, but was trapped by Crystal, Janice and Amy. The girl bounced the ball out off of Janice’s leg.
Crystal and Amy were on the girl, inbounding the ball, while Karen was all over the Georgia point guard. She bounced the ball out again off of Crystal. Georgia sent all their players in a stack to assist in inbounding (A stack is where all the inbound players form a tight line. When the ball is handed to the girl inbounding the ball, the four players in the stack head off in random directions.), UTA just trotted on down the court. When the ball was inbounded Amy and Karen met the point guard, just before mid-court. The rest of the UTA girls were swarming on the open Georgia girls.
It was another minute thirty three seconds before either team scored again. UTA forced a turnover and scored on a break. The rest of the second half was slower with bursts of high speed play. With two minutes left UTA was up by one, but Amy had fouled out and Georgia was at the foul line. The girl missed the first shot but sunk the second. UTA scored on the next play, but Georgia scored the next four points. Crystal attempted a long three point shot with just seconds left. The ball hit the front of the rim, bounced and hit the backboard then it went off to the side. Georgia had won 90 to 88.
Crystal was close to tears and went to her knees. A Georgia girl helped her up, gave her a chest bump and a big hug. That started a hug fest as girls congratulated each other, for a game well played.
After the game Amanda, Cody, Crystal and Linda with five other girls were all in Cody’s small apartment, vegetating. Amanda was on the lazyboy; Amy, Karen and Debra were on the fold out bed. Linda, Janice and Rebecca were on the couch recliner. When it looked like they were here to stay, Cody brought out sheets and blankets. Girls stripped to their underwear and got comfortable.
Cody and Crystal couldn’t screw, because the only bathroom was in Cody’s room. They didn’t feel comfortable doing that and being interrupted. Crystal was too tired anyway. They did have quiet shag in the morning. Cody had come loose through the night and sported a morning woody. Crystal had him wrapped up in her arms and legs. He just had to move the crotch of her panty a bit and then slide in as he sucked on a nipple. She moaned and started assisting. It didn’t last much over five minutes, but it perked them both up. They took a quick shower together and then got dressed, with girls coming in and out heading to the bathroom.
Amanda came in and out at about seven, while Crystal was doing Cody’s makeup. She told them that she was going out to bring back breakfast, from a local Donut shop. She bought a couple of dozen donuts, a bunch of kolaches, sausage egg and cheese biscuits and a couple of gallons of milk, orange juice and chocolate milk. One of the other girls was doing the same thing elsewhere at another shop.
She found all the girls up munching on things when she got back. She was relieved of her burdens and given a kiss to her cheek. Her munchies were being greedily passed out. Amanda managed to save some for herself. By nine o’clock the girls had depleted the food brought in and almost everything else in the apartment that could be eaten or drunken. They had been like a cloud of locust devouring a field of wheat or the Dwarves who ravished Bilbo Baggins’ larder at his hobbit hole.
Some of the girls had dressed and left. Amy and Karen remained and helped Amanda clean up, while Cody, Crystal and Linda went grocery shopping. Since Cody needed everything edible, toilet paper, paper towels and much more, it took a while shopping.
The two girls at his apartment had cleaned and done all the laundry. Amy and Karen were sitting snuggled up watching TV with Amanda. Everybody helped put everything up. Amy took a package of Tampons and panty liners to Cody’s bathroom and put them on the shelves next to the towels. Crystal wondered where her purchases had gone, but found them in the bathroom. She put some of each into her purse and left the rest there, she knew that she was due shortly. She also loaded some into the purse Cody carried.
They all sat down to watch Denver play the Celtics on TV. It was a high scoring, light your hair on fire and run, type game. Amanda also liked to watch the big guys bang on the boards. Linda though was the most fanatical of the five of them. She would stand up at yell at the officials, when they made a bad call or yell ‘How can that not be traveling are you blind or can you not count, ref’. She would never act that way to an official at her own games.
It was about three in the afternoon that Amy got a call on her cell phone. She looked at the display and answered her phone, “Hi Mom.”
“Hello Amy, your brother has had a motorcycle accident. He hit a car that pulled out in front of him. He flew over the car and landed on his head thirty feet past.”
“Oh my God, how is he, is he alright?”
“No, he is in the hospital here. He is in surgery right now. They don’t know if he will make it.”
“I need to come see him Mom. I am going to pack right now.”
“Hi I am Amanda Dalton; I am with Amy right now. What city is the hospital in?”
“HI I am Wendy Lindstrum; Mikey is in Spohn South Hospital at Corpus Christi.”
“Can you pick Amy up in four hours at the general aviation terminal at Corpus Christi International Airport?” Amanda told them where that was.
“If I can’t her cousin can.”
“Good we are on our way.”
Amy hung up and Amanda began issuing orders, “Cody go with Amy, bring her to the hangar I use at Arlington Municipal airport. I am going to get the plane in order.”
The four girls rushed out to get Amy ready. Amanda locked up and then headed to the airport. She asked that her plane be serviced while she ran into the terminal to check the weather and file a flight plan. The Cessna 425 was sitting outside the hangar ready to go. Amanda was doing her pre-flight inspection, when Cody and the girls arrived. Cody stowed Amy’s bags. Crystal was instructed to park her SUV in the hangar. Everyone piled into the plane. Cody was sitting in the left seat, with her headset on, doing the checklist.
Cody liked flying as much as his mom did. He had gotten his pilot’s license after his eighteenth birthday and was now a single and multi-engine, instrument rated, land, private pilot. He didn’t need to ask what he should do.
Amanda checked to see that all the girls were strapped in, before joining Cody in the cockpit. She sat in the right seat and strapped in. When Cody finished his checklist, he looked around the plane to see he was clear and started his engines. Amanda contacted Arlington ground for permission to taxi. When the engines were warm and stable Cody did his run ups and taxied to the end of the runway per instructions. Cody contacted Arlington tower for clearance going through the whole spiel with them.
Amanda let Cody do his thing and was there to assist him. He took off nicely and was handed off to Regional departure to Fort Worth Center. They were at twelve thousand feet when he contacted Houston center to be handed off to Corpus Christi approach, Corpus Christi tower and then ground. Amanda took the controls and drove to the terminal. Inside the terminal Wendy excitedly greeted her daughter.
“Amy, Mickey is still in surgery, but they did upgrade his condition from critical to serious. It looks like he might make it.”
Amy introduced Amanda and the girls. “And that girl over there by the plane is Cody, she helped fly us here.”
“I want to thank you for flying my daughter here. Thank Cody too, but we need to get moving.”
Amy grabbed her bags and went with her mother. Amanda had Cody go into the terminal and check the weather and file a flight plan back to Arlington. She came back, did her pre-flight check before getting on the plane. Her mom was sitting in the right seat as she got in the left seat. Amanda read off the checklist as Cody performed the actions. She ran the radio as Cody flew the plane. They took off following directions and flew back to Arlington.
Back in Arlington Cody put the plane to bed after inspecting it and having it serviced and filled in the planes logbook and her logbook. She now had a hundred and ninety hours of flight time; she just needed another sixty hours to get her commercial ticket. Her mom also logged her time into her logbook also. Cody showed her time to her mother.
“Do you want to get your commercial license?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“We’ll just have to work on that then.”
Karen went back to her room, Amy had called and her brother would make it. Linda went back to her apartment. Amanda went back to her motel. Crystal and Cody wound up in bed, where Crystal shagged the heck out of Cody. It was the last time before she was on her period. She could feel it coming.
Crystal got up during the night to clean herself and used a tampon. She put a pair of Cody’s panties, with a panty liner on and went back to sleep.
>>>>><<<<<
Cody got an email forwarded to him, the next day that he read at lunch. Amy’s brother was upgraded to poor. He would make it, but he would miss a semester of school and would graduate in December instead of May. He had a long road of physical therapy ahead. Amy would fly back on Wednesday to DFW at four; she would be back in time for finals to begin. Cody texted Karen, that he would pick up Amy if she wanted. Karen texted that she would go with Cody. Cody texted, Crystal texted Cody that they could use her Escalade, as Cody drove a Mini-Cooper.
Amanda flew back to Odessa while the girls were at school. She wanted to stay. It was fun being with Cody and the girls, but she had a job and the girls didn’t need her nosing around. She did find out that a three bedroom Town house would be open at the complex come summer. She put her money down on it and texted Cody. Cody then texted Crystal who texted back ‘got it, Linda in with it’.
At practice Linda was a happy camper. She was told to take it easy, but it was good being back. Coach Davis was glad to have Linda back and that she would have her point guard back before their next game.
They had a good practice; they kept up some of the new drills. Cody was looking better on the court as he was getting some consistent play against good opponents. He needed to spend Saturday morning and Sunday studying, Crystal agreed.
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday Crystal gave Cody the keys to her Escalade, while she and Linda stayed on campus to study. Cody had to move the driver’s seat all the way forward to reach the pedals. She picked up Karen at three fifteen and headed to DFW. She dropped off Karen and told her to call when they were ready to be picked up. Cody parked in one of the big parking lots and waited for Karen’s call. It came about twenty minutes later. Karen and Amy were standing by the curb as Cody drove up. Cody popped open the back and they put Amy’s bags in. She then held the door to the back open and the girls got in.
“Cody I want you to thank your mom for getting me down to Corpus Christi so fast. It might have taken four to six hours longer for me to get there.”
“Mom and I both loved doing that for you, but I will tell her. I got three more hours of flight time in doing it.”
“I saw you flying, I didn’t know if you were a pilot or not.”
“Mom is a commercial pilot and I am a private pilot. It’s a lot like auto licenses. You have auto, motorcycle, CDL licenses.”
“Could she fly a 747?”
“No, those pilots are air transport pilots; they are a huge step up from a commercial pilot.”
They passed out of the DFW parking complex and onto one of the major roads. Cody looked into the mirror and saw a ton of non-verbal communication going between the girls.
“I am turning my rear view mirror up so I can’t see you two. I know you missed each other. You have fifteen minutes before we get to Campus.”
“You know?” Amy asked.
“Since the first day you stayed with Linda after she got hurt,” Cody said. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”
Cody could hear Amy and Karen doing things, but as he promised he didn’t look or bother them, at least till he was a few minutes from campus. He gave the girls a little warning. Amy and Karen both gave Cody big hugs picking him up off the ground. They also kissed his cheeks. They took one arm each and kind of pulled him along to their dorm room. They quickly got undressed and into their sports gear, while Cody sat on a bed.
Cody didn’t dress out once they got to the gym; he just changed into his pretty pink ballet slippers and walked into the gym while the girls were running drills. Amy and Karen were swamped by hugs and kisses. Coach Davis let them have a couple of minutes and then got them back to practicing. Since Cody wasn’t dressed for practice she had him running passing drills for the guards and small forwards. Cody wasn’t bad as an assistant coach, as she kept the girls working hard and ironing out problems.
She got the girls into a semi-circle and had them pass to Amy at the top of the circle who passed it to the girls around the circle as fast as they could. All the girls were told to keep moving, with in their area, not travel with the ball and not to pass cross court. Only Amy could pass to everybody.
Cody then got the girls practicing fast breaks. She tossed the ball to the girl out of bounds as another girl was making a break. The girl with the ball had three seconds to inbound the ball, leading the girl on break. The girl inbounding was the next fast break girl as Cody threw the ball to the next girl. The coaches got all the girls into the line and began shouting for the girls to pick up the pace and correcting the girls. Coach Baker started the drill going back the other way. Coach Davis and Coach McDonald fed Cody and Coach Baker balls. They kept the girls going for thirty minutes, till many of the girls were ready to collapse.
Cody, Crystal and Linda began living in both apartments. Linda was still in love with Cody’s reclining couch, especially after practices like today. Cody often saw her in just her panties sitting on that couch, watching TV.
Sunday a third of the team was in his apartment the semester finals would begin Monday. Cody got them to move the couch and two TV’s up to Crystal’s apartment which was larger and she moved most of his girl’s clothes to Crystal’s room. The girls also moved some excess stuff to Cody’s apartment, which literally became a closet. Linda picked Cody up in a bear hug. Cody complained that he was getting a nose bleed from being so high.
After they studied for three hours, they ordered half a dozen pizzas. Cody became a Barbie Doll, she was frustrated as the girls were doing everything for her, but she relaxed and went with the flow. They had a sleep over. This sleep over was sans beer as they had tests Monday through Thursday.
They had four days of testing and things were pretty intense that week. The girls had to work hard and still practice hard, they had a game this weekend after the semester ended. Cody would miss that game as she was expected home. Friday Cody spent the morning with Crystal at the mall, just walking around. They each bought Christmas gifts for each other, their parents and for Linda.
At one they kissed and parted after giving Linda her presents. The team had to catch a plane to Little Rock for a game with Arkansas. Cody drove straight to Odessa, a little over a five hour drive, if she had been going the speed limit. She actually made the trip in four hours and thirty eight minutes. There were some wide open stretches of road and the Mini-Cooper was very nimble. Cody thought about trading the mini because of Crystal and Linda. She liked driving the Escalade, but it was a very big vehicle, the Mini-Cooper was just so fun to drive.
When she got home, her Mom told her to pack for a couple of days. She had planned a surprise. They were going to fly to Little Rock for the Lady Mavericks game. Cody chose her deep green Prada suit, jeans, a couple of tops, underwear and other necessities like makeup.
Amanda let her catch four hours of sleep, before they headed to the airport. They flew the Cessna to Little Rock Airport. While they had been airborne Cody had texted the coach about which hotel they were at. He was surprised to get a text back giving him the location and the time they expected to be getting up to go eat.
The game was a six pm game, and the girls had flown to Little Rock AR where they picked up a charter bus to a local motel. The girls were to sleep in till nine and would head to the stadium at four thirty. Amanda rented a car at four in the morning and went to sleep for a few more hours.
Their telephone rang at seven. Cody and Amanda were tired but got up anyway. They got dressed and headed to a diner just across the road. Janice and Susan were sitting in the diner half zoned out. Their eyes got really big when Cody and her mom came in. Janice waved them over to their table.
“Shouldn’t ya’ll be getting some shut eye,” Cody asked, as she and Amanda sat at the table.
“Couldn’t sleep, I woke at five thirty and Janice got up a little later,” Susan said. “What are you doing here?”
“I am here to surprise Crystal. Mom surprised me by suggesting we fly us here. Don’t say anything to the other girls. I am going to be checking ya’ll onto the bus, when ya’ll head out for lunch.”
“Then you better eat fast, you know how Linda is about food. She is libel to be here any minute.”
“I don’t know about that,” Janice said. “She was very zonkered when we got here. She didn’t sleep at all on the plane. She was looking out the window taking photographs of the city lights. She kept Crystal up late too. They had to come here at one to get something to eat, before they headed to bed.”
Amanda and Cody ate quickly and were back in their room before the girls went to eat. Coach Davis came by the room and gave Cody a clip board and told her to be at the bus at about one.
Cody took this time to dress up nice in her green Prada suit and heels. Amanda helped Cody with her hair and makeup. Helping her child with their hair and makeup was something that even in her wildest dreams that she would ever do. She had a ton of FUN doing it and it was obvious that Cody was enjoying it too.
Crystal, Linda and the rest of the girls were given their ten minute call. They were ready to go on time. Most of the girls would come back to the motel and spend the night in Little Rock, before flying back to Arlington. They would depart their separate ways to home for the Christmas Break from there. Others would fly out from Little Rock. Crystal would spend the night back here, but would fly to Philadelphia and Drive back to Trenton, New Jersey with her mother. Linda would fly out that night, at midnight, to Kansas City, Kansas, where she would ride with her mother to Osawatomie, Kansas.
Crystal and Linda left their room and met up with a number of girls just waiting. They headed to the bus when Coach Baker came to round them up. Janice came up to Crystal and started a conversation with her about the Arkansas point guard, so Crystal’s attention was otherwise affixed as they approached. She stopped talking and looked up though when she heard a girl shout Cody. Cody stood at the head of the line checking the team in.
Crystal rushed over to Cody, nearly knocking Amy and Karen down, “Cody, WTF are you doing here? Why didn’t you call me and tell me you were coming to the game?”
“One question at a time Crystal,” Cody said, almost laughing. “Blame it on my mother. She surprised me with this, when I got home to Odessa. We flew in just this morning.”
Crystal picked Cody up off the ground and planted a nice juicy kiss on her lips. That had the rest of the girls oohing, aahhing and giggling.
“Crystal put that girl down and get on the bus,” Coach Davis said. “You can’t do the nasty till after the game. NOW PUT HER DOWN!”
Crystal gave Cody one more kiss and stuck her tongue out at Coach Davis who almost lost it laughing. Cody got hugs and kisses from the girls as they boarded the bus. Linda also picked Cody up in a hug as she waited to board the bus.
Amanda followed the bus in her rental car as they headed to the Golden Corral Buffet. Coach Davis admonished the girls on the bus not to try and put them out of business, they had a basketball game to play in four hours. Cody and Amanda followed Coach Davis in as she had to pay for all the girls. They did sit with all the girls though; the girls had saved seats for them.
Amanda sat next to Cody who was sitting next to Crystal and across for Linda, Janice, Amy and Karen. Cody had to tell all the girls about their flying in while they ate. The basketball team didn’t wreck the buffet like a football team could, but they did eat more than the average patron to the establishment.
Amanda was drawn into many of their conversations and had more fun than she could remember having these last few years. They seemed to be enjoying each other’s company very much. Talking also slowed their eating quite a bit, which was good for the girls.
After they ate the coach told them to walk if off for an hour. There were several shops in the area; the girls might be interested in, in the area. Coach Davis just told them to be back in an hour. Cody went with the girls who had been at her table, while Amanda went back to her room to relax.
Amy stopped the girls as they were walking. She was laughing her head off. All she could do was point to an assisted living Retirement home and then across the street to a HOOTERS.
Crystal was laughing too, as she said, “I guess they want a higher turnover of the retired men. I can picture a group of men with canes and walkers crossing the street here to get to Hooters.”
The girls had to stop and take pictures of the two businesses.
Everybody made it back to the bus and the bus headed back to the motel. The girls laid around and watch TV for an hour and a half. Crystal’s room held a lot of girls as they all followed Cody into the room.
At four thirty they got back on the bus and headed to the stadium. In the locker room everybody got dressed and Cody put her hard court shoes on. When they went out on the court she assisted in putting towels out for the girls, putting Lady Maverick seat back covers on their seat and running drills for the girls.
Once the girls were all warmed up they headed back to the locker room for Coach Davis’ pep talk, “Girls we are better than Arkansas, no questions about it. Let’s play a good game and be good sportsmen about it. They have three really good players; their strong forward may be all conference, Linda you will be on her. Crystal their center likes to play it a little rough, don’t be tempted to drop down to her level, let her get the fouls. Amy their point guard is as fast and tenacious as Cody, guard the ball and be ready to pass it off, rather than lose the ball. Help her out girls.
Cody went to the bench as the teams were introduced; she stood with the assistant coaches as the girls were introduced. UTA was introduced first, and then the UALR Trojans were introduced. The two coaches shook hands and were talking to the referees before the tip off.
Charlotte Grogan was the Trojans coach. Charlotte saw one of the students throw something as did Cody. Coach Grogan grabbed Coach Davis’s arm and tried to pull her out of the way. Cody ran and jumped and blocked the object with her arms. The object was a twenty four ounce cherry coke. The drink exploded when it hit Cody’s arm in a cloud of ice and sticky syrup mixed with water. The liquid hit Coach Grogan and both referees, but Cody took the brunt of the sticky yucky mess.
A furious Coach Grogan stomped her way to the scorer’s table and grabbed the announcer’s mike as Coach Davis went to see how Cody was. The Referees blue a bench technical foul.
“Justin Watson, I saw you throw that drink. Yeah I know it was you. Police he is right there, arrest him. If anymore of this bullshit is done by another Arkansas student or fan, we will forfeit this game. UTA is a good school and they don’t deserve this,” Coach Grogan said as she slammed the microphone back down on the scorer’s table. The mike would never work again.
Susan brought Cody a towel. Her hair was a wreck, mascara was running down her face and her blouse and suit were a mess.
“Oh shit, my silk blouse is ruined and this is only the second time I wore my Prada suit. It’s going to need a hell of a lot of cleaning.”
Coach Grogan blanched as she heard that, “What did you pay for that blouse and suit?”
“Nine hundred for the Stella McCarthy Eva silk blouse and twenty five hundred for the Prada suit,” Crystal supplied. “I was with her when she bought them at Neiman Marcus.”
Coach Baker escorted Cody back to the locker room; Cody had some underwear, a t-shirt and a UTA track suit in her day bag. Amanda came in the locker room while Cody was showering. Coach Baker assured her that Cody was alright. She just wanted to get clean and get back out on the court.
The boy who had thrown the drink was arrested and escorted out to jail. He had been charged with assault and felonious malicious mischief, when the police learned how expensive the clothing was. He later pleaded guilty to assault and made restitution of five thousand dollars to avoid felony charges. Coach Grogan sent Coach Davis a check.
It took ten minutes for them to clean and dry the floor before the game could start. The officials chided the Trojan coach. Coach Grogan assured them nothing else like that would happen again. Crystal shot two foul shots and then UTA brought the ball in on the sidelines. Eight seconds later UTA was ahead four to zero.
There was three minutes left in the half when Cody came out of the locker room. Her hair was slightly damp and weighed heavy. The team stood up and applauded as she reached the benches. Their applause caught on with the whole stadium. Cody had a nice blush as she took her seat.
UTA was ahead by a score of forty eight to thirty four. That was as close as the Trojans would get from that point on. By half time the score was fifty six to thirty six. The Trojans were having trouble getting the ball on their end of the court. Janice, Amy and Karen had gone all out on stopping the ball and trapping the opposition point guard.
Cody had to give a statement to the police, who didn’t know about her. She told them what she saw and what the clothes cost. One cop believed that Cody was inflating the cost, but a savvy lady officer set him straight when she heard the brand names.
At half time the coach congratulated the girls on their play and began pointing out the few faults she had seen to their play.
“Girls, I’m not going to tell you not to score, we have a twenty point lead. Don’t let up on defense, keep pressing to get turnovers and slow the ball down on offense. I won’t mind us losing the ball on shot clock turnovers. I don’t want us to just drive their noses into the ground and stomp on them. Keep the lead we have, if they start gaining work a little harder and faster on offense.”
The second half was anti-climactic, the Trojans fought hard, but the Lady Mavs met them bucket for bucket without running up the score. There was one spectacular foul, where Crystal and the Trojan center both went after the same loose ball, they collided shoulder to shoulder, like two Sumo wrestlers colliding and both went down hard. Neither of them got the ball, Karen was coming hard and snagged it. After the play was whistled dead both coaches came to check out their player. They were both rolling in pain, but at the same time they were laughing their heads off.
Linda was standing between both coaches and said, “I think we need to form a search party for two brains. They both might have lost them with that collision.” Linda stood at both girls’ feet and pulled them both up.
Both girls went to the bench for the rest of the game. Coach Davis gave more time to her bench player as did Coach Grogan. The bench players actually had a good game going for the last eight minutes. UTA won the game by sixteen points. The girls from both teams met in the middle to shake hands and for hugs. Cody got picked up by Janice and a player from the other team. Cody was complaining bitterly, but smiling at the same time. She had what was left of the crowd laughing.
Amanda took Linda to the airport, while Coach Davis took the girls to the golden arches. Crystal had a big bag of ice on her right shoulder, which made eating difficult. Cody had fun feeding Crystal a couple of burgers and fries, she just made sure to count her fingers after every bite.
Coach Davis asked Cody what possessed her to block that projectile.
“I don’t know, I saw it flying in the air and that it might hit you. I didn’t want you to get hit, so I just sort of moved to block it.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate it, but you don’t have to do that.”
“But I did. I can’t have our coach insulted like that.”
Coach Davis just shook her head and sat at her table.
Cody went to Crystal’s room to sleep instead of her mother’s room. She had to help Crystal undress. Crystal’s arm was fully functional, but extremely sore, but mostly Cryatal liked having Cody undress her. A nice warm bath that lasted half an hour did wonders for Crystal and Cody, plus it provided time for a for some careful recreation with Cody in charge, that did wonders for Crystal’s mood. Cody also strapped Crystal’s right arm beneath her breasts and dressed her in an itty bitty thong, for her to sleep in.
The next morning, the trainer and Crystal spent a couple of hours at the hospital. X-rays showed no broken bones and an MRI showed only minor damage to the soft tissue of her right shoulder. The doctor gave Crystal a cortisone shot, since she wouldn’t be playing for again for three weeks and a prescription for pain pills and a muscle relaxer.
Amanda gave Crystal a lift to the airport. The kids got a kiss together before Crystal headed to the United Terminal and Amanda returned the rental at the general aviation terminal.
Cody took the controls of the Cessna for the flight back to Odessa, while Amanda relaxed and ran the radio. Fresh snow had fallen east of Little Rock. Cody liked looking at the wide expanses of snow as he flew. After an hour and a half Cody contacted Midland Arrival stating he was ten minutes out of KODO and his intent to land there.
Two minutes after that Amanda got a call from Ronald Richardson. He asked her if she could fly to Portland Oregon on a Medical transport. A twenty one year old boy was brain dead on life support; his parents signed an order to shut off life support and an order to donate his organs. They were waiting on arranging transport before they began harvesting organs. Robert told her she would be flying the Citation to Portland Oregon and he was taking the Gulf Stream to Tampa Bay.
“Yes I am pretty well rested; I just need a bathroom break. Cody had been doing the flying.”
“Cody is flying?”
“Yes he is.”
“Can he fly to Spinks Fort Worth and then on to Houston Hobby in the 425?”
“He isn’t a commercial pilot.”
“He could fly as a volunteer.”
“Cody, can you fly to Fort Worth Spinks and then to Houston Hobby? You’ll be transporting transplant organs.”
“Sure I feel great. I can do that.”
“Ok, I will notify the Hospital and get cracking on the flight plans. The Citation will be ready and the fuel truck will be ready to service Cody.”
Cody landed and she and her mother hit the rest rooms, before checking the weather on their flight path. There were four planes in front of Richardson Aviation’s hangar, two business jets and two turbo props. A fourth Pilot was checking out a Piper Malibu. They did their pre-flight checks, checked their charts and radio frequencies and were ready when they heard the helicopters arriving.
Cody had the hottest cargo she was transporting a heart for the Baylor Heart Institute in Fort Worth and a pancreas to Houston Methodist. The pancreas wasn’t a hot transport. Ronald was hot run carrying lungs to Tampa Bay, Amanda was transporting a kidney to Denver and a kidney to Portland Oregon, William Allen another volunteer, had a hot transport of a liver to Topeka KS.
Cody picked up two passengers, both Doctors, with coolers. She was in the air in four minutes, followed by William, Amanda and Ronald.
Cody landed in Fort Worth Spinks in an hour and was directed to an air ambulance, where one doctor got off. Ten minutes later she was in the air headed to Houston Hobby. At Hobby Cody was directed to another air Ambulance.
After dropping off the doctor with the pancreas, Cody got permission to taxi to the general aviation terminal. She had her plane refueled and tied it down. She called Don Richardson and told him that she was going to catch a few winks before she returned. He told her no problem. She found a couch in the pilots lounge and laid down for some sleep.
Cody woke up a couple of hours later. Her cell phone was buzzing. Don called and asked if she would be ok down there for three days. Dawson Aviation Mechanics were going to replace the engines with more powerful fuel efficient turboprop engines. Houston had better resources for engine replacement than Odessa. Cody said she could get a room for a couple of days. Amanda called and said she was spending the night in Portland, Cody told her about the maintenance, Don wanted done on the Cessna. Janet then called and asked Cody if she was in Houston.
“Yes I am how did you know, Janice?”
“I landed at Hobby and while we were taxiing I saw your plane.”
“It’s a rental; I flew to Hobby airport on a Medical Transport. I ferried an organ from Odessa to Houston. Do you live in Houston?”
“Yes, I am waiting for my Mom now. When are you going back to Odessa?”
“In three days, they are upgrading the engines on the Cessna.”
“I’ll get my mom to pick you up. You can stay with us.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Hush, say thank you very much.”
“Thank you very much.”
Cody then called Crystal and told her what had happened. She told Crystal that she was going to stay with Janice for a few days. Cody ended the call when she saw Janice. Cody turned over the keys to the plane and got her bags.
It was a fun three days down in Houston. She slept in bed with Janice, but it was totally platonic. Janice and Cody played basketball against her teenage brother and his high school friend. The girls totally smoked the boys. She got her suit and blouse cleaned at a good reputable cleaners. The suit came out ok, but the blouse retained a few stains, that had set. Janice took Cody to a mall and got her some more clothes. They also went down to Galveston to see Dickens on the Strand, and the tall ship Elissa.
Thursday Cody went back to Hobby airport. She went with a mechanic for a one hour flight to check the new engines out. The plane took off quicker, had a twenty knot faster true speed, climbed ten percent faster than before and used ten percent less Jet A, especially at altitudes above twenty thousand feet. She signed off on the work and notified Don Richardson. She filed a flight plan and checked the weather to head home.
When she landed Ronald Richardson wanted to go on a ride with Cody to see how the new engines worked. Cody flew an hour trip around Odessa. They did a few touch and go landings, climbed to twenty thousand feet, did a few power on stalls and a few power off stalls. The plane recovered nicely. Ronald liked the new engines.
Amanda, dressed in Richardson Aviation coveralls, met Cody at the office after she logged all her time.
“I’m taking the Gulfstream and I’m flying some oil execs to Cheyenne, Laramie and Sheridan Wyoming; I should be back Saturday evening.”
This was something Cody had gotten use to as soon as he turned seventeen. Amanda made more money on longer overnight flights, “Ok mom, take care.” Cody took her mother’s car home and laid down to relax for a bit.
When Cody got up she didn’t know what to do so she got dressed in a bra, gaff, panties, panty hose, a silk blouse, fitted mini-skirt, heels and a blazer to do some shopping. She gave herself a nice daytime look and worked on her hair. Before she headed out the door she put on her fur trimmed coat and grabbed her Luis Vuitton purse.
Walking in the mall alone shopping was different; she had no one to discuss what she was looking at. Still she strolled by the clothing and jewelry stores stopping to look at the mannequins and displays. She did go into one high end boutique. She wanted to replace the white silk blouse that had been stained. After looking at dozens of blouses, she found a lovely white silk long sleeve button up blouse. She tried it on and fell in love with it. It only cost three hundred and fifty dollars, so it was a little cheaper. She got it, a couple of necklaces, some silver bangles and a pair of chandelier earrings that were part of the set. She wore the new stuff out. It was fun being a girl.
At a kiosk she bought a charm bracelet and added about a dozen charms, including a basketball, airplane charm, anchor charm, rod and reel charm, bucking bronco charm, bells, stars and more. The charms cost more than the sterling silver bracelet. The girl running the kiosk was one that Cody knew very well from high school. She didn’t twig that Cody was a boy she knew, she just set about attaching the charms to the bracelet.
The charm bracelet and bangles made a lot of noise as Cody walked away and Cody loved it. Just inside the doors of one of the anchor stores. She encountered the makeup perfume counters. She had plenty of makeup, but she didn’t have a scent that was her own. There was a lady behind the counter that was more than happy to help her find a scent.
The lady had hundreds of tiny sticks; she would just get the smallest part of the perfume to soak into the stick, so that Cody could smell them. She liked most of the fragrances, but they didn’t quite seem right for her. Cody found one Agent Provocateur Petale Noir. It smelled of magnolia, violets, roses, with a hint of new leather and ginger. The sales lady showed her how to use it sparingly for maximum effect. It was even better after she wore it for a few minutes, if junior hadn’t been well restrained, he would have shown how much he liked it.
Cody bought the fragrance and a couple of new lipsticks and received a makeup bag filled with some makeup freebies, on top of a makeover by one of the technicians. Cody looked very beautiful and sexy.
She stopped in the food court for an early, a chicken stir fry, salad and a diet coke. Now she had all this very expensive girl’s clothes, she was watching her weight very closely. She could lose four or five pounds and not make a big difference, but if she gained weight, she would have to lose the weight or get some new clothes.
While eating, Cody got a call from Richardson Aviation. They wanted her to come in, in the morning. The man who was managing their hangar, needed to take some time off as his wife was having a baby. Cody had worked in the hangars before and they knew he could handle moving the aircraft in and out of the hangar.
As the hangar manager she would have to use the tugs to move planes in or out of the hangar, marshal planes coming in to where she wanted them for the time being, keep the hangar floor clean and sometimes taxi an aircraft to get it ready for flight or to the mechanic’s shop for repairs. She would also have to do post flight checks, check the logbooks to see if there were any pilot complaints, to see if the maintenance was up to date and to check for airworthiness directives.
She told Don she would be in at seven thirty. Don Richardson handled the business end of things. He was a pilot, but only went up to keep his certifications on the various planes they owned. Ronald Richardson saw to the planes and flew when he was needed. Richardson aviation had four full time commercial pilots and a half dozen on call.
Cody made one more stop to get a pair of work boots for the job and a couple of pair of coveralls, the uniform shop had the Richardson Aviation logos pressed on the coveralls on the back and left breast and Cody’s name on the right breast.
Cody arrived the next morning ten minutes early. She had beat Don and Ronald. A returned plane sat tied down in front of the hangar. Don was the first one there; Cody came out and met him at the door to the office.
“Hey Cody, you sure look different.”
“I bet I do. That won’t be a problem will it?”
“Come talk to me in the office.”
They went in the outer office and into Don’s office, “Have a seat, let me get the coffee pot burning beans.”
Cody sat for about ten minutes, till Don came back, “Now tell me something? This isn’t some bullshit is it?”
“No sir, this is me. I like me now.”
Don looked her up and down, “Your mom told us about this. I thought she was bullshitting me. I can’t begin to understand this shit, but if you do your work, we won’t have any problems.”
He was clearly bothered by Cody’s appearance, but they needed the help.
“Just tell me what to do and I will get it done. You’ll never have to tell me twice to do something.”
“Here are your keys. You have a key to the hangar, to the key box, the office door from the hangar and the tug. Your responsible to hangar the planes, check in the planes, taxi planes and refueling planes. Keep the hangar clear of FOD (Don and Ron were a military pilots some years ago). Here is the checklist you’ll use when checking in planes, open the hangar door, get the keys to that plane on the tarmac and check it in. A checkmark is good an X needs an explanation.”
Cody opened the key return box, unlocked the hangar door and then used a key to electrically open the hangar door. She them began to work the checklist, by first checking the outside of the plane. Don watched her on a security monitor. She went around the plane twice checking wheels, landing gear, wings, struts, control surfaces and such. She went in the plane and turned the electronics on as she pulled out the planes logbook. She checked the fuel gauges and the engine hours, referring to the logbook. She noted the condition of the inside, the cleanliness, seats and safety equipment. She checked to make sure the renters took all their property out. She went through the engine startup checklist and started the engine, letting the engine warmup and doing run ups, before checking the gauges.
Ronald had arrived while she was working and he motioned her through checking the controls out. She worked the rudder, elevators, ailerons, steering and lights. He motioned for her to kill the engines. Ronald then went over the checklist with her and signed off on it. He told her that he or Don would go over the checklist with her on every plane brought in and would sign off on the bird. It was their plane.
Ronald then told her where the schedule was, where to mark the planes in, where to check to see which planes were in and which planes were out and when the planes were expected back. She was expected to keep up with the planes.
Ronald spent another half hour going over her duties, showing her the where, when and how’s, before setting her off to work. Her first job was to taxi to the fuel station and refuel the plane she had checked in. Renters were responsible for the cost to refuel the planes. She got the plane back, cleaned the insides and the outsides. She then pulled a plane that was schedules to go out and checked that plane out before tying it down. She reported to the secretary that that plane was ready to go out.
Cody cleaned the hangar and tugged the returned plane inside the hangar. She got a squawk from the secretary, who had an update on the schedule. Cody had to get a plane ready to go out. She laughed as she saw which one it was. She would basically have to take three planes out of the hangar to get to the one she needed. She updated the schedule on a white board with the information and began moving planes out of the hangar. It was one of the business jets, so Ronald or Don would have to do the plane check.
Ronald came out and walked her through the inspection and preparations of their business jets. She would need to get some classes before they let her do it herself, but she could learn how to do it. Ronald then told her to take a lunch break and be back in an hour. She checked the schedule before she departed for lunch. Cody drove to Wendy’s and grabbed a burger, fries and a frosty. After lunch Cody checked two more planes out and three back in. At five pm Cody went home a tired but a happy puppy, she was told to be in at eight on Saturday.
At Richardson Aviation there was a conversation going on.
“Damn that kid can work,” Don said.
“She knows her beans too. I am going to hate losing her to school,” Richardson said. “Willie has been complaining about being overworked and he has been.”
“What do you think about all this Trans bullshit?”
“I don’t really give a rat’s ass one way or another, anybody who can work like that is alright by me. She’s one hell of a pilot on top of that. Given a few years she’ll be as good as Amanda and maybe as good as me. She’s PFM at the stick. I will be glad when she gets her commercial rating this summer. Treat her good and maybe I can get some down time this summer.”
Cody was tired, but she enjoyed her time at work. Maybe she sucked in too much av-gas or jet-A but she liked working with planes. She stopped and got a bite to eat before heading home.
Saturday morning was busy for Cody, she had three planes go out before ten and four come back after three. She marshalled the Gulf Stream that her mother flew back in. Ronald handled the post flight inspection after the execs departed the plane with Cody helping with the luggage. It was fifteen minutes after the plane stopped before Cody could get her hugs from her mother.
“I see you are working for us now, Cody.”
“Yeah, Terry Gault decided that she wanted to have her baby. It’s a boy, named David. He was twenty one inches long and seven pounds five ounces.”
“We’ll have to pay them a visit in a few days. How have things been at work?”
“Besides working the hell out of me, things have been pretty good.”
“I knew that they were going to ask and I was worried about Don.”
“He made it known, he wasn’t happy, but he was alright. I think he likes my work ethic.”
“You and I are working Christmas eve and Christmas for half days receiving planes coming in,” Amanda said. “You and I are off the next three days.”
Cody put the Gulf Stream to bed, checked to make sure the white boards were correct, filed her reports on the secretary’s desk and locked up the hangar. Amanda and Cody drove home after picking up some Chinese food. After showering they fell asleep watching a movie on TV.
The next morning they both got girlied up in mini-skirts, sexy blouses and high heels to go out to have some fun. They hit the malls for a bit, went to the movies, then to an art exhibit and out to eat before heading home again. They had more fun together than they ever remembered having and it was good for both of them.
Monday they worked around the house, Cody serviced both of their cars, while Amanda mowed the yards. They then cleaned the inside of the house and washed clothes.
The next day they had fun decorating the house for Christmas, which was just four days away. Amanda saw no need to do it, but Cody was the driving force behind the project. She put up the lights and the Santa Sleigh on the roof, While Amanda put the candy cane lights on either side of the driveway and the front walk. She also put the inflatable snow man on the yard.
The next two days were busy at the hangar. Amanda went out on four jobs, and Cody received all but two planes which were due in on Christmas morning. She taxied three planes to the mechanics, so they could receive maintenance. They would have the planes till the twenty seventh as their mechanics were already off for the holidays.
Christmas day Cody and Amanda waited to open presents till they got off work. All of their planes but one came in. That one that was out wouldn’t be back for a week. Amanda checked the Citation when it came in, Cody put it to bed in the hangar and then they went home, after locking up.
They ate their Christmas dinner at Denney’s and then went home to have their Christmas. Cody had a good laugh, her mom bought her almost the same Blouse that Cody had bought to replace the stained blouse. Cody kissed her Mom for it anyway. You can’t have too many white silk blouses, can you?
The next ten days were very busy as people got back to work. Cody worked every day except for New Year’s Day. He called Crystal four times in those ten days and talked with her for hours. Don and Ronald were more than happy with Cody’s work.
Cody had one day off before she had to drive back to Arlington. She took the evening to pack and get ready to leave. She called Crystal again, but got Linda. Linda said Crystal was in the shower. They had started practice on the third of January, because they had a game on the eighth.
Crystal then got to the phone, Cody told her he would see her tomorrow and she was ecstatic about it. She had really missed her and promised to make her really happy she came back. Crystal told Cody that Coach Davis wanted her back ASAP. They talked for a bit more and then Crystal told Cody to go to bed, so she could get back sooner. Cody told her that she would there at about one in the afternoon.
Cody left early the next morning after kissing and hugging her Mom goodbye at seven. Cody dressed in her new white silk blouse and green Prada suit. She wanted to look delectable for Crystal. She hoped Crystal would jump her and shag her right then and there. Cody had been up since six in the morning getting ready, she wished that she had a makeup artist handy, but she was pretty good doing her own makeup and hair. She was gorgeous when she drove away from her Odessa home, for the trip to Arlington.
It was hard for Cody to keep the Mini-Cooper near the speed limit. She drove a little faster than average traffic. Only when she passed Weatherford as the traffic got heavier did she match the speed of the other cars, and made the trip in four hours and twenty five minutes. She called ahead when she reached Arlington. Ten minutes later she pulled into the parking lot.
Amy, Karen and Janice were waiting just at the empty parking space near their Apartment. They were sitting on the grass and jumped up when they saw Cody. They all picked up their sister in hugs as Cody weakly complained and shouted for them to put her down. Cody enjoyed it, but she would never tell the girls that, besides they probably already knew it.
They grabbed all her stuff and headed up to Crystal’s two bedroom apartment. Linda met him at the front door. She picked him up in a hug and refused to put him down for close to a minute.
“Cody I just wanted to thank you. You spent too much on my Christmas present, but I really love the new laptop you bought me. You shouldn’t have done it, but thank you.”
“You kept looking at mine with lustful eyes, so buying you a laptop was just self-defense.”
“You know I really wouldn’t steal anything of yours, except for maybe the couch?”
“I know, I just wanted to do something nice for you.”
Seconds later Crystal came out of her and Cody’s bedroom “Put her down, Linda. I need to ravish her.”
“Ah, do I have too, Crystal.”
“Yes, you have too. She belongs to me.”
Linda set Cody down gently. Cody found herself picked up again by Crystal and her mouth ravished by a kiss. Crystal put Cody on her hip like a mother puts a toddler on her hip. Cody did the only thing she could; she wrapped her legs around Crystal’s waist and held on. The girls moved Cody’s bags into the bedroom they shared.
All the girls sat down and talked about their holidays. Amy’s brother got out of the hospital and is living at an assisted living facility. He was there instead of home because of the physical therapy. Karen came to visit him, looking like a million dollars and teased the boy mercilessly. He really enjoyed her visit. Janice talked about Cody coming to stay at her home for three days. Michael was in love and didn’t know about Cody. He was pissed off for a while when Janice and Cody cleaned their clocks playing basketball.
“Why were you in Houston, Cody?”
“I will get to that when it is my turn.”
Linda had the most boring vacation in some ways, she had to shovel snow on two days and cut a couple of cords of wood, in case the power went out. Her parents were greatly surprised by the presents that Crystal and Cody bought her. Crystal bought her a skirted suit where the skirt actually came to just above her knee. Linda wondered how the girl got enough measurements to actually create a fitted skirt. She then told them about the laptop that Cody had bought her. Crystal spent a week between Trenton, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She and her Mom then flew to London for a week. Her Mom had business there and they celebrated Christmas there.
Cody then began his story about flying back to Odessa, getting a call before they landed and then her flying to Fort Worth and Houston, flying Medical Transport.
“I flew a heart to Fort Worth and a Pancreas to Houston, for transplant surgery. While in Houston, Don Richardson, who co-owns Richardson Aviation, had the mechanics there work on the plane I was flying. I didn’t know Janice lived there and she had seen the plane I flew in on. She called me and I wound up staying with her for three days. Then I worked my butt off as the hangar manager for a bunch of days.”
“What did you do as a hangar manager?” Amy asked.
“I kept up with all the planes they own, kept the hangar clean, moved planes in and out of the hangar, inspected and cleaned planes that were returned, took planes to the mechanics, kept up with the schedule on a large whiteboard and made reports to the boss and secretary. It was a lot of work.”
At four fifteen they all got their things and headed to the women’s gym, Where Coach Davis worked them unmercifully to get her girls back in shape for the season. It was run, more running and then they closed with running. Many of girls swore off pigging out over the holidays. A promise they would keep till the next holiday. Cody had more fun because of all the work she had done over the same time period, left her fitter.
Crystal was glad they didn’t have school the next day. She got to keep her promise with Cody. They didn’t get any sleep till three in the morning.
Thursday they all had classes. Cody had adjusted her schedule so that she and Crystal were mostly out of class at the same time period and she was free for basketball practice. She even decided to take a course in Kinesiology.
The game next weekend was at North Carolina; Cody couldn’t fly with the girls, because he wasn’t a member of the team. He called his mom though, and she flew into Arlington to pick him up and take him and six friends to the game.
She flew a two year old Beechcraft King Air 250. The avionics were first class, modern and up to date. Amanda was evaluating the plane with the intent of buying it. The company that owned it was in the process of going under and the owners were caught looting the company. The bank repossessed the plane and would sell it to her if she picked up the note. There was eight hundred thousand dollars left on the note on a four million dollar plane, as there was a glut of planes on the market.
The King Air was in excellent condition mechanically and esthetically. Amanda spent the week in Class training for the King Air 250. She and Ronald Richardson then flew half a dozen times at night. She had over twenty hours in the plane, when she flew into Arlington on Thursday. If she bought the aircraft, she would see that Cody got class training.
They spent Friday night in a motel, and met up with the team at lunch. The team was happy to see Cody and the members of the practice squad. They had said nothing about coming to the game. Crystal gave him a huge hug and a couple of swats to the rear for not telling her.
The game against Appalachian State was a good one for UTA. The two teams matched up well and it was a hard played game for both sides. Both sides went with quicker lineups at times and slowed the ball up other times. The lead changed a dozen times during the game. Karen and Amy’s three point shooting was what broke the game open and put the Lady Mavs in the lead. Cody was right there, beside the coaches as they rooted for the team. She was a big moral boost to the players.
Amanda bought the airplane.
Cody couldn’t remember what it was like now to get up and dress as a boy. He was so use to dressing in frills, doing his makeup and hair upon rising. Now he wouldn’t dress any other way. He also almost exclusively wore the larger breast forms also. Crystal liked it better when he wore them.
Amanda’s divorce came through and she got eight million, the house in Odessa and a few odds and ends. Roger Dalton also doubled Cody’s educational funds and guaranteed thirty-five percent of his net-worth as a legacy in the case of his death. Roger really did love his son, he was just sorry that work took him away so much. He also informed his wife that he was getting married in two months. She wasn’t happy, but she could live with things as they were.
Amanda called her son on a Wednesday and told him all the news. He told her to fly down on Friday. They had a home game and he could sit with her in the bleachers. Arkansas State was coming to play them (Another University, not the one in Little Rock). Arkansas State was having a phenomenal season. This game too was hard fought, but this time Arkansas won.
Amanda spent the weekend with the girls having fun. She didn’t have time to herself to wallow in self-pity. Cody got to spend some more time with her on Saturday. The trip did wonders for her outlook on life.
They flew with a plane load of girls to the game at Lafayette Louisiana. Amanda insisted that Cody sit with the coaches if it was his option. Just being with a group of students and being with Cody now, really had helped her mental attitude.
It was also at this game that Cody met Crystal’s mother, Monica Davis. Amanda and Monica Davis got to talking about their lives. Monica is a self-made woman. She had studied business management and advertising at college and started her own firm, with her husband Carson. Carson couldn’t help but dip his pen in the company ink well. She fired him and divorced him in the same week, much to his consternation.
She had flown down to see her daughter and the boy Crystal couldn’t stop talking about. Monica found Cody a little different, but she also found that she liked the boy and his mother very much. She told Crystal to just be sure and if he was the one hold onto him with all her might. Don’t let job or rivals get between true love.
The game was hard fought, but UTA’s shooting proved to be the key to winning this game. Every girl shot above her average except for Amy. Their defense was able to match up well with Lafayette, Crystal owned the key and Linda and Janice were able to clear most of the rebounds. Amy was the master of the offense, directing where the ball went and what play they put on. She wore a smile a mile wide as she dominated her opponents. UTA won 88-102.
The rest of their season went well; they won eight more games and lost one, giving them a ten-two season. They were seeded fourteenth in the south of the NCAA tournament. Cody and Amanda flew six practice squad girls to Houston and they stayed in adjoining rooms. UTA won their first game, but lost the second game to the team that eventually won the tournament, Tennessee.
Cody spent all this time living as a girl with Crystal and Linda. The whole basketball team and coaches treated him that way. He kept dressing girly except when he played basketball with the girls or when he was working on laundry or cleaning. After their last game, the girls dove into their books to keep their GPA from slipping.
After the season was over Cody rented a Cessna Skylane and took them flying around, south of the Dallas area. Crystal was excited about it. Linda loved looking at the countryside at six thousand feet. She took some incredible aerial photographs of the area south of Arlington to Waco to Corsicana and back. Cody made full stops at Waco and Corsicana.
Cody also spent time taking Class Training for the King Air 250. He loved the simulator classes, the instrumentation could tell you more about the plane, but you almost needed a degree to know how to use all the touch screens to access the information. The King Air 250 had a service ceiling of thirty thousand feet. There was much he had to learn about aircraft pressurization. He also got to fly a King Air 250. He just loved flying this plane. He seemed to have a feeling for it. It took off, flew and landed like a dream. It powered up nicely and had plenty of power. Stall recovery wasn’t a problem for the plane. Cody did very well with his class training and review. He received his certification to fly the King Air 250.
A week before spring break, Crystal, Linda, Janice, Amy and Karen all got together and got Cody into her first Bikini. The bra top of the suit covered all of the silicone of the breasts and with the use of swimsuit adhesive, she could swim in the top.
Cody took off the silicone hips and butt. All the exercise he got with the girls had added some muscle in those areas. He had a nicely curved backside. His skirts had begun to get a little tight there anyway. Amy took the bottom and added some interfacing to stiffen the front and the gusset and some elastic cording to the leg wholes of the boy cut panty. She then lined the inside to hide the changes she had made. The legs were just a little tight but they didn’t cut off the circulation.
The bottom along with the judicious use of tape, allowed him to run, jump, swim and wrestle with the girls and not be embarrassed. The girls tried the latter with him and had fun doing it. It was alright till they started their incessant tickling. The part of Cody that Crystal liked best could still come out and play, with some assistance.
It might have been strange to have your mother fly you and a bunch of girls down to Port Aransas to take part in spring break rites at Port A. Cody brought Crystal, Linda, Amy, Karen and Janice.
Cody did most of the flying. His mother only took charge when she wanted Cody to use maps and VOR to figure out just where they were, just for practice. He would find some beacons and then using them plot out roughly where they were. They also kept a wary eye on the weather; the spring weather in Texas could change at the drop of the hat.
Cumulonimbus clouds can grow from nothing to towering angry thunderstorms in as little as thirty minutes and then die out just as fast. Early spring to early summer can be a rip roaring time for aviation in Texas. Today the moisture was there as was there as was wind shear. The moisture gets its lift from heating.
The King air was drifting east as they flew. Cody adjusted for the drift. Their direction of travel was about twenty degrees to the right for most of the flight. There was also cool dry air to the north. The Weather Service did state there was a chance for storms in the afternoon as a result of heating.
Some clouds had formed hundreds of miles to the west, but they were drifting to the north east of their present location. Cody was passed from Fort Worth Center to Houston Center to Corpus Christie Approach. The Mustang Beach Airport was a VFR airport, with no tower or ground control. Approach gave them clearance to land. Their approach was from the north and Cody turned to 120 degrees. He landed the plane and taxied it to the north end of the strip, so Cody and the girls could get out.
Cody then led the girls to his grandfather’s home, so he could pick up the Range Rover and get their luggage. The girls were surprised that the home was within walking distance of the airport. Cody unlocked the house and let the girls in. He turned on the breaker box, so the girls would have power and got the car out of the shed and drove it to the airport to pick up the luggage. Amanda was already doing her preflight to head back to Odessa, when Cody arrived to pick up the luggage. He got his hug and waved to his mother as she flew back out.
Back at the home the girls had opened up the house to air it out. The house was in pretty good shape. A management company takes care of the place and leases it out. If Cody hadn’t come the home could have brought in thirty five hundred dollars for spring break week, with a two thousand dollar deposit. The renters needed fifty-five hundred cash in hand to rent the place. The house was built on a dozen stilts sunk well into the ground and was elevated fourteen feet.
“Why are all the houses on stilts?” Linda asked.
“Where we are standing is six feet above sea level at high tide. This house was rebuilt in 1971. In 1970 the water here would have been in the house. This whole area of Mustang Island was under eighteen feet of water when Hurricane Celia blew through. Granddad showed me pictures. Nothing was left standing in this area.”
“Why build here then?” Karen asked.
“People love resort houses near the beach,” Janice replied.
“Granddad bought the place for a hundred and ten thousand dollars, after he retired. He also bought a boat to fish from. He would spend half a year fishing from here and he wintered in Ruidoso, New Mexico, or Kingwood Texas till he passed away in 2011. Mom kept this place and hired people to keep it up to lease it and the boat out. We come down here twice a year to spend a couple of weeks fishing. The money from the leases goes to the expense of keeping this place up and property taxes. The house and boat pay for themselves.”
The girls got their luggage and claimed their rooms. Cody let Linda take the master bedroom with its queen size bed; she would be able to sleep on the diagonal. The two other bedrooms were taken by Crystal and Cody and Amy and Karen. Both bed rooms had double beds that could be moved together. Janice had the fold out couch in the living room.
They all changed into their swim suits and Cody led them to the boat. The boat was a fifty two foot sport fisher cabin cruiser, with duel four hundred horse diesel engines, fly bridge, radar, DGPS, depth finder, advanced fish finding sonar, master bedroom, two bunk beds, fold out couch, two toilets, galley, refrigerator, propane stove, satellite TV, amateur HF, VHF, and marine radios, and a propane grill on the deck.
“Oh wow Cody, that is a big boat, can we go fishing in the Gulf?”
“Sure if everyone wants to spend a day or so out on the water. We will need food, drinks, bait and Dramamine. Mom called ahead and had to boat serviced, this week and had the zincs replaced.”
“Wow we could all live on this boat for a week,” Amy said. “I am in.”
“This will be better than being gawked at by horny males,” Crystal said.
“I am in,” Janice and Karen both replied.
“Let’s go shopping then,” Cody said. “Crystal and Janice, get some idea of what you guys want to eat for four days, and let me take a look at the boat. We will head to the supermarket in an hour. The beach is a quarter mile that way if the rest of you want to get some sun. There are beach blankets in the house.”
Cody checked the boat out, got the fishing rods ready, checked to see that the live bait well worked, turned on the refrigerator and began to air out the engine room. When he finished he went to the house and put on a pair of pants and a tank top. Linda, Amy and Karen had all gone down to the beach to mess around.
Cody drove about a half mile to the grocery. Janice bought the alcohol, while Cody and Crystal got the grub and drinks. They got a mountain of food for the week and then some. It was good that they were early, Port Aransas was about to become a very crowded place, Mustang Island was not quite as popular as South Padre, they still had six or seven thousand students living on the beach. The stores were heavily stocked but even then they usually had a hard time keeping up.
Back at the house they found the girls had indeed gone to the beach. Cody went into the backyard and pulled a little red wagon to the back stairs. They left half the food in the house and carted half the food to the boat. The refrigerator was down to thirty four degrees so it was working well. They also filled an ice chest, which doubled as a bench seat, with ice and their other cold storage items.
Cody started up the engines and checked all the gauges. The engines were running in the green, oil pressure looked good and the auxiliary power was good. The air-conditioning for the cabin was running and all the lights, instruments, radar and radios were running. The girls had returned and had dressed and came down to the boat.
“If we leave now we can make it out of the jetty before sundown,” Cody said. “I need to fill the gas tanks and the potable water tanks. I also need to pick up some bait, if we are going fishing.”
The girls got what they needed for a few days and they headed out. Cody stopped at the marina and left Crystal fill the diesel tanks and the potable water tank. Everybody else hit the store. Cody had them all buy sun hats, caps and sunglasses. He bought sun screen, zinc oxide for the nose and cheeks, a twelve pound brick of frozen squid, and a bag of live mullet. He also bought a dozen stainless steel leaders, a box of hooks, lead weights, a couple of trolling lures and four hundred pounds of ice for the fish storage tank. When Cody saw some fishing maps for the Texas Costal wasters, he picked one up.
He also got fishing licenses for himself and all the girls, with salt water stamps. Linda’s and Crystal’s licenses were more expensive since they were from out of state.
When everything was loaded and paid for, Cody began to head out. He made one last stop at the US Coast Guard dock. The Coasties were doing not quite doing Random Safety Inspections. They hit as many boats as possible. They knew the boat Cody drove was often leased and they were all over his boat. Luckily there were more than enough life preservers, everyone was sober and there were no controlled substances on board. Cody took this time to file a float plan for the boat.
Cody drove the boat from the cabin as he entered the jetty; Amy and Karen were sunbathing in the five pm sun on the bow. Cody asked Crystal to tell them that that wasn’t a good idea right now.
“Why they have their bikini tops on.”
“It’s high tide and I am about to hit the breakwater. Water will be coming over the bow for a mile or so.”
Crystal had an evil smile on her face and said, “Ok I will tell them.”
Crystal went out front to talk to the girls and left. Amy and Karen continued to sunbath. Finally Cody reached the end of the Jetty and had to fight the waves coming in. The first big wave he hit, drenched Amy and Karen. Cody slowed down and quartered on the waves so the girls could more easily make it to the back of the boat. He then turned into the waves and continued on the course he had selected. Crystal had two towels ready for the girls.
“You could have given us warning, Cody,” Amy shouted, as she stripped her top off and began drying.
“I did, I sent Crystal out to tell you. I saw her talking to you.”
“Crystal, you scum sucking skank. She just asked us, if we wanted something to drink,” Karen shouted back, as she too stripped off her top.
They left off their tops and headed back to stern of the boat to catch some sun to warm up. The water smoothed out and Cody turned south west for a short while. He then began teaching the all the girls how to operate the boat, navigate and use the radio. He didn’t plan on getting lost at sea, but things sometimes happened. Also if they were going trolling for fish, he couldn’t be at the helm and at the stern at the same time. They weren’t going to bring any sharks or barracudas on board his boat. They were even dangerous out of the water and he didn’t have the skill to safely handle them on a boat.
Cody went up the flybridge to check out the controls from there. A flybridge is a second elevated control point for the boat, seen on private fishing boats. It gives the captain of the boat better visibility to hunt for fish. Amy came up right behind him. He checked the steering, throttles and electronics that were up there. He then let Amy take the wheel for a bit as he took a pair of binoculars out. She asked him what he was looking for.
“I am looking for birds. There are several species of birds that come out miles from shore to hunt bait fish. Where you find birds, you find bait fish and where you find bait fish you find big fish. It’s too late to go trolling today, but tomorrow I want to know where the birds are. Keep the boat on this heading till the way point comes up on the GPS unit then shut it down. You should get there in about forty or fifty minutes. That will be our anchorage for the night. Holler if you see another boat coming toward us on the radar.”
When Cody came down, Karen went up. He then began getting the rods out, putting them into the rod holders on the rail of the boat. He checked out each rod, tying a weight on to each line and then letting it play out behind the boat. He then reeled in the line checking it for kinks, cuts or frays. On the two big trolling rods, he took extra care, crimping on four foot steel leaders.
Just as he finished, the boat started to slow down. He went to the helm in the cabin, checking the radar, GPS and the depth finder. They were in fifty feet of water a mile or so away from an oil rig. He shut down the boat motors and went on the bow to drop anchor. He let out three hundred fifty feet of anchor line and tied it off.
He got everybody into the Cabin for a talk. He polled the girls about swimming, everyone could swim well and all agreed that Linda was the strongest swimmer. “Ok we can swim out here, the current isn’t too bad. One person has to stay on the boat at all times watching, there are currents in some areas that can easily sweep a swimmer miles away. Stay with in twenty feet of the boat. We have life rings on a rope if anybody gets too far away or they can move the boat to pick up the swimmer. I set an alarm on the radar, if any boat is headed our way, I need to be awake and at the controls. If they are within five miles we are moving.”
Cody took his cell phone out, “There are a lot of oil rigs out here. The rigs have cellular towers, so we have cell phone coverage. We also have Direct TV. If you want to fish, we can bottom fish tonight and we can troll for Marlin tomorrow. I have the rods ready for bottom fishing; all I have to do is cut bait. I saw some fish on the Hummingbird. Do what you want to do. Food is in the fridge and under the bench. Drinks are under the bench. A couple of beers is ok, but don’t get drunk or I am taking us back in. Oh and don’t worry about mosquitos, they don’t get out away from shore.”
Janice, Linda and Crystal decided to use the TV. Janice made sandwiches for everyone. Amy and Karen wanted to fish, so Cody cut bait and sat out back and watched them. The girls baited their own hooks. Amy didn’t have her bait on the bottom for a minute when it got hit; she set the hook and began to reel it in. There were two hooks on the rigs Cody made. When Amy got the rig to the surface she had two nice sized red snapper.
Cody took the fish and began to gut and clean them on a table on the deck. He got out an acrylic cutting board, cleaned it with bleach and rinsed it with fresh water. He gutted, scaled and fileted the fish, wrapping them in Saran wrap and put them on ice.
Karen caught a small grouper fish, Cody told her that she had to release it, as it was too small. She didn’t mind, it was fun catching it. The two girls caught about a dozen more fish till they called it a day. Cody released a couple of the fish, due to size restrictions. She cleaned all the fish and put them on ice before he cleaned the deck and table with salt water. After rinsing with fresh water, he jumped into the gulf with Amy while Karen watched over them. He traded places with her and she cleaned fish gunk off of her.
They stripped off; Cody soaped up their swimsuits, put them in a mesh bag and used seawater to wash them. He then rinsed them with fresh water. He then hung the suits on the rigging, to dry.
Inside the cabin the girls were watching an HBO movie on the TV. Karen pulled a naked Cody into her lap. Cody tucked himself back as he sat on her lap.
“Amy and Karen have caught us breakfast. I will get up early and grill it for us.” Cody said. “Tomorrow don’t forget to use zinc oxide on your noses and cheeks, we will start trolling for big fish around seven-thirty.”
After the movie they all went out on the deck. The sky looked awesome now that they were away from the shore. You could still pick out Corpus Christi by the city lights, but they were just a distant glow off the dust in the sky. Janice made a pallet on the fighting chair; it was nice outside now that there were no insects to worry about. Linda headed into the master bedroom to go sleep. Amy and Karen went to bed in the bunks on either side of the hall. Crystal and Cody pulled out the couch bed. Cody made one last check of the weather, the radar, the lights and looked in a three sixty around the boat, before he lay down.
Cody woke before the sun broke the horizon in the east and moved the grill toward the stern. He started it heating before he went back into the cabin, to get things ready. He started an urn of coffee and made a sauce out of garlic, minced onions, melted butter, salt, pepper, paprika and chopped parsley.
Cody sprayed the grill with an olive oil cooking spray when the girls began to stir. He brushed the fish with the sauce and laid them on the grill cooking at three fifty for twenty minutes. The girls made some other things. Amy scrambled a dozen eggs, while Crystal made toast.
The five girls chowed down, only Cody’s quick action saved a piece of fish for him. Still he counted his fingers before he began to eat. He had enough fish for a dozen people and it was all gone, as were the eggs and toast.
As the girls cleaned up, Cody said, “We are going to get sunburned today, wear pants, and be ready to put long sleeve shirts over tanks, sunglasses, sun block on exposed skin and zinc oxide on noses, ears and cheeks. Re-apply sun block every two or three hours and zinc oxide as needed. Caps or straw hats on deck. You can thank me later. I have been there and done that, with grandpa, but he let me learn the hard way.”
Everybody got dressed and ready, Cody was the busiest as he had to dress, do all the rigging and prepare the boat to get under way. He taught the girls as he worked, so his job wouldn’t be as hard, later. Finally he started the two big diesels that powered the boat and weighed anchor. Karen joined Cody on the flybridge as he got under way. He had her use the binoculars to scan the surface of the gently rolling waves for birds. He kept an eye out for traffic and on the depth finder, fish finder and DGPS units.
“Birds ahoy,” Karen shouted.
Cody took the binoculars and looked for himself. Karen did indeed spot a large flock of birds about three miles away. Some of the birds were flying high and then diving into the water.
“Ok, let’s head over there. We don’t want to drive through the birds; we just want to pass by them on a tangent. We can disperse the bait fish if we pass in the middle of them.”
Cody turned the boat and signaled Crystal to set the riggers, there were two lines set out on each side. He ran the farthest out at 90 feet behind the boat, the two inside at sixty feet. Karen took the wheel as Cody went down to attach the mullet to the shotgun or center rig. When they got within a half mile of the birds Cody let it out a hundred eighty feet behind the boat.
On the first pass, they didn’t get a hit, Cody back at the wheel, taught Karen how to make a slow turn around the birds. On the second pass, they got lucky. The left short rig got a hit. Amy got that rod, while Janice, Linda and Crystal reeled in the other lines. Karen cut the throttles and Cody turned on the cameras before he went down to assist the girls. The fish broke the water. It was a very nice Mahi Mahi about four feet long. Amy had the time of her life reeling in the fish on one of the smaller rods. Cody took out the eight foot long gaff and snagged the fish when it got next to the boat. Crystal helped him pull the thirty five pound fish on the boat.
“We are going to have some good eating for dinner tonight,” Cody said.
He gutted the fish and put it on ice in a floor locker. Karen took them in a slow loop and they let the lines back out after re-baiting all the hooks. Cody went back up with Amy and Karen went down to the deck. Amy took her turn at the wheel, with Cody giving her direction. They had just begun a run, when they got a big hit on the shotgun line. Cody knew it was trouble for him, as he saw a big barracuda break the surface. Crystal took the long line as Amy cut the throttle. Cody told Crystal to play the fish, but they weren’t going to bring it on board. He didn’t have the skill to bring the Tiger of the Sea on board.
“Crystal, a barracuda is a fish that has the personality of a buzz saw and a mouth full of long teeth. It can thrash on deck and wound everybody on deck.”
“Ok, so it is catch and release. You have got it.”
The barracuda had to be six or seven foot long and it really could pull the line off the reel. Crystal sat in the fighting chair and Janice kept her pointed to the fish as Cody told Crystal what to do. Amy slowly turned the boat as Cody gave her hand signs. It got easier as she saw what Cody wanted. Cody wanted the fish to be kept to the stern of the boat. Crystal had to work for half an hour before they got the fish to the side of the boat. Janice took a lot pictures of the fish, just before Cody cut the steel leader. She could see the mouth full of sharp spike like teeth. The barracuda floated beside the boat for ten or fifteen seconds, before it disappeared in an ungodly burst of speed.
They made a couple of more passes catching junk fish, as Cody called them. Cody brought in a twenty inch wahoo, that was a keeper. Janice and Cody were up on the flybridge when their next big strike came. Karen took a turn at the rod with the fish. She had a five foot Sailfish on the shotgun line. She fought the fish and brought it to the side of the boat. She told Cody it was such a pretty fish, that she wanted to let it go. Cody took a long pole and got the hook out of its mouth and the fish wasted no time in leaving. They also caught a twenty eight pound and twenty five pound Mahi Mahi.
The big strike of the day came on the third pass after the sailfish. Linda was sitting in the fighting chair and Crystal and Cody both brought the rod to her. The very stiff rod was bent over. Cody told Janice to get a bucket of water to pour over the last ferrule, when it started to smoke. Crystal and Cody both helped Linda with the rod at times. Karen kept the boat pointed.
They finally saw a very large Bluefin Tuna. Cody let out a shriek when he saw the fish. Amy kept the chair pointed toward the fish, Janice kept the last ferule cool and Karen worked the flybridge. After a little over an hour and a half, Amy traded place with Cody. Linda needed a lot of help, her arms were getting tired. Cody took a spear on a rope out and when the fish came up beside the boat, he speared it. He tied the rope off on a cleat and then got a lasso around the tail. Cody opened the back door of the boat and the five of them winched and pulled the tuna onto the boat. They were all tired as they got the fish on board. They took a hundred pictures of the fish.
“Amy and Karen get up on the flybridge set the GPS for home. Set your speed at twenty five knots. I have got to gut this fish and get him in ice. This is a ten thousand dollar fish.”
Linda nearly fainted at that. Cody covered the aft deck of the boat with an awning to get the sun off of the fish, he then measured the fish. It was 104 inches long and weighed a guesstimated six hundred pounds and ninety inches around the belly. He took a knife that was almost a sword and began to work on the fish, as Amy turned the boat home. He gutted the fish and cut the head off the fish, with a large saw. It took the four remaining people to get several deck hatches open and the giant fish into the ice. They just had enough room to get all but the tail covered in ice. He did cut two inches of the fish off for them to eat. He cut it into steaks, wrapped it in Saran wrap and buried it in the ice chest.
Cody took over control of the boat in the Cabin and the girls came down. Cody was on the phone for most of the trip back. He had arranged a buyer before they turned in at Port Aransas. He was given directions to a dock. They picked up a Bosons Mate from the Coast Guard, who wanted to inspect the boat and catch. He checked all of Cody’s and the girls’ paperwork and was finished when they got to the dock. The fish was winched out. The gutted fish and tail weighed six hundred and five pounds. Linda got her pictures of the fish hanging. The buyer cut the tail off and then weighed the fish at five hundred eighty nine pounds. Several chefs then graded the fish. The fish was in excellent condition, smelled fresh, had good texture and an excellent mixture of fat. They were offered nineteen fifty a pound, or eleven thousand dollars for the fish.
Cody wanted Linda to get the money, but that could have affected her school finances, Crystal became the owner of the fish and would make sure that Linda got a very large part of the fish. Cody also sold the two smaller Mahi Mahi for six hundred fifty after he showed the buyer. The money was paid in cash and Crystal signed the receipt, she would be responsible for the taxes. Back on the boat, she kept a thousand for taxes and gave Linda the bulk. Linda gave everyone a thousand, nobody would take more.
Instead of going back out, they gassed up, with Linda paying for the fuel and buying Tylenol and Ben Gaye for sore muscles. They went to Cody’s slip; they carried their Mahi Mahi, tuna steaks and the Wahoo to his house.
The first thing they did was to get a shower. Linda got first shot, then Janice, Amy and Karen showered together. Crystal and Cody had to wait half an hour to get their shot as the others ate up the hot water.
While Cody waited their turn, he cut up a dozens of slabs of fish forty pounds went into the freezer and ten went into the refrigerator. He made a list for Crystal to go buy some, taco shells, shredded cheese, guacamole, cilantro, tequila, limes, honey, red onions, red cabbage, refried beans, rice, jalapeños and sour cream. He sent a clean Linda and Crystal to the store. Crystal told him not to shower till she got back.
Cody turned all the bug zappers on, light four citronella candles and sprayed an area bug repellant. He cleaned and turned on the propane grill to warm it up, before he turned the deck lights on.
Linda and Crystal got back. Cody made a marinade and put ten pounds of Mahi Mahi and seven pounds of tuna into a bag, with the marinade and back in the refrigerator. The girls all got to work on making Mexican side dishes as Cody began work on making the fish taco stuff. Linda had bought nearly ten pounds of Jalapeños, a dozen large red onions, five red cabbage, forty limes, six bottles of tequila, kosher salt and four cases of Guinness Stout in a can.
Cody had been a little zealous in making the marinade which had a high tequila content. Amy and Karen began to drink the marinade, which had Cody laughing.
“It’s good,” Karen said, pouring Cody a shot.
He didn’t have to be told the honey, lime, tequila concoction was good, and he tasted it as he was making it. He drank the shot down.
As he began grilling the fish, the neighbors began poking the noses out. More food, alcohol and people began to arrive. Soon they had a big party. Cody made sure to get two fish tacos for herself and half a tuna steak, she loved fish tacos. They were a big hit. Each of his girls got two tacos and split a tuna steak, the others people were lucky to get any fish. The grilled jalapeños were in a smoker grill that used pecan wood to smoke them and they went fast also. Cody also began grilling, hamburgers, hot dogs and sausage. Cody was Mistress of the Grill.
One guy who pawed Cody and wouldn’t take get lost to heart, got hung over the rail of the fourteen foot deck by his feet, after he pawed Cody a third time. Linda and Crystal hung him over the rail and threatened to drop him on his head. Some guys in the back yard caught him as they dropped him. They carried the guy to the dock and unceremoniously threw him in the water.
The party had to turn down the music and the noise at eleven, Aransas Pass police made sure of that, but they were nice about it. The city made a lot of money off of spring break. At midnight the tired girls shooed everybody they didn’t know away.
Cody and Crystal finally got their shower and more, before they laid naked on their bed. They made love and an exhausted Cody fell asleep, still inside of Crystal, his head pillowed on her breasts. Crystal kept him there as she fell asleep.
Wednesday they went out back on the water. They fished just outside the breakwater, doing the catch and release thing. They really didn’t need any more fish, except for several to eat that day. They did catch a swimmer or two that got caught in a rip tide. A life guard on a jet ski came by and picked up the wayward swimmer thanking the ladies. The girls had a great time just relaxing on the bow or deck, watching the idiots on the beach. They were far enough out to cut down on the visitors. Some other boat loads of guys tried to tie up to them and party, but they were rebuffed. If the guys didn’t move off Cody would move his boat. The girls loved swimming around the boat away from the crowds.
Cody and the girls did get involved in a search and rescue for a missing girl. The coast guard had her driving her boat up and down the break water, while the girls looked out over the Gulf of Mexico. The girl was found a couple of miles or so away from where she had gone into the water. She had gotten caught in a current parallel to the beach while she was out about a hundred yards; she was alive but very tired from trying to swim out of the current.
The girls had Cody pull out a few miles from shore so they could get some topless sun in. In fact they went topless and bottomless. He took the boat out about ten miles. The water was a little choppier today. Cody sat up in the flybridge to watch the water for boats and used the bow thrusters to keep the boat oriented for the girls. The currents, where they were, were minimal around the boat. So they spent a bit of time swimming in the areas.
They came back to the dock before sunset to do some drinking at the home. Cody wouldn’t let them get drunk on the boat and they had a case of Stout still back at the house. This time Linda taught them all how to make a half and half, using Bass Pale Ale and Guinness Stout. Cody actually liked the two flavors the mix provided.
While they drank they also began dancing, the only music they had available music from the cable TV. They had just over fifty stations of music to choose from. Amy and Karen found a forties station and began to swing dance to the big band sound. They were both very good and Karen was really swinging Amy around. Cody bowed out of swing dancing, she had never seen it before, but when she changed the channel to a western station, she showed her expertise at line dancing as Crystal and Linda joined in. Cody’s Mom was a big clogger and line dancer. Crystal and Linda had to copy Cody’s steps some and Cody looked to the girls to give his dance a feminine twist.
Amanda called and told Cody she was flying down Friday after three and wanted to go fishing Saturday, Cody told her about the Tuna that Linda had caught and Amanda was excited. Cody also promised her mom some Mahi Mahi fish tacos, saying they already had some in the freezer. Cody said they would have the boat ready and they could spend the night out on the water and fish on Saturday. They would fly back to Arlington Sunday evening and Amanda would return to Odessa Monday morning.
Thursday it was easier to take the boat to the marina to buy necessities than to drive four blocks to the grocery. The streets were almost grid locked with foot traffic. Most of the spring breakers walked to the store. So they took the boat to the marina. Cody bought Linda a Tuna and three Mahi Mahi pennants for the girls that caught them. She also bought her mom a cap and sunglasses. The girls spent the rest of the day swimming off the boat out past the breakers.
Amy and Karen used light rods to fish at the edge of the breakwater, twenty miles away from the Aransas channel. They ran into a school of flounder and speckled trout, near where a shrimp trawler had passed by. The trawler stirred up the shrimp and baitfish causing the other fish to begin a feeding frenzy. They kept the first eight good sized fish and released a couple of dozen other fish.
Cody grilled six of the fish they kept; he found ways to change what he cooked to keep the fish interesting to the girls. Everyone appreciated the effort that she put into cooking the fish, although Amy said she could eat fish all day every day. She preferred fish and chicken to pork or red meat, although she would eat them also.
They stayed out on the gulf that night and came in at noon to wait for the arrival of Amanda. Cody stopped by the marina, she still had some squid, but needed some more bait fish, as her mom liked to troll for big fish. Crystal topped off the diesel and water tanks, before they returned to the slip.
Cody and Crystal drove to the airport when they heard a turbo prop fly in at about two. It was Amanda. Cody helped tie down the plane as Amanda paid the tie down fees. She would have liked hangaring the plane, but the hangars were all too small for her plane.
They stopped to drop off some things at the house and to let Amanda change clothes. They then headed down to the boat. The girls greeted Amanda with hugs while they made ready to head out. Cody pulled out of the slip and then they headed out to sea after a stop at the marina for bait and ice. Once past the breakwater Amanda joined the girls sunning out on the bow. She noted that all the girls had that all over tan, even Cody was tanned everywhere that wasn’t covered with silicone.
Once Cody was out over blue water, she began looking for birds feeding from the fly bridge. The baitfish might move, but if you find them once they are easier to find again. After an hour she came across and enormous flock of birds on the water, a couple of miles away. She stopped the boat and Amanda joined Cody in the flybridge.
Cody pointed out the birds to her Mom.
“Damn but that is a huge flock of birds.”
“Yeah, they have got to be sitting on a huge school of fish.”
“We are in fifty feet of water,” Amanda said, checking the depth finder. “Let’s set anchor here and we will try to find them tomorrow. It’s going to be too dark to troll soon.”
Cody went down to the deck and set the anchor.
Amanda fit right in with all the girls on the boat, they had somewhat of a party, but Cody didn’t let them drink too much. She didn’t want to have to fish a drunken girl out of the drink; a couple of drinks were ok though, for everyone but Cody. She had to stay sober as the designated captain of the boat. The Coasties could be hell on a boat load of drunks, since they were still within the 200 nautical mile limit of US territorial waters. The girls also didn’t want to stress it out with Cody and played nice with her rules.
After a few hours they settled down and watched movies on the satellite TV. Cody checked the radar and the weather.
“It might get a little bumpy in a couple of hours as the dregs of a line of thunderstorms comes our way. I have checked with the coast guard and they said that we could see six to eight feet seas.”
Cody also suggested Dramamine for everybody and that they should get some sleep earlier, rather than later. Janice shared the big bed with Linda, Amy and Karen took their bunks in the gangway and Amanda and Crystal slept on the fold out, while Cody rested in the comfortable reclining captain’s bench. Instead of lights out in the cabin, Cody went to red lights so he could see what he was doing. He also wore a headset so he could listen to the radio without disturbing everyone.
Everyone was asleep by ten thirty that night. Cody woke a little before two in the morning. A flash of light to the North West had caused his eyes to open. He went up on the fly bridge and enclosed it before checking on the weather with the Coast Guard. The storm would be in his area by two thirty and was expected to die out a little after four.
Cody ventilated the engine room and started the big diesels. Amanda and Crystal woke as the engines came alive. Amanda seeing the flashes took the helm as Cody began to weigh anchor. They had four big lights on top of the flybridge they used at night in weather, so they turned them on so they could see. The wind and the waves hit them first, Cody would keep the bow pointed into the waves, Amanda and Crystal kept look out to the sides and the stern.
After the first eight foot wave hit them, everybody was awake, Karen and Janice were a little queasy, but nobody was getting sick. Cody only used enough power to maintain steerage and a little more to power into the waves. The rain hit around two forty am, the seas were rough but only an annoyance. It rained a couple of inches an hour for about an hour and a half before the storm died out, a little after four thirty. The seas immediately went from rough to just choppy. Cody killed the engines, set a drift alarm on the GPS, if the boat drifted over two miles he would be awakened and everybody got a few more winks of sleep, with the boat drifting. Crystal snuggled up to Cody in the Captain’s bench.
Saturday they got a late start. Seven people getting fed and dressed in limited space contributed to it, along with being awakened in the night by a storm. Amanda made breakfast for everyone as they got ready. It was after eight that morning before they started looking for the birds.
They were a little over four miles from where they had anchored, but the storm had churned up the seas enough to scatter the bait fish in the Gulf. Cody and Amy took the flybridge as they started their hunt. Amanda, Crystal and Linda got the rods and rigging set while Cody was starting the hunt.
After almost two hours, Amy saw a few birds and Cody changed their course a bit. Soon they were seeing larger flocks of birds and Cody was beginning to see more fish on the fish finder. Then off to starboard Amy saw a sea of birds on the water.
“Jesus,” Cody said. “I have never seen a flock of birds that large before.” Cody then hollered down to the deck. “MOM, Crystal, Linda get the bait on the hooks and the lines in the water.”
They got the lines rigged out and into the water. Cody had just started his first pass when they got a hit. Amanda took the hot rod from the port rail, while the girls reeled in the other lines. Cody came down and helped her Mom. It was a big fish; by the way the line was going out. Amanda played the fish. When it broke the water they saw it was a large Mahi-Mahi. Bigger than the one they caught the other day. Still it only took twenty minutes to land the sixty pound fish.
Amy and Karen up at the flybridge began another run doing a slow turn to the East of the bird flock, as Cody took care of the fish. She gutted the fish and got it on ice about the time they got a strike on the shotgun line. Linda took the rod and the girls began reeling in the side rigs. Amanda got a strike as she was reeling in the outrigger and Crystal got a hit on the rod she was reeling in.
There was a dance on the stern as the girls were reeling in their fish, with Cody giving Amy directions trying to keep all three fish to the stern. Amanda landed her Mahi-Mahi first; it was about a thirty pound fish. Crystal got her Mahi-Mahi in; it was a twenty four pound fish. Linda’s fish was big, not as big as her Bluefin tuna, but the biggest fish they caught this day. She took thirty five minutes to reel in a three hundred and thirty five pound Yellowfin tuna.
Amanda assisted Cody in gutting the fish and getting them on ice as the girls made them all something to eat. Amanda and Cody then cleaned the deck and jumped into the Gulf for a quick wash. After eating, Amanda took the flybridge with Crystal and let Cody, Amy and Karen take a chance. Cody and Amy caught a couple of Amberjacks, while Karen caught another Mahi-Mahi and Janice caught another Yellowfin tuna before they called it a day. Their fish tank and the ice chest seat were full to the brim as Amanda drove the boat in. Cody did his number preparing the fish and calling the fish broker.
At the dock of the fishery they were met by the broker. He inspected the fish they were selling. They had two tuna, while not as prized as the Bluefin tuna brought in thirty two hundred dollars. They kept two smaller Mahi-Mahi and sold the rest of the fish for another two thousand dollars. Amanda signed for the fish and was paid five thousand two hundred dollars. Amanda kept two thousand for the boat and taxes and everyone was given four hundred and fifty dollars.
Amy was laughing and said, “Damn, this is the first spring break I’ve gone on where I had fun and came back with more money than I brought.”
“You’re not kidding,” Linda said. “I’ve never had as much money at one time as I do now.”
All the girls including Amanda lipsticked up and kissed Cody’s cheeks, leaving their marks. Since she didn’t wash it off immediately and since it was all eighteen hour lipsticks, Cody wore those lip prints till she had time to take it off with makeup remover.
They cut wrapped the fish back at the house and put it all in the deep freeze. They were tired but they would be leaving the next day, so they spent a couple of hours cleaning the house and the boat, to get them ready so the property manager could lease them.
The next morning Cody and Amanda drove the luggage and two ice chests brimming with fish to the plane. They had a hundred and twenty pounds of rock hard frozen fish. The fish would keep itself from spoiling on the trip to Arlington and Odessa. Amanda began her preflight as Cody returned the car to its shed and locked it up. She then trotted back to the airstrip.
Amanda had already checked the weather and filed a flight plan. Cody got some more hours in flying. He now needed only fifteen more hours to qualify for a commercial pilot’s license. She would get that before the end of school and then test for her commercial license back in Odessa.
Amanda dropped the girls off at Arlington Municipal Airport where they picked up, Crystal’s Escalade and drove back to their apartment after dropping off Amy, Karen and Janice.
“I have to say that this was the best vacation, that I have ever been on,” Linda said, hugging Cody and Crystal. “ I love you both like sisters.”
“What are you planning on doing after school?” Cody asked.
“I have thought about taking up fishing, but I know that won’t work. Fishing won’t be fun if I have to do it every day,” Linda said, laughing. “But really, I will be here for four more years, if I can afford it. I hope to be an audiologist.”
“I may be changing my course of study after my freshman year. I am thinking I like flying too much. So I might be changing my course work to aeronautical engineering,” Cody said.
“Seeing you when you fly, I think that that will fit you fine,” Crystal said. “You need to teach me how to fly, if you are going to be out in Timbuktu all the time though. I want you in my bed.”
Linda laughed and teased the pair, “Cody and Crystal, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Cody pushing a baby carriage.”
“I wouldn’t mind that, Linda. I will get a super large one and put you in a baby carriage wearing a diaper and footed pajamas.”
Crystal broke out in a big laugh, she almost dropped the stuff she was carrying, “I could have gone my whole life and never have thought about anything like that, now that picture is stuck in my head. Somebody shoot me and put me out of my misery.”
They loaded Crystals Escalade with their luggage and frozen fish. Amanda had taken forty pounds of the Mahi-Mahi and let the girls take the rest. Crystal drove straight home and got the fish back in the freezer, still frozen solid.
As school started back, Linda and Crystal began planning a big fish ‘Fish Taco Night’ for the whole basketball team. Linda, Crystal, Janice, Amy and Karen raved over Cody’s cooking to the other girls.
Coach Davis heard about the endeavor and invited everyone to her place for their ‘Fish Taco Night’; she never had fish tacos, but heard that they were good. Coach Davis set one condition on the party. There would be no alcohol, except for cooking, since most of her athletes were under the age of twenty one. The girls were a little put off, but conceded this to their coach. Cody told everyone, he had enough fish for two hundred tacos and he needed a headcount on how many people would be there. Coach Davis printed up tickets, that everyone would need to be admitted to the feast and each ticket was good for two fish tacos.
Cody assigned dishes for the girls to work on. Only a couple of the players lived off campus and had kitchens. Janice was charged with making eight pounds of guacamole, Amy and Karen would come over to Crystals and help chop, red onions, cabbage, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, jalapeños and lettuce. Linda and Crystal would help and also get the shredded cheeses and Cody bought a really nice propane grill.
Cody was surprised at the size of the kitchen that Coach Davis had. She came over to her place two days before the cookout to thaw the fish in her huge side by side refrigerator. The kitchen could easily be used for a small restaurant. Coach Davis helped make three gallons of marinade using nine quarts of Jose Cuervo, three dozen limes, finely chopped onions, finely chopped garlic, three bottles of lime juice, minced cilantro, salt, pepper, a dozen finely chopped jalapeños and cayenne pepper. They took four pounds of fish in a gallon zip top bag with several cups of Marinade.
Cody had to slap Coach Davis’s hand as she was sampling the marinade way too much. She downed four tall shots of the mix. She had a silly grin on her face as Linda and Crystal led her out of the kitchen so Cody could finish.
Cody got the fish on two refrigerator racks and had a gallon of marinade left. Cody emptied a gallon bottle of water and refilled it with marinade and refrigerated that. The girls stayed for two hours more so they could turn the bags four times, so the fish would be thoroughly marinated as it thawed. Any bacteria in the bags would be thoroughly inebriated by Saturday. Coach Davis said she would turn the bags in the morning and evening.
The day before the cookout, there were tickets given to twenty six players, four coaches and twenty four others, so Cody would have plenty of fish for people like Linda.
Saturday at noon a half dozen girls came over to Coach Davis’s place to begin food preparations, shredding a couple of dozen red cabbages, dicing fifteen pounds of red onion, dicing cilantro, mincing garlic, making many pounds of refried bean, Spanish rice, making ten pounds of guacamole and making ten pounds of Queso. Coach Baker was bringing ten gallons of fresh brewed ice tea. Coach McDonald was bringing ten gallons of ice cream on dry ice.
An hour before everyone was supposed to arrive they had mostly arrived and began helping. Guys were setting up tables and folding chairs. Cody began grilling fish and Linda was grilling jalapeños. Crystal would take the fish from Cody and chop it up, putting it in the oven set at one hundred and fifty degrees. Linda did the same with her peppers. Coach Davis was busy cooking down the marinade from the bags, into a sauce, adding some sugar to it. The girl’s dates set up tables and began putting out food.
Five minutes before dinner girls’ began an assembly line. Refried beans, Spanish rice and queso were spooned on a plate. Two girls made two tacos and put them on the plate. Another girl spooned on sour cream and guacamole, before serving the plate.
Cody was flying high as unknown to Coach Davis; she was sampling some of the bottled marinade, just to make sure it was still good. She really shouldn’t drive for an hour or two.
All the cooks got three tacos on their plates before the ingredients were setup for self-serve. Crystal took a bite and gave Cody a big kiss. For two hours everyone was eating and talking. Music was started and there was some dancing and games going on.
Cody and the girls that did all the work got hugs and kisses. The fish tacos were a big hit. The people who hadn’t cooked pitched in to clean up the carnage such a large crowd can make. Coach Davis was left with about four pounds of cooked fish. She smiled as she packaged it in her fridge, along with the rest of the leftovers. She wouldn’t have to cook for a few days.
The next weekend after the taco night Cody and Crystal drove out to Spinks Airport. Cody began working on getting her Commercial Pilots License. She and an instructor flew out in a Cessna Skyhawk for a couple of hours.
After Cody went up, Crystal then signed up for a lesson on flying; she and another IP went out in a Cessna 182, for an hour. She didn’t do much of the flying, but she loved it. She would need some class work and a medical exam before she began to fly. The instructor pilot gave her a form to fill out, a list of aviation doctors, a list of instructor pilots they had and a couple of books she needed to read.
Monday they both went and got their physicals, Cody upgraded to a class 2 medical and Crystal got her class 3 physical. Cody had to take twenty hours of training going for two hours daily. Crystal took two hours of private pilot class for two days and one hour the third day passing her FAA exam on Thursday. Friday she began flying with her instructor pilot. Saturday and Sunday Cody finished her schooling. She would take her test the next Saturday and then her check ride. Crystal took Cody to the airport and took an hour of flying both days. She picked up Cody when the classes let out.
Amanda flew her King Air in on the next Saturday for Cody’s check ride. After he briefed the FAA examiner, the examiner checked the King Air’s logbook and maintenance records, before they went out on their check ride. They would be gone for about two hours.
While Cody was in the air testing, Amanda was on the ground walking around. In the pilot’s lounge was a bulletin board. She stopped to peruse the things that were posted. There was an ad for a 2011 Socata TBM 700 for sale at Spinks field. The ad said to talk to Bob Simon’s, at Simon’s Aviation Mechanics at Spinks field. She walked down to the mechanic’s shop and went to see Bob.
Bob told her about the plane. He had assumed the plane on a mechanics lien. The previous owners had flown the plane using the wrong fuel. Bob had to drain the fuel tanks and replace the engine. The previous owners owed him for work on this and other planes. He obtained a mechanic lien on the plane and when the Socata flew back in to Spinks field Bob seized the plane. The owners were given 90 days to pay their mechanical fees, along with fifty dollars a day storage fees. The ninety days passed two weeks ago.
“There is a glut of used planes on the market right now.”
“I know, I work at Richardson Aviation. I got a King Air 250 from the Bank, because the owners went belly up. What are you asking for it?”
Bob took Amanda to the plane as he went over what was owed to him and what he needed for the plane. The plane was worth a million seven hundred, the owners owed him a little over four hundred and fifty thousand on the various planes they owned. This plane was the newest in their fleet and he was in to it the most. He would let it go for eight hundred thousand, if he could get his money in thirty days.
Bob and Amanda went over the plane from top to bottom. Bob was impressed by how anal Amanda could be. She was doing a very aggressive pre-flight inspection.
“Are you Class trained on the TBM 700?”
“Not yet, but that can be rectified in a bit.” Amanda said. She went over the planes she had training on and the planes that Cody had training on, as she read every entry in the planes logbook. “This will be a plane for Cody to own.”
“That is a mighty big plane to use as a private plane.”
“Cody is testing for her Commercial license as we speak and will be flying for Richardson Aviation this summer.”
“Is that the Richardson in Odessa?”
“Yeah that is who I work for.”
“I did the annual and 500 hours inspections when I assumed ownership of the aircraft. The planes logbook contains the documentation. The plane is in grade ‘A’ condition. The owners might be deadbeats, besides using Av-Gas instead of Jet-A, they took excellent care of the aircraft.”
“Why on earth did they ever use Av-gas, for?”
“I understand that they flew from a small strip in Oklahoma to here, they only had av gas. Burning Av-Gas instead of Jet-A toasted the engines. Av-gas burns hotter than Jet-A. I heard the FAA roasted the pilots.”
“No other damage to the aircraft?”
“Was the replacement engine new or rebuilt?”
“I put a brand new P&W PT6A-66 into the plane; they could have saved a hundred grand, going with a rebuilt engine. I would keep the plane, but it is company money.”
“Can Cody get class training here at Spinks? I know where I can get class training.”
“Yes Ma’am we have an aviation trainer here. He does Cessna, King Air, Gulfstream and TBM training, among others. It’s just a ten hour course and two hours of airtime.”
“Will ten grand hold the plane for thirty days? I have my own mechanic; I would like to hear what he has to say about the plane.”
“No problem, as long as I see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Amanda wrote out a check for Bob with the understanding that she gets the money back if her mechanic says no.
“Doveryai, no proveryai,” Bob said.
The noise planes make are often unique, Amanda heard the sound of her King Air on final, before she saw it. Cody was all smiles as she debarked from the King Air. She just had to do a short debrief with the FAA instructor, who was also smiling. Before they left Cody found herself signed up for training on another plane. She was going to be busy doing all the flying just to keep her three full stop landings a quarter, to stay current.
When finals were finally complete, the girls moved Cody Crystal and Linda into a large town home. Crystal and Cody had a tearful departure at DFW. She then flew Linda, Amy and Janice home. Linda lived near a small town named Osawatomie, in Kansas. Her mom was surprised to only have to drive ten miles to pick her up at the airport in Paola.
She stared as her very tall daughter wormed her way out of the small single engine plane, followed by one diminutive girl and two average/tall girls. Cody came out lugging Linda’s bags out of the plane.
“Did you hire someone to fly you here? That had to cost a mint Linda.”
“No ma’am, that little girl is Cody; she flew us here on her plane?”
“What do I owe her?” Felicity asked. She was clearly worried.
“Nothing ma’am,” Cody said. “I couldn’t bear thinking about Linda trying to get comfortable flying Southwest. They don’t have much room between rows of seats. Linda can stretch out in my plane. Any day flying for me is like a vacation day.”
“Then all of you will come over and have dinner with us then.” Felicity Cooper stated.
Amy and Janice were OK with it, so Cody tied the plane down and jumped in the back of the Ford F 250’s bed.
Linda lived on a two thousand acre wheat farm and five acre vegetable patch. The spring wheat was just over a foot tall and was coming along fine and would be harvested mid-July to early August. Winter wheat would be planted in September. They made enough to keep the farm operating, keep them well fed and keep their home in good condition, with a little left for niceties, but they weren’t going to get rich.
They all sat in the kitchen, as Felicity talked farming. They had a small farm, they owned two big John Deer tractors, but they didn’t own their own combines. They would plant, fertilize and tend to the wheat. Twice a year traveling harvesters would come by to harvest their fields. She and her husband worked hard to make a living. She was just glad her daughter had a chance to get away from the fields.
Felicity made a meal of Chicken fried steak with red eye gravy. Linda called her father, Morgan, on the ham radio to tell him supper was about ready. He was out spraying a mix of insecticide and fungicide on the wheat and servicing their irrigation system.
“You don’t do crop dusting do you, Cody?” Felicity asked.
“No ma’am. I’m a commercial pilot but I will be working with my Mom, hauling Cargo and people around, from Odessa, Texas.”
They had a really good dinner, but Cody and the girls had to get on the road to their homes. Cody flew Janice to Houston, Hobby and Amy to Corpus Christie. She spent the night with Amy’s family. Cody got to meet Amy’s brother. He got around on crutches and showed the girls his scars.
Two days after Cody got back to Odessa, she was busy flying people around. She flew into Eagle County Colorado, just outside of Vail Colorado. Eagle County Airport is one of the top ten worst places to fly into, especially in the summer time when the air was hot, airport elevation, winds coming off the mountains and barometric pressure plays hell on planes landing or taking off. Throw in the rough mountainous terrain and landing and taking off can be a nightmare. The TBM’s 900 shp, came as a bonus.
Cody and Amanda got to see each other at least once a week or so. Summertime is big for drillers who often work seven days a week, as long as the weather holds. So Cody might be in Missouri, while Amanda was in Arizona and Ron got to spend some time with his wife, if he wasn’t in Idaho.
Cody was working in the hangar, when she was surprised by a Cessna 182 turbo that flew in. Cody marshalled the plane to a tie down point and nearly wigged out when she saw Crystal at the controls of the plane. They had a joyous reunion after Crystal wormed her way out of the small plane. She had passed her private Pilot’s test, and obtained her instrument rating. She flew into Kansas and spent a day visiting with Linda on her way to Texas and would visit her again on the way back.
“Why did you fly all the way here in a Cessna 182T?” Cody asked. “That is a long flight for a 182.”
“I figured, you might be headed to being a full time commercial pilot, Cody and if I was ever going to get to see you after college, I would have to be flying beside you. You so seem to hate flying.”
“Just don’t go running off with your assistant, unless it’s me,” Cody said emphatically.
Don and Ron were mystified as they saw the giant lady pick Cody off the ground and smothered her with kisses. Both brothers were only five foot ten inches or so and had to look up to Crystal. Cody spent the day showing Crystal around the hangar and showing her what she did when she was on the ground. Unfortunately Cody had to leave Crystal at the airport as he had to fly some people to Round Rock Texas. Since she was flying for Richardson Aviation, Crystal was precluded from flying as Cody’s co-pilot by the insurance company.
Janine, the secretary gave Crystal a lift to Amanda and Cody’s home. She entered with the keys that Cody had given her. Amanda got in about seven, she was surprised by Crystal. They went out to eat that night and Cody met up with them at the restaurant when she got into town.
They picked up Linda and flew the TBM to Houston, where they met with Janice on the Fourth of July, to watch the fireworks. Janice loved having her friends with her. Crystal had to dissuade Janice’s brother from making a move on Cody.
They flew into Mustang beach, where they met Amy and Mikey. They went out to do some fishing for a few days and to enjoy themselves. They caught a couple of Marlin, which they sold at the fish market. Linda had to show off catching the biggest fish. Crystal and Linda helped John reel in another. He was in seventh heaven, as this was the most fun he had had since the accident.
Linda got back home in time to drive a grain truck besides the combine as they began the harvest. She had a very busy four days driving long hours to bring in the harvest. Her father actually paid her half what he would have another person. She and her Mom usually just worked for free. That with the money she had earned fishing gave her more money than she had ever had.
Cody hit forty nine airports in fifteen states over the summer. Her medium range TBM was a popular plane, with the local businessmen. Ron and Don were happy with Cody and Amanda. Cody was class trained in the Citation and the Gulfstream and could now fly every plane that Richardson Aviation owned.
Cody’s last flight of the summer was in the Gulfstream with her Mom to Deadhorse Alaska at Prudhoe Bay, stopping in Seattle both ways. They were flying some special oilfield equipment and a technician, which had to get there ASAP. Cody had pictures of Mount Denali taken at an altitude of thirty two thousand feet.
Cody earned twenty eight thousand over expenses, that summer flying and logged in over two hundred hours of flight time, two thirds of which were on the various planes that Richardson owned, including the ancient DC 3, which she copiloted with Ron. The DC 3 had been modified with a large cargo door that they needed.
The girls were back in Arlington by the tenth of August, to start their basketball clinic. Cody flew in to visit the girls, but she wouldn’t be back into Arlington, to stay, till the twenty-third. She had some important flights already scheduled.
When Cody was finally back in Arlington, she got hugs and kisses from the girls, at least till she was on the court with them and they were cussing her name. She showed her friends no mercy on the basketball court and she was actually getting better.
Linda had one bedroom, Cody and Crystal had another and Amy and Karen were in the third bedroom.
Their town house became the place to be when the girls weren’t on campus. At various times during the day, there were four to six girls, whom didn’t live there, in their townhouse.
Cody could probably have won a spot on the men’s team, if she had wanted too. She didn’t need an athletic scholarship and she had no desire to appear as a male or compete with men. Coach Davis sat down with Cody to talk about it. She wanted to keep Cody for her team, but knew her male counterpart could make use of Cody’s leadership and ability.
That year, Cody and Crystal took Linda out and got her a couple of fully tailored, knee length business suit. Linda could never buy anything off the rack. She cried as she hugged her two friends. Linda was surprised at how professional she could look when she was dressed up and made up right.
Cody and Crystal got married during spring break, down on Mustang Island. They had two Mom’s scrambling to get there on time. It was an informal event performed by a Justice of the Peace after he determined that one them was definitely male.
Linda actually did a paper on hearing loss amongst pilots. It wasn’t virgin territory but her paper was well received by her professors. She actually took sound measurements on the ground, inside various planes at various altitudes, inside pressurized and non-pressurized planes, around numerous airports. It seemed she had an in, with several different pilots. She then did hearing screening on a hundred pilots and matched it up with the pilot’s logbooks and work around the airports.
Crystal and Cody did become commercial pilots and flew together when Crystal wasn’t busy having their four kids. Cody always came home to Crystal. They eventually bought out Richardson Aviation and added to and retired some planes. Grandma Amanda retired from flying to work the office end of the business. They supported many girls’ soccer, softball, lacrosse and basketball teams. They actually coached some of the teams themselves.
Linda opened a hearing clinic in Midland Texas, so she could be near her friends, after she got her Phd. in Audiology. She was quite successful selling and fitting hearing aids.
Amy and Karen went to UT Law School in Austin and both of them became lawyers. Amy did civil rights law and Karen did corporate Law. They were hell on wheels when a case that involved them both.
Janice became a coach herself. She worked her way through high school sports to coaching women’s sports at the University of Wisconsin.
The End.
Julian Denver
by
Paula Dillon
A movie role has some unintended consequences for Julian. They all aren’t bad though as Julian gets to see things from the finer side.
Julian Denver sat with his parents, in the producer’s office, script in hand, reading. His agent had called him and told him that there was a producer and casting director, that were desperately trying to cast the lead of a movie. Julian was hoping to become the latest teenage heartthrob. That was enough motivation to bring him in. He had dreams of becoming the latest Justin Bieber.
He was more than a little surprised, that the part was indeed for the lead role in the movie. Julian already had over thirty credits to his name. This would be his first full-length movie feature and his first leading role. He had been appearing in shorts and commercials, since he was seven years old. Even at that early age, he had such an appeal. He was just too cute, women just want to pick him up and mother him. By the age of sixteen, he had developed a real acting ability. He could play a dramatic part, that could bring a tear to the eye, or he could play a part in a madcap comedy, with equal ease.
This movie would be a real step for him, so he had been told. If he was chosen and he accepted, he would be the leading actor for the movie. The money would be nice too.
When he was called, the producer had been rather vague about the role he would play. He was told it was to be the lead and that he would have a mid-six figure salary, if he got the part. He had two really good parents that didn’t leach off of him, like some of the early child actors. Thanks to the Coogan Laws, a large portion of the child actor’s salaries, are placed into a blocked trust. Julian’s Parents insisted that Julian had a say in where all of his earnings went. His parents took a small cut, and put it in an account that he could access fairly easily; the rest was in a trust, till he was eighteen, twenty one and twenty five. He already had a fair amount in his college fund.
Timothy Carson, the producer, had screened hundreds of teenage boys, trying to find just the right child to play the part. It wasn’t because it was a particularly hard script, but it did have some specific body type requirements for the boy.
Timothy Carson was a new and upcoming producer. He was seen by many as a visionary. His career started out at the age of seventeen, when he produced a high school documentary, which went viral on the Internet and later on, one of the major TV broadcasters. This movie was to be his big break into movie production, before the age of twenty-four.
Julian raised an eyebrow as he got past page three and got into the meat of the script. The movie was to be a fictionalized account of one person’s life and struggles. He was to play this person from their early teens to their early twenties. Julian came close to throwing the script at Mr. Carson, but he kept reading. He had seen poor dialog and such before, but there was nothing poor about this script. It was well written, contained good writer’s notes and directions. It just seemed a strange role to him.
Timothy, reading Julian’s facial expression and body language said, “It really is a good part Julian, please don’t be too hasty to throw this opportunity away.”
Julian chose his words carefully. He wanted to finish reading the script before he talked with his parents about the part. “It is a really different role, that’s for sure, but it is well written so far.”
“You should know that we have plenty of backers for this production. We are going first class all the way. The money is guaranteed. It will be shot in two sessions. The first will start this summer, and the second, will be in the following spring. But you will have a lot of work to do between sessions.”
“The big problem that I see is the likelihood of being type casted after this movie.”
“That is always the danger with any very dramatic… no, that isn’t what I mean. Any role that is radical, comedic or just plain different has, in some degree, poses a danger of type casting the actor. Some of the greatest movie roles have had that quality.”
Julian was a speed reader; he had been tested at being able to read at almost three thousand words a minute, coupled with an excellent memory. These two qualities had been an asset to him in his short acting career. He could read a script a couple of times and have a good grip on the character. Then, just a quick refresher between scenes, and he would be dead on with his lines. He read the script fast, but not at his top speed. He had to stop and reread the lines and notes, to fully understand the part.
He devoured the thick script in under an hour. “How soon do you need to know if I want to read for the part?”
“This has been a difficult role to fill. We have all the parts cast except for this one. I would like to see today, if you can do the role justice.”
“May I take a little time to talk to my Mom and Dad.”
“Sure, that will be fine,” Timothy got up and left Julian alone, with Patrick and Tina Denver.
“Well that was quite cryptic,” Tina said. “Tell us about the part.”
Julian fidgeted a bit about how to describe the part. His brow furrowed, as he took time to think before he spoke. “Have you heard about Michelle Lang?”
“I’m not sure,” Patrick said.
“You don’t mean that lady who lived in San Diego, do you?” Tina said, blushing a bit.
“That is the one, Mom.”
“Pat, Michelle is a transsexual woman. She fought for the right to receive medical treatment, to prevent her masculinization. If I am right?”
“You nailed it first time, Mom. This role is not about her, I don’t think, but the context of the role, is similar.”
Tina blushed deeper, as she thought about her son being dressed as a woman. Julian was five foot four and at sixteen, he could still wear a boys’ size 14 shirt, as long as they were short sleeved and 18 pants, as long as he had a belt on. He could wear 16’s in pants, but it was hard to find them long enough for him.
“I can tell you that they selected me for my size, and my face mom.”
Julian was surprised when his Dad asked, “Is it a good role?”
Julian scrunched his brow and thought, “I don’t know how to answer that Dad, except to say, that it is well written and if the cast is any good, it could be a great movie. It’s certainly better than that dog that won best movie last year.”
“While I am not happy about seeing my son in skirts and dresses,” Patrick said, frowning. “I will support you, if you wish to play the part.”
Tina tried to hide a smile. Julian was an only child. Tina had had serious problems with her pregnancy, so she had her tubes tied to prevent her getting pregnant again. She missed not having a daughter. It would be nice having one, at least for a short while. “If it is alright with Pat, then I won’t say no. It’s your call Julian. Do you want to try to play the part?”
“I don’t know if I want to play the part, but I might as well read for the part, since I am here. I might not be able to do the part justice.”
>>>>><<<<<
Julian sat on a couch with Claire Bennett. Claire was cast as the mother of Charles Manning, the part that Julian was reading. Julian thought she looked quite nice, her hair was a rich brown with golden highlights, bright green eyes and a great smile. She was also quite tall, at least five foot nine or so.
Julian was made up to look like a slightly effeminate twelve-year old boy and they had him tuck his legs back, so that he was sitting on his feet, on the couch, to hide his height. His own brown hair, which came down to the top of his shoulders, was covered by a longer bright auburn wig, which was pulled back into a high ponytail.
Annette Williams, the director, had the two read over the scene several times, making comments about how the scene should be played. Julian and Claire then talked over the emotions, which the two would portray.
They then practiced the scene several times. Annette stopped them several times, to make some adjustments in how they were playing the scene. After twenty minutes, she called for the camera crew.
“Camera’s roll!”
“Speed!”
“Act two, scene three, take one,” a guy with a digital clapper said.
A few seconds later Annette said, “and action!”
(A tearful Christy looks pleadingly at his mother) “You’ve got to help me Mom. This boy’s body isn’t who I really am. I can’t stand the thought of growing up like a guy. I can’t live like that.”
(A confused Elaine looks at her son, Charles.) “Stop this foolishness, Charles. You are no more a girl, than I am a male.”
(Christy starts crying and straightens her back) “You know how much I hate that name. Don’t call me that, I am Christy, I want to be your daughter. I am your daughter.”
(Elaine turns towards Charles and takes his hands in hers) “You must stop that. You don’t know what you are asking me to do, Charles.”
(Sobbing harder Christy leans toward her Mom) “Of course I know what I am asking you to do. I am asking you to help me be whole, Mom. I am asking you to let me live. I will just die if I have to pretend to be your son Charles. Please Mom, let me live.”
(Elaine gets up and walks a few steps away, Christy collapses on a pillow sobbing.) “Where did you get this silly notion, that a boy can become a girl.”
(Christy sit up, tears streaming down her cheeks and turns to her Mom,)“It’s not a silly notion. I’ve known for a long time that I was different. Inside, I guess I have always known that I was a girl. I just didn’t know what all these feelings really meant, Mom.”
(Elaine throws her hands up in exasperation)“I can’t stand this… I… I just don’t under… stand you. I am going to make an appointment with Dr. Davis. Maybe he can talk some sense into you.”
“And cut,” Annette said.
Julian and Claire played a couple of other scenes for the cameras, before a smiling Annette called it a wrap.
Claire hugged Julian, as he had gone so deep into the role that he needed to calm down a bit. Julian had really gotten into character. He was given a tissue, so he could dry his eyes. Those were real tears he had cried.
>>>>><<<<<
Timothy joined Annette on the set and they began talking in hushed tones. They then turned to Julian and Timothy said, “We will have to review the tapes and talk with the staff, but you did an excellent job there, Julian.”
“Thank you, Mr. Carson.”
“Please call me Timothy. I can’t say with total certainty yet, but I think we have found our Christy. Now the question is, would you, if we offer you the part, be willing to take the part?”
Julian turned towards his parents; they had silently and watched their son, during the screen test. They looked at him wide eyed, not believing what they had seen.
“Like I said, it’s up to you son. That was one hell of a performance,” Patrick said.
A stunned Tina was speechless, she just nodded her ascent. She had seen her son act before, but he had just surpassed his best, previous efforts.
Julian knew that this part would be life changing; he just wondered how life changing it would be.
“If I am selected, I will take the part, Timothy.”
>>>>><<<<<
Julian didn’t have to wait long; he received a call the next day, asking him to come in the next day for tests. Timothy stated that Julian would have to pass Medical checkup and a costume test.
“The medical test is to find out just where you are in puberty. We don’t want to shoot the first part and find that you have grown six inches and filled out like a linebacker for the 49’ers. We have a lot of money riding on this. Secondly, we want to dress you in costume, to see just how good we can make you look. After meeting you, I don’t that is going to be a problem, but the backers want to see what you look like, before they commit.”
“I understand,” Julian said. “Let me talk to my Mom a sec.”
Julian turned to his mother and said, “They want me to come in for a physical and to do a costume test tomorrow.”
“They must be pretty serious to require a medical,”
“Timothy said that they want to see where I am in puberty. They are afraid I might sprout into a football player, or pro wrestler, in a year. Like that is really gonna happen.”
Tina laughed at her son’s comment. Patrick’s whole family of men could probably be made up to sort of pass as women, she thought, but she didn’t verbalize. “I can understand their concern, but I agree with you. I will get you there; your dad has to be at work. Just find out when and where.”
>>>>><<<<<
Julian and his mother made it to the studio a half hour early. They were taken to a Medical Unit there at the studio, where the medical tests were to be performed. For half a day, Julian was prodded and poked, blood pressure taken, blood taken, x-rayed, physically inspected, measured and weighed. Julian was five foot four and one hundred fifteen pounds. He had a twenty-nine inch chest, a twenty-six inch waist and a twenty-nine inch hips. A psych then asked him about a thousand questions, more than half of them quite embarrassing, but he understood why they were asked.
While Julian was being given his physical, another Doctor was getting some information from his mother. She was also told what they wanted to do if he passed as expected. With the parents’ permission, if he was given the part, they wanted to start him on an androgen blocker for the duration of the shoot. They gave Tina all the information on the drugs, who would administer the drugs and monitor Julian’s health, and what the overall effect would be. Tina was warned not to touch or handle the pills, or take them, if she was, or could become pregnant.
Fat chance of that happening, Tina thought. She also thought that this could be good for Julian. He was a good kid, not too macho, but at times he could be a little full of himself. He treated women ok; maybe he could be a pain at times. This could be a good lesson for him, walking on the fair side for a bit.
Timothy told Tina, that for the first part, Julian could change out of skirts and such, every day, but they hoped that he would go full immersion from the end of the first shoot, till the movie was wrapped up. Between the first shoot and the second shoot, they wanted Julian to go to ‘girl school’ so to speak.
“That will be a lot of training to unlearn after the movie is finished,” Tina said.
“We will give him a full medical and have psychologist on hand to deprogram him, so to speak.”
Tina was of two minds at this point. She really wanted to see her son embrace his feminine side, but she really didn’t want him mentally or physically harmed by the part and she really hoped her son would return afterwards. “If he wants the part, I won’t have any problem with it.”
>>>>><<<<<
At lunch Julian and Tina talked about what they were told. She didn’t like the fact that they wanted to put him on androgen blockers, but she said she understood the need. She said if it was a part that he wanted, she and Patrick would consent.
Julian told his mom about the physical. He had never had such a complete physical in his life so far. The Doctor seemed satisfied with what he had found. He then talked about the psych eval and how embarrassing some of the questions were.
“I guess they need to see if you are mentally stable enough to play such a demanding role. Some actors have gotten so lost in their roles, that it changed the way they were.” Tina said.
Julian looked down at his hands for a second and sighed a deep sigh, “I know Mom, and this is one of those roles, which could change a person. I still would like to give it a try.”
“I know son, just remember, your dad and I are real proud of you and we will love you no matter what.”
>>>>><<<<<
The costume test was really strange. First he had to strip to his shorts. Then a girl from makeup came in and gave his legs a wax job. A woman from wardrobe came in and embarrassed him, as she helped him put on a gaff. Except for his Mom and the doctor, no girl had ever touched him the way she had and he wasn’t sure his mom had. A couple of small breasts were attached to his chest. He was led to a cabinet and stepped on a turntable. He was given a golden full body spray tan, wearing only the thong style gaff.
The costume lady then stuffed him into a corset and took three inches off his waist. The small breasts began to look positively large, as his waist shrank and the stuff which was at his waist was pushed up and down. Garters were attached to the corset. The lady threaded the garters through his panty and then the lady showed him how to roll stockings on his legs and attach them to the garter tabs. Julian began to regret his choice a bit, but didn’t balk. He then had to put on a padded brief to fill out his hips. Three inch heeled, black patent pumps, were placed on his feet as he sat.
Being in show business, everyone has to have makeup. Julian was use to this, the bright lights tend to wash out skin colors and make people look pale. This makeup job though was different. The technician was doing an everyday look for a lady. She used her arsenal of potions, powders, pencils and such, to highlight and feminize his face. Most of the studio’s makeup artists are very good at their craft. This one appeared to be a master at transformations. Julian watched in a mirror, as she worked her magic. She hadn’t done much, but… Julian disappeared and a girl that could have been Julian’s sister, appeared.
His own hair was carefully tucked into a wig cap and he was crowned with a long curly blonde wig. The blonde hair fell to just beneath his faux breast. The makeup lady fussed with the hair a bit, till she was happy.
They had him stand and measured him again. He was now five foot seven and measured out at 32A+-23.5-33. The wardrobe lady then dressed him in a knee length, blue silk cocktail dress. A necklace, rings, bracelet and broach completed the look. When Julian was led to a mirror, he looked like a seventeen or eighteen year old girl, similar to a teen aged Avril Lavigne.
>>>>><<<<<
Tina was sitting on the set waiting. She knew how long things like this took, but she still was getting impatient waiting. A pretty young lady came out on the set and a photographer began giving her directions and taking pictures.
Tina was talking on her cell phone as she watched. The girl seemed a little ungainly on her heels. Tina knew then, that something wasn’t quite right. That is when she took a closer look. She dropped her cell phone and exclaimed, “Julian… is that you?”
The girl giggled at her mom’s antics, “Yes Mom, it’s me.”
“Oh, my gosh, you… you… oh my, you are beautiful.”
Julian smiled and blushed, it could be seen even under all the makeup. The photographer liked what he saw and kept taking pictures.
The photographer shot a couple of more rolls, before Tina was allowed to talk to her son… err… daughter. She walked around her child and looked at her up and down.
“I can’t believe how good you look, Julia. I surely can’t call you Julian looking like this.”
“It’s just the magic of Hollywood, Mom. Smoke and mirrors, like a magician.”
“Not all of it, Julia. I hadn’t noticed it before, but with your high cheeks, soft shoulders and I don’t see your Adam’s apple. You could easily be Julian’s sister.”
“I know, I had that same thought, Mom. I couldn’t believe it myself.”
The wardrobe lady came up and said, “Julian, we need to do a couple more costume changes.”
Julian went off with the lady. Over the next two hours, Julian was dressed in jeans and a T, white blouse and a black mini, and a black tank and longer than mid-thigh red school girl, plaid skirt.
Julian was relieved when the lady from wardrobe took off the corset, but he really missed the stockings. It was his first time wearing any of that getup; but the stockings were his favorite. His waist expanded back a bit, but still looked narrower than usual.
There was a spot of humor, when the ladies returned Julian to his normal state, after they removed the breast forms; he had two teardrop patches of white skin, where the breast forms had been. It sort of looked like he had been wearing a bikini while tanning. The girl from makeup quickly airbrushed his chest to a nice even tone.
He then took a wipe, and some cold cream, and took off his makeup, as the lady from makeup took off the wig and wig cap. She then brushed his hair into some semblance of a masculine style.
“Was this your first time en femme?”
“You mean dressed as a girl, right”
“Yes.”
“Yes, it was, hopefully I will get the part.”
“I think you will get it. You did really well. My name is Susan Fischer, by the way.”
“Keep the gaff on, get use to wearing one, also, you might want to practice getting into that thing.”
>>>>><<<<<
Tina met her son; she smiled when she saw him exit wardrobe. “You look good with a golden tan, Julian.”
“Yeah, they sprayed me down in a spray tan booth.”
“Mr. Carson should be here in a few minutes, we should find out about the part.”
Mother and son talked about what an experience dressing up was.
“It wasn’t too bad, except for that dang corset and the heels were a bit much after a couple of hours, Mom. I really loved the stockings though, I have never felt anything so exciting, it was a good thing that I was restrained.”
“Oh, how were you restrained?”
“They had this thing called a gaff… let me just say, it kept things out of the way. I also wore a padded brief, you know, one of those stretchy things, which had padding on the hips and butt.”
“I do know what a padded brief is.”
Timothy came into the room as they were talking. “Hey Julian, you got the part. I have your contract here. Take it to your lawyer and your agent and have them look it over. Please let us know as soon as possible if you want it. There may be some room to negotiate, but it is a very generous contract for a first movie. We would like to start shooting soon.”
Tina and Julian stopped by their agent’s office on the way home and dropped off the contract for review. They then stopped at an ice cream shop, near their home.
Julian had been very quiet since they had left the studio. He appeared to be lost in his thoughts.
“Julian, what’s on your mind?”
Julian was mindlessly stirring his sundae around, “Nothing, really.”
“I don’t believe that for one minute, son.”
Julian fidgeted a bit, he started to deny what he was feeling, but he came on out and exposed himself, “Well, I feel like I have to do this role. Face it; I am not a Justin Bieber, or a Michael J. Fox, although I still have the cuteness factor, for now.
“I know roles for guys, like Michael J. Fox, are few and far between. The little guys don’t get the girl in movies son, but there are other roles.”
“I am getting too old to play a young teen; unfortunately, that is what I am best suited for. I may never see a movie role that is a lead, or as well written as this one is. In some ways, I feel trapped. I am almost certain that I will be type cast after this part. At the same time, it might open similar parts to me. It looks almost like feast or famine, to me. At least after getting paid five hundred seventy five thousand, I won’t have to worry about college fees. I will be able to make a life for myself outside show biz.”
“I thought about that too, Julian and while I can’t make this choice for you, I will tell you this. I couldn’t believe how much emotion you showed in your screen test. I was almost in tears. From what I have seen of the script, I agree, it could be a great part. I concur that it might end your career, except for roles like it. I am proud of you, whether or not you take this role.”
“Julian, when I was a little girl, I knew a Transsexual girl and while I didn’t understand everything that was happening, I learned to accept her. She made me more open to people who were different. Julian, whatever happens, you are my child, your Dad and I will always love you. But if you ask me, I think taking this role might be the right thing for you, at this time.”
Julian wasn’t totally relieved, but a big burden had been lifted off of his shoulders, “Thank you Mom, I appreciate you and Dad so much.”
“Let’s go get some take out for dinner. What do you want, Chinese, Pizza, or Burgers?”
“Chinese sounds good.”
>>>>><<<<<
Two days later, Julian and his parents, with their agent and Lawyer, were in Mr. Carson’s office. They went talking over a few points of the contract.
Mr. Carson put on his glasses and was looking at the document, “The first thing we want to make certain you understand Julian, is the shooting schedule. We will be shooting for eight weeks, from the tenth of June. We have to finish up no later than the 25th of August, for two reasons. Claire Bennett has a prior commitment, beginning the third of September, till after the New Year. Secondly, we want you to take some lessons before we shoot the second half of the film.”
“What kind of lessons are we talking about?” Julian asked.
“We want you to study with a lady, who does male to female transformations, and to study on how to present yourself as a female. We want you to live as a girl between the two shoots and we will offer you an extra 75 grand, plus reasonable expense, if you will live as a girl your age, before the second session. The reasonable expenses will cover a new wardrobe and such things as necessary, for you to survive as a girl.”
“I can understand that and I’ll accept that as a challenge.”
“Next, we must require you to understand the Medical clause. You are past the cusp of puberty, any day now you could suddenly begin a growth spurt. We have a lot of money invested and at risk in this movie. If you were to suddenly sprout another six inches, bulk out and grow hair like a gorilla, it might be hard for us to finish filming. The doctors have already talked to you and your parents about this. We would like you to start today on an androgen blocker. I will let Dr. Davis, explain this to you again.”
Dr. Davis then got up and began talking. “What the androgen blockers will do Julian, is to slow the progress of your puberty to a crawl for a bit. At the dosages we will be prescribing, the medicine is safe and effective. We will be monitoring your health on a bi-weekly basis and give you detailed information on any side-effects for you to look out for. I will be taking good care of you till the end of this movie.”
The Doctor spent the better part of an hour on the full disclosure. He asked some questions and answered others.
“Nothing will be permanent then, right?” Julian asked.
“Nothing will be permanent for the amount of time you will be on the drugs. Your puberty will start back where it left off. We may even be able to give it a little kick start, with small doses of androgens and human growth hormones, after the movie wraps up.”
They talked for another hour and a half. One document that everybody was asked to sign, was a non-disclosure form. The producer and staff would decide when and what was released about the movie. Timothy stated that this was going to be a controversial picture and they would like to be finished, or almost be finished, before the full plot of the movie was released.
“I know that when you begin to live full time as a girl, as part of your training, this might all come out. If it does, we won’t hold that against you. We are just trying to get as deeply into the project as we can, before that happens.”
“Also, after the wrap up of the movie, we may ask you to hit the publicity circuits as a male, or in your role as Christy. We aren’t certain yet, how you will appear, but it should be as only one or the other. You won’t have to change back and forth. You will be compensated for your appearances.”
When Julian was asked to make a decision, Julian told them he would do the movie.
Some more people were called into the office and Julian got to meet the screenwriter Craig Summerland and the writer Wendy Wilson. Julian was surprised that Wendy Wilson was a transsexual, who was less than a year older than he. He thought she was too cute to ever have been a guy. They talked together for about ten minutes, before Timothy’s phone rang. After answering, he told them everything was ready.
Cameramen and photographers came in for the formal signing session. The signing was almost like a scene from the movie, itself. After signing, Julian was given a preliminary check of fifty grand. Julian went with the doctor and was given a shot and a bottle of pills to take.
Carefully worded releases, about the new movie, would be given the media, along with the publicity packages. Many movies are begun all the time in Hollywood; some hit the news, like a tsunami, this one would barely cause a ripple.
The signing party moved to an upscale Hollywood eatery. Timothy had reserved the backroom, for this occasion. Julian, Tina and Pat, were seated with Craig and Wendy. Julian found himself sitting next to Wendy.
Julian turned to his dinner companion, “It’s really good meeting you Wendy. I was very impressed by the story you wrote.”
Wendy began to blush and smiled at Julian, “Well I wrote the story, at the suggestion of my therapist. She knew I was an English Major and that I had written several stories for the school paper, so she suggested that this might be a good way to express my feelings.”
Julian had a look that showed that he was impressed with Wendy, “So this story is about you?”
“Yes and no, some of the things I wrote, came from my experiences. This story though, is really about all transsexuals. To some extent, each of us has to face so many obstacles, and road blocks, to become what we really should be. Not every one of us has gone through each, and every one of the experiences, but they all can relate too many of the issues covered by my story. I also have to thank Craig for turning it into a viable script. He is really amazing.”
“Don’t listen to her Julian. All I did was to refine the dialog, break it up into scenes and to add some of her notes on the emotions she was expressing. She did most of the hard work.”
“So tell me about yourself Wendy, help me to understand the transsexuals. When did you know you were different?”
“I guess, I have always known I was different, I just couldn’t put a label on it, till I was eight or nine. Some transgendered realize this sooner, and some much later.”
“You’ve used two terms I want to understand, transsexual and transgendered, are they interchangeable?”
“Transgendered is an umbrella term, and covers cross-dresser, transvestites, and transsexuals. Cross-dressers just like to dress in the clothes of the opposite sex; they don’t necessarily identify themselves as the gender they dress as. Transvestites sometimes do it for the thrill of dressing, or for fetish reasons. Transsexuals identify themselves with the opposite sex. There are various degrees of transsexualism and not every transsexual will agree with what I will say, but it will help you to understand. Some will live 24/7 as a member of the opposite sex, but they don’t have a strong desire to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. Some live in a sort of duality. They might face the world as what they are, but when they are alone they have to dress up so they can feel normal. Others feel that they can’t live or breath until their bodies match up with their spirits. Many who are denied that opportunity, or who fear the world if they carried through with it, can get suicidal. I was with this last group. If my mom hadn’t discovered me dressed when she did, I might have killed myself, out of the shame of my secret. Some of the most common emotions among transsexuals that aren’t out, are guilt, shame, loneliness and fear. This is just a simplification of the terms and definitions. It is a very complex issue.”
“You used the terms out and secret, so does that mean some are transgendered and they hide it.”
“Most of them do to some extent, if they pass or can function without discovery as a member of the opposite sex, they may keep it as a secret. They don’t feel that others need to know the truth. Most of society punishes those who they feel choose to be different. Others who should be dressing and living as a member of the opposite sex are afraid to do so. I hope to open people’s eyes to the plight of the transgendered and to help bring changes to how they are treated. Another area is the way organized medicine treats us. If a transsexual is identified early enough and given the right treatment, more and more of them could pass.”
“I was lucky, at twelve I was placed on androgen blockers. Most aren’t so lucky. Until age ten or so, there isn’t much difference between a boy’s body and a girl’s body. Once puberty kicks in, their bodies begin to rapidly differentiate. There are facial changes, bone changes, body shape changes, hair changes and so much more. There are treatments that can slow these changes and begin to shape them into the sex they feel they should be. The earlier these treatments can begin, the better the results in the majority of the cases. We just have to convince the medical community, that there needs to be changes in the way they treat us.”
“Why won’t they treat you earlier?”
“That is the crux of the problem. They don’t treat us, because these changes can’t be reversed. If a boy gets his testicles removed, they can’t be replaced if he changes his mind at some later date. If he begins taking female hormones, he can get the same results, he can irreversibly chemically castrate himself. If he doesn’t get treatment, then he bulks out, his voice drops, he gets broad through the shoulders, grows facial hair and many other changes. If he still wants to be a girl when he reaches eighteen, then the results will never look as good, as they could have been.”
“Still, that doesn’t answer my question.”
“Because they fear that people will change their minds later. They can’t uncastrate a male, they can’t put a uterus back into a woman. Those treated, can never bear, or have children of their own. Because of that, the medical community have come up with the “Harry Benjamin Standards of Care”. They don’t feel that anyone under the age of eighteen can truly understand the gravity of the treatments.”
“So transsexuals are caught between a rock and a hard place. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.”
“Some transsexuals take matters into their own hands. There are some, less than legal ways, to obtain the medical treatments we want. Some go to places where the doctors are less concerned by the Standards of Care. Then others take matters in their own hands, some boys will castrate themselves, or have someone do it for them. The self-medicated, risk their health, there are many ways to get black market hormones. The best solution is the impossible one, that many transsexuals are presented with in their therapy, ‘The Magic Wand Treatment’. The therapists sometimes ask ‘If you could wave a magic wand and become whatever gender you wanted to be, what would you do? Or some words to that effect.”
“They actually asked you that?”
“I can’t speak for everyone, but mine did.”
Julian laughed and asked, “And what did you say?”
Wendy laughed and said, “I said, I would wave the friggin wand to become a girl and then break the son of a b****.”
“You didn’t?”
“I sure as hell did.”
“I like you, Wendy.”
“You’re not so bad for a guy either.”
Wendy and Julian agreed to get together several more times before shooting began, to talk over just what the issues were and how Julian could better portray the character.
>>>>><<<<<
Julian spent a couple of days going over the script, putting what he learned from Wendy, into context of his character. He had known there were transgendered people, even if he didn’t know the right words for them. He still wasn’t sure. Julian was far from understanding Transgender people, but he wanted to, and he was a lot closer than he had been.
He met with Wendy several more times, just to talk.
“When did your family find out you were different?”
“My Mom caught me dressed in some of her things. You see, she worked to support us, good ole dad wasn’t in the picture. I, for one, was glad of he left. He was a sorry bastard. I guess I was twelve. I was tall for my age and pretty lanky. My mom’s clothes fit me everywhere, except in the waist. I was glad my Mom had some high waisted girdles back then. I had made some bird seed breast forms, to put into the cups of my mother’s bra.”
“Bird seed breast forms?”
“Yes, it is a trick I learned on the Internet, I will show you what I mean. The Internet has been a godsend for people like us. Sharing information and experiences helps us. Anyway, getting back to your original question. I got home from school and headed directly to my mom’s room to dress up. I usually had about two hours to myself. I dressed up from the skin out, in one of mom’s dresses, a bra, panties, a waist nipper, pantyhose and a pair of medium heeled pumps. I was just putting on some jewelry, when Mom came walking in. There had been a traffic accident, a car had wiped out a power pole near my Mom’s office, so they had to shut down early that day. Mom wasn’t a happy camper, but she didn’t explode and beat on me.”
“The thing that she was most upset with, wasn’t that I was dressed as a girl, but that I had gotten into her things, without asking. I really was lucky, I guess.”
“Lucky?”
“Yes lucky. A lot of us have had far worse experiences, when they were caught, discovered, or found out. Some were beaten, some kicked out of their houses, some were severely punished, some were treated as a pariah and some were even killed.”
“Shit!”
“Exactly. Anyway, mom made me take her things off and get dressed in my clothes. We then sat down and talked for a long time. She knew that I was doing this. She had been finding her clothes moved around, and some of her clothes were getting stretched out at the waist. Finally, she made an appointment with a psych doctor. It took six months to convince the doc, and my mom, that I really was Wendy. I couldn’t get the treatment I wanted here, so we went to Tijuana, where we found a doctor who would start me on androgen blockers. The same doctor gave me estrogen and did an orchiectomy on me later.”
“Have you been ah… you know?”
“Not yet, hopefully next year I will have surgery to correct the plumbing. The girls are half and half. I grew to an A+ and had surgery to make them a full C. Another thing I had to do elsewhere.”
“Do many transsexuals go elsewhere?”
“Thousands of them go to other places for medications and surgery. It has become quite an industry.”
“Where do most of them get their clothing, if they are still in the closet?”
“You have got to realize first, that many of them are quite desperate. Some dress in their Mom’s or sister’s things, some go to stores, but that is a big leap, some steal clothing from laundries and clotheslines, but the biggest boon for them is the internet. You can buy everything you need on the Internet, including hormones, if you know where to look.”
“You can buy hormones on the internet, without a prescription?”
“Yes, but don’t do it. It can be very dangerous. You don’t know for sure what you are getting and even if you get the right things, hormones can be very dangerous. You can become seriously ill, or die. You really need a doctor who can look out for your health; even then, it isn’t entirely safe. That shows just how desperate some transsexuals are.”
Wendy showed Julian the ins and outs of using a computer to get what a transsexual needs on the Internet. She showed him some TS help sites, some support sites, geared to whatever age the user is, some TS chat sites, and some sites that had some TS fiction.
“Be careful on the fiction sites, some stories are pretty bad. Some stories have a lot of sex, bondage and torture. Some of them can be pretty sick. Also, be really careful on the chat sites, there are a lot of predators in some chat sites. Be very careful not to give away your location, or who you actually are. In fact, it is safer to chat at some Wi-Fi hotspot, than at home. There are some pretty sick, dangerous individuals out there.”
“Speaking about sex, are you attracted to guys or girls?”
“Yes. Gender doesn’t have any direct correlation to sexuality. It is hard to label. I mean, a guy who is a girl, likes a girl, is she a lesbian? A guy who is a girl, likes guys, is she straight or gay? Or maybe she likes both? Let’s just say, I am attracted to a person’s soul.”
>>>>><<<<<
Julian went to a local Starbucks, with his HP Notebook. He got a Carmel Mach and found a seat where he could surf without observation. He visited many of the sites Wendy had given him, especially the help sites. He adsorbed as many of the tips as he could. It was hard to sort out which tips were helpful, which weren’t and which, after much thought, were absolutely ridiculous.
He sat and thought for several minutes, “I guess I need to see what it is like, for myself.”
He took out his prepaid Debit card and visited some of the clothing and TS accessory sites. He had made a list of the things “He thought he would need, as a TS.” It wasn’t complete by a long shot, but he would learn this. He went on a shopping spree. He bought a couple of dresses, skirts, blouses, a corset, several types of gaffs, lingerie, makeup and a pair of breast forms, and had them shipped to his home. It was really a learning experience, which was overwhelming.
He created an online email account, under a name he picked out. He had thought long and hard about a feminine name, he chose Regan Michelle Cox. He then created an online chat name, KCRegan. He resolved not to say if KC was part of a name, or the location he lived.
He opened the chat program and logged in.
has logged in
Hey KC, welcome to the group. I don’t recognize the name, are you new?”
yes, I am new here. I just wanted to see what this place was like.
Several other people began to chat with KC. Julian asked some questions and got some answers. Soon, some of the girls worked out that he might not be a TS. He confessed that he wasn’t, but that he had a friend who was and that he really wanted to understand her. Some of the people wouldn’t chat with him after that, but some of them still did.
The ones who would still talk to him, were quite helpful and open about things. He was surprised when one of the girls sent him a PM.
Is that you JD?
WW?
Ahh so, nice meeting you here. It’s also good seeing you take this seriously
Yeah it’s interesting. I also ordered a bunch of clothes and things.
Oh really
Yeah, call it research and I am also interested
Coming over to the dark side
I don’t think so, I just really want to understand people like you
That’s good. If enough people understand things can only get better
I really like this role. It will be my best part so far, but could be my last
Your last
Yes. I could wind up being type cast or not able to find another job in movies
I hadn’t thought about that, sorry
Don’t worry about it. It’s not a problem. I love the role.
Ok, I can’t wait to see what you have bought. I will give you a grade on how you have done. Later, take care
Cya
>>>>><<<<<
Julian was away when the packages started arriving. Tina wasn’t a rocket scientist, but she figured out what they might be without opening them, even though most of the labels didn’t give it away. She just moved the packages to the spare bedroom.
When Julian got home, Tina just led her son to the spare bedroom and showed him the packages.
“Mom, I was just doing some research into the part.”
“I figured that part out, now are you going to open them and let me see what you have got.”
Julian found his mom’s reaction a little strange, but they sat on the bed and began opening packages. They sorted them out by what they were. Tina opened the package containing breast forms and began to giggle.
“Julian, you are going to need some different bra’s to get these into them. They are too big.”
“Guess I didn’t order the right size breast forms, or they sent the wrong ones. What size bra will I need?”
“You won’t know till I measure you with these on, take your shirt off Julian.”
Julian was a little uncomfortable doing this in front of his mom, but he still did it. Tina carefully read the instructions for the adhesive and remover that came with the breast forms. She then carefully applied them. He saw just how much bigger the forms were as his mom carefully placed them on his chest.
“They’re huge Mom.”
“They are not so big, just bigger than what you had on before. Lay there and hold them in place for five minutes, while I find my measuring tape.”
Tina left Julian there and went to her room. She got a measuring tape out of her sewing kit and on a lark she got one of her bras. Tina was a 36 C. Much closer to the breast forms than the 32A’s he had bought.
“Ok stand up Julian, I never thought I would be lending you a bra, but this bra should fit over those forms better,” she said handing him the bra. “Just hook it up in the front and turn the bra around then slip your arms into the straps.”
Tina then adjusted the straps so the bra fit her son better. Bras are better fit with a bra on. The bra lifts the breasts and makes them measure a little larger at the bust. She measure below the bra and at the widest point.
Tina talked to Julian as she measured him, “You round off the size to the measurements to the nearest inch, you are 29 and 37. You take the under bust measurement and add five inches to an odd under bust measurement and six to an even. That makes your band size a thirty four, thirty four from thirty seven, leaves 3 inches. A one inch difference is an ‘A’ cup, two inches a ‘B’ cup and three inches a ‘C’ cup. A three-inch difference makes your cup, a ‘C’ cup. Your bra should be a 34C. Comfort then, can dictate the right size. If the band of the bra feels too tight, or too loose, chose a larger or smaller band size and change cup size. That could mean you might feel better in a 32D or a 36B. Only you can decide that. A 34C is about an average size bust. A 36C is the most worn bra size. You are just about right for an eighteen to twenty two year old woman. As a woman matures, the band size might increase and the cup size might increase, if she has children.”
“Now try on your other things, I want to see.” Tina said with glee.
Julian had his Mom leave, while he put on one of the gaffs he bought. Some looked like thongs, others were tight panties, that had a little different construction. He then had his mom come back in, after he put on a padded brief.
“Okay, let’s get you dressed. Don’t take any labels off. We can still return the outer clothes and maybe the bras. The panties and briefs, can’t go back.”
Tina then helped Julian dress. Tina was surprised to see that the corset fit pretty well. She loved the lacy floral burgundy jacquard corset. She hated the things, but it looked so good on Julian, that she might have to get one. She took about two and a half inches off his waist. The dresses and blouses didn’t fit at all. They were too tight across the bust. The skirts fit well. Julian stood there in a bra, under bust corset and a really nice navy mini-skirt.
“You need to return the dresses and tops. The larger bust isn’t fitting. The skirts look really nice, though. I really would like a little longer skirt on my daughter, but even when I was a girl, I liked the way miniskirts looked on me. Put on some pantyhose, and let me get you a blouse.”
He had worn stockings, but had ordered pantyhose. He carefully opened the package and removed the pantyhose. The package had instructions inside; Julian followed the directions and had the pantyhose up to his knees, when his mom came back. She watched him pull them the rest of the way up. Tina had him pull them down to his ankles and pull them back up. The legs had been twisted a little, and it showed.
Tina then helped him into her frilliest silk blouse. It was an off white blouse, with lots of ruffles on the front. “Guys button up left over right, girls button up right over left,” Tina said.
She had Julian sit, as she put the shoes on Julian’s feet. She was again surprised that they were the right size, as she felt for Julian’s toes. She had known his feet were small, but didn’t realize that they were also narrow. He was a little unstable in the shoes, but he didn’t fall on his face.
“Now for makeup. Try to do your own and then I will help you. They scooped up the makeup and took it to the bathroom. The only help that Tina gave, was the order in which he should apply the makeup. Julian had been around makeup for years, so he had a head start. He applied the concealer, then foundation and pressed powder. He did a good job of blending it and feathering it out. The eye shadow was a different story. He remembered how the makeup artist had done it, but wasn’t sure about the colors. It was a lot of work to get both eyes close and he only did a fair job. Eye liner was a bitch, he kept wanting to blink and he found it difficult drawing a straight line behind his lashes. It took an hour of work to get an acceptable job.
“I give you an A for effort, but a C- for execution,” Tina said. “This is how most girls learn at first Julian, by trial l and error; as they get together with other girls and they share techniques.”
Tina then worked with her son. She cleaned off his face and then slowly showed him. With this tan, you are more of a summer, without it, I believe you are more of a winter.”
“Your foundation isn’t quite right. This is a common mistake. You really need help matching, a second opinion is good, or someone who is an expert can nail it down for you.”
She took what he had and worked with it. Tina showed him what group of colors worked best for him.
“In day time, less is more. Remember to KISS, keep it simple stupid. Dramatic eyes are for evenings and nights. You can create a whole slew of looks with makeup and have a great look. Don’t limit yourself to just a few colors, but take a good look at what you’ve done. If it works, it’s good. If it doesn’t look good on you, start over again. It just takes practice.”
Tina wasn’t a professional makeup artist, but she was good. She cleaned off her son’s face and redid it using her skill with cosmetics. Julian looked like a pretty older teen, when his mom finished with him. Tina had done a great job. Julian realized then that he had forgotten to get a wig. Tina worked with his hair a bit.
“It would be better if your hair was just a bit longer, but how does this look.”
“It looks pretty good.”
His mom had pulled it back into a twist.
“How about we package up what you need to return. I will buy you some things that you need. Then we will practice for a couple of days. When you feel you have got it pretty well under control and you look respectable, then we can go out, if you want to.”
Julian looked worried; he knew at that moment, just what a TS has to go through. “I don’t know Mom.”
“You are going to have to do it, sooner or later. I know you’re afraid, just rest assured that I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“We’ll see Mom, I know you are right. That doesn’t make it feel any better. The studio was a piece of cake, going out dressed will be a lot harder.”
“I know son, I just want you to know how proud of you I am.”
Julian kissed his Mom’s cheek and giggled, as he pulled back. He had left lip prints on her cheek. He didn’t know just how feminine that action was.
>>>>><<<<<
Tina went out shopping early the next morning.
After Julian got his gaff on, his mom helped stick the breast forms on. He had wanted to return the breast forms and get some smaller ones, but his mom wouldn’t let him. She talked him through on how most women put their own bras on. He found the eyes with his left hand and the hooks with his right. Reaching behind him, he brought his hands together and after he hooked it wrong a couple of times, he successfully hooked the top hook, to the top eye. The rest of the hooks and eyes were easier. The bra was up in his armpits because the shoulder straps were a little short. Tina told him how to adjust them. He found the slide and let out a little slack, and then he wiggled the bra a bit to get its position right. The bra lifted his boobs and held them up proudly.
After he finished putting on his corset, he put on his stockings, half-slip, red miniskirt, camisole, a white cotton blouse and a pair of two inch wedge sandals. Julian then tried his hand at makeup. Again, Tina gave her son tips, but she let him do the work. Julian made fewer of the usual mistakes, as he had used makeup before. With time though, he began to slowly develop a touch with ladies makeup. He just needed the years of training, a girl his age has.
Tina spent a couple of hours training her son to move, sit, walk and all the things a girl his age should already know. He learned how to walk in heels, as he talked to his mom. Tina corrected how he held his arms; he was doing the masculine arm swing. A shoulder bag helped to correct that. She then taught him to sit, stand up and keep his knees together. Another thing was that his mom made him set his handbag down next to him, when he sat, and pick it up, every time he stood.
“Why do I have to do that Mom?” Julian asked.
“It’s like muscle memory, you have to do it till it becomes automatic. Girls learn all their lives that they have to keep up with their purses. You lose your purse, you lose your wallet, keys, makeup and whatever girls keep in their purses. A girl has to know where her purse is at all times.”
Julian and Tina then had lunch. Lunch just turned out to be another lesson for him. He had to learn that girls didn’t order like boys, eat like boys and interacted differently than boys, while they ate.
After they ate, Tina told Julian to grab his purse and follow her to the bathroom.
“Why do girls go to the restroom in a pack?”
“Girls go to the bathroom together for many reasons. After they eat, they all have to fix their faces anyway. They powder their faces and repair their lipstick. It is a fashion faux pas for girls to have their makeup messed up. You either wear your makeup looking right, or not at all. Girls are more social creatures, they gossip, where guys can’t overhear them and also for safety reasons. It’s true that there is safety in numbers, guys don’t usually mess with a pack of girls. One girl says ‘Hey, I am going to the restroom, you want to come along?’”
“And every girl gets up to go?”
“At their table, except when they are at a bar. Two girls might watch their drinks, while the others go, and then the two that stayed go, when the others get back. Now-a-days, girls can’t be too careful when out drinking.”
“Date rape drugs?”
“Yes, it’s a shame that girls have to be trained to be so defensive. Girls like Wendy and who you are portraying, have to be almost paranoid about their safety, without drawing too much attention to what they are doing. I want you to be very careful, Julian, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Julian’s face creased with concern, he knew what she was talking about. He had read of the violence done to others who were different, “Why do people hurt each other, Mom? Why can’t they let each other live life like they feel they need to? They aren’t hurting anyone are they?”
Tina looked at Julian, but could only see a pretty young girl looking back, “That’s a million dollar question and I only have fifty cent answers.”
At two that afternoon, Tina got a phone call, “Hey Tina, it’s Pat. There has been an accident at our Seattle, plant. I am on the accident investigation team. I probably won’t be home for a couple of weeks.”
“What happened?”
“From what I have heard, apparently there was a cooling failure on one of our reaction vessels. Luckily there were no fatalities, although there were about a dozen injuries, a couple of the injuries are fairly serious.”
“Call us when you get to your hotel.”
“I will, I love you guys.”
“We love you too, be careful.”
Julian and Tina talked for a bit about what was happening. They turned the TV on to CNN, It took a while for any word of the accident to come up. It was big enough to make the news, but not so big as to require wide spread coverage.
“Julia,” Tina said, using the feminine form of her son’s name. “Do you want to go out to eat?”
“Like this?” Julian said, indicating how he was dressed.
“Yes, like this, Julia. Consider it training.”
“I’m not ready,”
“You’ll never be ready, if you don’t go. Come on, we will go to that new mall across town. You will only be one person, in a sea of people. You look so good, people will just see what they expect to see.”
“Just don’t hang me out to dry, Mom.”
“You know I wouldn’t do that.”
“Okay, I will.”
Tina helped Julia get ready and made up a purse for her. After refreshing Julia’s makeup, she added the cosmetics to the purse. She was amazed at how easy it was for her son to look so feminine. Tina then got herself ready.
>>>>><<<<<
Julian was a little frantic when they got to the mall. He was a little stiff in his demeanor.
“Just relax and enjoy yourself, Julia. No one can tell that you’re not a girl, unless you don’t relax and enjoy yourself.”
Julian took two deep breaths and relaxed. This is just a role, he thought to himself. Julian then took on the role of what he thought Julia would be like.
Tina noticed a change in Julia’s demeanor and smiled.
“Okay, let’s have some fun now.”
Tina and her daughter Julia, first spent an hour just window shopping and observing the patrons of the mall. They would stop and look at one display, or another, and talk about what they saw. Tina took them around to look at places that any teenage girl would normally be interested in. Julia slowly began to be more open and verbal about all of this. She was soon caught up in it. She saw and heard what other girls were saying and doing, and began to incorporate these things into her words and actions.
Tina was surprised when she heard Julia say, “Isn’t that skirt yummy, Mom.” She had pointed at a very short mini skirt.
Tina thought, two can play this game, “It’s kinda short for a girl your age, Julia. You can try it on, but we aren’t buying it dear.”
She took Julia’s arm and together they went into the store. Tina helped Julia find the skirt in a size she could wear. They then looked for some other things for her to try on. They found a few more skirts and several tops that would go with them. Tina then whispered into Julia’s ear and sent her into the dressing room.
Julia was scared stiff as she entered the dressing room. There were girls her age in various states of undress coming out and going into some curtained changing rooms. Julia entered one that was empty and closed the curtain. She then began changing clothes. He first tried on a frilly white silk blouse his mom had picked out and the tan ultra-suede mini skirt he had pointed out to his mom. He had put on the skirt first and had to unzip the skirt, to tuck in the blouse. As a boy, Julian had often tucked in his shirt after zipping and belting his pants. This skirt though, was tighter at the waist.
The skirt was fully lined in silk and had two gold chains that hung from hip bone, to hip bone. Julia really loved the feel of the skirt, inside and out .
Julia stepped out of the changing room and first admired herself in the mirror. The welts of her stockings showed just a bit, as she stood straight. The girl in the mirror was Julian’s wet dream. She looked good.
Julia then heard another girl say, “I wish I could carry off a skirt like you do. I just don’t have the legs for it. Mine are too skinny.”
“Oh thank you,” Julia said, as she turned to look at the girl.
The girl was raising the hem of her skirt, to match Julia’s.
“Your legs aren’t that bad. I think they are cute.”
“My legs would be a five compared to your eights or nines.”
Julia realized the girl was measuring herself by her legs. “You might need to add on a pound or two. At least you have good knees. Knobby knees can be such a drag.”
“I know what you mean there, girl. Yeah, I can see what you mean. Mom said that I need to put on a little weight, I am just afraid of becoming a blimp,” the girl said. She then pretended to stick her finger down her throat and said, “Gross!”
“You’re wearing a corset aren’t you?”
“Yeah, my regular waist is a twenty seven and I want to get it down to a twenty five or less.”
“Well you look good, unbutton your blouse and let me see your corset.”
Julia hesitated a second, but she remembered that she had a full coverage bra on and her breast forms didn’t show. She unbuttoned it enough so she could show the other girl.
“Oh, I like that. Is it comfortable?”
Julia honestly said, “It is a little uncomfortable, but it is a price that I am willing to pay.”
Julia then re-buttoned her blouse and went out to show her Mom.
“Oh, that looks nice on you. Turn around, so I can see all of it.”
Julia then turned for her mom.
“Stay right there a minute,” Tina said.
She left and brought back a saleslady. “I want my daughter to wear this outfit out of here. Can she do that?”
The sales lady smiled and said, “Sure, just see me when you’re ready to leave. I will take the tags off of her.”
Julia then tried on the rest of the clothes. Tina decided to keep one other skirt and all three blouses. Julia then got dressed again, in the new mini and blouse. The sales lady checked them out.
“Why did you change your mind about the skirt, Mom?”
“It will teach you more about skirt control. Every girl has to be conscious about her skirt. They don’t want to show the world what kind of panty they are wearing. You will have to smooth your skirt as you sit, or that one might ride up and show the world everything.
Julia hadn’t thought about that. She never had a reason to before today.
“Oh thank you so much Mom,” Julia whispered quietly and sarcastically.
Tina then led her daughter to a restaurant for dinner. After they were escorted to their table by the waiter, Julia then carefully set her purse on the table and did like her mother did, with her skirt as she sat and crossed her legs at her knees. The skirt rode up a little, it couldn’t help not doing so, but at least nothing more than the welts of her stockings showed. They took their menus, gave their drink orders and the waiter disappeared.
“Mom, my stocking tops are really showing.”
“I know, but you sat so nicely. That is also the reason some girls wear pantyhose, or nothing on their legs. Then some girls like their stocking tops showing, it can look so sexy. Eat lightly dear; you won’t be able to eat as much with that corset on. I like how it makes you sit up straight. Julian slouches too much, don’t you think?”
Julia remembered her mom telling her time and again to sit up straight at the table. As Julian, it was something he never thought about. Julia observed how she sat. She also noticed she wouldn’t be able to put her elbows on the table without leaning forward too much, that would be too uncomfortable. That was another thing her mom harped on Julian about.
They talked as they ate. Julia told her Mom about the girl she had met in the dressing room.
“Girls your age Julia, are sometimes obsessed with their figure. Some go on some ridiculous diets, or resort to throwing up, to lose weight. It’s ashamed how some girls treat overweight girls, also. Girls can be so vicious in their criticism of other girls’ figure faults. Boys taunt too, but then they get physical. Girls just get more viscous with their comments. There are more girls today that do fight, however. A lot more than when I was your age.”
“I have been seeing that even at my school, Mom. The last week of school there was a big catfight in the cafeteria. I stayed way the hell out of the way. One guy got kicked where it hurts when he tried to break them apart. The girls were practically naked by the time the teachers got them under control.”
“I never heard about that.”
“It’s not something Julian would have talked about. They both tore each other’s blouses off. One girl’s breasts were showing and the other girl’s skirt was torn to the waist. She had lacy pink bikini panties on.”
“Oh my. I am glad you didn’t get wrapped up in that fight. What were they fighting over?”
“A boy. Timothy Granger.”
“So you knew them?”
“Somewhat, they weren’t friends of mine, but we weren’t enemies.”
Julia uncrossed and re-crossed her legs carefully, in the other direction. She really appreciated the napkin on her lap.
After they ate, they headed to the ladies room for comfort and to repair their makeup. Julia wanted to run, but kept following her Mom, as they entered ‘NO MAN’S LAND’. Julia was smart enough to sit and to make sure the skirt was all the way back down, when she finished. She ran her hands over her backside, to the hem, before she opened the door. She loved the feel of the skirt and her hose.
Her mom was already touching up her face, so she did the same.
Tina then steered them to a major department store, up to the cosmetic counters. She arranged with one of the ladies hustling cosmetics, for Julia to receive a makeover. A lady named Beverly, greeted Julia and had her sit on one of their stools. Julia had to carefully step up, and turn to sit, as she smoothed her skirt. She then crossed her legs at the knee. Beverly just smiled at her maneuver.
“First mini?” Beverly asked. Julia just nodded. “You did that very nicely,” Beverly stated.
Beverly first looked at the makeup Julia wore. “Did you do your own makeup?” Beverly asked, but she never gave Julia the opportunity to answer. “You did pretty good. You just need to choose your colors better and work on your technique some.”
The lady cleaned off Julia’s face and started from scratch. She gave the young girl a step by step tutorial on skin care and makeup; suggesting what would look best. It seemed that nothing Julia wore was right. Beverly made sure she knew that she hadn’t done a bad job, but it wasn’t the best job. Beverly then went on to prove her statement. She showed the girl a number of good looks and Julia gave the woman her rapt attention as she worked.
Julia knew she had originally done a fair job, but she saw that Beverly was an artist, as good as some of the people in makeup on the sets Julian had been on. Some of them were magicians. Tina spent a small fortune getting the makeup and skincare products that suited Julia. She smiled at her beautiful daughter and felt pangs of regret. She would only be able to do this with her for so short a while.
Julia loved what Beverly had done for her. It just felt so right and at the same time it felt so wrong. She was conflicted about all of this.
Tina took Julia on the acid test. She walked her by Victoria’s Secret and into Frederick’s of Hollywood. Victoria’s Secret is sexy, but a little bit more conservative than Frederick’s. Some of Frederick’s things are downright sleazy in comparison. Frederick’s does have some nice things though. Tina maneuvered them to the sexy, but nice things. Julia had to try on a dozen bras, while they kept two. Tina selected some sleepwear and the next smaller over the bust corset for Julia while she was in the fitting room. She also bought a matching corset for herself.
Lastly they stopped at a shoe store, Mother and daughter came out wearing matching four inch heeled patent leather pumps in black. Tina had to help Julia some, but she was surprised at how well her daughter was doing.
At home Tina had Julia strip down to her panties. She then wrapped the new corset on her daughter and helped her with the stockings. She helped Julia into a short silky chemise and robe. Tina then took some things into the bathroom, where she changed into her corset, stockings, heels, chemise and robe.
Together they went into the living room and watched a couple of R rated chick flicks on cable.
>>>>><<<<<
Julian woke early the next morning, on the couch. It was still dark, but he was wide awake. It was hard for him to sit up, he had to pull himself up. The corset he was wearing prevented him bending up at the waist. He saw that he was still dressed as he was when he had watched the movies with his mom, except the heels were sitting on the floor next to the couch. He wasn’t feeling bad; he just wasn’t feeling good. The cable control box showed the time was five twenty-seven. He put the heels back on and with some effort, managed to make it to his bathroom. After relieving the pressure in his bladder while sitting, he stepped out of the underwear.
Feeling a little better, he looked at himself in the large mirror above the sink. His face was a mess, so he cleaned it, using his makeup wipes and used his new cleansing potions. Even without his makeup, he looked more like a Julia than a Julian, even just from the neck up. He had to laugh a bit at the incongruity the reflection gave him. He saw a big busted teenage girl, in a corset, with a six inch penis, looking back at him.
He took off the chemise, unhooked the stockings, untied and loosened the corset enough to take it off. It felt good to be unrestrained. He stretched and scratched everywhere, except under the firmly attached breast forms, before turning on the shower. After he felt clean again, he realized that he had a decision to make, to stay as Julia again, or to become Julian. It would be easier at this point to stay Julia for now, with the breast forms still in place and he thought his mom might appreciate waking up to Julia. So he set about getting Julia ready for the day.
>>>>><<<<<
Tina awoke when the sun rose over the neighbor’s home and lit up her bedroom. She had trouble sitting up. She had worn corsets before, but never had gone to bed before, wearing one. She smiled when she saw herself in the mirror. She looked good, even with her hair in a mess. She might just have to start wearing a corset more often. After taking care of her immediate needs, she undressed and showered. When she came out of the bathroom, she smelled coffee. She quickly put on her panties and robe, before she followed her nose.
Tina was surprised to see a fully dressed Julia. Her hair was in fresh curls and her makeup subtle, but nice.
“Good morning, Mom.”
“Good morning Julia. You look so nice, how long have you been up?”
“I woke up about five thirty and needed to take a leak. Once I woke, I was awake.”
Tina knew that Julian was that way, as long as he had more than three or four hours sleep.
“How did you do your hair and makeup?”
“I used your curling iron and setting gel on my hair, after I showered. I remembered what Beverly did to me and did my best to copy it. Did I do a good job?”
“Yes, you did a very nice job, you look very good. Are you wearing your other corset too?”
“Yes, I had too; my skirts are just a little too tight without one.”
“I need some coffee.”
Tina got a cup of coffee and looked over her daughter, as she drank it. Julia was dressed in the frilly silk blouse she had worn from the mall, a straight almost knee length black skirt, pantyhose and the four inch black patent pumps. She looked vibrant and beautiful.
“So tell me, how do you feel about being Julia right now?”
“Strange and confused. It would have been hard to be Julian with these boobs still attached.”
Tina almost blew coffee out of her nose; she had forgotten that she had used some adhesive on them.
“I figured, you might appreciate waking up to Julia, this morning. It almost feels natural being Julia. I don’t know what to say. I looked at myself after I got out of the shower. From the neck up, the face went well with my body from the hips up. Granted, the corset did crush me down to a smaller waist, it was still pretty narrow after my shower. I almost… no, I did have an hour glass figure, that just needed a little more hip. It was just like that girl I met; she just needed a little more meat on her body to have a really nice figure. Even before all of this Momma, I didn’t have a feminine, nor a masculine figure.”
“You have an androgynous figure. Your figure is neither male nor female, but both at the same time.”
“That’s it and with a little work, I can tip the scale either direction. Just now though, it is easier to be Julia than Julian.”
“I was surprised at how well you did at the mall. You were a little stiff and hesitant at first, but you seemed to gain momentum, as the afternoon wore on. What happened?”
“You told me to relax and basically act like a girl. I just started to play a role. I became Julia. I had some arguments with myself, but Julia kept winning them.”
“Don’t tell me that you want to stay this way?”
“No Momma, I am not saying that… at least not yet. I don’t know, it’s so damn confusing.”
“Oh dear, let’s just keep this between ourselves for now. We can tell dad later, if we need to. It’s not something I have done, is it?”
“No Momma, it’s something that has been starring me in my face for years, I just didn’t realize what it was.”
Tina hugged Julia tightly, “I love you, you’re my child, whether you are Julia or Julian.”
Julia cried on her Mom’s shoulder as she said, “I know Momma. I love you too.”
Tina got dressed. Julia and her went out to eat brunch. It was eleven thirty when Tina’s cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, “Its dad,” she said before answering it.” “Hello Pat, how are you doing?”
“I am doing alright, but the situation up here is really FUBARed. I won’t be home for a couple of weeks and then I will be up here most of the summer trying to put this place back together again. Corporate says that we need to get this plant going, as soon as possible. At least nobody was killed. There were a handful of injuries, but only two of them were serious and they should recover. Half the plant is shut down and about of a fourth of it needs to be rebuilt. I will know more later when I can get to come home.”
“Just be careful, Pat. We both miss you.”
“I miss you two also, give Julian a hug for me. Love ya.”
“I love you too, take care.”
“I need to get back to work; I just wanted to give you an update. Bye honey.”
“Bye.”
“That was your dad, Things are worse up there than was first thought. He won’t be back for two weeks at least and will be gone for most of the summer.”
“Bummer,” Julia said.
“Yeah, it’s a real bummer.”
“Let’s invite Wendy over to our place this afternoon, Mom.”
“I think that that is a good Idea.”
Julia got out her cell phone and called Wendy Wilson, the storywriters’ name behind the movie. Wendy and Julia talked for several minutes, before Julia asked Wendy to come over. Wendy was excited about the opportunity and said that she would love too. Julia gave her their address and directions to their place. After a short pause Wendy said, she could be there in a little over an hour.
Tina and Julia were home for about forty minutes, when the doorbell rang.
“You stay here Julia, I will get the door,” Tina told her daughter.
Julia could hear her mom at the door, greet and invite Wendy in. She heard her mom’s heels clicking their way back. She stood just before they entered the living room.
“Hello Wendy,” Julia said, as she saw the girl.
“Julian?... Is that you?... Ohh wow, it is you.”
“Yes it is me, although I prefer to go by Julia when I am dressed like this.”
“Why?”
“Call it research. One of the things I found in most bio’s and stories, was the fear they faced the first time they went out. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, of course it is.”
“Well, I now understand what they were talking about.”
Wendy crossed the room and hugged Julia. They then sat down in the living room.
“You must tell me all about this Julia.”
“First, would anyone like anything to drink?” Tina asked. “Coffee, Tea, Coke, or water.”
“Coffee, please,” Wendy said.
“Me too, Mom.”
For the next two hours, they talked about the transformation of Julian into Julia. Julia explained everything she did and how she felt about this or that. Wendy made comments and asked very pointed questions, while Tina gave her observations of what they did. Wendy held Julia’s hand as they talked.
“I hate to admit, that you look better than I do now. What is disconcerting, is that I started early and I have been on hormones for two years.”
“Wendy, I think you look gorgeous,” Julia said.
“Thank you Julia, but let’s be honest here. In a two transsexual beauty contest, I would place second to you. I know I pass as a girl. I have always been proud of that fact. You don’t just pass Julia, you surpass.”
Julia sat quietly for several seconds and thought, “I…I…I…”
“Let me ask you a question. Do you think that you will ever go back to being Julian full time?”
“I… I… don’t know right now.”
Wendy read Julia’s body language. As much as she could tell, Julia had given Wendy an honest answer. In her heart though, she felt Julian might just be lost forever.
“I still think that I am very rough,” Julia said.
“We want you a little rough right now,” Wendy said. “The time for polish will be when we do the second session of shooting. Now tell me, if you had this to do all over again, would you still do this?”
Without hesitation Julia said, “Without a doubt, I would. If I go back to being Julian, I feel that this has been a wonderful experience, at least so far. I feel I understand women better and women like me better now.”
Wendy couldn’t help but smile. At the same time, she felt a little guilty for putting Julian into this situation. Even though she knew in her heart, that dressing as a girl doesn’t magically turn a boy into a girl on the inside, she still blamed herself a little.
Wendy changed the topic of conversation from Julia, to the movie, and Julian’s role in the movie. She had to open up her soul a bit, as she conveyed the role as she saw it and compared it to the TS girls she knew. She loved talking with Tina and Julia/Julian. She wished that Patrick could have been here, but maybe things might not have been so open. Girls, after all, found it easier to share what was in their hearts, when it was just girls. Wendy really did want to know how Julia’s father would accept this, and what he felt. Julia’s mom though, was wonderful; Wendy wished that more of her TS girlfriends would be as lucky. Well, chalk one more up to the sisterhood, she thought.
Wendy, Tina and Julia had a wonderful time. Wendy stayed with her new friends, till after dinner. Tina, she found, was an excellent cook and had shared a half glass of a really excellent wine with them.
“Julia, your next meeting with the production staff is Thursday, right?” Wendy asked.
“Yes, they are supposed to hand out our revised scripts and give us an updated shooting schedule.”
“You need to appear as Julian. The production staff is pretty liberal, but let’s just keep this… research, between us. Oh, you can always call me, if you need to talk about things. Later, I can take you to one of our support group meetings.”
“Okay, I understand,” Julia said.
“Also Tina, I think it is a good idea for Julia to talk to a therapist qualified in gender issues. Not every therapist is good in that area. Some of our people have had bad experiences with therapists who try to talk us out of transition, make transition impossibly long and put up all kinds of roadblocks, to us getting the help we need. A gender qualified therapist will be able to determine what Julia may or may not need. I can give you a list of therapists if you want.”
“They wouldn’t mold him one way or the other?” Tina asked.
“No, a good therapist will help Julia, or Julian, find out the truth for him, or herself. They shouldn’t play GOD and experiment with the well-being of your child. Julia’s, or Julian’s, mental health should be at the top of their list.”
“I will give you my email address and I’ll look forward to receiving that list. Thank you Wendy.”
Wendy kissed Tina’s and Julia’s cheeks. She stood back and took in Julia’s appearance one last time. She winked at Julia and said, “See ya later, alligator,”
Julia giggled, winked back at Wendy and said, “After while, crocodile.”
>>>>><<<<<
Monday and Tuesday had been wonderful. They had gone out and had done many of the things that mothers everywhere wished that they could do with their older teenage daughters. Tina explained that most of the time, girls in their mid to late teens, think that doing things with their mother, wasn’t cool. Julian knew what she meant, but Julia loved the new sense of closeness she felt.
Tina got Julia to dress in her ultra-suede skirt, pantyhose and her heels. Julia refused, unless SHE also dressed in a very short Mini. They had to go into Tina’s closet to search and nothing was suitably short, according to Julia. She did agree to go with Julia and let her pick out a skirt.
At the mall, Julia pulled her Mom into a junior’s shop. It was an upscale junior’s store. The clothing wasn’t as expensive as some of Tina’s things, but nothing here was cheap. Tina had to think about what her size would be, in a junior’s store. It had been nearly fifteen or sixteen years since had shopped for Junior’s clothing. She had a twenty-nine inch waist and almost a forty inch hip. If she didn’t watch things, she could easily could go pear shape,
“I guess I am a nine or an eleven, better make it an eleven,” she said
Juniors clothing tended to cater to younger girls in their styling. The two of them looked around at the merchandise. Julia found a skirt she liked and held it up to her mother.
“No, I don’t think so, I would need a Miss’ tall blouse to wear, that wouldn’t expose my belly. That skirt would ride too low on my hips,” Tina demonstrated where the waist of the skirt would be on her. “How about this skirt? It is a high waist skirt, that would hit me about here and the hem would be about here.”
“I think I might like that skirt too!”
Together, they went to the changing room and took the same room. Tina put her skirt on first; the waist was a good two to three inches below her bust. She couldn’t ever remember wearing a skirt this high and this short, but it looked spectacular on her. Julia was having trouble getting her skirt on.
“You need to pull it up HIGHer Julia,”
Tina unzipped it and pulled the skirt higher. It was almost to the underwire of the corset. It zipped right up. It was short on Julia, but it looked good.
“Let’s wear these out.”
Tina and Julia wore their new skirts out. They looked almost identical, except that Tina had three inches of height over Julia. They drew a lot of attention, so Tina began teaching Julia how to deal with unwanted attention.
“You can’t play coy with guys. With your looks, you could attract wolves from miles away. You also can’t be too rude. An angry suitor, could be dangerous to you. Try not to flutter your eyes, or look down too much. Get your point across as tactfully as possible. Most importantly, you need to be aware that there are people who prey on girls. You can’t let fear rule your life, but you have to look out for your own safety. You are safer in places with a lot of people and places that are well lit at night.”
Together, they went to the mall, not to shop, but to let Julia observe the people there. They both got Ice creams and walked around talking. Julian had been to the mall before, but he had been focused differently back then. Julia was more observant of people and how they interacted.
>>>>><<<<<
At home, they dressed for bed, Tina was addicted to hostess style PJ’s, with draw string waists. She lent Julia a nice yellow satin PJ set. Tina then helped Julia go over her current up to date script. It had been messengered in, the day before. Julia checked the calendar and turned to the first scenes that would be shot and went over them. Tina was amazed to see how her child took to a role. He first read the script and then he reread it. During the reread, he tried placing himself in the character’s shoes and imagined how the character would act and react.
Christy was a very complex person, she tried so hard to live a life by other people’s expectations, till at the age of twelve, it was either come out as a girl, face a nervous breakdown, from denying what he really was, or ending it all. She didn’t really see suicide as probable, but it was possible, considering the pressure and stress he lived with. He was prepared to run away from home, when he came out to his mother.
Julian had read many biographies of Transsexuals that he found on the Internet. He thought he understood them at least a little. There were many themes that ran through almost all of them, denying the way they felt, hiding the truth, fear of discovery, and fear of how the ones they loved would react. Many of the people would dress for a while and then out of guilt, would purge their closets, living miserable lives, only to buy more clothes and things, to feel normal again.
It was sort of like a bulimic. The person would gorge on femininity, purge, gorge, ad infinitum. During this time, their mental health would spiral down to a breaking point, till there were no options. The people would have to be honest to themselves, or face serious life consequences.
Not all of the biographies were this dreary early on, and not every person had to live 24/7/365 as they saw themselves, but the most were.
Julian hugged and kissed his Mom, suddenly realizing that that was something he had drifted away from, as he had gotten older. Tina was surprised, but happy at the same time.
“Mom, I haven’t done that, before going to bed, in a while, have I?”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Don’t let me forget to give you a hug and a kiss before bed. I need it and so do you.”
Tina smiled and gave Julian a big hug and a kiss, “I like that idea. I didn’t realize just how much I missed them.”
>>>>><<<<<
The next morning, Julian was back and up early. He removed all traces of Julia, he had to wash his hair three times, to get the curl out. Tina gave him a close inspection, before he sat down to eat breakfast. They then headed out to the studio.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, they would be doing rehearsals, just reading the script around a table and getting into character. Saturday, was for fitting of costumes. Then Monday, they would begin to shoot.
Wendy and Dr. Blevins, a psychologist, sat on either side of Julian. They would give their insight into the character’s emotions and feelings, at various times. They were both surprised at how Julian took to the character. He read his part really well; they just had to polish his character a bit.
The read through was videotaped, so the screenwriters could go over it that night. They made notes on what Wendy and Dr. Blevins said and how well the read went.
At lunch, Wendy and Dr. Blevins ate lunch with Julian.
Dr. Kathryn Blevins observed Julian and Wendy as they ate. All three of them talked about the role and how it should be played. Wendy and Kathryn commented on how well Julian read the part.
“Julian, I can’t believe how well you adapted to the role. I know that it is a tremendously hard role. Tell me; are you transgendered by any chance?” Dr. Blevins interjected.
“I don’t know… what do you think I am?”
“I don’t know, that is why I was asking.”
“And how does that make you feel?” Julian replied in a deadpan of a psych.
Kathryn smiled and then began to laugh. “It’s Dr. Denver, is it? No, I just find it eerie how much like Wendy you seem to be. Add that, to the androgynous demeanor you have, it just led me to ask.”
“Wendy and I have talked quite a bit about the role and I did a lot of reading on the Internet. Some of those stories are quite extraordinary, I think. Some of them are quite sad, too,”
“Yes, they are. Some are too sad. I hope this movie helps others like Wendy. I know this may just be a role, but if you need to talk to someone, here is my number. I will be on the set for quite a bit, but call me if you need too. I will help you get back to normal, if that is what you want, after this.” Kathryn said, handing him a card. “My office number is on the front and my answering service number is on the back.”
“What is normal? Normal is over rated, I think.” Julian stated.
“I think so too, there are too many people acting like others think they should, out there. People need to let loose every now and then.”
>>>>><<<<<
Thursday and Friday, they went over changes to the script, before continuing the read. Julian was really getting to like Claire, the woman playing Elaine, his on screen mother. She was not unlike his own mom. More importantly, they played well with each other. They had that chemistry when they got into their parts.
In one scene, Claire and Julian were standing facing each other, in an emotional scene. Elaine just had too much, and snaps. Christy was pleading with her mom and Elaine loses it, and slaps Christy. Things were so emotional when Claire read the action, she just reacted and slapped Julian. Only it wasn’t a stage slap. Julian kept in character, cringed and shied away from her.
Claire was horrified that she had actually slapped Julian, during the read through. She had just reacted to the part, “I am so sorry Christy, forgive me.” Claire reached down to the cringing child and drew her into a hug.
“That’s it. That is just what I want.” Annette said, clapping.
Julian stood and massaged his cheek. The reading had gotten really intense and he knew that that was how the critical scenes of the movie should go. Claire had surprised him, but he didn’t hold it against her. He went over to her and gave her a hug.
“That was a great scene, Claire. You really got into character.”
“You did too, Julian. I am so sorry for slapping you like that.”
“No problem. You just did what came naturally.”
>>>>><<<<<
Julian was in Wardrobe, Saturday. The lady in charge had him go through all the clothes they had picked out for him, for the first shoot. The clothes ranged from androgynous, to slightly effeminate. An acting coach was there to help him understand how he was to act, dressed in the various outfits. It was explained that many transgendered acted differently, according to how they were dressed. This was especially true, if they were still in the closet, so to speak. They weren’t always a hundred percent correct all the time, as certain aspects of their character would come through, regardless of how they dressed. This was the reason some of them got into trouble. That is, some of their feminine mannerisms and attributes might come through, when dressed as a guy, conversely, some of their male mannerisms could be seen, when they were dressed as a girl.
The coach had him practice things in a slightly androgynous, to an effeminate way. Like how he walked, how he stood or sat. There were so many small things that made up the total picture of the character he was portraying. Wendy came in with her laptop, before and while she was transitioning, she had made scores of videos, as she tried to refine herself. Julian could see how she retrained herself, so to speak, to be the person she should be. At first, her feminine gestures were at times, over the top, but as time went on, her actions became more natural and fluid.
“It really is a learning experience isn’t it?” Julian asked.
“It really is. It may seem ridiculous, but genetic girls train their whole lives on how they should act and move. They don’t realize that they are doing it; they just do it. You have been trained how guys should act and move, from watching your father, the guys you hang around with or see all of the time. When you change sides, so to speak, you have to un-train what you already know and work at acting and moving like what you want to portray yourself as. There is a lot of muscle memory in the way you do things.”
“That would account for the incongruities, which sometimes slip through. You know what I mean, Wendy. When I first saw you, I couldn’t believe you were ever a male, but as I have observed you more, there are certain things you do, that are slightly masculine.”
“Exactly, everyone has some feminine and masculine traits. If you see a girl throw a baseball like a guy, you don’t automatically think she is a guy dressed as a girl. If she also walks with her feet wide apart, scratches her crotch in public and farts without embarrassment, you might start to wonder about her. A TG girl might make a lot of slip ups, as she learns to be more feminine. That is one thing that scares a lot of us. Those of us that are still in the closet, sometimes are fighting a losing battle.”
“So, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a chicken.”
Wendy scowled, punched Julian in the arm and said, “Julian you are so bad.”
“You have no idea,” he said, giving her the ‘EYE’.
>>>>><<<<<
Monday, they started shooting, they started doing the studio shots of the home, that Charles and Claire lived in. The set looked like a normal everyday home, at least half of the set did. The other half, looked like one of those big warehouse sets. Out the windows, a whole neighborhood could be seen. There was a city street, neighboring homes with lawns.
Julian learned that a movie wasn’t shot from scene one, to scene two, etc., but was shot by locations. In other words, they would shoot all the scenes that took place in the same area, together and then pieced them together in the correct order, while in edit.
They worked ten to twelve hour days, with hours of preparation, for five minutes or so, of shoot time. They shot each scene at least two times, to make sure they got it right, but some critical emotional scenes might be shot four or five times, and one scene they took twelve takes. Not because of flubbed lines, or anything they did that was wrong, but so they could incorporate different camera angels, or try different ways of handling the scenes. One scene they shot; was a shouting match and then when they reshot it, it was a cold, quiet, tension filled, argument.
The first week, they concentrated on twenty scenes that were the heart of the early movie. Julian was amazed at the tricks they used, to disguise his true age. Being short was an asset, but as they viewed the raws, he could see how the different camera angels worked and the scenes, where Claire was standing on two or three inch blocks, when she was next to Julian.
Julian also had fun acting like a twelve year old kid again. He had done a few shorts, where he played a kid, so he just had fun. Some of the antics he pulled, had the crew laughing in stitches, like where he hopped onto the Director’s lap, like a little girl, and said, “Mummy, if I’m good, can we get ice quweem.” The camera had still been rolling, because the cameraman saw the mischievous look in Julian’s eyes.
Annette had been caught off guard, talking with one of her assistants. She talked to Julian, as if he were an eight year old girl, “Christy, you will be good, regardless of whether we get ice cream or not, or I will turn you over my knee and spank you young lady.”
“Ohh fuu, your’re no fun mummy.” Julian said pouting.
His antics actually served a purpose, whether he realized it or not. They served to break the tension and raised the mood around the set.
That scene was shown first, the next day, as everyone watched the raws.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday, was the first break they had, they only shot for five hours that day. Julian was glad, it had been an emotionally draining week on the set. He had never realized how tiring, it was. He could often be found in his dressing room with Wendy, and one or more of his assistants, decompressing for a bit. Today, Julian got to enjoy time with his mom and dad. Patrick could only spend the day in town, as he had to fly back north Sunday afternoon. He needed this time to decompress himself.
Patrick wanted to hear about everything that had happened, since he had to leave. It was good for him, as he felt reconnected with his family. Sure he had called home a couple of dozen times, but there was nothing like being with your family. He didn’t like having to talk about what he had been doing. That was too much like work to him, but he knew that his family needed to know, about what he had been doing.
Patrick took his family out to eat and then to an arcade. He wanted to have a good time with them. He also watched Julian closely, without being obtrusive. Julian’s mannerisms had changed. He might not have noticed it if he had been home all this time, but his child was acting more effeminate. It wasn’t a huge change, but it was noticeable. He chose not to say anything, as there was still a lot of the movie left to be shot yet. There was nothing that could be done right now, without hurting Julian’s acting.
There were some tearful goodbyes, as Patrick had to say goodbye to his wife and child. It was hard thinking of Julian as his son right now, he was something in between, really. Patrick wondered what would happen as the weeks went by.
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday, the cast reviewed all the raws with the director and production staff. The producer and director then went to a conference room, to have a discussion. They sequestered themselves there for about three hours, as they checked off scene after scene that had been shot and decided that they needed to reshoot three scenes. The assistants were sent scurrying out, with the schedule for Thursday and Friday, and the notes from the production staff.
Thursday and Friday, they got the scenes done and late Friday, they were sent home for the weekend. Monday, they would start shooting a different, less stressful block of scenes.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday, Patrick was still up north, some critical equipment had come in and he and his crew had to get it installed asap. With this equipment in, the damaged section of the plant could get back to a limited production. Corporate needed this section to start working again.
Julian asked his mom if he could call Wendy and have her come over. He had begun to love Wendy as a sister and liked spending time with her. Tina liked the girl too, and approved the idea. So he called Wendy a little after nine. She was happy that Julian called, she hadn’t planned to do anything, and getting out of the house suited her too. She told him that she would be over in an hour.
Julian and Tina headed to their own rooms to get dressed. Tina had dressed in a light summer dress and walking shoes. Julian wasn’t out of his room yet, so she knocked on his door. Julian called for his mom to come on in. Julia had dressed in her corset, gaff, panties, pantyhose, a sleeveless green metallic tank top and a gray miniskirt. She wore black patent pumps with three-inch heels on her feet. She was sitting in front of her dresser, doing her makeup, like any self-respecting teenage girl would do.
“So its Julia’s weekend to be home, is it?”
“I just thought that I would get some practice in, that’s all.”
“I think not young lady, I think that you have gotten hooked. I think you like this more than you are letting on.”
“Am I that transparent?”
“Clear as glass right now. Are you sure that this is what you want?”
“No, nothing is clear to me, Mom. I am just so confused right now. I don’t know; I just like doing this so much. I don’t know if I can stop this, or change. What are we going to do?”
“We’ll take this one step at a time Julia. If this is who you truly are, we can deal with it. I think I will call one of those Gender Therapists on Monday.”
Tina helped her daughter with her hair, after she finished with her makeup. Julia made a lovely teenage girl. Tina was surprised at how sophisticated her makeup skills had gotten. Her daughter had really done an excellent job, not overdone by any sense of the imagination.
>>>>><<<<<
Julia and her Mom sat in their living room talking about what was happening. They were interrupted by the doorbell.
“Just wait here Julia, I will get the door.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
Tina disappeared and Julia could hear her greet Wendy. She also heard another voice she didn’t know. She stood as she heard them draw near. Wendy jumped a bit when she saw Julia.
“Julia, you look so good, I was expecting to see Julian.”
“I decided to get some practice in.”
“You did a wonderful job. Anyway, Julia this is my Mom, Carol. Mom, this is Julian, slash Julia. She has the lead role in the movie, Mom.”
Carol looked up and down Julia. She wore a genuine smile on her face, held out her hand and said, “It’s so nice meeting you Julia, Wendy has told me so much about you. I have to agree, you look quite lovely.”
Julia shook Carol’s hand then said, “What the heck,” and hugged the woman.
The two mothers sat in comfy chairs and Wendy sat next to Julia and held her hand. There was two separate conversations going on, as Julia and Wendy talked together and their Mom’s had their own conversation.
“Julia, Carol and I are going to the kitchen to make some coffee.”
“Okay Mom, I am going to show Wendy around the house.”
Julia led Wendy around and let her see the house. They wound up in Julian’s room.
“You’re becoming like me, aren’t you Julia,” Wendy asked.
“I don’t know… but I think so. I’m… just not sure.”
“While I am not arrogant enough to claim fault for this, I know that I can’t make someone become transgendered, I still feel a little bad about it.”
“Don’t be. I know that I have always been different. I just couldn’t put a name to it. I have never been macho, but I didn’t think that I was a girl inside. I am not so sure that I have ever been a “MALE” or what the world expects a male to be. I just never felt so alive, since I started this role in the movie.”
“Just go slow girl. I know you are on some meds, which will help you either way. You need to be sure, before you do anymore.”
The two girls hugged and had a good cry.
In the kitchen, the two Moms were having a similar conversation.
“Julia is transgendered too, isn’t she?”
“I think so. She has always been a happy child, but in the last few weeks, it has been remarkable, seeing her change. I know it wasn’t anything we did, or didn’t do, but I am happy and sad, about what is happening.”
“No, if she is truly transgendered, there is nothing you did to cause it and nothing you can do to change it. Only time will tell what is in her heart. She seems to be a wonderful child.”
“And a talented actor. While this is her first real movie, she isn’t a stranger to the camera. She has played in many roles as a child. This is just her biggest role.”
Carol gave Tina a knowing smile and said, “You’re not just talking about the movie, are you?”
“No, I think her life, as a male, might have been just another role for her. Looking back, I guess I always knew something was different about Julia.”
“I hear she is quite the clown too.”
“Oh yes. Julian was the class clown at school and home. Julia loves to make people laugh and smile. At least her humor isn’t self-deprecating. She doesn’t mind playing the fool, but she has never put herself down.”
“You don’t know how good that is, Tina. A lot of transgendered children put themselves down, as they try to get a grip on and understand what they really are. Does your husband know, and how are you both taking it?”
“I think Pat knows, we haven’t said anything about it yet, but I have seen him look longingly at Julia. No matter what happens, we both dearly love our child. Nothing will ever change that.”
“You don’t know how important that is yet and how important that will be. If Julian really is Julia, she will need your love and support. Why don’t we go out for lunch and then just mess around this afternoon? I suspect Julia needs company today.”
Tina looked at her watch and yelled, “Girls, we are going out for lunch in twenty minutes.”
Julia answered back a few seconds later, “Okay Mom, we will be ready.”
“Carol, I need to look a little fancier, can’t let my daughter outshine me, can I?”
Wendy and Julia set about cleaning up their faces. Wendy was amazed at how quickly and expertly Julia reapplied her makeup.
“How did you get so good Julia, it took me ages to get as good as you are?”
“I have been around makeup for years, I even applied it sometimes, when I was on set. I paid close attention when the makeup people applied my makeup.”
“That’s different from girl’s makeup, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but it is the same principal. Sort of I guess. I did well in art classes and I have nice steady hands. Plus I have been practicing, ever since I got this part.”
“You know that there are a few scenes where you are putting on makeup and you just aren’t good at that point. You are going to have to make some big mistakes.”
“I can do that, just not today.”
The girls went to the living room, with their purses in hand, after checking on makeup and hair, one last time. Their mothers met them there. Tina had put on a nicer dress and heels, plus she used a little more makeup.
The girls were out till late, that day. They had gone to a nice bistro to eat and talk. They talked about everything, but what was on top of their minds. After lunch, they had gone to a park, to walk about. They enjoyed the relaxing walk, and got to feed the ducks and squirrels in the park. After getting an hour and a half of sun, they retired to a local mall, to do some window shopping. At sunset, they found a movie tavern and had a meal, while they watched a movie.
>>>>><<<<<
Monday, after the days shoot, Julian went to a teenage transgendered support group meeting, at a local synagogue. Julian went as Julia; she just went to listen to the others there. There were eighteen people, from twelve to twenty there. Some of the people there looked quite good, while others, God bless them, would never be able to pass. Julia could only imagine what life was like for them, she wished that she had some magical way to help them out.
One by one, several people began telling their stories on how they came to realize how they were different and about their trials and tribulations. One girl, who was about sixteen, caught everybody’s attention with her story. She was one of the good ones, who could pass anywhere.
“I hate the terms transgendered and transsexual. I am a girl. I may have been born differently than other girls, but I am as much a girl as they are. My therapist labels me a pre-op transsexual and has given me several letters stating that, so that others will understand, but I hate being labeled that way. I am a girl, don’t diminish me, by adding a label to me. I hate that people try to separate me from other girls with a label. I am a girl, just a girl. I am not Daddy’s special girl, or a girl with something extra. Why can’t people see me for what I am?” She said, in a low alto voice, which could easily pass as a girl’s voice.
“I hate having to play this game, just to get what I need, to keep my body from being horribly disfigured and poisoned by testosterone. Why can’t I have the medicines I want and the surgery I need to bring my body in line with the rest of me? I can walk down any street and not be picked out. Being labeled actually puts me more at risk. It all seems like a racket to me. Everyone wants to get their dime out of me, so they draw out the process. I need to see this person, so I can get their approval and they send me to that person who I have to spend years with, to get their approval. Then somewhere way down the road, I may get all of their permission, to be what I know in my heart that I already am.”
“It took me years, just to convince my own mom and dad, boy was that a bitch. Now I have to convince a half dozen other people. I just want to be myself. I am tempted to self-medicate, but I know just how dangerous the hormones can be. I would love to be on them right now, to have a doctor prescribe them for me and to monitor my progress. At least they have me on Finasteride right now, but my psyche says it will be another year and a half, before I can start my estrogen and maybe another two to three years, before I can have my surgery. What gives them the right to control what I do with my body? I know who and what I am. I am a girl, period. Don’t try to label me with anything else. Why is it so difficult for other people to see that?”
Another girl, who almost looked as good asked, “Why are you here and why do you hate being labeled transgendered?” She was more than a little indignant at the girl’s attitude.
“It’s all part of the game I hate; I came because my therapist kinda expected me to come. People label us, so they can pigeon hole us out of their way, to diminish or make us less than what we are.”
Another girl stood and said, “But you have sisters out there, who have paved the way for you, who were glad to get that label, so that they could begin to transition, to what you want to be.”
“I don’t need to transition to a girl, I am a girl. I don’t want to be thought of as a transgendered person.”
Another girl stood, she looked like a guy in a skirt. She had broad shoulders, a lantern jaw and looked to be nineteen or twenty. When she spoke, her voice was a high baritone, “Well, it is nice you could join us today. I can understand what you are saying and your sentiment. I wish we were all as good as you are. To the rest of us, please, be sweet to her. We all know what she has gone through to get where she is today. So give her the respect she is due.”
There was some more discussion on that topic, but it was kept on an even keel. Julia and Wendy stopped to have a cup of coffee and talk about the meeting.
“You know, I can understand both sides of that issue. I know what labels can do to a person and even I have been labeled. The labels I wore, controlled what parts I could play. I could never play a romantic male interest of anyone.” Julia stated.
“You could play a female love interest now,” Wendy said. “But we stray. There are a lot of girls that are like me and that other girl, who, if given the right treatment, could pass without effort. Even some that couldn’t, don’t like to be labeled. Others, who couldn’t pass with any amount of effort, don’t mind being labeled; some see it as their identity. I just try to treat everyone like they want to be treated.”
“That is an attitude that I need to take. It hasn’t been something I have had to address before, but I will try my darndest to take.”
“That’s all that anybody can ask. If everyone would be as open minded as you, the stress of transition would be a lot less.”
>>>>><<<<<
The movie shot two more weeks in this session. They covered all the pre-transition scenes and the early transition scenes. The cast had worked twelve hour days in the last week, to get it done. Julian and Claire had many scenes together. With half the movie done, the cast were able to let down their hair after the final cut was called, for this session.
Claire Bennett then had to leave for her other commitment.
Julian then went into girl mode full time. She had four instructors and Wendy to help her. They taught her everything a MTF girl needed to know about being a girl. She took to their training like a fish to water.
Patrick was amazed and a little worried about Julian; he looked so comfortable in his role as a girl. Julia was just amazing. Tina was as proud of her new daughter, as she had been of her son. To say Julia changed, would be an understatement. In many ways, she became more real. It was like she had been playing a role for so many years and now she just wasn’t playing anymore, or the girl that Julia had been, had been asleep for so many, many years and finally had awoken.
Julia came out first to Wendy; they had to have a good cry on each other’s shoulder. Even though Wendy knew that she and this part didn’t do this to Julian, she still felt responsible. Julia assured her that she had only brought out what Julian had buried so deeply. They celebrated by going out shopping.
When she finally decided to tell her parents, she found that her big secret was no secret at all. Patrick was a little crestfallen, but he was happy that his daughter was happy and accepted her with all his heart. Tina hadn’t been the least bit surprised, she knew that Julian was different from other children, but when she saw Julia that first time, she suspected that she was here to stay.
The second session of the movie went well, Julia didn’t play Christy, she became Christy and the role was no longer a role, it took on a life of its own, that surprised many of the cast. Claire just loved the new Julia. She kinda adopted the child on the set, although Julia could hardly be called a child, she seemed to blossom into a woman.
It was no surprise to the cast, when Julia finally made her announcement to the cast, after the last scene was shot. The director and producer tried to make their apologies, but Julia wouldn’t hear of it. She told them that this had been a long time coming; she just needed to realize that she should have been born a girl. They were good to her and she got to keep any of the costumes she had worn and was paid for a whole new wardrobe and her medical for the next two years.
The movie “The Making of Christy Manning” came out in the summer rush, to critical reviews. Julia and Wendy attended the Hollywood premiere in their finest formals. The press treated Julia with kid gloves, they just didn’t know what to ask or say and they were afraid to offend her. They just complimented her on her personal appearance and her composure. While the movie wasn’t a box office burner, it did make a profit and paid back the investors, many of whom were just in it for the message.
The movie received three Oscar nominations, best screenplay, best supporting actress and best director. Julia might have received a nomination; the Academy debated just how to classify the role, best actor or best actress. There it is again, a labeling problem.
Wendy and Julia became fast friends they would spend hours talking, just getting out to go shopping and having fun together. The cast of the movie also became sort of a family, Claire, Annette, Timothy and Craig kept in touch as much as their busy lives would allow.
Julia was a little bothered by it, but she didn’t let it get her down. She knew that she gave one hell of a performance in a dramatic role. She did get more offers for roles and at first she was type cast, but she was just too good an actress to be held down for too long. Her movies became popular and she did receive another Oscar nomination for best actress, when she was twenty nine. Like the Highlander said though, “There can be only one.”
Wendy went on to be a popular screenwriter, for many more movies, she made a very good living, but failed to pick up another Oscar nomination.
In their off time they worked together with many Transgendered Support groups. Together they help many other people through their transitions. They also tried to work with communities and tried to get them to understand the transgendered better.
The end for now.
Mark likes to dress grungy. Vanessa CEO of a major department store is Mark's Mom. She wants him to dress in a decent manner. Frustrated she turns her son over to Julie, her Personal Assistant, so she can get some work done. Well...
Mark’s Mistake
by
Paula Dillon
It was nine thirty when Mark stood before his Mom and complained, “Mom you just don’t get it. I don’t like the preppy look.” The fifteen year old boy was dressed in ragged jeans, black T-Shirt and scraggly black canvas shoes.
Vanessa Wharton, CEO of Darcee’s department store and mother of Mark sat behind her desk at work exasperated. “You can’t go around looking like a hooligan, especially here at the store. I have a whole store of clothes and you can’t find something decent to wear.”
“Mom you don’t understand, I just want to be me. Not some ivy league wannabe.”
“I understand this, buster. I don’t want my son looking like some hobo or vagabond. Julie do you think you can take my son down into the store and find him some decent clothes for a change.”
Julie McMaster was Vanessa’s personal assistant. She was more than a secretary; she was a scheduler, diplomat, memory reminder, gopher, buffer, go between, expediter, sounding board, friend and companion in this corporate world. She loved Vanessa like a sister and treated Mark as a nephew. “I believe we can come to a reasonable compromise, Ms. Wharton.”
Vanessa was desperate, her desk was covered with work and she had no time for a stubborn child. “The store is closed for Inventory take him and get him done over. Then bring him back. Just get him out of my hair for a few hours.”
“Yes Ma’am. Mark come with me please.” Julie said firmly. She turned and marched out of Vanessa’s office. Julie expected his compliance.
“Mark I don’t understand you giving your Mom all this grief. You know she loves you dearly.”
“I love her too Julie, it’s just with her it is my way or the highway.”
“It is not, there are a lot of clothes that aren’t college preppy that will look good on you. She just wants you to help project a well dressed family image.”
They came to an elevator and pushed the call button. They silently waited for the car to arrive and then got in the elevator.
“You know if you gave an inch and dressed up nicely most of the time. I am sure she wouldn’t mind if you slipped out of character and dressed grungy around the house, part of the time. I have never seen you dress up nicely. You are a cute kid. How are you going to attract a girlfriend dressing like you do?”
“That is it. I am too cute. I hate cute.”
“So you don’t want a girlfriend, they aren’t going to date a boy who won’t take the time to look nice. Girls will spend hours getting ready for a date. You guys just throw on a shirt and pants and you think you are ready.”
“Of course I want a girlfriend, but I ain’t some macho jock guy. They don’t give me the time of the day.”
“They would if you dressed sharp. I would date you if you were my age and dressed nice. I know there are girls out there that would date you too.”
“You’re different, your just saying that because you work for my mom.”
“Mark Wharton! Don’t you ever say I don’t care about you. I have been nothing but nice to you and it is not because I work for your mother. You are a good kid.” Julie was rather upset at the moment. She worked hard to be on good terms with Mark. She wasn’t kidding him about dating him if he were her age. A lot of girls could do worse than Mark. That was for sure.
They stepped off the elevator into the Ladies section of the store.
Mark looked around and smirked, “I think I would rather wear some of these clothes than what Mom wants me to wear.” He wasn’t really serious about it and regretted saying that out loud.
Julie stopped in her tracks, spun on her heels to face Mark and put her hands on her hips. Mark could see Julie get red in the face.
Then an idea popped in her head, “I don’t think you’re man enough to wear the clothes in this section.”
“So you think I am a sissy.”
Julie’s blood pressure jumped about twenty points. “Mark! Don’t you ever call yourself a sissy. You’re a bright intelligent boy, and don’t you ever put words into my mouth. I care about you like your Mom does. It wouldn’t hurt you to see what a girl goes through to look nice.”
Mark recoiled a bit. He was shocked to see Julie get this mad, she was always so level headed. “Ok, let’s just do that. Let’s see what it takes.”
“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it Mark. I won’t think less of you if you don’t, but I will think more of you if you do.”
Mark was regretting ever getting in this predicament. He had both size seven’s in his mouth right now though. He wasn’t about admit it and back down. “I meant what I said, Julie.”
Julie was proud of him at that moment but didn’t let it show quite yet. “Ok follow me.”
Julie led him deep into the ladies section to the lingerie department. She found the supervisor for the department and said, “Becky, Mark wants to know, what it takes for a girl his age to look nice.”
Becky’s jaw dropped open. She was lucky there were no flies in the store. “You’re kidding, this is a joke right?”
“Ask him.”
“Is this your idea Mark?”
Mark was scared and embarrassed, but he refused to show it. He stood a little straighter than he usually did, looked Becky in the eye and said, “Yes it is my idea.”
Becky smiled when she saw Mark suck it up and look her in the eye. She knew Vanessa and Mark. All the store personnel eventually got to know the Wharton’s on a personal basis. She had thought Mark was a bit of a slob, but was proud of Mark at this moment. She pointed to the fitting room and said, “Let’s go then.”
In the fitting room Becky told him to get undressed down to his shorts and then stand on the platform. When he hesitated she said, “I have two little boys, I have seen what they have got. If we are going to do this right, I will have to see almost everything you got.”
Mark stripped down to his briefs and stepped up on the platform.
“Now boys have it easy, taking measurements. Chest, waist, overarm, and inseam are all they need. Girls need to measure, overbust, bust, underbust, waist, hips, trunk, and inseam,” she said, as she took his measurements.
Julie wrote the numbers down in her planner as Becky called them out. When they finished Becky walked over to Julie. “Are we really going to do this?”
“Yes, his mom is fed up with him looking like a slob. He’ll never find a good girlfriend if he doesn’t clean up. This just might teach him something.”
“Ok, if we do this, we do it right. First class all the way.”
“Yes, age appropriate sophisticated chic. His Mom said she had a whole store of clothes for him to choose from. I plan to take her at her word.”
“What size do we want to shoehorn him into.”
“Let’s see, 32B, nip his waist down to twenty six and a half, size five panties. Shoot for a size 7 junior. Let’s see breast forms to make a 32B, bra, waist cincher, panties, padded brief to add hips, slip, stay up stockings those with the star pattern in them they are so cute, one of those short silk kimono robes and high heeled mules to run around the store, blouse, skirt, cashmere pull over sweater, jacket, coordinated heels, purse, jewelry, wig and make up.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Get those breast forms, you know the ones with wings. Glue em down with the long term glue. Get him sorted out in lingerie and then run him down to the salon. I am going to get things set up with the other departments and pick out his accessories. Oh and he doesn’t just try on one of anything. Girls don’t do that he won’t. If he says stop and doesn’t want to do anything else we stop. But till then don’t let him catch his breath.”
“Gotcha Julie, let’s do this for the boss.”
Julie headed out to do her part and Becky got Mark to lie down on a table. She laid four different breast forms on his chest to gauge how they looked. She had done this for a lot of customers who have had mastectomies, a few transgendered or TV’s and knew what she was doing. Finally she settled on the pair that fit his frame and their plans and glued them on.
She then had him into a dozen panties and matching bras, everything was top shelf for a sixteen year old girl. Then came the cincher, she pulled his waist down to twenty six inches. A half dozen slips, his kimono robe that just covered his tush if he stood up straight, high heel mules that had ostrich feathers across the toe and they were out of there.
Julie went down to the salon and talked to the manager Cheryl and laid out her plan. “Wax or shave his legs waxing is preferred, shape his eyebrows in a nice arch, manicure quarter inch extensions, pedicure, facial, make-up nothing you wouldn’t want to see your daughter in and make sure he knows the what’s and why’s of his makeup. Pierce his ears use your real pearl starter sets. For his hair whatever human hair wig you think best, we aren’t out to clown him out. Personally I think long curly tresses, with bangs would look darling on him. When you finish with him run him over to Juniors dept I am off to grease the wheels there. If he says stop we stop, but keep things a blur.”
“I think I am going to like this. Don’t worry I won’t torture the poor boy, much.”
Julie smiled and headed to jewelry. She picked up a pearl necklace, a tennis bracelet, some rings, bangles, a broach and an ankle bracelet, before heading to juniors. She left an inventory of everything she got. She almost giggled when she passed Mark heading to the salon. He had such a girly walk and wiggle.
In the salon Mark had to take off everything but the breast forms, they wouldn’t come off. He nearly came unglued when he was waxed, especially when they did his pubic hair into a strip down the middle. That and the eyebrow waxing were the worst parts. He almost cried wolf, but stuck it out. At least they shaved his underarms. The rest he found relaxing. The lotion massage to soothe his legs, arms and eyebrows was wonderful. He fell asleep during the mask and woke to find shiny pink talons and toes. Cheryl then crowned him with a dark auburn wig that was full of curls and bangs that had to be brushed to the sides of his eye. She then did his makeup, talking him through it as she worked. When she finished she was amazed Mark didn’t look good he looked fabulous. She helped him put everything back on including the stockings Julie had brought. She cranked his waist down to twenty five and a half inches. Then she escorted him to Lucy, the Juniors supervisor
When Lucy sunk her talons into Mark she showed him how girls went through the racks to find nice clothes. She loaded him up with skirts and blouses, dresses and ladies jackets. Mark had about thirty things to try on. Lucy showed him how to mix and match things and how to choose the things that looked best on him. Lucy had to switch from sevens to fives in skirts. Mark was longest in this department. Julie, Cheryl, Becky and Lucy criticized all the clothes he tried on closely. Mark began to understand what they were talking about as they showed him various things. Then it was time to hit the racks again.
After two and a half hours in the Juniors dept. Mark was dressed in a cute chiffon long sleeve blouse. The sleeves were puffy and had pearl buttons at the cuffs and up the middle. He had a sleeveless cashmere pull over on and a black tweed pleated skirt that came just below mid thigh, about three inches above his knees. All this was topped by a matching tweed jacket with large lapels. The broach was strategically placed on the left lapel. He wore two rings, the pearl necklace, tennis bracelet on his left arm three bangles on his right and the ankle bracelet.
Last stop for this parade was the stores shoe department. The crowd had swelled to about ten ladies. They all had opinions about the shoes he tried on, all had three inch heels. They made him walk back and forth in them. Mark tried on Mary Janes, sandals, pumps, ankle boots and calf boots. This pair went with this outfit and that pair went with the other outfit. He was left in a pair of black patent leather pumps with bows on the instep and a three inch heel.
The ladies took pity on the boy and selected a purse for him and put his makeup in it. Cheryl fixed his makeup before the parade headed to Vanessa’s office.
Mark started to get nervous as the elevator he was in stopped at the top floor and the door opened. Seconds later the second elevator opened and the rest of the conspirators came out.
“I can’t go in there like this, Mom won’t understand.”
“Mark you have done nothing to be ashamed about. Just stand up straight hold your head up and smile. You have such a cute smile. Remember your Mom loves you. Just let me go in first.”
Julie led the crew into the outer office and asked the other ladies to wait outside. She knocked on Vanessa’s door and entered.
“Vanessa are you ready?”
Vanessa looked up from her paperwork and raised an eyebrow.
“I would like to introduce Marcie Wharton.”
Mark figured her was Marcie. He came in when Julie finished. He tried to look proud as he came in. Vanessa’s eyes got big as Marcie came into her office. She stood up and came over to where they stood and then began to critically inspect Marcie. Marcie got worried and began to slouch and look down at her feet.
“A young lady doesn’t slouch,” Vanessa said, “and look up and smile also. You look very nice. Anyone care to explain how I had a son this morning and I now appear to have a daughter.” That last bit was said with the air of authority that said she expected an answer.
Julie started to answer, but she was interrupted by Marcie.
“Mom I asked for it in a way. Julie was talking about what girls put up with in getting ready for a date with a guy and that girls don’t really go for slobs after all that work. I asked her to show me and well she did.
“Julie did you do this to humiliate my son?”
“No she didn’t Mom. She told the people who did this that they couldn’t humiliate me either.”
“I believe Julie is capable to speak for herself Marcie.”
“No Ma’am. I love Mark almost as much as you do. You know that.”
“Yes I know that.”
Vanessa was interrupted by a knock on the door. Before she could respond the door opened and the parade of ladies entered.
Becky spoke up for the girls, “Vanessa we are as much the blame for this as Julie. I have to say that during all that we did Marcie took it like a pro. We are proud of her. If you are mad at Julie, then you have to be mad at us too.”
“Who said I was Mad. I am a little perplexed, but not mad. All of you have done a marvelous job. Just how much did all of this cost me?”
Julie got together with the various departments and ran a total. Eighteen hundred and seventy five in returnable merchandise and two thousand three hundred twenty six in non-returnable merchandise.”
Marcie blanched a bit, when she heard the price.
“What did I get for my, lets see, four thousand two hundred and one dollars?” Vanessa asked.
Her sales staff brought in ten bags of clothes. Vanessa carefully checked the contents of each bag nodding as she went.
“Marcie you seem to have almost a full wardrobe.”
“Yes Mom, I guess I do. I didn’t know all this was mine.”
“Well I guess I will have to find a punishment for this.”
There were a lot of cries and groans when they heard that.
“The punishment is for not including me in your fun,” that seemed to break the tension a bit. “Marcie is this permanent?”
“No Mom. I really want to be a boy.”
“Still I can’t let you be Marcie for only one day after you bought all these clothes and I can’t let the girls just walk away unscathed.”
There were more groans.
“So for the next forty five work days twenty four hours a day/seven days a week, you will be Marcie. You will take part in our mentor program. I expect all of you to take her into your departments and show her how they run. Julie you will supervise Marcie and you will see that she is always presentable and has work to do.”
“Well forty five work days ain’t too bad,” Marcie said. “That is only half my summer vacation.”
“I believe your Mom said work days Marcie. Work days are Monday through Friday. So that comes out to nine weeks,” Julie said.
“I think we need to do a bit more shopping. I didn’t see any sleep ware and lounge wear in those bags.” Vanessa said.
Epilogue:
Marcie did her forty five work days. She did everything the other ladies did except for working the dressing rooms. She made a lot of friends in the various departments. The ladies found that she had a keen sense of what worked and what didn’t. She worked hard and received excellent reviews from all store personnel.
Mark came back after Marcie left. He and Vanessa donated the clothes to a women’s shelter. Several teenage girls cried at receiving the slightly used clothing. Many had never worn such fine clothes in their lives.
Vanessa and Julie seeing the need, arranged to have the shelter put on the stores regular charity list. The shelter receives regular shipments of ladies, girls and boys clothes.
Mark took better care of his appearance and mostly dressed in decent clothes. He still wore grungy clothes occasionally, not because he liked them now, but to show he had an independent streak. He really enjoyed his time as Marcie.
Mark saved the pearl necklace and ear rings for his girlfriend when she graduated from high school. She was shocked and delighted by the gift. She insisted that he tell her the why. Instead of being revolted, it made the gift even more precious to her.
They married after they graduated from college. They both went to work for Darcee’s, starting at the bottom and working their way up.
There were rough spots along their road, but they were always able to work things out, and they were always faithful to each other.
Finis
note: This is an unfinished story I have hung on to for two years.
Mind, Body and Spirit
by
Paula Dillon
Fifteen year old Charlie walked into Kim Young-Soo’s Karate Dojang, carrying his forty five pound gear bag. The gear bag, which had seemed so heavy years ago, he gave no notice to these days. Charlie was five foot seven feet tall and one hundred and forty pounds of muscle and bones, with less than five percent body fat.
He took off his shoes and placed them in his box, before heading directly to the men’s dressing room. Donny Colt was there and already dressing. Charlie and Donnie were both first red belts and were getting ready to test for black belt, in three weeks. That meant they both were working extremely hard to get it done right.
Donnie was an eighteen year old, dark skin, black kid, who was a hair under six feet and a biscuit over two hundred and twenty pounds. Donnie’s bicep was bigger around than Charlie’s thigh, and on top of that, you would have to work hard at finding an ounce of fat anywhere on his muscular body.
Charlie thanked God, each day he came to the dojang, that he and Donnie were friends. It would not go well for little Charlie if Donnie hated him. It hurt just holding the heavy bag for Donnie, while he was practicing his kicks and punches.
Charlie took the tag end of his red belt in his left hand and wrapped the belt twice around his waist, before tying the square knot. He straightened and adjusted his dobok, before looking up at Donnie.
“Man, you know they are going to work our asses into the ground today,” Donnie said.
Charlie chuckled and smiled at Donnie, “Yeah, we’ve got our black belt test in less than a month. They are going to be all over our sorry asses, like flies on stink.”
“Let’s go do this Man.”
“Right on.”
Charlie started to reach down to pick up his gear bag, when Donnie picked up Charlie with one arm and tucked him into his hip and picked up both their heavy gear bags with his other arms.
“Put me down you stupid goon,” Charlie complained. “You’re a sorry sack of shit, you know that?”
Donnie just ignored the loud complaints of his smaller friend and headed into the dojang, with Charlie complaining all the way. He dropped the bags besides the mat and headed out to the center of the mat.
“GOMAN! (stop) CHARYUT!(attention)” rang out.
Donnie un-ceremoniously dropped Charlie on the floor and snapped to attention, facing the Korean flag. Charlie landed with an umph and rolled over, did a ‘kip up’ off the floor, coming to attention facing the flag beside Donnie.
Wilma Davis, their black belt instructor for the day, had to suppress a snicker, as she watched the antics of the pair. There was never a dull moment around those two.
“Kyungnet, (bow) turn bow to Grandfather Kim. Kyungnet. Bow to Master Kim and Young-Soo Kyungnet. Bow to me Kyungnet.”
Wilma turned at attention and faced the three Kim’s sitting. “I present 1 st red belt students Donnie Colt and Charlie McKellar, preparing to test for black belt,” she said and bowed to them. “They will be performing ‘Koryo Poomse’.”
Students, testing for black belt, have to know and be able to demonstrate many Poomse, or forms. They usually have to proficiently perform four or five on test day. They will not know which, of a dozen Poomse, they will have to do, but Koryo is a Poomse they will most definitely have to do well.
Wilma sat in front of the three Kims.
“SIJAK! (begin)” Grandfather Kim’s strong voice rang out.
Donnie and Charlie moved efficiently to the starting position and in unison, they began their form. They had practiced many times doing forms together. During belt tests, students testing for the same belt, often did them together. It saves time, when you have many students testing and the teachers can compare the students, as they move through the forms. Students learn it is best to keep in sync with their fellow students, as they go through the forms step by step. It looks tremendous when they are all together and a student that is out of sync looks like a sore thumb.
Both students dobok (uniform) snapped and popped as they punched, kicked, or blocked their imaginary opponent’s strikes. Frayed sleeves and pant legs are a result of all that popping and snapping and are seen as a badge of honor. Beware of an opponent that has frayed sleeves or pant legs.
Donnie was good at forms, very good in fact, but not quite as good as Charlie. Charlie’s moves were sharper and more correct. They were pure poetry in motion. There was barely a milliseconds time difference in time between the two, as they transitioned from one move to the next and they finished together and bowed.
“Demonstrate poomse one, three, five and eight.” Master Kim commanded. “Sijak!”
The World Taekwondo Federation has a list of forms. The forms can be called out by the teacher by name or by number, in any order the instructors want. Students are required to know them by both name and number.
The two then had to separately demonstrate two weapons. Donnie demonstrated nunchuks (two batons joined by a chain) and tonfa (short batons with a side handle, used in pairs), while Charlie demonstrated bo staff and kamas (short scythe like weapons, used in pairs).
Both students showed an affinity for and demonstrated their weapons well. It would not be a good day, meeting either of them in a dark alley, with evil intent.
Then they all stopped to gear up. Master Kim, Young-Soo, Wilma, Donnie and Charlie all donned their sparring gear, punches, kicks, head gear, mouth pieces and cups for the guys, while Wilma put on a chest guard and a separate chest protector.
Grandfather Kim was the Joo Sim, or referee for the bouts, except for the last bout. First Donnie went up against one of the black belts for three minutes and then he would sit, as Charlie went up against another. Then Donnie faced two black belts and afterwards, Charlie faced two black belts. Lastly, Charlie and Donnie faced each other. Young-Soo would be Joo Sim for this bout and he made them both put on chest protectors, for this last bout, which would last five minutes.
Donnie was training to enter MMA, Mixed Martial Arts competition and to a small degree, had trouble keeping contact to a moderate level. Donnie’s strengths were power and speed, while Charlie’s were quickness, speed, accuracy and agility. Speed and quickness are similar, but not the same. Donnie was fast, almost as fast as Charlie, but Charlie reacted quicker. His quickness and agility, allowed him to avoid, or mitigate, many of Donnie’s attacks. Sparring for points, Charlie wins sixty-five percent of the time. Full contact sparring, Donnie would win at least seventy percent of the time, if not more. Charlie learned a lot about surviving combat from Donnie. Young-Soo would see to it, both kids survived.
Donnie and Charlie were both at it, when Young-Soo called Sijak! They were to fight as hard as they could, while the other black belts, which now included 13 year old junior black belt, Ricky Summers, scored the bout. This was a test of young Ricky Summers and an honor, due to his rank. Young-Soo marked Donnie with a white scarf in his belt, while he marked Charlie with a red scarf. When one or the other scored a stike, Young-Soo would call Kalyeo! (stop). The judges would raise either a red flag, or a white flag, to indicate who got the points, or no flag, if they didn’t see the blow. Young-Soo would only vote in case of a tie.
Charlie’s one job in this bout was staying alive. The points would come, if Donnie didn’t hurt him too badly. He actually scored first, landing a back fist to Donnie’s temple. Charlie’s second job in this bout was to hit hard enough to score, without hurting Donnie too bad. Donnie had a problem, if he was nailed too hard, hit with a cheap shot, or ridiculed by an opponent during a bout, he would begin to rage, like Bruce Banner the Incredible Hulk. Young-Soo knew this and would end the bout at that point. Donnie had gotten better about that, a lot better. Young-Soo was the only reason that Donnie wasn’t in prison at this time. He worked to focus and balance Donnie’s spirit. Charlie would not survive a Donnie Colt rage.
The two contestants showed themselves well and the point spread was kept close. Charlie kept a slim lead over his bigger, stronger opponent as they traded punches and kicks. They were tied toward the end of the bout when Charlie anticipated an opening and dove in, sending a screaming back fist to Donnie’s head. At the same time, Donnie pivoted and loaded a killer sidekick. Unless you had super slow motion capability, it would be hard to say who landed their attack first and would get the score, but Charlie’s back fist landed, stunning Donnie and Donnie’s sidekick landed right on the chest protector, covering Charlie’s ribcage under his left arm. Donnie crumpled where he stood and Charlie went flying and landed in a heap.
There was no need to call Kalyeo! Young-Soo jumped immediately to Donnie, to keep his rage away, while Master Kim moved quickly to see to Charlie.
Charlie wanted to laugh, but it hurt, as Master Kim bent at his waist till his head touched the ground. He looked into Charlie’s eyes and in an English tainted by a Korean accent asked, “Are you still alive, Jeja (student) Charlie?”
Charlie did laugh even though it hurt and said. “I’m not sure Master Kim, did you get the license plate number of that bus that hit me.”
Master Kim still bent funnily said, “Of course. No bus, it was Mack Truck, Donnie Colt. Stay still for a bit, so I can check you out.”
Master Kim kept Charlie face down on the mat, and undid his chest protector, untied his red belt, untied his dobok and gingerly inspected Charlie’s ribs. Many years in many dojangs, gave him an almost x-ray like sense, when it came to detecting broken bones or ribs. Also, many years of getting beaten on, in the dojang, gave Charlie’s bones an almost concrete like structure. Master Kim rubbed Charlie’s sore rib cage a bit, and surprisingly this seemed to help quite a bit.
“No broken bones, I think Jeja Charlie, just lay there for a bit to recover.”
A worried Donnie colt laid down on the mat facing Charlie, “You ok, buddy. I didn’t mean to hit you so hard. I’m sorry, Charlie.”
“I’ll live, I think.” Charlie said, smiling at Donnie.
After a minute or so, Charlie slowly got to his feet. He turned away from the judges and repaired his uniform, and retied his belt. He stood on Young-Soo’s left side, while Donnie stood to his right. Young-Soo then polled the judges. It was two to two, with Wilma and Master Kim voting for Donnie’s kick and Grandfather Kim and Ricky, voting Charlie’s back fist. Instead of breaking the tie, Young-Soo raised both boys’ arms, neither scoring any points causing a draw.
The dojang erupted in applause. The dojang had filled with students coming for their class. They had sat around the mat quietly, while the two boys fought and waited quietly for the decision of the judges. After the applause, the students hurried off to get dressed.
“Charlie, will you be able to teach your class?” Young-Soo asked.
“Yes Sa Bum Nim. I am a little sore, but it is of no consequence.”
“Good, but don’t be ashamed to ask for help, if you need it.”
“I have five new students today, so Donnie will help me at the start.”
“Good, carry on adeunim (son).”
Charlie and Donnie hurried to the dressing rooms, wiped off the sweat, and at least for Charlie, to comb his hair. Donnie had a shaved head. They then got their dobok and belts squared away, then hurried to class.
Charlie, with Donnie’s assistance, then began teaching a group of twenty five kids, new students, white belts and yellow belts. They spent five minutes arranging the class, teaching them the Korean commands, bowing, stances and honorifics. Then came the stetching, the basics of punching and kicking, and putting it all together. Charlie then began to work the students and Donnie went back to work on the heavy bag.
Charlie worked the class as a whole, for forty-five minutes, before dismissing the white belts. He then worked the yellow belts harder, for twenty minutes, to help build their endurance and skills.
Lastly, the class repeated the phrase, “Con Sa Hom Nee Dha Sa Bum Nim (thank you for teaching us, teacher),” to which he replied “Chun Mun A Yoe Jeja (you are welcome students).”
Charlie then went into the back to shower and change into his street clothes. He stripped off the sweaty dobok and looked at himself in the mirror. He had a nasty bruise on his left side. He then took a nice hot shower. The hot water felt good on his left side and he just let the water soothe him, before taking time to soap up, shampoo and rinse off.
Master Kim was there when Charlie finished drying off, “Let me have a look at you, Charlie. That was quite a hit you took.” The old man said, feeling the ribs again and rubbing the sore area. “We were surprised that Donnie didn’t rage, after the hit he took. He was very worried about you.”
“I knew I nailed him, but I hit him harder than I intended. I was worried too.”
“You needn’t have worried, Young-Soo my adeunim, was looking out for you two. Donnie got up and was almost frantic seeing you still on the mat. He has changed in the time he has been with us. Changed for the good. You did will adeunim.”
“Thank you So Ba Nim.”
Charlie felt remarkably well after Master Kim worked with his side.
“Get dressed; We have a meeting with the black and red belts in ten minutes.”
>>>>><<<<<
Charley had to hurry to make the meeting, when they all got there, they began their discussion.
“Ok, we are all here,” Young-Soo began. “For those of you who missed the Thrilla in Manila, we had today, between Charlie McKellar and Donnie Colt, we have it on tape. Charlie is turning 16 next Saturday; we will have a party for him, after classes are over.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Charlie said.
“Are you defying your teacher?” Master Kim asked.
“No, Master Kim.”
“Good, it is good that Donnie didn’t knock all the sense out of you, I see.”
That got all the black belts laughing, along with Donnie.
“We have tests in three weeks, who will be ready?” Young-Soo asked.
The three Kim’s already knew amongst themselves, but they wanted to hear it from their other senior students. They started with the white belts and worked their way to red belts. Grandfather Kim talked about Donnie and Charlie, as if they weren’t there, and the others added what they thought of the two students.
They compiled a list of students testing. There would be eight white belts, four yellow belts, four green belts, five blue belts and two red belts testing.
“Please notify your students,” Young-Soo told them. “Charlie, you may tell the red belts.”
“Donnie, you and I are testing. Please don’t kill me.”
“I’ll try not to,” Donnie said, giving the smaller boy a knuckle rub on the head.
“Now, we will talk about trouble students.” Young-Soo said.
“Just one that I know of,” Wilma said.
The others there just nodded.
“Robert ‘Tad’ Green,” Wilma continued, “He is still kind of a bad apple. He hasn’t done anything overt to be kicked out yet, but he likes to hit other students a lot harder than he has too. He could test this quarter, but he is just so-so in forms. Like I said though, he really likes sparring.”
Master Kim knew of Tad’s problems. He had seen the boy change a little, but he was more dangerous in some ways than Donnie. Donnie at least tries to control himself.
“I am not ready to kick the boy out of school yet, I feel he still might have a part in the scheme of things. He does bear watching, we are not a school that teaches bullies. Charlie, can you be here when he takes his lessons?”
“Yes, Master Kim, it will be my honor to do so.”
They talked about other things for ten more minutes, before the meeting broke up. Young-Soo’s parting words were, “We will discuss and make the needed arrangements for the upcoming test after the birthday party. We will have the same weekday class schedule and start planning for our summer schedule, next Saturday. Take care and have a good week.”
As the group broke up, many of the people there had a good word for Charlie and Donnie. The guys gave them pats on the back and Wilma and Francis, gave the boys hugs.
Amanda McKellar smiled, as she saw her son come out of the meeting. She had been talking with Kim Young-Ja, the students called him Grandfather. She didn’t like the sport her son had chosen, it was the violence of the sport and the chance of injury, that turned her off, but she let him do it anyway. He had a mind of his own and he was very good at Karate. She gave him her whole hearted support.
Charlie smiled, as he picked up his gear bag. It seemed a little heavier now though. He went over to his mom and gave her a big hug.
“How were your classes, Charlie?”
“They were great Mom; I am really looking forward to testing. Also we had five new white belts start tonight; they look like a pretty good bunch.”
“Don’t forget your other finals this week, Charlie. You do have to pass your tests at school.”
“I will Mom, I will have four A’s and two B’s.”
“You should try for six A’s, son.”
“Yeah I know, but I’m not a world history buff and the government is so screwed up now, I know the world doesn’t need another politician. On top of that, those two teachers cast a spell of sleep on the class.”
Amanda giggled as her son described his government teacher and his world history teacher, “I can just see your history teacher. She has a beaked nose and a pointy hat. She has a boiling cauldron on her desk and stirs it as she casts a spell of somnolence over the classroom.”
“Yes, that’s her, did you have her for World History too!” Charlie said, laughing.
“You are too much Charlie, let’s go, before I kick your butt.”
Charlie feigned fear and hustled out to the car.
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At home Charlie hustled up to his room and changed into just a pair of Spandex compression shorts, basketball shorts and a sports tank, whose armholes had been extended almost to his waist.
His Mom was sitting in an armchair reading a book, with the TV on. Charlie grabbed the remote and laid back on the couch using his left arm as a pillow. Amanda looked over at him, her eyes raised just above the half lenses of her reading glasses. Like all moms, her internal radar was on overdrive, the pupils of her eyes narrowed and she focused on the large bruise on the side of his rib cage. She got up out of her chair and went over to investigate it. The bruise was at a slight angle and covered parts of five ribs. It was just starting to significantly darken.
“Charlie, what on earth happened to you?”
“Nothing really, I was just sparring with Donnie, I nailed him with a back fist and he hit me with a glancing blow from a sidekick.”
“I don’t think that was a glancing blow and if it was, he could have killed you with that kick.”
She poked the center of the bruise and watched her son’s reaction. He didn’t. How could a bruise that ugly not hurt? Amanda had her son sit up and take off his shirt, so she could get a better look.
“It bothers me that you could get hurt son. I know I said that I won’t pull you out of karate and I won’t, but I wish you would rethink about it, Charlie.”
“I like karate and I am very good at it.”
“Not good enough to not get hurt. Then think about not sparring with Donnie. That boy is almost a grown Man. He is so big, he scares me sometimes. Can’t you get him to take it a little easier?”
“Can’t do that Mom. Donnie and I will have to spar on test day and we have to give it a serious effort to pass. We can’t take it easy on each other. You’re going to be there, right?”
“You know I will be there. I may have to look away or shield my eyes when you are fighting, but I will be there with my video camera.”
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Tuesday, after school, Charlie ran the ten blocks to the dojang. He was going to meet Donnie to learn some more Jiu Jitsu. That was one of the many martial arts Donnie was learning in preparation to entering a UFC school. Donnie was currently a brown belt in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
While this extra work wasn’t a required part of their Taekwondo classes, Master Kim encouraged many students to learn how other martial arts are performed. It is a shock to some students to find out that they can be beaten by other disciplines. Master Kim even had a street fighter come to school to give a demonstration.
Jiu Jitsu, at least as far as competition goes, is a grappling/submission form of martial arts. It uses many joint locks, bone breaking, grappling holds, and chokes. It can be very deadly or debilitating, just as Taekwondo can be. Police departments use many of the submission holds to subdue recalcitrant offenders.
Donnie was showing Charlie some of the things he knew about six months earlier, while nobody else was around. Donnie was demonstrating a hip toss to arm bar. Grandfather Kim came in unseen and soon he was teaching the two of them the right way and kicking their asses while doing it. Grandfather Kim spent an hour teaching Charlie how to fall and he enjoyed doing it, Grandfather Kim that is.
Grandfather Kim regaled them with stories of when he was with Republic of Korea Army and his time teaching them self-defense, hand to hand combat, knife combat, and physical conditioning. Being that Kim Young-Ja was in his early eighties, and was taking two teens, two teens that just happen to be first red belts in Taekwondo, to the woodshed, was saying something. Both Donnie and Charlie were sore after that. Anyway, once a week, the two would get together and practice Jiu Jitsu with either Grandfather, or Master Kim, working with them.
It was another hour and a half of torture, but both boys stood up to it. They worked on grappling, to get an advantage over their opponent. The explanations seemed easy to hear, but the execution with a struggling opponent, was anything but easy. They worked from the guard and half-guard positions and learned many techniques to gain an advantage, from either the top or the bottom.
“In Jiu Jitsu, there are two times when one can more easily escape out of a bad position or hold. The first, is when your opponent is trying to initially lock up his hold and the second, is when he is trying to adjust his hold and make it a stronger hold,” Master Kim stated. “Once the hold is in place, it can be very hard, or next to impossible, to break. Always try to keep an out open for yourself, never stop struggling to resist a hold, till you can’t stand it and then tap out. In a fight for your life, never give up,” Master Kim told his two charges.
In class that night, Charlie assisted Wilma in teaching the middle belts. He had to spar with Tad tonight, because it had been decided that he would only be allowed to spar with capable black or red belts. They weren’t going to let any other of their students face Tad.
Tad could hit hard, very hard in fact and he didn’t seem to want to pull his punches and kicks. Charlie got tagged a time or two, but Tad didn’t hit nearly as hard as Donnie, so he was ok. Charlie was like a giant hornet when he was up against Tad. He was very hard to hit and he had a very good sting when he wanted to hit Tad. When he hit Tad, he did pull his punches. He wasn’t out to hurt the dude.
Tad got very frustrated. He laid a few good licks on Charlie, licks that would have hurt other students. Charlie just wore that goofy smile on his face and he would dodge the next blow and hit Tad at will with a punch or a kick. Tad even tried to grab and hit the smaller boy, without any luck at all.
Wilma let the two go on for over seven minutes, till she had mercy on Tad and called for a break. Tad just collapsed on the ground and tried to catch his breath. Charlie did a back flip and went into a full Chinese split. Just inches from the gasping 6 th green belt.
Tad pulled out his mouth-piece and gasped, “God… I… hate you… Charlie.”
Charlie took out his mouth-piece and asked, “Why, what did I ever do to you, Tad?”
Tad just laid there till he got the strength to stand up and walk away.
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Thursday Charlie completed the last of his test for high school and had another night class with Tad. He even took pity on the other boy and let him seem to be hit hard. When Tad wasn’t angry, which wasn’t often, he had a decent form to his techniques. The only reason he wasn’t a blue belt yet though, was his lack of progress in learning his poomse (forms). He would have been put up for testing if he had just been average or even a little below average. He would forget the order of the steps, or turn the wrong direction, or his execution of the technique was sloppy.
The black and red belts had a meeting that night after class and talked about Tad. After a lively discussion, they decided to keep Tad on as a student, but still limited his sparring to a handful of black and red belts. Charlie was on the list, but Wilma, Rickey and Donnie weren’t. Wilma and Rickey were off the list because Tad might hurt them, Donnie was off the list, because they were afraid he might hurt Tad very badly.
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Friday was freedom day, high school was out at noon and Charlie almost sprinted home. Monday he would start earning two hundred fifty dollars a week over seeing the dojang’s summer program, for kids six to fourteen. He had time to swim in the pool at home, for an hour or so, before he had to leave to meet Donnie at the dojang.
There were kids running around and playing already, when he turned onto his street. He had to stop to catch a thrown football and pass it back to the boys. Some small girls were playing hopscotch or tag. Everything was going well till he got near his home.
Mr. Pritchard had a home, two houses down and across the street from Charlie. Mr. Pritchard was paranoid and had just bought a new adult Pit bull for home protection. Mrs. Pritchard had left the front solid core door open and left the tempered glass entry door shut.
Some kids had just run across the Pritchard’s lawn. Tinkerbell, what a name for a pit bull, it should have turned on its master just for calling it Tinkerbell, exploded through the tempered glass and was after the kids who trespassed on its master’s property. Charlie immediately ran towards the dog. The dog won the foot race and knocked the boy down, in the middle of the street. He skidded just past the boy and turned on him again. The boy covered up his head and neck; that was probably what saved him. Tinkerbell latched onto one of the boy’s arm and began to shake him about, like a rag doll.
Charlie couldn’t kick or punch the dog without hurting the boy, but he reacted without hesitation. He fell on top of the dog, stunning him. The dog still had the boy’s bleeding arm in his mouth. Charlie did a back mount on the dog and snaked his arm around the dog’s neck into a rear naked chokehold. When he grabbed his own arm, Charlie clamped down with all of his might. It seemed like an hour, but was only about ten seconds, till the dog released the boy. A passerby pulled the child away, but Charlie kept his hold on the dog. Mr. Pritchard came out and tried to get Charlie off the struggling dog. He even kicked Charlie in the ribs once or twice. The boy’s big brother knocked Mr. Pritchard down on the ground and kept him off of Charlie.
It was close to three minutes later till Charlie released his hold on the dog. His arms were sore from all the strain the hold had put on him. He just laid back next to the dead dog. He could hear the siren of an ambulance or fire truck coming in the distance. Within three minutes, an engine crew (fire engine crew), an ambulance with EMT’s and a police car had all arrived.
EMT’s first dealt with Jimmy Wilson, the boy that had been bitten. The engine crew looked over Charlie, while the police officer and his Sgt. began questioning witnesses. Mr. Pritchard was shouting at the officers to arrest Charlie for killing his dog. He was so pissed that he had to be restrained and placed in the back of a patrol car.
There was a car that had almost hit Charlie, as he crossed the road to attack the dog. The lady that was driving it gave the most complete blow-by-blow description of events. In fact, she had sacrificed her nice off-white linen jacket, to help staunch the bleeding from Jimmy’s arm. The officers, after hearing her account, then placed Mr. Pritchard under arrest. Lastly Sgt. Whitcomb talked to Charlie.
“You’re Charlie McKellar right?” Sgt. Whitcomb asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Are you all right?”
“My arms are sore and my left side hurts, the firemen want me to go get x-rays, but I think I am all right.”
“You will be taken to the hospital, you were assaulted. Now you need to tell me what had happened.”
“I had just turned the corner, Billy Brooks threw a football to me and I threw it back. I almost made it home,” Charlie said, pointing to his home, “when I saw this pit bull bust through a glass door and run after some kids. I just reacted. I ran up to them and the dog was shaking Jimmy around. I fell on the dog and did a back mount. I then executed a rear naked chokehold on the dog for I don’t know how long. The dog was dead when I let up on him, I wasn’t about to let go and have to fight him again. I was so focused; I didn’t know what was happening around me. I do know somebody kicked me, but I can’t say who though.”
“That’s all I need except for a parent’s phone number. The fire lieutenant will have my hide if I don’t let him take you to a hospital.”
“555-6436. My Mom is Amanda McKellar; she is a Para-legal for McKenzie, Davis and Lee. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“Shit! It sucks to be Mr. Pritchard today. Don’t argue with me on that son, just go with Lieutenant James.”
The fireman just gave the boy a hand up into the pumper truck and climbed in after him. On the way to the hospital, Charlie called Young-Soo up on his cell phone.
“Hello, Kim Young-Soo’s Karate. Young-Soo speaking.”
“Hi Mr. Kim, this is Charlie, I won’t be in tonight.”
“Why Charlie?”
“Well, I am on my way to the hospital. There was a dog attack in my neighborhood.”
“Did the dog hurt you?”
“No, I wasn’t directly attacked by the dog. I stopped the dog attack, my arms are sore from that. I held a rear naked chokehold on the dog, for I don’t know how long. The dog is dead. I was kicked in the ribs by the dog’s owner, so I was told. The police and the firemen insisted that I go to the hospital. The guy kicked like a girl. I am ok, but…”
“You should go to the hospital. Do what you are told. Does your mother know?”
“The police called her.”
“Good, Master Kim will see you at hospital. Bye.”
“Bye,” Charlie said to a dial tone.
The engine had to stop away from the turnaround. The engine was more than a little too long to make the turn. An orderly with a wheel chair met them. Charlie complained that he didn’t need the wheel chair, but it was like talking to a brick wall. The orderly wheeled Charlie to the Emergency room and into a treatment room. He got to see his mother a half hour before he saw the doctor. The doctor had a report from the Sgt. Whitcomb. He checked Charlie out, commenting on the bruising and sent him to radiology for an x-ray. He sat and waited after the x-ray and was sent back to radiology for a bone density test.
An hour later the doctor came back in.
“Well, am I going to live, Doctor?” Charlie asked.
“Oh ah, most certainly, you will live. I just wanted to check something out. I couldn’t believe how opaque your bones were to x-rays. I haven’t seen such bone density before. Are you into martial arts?”
“Yes, I am in, Taekwondo.”
“Did you go through Iron shirt discipline?”
“I don’t think so. What is that?”
“Well, it is a method to toughen the body up. I understand that it involves striking the body with objects to cause micro-fractures that heal up. The bones heal back stronger and denser.”
“Nope I haven’t done that.”
“Well you may never have to worry about a broken bone. I am just amazed.”
“I can go?”
“Yes, there isn’t a thing wrong with you. I just have some muscle relaxers for your sore arms. Take one and only one, every eight to ten hours. Take at least three of them. You should be alright in a day or two and I have some Tylenol #3 for the pain.”
“How is Jimmy Wilson? He is the boy that suffered that dog attack.”
“I can only say that he is in surgery right now and that it will be a while before we will know anything.”
Amanda and her son left the ER. They were surprised to see about a dozen people from the dojang there, including Grandfather Kim, Master Kim, Donnie, Wilma and even little Ricky. Charlie went to meet his friends. He stopped and went into a defensive position when he heard, “There he is Mom, that’s the boy that killed that dog.”
A crying Delores Wilson almost ran Charlie over as she hugged the boy, “Thank you for saving my little Jimmy. I don’t know how you did it Charlie, that was an awfully big dog, but thank you.” Delores then turned to Amanda for support and to talk to another mother.
David Wilson picked Charlie up in a bear hug. “Thank you, Charlie.”
“Oww, ow, watch the ribs please.”
“Sorry, I forgot.”
“How is your brother, David?” Charlie asked, after he was put down.
“He is in surgery. The doctors are trying to save his arm. He may lose it Charlie.” David said, crying.
“I’m sorry, David. I tried to save him.”
“You did Charlie. That dog could have killed him.”
Charlie was then mobbed by his friends; he received lots of pats on his back and he was surprised as hell when Grandfather and Master Kim bowed to him. Everyone talked together for about a half hour. Amanda and Charlie stayed with Delores and David. They were joined by Brian Wilson, the boy’s father. It was after midnight when a tired surgeon came out to talk to the Wilsons.
“Mr. Wilson, your son will live, of that we are as sure as we can be. He lost a lot of blood, but the first aide he received was outstanding. You need to thank whoever stopped the bleeding. The tissues of the arm, were blood starved for a period of time. The main danger right now is the circulation in his arm and infection. Infections we can fight, but if the circulation doesn’t return, he may yet loose the arm. We won’t know for several days to a week. Jimmy’s humorous was all but crushed. We patched the bone back together as best we could, cleaned out all the extraneous bone chips and used a calcium cement to bind it together. We then put a rod in to protect the bone. We will worry about scaring and plastic surgery, when we know that the arm is safe. There will be a degree of nerve damage, somewhere from moderate to severe and it will never be as good as it was. Jimmy may be in the hospital for two or three weeks, minimum. We’re just not sure right now.” the doctor said. “I wish I had better news.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Mr. Wilson said. “We’ll worry about the arm later, at least my son is alive. That boy over there,” he said, pointing Charlie, “got the dog off of our son. There was a lady who gave him first aide. I just can’t believe how much damage that dog did in just seconds.”
Well that lady, just as much saved Jimmy’s life, as Charlie did by getting that dog off of him. There was extensive arterial damage to his arm. He might have bled to death, without that first aide.”
Amanda and Charlie stayed for a little while and then left to get some rest.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday was Charlie’s birthday; they got up around ten that day. Amanda took Charlie out to eat at one of those twenty-four hour restaurants. Charlie picked up a newspaper to read, while they waited for their food. Some of the people were looking him and his mom, whispering amongst themselves, as the two of them walked towards the back to sit at a booth. Charlie’s ears were definitely itching.
They ordered drinks as they perused the menu. Charlie really didn’t need to peruse the menu, as he ordered the same big breakfast that he always ordered. He then took time to look at the newspaper.
“Oh my god, mother,” Charley said as he showed his mom the front page of the newspaper. There on the lower right of the front page were two pictures of Charlie. One picture was of him sitting on the diamond plate step of the fire engine and the other was of Charlie posing in his dobok wearing his 2 nd red belt. It had been taken just after he had tested for his red belt eight months or so earlier. There was a seven column inch article, which is a lot for a story, on the front page. It also had an interview with Brian and Delores Wilson and one from Master Kim. He must have given them the photo.
When the teenage waitress came to the table with their food she asked, “That is you on the cover of the paper, isn’t it? You’re Charlie McKellar aren’t you?”
“Yes, that is me,” Charlie said, clearly embarrassed at all the attention.
“You are a hero, Charlie.”
“I didn’t do anything special. I just saw something that needed to be done and did it.”
“Still, I go to school with David. I couldn’t imagine having something like that happen to my sister. Don’t put yourself down; you are a hero. I could never have gotten a pit bull off of someone.”
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda took her son to the dojang and went inside with him. It seemed like everybody that went to the school was there and they all applauded as he came back into the back. Grandfather called everyone to attention and called for them to bow to the boy. Charlie just stood there shaking for a few seconds and returned the bow.
Young-Soo came up to Charlie, “Charlie, we are very proud of you. You may think that what you did wasn’t extraordinary, but it was. Too often in our society we suffer from what is called a diffusion of responsibility. People wait on other people who are around to do something. There are not enough people that run to a disaster, most people run away. It isn’t that they are cowards, rather it is that they aren’t prepared to pay the cost that intervention may require and a lack of preparation to intervene. What you did is fully in line with the philosophy of the World Taekwondo Federation. While the world may believe in might is right, we believe in Might for Right. We want to present you with a plague in honor of what you did. Thank You.”
Young-Soo was then handed a plaque and he read it out to everyone. “This is to acknowledge that first Red Belt Charlie McKellar, at great risk to his own person, saved a fellow human beings life. He brought honor to himself, to Kim Young-Soo’s Karate and to everyone who holds life precious.”
For about twenty-five minutes everyone congratulated Charlie, pictures were taken and newspapers were autographed. Charlie was immensely embarrassed by all the attention, but played along with everyone.
Master Kim soon brought the festivities to an end and made sure everyone knew they had work to do. First it was time for Charlie to have a bout. He was eager to spar with Donnie, but he was surprised to hear that he was fighting Little Ricky Summers.
“Aw do I hafta. Jee, I’ll need a motorcycle to keep up with that little fart,” Charlie said, laughing. “Can I at least weigh him down with fifty pounds or tie his legs together.”
Where Charlie was sometimes referred to as the Giant Hornet, Little Ricky was the mosquito. Charlie was in no danger of being hurt, as Ricky just didn’t have enough power or will to hurt anyone. The three Kim’s were trying to find anyway they could, to get Ricky used to hitting anybody harder. The big thing about Ricky was where Charlie was fast and quick, Ricky was faster and quicker. Charlie knew it was going to be entertaining.
After Charlie and Ricky both stretched out and warmed up, they both got their punches, kicks and mouthpieces. That is all these two would need. Wilma was the Joo Sim or referee for this bout and after both kids were ready, they did their bows, assumed a ready stance and when she shouted, “Sijak,” it was on.
Charlie spent most of the next eight minutes or so just trying to get close enough to the little fart to just land a blow. He was kind to the younger boy when he did tag him. Ricky tagged Charlie plenty of times and as the minutes went by, he had to hit Charlie harder to keep him off of him, “Damn, slow down you little fart, let me hit you real good at least once, boy.” Charlie spat.
“Not in a pig’s eye Charlie,” Ricky shouted back, while dodging about. “Catch me if you can.”
Charlie had a better chance of catching the wind so to speak.
The two of them touched every square inch of the mat several times. Wilma only stopped the bout a few times, when there was a particularly good blow landed. She would acknowledge the persons effort and see if the other person was fit to continue. Ricky could back pedal faster than Charlie could go forward it seemed. Both kids were exhausted when Master Kim finally shouted, “Kalyeo!” Charlie felt like he had sprinted a mile or two and fell to the mat to catch his breath. Ricky stuck his head in Charlie’s face and just smiled. Ricky was tired too, but he wasn’t going to show that to Charlie.
“Dang it Ricky, if you ever learned to hit harder, you would be one bad dude. You would run an opponent to death and finish them off, after they collapsed.”
Ricky couldn’t help it, he just tagged Charlie on the shoulder and scurried out of reach, “You know it Charlie.”
The next bout was entertaining to everybody. The first time in a long time Donnie had to face Grandfather Kim on the mat. It was quite a sight seeing an eighty-year old man put the hurt on the boy. Grandfather Kim took one of Donnie’s best punches and just shook it off. Grandfather smiled, as he got to remember how it was back in Korea in the fifties and sixties. The match didn’t last long, Master Kim took pity on Donnie.
When the two boys had recovered, they had to design a breaking routine for test day. Charlie would be breaking boards. He had one student hold four, one by twelve, by twelve boards, waist high, with both hands. Another student, held a board by two fingers, head high, by the first student’s right side. Charlie turned, took a step and positioned another student with a head high board, by two fingers. Across from him, another student, held two boards, held by two hands. A few steps away another student, held four boards, in two hands and lastly, a student on a ladder, held one board about seven feet off the floor, by two fingers.
He then turned to the black belts, “Ok, left foot sidekick power break, a ridge hand speed break, round kick speed break, an elbow power break, spinning hook kick power break and a jump 360 hook kick impulse break.”
The black belts approved.
Charlie positioned himself assumed a ready position and Master Kim shouted, “Sijak!”
Charlie took two steps forward and landed a front leg sidekick, breaking four boards. He stepped forward with his right foot and threw a ridge hand, with his right hand, breaking the board. He reversed, took three steps back, round kick, break, changed direction and broke two boards with an elbow strike. He spun as he crossed the floor, hook kick, break, step, jump, 360 hook kick, break. This took all of eleven seconds.
Donnie chose to power break pegged bricks (brick stacked with spacers between each brick.) This is harder to do, as the breaker has to power through each brick. He had five stacks, of four bricks and one of six. He broke them with a punch, a double forearm smash on two stacks, a hammer blow, knife strike, and an axe kick, breaking six bricks. Donnie broke everything in style and had a broad smile on his face.
After the breaking, Donnie and Charlie split the white and yellow belt classes. Donnie took the students who were testing in two weeks and Charlie taught the rest of the students. The classes last an hour and a half. Charlie worked his class almost to the point exhaustion. Charlie smiled, as he saw as he had seen the effort most of his students gave him. This was a very good class. Donnie worked his harder because they were up for their tests.
As the classes bowed out and thanked their teachers, they heard someone shout, “Charyut!” Everyone snapped to attention. Grandfather Kim, Master Kim and Young-Soo had just entered the dojang. Charlie called for everyone to turn to them and bow. After the students bowed, the three Kims parted and a birthday cake was brought in by several senior students and set on a table.
Amanda and other friends of Charlie came in, including Brian and Delores Wilson and their son. Also in the group was the mayor of the city, Clay Carlson, the district Fire Chief, Matt Davis the Police Chief Arnold Wainwright, the latter two in full dress. They were all signing Happy Birthday as they came in. Charlie was then presented a Civilian Certificate of Valor.
For the next hour they all had a good time. Charlie found himself saran wrapped to a chair, blew out the candles on his cake and fed his share of the cake by Valerie Stevens, a sixteen year old, fifth green belt, who has a crush on Charlie. He didn’t know it, although most of the girls at the school knew it. The girls giggled behind his back, “Guys can just be so dense, at times,” even his mother knew and she just smiled.
He was finally released to open his presents. He just couldn’t believe all the presents he received. Everybody applauded as he exposed and held up each present, thanked the giver and then repeated the process. He was embarrassed by the extravagance and expense of some of the presents.
The Wilson’s gift was last; they first thanked him, then told him what the doctors said, that Jimmy’s arm seemed to be getting better. He still had a long recovery, but they now had hope. Brian gave Charlie the keys to a 2008 BMW 318 convertible. It was one sweet car they said, when they went out to look at it. Charlie tried to turn them down. He didn’t have a license yet and it was just too much. Brian was a prime BMW salesman, he said he took the car in trade and his dealer gave it too him to give to Charlie, when he heard what the boy had done. The car was detailed out to a ‘T’ and looked simply glorious. It only had thirty thousand miles on the odometer.
Young-Soo offered to drive Charlie home, after the black belt meeting and Amanda accepted his offer. She loaded up Charlie’s gifts in her car, along with the left over cake.
The black belt meeting was long tonight, Young-Soo helped plan the summer schedule with the red belts and 1 st degree black belts, while Grandfather Kim and Master Kim planned the belt test, with the rest of the black belts.
Charlie got home after eight thirty. Amanda opened the garage door and Young-Soo parked Charlie’s Beemer next to Amanda’s two year old Chrysler 300, and after parting words, Master Kim drove his son away.
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda checked on her son after he went to sleep. She found what she dreaded, what she had expected all along. She rubbed his back and triggered the change, before she kissed his cheek, shedding a tear and leaving him to his dreams. Amanda had a lot of weaving to do.
>>>>><<<<<
Charlie woke the next morning and stumbled into the bathroom. He was usually a morning person, but right now his mind was in a fog. He sat down and took care of business, wiping before he stood. Something was strange and different, it wasn’t till he got his toothbrush and tooth paste, and was looking in the mirror, that things snapped together. It was like the fog parted and instead of seeing himself in the mirror, he saw this very pretty girl. Only, it wasn’t a girl, it was Charlie, no Christie, he thought.
Christie just dropped the toothbrush into the sink, calmly turned and walked out of the bathroom. She only paused long enough to grab her brightly colored silk kimono robe, which she was putting on, as she walked downstairs to find her mother.
“Mother, Mother, where are you?” Christie asked, a lot more calmly than she felt inside. She was amazed that she was shouting her head off.
“In here, baby, what do you need?”
“Mother, something terrible happened last night, or I am going out of my mind and I am a lunatic.”
“You are not going out of your mind and you’re not a lunatic. Please sit down at the breakfast table and eat your breakfast. We have a lot to talk about.”
“But Mom…”
“Sit and eat, all will be made clear to you, dear.”
Christy recognized her Mom’s strong-headed determination. There would be no explanations till she was ready to talk and that kind of talk would wait till they were both through eating breakfast. They did talk as they ate, but it was on things like the weather, what she thought about this news item or that play or movie. Christie buttered her toast and poured out a half a cup of toasted oat O’s, with half a cup of wheat bran. Inside, she was halfway calm, but she wanted to be screaming and shouting. How can her Mom be so nonchalant about things? Her mom heck, why was she so calm about all of this?
When she and her Mom finished eating, Amanda said. Put your dishes in the sink and come with me to the living room, we need to talk.
Christie put her things in the sink and followed her Mom into the living room. They both sat on the couch.
“Christie, I know you have a thousand questions, but first listen for a few minutes, okay?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Good. You aren’t going crazy. Yesterday you were a boy named Charlie and today you are a girl named Christie. Do you understand that?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
Amanda smiled and looked deeply into Christie’s eyes, “The short explanation is usually the best in these situations. I am a sorceress and I have magical powers. You’re becoming aware of many of these things for the first time today. When I, or another sorceress has a male child, there is a potential for that male child to transform and come into power themselves. It is a one in two, shot. I know that you have been studying genetics in school and you can recognize that as a single dominant trait, girls that are born can have only a single dominant trait. All this means is, one of my X genes has a trait for magic.”
“We don’t know whether or not that child can become a sorcerer or a sorceress, till the trigger appears. That trigger doesn’t appear until the child’s sixteenth birthday.”
“Yesterday was my sixteenth birthday,” Christy said.
“Yes, that is right. I always knew you were sharp. Anyway, I sat by you last night and when I detected the trait, I triggered the transformation in you.”
“So you turned me into a girl, Mom? Wasn’t I a good enough boy? Did you feel you had to turn my life upside down, just because of this?”
Amanda didn’t get mad, she knew what a devastating thing this could be, “Christie, I wouldn’t have done it unless it was necessary and I didn’t change you into a girl. It was the magic that choose your form. Seventy-five percent of the boys that have this trait are turned into girls and twenty five percent of the girls with this trait become boys. These girls are considered lucky, because girls transformed into boys are usually more powerful and easier to train. It is the same way with the boys turned into girls. Transformed individuals are stronger in magic and learn it easier and quicker.”
“So now I am stuck as a girl and will have to live out my life as a girl,” Christie said, in a disgruntled tone.
“No dear, you are not stuck as a girl. There are some lessons for you to learn, before you can start your magical training and the first major magic you can perform, can be your transformation back into a boy, albeit a year older boy on your seventeenth birthday.”
“How am I going to be able to go to school and live as a girl? Everybody thinks I am a boy named Charlie?”
“Do they, think back. What did Christie not Charlie do last weekend?”
Surprised by the question, it took Christie about five seconds to answer her Mom, “After Ballet class you and I got dressed and went to Philadelphia to go shopping, out to eat and to the ballet.”
“Good and what did you do on your twelfth birthday, Christie.”
“We took a train to New York and stayed in a hotel there, we went out to eat at Le Bernardin and then we went to the Met to watch the Bolshoi Ballet Company dance Giselle.”
“Good. Your memory is intact. Christie I am sorry this happened to you at the time it happened, but you have the life you would have had if you were born a girl. Everybody who knows Christie, knows that she is a very pretty girl.”
“So Young-Soo and the rest know me as Christie?”
“I am afraid not, Christie has taken ballet since she was eight years old. She never took Karate.”
“Why Mom, why did you have to do this? Wasn’t I a good enough boy for you? Did you have to do this?”
Amanda had anticipated this question, she had even asked the same question so many years ago. How best to answer it? “Wait here Christie. Let me go get something.” Amanda went to her room; she came back and set two plastic boxes on the coffee table in front of Christie. “Do you know what is in those two boxes, Christie?”
“Yes Ma’am. Inside the larger gray box you have a Ruger P 95 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Inside the other box is a gun cleaning kit. You taught me how to shoot years ago, Mom.”
“Yes, I taught my son, Charlie and my daughter, Christie, both how to shoot. I want you to clean the weapon, Christie.”
“May I have the key, Mom?”
Amanda dug in her purse and pulled out her key chain and handed it to Christie. Christie took the keys and unlocked the box and looked to her left, “Mom, would you please sit on my right side. You are in the way.”
It was good to see that Christie was as careful as Charlie was. The gun inside the box was pointing to Christie’s left.
Christie opened the box and took the gun out of the case. She removed the magazine, which she put on the table and carefully cycled the slide, which ejected another round into her hand. Christie took that round and inserted it into the magazine. She then pulled the slide back on the pistol several times, before inspecting the chamber. Seeing that the gun was unloaded, she pulled the slide release pin and removed the slide. She then removed the recoil spring and the barrel. She carefully inspected everything for cracks and wear, before she began cleaning and oiling. She reassembled the pistol, pointing the barrel in a safe direction, reinserted the magazine, cycled the slide to load one round into the chamber and pressing the de-cocking safety lever. She then laid the pistol back in its place in the box.
“What is that lever?”
“It is the de-cock safety lever.”
“Why did you depress that lever?”
“Because no matter how safe a gun maybe, with the hammer back, there could always be some freak accident and the gun could go off accidentally.”
“That is right. Charlie was like that gun with the hammer back, only worse. I did nothing but to make him safe. If I hadn’t done that, sometime in the future, the gun inside of Charlie could have gone off and Charlie could have been transformed without the benefit of the spells I cast while you slept. Christie would have emerged without a calming spell and without a history. I could have come back later and picked up the pieces, but things could have happened, permanent kind of things, things like dying, because you went crazy wondering what happened. Christie, you don’t know how painful that was to me to have to pull that trigger, but it was better that I do it then, than to have it just happen and it would eventually have happened.”
“Well why didn’t you tell me, or warn me?”
“Think about how that would happen, Christie. Hey Charlie, I got something to tell you. You might not believe it, but you may wake up as a girl tomorrow, Charlie,” Amanda said. “You didn’t believe in magic till today, I bet?”
“Well, how am I going to live after today? There’s a lot of things I don’t know about being a girl.”
“You have training wheels. You know as much about being a girl right now, as Charlie knew about being Charlie yesterday. You just need to do it, don’t think about it. Let me prove it.”
“I am putting a small compulsion on you. Tonight, we are going to have dinner at Donatello’s at seven with your grandmother. Get yourself ready by then. Right now I am extremely tired and I need some sleep. Wake me at five and then get yourself ready. In the meantime, resolve your memories,” Amanda said, kissing Christie’s forehead. “Oh and don’t worry. Nothing will disturb you today. You also have what I call a valium spell on you. So you will be calm enough to think rationally.”
Christie had wondered why she was acting so calmly, well now she knew. She didn’t like what her mom had said, but the way she explained it, made sense. On top of that, her mom did look exhausted. “Go get some rest Mom, I will be alright.”
“I know sweetie. I know you will.”
Christie sat there for an hour, and thought about Christie’s life. So she was in ballet, she thought. She went to her room and opened her pink gear bag and instead of Charlie’s white gear bag, his weapons, punches’ kicks and sweaty dobok (uniform), she had ballet slippers, toe shoes, sweaty leotard, tights, bun covers, makeup, tampons, bras, panties and etc… How did she forget to take her sweaty things out and wash them last night? She got up and did them. She cleaned out her bag and took everything that could be washed to the washroom room. She would have two light loads, but she needed to wash everything in the bag. While her things were washing, she decided to do her ballet thing. She put on a pair of toe shoes, warmed up and did her stretches, before trying anything else. She then went through her paces. She knew how to do them and her body knew what to do and was in condition to do it. She even did some en pointe routines easily and held en pointe with attitude, easily.
Christie took the shoes off and went to her room to finish getting dressed for a Sunday. She checked her hair, it was still clean and in good shape. She put it up in a bun and covered it with a shower cap. She then took a shower. She liked baths, but only after she was clean. So she often showered and then had a nice hot soak. When she came out of the shower, she took a close look at herself. Her body was both familiar and strange to her, at the same time. She knew she was five-foot six, she was 30 inches below the bust and 37 at the widest part of the bust, she wore a 34C bra that was comfortable. She had a 23 inch waist and 34 inch hips. She thought she was a little top heavy, looking at her Mom though; her hips would probably catch up, unfortunately.
In her room she dressed in a matching bra and panty set, a lavender leotard, a pair of short shorts that hugged her backside nicely, ankle socks and her Nikes. She sat at her vanity. First she took care of her hair, she brushed it out and since she was going out to a nice place tonight, she just left it hang straight, with its little bit of natural curl. She cleaned her brow up a bit, added just a little light eye shadow, mascara and lipstick. She got up and started to leave her room and looked at her nails. They weren’t done. She grabbed the plastic carry-all she kept all of her nail things that she would need and headed to the living room.
She turned on the TV, set her carry-all on the coffee table and headed to the laundry, to put her things in the dryer. She sat on the floor in front of the couch. She then got busy. She first took her shoes off and filed down her toenails. Ballet was hard on a girl’s toes. She filed down her nails, put a foam spreader between her toes and got down to painting them. She liked, as did the ballet mistress, vivid reds. The brighter the better, so she often adjusted her makeup appropriately, with the right red, for the right skin tone. Christie knew she was a neutral skin tone and could wear cool or warm colors. She chose warm most of the time. She painted her toes with two coats and after they were dry, she started in on her fingernails. Her natural nails were long; her ballet Mistress liked them long. She filed the edges and shaped them a bit. Then she used a base coat, two layers of red and a diamond bright topcoat.
She watched TV for a bit, got her things out of the dryer and folded them and then put them where they belonged. Hungry, she went to the kitchen. Her diet was all spelled out on the refrigerator door. She checked it and then got the appropriate foods. After eating, she went back to the living room, went down to the floor in a Chinese split and then laid on the floor to watch TV. She adjusted her position after a bit, went into an American split and she lay down on her front leg, after a while she would change legs.
When she got bored, she went out on the patio by the pool, put her toe shoes on, stretched out and did her “Flashdance- What a feeling” routine. She surprised herself at how well she danced it. She had it all choreographed out in her mind and her body seemed to know just what to do.
After she finished the dance routine, she decided to try something. She still knew all the moves in Koryo Poomse in her head, so she tried that. Even though she knew what to do, her body didn’t know how to do it. She was sloppy and looked poorly practiced. Even though it looked like she had the same body, albeit stacked a little differently, she didn’t have the same muscle memory. She knew you couldn’t do advanced Poomse until you didn’t have to think them through, you just did them. She went to the basics, her punches and kicks, looked like a white belts punches and kicks, well maybe not a white belt maybe an eighth yellow. She had seen some really awful white belts before and she wasn’t that bad, even Charlie had never been that bad.
At about two in the afternoon, she was bored again; she went to the swimming pool changing room and changed into a racer-back top and a bikini bottom. She sveltely dived into the pool and began swimming laps; she swam seventy five laps before she took off her top to catch some rays. They had a twelve-foot tall wood privacy fence and none of the neighboring homes over looked where she laid down. She just hated tan lines. Twenty minutes each side, after the application of an appropriate sunscreen, did the trick, but she was too much of a girl to go bottomless. She hardly ever burned and tanned easily, getting a nice golden tan.
It was nigh on four when she came back in topless, carrying her things to the washroom, putting them in the basket.
She showered again and washed her hair. Before she would just wash and rinse it. Now she knew she had to wash her long blonde tresses twice and then condition her hair. She then shaved her arm pits and her legs. She sat to carefully trim her bikini line. She would need to get a wax job soon. Many ballerinas went with a full wax job for the times they wouldn’t be wearing long flowing skirts. A thick mound of hair there could be detected beneath their tights and leotard, or swimsuit. She then took a long warm bath, till it was time to wake her mom. She had just dried off, put her hair in a turbine, moisturized her skin and put on her robe before it was time to wake her Mom.
In her Mom’s room, she smiled and sat on the bed next to her back. Christie leaned over Amanda and kissed her cheek. Yeah, she was still mad, but not at the Mom she knew still loved her. She kissed her cheek and said, “Time to wake up Mom.”
Amanda woke and grabbed her daughter hugging her. She then began tickling her. Christie tried to tickle back in self-defense, but Amanda was too quick. Christie was laughing uncontrollably when she made her escape.
“You’re not mad are you, Christie?”
“Yes, I am still mad, but not at you Mom.”
“Good dear, I couldn’t live with myself if I had hurt you.”
“I know, I couldn’t hurt you, either.”
“Ok, you look good by the way, did you tan yourself.”
“Yeah, I went swimming and then caught some rays.”
“Just don’t tan too much, the sun can damage your skin.”
“I know Momma, I will be careful. I just like my looks tanned.”
“So do I. Well, we have got to get ready. Did you leave me any hot water?”
Christie got up and said, “You know we have a huge hot water tank Mom, but yes, I left you a little hot water.”
Amanda threw her pillow at a quickly retreating Christie. She cried a little at what Christy had gone through and thought how lucky she was to have such a great kid.
Christie first selected her dress and shoes, before opening her underwear drawer. She had a rainbow of different colored bras and panties and selected a good match. The dress was a mid-thigh, royal blue, number, with spaghetti straps. It was made of a shiny metallic material and it had strings of fringe all around at the hem. The shoes were satin blue pumps and the strapless bra and panties, were just a little darker than the dress. She went ahead and put on her bra and panties, before she sat to do her hair and makeup. She put most of her hair up in a bun, which she pined with a pair of jeweled chopsticks. She left two tendrils of hair by her face, which she curled with a curling iron and setting gel. She checked her fingernails and toenails. They were all good, so she started on her makeup. It would be evening, so she went for a glamour look, which included the whole shebang. She put on foundation and pressed powder. She worked to darken her brows a bit, smoky eyes, eye liner and three layers of mascara, which she carefully applied to prevent clumping. She went a little light with blusher, she didn’t want to look like an old lady or a working girl. She then carefully outlined her lips and with a brush, she filled them in with a red lipstick.
When she finished, she grabbed a matching purse and added what she needed to it. She stopped and checked her calendar, when she saw that she was still good, she only added a couple of tampons. Her mom had taught her to always have some available. The she got dressed. It was warm and sticky outside, so she had forgone pantyhose or stockings; her legs looked and felt great. Lastly, she needed a scent, Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, just one tiny drop behind her ears, on her wrists and neck.
She finally checked herself in the mirror. She had taken her time getting ready and it showed. She looked very sexy, but not trashy, more like sophisticated chic. She had taken just an hour and a quarter to get ready. She grabbed her purse and went to check on her mom.
Amanda was just finishing up. She knew what her daughter would probably look like and had worked hard herself. She didn’t want to be out shone by her.
Christy smiled when she saw her Mom. No, she didn’t look twenty-two anymore, but she was gorgeous, none the less.
“Wow Mom, you look great.”
“You look smoking yourself, Christie. A little more mature than I like for a girl your age, but considering your dance background, it’s quite understandable.”
“I was surprised by that, Mom. Before I went swimming, I did my flashdance ‘What a feeling’ routine. The best thing I can say about this body is that it is in ultra-good condition. I did the whole dance routine, without hardly getting winded. After a five minute high energy routine, I only need a half minute or so to recover. I think I might have better cardio fitness than Charlie had.”
“Now that is saying something, Charlie was always running here or there. You ready.”
“Yes Mom, let’s go.”
They entered the garage, past a BMW, and got into the Chrysler 300. Christy opened her door and stopped to look at the Beemer. A question formed in her head, but remained unasked. Amanda then drove them to Donatello’s.
“Mom, I just thought of something horrible. If I was Christie my whole life, instead of Charlie, what about Jimmy?”
“Oh my, I hadn’t thought about that. We have that newspaper at the house. We will have to check it when we get home.”
“The Beemer is still home. How did I get that?”
“I don’t know. Check your memory, when did you get it?”
“Yesterday, but I’m kind of fuzzy on the details.”
“Me too, and that is strange. It’s like my magic took a turn of its own.”
Donatello’s was a very nice Italian Restaurant. It was very dressy inside. The Maá®tre’d was all decked out is his suit and led the ladies to their table.
“Hi Grandma,” Christie said, when she saw her Grandmother Rebekah Hanson, sitting at the table.
“And how is my favorite, Granddaughter?”
“I am your only granddaughter.”
“You still are my favorite.”
“Hello, Mom. It is so good seeing you.”
“It’s good seeing you too Amanda. I see everything went well last night.”
“As well as they could be expected.” Amanda said, leaving much unsaid.
A waiter placed a basket of soft bread sticks on the table and took their drink orders: a good Chianti for Amanda and her Mom, while Christie had unsweetened ice tea.
When they got their drinks, the waiter took their orders. Amanda chose a chicken Parmigiana, Rebekah chose the Veal Marsala and Christie had to play twenty question with the waiter, about what this or that was made of and the serving size. Amanda had to search her memory to reason out why. Christie was on a strict diet, because of the dance recital coming in a month. Even after the recital, she would only eat a few hundred calories more. She wasn’t starving herself like a model, but all her calories had to be good calories to keep fit. She chose a child’s plate of Penne pasta with pesto. She would also receive a salad; with the dressing on the side. She made sure he knew she was in training. She also allowed herself one and a half bread sticks.
The three women talked about her diet as they ate their salads. Christie only dipped a little of the salad in the dressing occasionally.
“I don’t know why I did this mom. I just know that I need to control my intake as a dancer. I’m not anorexic, I couldn’t dance like I do if I was, but to get all that my body needs, I have to be very strict on what I eat. No more pigging out on pizza, like Charlie. That is one thing I miss already. Inside, I know I am just as determined to succeed.”
“I kind of figured that was the case. It is something I have to get use to too. I am just amazed at how good you look. You are gorgeous.”
“Well I have to say you have a lovely figure for a teen, Christie.” Rebekah
“Mom, made me this way.”
“No I didn’t dear; the only thing the magic did was turn a Y into an X. You are as you would have been, if you were born a girl. I did an augury, a type of scry, to help line out your history, so you could learn your lessons easier.”
“What are these lessons I need to learn?”
“I can’t say, because I just don’t know. I’m not just being evasive. I could tell you what I had to learn, but that might mess up your mind and make this thing last longer than it needs to be. If you are where you should be, you will know when there is a lesson and when you have learned it. That is the God’s honest truth honey. I can help you keep on the path, but that is about all. Even if you fail to see it the first time, that doesn’t mean you missed your chance, when one door closes, another door should soon open. You just have to believe in yourself.”
“Everything she is saying has happened time after time in our family, Christie,” Rebekah said. “This isn’t particular to just you darling.”
“So, you know of this too Grandma.”
“Yes, I do, I am just like your mother.”
“Mom, I still am worried about Jimmy. I don’t have memories of anything dealing with him.”
Amanda explained what her daughter meant to her mom. She looked a little worried herself and said, “I am amazed that I don’t either. We would know if it was something bad, I think. I just get nothing.”
“I have to admit, that this is strange. We don’t usually have blank spots or fuzzy spots in our memories. I know you to well to ask if you made a mistake, Amanda. I will have to ponder this anomaly,” Rebekah said.
They all went to the ladies room together and then left after paying their bill. Christie found the newspaper in the car on the back seat. He was no longer on the cover and there was no mention of the dog attack. Maybe it didn’t happen, but that wouldn’t make sense, something else had to have been changed also.
When they got home Amanda checked the title of the Beemer. It was titled to Christie McKellar, free and clear. The previous owner was Bill Cranston BMW, just as it had been before.
Amanda called Delores up surreptitiously just to see how things were going. Delores was surprised to hear from her and the two chatted amicably for half an hour. Till Amanda asked, “How are the kids, Delores?”
“They are doing wonderful Amanda. David is out on a date with Jenny and Little Jimmy is over at Fred Williams house playing video games. How is Christie?”
“She and I went out to eat at Donatello’s, it was her birthday yesterday, but her ballet class kept her till late. So we had an unofficial birthday dinner today.”
“Oh that’s right she is what sixteen, right?”
“Yes, sweet sixteen. Well I have to go. It’s been really nice talking with you, take care dear.”
“You too Amanda, bye.”
“Well its official, Christie. Jimmy is alright. I am glad, but something I can’t account for, has changed.”
“That is good and bad I suppose. Things like this aren’t supposed to happen, right?”
“The only thing I can think of is that Charlie did something to precipitate the attack to begin with and I really doubt that you caused Mr. Peterson to buy a pit bull.”
“I hardly had any dealings with him when I was Charlie.”
“Oh well, we need to get to bed. We both go running at five in the morning.”
“Love ya Mom.”
“Love you too Christie.”
>>>>><<<<<
The next morning Christie and Amanda got up for their morning run. They ran two miles together. Amanda was tired when they got home, but Christie changed into a bikini and swam another twenty laps. Afterwards, she took a quick shower and shampoo. She dried her hair, did her makeup and got dressed. She checked her bag and added leotards, tights, dance skirts, things for her hair, makeup, tampons and bottled water. At eight-thirty she headed out, walking the two miles to the ballet studio.
The walk to Madame Coulter’s Ballet studio, gave her time to think about the ballet class. She didn’t really like Madame Coulter. The woman was pretty good and taught fairly well, but she was tyrannical in her approach. Ballet was ok, but Christie longed for the way the Kim’s taught. Maybe she could get Grandfather Kim to teach Ballet. Taekwondo Ballet, now that is a thought. She could see him teaching the ROK Army (Republic of Korea Army) ballet.
Madame Coulter was about fifty years old. She had about forty ballerinas of various ages. Her oldest student was twenty. Madame Coulter had a gold mine, in addition to the forty ballerinas, she had four danseur nobles, or male dancers and two of those were pretty good.
Ballerinas who haven’t made it to the pros by twenty-two probably wouldn’t. There were fewer dancers over thirty-five in the pros. Christie was at the cusp of deciding whether or not she would put out the effort to try to go professional. The constant practice, rehearsals and performances are hard on the ballerinas. Injuries are a constant reminder of their mortality as dancers. Football players, who think they have it rough, should try to step in a ballerina’s toe shoes.
Christie and Randal Woodson, the seventeen year-old male dancer, both got there a half hour before class. They were preparing their own dance routine for the recital. They had a five minute dance adaptation, reminiscent of the final dance in dirty dancing. Only, Christie wore toe shoes, instead of high heels. She did many of the turns en pointe, or up on her toes. She liked the way that she and Randal danced, but he was an egotistical jerk, away from the dance floor. On the dance floor, he was polite and hard working.
Christie wore a gauzy chiffon wrap around skirt over her leotard and tights, as she danced. For the recital, she had a pink chiffon cocktail dress picked out. She would look as a lot like Jennifer Grey and Randal would be a passable Patrick Swayze. She and Randal had it choreographed quite nicely. They were quite hot together.
They then met and worked out with their regular class. Christie was surprised to see a few of the girls that had been in Charlie’s white and yellow belt classes. She wondered how Charlie had interacted with them to get them into Karate. Nothing came to mind. Christie’s attention was soon caught by Madame Coulter’s screech. Some of the girls likened it to a harpy’s screech. She was getting on to some intermediate student, Karen Sampson was the girl’s name, that came to her mind. She wasn’t doing something or other, right.
After the offender had been suitably punished. She got her students into one of the dances they were doing for the recital.
Now that it was summer, they switched over from three days a week to six days a week, till the late July recital. This week, and the next one, just became carbon copies of the previous days, except for which dances they worked on.
Two more days passed before Christie was fed up with Madame Coulter, on her second Saturday as a girl. She had just one nerve left and Madame Coulter just broke it. She had just done a very good pas in her opinion, but Madame Coulter made a mistake and tried to belittle Christie.
Christie didn’t remember what Madame Coulter said, but she remembers how she said it and when Madame Coulter threatened to replace her with Lisa Brandt. It was a step too far. Lisa Brandt was another sixteen year-old dancer. She wasn’t nearly as good as Christie and that is what really made her mad. On top of that, she found that someone had put sand and ground glass in her toe shoes that day. She suspected Lisa Brandt, but didn’t say anything about it.
Christie stood up straight to Madame Coulter and said, “That is enough Renee, I am tired of you. I quit.” Renee Coulter didn’t allow any of her students to call her Renee, not even her few adult students. They were all required to address her as Madame Coulter. Christie had just committed a grievous sin. “You are an egotistical, bombastic, pompous, old, despotic, tyrant. I’m not your slave, I was your student. That was said in past tense, if you need a better explanation. You berate, demean and destroy your students’ sense of self-worth to boost your own sense of well-being. I will not subject you to my unskilled presence anymore. If you want Lisa Brandt to be the star dancer, you can have her. Good… Bye… Renee… Coulter... I won’t be renewing my contract next month.” Christie stormed into the dressing room and just grabbed her bag and left. Madame Coulter was apoplectic and almost catatonic. In her twelve years of teaching she never had a student talk back to her like that.
Christie walked towards home, she thought about calling her mom to come get her, but decided to walk. She then remembered that this was test day at Young-Soo’s Karate. She headed over to there. When she got there, she realized that she hadn’t stopped to take off her toe shoes before she had stormed out of the studio. She took them off; they should probably be thrown away, now as the walk had damaged them and put them in her bag and went into the dojang. The white belts were testing so she sat down on the side of the mat and watched.
It was a little heartbreaking watching her own students testing with her there, or rather without Charlie there. She still cheered them on when they did well. When the greenbelts came up to test, she was surprised to see Tad, testing. In the other universe he wasn’t ready. After watching the green belts test, she could see that he still wasn’t really ready. Then it was Donnie’s time to test.
Donnie was a little rougher around the edges, but he did well enough to pass. He had to fight Young-Soo. Christie could tell they weren’t taking it easy. The sounds, of the punches and kicks landing were resounding. Then Donnie had to fight two other black belts, from other schools. Donnie almost whipped them good. He fought them well. Then he did his breaking and his poomse. Tests for black belts can last for hours and it was Donnie’s conditioning that won the day.
At the end of the tests, the black belt committee met for ten minutes to discuss all the students’ tests. When they came back, they announced the students that had passed. Only two students didn’t pass their test, a yellow belt, that tested too soon and Tad. Belts and certificates were passed out. The students lined up to thank the testers. Tad was conspicuously missing from the line, that was considered bad form. They then had a meet and greet.
Christie started to leave but when she turned she ran right into Grandfather Kim, “Excuse me sir, sorry for running into you. I didn’t hurt you did I.”
Grandfather Kim just laughed at that and turned to Master Kim who had come over. The two men spoke in Korean and were laughing with each other, “No, young lady, you didn’t hurt this old man. I am Grandfather Kim and this is my son Young-Min and that is my grandson Young-Soo over there,” he said, pointing out his relatives. “I see by your dress that you are a student of the dance.”
“I was till today sir. I quit, I just didn’t have what it takes to continue on.”
“I don’t sense that in you, child. I sense a strong sense of character in you. You had good reason to quit, but it wasn’t because of anything in you. Have you ever thought about taking Ka-Ra-Te?” he said, emphasizing the word karate like that.
“Yes and no,” Christie said, stretching the truth a bit.
“Well, you must speak with Tracy Wilcox, she recruits the girls for our school. Tracy come, another new student right here.”
Christie saw Tracey coming over. She smiled to herself.
“Hi I am Tracy Wilcox, 1 st dan black belt.”
“Hi I am Christie McKellar, former ballerina extraordinaire.” Christie said, going en pointe.
“Very good, Christie,” Tracy said, smiling. “If you want to take karate, it’s a hundred twenty a month. You will need a dobok or uniform and safety gear when you get to yellow belt and begin sparring.”
Tracy took Christie into the office to show her the gear and to talk some more. They sat and talked about karate. It was hard for Christie to talk like a neophyte. Christie changed the subject to the big black guy who tested.
“Yes, he is a hunk, isn’t he. He is my boyfriend, Donnie Colt, now first dan black belt Taekwondo, brown belt Gracie Jiu Jitsu and a Muay Thai fighter. He is looking on getting into a UFC class in a year or two.”
“UFC, what is that?”
“That my dear, is a shit storm, when it comes to fighting. UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship. There are fewer NO, NO’s in UFC fighting. It is a real fur ball.”
“Oh really, it sounds dangerous.”
“It is. I worry about Donnie a lot. I just hope this doesn’t change him for the worst.”
“I don’t think it will. I bet he is a great guy.”
“He is.”
Christie reached into her gear bag and got her ATM card out. Her Mom had just put a thousand on it for the next year of ballet. She thought sorry Mom. I just can’t take good ole Renee.
When Christie picked out a heavy weight dobok, Tracy tried to talk her into one of the lighter weight doboks, “The canvas doboks,” she said, “were heavier and scratchier than the light weight ones. “
“I bet the lighter ones are less durable and go transparent with sweat. Your wearing a heavy uniform”
“Yeah, but I am a black belt. I would have to buy one of the lightweight doboks each month . They would get torn up in the black belt classes.”
“Why do you have the black stripe on the two halves of the uniform front?”
“Red and black belts help teach at our school it save us money, so we have a different dobok. We require all of our other students to wear solid white till they get to red belt.”
“Your years away from one like this. It takes a minimum of three years to get to black belt and that is pushing it hard. Even if you could, I don’t think you should. You miss out on so much jumping belts so fast. We look at karate as more of a life choice, than just a martial art.”
Tracy was shocked when the young girl bought Saf -T punches and kicks. Tracy recommended a boob protector (ladies chest protectors) and a chest guard, mouthpiece, head gear. Christie then selected a pair of MMA gloves, Sais and metal fans. The metal fans look like those oriental fans and were very ornate, but they were also weapons that could maim and kill. Lastly, she bought another gear bag. The gear bag she had for ballet would give up the ghost and die, if it had to carry all her new stuff.
“Why are you buying weapons, we don’t get to weapons training till at least blue belt? Greens and yellows sometimes get nun chucks or some of the swords for their walls, but we strongly discourage them trying to learn to use them.”
“I think they will look cool on my walls,” although Christie had no intention to use these weapons just as wall hangers. “Those fans are pretty.”
“They are weapons too and they are hard to use well, just keep them in the original packaging and bring them back to get your money back if your parents complain. I also need them to sign a medical release and a release so we can teach you.”
“Just my Mom, my dad passed away years ago.”
“I am so sorry.”
“Well I need to go and break the news to Mom, that she isn’t going to have a prima donna ballerina in the family. I am sure I will like karate better. I can work out my anger at Renee Coulter.”
“The Ballet instructor right?”
“That would be her highness.”
“We get some students from her occasionally. Come on back to the dressing rooms and I will show you around. Then I will give you a lift home.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t, but that gear bag will weigh a ton in comparison to your ballet bag.”
Not a bad idea, Christie thought. She didn’t have the upper body strength that Charlie had.
Charlie had been in the ladies changing rooms before, but not when there were ladies actually changing. Christie followed Tracy in with her ballet bag. She changed into her street clothes, a tank top and shorts, as Tracey showered and changed. Christie was surprised to see the bruises on Tracy.
“Oh my, how did you get those bruises?”
“I was sparing with Donnie in class. Boy can he hit hard and that was him pulling his punches.”
“And you are still going out with him?”
“He has other… things… he is good at and besides, I gave almost as good as I got.” Tracy said, with a wink.
Christie wondered if she was talking about karate or something else.
“He doesn’t beat you does he.”
“If he even raises his hand to me in anger, I have a 1911 A1 for him and he knows it too. He has some anger problems, but he would never, never ever hurt a girl. That much I am sure of.”
Tracy showed Christie around and introduced her to her instructor, a second red belt Mark Fresnel. Charlie never knew him, but he seemed like a nice guy about twenty-two, five foot ten, about one seventy five, blonde hair, deep green eyes and a killer smile. Too bad he was so old Christie thought and she wondered where that thought came from. She hadn’t thought about boys that way before.
Tracy gave Christie a lift to her home. Christie was surprised when Tracey gave her an air kiss before she opened her car doors and got out of the car.
“I am home Mom,” Christie said.
“And just where have you been for three hours young lady. Madame Coulter called me and told me you were rude to her and that you walked out of class hours ago.”
“Mom, I did quit ballet. I am not going to be able to go anywhere with it and I didn’t like the way she treats her girls.” Christie gave her mom a word by word description of what was said. “She tried to stuff that Lisa Brandt up my nose. I couldn’t take it anymore. I think that what shocked her the most, was a girl actually stood up to her and my calling her Renee. I will not go back and I will not apologize. She terrorizes those young girls, Mom.”
“That may be true Young Lady, but that isn’t what has my ire up. I have been sitting here waiting for you to call. I was worried sick about what happened to you. Where have you been?”
“Kim Young-Soo’s Mom, and yes I have. I’m sorry I didn’t call. That was so un-thoughtful of me. It’s just that woman got me so mad, I just stopped thinking about everything else, Momma,” Christie said, clearly remorseful.
“I am sorry too, Christie. You’re my only child and I worry about you.”
“Mom I don’t know if I blew the lesson I was supposed to learn, but I couldn’t stand that damn woman any more. I went to the dojang because they were testing. I always enjoyed watching my students test,” Christie said, with a tear in the corners of her eyes. “Anyway, I need you to sign these papers for me.”
Amanda took the papers that were handed her and looked over them. “I probably shouldn’t sign these things for you Christie. I shouldn’t, but I will. You have got to realize the danger the world presents to you.”
“I know Mom, I’m sorry.”
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda did an augury late that night and was surprised to find her daughter was still on track. It was almost as if her daughter was supposed to drop out of Ballet. Amanda smiled and cried a small tear herself. She could remember, going to recitals to see her daughter dancing, but she hadn’t really ever seen her dance on stage. The spell that warped reality gave people the false memories.
“Oh well, at least I know she will probably do well in karate. She can’t help it; it’s in her nature I guess.”
>>>>><<<<<
Christie started karate on Monday. Young-Soo wanted her to come to at least five classes a week. White belts worked out at, ten in the morning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, four in the afternoon on Tuesday, Thursday and eight in the morning and five in the evening on Saturday. Christie planned to meet them all.
She didn’t have to pretend to not be good, for all the conditioning she had as a ballerina now, all the knowledge she had in her head, despite all the grace her body had developed at the bar and on the stage, Christie had a lack of muscle memory. She had to think about how to do the required action. She was very good for a white belt, but a far cry from where she had been as a red belt.
Mark Fresnel had forty eight white belts from eight to sixteen. The school was a safe place for kids whose parents were at work and didn’t want their kids sitting around the house all day playing video games, or out in the neighborhood, or the mall or worse getting into trouble. He had a large class, but at least not everybody attended every class. He averaged thirty students a class. After two days, he already knew who his best student was, Christie.
When she wasn’t in class, she would be in the dojang watching the other classes, doing her exercises or working on an un-used heavy bag. Her actions were explained by the fact that she had always been a fitness nut. She had been a ballerina after all. One of the new fourteen-year old male white belts, Craig Breeder, stuck his foot in his mouth, when he said ballerinas weren’t athletes. Craig was five foot-eight and a hundred and fifty-five pounds. He was a starting defensive back, on the junior varsity football team, and was taking karate to toughen himself up and stay in shape over the summer.
“Hey big guy, you say that a ballerina isn’t an athlete, put your body where your mouth is. We will exercise till I get tired. If you can hang with me, I will go on a date with you. If you fall out, you will wear a tutu to class for a week.”
“Don’t do it Craig, she will eat your breakfast,” Wilma said. “If you lose, we will expect you to wear that tutu.”
“Hell, she can’t be in as good a shape as I am. I am a defensive back on my football team. She’ll look mighty fine on my arm. As long as I don’t have to do some of those ballerina things, I should be all right,” Craig Breeder said.
“Then we won’t have a weight lifting competition. I know you can lift more weight than I can. I will let Wilma decide what exercises we do; the last will be a distance run till I get tired.”
Wilma was smiling, “I will go along with that, but again Craig, I am telling you, don’t do it.”
“You’re on Christie.”
“Let me run this by Young-Soo first. We don’t want to do something that will make him mad,” Wilma said. “If he approves of it, we will get right on it. If he doesn’t, you may need a different penalty, Christie.”
Wilma called Young-Soo over and the two kids explained the bet and the penalties. Young-Soo made sure both knew what was expected and smiled when the kids said that they knew.
For an hour and a half, Wilma worked the two kids like a DI (Drill Instructor) on Paris Island. She had them do their stretches. Christie had no problems with them, Craig was still tight in his thighs and calves. Then came pushups, sit ups, crunches, squat thrusts, jumping jacks, leg raises, trunk twisters, arm circles, jumping toe touches and crab walking. Both kids were sweating like dogs. They put their shoes on and then ran to the track two blocks away. Wilma gave them five minutes to stretch hydrate and recover, before she started them running.
Christie knew she had him, when she saw the way he was running. Football players rarely practice running over a mile or two, they ran the hell out of the forty and hundred yard dashes, but Charlie and Christie would often run five to ten miles. Christie began to actually recover from the brutal way Wilma had worked them, as she ran. Wilma hadn’t taken it easy on Christie.
Half the dojang had come to the track to watch. Craig actually showed well for himself, well he lasted for two miles. If he had matched her pace, he might have lasted longer. The bet had been that she had to quit, not that he outrun her, instead he tried to run her into the ground. She just took her own pace and ran another two miles farther than he had.
Christie smiled as she passed the guys helping Craig stretch out after he stopped. She could have quit after he stopped, but felt that she had something to prove to him. Even when she was Charlie, he had trouble with people who thought that they were better physical specimens than he was. When Christie finally stopped, she was exhausted. She still took time to cool down properly and hydrate. She would need to take a nice hot bath and use some Ben Gay, but she had been still going when Craig fell out.
Craig was up on his feet when she finally had cooled down, he appeared quite contrite and he walked over to her and offered her his hand, “Damn girl, you won. I still can’t believe it. I will honor my bet, but I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe I had to run into a Jack “F***en” LaLanne in a skirt. Are all ballerinas like that.”
Christie shook his hand. She was glad the he was taking it all in a good natured way, “No, not all of them, just the ones who hope to be really good, dancing is hard work.”
Back at the dojang, both kids took long hot showers, to work out the kinks.
Friday, both kids were in class, Mark gave Christie a wink as they lined up. Craig wore a wraparound, chiffon skirt she used in ballet, over his uniform. Wilma was a little disappointed, she had her heart set to see him duded out like a ballerina in a Tutu, but everyone agreed that that was enough.
Saturday Christie was working with her class when she heard her name being called. She was doing the back punch, step, back punch drill. She turned and saw Madame Coulter coming into the dojang, in her four inch stilettos.
“Christie my dear, we need to talk.”
“Excuse me Sa Ba Nim,” Christie said, to Mark as she went over to Madame Coulter.
“Renee, you need to step out of the Dojang and take your shoes off,” Christie said.
“What, I surely will not. Now please, it’s Madame Coulter,” She said emphasizing her name, “and we need to talk.”
“If you want to talk to me, you will step outside of the Dojang and take your shoes off, before you come back.”
“Oh that is so silly, come outside with me and let’s talk.”
“I will not!”
If looks could kill Christie would be severely wounded at the least. Renee turned and stepped outside the Dojang took her shoes off and came back in. By this time the three Kims were standing behind Christie wondering what is going on.
“Now Christie we need to talk. I need you back for at least three weeks. Lisa just isn’t working out very well.”
“I thought you said that, she was getting better than me.”
“I did, it was just to motivate you to do better.”
“Not my problem, You still have Lisa. She can do most of the dances.”
“Yes, most of the dances,” Renee had to bite her tongue as she said, “but not as good as you, and she doesn’t have the stamina, that you have. Why is that boy wearing that skirt?” She said as she looked past Christie to see Craig.”
“He didn’t have the stamina of my new Jeja, Christie,” Young-Soo said.
“And just who are you?” Madame Coulter said.
“I am Kim Young-Soo owner and teacher of Kim Young-Soo’s Karate. You are interrupting some very important lessons for my student. State your business quickly please.”
“Well Mr. Soo,” Renee said. Kim just shook his head. “Christie use to be one of my Ballet students. She just quit last week. I desperately need her for three more weeks. Otherwise I may have to cancel the recital and that would disappoint a lot of my students.”
“Renee, as you said I quit, I am no longer your student. You were too tyrannical for my tastes.”
“Christie, I will say it again. You will call me Madame Coulter.”
“Let us talk with our student Madame Coulter,” Young-Soo said.
The three Kims moved well away from where Madame Coulter stood, “First, you will address her as Madame, Jeja. She did teach you well, did she not?”
“Yes, but…”
Young-Soo held up a hand to stop Christie, “Even a bad Sa Ba Nim is worthy of his title if he truly teaches his students. Is what she says true. Will she have to cancel the recital and will it disappoint her other students.”
Christie thought a few seconds and said, “Probably, I know Lisa couldn’t do my duet and my solo dance. She can dance the other three just, not as good.”
“Would these other students would be hurt, they did practice so hard and wouldn’t have the chance to show off their skill.”
Christie was torn; she really did love to dance, even when she was Charlie. She knew in her heart, that the other girls would be greatly disappointed to not be able to dance in the recital. She certainly would be, if she were in their toe shoes. “Yes, Sa Ba Nim, they would be greatly disappointed.”
“Then maybe you could dance these two dances, for Madame Coulter.”
“As long as she realizes that after the recital, I will no longer be her student and that she realizes that it is just the pas de deux and the pas seul, then I could.”
“Stay here little one let us talk with her a bit.”
The Kim’s walked over to Madame Coulter and began talking with the lady. She seemed to be arguing with them but finally she shook her head. Young-Soo waved for Christie.
“Jeja Christie, Madame Coulter has agreed to the terms that you dance the pas de deux and the pas seul. You will go to her studio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays till you dance at the recital in three weeks. You will come to our dojang on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. After the recital she will have no claim on your time.”
“I agree Sa Ba Nim.”
“Please don’t let her get a busted lip or a bruised up face, Mr. Soo.”
“We will try our best to see to her well-being, just as we are sure of your continued good will towards her.”
>>>>><<<<<
Reluctantly Christie entered the dance studio. Many of the girls were excited and mobbed her. One stood back and fumed.
“Well I see you are back to save our bacon, Christie,”
“Yes, I heard you were having problems, Lisa. I came back to save the show and after the recital, I will be gone. You can have your little fiefdom to yourself then.”
Christie changed into her tights, leotard and shoes, before putting her hair in bun and covering it. Outside she met up with Randal.
“Hi Randy, are you ready to work on our piece.”
“Am I ever,” he said heading for the smaller practice room. “I told, MAD… ame that I wasn’t going to dance with Lisa. Lisa couldn’t keep up with me and she was only concerned about making herself looking good. A Pas de deux is about the Ballerina making the Danseur Noble look good as his job is making her look spectacular. I tried working with her after a particularly rough workout Madame Coulter put the class through. She couldn’t hack it.”
“Well are you ready?” Christie asked as she wrapped a chiffon skirt around her waist, after they stretched out and warmed up.
“Let me key up the music.”
Christie and Randal worked on their number for about an hour and a half. They danced the number several times, working on a couple of problem areas. They made some small changes and tried the new sequences out.
Randal then had Christie watch as he did his “Footloose” Warehouse dance. She knew that he was good, probably better than she was. He could dance circles around Kevin Bacon. She did stop him a couple of times and made some suggestions Dancing the sequences with him. He tried out her suggestions and kept most of them after adapting them to his style.
Christie then did her “Flashdance- What a Feeling” solo, several times with Randal criticizing her dance.
“Stop a second,” Randal said. “Alexandra Owens worked as a wielder during the day and as an exotic dancer at night. To be a successful dancer she would have to be comfortable with her body and her sensuality. You are doing very good, but you need to kick up your sexy, a bit. Don’t think about it just do it.”
‘That is easy for you to say,’ she thought. She giggled to herself a bit and then started the number over form the top. She went overboard in a campy sort of way. Just like some drag queens did sexy. Randal was laughing and had a giant smile on his face.
“You need to tone that down a bit, or you may get us arrested, but you’ve got the idea.”
She took a minute to recover a bit and then she nodded for Randal to hit the music.
“Dance to the music girl, just feel it and dance it.”
Christie stood ready and when the music came, it was ‘Maniac’. She had also been working on a ‘Maniac’ routine so she just went with the flow. The ‘What a Feeling’ routine was a high energy routine, the ‘Maniac’ sequence was insane. She went with the flow of the music. She was a little tired when the number finished but six seconds after the end of ‘Maniac’, ‘What a Feeling’ began. She just continued on with her dance.
“That is how you ought to do your last dance. It will be your swan song. You will be leaving after your dance. So go out with a bang, girl,” Randal said. He looked around and stepped closer to Christie. “Madame Coulter doesn’t know it yet and please don’t say anything about this, Christie,” Randal said and then he whispered. “I am leaving at the end of summer. I have been accepted at and have a scholarship to a school in New York City. That is a step closer to joining ‘The Dance Company’.”
That is the dream of many Ballerinas and Danseurs, to sign on with ‘The Dance Company’ meant you were at the pinnacle.
“Oh my, that’s really going to curl her hair, losing her two best students within weeks.”
“Yep Mom and I will leave town on August 15 th, while dad will move in January or February. Oh and I have heard that a talent scout from ‘The Dance Company’ will be at our recital.”
“Can I ask you a question, Randal?”
“Let me guess, you want to know why girls don’t like me outside of class,” Randal said, and Christie nodded. “I don’t have the time for girls right now. They expect too much from me right now. Girls are high maintenance; they expect and have a right to expect certain things in a relationship. Right now I am high maintenance. That is not a good mix. I would never, ever consider going out with another dancer. That could be very bad, although I could make an exception for you. That isn’t going to happen is it?” Again Christie shook he head no. “So my being somewhat acerbic and aloof is a defense mechanism for me. And for the record; I would cut off my left nut before I ever dated Lisa. She is a cow.”
“I wouldn’t call her a cow, she doesn’t have the udders for a cow, but yes, I understand.”
“If she worked harder, she could be good. She has the classic Ballerina build, great legs, slim build and flat chest. I think she could make it if she worked as hard as you do.”
Christie thought about it and after doing both high energy routines together, she could really feel it in her boobs. She had to work hard to maintain her balance with her boobs and the strain on them from dancing were good reasons for leaving dance right now, but that wouldn’t fly to far because of her karate. She had a good giggle at her own expense. Then again, she would be able to defend this great bod of hers. If she had to be a girl, it was better being a good looking girl.
>>>>><<<<<
Mark was going over his students in the black belt and red belt meeting Saturday night. “I am amazed by Christie, in the few weeks she has been a student I would test her for yellow belt, seventh yellow, but she has yet to spar so make it eight yellow. Let her skip the ninth white belt test. I never had a student pick up the basics so fast.”
Young-Soo thought for a few minutes and then spoke to his father and grandfather in Korean. Grandfather Kim agreed that Christie should test for yellow soon. Every August they tried to retain as many summer students as they could. Getting their students enthused and testing them when proficient was part of the retention program for summer students.
“It is agreed, Christie McKellar will test for eighth gold on the eleventh of August,” Young-Soo said.
>>>>><<<<<
For the next three weeks Christie went to her karate classes and dance classes. Randall wasn’t such a prick once she knew his secret. Tad though was being a real jerk. He asked her to go out with him at least a half-dozen times over the last two weeks. Christie did find Valerie Stevens crying once in the changing room. Christie asked her what was wrong and the girl replied that she didn’t know. It was like she had lost something, but didn’t know what. The girl felt better though after Christie hugged her and comforted her.
The three days leading to the recital, Christie only went to ballet classes. Sure it was to be her last dance, but she was going to make it her best dance too. She would have her Mom and Grandmother there to support her and to appreciate her efforts.
Saturday morning, Amanda took her daughter to the theater two hours before the recital. Christie was more nervous than she ever remembered Charlie being, even when Charlie tested for his first red, belt. At least Charlie got to pound on someone to work off his nerves. Christie though had to smile and be supportive of her fellow dancers. Her support though wasn’t half-hearted. She really hoped the girls, especially the young girls would go out and dance well. She hoped that they enjoyed the fruits of their hard labors.
She even went over to wish Lisa Brandt well. Lisa Brandt almost jumped out of her skin, when Christie came up to wish her well.
The first section of the dance went well. All the young girls got to dance their supporting roles and Lisa Did a decent job. She had been Christie’s understudy. Randal had already made his way to the back of the audience as the girls left the stage. Their number started about twenty seconds after the applause stopped. Christie came out on the stage in a classical ballet style before the music started and posed. She looked wonderful in her pink chiffon dress and toe shoes.
The lights dimmed and ‘I’ve had the Time of my Life’ began. Christie took several steps to the front of the stage as the audience realized that Randal was coming up middle. The last three steps he rushed towards her and she fell into a lift. A third of the dance was performed close to the audience, with Christie up on her toes.
One young boy tried to trip Randal while he was doing a lift and walking. His mom caught him before Randal got to him. He is going to be in big trouble when he gets home. ‘Maybe you would like to join the ballet,’ his mom whispered to him. ‘Your sister would just love to take you to her school and see you dance in a tutu.’
Christie made a remarkable leap up on the stage, followed by Randal. The two of them danced beautifully together, Christie brought a lot of attention to Randal’s strength and grace, while he showcased her beauty, grace and agility. They received thunderous applause when they finished their number. After a short bow they hurried off the stage, so the next scene could begin.
Randal had to hurry to change, he had a couple of minutes and he had to be on the stage with the troupe. He hated to dance with Lisa, but couldn’t disappoint the girls. Christy had the next scene for her pas de sol and changed into her flash dance costume. She was just going to do her ‘What a Feeling’ dance.
As the troupe left the stage she came right out and began by doing her ballet stretches. When the music started, she began the slow portion of her dance. The speed of the music increased as did her pace. Christie was in the zone and it showed. She thrilled the audience with her ability and stamina as her dance went to extreme level. She was having fun and it showed.
When the music ended, she received a standing ovation. She had to stay on the stage bowing till the volume of the applause started to die down. She smiled and waved as she left the stage.
She headed to the dressing room for a quick shower and to change back into her chiffon dress, hose and heels. She thought about heading out the back door, but she would be cheating the crowd. Randal was just finishing his Footloose number when she finished dressing. She applauded him and gave him a hug as the girls went out for their last number.
Lisa wasn’t the best dancer, but Christie thought she acquitted herself well. If she danced these pieces again in two months she would do much better. She had worked harder than she ever had in the three weeks since Christie quit. When the dancers went back on stage for their final bows, Christie let Lisa take center stage, much to Renee’s consternation. Christie squatted down and gave many of the young girls hugs and congratulations for how they had done.
Renee Coulter stayed in character, even though her girl’s had danced their hearts out, the best compliment she could give was that they danced adequately, and then she began to nitpick their performances. “Sue you missed your marks, Rita your pirouettes were out of sink with the others,” and so forth.
“Excuse me Renee,” Christie said, Madame Coulter’s face became pasty and splotchy. She still couldn’t stand one of her students not fearing her. She missed having Christie, but was glad the bitch was leaving. “Despite their few flaws, I think they danced superbly. Even Lisa danced her heart out. I have learned, from my Karate classes, that if you praise people it lifts their spirits and will make them want to work harder for you. Yes there were some imperfections, but they danced better, than you deserved, Renee. You should praise them for what they did accomplish. At least that is what I think.”
Christie turned and didn’t wait to leave. She grabbed her gear bag and hurried for the stage exit, where she expected her mother. As she stepped out the door, she was surprised to see the crowd there. Almost half of Young-Soo’s student were there and applauding her. What really surprised her though was too see all three Kim’s there, in Tuxedo’s, standing next to her mother. She was startled when two hands found her waist and lifted her. Randal had come up behind her, he lifted her up and then carried her down the three steps and placed her down if front of her mom. Amanda had tears of joy in her eyes as she hugged her daughter.
“Christie you were incredible. I couldn’t believe how much you’ve matured.”
“Thank you Mom, I love you so much. I glad to be out from under the tutelage of Madame Coulter. Did you know what she told her students, “Girls, you danced adequately, blah, blah, blah… Sue you were a millimeter off your mark, Rita you were milliseconds off on your turns.” The girls were very good, Mom.”
“I think so too. Christie and I understand why you like your karate instructors, now. Grandfather Kim, Master Kim and Kim Young-Soo take good care of my little girl.”
Grandfather Kim was smiling one of his million dollar smiles, “We will, Mrs. McKellar, we will.”
Christie stood beside Grandfather Kim and offered him her arm, “Now can a girl take her best guy out to dinner. You can have the other two Mom.”
Young-Soo turned to his Father, “Dang it Dad, why does Grandpa get all the prettiest girls?”
“Beats me Son, he has always been like that. I hadn’t planned on going out to eat, but will you be my date tonight, Mrs. McKellar?”
“I would be most charmed to be your escort tonight.”
Young-Soo turned to his twelve-year old daughter and offered her his arm, “Well it’s you and me kid.”
“Sorry Dad, Donnie is my escort,” she said taking his hand protectively.
Young-Soo just shook his head and smiled, “I can’t wait till your Mom gets back from South Korea. Come along Donnie and Eun Ae.”
“Daaaad, I told you to call me Eunice,” Eun Ae said, to her father. It was close to her Korean name, but she liked her name to be Romanized.
“I reserve the rights of all fathers to embarrass their children, Donnie have you seen Eun Ae’s baby photos,” Young-Soo said.
“Daaaad, you wouldn’t.”
Young-Soo just smiled at his daughter as he led Eun Ae and Donnie to his car.
>>>>><<<<<
Christie was surprised to find three of the little girl’s from her ballet class, in the lobby of the dojang with their mothers. The girls were nine, ten and ten years old. Cindy’s mom came over smiling and said, “Hello Christie.”
“Hello Mrs. Pettis, how can I help you?”
“We heard what you said to Renee the other day and we agree with you. You see Rhonda, Barbra and I went out to eat with our girls after the recital. The girl’s told us what Renee said and what you said to her. I was torn about it. I love the ballet, you see and I had hopes of having a ballerina in the family. Cindy though was always coming home upset by what Renee had to say about them. Well we all came to my home. The girls went to Cindy’s room to play around. So I talked with Barbra and Rhonda. We all agreed, Renee was good, but she is too full of herself. We felt she was taking her failure to get to the big show out on our daughters. We were just going to pull them out of ballet. The girls were thrilled and asked if they could take karate with you.”
Christie looked around and saw Young-Soo in the office, “Girls, just come with me to Sa Bum Nim Young-Soo’s office.”
“Sa bum nim, what does that mean?” Rhonda asked.
“It means, master or teacher, we use that term for whoever teaches us out of respect for them. They often refer to us as Jeja or student. It’s not like it was with Madame Coulter. They don’t demand the title they earn it.”
Christie led everyone to Young-Soo’s office. “Sa Bum Nim,” Christie said, “I have some friends that would like to meet you.”
“So I see, Jeja Christie,” Young-Soo said, standing and smiling. “Come in please. Be welcomed here.”
“Sa Bum Nim, This is Mrs. Pettis and her daughter, Cindy, Mrs. Dwyer and her daughter, Kelly and Mrs. Newton and her Daughter, Carly. They are here to talk about possibly taking Karate.”
“Please have a seat ladies. I remember you three beautiful young ladies. You were all in the recital. Me and my daughter, my father and grandfather thought you were wonderful.”
The mothers smiled and their daughters just giggled.
The three mothers all sat on a couch in the office. Christie started to leave, but was stopped by Young-Soo. So she sat on the floor. All three girls tried to occupy her lap and succeeded to a small extent. So she just hugged all three girls to her to keep them from falling off her lap.
The mothers then talked with Young-Soo, they were all worried about their daughters, getting hurt. Young-Soo explained that while they couldn’t guarantee that their daughters wouldn’t get hurt they bent over backwards to see that they didn’t. He assured them that they wouldn’t be allowed to spar with the big kids or adults till they could handle themselves. The mothers were told that they could come and watch their girls, something Madame Coulter didn’t like.
Young-Soo was very smooth with the mothers, he really was a good salesman, when it came to selling Karate. They agree to sign their girls up for a one month free trial, if they would only buy the uniform.
“Jeja Christie, would you outfit the girls and show them around.”
“It would be my pleasure Sa Bum Nim.”
Christie realized she didn’t have enough hands as the girls tried to claim one. She took them to the shop area of the dojang and got the girls sized up for their dobok or uniform. At least the girls had their arms full. She led them on a tour.
“Girls, this is important. We take our shoes off before we enter the dojang or studio. Just take your shoes off and put them in these boxes,” Christie said demonstrating.
The girls followed her instructions.
She then showed the girls the three rooms they used for instruction.
“This is the main room, where you will be taught. It has mirrors on the wall like Madame Coulter’s classroom. Be careful that you don’t kick or hit the mirrors. These two rooms are for advanced students who work on advanced techniques or with weapons. Don’t go into these rooms if there is someone working without an instructor with you. We don’t want you to get hurt. Here we have punching bags and weights don’t play with these till you get older. Back here is the changing room and the showers. The smelly boys go over there and us girls use this one.”
The girls all, “Ohed and yucked as they passed the boys entrance. Christie realized just how smelly the boys side was.
In the changing room there were basket in boxes and benches. Christie told the girls to find an empty basket to put their stuff in and change into their dobok. Christie did the same. She taught them how to put their dobok on and tie their belts. Christie then led them to the back, where they had a sauna, Jacuzzi and the showers. Don’t go into the sauna or Jacuzzi without someone older with you. Near the showers were sink, toilets and towels.
Christie then introduced them to their black belt instructor Wilma. Wilma had Christie work with her and the girls. They taught them etiquette first and their stretches and warm-ups. Wilma was amazed at how flexible the girls were. They then went over their basic punches, kicks and blocks. After thirty minutes Wilma wanted to take it easy on the girls.
“Keep going, Wilma. These girls are tougher than they look. They aren’t even sweating yet. Madame Coulter worked them a lot harder.”
“Ok Christie, you work them, and I will watch and correct them.”
Christie did take control and began to really work the girls hard. Wilma didn’t get a chance to correct them, Christie was on them like flies on stink, when they made a mistake. She did it with style though and made the girls feel good about themselves. The girls just soaked it up. Wilma realized that these girls were already athletes and they really liked Christie.
When Christie finished with them she had them bow to Wilma and then to her. The girls were all excited and ran to hug Christie and Wilma.
>>>>><<<<<
Christie helped with all the kids classes, whom she worked harder than the others, but not brutally hard. She just seemed to know when the kids needed to stop. Her kids showed remarkable improvement.
In her own class, she had come a long way and while she was better than any White, Yellow or Green Belts at the school, she still wasn’t satisfied with her performance. In the two months that she had been working out at this dojang, her upper body strength had improved. She went from being able to do fifty pound bench presses to one hundred-fifteen pound bench presses. She was still a far cry from Charlie’s two hundred ninety-five pound bench press.
She was working on a heavy bag, wearing her MMA gloves, when she got particularly frustrated. She was hitting the bag the way that Charlie had, but wasn’t getting the satisfaction that she had as when Charlie hit the bag. In her heart she knew the answer, in her head she was Charlie/Christie but this body was all Christie. She sat on the floor in the lotus position, frustrated, lost in thought and tried to stare a hole through the bag.
“Jeja, what are we doing,” she heard Grandfather Kim say. He was sitting next to her in the lotus position. She was surprised to see him there. She tried to scrabble to her feet to bow to Grandfather Kim, but he put his hand lightly on her shoulder to keep her down.
“Sorry, Grandfather Kim, I was just contemplating how I could assassinate, destroy and kill that heavy bag. I have been kicking and banging on it for hours and I am not happy with the results.”
“Tell me about your opponent and I can tell you how to fight him. Not all opponents can be fought the same way by different opponents.”
“My opponent is a thick leather bag about four feet tall filled with nearly two hundred pounds of cotton batting and hanging from the ceiling by four large chains. Unfortunately, he can absorb a ton of damage without being hurt.”
“And yet it can be damaged with the right attack,” Grandfather Kim said as he stood. He stood in a right leg back stance, he did a slow back punch on the bag and slowly drew his right hand back to his hip. He straightened out his fingers into a spear head and after a loud, “Keeahh,” he thrust his hand through the leather of the bag. His hand was buried four inches.
They both heard, “Oh geez Grandpa, not another heavy bag, those things cost a lot of money. I am going to the store to buy another roll of duct tape.”
Christie had to giggle, she couldn’t help it. Her mood was much lighter now. Grandfather Kim sat down next to Christie.
“Don’t try a spear hand thrust Jeja, that takes decades of practice to toughen your hands up and you can lose a degree of dexterity in the effort. Tell me how would you fight little Ricky?”
“Oh, god, I hate to contemplate fighting little Ricky, he is so bloody fast, but I would have to keep on the offensive and keep Ricky on his heels. I would attack straight on using front leg snap kicks, back fists, back punches and such. He would turn into a circular attack to diminish its effectiveness. I would use as much power as I could to hurt him.”
“And how would you fight Donnie Colt?”
“Geez, just staying alive against Donnie would be an accomplishment. He leads with his head often, and suffers rage at times. I would have to wear him down. I would fight him almost the opposite of Ricky. I would work on staying out of his wheel house and pepper him with circular attacks. Round kicks, ridge hands, hook kicks. My power attacks didn’t hurt him. He has hardened his body to them. I would target, his head, nerve bundles, solar plexis, knees, elbows, shoulders and gonads if I was fighting him on the street. I would hurt him and run if I could. I know I could run him to death,” she said giggling.
“Yet, that isn’t how Charlie fought him.”
“I am not Charlie any longer,” Christie said, without thinking. She nearly wrenched her neck though as her head spun to look at Grandfather Kim. “You know? How?”
“Jeja, there is much for you to learn, yet. There is more magic than you know of, in this world.”
“Of course, you saved Jimmy from the dog.”
“No good deed should be left undone. I was there changing a tire on my car. The dog burst through the glass door, but I screwed with its mind and sent him running home. The Pritchard’s probably found their dog hiding under his master’s bed. People shouldn’t own such dangerous animals unless they can control them. Unfortunately Mr. Pritchard has a mean streak and paranoia.”
“But I still have the car? Mr. Wilson gave it to me for saving his son’s life.”
“Again, I say no good deed should go undone. I arraigned for you to receive that car. I expect to see you driving that car soon, Jeja. Now back to the issue. Christie, your mind, body and spirit are not in balance. Practice will bring your body and mind into line, but you have much work to bring your spirit in line. You will never find balance till all three are in line. Now what are your strengths now Christie.”
“I have better balance than I ever had. I have great stamina and killer legs,” Christie said giggling. “I mean I feel my round kicks, hook kicks and snap kicks will be great. My side kicks and back kicks will suffer, I am not Charlie anymore, he had twenty-five pounds of muscle I will never have, but my feet are stronger than his. Charlie could never go en pointe. My weaknesses, as long as I am Christie, I will have less power. Also, I may never take a hit like Charlie could. I can improve on that though, but at a cost of my figure. I would need to put on some mass, although I kinda like my figure, I could use a few pounds though, but not as much as I would need. Then it would need to be lean muscle mass and as a girl that’s not going to happen. I could come up with a compromise, though.”
“And what would that be little one.”
“Not getting hit. I have great balance and agility on top of quickness. I would have to be more like Ricky, when before I wanted to be more like Donnie. Charlie was a balance of the two styles.”
“Funny, there is that word balance. Well keep working on your problems child,” Grandfather Kim said, standing and walking off to some other task.
>>>>><<<<<
Christie had a long talk with her Mom about what she learned. Amanda was amazed but not overly so. She knew that there were many more magics than what she possessed; she just didn’t figure crossing some. As she thought about it, it really did fit.
Christie was ready for her tests in mid-August. She would do the white belt test and the yellow belt test later, She knew her poomse well all the way to black belt although she still had to finish re-training her body to do the more advanced poomse. She was just about where she needed to be to do the purple belt poomse.
She had worked on the things that she knew she needed and was doing better, but she still wasn’t happy. Nor should she be she realized. If she was happy with what she was doing she wouldn’t train as hard and she wouldn’t improve as fast as she had.
She even started sparring with Wilma, Ricky, Tracy and Young-Soo, which was strange for a white belt. She also found herself working out with the greens and purples at times. Master Kim or Grandfather Kim would throw her into one of their classes. That always drew some glares and stares.
One thing annoyed her though was Tad, he kept hitting on her for a date. He was two years older and obnoxious as could be. There was no way she would ever date him. She would rather eat broken glass and rusty nails, than date Tad.
>>>>><<<<<
She showed up with her Mom on test day. She was scheduled to go through ninth white test and eight yellow tests. She was also told she might be in seventh yellow test. Amanda brought her digital camera and would be getting copies of the video that the dojang would be recording.
At this test as with all the others they started with the white belts and worked their way up. Christie would have been bored stiff if she wasn’t rooting her friends on. She could help make her friends look good by looking good herself. The ninth white test is short and sweet, there is no sparing and the poomse was so easy.
The eight yellow was a little more challenging but she wasn’t even sweating when she finished her poomse. She received satisfying pops from her dobok on all her techniques. She was the only yellow student who was creating the pops.
She continued on to the seventh yellow test. She had to do some sparring here. There was only one rule in sparring, you had to do your best and not hold back to make your partner look good. She had two bouts and if this was a tournament, she would have trashed both of her opponents. The two bouts were four minutes each two rounds of two minutes each. She wasn’t even breathing hard, when she sat down.
She was surprised when Grandfather Kim called her in for the sixth green test and she wasn’t the only one surprised. She dutifully stood the only white belt in a row of seven, sixth and fifth green belts. This test took a little longer as the green belts had more techniques to demonstrate. She also had three bouts with the green belts.
Her last bout as a greenbelt was against Tad. Grandfather stood in front of her and whispered, “Balance, Jeja. Balance.”
Tad took his stance across from her and looked at Christie. He had a big lecherous grin on his face. Christie took up her position and took a calming breath. Amanda knew of Tad and his reputation, she wanted to call an end to this bout, but held her tongue. She didn’t even cast anything to help her daughter, though she wanted too.
As soon as Wilma called, “Sijak!” Tad came flying across at her. He was throwing a chest high back punch. He wanted to hit her in her boobs. He should have been paying attention in her earlier bouts, she nailed him with a front leg round kick that knocked him down. He didn’t lay a paw on her.
“Kalyeo!” Wilma shouted.
They scored her two points for the kick.
At, “Sijak” Tad danced around for a bit. They both threw a few back fists that didn’t land or were deflected and didn’t score. Tad then shifted a bit back and then launched a back leg snap kick with independent motion to close the distance. Independent motion is like taking a hop instead of a step to close on your opponent. Christie slipped the kick and blocked a back fist as Tad’s momentum carried him by her. She landed a left hand back punch to his rib cage. “Kalyeo!” The score was three to zero.
By the end of the first round Christie was sitting five to one. She scored another ridge hand and a back fist, while Tad managed an awkward back fist that grazed her head gear. After a minutes rest they were called back. Christie could see him twitching, he was on the edge of losing control.
When Wilma called, “Sijak!” Tad came in a bull rush. Christie did something she had learned as a red belt. She started a jump and rotation at the same moment and launched a jump 360 hook kick. She had mercy though and extended her toes landing a very hard slap with the ball of her foot, instead of landing a bone crunching heel. To add insult to injury, she hit him with a round kick that landed on the other cheek, before she touched down. “Kalyeo!” You could have heard a pin drop as Christie drop into a defensive stance.
Tad didn’t wait till the end of their bout, to storm off the mat. He hated himself. He couldn’t beat a girl, a damn girl made a laughing stock out of him. He grabbed his bag and stormed out of the dojo.
Christie was saddened not elated, she turned to Grandfather Kim and said, “Sorry, I was just trying to keep from being hurt. He was losing control.”
“You did nothing wrong. We have been trying to save that one for a while. Nice combo by the way.”
The rest of the test went smoothly they had three purples test and no red or black belts test. After the black belts deliberated the belts were awarded. Christie was given a yellow stripe on her white belt. Then she had to put on a yellow belt and a minute later was given a green stripe on her yellow belt. She got to sit for another minute and was called up to put on a green belt. Only two people failed the test. A fifth green belt (Tad) and a third purple (Grace) failed to advance. Grace twisted an ankle, trying the jump 360 hook kick, early on and had to retire.
After all the students bowed and the black belts filed out the other students mobbed their friends. Christie was attacked by a dozen kids, including the three girls from the ballet school. She playfully called for help as the kids were crawling all over her. When the kids gave her a break she received pats on the back and congratulations from the other people there.
>>>>><<<<<
Pace began to slow down a bit as all the school age kids had to begin to get ready for school. Christie had learned many things and the spell that transformed her helped her learn other things fast. Getting ready for school wasn’t something she instantly knew about. Her mom chided her for waiting so late to learn about some things. Girly things that had nothing to do with ballet or karate.
Karate was scaled back to three times a week thing, Tuesdays, Thursdays in the evenings and Saturdays at ten. Christie spent the next eight days before school learning what it took being a school girl. First there was new clothing. Christie had begun noticing that her bras were now getting tight. She and Amanda went clothes shopping after getting a stack full of teen fashion magazines, to see what would be, “IN” this year. After discussing it with her Mom, they hit the stores starting in Victoria’s Secret.
>>>>><<<<<
Over the Summer Christie had grown of that she was certain. Since she quit the strict diet that was required for ballet and was eating a more sensible diet, the clothes she wore were beginning to get tight. The first thing they did was to take Christie’s measurements. She had been 37-23-34 but now she was a 39-25 ½-36. Her neck was a half inch larger, a half inch across her biceps, a quarter of an inch at her wrists, high bust was three quarters an inch larger, her low bust was a half inch larger and her trunk measurement (from the top of one shoulder through her crotch and back to the shoulder) was an inch and a half longer. Christie then went to the kitchen. Her mom, since she was a child, had made marks on the door sill to mark her height on her birthday. Christie had grown one and three quarters of an inch taller since June and was now five foot seven and three fourths. Amanda had her step on her scale. It was one of those fancy scales that measure body fat, retained water and muscle mass.
They sat down and compared the readings from June, July and August. She had gained eleven pounds since June and was now one hundred twenty nine. Her body was retaining a percent and half more water, which wasn’t a bad thing, her body fat was up two percent and her muscle mass was five percent higher. According to the charts she had been given, in five weeks she had fallen out of dancing form, but she was actually closer to a healthy norm.
Christie still had to pinch herself to measure fat the way that Madame Coulter had measured her girls. She was most concerned about her waist. She didn’t want to look like a fat slob in Karate. Even though she had gained two and a half inches at her waist she still couldn’t pinch any more skin than she had at twenty-three inches. They both probed her belly with their hands.
“I don’t know what to tell you Christie, it feels like solid muscle mass to me. In fact if feels more solid than when you danced, if that is even possible. You are not getting fat. In fact you might be leaner at your wasit.”
“I just don’t want get fat.”
“As much as you like to exercise, darling that will never happen. You are just eating like a normal teenage girl, a girl that doesn’t want to get fat. Looking at you, except for your bust, you are leaner than average. Look at me, am I fat?”
“No mom, you look great.”
Amanda undressed down to her underwear and had Christie measure her. Amanda was larger than Christie everywhere.
“Christie I am 40-30-39 and you said, that I am not fat.”
“You have a great bod Mom.”
“Unless you go crazy at the pizza parlor, this is your body in twenty years. If you don’t have any children you could even have a better body. That is if you remain a girl.”
“I had almost forgotten about that.”
“That is you adapting to your situation baby. You won’t forget when the time comes for you to choose. I wouldn’t let you forget, on top of that.”
“I don’t know Mom. There are things I like about being a girl and things I miss being Charlie. I just don’t know.”
“I know baby, just remember that whatever you chose, you’re still the most important person in the world to me. Now let’s look at a clothing chart and check for our sizes. I feel like getting some new clothes too.”
“Can’t you just zap the clothes to fit,” Christie asked.
“Now where would the fun be then, besides magic is too important to use so trivially. Now if you went skinny dipping and someone stole your clothes, that would be different, as would casting a spell that would make the thieves fit the clothes they stole, would be justice. But don’t do that, that could open a whole different can of worms. Magic can seeks balance. What was changed one place might appear elsewhere. You might prevent rain on somebody’s wedding day, just to cause a flood elsewhere. Revenge can kill two is another saying we have. There are times for bold magic, but many more times when no magic or subtle is best.”
>>>>><<<<<
The last eight days before school Christie spent getting ready to go back to school. She had to learn how to get ready for school. She already knew how to get dressed and such, but she knew it would take her longer to get ready in the mornings. Christie wasn’t exactly a morning person, but neither was she a sleepy head. So she and her Mom came up with a plan for the next three mornings they would get up and get dressed and go out the door each morning in enough time for Christie to get to school.
**********************************************************************
Notes:
Charlie McKellar- 16 year old 1 st red belt Taekwondo, teaches the kids under fifteen classes; Mother Amanda McKellar; becomes Christie McKellar, Ballet student
Amanda McKellar- mother of Charlie
Kim Young-Soo- 38 year old 5 th dan black belt World Taekwondo Federation, owner of Young-Soo Karate
Master Kim- Kim Young-Min 60 year old Father of Young-Soo 10 th dan black belt WTF
Kim Young-Ja- aka “Grandfather Kim”- 10 th Dan black belt Grandfather of Young-Soo moved from Pyongyang to Seoul in May 1949 before the start of the Korean conflict. Taught Karate to RoK Army from 1950 till 1962 then emigrated to the US in 1969. Hardly teaches karate anymore but is still a fixture at the dojo.
Donnie Colt- 18 year old Black 1 st red belt friend and main adversary of Charlie, also Studies Ju-Jitsu and Muay-Thai hopes to get into Mixed Martial Arts fighting. He teaches kids classes with Charlie and adults with Wilma. Good guy until you get him mad. You don’t want to see him mad.
Madame Coulter- Renee Coulter- Tyrannical Ballet instructor
Lisa Brandt- 16 year old ballet student and adversary of Christie McKellar, your average no good spoiled rotten girl
Tracy Sullivan- 6 th green belt 17
Robert ‘Tad’ Green 6 th green belt not a good guy, hates Charlie and Donnie with a passion
Cindy Stevens- 12 year old 8 th gold belt. Also a ballet student. A shy timid girl.
Wilma Davis- 20 year old 1 st dan Black Belt Teaches most of the green, blue and red belt and adult classes a svelte, wiry, tenacious opponent who gives to Charlie and Donny as good as she gets. She is good but…
Ricky Summers- 13 year old junior black belt excellent on forms and just fair in sparring
Author's Note: This story was posted unfinished by Paula Dillon after working on it for two years when writer's block struck. Chapter 1 consists of her originally posted story that has been edited in concert with the extension and completion of the story jointly authored by Paula and Tigger.
Mind, Body and Spirit
by
Paula Dillon
Author's Note: Korean terms used in the story's Karate classes are parenthetically translated the first time the term is used in a chapter. For example GOMAN! (stop) CHARYUT! (attention). A glossary of such terms is contained in Appendix B of Part 1 for future reference.
~-~
Mind, Body and Spirit
Chapter 1 - Testing and Other Trials
Edited by Tigger
Fifteen-year-old Charlie walked into Kim Young-Soo’s Karate Dojang, his forty-five-pound gear bag dangling from his shoulder. The gear bag which had seemed so heavy eight years ago when he’d begun this journey, was hardly noticeable to the young man these days. Charlie was physically in terrific shape, standing five foot seven inches tall, weighing in at one hundred forty pounds of solid lean muscle and bone, all with less than five percent body fat.
Charlie took off his shoes and put them in the box the dojang had assigned for them, he then headed directly to the men’s dressing room. Donnie Colt was already there getting dressed for today’s class. Charlie and Donnie both held the rank of First Geup (red belts with black stripes) and were preparing for their black belt test in three weeks. As a result, both were being worked extremely hard by their teachers to ensure they passed the challenging tests on their first attempts.
Donnie was an eighteen-year-old, dark-skinned black kid, who stood just a hair under six feet and a biscuit over two hundred and twenty pounds. He was massive! Donnie's biceps were bigger around than Charlie's thighs, and on top of that, finding an ounce of fat anywhere on his muscular body would be nigh impossible.
Charlie thanked God, every day he came to the dojang, that he and Donnie were friends. Since they were at the same level of training, they were most often paired off with or against each other in class. As skilled as little Charlie had become, it would not go well for him if Donnie didn't like him, or heaven forbid, hated him. Just bracing the heavy bag for Donnie when he was practicing his kicks and punches could be painful for the person supporting the bag for him. Donnie was just that powerful!
Charlie took the tag end of his red belt in his left hand, wrapping the belt twice around his waist before tying it off with a square knot. Straightening, he adjusted his dobok (uniform) before looking up at Donnie.
“Man, you know they are going to work our sorry asses into the ground today,” Donnie groused.
Charlie chuckled and smiled at Donnie, “Yeah, our black belt tests are in less than a month. They are going to be all over our sorry asses like flies on stink.”
“Let’s go do this, man.”
“Right on.”
Charlie was reaching down to pick up his gear bag when Donnie picked him up under one arm, tucking him into his hip and before picking up both their heavy gear bags with his other arm.
“Put me down you stupid goon,” Charlie complained loudly. “You’re a sorry sack of shit, you know that?”
Donnie just ignored his smaller friend and headed into the dojang, Charlie complaining all the way. Dropping the bags beside the mat, still carrying Charlie, Donnie headed out to the center of the mat.
"GOMAN! (stop) CHARYUT! (attention)," an authoritative voice rang out.
Reacting immediately to the command, Donnie unceremoniously dropped Charlie on the floor and snapped to attention facing the Korean flag. Charlie landed with an ‘umph’, rolled over, did a ‘kip up’ off the floor, and came to attention facing the flag beside Donnie.
Wilma Davis, their black belt instructor for the day, had to suppress a snicker, as she watched the antics of the pair. There was never a dull moment around those two.
Taking charge, Wilma began the class. “Kyungnet (bow)! Turn and bow to Grandfather Kim. Kyungnet!. Bow to Master Kim and Young-Soo, Kyungnet. Bow to me, Kyungnet!”
Wilma turned and faced the three Kims who were seated beside the mat, acting as judges. “I present 1st Geup red belt students, Donnie Colt and Charlie McKellar, preparing to test for black belt, 1st Dan,” she said formally, bowing to them. “They will be performing ‘Koryo Poomsae’.”
Students testing for black belt are required to know and must be able to demonstrate many Poomsae or standard forms. During their advancement test, they would typically be asked to perform four or five such exercises for the judges. They would not know before the actual test, which of a dozen Poomsae they would be called on to perform, but Koryo was one Poomsae they would most definitely have to do proficiently to pass the test.
Wilma stepped away from the mat and took a seat on the floor in front of the three Kims.
“SIJAK! (begin).” Grandfather Kim’s strong voice ordered.
Donnie and Charlie moved efficiently to the Poomse's starting position in unison and began their form. They had practiced doing all the required forms together many times. During belt tests, it was common for students testing for the same belt to be called on to perform them together. Not only did it save time, but it also allowed the judges to compare the students as they moved through the forms. Students learned early that it was best to keep in sync with their fellow students when performing as a group. Group Poomsae look tremendous when everyone stayed in step and unison, but if a student fell out of sync with the rest, it immediately stood out like a sore thumb to the observers . . . or the judges.
Both students’ doboks snapped and popped as they punched, kicked, or blocked their imaginary opponents’ strikes. Frayed sleeves and pant legs were often a result of all that popping and snapping, and thus were seen as a badge of honor among their peers. A martial arts student quickly learned to beware of any opponent whose dobok sported frayed sleeves or pant legs.
Donnie was good at forms, very good in fact, but not quite in the same league as Charlie. Charlie's moves were sharper and more precise. Together, the two young men were pure poetry in motion. Bare milliseconds, hardly noticeable, separated the pair as they transitioned smoothly from one move to the next until they finished together and bowed.
“Demonstrate Poomsae One, Three, Five and Eight.” Master Kim commanded. “Sijak!”
The federation that oversaw the style of Taekwondo taught by the Kims had a list of standard forms that were required skills for each belt rank. During class or testing, the forms could be called out by the teacher by either name or number, and in any order the instructors directed. Students were required to know them by both name and number, and then perform the directed exercises flawlessly.
Having satisfactorily demonstrated their forms, they were then each called upon to demonstrate proficiency with two weapons. Donnie performed routines employing nunchuks (two batons joined by a chain) and then tonfa (short batons with a side handle, used in pairs), while Charlie demonstrated bo and kamas (short scythe-like weapons, used in pairs).
Both students were skilled and employed their weapons well. Meeting either of them in a dark alley with evil intent would result in a very bad day for whatever fool might have decided to challenge them.
For the final part of this practice test, they were required to gear up. Master Kim, Young-Soo, Wilma, Donnie and Charlie all donned their punches, kicks, headgear, mouthpieces and cups for the guys, and for Wilma a chest guard and separate chest protector.
Grandfather Kim was the designated Joo Sim or referee for the first planned bouts. First, Donnie went up against one of the black belts for three minutes and then he sat, while Charlie went up against another black belt. Donnie then sparred with two black belts at the same time and afterward, Charlie did the same. Finally, Charlie and Donnie had to face each other in a scored five-minute bout. Young-Soo was designated Joo Sim for this bout and he directed them both to put on chest protectors before starting.
Donnie was training to enter MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) as a professional competitor and sometimes in the past had trouble keeping contact during sparring to a moderate level. Donnie’s strengths as a fighter were his power and speed, while Charlie’s were quickness, speed, accuracy and agility. Speed and quickness are similar, but not the same. Donnie was fast, almost as fast as Charlie, but Charlie had much shorter reaction times and moved accordingly. During a contest like this bout, his quickness and agility allowed him to avoid, counter or mitigate many of Donnie’s attacks. Sparring for points, such as they would be required to do for their tests, favored Charlie’s strengths. Ordinarily, he would win perhaps sixty-five percent of the bouts against Donnie. Full contact sparring was a completely different story as that favored Donnie’s strength and his power. Donnie would win those contests at least seventy percent of the time, if not more. Charlie needed every skill and trick he’d learned in eight years of study to be able to compete with Donnie. Both knew, however, that Young-Soo would see to it that both kids would survive this encounter without serious injury.
Young-Soo called “Sijak!” And the pair closed on each other. Their purpose was to fight as hard as they could, as skillfully as they could, while the other black belts, including Ricky Summers who’d just earned his junior black belt, scored the bout. This was also a test for young Ricky, as well as an honor due to his new rank.
For scoring purposes, Donnie wore a white scarf on his belt, while Charlie wore a red scarf. When one or the other combatant scored a strike, Young-Soo would call "Kalyeo! (stop)", and the contestants would stop fighting for the scoring to be awarded. Each of the judges would then raise either a red flag for Charlie's favor, a white flag to vote for Donnie, or no flag if they didn't see the blow. Whoever got the most votes would be awarded the point. Young-Soo would only vote in case of a tie.
Charlie knew precisely what his primary job had to be in this bout - stay alive. His points would come, mostly on counters or quick openings, unless Donnie overwhelmed him for a quick victory. As they began circling, he scored first with a back fist to Donnie's temple which looked much harder to a spectator than it actually had been. The contestants in this type of bout were trying to hit their opponent just hard enough to score, but also without injuring them badly.
Everyone in the dojang held their breath for a moment after Charlie's point because they knew that Donnie had problems if he got nailed too hard, hit with a cheap shot, or ridiculed by an opponent during the bout. If Donnie lost it and began to get angry, he could be like Bruce Banner the Incredible Hulk. Donnie was really difficult to like when he got angry, especially with his opponent.
Young-Soo's responsibility was to end the bout if things ever got to that point. With the help and guidance of the Kims, and to his credit, Donnie had gotten much better about that. Young-Soo was one of the main reasons that Donnie wasn't in prison at this time in his young life. He had worked tirelessly to help Donnie focus and balance his spirit. Even so, everyone knew that Charlie would not survive a Donnie Colt rage.
Both contestants showed themselves well and the score stayed close throughout the contest. As the bout was drawing to an end, Charlie held a slim one-point advantage over his bigger, stronger opponent. The action became more intense as the fighters continued to trade punches and kicks, until just before the clock wound down, Donnie scored to tie the match up - all even. With mere seconds remaining in the bout, Charlie dove in under Donnie's defenses, and unleashed a screaming back fist to Donnie's head. At the same moment, Donnie pivoted sharply and unloaded a killer sidekick. The two attacks connected simultaneously, so it was practically impossible to determine who should get the points. Unfortunately, both attacks landed very hard. Charlie's back fist stunned Donnie, and Donnie's sidekick landed right on Charlie's protected ribcage under his left arm. Donnie crumpled where he stood and Charlie went flying and landed in a heap on the edge of the mat.
There was no real need to call "Kalyeo!" because neither contestant was going anywhere at the moment. Young-Soo immediately rushed over to Donnie, hoping to help him control his rage, if necessary, while Master Kim moved quickly to see to Charlie's condition.
Charlie wanted to laugh, but his chest hurt too damn much to inhale that deeply. Master Kim looked into Charlie’s eyes and in Korean-accented English asked, “Are you still alive, Jeja (student) Charlie?”
Charlie did laugh at that, but it darn well hurt, and replied carefully, “I’m not sure, Master Kim. Did you get the license plate number of that bus that just hit me?”
Master Kim, still bent over and was watching Charlie’s eyes closely, said, “Of course. No bus, though. It was Mack Truck, Donnie Colt. Stay still for a bit, so I can check you out and make sure you are okay.”
Master Kim rolled Charlie over so he was face down on the mat, and undid his chest protector. After untying his red belt and dobok, he gingerly inspected Charlie’s ribs. After so many years in so many dojangs, Master Kim had developed an almost x-ray-like sense when it came to detecting broken bones or ribs. Thankfully, Charlie’s many years of getting beaten on in the dojang had given the boy bones that rivaled concrete in terms of hardness and strength. Master Kim rubbed Charlie’s sore rib cage a bit, and surprisingly, that seemed to help quite a bit.
“No broken bones, I think, Jeja Charlie, just lay there for a bit more to recover.”
A worried Donnie Colt laid down on the mat facing Charlie, “You okay, buddy? I didn’t mean to hit you so hard. I’m sorry, Charlie.”
"I'll live, I think," Charlie said, managing to grin at Donnie. "Darn it, Donnie! You moved!"
Donnie snorted out a laugh. “And you didn’t? You zigged when I zagged, man, so this is at least half your fault!”
After a minute or so longer, Charlie got back to his feet slowly. He turned to face away from the judges while he repaired his uniform and retied his belt. Then he turned back around and went to stand on Young-Soo's left side while Donnie took his position on the Joo Sim's right. Young-Soo polled the judges to score the final move sequence. Wilma and Master Kim voted for Donnie's kick while Grandfather Kim and Ricky voted for Charlie's back fist. Rather than cast a vote to break the judges' tie, Young-Soo simply raised both boys' arms, declaring the match a draw.
Suddenly, the dojang erupted with loud cheering and applause. While the two young men and the judges had been focused on their sparring bouts, the dojang had been quietly filling up with students who were arriving for their class. The newcomers had all elected to sit around the mat and watch intently while the two boys fought. When the cheering died down, the students evidently remembered why they were at the dojang and hurried off to get dressed for class.
“Charlie, will you be able to teach your class?” Young-Soo asked.
"Yes, Sa Bum Nim," he replied, even as he cautiously stretched his injured side. "I am a little sore, but it's nothing. I'm good to go for class."
“Good, but don’t be ashamed to ask for help if you need it.”
“I have five new students today, so I’ve already asked Donnie to help me at the start.”
“Very good. Carry on then, adeunim (son).”
Charlie and Donnie hurried to the dressing rooms to get themselves cleaned up for their instructor duties. Stripping quickly, they toweled off their sweat. Charlie combed his hair while Donnie just buffed his head with his towel - one of the advantages of having a shaved head. Finally, with their doboks and belts tidied up, the pair hurried back out to meet with their class.
The group Charlie and Donnie taught consisted of twenty-five kids; all relatively new students wearing white belts and yellow belts. As with any new group, the first few minutes were spent getting everyone arranged. Once everyone had room to move, Charlie began indoctrinating the new students in the basic martial arts courtesies required of all students at the Kim Young-Soo Karate Dojang. This included learning the standard commands and responses in spoken Korean, the proper form for bowing, the appropriate honorifics for use when addressing or responding to someone and the basic stances.
After that was complete, Charlie began to teach in earnest. Charlie particularly focused on pre-class stretching as the most effective way to prevent many injuries, before starting on the basics of punching and kicking. At that point, Charlie had the students practice these new moves while he observed. He turned Donnie loose to get some more work in on the heavy bag.
About forty-five minutes later, Charlie moved the white belts to the side of the mats and began working the yellow belts harder for another twenty minutes. They worked hard to build their endurance and refine skills they'd recently learned.
The final item of their indoctrination program was learning how to finish a class session properly and respectfully. It took a few tries, but in the end, Charlie had them all saying in unison, "Con Sa Hom Nee Dha Sa Bum Nim (thank you for teaching us, teacher)."
Satisfied with their effort, Charlie formally replied, “Chun Mun A Yoe Jeja (you are welcome, students).”
After dismissing his class, Charlie headed back into the dressing room to shower and change into his street clothes. He stripped off his sweaty dobok and looked at himself in the room’s mirror. That was on nasty bruise he had on his left side, but it was nothing that a nice hot shower wouldn’t help. After letting the hot water soothe his aches for a good long while, he soaped up, shampooed and then rinsed off.
Master Kim was waiting for him in the dressing room waiting when Charlie finished drying off. “Let me have another look at you before you dress, Charlie. That was quite a hit you took.” The old man said, feeling the ribs again and rubbing the sore area. “We were surprised that Donnie didn’t go into a rage after the hit he took from you. Instead, he was just very worried about you.”
“I knew I’d nailed him. I really hit him harder than I’d intended. I was worried, too.”
“You needn’t have worried. Young-Soo, my adeunim, was looking out for both of you. Donnie got up and was almost frantic seeing you still down on the mat. He has changed - grown in the time he has been with us. Changed for the better. You have helped in that tremendously. You did well, adeunim.”
“Thank you, Sa Bum Nim.”
Surprisingly, Charlie felt remarkably better after Master Kim had finished working with his side.
“Get dressed, Charlie We are having a meeting with the black and red belts in ten minutes.”
~-~
Charley had to hurry to make the meeting, and he was still the last to arrive.
“Okay, we are all here,” Young-Soo began, “For those of you who missed the Thrilla in Manila we had today featuring Charlie McKellar and Donnie Colt in the main event, we have it on tape. Second, as a reminder, Charlie is turning 16 next Saturday; we will have a party for him after classes are over.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Charlie said.
“Are you defying your teacher?” Master Kim asked.
“No, Master Kim.”
“Good. It is good that Donnie didn’t knock all the sense out of you today.”
That got all the black belts laughing, along with Donnie.
“We have tests in three weeks, who will be ready?” Young-Soo asked.
The three Kims already knew, but they wanted to hear it from their senior students who also served as instructors. They started with the white belts and worked their way to red belts, discussing each candidate's readiness objectively. Uncomfortably for Charlie and Donnie, Grandfather Kim addressed their readiness, in the same manner, speaking about them as if they weren't there, and then the other instructors added their assessments of the two students.
Once compiled, the list of students testing included eight white belts, four yellow belts, four green belts, five blue belts and two red belts testing for their next rank. “Please notify your students who are approved to participate in the testing,” Young-Soo told them. “Charlie, you may tell the red belts.”
“Donnie, you and I are testing for our black belts in three weeks. Please don’t kill me.”
"I'll try not to," Donnie replied deadpan, before giving the smaller boy a brisk knuckle rub on the head.
"Now, we will talk about problem students," Young-Soo said.
“Just one that I know of,” Wilma put in. The other instructors just nodded in resigned agreement. “Robert ‘Tad’ Green,” she continued, “He is still kind of a bad apple. He hasn’t done anything sufficiently overt to be kicked out. Yet. The problem is that he likes to hit other students a lot harder than is necessary when he’s sparring with them. He should be testing this quarter, but he is just so-so, at best, with his poomsae. If he’s not punching or kicking someone, he doesn’t put in the required effort.”
Master Kim knew of Tad’s issues. He had seen the boy change a little, in truth, he was more dangerous in some ways than Donnie. Donnie at least tried to control himself.
“I am not ready to kick the boy out of the school yet,” Master Kim replied thoughtfully. “I feel he still might have a role here. He does, however, bear having closer attention paid to him. We do NOT teach bullies at our school! Charlie, can you be here when he attends his next few classes?”
“Yes, Master Kim, it would be my honor to help.”
They talked about other things for about ten more minutes when the meeting broke up. Young-Soo’s parting words were, “We will discuss and make the needed arrangements for the upcoming test after Charlie’s birthday party. We will also start planning for our summer schedule next Saturday. Take care and have a good week.”
As the group broke up, many of the people there had a good word or two for Charlie and Donnie. The guys gave them pats on the back while Wilma and Tracy gave the boys hugs.
~-~
Amanda McKellar smiled when she saw her son come out of the meeting. She had been talking with Kim Young-Ja, the students called him Grandfather. She honestly didn't like the sport her son had chosen, with its violence and the chance of injury. That aspect turned her off, but she continued to let him participate anyway. He had a mind of his own and he was, she knew, very good at Karate.
Charlie smiled, as he picked up his gear bag. It seemed a little heavier just now. He went over to his mom and gave her a big hug.
“How were your classes, Charlie?”
"They were great, Mom! I am looking forward to testing. Also, we had five new white belts start tonight which was a lot of fun, too, and they look like a pretty good bunch."
“Don’t forget you have finals this week, Charlie. You do have to pass your tests at school, too.”
“I will Mom. I predict I will end the year with four A’s and two B’s.”
“You’re supposed to be working for six A’s, buster,” she chided in her best “Mother” voice.
"Yeah I know," Charlie answered with a bit of a sigh. "But I'm just not a world history buff, Mom, and with the government as screwed up as it is right now? I know the world doesn't need another politician. On top of that, those two teachers cast a spell of sleep on the class just by saying 'Hello, class'."
Amanda couldn’t help herself and giggled as her son described his government teacher and his world history teacher, “I can just see your history teacher. She has a beaked nose and a pointy hat. She has a boiling cauldron on her desk and stirs it, laughing maniacally as she casts a spell of somnolence over the classroom.”
“Yes, that’s her!! Say, did you have her for World History too?” Charlie asked, laughing heartily.
Amanda reached over and gently cuffed her son on the back of his head. “You are too much Charlie. Let’s go get something to eat before I decide to kick your butt.”
Charlie feigned fear and hustled out to his Mom’s car.
~-~
Later, back at home, Charlie hustled up to his room and changed into his favorite ‘knocking around home’ togs - a pair of Spandex compression shorts, running shorts, basketball shoes and a sports tank with armholes open almost to his waist. His Mom was sitting in her usual armchair reading a book, with the TV on in the background. Charlie grabbed the remote and laid back on the couch using his left arm as a pillow. Amanda glanced over at him and her eyes popped up to peer at him over the half lenses of her reading glasses. Then, her eyes narrowed as she focused more closely on the large bruise on the side of his rib cage. Getting up out of her chair, she went over to her son to examine the injury more closely. The bruise was at a slight upward angle and covered parts of five ribs. The center of the bruise was starting to darken significantly.
‘Mother’s finger’ pointed directly at the bruise, and then Amanda demanded, “Charlie, what on earth happened to you?”
“Nothing really, I was just sparring with Donnie. I inadvertently nailed him with a back fist that threw him off his aim and he hit me with a glancing blow from a sidekick harder than he’d intended.”
“I don’t think that was a glancing blow and if it was, he could have hurt you badly with that kick.”
She poked the center of the bruise with her finger and watched for her son’s reaction. He didn’t react. Surprised, she wondered how a bruise that ugly did not hurt? Amanda had Charlie sit up and take off his shirt, so she could get a better look.
“It bothers me that you get hurt like this, son. I know I said that I wouldn’t pull you out of karate and I won’t, but I do wish you would rethink your involvement with it, Charlie.”
“Mom, I like karate and I am very good at it.”
"Apparently, you are not good enough to avoid getting hurt. If you must continue with this, then maybe think about not sparring with Donnie anymore? That boy is almost a grown man. He is so much bigger than you that he scares me sometimes. Or maybe you could get him to take it a little easier when you spar?"
“Can’t do that, Mom. Donnie and I will have to spar against each other on test day and we’ll have to give it our best effort if we want to pass. We can’t take it easy on each other. You’re going to be there, right?”
Amanda managed to stifle a groan and smiled at her son. "You know I will be there. I may have to look away or close my eyes very tightly when you are out there fighting, but I will be there with my cameras."
~-~
Tuesday, after school, it was a very excited Charlie who ran the ten blocks to the dojang. He was going to meet Donnie to learn some more about Jiu-Jitsu. Donnie had begun learning Jiu-Jitsu to broaden his skillset and as another box checked on his application to the school that the UFC ran for aspiring MMA fighters. Donnie had recently earned his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was working on his black belt.
While this extra work wasn't a required part of their Taekwondo classes, Master Kim encouraged many of his more advanced students to learn techniques from other martial arts. More than a few overly confident Taekwondo students had been unpleasantly surprised when an opponent used another discipline's techniques to defeat them, whether in a sporting bout or a real fight. Master Kim often invited masters of other such martial arts to acquaint his students with their disciplines. He'd even had a street fighter come to their school to give a demonstration.
The competition form of Jiu-Jitsu is a grappling and submission hold martial arts form. Most techniques consist of joint locks, grappling holds, and chokes. As these could also be used to break bones and render opponents unconscious, Jiu-Jitsu, in a non-sporting encounter, could be very deadly or debilitating, much as the strikes and kicks used in Taekwondo were dangerous. Many police departments trained their officers to use submission holds based on Jiu-Jitsu to control and subdue violent offenders.
About six months earlier, Donnie had been showing Charlie some of the things he'd learned at his Jiu-Jitsu classes while nobody else was around the dojang. Donnie had been demonstrating a hip toss to an armbar when Grandfather Kim had slipped in, unseen by the two youngsters. One thing led to another, and soon he was teaching them the right way to perform such techniques and kicking their asses while doing it! Grandfather Kim even spent an hour just teaching Charlie how to fall and thoroughly enjoyed doing it. Grandfather Kim enjoyed it, that is.
Throughout their impromptu class, Grandfather Kim had regaled them with stories from the time he was with the Republic of Korea Army, teaching soldiers and recruits self-defense, hand to hand combat, knife fighting, and physical conditioning. For two teenage young males who both happened to be 1st Geup Red belts in peak physical condition, getting taken to the woodshed by the 80-plus-year-old Kim Young-Ja in a different art altogether was eye-opening, to say the least. Both Donnie and Charlie were sore after that first session. Out of that grew this once-a-week special class, where they'd get together and practice Jiu-Jitsu with either Grandfather or Master Kim. Donnie, in particular, raved about the twists the two 10th Dan karatekas put on the basic Jiu-Jitsu techniques he'd already learned and was anxious to learn even more.
As had become standard operating procedure for these sessions, the next hour and a half bordered on torture, but both boys were up to the challenge. Today, they'd worked on their grappling, learning new ways to take advantage of their opponent. These were particularly advanced techniques, so while the explanations might make them seem easy, their application to a struggling opponent was anything but easy.
They had worked from the guard and half-guard positions and learned many techniques to gain an advantage, from either the top or the bottom.
"In Jiu-Jitsu, there are two times when one can most easily escape from a bad position or a hold. The first is when your opponent is trying to initially lock up his hold and the second, is when he is trying to adjust his hold and make it a stronger hold," Master Kim explained. "Once the hold is in place and properly applied, it can be very hard, or next to impossible, to break. Always try to keep a way out open for yourself when you commit to a maneuver that your opponent might be able to counter. In a refereed competition, never stop struggling to resist a hold until you can no longer physically tolerate it and then tap out. In a fight for your life? Never give up."
In Taekwondo class later that evening, Charlie assisted Wilma in teaching a class of middle belts. He'd have to spar with Tad tonight because the instructors had decided that the green belt could only be allowed to spar with black or red belts capable of defending themselves against Tad's tendency to strike harder than appropriate. The Kims had decided they would not expel the boy, YET, but neither were they going to let any other of their students face Tad and get hurt.
The problem was that Tad could hit hard, very hard in fact, and he didn't seem to know how to, or more likely, to want to pull his punches and kicks. In their sparring session, Charlie got tagged a time or two but Tad didn't hit nearly as hard as Donnie, so he handled that all right. From Tad's perspective, however, Charlie was like a giant hornet; he was very hard to hit but his counterstrikes really stung whenever he decided to hit Tad. Only difference? When Charlie hit Tad, he did pull his punches. He wasn't out to hurt the dude, and he was trying to help teach him proper sparring etiquette and technique.
Sadly, that wasn’t working for Charlie as he could tell that Tad was getting very frustrated. In pure retaliation, he laid several hard shots on Charlie, blows that would have hurt less experienced and capable students. Charlie responded to each shot with a goofy smile, while he dodged away from the next blow. Tad’s focus on offense was such that Charlie had no problem hitting Tad at will with counter punches or kicks. Completely frustrated, Tad even tried to grab and hold the smaller boy so he could hit him more easily. That didn’t work for him either.
Wilma allowed this to continue for over seven minutes before she decided to have mercy on Tad. When she called the two of them to break, Tad immediately collapsed to the mat, gasping for air as he tried to catch his breath. Charlie did a backflip away from Tad, landing in a full Chinese split.
Abruptly, Tad pulled out his mouthpiece and gasped, “God… I… hate you… Charlie.”
Charlie took out his mouthpiece and asked, "Why? What have I ever done to you, Tad?"
Tad just laid there on the mat, silently staring at Charlie until he'd recovered enough to stand up. Then, he just turned and walked away, heading for the dressing room.
~-~
Thursday started as a pretty good day from Charlie's point of view. He finished his last test for this high school year. Then, he had another night class with Tad. Uncertain how best to deal with the problem student, Charlie decided to take pity on the other kid that night and let himself seem to get hit hard during their spar. When Tad wasn't angry, which wasn't often, he showed some pretty decent form with his offensive techniques. The only reason he wasn't a blue belt yet was his lack of progress in learning and mastering his required poomsae. The instructors probably would have put him up for this coming round of testing if he had an average or even a little below average skill in his poomsae. He didn't. Often, he would forget the order of the techniques, turn in the wrong direction, or his execution of the technique was just too sloppy. When he did the forms together with other students, his miscues just became even more obvious.
That night after class, the black and red belts had another meeting to discuss what to do next with Tad. After a lively and sometimes heated discussion, they decided they would keep Tad on as a student but continue to limit his sparring to a shortlist of approved black and red belts. Charlie was on the list, but Wilma, Traci, Ricky and Donnie weren't. Wilma, Tracy and Ricky were all slight of build and while they had the necessary skills, Tad was big enough and strong enough that he might hurt them. Donnie was off the list because of his rage control issues. Tad pulling any crap with Donnie might lead to Tad getting hurt very badly.
~-~
Friday was Freedom Day! The high school students were let out at noon and Charlie almost sprinted home. Monday he would start working part-time at the dojang overseeing the Kims' summer program for kids six to fourteen. He was looking forward to earning $250 a week, but that meant that today and this weekend would be his last free time for a while. Checking the time, Charlie figured he had an hour or so to swim in his home pool before he had to leave to meet Donnie at the dojang. The June afternoon temperatures were edging up into hot, so a dip in the pool before class was just what the doctor ordered.
Kids were running around and playing when he turned onto his street. He stopped short, catching a thrown football and then passed it back to the boys. Some small girls were playing hopscotch, while others were playing tag. Everything was going fine until he got near his home.
Mr. Pritchard lived two houses down and across the street from Charlie. Mr. Pritchard was paranoid and had just bought a fully grown, adult Pit Bull for home protection. Mrs. Pritchard had left the home’s solid-core front door open and left the tempered glass and screened storm door shut.
One of the football throws went awry, and several kids chased after it, running across Pritchard's lawn in their pursuit. Pritchard's dog, Tinkerbell, had been sitting at the door watching the activity outside. When the boys ran past, Tinkerbell exploded through the tempered glass, intent on bringing down the kids who had trespassed on his master's property.
Charlie recognized the threat to the kids and immediately ran to intercept the dog, but Tinkerbell won the foot race and knocked one of the boys down right in the middle of the street. The dog skidded past the fallen boy only to turn back on him. Instinctively, the boy rolled into the fetal position, covering up his head and neck with his arms and body. That move probably saved his life. The out-of-control Tinkerbell latched onto one of his victim’s arms and began to shake him around like a rag doll.
With the dog's jaws clamped on his victim, Charlie didn't dare kick or punch the animal for fear of making things worse. Reacting without hesitation, he fell on top of the dog, stunning the animal but Tinkerbell still didn't release his grip on the boy's now badly bleeding arm. Charlie did a back mount on the dog, and snaked his arm around the dog's neck, attempting a rear-naked chokehold. Once he grabbed his arm, Charlie cinched down on the hold with all of his might until, finally, the dog released the boy. Another passer-by pulled the child away, but Charlie kept his hold on the dog.
By this time, Mr. Pritchard had arrived on the scene and tried to get Charlie off the struggling dog. Outraged at Charlie’s refusal to let his dog go, he started screaming at and kicking Charlie. That lasted only until the injured boy’s older brother knocked Pritchard to the ground and kept him there away from Charlie.
Witnesses at the scene later reported that Charlie had maintained his hold on the dog for over three minutes. When he finally released his hold, his arms were sore from the strain and he just laid back on the street, panting next to the dead dog. Sirens in the distance announced the imminent arrival of an ambulance or fire truck. Within minutes, a fire engine, an ambulance with EMTs and a police car had all arrived at the scene.
The EMTs rushed over to Jimmy Wilson, the boy that had been bitten. The engine’s crew went over and saw to Charlie, while the police officer and his watch sergeant began questioning the gathered witnesses. Mr. Pritchard began shouting at the officers to arrest Charlie for killing his dog. He became so incensed that he had to be restrained and secured in the back of one of the patrol cars.
A car that had almost hit Charlie as he raced across the road to stop the dog attack, was driven by a lady, who gave the most complete blow-by-blow description of events. She had even sacrificed a very nice off-white linen jacket to help staunch the bleeding from Jimmy's arm. The officers, after hearing her account along with the statements of other witnesses, placed Mr. Pritchard under arrest. While the patrol officer took the man to the local precinct for booking, Sgt. Whitcomb began to interview a slowly recovering Charlie.
“You’re Charlie McKellar, right?” Sgt. Whitcomb asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Are you all right, son?”
“My arms are sore and my left side hurts pretty bad. The firemen want me to go get x-rays, but I think I am all right.”
“You will be taken to the hospital. You were assaulted and you need to be checked out so that we have that information as evidence. Now, tell me what happened as you saw things.”
Charlie closed his eyes as he tried to recall every detail. "I had just turned the corner coming home from school - school let out at noon today. Billy Brooks threw a football at me and I had to stop and catch it before I threw it back. I'd almost made it home," Charlie told the Sergeant, pointing to his own home, "When I saw that pit bull bust through that storm door and run after some kids. I just reacted. By the time I got to them, the dog was shaking Jimmy around. I fell on the dog and did a back mount. I then executed a rear-naked chokehold on the dog - I don't know how long I held it - but the dog was dead when I let him go. I wasn't about to release the hold and then have to fight him again. I was so focused; I didn't know what was happening around me. I'm pretty sure somebody kicked me in the ribs, but I can't tell you who though."
“That’s it?” The Sergeant asked, his tone gruff but kind. At Charlie’s weary nod, he closed his notebook, “Well, that’s all I need for now except for a parent’s phone number. Just to be clear? That fire lieutenant will have my hide if I don’t let him take you to a hospital, so kid? You’re going. I’ll call your parents and make sure they know where you are.”
“555-6436. My Mom is Amanda McKellar. She is a Paralegal for McKenzie, Davis and Lee. Sir? I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“Shit! A law office?! Looks like it sucks to be Mr. Pritchard today. Don’t argue with me about the hospital son. Just suck it up and go with Lieutenant James.”
The lead fireman offered Charlie a hand up into the pumper truck and climbed in after him. On the way to the hospital, Charlie called Young-Soo on his cell phone.
“Hello, Kim Young-Soo’s Karate. Young-Soo speaking.”
“Hi Mr. Kim, this is Charlie, I won’t be in tonight.”
“Why not, Charlie?”
“Well, I am on my way to the hospital. There was a boy attacked by a dog in my neighborhood today. I, uh, kind of got involved. . .”
“Did the dog hurt you?” Young-Soo’s voice was suddenly very intense.
"No, I wasn't directly attacked by the dog. I stopped the dog attack, but my arms are sore from the rear naked chokehold I put on the dog. The dog is dead, but I was also kicked in the ribs by the dog's owner, or so I've been told. The police and the firemen insisted that I go to the hospital. I'm really okay, Sa Bum Nim! I mean, the guy kicked like a girl, but…"
“You should go to the hospital, Charlie. Do what you are told. Does your mother know yet?”
“The police promised they’d call her.”
“Good, Master Kim will meet you at the hospital. Bye.”
“Bye,” Charlie said to the sudden buzzing of a dial tone.
The engine had to stop a short distance away from the Emergency Room turning circle. The engine was too massive to make the turn, so an orderly with a wheelchair met them out in the driveway. Charlie complained that he didn't need the blasted wheelchair, but it was like talking to a brick wall. The orderly wheeled Charlie to the Emergency Room and straight into a treatment room. For all that, however, Charlie got to see his mother a half-hour before he ever saw the doctor. When the doctor finally arrived, he checked Charlie out, commenting on the bruising and then sending him to radiology for x-rays.
Then Charlie had to sit and wait some more until after the doctor had received and reviewed the x-rays, only to be sent back to radiology for a bone density test.
After yet another hour’s wait, the doctor came back into Charlie’s treatment room.
“Well, am I going to live, Doctor?” Charlie asked, more than just a little impatiently by this time. He’d even missed lunch, darn it!
“Oh ah, Mmm, yes. Most certainly you will live. I just needed to check something out to make sure the x-rays weren’t somehow messed up. I couldn’t believe how opaque your bones were to the x-rays. I’ve never encountered such bone density before, particularly in someone so young. Are you into martial arts?”
“Yes sir. I practice Taekwondo.”
“Have you gone through Iron Shirt Discipline?”
“I don’t think so,” Charlie answered with a little shrug. “What is that?”
“Well, it is a method used in some martial arts disciplines to toughen the body up. As I understand it, that would involve repeatedly striking the body with hard rods to cause microfractures that then heal up. The healed bones become much stronger and denser.”
“Nope. I haven’t done that.”
“Well, as it stands now, you may never have to worry about breaking any of your bones. I am just amazed.”
“So, can I go now?”
“Yes, there isn’t a thing wrong with you. I’ll prescribe some muscle relaxers for your sore arms. Take one and only one, every eight to ten hours. Take at least three of them. You should be all right in a day or two. I have also given your Mom a script for some Tylenol #3 for the pain.”
“How is Jimmy Wilson? He is the boy that the dog attacked.”
Shaking his head, the doctor grimaced. "He's in surgery right now. After that, it will still be a while before we know anything for certain."
Amanda and Charlie left the ER and were surprised to see about a dozen people from the dojang in the waiting area. Grandfather Kim, Master Kim, Donnie, Wilma and even little Ricky had come and waited to find out how Charlie was doing. Charlie went to meet his friends when he heard someone shout, "There he is, Mom! that's the kid that killed that dog." Stopping abruptly, Charlie went into a defensive position as he searched for whoever had just yelled.
Charlie barely had time to brace himself before Delores Wilson, crying and smiling at the same time, almost ran Charlie over as she hugged him fiercely, “Thank you for saving my little Jimmy. I don’t know how you did it, Charlie! That dog was huge, but thank you, thank you, thank you!” Delores then turned to Amanda for support and to talk to another mother.
David Wilson, Jimmy’s brother, picked Charlie up in a bear hug. “Thank you, Charlie.”
“Oww, ow, Oww! Watch the ribs, guy! Please.”
“Sorry, I forgot.”
“How is your brother, David?” Charlie asked after he’d been put back down on the floor.
“He is in surgery. The doctors are trying to save his arm. God, he may lose it, Charlie.” David said, crying unashamedly.
“Damn. I’m sorry, David. I tried to save him.”
“You did, Charlie, you did! That damn dog would have killed him if not for you.”
Charlie was saved from having to reply when his friends mobbed him. Many 'atta boys', compliments and pats on his back ensued. What surprised the hell out of him, however, was when Grandfather and Master Kim both bowed to him.
Amanda and Charlie, along with his friends from the dojang, stayed to support Delores and David while they waited for news on Jimmy's surgery. About half an hour later, they were joined by Brian Wilson, Jimmy's Dad. It was a long and tense vigil for all of them.
Finally, sometime after midnight, a very tired-looking surgeon came out into the waiting room to speak with Mr. And Mrs. Wilson. "Mr. Wilson, your son will live, of that, we are as sure as we can be. He lost a lot of blood, but the first aid he received at the scene and on the trip here was outstanding. You need to thank whoever stopped the bleeding. Even so, the tissues of the arm were blood starved for an extended time which complicates things. The main danger we face right now is restoring the circulation in his arm and preventing postoperative infection. Infections we can fight, but if the circulation doesn't return, he may yet lose the arm. We won't know for several more days, maybe a week."
"Jimmy's humerus bone was all but crushed. Pit Bulls have extraordinarily strong bite force. We patched the bone back together as best we could, cleaned out all the extraneous bone chips and used calcium cement to bind it together. We then put a rod in to protect the bone. We will worry about scarring and plastic surgery later, once we know that the arm is safe.
“There is a significant amount of nerve damage, I’m afraid, somewhere from moderate to severe, as far as we can tell now. Sadly, the arm will likely never be as good as it was. Jimmy will likely be in the hospital for two or three weeks, minimum. We’re just not sure right now,” the doctor finished with an exhausted sigh. “I wish I had better news.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Mr. Wilson said. “We’ll worry about the arm later. For now? Our son is ALIVE. That boy over there?” he said, pointing at Charlie, “Somehow, he got the dog off of Jimmy. And then there was this lady at the scene who gave him the initial first aid. It’s really hard to believe how much damage that dog did in just a few seconds.”
Nodding, the doctor managed a smile. “Well, that lady saved Jimmy’s life, just as much as Charlie did by getting that dog off of him. There was extensive arterial damage to his arm. He might have bled to death before the EMTs could have reached him without that lady’s first aid.”
Amanda and Charlie stayed for a little while longer before saying goodbye, then they left to get some rest.
~-~
Saturday was Charlie's birthday, but they slept in after their late night, getting up around ten o'clock. Amanda took Charlie out to eat at one of the twenty-four-hour diners, and Charlie picked up a newspaper to read while they waited for their food. They quickly became aware that they were receiving more than the expected amount of scrutiny. People kept looking at him and his mom, whispering among themselves, heads turning as they walked towards the back of the diner to sit at a booth. Charlie's ears were itching.
They ordered drinks while they looked over the menu. Charlie didn't need the menu. He just ordered the same big breakfast that he always ordered. That done, he opened the newspaper and glanced at the headlines.
"Oh my god, Mother," Charlie breathed raspily, as he showed his mom the paper's front page. There, in the lower right-hand corner, were two pictures of Charlie! One picture of him sitting on the diamond plate step of the fire engine while the other was an older photo of Charlie posing in his dobok wearing his 1st Geup Red Belt. It had been taken just after he had tested for the red belt with the black stripe about eight months earlier. Worse yet, there was a seven-column inch article about him mostly on the front page. The reporter had managed to get an interview with Brian and Delores Wilson as well as one from Master Kim. Well, Charlie mused, guess he must have given them the second photo.
When their teenage waitress came back to their table to deliver their orders, she asked, “That’s you on the cover of the paper, isn’t it? You’re Charlie McKellar, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that is me,” Charlie mumbled, clearly embarrassed at all the attention.
“You are a hero, Charlie!”
“I didn’t do anything special. I just saw something that needed to be done and did it.”
“Still, I go to school with David. I couldn’t imagine having something like that happen to my sister. Don’t sell yourself short! You are a hero! I know I could never have gotten a pit bull off of someone.”
~-~
Amanda took her son to the dojang and, unusually for her, elected to go inside with him. It seemed like everybody that went to Young-Soo's school was there and they all applauded as he came back into the back. Grandfather called everyone to attention and then ordered them to bow to the embarrassed young man. Charlie just stood there shaking for several very long seconds, before he managed to recover himself enough to return the bow.
Young-Soo came up to Charlie, "Charlie, we are very proud of you. You may think that what you did wasn't extraordinary, but it was. Too often in our society, we suffer from what is called diffusion of responsibility. People wait on other people who are around to do something. There are not enough people in this world who will run to a disaster to help those in need. Most people run away. It isn't that they are cowards, rather it is that they aren't prepared to pay the price that intervention may require and lack the preparation to intervene effectively. What you did brings great credit to yourself and your family and is in keeping with the highest standards of the philosophy of the World Taekwondo Federation. While the world may believe in might is right, we believe in Might for Right. We want to present you with a plaque in honor of your feat. Thank You."
Young-Soo lifted a plaque so that he could read it out loud for everyone in the room. "This is to acknowledge that First Geup Red Belt, Charlie McKellar, at great risk to his own person, saved a fellow human being's life. He brought honor to himself, to Kim Young-Soo's Karate and to everyone who holds life precious."
For about twenty-five minutes everyone congratulated Charlie. Pictures were taken, newspapers were autographed and Charlie was immensely embarrassed by all the attention. Still, he managed to play along with everyone but was intensely grateful when Master Kim finally brought the festivities to an end and made sure everyone knew they had work to do. Charlie, he announced, was to have the first training bout. Charlie brightened at that and was eager to spar with Donnie. Until Master Kim surprised him by saying that he would be fighting Little Ricky Summers.
“Aw, do I hafta?” Charlie groaned dramatically. “Gee Whiz, Master Kim, I’ll need a motorcycle to keep up with that little fart. Can I at least weigh him down with about fifty extra pounds or maybe tie his legs together first?”
While Charlie's dojang nickname was the Giant Hornet, Little Ricky was their resident mosquito. Charlie was in no danger of being hurt; Ricky just didn't have the power or will to hurt anyone. In fact, the three Kims were trying every trick in their book to find a way, ANY way, to help Ricky get used to hitting harder. The big thing about Ricky was that while Charlie was fast and quick? Ricky was just plain faster and quicker. Charlie knew this was going to be a very entertaining bout. To watch. To be Ricky's opponent? Maybe not so much.
After Charlie and Ricky both stretched out and warmed up, they both got their punches, kicks and mouthpieces. That is all these two would need because Ricky couldn't hit that hard and Charlie wouldn't. Wilma was designated the Joo Sim or referee for this bout. After checking that after both students were ready, she called for their bows and waited as they assumed their ready stance. She gave a quick glance to the Kims who were serving as judges, and with their nods, shouted, "Sijak,"
It. Was. On!
Charlie spent most of the next eight minutes or so just trying to get close enough to the little sucker to just land a blow. He was careful when he did tag him. Ricky, however, tagged Charlie plenty of times as the minutes went by. In the end, he had been forced to hit Charlie harder to keep him off of him, which pleased the Kims.
“Damn it! Slow down, you little fart! Let me hit you real good at least once, wise guy.” Charlie ranted as he stalked the smaller boy.
"Not in a pig's eye, Charlie,"Ricky shouted back, while he continued dodging about the mat. "Catch me if you can, slowpoke!"
Charlie had a better chance of catching the wind and knew it.
The two of them must have touched every square inch of the mat several times in the course of the eight-minute bout. Wilma only stopped them a few times, when a particularly good blow landed. She would formally acknowledge that person's effort, check to see if the other person was fit to continue, and then determine scoring if any. For a while there, it seemed that Ricky could backpedal faster than Charlie could go forward, and both fighters were exhausted when Master Kim finally shouted, "Kalyeo!"
Charlie felt like he had sprinted a mile or two and fell to the mat to catch his breath. Ricky stuck his head in Charlie’s face and smiled smugly. Ricky was tired too, but he sure wasn’t going to admit that to Charlie.
“Dang it, Ricky, if you ever learn to hit harder, you’re gonna be one bad dude. You could run an opponent to death and then finish them off after they’d collapsed.”
Ricky couldn’t resist. He smartly tagged Charlie on the shoulder and then quickly scurried out of reach, “You know it, Charlie.”
The next bout proved to be just as entertaining. For the first time in a long time, Donnie had to face Grandfather Kim on the mat. It was quite a sight seeing a nearly ninety-year-old man putting the hurt on the tall muscular young man. Grandfather Kim took one of Donnie's best punches and just shook it off. Grandfather smiled, as he got to remember how it was back in Korea in the fifties and sixties. The match didn't last long because Master Kim took pity on Donnie.
Next on the training plan was more test preparations for Donnie and Charlie. They had to design a breaking routine for test day. Charlie would be breaking boards. He had one student hold four, one by twelve by twelve boards, waist-high, with both hands. Another student held another board with two fingers, head high, by the first student's right side. Charlie turned, took a step and positioned another student with a head-high board, with two fingers. Across from him, another student held two boards held by two hands. A few steps away another student held four boards, in two hands and lastly, a student on a ladder, held one board about seven feet off the floor, with two fingers.
He then turned to the black belts, “Ok, left foot sidekick power break, a ridge hand speed break, round kick speed break, an elbow power break, spinning hook kick power break and a jump 360 hook kick impulse break.”
The black belts approved the proposed routine.
Charlie positioned himself and assumed a ready position. Master Kim shouted, "Sijak!"
Charlie took two steps forward and landed a front leg sidekick, breaking four boards. He stepped forward with his right foot and threw a ridge hand, with his right hand, breaking the board. He reversed, took three steps back, round kick - break - changed direction and broke two boards with an elbow strike. He spun as he crossed the floor, hook kick, break, step, jump, 360 hook kick - break. The entire routine took all of eight seconds.
Donnie chose to power break pegged bricks (bricks stacked with spacers between each brick.) This is harder to do, as the breaker has to power through each brick. He had five stacks of four bricks and one of six. He broke them with a punch, a double forearm smash on two stacks, a hammer blow, a knife strike, and an ax kick, breaking six bricks. Donnie broke everything in style and had a broad smile on his face.
After the breaking, Donnie and Charlie split the white and yellow belt classes between them. Donnie took the students who would be testing in two weeks and Charlie taught the rest of the students. These classes lasted an hour and a half. Charlie worked his class hard - almost to the point of exhaustion. Seeing his students put so much effort into his class made Charlie smile. This was a very good group of kids and they had a great class today. Donnie had worked his students harder because they were up for their tests but was also pleased with their efforts and their results.
As the classes bowed out and thanked their teachers, someone shouted, “Charyut!” Causing everyone in the dojang to snap to attention. Grandfather Kim, Master Kim and Young-Soo entered the dojang. Charlie called for his students to turn to them and bow. After the students had bowed, the three Kims parted and several senior students brought in a birthday cake and set it on a table.
Amanda and a host of other, non-karate friends came in, too, including Brian and Dolores Wilson and their son, David. These were followed by the district Fire Chief Matt Davis, the Police Chief Arnold Wainwright, both of whom were in full dress uniforms, along with the Mayor, Mr. Clay Carlson. Everyone was singing ‘Happy Birthday’ as they came in to join the celebration. That complete, the Mayor presented Charlie with the city’s Civilian Certificate of Valor. Idly, Charlie wondered if it would EVER stop?!?
For the next hour or so, a good time was had by all. As the guest of honor, Charlie found himself saran-wrapped to a chair. Still, he managed to blow out all the candles on his cake and then was treated to his share of the cake. Valerie Stevens, a very pretty sixteen-year-old, fifth green belt, planted herself in Charlie's wrapped lap and proceeded to hand feed him, very daintily, his cake. The only person in the room who didn't know Valerie had a big-time crush on Charlie was, of course, Charlie. Most of the girls at the school knew it, too, so Charlie had sort of been claimed as Valerie's and was now definitely off-limits to the other girls who giggled about it behind his back.
“Guys can just be so dense at times,” one of them observed to Amanda who also already knew and she just smiled.
When he was finally released to open his presents, Charlie just couldn’t believe all the presents he received. Everybody applauded as he unwrapped and then held up each present. Then he’d thank the giver before repeating the process with the next brightly colored package. He was embarrassed by the extravagance and expense of some of the presents.
The Wilson family's gift was last. First, they thanked him again and then told him that the doctors just told them that Jimmy's arm seemed to be getting better. He'd still have a long and probably painful recovery, but now there was hope. Brian gave Charlie the keys to a 2008 BMW 318 convertible.
Everyone told him that it was one sweet car after they'd gone outside to look at it. Charlie tried to turn them down. He didn't even have a license yet and it was really too much. Brian Wilson worked at the prime BMW dealership in town, and he told Charlie that he had taken the car in trade recently. When his boss had heard what Charlie had done for the Wilson family, the man had given it to Brian to give to Charlie. The car was beautifully detailed, looked brand new and only had thirty thousand miles on the odometer.
And Charlie was going to have it! Period.
Young-Soo offered to drive Charlie and his new car home after the black belt meeting and Amanda accepted his offer. She loaded up Charlie's gifts along with the leftover cake into her car and left for home.
The black belt meeting ran long that evening. Young-Soo helped plan the summer schedule with the red belts and 1st Dan black belts, while Grandfather Kim and Master Kim planned the belt test, with the more senior black belts.
Charlie and Young-Soo arrived at his mom’s house right after eight-thirty. Amanda opened the garage door so that Young-Soo could park Charlie's Beemer next to Amanda's two-year-old Chrysler 300. After a few parting words, Master Kim drove his son home.
~-~
Amanda checked on her son after he went to sleep. She found what she dreaded, what she had expected all along. She rubbed his back and triggered the change. Then she kissed his cheek, shed a tear and left him to his dreams. Amanda now had a great deal of work to do before this night was over.
~-~
Charlie woke unusually late the next morning and stumbled groggily into the bathroom. Ordinarily a morning person, everything seemed somehow foggy and just a step out of phase. He carefully made his way to the toilet, sat down and took care of business, wiping before he stood. Something was definitely strange and different, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. At least, not until he’d gotten his toothbrush and toothpaste, and looked in the mirror. THAT snapped things together in a great big hurry. It was like the fog parted and instead of seeing himself in the mirror, he saw this very pretty girl. Only, it wasn’t some girl, it was Charlie. . . And no, it wasn’t Charlie. The girl in the mirror was Christie.
And he was her. . .she was him . . . Oh hell!
Christie dropped her toothbrush into the sink, calmly turned and walked out of the bathroom. She only paused long enough to grab and put on her(?) brightly colored silk kimono robe before striding downstairs to find her mother. And hopefully get, some freakin’ answers!
“Mother, Mother, where are you?” Christie asked, a lot more calmly than her level of internal confusion and turmoil warranted. She should be shouting her head off right now. That was almost as disconcerting as seeing . . . her in the mirror.
Almost.
“In here, baby,” her Mom called out from the kitchen, “What do you need?”
“Mother, something terrible happened last night. Either that or I am going out of my mind and need to see a shrink like right now!”
“You are not going out of your mind and you do not need to see a psychiatrist. Please sit down at the breakfast bar and eat your breakfast. We have a great deal to talk about.”
“But Mom…?”
“Sit and eat. All will be made clear to you, dear. I promise.”
Christie recognized this particular 'Mom-mode' of Amanda's - pure strong-headed determination. There would be no explanations, no answers until she was ready to talk and she wouldn't be ready until they were through eating breakfast. Evidently, it was the kind of talk that wouldn't be good for digestion. Somehow, Christie didn't doubt that one bit.
They did talk as they ate, but it was along the lines of forced small talk. How about the weather; what did she think about this news item or wasn't that play or movie interesting. Well experienced in dealing with her Mother's foibles, Christie lightly buttered her toast and poured out a precise half a cup of toasted oat cereal which she blended with half a cup of wheat bran. Odd, but her outward demeanor, her overt reactions were halfway calm as if this were just another Sunday morning in the McKellar household. Inside? She wanted to be screaming and shouting and raising absolute hell! How can her Mom be so oblivious to all this? To HER?!? Her Mom? Hell, why was she behaving so calmly about all this?
When they had FINALLY finished eating, Amanda said, "Put your dishes in the sink and come with me to the living room. We'll see to the dirty dishes later but for now, we need to talk and we might as well be as comfortable as possible."
Christie followed her Mom into the living room. Amanda gestured her to the couch and, then to Christie's surprise, did not move to sit in her favorite armchair. Instead, she settled by Christie on the couch.
“Christie, I know you have a thousand questions, but first listen for a few minutes, okay? Trust me, it will make things clearer if not more simple in the long run.”
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Good. You aren't going crazy. Yesterday you were a boy, almost a young man named Charlie, and today you are a girl, almost a young woman named Christie. Are you with me so far?"
"Yes, Ma'am. If I'm not crazy, the mirror doesn't lie."
Amanda smiled and looked deeply into Christie’s eyes, “The short explanation is usually the best in these situations. I am a sorceress. I have magical powers. You are becoming aware of many of these things for the first time today. When a sorceress has a male child, there is a one out of two probability that her male child will transform into a female and come into power themselves. I know that you have studied genetics in school so you will understand that represents a sex-linked dominant trait associated with the X chromosome. One of my X chromosomes has the genes that map to traits for magic.”
"Unfortunately, there is no way for us to determine whether or not that child can or will become a sorcerer or a sorceress until the trigger appears. That trigger appears or it doesn't on the child's sixteenth birthday."
“Yesterday, was my sixteenth birthday,”Christie observed.
“Correct. Last night, after you fell asleep, I slipped into your room and sat by you. At a little after midnight, I detected the trait’s trigger begin to form inside you. I then triggered the transformation that resulted in Charlie becoming Christie.”
"So, you turned me into a girl, Mom? For God's sake WHY? Wasn't I good enough as a boy? Did you feel you just had to turn my life upside down, just because of this. . .this trigger thing?"
Surprising Christie yet again, Amanda didn't get mad. "Christie, I know, personally, just how unsettling and scary this experience is for you, and I wouldn't have done it unless it was absolutely necessary! However, I didn't change you into a girl. It was the magic that chose your form. It's complicated, and while we have a lot of statistical information - 75% of the boys that have this potential are transformed into girls and 25% of the girls with it become boys - we don't understand why it happens that way. Girls who do get transformed are considered lucky in the sorcery community because they are typically more powerful and easier to train than sorceresses who don't change sex. And since some male sorcerers don't go through this for some reason, it turns out the same way for the boys - transformed individuals are generally stronger magically and learn it more easily and quickly."
“So I am stuck as a girl and will have to live out my life as a girl,” Christie said, in a disgruntled tone. “And fate throws me the bone of having magic powers? Not sure I like the deal, Mom.”
"No, dear, you are not stuck as a girl. Consider this . . .little experience a challenge or a test like your Taekwondo belt tests. There are some lessons for you to learn, some skills you will have to master before you can start your magical training. After all that, the first major magic you will perform will be your transformation back into a boy, albeit a year older boy on your seventeenth birthday."
“How am I going to be able to go to school and live as a girl? Everybody thinks I am a boy named Charlie?”
“Do they? Think back and remember your school years. Not just last year, but all the way back to pre-school. In fact, tell me what Christie, not Charlie, did last weekend?”
Surprised by the question, it took Christie about five seconds to answer her Mom, "After Ballet class, you and I got dressed and went into Philadelphia to go shopping and out to eat before attending the ballet."
“Good. And what did you do on your twelfth birthday, Christie?”
“We took a train to New York City and stayed in a hotel there. We went out to eat at Le Bernardin and then we went to the Met to see the Bolshoi Ballet Company perform ‘Giselle’.”
"Good. Your memory is intact. Christie, I am sorry this happened to you, but you are going to have the life you would have had if you were born a girl. Everybody who knows Christie knows that she is a very pretty girl who dances ballet."
“So Young-Soo and the rest know me as Christie?”
“I am afraid not, dear. Check your memories. Christie has been taking ballet lessons since she was eight years old. She never took Karate.”
“Why Mom?” Christie blurted, as close to an emotional breakdown as whatever was inhibiting her would allow, “Why did you have to do this? Wasn’t I good enough as ME for you? Did you truly have to do this to me?”
Amanda knew her child, and she knew she would face this question. Heavens, she had asked the same question of HER Mother so many years ago. Hopefully, her answer would be better accepted than her Mother's attempt had been. "Wait here, Christie. Let me go get something." Amanda left and returned quickly, carrying two plastic boxes that she placed on the coffee table in front of Christie. "What is in these two boxes, Christie?"
"Inside the larger gray box is your Ruger P95 9 millimeter semi-automatic pistol. The other box is a cleaning kit for the pistol. You taught me how to shoot with it years ago, Mom."
“Yes, I taught my son, Charlie and I taught my daughter, Christie, how to shoot and how to take care of the pistol properly. I want you to clean the weapon, Christie.”
Nodding, Christie looked up at her Mother. “May I have the key, Mom?”
Amanda dug into her purse, pulled out her key ring and handed it to Christie. Christie took the keys and unlocked the box containing the pistol. Then she stopped and looked to her left at her Mother, again. “Mom, would you please sit on my right side? You are in the potential line of fire there.”
Pleased that Christie was as careful as Charlie had been, Amanda quickly complied. The gun inside the box would be pointing to Christie’s left, and she did not want anyone in the line of fire until she was sure it was safe.
Christie opened the box and took the gun out of the case. She removed the magazine, which she put on the table and then carefully cycled the slide, ejecting the chambered round into her hand. Christie took that round and inserted it into the magazine. Then she pulled the slide back on the pistol several times, locking the slide open before inspecting the chamber. Seeing that the gun was unloaded, she pulled the slide release pin and removed the slide. She then removed the recoil spring and the barrel. She carefully inspected everything for cracks and wear before she began cleaning and oiling the parts. Finished, she reassembled the pistol, pointing the barrel in a safe direction, reinserted the magazine, cycled the slide to load one round into the chamber and pressed the de-cocking safety lever. She then laid the pistol back in its place in the box.
“What was that lever just before you put the gun back in the case?”
“It is the de-cock safety lever.”
“Why did you depress that lever?”
"Because no matter how safe a gun may appear, with the hammer back, there could always be the possibility of some freak accident that might fire the gun accidentally."
"That is right. Last night, when that magical trigger began to appear, Charlie became like that gun with the hammer back, only worse. Unlike my Ruger, Charlie didn't have a hammer decock lever. He was primed, loaded, and on an unsafe hair trigger. I did nothing more than make him safe the only way that I could. If I hadn't done that last night, then sometime in the future the gun inside of Charlie would have gone off and Charlie could have been transformed without the benefit of the spells I cast while you slept. Christie would have emerged without a calming spell and without a history. I could have come back later and tried to pick up the pieces, and maybe I could have put you back together again. But maybe not. Bad things could have happened, permanent kinds of things, things like dying, because you went crazy wondering what happened."
"Christie, you don't know how painful that was for me last night; having to be the one to pull your trigger. However, it was infinitely better that I did it then with all the safeguards I could manage for you than to have it just happen some random time in the future. One way or another, Christie, that transformation was going to happen to you eventually."
“Well, why didn’t you tell me all this before? At least warn me?”
“Oh sure, Christie, that would have worked - NOT! Hey Charlie, I got something to tell you. You might not believe it, but you may wake up as a girl tomorrow, Charlie. Don’t worry, I’ll help you learn to change back again, maybe in a year or so,” Amanda said. “You didn’t believe in magic till today, I bet?”
“Well, how am I going to live after today? There are so many things I don’t know about being a girl.”
“You have training wheels. You know as much about being a girl right now, as Charlie knew about being Charlie yesterday. You just need to do something; don’t think about it. Let me prove it.”
“Just to be fully fair and open about this, I’ll tell you that I am putting a small magical compulsion on you. Tonight, we are going to have dinner at Donatello’s at seven with your grandmother. Get yourself dressed up and ready to go by then. Right now, I am extremely tired and I need some sleep. Wake me at five and then get yourself ready. In the meantime, resolve your memories,” Amanda said, kissing Christie’s forehead. “Oh, and don’t worry. Nothing about your transformation will disturb you or upset you today. You also have what I call a valium spell on you. So you will be calm enough to think rationally.”
Well, that explained why Christie had been acting so calmly. She didn’t like what her mom had said, but assuming she had told her the truth - and Christie was absolutely certain her Mother told her the truth - her explanation and her decisions made sense. On top of that, her mom did look exhausted. “Go get some rest Mom, I will be alright.”
"I know, sweetie. I know you will."Kissing her daughter on her forehead, Amanda collected her gun and cleaning kit and headed off to her room.
Christie continued to sit there on the couch for an hour and thought about her life. So she was in ballet, she thought. She went to her room and opened the pink gear bag she found in her closet. Instead of Charlie's white gear bag, containing his weapons, punches, kicks, and sweaty dobok, she had ballet slippers, toe shoes, a sweat-stained leotard, tights, bun covers, makeup, tampons, bras, panties and..Oh My God, she did not even want to think about what else. Crap, how had she forgotten to take her sweaty things out last night and wash them?
She got up and went into the bathroom to hand-rinse her delicates, then took everything else that needed to be washed to the laundry room. She would have two light loads. She would need everything in the bag clean. While the washing machine was running, she decided to do her ballet thing. Donning a pair of toe shoes, Christie warmed up and did her stretches. She evidently had a routine for all this, she realized.
Without thinking about how she would do any of it, Christie began to go through her paces. She just knew how to do them and her body just knew what to do. Moreover, she was in the peak physical condition necessary to do it. She even did some en pointe routines and found she could hold en pointe with attitude easily.
Satisfied, Christie took the shoes off and went to her room to finish getting dressed for her new usual summer vacation Sunday. She checked her hair. Happily, it was still clean and in good shape so she put it up in a bun and covered it with a shower cap. She decided to take a shower. She 'remembered' that she liked baths, but only after she was clean. Evidently, her preference was to take a shower and then treat herself to a nice hot soak - with bath oils, too. Bath oils?
After her shower, she took the opportunity to take a good, long close look at herself. Her body was both familiar and strange to her, at the same time. She knew she was five-foot-six, she measured 30 inches around just below the bust and 37 inches over the largest part of her bust all of which meant that she wore a 34C bra. She didn't really care about that, other than what she did wear was comfortable. She had a 23-inch waist and 34-inch hips. Checking her body in profile, she thought she was a little top-heavy at the moment, given her Mother's genes, she figured her hips would probably catch up eventually. Unfortunately for a ballerina.
In her room, she dressed quickly in a matching bra and panty set, a lavender leotard, a pair of short shorts that hugged her backside nicely, ankle socks and her pink Nikes. Cautiously, Christie approached and then took a seat at HER vanity. Undoing her hair bun, she brushed it out and decided that since she was going out to a nice place tonight she'd just leave it hanging straight just now, with its little bit of natural curl at the ends. She neatened her brows up a bit, then added just a little light eye shadow, mascara and lipstick.
After one last check of her face and hair, she started to get up and stopped, staring down at her hands. Her nails weren’t done. Opening one of her vanity’s drawers, she grabbed the plastic carry-all with all of her nail care supplies and tools to the living room.
Setting her carry-all down on the coffee table and then turning on the TV, Christie headed to the laundry to put her things in the dryer. Returning, she sat herself down on the floor in front of the couch and got busy fixing her nails. She started on her feet because ballet was very hard on a girl's toes. She filed down her toenails, put a foam spreader between her toes and got down to the serious business of painting them. She liked, as did her ballet mistress, vivid and brilliant reds. It was one of the few things outside of the dance itself they shared.
As far as Christie was concerned, the brighter the better, and she often adjusted her makeup accordingly, always looking for the right red, and for just the right skin tone to set it all off. Christie knew she was a neutral skin tone and could wear cool or warm colors. She chose to wear warmer tones most of the time. After all, as the movie promised, 'Some Like it Hot' and Christie most definitely did.
She painted her toes with two coats and once they were dry, she started working on her fingernails. Her natural nails were long since her ballet Mistress liked them long. She filed the edges and shaped them a bit. Then she used a base coat, two coats of the same red as she'd used on her toes and finished it off with a diamond-bright topcoat.
Darn, she was good!
She watched TV for a bit, got her things out of the dryer, folded them and then put them where they belonged. Hungry, she went to the kitchen. Her diet was strict and all spelled out for her and Mom on the refrigerator door. She checked the list, got out the appropriate foods, weighing and measuring her servings carefully before heading to the breakfast bar.
After eating, she went back to the living room, went down to the floor in a Chinese split and then lay on the floor to watch TV. She adjusted her position after a bit, went into an American split, laying down on her front leg, and after a while changed legs.
Bored, she went out on the patio by the pool, put her toe shoes back on, stretched out and did her “Flashdance - What a Feeling” dance routine that was planned for the studio’s next performance. She surprised herself at how well she danced it. She had it all choreographed out in her mind and her body seemed to know just what to do.
After she finished the dance routine, she decided she would try something. She still had all of Charlie’s memories, so she had all the moves in Koryo Poomsae in her head. Assuming her position of attention, she tried to execute that form.
She was awful. Even though she knew what to do, her body didn’t know how it was supposed to do it. She was sloppy and looked poorly practiced. Even though it looked like she had essentially the same body - maybe a little lighter and stacked a little differently - she didn’t have the same muscle memory. She knew if you had to think about how to do advanced Poomsae, you would not be able to do them properly. You just did them.
She tried doing just the basics, simple punches and kicks and realized she looked like a white belt doing punches and kicks. Well, maybe not a white belt, maybe an eighth yellow. Maybe. Charlie had seen some really awful white belts in his time at the dojang and she wasn't THAT bad. She hoped.
At about two in the afternoon, she was bored again and went to the swimming pool changing room. Pulling on a racer-back top and a bikini bottom, she returned to the pool, gracefully dove in and began swimming laps. She swam seventy-five laps before she got out and took off her top to catch some rays. They had a twelve-foot-tall wood privacy fence and none of the neighboring homes overlooked where she lay down. She just hated tan lines but was too much of a girl to go bottomless. So, after a thorough application of an appropriate sunscreen, then twenty minutes on each side and she pronounced herself done. She hardly ever burned and tanned easily, getting a nice golden tan.
It was nigh onto four o’clock when she came back into the house, still topless, carrying her swimming things to the washroom to put them in the hamper. She showered again and this time washed her hair. Charlie would just need to wash and rinse his hair. Now Christie knew she had to wash her long blonde tresses twice and then use a quality conditioner on her hair. She shaved her underarms and legs before sitting down on the edge of the bathtub to carefully trim her bikini line. She’d need to get another wax job soon. Many ballerinas went with a full wax job for the times their role didn’t call for wearing long flowing skirts. A thick mound of hair - down there - was just too easy to detect beneath their tights and leotards, or their swimsuits.
Finished with her feminine detail work, Christie treated herself to a long warm bath, soaking happily until it was nearly time to wake her Mom for their dinner plans. She just had time to get dried off, put her hair in a turban, moisturize her skin and slip on her robe before it was time to wake her Mom.
In her Mom’s room, she smiled and sat down on the bed next to Amanda’s back. Christie leaned over and kissed her Mom on the cheek. Yeah, she was still mad, but not at her Mom anymore. She knew her Mom still loved her, and Christie loved her right back. She kissed her cheek again and called out softly, “Time to wake up, Mom.”
Amanda woke and swept her daughter up into a fierce hug - and then she began tickling her. Christie tried to tickle back in self-defense, but Amanda was too quick and had the strategically superior position - on top. Christie was laughing uncontrollably when she made her escape.
“You’re not mad, are you, Christie?”Amanda asked, cautiously.
“Yes, I am still mad, but not at you, Mom.”
“I’m glad. Thank you for that, dear, I couldn’t live with myself if I had hurt you.”
“I know. I couldn’t hurt you, either, so we’re just gonna have to muddle through this together.”
“Okay, then. Well, you look good by the way. Did you work on your tan today?”
“Yeah, I went swimming and then caught some rays.”
“Just don’t tan too much, the sun can damage your skin.”
“I know Momma, I will be careful. I just like the way I look when I’ve tanned.”
“So do I. Well, we have got to get ready. Did you leave me any hot water?”
Christie got up and said, “You know we have that new on-demand hot water tank, Mom, so yes, I left you a little hot water.”
Amanda threw her pillow at a quickly retreating Christie. She cried a little thinking about what Christie had gone through and had yet to deal with in the coming days. And thought - again - how lucky she was to have been given such a great kid to share her life with.
Christie selected her dress and shoes, before inspecting the contents of her underwear drawer. She had a rainbow of different colored bras and panties and selected a set that matched well with her outfit. The dress was a below-mid-thigh-length, royal blue number with spaghetti straps. The dress material had a metallic shine and the dress had strings of fringe all-around at the hem that went down to the knee. The shoes were satin pumps dyed blue to match the dress, while the strapless bra and panties were just a little darker blue than the dress. With her bra and panties on, she sat down at her vanity to do her hair and makeup. She put most of her hair up in a bun, which she bobby-pinned and added a pair of jeweled chopsticks. She left two tendrils of hair down to frame her face, which she turned into ringlets with her trusty curling iron and setting gel.
Her fingernails and toenails were still outstanding, so she started on her makeup. As this would be a celebratory evening at a nice restaurant, she elected to go with her best glamor look. Foundation, pressed powder, darkened and sharpened brows, smoky eye shadow, eyeliner and three layers of mascara were all carefully selected and even more carefully applied. She decided to go a little light with her blusher, she didn't want to look like an old lady or a working girl, for heaven's sake. She carefully outlined her lips and then using a brush, filled them in with her preferred bright red lipstick. Next, she chose a pair of Swarovski crystal chandelier earrings, a matching necklace, a sterling silver cuff bracelet and two silver amethyst rings.
Finished and satisfied with the results, Christie picked up the matching purse she'd set out and added the necessary items. She quickly checked her calendar, saw that she was safely mid-cycle, and only added a couple of tampons. Her mom had taught her to always have some available, just so she could help someone else in need. Then she got into her dress. It was warm and a bit humid outside tonight, so she had forgone pantyhose or stockings. Her legs looked and felt great without them. Lastly, she needed to choose a scent for the evening. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, just one tiny drop behind her ears, on her wrists and her neck.
Done.
She gave herself one final critical check in her mirror. She had taken her time getting ready and it showed. She looked very sexy, but definitely not trashy, more of a glamorous yet sophisticated chic. And she had only taken an hour and a quarter to get ready. Scooping up her purse, she went to check on her mom.
Amanda was just finishing up her own ensemble. She knew what her daughter would probably look like and had worked hard on her own presentation for the night. She didn't want to be outshone by her daughter. Not when she'd only been her daughter for less than twelve hours. Even though they both remembered a whole Christie-lifetime, she couldn't stop herself. It was the principle of the thing!
Christie grinned warmly when she saw her Mom. No, she didn’t look twenty-two anymore, but she was gorgeous, nonetheless.
“Wow Mom, you look great.”
“You look smoking hot yourself, Christie. A little more mature than I’d like for a girl your age, but considering your dance background, it’s quite understandable.”
"I was surprised by that, Mom. Before I went swimming, I tried my 'Flashdance -What a Feeling' dance routine. The best thing I can say about this body is that it is in ultra-good physical condition. I did the whole dance routine without getting winded. After a five-minute, high-energy routine, I only needed a half minute or so to recover. I think I might have better cardiovascular fitness than Charlie had."
“Now, that is saying something. Charlie was always running here or there and everywhere. You ready?”
“Yes, Mom, let’s go.”
They entered the garage, past a parked BMW 318, and got into Amanda’s Chrysler 300. Christie opened her door and then stopped to take a closer look at the Beemer. A question formed in her head while Amanda drove them to Donatello’s.
The question solidified in Christie’s mind and she gasped at the implication. “Mom, I just thought of something horrible. If I’ve been Christie my whole life, instead of Charlie, what about Jimmy Wilson?”
“Oh my lord, I hadn’t thought about that. We’ll have to wait until after dinner to check our Sunday newspaper back at the house.”
“The Beemer was still home, just like it was after Charlie’s birthday party. How did it get there if I, err, Charlie didn’t save Jimmy?”
“I don’t know. Check your memory, when did you get it?”
“Yesterday, but the details are kind of fuzzy.”
“For me, too, and that is strange. It’s like my magic took a turn of its own.”
Donatello’s was a very nice, very dressy Italian Restaurant. The Maitre’d was all decked out in his suit and led the ladies to their table.
“Hi Grandma,” Christie called out when she saw her Grandmother Rebekah Hanson waiting for them at their table.
“And how is my favorite Granddaughter?”
“I am your only granddaughter, Gran.”
“You still are my favorite.”
“Hello, Mom,” Amanda said, dropping a quick kiss on Rebekah’s cheek, “It is so good seeing you.”
“It’s good seeing you, too, Amanda. I see everything went well last night.”
"As well as could be expected," Amanda answered diffidently, leaving much unsaid.
A waiter placed a basket of soft breadsticks on the table and took their drink orders: a good Chianti for Amanda and her Mom and an unsweetened ice tea for Christie.
When they got their drinks, the waiter took their orders. Amanda chose a chicken Parmigiana, Rebekah chose the Veal Marsala and Christie had to play twenty questions with the waiter, about what this or that was made of and the serving size. Amanda had to search her memory to reason out why. Ballet Student Christie was on a very strict diet because of the dance recital coming up next month. Even after the recital, she would only eat a few hundred calories a day more than she did currently. She wasn't starving herself like a model, but all her calories had to be good calories to keep fit. She chose a child's plate of Penne pasta with pesto. She would have a house salad, but with the dressing on the side. She made sure the waiter knew she was in training and was very serious about it. As a celebratory splurge, however, she did allow herself one and a half breadsticks. Some things were just too good to miss, even if they weren't particularly good calories.
The three women discussed her diet as they ate their salads. Christie only dipped the tips of her fork’s tines into the dressing pot occasionally as she ate her salad.
“I don’t know why I did this, Mom. I just know that I need to control my intake as a dancer. I’m not anorexic. I couldn’t dance like I do if I was, but to get all the nutrition my body needs and maintain my weight, I have to be very strict on what I eat. No more pigging out on pizza, like Charlie did. That is one thing I miss already. Inside, I know I am just as determined to succeed in dance as he was in the dojang.”
“I kind of figured that was the case. It is something I will have to get used to, too. I am just amazed at how good you look. You are gorgeous.”
“Well, I have to agree with your Mom, Christie,” Rebekah put in, “You have a lovely figure for a teen.”
“Mom made me this way, Gran. ”
“No, I didn’t make you this beautiful, dear. The only thing the magic did was turn your Y into another X. You are as you would have been, had you been born a girl. I did an augury, a type of scry, to help line out your history, so you could learn your lessons easier.”
“What are these lessons I need to learn?”
"I can't say because I just don't know. I'm not just being evasive. I could tell you what I had to learn, but that would likely mess up your mind and make this thing last longer than is absolutely necessary. You will know when there is a lesson and when you have learned it. That is God's truth, honey, and how it was for me and my own Mother in her turn. I can help you keep on the path, but that is about all. Even if you fail to see a lesson for what it is the first time, that doesn't mean you missed your chance, either. When one door closes, another door should soon open. You just have to believe in yourself and BE yourself."
“So has it happened time after time in our family, Christie,” Rebekah told her granddaughter. “This isn’t particular just to you, darling.”
“So, you know about all this, too, Grandma?”
“Yes, I do. I am just like your mother. And you.”
“Mom, I am still worried about Jimmy. I’ve tried and tried to remember but I don’t seem to have any memories of anything dealing with him.”
Amanda quickly explained what Christie was talking about to her mom. She looked a little worried herself and said, "I am amazed that I don't remember anything either. We would know if something bad happened to the boy, I think. I'm just getting nothing."
“I have to admit that is strange. We don’t usually have blank spots or fuzzy spots in our memories. I know you too well to ask if you made a mistake, Amanda. I will have to ponder this anomaly,” Rebekah said.
They all went to the ladies' room together and then left after paying their bill. On a hunch, Christie checked and found the newspaper from their birthday morning breakfast at the diner still on the back seat of her Mother's car. Neither Charlie nor Christie nor Jimmy were on the front page anymore and there was no mention of a dog attack anywhere in the paper. Maybe it didn't happen in this timeline, but that simply didn't make any sense. Something else had to have changed, too, but they couldn't remember anything like that, either.
When they got home, Amanda checked the registration of the Beemer. It belonged to Christie McKellar, free and clear. The previous owner was Bill Cranston BMW, just as it had in Charlie's timeline.
Amanda called Delores up, just to see how things were going with her family. Delores was surprised to hear from Amanda but was still happy to chat with her for half an hour. At last, Amanda asked, "How are the kids, Delores?"
“They are doing wonderfully, Amanda. David is out on a date with his girlfriend Jenny and Little Jimmy is over at Fred Williams’ house playing video games. How is Christie doing? Still doing the ballet thing?”
“She and I went out to dinner tonight at Donatello’s. It was her birthday yesterday, but her ballet class kept her until late and we couldn’t get an early enough reservation. So we had her birthday dinner today with Christie’s Grandmother.”
“Oh, that’s right! She is, what, sixteen now, right?”
“Yep, sweet sixteen. Well, Delores, I have to go now. It’s been really nice talking with you. Take care, dear.”
“You too, Amanda, bye.”
"Curiouser and Curiouser. Well, it's now official, Christie. Jimmy is all right and uninjured. I am glad, naturally, but something I can't account for has changed."
“That is good and bad I suppose. Things like this aren’t supposed to happen, I guess?”
“No, not in my experience, anyway. The only thing I can think of is that Charlie must have done something that precipitated the attack in the first place but I doubt that you caused Mr. Pritchard to buy a pit bull.”
“I hardly had any dealings with him when I was Charlie.”
"Oh well, this is a problem for another time. In the end, no one was hurt, and we need to get to bed. We both go running at five in the morning in this Christie timeline."
“Love ya, Mom.”
“Love you, too, Christie.”
~-~
The next morning Christie and Amanda got up for their morning run. They ran two miles together. Amanda was winded when they got home, but Christie changed into a bikini and swam a fast twenty laps in the pool. Afterward, she took a quick shower and shampoo. She dried her hair, did her makeup and got dressed. She checked her bag and added leotards, tights, dance skirts, things for her hair, makeup, tampons and bottled water. At eight-thirty she headed out, walking the two miles to the ballet studio.
The walk to Madame Coulter's Ballet Studio gave her time to think and reflect on this ballet class. Every new 'Christie' memory she had about ballet seemed to indicate - strongly - that Christie didn't like Madame Coulter. The woman was acknowledged to be the best, top-level ballet instructor in the community, and she did a fairly good job of teaching the fundamentals of the dance. Christie's problem stemmed from the woman's tyrannical approach to teaching. Ballet was okay, and as far as she could remember, Christie really enjoyed the art.
Christie suspected that ‘Christie before Charlie’, if that made any sense at all, probably just accepted Renee’s sharp tongue and criticisms because that particular version of Christie didn’t know anything better. ‘Christie after Charlie’ did know something better and this Christie longed for the way the Kim family taught their classes.
A random thought brought a giggle bubbling up. Maybe she could get Grandfather Kim to teach Ballet? Or, how about Taekwondo Ballet? Now THERE was a concept! She could clearly see Grandfather in her mind’s eye, teaching the ROK Army (Republic of Korea Army) the basics of ballet. They’d have to be properly outfitted, of course. Camo-colored leggings, leotards and steel-toed, combat-ballet slippers. Her giggle turned into a delighted laugh. She’d have to tell her Mother about that silly little notion, and then was momentarily sad she wouldn’t be able to share it with Grandfather Kim.
Sighing, Christie returned her thoughts to the matter at hand. Madame Coulter was about fifty years old, and from what her Mom had uncovered when she’d checked Madame’s references (years ago!), had begun her school when she had been in her mid-twenties. Christie seemed to recall something about a serious injury ending her performing career, but she couldn’t quite remember any specifics.
Currently, her school trained about forty ballerinas of various ages, ranging from the very young to her oldest enrolled student who was twenty. In addition to the forty ballerinas, she also had four danseur nobles, or male dancers under her tutelage and two of those were quite good.
In truth, Renee's track record of advancing her students to higher levels was a mixed bag. Ballerinas who haven't made it to the pros by twenty-two probably wouldn't. Competition for good-paying jobs for ballerinas was extremely fierce, and many who did turn pro didn't last more than a few years. There were fewer dancers over thirty-five in the pros, usually, that was because the ones who did stay were stars and were getting well paid for their efforts. Madame had graduated a few girls to the professional ranks, but Christie wasn't sure any of them ever made it out of the Corps de Ballet before finding another line of work. Oh, her memory flashed, and she recalled that one girl who'd worked her way up to principal dancer and soloist for one of the regional touring companies in the midwest.
Her school had shown a relatively better success rate with her danseur nobles. Several of them had graduated to more prestigious schools and a couple Christie knew of had caught on with some fairly high-end ballet companies. She wondered about that better performance by Madame's boys. Was it just way less competition for male dancers? Certainly, the ballet was not very high on most young male 'grow up' lists. Or maybe it was just that guys typically were more used to being coached by someone with Madame's . . .umm, direct and authoritative style?
Whatever. For her part, Christie was on the cusp of deciding whether or not she would put out the effort to try to go professional. The constant practice, rehearsals and performances were hard on the ballerinas. Injuries were a constant danger and a reminder of their mortality as dancers. Football players might think THEY had it tough, HAH! They should try stepping out a mile or two in a ballerina’s toe shoes! That would show them what TOUGH was truly all about. Only they wouldn’t, the wimps. Beyond that of course, Christie thought she might well be her Mother’s daughter physically. Staying sleek, svelte and light enough to be partnered by a danseur noble might prove to be very difficult, if not unhealthy.
Christie and Randall Woodson, the seventeen-year-old male dancer, arrived at the studio at the same time, a half-hour before class, as planned. They would use the extra time to polish their own partnered dance routine for the recital. They had choreographed a five-minute dance adaptation reminiscent of the final dance in the movie, 'Dirty Dancing' only with Christie in toe shoes instead of high heels. The dance was sexy and energetic, with lots of en pointe turns presented by her partner.
She liked the way that she and Randall danced together, and always enjoyed working with him on the dance floor. He was hard-working, polite, skilled and had a way of partnering with a ballerina so that both dancers showed their best to the audience. Unfortunately, he knew all that, too and he was an egotistical jerk when off the dance floor.
For this rehearsal, Christie donned a gauzy chiffon wrap-around skirt over her leotard and tights. For the actual performance, she had a pink chiffon cocktail dress picked out at home. Properly made up, she would look a lot like Jennifer Grey and Randall would be a passable Patrick Swayze. Their choreography worked quite nicely, and they were quite hot together as they made their slinky way about the dance floor.
After they’d finished, it was time to work out with their regular class. Christie was surprised to see a few of the girls who had been in Charlie’s white and yellow belt classes taking their places on the dance floor. Were any of them doing dance and Karate? Or had Charlie interacted with them in some way to get them into Karate? Nothing came to mind as she searched her ‘Christie memories’ comparing them to Charlie’s.
Madame Coulter’s commanding screech snapped Christie’s attention back to the dance class. Some of the girls had likened it to a harpy’s shriek. At the moment, she was ‘correcting’ one of her intermediate students, Karen Sampson. She evidently wasn’t doing something or other, perfectly. What that might be, Christie had no clue. The class had barely finished their warmups and she was already finding fault with someone.
After the offender had been suitably berated and punished, Madame Coulter got her students working on one of the major group dances they would be performing at the recital. Christie recalled that up until the end of the school year, this class had met three days a week. Now that it was summer, they would switch to a six days a week schedule as they made final preparations for their late July recital.
The rest of that week and the next one plodded on as it just became more of the same, with the only difference day-to-day, were the dances they worked on that day. The dancers trying to get everything right, trying to avoid getting screamed at, and Madame Coulter just screaming all the more and all the louder at them.
Two more days passed, and Christie was completely fed up with Madame Coulter! On her second Saturday as a girl, she'd been down to just one nerve left and Madame Coulter just HAD to break it.
Christie had just executed a very good pas (set of dance steps) in her opinion, but Madame Coulter had disagreed. Loudly. Then the older woman compounded her mistake and attempted to belittle Christie in front of the entire class.
Christie had been so stunned and then so enraged that later that day, she couldn’t even remember precisely what Madame Coulter said to her. However, she sure as hell remembered how she’d said it! And THEN Madame Coulter had threatened to replace her as soloist with Lisa Brandt.
That was just too much for Christie's frayed temper to take. Lisa Brandt was another sixteen-year-old dancer, but she wasn't nearly as good or dedicated as Christie! This came on the same day when she'd been late for class because she'd had to carefully clean out the sand and ground glass someone had put in her toe shoes while she'd been in the ladies' room. She suspected Lisa Brandt but didn't say anything about it. And now, Madame was insulting her by threatening to give that little bitch her solo?!?
Christie stood up straight to get nose to nose with Madame Coulter and said, "That is enough, Renee, I am tired of you. I've taken all I can of you, and I quit. Enjoy your solos, Brandt!"Christie spun about and stalked off the dance floor and into the dressing room.
Renee Coulter never allowed her students to call her Renee; not even her few adult students. They were all required to address her as Madame Coulter - even their parents did - and Christie had just committed that most grievous sin. Only Christie stopped and came back. She'd decided she wasn't done with the old biddy yet! "You are egotistical, bombastic, pompous, old, despotic, and a bloody tyrant. I'm not your slave, I was your student. Note I said 'was'! That means past tense if you need further explanation. You berate, demean and destroy your students' sense of self-worth to boost your own sense of superiority. Well, you should be glad! I will not subject you to my unskilled presence anymore. You want Lisa Brandt to be your star dancer? You can have her with my blessings. Good… Bye… Renee… Coulter... I won't be renewing my contract next month."
Christie stormed into the dressing room, just grabbed her bag and left without another word or backward glance. Madame Coulter was apoplectic and almost catatonic. In her nearly twenty-five years of teaching, she had never had a student talk back to her like that.
As Christie walked toward home, she thought about calling her mom to come to get her but decided to walk. She really needed to cool off. Charlie had NEVER gone into a rage like that. Of course, no one had ever dissed Charlie like that woman had Christie. Of course, Charlie had been taught by the Kims so he'd never had to deal with such disrespect from a teacher.
Memories of Charlie's experiences at the dojang flooded back, and she suddenly remembered that today was test day at Young-Soo's Karate. Almost without thinking about it, she changed directions and headed for the Kims'. On arrival, Christie instinctively went to remove her shoes, only to realize that she hadn't bothered to change out of her toe shoes before storming out of Renee's studio. Shaking her head at the waste, she took them off knowing that they would probably have to be thrown away now. Her trek here had irreparably damaged them. She put them in her bag for disposal later and went into the dojang.
The white belts were currently testing so she sat down at the side of the mat and watched. It was a little heartbreaking for her, watching her . . . Charlie’s students were testing with her there instead of Charlie. She still cheered them on and felt a deep satisfaction when they all did well, but it just wasn’t the same as being a real part of their success.
Later in the session, the green belts came up for testing, and she was surprised to see Tad was testing. In the Charlie TimeLine, he hadn't been ready. After the green belts' tests were completed today, it was obvious that he still wasn't ready in this timeline either. Needed to work on your darned Poomsae, Tad, she thought quietly to herself. Then, it was Donnie's time to test.
Donnie seemed a little rougher around the edges than Christie expected, but he managed to do well enough to pass. For his first bout, Donnie had to fight Young-Soo, and clearly, neither of them was taking it easy on the other. The sounds of the punches and kicks landing were resounding. Then Donnie had to fight two other black belts from other schools. Donnie fought them well, whipping them pretty clearly. Then he did his breaking demonstration followed by his poomsae. Tests for black belts often lasted several hours and today, it was Donnie's conditioning that ultimately won the day.
At the end of the tests, the black belt committee met privately for about ten minutes to discuss all the students' performances. When they came back, they announced the students that had passed. Only two students hadn't passed their test; a yellow belt who had tested too soon, and Tad whose Poomsae were terrible. Belts and certificates were passed out. The students lined up to thank the testers. Tad was conspicuously missing from the line which was considered bad form and likely would be addressed at his next class. If he ever had another class. The entire group then gathered for a celebratory meet and greet, hosted by the Kims.
Christie stood to leave but when she turned, she ran right into Grandfather Kim, “Excuse me, sir! Please forgive me for running into you like that. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Grandfather Kim just laughed at that and turned to Master Kim who had come over. The two men spoke in Korean and were laughing with each other, “No, young lady. You didn’t hurt this old man. Allow me to make introductions, please. I am Grandfather Kim and this is my son Young-Min and that is my grandson Young-Soo over there,” he said, pointing out his relatives. “I see by your dress that you are a student of the dance?”
“I was until today, sir. I just quit. I didn’t seem to have what it takes to continue at my old school.”
“I don’t sense that in you, child. I sense a strong sense of character in you. You must have had a good reason to quit, but it wasn’t because of anything lacking in you. Have you ever considered studying Ka-Ra-Te?” he said, emphasizing each syllable of the word ‘karate’.
"Yes and no, sir," Christie said, stretching the truth a bit.
“Well, you must speak with Tracy Wilcox. She recruits the girls for our school. Tracy,” Grandfather called out, raising his voice over the partiers, “Come over here! I think we have another new student right here.”
Christie turned to see Tracey coming over, and smiled to herself.
“Hi, I am Tracy Wilcox, 1st Dan black belt.”
“Hi. Well, I am Christie McKellar, former ballerina extraordinaire.” Christie said, going en pointe. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Tracy.”
"Very cool, Christie," Tracy said, smiling brightly. "If you want to take karate, the tuition is a hundred twenty dollars a month, and you will need a dobok or uniform, and then some safety gear after you earn a yellow belt. Yellow belt students begin to learn to spar."
Tracy took Christie into the office to show her the gear and to talk some more about karate and the classes offered here at the dojang. Christie found it very difficult to talk like a neophyte and barely caught herself making a 'too-knowledgeable' comment several times. Finally, Christie changed the subject to the big black guy who tested, both because she was curious and to deflect Tracy's attention away from her.
“Yes, he is a hunk, isn’t he? He is my boyfriend, Donnie Colt, now 1st Dan black belt Taekwondo, brown belt Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a Muay Thai fighter. He is looking at getting into a UFC candidates' class in a year or two."
“UFC? What is that?”
"That, my friend, is a shit storm - pardon my language - when it comes to fighting. UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship. There aren't many NO-NO's that are against the rules in UFC fighting. Here, our students spar, but we're supposed to pull our punches and kicks. In the UFC they're fighting full out. It is a real furball."
“Oh really? Wow, that sounds dangerous.”
“It is, and truthfully, I worry about Donnie a lot. I just hope this doesn’t change him for the worse.”
“I don’t think it will. I get the sense that he is a great guy.”
“He is, thanks.”
Christie reached into her gear bag and got her ATM card out. Her Mom had just put a thousand on it to cover her next year’s tuition at the ballet studio. Sorry, Mom, Christie thought. I just can’t take any more of good ole Renee’s nonsense.
When Christie picked out a standard, heavyweight dobok, Tracy tried to talk her into one of the lighter-weight doboks, "The canvas doboks," she said, "are heavier, hotter and scratchier than the lighter weight ones made of cotton."
“I bet the lighter ones are less durable and go transparent with sweat which would be a concern for me. I’m not one of those ladies who glow when they perspire. I sweat, big time. You’re wearing one of the heavy uniforms, aren’t you?”
"Yeah, but I am a black belt. I would have to buy new lightweight doboks practically every month. They tend to get all torn up in the black belt classes. on the modesty thing. I am wearing a heavy-weight T-shirt and a sports bra, under my dobok. All girls should."
“Why do you have the black stripe on the lapel of the uniform?”
"Red and black belts help teach at our school. It saves us money, so we have a different dobok to identify us as instructors. Students are required to wear solid white uniforms till they earn their red belt. You're years away from that, however. It takes a minimum of six years to get to meet the requirements for a black belt and that is pushing it hard. Besides, even if you could, I don't think you would want to. Students miss out on so much when they start jumping belts that fast. We look at karate as more of a life choice than just a martial art."
Tracy was surprised when the young girl bought punches and kicks she really would not need until she had attained her yellow belt. She especially recommended Christie buy a boob protector (ladies chest protector), and a chest guard, mouthpiece, and headgear. Christie then selected a pair of MMA gloves, a pair of Sais and a set of metal fans. The metal fans looked like very ornate, oriental fans but they were also weapons that could maim and kill. Lastly, she bought another gear bag. The gear bag she had for ballet would give up the ghost and die if it had to carry all her new stuff. Besides, it was pink! There was no pink in Taekwondo.
“Why are you buying weapons? We don’t even begin weapons training until the blue belt level at the earliest? Greens and yellows sometimes get nunchucks to look badass or maybe swords to hang on their walls, but we strongly discourage anyone from trying to learn to use them outside of our formal classes.”
“I think they will look cool on my walls,” Christie replied, even though she had no intention to use these weapons just as wall hangers. “Those fans are really pretty.”
“They are weapons, too and very difficult to use well safely. Just keep them in the original packaging in case your parents complain about them. You could then bring them back and we’d refund your money. I also need your folks to sign a medical release and another release so we can teach you.”
“I just have my Mom now. My dad passed away years ago.”
“I am so sorry.”
“Well, I need to go home and break the bad ballet news to Mom. She isn’t going to have a Prima Donna ballerina in the family, but I am sure I will like karate better. I can use the practice to work off my anger at Renee Coulter.”
“That’s the ballet instructor, right?”
“That would be her highness.”
“We get some students from her occasionally. Come on back to the dressing rooms and I will show you around. Then I will give you a lift home.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t, but that gear bag will weigh a ton in comparison to your ballet bag.”
Not a bad idea, Christie thought. She didn’t have the upper body strength that Charlie had.
Charlie had been in the ladies' changing rooms before, but not when there were ladies actually changing. Christie carried her ballet bag and followed Tracy inside. While in the dressing room, she changed into her street clothes - a tank top and shorts - while Tracy showered and changed. Christie was surprised to see the bruises on Tracy.
“Oh my, how did you get those bruises, Tracy?”
“I was a little careless sparring with Donnie in class the other day. Boy, he can hit hard and I got these with him pulling his punches.”
“And you are still going out with him?”
"He has other… things… he is good at and besides, I gave almost as good as I got," Tracy replied with a saucy wink.
Christie decided she was talking about karate and something else altogether.
“He doesn’t beat you, does he?”
"If he ever raises his hand to me in anger, I have a 1911A1 and he knows I'll use it! He has some anger problems, but he would never, ever - ever hurt a girl. That much I am sure of."
Tracy gave Christie a quick tour around the facility and then introduced her to Mark Fresnel, a second red belt who would be her instructor. Charlie didn't know him, he wasn't in Charlie's timeline, but he seemed like a nice enough guy. Cute, too. Mark was about twenty-two years old, five foot ten, about one seventy-five lbs, with blonde hair, deep green eyes and a killer smile. Too bad he was too old Christie thought and nearly tripped over her own feet. Where the heck did that thought come from?? She'd never thought about boys that way before.
Tracy dropped Christie off at her home and surprised her by giving Christie an air kiss before she opened her car doors and got out of the car.
“I am home, Mom,” Christie called, as she came in the front door.
"And just where have you been for three hours, young lady?!" Mom stood just inside the kitchen, her hands fisted on her hips and her face stern. Mom was pissed! "Madame Coulter called me HOURS ago, complaining how you were rude to her and that you just stalked out of her studio in the middle of her class."
"Okay, Mom, first things first. I quit ballet. I am not going back, either. I simply cannot stand the way she treats her students anymore and I will not tolerate it any longer!" Christie gave her mom a word-by-word description of what had happened, what Renee had said to her, and what Christie had said to her in reply. "Then, when she tried to threaten me with Lisa Brandt - Lisa Brandt for heaven's sake! I couldn't take it anymore. I just told her I quit and what I thought of her! I think that's what shocked her the most was that a mere girl would actually stand up to her and call her by her given name, Renee. I will not go back and I will not apologize. She terrorizes those kids, Mom. It's just awful."
“That may be true, young lady, but that isn’t what has MY ire up. I have been sitting here - for more than two hours - waiting for you to come home or to call. I was worried sick about you. Where. . . Have . . .You . ..Been?!”
Christie took a deep breath, feeling instantly repentant. “Kim Young-Soo’s, Mom. I’m truly sorry I didn’t think to call when I got tied up there. That was so thoughtless of me, and you deserve much better from me. It’s just that woman got me so mad, I stopped thinking about anything else, Momma,” Christie said, clearly remorseful.
“I am sorry, too, Christie. You’re my only child and I worry about you.”
"Mom, I don't know if I blew whatever lesson I was supposed to learn, but I couldn't stand that damn woman anymore. I went to the dojang because they were testing, and I wanted to see Charlie's students go through the advancement testing. I always enjoyed watching my students test, and it was something to distract me from what went down with Renee," Christie said, with a tear in the corners of her eyes. "Anyway, I need you to sign these papers for me so I can start taking classes with the Kims."
Amanda took the papers that were handed to her and quickly shuffled through them. "I probably shouldn't sign these things for you, Christie. I shouldn't, but I will. However, in the meantime, you have got to realize the danger the world presents to you, especially now. You're not a guy anymore and you're not a hotshot karate student. You're a girl who just quit ballet after eight years of classes. Last time I checked, a plie was not a useful defensive maneuver if you are being threatened."
“I know Mom, I’m sorry.”
~-~
Very concerned about the potential ramifications of her daughter's decision on her trial, Amanda performed an in-depth augury late that night. She was surprised to discover that, regardless of her decision to quit ballet, her daughter was still on track. It almost seemed as if her daughter was supposed to drop out of ballet. Amanda smiled in relief for Christie and then indulged in just a little cry for herself. She could remember, fondly, going to recitals to see her daughter dance, only she knew she never really had seen her daughter perform. The spell that warped reality gave people false memories, including her, only she knew they were false. She had been so looking forward to making a real memory of her daughter the dancer at the recital next month. Not to be, she thought, wiping away a few tears.
“At least I know she will probably do well in karate,” Amanda said aloud, trying to encourage herself now. “She can’t help it; it’s in her nature, I guess.”
~-~
Christie started karate classes on the following Monday. After consulting with Christie, his Father and Grandfather, Young-Soo wanted her to come to at least five classes a week. White belt classes were held at ten in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with other sessions taught at four o'clock in the afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as two classes on Saturday, at eight in the morning and five in the evening. Determined to regain what she'd lost as quickly as she possibly could, Christie planned to attend them all.
Sadly but predictably, she didn’t have to pretend to not be good. Despite all the conditioning she had developed as a ballerina, despite all the knowledge she still had in her head and despite all the grace, speed and strength her body had developed at the barre and on the stage, Christie still had an utter lack of karate-related muscle memory. She had to think about how to do each required action before she could do it at all. Oh, she was very good for a white belt. All white belts were in the ‘thinking first’ mode, but she was a far cry from where Charlie had been as a 1st Geup red belt.
Mark Fresnel's class consisted of forty-eight white belts ranging in age from eight to sixteen. The school was a safe place for kids whose parents were at work and didn't want their kids sitting around the house all day playing video games, or out in the neighborhood, or the mall, or worse, getting into trouble. This was a very large class, but at least not every student attended every class. He averaged thirty students a session. An experienced instructor, after two days, he already knew his best student in this batch was Christie.
When she wasn't in a class herself, she would be in the dojang watching the other classes, doing her exercises, or working out on an unused heavy bag. It was generally accepted by everyone who noticed her there that she was a true fitness junkie. She had been a ballerina after all. Although, not everyone in the dojang appreciated just what that meant about Christie's unusual state of fitness.
One of the new fourteen-year-old male white belts, Craig Breeder, stuck his foot in his mouth, when he said, in Christie's hearing no less, that ballerinas weren't athletes. Craig was five-foot-seven and a hundred and forty-five pounds. He was a starting defensive back on the junior varsity football team and was taking karate to toughen himself up, improve his coordination and stay in shape over the summer.
“Hey, big guy,” Christie immediately challenged, “You say that ballerinas aren’t athletes? Okay, put your body where your mouth is. You and I will exercise until I get tired. If you can hang with me to the end, I will go on a date with you. If you fall out, you will wear a tutu to class for a week.”
"Don't do it, Craig," Wilma warned from her position just off the mat. "She will eat your breakfast AND your lunch. And if you lose, we will expect you to wear that tutu!"
“Hell, she can’t be in as good a shape as I am.” Craig scoffed. “I am a defensive back on my football team and I ran track last spring. I think she’ll look mighty fine on my arm, too. As long as I don’t have to do any of those ballerina things, I should be all right.”
“Then we won’t have a weight lifting competition, either. I know you can lift more weight than I can. So, how about we let Wilma decide what exercises we do; only the last challenge will be a distance run until I get too tired to go any further.”
Wilma was smiling, “I will go along with that, but once again, Craig. I am telling you. Don’t do it.”
“You’re on, Christie,” Craig said, a broad smirk on his face.
“Let me run this by Young-Soo, first,” Wilma said. “We don’t want to do something that will make him mad. If he approves of it, we will get right on it right now. If he doesn’t, you may need to come up with a different penalty, Christie.”
Wilma called Young-Soo over, and the two kids explained the bet and the penalties. Young-Soo made sure both knew what was expected and smiled when the kids said that they understood the stakes.
For the next hour and a half, Wilma worked the two kids like an old-time Marine Corps Drill Instructor from the Paris Island boot camp. To be on the safe side, she had them start with stretches, Christie had no problems with but Craig was relatively tight in his thighs and calves. Then she ran them through pushups, sit-ups, crunches, squat thrusts, jumping jacks, leg raises, trunk twisters, arm circles, jumping toe touches and crab walking. Both kids were sweating profusely after they'd finished her round of calisthenics. They put their shoes on and then ran to a school track a couple of blocks away. Wilma gave them five minutes to stretch, hydrate and recover before she started them running.
When she saw the way Craig was running even in the beginning, Christie knew she had him. Football players rarely ran any distances over a mile or two. Oh, they ran the hell out of the forty-yard and hundred-yard sprints, but Charlie and Christie would often run five to ten miles, several times every week. Christie began to actually recover from the brutal way Wilma had worked them, as she ran. Wilma hadn't taken it easy on Christie.
Half the dojang had come to the track to watch. Craig showed well for himself managing to finish two miles. If he had simply matched Christie’s pace, he might have lasted longer. After all, the bet had been that she had to quit, not that he could outrun her. But Craig had decided he’d run her into the ground, a strategy that failed miserably. When he laid down gasping for air on the ground, she just kept to her own pace and ran another two miles further than he had.
Christie grinned as she passed the guys that were helping Craig stretch out where he’d stopped. Sure, she could have quit after he stopped, but she felt that she had something to prove to him. Even when she was Charlie, he’d had problems dealing with people who thought that they were better physical specimens than he was. When Christie finally stopped, she was exhausted, too. She still took the time to cool down properly and hydrate. She would need to take a nice hot bath and maybe use a little Ben Gay on the sore spots, but she had, by golly, still been going when Craig fell out. WINNER!
Craig was up on his feet when she walked up having completed her cool down, and he appeared quite contrite, too. Gingerly, he walked over to her and offered her his hand, “Damn girl, you won. I still can’t believe it. I will honor my bet, but I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe I had to run into a Jack ‘F***en’ LaLanne in a skirt. Are all ballerinas like you? Do you think maybe they can catch a football or make a tackle?.”
Christie shook his hand giggling. She was glad that he was taking it all in a good-natured way, "No, not all of them, just the ones who hope to be good, dancing is hard work. And the ones who are won't want to play football. Bruised legs look just awful in a tutu."
Back at the dojang, both kids took long hot showers, to work out the kinks.
Friday, both kids were in the morning class. Mark gave Christie a wink as they lined up, nodding his head to where Craig stood, garbed in a wraparound, chiffon skirt she had used in ballet practice atop his regular uniform. For her part, Wilma was a little disappointed and said as much. She'd had her heart set on seeing him dolled out like a ballerina in a tutu, but everyone agreed that that was enough.
Saturday, Christie was working with her class, doing the back punch, step, back punch drill, when she heard her name being screamed. Turning around to see, she was surprised to see Madame Coulter stalking into the dojang in four-inch stiletto heels.
“Christie, my dear, we need to talk. Now.”
“Excuse me Kyo Sa Nim,” Christie said with a bow to Mark, before she went over to Madame Coulter.
“Renee, you need to step back outside of the Dojang and take your shoes off, please,” Christie said before Madame could say anything.
“What? I most certainly will not. And my name is Madame Coulter,” She said emphasizing her name, “We need to talk.”
“If you want to talk to me, you will step outside of the Dojang and take your shoes off. I will talk with you after you come back after you’ve taken your shoes off, as proper courtesy dictates here.”
“Oh, that is so silly! Look, come outside with me and we’ll talk.”
“I will not!”
If looks could kill, Christie would likely have been severely wounded at the very least. Renee turned, and stepped outside the Dojang, took her shoes off and then stomped back inside. By this time, all the three Kims had come over to investigate the disruption and were standing behind Christie waiting to find out what was going on.
“Now, Christie, we need to talk. I need you back for at least three weeks. Lisa just isn’t working out very well in the soloist role.”
“I seem to recall that you said that she was better than me. Quite loudly and quite publicly, in fact.”
“I did, but it was just to motivate you to do better. I felt you were slacking.”
“That still does not make your problem into my problem. You still have Lisa. She can do most of the dances.”
“Yes, most of the dances,” Renee had to bite her tongue as she forced herself to admit, “but not as well as you, nor does she have the stamina that you do. Why is that boy wearing that skirt?” She said suddenly, as she looked past Christie to see Craig.
“He didn’t have the stamina of my new Jeja Christie, either,” Young-Soo answered, grinning.
“And just who are you?” Madame Coulter demanded.
“I am Kim Young-Soo, owner and teacher of Kim Young-Soo’s Karate. You are interrupting some very important lessons for my student. State your business quickly, please.”
“Well, Mr. Soo,” Renee began but Kim just shook his head. “Christie used to be one of my Ballet students. She quit rather suddenly last week, and I find myself needing her quite desperately for three more weeks. Otherwise, I may have to cancel the recital and that would disappoint a lot of my students and their parents.”
“Renee, as I told you last week. I quit. I am no longer your student. You were too tyrannical and unfair for my tastes.”
“Christie, I will say this just one more time!. You WILL call me Madame Coulter. You do NOT have the privilege of my Christian name!”
“Let us talk with our student privately for a moment, please, Madame Coulter,” Young-Soo said in a respectful tone that set Christie’s teeth on edge.
The three Kims moved well away from where Madame Coulter stood and faced their young student. Young-Soo took the lead, "First, you will address her as Madame, Jeja. What you learned from her, she taught you well, did she not?"
“Yes, but…”
Young-Soo held up a hand to stop Christie, “Even a bad Sa Bum Nim is worthy of his or her title if he truly teaches his students and they learn what is taught. Is what she just said true? Will she have to cancel the recital and will it disappoint her other students?.”
Christie thought for a few seconds and sighed, “Probably. I know Lisa couldn’t do my duet or my solo dance. She could dance the other three routines just . . .just not as well.”
“Would these other students be hurt? After all, they did practice so hard and wouldn’t they prefer to have the chance to show off their skill?”
Christie was torn; she really did love to dance. Even Charlie loved to dance. That was one of the reasons he'd loved doing Poomsae as much as he had. In her heart, she was forced to admit that the other girls would be greatly disappointed if they couldn't dance in the recital. She certainly would have been, had she been in their toe shoes. "Yes, Sa Bum Nim, they would be greatly disappointed."
“Then maybe you could dance these two dances for Madame Coulter and for your former classmates?.”
“As long as she accepts that after the recital, I will no longer be her student and that she realizes that I will only do the pas de deux and the pas seul. If she agrees to those conditions, then I will do it.”
“Stay here, little one, and let us talk with her a bit.”
The Kims walked over to Madame Coulter and began talking with the lady. Initially, she seemed to be arguing with them but eventually, she nodded her head in apparent agreement. Young-Soo waved for Christie to join the four of them.
"Jeja Christie, Madame Coulter has agreed to your terms that you will dance the pas de deux and the pas seul. You will attend her studio for class and rehearsals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until you dance at the recital in three weeks. You will come to our dojang on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. After the recital, she will have no further claim on your time."
“I agree, Sa Bum Nim,” Christie replied formally, adding a deep bow.
"Please don't let her get a busted lip or a bruised-up face, Mr. Soo."
"We will try our best to see to her well-being, just as we are sure of your continued goodwill towards her, as well."
~-~
Reluctantly and with more than a little trepidation, Christie entered the dance studio. Many of the girls were excited to see her and ran over to mob-hug her. One stood back and fumed.
“Well I see you are back to save our bacon, Christie,” Lisa said, every word dripping in venom.
“Yes, I heard you were having problems, Lisa. I came back to save the show and after the recital, I will be gone. You can have your little fiefdom to yourself then.”
Christie changed into her tights, leotard and new toe-shoes, before putting her hair up into a bun and covering it. Back outside on the dance floor, she met up with Randall.
“Hi Randy, are you ready to work on our piece?”
“Am I ever,” he said heading for the smaller practice room. “I told MAD… ame that I simply wasn’t going to dance with Lisa. Lisa couldn’t keep up with me and she was only concerned about making herself look good. A Pas de deux is about the Ballerina making the Danseur Noble look good, as his job is making her look spectacular. I tried working with her extra after a particularly rough workout Madame Coulter put the class through. She couldn’t hack it.”
“Well, are you ready?” Christie asked as she wrapped a chiffon skirt around her waist.
“Let me queue up our music.”
Christie and Randall worked on their number for about a very productive hour and a half. They danced the number several times, paying particular attention to a couple of problem areas. They made some small changes and tried the new sequences out.
Randall then had Christie watch as he did his “Footloose” Warehouse dance. She knew that he was good, probably better technically than she was. He could dance circles around Kevin Bacon. She did stop him a couple of times and made some suggestions. She’d dance her proposed sequences for him to see, then he’d try them out on his own. Randy kept most of them after adapting them to his style.
Christie then did her ‘Flashdance-What a Feeling’ solo several times with Randall critiquing her dance.
“Stop a second,” Randall called out at one point. “In the movie, Alexandra Owens worked as a welder during the day and as an exotic dancer at night. To be a successful dancer, she would have had to be comfortable with her body and her sensuality. You are doing a very good job on the technical aspects of the dance, but you need to kick up your sexy a bit. Don’t think about it. Just do it.”
‘That is easy for you to say,’ she thought, ‘So, we kick the sexy up, Christie!’ She giggled to herself a bit and then started the number over from the top, and then took it WAY over the top in a campy sort of way. Just like some of the characters she’d seen on Ru Paul’s Drag Race show do sexy. By the time she finished, Randall was laughing delightedly and had a huge smile on his face.
“Okay,” he said, choking back another laugh, “You might need to tone that back down a bit or you may get us raided by the morality police, but you’ve definitely got the idea now.”
She took a minute to recover a bit before centering herself again. Then she nodded for Randall to hit the music.
“Dance to the music girl, just feel it and dance it.”
Christie stood ready and when the music came, it was 'Maniac'. She had also been working on a 'Maniac' routine before she'd left the studio so she just went with the flow. While the 'What a Feeling' routine was high energy, the 'Maniac' sequence was insane. She went with the flow of the music and let it take her away. She was a little tired when the number finished but six seconds after the end of 'Maniac', 'What a Feeling' began. She just continued with her dance.
"That is how you ought to do your last dance," Randall cheered. "It will be your swan song. You will be leaving right after your dance, so go out with a bang, girl!" He looked around and stepped closer to Christie. "Madame Coulter doesn't know it yet, and please don't say anything about this, Christie," Randal said and then he whispered. "I am leaving at the end of summer. I have been accepted at and have a scholarship to one of the big schools in New York City. If I do well there, it will bring me just another step closer to joining 'The Dance Company'."
That was the dream for so many of the young Ballerinas and Danseurs; signing on with ‘The Dance Company’ meant you were at the pinnacle. That you were among the best in your craft.
“Oh my, that’s going to curl her hair! Losing her two best students in the space of just a few weeks?”
“Yep. Mom and I will leave town on August 15th, while dad will move in January or February. Oh, and the word I’ve heard is that a talent scout from ‘The Dance Company’ will be at our recital.”
“Can I ask you a question, Randall?”
“Let me guess. You want to know why girls don’t like me outside of dance class,” Randall said. Christie nodded, and he shrugged, “I don’t have the time for girls right now. Look, no offense intended, but girls are high maintenance. They expect and have a right to expect certain things from a guy in a relationship with them. Right now, they’d expect too much from me because I am high maintenance. That is not a good mix. Not only that, but I would never, ever consider going out with another dancer and they’re the only girls I spend any time with right now. I would have tried to make an exception for you, but you and me as a couple wasn’t going to happen, was it?” In answer, Christie shook her head no. “So my being somewhat acerbic and aloof was a defense mechanism for me. And just for the record? I would cut off my left nut before I ever dated Lisa. She is a cow.”
“I wouldn’t call her a cow, she doesn’t have the udders for a proper cow, but yes, I understand.”
“It’s a real shame, if she worked harder, she could be good, maybe better than good. She has the classic Ballerina build, great legs, slim build and flat chest. I think she could make it as a professional dancer if she worked as hard as you do.”
Christie thought about it and after doing both high-energy routines together, she could feel it in her chest. She'd had to work very hard to maintain her balance with her boobs throwing everything out of kilter. And the strain on them from dancing that energetically was another good reason for leaving dance right now.
Truthfully, the same argument could be made to support her abandoning her karate. Some of the Poomsae were pretty energetic, too. Not only that, no one was trying to kick or punch her in the chest when she danced. Christie had a good giggle at her own expense; dance or karate? Which was safer for the 'girls'? Then again, with her karate, she would be able to defend this great bod of hers from people with wicked intent. And by golly, If she had to be a girl, it was better to be a good-looking girl. Karate wins!
~-~
Mark was going over his current crop of students with the other instructors during the weekly black belt and red belt meeting Saturday night. "I am really amazed by how quickly and easily Christie picks up the basics. I would recommend testing her for yellow belt, 8th Geup. Let her skip the 9th Geup Yellow Stripe belt test. As I said, I’ve never had a student pick up the basics so fast.”
Young-Soo thought for a few minutes and then spoke to his father and grandfather in Korean. Grandfather Kim agreed that Christie should test for yellow soon. Every August they tried to retain as many summer students as they could. Getting their students enthused and testing them when proficient was a critical piece of their retention program for summer students.
"It is agreed, then. Christie McKellar will test for the eighth yellow on the eleventh of August," Young-Soo said.
~-~
For the next two weeks, Christie went to both her karate classes and dance classes. Randall wasn't such a prick now that she shared his secret. Tad, on the other hand, was being a real jerk. He'd asked her to go out with him at least a half-dozen times over the last two weeks. This was just another time she resented the loss of her Charlie-level martial arts skills. Tad didn't respect girls as a given. He particularly didn't respect girls that he was three or four belt ranks above at the dojang. Christie was beginning to worry that he was going to become a real problem for her very soon.
Another open issue Christie had on her mind from her Charlie timeline was Valerie Stevens. While Christie had been studying dance, she'd never had much contact with Valerie outside of sharing some classes at school with her. Now that she was training at the dojang again, she seemed to find herself around the pretty blonde rather often, and they seemed to hit it off pretty well. Christie's Mom had talked with her about relationships among girls her age. She'd worried because it seemed so different from what Charlie had experienced with his guy peers. Sure, she had her 'Christie Memories' and some of those were about her girlfriends as Christie grew up. The only problem with that was Christie wasn't sure just how much she could rely on those magically manufactured memories.
One day, Christie found Valerie Stevens crying once in the dojang changing room before a class. Christie asked her what was wrong and the girl replied that she didn't know what was bothering her. She felt like she had lost something, but for the life of her she couldn't think what that something might be. Christie took a seat beside her and held her hand while Valerie tried to compose herself. When she began to calm down, Christie hugged her the way her Mom hugged her when the girl-gloom hit her. Strangely, Valerie relaxed and began to feel better after Christie hugged her and comforted her. The girls' friendship began to blossom after that, and by the end of the summer, they were well on their way to being what Mom had called 'best girlfriends.' Christie decided that it was a nice feeling.
~-~
With the recital only three days away, Christie had agreed only to attend her ballet classes. Sure, it was to be her last dance performance, and she was determined it was going to do her best dance, too. Ever! Not only for herself, or merely to show Renee what she’d thrown away, but as her gift to her Mom and Grandmother who always supported and loved her. Deep down, she knew her Mom was saddened by Christie’s decision to choose karate over ballet and wanted to give her one lasting and very special memory.
Saturday morning, Amanda dropped her daughter off at the theater two hours before the recital. Unusually, Christie was more nervous than Amanda ever remembered Charlie having been. Even when Charlie had tested for his first red belt calm, cool and completely focused on the task ahead. In an earlier aside, Christie had pointed out that Charlie knew he’d get to pound on someone during the test to work off his nerves. Christie, because she was the featured dancer and had become the de facto leader of the little ballet troupe, had to smile confidently and be supportive of her fellow dancers. Amanda knew her support wasn’t half-hearted, either. Christie really wanted all the girls, but especially the young girls, to go out and dance well. Amanda wished them all joy and hoped that they would truly enjoy the fruits of their hard labors.
As she made her rounds of the girls, Christie made a particular point of seeking out Lisa Brandt to wish her well today. Of course, she might have admitted to feeling just the teensiest spark of wicked satisfaction when Lisa almost jumped out of her skin when Christie came up from behind her and wished her well. Christie even smiled at the nasty little bitch when she did it.
The first dance performance went very well. All the young girls danced their supporting roles beautifully and even Lisa did a decent job as the soloist in place of Christie. Randall had already assumed his starting position at the very back of the audience as the girls did their ‘dancers’ run’ to leave the stage.
Their routine had been timed to start about twenty seconds after the applause stopped. Into that lull, Christie began moving in classic ballet style, floated out in front of the stage before the music even started and posed. Her pink chiffon dress sparkled and glittered under the single spotlight and she looked gorgeous.
Then, the stage and house lights dimmed, and the familiar introductory notes of ‘I’ve had the Time of my Life’ began to play over the theater sound system. Christie moved gracefully toward the front of the stage just as the audience realized Randall was coming down the center aisle of the theater. He sped up his last three steps towards her and she fell into his arms for the first lift. The first segment of their dance routine was performed up close and personal to the audience, with Christie up on her toes, and Randall partnering her perfectly.
One young boy tried to try to trip Randall while he was doing a walking lift in front of the audience. Fortunately, his mom caught him just before Randall got to him. “Maybe you would like to join the ballet?” his mom growled, just loudly enough for anyone seated in her vicinity to hear. “Your sister would just love to take you to her school with her and you’d be so cute up there dancing in a tutu.”
Christie made a remarkable leap up on the stage, followed by Randall. The two of them danced beautifully together, Christie worked hard so that Randall’s strength and grace were fully displayed as he showcased her beauty, grace and agility. They received thunderous applause when they finished their number. After a short bow, they hurried off the stage, so the next scene could begin.
Randall had to hurry and change costumes because he only had a couple of minutes before he was supposed to be on the stage with the troupe. He hated dancing with Lisa, but he couldn’t disappoint the other girls in the routine any more than Christie would have been able to so he sucked it up. Christie’s pas de sol would be next on the program. Changing into her flash dance costume, she quietly psyched herself up to go out and kill her ‘What a Feeling’ dance.
As the troupe left the stage she came right out and began by doing her ballet stretches. The music started, and Christie moved into the initial, slow portion of her dance. She went into a slow pirouette, spinning gracefully at her full extension and then came to a stop, holding position just as the music held the last slow note. Suddenly, the music jumped, as did her pace. Christie was in the zone now and it showed. She thrilled the audience with her ability and stamina as her dance went totally extreme. She was having fun and it showed.
When the music ended, she received a standing ovation. She had to stay on the stage bowing till the volume of the applause started to die down. She smiled and waved as she left the stage.
Back in the dressing room, Christie grabbed a quick shower and changed back into her chiffon dress, this time with hose and heels. She thought, just for a weak second, about heading out the back door, that would have been cheating the crowd and the other members of the troupe. Randall was just finishing his Footloose number when she finished dressing and stepped out into the off-stage area. She applauded him and gave him a congratulatory hug as the girls went out for their last number.
Lisa might not have been the best dancer in the show, but Christie thought she acquitted herself well. If she danced these pieces again after two months more practice, she would do much better. In fact, she had obviously worked harder than she ever had in the three weeks since Christie returned to help the show. When the dancers went back on stage for their final bows, Christie let Lisa take center stage, much to Renee's consternation. Christie squatted down and gave many of the young girls hugs and congratulations for how beautifully they had performed.
Sad to say, however, Renee Coulter stayed true to form. Even though her girls had danced their hearts out, the best thing she could be bothered to say was that they danced adequately. Then? Then she began to nitpick their performances. "Sue, you missed your marks. Rita? Your pirouettes were out of sync with the other dancers in the Corps de Ballet," And so on, and so forth. Just typical Renee Coulter sniping and cut downs.
Christie had heard enough! “Excuse me, Renee,” Christie called out, more loudly than necessary, and was pleased when Madame Coulter’s face went pasty and splotchy. A student who did not fear her was the woman’s worst nightmare. She’d miss having Christie, but just now? She was glad the snotty little bitch was leaving. “Despite their few flaws, I think they danced superbly. Even Lisa danced her heart out. I have learned, from my Karate class instructors, that if you praise people, it lifts their spirits and makes them want to work harder for you. Yes, there were some imperfections, but they all danced FAR better than you deserved, Renee. You DEFINITELY should have praised them just now for what they did accomplish, and then waited to work on the supposed imperfections with them later! Like, maybe, next week in class? At least that is what I think.”
Christie spun on her heels and marched out, leaving Renee behind for good. She grabbed her NOT-pink gear bag and hurried for the stage exit, expecting to see her mother waiting. She was there waiting, along with a whole crowd of other folks!. There must have been more than half of Young-Soo's students out there and they were all applauding her! What surprised her, though, was to see all three Kims there, in Tuxedos, no less, standing alongside her mother and grandmother. In the middle of all that confusion, two hands found her waist and lifted her high into the air. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw it was Randall. He'd had come out right behind her, and now he was gracefully carrying her down the three steps. Randall set her gently down in front of her Mom, who had tears of joy and pride in her eyes as she hugged her daughter.
“Christie, you were incredible! I can hardly believe how much you and your dancing have matured.”
"Thank you, Mom, I love you so much, and I am really glad you enjoyed my dancing. I'm just relieved to be out from under the tutelage of Madame Coulter. Can you believe what she told her students after that wonderful performance? "Girls, you danced adequately, blah, blah, blah… Sue, you were a millimeter off your mark, Rita, you were milliseconds off on your turns." Those girls were very good, Mom, and she didn't give any of them a single word of praise!"
“I think they performed beautifully, too, Christie, and I now fully understand why you prefer your karate instructors. Grandfather Kim, Master Kim and Kim Young-Soo.” She turned to face Grandfather Kim. “Please continue taking such good care of my little girl.”
Grandfather Kim answered her, beaming one of his million-dollar smiles, "We will, Mrs. McKellar. Oh, we very definitely will."
Christie sidled up beside Grandfather Kim and offered him her arm, “Now, can a girl take her best guy out to dinner? You can have the other two, Mom.”
Young-Soo turned to his Father, “Dang it, Dad, why does Grandpa get all the prettiest girls?”
“Beats me, Adeunim. He has always been like that. Mrs. McKellar, I hadn’t originally planned on going out to eat, but your daughter’s suggestion is just too tempting. Would you please be my date for the evening?”
“I would be most charmed to be your escort tonight, sir,” Amanda replied, giving Master Kim a quick curtsy.
Young-Soo turned to his twelve-year-old daughter and offered her his arm, "Well, looks like it's you and me, kid."
Eunice, following the excellent example of Christie, said, “Sorry, Dad. I’ve decided that Greg will be my escort,” she said, turning her all-too-knowing eyes coyly on Greg Wenzel. “That is if he ever gets around to asking me nicely to be his date.”
Thirteen-year-old Greg, who had tagged along with his older brother today when he’d learned that his secret crush, Eunice, was going to be in attendance, looked momentarily stunned, but he managed to stammer out something that sounded almost like a date invitation.
Eunice offered Greg her arm and Greg took it.
Young-Soo just shook his head and smiled, “Decided to put the poor guy out of his misery, eh? I can’t wait till your Mom gets back from South Korea. Come along then, Greg and Eun Ae.”
“Daaaad-dy! I’ve told you to call me Eunice!” Eun Ae scolded her father. ‘Eunice’ was close to her Korean name and she liked the Romanized version of her name. “And no fair giving away a girl's secrets like that!”
“I reserve a father’s right to embarrass their children, my dear. Oh, Greg? Would you like to see Eun Ae’s baby photos after dinner?” Young-Soo asked, mischievously.
“Daaaad! Don’t. You. Dare!!”
Young-Soo just grinned wickedly at his daughter before turning away to lead Eun Ae and a goofy-grinning Greg to his car.
The troupe headed out to a fancy restaurant, where there just happened, magically, it seemed, to be able to set a table for a party of fifteen people. Amanda just winked at her daughter.
~-~
Monday morning, Christie was happily surprised to find three of the young girls from her ballet class waiting for her in the lobby of the dojang with their mothers. One of the mothers, Cindy’s Mom, if Christie’s memory held true, smiled, then came over and said, “Hello Christie. You danced wonderfully in the recital, dear.”
“Hello, Mrs. Pettis, thank you, it’s nice to see you, again. Looks like you might have been waiting for me. How can I help you?”
Mrs. Pettis made a circling motion with her hand, indicating she was speaking for all of the mothers there. “We heard what you said to Renee the other day after the recital. You see, Rhonda, Barbara and I went out to eat with our girls after the recital. The girls told us what Renee had said to all of the dancers and what you said to her. I was pretty torn up about it. I love ballet, you see, and I’ve always had secret hopes of having a ballerina in the family.”
Mrs. Pettis shook her head as if trying to shake an unpleasant memory before continuing. “Only, Cindy always seemed to come home after class upset by what Renee had to say about them that day. Well, after dinner, we all came to my home. The girls went to Cindy’s room to play around, I talked things out with Barbara and Rhonda. We all agreed that Renee is good, very good in fact, but she is too full of herself. We felt she was taking her failure to get to the big show out on our daughters and her other students. Dance should be fun and the girls aren’t having any fun with Renee. We decided we were going to pull them out of ballet. When we broke that news to the girls, they were thrilled and then asked if they could take karate with you.”
Christie looked around the door into the studio and saw that Young-Soo was in his office. “Ladies, Girls? Please come with me to Sa Bum Nim Young-Soo’s office.”
“Sa bum nim? What does that mean, Christie?” Rhonda asked.
“It means master or teacher. We use that term for whoever teaches us out of respect for them. They often refer to us as Jeja or students. It’s not like it was with Madame Coulter. They don’t demand the title and the respect, they earn it.”
Christie led everyone to Young-Soo’s office where she politely knocked on the door jamb to get his attention. When he looked up, she bowed and said, “Sa Bum Nim, I have some friends that would like to meet you.”
"So I see, Jeja Christie,"Young-Soo said, standing and smiling. "Come in, please. Be welcomed here. And do I recognize some of the magnificent dancers from Saturday's performance?"
“Yes, indeed, Sa Bum Nim. May I please present to you Mrs. Linda Pettis and her daughter, Cindy, Mrs. Barbara Dwyer and her daughter, Kelly and Mrs. Rhonda Newton and her daughter, Carly. They are here to talk about these young ladies possibly taking Karate.” Young-Soo responded with a quick bow to and a handshake with each of the Mothers before gesturing towards some seating off to the side of his office.
“Please have a seat, ladies. I remember you three beautiful young ladies. You all danced wonderfully. Me and my own daughter, my father and grandfather thought you were marvelous.”
The mothers smiled proudly as their daughters just giggled.
The three moms filled the office couch. Christie started to leave but was stopped by Young-Soo. So she sat on the floor, inviting the girls to join her. All three girls tried to occupy her lap and succeeded to a small extent. Christie just hugged all three girls to her to keep them from falling off her lap.
The mothers talked with Young-Soo, speaking very frankly. Their primary worry was that their daughters might get hurt in the karate classes. Young-Soo explained that while they couldn't guarantee that their daughters wouldn't get hurt, they took every possible safety precaution to ensure that they didn't. He explained that no student was ever allowed to spar until they had reached a point in their training where they could handle and protect themselves. The mothers were told that they could come and watch their girls without invitation, any time they wanted, which was something Madame Coulter didn't like and actively resisted.
Young-Soo was very smooth with the mothers. He was a good salesman when it came to promoting Karate as a safe and beneficial activity for youngsters. In the end, all three Moms agreed to sign their girls up for a one-month free trial before regular tuition fees would begin. They would only be required to buy the uniform.
“Jeja Christie, would you please outfit these beautiful girls and show them around the dojang?”
“It would be my pleasure, Sa Bum Nim. C’mon, ladies. Time's-a-wastin’.”
Christie didn’t have enough hands as each of the girls tried to claim one. That earned a giggle as she led them to the dojang shop and got the girls sized for their dobok. At least after that, the girls had their arms full. Next, Christie led them on a tour.
“Girls, this is important. We always take our shoes off before we enter the dojang - that’s what the main studio is called, by the way. Just take your shoes off and put them in these boxes,”Christie said, demonstrating with her own footwear.
The girls followed her lead, and then she showed the girls the three main instruction rooms where they could expect to take classes and drill.
Entering the largest of the room, Christie explained, "This is the main room, where your classes will usually be taught. See the mirrors on the wall? Just like in Madame Coulter's classroom, you will use those to see if you are doing the moves correctly. Just be careful that you don't kick or hit the mirrors. These other two rooms are usually for advanced students who need space to work on advanced techniques or work with weapons. Don't ever go into one of those rooms without an instructor with you. Like Sa Bum Nim told your Moms, we don't want you to get hurt. Over here we have punching bags and weights. Don't play with these till you get more experienced and have permission from an instructor. Back here is the changing room and the showers," Christie dramatically pinched her nose and lowered her voice conspiratorially, "The smelly boys go over there and us girls use this one."
The girls all oh-ed and yucked as they passed the boy's entrance, suitably disgusted by such masculine indelicacies. While she'd said it to get a reaction from her charges, Christie realized for the first time just how smelly the boy's side was, even from outside the entrance. Why hadn't Charlie ever noticed that pong, she wondered?
In the changing room, there were baskets on box-like shelves next to benches for seating. Christie told the girls to find an empty basket to put their stuff into it and then change into their doboks. Christie did the same. She taught them how to put their dobok on and demonstrated how they were supposed to tie their white belts. Christie then led them to the back of the dressing room, where there was a sauna, a Jacuzzi and the showers. "Don't go into the sauna or Jacuzzi without someone older with you," Christie cautioned and then led the way past the sinks, toilets and towels that were near the showers.
The tour complete, Christie hustled her little brood out into the large classroom where she introduced them to their black belt instructor Wilma. Wilma drafted Christie to work with her and the girls and proceeded to teach them dojang etiquette followed by proper stretches and warm-ups. Wilma was beyond amazed at how flexible these girls were. Once she was sure they were all warmed up and wouldn't pull any muscles, she and Christie moved on to start working on basic punches, kicks and blocks. After thirty minutes of what Wilma thought had been a fairly intense effort, she started to take it easy on the girls.
Christie, however, was having none of that! “Keep going, Wilma. These girls are tougher than they look. They aren’t even sweating yet. Madame Coulter worked them a lot harder than this, every class.”
“Okay, Christie,” Wilma conceded. “How about you work with them for a while. I will watch and correct them.”
Christie immediately took control and began to work the girls much harder than was normal for brand new students taking their first-ever class at the dojang. Wilma didn't get a chance to correct them because Christie was on every mistake like a fly on stink, but she did it with style and made the girls feel good about themselves and what they'd accomplished. The girls just soaked it up. Wilma very quickly realized two facts. One, these girls were already very fit athletes and two, they liked Christie and working with her.
When Christie finished with them she had them bow to Wilma, and then to her. The girls were all excited and ran to hug Christie and Wilma.
~-~
Christie soon became a fixture helping with the kids’ classes. Senior instructors noted that she worked the kids harder than the other instructors, but not brutally hard. She just seemed to know when the kids needed to stop and when they needed to keep pushing. Her kids showed remarkable improvement which was also noted by the senior instructors.
In her classes, she had come a long way towards training Christie’s body to some of what Charlie had lost. As time went on, it was clear that she was better than any of the other White or Yellow belts and might just be at least competitive with some of the Green Belts. Still, Christie wasn’t satisfied with her performance or her growth.
A big part of her problem with herself, unfortunately, was that Christie was a girl and Charlie had been a boy. In the two months that she had been working out at this dojang, her upper body strength had improved - somewhat. She had progressed from being able to do fifty-pound bench presses (barely!) to one hundred-fifteen pound bench presses - over a 100% improvement, but still a far cry from Charlie's two hundred ninety-five pound bench press.
One afternoon, she was working out on a heavy bag, wearing her MMA gloves, when her frustration boiled over. She was hitting the damn bag exactly the way that Charlie had, but she wasn't getting the satisfaction that Charlie had gotten hitting the bag. She knew the answer. Her head was both Charlie and Christie, but her body was just Christie. She sat on the floor in the lotus position, frustrated, lost in thought and trying to stare a hole through the bag.
"Jeja, what are we doing?" Grandfather Kim asked. Somehow, he had snuck in and was seated next to her in the lotus position. Surprised to see him, she began to scrabble to her feet to bow to him but Grandfather just put his near hand gently on her shoulder to hold her down.
“Sorry, Grandfather Kim. I was just contemplating how I could assassinate, destroy and kill that heavy bag. I have been kicking and banging on it for hours and I am just not happy with the results.”
Nodding his understanding, Grandfather smiled and ordered, “Tell me about your opponent, Jeja, and I will tell you how to fight him. Not all opponents can be fought the same way, nor can any two fighters always use the same technique to defeat such an opponent.”
Resisting the urge to growl, Christie complied, “My opponent is a thick leather bag about four feet tall filled with nearly two hundred pounds of cotton batting and hanging from the ceiling by four large chains. Unfortunately, he can absorb a ton of damage without being hurt.”
"And yet, it can be damaged with the right attack," Grandfather Kim said as he stood. He stood in a right leg back stance, he did a slow back punch on the bag and then slowly drew his right hand back to his hip. He straightened out his fingers into a spear hand, and with a loud, "Keeahh," he thrust his hand through the leather shell and into the bag. His hand was buried up to the wrist in the heavy bag.
They both heard, “Oh geez, Grandpa, not another heavy bag, those things cost a lot of money. I am going to have to go to the hardware store and buy another roll of duct tape.”
Christie started to giggle, she couldn’t help it. Her mood was much lighter now. Grandfather Kim sat back down next to Christie.
“Don’t try a spear hand thrust, Jeja. That technique requires decades of practice to toughen your hands up enough, and you can lose a degree of dexterity in the effort. Tell me. How would you fight our little Ricky?”
“Oh, god, I hate to contemplate fighting little Ricky! He is so bloody fast, but the only way I could win would be to keep on the offensive and keep Ricky on his heels. I would attack straight on using front leg snap kicks, back fists, jabs, back punches and such. He would turn into a circular attack to counter me. I would use as much power as I could to hurt him and slow the little bug down!”
“And how would you fight Donnie Colt?”
"Geez, Grandfather! Just staying alive against Donnie would be an accomplishment. Okay, if I had to fight him? Well, he leads with his head often and suffers rage at times. I would have to wear him down. I would fight him almost the opposite of Ricky. I would work on staying out of his wheelhouse and pepper him with circular attacks. Round kicks, ridge hands, hook kicks. My power attacks would never hurt him. He has hardened his body to that kind of attack. I would have to target his head, nerve bundles, solar plexus, his joints - knees, elbows, shoulders and his gonads if I was fighting him on the street. I would hurt him as quickly as I could and then run away as fast as I could." Christie started giggling then. "I know I could run him to death if nothing else."
“Yet, that isn’t how Charlie fought him,” Grandfather observed casually.
“I am not Charlie any longer,” Christie said, without thinking, and then nearly wrenched her neck as her head spun to stare at Grandfather Kim. “You know? Knew? How?”
“Jeja, there is much for you to learn. There is more magic in this world than what you know.”
“Of course! YOU saved Jimmy from that darn dog. We couldn’t figure out what happened!”
“No good deed should be left undone. I was there changing a tire on my car. The dog burst through the glass door, but I screwed with its mind and sent him running home. The Pritchards probably found their dog hiding under his master’s bed. People shouldn’t own such dangerous animals unless they can and will control them. Unfortunately, Mr. Pritchard has a mean streak to go along with his paranoia.”
“But, why do I still have the car? Mr. Wilson gave it to me, I mean, to Charlie for saving his son’s life. I doubt Mr. Wilson even knows me as Christie.”
"Again I say, no good deed should go undone. I arranged for you to receive that car, and I expect to see you driving that car soon, Jeja. Now back to the issue before us. Christie, your mind, body and spirit are not in balance. Practice and self-discipline will bring your body and mind into line, but you have much work yet to do to bring your spirit in line. You will never find balance till all three are in tune. Now, what are your strengths, Christie?"
"I have better balance than I ever had before. I have great stamina and killer legs," Christie said giggling. At Grandfather's flat stare, she choked them back and continued. "I mean, I feel that my round kicks, hook kicks and snap kicks will be great. My sidekicks and back kicks will suffer in comparison to Charlie's. He had twenty-five pounds of core muscle I will never have. On the other hand, umm, other foot? Anyway, my feet are a lot stronger than his. Charlie could never go en pointe. My weaknesses, as long as I am Christie? I will always have less power than Charlie. Also, I doubt I'll ever be able to take a hit like Charlie could. I can improve on that, I guess, but my figure would pay the price, and I kinda like my figure!. All the same, to absorb that kind of punishment I would need a significant increase in my lean muscle mass and as a girl that's not going to happen. I could come up with a compromise, though."
“And what would that be, little one?” prodded the old man.
"Not getting hit. I have great balance and agility on top of quickness. I would have to be more like Ricky when as Charlie, I wanted to be more like Donnie. Charlie was a balance of the two styles because he wasn't quick enough to be Ricky, nor powerfully built enough to be like Donnie."
"And there, Jeja is that word again. Balance. Well, keep working on your problems child," Grandfather Kim said, standing and walking off to some other task.
~-~
Christie had a long talk with her Mom about what she learned from Grandfather Kim. Amanda was taken aback by the revelations, but then again, not overly so. She knew that there were many more paths to magic than the one her family followed; she had just never figured crossing someone else’s path. Still, as she thought about what had happened and what they’d learned, everything suddenly did fit together more easily.
Christie continued her progress at the karate school and was ready for her tests in mid-August. She would do the test for the 9th Geup Yellow Stripe belt and then test for her 8th Geup Yellow Belt later in the session. She had her required poomsae down cold for the tests. Heck, she 'knew' them all the way to black belt, but she was still working to re-train her body for the more advanced poomsae. At present, she was just about where she needed to be to perform the poomsae required for the 5th Geup Blue Stripe belt.
She had worked and knew she was doing better, but she still wasn’t happy. Nor should she be, she realized. If she was happy with where she was in her training, she wouldn’t train as hard and she wouldn’t improve as fast as she had. Or as fast as she still wanted to improve.
She'd even started sparring with Wilma, Ricky, Tracy and Young-Soo, which was very strange for a mere white belt with less than two months of formal training 'under her belt'. She also found herself working out with the greens and blues at times. Master Kim or Grandfather Kim would just throw her into one of their classes and tell her to swim or drown. She always drew some rather heated glares and stares from students who felt they were too good to associate with an uncolored belt.
And then there was Tad. He kept hitting on her for a date, and in fact, was getting pushier about it every day. Two years older than Christie and obnoxious in the extreme, there was simply no way she would ever date him. She’d rather eat broken glass and rusty nails. Date Tad?!? No. Simply, emphatically, NO!
Now if she could just figure out a way to drive that through his thick skull!
~-~
As had always been their tradition from their Charlie days, Amanda and Christie showed up together on test day. Christie was scheduled for the 9th Geup and 8th Geup tests. At the end of class yesterday, Grandfather Kim had mentioned, just in passing of course, that she might be called in for the 7th Geup Green Stripe belt test, as well. Amanda had brought her digital camera along for pictures and would also buy a copy of the video that the dojang routinely made of the test day activities.
With all the white belts testing during this test session, the judges would need to break all the candidates up into several groups just to be able to manage them all. Christie would have been bored stiff if she wasn’t rooting her other friends on. When her group was called, she could help make her friends look good by looking good herself. She did. The 9th Yellow Stripe test was short and sweet; there was no sparing and the single required poomsae was simple.
The 8th Geup Yellow test was a little more challenging, but she wasn’t even sweating when she finished her poomse. She even managed several satisfying pops from her dobok on all her techniques. She was just a little proud when she realized she had been the only yellow student who created the pops.
She continued on to the 7th Geup Green Stripe Belt test. This test required her to do some sparring, but she was ready for it. There was only one rule in sparring - you had to do your best and not hold back to make your partner look good. She had two bouts and if this had been a tournament, she would have crushed both of her opponents. The two bouts were four minutes each, with two rounds of two minutes each. When she finally sat down after her second bout, she still wasn’t even breathing hard.
She was not prepared for Grandfather Kim to then call her in for the 6th Geup Green test nor was she the only one surprised. Dutifully she took her place on the mat, the only white belt in a row with seven 7th Geup green stripe belts. This test took a little longer as the green belts had more techniques and poomsae to demonstrate than the earlier tests. She also had three sparring bouts with the other green belts.
Her last bout was against Tad. Grandfather stood in front of her as she shook herself out and whispered, “Balance, Jeja. Balance.”
Tad took his stance across from her and looked at Christie. The damn jerk had this huge lecherous grin on his face as if he couldn't wait to get his hands on her. Christie took up her position and took a final deep, calming breath. From the audience, Amanda looked on with a growing sense of concern. She knew of Tad and his reputation from listening to her daughter often venting about his little tricks and snide remarks. She very much wanted to call an end to this bout but held her tongue. She didn't even cast anything to help her daughter.
But she damn sure wanted to!
Wilma Davis had been serving as the Joo Sim for the Green Belt sparring bouts. As soon as she called out, "Sijak!" Tad came flying across the mat at Christie. He led with a chest-high back punch, looking to hit her square on her boobs. Unfortunately for Tad, he hadn't been paying attention to any of her earlier bouts, or he might have anticipated the textbook front leg round kick that knocked him down. He didn't lay a paw on her.
“Kalyeo!” Wilma shouted.
After polling the judges, her kick scored her two points.
At "Sijak" Tad danced around for a bit. They both threw a few back fists that didn't land or were deflected and didn't score. Tad then shifted a bit back and then launched a back leg snap kick with independent motion to close the distance. Independent motion is like taking a hop instead of a step to close on your opponent. Christie slipped the kick and blocked a back fist as Tad's momentum carried him by her, but not before she landed a left-hand back punch to his rib cage. "Kalyeo!" The score was three to zero.
By the end of the first round, Christie was leading the bout five to one. She'd scored another point for a ridge hand and then a back fist, while Tad managed an awkward back fist that grazed her headgear. After a one-minute rest break, they were called back to center-mat. Christie could see him twitching, and knew Tad was on the edge of losing control entirely.
When Wilma called, "Sijak!"Tad came in with a bull rush. Christie countered with a maneuver Charlie had learned as a red belt. She started a jump and rotation at the same moment and launched a jump 360 hook kick. Had she connected with malice on that kick, the result would have been a devastating, bone-crushing blow from the heel of her foot, but all she did was extend her toes, landing a very hard slap with the ball of her foot on his cheek. Adding insult to injury, however, she hit him with a round kick that landed on the other cheek before she touched back down. "Kalyeo!"
You could have heard a pin drop in the dojang as Christie dropped into a defensive stance.
Tad didn't wait till the end of their bout and stomped off the mat. He couldn't even beat a girl! A damn girl wearing a damned white belt had just made a laughing stock out of him in front of the entire damned school!! Grabbing his bag from the side of the mat, Tad stormed out of the dojang not even bothering to change out his dobok or put on his shoes.
Christie was saddened not elated as she had every right to be for her effort. She turned to Grandfather Kim and said with tears in her eyes, “I’m really sorry, Grandfather Kim. I was just trying to keep from being hurt. He was losing control.”
“You did nothing wrong, Christie. We have been trying to save that one for a while, and now, it appears he needs to find another path. Nice combo, by the way.”
The rest of the test went smoothly; they had three blues to test, but no red or black belts testing. After the black belts were deliberated, the belts were awarded. Christie was given a yellow stripe on her white belt. Then she had to put on a yellow belt and a minute later was given a green stripe on her yellow belt. She got to sit for another minute after that before she was called up to put on a green belt. Only two people failed the test. A fifth green belt (Tad) and a third blue (Grace) had failed to advance. Grace because she had twisted an ankle attempting the jump 360 hook kick early on in her session and had needed to retire.
After all of the students bowed and the black belts had filed out, the other students mobbed their friends. Christie was attacked by a dozen kids, including the three girls from the ballet school. She playfully called for help as the kids were crawling all over her. When the kids gave her a break she received pats on the back and congratulations from the other people there.
~-~
Summer was winding down as was the pace of daily activity for the school-age kids attending the two studios. The extra class opportunities set up in June were scaled back to their normal schedules as most of the students had begun thinking seriously about getting ready for the new school year.
In the short three months since Charlie McKellar had become Christie, she had needed to learn a great many new things. Often, she found herself especially grateful for the spells her Mother had cast on her in conjunction with her transformation. A lot of 'modern girl knowledge' had just been there for her when she'd needed it, often saving her from an obvious girl-life faux pas that Charlie wouldn't have seen coming with a telescope. She also thought that magic sometimes helped her learn things related to her new life faster. BUT, and this seemed to be a big 'but', evidently getting ready for school, as a teenage girl, wasn't something she instantly knew everything she might need to know. So when her mom chided her for not having started what SHE considered vital preparations two or three weeks ago, Christie had been somewhat baffled.
Later, when she’d finally asked her mother what she’d meant, the answer made Christie wonder when her training wheels had fallen off.
Amanda’s main concern (Christie thought it was a complaint!) was her daughter’s seeming indifference to acquiring a proper school wardrobe. Christie had initially thought her Mother was yanking her chain. She had a closet FULL of clothes - easily two or three times as many outfits as Charlie ever had - for three school years! When Amanda patiently pointed out that everyone at her school, and by everyone, she meant every girl her age or older, had already seen her in all of those ‘old things’. Christie tried to protest that she’d never been seen in ANY of them before school let out for the summer, and found herself face to face with Amanda’s Mother-Smirk of Doom.
“Think back, darling. What did Christie wear on the last day of school?” Without even thinking, Christie reached into her closet and pulled out a bright yellow sundress decorated with lovely little purple violets trimming the hem of the skirt and the neckline and sleeves of the bodice.
“The bodice won’t fit your new curves dear.”
Reaching into her daughter’s closet, she randomly plucked out a corduroy jumper. “When did Christie wear this last?”
"Oh, that's a cold-weather outfit. I guess I wore it last in Febru. . . ." Christie's voice trailed off and her eyes went wide as she began to grasp her Mother's point.
Nodding, Amanda grinned in victory. "And if YOU remember wearing those things, the girls at your school will have precisely the same memories. That's the way the magic works, but if you want to show up for school wearing year-old, out-of-date styles that will probably be too short and too tight on your lovely figure to pass muster with your principal, I guess that's your decision."
Christie actually caught herself pouting. POUTING! How embarrassing. Finally, she swallowed hard, womaned-up and asked in her sweetest possible voice, “Would you go shopping with me for my school clothes, Mom? Pretty please?”
Sniffing loudly, Amanda just stared her daughter down for a very long few seconds, before sighing loudly. "If I must, I must. It is, after all, a Mother's duty to see to her daughter's training, particularly when her daughter needs it so badly. Why Me? What did I ever do to deserve such a fashion impaired daughter?" She asked in long-suffering and melodramatic tones.
Christie grinned back at her wickedly. "Maybe because you changed a perfectly acceptable and well-adjusted male into your daughter? I mean, if you look at it that way, it's your own fault, and now, you have to pay for it! Literally and figuratively." And then she scooted out of the room with her Mom hot on her heels, both of them giggling like loons.
With her karate class commitments scaled back to only three sessions a week, Christie would be able to dedicate most of the next eight days to learning some of the finer points of being a schoolgirl. As her Mother had observed, the first issue they had to fix was her school wardrobe. Now that Amanda had mentioned clothes being 'too tight', Christie had noticed that her bras were getting kinda tight around her ribs and over her boobs.
She and Amanda purchased a large stack of the latest teen fashion magazines, to research what would be "IN" this year. After discussing it with her Mom, they compiled a list of stores to attack starting with Victoria's Secret.
~-~
Before they embarked on the retail assault, Mother and daughter agreed that a thorough set of measurements would be a necessary starting point. Christie was certain she had grown quite a bit over the summer. For one thing, she had quit the very strict diet she'd adhered to for ballet. She was eating a more sensible diet, and some of the clothes she wore, particularly the figure-hugging ones like her pink Flashdance dress, were beginning to get a wee bit tight.
Christie had been 37-23-34 when she'd emerged in June, but now she was a 39-25½-36. Not only that, but her neck was a half-inch larger, she'd added a half-inch across her biceps, and a quarter of an inch at her wrists. Even her trunk measurement (from the top of one shoulder through her crotch and back to the shoulder) was an inch and a half longer now than it had been. Christie decided it was time to head for the kitchen where her mom had marked her height on the door sill every birthday. Christie was now an inch and three quarters taller than she had been in June, measuring five foot seven and three-quarter inches tall.
Amanda got out her scale, one of the fancy types that measured body fat, retained water and muscle mass, and had Christie step up on it. She got out the little record book she used for such information and entered the new readings. The two women sat down and compared the readings they'd taken in June, July and now August. Christie was eleven pounds heavier than she had been in June, weighing in at one hundred twenty-nine lbs. Her body was retaining two and a half percent more water weight, which wasn't a bad thing given the summer heat, her body fat was up three percent but surprisingly, her muscle mass was a whole six percent higher. In the five weeks since the recital, she had fallen out of dancing form, but she was actually closer to a healthy norm.
Christie still pinched herself to measure fat, the same method Madame Coulter had used to measure her girls and had kept a record of that information in her Mother’s book, too. The two and a half inches she’d gained about her waist concerned her, so she diligently tried to pinch more skin but was relieved when she couldn’t pinch any more than she had at twenty-three inches.
"I don't know what to tell you, Christie," Amanda said, after probing her daughter's waist,
"It sure feels like solid muscle mass to me. In fact, it feels more solid now than it did back when you danced. Anymore solid and you'd be sporting a six-pack which isn't attractive on most girls. You are not getting fat. I think you may have found where a chunk of the six percent increase in muscle mass resides."
“I just don’t want to get fat,” Christie grumbled.
“As much as you like to exercise? Darling, that is NOT going to happen. It’s just that, for the first time since Christie started ballet eight years ago, you are now eating like a normal teenage girl who doesn’t want to get fat. Looking at you, except for your bust, you are still leaner than average. Look at me. Am I fat?”
“Heck no, Mom, you look great.”
Amanda undressed down to her underwear and had Christie measure her. Amanda was larger than Christie everywhere.
“Christie I am 40-30-39 and you just told me that I am not fat, right?”
“You have a great bod, Mom.”
“So, unless you go crazy at the pizza parlor, this is your body in twenty years. If you don’t have any children, you could even have a better body. Well, if you remain a girl, that is.”
“I had almost forgotten about that possibility.”
“That is because you are adapting to your situation, baby. You won’t forget when the time comes for you to choose. Not to mention, I wouldn’t let you forget.”
“I don’t know Mom. There are things I really like about being a girl and at the same time, there are things I really miss being Charlie. It’s a lot to get my head wrapped around.”
“I know, baby, just remember that whatever you choose, you’re still the most important person in the world to me. Now, let’s look at a clothing chart and figure out our sizes. I feel like getting some new clothes too.”
"Can't you just zap the clothes to fit?" Christie asked, curious about what limitations if any, were on her Mother's unique abilities.
“Now, that would just take a whole lot of fun out of being a girl! Besides magic is too important to use so trivially. Maybe if you went skinny dipping and someone stole your clothes? That would be different. Casting a spell that would make the thieves suddenly fit into the clothes they stole? That would be justice, but don’t do it. That’ll open a whole different can of worms because magic always seeks balance. What gets changed in one place might appear elsewhere. You might prevent rain on somebody’s wedding day, and cause a flood somewhere else. Revenge can kill two is another saying we have because it will often boomerang on the caster. You will learn over time that there are times for bold magic, but many more times when no magic or a very subtle application is the better course.”
The last eight days before school Christie spent getting ready to go back to school. She had to learn how to get ready for school. She already knew how to get dressed and such, but she knew it would take her longer to get ready in the mornings. Christie wasn’t exactly a morning person, but neither was she a sleepy head. So she and her Mom came up with a plan for the next three mornings they would get up and get dressed and go out the door each morning in enough time for Christie to get to school.
******************************************************************
Character Summary
Charlie McKellar- 16 year old 1st Geup red belt with black stripe Taekwondo student; teaches the kids under fifteen classes; becomes Christie McKellar, Ballet student
Amanda McKellar- sorceress mother of Charlie/Christie
Kim Young-Soo - 38 year old 5th Dan black belt World Taekwondo Federation (WTF); owner of Young-Soo Karate
Master Kim - Kim Young-Min - 60-year-old Father of Young-Soo; 10th Dan black belt WTF
‘Grandfather Kim’ - Kim Young-Ja- 89-year-old 10th Dan black belt WTF; Grandfather of Young-Soo; Moved from Pyongyang to Seoul in May 1949 before the start of the Korean conflict. Taught Karate to Republic of Korea (ROK) Army from 1950 till 1962. Emigrated to the US in 1969. Rarely teaches karate anymore but is still a fixture at the dojang.
Donnie Colt - 18 year old African American 1st Geup red belt with black stripe; friend and main adversary of Charlie; also Studies Ju-Jitsu and Muay-Thai with hopes of getting into professional Mixed Martial Arts fighting. He teaches kids classes with Charlie and adults with Wilma. Good guy until you get him mad. You don’t want to see him mad.
Madame Coulter - Renee Coulter- Tyrannical Ballet instructor
Lisa Brandt - 16 year old ballet student and main competitor of Christie McKellar for soloist roles; your average no-good, spoiled rotten, high school diva.
Valerie Stevens - 6th Geup green belt; 17 years old; Charlie’s would-be girlfriend; Christie’s BFF, and maybe more
Robert ‘Tad’ Green - 6th Geup green belt; not a good guy; likes hitting opponents too hard during sparring; hates Charlie and Donnie with a passion
Cindy Pettis - 12 year old ballet student. A shy timid girl overwhelmed by Madame Coulter. Later joins dojang.
Wilma Davis - 20 year old 1st Dan Black Belt WTF; Teaches most of the green, blue, red belt and all adult classes; A svelte, wiry, tenacious opponent who gives to Charlie and Donny as good as she gets.
Tracy Wilcox - 22 year old, 1st Dan Black Belt WTF. Teaches classes with Wilma and heads up dojang’s recruitment program for girls; Donnie Colt’s girlfriend.
Ricky Summers - 13 year old junior (1st Poom) black belt; excellent on standard forms (Poomsae) and just fair in sparring
Appendix A
Taekwondo Belt Ranking Used in Mind, Body and Spirit
Belt Color (Rank Designation) Belt Picture Belt and Rank Metaphors
White Belt (10th Geup) Blankness, lack of knowledge, a beginning.
Yellow Stripe (9th Geup) A middle phase between a total beginner and yellow belt. A white belt with yellow stripes on the ends.
Yellow Belt (8th Geup) A seed is planted.
Green stripe (7th Geup) Middle phase between yellow and green. A yellow belt with a
green stripe on the ends.
Green Belt (6th Geup) A planted seed starts to grow and mature.
Blue Stripe (5th Geup) Middle phase between the green belt and the blue belt. A green belt with blue stripes at the ends.
Blue Belt (4th Geup) The sky the grown plant aspires to reach.
Red Stripe (3rd Geup) Middle Phase between blue belt and red belt. A blue belt with red stripes at the ends.
Red Belt (2nd Geup) Red is the color of blood, a warning about the dangers of the skill.
Black Stripe (1st Geup) Middle phase between red belt and black belt.
Black belt (1st Dan): The student is has mastered the fundamentals of Taekwondo and is now ready to learn.
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 2 - Christie's First Day at School
Christie stopped before starting up the walkway leading to the Dolley Todd Madison High School entrance. Christie realized she'd never really considered that her school's name honored a woman. Most district schools had manly names like George S. Patton Middle School, although several buildings reflected the school's location, like Hidden Lake Elementary School. Charlie had always thought of this place as 'my school' or simply as DHS. Just another tiny discovery that smacked her in the face due to the awareness she'd changed teams.
Discoveries that had seemed to keep coming at her faster and faster lately. So much so that Christie wondered if at least one of her magical 'training wheels' had fallen off somewhere. Every day had more 'girl-stuff' turning up unexpectedly, making her life more 'interesting.' Maybe Confucius had experienced a gender swap when he'd come up with his 'May you be cursed to live in interesting times' quotation. Maybe her new life wasn't quite a curse, but it often seemed darned overwhelming.
Charlie had had it easy!
Oh god, she thought, she was actually jealous of herself . . .himself . . .whatever!
For example, just this morning, she'd gotten up, showered and then gone about getting ready to face her first day at school. Easy peasy, right? Or so she'd thought. Evidently, her selection of comfortable jeans, a pullover and tennie-runners, which she'd carefully laid out on her bed before showering, had received a failing 'girl-grade' from her Mother. Upon returning from the bathroom, she'd found that her perfectly suitable 'Charlie ensemble' was replaced by a knee-length denim skirt, a camisole, a button-down blouse and the new Mary-Janes with the one-inch heel. Oh, and there was a little sticky note on top reminding her she needed to put on her makeup so Mom could make sure it wasn't 'too much' for school.
Yeah, right, Mom. Of course, that was to make sure that Christie actually wore some - which had NOT been her intention. Christie's cosmetic artistry had only required three attempts to pass Mom's inspection. Well, at least she knew how much more HER' unsubtle' application passed for 'subtle enough for school' in Mom's eye. Charlie always heard girls at school complaining that their mothers wouldn't let them wear enough makeup. How had Christie gotten so 'lucky'?
That probably wasn't even one of those trial lessons the magic required her to learn, either. Just a nice 'teachable moment' for Mom. Nor had it been the last one for this morning. Oh, no! Mom had asked if she had tampons and other 'supplies' in her purse and had been very unhappy with her daughter's "What purse?" answer. Evidently, a book bag was insufficient accessorizing for the modern female high school junior, especially on her FIRST school day. Surrendering, Christie had run back upstairs and grabbed a small shoulder bag, one small enough to fit easily in her book bag the first chance she got!
Mom had inspected the purse for necessities, of course. Wallet, makeup, and hairbrush were there; tampons weren't. "But Mom, I just finished my period last Friday," was another losing argument. Evidently, girls sometimes needed supplies from the well-prepared girls, and Amanda insisted that Christie would be one of the prepared girls whether she wanted to be or not.
So, here she was, rigged out in a lovely skirt and Maryjanes, carrying her purse and her bookbag, and staring up at the strangely imposing edifice of Dolley Madison High School. Charlie had not felt this unsettled two years ago when arriving as a ninth-grader. Of course, Charlie liked school and looked forward to high school. Moreover, since almost everyone knew not to mess with him, he hadn't suffered from freshman anxiety - just a different building - same routine, same crowd, same bathrooms.
Now? Only the building was the same. Everything else, including Christie herself, wasn't the same, and while she had Christie's magical memories of attending this school as a girl, she didn't have the experiences.
"Hey, Christie," a cheerful, feminine voice called out. Turning, Christie smiled to see Valerie Stevens hurrying up the walk toward her. "Trying to put off the end of summer vacation just a few more moments?"
Christie laughed and shook her head. "No, not really. It just hit me that our school is the only one in our district named after a woman. I had to stop and think about that for a moment. How are you doing? Haven't seen you since the August belt tests at the dojang.
"Yeah," Valerie replied. "Both sets of grands retired to Florida, so we made the grand tour; Grandparents, beaches, Disney World, grandparents, Universal Studios, oh, and did I mention beaches?"
Giggling over Val's trip description, the pair walked up to the entrance and went inside. Christie took the opportunity to search her memories more closely as they walked. Valerie had been high on Charlie's potential girlfriend list, especially after that deal with the cake at his birthday party. She was darn cute, friendly and very sharp academically. Val was also a pretty good Taekwondo student, having earned her Sixth Geup Green Belt late last spring. The Valerie that Christie knew was evidently still all that, but she and Christie were girlfriends, bordering on BFFs instead of dating.
And wonder of wonders, they had the same homeroom this year! Maybe the magic had arranged for a personal in-school girl guide for her. She'd probably need that at some point in the coming weeks. They took seats in their homeroom, and Christie pulled out her class schedule. Fortunately, none of her core courses had changed; she still had all her Advanced Placement and Honors Courses. There was one significant change, however. Instead of Physical Education, she would be taking a course in Women's Health in the first semester.
Charlie hadn't even known such a course existed, but Christie figured it was fortuitous. She didn't exactly trust her' training wheels' all that much, and knowledge was power. It wasn't as if she needed a PE Class. Charlie had been almost as bored during PE as in economics and government. One of the female PE teachers would teach the course with assistance from the school nurse. Christie was looking forward to 'catching up' with her female peers on all these female health and body mysteries.
The final bell sounded, and the Principal's voice rang out over the school's loudspeakers. "Good Morning, Cavaliers! And welcome to another year of adventure and learning at Dolley Todd Madison High School!"
And so, Christie's first day as a high school coed began.
~-~
Home from School with Mom
Since Monday wasn't a dojang day, Christie had gone home after school, donned one of her running outfits, and went off for a quick five-mile run. Her Mother had vetoed a before-school run this morning, saying that she had to learn how to get ready and how long that took as a girl. It had been a good call, but now, Christie was antsy and needed to feel the burn. She was, after all, a highly trained athlete and her body needed the endorphin release of a good workout.
After her run and a quick shower, Christie put some chicken in to marinate and chopped vegetables for a stir fry before going out back to work on her 'secret project.' It wasn't really a secret, she admitted. The truth was that she was just a little embarrassed and didn't care to share what she was doing with anyone for the time being.
Before THE change, Charlie had been a highly accomplished First Geup Red Belt who was mere days from testing for and, in all likelihood achieving his first Black Belt. Now, Christie was Seventh Geup Green and faced at least two years of required training, as a minimum, before she'd be allowed to test for the same darned belt Charlie had worn barely three months ago. It was galling. She had all Charlie's knowledge - that hadn't gone away - but she lacked the muscle memory and body hardening developed over eight years of intense training. Her brain knew what her body 'had to do,' but her body didn't know how to get there.
Even poomsae! She still knew the steps and could visualize the positions. However, performing one of those intricate standard forms was like trying to follow one of those old 'do-it-yourself Arthur Murray dance courses' with all the steps printed out on the floor in front of her. Christie was an excellent dancer, but she couldn't flow into the transition moves or explode into ones that should have made her dobok snap or pop.
Growling determinedly, Christie started the movements of the Koryo Poomse, the one Charlie had done with Donnie a lifetime ago. She would do it, step by bloody step, repeatedly until SHE could do it as well as CHARLIE had!
An hour later, Amanda arrived home from work expecting dinner. Finding none, she'd set about looking for her erring daughter. Coming to the back patio, she came to an abrupt halt before silently watching her obviously frustrated daughter struggle to perform movements that had been second nature to her son. Christie would repeatedly stop, mumbling to herself, and then repeat the action.
On impulse, Amanda fished her smartphone out of her bag and began recording a video of the scene playing out in her backyard. After about five minutes, she decided she had seen enough and put her phone back in her purse. Then she coughed, startling the intensely focused girl who spun instantly about, coming instinctively into a defensive posture.
"Mom, you're home early," Christie managed to blurt out as she tried to relax her pose casually.
"No, actually, I'm a little late. I thought you were going to fix dinner?"
Surprised, Christie looked at her wristwatch and blushed. "I, umm, didn't hear my watch alarm. I've finished all the prep work, but the chicken might be a little over-marinated."
"I see," Amanda replied with a knowing smile. "Well, why don't I finish putting dinner together while you clean up and set the table? I want to hear all about Christie's First Day at school," and quickly shooed her daughter off to her bedroom.
~-~
The chicken had a bit more bite to it than usual but was still tasty with all the colorful vegetables to spread the spicing out. Amanda let Christie take care of her immediate hunger before beginning her gentle, if thorough, motherly interrogation.
"Well, on the plus side," Christie said with a cheeky grin, "I don't have to write any 'What I did on my summer vacation" essays, although it is only the first day. Check with me after the first week is over on that one because if I don't have it to do, it'll be the first time since third grade. I didn't try to use the boys' restroom, and I didn't punch any of my girlfriends in the arm and call them 'dude.' I'd say I had a pretty successful day by those standards."
"That's setting the bar a little low, don't you think?" Mom asked, going with the light tone Christie had used. "Okay, we'll do this the old-fashioned way and pry things out of you. Please don't make me get out the pliers, girl. Meet any old acquaintances? Meet anybody new?"
Christie considered this and nodded. "Sure. For the most part, I'm in the same gifted and talented grouping as Charlie was last year, so most of the same kids are there. I am having a bit of trouble just yet resolving my Charlie memories of some of them from my Christie memories. Mostly minor stuff revolving around how sex and gender affect relationships. On the plus side, Valerie is in the same homeroom as me, and Christie remembers her as a very good and maybe best girlfriend. That will help, I think."
Amanda looked quizzically at her daughter. "Valerie? Do I know this Valerie?"
"Well, of course you do, oh powerful sorceress of the house. Just look into your Christie memories," Christie snarked at her Mom. "Actually, that may not work because Christie was in ballet, and Valerie was just starting Taekwondo, so we didn't hang too much outside of school. Anyway, do you remember that cute blonde girl who hand-fed Charlie his cake when he was in bondage at his birthday party? We hung out more together this summer after I left Madame. She's a belt senior to me at the dojang, so we'll see quite of bit of each other. Likely have to spar with her regularly, too."
"Well," Amanda huffed. She did, in fact, remember the cake scene along with her motherly recognition that the girl had definitely sparked Charlie's interest with that bit of sass. "If that isn't the strangest foundation for two BFFs I've ever heard." Shaking her head in chagrin, she smiled at her daughter. "You are always a joy and a surprise to me, kiddo. So, meet anyone completely new?"
"New to Charlie, anyway. Coach Wilson is teaching that course in Women's Health Issues that got magically added to my schedule. Female Coach Wilson, who normally teaches girls PE. That women's health class is gonna be strange, though. I skimmed the textbook they handed out? Some of that stuff is just yucky!" Christie gave a mock shudder. "Oh, and Coach Wilson is also the Dance/Competition Cheer Team coach. Since 'one of her girls' told her I wasn't dancing ballet anymore, she wants me to try out for her team. Now that I 'have the time.' Grrr! Like my training at the dojang isn't as much of a time commitment as dancing at the ballet studio."
Amanda didn't reply as she recognized it was just venting. She really wanted to discuss what she'd seen on the patio earlier that evening, but something about Christie's reaction to the Dance Coach's offer gave her pause. That had clearly stressed Christie enough that she had vented about it to her Mother. That was very out of character behavior for her child, for both of them, actually.
Amanda decided she needed to keep an even closer eye on her daughter's progress for now and see where that went. In the meantime, she made a mental note to talk to Grandfather Kim about Christie. Since he was already aware of their situation, he was another set of eyes. In just the few short months since Charlie's transformation, Christie's challenges thus far were definitely more stressful than had Amanda's own, or from what her Mother had told her about her experiences.
"Well, you skipped out on fixing dinner as you promised, so you get to do the dishes. Any homework?"
"Just some reading for the AP History and the Health course."
"Okay, off you go, then. When you finish that, make sure you cleanse and moisturize. I'll be in to check on you as I plan on an early night, too." Along with a bit of scrying, she didn't say out loud. "I'll be in my office finishing up some briefs for the partners."
After sharing a quick hug and kiss, Christie began gathering the tableware for cleaning.
to be continued
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 3 - The Mentors Meet
Amanda parked her car along the street near the Kim's dojang. In truth, she was feeling just a little guilty about this. Today was Wednesday, and she'd specifically chosen today because Christie didn't have class here today. Amanda was trying to avoid making Christie aware of her concerns until she was sure that her daughter needed to know about them. All the same, she felt like she was sneaking around behind her daughter's back.
Okay, Amanda grumbled silently to herself; this felt like a betrayal. Deal with it, Amanda, she told herself. Sometimes it just sucks to a grownup and a Mom, but that was just part of the job. Christie had enough to deal with right now without adding what might not even be a real problem to the mix. Dammit, woman, you're a Mom and Moms worry so the kids don't have to! Deal with it.
Entering the small lobby area, Amanda sat on one of the benches, slipped off her shoes and put on some athletic socks she'd thought to bring. She still remembered the hurt look on eight-year-old Charlie's face when she had entered the school's main studio in her work heels. And she hadn't even known the rule then, but she by gosh knew it now! No shoes in the dojang. And she realized her attention on that small courtesy was just another reaction to her going behind Christie's back with this visit.
Peaking inside the main arena area, she saw a small group of red and black belts working under Master Kim's watchful eye. Grandfather Kim, the patriarch of the Kim family, was standing off to one side, observing the class, when he saw Amanda. With a smile on his face, he unhurriedly went to greet her. "Ah, Mrs. McKellar, right on time. Come, we will go to my office. We will have tea and then discuss whatever you wish to talk with me about."
"Thank you, Mr. Kim. I really appreciate you meeting me like this . . ." Amanda started as she followed his lead to the door off to one side of the room.
"You indicated you have concerns about Christie. She and Charlie are both favorite students of mine and my family. Of course, my family will do anything we can do to help Christie. Please, have a seat, and you can tell me what it is that has a loving mother so concerned."
Amanda felt herself blushing at his observation. "Well, so much for my vaunted poker face. I'm usually not so easy to read."
"I suspect that ordinarily, you are not, but you are dealing with a challenging situation and I must admit that I do possess a fairly strong empathic gift."
"You also are aware of magic, Mr. Kim. Perhaps you even possess some magical gifts of your own, as well. You know that Charlie has become Christie, too. Given all that, and what I saw Monday when I got home from work, makes you my best source for advice." Taking her phone from her purse, Amanda called up the video she'd taken of Christie practicing her forms and held it out to Grandfather. "If you would watch this video and then tell me what you see and think, Mr . . ."
"Please, call me Grandfather, or perhaps, Papa Kim. With so many Kims around here, saying 'Mister' Kim will likely get you at least three answers. It is what the students call me. My son is 'Master Kim,' and my grandson is usually just Young-Soo or Soo. Now, let me see."
Amanda tried to sit quietly as the old gentleman focused on her phone. She watched as he quickly called up the play controls on her phone and began starting and stopping the playback, sometimes rewinding to watch some sequences multiple times. While he watched, his face revealed very little, at least to her eye, but in all, it took him almost twenty minutes to work his way through the bare five minutes of video. Looking up from the phone, he met her eyes directly and said, "Quite remarkable, and perhaps, a little sad."
Disconcerted by his pronouncement, Amanda pressed for more detail. "Remarkable and sad? How, Papa?"
Moving over to sit closer to his guest, Papa Kim fiddled with her phone before holding it where they could both watch. Amanda saw that he had queued it to a spot midway in the vid, one in which Christie's frustration was particularly evident. "Look here, Mrs. McKellar, see how she moves into a pose and then stops abruptly? Now, watch as she assumes the pose she was trying to achieve in the poomse. If she had done that as part of the poomse, it would have been excellent, nearly perfect, in fact. But here is what it looked like when she tried to achieve it as part of the standard form." He backed up the video and showed Christie's position just before she'd stopped in disgust.
"There are similar sequences in the video, but that is the most easily seen. Jeja Christie's mind knows what her body should do. We can see that when she simply assumes the position. That is years of training the mind. Charlie was very advanced for his age. In truth, his black belt was a foregone conclusion a year ago, and only the mandatory training time required by the Federation stopped me from awarding it then. However, Charlie had eight years of intense, repetitive physical training that Christie lacks. Her body does not 'know how to achieve the correct position during the form. At the same time, her dancer's kinesthetic sense tells her final positions are wrong, so she stops and tries to correct herself, to 'teach her body' where she wants it to be."
"Almost like a dancer practicing positions at the barre? Like she was in a ballet studio?"
"From what little I understand about dance training, I believe that is a good comparison. I also believe that Christie's dance training and body awareness tell her she's not performing the poomse correctly."
Amanda closed her eyes momentarily and tried not to cry. "I just don't understand, Papa. Historically, Christie's trial is not uncommon in my family line; that is, one of us changing gender has happened any number of times. Both my Mother and I had to deal with it. For the most part, our biggest challenge was adjusting to school and life as the other sex, and, after a couple of months, that stopped being an issue. Christie has had almost four months, and she's still struggling. My powers had already started to emerge at the four-month point in my trial. However, I've seen no sign that my daughter is developing powers. Nothing! Maybe she was supposed to stay in the dance class."
"I don't know about your magic or your trials, but I do know that Christie was completely honorable in her actions and, I think, justified. She even returned to ensure that the show went on, not for herself, but for the other students."
"I know," Amanda replied softly. "I talked to the other mothers whose girls followed Christie to your school. That woman has absolutely no notion of how to teach children. How many promising students have just given up rather than deal with her constant negative reinforcement? You tell a child that they are not any good at something often enough, they'll believe you and go look for something else more rewarding to do." She shook her head at another thought. "I was so happy when the augury showed Christie in dance class instead of martial arts. I always loved dance, but I grew too tall and curvy too quickly. Seeing Christie dancing? Remembering her performances and exhibitions? I found that thrilling, but that's on me, not her."
Grandfather Kim smiled gently. "I will tell you a little secret, Mrs. McKellar, your child has always been a dancer, even when he was Charlie."
"Please, Papa, call me Amanda. But I have to say that I never saw Charlie dance in his entire life."
"Charlie was always an excellent jeja, that is, excellent student; athletic, coachable, intense and determined to excel. However, a few years ago, he had a little stumble when we trained him for one of the mid-level belts. The standard forms? The Poomsae? These must be performed precisely and to a standard cadence. Missteps and imprecise postures are causes for deductions. Too many deductions and the form does not meet the criteria to earn the belt. Charlie went through a phase where he started . . . improvising, shall we say? A little finger flourish here, a slightly elongated thrust there, a pose held a beat or two longer than is specified in the standard. In short, Amanda, Charlie was dancing, very elegantly, too, but we couldn't let him get away with it, and he missed two testing cycles before he got it under control."
"I never knew that. My son certainly never complained to me about it."
"He wouldn't, now would he? The fault was his, he knew it, and he fixed it. It simply took him a while to bring his inclination under control because his nature and instinct was to dance."
"Exactly how bad was it? I mean, what Christie was trying to do on that video?"
Grandfather sighed. "That is a very advanced poomse, one we do not even consider teaching students until they are much further along in their training. Typically we don't begin that training phase until they are almost ready to test for their first red belt. There are movements required in that exercise that require careful development of the student's body. The Koryo Poomse demands a high degree of muscle, tendon and ligament flexibility. Christie came to us in superb physical condition. Her body was already sublimely flexible thanks to her years of studying ballet, but for all that, she was not physically prepared for that poomse. The places where she was having trouble and becoming frustrated? Those movements are of that type - unique to martial arts and not something her training regimen at Madame Coulter's ballet school would have prepared her to accomplish. I will have to speak with her; get her to ease off on those particular movements. Otherwise, she might injure herself. It was very wise of you to bring this to my attention."
Amanda felt a sensation of utter peace descend on her on hearing that from Papa Kim. Perhaps that was the hidden reason she'd felt driven to reach out to the eldest Kim. All she'd known was that her child was unhappy and frustrated; Papa Kim had recognized the real problem, and he had the credibility with her daughter to resolve the issue. "I suddenly feel so much better about that. Now, if I could just figure out why the rest of her trial seems stalled, neither Mom nor I can recall having this much trouble."
"As I said earlier, I do not know anything about the challenges you and your mother faced when it was your time. I might offer this observation based on what you've told me and what I know about Charlie and now Christie. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that you and your mother simply had to acclimate to your new stations and then carry on with what was, at that time, normal teenage life experiences. Certainly, learning how to function as a member of the opposite team was likely quite stressful, but did you really lose anything you considered integral to your self or self-image? I suspect not."
"Well, I badly missed sewing and needlecraft," Amanda replied thoughtfully.
"And if those things had truly been central to your emotional and mental well-being, you could have still pursued them in the privacy of your own space, away from spying eyes. Ah, and from the look on your face, that is what you did, correct?" Amanda nodded, and Papa continued. "Christie has lost eight years of effort, discipline and physical preparation. Moreover, the way the Federation is currently overseeing the advancement of students, Christie is two, perhaps even three years away from achieving the same belt level that Charlie held only three months ago. And she will need most of that time to recondition. . . or is it just to condition as in the first time, her body for the demands of that advancement. That is a significant obstacle and one that only a powerful and disciplined personality could hope to overcome. Christie is still a young person and, I suspect, is struggling with that realization herself. Once she has, and I have every confidence in that determined young lady, she will begin to acclimate as you and your mother did."
"Ah, Lord. She could have stayed in dance, but realistically, that probably would have become a dead-end for her, too. She's grown almost two inches over the summer and has begun to fill out her curves. Takes after her mom there, I guess."
"Too tall and curvy for ballet?" At Amanda's rueful agreement, Papa nodded. "So, in all likelihood, had Christie continued in ballet, her growth spurt would have limited her options there. She would have needed to find something else to take its place; another type of dance, martial arts or other activity. Whatever she decided to do, she was still starting all over, using her ballet experience to help her adapt to that new vocation."
"I never thought of it like that," Amanda breathed, her eyes wide. "Perhaps her trial lessons started when her most obvious path closed? I will have to think hard about that. Well, Papa, I need to get home and talk with my daughter. I haven't told her yet about my concerns because I felt I needed your expertise to make sure I wasn't blowing everything out of proportion. I don't usually keep secrets from her, and I want her to hear about our little visit from me before you talk to her."
"I understand, Amanda. Here is my card with my home and mobile phone numbers. Perhaps you could send me that video file so that when I talk to her, I will have it to go over with her."
Amanda pulled out her phone and quickly sent the requested file. "There. You should have it in a few moments. I have to run since it is her night to cook dinner and she failed in that duty the night of the frustration poomse."
"Drive safely. I will talk to her after Saturday's class unless she asks me about it during tomorrow's session. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you and Christie. I am very fond of her."
Amanda started to rise but stopped when Papa raised his hand. "Mrs. McKellar, Amanda," he began slowly, "You mentioned that you were concerned about not seeing Christie's abilities start to emerge yet. Do you recall her final bout on the testing day back in August?"
Slipping back into her seat, Amanda nodded. "I was terrified at the time because neither Christie nor Charlie ever had anything good to say about him - just the opposite. And he was so much bigger than she was."
Nodding his head thoughtfully, Papa Kim said, "The move she used at the very end of the bout? It was actually a combination of moves. That combination of a jumping 360-degree hook kick followed by a roundhouse kick is very advanced. Those are techniques we teach to red belt students. Combining them, as Christie did, is very difficult. Honestly, I cannot remember Charlie ever using that combination except in practice. Like the Koryo Poomse, that combination should have been well beyond Christie's current level of physical preparation."
"And that means what, Papa?"
"Just that your child has always been a very physical individual. I would hazard to guess that she may have somehow focused her nascent powers to enhance her physical abilities at that very stressful instant. I suggest you start watching for signs that she is developing any athletic traits or abilities faster than normal. And we will monitor her development here at the dojang, as well."
Amanda sat and thought for a few moments before replying, "Now that you mention it, I believe there were instances in our family records when such enhancements occurred. . ."
"Perhaps you should take another, closer look before talking with your daughter?" Papa Kim asked, smiling gently.
Momentarily overwhelmed, Amanda jumped over to hug and kiss the older man before waving goodbye and hurrying out of the dojang to her car. She was so focused on getting home and reviewing the family records she almost forgot to stop and put her shoes back on first. Almost.
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 4 - After School Interlude with Mom
The Friday rush hour traffic home was worse than usual, but Amanda didn't mind. Going nowhere slowly meant she had time to continue pondering just what she should do with her current problems. Or maybe it would be better to say 'consider what she should do with her current challenges' since they all seemed to revolve around her daughter. Yes, 'challenges' were better. Christie was definitely a challenge, but she was NOT a problem. Never that.
The possibility that Charlie might have to experience a mandatory gender transformation was something she had known about and been thinking about since before her son's birth. What's more, in what she could only now consider colossal arrogance on her part, she'd THOUGHT she was well prepared to deal with the eventuality. After all, Amanda had been through it, hadn't she? Darned right she had, and she'd handled all that male 'fitting in' nonsense just fine. Heavens, her Mom had taken to her transformation so well she'd decided to live the rest of her life as a female!
Oh yes, but Amanda and her Mom had been stupidly arrogant and had been absolutely blindsided when Christie's first four months as a girl had been nothing remotely close to what they had been prepared for or expected. Nothing!
Boy-girl issues from the female perspective? Not for HER girl! For one thing, Christie didn't have much contact with boys outside of the dojang, where the Kims kept the boys pretty much in line. Except for that damned Tad troll; he'd gotten his sorry ass kicked by her girl!
Girlfriends and girl pack dynamics? Christie didn't care about them and was relatively insulated from most social issues typically affecting young women. Almost every girl she interacted with was a Taekwondo student, too. They knew the rules and abided in the etiquette of the dojang. Nasty girls, like the snotty cliques that ran in most high schools? Oh, now that was a scary thought! Amanda did not even want to THINK about how Christie might deal with them. She wouldn't understand or care about the 'normal hierarchy and rules' that let those girls get away with their crap. No, not at all. Christie would likely just make up her own rules for dealing with them. Probably quite harshly.
Body issues? As if Christie could care - at all - if some other girl's boobs were perkier than hers and if another girl had better legs. Not that any of that crap mattered - Christie was darned attractive with a beautifully toned body, but Christie. Simply. Didn't. Care. Christie had only two real issues with her body. Periods, and she was the only girl alive who kept two calendars. One to track her cycle and another to count down the months till CHARLIE wouldn't have to deal with Aunt Flo anymore. Her other body issue was that hers couldn't yet do what her mind knew how to do.
That problem was another one that would resolve itself when she completed her trial, but that posed another, more interesting question. Would Charlie be a 1st Dan black belt getting ready for his 2nd Dan test, or would he still be a, what was it called? Oh yes! A 1st Geup Red Belt preparing for his black belt test. Amanda suspected the latter just because nothing else had favored her girl so far in this experience.
Well, at least Christie liked fashionable clothes, and she didn't mind shopping - too much - so some of those Mother-daughter experiences Amanda had often daydreamed of over the last 16 years were coming to pass. Amanda relished her girl-time with her daughter and was honest enough to admit she'd miss those times when Charlie returned. Ah, such was the way of life in a sorcerer's family.
Charlie's return was something she expected would happen, if not on this upcoming birthday, then certainly on the one the year after this one. According to their family's lore regarding such trials, that was the usual pattern. Initially, there was an acclimation period when teens got used to their new gender and place in society. These usually lasted for one to two months or three months on the outside. If Grandfather Kim's observation that Christie's trial dealt more with adjusting to losing something fundamental to her self-image.
WAIT A MINUTE! Amanda's mind flashed in a sudden epiphany. Maybe that was the key, Amanda realized. For most kids, gender was that type of fundamental identity issue, and dealing with that change was the first challenge of their trial. For Christie? Her problem had been losing eight years of focused, dedicated training, as both Charlie and Christie! That was what challenged her! Amanda's child - male or female - had never cared about the social aspects of school or any other environment. At least, not so long as she'd been able to dance or kick ass!
So, if Amanda accepted Papa Kim's observation about Christie's unique challenge, her daughter had acclimated in mere weeks, as demonstrated when she'd dropped Madame Renee Coulter like a bad habit. Then? She'd just moved on to finding her new niche, or in her case, back into the martial arts. That still stung a bit, Amanda admitted. Just like Mrs. Pettis, Amanda had liked the idea of a ballerina in the family. Well, at least for however long she had a daughter in her family to be a ballerina.
The second key event in a young transformed sorcerer-to-be's development would be those first tiny flashes of magic, which usually popped up towards the acclimation period's completion. Amanda's more significant problem was if Grandfather Kim's other observation was correct. If Christie's final sparring moves against Tad were somehow magically enhanced, Amanda had no idea how to train Christie to use that power. Heck, she didn't even know what she would see from her daughter in that case! Historically, her family's first sparks of energy were sparks of emergent fire magic. Both Amanda's and Rebekah's first manifestations were fire magic, and they'd been waiting to see the same thing from Christie. Oops, again there, Moms, Amanda thought ruefully.
So, here she was, stuck in a miserable traffic jam with her mind racing about like a rat in a maze, trying to decide just what to do next and what would be best for her daughter.
Okay, she growled inwardly. Their first priority has to be dealing with those advanced Taekwondo forms. Regardless of whether she was using her nascent power to do them or not, Grandfather said he didn't think Christie was physically ready for them and might injure herself trying them. Thankfully, she had Papa's offer to talk it over with her daughter so Amanda would not have to come off as being an unreasonable Mother. Christie was the Kims' eager student, and she would accept their counsel on any matters related to the martial arts and safety.
On the other hand, how would Amanda address the possibility that Christie was using her nascent sorcery to enhance herself physically? There were two similar cases reported in their family's records. Sadly, neither entry had included anything about how to develop those powers safely. Furthermore, there had only been one possible display of this emerging power; whether or not to start her daughter's sorcery training or not remained a question. If that flying kick combination against Tad-troll hadn't been power-enhanced, they still had no evidence that Christie's power had begun to emerge. If she didn't have any ability yet, there wasn't anything to train her with or on. Frustrating.
Just then, the traffic slug began to move more quickly, requiring Amanda's attention to return to the task of getting home in one piece. For now, the best path would be for the Kims and McKellars to stay on the course already set. The Kims would keep a closer eye out for unusual abilities in the dojang. At the same time, Rebekah and Amanda would remain on the lookout for other more traditional indicators of emerging magic. Until they had a solid indication of actual power, the training decisions could and probably should wait.
Amanda relaxed just a bit as she took the exit for her subdivision. At least she had a plan now. She'd just have to stay vigilant and be ready to respond as her child's very atypical trial progressed.
~-~
Amanda decided to park in the driveway just in case something came up before bed. Inside her house, Amanda sniffed appreciatively at the homey aroma of tomatoes, onions, garlic and spices wafting in from the kitchen. Christie must have been experimenting again, and whatever this was smelled great! Unlike a few earlier attempts.
She shed her light jacket, purse, briefcase and - oh, thank you, god - her high-heeled shoes in the foyer before padding off in search of Christie. Amanda was just about to walk into the family room when she picked up what sounded like angry mutterings inside the room. Peaking around the corner, she came upon a scene her memory told her she'd seen often in the past but, in truth, was seeing for the very first time.
PICTURE: Christie Reading in the McKellar Family Room
In the center of the family room floor, in a full ballet split, sat Christie leaning over on her elbows, poring over a book. And not entirely happy with what she was reading if the imprecations coming from her daughter were any indication.
"Damn, that sucks. 'Anyone fighting on campus will be subject to suspension - period.' Even if you were only defending yourself, Mom would probably have a damned cow if I got suspended.
"Damn bitches know that, too! One of the reasons they run in packs. Well, there's always off-campus if it comes to that.
"I wonder if a pain-compliant restraint hold would be allowed? 'Just escorting her to the office, Mrs. Davis. Oops, did I just break the conniving little snot's arm? Guess she needs more calcium in her diet.' It probably wouldn't be allowed, either.
"Damn it. I don't want to have to stalk those bitches' sorry asses to make my points! I just want to be left the hell alone!"
"Well," Amanda called out sharply from the room entrance, trying not to laugh. "I guess my concerns about your fitting in with the high school female social structure were not entirely groundless. What are you reading so angrily and why, Christie?"
Christie sprung from her split, coming quickly to her feet. "Mom!!" she yelped, "Umm, hi. I didn't hear you come in. Oh, My, look at the time! I need to run and check my soup!"
"NOT SO FAST, YOUNG LADY!" The 'Mother VoiceTM' commanded. "I asked you a question, I believe."
Stopping short, Christie slowly shuffled back toward her Mother, reached down to pick up the book and offered it to her Mother. "I was rereading the school's Student Code of Conduct, Mom."
"Hmm, Yes, I see. And I must say, you are likely to correct in your estimation of my reaction to a suspension, although I'd like to think I'd show more decorum than 'having a cow' might indicate. And precisely why, may I ask, were you so interested in the specific sections that could get you suspended?"
Christie's mind raced as she tried to come up with something her Mother might reasonably accept, but nothing came to mind. "Aw, crap, Mom. When in doubt, tell the truth. The bitches on the competition dance and cheer squad aren't taking my polite 'no, thank you' for an answer in their drive to recruit me. They're starting to get pushy and ramping up to more intimidating tactics. I've tried turning the other cheek and ignoring them, but this afternoon, in the locker room? One of them swatted me on the cheek - umm - on my bottom cheek, and I almost decked her! Only she had her pack with her. That little dust-up would have come down to my word against all of theirs. I am getting so sick of their shi. . .errr their stuff!"
Nodding her understanding, Amanda smiled. "Does your soup need attention just now?" Blushing hotly, Christie slowly shook her bowed head. "Okay, take a seat, grasshopper, and talk to the master. . .errr, mistress of female non-martial combat arts."
When they were both comfortable, Amanda led off. "Okay, you do not want to be on this team, and you've said no, but these girls are still pushing you. Have I got that right?" At her daughter's nod, she continued. "I'm assuming this escalation has not come to the attention of, oh, I don't know, maybe the responsible adult?" Amanda asked, tongue firmly planted in her cheek.
Christie gave a tired sigh. "As if that would do any darn good! Ms. Wilson and I refuse to call that woman Coach. She is the one pushing them on me. She's got it into her head that I am all her fantastic group of girls needs to make them a state championship team - again! Wouldn't put it past her to be helping them come up with their nasty little ploys, too."
"My, my. We do NOT LIKE this woman, do we?"
Her daughter nearly snarled at that. "No. We. Do. Not. First, she's completely useless as a classroom teacher. I don't think she's even read the health textbook she passed out to us. Half of what she puts out during class time is confused, and the other half, if I am to believe the darn book, is just flat wrong! She's got a teaching job because her competition dance team and softball team are winners and the School Board likes that. At least Renee Coulter was competent. Second? Mom, I honestly don't care about or enjoy competing. It's not why Charlie or I did. . .err, do martial arts, and it wasn't why Christie did ballet. It's about the art and doing it well that moves me, even when I was Charlie."
"I take it you received no satisfaction from this Wilson person when you approached her about her team's behavior?"
"None at all. Ms. Wilson just told me she was confident I'd come around and sooner would be better for everyone - especially me."
Amanda's eyes went fire hot as she scowled at that. "Oh, she did. I see. Okay, grasshopper, just keep saying no. I will deal with Ms. Not-Coach Wilson on Monday."
Christie liked that idea. "Are you going to use power on her? Can I watch?"
Her Mother snorted and then fluttered her fingers as if flicking away a fly. "Pfft! As if I'd use my power on something so insignificant. No, there are other, more satisfying ways to deal with the Ms. Wilsons of the world, my dear."
"Well, would you please enlighten your daughter, Mom? My preferred solution would get me suspended, likely expelled and possibly kicked out of the dojang!"
"Christie, I haven't been idle since you first told me of her interest in you as I thought I had heard some rumors about her in the past. I think Sir Francis Bacon first wrote that 'Knowledge, itself, is power.' I'm just going to demonstrate that truism to Ms. Wilson." Amanda said with a wicked smile on her face. "Trust your Mom, girl. I've got this."
"Okay, Mom, and thanks. Anything else? I need to cook the pasta for the tomato and lentil soup."
"Oh, that sounds and smells lovely, but. . . " Amanda's voice trailed off, and then she shrugged. "You just had to lead off with that 'tell the truth' line, didn't you? Darn. Okay, here's some truth. As you well know, I always have worried about you and your Taekwondo - even back when you were Charlie." Christie nodded. "And I've been seriously stewing over it ever since you had that match with that troll Tad. Anyway, long story shortened, I imposed on Grandfather Kim and went to see him and talk to him about you and how you're doing."
"Mother! You didn't!" Christie gasped out accusingly.
Amanda nodded, then pointed her thumb at herself and said, "Mother here! So, yes, I did. We got to talking about you and how well you're doing. Well, I got so proud and puffed up. I wanted to brag on how hard you have been working, so, umm, so I showed him this video I took while you were working out last week. You were so determined to do it correctly and worked diligently."
"What did you show him, Mom?"
"Umm, Grandfather called it, now let me think. . . Not sure I quite remember, but it sounded like Corduroy Pump? Poof? Something like that."
"You recorded me working on the Koryo Poomse? And showed it to Grandfather?"
Amanda nodded, looking a little abashed. "He said that it was a very advanced exercise - one they don't teach until students are working towards their red belts. He . . .uhm . . . He was concerned that you might not be physically ready to do that exercise and that you might injure yourself trying. He said he was going to talk to you about it."
"But, I've been performing that Poomse for more than a year!"
"Christie, Charlie had been performing it for more than a year. You're not Charlie, and while you are in superb physical condition thanks to your years of dance, being in shape for ballet is not the same as being in shape for the martial arts. Or at least, that's what Grandfather told me. Something about specific ligaments that needed work and fine muscle control, but he worried you might injure yourself doing that on your own right now."
Christie sat there for a few moments before shaking her head and looking defeated. "I understand. It's not like it's the first thing I've encountered that Charlie could do and I can't. I'll talk to Grandfather tomorrow before class. Well, since he knows about Charlie and me, he might have some better insights into how I should go on from here. Darn it, Mom! It's just so frustrating. I can see it all so very clearly in my head. I know how my body, arms and legs should feel when I correctly do a move or a form. It's just that sometimes? I can't get my body to do it."
"I won't say I know just how you feel because I don't. My challenges during my trial were so much more basic than what fate seems to have in store for you. Just know that I do check on your progress regularly utilizing an augury. Everything I am permitted to see says you remain on track and working your way through your lessons. I want you to know I'm proud of how well you've handled all this."
Christie leaped from her chair to embrace her Mother. "Thanks, Mom. I try not to bitch . . .complain, but this is all just so hard to understand. You say there's a purpose to all this, and I believe you. I just wish it would stop taking its bloody sweet time getting here!"
Amanda held on to her precious daughter, her precious child, for several beautiful minutes before Christie stood back up. "Go fix your face and finish dinner, dear. And then? How about a movie on the big screen? Your choice."
"Sure, Mom. Dinner in ten minutes, but I'm not the only one who needs a little cosmetic repair."
'Smartass! Git, you!'
~-~
Amanda sat patiently in her car, waiting for the flood of kids leaving Dolley Madison High School to ebb, and was pleased to catch sight of her daughter and her best friend, Valerie, hurrying off in the direction of the nearby Kim Dojang. Starting her car, she moved to a Visitor parking slot in front of the main entrance, turned off her car, and made her way into the school. Amanda had planned this excursion carefully, phoning ahead to get a parent-teacher conference scheduled with Ms. Wilson through the main office earlier in the day. She signed in at the main office, got directions to the P.E. Offices and strode off to do battle. This was going to be fun!
Knocking on the open office door's frame, Amanda got the coach's attention. Ms. Wilson smiled, rose from her desk, and came over to greet her visitor, right hand extended. She wasn't a tall woman, although she had evidently replaced her trainers with three-inch heels for this meeting. Amanda thought she had probably been a flyer during her cheerleading and dance days. Probably had fallen on her head more than once, too.
"Hello, you must be Christie McKellar's Mom. I'm Patricia Wilson."
"Yes, I'm Amanda McKellar," taking the proffered hand and giving it a perfunctory shake, "Thank you for making time to see me this afternoon. I wanted to speak to you about your cheer and dance team."
"Oh? Please have a seat. How can I help you?"
"You can tell the girls on your team to leave my daughter alone. She will not be joining your team and has told them so politely on numerous occasions, but they don't seem to understand that 'no' means 'no. 'Rather like horny teenage males in the backseat of their Mother's car on their first date. I want YOU to put a stop to this nonsense, TODAY."
"Mrs. McKellar . . . Amanda . . ."
"Mrs. McKellar, please."
Ms. Wilson's eyes shot open, and her mouth made an 'O' before she swallowed and continued. "Mrs. McKellar, then. The girls are merely trying to recruit your daughter. I understand she's no longer involved with ballet. Joining my team would be an ideal opportunity for her to continue her dance participation, to make new friends, you know, to become an important part of an important school team. She'd also earn stature among the students in the school."
"Ms. Wilson. My daughter is heavily involved in a martial arts program. She does not have any spare time for your team practices or competitions. Furthermore, I would have to sign off on the school's permission documents to permit her to participate in your sport. I will not allow my daughter to join any team with you as the coach."
"Mrs. McKellar, I must protest. I am a highly regarded coach with multiple state place winners on my record. I am one of the very best."
"I've had you investigated, Ms. Wilson. Six of your girls have been injured during practice or performing in the past five years. Three of those girls are still unable to compete, even after more than a year off. According to my sources, your routines border on the extreme, especially for a high school team. Do you win? Yes, you do. When no one gets hurt, that is. Did you know that, among your peers, it seems to be common knowledge that you have your eye on a college coaching position? I can only assume that you're trying to ride these girls to that end."
"That is NOT true, damn you!"
"Well, we will see what the school board thinks of my findings. Unless you turn your girls off my daughter and leave her alone yourself, my boss' law office will courier those records to the school board offices under their official letterhead by noon Friday. That is not a threat, Ms. Wilson, and furthermore, I understand my daughter has the extreme misfortune to be in your so-called health class. Understand that I review ALL her homework. If you should attempt to retaliate against my daughter through her grades? I will also have the evidence to take that up with your principal."
Wilson sat heavily in her chair and stared at Amanda. "You think you've got this all worked out, don't you?" She finally blustered.
"Oh, I do indeed, Ms. Wilson. Damn it, woman, you're supposed to be a coach! You are supposed to teach those girls more than just how to perform in your sport. You're supposed to be teaching life lessons to help those young women grow up to become better people."
"And yet, you'll let your daughter fight in martial arts competitions, but you won't let her dance on my team because THAT is unsafe? How do you think that will sound to the school board when you take this fabrication before them?"
Amanda stood and stared down at the woman behind the desk. "You see, Ms. Wilson, just as I had you professionally investigated, I did the same with the Kims. Their reputation is spotless. There have been no significant injuries among their students in dojang-sponsored events for more than ten years. I've seen how they actively intervene to prevent injuries. If you were only half as good as they are, I might relent IF my daughter wanted to join your team. She doesn't, by the way. Have a good day, Ms. Wilson. I do hope we don't need to discuss this any further." And then she turned on her heel and walked away. She thought she heard something crash hard against the office wall as she stepped into the school hallway and smiled.
It had been fun.
~-~
Credit: Photo 124641434 / Ballerina Book © Photosvit | Dreamstime.com
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger Part 5 - Dreams and Other Magicks
After her little beat-down with the cheer and dance coach, Amanda hadn't heard anything further on that subject from Christie. Nor had she been called by any school administrators to come to pick up her erring daughter after she'd cleaned the clock of one of Wilson's girls. She wasn't sure which thought pleased her more.
It was a lovely Sunday morning in early October. She was about ready to start cooking brunch, so she wandered over to the patio doors to check on her daughter. At first glance, Christie seemed finished with her usual morning exercises, but she was still doing . . .something - and very energetically, too.
Cracking open the sliding door just a bit, the rousing notes of the song 'Maniac' from Flashdance were playing. Oh my God, Amanda realized Christie was DANCING and quite well, too. She was barefoot in the grass, her eyes closed, hair-free and loose, with just the tiniest little smile curving her lips. Amanda couldn't recall ever seeing her daughter perform this choreography before. It wasn't ballet - not really. It was more free-form than classical ballet, but it was beautiful, and her daughter was delighted doing it.
Carefully, to not disturb Christie's bliss, Amanda closed the door and slipped back from the window glass. She could still watch through the crack in a curtain. Amanda waited until Christie finished her dance before opening the door noisily and calling out, "You going to come in and eat my delicious breakfast or not, girl?"
Christie still jumped and momentarily looked like the proverbial kid with her hand in the cookie jar before she relaxed. "Just finished, Mom. Do I have ten minutes to get cleaned up?"
"Oh, I think we could even make it fifteen if you don't mind your omelet getting a little cool."
"Can't have that!" Christie crowed as she grabbed her gym bag and raced into the house. "Ten minutes! Time me!"
~-~
When Christie hustled into the kitchen, her hair still wrapped in a fluffy white towel, Amanda overtly checked her watch. Shaking her head in mock sadness, she said, "Nine minutes and fifty-two seconds. You have to be the only teenage girl in the United States that can say ten minutes to clean up and mean it. Where oh where did I fail you, girl?!?"
Christie giggled as she poured orange juice into the glasses her Mom had set out on the breakfast bar. "Well, I guess there's a couple of places, now that I think about it. First, you started with a son named Charlie and did a great job raising him."
"Harumph," Amanda growled as she set the plated omelets down and started the toaster. "What!? So you're saying I had faulty materials, to begin with?"
"Maybe," Christie smirked back as she reached for the pepper grinder. "And the second place is that you threatened me with a less than perfect omelet! Trust me, I was highly motivated!"
"Well, I must say that I appreciate cooking for you more now that you are a martial artist and not a ballerina. Whole-grain cereal, skim milk, and yogurt just didn't satisfy my culinary, artistic bent."
After sampling her omelet with a happy nod, Christie looked up at her Mother. "That likely would have happened, anyway. I checked this morning before going outside, and I've grown another half inch and gained another half pound since September. I couldn't have kept to the dietary regimen I was on for ballet much longer. It would have been unhealthy. I guess Christie just wasn't meant to be a Prima Ballerina."
Amanda nodded as she chewed, filing that observation away along with the memory of her daughter's Sunday morning dance session for future consideration. "Well, I haven't heard anything from you about the cheer team girls in the last few weeks since I met with their sponsor. Any problems there or with Ms. Wilson? Or are you still being all stoic and male and handling it yourself?"
"No, not really. That confusion of weasels has pretty much backed off and left me alone."
"Wait, What? Confusion?"
Christie giggled. "A group of weasels can be called a confusion - I googled it and thought it fit them perfectly!"
"So, they're not a problem anymore?"
"Oh, they're trying to be subtle. Seems I am supposed to be shunned by all the 'cool people.' However, their subtlety broke down when they tried to harass some girls eating lunch with me for engaging in such unacceptable and antisocial behavior."
"Really?"
"Yep. Seems my Taekwondo girls aren't all that impressed with the queens of the school either. Oh, and get this! Lisa Brandt even crossed their supposed picket line! She's now my lunch buddy, too."
"The girl you had issues with at Madame Coulters? I thought you two didn't get along at all."
"Surprised the heck out of me, too. Seems Lisa has been taking the brunt of Renee's grief since I left, but unlike me, she's decided she really wants to be a professional dancer. So she puts up with her crap to get the benefit of Rene's admittedly excellent skills. She came to me because she's decided she needs to improve her strength and stamina but doesn't want to bulk up doing it. I work with her after school on nights I don't have a class with the Kims."
"Well, I must say that I never saw that coming. How does it feel? Working with ballet again, I mean."
Christie took a sip of her juice and thought about her answer for a few moments. "I like it. Mom, I think I told you that art and the ability to do it well motivates me. I never wanted to compete with Lisa; I just wanted to dance and create art. She never understood that, so she saw me as a threat. Now I'm not, and I like helping her. I still love dance, and I enjoy working with her. 'Course, we're careful not to let Renee know about our arrangement. She'd throw a fit!"
Another piece of the Christie dance puzzle to ponder, Amanda thought. "So, besides being a semi-social outcast which I can tell bothers you greatly. NOT! Any other problems with your boogle of weasels?"
"Boogle? Is that a word?" Amanda's smug nod almost had Christie reaching for her iPhone, but she didn't.
"Not really. They just don't matter, which I think bugs them even more than my saying 'no' did in the first place."
"Yes. It's hard to be the Queen Bitch if your chosen subjects can simply ignore you. What about Wilson?"
"Oh man, Mom, whatever you did to her? She's been declawed, defanged and dehorned! In Women's Health? My last three homework assignments and quizzes have all come back with only one red mark. An 'A' at the top of the first page. She basically ignores me in class since I don't ask her questions because I'm positive I know the material better than she does. Oh, and get this. On her most recent quiz? I intentionally wrote a wrong answer to one of the questions and STILL got the 'A' and no other red marks. I mean, really! I put down 'curds and whey' when the correct answer was 'yeast infection .'You really put the fear of the Goddess in that woman!"
"Just as well, I suppose. Just make sure you come to me if Wilson pulls any more of her tricks. She's just not worth your time or trouble." Amanda stood and began to clear the breakfast bar. "So remember. Moms just want to have fun, too."
Christie helped her Mother with the cleaning up. Together, they soon had the kitchen set to rights and the dishes cleaned and dry. "Let's have our coffee on the patio, okay, Mom?" Christie asked as she poured fresh cups for them both, "Should be warm enough outside by now, and I wanted to ask you about something else."
Amanda agreed but went and fetched her hair tools before following her daughter outside. Amanda unwound the towel from Christie's head after setting the brushes, combs, and her coffee down on the patio table, "So, what's the big question you've waited until brunch was over to ask me, love?" Amanda asked as she began to brush Christie's hair.
Christie leaned back sensuously into her Mother's deft handling of her hair and nearly purred. "Well, this is gonna sound a little strange, but do you dream a lot, Mom?"
Pausing in her brushing, Amanda tried to look at her daughter's face before shrugging. "I dream, Christie. As I understand it, everybody dreams. Whether I dream a lot or not? I've no idea. Why do you ask?"
"Well, it seems that I dream a lot more than I remember dreaming as Charlie, now that I've become Christie. Something else is a little bizarre, too. When Charlie remembered dreaming, he usually remembered the whole dream. I don't. Remember what I dreamed, I mean. I'm pretty sure I DID dream, and I think . . .mind you, that's THINK the dreams were pretty repetitive, but I can't remember what I saw or heard in them."
"Is this a regular thing? And if so, do you recall when it started?"
"Hmmm. Maybe the middle of August to the first of September? It was pretty sporadic then, and I only noticed it because it was so different from what Charlie usually experienced. Anyway, it seems like every night over the last couple of weeks. And I don't really have any particular Christie memories of dreaming like this, either. I guess I wondered if this might be some girl thing - like maybe puberty or a magical thing."
"Well, I don't think it's a pure girl thing, but on the other hand, I've never heard of anything like that in our family, either. I'll call your Grandmother later, and we'll both go through our family records to see if we can find anything that might be similar."
"Maybe I should look at them, too? I might see a hint that would clue me in? You know, because I was there in my dreams?"
Amanda frowned and shook her head. "There is a longstanding McKellar tradition that no one looks at our records until their powers have fully emerged. I'm not quite sure why. It might only be one of those 'secret handshake' things you only learn after completing an initiation, or it might be something more. Since it is magic, our family has always chosen to be safe and abide by the stricture. Sorry, dear."
"No problem, Mom. When you think about it, this is all pretty scary stuff! Look at what it did to me, right? Better safe, 'cause I don't even want to know what I might need to be sorry about."
Amanda made one last slow brushstroke through Christie's hair, took her own seat and sipped her coffee. "I think that is perfectly sensible. So, any plans for the rest of today?"
Christie grimaced. "Not really. I've got a paper due in two weeks that I need to finish researching. If I've got everything I need, I'll start the paper. If not, I may have to check out the local libraries. Their databases are better than the ones I can access at home for free."
"Hmm, okay then. Oh, I just remembered. When's your next test day at the dojang? It's not on my calendar yet."
"Last Saturday in October. I think I'll be ready for the 6th Geup Green Belt test by then. It's a little early by the WTF standards, so we'll have to see what Master and Grandfather Kim have to say. I'm not stressing over it. Grandfather explained his concerns about my current level of physical readiness. I agreed with him, so I've accepted that I won't be ready for my black belt test until well after my next birthday ."
"Thanks," her Mother said as she punched the testing date into her phone's calendar. "Let me know if you need to hit the public libraries. And you might find what you need in my law office's subscription databases. Lexis-Nexis is pretty complete regarding current events and the like."
Christie stood, collected their empty coffee cups, and leaned over to kiss her Mother. "Thanks, Mom. I'll be sure to let you know. See you later."
As for herself, Amanda just leaned back on her chaise, closed her eyes, and savored her memory of a Maniac dancing about in her garden earlier this morning.
~-~
Several days later, Amanda came downstairs to discover that Christie was not outside doing her morning exercises. Immediately concerned, she hurried back upstairs and found a rather bleary-eyed girl staring at her hand as if she were minutely inspecting her manicure. "Christie? Are you all right?" She asked.
It took Christie a few seconds to register she'd been addressed. She almost snapped out of her fixation with her hands to look up at her Mother, then blinked several times rapidly. "Oh, good morning, Mom," she said, seemingly still distracted.
"Christie, What is wrong?" Amanda demanded, growing more concerned by the moment.
Christie shook herself. "I guess I didn't sleep very well last night. I was dreaming again, only this time, I seemed to remember some of it. I kept staring at my hand and fingers like something was wrong with them. I never figured out what that was before the whole dream started again. I knew I was dreaming, but I couldn't seem to wake up - not until my alarm finally went off. Weird, huh?"
"Well, when I came in, I thought you were checking out your manicure. Maybe your inner girl has decided you need to take better care of your hands?"
"Well, if so, she could have been a little more clear about it, darn it! That kind of dreaming just wasn't restful!"
"Do you feel all right to go to school? Any other symptoms? Maybe you had a fever last night?" She asked, putting her hand on her daughter's forehead.
"I'm fine. Just a little tired, and I woke up kinda disoriented. I'll go to school, but I won't drive myself today, just in case."
"Okay. I'll drop you off at school. Don't hesitate to call me at work if you need me."
Christie stood and hugged her Mom. "Have I told you recently that you're the best? No? Well, you are. Thanks, Mom. Love you. Now, I need a shower and some coffee, I think."
"Love you, too, kiddo. I'll have coffee ready when you come down."
~-~
It was a little after eleven o'clock that night when Amanda had finally settled into her bed. Her review of the family journals and other records for any mention of dreaming, lucid or otherwise, had thus far been fruitless. Still tired from the previous night, Christie had headed up to bed earlier than usual. She'd been sound asleep when Amanda had peaked in on her a couple of hours ago, but she'd kept a Mother's ear on her daughter, just in case.
Her hand was just reaching over to turn off her bedside light when a hellish scream of terror ripped through the silence of the darkened house. Amanda was out of her bed and running to her child before realizing what had happened. When she reached for the doorknob, she noticed her hands glowing with power and did her best to get that back under her control.
Stepping inside and flicking on the overhead light, she saw her daughter shaking both hands in front of her terror-widened eyes. "Christie, what is it?" She demanded as she rushed to the bed.
"My hands! Oh, god, Mom, my hands!"
Turning on the bedside lamp, Amanda snatched the closest hand. She held it under the light for a better view. Power rippled through her and into her daughter as she scanned with her sorcerous healing senses only to find. . . Nothing. A quick check of Christie's other hand revealed no problems there either. "What happened to your hands, dear? There is nothing currently wrong with them. I checked. Now, breathe deeply and tell me what happened."
It took the ordinarily controlled young woman several minutes to gather herself. Finally, she replied, "I . . . I think I was dreaming again. The same start, too. Just staring at my hands like I expected something to be different. Then . . .then it was almost like a whisper, but it wasn't - more like a thought. And. . . And. Oh God, Mom! My fingers caught on fire! I shook them and shook them, trying to get the flames to go out, but they wouldn't and then I started screaming . . .and then I woke up."
"Did it hurt? In your dream, that is?"
Christie started to answer and then caught herself, her forehead wrinkling in concentration. "No. . .I don't think it did. It was freaking scary, and I . . .I expected it to hurt, so I screamed. But now that you mention it . . . No, I'm pretty sure it didn't hurt. That's so strange."
Seeing that her girl was calmer now, Amanda settled beside her on the bed. "How about you spend the night with me? That way, I'll be there if the dreams come back, and you won't scare me out of ten years of my life when you wake up?"
Christie threw back the covers and clamored out of bed. "Best idea I've heard in ages!" Laughing, the pair headed for Amanda's room. Christie was again looking at her hand when she had a thought. Almost as if . . .
"HOLY SHIT, MOM! MY FREAKING HAND! LOOK AT MY FINGERS!"
Spinning, Amanda saw Christie's hand, out at her arm's entire length away from her body, with little licks of flame dancing merrily from each fingertip. Relief, humor and a sudden urge to cry cascaded through the older woman. Finally, with a sniffling chuckle, she took Christie's hand in hers and extinguished the tiny flames.
"Congratulations, Miss McKellar. You are a sorceress. Remember that pistol analogy I used to explain your initial transformation? Well, your gun just got locked and loaded with live ammo. Now, let's go do some basic training so we can both get some sleep without you inadvertently setting my bed on fire."
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 6 - Magic in Dreams
Christie bounced out of the ladies' dressing room and into the dojang's main studio sporting a big smile. It was Saturday, and all of her school work was already done, but that wasn't the best news. It really wasn't a done deal yet, but Grandfather Kim had just told her that he planned to convince the Red and Black Belts to let her test for her 6th Geup Green belt two weeks from today! She'd been hoping to take that test despite the fact she hadn't completed the usual four months as a 7th Geup Green Belt required by the Taekwondo Federation's guidelines. Grandfather had reviewed that WTF time requirement and found that it intended to ensure a candidate had completed the necessary training before trying to advance to the next level belt. The four-month criterion assumed a casual student taking three, one and one half-hour classes per week, or roughly 100 hours in class.
Christie usually doubled the usual hours she trained on a class day class, so Grandfather felt she had met both the spirit and the intent of the Federation's requirement. Besides, he'd told her that she was way beyond well prepared in any event. She was regularly sparring with the dojang's blue belts and holding her own with them.
Which was why Christie was already rigged out in her full sparring gear. She wanted more sparring, especially against more advanced and experienced students. She wanted to ace that test, so she wanted some practice bouts today. And if someone else was looking for a match, then, gee, Jeja Christie is evidently more than ready to oblige. Pick me! Pick Me!! PICK ME!!!
Giggling at herself, Christie began her usual pre-class stretching and warm-up exercises regimen. She was early for her class, as usual, to be ready for her lessons when they started. Or maybe an impromptu sparring bout?
Most Saturdays, she had the studio to herself at this early hour. Today, however, a few other students were already working on the mat. They probably were getting ready for test day, too. Young-Soo's daughter, Kim Eun Ae, or as she preferred, Eunice, was out on the mat sparring with Greg Fresnel. Both currently held the rank of 5th Geup Blue Belt, which was evident as neither was kitted out in their protective wear. Christie watched them and saw that they were more shadow boxing than actually sparring. Safety first, she thought.
Warm, loose, and ready, Christie stood just off the mat, bouncing lightly on her toes, and watched the two teens working together. Greg positioned Eunice and then slowly walked through a combination of moves Christie had seen him working on recently. He started with a ridge hand lead, followed up with a spinning back fist before launching into a spinning kick aimed at his opponent's head. It was a pretty impressive combination, Christie thought. Greg then made the moves again, this time somewhat faster, with Eunice standing off to the side where she could safely observe and offer advice for improvement.
Christie began thinking her way through the progression of the combination in time to Greg's attack. She was just about to walk through it on her own when she saw that Greg did not land solidly on his back foot when he finished the faster combination, tweaking his ankle. Shaking it off, he seemed to limp, ever so slightly, as he returned to his starting position.
Greg gestured for Eunice to take up the opponent's position across from him, and Christie felt her blood run ice cold. Even as Greg started the ridge hand lead, Christie was racing across the mat toward the two teens, screaming, "GOMAN!! GOMAN!!"
She was almost too late. When Christie reached them,.Greg was already spinning into the back fist's setup. Only to be surprised and off-balance when his target was suddenly pulled away from him. Regaining his balance, he turned around to glower at Christie. "WHAT THE HELL, Christie!?" he yelled, even as he moved towards a perplexed Eunice. "What was that all about??"
Christie noted that he was favoring the injured ankle even more. Without ice and a wrap, it was probably starting to swell. Swallowing hard, she tried to keep her tone firm but reasonable. Pointing to the foot he was now obviously favoring, she said, "That happened. You hurt your plant ankle on that last demonstration. Neither of you is outfitted for full contact, and I was worried you might lose control when you planted for the kick and miss your aim point."
Greg just stared at her. "Ah, that's just bullsh. . .ugar, Christie. The ankle's fine. Good to go. Watch" He did a little spin jump but couldn't stop a wince when he landed on the injured ankle. "Okay, it's a little tender, but it's no big deal. You had no business pulling Eunice away like that. You could have hurt her badly."
"You say the ankle is good enough? Okay. Do your combo on me, full speed. I'm already fully kitted out for sparring with my chest and body protectors. Just let me put on my headgear. If you can complete that combination to form, I'll apologize and then see Young-Soo and Master Kim for discipline."
"Aw, you don't have to do that," Greg averred. His ankle was getting pretty tender, but darn it, Eunice was here, and he didn't want to look fragile. "Just don't do that again."
"Do the combo with me, Greg. I want to see it from the point of view of your opponent anyway. I might have to spar with you for testing one day. Let me have it, big guy! Time to show off for your girl, Romeo!"
"Okay, you're on, McKellar," he said as he took his starting position opposite Christie. "You ready?" He asked as he brought his hands up in front guard.
"I'm ready," Christie acknowledged. "Eunice, will you give the order to begin, please?"
Her father's daughter, to her core, Eunice stepped smartly to the typical Joo Sim position, between the fighters but a few steps back. "CHARYUT! (attention)" she ordered, then "Kyungnet!". Then, when Christie and Greg had finished their bows, she commanded loudly, "Si Jak! (begin)."
Knowing what was coming, Christie let the ridge hand strike land but softened the impact of the blow by moving with it. She deflected the spinning back fist and then braced herself. As she'd feared, Greg's plant ankle buckled under the strain of putting his body in the kick. With that essential support compromised, Greg couldn't get his leg up high enough to touch Christie's headgear. At the same time, however, he was still carrying all the momentum from his spinning back fist into the kick. The rotational stress on his already hurting ankle threw him completely off balance and into Christie. The kick hit her hard, VERY hard, right in her solar plexus.
Even with her protective gear, Christie went down flat on her back with her wind badly knocked out of her. Completely out of control and flying on the kick's momentum, Greg landed on top of her prone body.
"GOMAN! GOMAN!" Multiple voices yelled as all three Kims came rushing onto the mat with the other red and black belt instructors hot on their heels. When they tried to find out what had happened, the only one who could still speak was Eunice - Christie couldn't catch her breath with Greg writhing on top of her holding his injured ankle.
Young-Soo took charge of getting his daughter's story. Master Kim helped Greg get up off Christie while Grandfather squatted down beside Christie to check her out.
Things eventually calmed down as the Kims worked to restore order. When Christie finally had gotten her breath back, Grandfather gave her his little half-smile and asked, "Want to tell me what really happened, Jeja Christie?"
Swallowing hard, Christie levered herself up so she could whisper into the old man's ear. "Papa, it happened just as I've seen in my dreams all week. A fighter hurt his ankle but kept sparring and then threw a combination that his ankle couldn't support. He lost his base when his ankle failed and blasted a kick right into the other fighter's solar plexus. I saw Greg turn his ankle when he did a second walk-through of that combination for Eun Ae. Grandfather, she didn't have her chest and body protectors. When I saw that, it was like the faceless fighters in my dreams suddenly became them. . . I couldn't take the chance. . .I.... "
Grandfather put a finger to her mouth to shush her. "Rest now, Jeja. We will speak more of this later in a more private setting."
She nodded and sat up and heard talking to Master Kim, "I don't know how she figured it out, Master, but Christie was worried I'd hurt Eunice, so she stopped us. Guess I probably would have, huh?"
"You landed that kick quite solidly on Jeja Christie, Jeja Greg," Master Kim observed, even as he checked the boy's injured ankle.
"I'll say I did, Master. I don't think I've ever hit anything that hard before. Well, maybe the heavy bag, but that's about it. Maybe someone should take Christie into the locker room and check her out? I mean, she took that kick right here," Greg said, demonstrating on his own body, "Just below the wishbone."
"Good thinking, Jeja Greg," Master Kim looked up, scanning the room until his gaze fell on his favorite black belt student. "Wiillllll-MAHHHH!!" He bellowed in an unusually deep, gravelly voice.
Wilma Davis came hustling over, looking just a little peeved. "Darn it, Master, if you don't stop using that blasted Fred Flintstone impression with my name," she mock-growled, "I will put salt in your tea instead of sugar!"
"Mercy! I surrender!" Master Kim teased back. "Wilma, please take Jeja Christie back to the dressing room and look at where she was kicked. From where I was standing, that kick looked Donnie-ish. Fortunately, Jeja Christie was wearing her protective gear, but she took the kick in a vulnerable body location. Let us know if she needs to go to the emergency room."
"Yes, Master."
"I'm all right," Christie tried to refuse.
"Oh?" Greg snarked at her. "Like I was all right, Christie? Shut up and obey the Master, already."
"Yes, Thank you, Jeja Greg. Shut up and obey the Master, Jeja Christie," Master Kim repeated, his voice completely deadpan.
Wilma took Christie's arm and led her across the mat toward the dressing rooms. "Come on, girl. Got to obey the Master!"
"All right, All right!! Sheesh!" Christie giggled as everyone ganged up on her. "I'll obey the Master!"
"And Jeja?" Grandfather Kim called out from behind her. "You can leave your sparring gear in your locker. You won't be sparring today, even if you can continue in today's class."
Christie's shoulders slumped at that, but she turned and bowed to Grandfather, acknowledging his order before turning back to the dressing room.
~-~
Christie had a bruise, which she had known before Wilma had stripped her, and it was going to be colorful - maybe even iridescent. Still, it was JUST a bruise, no worse than a hundred others she'd gotten over the years. Well, that Charlie had gotten. Somehow, she didn't think that argument would do much to appease her Mom. "You're not Charlie!" Rang in her mind as clearly as if Amanda was in the dressing room with them.
ANYway, nothing was broken; she would be sore for a few days. Fortunately, Wilma was both a girl and a karateka, so Christie had been able to fast-talk her way back out onto the mat for class. However, once she was there, it became apparent that her core flexibility was compromised by the injury and worsened as her class progressed.
Eventually, Grandfather decided she'd enough for one day and summoned her off the mat. "No more today, Jeja. You need to rest and let yourself heal, so your injury doesn't become worse. Come to my office, and we will have that talk I mentioned earlier."
Christie wanted to argue but knew better; her body told her the same thing as Grandfather. As she entered his office, Christie was surprised to find her Mom waiting there, sipping tea. "I called your Mother, Christie," Papa Kim said from behind her, "While you were in the dressing room with Wilma. I felt she needed to be part of our discussion."
"And I'm going to take a look at that bruise I've heard about, young lady," Amanda told her daughter, clearly as pleased with her daughter getting hurt as Christie had expected.
"Yes, Mom. Thank you for calling her, Grandfather."
"I will just step out for a few moments and let you and your Mother have some privacy. Call me when you're done, Amanda?"
"Of course, Papa," Amanda replied, setting her teacup down on the office desk. "Thank you."
The old man bowed slightly and slipped out, locking the door behind him. "Okay, Christie," Mom growled, "Strip off that dobok! Let me see what you've done to yourself."
Moving as quickly as she could without aggravating her sore abdomen, Christie did as she was told. "I didn't kick myself, Mom!" She groused.
"Well, according to what Grandfather explained to me when I got here, you took a kick intended for someone else, so you might just as well have kicked yourself! What were you thinking?!?" Amanda fumed as she placed a gentle hand on her daughter's bruise and began to scan with her Healing Sight.
Christie just sighed. She knew better! There would be no satisfying her Mom about this. But still! She'd had good reasons for what she did, darn it! Reasonable, Christie, she ordered herself. Make your case calmly. No emotion for Mom to grab and toss right back at you!
"Mom, you know I've been dreaming more and more. Well, I think . . .no, I'm almost positive. I saw what happened today in my dreams every night this week. And when I saw it happening right there in front of me, I couldn't NOT intervene!"
Amanda's head snapped up, and her eyes locked with Christie's. "You say you saw this? In your dreams? You SAW that you would get kicked into the middle of next week, and you still DID it??"
Shaking her head, Christie sighed softly. "It wasn't anything so clear and to the point, Mom. In the dream, there were two fighters in a sparring match. Just two fighters. I never saw their faces, and I was never sure if they were men or women. During their bout, one of them injured his ankle but kept sparring. One thing led to another, and the injury broke down during a combination of moves. The injured fighter kicked the other one hard in the chest or abdomen. Then the dream would start all over again.
"Well, today, I saw one of the guys in the main studio play-sparring with one of the girls. You know them, as a matter of fact. Greg and Eunice? They went to dinner with us after the recital, remember? Anyway, I saw Greg twist his ankle showing off for Eunice. He tried to shake it off and then started to do it again. In that instant, the dream flashed in my head, only this time I SAW Greg and Eunice in place of the two faceless fighters. I raced in and managed to separate them, but I think Greg injured himself further with that repetition."
"All right, this is getting a little out there, Christie. You intervened because you had a dream, right? And you got kicked because?"
"Greg was showing off for Eunice, Mom. Typical guy stuff. He was determined to show her this cool move he's been working on, but neither had their sparring pads on. I did because I wanted to spar today after class. If the dream held true, someone was going to get kicked. Eunice would have been badly hurt if she'd been kicked without her pads, so, I . . .um, I sort of taunted him into doing it with me, okay? I knew what was coming and what might happen. I figured I could protect myself."
"Really," Amanda drawled sarcastically.
"Umm, I guess his ankle was worse than I thought? I caught the kick square in the chest, full momentum on the spin, and then he fell on me and caught me in the chest again. The only difference between this and my dream is that three fighters were involved and not just two. Maybe because I stopped being an observer and became a participant, I changed the ending somehow."
"You do realize what you're saying, don't you? What you are describing is a precognitive event."
"Yeah, I kinda concluded that for myself. Uhh, this IS one of these sorcery things I'm supposed to be on the lookout for, right? It's spooky enough as it is. I'd at least like to be able to blame it on the magic!"
"Precognition as a sorcerous ability is not unheard of, but extremely rare and usually annoyingly sparse on details. Like not knowing the faces and sexes of your fighters," Amanda stood up, pulling her hand back from Christie's abdomen. "Well, you've got a very deep bruise and some bruised innards to go with them. I can't sense anything too serious, but I'm still going to try healing you before calling Papa back. Now, sit still for me."
Amanda again laid her hands on her daughter's injury and began concentrating. Christie felt like someone had turned on a heat lamp inside her stomach. Soothing warmth began spreading outward from the focal point directly beneath her Mother's hands. Amazed at the feeling, Christie centered her mind and tried to sense what was happening.
She sensed, felt, experienced? Christie sensed a link or connection had formed between her Mother and her. She somehow felt her Mother 'telling' her body what to do next. Telling Christie how to heal.
Amanda maintained her healing touch for several minutes, then sighed deeply. When she removed her hands from her daughter's abdomen, Christie 'felt' the 'link' break, as if her Mother had 'hung up the phone' on her end. Eyes wide with wonder, she breathed out, "My God, Mom! I felt that!"
"Well, I should hope so!" Her Mom snarked, "Helping your body fix itself and accelerating your natural healing rates are hard work. You SHOULD be feeling less pain now."
"No, no! That's not what I meant. I FELT you healing me. There was this connection between us, and you were somehow telling the hurt places how to fix themselves. Oh! And it felt WARM where you were working. Do you have to feed some kind of energy into the injury to help it heal?"
Now, it was Amanda's eyes that went wide with shock. "You felt the link? Sensed the healing energy flowing from me to you? My God, you must have some emerging healing talent. Precog and healing? Good heavens, Christie, it took you long enough, but it looks like your power is finally starting to show itself! Your sorcery training requirements just got a lot more demanding, young lady. Hope you're ready to work!"
"Can I put my dobok back on now? And invite Grandfather Kim back in?"
~-~
"That's quite a story, Christie," Grandfather said once she had finished repeating her story for him. "Amanda, you are quite certain she will recover and not require further medical assistance?"
"Very sure, Papa. It is only a bruise. Without my healing intervention, it would have been rather painful and annoying. Now, she'll be completely healed by next Saturday. She will have to take it a little easy during her weekday lessons, but she'll be fine."
Grandfather nodded. "That's good. She needs to be ready to test for her next belt the Saturday after next. Your daughter has exhibited both a precognitive ability and a talent for healing, yes?" Both women nodded. "Very well. I assume you have training in hand to help her manage and develop these abilities?"
Amanda shook her head. "For the healing? Yes. I have some healing talent, and the women of my family have been scrupulous in keeping records of what worked and what didn't work for training young healers. The precognition? That's another story. We have folk tales about such abilities, but I don't know of any who had such abilities in my family. I know I haven't run across anything in our records about it. I don't have such abilities. For that matter, neither does my Mom. I am at something of a loss as to how we can help Christie deal with this talent."
Grandfather Kim smiled. "As you may recall from the incident with the unfortunately named Tinkerbelle, I have some talent in the mental arts. While I have never had a precognitive experience, I know a couple of people who have such abilities. From my discussions with them, the training I received to develop my talent was remarkably similar to the training they received for theirs. Mostly, it involves some fairly advanced meditative techniques to focus the mind and, eventually, the ability. With your permission, Amanda, I will start Christie's training in basic and advanced meditation. At the same time, I reach out to my friends for specific guidance about how to then develop her talent."
"Wow, Grandfather," Christie said, "That would be so cool! Those dreams were so annoying, and I couldn't make heads or tails of them."
"Yes, Papa, thank you for the offer. At least you know someone who knows something about all this. I would be at a loss where to start."
"Excellent. I think you should take Christie home and let her soak in a hot tub for a while. We will not allow her to spar until next Saturday at the earliest, and certainly not before you tell me she is fully healed."
"Thank you, Papa Kim," Amanda said. "She should be good to go next Saturday."
"Very good. Jeja? Be ready! I think you will need some sparring challenges. Why don't we plan on five-minute bouts with Valerie, Eun Ae, and Greg? Hmm?"
Christie just stared at the old man, trying to see if he was joking or not. Valerie was already one rank senior to hers, while Eun Ae and Greg were two ranks senior. Swallowing, she simply said, "I look forward to it, Grandfather. Con Sa Hom Nee Dha, Sa Bum Nim (thank you for teaching me, teacher)."
Grinning slyly back at her, Grandfather bowed, intoning, "Chun Mun A Yoe Jeja (you are welcome, student)."
Christie bowed as best her sore stomach muscles allowed and headed for the dressing room to change back into her regular clothes. As she left, she thought, 'I wonder how you would say BOHICA in Korean? Probably best not to ask. Grandfather would likely tell me!"
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 7 - Life Happens Anyway
Valerie was waiting just inside the main doors of Dolley Madison High School when Christie arrived. "Hey, girlfriend," the pretty blonde called. "Ready for another exciting Cavalier day at DMHS?"
Smiling, Christie came over to greet her friend. "Hopefully, anyway. Yourself?" She asked as they stopped at their lockers in the building's main hallway.
"Ah wuz born ready, pilgrim," Val answered in a horrible John Wayne imitation. "Hey, I meant to ask. I thought you were testing for your next belt next week. How come you weren't sparring last night at Young-Soo's? I expected you to be scurrying around challenging anybody who didn't run away fast enough."
"I'm NOT that bad," Christie retorted.
"Uh-huh, sure! Pull the other leg, and maybe someone will believe you. So what gives?"
"Eh, you weren't at class Saturday morning. I was sort of sparring with Greg, you know, Kim Eun Ae's new boyfriend? Anyway, he hurt his ankle in the middle of a combination move. I caught a spinning kick full force right under the wishbone. Knocked me down and left me breathless. My Mom got involved, and between her and Grandfather, I can't spar until at least Saturday. Probably just as well, I couldn't get really loose last night, but at least it's getting better than it was."
"Is that why Greg wasn't practicing last night? He just kept standing off the mat last night when he wasn't limping, that is."
"Well, partly, I think. Did you notice Eun Ae hovering around him like a mother with a sick child? I think he was enjoying being fussed over. Hope he gets better quick. Grandfather told me he's one of the people I have to spar against on Saturday."
"Now that you mention it, he did look awfully happy for someone who can't practice and is limping." Valerie closed her locker and headed off to their homeroom. "So, you know who you're going to be sparring with?
"Yup! And you're first, sunshine! Fear me, for I am coming for you!" Christie mock growled to her friend.
"Oh yeah, you of the mere 7th Geup? Just you bring it, McKellar! You may not be able to test next week when I get through with you!"
"You're on, Stevens, and . . ." Christie's voice trailed off as she caught sight of something happening ahead of them in the hallway. "Oh, hell! Wait here, Val. This won't take long."
"What?? Hey, where are you going?" Val called out to her friend's back.
Christie closed on her target rapidly. Trent Hopkins, prototypical skinny, academically brilliant school nerd, was being picked on - again. Martin Davis, Dolley Madison's star quarterback and most unrepentant bully, had Trent by the collar of his shirt and was playing at intimidating the much smaller boy. Just good, clean fun as far as Martin was concerned, especially since the usual teacher hall monitor was nowhere to be seen.
"Trent," Christie calmly addressed the frightened boy, "You will have to start looking out for yourself and protecting yourself, or this nonsense won't stop." Eying the smugly grinning Martin, Christie gently laid her hand on the bully's wrist. "Martin, this is beneath you, and you need to stop doing it." She told the bigger boy in a matter-of-fact tone. And then, she executed a wrist flexion compliance technique that Charlie had learned from Sa Bum Nim in their jiu-jitsu classes.
Still holding Martin's gaze, she dug her thumb down hard onto the nerve bundle at the base of the boy's wrist. "Martin, you really aren't cut out for this bullying stuff. You know what I mean?"
Martin's eyes went huge, and he let go of Trent, trying to free himself from this girl's painful hold. "Ow! Ow! Darn it, Christie! Let go." When she didn't immediately, the now dancing boy saw her cock an eyebrow that every young man learns to fear from Mothers everywhere. "Let me go, PLEASE, Christie?"
"Well, since you asked so nicely, Martin," Christie said, releasing the nerve pressure but not letting go of the hold. "You need to find another outlet for your aggression. Think chess or track and field or knitting. I mean, you need this arm to play your sports, don't you? Now, are you going to be a good boy?" She asked, bearing down again on the nerves.
"Ow, ow, ow! YES, yes. Please let go. I'll be good! I promise."
"Good boy! Very good boy. Now, leave Trent alone from now on, all right? You don't want to make me have to break a fingernail NEXT time. Do you?"
"No, Christie. I . . .I have to go. Homeroom, you know. Bye, Trent. Have a . . .err, umm good day. See you in the gym." And he was off as fast as he could go without appearing to run.
Reaching into her purse, Christie withdrew a card that she handed to Trent.
"Trent, go to the address on that card. It's Kim Young Soo's Karate School. Talk with Grandfather Kim. He'll help you figure out how you can learn to help yourself."
Christie turned to head off for class as if nothing had occurred. "What was THAT, Christie? Marty Davis has a foot of height and 100 pounds of mass on you."
"He's a jerk, but he's a fairly nice jerk. He's just too into this whole male survival of the fittest nonsense. I knew he wouldn't try to hurt me, so I wasn't in any danger of having to do something . . .more offensive to him. I'm just sick and tired of that crap and decided to do something since there wasn't any teacher around to help."
"Think Trent will go to the dojang?"
"Of course, he will," Christie said with complete confidence. At her friend's disbelieving stare, she giggled. "He'll either go on his own, or you and I will help him get there. He's a smart guy. He'll figure it out."
"You do realize that this isn't how most girls would deal with something like this? Right?"
"Why, Valerie. After all this time, you're just figuring out that I'm not most girls? How unobservant of you."
"Smartass!" Val growled as they slipped into homeroom just ahead of the bell. "We'll talk more about this later, McKellar." Christie only smiled and took her seat for attendance.
~-~
The insistent knocking on her bedroom door pulled Amanda McKellar out of a lovely dream involving warm tropical breezes, fruity rum drinks with umbrellas, and her current favorite male celebrity wearing Speedos just for her. She groaned, took a quick look at her bedside clock, groaned even louder, and buried her head under her pillow. It was Saturday, for God's sake. Her day to sleep in! Why was there someone beating on her door at . . .she peaked at the clock again. At five-thirty in the bloody morning! "MOM!" Her daughter's voice penetrated through the last lovely vestige of sleep. "You have to do your magic stuff so you can tell Grandfather whether or not I can be allowed to spar today."
So that was it, Amanda sighed to herself. She should have known. Her daughter was on a mission to take that next belt test next Saturday. That meant she had to be able to spar today to prove she was good enough for the test. Grandfather Kim was not going to permit that without Amanda's okay beforehand. Why hadn't she done this last night? Oh yeah, lovely hot bath with that beautiful bath oil and an even more delightful glass of ice-cold white wine. By the time she'd emerged from her little bout of hedonism, Christie had gone to bed and was sound asleep, so she hadn't reminded her Mom to check.
Crawling out of her bed, Amanda trudged over to the door, flung it open and glowered at her smiling - she was actually SMILING! At five-thirty in the bloody morning - daughter. Eyes narrow, she fixed her daughter with what she hoped was a blood-chilling stare. "This could have waited until later - like - oh, I don't know - maybe seven-thirty? Or even eight o'clock. Yes, eight would have been much better. Your class doesn't start until nine o'clock! Why did you have to interrupt Leonardo di Caprio cleaning wine off me with his tongue on the beach in Aruba?"
"WHOA! WHOA! MOM, TMI!" Christie took a careful step back and then frowned. "Umm, isn't he just a little past it these days?"
"In my dreams," Amanda retorted primly, "We are both young, beautiful and in the full bloom of our sexual prime. Now, WHY ARE YOU WAKING ME UP NOW?"
Looking abashed, Christie peaked up at her Mom. "Um, because I don't know how long it takes to do your sorcery thing? And I figured if you were awake, and I was still a little bit off? You could do the healing trick again so I could still spar. Oh, and of course, you have to call Grandfather and tell him."
Well, crap, Amanda thought. She'd been too busy at work this week and hadn't started Christie's healer training, so she didn't know. "The check will take maybe five minutes, and if you still need treatment, anything I can do today will be done in no more than thirty minutes. So, I am going back to bed and, hopefully, catching Leo before he slips off into some other woman's dreams. Wake me - GENTLY - at seven-thirty. Got that? Little hand on the seven, big hand on the six."
The bedroom door slammed shut before Christie could get a word in. Just off-hand, though, she did wonder where in the house they had a clock that wasn't digital.
~-~
Christie lay on the dojang mat, getting her wind back after three challenging matches. She had gotten her still irritated Mom up at 7:31, just to be on the safe side, with a fresh cup of morning coffee scenting the air. Mom muttered something about having gone two out of three with Camila Marrone. Still, she'd gotten Leo back, so Christie could relax.
As promised, Amanda's scan took about five minutes, and Christie passed without further treatment. The process itself had been fascinating as she'd done her best to follow what her Mom was doing throughout her scan. It was like when Christie had set her hand on fire. She felt she could have done the same thing herself. However, she'd promised her Mom she wouldn't attempt any healing until she'd gotten through her Mother's introductory training course.
Christie had practically skipped into the dojang, dressed in her sparring gear and was out on the mat warming up a half hour before class. The actual bouts had been held after the regular class finished. The instructors had scheduled sparring bouts for several other students who would also be testing next week. So Christie hadn't needed to "run the gauntlet" of having to fight all three matches, one after another.
Even so? She was just plain fried now that they were over. All of them had been tough, but for different reasons. She figured she won the first one, had a 'no contest' on the second, and suffered a life-altering ass-kicking loss in the third.
From a form and learning perspective, her best match of the day had been the first one against Valerie Stevens. Val was a skilled, technically adept 6th Geup Green Belt who would likely be testing for her 5th Blue at some future testing day. She was probably a better instinctive fighter than Christie, who was still teaching her body to do what her mind wanted. For all that, however, Christie had beaten her handily on points. Valerie did not quite have the whole 'killer instinct' thing down yet, and still fought to 'look pretty' when performing. Christie might not be able to do everything Charlie had been able to do, but she fought with the same intensity and drive as he had.
Her second bout had been against Greg, just as Grandfather had promised. And it had been awful! Maybe Greg was still being a little careful with his injured ankle. Still, halfway through the bout, Christie concluded that he was 'taking it easy on the girl.' He kept the score close, but he was a Blue belt! She shouldn't have been able to tag him as easily as she had during the match. Okay, so she'd gotten a little hot under the dobok and started using a little more force than was required for each technique. Nothing illegal, mind you - just enough to try and make the damn guy retaliate and give her a real fight, damn it! All she got out of that match was a good sweat.
The third bout. Wow. How to describe that abomination? An excellent example of why the WTF needed to institute a mercy rule to end completely lopsided matches? Send in the tape to headquarters. Reference A for the defense.
Eunice (and Christie now knew she was never to call her Eun Ae again) wore a 5th Geup Blue Belt, the same as Greg did. The only reason for that must be that Young-Soo was bending over backward to show the exact opposite of favoritism for his daughter. She was as tough as any Red Belt Charlie had ever fought and more challenging than a couple of the black belts he'd faced getting ready for his black belt test. That wasn't all, either. She was easily as quick a Rickey; she hit like a Mini-me version of Donnie, and because she was more than a little peeved at Christie beating on her boyfriend? She'd been almost as mean as Tad.
Christie had gotten her clock cleaned - period. She hurt all over. Nothing severe, but if there was a target area on her body that wasn't bruised, it was because Eunice had wanted it that way. Charlie had been good - damn good, but Eunice was even better. Time to mend a few bridges, Christie m'girl, before you ever have to spar with her again, she thought to herself.
Finally, she got herself up off the mat and looked for Grandfather to find out if she would be allowed to test next week.
~-~
Sunday evening, Christie broke down and asked her Mother for some of her healing help. She still hurt, and some of her aches and pains were in places she wasn't sure that Charlie'd had places. That had turned into her first official healing lesson. With her Mother's guidance, Christie began to learn how to 'look' for injuries or disease. Mom called this 'Healer Sight' as opposed to 'Healer Talent.' Evidently, sensing something wrong was not quite the same as the ability to push energy in and help fix something wrong. Mom explained it as being like sonar. The sight was passive in that it looked for the signs that indicated something was damaged. The talent was active - like active sonar - and pushed energy into the injury or disease.
Christie was very excited about moving on to the talent phase so that she could heal herself, at least for little things - like bruises. Only it turns out a sorcerer can't do that to him or herself. She couldn't even SCAN herself, for gosh sake. Well, that was disappointing, but as Mom said, "I don't know why it works that way. It's magic, and it works the way it works." Scientific? Not so much.
~-~
The testing day finally came, and Christie entered the dojang feeling quietly confident. Her forms, at least those required for this belt, were solid. She'd spent much of her class time the past week working with the other students whose tests would require the same forms. They had their timing and the moves down, so all of them should do well on the Poomsae portion of the test. That left individual skills demonstrations and sparring as Greens didn't test with weapons. All of Christie's students should pass and advance to their next rank unless someone got hurt. They just had to do what they'd been doing all week and put on a good show during the sparring bouts.
Christie changed into her dobok, tied her belt and then went out into the main studio. Her Mom and her Grandmother were both already there and seated. Mom may have had her issues with Taekwondo, but she knew that it was a big part of Christie's life. That made it a big deal to Amanda McKellar, too. Just her Mom's presence, even if she did close her eyes during the sparring, lifted Christie's mood and attitude. Checking the clock, she saw it was time to do her stretches and warm-ups so she'd be ready when the formal testing began. Young-Soo always ran a very tight ship on test day, and there were quite a few whites and yellows testing today.
The actual testing seemed to fly by for Christie. Her group was spot on doing their assigned Poomsae, with even their dobok pops and snaps in sync. After that, the various black belts who'd come to assist with the testing oversaw the individual skills demonstrations. She thought she'd aced those as well, which meant it came down to the sparring. Her first bout was against the other 7th Geup student testing for 6th Green. They put on a pretty good show, with several strikes and counters by both fighters. Christie knew she'd have won a scored bout, but that wasn't the point of these matches. Her second match was with a student testing for the 5th Geup Blue. He was more powerful than she was, but she was quicker. She managed to land enough strikes and counter enough of his that, once again, both of them showed their ability to the assembled black belts.
Her third bout would stick in her memory for a long time. After she had been called to the mat, Grandfather Kim announced, "Christie McKellar will spar with Rickey Summers." She didn't quite groan out loud, but she sure wanted to. Rickey still had difficulty delivering solid stinging strikes. It was one reason the junior black belt had not moved up into the adult classifications at the dojang. Which was good. Christie didn't have to worry about getting hurt. On the other hand, she would have to work very hard to show well against his incredible speed. She hated chasing the quick little fart around the darn mat.
Wait a minute. Charlie was the one who hated chasing Rickey. Christie had never fought him, but her quickness was her one advantage over her male version. Now there's an interesting question, she thought. Was she quick enough to run Rickey down and make him stand and fight? Charlie had never had any success trying to tag the little mosquito. And there, another thought struck her. Could she? Heck, it was worth trying, and it might even help Rickey. Eventually, she hoped.
"Well, lucky me," Christy said softly as she and Rickey assumed their starting positions on the mat. "I get the Dojang Mosquito." Rickey grinned at her use of his nickname. As Grandfather approached to take on the duty of the Joo Sim, Christie said, just loud enough for Rickey. "Hey, Rickey. Know what the problem is with boy mosquitoes? They ain't got no sting! Better get on your horse, fella, 'cause I'm coming for ya!"
"Si Jak," Master Kim shouted from the judges' table, but Rickey didn't move. He was just staring at Christie in disbelief. Christie didn't hesitate; she struck immediately, leading with a ridge hand and following it up with a spinning back fist to Rickey's chest. Both strikes landed cleanly and had Rickey backpedaling to get out of Christie's wheelhouse.
"Better stand and fight, Rickey! I'm almost as quick as you are, so you can run, but you can't hide." She landed a front kick and was moving into a second kick when Rickey went airborne over her leg sweep attempt and caught her squarely on the shoulder with a stiff kick of his own.
After that, the fight was on in earnest. Both fighters struck and countered, moved and kicked, but mostly, they stood and fought. At first, Christie tried to keep up a running dialog of 'almost-trash-talk' because it seemed to have motivated Rickey. The little fart was sparring the best match of his life! Lucky her, indeed. As the bout wore on, the pace of their fight began to wear on both of them, and Christie decided she had better things to do with her air supply than talk. Like trying to keep the Mosquito from mopping up the mat with her! She could not remember when the shouted command of "GOMAN! (stop)" had sounded sweeter.
Rickey just looked at her for several moments as if he couldn't decide what to say. Christie decided that what the hell! "DARN, Rickey!" She shouted as she swept him up into a fierce bear hug, "You were great! That flying kick? That really smarted! Great fight! Thank you!"
"Jeja Christie!" Grandfather Kim yelled. "Center Mat. These proceedings have not concluded."
"Yes, Grandfather," she replied respectfully. She hurried over to bow to her opponent, the Joo Sim and the judges before being dismissed from the mat.
Christie made sure to escort Rickey off the mat. "Now THAT'S how you should fight, Rickey. You helped me look good for the Masters."
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Rickey said accusingly. "You were trying to piss me off to turn that bout into a brawl."
"Oh, heck no. I just wanted you to do what you do best. Move and take your shots, but with a purpose. Like I said, I'm almost quick enough to chase you down, and I'm meaner than you. You're technically a much better fighter than I am. Once you figured that out, we were ready to rumble, guy! Bet you that will be the best fight of the day!"
Rickey thought about that for a few minutes. "I've never fought like that before. Well, not against older students. Didn't think I could. Darn it, Christie, that was really sneaky and underhanded of you!"
"Hey, I'm a girl. Sneaky is my job! Now, you know that against certain opponents, you can fight toe to toe. I'm so proud of you. That was really a great fight!" She hugged him again and then went to get her water bottle. That fight, along with all that talking, had been thirsty work.
When the black belts and the Kims came back into the studio from their deliberations, Christie saw Grandfather gesture to her to meet him after the announcements. Those didn't take long as everyone passed, and they went straight into the awarding of the belts to the newly advanced students.
After that was over, the refreshments came out, and the party began. Christie sought out Grandfather, who led her off to an isolated corner of the dojang. "Well, that was quite a fight you put on with Rickey, Jeja."
"Wasn't he just great?" Christie gushed. "That flying kick to my shoulder almost put me on my butt! I don't think he's ever hit me that hard before."
"Ah, but Christie, I thought this was the first time YOU had fought him."
Christie felt herself blush. "Oops. Kind of forgot, Grandfather. Still, he was able to make me look pretty good out there."
Grandfather nodded. "It was mutual, Jeja, but please tell me something."
"Yes, sir," Christie asked, suddenly wary.
"Is it true what you told him? That boy mosquitoes cannot sting?"
Giggling, Christie nodded. "Well, real male mosquitoes don't even have a stinger - the girls make you itch. But I guess our boy mosquito is finding his stinger."
"Christie, the look on his face when you said that? And then the shock when you went right at him with your opening combination? That may have helped that boy more than all the special instruction he's received in the last year. That was well-coached, Jeja. Now, let's see about some cookies and punch." Offering her his arm, Grandfather led her back to the main studio and the makeshift serving line.
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 8 - Christie's Life - November Through December
Christie scanned the school cafeteria as she set her lunch tray down on her usual table. Just another Monday lunch at good old Dolley Madison High, she mused with a smile. She remained standing until she saw Valerie heading her way. Good company was the sole saving grace for lunch. DMHS claimed the meals served by the cafeteria were highly nutritious, but they never seemed particularly appetizing. Both girls had their default meal - large salad, dressing on the side, and skim milk.
"Hey, Christie!" Val sparkled as she sat down across from her friend. "You put on a really great belt test on Saturday, especially your sparring! Must be all that great training you've gotten beating on your best friend."
Christie giggled. "Well, it definitely helped me raise my game, oh best friend of mine. If you ever learn to be a little more killer in your approach, you will be even tougher."
"Yeah, about that, girlfriend. What got into Rickey Martin!? I've never seen him fight like that! You got that quick double strike combo in on him right off the bell, and he went ballistic on you. You two went toe-to-toe for the whole five minutes and never scored an unchallenged point on either of you. After your first combination and then Rickey's flying kick, every blow, kick and strike was blocked or countered. It was awesome."
"Well, I've never scrapped with Rickey before," in this timeline, anyway, Christie added to herself. "But I've watched him often enough. He always relies on his quickness to stay away from his opponent's wheelhouse and then sneak in for one of his barely-score-able kicks or strikes. I'm pretty much as quick as he is, and I told him I was coming for him. Then I caught him with that first combo which wasn't QUITE a cheap shot. That sure got his attention."
"And that's all it took?" Valerie was skeptical. Ricky's less than aggressive fighting style was well known in the dojang and had recently been the subject of much special training for the young junior black belt. Valerie caught the quick smirk on Christie's face before she could hide it. "Okay, McKellar, give! What's the deets, girl?"
Now Christie blushed. "Well, maybe? Like right before Grandfather ordered Si Jak? I might have observed that male mosquitoes don't have stingers."
Valerie burst out laughing. "You Didn't! YOU DID!! That's why you were able to catch him with that first combo, wasn't it?" At Christie's smug nod, Valerie laughed even harder. "Well, I guess you told him, and then he showed you! Looks like you helped him grow a pair!"
"Rickey doesn't lack courage, Val. He just got used to winning junior matches that way and has been a little over-cautious now that he has to spar with the more experienced adult red and black belts. We'll have to wait and see how that match carries over into his future sparring."
The two girls spent a few more minutes reviewing the details of the bout before their conversation turned to school and other items of what Christie still thought of as 'girl stuff.' That residual bit of her that was still Charlie cringed whenever they started discussing boys, fashion, boys, other girls, boys . . .etc. However, as usual, Christie shoved Charlie aside and got into it with her girlfriend.
Christie was getting ready to take her tray back when she saw something out of the corner of her eye and almost groaned. "God, there's Tad again. Val, is it my imagination, or is he around a lot more than he used to be? I mean, he's not in our grade or any of our classes, but lately, he seems to be where I am lately."
Valerie frowned at her friend. "Girl, you need to step up your situational awareness. He's been on you since school started. I thought you knew because he couldn't spell subtlety if you gave him all the letters in the right order. I will say that lately? He's been . . .I don't know, more annoyed? Unhappy? Pissed? When he's looking at you?"
"Really? Oh, CRAP, he's heading this way! What the heck does he want?"
"You. Or payback," Val said softly. "Maybe both."
Christie tried to avoid Tad by getting up to take her tray back, but he moved to block her. "Hello, Christie," he said rather arrogantly. "I hear you don't have a date for the Winter Ball. I've decided to save you from your wallflower existence and escort you as my date." The heavy emphasis he put on the word 'my' immediately got Christie's back up.
Christie decided to try taking the high road, at least at first. Holding her tray as a shield, she deliberately answered him, "That's true. I don't have a date for the Ball, but that's because I'm not going. Thank you for the offer, but I must say no. Now, if you will excuse us, we need to get to our next class."
She made to step around him, but Tad moved to keep blocking her. "You obviously didn't hear me, Christie," and she wondered when her name had become a curse word. "I SAID, I've decided you're going to be my date, now say,
'Yes, thank you, Tad, I'd be delighted.'"
"No." She started to move again, but Tad reached out, grabbing her arm this time. Christie made a show of staring down at the offending hand and then looking hard into Tad's eyes. "Take. Your. Hand. Off. Me. Don't you remember our school's sexual harassment training, asshole? No. Means. No! Now get the hell away from me!"
Tad saw that a crowd had formed around them, and they were taking in the confrontation. They saw him shut down by a girl, and that was simply NOT acceptable. Dropping his voice low, intending that one she could hear him, he growled, "You need to shut up and be a good girl, McKellar. There are no pussy referees around to save your little girl ass this time! And I KNOW you won't do anything so crass here in school, but you aren't here all the time. Now, I've decided. Shut up and deal!"
She was about to scream for a teacher when a hand appeared on Tad's shoulder from behind him, causing him to wince from the force of the grip. "You know, Tad-stool? I was actually there in the dojang when you got your clock cleaned by Christie." Tad turned and found himself staring into the eyes of a highly pissed-off Craig Breeder. "Seems to me, asshole, that the way I remember it was that the referee saved your lily-white ass from getting kicked even worse than it did in that bout. Now, back off before she decides she really needs to hurt you!"
The two boys' eyes remained locked until Craig increased his grip on Tad's pressure point, nearly making his legs buckle and breaking his hold on Christie. "Oh, another thing, jerk-wad. If anything happens to Christie? On or off-campus? Anytime? You'll answer to the entire football team. You understand? Your fault, somebody's fault, nobody's fault. It won't matter. Anything happens, and we will find you, and you will pay. Now get the hell out of here."
"BREEDER? What was that? You know the athletic department's policy on bullying."
Craig just kept watching Tad as he scurried away. "Nothing like that, Coach. Just a friendly reminder about school traditions and courtesies. No problem."
"It better not have been! I don't want to hear you've been suspended for fighting, buster."
Craig just grinned at his glowering football coach. "No worries, Coach. You won't."
Evidently satisfied by what had been said and not said, the Coach gave a stiff nod, turned on his heel and strode away. Once he was out of earshot, Craig turned to Christie and Valerie. "You okay? Do you need to see the nurse for that arm?" Christie glanced at the coloring bruise, sniffed indifferently and shook her head. "Didn't think so. Just so you know? We - that is, the football team - are really grateful to you for not crippling our quarterback last week right before the playoffs. Marty has been getting a little too much star treatment lately, and it went to his head. We had a little team meeting last week and counseled his sorry butt. I don't think he'll be pulling that crap much in the future. Well, I'm gonna be late. See you later, girls!"
Valerie and Christie were left standing there, holding their trays, wondering what had just happened.
~-~
As Christie headed for the dojang dressing room after her class, she felt again that she was really missing dancing. Anybody but Tad, and she might have said yes to an invitation to the Ball. Assuming that 'anybody else' showed a little courtesy, but for the chance to dance, again? Oh, yeah, she thought. Any other dance, and she might have gone stag (or was it 'hind' for Christie since she was a girl? Stag-ette?). However, the Ball was formal, so that wouldn't be appropriate.
God, but she needed to DANCE! She hurried to her locker, stripped out of her dobok and donned her running shorts and a t-shirt. Grabbing her iPod, she ran to the small studio where she'd begun studying meditation with Papa Kim. She scanned her music library quickly and found her 'fast dance' playlist. She wanted to MOVE. Taking a starting position in the center of the room, hit play, and heard the opening notes of ELO's 'Rock and Roll is King' sound in her ears. And she was off and dancing.
She'd been watching many dance videos on YouTube lately, thinking about how she'd dance to this song. She actually hadn't choreographed anything - yet - for this particular mix, so she improvised. What came out was a little bit of Salsa, a little Korean Gangnam, and a little Samba, all jumbled up with moves from her favorite Poomsae. It was fast, athletic and very satisfying.
When the playlist finally ended, and she was standing back in the center of the studio sweating, she was surprised to hear someone clapping. Spinning about to face the door, she found Grandfather Kim leaning against the wall, applauding.
"I saw you come in here alone, Jeja," Grandfather said. "I wanted to ensure you remembered our agreement that you wouldn't attempt the meditation techniques alone until I told you it would be okay. But then, I just had to stay for the show. That was a very energetic and theatrical dancing exhibition, Christie. Evidently, we are not working you hard enough in class if you need to do this after everyone else is finished. Take a shower and go home, Jeja. We will work more on your meditation after your next class." Then, he stepped out of the studio, leaving a somewhat confused Christie behind him.
~-~
Thanksgiving came and went. With only her Mother and Grandmother as close family, Christie primarily focused her time on her sorcery studies. She worked with her Mom, learning more about her healing abilities, while her Grandmother oversaw her training in Fire Magic. Both senior sorceresses contributed to her "general sorcery training," which was essentially how to manage and use magical energy. They'd intentionally let her 'empty her tank' during one such training session, 'so you know what it feels like and will know to avoid it in the future!'
Yeah. Absolutely to avoided. She'd felt like she suffered from a fusion of a hangover, a world-class migraine and then had been kicked in the head by an angry mule! It took her most of a day before her magical reserves replenished enough that her Mom could begin to 'heal' her.
Evidently, 'sharing' energy from one sorcerer to another was not a viable technique. She'd asked! So she'd suffered, mostly in stoic silence, and promised she'd never do that to herself again!
As the holiday weekend came to a close, Mom and her Grandmother decided that practical demonstrations of her developing abilities were required. Grandmother's test was for Christie to light a fire in their fireplace, without kindling and without physically touching the wood! Nor was it allowed for her to throw a fireball at the darn logs. Nope! Christie had to blink or twitch her nose or wave her hands to start the fire. All while sitting on the sofa on the other side of the room! She'd finally managed it, and the resulting headache hadn't been TOO awful. Her Mom 'healed' her as a celebration gift. Ahhhh. . . .
Christie's relief hadn't been Amanda's only reason when she'd done it. Nope. Christie had to demonstrate her new and improved healing abilities to her Mom's satisfaction. She wondered briefly what or who she was supposed to heal. Then her Mother materialized a shiny, stainless steel scalpel in her left hand and used it to cut a gash half an inch deep and more than three inches long in her right forearm. Acckkk!
"You do remember, don't you, dear," her Mother asked calmly, "That a sorceress can't heal herself? Or that your Grandmother doesn't have any healing talent? Hey! Are you going to stand there and let me bleed all over the floor??!"
This was entirely TOO practical a test from Christie's perspective, but she'd risen to the challenge. There wasn't too bad a mess on the floor when she'd finally stopped the bleeding and closed the gash. She'd even managed to remove the scar, too, although that bloody headache had come roaring back before she'd finished.
The good news was that her Mom 'healed' her again. The 'all right news' was that her Mother had carefully selected the cut sight for maximum apparent blood and minimum real danger. The bad news was that Christie was the one who got to clean up the blood as her penalty for 'not being quick enough, dear.' To quote a specific Charles Schultz character's favorite line? "ARRRGGH!"
~-~
After Thanksgiving, December blew in with the first hints of winter and myriad holiday season events. Christie already had a pretty full plate with school, taekwondo and her sorcery training. Holiday shopping, parties and school midterm exams didn't make managing her time any more straightforward.
Fortunately, most of her holiday shopping was done - yes, she was one of THOSE folks who shopped throughout the fall. She still had a few 'friend gifts' to buy, most notably something for Valerie and some small things for the girls she had brought to the dojang from the ballet studio.
At the dojang, Christie had continued to work with those girls in the class, usually under Wilma's watchful eye, who continued to be amazed at how hard Christie worked her girls. In fact, Cindy, Kelly and Carly were all scheduled to test for their next belt when the dojang held its last testing day of the year, the Saturday before Christmas. Christie wouldn't be taking an advancement test herself. She hadn't completed enough qualifying training hours since her Green Belt test. She was still going to attend the test day to cheer on her girls and to be available to spar with one or two of the more advanced students who were testing.
Once she'd looked at her schedule for the month, Christie was happy that Valerie was in most of her classes, especially the more difficult ones. She had her BFF as an on-call study partner. How cool was that?
Simultaneous girl time and test preps! If something had to give in her schedule, it couldn't be her schoolwork or test preparations. Having her best girl pal as a study buddy just worked great all around! The studying got done, but they'd be able to take a break when they needed one, right? You bet!
Midterms were scheduled the last week before Winter Break. Report cards would be available online by Christmas Eve. After finishing her school exams, Valerie and her family would be out of town to spend the holidays in Florida with her grandparents. And, of course, to bake in the sun and come back after New Year with an indecently lovely suntan! Mom, Grandmother Rebekah and Christie did not have a great deal planned for the holidays. They would take in The Nutcracker in Philadelphia, but mostly, they planned to continue Christie's intensive sorcery training.
That was fine with her. Just last week, one of the red belts had severely sprained an ankle and wouldn't be able to test this time. Christie had wanted to help her injured friend using her healing abilities. However, she was still too untrained and inexperienced to make that attempt and accepted that truth. Her Mom always emphasized that sometimes, no healing is better than poor healing. Christie was aware that she would probably not even recognize 'poor healing,' so she'd stayed back and let Master Kim and Grandfather deal with the injury.
But she'd just wanted to help SO intensely!
~-~
Christie hated it when she finished school testing week and felt she'd done well on her tests. A little healthy pessimism meant she'd be unlikely to be disappointed when her results got posted. Still, she was confident she'd aced all of the tests but economics. Even that should come back with a strong 'B' grade. Waiting stunk!
She arrived at the dojang at her usual time on test day, got dressed and did her stretching and warming up as if there would be a regular class. As they arrived, Christie gathered her girls and, after they got dressed, put them through a quick workout so that they were all warm on confident going into the test sessions. And if she happened to run them through a test-like routine - a couple of times? Looked like they were all ready!
They were. All three girls just blew the testers away. The demonstrations, the simple Poomsae - spot on. Christie was just so proud of her girls. She was literally bouncing up and down as each was called up, by name, to receive their next belt. Cindy was the last one since they were called up in alphabetical order. She spun about, caught sight of Christie, and sprinted towards her.
Christie braced herself, expecting the younger girl to barrel right into her. Instead, Cindy went airborne nearly five feet away from Christie. Instinctively, Christie brought her arms up, expecting to catch the girl on her way down, but Cindy was just reaching the apex of her leap as Christie latched onto the younger girl's hips. Christie didn't know where the maneuver came from, but she had pressed Cindy over her head. Cindy just went with it - arching over the lift with her arms and legs extended for balance.
Christie did a stepping turn, displaying Cindy, and then gently returned her to the mat. The look of pure unmitigated pleasure on the girl's face was almost blinding. She'd been happy to get her belt; she'd been ecstatic to dance and fly. Her feet had barely touched the mat when she leaped again, wrapping Christie in a huge hug. "That was so GREAT!" She crowed, "Thank you, Christie, for everything!"
"You are welcome, Cindy. Congratulations. Come on, now. I think your Mom wants to congratulate you, too." Taking her hand, Christie led her over to her beaming Mom at a brisk trot. Hugs, kisses and praise were generously made and returned.
Later, when the post-test, pre-holiday party was in full swing, Christie sought out Cindy. "Hey, Cindy. I've been doing a little improvisational dancing after karate class on Mondays. If you'd like to join me?" Once again, Christie found herself with full arms as Cindy hugged her.
"Yes, PLEASE!" She shouted. "Let me go ask my Mom, okay?"
~-~
Christie sighed as she looked up the stairs towards her Mother's bedroom. Best laid plans, and all that, she thought, a little down. Her Mom had come down with a nasty case of the flu, with only a few days left until Christmas, putting their plans for more sorcery training on hold. Grandmother Rebekah was due to arrive on Christmas Eve, but that was on hold, too. This particular strain was tough on older folks. Having Gran here might be too risky for her without Mom's healing talents available if she caught the bug.
Christie was doing her best to nurse her Mom. Trying to get her to stay hydrated was a big concern as she'd been able to keep very little down over the past twenty-four hours. Christie was worried and thought about trying a little healing of her own - just a little - but her Mom had squelched that idea. At least when she had when she'd been awake. Dammit, Christie growled to herself; her Mother was suffering, and she wouldn't let her daughter even try to help her!
A sound from upstairs got her attention, so she moved to the stairs and listened. A faint voice was calling her name - Mom needed her! Christie raced up the stairs and found her Mother struggling to get out of bed. "Mother!" She growled.
"Got . . .to go. . .bathroom. Aunt . . .Flo . . Arrived. Want. . .clean. Need. . .pads."
"Well, crap! How do you throw a penalty flag on the universe for piling on? Here, Mom, lean on me and I'll get you to the toilet and then get your supplies and clean undies. Here we go," she said softly. "Atta Momma. Just let me do the work."
Christie worked quickly, helping her Mom get cleaned up and redressed before leaving her to care for her feminine protection needs. She'd tried to help there but had been somewhat angrily told to be somewhere else.
Christie gathered up her Mother's soiled night clothes and took them to the laundry to soak. When she got back to the bathroom, her Mother was practically asleep on the toilet. Taking advantage of Amanda's insensibility, Christie ensured her Mother had adequately protected herself before trying to rouse her to get her back to bed.
Back in bed, Christie checked Amanda's temperature - just over a hundred - and left to get a basin of lukewarm water and a clean washcloth. She kept the cooling compresses on her Mom's forehead for the next hour and finally felt her begin to cool.
Without warning, her Mother suddenly curled into a fetal position crying as cramps began to wrack her abdomen. Furious at her inability to be more helpful to her Mom, Christie decided to 'look' with her healer's sight. Her Mom was crying, damn it! She wouldn't look at the flu bug, she thought. That was probably beyond her, but a period? That wasn't even a sickness, was it? She could just look and make sure that's all this was; her Mom had a bad period at a terrible time. And if Mom didn't like her looking? Too bad. She could dish out punishment later. When she felt better!
Carefully, Christie slipped one hand onto her Mother's stomach and the other onto her lower back. She had to work at getting her hand on the tummy as her Mom was still rolled up into a ball around her cramping abdomen.
Centering herself as she'd been taught by Grandfather Kim, she began to probe Amanda's internal organs as she had taught her daughter. Christie couldn't find anything wrong except for her stomach muscles being rigidly under full tension. Mom's muscles were cramping due to the double whammy of her monthly visitor and her badly dehydrated body chemistry. She wasn't healing if she didn't fix anything, was she? She could ease the cramping - force those muscles to relax. It wasn't like she was curing a disease or healing a three-inch-long gash. She could do the same thing with a massage. Or, she could if she could have actually touched the muscles.
Slowly, Christie started feeding her healing energy into her Mother's core, 'telling' her overstressed muscles to relax. When she heard her Mom give a quiet sigh and settle out of the tight ball she was in, Christie wanted to jump up and down and cheer, but she didn't. She maintained her link and fed her energy into her Mom's poor, abused tummy.
Christie finally broke the link before overspending her own energy reserves, but it seemed to have been enough. Amanda was now resting quietly, or as quietly as a feverish flu victim could rest. Christie tip-toed out of the room and went to make preparations for the night. She planned to be close at hand if her Mom had another of the cramping episodes and to help her get to the bathroom if that was necessary.
~-~
The first light of dawn was sneaking through her bedroom shades when Amanda woke up, needing to use the bathroom. Carefully, she sat up and then slid to the edge of her bed so she could put her feet on the floor. She just stayed there for a few moments, waiting to see if her world would start spinning again. It didn't. In fact, she thought she was feeling better - definitely not feverish.
A voice called from behind her. "Mom, you need some help?" Turning, she saw Christie's head peeking up above her mattress.
"Christie, what are you doing there?" She asked.
"Well, I was sleeping, but if you need the bathroom, I'm here to make sure you make it okay. Just let me get up out of my sleeping bag here."
Everything went much more quickly than they had last night - Amanda even managed two whole swallows of water. "Let's make sure that stays down, Mom. I'll get you something more filling to work with if it does, okay?. I made some Jello last night, and I've got chicken broth ready to heat."
"I hate Jello, Christie, and you darn well know it!"
"And the doctor said to get as much of it as I can down your throat. Are you going to be a good girl, or do I have to get tough?"
"What's getting tough?" Amanda asked cautiously.
"Oh, I'd hand feed it to you, holding your nose until you open your mouth to breathe and then stuff it down your throat. Very undignified, Mom. I don't recommend it."
"Never thought I'd want to call my daughter a bitch," Amanda muttered.
"I am my Mother's daughter. That's me! Let's get you back to bed, sunshine, and I'll go get your broth."
Amanda actually ate the soup and the gelatin quite willingly, as her body was almost screaming for liquid.
"Now, if that stays down, then later, I'll give you a small glass of Gatorade to replenish your electrolyte balance and help with your cramps."
"Cramps! Christie, the last thing I remember last night was my whole body locking up in the most miserable cramps, then nothing. And my tummy muscles aren't even sore this morning. They should be after cramps like that! What. . .?
"'Scuse me, Mom, but I think I hear the dryer bleating. You just rest. Try to drink a little more water when you can. I'll be back in a few."
"Christie McKellar? What did you do, damn it?" Amanda yelled after her swiftly departing daughter, only to hear nothing in reply except maybe a giggle. "CHRIS-TIE!!! Blast the girl! I'll have her butt! I told her no healing on me!"
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 9 - Magical Possibilities
A bitterly cold January morning had welcomed the students of Dolley Madison High School back from their winter break holiday. Perhaps that was fortunate, Christie thought as she hurried into the school's main lobby. The brisk walk from home had undoubtedly helped her finally wake up this morning. These latest dreaming episodes were driving her crazy. Faceless dancers dancing. Featureless faces crying. All jumbled up and making no bloody sense at all! What was the point of seeing the future if you couldn't figure out what the hell it all meant? About 3 AM this morning, Christie gave up attempting to sleep through the chaotic dreamscape and went down to the kitchen to think.
Several cups of her Mother's favorite herbal tea concoction later, she still hadn't been able to make heads or tails of her 'vision.' Other than dance and tears, she remembered nothing else of any note. There'd been no sounds, no staging, no context. How was she supposed to make any sense out of that?? At any given time, there were probably a few billion people crying and maybe almost as many dancing in the world. Why had her mind locked onto this confusing kaleidoscope of images? Was it a warning? Was she supposed to freaking DO something? WHAT!??
What concerned her the most was that the intensity, or perhaps, the urgency of her dreaming, had been ramping up over the last few nights. Somehow, she felt, practically KNEW, that SHE was supposed to do something, particularly about the damned crying!
On the walk to school, she'd thought about her options and had only come up with one that might offer an avenue to finding an answer. It was time to try using Grandfather's meditation techniques to focus her so-called gift. They hadn't really progressed to that yet during her training, but several times, she'd had that same feeling she'd gotten when she'd set her hand on fire or when she'd felt her Mom's healing link. She was pretty sure she was just a thought away from focusing her mind's magic.
That wasn't so scary, was it? Hell, yeah, it was! She couldn't come up with any other ideas, so she'd just have to try, wouldn't she. That left the question of whether she should ask Grandfather to sit in when she tried or whether she should just do it. She'd definitely prefer to have him there, but there was a problem. She wasn't really sure, but her instincts told her that Grandfather had been actively inhibiting her full power during their recent meditation training sessions. That was probably a very wise move considering they were exploring the unknown capabilities of Christie's mind, but there was this increasing sense of urgency to consider. Could she talk Grandfather into helping and taking off the training wheels? Christie guessed she'd be pondering that question all day. One way or another, she was determined to try to do this tonight.
~-~
Christie looked at the clock in the dojang's smallest studio. Forty-five minutes until her class started. Hopefully, that would be enough time to do . . .something, anyway. Somehow, she'd managed to enter the dojang, put on her dobok, and then slip into this studio, all without being seen. Wow, Ninja Christie, she giggled to herself. On the walk here from school, she'd finally decided she'd ask for Grandfather's help if he saw her and try on her own if he didn't. Was this a sign? Darned if she knew, but here she was, and it was time to act. That much, she somehow knew beyond any question.
With one last, deep, cleansing breath, Christie sank gracefully to the floor and assumed the classic lotus position. Resting her wrists comfortably on her crossed legs, she closed her eyes and began centering herself, her essence, her chi. As Grandfather had so painstakingly taught her, she found her 'safe place' and rested there, becoming familiar with it once more so that she could always find her way back if she needed it.
Once she felt ready, Christie turned her mind's focus to faceless dancers and faceless tears. A tendril of what she perceived as a light appeared on the horizon of her mind's eye, and she made herself follow it since it was the only thing other than darkness available to her. Slowly, gradually, the light resolved and became the dancer of her dream. Cautiously, Christie 'moved' closer, and the faceless dancer shifted into a ballerina - still faceless, but definitely female. She was dancing, but strangely. Not at all fluidly - more herkie-jerky motions than the smooth, elegant movements of a trained ballerina - and yet . . .? Drawing closer still, she could tell that the dancer's positions were spot on - right out of the ballerina instruction manual. She was doing that on purpose??
Of course, Christie's mind realized she was performing the windup doll dance from 'The Nutcracker.' With that insight, a face began to form on the dancer, and she looked . . .somehow familiar? Christie started to move yet closer so she could get a better look when suddenly, the whole scene shifted, and she found herself among the audience, watching the performance as a spectator.
Something, a sound? Pulled Christie's attention away from the stage and onto the person seated next to her in the auditorium. She looked familiar, too! Kind of like . . .Mrs. Pettis? Cindy's Mom? Were they watching Cindy performing as a soloist in the Nutcracker? Why?
Tears started streaming down the woman's face, and for a moment, Christie thought they were happy tears - like when her own Momma had seen Christie dance in that last recital for Madame Coulter. Then she realized they weren't happy at all. They were just streaming too hard, and the woman kept looking away, almost as if it were painful for her to watch the dancer.
". . . Me." Christie's eyes went wide. She'd never heard words in her dreams. Her friend's Mom had said something? Instantly, Christie focused all her mind on the woman, trying to hear and understand what she was "saying" . . .
With a scream of near-agony, Christie broke out of her trance and was racing through the door into the main studio before she quite knew what she was doing. She had to ESCAPE! That was the only thing on her mind. She had to get away from this . . .this . . .debacle!
~-~
Grandfather Kim was shocked to see Christie run blindly past him without even a word of greeting. Worse, the girl's face had been whiter than her dobok. Following her, he watched in amazement as she ran out of the dojang onto the sidewalk and just kept running. He started to follow but quickly realized that although he was in peak physical condition, he wasn't catching Christie on foot. Returning to the dojang, he pulled out his cell phone and began to call Amanda McKellar . . .and stopped short when he noticed the shoe boxes. Christie was running away, barefoot, in January! Just then, his call connected, and Amanda said, "Hello, Mrs. McKellar speaking. How may I help you?"
~-~
Amanda made the normally thirty-minute drive home in less than twenty. Barely taking time to turn off her engine and set the parking brake, she was out of the car and running into the house, her eyes searching frantically for signs of her daughter. The first indication Christie was home had been that the front door hadn't been locked. The second had been the faintly red-brown outlines of bare feet on the foyer floor tiles.
She didn't need her healer sight to recognize blood, Amanda thought, as she moved quickly to find her girl. She heard her before she saw her. Amanda had NEVER heard her daughter - or son - crying so hysterically. NEVER! She found Christie in the family room, curled up in the fetal position, sobbing uncontrollably! Racing to her child, she swept the disconsolate girl up in her arms and began murmuring mostly nonsense words of comfort into her ear.
"OH GOD, MOMMA! IT'S ALL MY FAULT, AND I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN EVER MAKE IT RIGHT AGAIN!!"
Before Amanda could make any sense of that declaration, she heard her still unlocked front door open, and a calm voice called out, "Amanda? Christie? It's Grandfather Kim. May I come in?"
~-~
Between the two of them, Amanda and Papa finally managed to calm the distraught girl enough that she could tell her story. Silently, they listened as she poured out everything, the recurring dreams, her confusion, and her inability to make sense of any of it. "I even sat down here in the kitchen for almost three hours this morning drinking that ghastly herbal tea you claim helps clear your mind."
Amanda had to smile at that. Charlie and Christie had always hated her special blend. It said something about her mood and motivation that she'd tried it. "Wondered why you'd put a dent in my contemplation tea blend supply this morning. Guess it didn't help all that much?"
"I don't know. Maybe? I figured out that my dream eye was just too unfocused to do me any good and that I needed to up my game somehow."
"Which," Grandfather Kim put in, "You decided was to attempt the meditation focusing techniques we've been working on the last few months?" At Christie's shaky nod, he sighed. "That was reckless of you, Jeja. There are risks associated with delving too deeply into the psionic arts without support. Why didn't you come to me, Jeja? Why didn't you ask me to help you?"
"I was fairly certain that you've been inhibiting me from using the full extent of my power during our training sessions up till now. I ended up deciding I'd ask if you caught me going into our meditation room but that I'd go it alone if you didn't. Brilliant decision, huh?"
"Apparently not, Jeja," he said with his little smile to ease the rebuke. "So, what set you off so badly that you ran two miles to your home barefoot? Oh, I have your shoes and gear bag out in my car."
"Thanks, Papa. Well, the vision itself was really different than what I get in my dreams." Christie went carefully through her entire episode, putting in as much detail as she could remember.
"So, both the dancer and the spectator looked familiar when you saw them, up close, with your mind's eye?"
Nodding, she continued. "I wasn't sure about the dancer. I just felt I ought to know her. The spectator? I initially thought it was Cindy's Mom, Mrs. Pettis. Then . . .well, then? I seemed to link with the spectator. She was really sobbing by then, and I thought I caught the fragment of a whisper, but all I understood was the word, 'Me.' So, I tried one of the focusing techniques we've been working on. It wasn't Mrs. Pettis; it was a future version of Cindy, and what she said. . .thought was 'I wish that was me. It SHOULD have been me.' Oh, God, it's my fault! She followed me out of the ballet school! She should have been the principal soloist up on the stage!"
"Her Mother approved the change, darling," Amanda reminded her. "Cindy wasn't having any fun at the ballet school and was very unhappy there.
"Yeah, but inside? That girl loves to dance." Christie went on to tell her Mother about the impromptu ballet lift after Cindy had earned her Yellow Belt and the look of sheer joy on the little girl's face. "She's been joining me for my little dance sessions after Taekwondo class sometimes. God, Mom, that girl LOVES the dance, and she could be so good at it, too!"
"Another school, perhaps, Jeja?" Grandfather asked gently.
It was Amanda who answered. "Renee Coulter is the best teacher in our area, maybe in this state. If Cindy is going to reach principal dancer status, she needs what Renee could teach her.
Amanda took her daughter's hand in hers. "Christie, remember the lesson we both learned when you quit ballet last summer? Sometimes, when one door closes, another opens. Perhaps your peek behind the curtain was just one door. Maybe you need to look for that second door?"
"Excellent idea, Amanda," Papa said. "If you are up to looking again, Christie, I will be here to anchor you for a second attempt. And you were correct; I have been inhibiting you from employing your full power up until now. I won't block you this time, but I will help you keep contact with your safe place as you go poking around in those dark corners."
"You think that might help?" Christie asked, afraid to sound hopeful.
"In truth, I don't know. Perhaps what you saw was a possibility and not a certainty. As I understand modern science, one small change can lead to huge changes later on."
"Maybe the urgency I was feeling is because the point at which that small change could impact the future is near at hand?"
"A reasonable guess, but again, I cannot really say with any certainty. Do you want to at least try, Jeja?"
"Oh, God, Yes, Papa! Anything to have a chance of wiping out 'It should have been me' out of my head!"
"Very well, where should we do this?"
~-~
Had Christie had her preferences, they would have assembled outside on their patio facing the garden she used for her morning exercises. However, the wind was howling outside, and wind chills were dropping into the single digits, so they compromised and set up in the family room.
Christie assumed her lotus position across from Grandfather Kim. "Give me your hands, Christie. Perhaps contact will enable me to help more." Papa Kim looked over to Amanda, who was clearly holding her hands, trying to keep them from shaking. "Amanda, I do not know all the details of your abilities, but I understand that you establish some type of link with your patient when you attempt to heal?" At her nod, he continued. "Put your hands on your daughter's shoulder and attempt such a linkage. Your presence in her mind will help calm her and give her added confidence for the challenge ahead."
Happy to have at least some part in this, Amanda hurried over to stand behind Christie, resting her hands as Papa had directed. Christie sighed and then cocked her head to lean into one of her mother's hands, almost like a hug.
"Now, Jeja. Center yourself. Find your safe place, and begin."
If Christie had been thinking about such things, she would have been surprised at how much easier finding her center, and the safe place was with her Mom and Papa with her. Once she had reacquainted herself with the location, she began to search as she had earlier at the dojang. This time, multiple specks of light appeared, all congregated near one another, and she started moving towards them.
Amanda was startled when she actually felt power flowing from her into her daughter. She started to resist instinctively, but then she recalled what Papa had said about the linkage calming and helping Christie, and with a conscious effort of will, she released her power to her daughter.
Christie felt herself 'speed up' in her travel to the specks, and they seemed to resolve faster - sooner than the one before had done. As she continued to approach, she started to sense details from each speck. One of them, she recognized as the same one she'd already experienced, so she made to explore the others this time, looking for the other door her Mother had talked about.
Amanda's second surprise came when she seemed to start sensing what her daughter was doing. Evidently, scraps of whatever information Christie was picking up were leaking to Amanda through their link. It was the first time she had ever experienced another sorcerer's magic like this. What she was getting was too sketchy for her to really 'see' anything, but she was clearly in touch with Christie's emotions and feelings. And then, she 'felt' the moment Christie found something she apparently liked. Amazing!
Suddenly, Papa and Amanda realized Christie had found something. Amanda tried to make more of her power available while Papa strove to hold the center and anchor the girl. And then, the draw on Amanda stopped, and Christie returned to her safe place. "Come back now, Jeja," Grandfather said softly. "Just as we have done in the past. Slowly, gently . . .and YES. You're back!"
Christie's eyes fluttered open, and she looked from her Mother to Grandfather and smiled. "Can we get something to eat? I'm suddenly starving!"
~-~
Later, over grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, Christie related her experience and what she had learned. "It started out the same, except there were more options - I saw them as a group of light specks, initially, and I could move faster, too."
"I'm not sure how, honey, but I think you were drawing power from me. I've never heard of anything like that before, but I know what I felt! And then, I started catching the edges of what you felt. I'm amazed!"
Christie nodded as she hungrily chewed her sandwich. "That probably explains why everything became so much clearer more quickly, too. I wasn't flying on just my own power. Anyway, I think I found what my dreams have been pointing me at. One of the specks definitely had Cindy dancing the Windup Doll dance from The Nutcracker at the New York Met, and I'm positive it was her Mom this time in the audience. Somehow, I know that THIS Cindy went back to ballet class right about now, and somehow, I was involved with her training there. How? No idea, but I do know that this Cindy looked back on her ballet training with fond memories."
"I think the how should be fairly obvious, Jeja. What was it you said about Madame Coulter? There was no joy in her studio? And yet, this Jeja Cindy has pleasant memories of her time there - with you."
"Oh, hey, wait, just a cotton-picking moment, Grandfather. I'm not going to be a ballerina. I'm getting too tall and too heavy! Why would I go back to Renee's studio?"
"Obvious again, Jeja. Cindy needs you to be there to help teach her, to shield her and to show her the joy. You are already dancing with her, aren't you, Jeja? Are you qualified to be her dance Sa Bum Nim?" At Christie's shake of her head, Papa smiled. "Then you must take her to the one who is qualified and perhaps help them both find the joy of the dance."
"But, Grandfather! I love and need the Martial Arts."
"There is no law that I know of that says you cannot be both a dancer and a karateka, Christie. Perhaps you are meant to be and to teach both. Only time will tell, but you have it in you to do both well."
Christie groaned but nodded her head. "Okay, if Cindy and her Mother are willing, I'll go along, too. Not like I can get back to black belt status anytime soon with the new standards for training time."
Amanda smiled. "I'll help with Mrs. Pettis. She's a Mom, and she wants her child to be happy. We'll just have to help her realize that dance is what will make Cindy happy."
"Yeah," Christie groused, "I already figured you could do that. It's just that I'm gonna have to eat crow sucking up to Renee to get us both back into her classes."
"Oh, I don't think you'll have any problems with Madame Renee Coulter, dear. Remember what I said when we were dealing with your intrusive Women's Health Instructor?"
"What? You mean that bit about how knowledge is power?"
The smile on her Mother's face was almost frightening. "Yes, that bit. If I went to the trouble of collecting intelligence on that annoying Patricia Wilson, surely you don't think I'd let Renee Coulter slip away from me? Especially after that crap she pulled on you last summer? Trust me, Christie. You won't be the one dining on crow."
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 10 - Dance to the Magic
Christie sat in her darkened car watching the exodus from Madame Coulter's Dance School. She had purposely parked up the street from the studio so she wouldn't come to the notice of any of the departing students or their parents as they left the studio for home. She really did not want to be here, especially not for the reason that had brought her, but it didn't seem she had much choice. Thanks to fate - and Mrs. Pettis.
As she waited for the studio to empty, she recalled the meeting that her Mom and Christie'd had earlier that day with Cindy Pettis' Mom, Linda. Not surprisingly, Linda had not been very enthusiastic about the idea when they'd first broached it with her. She'd been hesitant to permit Cindy to return to Renee's school for the same reasons Christie hadn't wanted to return there. Surprise, surprise.
Ultimately, two factors had swayed the reluctant mother. First was Cindy's clear and fervent desire to continue learning to dance. When Linda had questioned her daughter directly, you could literally feel the hunger and need radiating off the young tween. Her face glowed, and her voice trembled as she'd tried to tell her Mother just how much she truly missed dancing. Cindy and Linda were both fighting back the tears at that point.
The second deciding factor for Mrs. Pettis had been Amanda's assurances that Christie would be there to protect Cindy and ensure she had fun learning. Did her Mother somehow magically influence the other woman? Christie tried to sense any such use of her Mother's power but got nothing for her efforts. Which most likely meant her Mom was just too good and too subtle for Christie's emerging abilities to detect, but darn, Mrs. Pettis had sure caved quickly! Like right after Amanda had said, "I promise, Linda. Christie will be there for your girl, just like she is at the dojang."
Sheesh, thanks loads, Mom. Now, all Christie had to figure out was how to make that happen. The main studio lights at the school winked out, confirming the first bit of Mother-provided intelligence. Carefully checking her surroundings, Christie slipped out of her car into the dark January evening and moved quickly to the school's main door. She found it locked, which she'd expected. If the spell Gran had taught her for getting around locks didn't work, she wouldn't have to do this tonight.
The darn spell worked. Christie entered quietly and closed the door behind her. She saw a light in the back, near where she remembered that Renee had her office. Another piece of intel confirmed - Renee typically stayed late on Tuesdays to get her billing and other paperwork done. She fervently hoped the additional information her Mom had uncovered was just as accurate and helpful.
Taking a deep breath, Christie strode toward the lighted office but stayed in the shadows initially to observe her quarry. She was working at her computer, so she had been turned away from the door. Concentrating hard, too, Christie saw. She resisted the urge to barge in, scaring the woman out of a few years' growth because that would only make the contrary woman more difficult.
Softly at first, and then more firmly, Christie knocked on the doorjamb and then called out, "Hi Renee," in as non-threatening a voice as she could manage. The woman still nearly jumped out of her chair, one hand reaching for her phone and the other for her heart.
"WHAT?!?" she yelped as she turned wide-open eyes toward her intruder. For a moment, Christie wondered if the old bat even recognized her. "YOU!!" she yelled. "What are you doing here? HOW are you in here? We're CLOSED! I know I LOCKED the doors! I'm calling the police. This is breaking and entering."
"Just stop, Renee. If I was going to hurt you or steal anything, I could have done it already. I just want to talk and give you a present." Christie kept her voice matter of fact and without emotion. "I'm not a threat. I just want to speak with you privately."
Renee's eyes narrowed as she considered. Christie could almost see her considering her options from escape (she'd have to go through Christie) to calling the police (assuming the girl couldn't stop her). Evidently, she'd concluded that neither option had much chance of success. "You want to talk," she said snidely. "And you have a present - for ME? I don't know whether to be curious or afraid. Very well, what do you want, Christie?"
"May I sit down?" Renee gave a snort but gestured her into the other chair in her office. "As to what I want, I know someone who has incredible potential and passion for dancing, who wants to come here to learn from you."
"I do have normal business hours for such things, girl. You could have just sent her and her parents to me. I'd even take a referral from YOU."
Christie chuckled softly at that. "Good one, Renee! I almost felt that zinger. No, this is a little more complicated than your usual new student. First, she's not new to ballet. She's already had several years of lessons. I've danced with her - just playing around stuff - but for her age? I think she's good. VERY good. Easily better than I was at her age, and she just loves to dance."
"I'm still not hearing any reason this could not have been handled through my standard procedures nor any reason I should have to listen to this from you.
"Well, as I said, it's complicated. You see, you know this student. She used to take lessons from you, but unfortunately for you AND her, you screwed the pooch on this one, Renee. You're only hearing about this now because I think she needs - I mean REALLY NEEDS - to dance. I'm the one who's trying to convince her and HER MOTHER to let her come back here for training."
"I have NO idea what you are talking about, and I have no more time to listen to your drivel. I want you to get out of here, right now!"
"No, I can't do that. I have to make this pitch, and you have to agree to it, including agreeing to this girl's Mom's conditions. Let me throw this in, Renee. Compared to me at age 11 or 12? This girl is incredible. I truly believe that we are talking about someone with the potential to be a principal dancer with a major company."
Interest lit the older woman's eyes, and she began to lean forward in her chair. "I'm still not hearing any reason why I'm dealing with you." Christie had never heard 'you' used as a filthy curse word before. That was really impressive.
"Her Mom wants assurances that you will help her excel and not berate her. Simply stated, her Mother doesn't trust you with her child. She's heard her daughter crying in her room after several of your 'motivational tirades.' Then she heard you tell all those girls how poorly they'd performed at the summer recital. Mom knows enough about dance to know that your sniping was NOT justified, and so she decided to pull her out of your school, or to use her words, 'your clutches.'"
"You stupid, stupid girl!" Renee exploded. "Sniping? Tirades? You don't know anything about high-level ballet at the professional level. That is how danseurs and ballerinas are trained! If they can't take constructive criticism, they can't be professionals!"
"Oh, garbage, Renee. That's just bull-something my Mom would wash my mouth out with soap for saying. These are NOT professional dancers! They're kids! Kids with a dream! Kids who think dancing looks pretty and like it might be fun! One kid in a hundred who walks through your door has a chance, a CHANCE of going pro. And do they? How many, Renee? How many of your kids have moved on to a higher-level school with a chance to dance professionally? How many?!"
The older woman practically sputtered in a fury. "I've had several - more than several, damn you! How dare you imply otherwise. I am the very best teacher in this entire STATE!"
Nodding calmly, Christie kept her gaze fixed on the now red-faced dance teacher. "I'll agree. Since I've been your student, you've had five students move on to one of the pipeline dance schools, with two of them currently under contract with a regional dance troupe. Do you know what they all have in common, Renee?"
"They were trained to excellence by ME, damn you, here in MY studio, girl!"
Shaking her head, Christie snorted a laugh. "I suppose that's true, but what I was getting at, Renee is that all five were guys. Danseurs Noble. As far as I can tell, and I looked, not one of your girls has moved up in the last ten years. I like to think I might have, but my recent growth spurt makes that unlikely. All these little girls, Renee, coming to your school dreaming of tutus, dancing en pointe and flying, and not one professional ballerina on your resume. Why is that?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, and I don't concede your statement on ballerinas. I'll have to check my own records."
"You do that. Okay, I have a question for you then. Did you start studying dance because someone was constantly yelling at you, telling you how badly you were doing? Or did you start for the reasons I said earlier? Because you wanted to be beautiful and have fun, to find joy in the dance? Tell me, Renee, I've always wondered what motivated you."
"When I was a girl, we all did dance in school. I liked it and did particularly well, so I was sent to a state school for the performing arts where I received intensive training."
"How old, Renee? When you left home to go attend that school? And were the teachers you had there your role models for teaching?"
"Almost 14, and no - those instructors were too soft. They let the children get away with too much! I patterned my teaching after the Dance Mistress I had when I was with the Ballet de Opera national de Paris. She demanded excellence, as do I."
"And you will likely never get it because your attitude runs off girls who might have the potential to be more. There's no joy here, Renee. There's nothing to keep them coming back, so they don't. The Danseurs? I think that's a guy thing. Guys grow up with assholes for coaches and expect that kind of crap from their teachers. Just part of being a man," Christie said, growling in a pseudo guy voice. "The girls? They don't have that cultural bias. If you don't give them a reason to come back, to keep trying, they probably won't. If they don't come back, they won't move on, and girls who SHOULD be professional ballerinas aren't. So, where's the joy, Renee? Why the he should my friend come back here? If you're going to tear her down again and again as you did in the past!? That's not gonna happen, Renee!"
Myriad emotions flashed across the older woman's face. Tears glinted in her eyes but didn't fall. She nearly started to speak several times and didn't. Finally, she sat back in her chair and brought a hand up to her forehead as if soothing a headache. "All right. I'm a failure. I can't teach girls. You've made your position clear. I disagree, but there it is. NOW! That being the case, Why. Are. You. Here?!"
"Because Cindy Pettis wants to come back and study dance with you, but her mother won't let her."
"That is sad, but it still doesn't explain why you are here, girl, making me feel like a useless failure! I repeat! Why are YOU here?"
"I really want Cindy to dance, Renee. I've convinced her Mom to let her return to your school, but Mrs. Pettis has a condition. If we - that's you and me - can't agree to her condition, she won't sign off on the permission slip for Cindy to come back here."
"FINALLY," Renee snapped, slapping both palms down hard on her desktop. "And what is this unholy condition? Tell me so I can say no and get you the hell out of my office and my life!"
"I have to come back to class, too. I have to be here anytime Cindy is here, to keep you on the straight and narrow and to help her find that joy you don't know anything about."
"WHAT?!? Are you inSANE? You're going to be here? Like some kind of school monitor evaluating my every word? Interrupting my classes to tell me to be nicer? Have you lost your mind?"
"Put like that, you might think so. I sure wasn't all that pleased when Mrs. Pettis told me her condition, either. Look, Renee, I talked this over with my Mom. She told me about this old TV public service commercial that was supposed to keep drivers from speeding. Anyway, this guy was starting to speed, and this transparent police car appeared in front of him. The catchline was something like, 'When you feel the urge to speed, remember! The Phantom Police Car!' I'd sort of be like that - your phantom police car. You get the urge to say something bad or less than complimentary; you look over and see me in the room, pause for a breath, and find a nicer way to correct whatever set you off. Easy, huh?"
"Oh my yes," she intoned, sarcasm dripping from every word. "I will have this watcher in my studio, doing absolutely nothing but breathing down my neck all class long, and I have to accept that?"
Christie gave a shy little grin at that, "Well, Cindy isn't the only one missing dance. I know I'm not professional ballerina material. I'm too tall, too heavy and too muscular, but I still miss dancing and dance class. I'll take the same classes, so you'll get two tuitions out of this deal. Hey, I'll even let you use me to show what someone did wrong so you can gently correct them. 'See? You certainly don't want to look like HER?' How's that for fair? Your own private bad example."
"You'd look like a clown," Renee replied heavily. "And likely be a laughing stock."
"A little laughter won't hurt me," Christie said with a shrug, "And it might go a long way towards developing that joyous atmosphere we want."
Renee considered that for several minutes before she shook herself and then lanced a searing look at Christie. "I will call Mrs. Pettis tomorrow morning. If she confirms what you've told me, I will accept you and her daughter back on a trial basis. Let's say, four weeks to start. If I find that your presence detracts from my effectiveness as a teacher or my school's reputation - in any way - you're done. Are we agreed?"
"It works for me, Renee. Make sure you spell that out for Mrs. Pettis when you talk to her. My understanding is that if I'm gone, so's Cindy, and I think that would be a crime against dance."
"Understood. Now leave me in peace so I can do my work. I will call your Mother after I've spoken with Mrs. Pettis." Christie nodded, stood, and started to leave. "Oh, and Miss McKellar? I find I have a condition of my own." At the girl's raised eyebrow, Renee nodded and continued. "I insist upon being addressed as 'Madame Coulter' or simply 'Madame' from this point forward. Understood?"
Christie grinned. She'd expected that. "Understood. From this point forward, so long as I am your student, Madame. So long as I continue to be your student."
Renee watched Christie's retreating back and then shouted, "And make sure you lock the damned door behind you when you leave!"
Christie only giggled.
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 11A - Danse Enchanteresse
Christie and Cindy had arranged to meet outside the studio so they could walk in together. While she waited, Christie hoisted her gear bag - her pink gear bag - up higher onto her shoulder. Initially, she'd intended to use her newer white gear bag and swap out her dojang gear for her dance stuff but had reconsidered. Having to swap her gear back and forth every day since she had dance class every day she didn't have karate class was just time-consuming and inefficient. Besides, she might inadvertently forget something she'd need later. THAT would just royally tick her off. Yes, having a different gear bag for each class commitment simply made good, basic sense.
Besides, on reflection, Christie had decided the pink didn't annoy her nearly as much as last summer. It was handy having two different bags - less chance of showing up at dance class with her dobok but without her dance shoes. That was a good thing. Besides, the pink went nicely with the color of her new dance leotard. Not that she'd chosen the outfit with that in mind. Honest!
She was saved from further self argument when Mrs. Pettis' car drove up to the curb. Cindy scrambled out as soon as the car had stopped, remembered herself and jumped back in to hug and kiss her Mom goodbye.
"I'll be back in an hour and a half. Just wait for me inside the lobby if you get done sooner than that. It will be dark when you're finished, and I don't want you out on the street in the dark."
"Yes, Momma," Cindy replied dutifully as she backed out of the car again. "Class is supposed to be two hours, so we shouldn't have a problem."
Linda Pettis shot a meaningful glance to Christie, who understood instantly. Mom was worried about them bailing on the class early. "We'll be fine, Mrs. Pettis," she replied to the unspoken command.
"All right then. Have fun, sweetie. Thanks, Christie, for being with her."
"I'm looking forward to it, but we need to hurry. We don't want to be late on our first night back, Cindy." Waving one last goodbye, the pair hurried into the school lobby. "Cindy, before we go in?"
"Yes, Christie?"
"Umm, look. I talked to Madame, and I think she will try to tone down the picky comments. She said she would try, but it's hard to change something like that overnight. We need to give her a chance. If she slips up and starts . . .umm. . ."
"Bitching, Christie?" Cindy offered with a helpful grin.
"Yeah, that, but I didn't say it! If she slips up, just smile and tell her, 'thank you for teaching me, Madame.' Just like you do with Sa Bum Nim at the dojang, okay? Only in English, not Korean. Hopefully, that'll remind her of her promise. Just don't get upset. Remember, this is Madame Coulter, and she is who she is."
"Got it, Christie. I'm just so happy to be back. I don't think you could pry the smile off my face with a crowbar."
~-~
Christie initially tried to keep herself in the center of anything or any group Madame organized throughout the class. She wanted to make sure the woman was ultra-aware of her presence so she'd remember why Christie was there. However, as the lesson progressed without any of the usual Madame Mad Tirades, she relaxed and enjoyed how her body stretched and moved in the dance exercises. Cindy was evidently not the only one who'd missed this.
In the last half hour of the class, Madame broke the students up into smaller groups to work on their Arabesque position and transitions. Each group had a more experienced student as group leader, helping the newer and younger students as they watched themselves in the studio wall mirrors. It was probably a little jab, but Christie had been the last 'senior student' assigned a group by Madame. She somehow looked relieved instead of giggling when Madame had selected her. That was Madame Renee Coulter at her best worst.
Several students were having trouble with the position, and of course, Madame had to 'correct them' "That's unac . . ." Her voice trailed off when Christie gave a little hop to catch her eye. "Unfortunate, ladies. I think you need to see another example. Christie, would you come up here, please?"
"Yes, Madame," Christie bubbled and dance-walked over to the stern-faced instructor.
"Take your position, please. Now, watch how the dancer shifts her weight and balance as she extends her leg behind and up." Christie decided to see if Madame would take her up on her offer to be the 'bad example' and did not get a full extension on her leg, nor did she raise it as high as she should have. "No, no, that's not it. That's exactly the problem these young ladies were having. Girls, note her trailing leg. It is not straight, nor is it extended as much as it should be. Notice that it is also lower than it should be because of that lack of extension. Now, Christie, try it again, please. Remember to extend yourself."
Christie returned to the starting position and moved smoothly into the Arabesque, achieving textbook form - for about five seconds. Maybe five seconds. Then she kept lifting her foot higher as if she was trying for more extension until she overbalanced and fell over onto her head.
A titter of nervous laughter flitted through the assembled girls but was quickly stifled when they remembered just whose school they were in. Christie rolled to her bottom, shaking her head as if to clear it. She looked up at Madame with a goofy look on her face and said. "Umm, I guess that wasn't what you had in mind, Madame?" And started giggling at herself. When Madame did not immediately reprimand her, the girls all started to laugh, too, and tremendous pressure was suddenly relieved in the room.
Madame let it go for a few moments before she shook her head sadly. "No, Christie, that really wasn't. Lisa? Perhaps you could come up here and teach Miss McKellar a proper arabesque? I saw you performing it quite nicely a few moments ago."
Wide-eyed at being called on AND complimented, Lisa hurried up to the front, curtsied and took up her ready position. This time, the demonstration went flawlessly, and the students applauded Lisa's performance. "We have about fifteen minutes left in class, ladies. Go back to your groups and work on your leg extensions. If you need help, raise your hand. Miss McKellar? Perhaps you should join Lisa's group? You evidently require remedial training."
Trying her very best not to smirk, Christie curtsied and followed Lisa to her group. "What the hell was that, Christie? The day you can't do a simple arabesque is the day I dance Sleeping Beauty in the nude at the Met."
"Ooo!" Christie cooed softly, "Let me know when you do! I want tickets! And I'll tell you tomorrow at lunch, okay? Too many little pitchers here." At Lisa's nod, the two girls went back to helping the other girls in the group, but not before Lisa and Christie made a big deal of her 'remedial' training, much to the amusement of all the other students.
"That's enough for today, ladies," Renee called out two minutes early. "See you next class. Miss McKellar, a minute of your time before you leave, please."
"Yes, Madame, I just have to make sure Cindy's Mom is waiting for her, and then I'll be right back?" At the instructor's nod, the two girls hurried to the door and found Linda Pettis waiting in the lobby.
"How was it?" She asked, caution evident in her tone.
"Oh, Mom, it was great fun. Christie fell on her head, though."
"What?!" Linda demanded in concern while clearly checking Christie over for damage.
"It was nothing," Christie assured with an easy smile. "I just overbalanced and ended up somersaulting onto my bottom. Everyone got a good giggle out of it."
"Did they indeed?" Linda asked thoughtfully. At Cindy's enthusiastic nod, she added, "I see. Well, Miss Cindy, we need to get home and finish making dinner. Thanks, Christie. See you soon."
Christie found Renee waiting near the hallway outside the studio office. "I take it that little exhibition is how you plan to get my attention in the future?"
"Well, it worked, and no one but you noticed. Nice catch, by the way. Unfortunate is much friendlier than unacceptable."
"Hmm, Yes, I suppose it is. And your little impromptu gymnastics demonstration? Was that in service to this joy you think my girls need?"
"That worked, too, and everyone seemed to really bear down afterward and work, so you didn't really lose any instructional time, but I think the kids might have gained from it."
"We will see, won't we. I rather expected more of a reaction from you when I called on Lisa to correct your misstep. As I recall, you two never got along."
"Oh, I wouldn't say we're pals now, but we get along. Matter of fact, she's been working with me outside of school on improving her endurance. She's been working very hard. She really wants to become a professional dancer. She might just be your first professional ballerina, Madame. I think she's got that kind of potential now that she's putting in the effort."
"I had noticed the improvement but hadn't realized you were behind it."
"Lisa's behind it, Madame. She's doing the real hard work; I'm just helping."
"Well, thank you for that. I will see that Lisa gets the extra attention she needs in class. I hope I can rely on you to see to her opportunities for this joy?" Christie just giggled and nodded. "Off with you, then. I still have leftover paperwork to finish that I didn't get done on Tuesday for some strange reason. Leave, now, before I remember why, girl!"
~-~
Tad Green was monumentally pissed off! There was just no other way to describe his crappy mood. Here he was, alone on another Saturday night with no date. He'd thought he had one on the hook for sure; all he'd needed was reel her in, and he would have been golden.
But NOOOO! He'd been shot down by a freaking junior varsity cheerleader who'd just got dumped by her asshole jock boyfriend. Tad hadn't had an actual date since before the end of the previous school year. What was up with that?! Hell, he was a great freaking catch! Damn good looks, money, his own car? He should have had girls asking HIM out, but every last girl he'd asked out in the past year had more or less told him to get lost! Some of those bitches hadn't even been very polite about it! Especially since Christie freaking McKellar had shot him down - in public, damn her - when he'd asked her to the Winter Ball.
This B.S. all came back to that McKellar bitch, didn't it? Ever since that rigged sparring bout last August at Young-Soo's place. She'd probably been spreading lies about him since then, too. Nothing else made a lick of sense. He should have more dates than he knew what to do with! Not that he really gave a shit about dating - as if! The only reason he cared - at all - about dates was that a guy sort of had to have dates to get laid. Girls were picky that way. He was getting damned tired of only getting it on with Merry Thumb and her four sisters.
And he was doing something about that little problem, now wasn't he? Damn straight. McKellar thinks she's safe now that she's got the damn football team on his case. She's probably been giving out free blowjobs to those jerkwads - starting with that asshole Breeder. Well, guess what. The freaking football season is over, bitch, and jocks have really short memories. Besides, he was back in training himself at a GOOD dojo that didn't waste his time on all that Eastern spiritual, philosophical psycho-babble. All these guys worried about was how to hit hard, hit fast and win, baby! That was Tad Green's kind of place, by God!
Once he got back in shape? Got his timing back? McKellar and Breeder were gonna pay. Big time. Oh yeah, they would.
~-~
Amanda arrived home and found her daughter heating up their wok, getting to make one of her yummy stir-fries. Just looking at the colorful array of julienne veggies waiting on the side made her mouth water. "How long till dinner, Christie?"
"Oh, hi, Mom. Ten minutes. The rice is just about done, and all of this is ready for the wok. Go get cleaned up. I'll just plate and serve directly to the breakfast bar."
Dinner tasted just as good as Amanda had hoped. Savoring her second bite of the spicy concoction, she was surprised to see Christie wasn't eating. She was just stirring the stir-fry around on her plate with her fork. Amanda frowned, "Something wrong with yours, honey? We could share mine. It's delicious!"
Christie gave her Mother a little, half-hearted smile. "It's fine, Mom. Just trying to sort something out in my mind. Here, I'll eat." And Christie forked up some rice and vegetables and began to eat.
For about three minutes anyway, and then Amanda could actually see her eyes turning inwards toward whatever problem was bothering her. Finishing her own meal, she removed Christie's plate, took it to the counter for wrapping and then slid it into the refrigerator. Her daughter hardly even noticed. Amanda decided a more direct Motherly intervention was called for. Stepping up beside her daughter, she clapped her hands together several times in front of her girl's face. Christie jumped and then stared up at her Mom in surprise.
"Family room, young lady. Talk time!" She ordered briskly. When Christie simply nodded and followed her without any attempt at a smart-mouthed remark? Yeah, Amanda thought. Definitely talk time.
Gesturing Christie to the sofa, Amanda took a seat in her favorite chair. "Okay, Miss, are you ready to communicate or do I need to break out the smelling salts?"
Grinning, Christie shook her head, "I'm good to go, Mom. No need to make my eyes water."
"So, tell me, oh darling daughter, why you prepared such a tasty dinner and then couldn't keep your mind on it sufficiently to bother eating it. Or notice when I stole your plate right out from underneath your nose. Inquiring Mothers want to know!"
Christie gave a soft giggle and then an even softer sigh. "I came up against one of my limitations today at dance class, and I didn't much like it. I've been trying to think what I might have or could have done differently."
"Sounds serious. I need details, girl. Give."
"You've been watching teenage soap operas on Netflix again, haven't you?" Christie accused teasingly. "Give, indeed. Okay, one of the senior girl dancers, Didi Lawrence, hurt herself today at class. She was attempting a double pirouette when she overbalanced and fell off her point. It went really wrong from there, and she came down badly, breaking at least one of the bones in her lower leg. Maybe both; I couldn't tell when I tried using Healer Sight on it. I did see she was bleeding quite badly inside her leg near the break. EMTs were called, but I went to her and tried to look like I was keeping her calm and still. She was crying pretty hard."
"Tried to look like? What were you doing, then?"
"I tried to push my healing energy into her."
"Oh, Christie," her Mother groaned.
"Yeah, I know. No healing without supervision, but the blasted leg...Mom, it was like it was calling to me. And I figured, hey, I know how to stop bleeding - did it on you, right? I thought if I at least controlled the bleeding, it would give them more time at the ER."
"And that's all you did?"
"Yes, but not for lack of trying. I got the bleeding stopped - I could see that, but figured, what the heck, I'll just keep pumping energy in. Ought to do some good."
"Only it didn't, did it?"
"Not that I could see. I finally quit when I felt myself getting down towards empty on my energy reserves. I just wanted to help - so badly!"
"Honey, without the fine control, the clear sight, healing energy is just energy. Think of hammers. The one that a jewel smith uses when cutting a fine diamond is small, precise and very accurate. The sledgehammer that an 1800s railroad worker used was still a hammer, but big and only as precise and accurate as necessary. That's the difference between properly controlled and applied healing energy and plain energy. You could stop the bleeding - on this girl and me - because you could see what had to be done. Anything more was just . . .oh, I don't know, waste heat?"
"Yeah, I kinda figured that out when nothing more seemed to happen after I stopped the hemorrhaging. The EMTs took her off, and Madame called the parents. I'm just bummed I couldn't do more. I was RIGHT there, darn it."
"Sounds like you might have a healing vocation if you're drawn to it that strongly," Amanda observed carefully.
Nodding her head, "I have to agree. Guess I'm gonna be a healer when I grow up, Mom," Christie said, a lopsided grin on her tired face.
"Darling," Amanda said softly, "I'm fairly sure we've discussed this before, but Gran and I have gone through all our available family records and journals. Every single one we have or could find in one of the sorcerers' libraries. So far as we've determined, healing is a female-only trait in our family. We've found no record or even a hint of a male McKellar healer. If Charlie wants to become a healer, he will need to go to medical school and become a doctor. Being a sorcerer will still be useful in that role - there's a great deal you can do with the magic that can help ease suffering. Off the top of my head, you'd be able to summon any instrument or drug you needed. Or you could facilitate rapid transportation to a medical facility if necessary. That is still healing, but . ."
"But not what I had in mind. Yeah, I get that. I will need to do some tough thinking about all that, Mom. But not tonight. I'm pooped. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"What about your dinner?" Mother's Voice (TM) demanded.
"Just not hungry, Mom. Later."
Amanda watched her daughter ascend the stairs and thought about the stir fry. Smiling brightly, she said,
"Well, Amanda? Heart to Heart talks like that one always gives me an appetite. How about seconds?" Then, she answered herself, "Why, thank you, Amanda. Don't mind if I do. Christie's cooking tonight was just delish!"
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 11B - Tad Schemes Bad Dreams
Christie was already warmed up and loose when she saw Valerie come out of the ladies' dressing room dressed in her dobok and carrying her sparring gear over her shoulder. She dropped her bag next to Christie's and began her own warmup routine. At last Saturday's class, the Kims had announced that both girls would be testing for their 5th Geup Blue Stripe Belt today.
As Val finished her warmup, she gave Christie a questioning look. "You know, I didn't say anything then, but when they announced who could test this week? You looked almost surprised. Why? You work more and harder than anyone else in the school. If I'm ready, and I really believe I am, you must be over-prepared for this test. Why the surprise, girlfriend?"
Christie snorted out a laugh. "Would you believe that until that very moment, I'd forgotten all about the planned test day this month? With school starting back up after winter break and all those new classes? Add on going back to ballet school so I can keep an eye out for Cindy and then this McKellar Family Legacy my Mom's got me working on?0 I hadn't given my next belt a thought. I actually check if f I had enough training hours recorded to qualify for the test because I'm right on the bare minimum of time as a 6th Green by the Federation standards."
"That's right, isn't it? You got your last belt back in October. Still, there shouldn't be any doubt you're ready. Are the Federation people coming down that hard on the Time in Rank numbers now?"
"I think Young-Soo had to do some mighty fast-talking back in August when Grandfather had me jumping up three ranks to 7th Green with barely two months total time in the dojang. I'm glad to be testing today, but I wasn't too sure the last time I thought about it, sometime over winter break. I forgot to ask about it when training started back up."
"How's the Mad-woman of Ballet watch thing going, anyway?" Valerie teased as she went to get her water bottle.
"Actually, she's been pretty good. Oh, she still has her little episodes, but not nearly as often and so far? I've managed to do something silly to bring her up short. Then she's stuck trying to figure out how to chew me out without appearing to that she sorta forgets to yell at the other dancers. The girls have figured that out, and they're watching for it now. Rene almost cracked a smile yesterday. Of course, I'd just flopped inelegantly on my face 'trying,'" and here Christie made the 'air quote' finger movements, "To do an arabesque, but it was darned close to smiling. I'll get her yet!"
"Why do I believe you will? Oh, I know! Because you're insane, that's why! Oops, here come the judges. Guess we're almost ready to get started. Oh, look, there's your Mom and Gran." Val pointed them out as they entered the studio heading for the audience area.
Christie spun to look, smiled and waved. Then her hand abruptly dropped, and her whole body went tense. "Christie, what . . .?" Val asked before she also saw Tad Green strutting into the dojang as if he owned the place. However, instead of heading for the seating, Tad stopped just inside the doorway and scanned the dojang until he found Christie. Grinning broadly, he pointed his index finger at her as if aiming a pistol and then blew on the tip as if he was clearing away the gun smoke. Then he winked and meandered over to the edge of the crowd. "Oh, shit," Val breathed.
"Ignore him," Christie growled. "What's he going to do? Jump me during the sparring? He can't come after me here. There are too many people here who remember him and would also happily kick his ass sideways for him."
"I don't like it!" Valerie said. "Wait here while I make sure Young-Soo knows he's here. He has no freaking business here."
"Val? Just don't, okay? The Kims have always made Test Days an open exhibition as a recruiting thing. As long as he behaves, I don't think there's anything they can do."
"There's behaving, and then there's Tad. You can't use 'behave' and 'Tad Green' in the same sentence without a negative."
"Just let it go, Val. Take care of business, pass your test, and that will have to be enough for now, okay."
"You're sure?" She asked quietly. At Christie's emphatic nod, Valerie sighed. "Okay, we'll do it your way, but the first time he steps out of line, I'm throwing his ass out of here. It'll help develop that killer instinct you keep saying I need."
Christie smiled and turned her back on Tad. She had work to do today, and he had no place in her world.
~-~
As Valerie had observed before the testing had begun, there was 'behaving,' and then there was Tad. While the Kims did not expect their spectators to be silent, a certain air of respect was the norm. Parents cheered and applauded their kids' performances but were always careful not to distract other students involved in other testing activities.
Valerie didn't know who Tad thought he was cheering for - well, make that 'screeching for .'However, it seemed that any performance he decided was cheer-worthy happened just as Christie was centering herself, or beginning a technique demonstration. Tad's 'cheers' had distracted Christie enough, no fewer than three times of which Valerie was confident. Every time, Christie needed to step back from what she was doing, reset herself, and then start the required move from scratch. Each such hesitation or stop/restart should have been a scoring deduction counted, unfairly in Val's mind, against Christie's final demonstrations grade.
The individual demonstrations weren't that big a deal at this level. Christie was just too good at them in general that a few stupid deductions would make any significant difference in her grade for that test element. However, that might not be the case for the formal Poomsae part of the test. As for the sparring? If that asshole managed to distract her, then? Someone would very likely get hurt.
Valerie had finished her individual demonstrations well before Christie had finished hers. Tad-hole couldn't go after them both as that would have been too obvious, but she decided she had to clue at least one of the black belts in on what she thought was happening. Taking a quick scan, she saw Donnie standing off the side of the mat, evidently finished with his assigned students. Perfect. She scurried over to the muscular MMA candidate to have a few quick words to the wise.
~-~
Donnie wasn't one of the assigned judges for the Formal Poomsae Test, but he made sure he had a good perspective on the mat and on the audience as it began. There were six students in the Green and Blue Belt test categories, and they were performing as a group. To the casual spectator, they looked like they were doing all right. However, to the experts judging them, all of the candidates were missing their moves. Moreover, they couldn't seem to stay in sync with one another. These were all skilled young karatekas who had repeatedly performed these required forms to a high standard just to be invited to test today.
Knowing what Valerie had told him, he kept looking back at the audience, looking for.... .something.
And then he saw it. That little turd, Tad Green, had gotten a bunch of little kids together, and they were stamping their feet rhythmically. One small problem, though. Their cadence had almost precisely the wrong rhythm for the ordered Poomsae. Green had been a student here long enough to know the standard beat and count the Kims taught their students to use when performing various Poomsae. Hell, if you asked the guys and gals out there on the mat if they heard that sound, they probably would tell you that they hadn't heard a thing out of the norm. But they sure as hell were aware of Tad disrupting their cadence; Donnie was sure now. Most of the missteps were due to the counterbeat Tad was orchestrating. For the students, it was like trying to march in step with the drummer's cadence when the drummer was freestyling.
Donnie had seen and heard enough. Grandfather wasn't doing anything right now, and this was serious. You just didn't mess with someone like this. Not when they were performing high-level Taekwondo kicks and strikes.
~-~
"You are indeed correct, Jeja Donnie," the old man said as he stood just off the mat where the Greens and Blues were finishing their Poomsae element. I can indeed sense the irregular vibrations you described. Unfortunately, it is too late to do anything for the students who just completed their forms."
"But, Grandfather. According to Valerie Stevens, he was pulling crap like that while Christie was trying to do her technique demonstrations! Christie had to stop and restart her demos several times. I'm worried that he has something like that planned for the sparring bouts. There's not a lot of room for error when you're sparring. One slip or misstep and a scoring tap can become a hammer blow. Remember what happened to Greg when Christie was sparring with him a few weeks ago? That punk's got a grudge against Christie because she wouldn't date him and because he embarrassed himself during that bout against her last summer. He's been messing with her all morning, Sa Bum Nim, and I'm afraid she might get hurt or hurt her opponent if we don't stop his crap right now!"
~-~
Valerie, Donnie and Grandfather were not the only ones who had observed Tad's little ploys. There were two very irate sorceresses in the audience. Amanda, in particular, had eight years of experience watching first Charlie and then Christie taking these tests. Those hesitations and start/stops in the demonstrations? She'd never seen that from her child! And now? Her graceful, ballet-trained daughter couldn't keep in step with the other students? It hadn't taken her long to figure out the problem, and Momma Bear had her hackles up and her claws and fangs ready!
Rebekah wasn't pleased either, and they were currently embroiled in their own private battles with long-held ethical standards. "Mother, I am this damned close to making that little bastard testosterone intolerant. I'm so angry; they'd have to cut his balls off to save his worthless life!"
"I know, Amanda. I've had a few fiery fantasies of my own since I figured out what he's up to, but you know we can't do either."
"I know, I know, it violates the blasted code. Wait here and keep an eye on the son of a bitch. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"AMANDA!" Rebekah said sternly, worried she might try something while her Mother wasn't looking. Rebekah knew she would have thought hard about it had this been her child being messed with.
"I'm just going to make a phone call or two, Mother. By this time next week, I'm going to know all there is to know about one Mr. Tad Green, his immediate family, his un-immediate family and any miscellaneous hangers-on in their vicinity. That little bastard just declared war on my family, and I'm going to get all the ammunition I need to destroy him! But if he does anything that results in Christie getting hurt out there? He'd better give his soul to God because I will have his ass!"
~-~
Tad was quietly gloating over the success of his scheme. Ever since he'd heard McKellar was testing for the same belt he'd EARNED in this damn dojang, he'd been planning for this. It was going even better than he'd hoped. Those little hops and skips she'd had in the demos were one thing. Losing sync and moving like a pregnant hippo on ice during the Poomsae was a whole other level of bad! Now, if things went as he'd planned for the sparring, maybe he'd get really lucky, and she'd lose a few teeth. Mess up that pretty face a bit. That would be cool. Well, a guy could only hope.
Tad listened for the announcement calling the participants for the first round of sparring. Christie and Valerie Stevens. Wow, a twofer! Maybe both of them would come to school Monday with black eyes and missing teeth. Man, was he on a roll, or what?!
Tad began to move to the portion of the spectator area closest to where Christie's bout would be held when a hand came down on the side of his neck and shoulder from behind.
~-~
Tad tried to turn to see who was behind him, but the hand gripping his neck muscle blocked him. Straining to turn his head, he was surprised to see Grandfather Kim alongside Donnie Colt. God, that guy was even scarier than Tad remembered.
"Why, hello, former Jeja Tad," Grandfather said amiably. "If we'd known you planned to attend our exhibition today, we would have made special arrangements."
"Yeah, just to make sure you couldn't interfere with the proceedings. Oh, well." Donnie sounded almost sad.
Tad tried to squirm from under the grip Grandfather now had on his trapezius muscle and its associated nerve bundle, but that hurt, so he stopped. "I haven't done anything," he offered, trying to gain time to think of what the heck to do next.
"Ah, but former Jeja Tad, Donnie, you and I all know that is simply not true, don't we. Your SO enthusiastic cheering and you're. . .minding of the children - that little marching exercise was quite well done. I am sure that most parents appreciated you diverting their little ones."
"See? Told you I didn't do anything. Just helping out, you know?"
"Yeah, you've been real helpful," Donnie growled. "Now, what say we take a little walk outside where we can discuss just how much we appreciate your efforts?"
"No, Donnie, I'd just as soon stay here. Free exhibition and all that. Want to watch the sparring, ya know?"
Grandfather shook his head sadly and sighed. "Did you know, former Jeja Tad, that I have spent many years perfecting my version of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch? Ever since I first saw it on the original Star Trek show. Now, I haven't gotten it down quite yet. People only pass out about half the time I try it. On the other hand, I am assured that the pain can be so intense that my subject can hardly breathe, let alone speak." Suddenly, the grip on his neck tightened, nearly causing Tad's knees to buckle before easing up again. "You will accompany us outside, former Jeja Tadd. The easy way or the hard way. Your choice. Choose! NOW!"
Moments later, they were through the lobby and out the front door of the dojang's storefront. Grandfather gave Tad's neck another 'little squeeze' before roughly shoving the husky boy away. "The next time, Tad Green, you come to my family's place of business and try to harm or even inconvenience my students, it will not go well for you. Now leave."
"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Tad shouted as he tried to recover some of his tattered dignity.
"Bull, punk," and Donnie stepped directly between Tad and Grandfather, his hands fisted at his hips. "Now, let me take this one step further, asshole. If I EVER see your sorry butt around here again? You and me? We're going to go out back and have words. I SAW what you did to Christie in there, okay? I KNOW what you were pulling in there. I DID NOT LIKE IT! And I like you even less. You should leave -NOW - before Christie finishes her sparring and decides to deal with your stupid crap herself."
It was just too much, Tad thought. This . . .this THUG was threatening HIM? He was a freaking GREEN, for God's sake. Impulse became action before Tad's mind engaged, and he did something idiotic. He threw an open hand palm strike into Donnie's chest with all his strength.
Donnie didn't move or flinch. He laughed. "That all you got, punk? It's no freakin' wonder Christie wiped the mat with your sorry ass when she was just a white belt! You really need to be gone. NOW!" Donnie took one menacing step as if to close the distance between them, and Tad was off, sprinting down the street.
"Are you all right, Jeja Donnie?" Grandfather asked as Donnie turned to head back into the dojang.
"Ahhh, it was nothing. I'd have said the little prick hits like a girl, but Christie hits lots harder than that. Grandfather? Are we going to have trouble when the black belts meet for deliberations on advancement?"
"I don't think so, but it will come down to how well Christie spars. I have something special in mind for her."
"God, Grandfather! Not me! Please!"
"Oh, my no, Jeja. However, I suspect Jeja Christie might prefer to see you as her opponent. Come along. We don't want to miss this."
~-~
Christie's bout with Val was coming to its formal end when they got back in the main studio in time for them to bow to the judges.
There were several other bouts before Christie would be called for her second, so Grandfather went to speak to the fighter he'd chosen for her next opponent. She would need to make sure she was adequately warmed up to face his Jeja Christie, especially today.
~-~
Valerie and Christie were cooling out and hydrating after the bout. Christie was satisfied with her performance, and she was confident that she'd helped show her friend to her best advantage. "Good bout, Val," she said as she bounced gently on her toes to stay loose.
"You, too, girl. Looks like Donnie and Grandfather did something about Tad, thank heaven. I don't know what he had planned for when you sparred, but I was really scared you or your opponent would get hurt."
"Huh? What are you talking about? What could he possibly do?"
"Don't know! But after the stunts he pulled during your demos and the Poomsae? I don't think I want to know."
"What?" Christie thought her friend was having delusions. Until Val explained about Tad's little cheering ploy. "Really? I don't know that I heard him, but I seemed to get off on the wrong foot or something. I guess I see how he could have, but during the Poomsae?"
"Again, I'm not sure what happened, but be honest here. When was the last time you couldn't keep step and time on a Poomsae demonstration? C'mon, Christie, it's like dancing!"
"Well, something was sure messing me up. I felt like I was trying to dance the Waltz of the Flowers while someone played heavy metal rap in the background instead of Tchaikovsky. God, I felt so . . .awkward out there."
"That's what I mean! I did, too, but not quite as much as you. At least we aced that sparring bout, partner. I think I've got a match with the other green belt in our test group. You know who you've got?"
"Not yet. The bout sheet said 'TBD .'I'm hoping it will be someone who will really stretch me because I really think I need a good grade if I want to advance this time."
"Attention, please!" Grandfather's voice came over the studio announcing system. Second-round test bouts will start in five minutes. Participants should ensure they are adequately warmed up and loose."
"And, I still don't know who I'm fighting. Guess Grandfather is playing his games again."
"Better you than me, Chris. Oh, wait, he's got the mike again."
"Attention, please. Our first second-round bout will be a standard five-minute, three-point competition match. I will be the assigned Joo Sim. Master Kim, Young-Soo and Donnie Colt will be the scoring judges. Christie McKellar and Kim Eun Ae to the center mat, please."
"Oh, crap! I've got to fight Eunice again?" Christie sighed. "Darn it, I haven't finished making up with her for beating up Greg when he wouldn't try hard against me."
"Well, good luck. Good thing this isn't theatre. As I understand, they tell each other to break a leg. I'm not sure Eunice isn't more than ready to help you with that. So, try to come out in one piece, okay."
"Thanks, loads, Stevens. Well, see you when I wake up."
~-~
Tad stopped running when he realized Donnie hadn't meant to chase him. Is that all he had?! Damned street rat! Well, Tad Green wasn't going to take it. If he hadn't already had enough reasons to concentrate on his fighting arts, that thug had just given him a ton more motivation. He was going to bust his ass and get REALLY good! BETTER than good, and then he'd take Donnie freaking Colt 'outback and have words.' Only it would be Tad freaking Green doing the talking and Donnie asshole doing the listening - as long as he stayed conscious!
Yeah, that was a plan he could get behind. It was too bad he hadn't gotten to spring his last little surprise on the McKellar bitch while she was sparring. That would have been epic. Now that he wasn't there to show them all just how inept that skank really was, the Kims would just cave and give her the damned belt regardless of how awful she'd been in the two earlier elements. The bitch just wasn't a fighter, and that was it. It was just another bit of proof of how rigged that damned bout had been last August.
So, now he had two, no, three people on his hit list. McKellar, her lezzie pal Stevens, and that street dealer punk Donnie Colt. All it would take is time, sweat and planning. Tad Green was gonna be ready, and they were gonna pay for what they'd done to him.
~-~
Christie thought they had to be getting close to the time limit, even as she countered another spinning back fist from Eunice. Dang, but that girl was fast and strong. They'd been at it hot and heavy since Grandfather's first 'Si Jak,' and surprisingly, Christie had held her own against Young-Soo's scary daughter. In fact, she'd just managed a clean point with a sidekick that came on the end of a three-move combination similar to what Greg had shown her. With however long they had left in the match, they were tied 2 - 2. The next point would win the match, or the bout would end in a time-limit draw.
The ending was sudden. Eunice feinted a bull rush attack as if she were trying to get in close for some body punches. For Christie, it was deja vu all over again. Christie countered with the same maneuver she'd used against Tad back in August. Just as she had then, she started a jump and rotation at the exact moment, ready to launch the jump 360 hook kick. Only Eunice was prepared for that technique and, in fact, had baited Christie into committing to the high flying, high-risk maneuver.
Eunice ducked beneath Christie's kick, grabbed her leg, and spun her flailing to the mat. Eunice used the throw's momentum to come up over Christie and unleashed a potentially devastating strike to her chest.
"GOMAN!" Grandfather ordered. The two fighters took their place at his side as he poled the judges. It was a mere formality as it had been well delivered, clean and hadn't been countered. All three judges scored the move a point for Eunice, so she won by a score of 3 - 2 just before time ran out in the match.
After the end of match formalities, the two girls walked off to get their gear and their water bottles.
"Wow, Christie," Eunice breathed, "You remember to eat your Wheaties today or what? That was a whole lot closer than that first bout."
Christie took a long drink of water before answering. "I think it's more that you aren't nearly as mad at me as you were back then."
Eunice giggled. "Hey, you'd just stomped all over my guy, McKellar. Had to take you down, ya know?"
"He wouldn't fight, darn it! I was trying to prove to Grandfather and Master Kim that I was good to go for the October belt test, and he was being all nice and sweet to the poor girl who had to fight him. I'd do it again, too! I felt dissed!"
"I hear you, Christie, and I'll talk to him about that. Still, you were a whole lot more focused this time yourself. Especially after fluffing your Poomsae like you did."
"That was Tad Green's doing," Val's voice came from behind him. "He was doing something to upset the rhythm we all use to keep together for those. I think Donnie and Grandfather had a little talk with him about it, too."
"Well, helluva performance out there sparring today, girl," Eunice told her. "I haven't had that tough a bout since the last time I took on Wilma. Oops, Dad's waving to me. Later you two." And Eunice ran off to see Young-Soo.
~-~
The Kims, their instructors, and the outside black belts invited to assist in the testing adjourned to the small studios to deliberate. As usual, Grandfather assumed the role of de facto jury foreman for the proceedings.
"Very well, then, we all agree that all the students testing for yellow and green belts will advance. Master Lee, you indicated you had some issues to discuss regarding the students testing for the blue and blue stripe belts.
Master Lee, a long-time friend of Master Kim, ran a school on the other side of the state. He routinely helped with the test days at Young-Soo's school and reciprocated when Master Lee needed additional senior judges. "Thank you, Grand Master. I conducted the demonstration test for Christie McKellar. She performed adequately, with only a few minor deductions, but that was followed by that less than fully satisfactory group Poomsae exhibition. I must say that having seen that, I was rather surprised at how well she sparred, especially against Master Young-Soo's daughter, who I know to be excellent."
"Master Lee," Donnie put in, "I must tell you that there were extenuating circumstances around those two performances. One of the reasons Miss McKellar sparred so well was that action was taken to remove those circumstances."
"Extenuating circumstances? How so? I saw nothing that would interfere with our normal process."
Grandfather sighed, and a pained look flashed across his face. "A former student of our school has a grudge against Jeja McKellar. The deductions in her skills demonstration came when that individual screamed instead of cheering, breaking Jeja's concentration. This is very outside the normal experience for such tests. As to the Poomsae, that was even more insidious. Jeja Christie came to us from the local ballet school. Until a growth spurt derailed her, she had spent more than 8 years training intensively to be a ballerina. My family saw her perform and she was very skilled, very elegant. Unfortunately, that worked to her disadvantage today."
"How so? I do not understand. I would think such training would shine in the standard forms element."
"The guy Grandfather told you about got a group of kids together from the audience and had them stamping their feet to the wrong cadence," Donnie growled. "Christie is sensitive to beats and rhythms, which threw her timing off. A couple of the other kids got messed up, too. There were more slip-ups in that performance than there have been in the last three months combined."
Master Lee looked from Donnie to Master Kim and then to Grandfather. "And this is true?" Grandfather nodded slowly. "Then, based on her performance in the sparring, I withdraw my issue about her advancement."
"Thank you, Master Lee," Young-Soo said. "And I also was surprised by her sparring performance as the first time she sparred with my daughter, Eun Ae defeated her fairly handily."
"Eunice cleaned her clock for her," Wilma Davis said, smiling.
"In any case," Young-Soo said sternly to regain control, "I asked my daughter, and she assured me that she in no way took it easy with Jeja Christie. In fact, she was getting a little concerned before she managed to decoy her into that last move. Christie has used that move before quite effectively."
"For all that, the kick was well executed. Eun Ae was just prepared, and her counter was effective. I vote for Miss McKellar to advance."
Everyone agreed, and the meeting broke up shortly after that.
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 12 - The First Last?
Christie hopped out of her car, hoisted her gear bag onto her shoulder, and began walking the rest of the way to the Kim Dojang. Her 4th Geup Blue Belt test was scheduled for today, and she was quietly confident she would not have any problems passing today's tests. She'd already completed the prescribed fitness and the terminology, concepts and history tests to the instructors' satisfaction. Otherwise, she would not have been invited to participate in today's test session. All she had left to do today would be the usual technique demonstrations, the performance of the required Poomsae and the sparring.
Christie wasn't sure what had happened; her body had begun performing the moves she saw in her mind much more naturally over the past few months. Ever since she'd cut loose in that test bout against Eunice, it was as if some blockage had been removed between her extremities and her brain. Her body just remembered how to do things again.
In fact, after last Thursday's class, she'd gone into one of the small studios with Grandfather Kim and performed the Koryo Poomsae. Not just completed it, but she had done it well enough that Grandfather had said she'd have passed a test! That was without Christie having received any formal instruction at the dojang. That Poomsae was a 2nd Red Belt requirement in the Kims' school.
After her Koryo exhibition, Grandfather had tested her on some of the more advanced techniques, including several that a 5th Geup Blue Stripe had no business knowing. She wasn't quite as good at those moves as Charlie had been, but she'd done them well enough to pass a 3rd or 2nd Geup demonstration test.
Christie had spent a good deal of time considering what that meant over the past couple of days. On the one hand, she knew she wasn't going to actually test for either belt anytime soon. Those higher-ranked belts each required six months or 108 training hours before a candidate could try for advancement. Her test today would be based on training hours because she was still a couple weeks short of the three-month standard as a 5th Blue. Testing for the higher-level red belts was a whole different animal. If she didn't adhere to all the established criteria for those advancements, the Kims would face some difficult questions regarding their program.
On the other hand, that didn't really matter to her now in the grand scheme of things. Christie knew what she could do, and that was enough for her. She wouldn't be testing again until well after her June birthday. If Charlie came back then, he'd likely be a 1st Dan Black Belt, the same as Donnie Colt was now. Otherwise, it didn't matter. She'd test when it was expected of her, probably early fall, which would be perfectly acceptable. As she'd told her Mother and Grandfather, she didn't dance or practice Taekwondo for recognition. She did both for the art and her art, thank you very much, was just fine, regardless of what color belt she wore.
She walked into the dojang and was surprised to find Donnie Colt in the lobby, leaning against the shoe lockers, obviously watching the door. She wondered what that was all about since he was sporting a muscle shirt, basketball shorts and cross-trainers instead of his black belt and dobok.
"Hey, Donnie!" She said as she stowed her shoes. "What's up? Aren't you helping with the testing today?"
A slow, wicked grin lit the young man's face. "Nah, today is a pretty small test group - mostly intermediate and higher-level candidates, so Master Kim called in a couple of his pals to help. Grandfather asked me to wait out here in case we get any unexpected guests? I'm supposed to escort any such dignitaries to their reserved locations and ensure they receive every consideration they deserve."
All Christie could think was 'Huh?', but then she remembered her previous test day. Okay, she thought. Now Donnie's presence in the lobby and his apparent glee at this assignment clicked. "You're here for Tad, aren't you? Surely he wouldn't be THAT dumb, would he?"
"There's dumb, there's incurably stupid, and then there's Tad, girl. He's been going over to the Ready to Rumble Dojo for a while. I've heard that he's been shooting his mouth off about how much better it is there than here and how much tougher he is since he started working there. Let me just say he's NOT pulling any of that shi. . .crap today he tried last test day! You got my word on it, Christie." Donnie told her earnestly.
Christie thought about that a moment and then smiled. Sauntering over to the muscular young man, she went up on her tip-toes and planted a kiss on Donnie's cheek. "Thanks, Donnie. I appreciate the thought. Just don't get in too much trouble, okay? Oh, and I won't even tell Tracy you let me kiss you. See ya at the party, big fella!"
~-~
Christie recognized the 6th Dan black belt, who conducted her technique demonstration tests. He'd done her demo tests the previous January, too. She blushed as she recalled her less than perfect performance and took her position, determined to do better this time.
After the first ordered movement, Christie slipped into 'the zone.' Master Lee would order a technique or a combination of techniques, order 'Si Jak!' And Christie simply flowed into the ordered movements. She was not aware of how long she'd been performing when Master Lee called her back to attention. She bowed, and he returned it, somewhat more formally than Christie had expected.
"Jeja McKellar, I must tell you that I specifically asked to be your tester today. I was not impressed with your performance during your 5th Blue test last January. I was told that someone was interfering with your concentration, but I was still concerned to see you testing again so soon after the last. I must tell you this was an excellent performance. In fact, I'm not sure you are aware, but the last half dozen or so techniques I ordered were red belt requirements. Very well done, Jeja. You are dismissed."
The master walked away then, leaving a rather surprised student behind.
Although more complex than the ones specified for her earlier tests, these required Poomsae were less challenging than the Koryo. She walked off the mat, sure she'd nailed it.
Her first sparring match was with a 3rd Geup Red Stripe Belt who was testing for his 2nd Geup. Christie didn't really know Dan Murdock all that well, as he usually took different class sessions than she did. Still, he seemed nice enough and was pretty easy on the eyes. He WASN'T all that easy on the mat, though. He was good! Maybe not quite in Eunice's class, but he definitely had skills and knew how to show them to the judges. Fortunately, he was very good at showcasing his opponent's abilities to the judges as well. Christie left the mat, feeling a little bruised where she'd blocked some of his kicks and strikes but feeling she'd done well enough to pass.
But her second bout? Grandfather had to be up to another of his tricks. Tracy Wilcox? She was supposed to fight a bloody black belt? Donnie's girlfriend? Christie stopped in her tracks and stared back out in the direction of the lobby. Tracy didn't know about that harmless little kiss, did she? Oh, damn, not another Eunice ass-kicking - not for a test bout! What the heck are you trying to do, Papa? Get me killed??!
Master Kim walked out onto the mat to take the role of Joo Sim (referee). Master Lee, Young-Soo and Wilma Davis would be the judging panel. Grandfather wasn't even going to get to vote, the old sneak!
What was it her Mom said in situations like this? Pull up your big girl panties and get on with it? Something like that. Taking a last deep breath, Christie walked out to center-mat and came to attention. What had she been telling herself on the walk here? That her body remembered how and this was about making art. Like Alexandra Owens in 'Flash Dance!' Just like Randall had said all those months ago in the dance studio. 'Don't think about it. Just do it.'
Master Kim called for the formal bows to the judges, himself and her opponent Tracy, and then ordered, "Si Jak!".
Just do it, indeed. Christie surrendered to her art and gave her body free rein. She flashed across the mat, closing in on her opponent swiftly, and delivered a strike, kick, strike combination that scored. As they returned to center-mat after poling the judges, Tracy gave Christie a slight smile and a nod. This fight was on!
Christie was actually surprised when Master Kim finally ordered, "GOMAN! Match over. Positions and Attention!" Master Lee stood as the head judge, bowed to Master Kim, and announced, "The bout is scored a four-to-four time limit draw." Then he bowed again and resumed his seat.
The end-of-match formalities were observed, and the two women walked off the mat together. The match ended four to four, Christie repeated in her head. She could hardly remember how she'd scored, let alone how Tracy had gotten any points on her.
"Holy Hell! What have you done with Christie McKellar? Who ARE you, and what rank are you REALLY?" Tracy demanded as soon as they were off the mat. When Christie didn't react to her jibe, Tracy snapped her fingers in front of the other girl's face. "Ah, I see now. You've been possessed by the ghost of some ancient Taekwondo Mistress. Great match, Christie. It was like I was fighting Wilma out there. What got into you?"
Christie shook her head, trying to clear it. "Umm, I thought you were going to kick my ass for kissing Donnie, so I just sort of decided to let it all hang out. I figured we'd have a mercy rule stoppage before you beat me up too much, and I wanted to be able to show SOMETHING to the black belts evaluating my test."
"Well, you sure as spit showed something to THIS black belt. . . Hey, wait a minute! You said you kissed Donnie??" After Christie hurriedly explained the kiss, Tracy laughed and nodded her head. "Well, that's okay, then. Wonder if he got to escort Tad?"
~-~
At the after-party, the crowd celebrated everyone's passing. Dan Murdock congratulated her on her advancement and her showing against Tracy. "I'm just glad you didn't go off on me like that! You were amazing out there."
Unhappy that Tad had been less stupid than he thought, Donnie stomped into the dojang. Barely two steps inside, he had his girlfriend cornering him, demanding to know about getting kissed by another girl? "CHRISTIE!!! HEELLLPPP!!!" he yelled, much to the amusement of both girls.
"Excellent bouts today, Jeja," Grandfather Kim said as he appeared from behind her. "I don't think Charlie could have done better."
"I was pretty sure I could bang with Dan, but when you sicced Tracy on me, I just decided to let go and last as long as possible."
"Master Lee was particularly impressed. He actually told me we should just wait the six months and give you your 3rd Geup. He'd already tested you for techniques required for that rank, and you obviously can spar at that level."
"Well, that was nice of him, but . ."
"Jeja. The words 'nice' and 'Master Lee' do not EVER belong in the same sentence. Not when it comes to the arts. Trust me, he does not joke about such matters. That is what he said; that is what he meant."
"Well, I'm glad I was able to show him that my performance last time was an anomaly."
"True, but poor Donnie didn't get to perform his usher duties. He was so disappointed."
"Bouncer duties, you mean, Papa Kim. C'mon. Let a girl treat you to a cupcake and cup of punch."
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 13 - Tad Snaps
Christie sighed. The final few moments of the last period of this early June school day seemed to be taking hours instead of minutes, and she HATED clock watching! The teacher was conducting review sessions since they'd finished the state's physics curriculum over a week ago. She had dredged up questions from previous years' final exams as graded review assignments. She covered a different core topic area in each class before handing out the associated question set. Christie had already finished today's review questions and checked her answers against the teacher's key. She was ready for the final, the only remaining course requirement. Her projects and papers in her other courses were also done and had already been turned in, so again, except for finals in a couple of different classes, Christie's junior year at Dolley Madison High was finished.
Tomorrow was the last Friday before Finals Week and the day of the DMHS Annual Last Dance. Unlike most school dances, this traditional and free party started early - at six pm. If the weather was clement, the dance would be held outside at the football stadium. The kids would be herded out at precisely nine o'clock and reminded that finals started promptly at 8 AM on Monday. Christie reflected that even Charlie, a regular non-attendee at most school dances, had enjoyed his first two of these parties, and she hoped to do likewise. Except Charlie hadn't had to deal with the specter of the increasingly annoying Tad getting in his face . . . her face.
Deciding that was tomorrow's problem, Christie gathered her bookbag when the bell FINALLY rang and scooted off to head for the dojang. She had already cleared out her locker, so she skipped that stop and just made her way to Valerie's locker. They'd walk together to the studio, take their regular Thursday lesson and then help with the current crop of white and yellow belts.
It was annoying, she thought not for the first time, that only seniors got the privilege of on-campus parking. Even though she had gotten her license earlier in the school year, suitable parking was not available near the school grounds. At least, nothing she considered safe for her beautiful BMW. She could have walked to the nearest protected parking facility and driven from there, but that would have taken her longer than just walking to the dojang from school. And, she didn't have to pay for parking.
Of course, that didn't solve her current 'Tad Problem.' Since their school administrators had put Tad on notice about pulling his crap on campus, the expediency of driving from the school parking lot would have avoided that annoyance. Maybe today, they'd get out and get gone before Tad could get in position to make another scene. And if not? She'd just have to keep ignoring him.
"Hey, girlfriend," Valerie called from down the hall, interrupting Christie's ruminations. "Ready to go show those boys how it's done? I feel like sparring today; how about you?"
"Oh, I think there's a couple of green belts who'd like to . . . uhm. . . spar and, shall we say, improve their mat technique? Hmmm?" Christie teased. Val had been cutting quite the swath through the dojang's teenage male students lately. Her work with Christie and her own successful blue belt test had done wonders for the girl's confidence and self-image. Last summer, Valerie had been reticent about getting down and dirty with the guys; now, she was eager to advance her skills in that aspect of the art. And since guys were usually bigger and stronger than she was, they were now her preferred opponents.
"Oh no! I've got my eye on our newly advanced red belt, Dan Murdock! That lad is going to buy me dinner when I beat him!"
"Does he know that, Val?"
"Probably not, but I won't break my hold and let him go until he yields dinner!" Valerie replied, giggling. That Daniel had six inches and fifty pounds on her never entered Val's mind. That sweet, shy lad was going to hers, and THAT was all there was to it!
The girls' light-hearted mood lasted about fifteen steps past the school property line. Tad Green, wearing a rival martial arts studio t-shirt, stepped out directly in front of the two girls, forcing them to come to an abrupt stop. "Ignore him," Christie ordered herself under her breath. "Come on, Val, we need to get to practice."
Christie and Valerie moved to step around the taller, heavier boy. Tad countered immediately, stepping back in front to block Christie. "No, McKellar, you need to stop and listen to me. I've had it with you and all the snide little whispers behind my back. Your damned mother turned her lawyer friends loose on my old man - some shit about 'a long and documented history of antisocial and inappropriate behavior,' so he's taken away my freakin' car! Old Man Kim has been bitching to the sensei at my new dojo and now I have to listen to and pretend I give a shit about that Eastern philosophical discipline bull again. Donnie Colt is out talking me down on the streets and threatening to kick my ass. And you! You and your bleached blonde buddy over there have impugned my honor and cost me even MORE cred. So, I've decided you're gonna damn well stop! Or else. Wanna know HOW you're gonna make all that happen, bitch??"
"Don't respond to him," Christie thought furiously, "Don't give him any opening! It will only get worse!"
Tad had maneuvered her up against the school fence. She had no way around him on her side of the walkway. Enough was enough. "Tad. Get. Out. Of. The. Way." She ordered softly, biting off each word. Tad only smiled nastily and shook his head.
"You aren't going anywhere until I say you can, McKellar. I've decided you're going to be my dance date tomorrow. You will go out of your way to be really polite and respectful to me! In front of everyone you two have been lying to about me. I want everyone there to see you answering to ME. After that, you're going to tell all your minions to stop their shit about me! I HAVE HAD IT!!"
The two girls outnumbered Tad, but that didn't mean anything in the tight confines of their current encounter. If they tried to fight, someone would get hurt, probably severely, which was simply unacceptable. It violated the code to which the students of her dojang adhered.
Christie saw only one way out of this that avoided violence. Stepping back from Tad, she deliberately moved into an obviously defensive stance and stared Tad down. A few moments later, she took another half step, moving closer to Valerie over on the roadside of the sidewalk. Her eyes still locked on Tad, Christie centered herself. She let her body go completely motionless, totally focusing on Tad and the threat he presented.
Tad recognised the danger Christie posed, but he just couldn't believe she would actually fight with him. This wasn't the dojang. There weren't rules out here on the street; no wimp-assed referee or pussy teacher to yell 'Kalyeo!' and save her sorry ass from his righteous ass-kicking. And dammit, she was just a girl! Sure, she was reasonably skilled, but so was he! Besides, HE was a guy! A solid and powerful guy!
But she had beaten him the last time they'd sparred at Kim's. Their standoff seemed to go on and on; for long - painfully long moments, and still she didn't break, didn't try to run away. She simply and calmly regarded him, almost smiling at him. Tad began to feel antsy; if this went south, he couldn't be the one to throw the first move. Even if the cops didn't get involved, he'd never live that down once it got out! And dammit, it would get out! No matter what he said, these bitches had cred with the other kids, and he didn't.
Without thought, Tad blinked, shifting his weight back ever so slightly. Christie immediately reacted to that minute retreat and exploded into action. "VAL, RUN! Head for the DOJANG!" She yelled, even as she dropped to her hands and tried to sweep Tad's forward leg out from under him. Then, without stopping the momentum of her leg, Christie spun in place and came up running into the road along the sidewalk, hot on Valerie's heels towards the safety of the Kim dojang.
Unfortunately for Christie, her move had only thrown Tad momentarily off-balance. It had not been enough to put Tad on the ground. He was up and running after her in mere seconds, and he was taller and faster than she was. He was also beyond enraged and irrational. "YOU BITCH!!" he screamed as he gave chase, fists clenched. "I am SO GOING TO FUCK YOU UP!"
Tad caught her before they'd gone an entire city block. He slammed Christie hard in the back, leading with his chest and wrapping his arms around her throat. Using his hold to spin them both one hundred eighty degrees, Tad tightened his hold as he turned.
Valerie had heard Christie's involuntary scream as she was hit and turned to see what had happened. She instantly recognized the hold Tad was cinching up on Christie. Sa Bum Nim had been teaching the girls some of the tenets of Jiu-Jitsu after their regular dojang classes on Saturdays. A jiu-jitsu rear-naked choke was more a sleeper hold than a chokehold. Rather than cutting off the victim's airway, the grip interfered with arterial blood flow to the brain. The human brain goes to sleep after five to ten seconds without oxygenated blood; longer than that, the brain might not wake up. Valerie raced to Christie's aid at a dead run, her mind frantically looking for her best hope counter, and came up blank. Tad was too big and too strong for her taekwondo techniques to work reliably. At the last second, she went 'full girl,' leaping onto his back and reaching around to rake his eyes with her nails.
Screaming in pain, Tad released his hold on Christie and drove his elbow into his attacker's torso. His strike caught Valerie hard on her ribs, cracking several and causing her to start to slide down off him. Tad followed the elbow strike with a back-fist. He might have intended that punch as another body blow. However, since Val was already falling, Tad's fist connected full force at her temple. Valerie collapsed, bonelessly, to the pavement without a sound.
With the pressure on her neck released, Christie immediately retaliated, driving a back elbow of her own into Tad's ribs just below his armpit. Breaking entirely free of Tad's hold, she lashed out with a back kick to Tad's knee, putting every iota of strength and focus she had into that strike. Tad's knee hyper-extended and then broke under the force of her kick, bending almost ninety degrees in the wrong direction beneath Christie's foot.
Spinning into a defensive stance facing her attacker, Christie took in the scene before her. Tad was on the ground, writhing and screaming, with his lower leg hanging loosely from his decimated knee joint. Valerie was lying in a heap where she fell. Her head was already showing severe bruising in the vicinity of her temple. Grabbing her phone in her left hand, Christie speed-dialed the police emergency number while she reached her right hand out to her friend's injury.
"911 Police Emergency, what is your emergency," a calm female voice asked authoritatively.
Christie took a quick breath, gathered her thoughts, and reported. "My friend and I were attacked on School Avenue, two blocks east of Dolley Madison High School. I need two ambulances and the police. My friend was struck in the head by our assailant. She is unconscious and nonresponsive."
"Police and emergency medical services are rolling, one and three minutes out from your location, respectively. Are you injured, and are you still in danger from the assailant?"
"I'm pretty bruised and banged up, but otherwise, I think I'm okay. The assailant is no longer a threat. He is currently down on the pavement, writhing in agony. The second requested ambulance is for his sorry ass."
"Acknowledged, scene. Stay on the line until Police and Rescue are on scene."
Christie didn't even reply; she simply speed-dialed the dojang. "Kim Young-Soo's Karate, how may I help you?"
Recognizing the 'middle Kim,' Christie almost sobbed in relief. "Master Kim, it's Christie. I need to speak to Grandfather! It's vital! Please!"
"Yes, Jeja, he's right here. Just a moment."
"Christie, what is it?" asked the calm voice of Papa Kim.
"Grandfather, Valerie and I were attacked by Tad Green while going to the dojang. I think Tad caught Valerie with a back fist to her temple area. Papa, my powers. . . I can feel . . . something bad in there, in her head, I mean. I put every bit of healing power I can muster into her, but I think all I'm doing is slowing down the damage. I'm just not strong enough for something like this. Please, call my Mom, and maybe she can do more."
"Where are you, Jeja?"
"Oh, sorry. About three blocks from the dojang, heading away from the high school on Dolley Madison Avenue."
"My son is calling your Mother. I'll be with you in a few minutes."
"Okay, . . . umm, thanks? Oh, I hear the sirens now. The police and the ambulances are coming. I did manage to call 911, but I suspect I'm in trouble there. I, uh, kinda hung up on the operator to call you after she told me to stay on the line."
Paramedics were moving Valerie onto a wheeled gurney when Grandfather arrived a few moments later. Two other paramedics examined Tad's leg and communicated with someone on a cell phone. A police officer was doing his best to calm a very emotional Christie McKellar. As he strode towards them, he saw the darkening shadow of bruising beginning around his student's throat. Clearing his throat to get their attention, Christie spun to see him and then leaped into his arms.
"Calm down, Jeja," Grandfather gently ordered. "Let me get a look at your neck. It's bruising. Rear-naked choke?"
Christie stepped back and let Papa Kim examine her. "He didn't quite get it locked on. I don't think he had his arms positioned correctly because I was still fairly clear-headed when he released me."
"Yes, the bruising pattern indicates he didn't have it applied correctly. Still, had he the time to adjust his hold even slightly, you'd have been in a bad way." Taking her hand in his, Grandfather turned to the officer. "My student may need medical help. I will take her to the emergency room."
The officer clearly did not like that plan. "We can have one of the EMTs check her here. If she's all right, she needs to wait for the on-scene detectives to make her statement."
Papa Kim gave a slightly enigmatic smile and gently reached out a hand to rest on the officer's shoulder. "She needs to be checked by a physician at the hospital."
The officer's formerly stern face went momentarily slack before snapping back alert. "She needs to be checked by a physician. At the hospital." Christie's eyes went wide when the officer suddenly caved to Grandfather's argument.
"You need me to drive her to the hospital," Papa Kim continued in the same soft tone. "Her Mother will meet us there, and Christie can give her statement to the detectives with her guardian present. She's a minor and can't be questioned without a representative."
"I need you to drive her to the hospital," the police officer directed. "Besides, she's underaged, and the law requires a parent or guardian to be present when minors are questioned by detectives."
The pair walked back to Grandfather's car without another word and got in.
"That was amazing. I couldn't feel what you did, Papa, but I saw the policeman's reaction to it."
"I did nothing, Jeja," he replied, his eyes twinkling. "He told us to go to the hospital."
"Right," Christie drawled. "Oh, you so did do something! I just don't know quite what. I know! You Jedi Mind-Tricked him, didn't you, Obi-Wan Kim-nobe?"
"Really, Christie? Kim-nobe?" Shaking his head ruefully, Grandfather pulled out into traffic.
"Besides, you aren't the droid they're looking for."
The silly exchange drew some of the tension out of the young girl. She put her head back on the headrest, closed her eyes and tried to relax. The post-fight or flight adrenaline crash was hitting her, too.
~-~
Amanda rushed into the curtained treatment area, where her child rested on the bed. "Mom!" Christie yelled as her Mother laid her hands on her arm. Christie felt the soothing warmth of her Mom's healing power flowing into her from the link between them.
"Thank God, there's nothing serious," Amanda breathed as she released her grip. "You're going to be sore, and I don't think swallowing will be pleasant for a while, but I cannot sense any sign of more serious physical damage."
"That confirms what the nurses told us," Grandfather Kim said from behind Amanda, where he'd been sitting. "Christie was examined by the ER triage team when we arrived at the hospital and then was quickly moved to this location to await a fuller doctor's examination. While her apparent injuries to and around her throat region were of concern, they did not appear immediately life-threatening, so the current priorities were Valerie and Tad."
"Mom!" Christie hissed out in a semi-whisper, "Val took a severe blow to the head, right on her temple! I could feel the damage, you know, with my gifts, but I wasn't strong enough to help her! I think I managed to slow down the damage, but that's all, and I'm not even sure of that. You have to HELP her! Please!"
Amanda pressed a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes as she focused her other senses. She could 'feel' Valerie's presence a couple of cubicles over. Amanda also sensed the frenzied thoughts of at least four other minds working frantically in the girl's immediate vicinity.
"There are too many people in there with her right now," she told her daughter sadly. "And you know I have to be able to lay hands on a subject to focus my limited healing abilities. I can't get close enough to her."
"Let Papa Kim help! He can use his mind whammy so you can get to her. Mom, she's my best friend. You have to save her! Please!"
"Darling, I don't think . . ."
"Amanda," Papa Kim interrupted gently, "I might be able to assist you in this. I have some skill in using qi, or perhaps as others call it, chi. Those medical professionals are entirely focused on young Valerie. I should be able to fog their peripheral senses so that we will not register on their conscious minds. Then you will be able to slip inside with her and do your laying of hands. The doctors will be momentarily focused elsewhere."
Looking at the elderly man in shock, Amanda momentarily sputtered and then blurted out, "What did you say? 'Fog their senses?' What are you? The second coming of Lamont Cranston? You mean can really do that??" At Grandfather's smiling nod, Amanda just stood - wanting to help her daughter's friend but not quite believing such a thing was possible. Finally, she shook herself and straightened her shoulders. "Oh, what the hell. The worst that will happen is they'll call Security and throw us out of the hospital. Okay, Papa, how do we do this?"
~-~
Grandfather Kim and Amanda were back in Christie's cubicle about ten minutes later. "That was just amazing. You know I'm a sorceress, and I might have been able to handle one or two of them covertly, but you did five! And they never stopped what they were doing. They just never 'saw' us."
"I am afraid that the Shadow's trademark laugh is beyond me, and there was certainly no evil in the hearts of those working on Valerie, so we will just leave it at that."
"Were you able to help her?" Christie demanded.
Amanda sighed and took her daughter's hand in hers. "I was able to stop the further spread of damage and stop the bleeding in her head. I was not able to repair what had already been damaged. Doing what I did wiped me out. I'm tapped magically, at least as far as more healing goes. She shouldn't get worse, but I don't know enough about brain injuries to know if she can heal herself. I can visit her when my power recovers and try to do more, but . . ."
"But, what, Momma?"
"I just don't know, dear. I'm okay with bones, muscles and blood vessels. That's how I stopped the bleeding from putting more pressure on Valerie's brain. I've never been very good with nerve-related injuries and diseases. I can 'sense' how those are supposed to 'fit' together and, for the most part, effect repairs on them. I don't know if I'm powerful enough to do that with something as complicated and interconnected as brain tissue."
"So, where does that leave us?"
"First, we need to hear what the doctors say about what they can and can't do. Then, we will see. Maybe another or a more powerful healer will be needed. Until we know what needs to be done, all we can do is help keep her from getting worse."
"Oh."
~-~
Part 14 - Tad Fight Aftermath
The doctors came and went from Christie's cubicle between working on Valerie and Tad but did not make any apparent move to admit or release her. They'd just listen to her breathing, check her eyes, ask her how she felt, and then scurry off to work some more on their more seriously injured patients again.
"I'm really starting to feel the love here, Mom," Christie complained after the fourth or fifth flying visit - she really had lost count!
"I suspect they'd like to keep you at least overnight for observation, dear, for the hospital protocol's sake if nothing else." Amanda soothed. "You have quite the technicolor neck collar where that thug tried to choke you. I know there's no long-term damage or blood-deprived tissue problems, but those folks are merely doctors, not sorceresses."
"I really would rather just go home, Mom."
"I know, Christie, but we have to keep up appearances. Trust me! if I didn't have my gifts, I wouldn't let you out of this hospital until I had blood oaths that you were not at risk." Amanda paused for a moment, her lips pursing in concentration. "I most likely should have been more demanding and frantic about this and their current level of inattention to you. Oh well, too late now. It would just cause more scrutiny now, and besides, they have their hands more than full with Valerie and the thug."
"Well, don't waste any power helping Tad! Not before Val is heading for recovery."
"Oh, trust me, child, I wouldn't, and I won't! Heavens, at full power, and with all the goodwill in the world, I couldn't do much for him in any case, Christie. I briefly checked on him after checking Valerie? I gave his knee a quick scan, and frankly, I never imagined that a knee could just disintegrate like that. The knee cap is broken, all the major tendons are torn, and the knee is barely holding together with bits of cartilage and skin. Knees just don't move like that! There's nothing in that leg that is fixable, at least to someone with my ability level. The surgeons might be able to replace the entire joint, but more likely, they'll have to fuse it. He'll be lucky to walk again."
"And that, Jeja, is something we need to speak about. There is simply no way that you should have been able to cause that severe an injury in that precise manner. You're simply aren't strong enough, nor are you yet skilled enough in your current body to cause that much damage without a weapon."
"Sa Bum Nim, Charlie wasn't skilled or strong enough, either. I was hoping I'd catch Tad on the side of his knee with that kick. I put everything I had into it because I wanted him down on the ground and in no condition to chase Valerie and me. It . . . Papa Kim, his knee. . . it just folded backward underneath my strike, and, oh god, the sound it made. Like when Donnie does his breaking routines, only louder and sharper! It was awful, but I had to get to Val. And then I saw her, just collapsed on the ground in a heap. She couldn't have run! Grandfather . . . Sa Bum Nim, if Tad had tried to get back to his feet? If he'd even looked like he was still a threat? I'd have . . .I would have . . . Oh GOD!! MOM!"
Amanda rushed to her daughter and cradled the suddenly sobbing girl in her arms, rocking her and murmuring soothing sounds as she tried to calm her.
Grandfather Kim moved to the other side of the bed and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It is all right, Jeja. I know what you would have had to do. You would have had to remove him as a threat to protect your friend and yourself. He was bigger and stronger than you, and you would have had to strike your hardest. And it would have been in defense of the defenseless and in self-defense. There would have been no shame in that act. Do you understand me, child?"
As she heard the old teacher's words, Christie had begun to calm, but the tears kept streaming. "I had already decided to ax-kick him in the head," she admitted quietly. "I couldn't let him get up before help got there. He could have killed Valerie!"
"Well, given the result of your back kick, it is as well you didn't have to respond to that. An ax kick delivered to the head with the same force as your earlier strike would have been deadly. I can only surmise that, during a fight or flight situation, when you focused for that kick, you somehow augmented its power with . . .your other gifts."
Amanda looked up from cradling her daughter at the Papa Kim. Quietly she said, "You think she unconsciously used her magic when she struck at him? That's why the blow was so devastating?"
"I cannot think of any other way it could have occurred, Amanda. Even with my long experience, skill and technique, I highly doubt I could have caused similar damage with the same move."
Amanda nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, well, let's just look and see, shall we?" Christie's Mom's eyes went blank, then focused wholly on her daughter's body. Moving slowly around the bed, she seemed to examine Christie in minute detail, her lips moving with no sound coming forth. Finally, Amanda's eyes returned to normal, and she looked over at her daughter's teacher. "Papa Kim? Her aura is sparking and fizzing like a witch's brew on an old-fashioned fantasy horror movie. Her power is smoldering in her, just beneath the surface."
"Power, Momma? I'm manifesting again," Christie asked with concern in her voice."
"Indeed you are, dear. So, yet another little spark of power. Heavens, more than just a little spark this time, too." Amanda said softly. "First precognition, then fire, then healing and now augmenting yourself physically. Your next birthday is less than three weeks away, and you are starting to sparkle with power. I think, my dear one, that your transformation decision is upon us. Everything I have read in our family archives, and all of my Mother's and my personal experiences, indicate you will be ready. You will know how to accomplish your trial's last challenge on your birthday."
"But I don't know enough yet, Mom!" The words started as a yell and finished as a frantic, hissing whisper.
"If you don't know enough, you won't be able to accomplish the transformation, but everything I've seen? You will have the ability. So, I think you'd better decide what you want to do when the decision is forced upon you."
"And in the meantime, Jeja," Papa Kim put in, "I believe you would be best served to practice your poomsae, help train the lower belts and work with the heavy bag. Until we are more certain of your control of this. . . augmentation effect, you will not be sparring with anyone not named Kim."
Christie only nodded and began to relax. "Okay, Sa Bum Nim. In the meantime, how about using your Jedi-Mind trick on these doctors to let me go home? I think I need my own space to come to terms with all of this, and so does my Mom."
"Now, Christie, stop it! Any competent doctor should keep you overnight for observation based on your symptoms. If anyone not affected by Papa's 'mind-trick' reviews the records of your time in the ER? Trust me that someone will. There will be questions asked by those higher-ups in the hospital as to why you were released. Tonight's staff won't have any acceptable answers. Remember what I told you about keeping our abilities under wraps and not coming to the attention of outsiders."
"But, Moooommmm. . ."
A single eyebrow disappeared into Amanda's tousled hairline. All she said was, "Chris - tie!" but she still brought to bear the full power of the dreaded Mother's Voice (TM) all moms have, no magic required. "I'll see about getting them moving about a room for you."
"I guess Val will be in the ICU, Mom?"
"I expect so. The doctors will be worried about her brain swelling and other such issues should the damage spread. I think I've stopped the spread, but I am not sure of that. Besides, the doctors have no way of knowing what I've done. They'll want to be able to respond quickly if they need to operate or some such thing."
"Okay, I guess. But, Mom?" Amanda's chin lifted in response, "I want out of here as soon as possible tomorrow, and then? I want to go to the range and perforate some targets. I think I need that discipline and routine."
Amanda smiled. "I'll see what I can do. But no painting Tad's face on any of those bulls eyes, young lady."
"Came too close to doing something like that already. Once was enough. I don't even want silhouette targets, just nice, harmless concentric circles."
Pleased by her daughter's response, Amanda gave her a quick kiss before hustling off to get the hospital bureaucracy in motion.
"And I am an old man, Jeja, and it is approaching my bedtime. I will see you, probably tomorrow. Let me know how you do at the firing range, eh?"
"Sure thing, Sa Bum Nim. Rest well. Thank you for being here for Mom and me. Good night."
"Good night, Christie."
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 15 - After the Hospital Stay, A Day at the Pistol Range
Thoroughly annoyed with her performance, Christie tried to empty her mind of everything except the task at hand. Okay, so she was still pissed off about spending yesterday and last night at the hospital. That had totally sucked. When she hadn't been pestered by nurses, she'd been interrogated by the investigating detectives - again and again. Why didn't the blasted police force have any female detectives? And just when she thought THAT was over? The top criminal and civil attorneys from Mom's law office had shown up to ensure the detectives had all the evidence needed for bulletproof cases. Boy, hadn't the detectives liked that little intrusion into their investigation. Eh, not so much.
Damn good thing she wasn't some stuck on herself diva-princess - that photo session to document ALL her injuries had been, well, not her best look. At least one good thing came of it all. After questioning her, the lawyers and detectives made sure the doctors had gotten tissue samples from under Valerie's fingernails. Mom had 'listened' in on that exchange. Skin tissue and eye cornea tissue corresponding to a certain asshole's facial injuries. Christie didn't need to guess what the DNA testing would reveal.
And darn it! She was here at the pistol range to try to put all that crap behind her! Focus, Christie, she told herself. Get your head in the game, girl; you're playing with live ammunition here!
Taking a deep breath, Christie centered herself and refocused on her shooting mechanics. She paid meticulous and excessive attention to every detail as she reloaded her four P 95 pistol magazines. She'd arrived at the range intending to complete a standard short form National Match Course, so her original magazine loads had been based on those requirements. However, that intention had not survived long enough for her to complete the
initial slow fire string of the course.
She hadn't really missed - all of her shots had been 'in the black,' scoring eight to ten points each. She'd shot 87 of a possible 100, but that was significantly below her typical slow-fire performance of 94 to 97. Clearly, something in her mechanics was out of sync, so she would go 'back to the basics.'
Her Mother had seen a problem before Christie had completed the first string. Of course she had, and as was their habit, when Christie's shooting mechanics were off, Amanda moved in to serve as her daughter's shooting coach and spotter. Amanda had made Christie go through her setup and firing procedures step by step. They worked together over the next half hour, correcting any minor errors in Christie's stance, grip, breathing, and other 'little things.' Over and over again until they were both satisfied that Christie had it right. Finally, Amanda had given Christie the go-ahead to try the short form, 30-shot-match all the way through. Christie had scored 279 out of a possible 300, an excellent score for most shooters but not really up to Christie's usual standard and not what she expected of herself.
At this point, Amanda thought that it was time to call it a day and come back fresh another day. Maybe Christie was still not fully recovered from Tad's attack, but Christie was having none of that. She was sure that she'd be performing to her usual standards with 'just a little more time.' Finally, Amanda had agreed to four more magazines, but only four more. Then that would be it for the day. The look in her Mother's eyes told Christie that further negotiations would be fruitless and might well have negative results, so she had agreed. But she would fully load all four magazines with 15 rounds each to get every last bit of practice in.
For her part, Amanda was happy with her daughter's performance. After all, she'd been attacked, choked, seen her best friend seriously injured, fought for her life and been in the hospital in the last 24 hours. And she'd still shot expert! But Christie was her Mother's daughter, and 'good' just wasn't 'good enough.' Since this was her daughter's show, Amanda stepped back from her coaching position. Still, she remained close enough to observe Christie's mechanics and adherence to standard range safety procedures.
Mentally, Amanda checked off each step as Christie slid the first loaded magazine into her pistol and chambered a round while keeping the gun pointed downrange. Christie clicked off the safety and brought her weapon up to firing position. Amanda watched her girl's exaggeratedly precise inhale/half exhale and waited. . .
Christie shrieked just as the Ruger fired!
Christie's off-hand swung sharply behind her and furiously swatted at her left buttock. Amanda was moving before she'd realized what she was doing. Reaching Christie, Amanda took the girl's gun hand by her wrist and ensured the unsafe weapon remained pointed downrange. "SAFE YOUR WEAPON!" She ordered loudly enough to be heard through her daughter's ear protectors, then saw that Christie had already clicked on the pistol's safety switch. Amanda then pulled off her daughter's ear protectors and ordered Christie to unload her weapon and step back from the firing line.
Christie placed the unloaded pistol, the magazine and the ejected round down on the table, shrieked and jumped again, swatting at her right buttock. "Mom, is there a bee back there? That HURTS!!"
Amanda saw nothing on her girl's bottom except Christie's tightly fitting yoga pants Amanda had brought from home to check out the hospital. The seat of her daughter's pants was smooth and spotless, nor had Amanda seen any insects in the indoor facility. "I'll clean up and secure your shooting station and weapon. Run inside to the ladies' room and check yourself out. I'll be in as soon as I've cleared everything with the range safety monitor."
~-~
Christie was literally seething in frustration in the fire range's cramped unisex bathroom. She tried to contort herself to see at her own butt with her pants and panties down around her ankles. Admittedly, frustration was not that uncommon an experience for the teen. Not since the day she'd awakened as Christie and not Charlie. Sometimes, it just seemed that life as a female was fraught with that emotion. Bras, boys and periods were just the tips of the iceberg. What else was there? Oh, yeah, she could count the ways! Eight years of 'lost' training, a constantly shifting center of balance, ill-defined yet looming trial 'lessons,' and intermittent and rarely controllable precognitive episodes about covered it! Things kept piling on in her life, and yeah, it was damned frustrating at times! Could some cosmic referee at least throw a yellow penalty flag once in a while?!?
The cursed sink mirror in this phonebooth-sized washroom was mounted so high on the wall that Christie had to stand on tip-toe to see her entire head in the darn thing! Oh, but wait, there's more! She couldn't get far enough from the sink to see her butt - even her body pressed flat against the room's back wall!
And her butt HURT! A LOT!! She felt like both butt cheeks had been hit by Bee-52 using a ten-penny nail gun for a stinger. Not that she could FEEL any sting-welts nor see any blood.
She'd just decided to risk a climb up and onto the sink so she could stick the offending body part right up against that damned mirror when a sharp knock echoed from the bathroom door. "Christie? It's Mom. Let me in, please," Amanda called from outside the bathroom.
Feeling ridiculously cheered by her Mother's presence, Christie minced over to the door - her pants and panties still hobbling her - and stood out of the sightline for anyone outside. Quickly, she unlocked the door and admitted her Mom. Amanda hurried in and then promptly shut and locked the door.
And stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of her frazzled and overwrought daughter. Deeply ingrained survival instincts had Amanda swallowing several clever quips and observations that might just have detonated Christie's obviously hair-trigger temper. She decided to just ask, "How are you, honey?"
Which completely shattered the tenuous hold Christie had managed on her emotions so far. The girl rush-hopped to her Mom, wrapped the older woman in her arms, and began to cry. No, actually, she began to wail! Between sobs, she poured out an almost incoherent litany of complaints. Amanda tried to keep up with Christie's torrent of rage and indignities. These included her sore bottom, this tiny and useless bathroom, the too-high to-use mirror, and having to be a darned girl! There were other issues in that flood, but Amanda probably only got half of them.
Which left Amanda at a loss on how to proceed. This was a motherhood challenge she had never experienced before. Charlie and then Christie had never broken down like this - not in either timeline. What the hell was she supposed to do, damn it? She WAS the MOTHER! Fixing stuff like this was her job!
Only she didn't have a clue what to do next! Finally, she just improvised. At first, all she could think of to do was hold on tightly to the shaking girl, murmur a few 'there-theres,' pat her daughter's back and pray for further inspiration. When she caught something that sounded like 'both cheeks still really hurt, darn it,' Amanda pounced! Taking advantage of her daughter's physical proximity, Amanda employed her healer talents. She scanned the girl for tissue damage or toxic trauma.
And got nothing. No evidence of any tissue damage. No taint of any insect stinger venom. She could not even detect any abnormal synaptic nerve activity. That was very puzzling; the pain receptor nerves in Christie's bottom should have been in extreme distress, given her daughter's evident pain. According to Amanda's senses, nothing was wrong, and her daughter shouldn't be in pain. Amanda let her hands slip down to her daughter's buttocks and attempted a 'hands-on' general healing spell. She didn't have any better idea what more to do, but once again, she got nothing.
Because there wasn't anything physically wrong down there to heal, and all Amanda could think was, "Well, NOW what do I do?"
Fortunately, Christie had started to cry herself out and was beginning to calm down. Relieved, Amanda held on as her daughter slowly gathered herself. With one final sniffle, Christie straightened up and stepped back. Nearly falling, she started to pull up her pants only to be stopped by Amanda. "Let me do a visual and manual examination of where you are feeling the pain, honey."
Which proved to be no more informative than her previous, magically-assisted efforts. "I can't see or feel anything - just smooth, unblemished skin with no signs of welts, swelling or inflammation. I can't find any evidence of a sting site. Let's see what happens when I do this . . .," and Amanda began probing the muscles beneath the shapely globes of Christie's bottom with her fingers.
"That doesn't make it hurt worse?" She asked, surprised when her daughter didn't flinch or otherwise react to the firm pressures.
Christie looked over her shoulder at her Mom and shook her head. "It doesn't. I can feel your finger pressing into the muscle, but while the pain is still there, it doesn't change no matter where you touch it or how hard. It's like . . . it's like they are two completely unrelated sensations. I don't know quite how to describe it. Maybe the pain is like the bass line in a piece of music being played too loudly. It's just there, but your touches are like the tenor line with no dissidence between them when you press. I can hear both . . . I'm not telling this well . ."
"I understand, and I could feel your sensory nerves reacting when I probed you with my fingers using my healer talent. Only I couldn't discern anything from that bass line with my talent to carry your analogy a little further. Do you think you can drive us home, or should I do it?"
"I'd better not," Christie replied as she carefully pulled up her pants. "I sort of have the pain under control for the moment, but I don't know if that will last. I don't want to be driving if the sting suddenly comes back on me like it did at the firing line."
"Okay. I've locked up our weapons and ammunition in a range locker for now. Let's go home and then I'm gonna call your grandmother. I might even ask her to come to visit so she can examine you. Maybe she'll have a better idea of what might be going on."
~-~
It wasn't until after dinner that Amanda was able to contact her Mother - a meal that her daughter ate standing at the breakfast bar. Amanda had finally cast a mild sleep spell on the girl, who had promptly gone up to bed. Except for sleeping on her tummy, Christie showed no sign she felt any pain. Another little spell had slid some pillows under the girl to relieve any pressure on Christie's bosom. Thankfully, she'd been sleeping quietly for about forty-five minutes, so Amanda had felt safe to slip out and call her own Mother.
But not before casting the 'baby monitor spell' she hadn't used since Charlie (or Christie in this timeline) had been two years old.
Amanda spent the first few minutes explaining what had happened and what little she knew about what was causing her daughter's distress. "Mom, I've tried every healing and diagnostic spell I know. I simply cannot find a natural cause for what ails her. Moreover, I can't think of nor find a supernatural cause for it either. I'm at the limits of my knowledge. I was hoping you had an idea or suggestion of something to try or, failing that, maybe come visit and see if you perceive something I haven't?"
"Well, I'm not nearly as strong at the healing arts as you are, dear, and I really have no clue what might be the issue here. However, I have our family library of journals here, and some of our forebears were powerful healers. I'll do a scan of those books tonight. I'll call you if I find anything. Failing that, I'll bring the books to you tomorrow so you can have a look, too. Something I might pass over might click with you since you are up close and personal with Christie's problem right now."
"Thanks, Mom. I'm at my wit's end here. At least she seems to be resting comfortably and sleeping deeply. I've got your old baby monitor on her, so I'll know right away if something changes."
Rebekah chuckled at that. "I'd all but forgotten that old spell. Good thing you remembered it, or you'd be up all night fretting about her." The two women laughed at that, easing some of the tension both felt. "Now, Amanda, tell me how YOU are."
Caught unprepared by Rebekah's motherly dart, Amanda hesitated, nearly stuttering as she tried to come up with an acceptable response. That was all the response Rebekah needed - she pounced. "Amanda?! What. Is. Wrong?"
Sighing, Amanda replied, "Well, if you must know, I felt pretty useless today. My child was in pain, and NOTHING I did helped her. And, oh my god, when she broke down on me in the bathroom? I was dumbfounded. I didn't know what to do! Mom, Charlie or Christie, either one - she's never done that before. I just stood there, patting her back and mumbling meaningless, hopefully, soothing sounds while my child completely melted down! She was the one who got it out and started pulling herself together. I might as well have not even been there for all the good I did her. I STILL don't know what I should have or could have done."
"Hmmm," Rebekah interposed if only to stop her daughter's self-recriminations. "Okay, let me see if I have this straight. Neither one of your children, in your memory, has ever had an emotional episode like this before. Correct?"
"Yes, but . . ."
"QUIET! Mother is talking. So, to continue. You didn't know what to do for Christie. Well, welcome to the Mom Club, girl! You somehow missed that step in our initiation, and guess what? Life caught up with you."
"I never . . . You never had to . . ."
"HA! Think again, daughter. Remember waking up with bloody sheets and bad nausea when you were eleven? You started menarche earlier than I had anticipated, so we had only just begun our birds and the bees lessons. YOU MELTED DOWN, and there I was, feeling dumb, ill-prepared and like a bad Mom. It happens to the best of us, Amanda. You just got a lot further down the motherhood road than I did or most other moms do before you got that hit."
"But, you knew just what to do and how to help . . ."
"That's not how I remember it, baby girl! Oh, I knew what to do once you started calming down, but for about five minutes, all I did was hold you and let you yell at me, all the while feeling like a failure. It was the only time I even thought about regretting becoming a woman full time."
"Really, Mom?" And it was a distinctly childlike voice that asked.
"Really, Amanda. I'm just surprised your alternative timeline Christie-memories don't include something like this in her past."
"Nope, nothing. Not in my Charlie memories, either."
There were moments of silence as Rebekah considered what her daughter had just revealed. "Interesting. You know, I have an idea . . . Remember, dear, you only spent a year as a guy. On the other hand, Charlie AND I spent the first sixteen years of our lives as guys. I might hazard the guess that Christie has still been doing the whole stoic male thing when she deals with the little challenges and adversities that come with being a teenage girl. When I first changed, I did it, but I broke down halfway through my year and had a good old-fashioned crying hissy fit over something I DON'T need to tell you about."
"Aw, Mom . . ." Amanda teased back.
"ANYway, part of the reason for this trial, particularly the sex change, is to impart lessons any sorcerer needs to learn. Unlike me, Christie had the discipline and pure pig-headed stubbornness not to give in and let have herself a good cry or two to relieve the pressure of her situation. Ever. I don't know for sure, but emotions are a big part of the feminine experience, much more so than for males."
"So, this is something Christie needed to experience?"
"It's as good an answer as any other I can think of. Well, let me get to my library so I can see what there is to see. I'll call you if I find anything promising. Either way, I'll call you tomorrow for a status report and to plan my visit if I need to come down there. Okay?"
"Okay, Mom. Thanks."
"Go to bed, honey. You need rest, too, and you know the monitor spell will wake you if you're needed."
"G'night, Mom. Talk to you tomorrow."
"Good night, dear."
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 16- Seeking a New Routine
Christie had years of intense training as a ballet student, not to mention Christie's and Charlie's years as a hard-core martial arts student. The years in both disciplines had gifted the teen with an excellent internal clock that went off even as the first rays of the sunlight snuck in beneath her bedroom curtains. At least that hadn't changed when she'd become Christie. On the other hand, Charlie had always been predominantly a tummy-sleeper. This preference had not long survived her transformation. Christie had learned almost immediately that her rapidly maturing female figure was not designed for Charlie's preferred sleep position. Crushing the 'girls' was not conducive to a good night's sleep. Christie had no choice but to start sleeping on her side while cuddling a pillow to preclude trying to turn onto her stomach as she slept.
Putting her 'cuddle-pillow' up near her bed's headboard, Christie took a moment to stretch and center herself as her conscious mind came online. Once she was fully awake and ready to take on the world, Christie rolled to a sitting position . . .
And then jumped abruptly off the bed and to her feet as she recalled - vividly - her painfully stung derriere. Only to stop short yet again when she realized that her bottom didn't hurt, not even after carelessly plopping all her weight right down on her bum. Christie took a minute and scanned her body as closely as her still developing healer senses permitted. Just as her Mom had said yesterday, there was nothing to find - not with her healer's eye. She didn't see or feel ANYthing off back there. If anything, there was a sort of 'memory ghost' in her mind that said, "Beware! This might hurt!" It was like that 'it might still hurt' hesitancy Charlie or Christie experienced when resuming her training after being sidelined by an injury such as an ankle sprain. Nothing hurt - not really - but her mind and her body were on high alert for the first sign that the injured area wasn't quite healed.
"Well," she said aloud in her empty room, "The first thing you have to do is show your body that it is recovered and won't hurt anymore. Like the first jump in dance class, or the first kick strike at the dojang." Christie quickly donned a sports bra, leotard and her cross-trainers and began her typical morning stretching routine. Christie cautiously moved into each position. She initially took any movement that might aggravate her injury gradually before stepping up to her regular speed once she had confidence in her recovery. Or was that, more correctly, her nonexistent injury? Darned if she knew, but at least nothing hurt!
She finished her stretching but decided to forego her usual Tai Chi forms this morning. Christie wanted to let her body come down off her workout high. Then she'd see if the pain recurred following her relatively mild workout before she did anything more demanding. Just in case.
Amanda was just finishing her pre-departure cup of morning coffee when Christie arrived at the breakfast bar for her regular fruit and yogurt breakfast. She watched her daughter casually seat herself on the tall bar stool, pleased to see Christie seemingly pain-free. Amanda magically scanned her daughter. She then commented, "Well, I still don't see any physical damage to your body or any trace of toxins in your system, Christie. You seem to be moving about easily. How are you feeling this morning?"
"I think I'm good, Mom. At the same time, I am super aware of where my bottom did hurt yesterday, though, and the slightest hint of a twinge or a tickle sets off alarm bells in my head. I did my normal wake-up routine except for the tai-chi this morning and had no pain after finishing. For the moment, nothing seems wrong or painful. Can't find or fix something that doesn't want to act broke."
"True, true. So, what are your plans for today?" Amanda asked as she rinsed her cereal bowl and coffee cup in the kitchen sink. "Not doing your tai-chi? Does that mean you've decided to take things easy today?"
Christie shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I only skipped that to give my body a chance to come down from the endorphin rush of my stretching workout. You know, to make sure I didn't hurt afterward. I missed dance practice yesterday, so I thought I'd go to the studio and do my barre work. It'll give me a similar whole-body workout to what I get from doing the tai-chi forms, but I'll have the barre right there to grab hold of if something goes wrong while I'm exercising. Assuming that aren't any issues with that, I'd like to go to my regular martial arts class at the dojang this afternoon and work on my Poomsae. After that, I might try to wheedle Sa Bum Nim into letting me beat on the heavy bag for a while since he told me I couldn't spar. I kind of need to work off some aggression, I think."
"Imagining Tad's face on the bag while you beat the heck out of it, eh? As I said, I can't sense anything wrong with you or your health right now. If no difficulties arise during your two workouts, I can't think of any reason not to blow off some steam that way. Just make sure Papa Kim is all right with that first. He was the one to insist you not spar, after all. There also might be reasons not to work out with the heavy bag."
"Okay, Mom, thanks," Christie replied as she scooted off her barstool to walk Amanda to the door. Exchanging a quick hug and kiss, they parted - Amanda to drive to work and Christie to collect her dance and karate bags.
~-~
A little before nine o'clock, Christie arrived at the ballet studio. The schedule posted on the door indicated no classes were planned until after lunch. Christie checked the door and was pleased to find it unlocked. Slipping inside, she quickly donned her toe shoes and went off in search of Madame or one of her assistants. She needed to let whoever was in charge of the studio know she was here and make sure it was all right to do her barre workout.
Madame Coulter was in her office, working on her computer and staring intently at the screen. Christie knocked softly on the doorjamb to get her teacher's attention without scaring her. Madame looked up, stared for a moment, quickly hit a few more keys and then rose from her seat. Moving around her desk, she asked, "Christie? What are you doing here? Your Mother called me the day before yesterday to tell me about the incident with that ruffian and that you'd miss class. Are you all right?"
Christie smiled at the older woman, marveling at her demeanor's honest concern and worry. Madame had certainly mellowed in the last year. "I think I'm okay, but Master Kim won't let me spar for a while, and I need to do something physical. If it is all right with you, Madame, I thought I would do some barre work here in the studio. That way, I'll be able to determine if I'm really impaired or not and still get in some exercise. Then if that goes well, I want to go to my regular martial arts class. Like I said, I'm not allowed to spar, but I could still practice my Poomsae, I mean, my required forms. After spending that night and most of yesterday morning in the hospital, I need to move!"
Renee Coulter carefully studied the young woman, a single eyebrow raised in concentration. "Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves and see how you do first, shall we? I will observe and ensure you are doing the movements correctly and freely. If there are any postures you physically cannot do, I will help you figure out why. If you have a lingering injury, I will insist you take the time to heal yourself properly before pushing yourself further either here or at the Kims' school. Agreed?"
"That would be great, Madame. Are you sure you have the time? You looked really busy in your office."
"Harrumph. Of course, I have time! You are one of my girls, after all. My accountant is coming over later today to review my finances. I wanted to check them over one more time. Which I have. Now, into the studio, ballerina, and do your pre-dance stretching."
Smiling, Christie curtsied, "Yes, Madame!" before hurrying off to the brightly lighted, mirrored room.
~-~
"Well, Christie, I think that is enough for today. That was an excellent session, I think," Rene said an hour later. "It really is too bad you had that growth spurt. Athletically, you are everything a Principal Dancer should be. You're just too tall and too, uhh, gifted. Don't want any danseurs hurting themselves when they lift you. Oh well, run along, girl. My accountant is due here in a little while, and I suddenly feel the need to look over those figures just one more time."
A sweaty but grateful Christie hurried off into the studio's modest dressing room to grab a quick shower. Madame Renee Coulter might have mellowed considerably in the last year - emphasis MIGHT - but she sure as heck hadn't gotten easy. Christie's one-hour workout under Madame's gimlet eye had been surprisingly grueling! None of the movements or postures had been unusually challenging, but because Madame ALWAYS saw even the tiniest misstep and called Christie on every one of them. Then, she would have Christie do it over (and over and over and. . .) until she was satisfied that her student had finally done the movement correctly.
Renee had taken exception to one of Christie's softly groaned complaints. Firmly, the ballet mistress had told her dancer, "If you cannot do a movement correctly, there can be only two reasons. You are either not trying, which is beneath you. Otherwise, your injury is restricting you too much to complete the movement. In that case, you should not be doing any of this right now. We will correct the former until you get it right. As for the latter, we will deal with that too if it becomes necessary. Thankfully, that hasn't been the case, which means you haven't been trying hard enough, and THAT STOPS NOW, BALLERINA! Your extension on that last position was hesitant and imprecise. Do it again! Unless you can't . . ."
Having nobody else in the studio to distract Madame's full and undivided attention from Christie had turned out to be both a blessing AND a curse. They'd indeed determined that Christie wasn't impaired - that was for darn sure!
~-~
Christie pulled into an empty parking space near the dojang. She smiled as she considered the many benefits of having her driver's license and a car. One of which was that she could just pop downtown and whisk her Mom off to lunch. She'd done that on impulse, but it had worked out great for both women. Amanda had been able to sense for herself that Christie was still physically fine even after her surprisingly demanding workout with Madame Coulter. For her part, Christie had enjoyed being the one to surprise and treat her Mother for a change. Amanda had passed on good news from Val's mother over their soup and salad. Lunch together had been pleasant and was something Christie intended to do again sometime.
Christie had arrived early for her class as she wanted to be really stretched out and warmed up before the formal training started. So far, everything was going fine, but she didn't want to tempt fate. Except for the three Kims and several of their advanced red and black belts students, the main studio of the dojang was empty. That bunch was huddled near the stage. They were most likely planning and preparing for today's lessons. When Charlie had become a Red Belt (2nd Geup) in his other life, he had attended a few of those meetings. Young-Soo and Master Kim always ensured that the assigned instructors were prepared for that day's lessons and what might go wrong. Teaching the younger kids was something Christie missed. Maybe after she earned her Third Geup Blue Belt with the red stripe later this summer, she'd be able to take on a more formal trainer role, as Charlie had.
Kim Young-Soo looked up to see who had entered and then jumped up to his feet, waving his hands. "Christie! Great to see you. Come on over!"
Happily returning the greeting of the youngest Kim, Christie changed direction and hustled over to the three Masters and their assembled assistants. Christie was swept up into Young-Soo's hug and then passed her around to the rest to have a turn.
"It is terrific to see you, Jeja," Master Kim told her when it had been his turn. "I see you have brought your gear and dobok, so I assume you plan to attend class. Are you well enough for that? It's only been a couple of days since. . ."
"I think so, Master Kim," Christie replied seriously. "The doctors couldn't find anything really wrong when they released me yesterday. I've already done my morning stretching and an hour of studio work over at the ballet studio, and I feel fine. I know Grandfather Kim told me not to spar with anyone until he gives me his approval, but I'd like to keep doing the non-contact work. I, umm, kind of need the physical activity. Besides, I need to learn all the required Poomsae for my next belt, so I'm ready when the time comes for testing."
Master Kim considered that and then looked to Grandfather Kim. "Father, your thoughts?"
"I believe she can do what she says. We will keep a closer eye on her than usual. We will just make sure she isn't favoring something."
"Umm, Grandfather? I'd really like to beat on the heavy bag after class, assuming nothing more comes up."
"If you are still feeling fine at the end of class, come and get me. I will supervise. When I say you are done, Jeja, you are done. Agreed?" At Christie's enthusiastic 'yes,' Grandfather smiled. "Go get changed, and then do your warm-ups. Class starts in about forty-five minutes."
~-~
Black Belt Wilma Davis and Red Belt Daniel Murdock led the training for Christie's group as the class split up by skill levels. After the standard exercises, they guided the group in performing several of the lower difficulty forms required for the Blue Belt Christie already held. She caught sight of Master and Grandfather Kim watching her closely for the first couple of poomsae before they'd evidently decided she could proceed on her own. Then, they went on to work with and watch over other students. That made her feel even better about herself.
With about a half-hour left in the class, Master Kim gathered all the students back together and had them kneel around the main mat. "Over the next few classes, students preparing for their Red and Black Belt tests will be working on one of the more challenging requirements, the Koryo Poomse. We only attempt this physically demanding exercise with our more advanced and prepared students. You will be told if you have permission to start working on this poomse. For now, Instructors Wilma and Daniel will demonstrate it for you."
Wilma and Daniel marched to the center of the mat and took their 'At Attention' positions. Master Kim moved off to the side and assumed the instructor's role. "Kyungnet! Turn and bow to Grandfather Kim. Kyungnet!" He ordered, watching as the two instructors followed his order. "Bow to Young-Soo. Kyungnet! Bow to me. Kyungnet!"
Master Kim stepped away and took a seat in front of his father and son.
"SIJAK! (begin)" Grandfather Kim's strong voice rang out.
Wilma and Daniel moved efficiently to the starting position, and in unison, they began their form. Master Kim spoke up, "Note how they strive to move in unison as they perform the exercise. They have practiced this form many times, often doing it together or as part of a larger class. Remember, students who are to test for the same belt will be called upon to perform their Poomsae together. It saves time when judges have several students testing at once. Also, it allows the judges can compare the students as they move through the form. It is best to stay in sync with your fellow students as you move through the forms. Wilma and Daniel are excellent examples of this. The poomse looks tremendous when they perform together in harmony, but if just one student falls out of sync, it will stick out like a sore thumb. This tests not only the students' technique but also their control and self-awareness."
The two instructors completed the form together and then bowed to the Kims. "Well done, both of you," Grandfather Kim called out. "Students, CHARYUT! (attention). Everyone except Christie will now practice sparring. Daniel, please work with Christie on synchronizing the Koryo Poomse."
Christie and Daniel moved off to one of the side mats to clear room for the other students to work on their sparring. "I watched you today, and I thought you did just fine. Is it all right to ask why you're not sparring?"
Because Grandfather said not to, Christie thought to herself. "Caution for the most part. Tad had me in a rear-naked choke long enough that I would have been out if I'd missed the back kick I hit. I think Grandfather wants to make sure everything is okay in my brain-box before he lets anyone start punching and kicking it."
"Do you know how Valerie is doing? I guess she got it worse than you?"
"She's got some cracked ribs from a back elbow strike, but the real concern is a back-fist that hit her right on her temple. They're worried about cranial bleeding and possible long-term issues from the injury there."
"Tad always was an asshole. I tried to call the hospital yesterday, but they wouldn't tell me anything about Valerie or you."
"Well, the good news is that they are moving her out of the ICU later today and into a regular room. She'll be able to have visitors starting tomorrow after lunch. You should go see her."
"Oh, I don't know . . . I mean, we're not close or anything . . ."
Was I this clueless when I was Charlie? Yeah, probably, Christie thought to herself. Well, if this breaks some sacred 'Girl Rule,' I'll just have to claim ignorance and inexperience. "You should definitely go see her, Daniel. Tomorrow!" She said, perhaps more forcefully than she should have.
"Really?"
"Really! Dan, she's been trying to get your attention for months! Heavens, just before Tad attacked us, she told me she would call you out during class and spar with you."
"Why would she do that? I'm two belts senior to her."
"What? You've never done something stupidly obvious to get someone's attention? You ignored her best girl moves, so she was going to cheat and get you down so she could sit on you! GO. SEE. VAL! Got it?"
"Umm, okay. I mean, she's really cute, but I figured, well, you and her being so tight. . . I didn't want to, uhm, intrude, you know?"
Christie face palmed as she understood what was holding Dan back from pursuing her friend. And truth be told, she had harbored such thoughts herself, but Valerie wasn't inclined in that direction. "Idiot!" She growled. "We're BFFs! Best Girl Friends Forever! I repeat, go see Val. It'll make her day!"
Still unsure, Daniel looked nothing like the confident and skilled karateka who had just performed an extremely difficult poomse flawlessly. "Well, if you really think so."
"YES, I really think so! What does she have to do? Tie you to a chair, sit on your lap and hand-feed you cake? Trust me, she'd do it. At least, she would once she's out of the hospital. Now promise me you'll go, or I'll kick your butt, and Grandfather will yell at me for sparring."
"I'll go! I'll go. Don't hit me!" Daniel laughed, holding his hands up in a 'stay back' motion. "I promise."
"Good boy," Christie snarked at him. "Oh, and she really, really likes carnations. That's a hint, buster."
~-~
After class was finished, Sa Bum Nim observed silently as Christie did her level best to destroy the heavy bag. For a while, he just let her burn off the adrenalin and stress she'd obviously been hoarding over the past few days. When she started to flag, he took charge of the exercise, correcting her form and guiding her choice of technique.
After one last over-the-top roundhouse kick Papa Kim quietly ordered, "Charyut, Jeja," calling Christie to attention. Positioning himself carefully, he faced the heavy bag. "Come over here. Stand in front of me with your back to the heavy bag. Yes, that's good. Now, do you have all of that anger and aggression out of your system?"
"Yes, Grandfather. Thank you for watching over me. I know that such a display is not in keeping with the tenets of the art, but I really did need it."
"Even Masters are human and subject to extreme emotions at times. How we deal with them is what matters. Your method did no harm. Are you better now?" Christie took a deep, cleansing breath and then nodded. "Good. Now, I want you to enter your meditation safe place. No, don't sit! Continue standing just as you are, but empty your mind." He watched her closely and saw when she transitioned to a light, meditative state. "Now, I want you to remember the attack. Feel Tad behind you. Remember how you felt."
Christie tensed, her hands coming up as if looking for the arms wrapping around her throat. "Now, Jeja, the hold tightens. What happens next?"
In a soft, oddly distant voice, Christie replied. "It's tight. I'm starting to drift. I'm pulling at his arms, digging my nails in, but he's too strong, too enraged."
"And then? What happened next?"
"Something - someone - Val, I guess, hit us from behind, knocking us a step or two forward. I hear her screaming at him, and then, his hold loosens . . . then he lets it go entirely, and I feel him strike - the back elbow, I think, and then I feel him twist to get power into the back fist . . .Val's screaming stops. While my head clears, I strike back at him with my own back elbow. I try to get away, but I'm still a little woozy from the choke. I decide I have to disable him - hard. I draw up my leg and get ready to shift everything I've got into the back kick. . ."
"JEJA!" Grandfather barked suddenly. "STRIKE. Exactly as you did. Do it NOW!"
The sound of her foot connecting with the heavy bag was explosive and loud as if someone had set off a small dynamite charge or fired a heavy-caliber rifle. The swivel assembly holding the heavy bag up to the ceiling broke catastrophically, showering bits of metal onto the floor on the other side of the bag.
Master Kim and Young-Soo came running back into the dojang studio from their office and stopped short at seeing the heavy bag lying on its side on the floor. "What happened, Grandfather," Young-soo yelled. "Did someone fire a gun and break the bag chain?
Sa Bum Nim chuckled and took a shivering Christie into his arms. "No, grandson. We were working with the heavy bag, and apparently, the swivel assembly on the chain failed rather spectacularly. Quite loudly, too, as you could hear."
Master Kim bent down to examine the failed linkage, picking up several pieces. "It must have been badly worn," Grandfather continued, "I think Young-Soo should run off and get a replacement for it."
"But, Dad! Those things never break - at least not in all my experience with them in dojangs and gyms," Master Kim protested.
"Ah, but one just did break. That one," Grandfather said, nodding towards the bits and pieces in Master Kim's hands. "And now, Jeja Christie cannot continue her practice until we buy another. As a matter of fact? Buy five. Just in case."
Master Kim and his son slowly nodded their agreement. They walked off, muttering something in Korean that Christie did not understand, making Grandfather laugh again.
"And that, Jeja, is why I'm being cautious with your sparring for now. You should not have been able to do what you just did. Before Tad, you would not have been able to do that. Now, you are apparently instinctively channeling your sorcerous abilities to amplify your natural physical power at the point of attack."
"You Jedi Mind Tricked me. I was back there in the street with Tad hanging off me.
"Yes, and unfortunately, until you can completely control that ability, I cannot let other students spar with you. Remember when Charlie hit Donnie in that last sparring session? Even then, Charlie hurt him. Now, if you lost concentration and control or felt threatened, it could be far worse."
"Do you . . . Do you think I should give up the martial arts?"
"Absolutely not. I think you will need the martial arts discipline to learn how to control this. Whether you are a karateka or not, you have that ability. You need to master it, and the safest place for you to do that is here, with my family and me. I think it may be time to tell my son and grandson what is going on so that they can help you, too."
"I need to talk to Mom about that before you tell them. I'm really not sure of all the magic rules related to telling outsiders. You may be exempt or something since you have your own talent and figured it out for yourself."
"Agreed, Christie. Next time we will meditate before we confront your sand-filled opponent so that your mind is vigilant, fresh and focused. Then we will see what we can do about your striking power."
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 17 - Visiting Valerie
In the future, when Christie would look back and reflect on the events of this day, two things would forever stand out in her memory. First was just how normal the day started. Nothing to make note of, really; it was just another summer morning in June at the McKellar household. However, the second thing that stuck in her memories was how weird the day became after that. Days like this one just didn't happen to everyday, ordinary teenagers. They DIDN'T unless you accepted that there really was magic in the world. Magic was something that Christie McKellar, once Charlie McKellar, had been forced to take as hard, indisputable fact.
But even then? Her day still qualified as pretty damned weird!
Dawn found Christie already up and working through her regular morning exercise routines. Since she'd had the time this morning, she indulged herself by completing the complete Tai-Chi Chuan long-form program. She was just finishing her cool down when she heard her Mother making her way down to the kitchen. Christie had already programmed the coffee maker before starting her workout so her Mom would find hot, fresh coffee waiting for her.
Entering the house, she greeted her Mother and hurried upstairs to shower and dress. When Christie came back down, Amanda had fruit, yogurt and coffee waiting for her daughter. As was their habit, Mother and daughter used this quiet time of their morning to make and share their plans for the rest of the day. Most of their attention was given to planning their visit to Valerie in her hospital room after Amanda got off work for the day.
"I'll check with the hospital, but I'm sure we can visit her after dinner. Why don't I just come home after work, as usual, pick you up and take you out to the diner for supper before we go see her?"
"Sounds great, Mom. What time do you think I should be ready for you? Regular at-home time?"
Amanda nodded as she put her coffee cup down. "I'll leave work no later than five o'clock today. That should get me home by 5:30 at the latest. We'll have a quick, light dinner and should be able to arrive at the hospital to see Valerie by around seven. That work for you?"
"Absolutely. By the way, I have dance class with Madame Renee and the little ones this morning. I think she's trying to get them ready for a show at the end of summer, and since I'm not one of the principal dancers anymore, maybe she'll let me help with that. That would be a lot of fun because I simply love working with the kids."
Christie was momentarily taken aback by the odd look that crossed her Mother's attractive features. Still, before she could ask about it, Amanda stood up to gather her things for work. "Oh, thank you, Christie. You just reminded me of something. I need to have a few words with Madame Coulter about a . . . payment. What time is your class, and do you know when she's usually in her studio? I really don't want to play phone tag trying to get in touch with her, nor do I want to interrupt a session or anything. Do you know when she might have a minute or two for me today?"
Christie started gathering the breakfast dishes for rinsing as she thought. "Well, my class starts at 9:30. I usually get there a little after nine, so I can dress and lock up my stuff. I haven't ever found the studio still closed when I get there. In fact, yesterday, the door was unlocked when I got there right at nine. The formal part of my class is usually over by eleven, and the place is pretty well cleared out by 11:30. If you don't connect with her before our class, she usually goes into her office after the last student leaves. I'm not sure about what she has on for after lunch. I could check with her when I get there and call you if that would help."
"No, I think I'll try to get to her before your class. Thank you for getting the dishes because I must be on my way. I need to run a couple of errands before I go to the office today."
"Sure thing. Take care, Mom. Love you!"
"Love you, too, dear. See you tonight."
~-~
Christie breezed into the dance studio at about ten after nine. She passed by Madame's office on her way to the dressing room. The door was cracked open, enough to hear what was going on but not enough to see into the room clearly. An almost familiar voice caught Christie's attention as she passed, bringing her up short. It sounded . . . well, it sounded like her Mom. Maybe Madame had her on speakerphone? That was odd because the only times she'd ever seen Madame take calls, she'd used her Bluetooth earphone on privacy mode.
Come to think of it, it was pretty odd that her Mother said she had a payment issue with Renee. Christie always handled her tuition at the school herself with the debit card Amanda had given her for such expenses. She used it both here and at the dojang for class fees and incidentals like doboks and dance shoes.
She was just about to leave when the familiar voice got louder, almost stern, and was now clearly understandable. "Now, there will be no need to repeat this in the future, will there, pet?. You know better, and you've promised to do better."
"No need at all, Ma'am," another slightly softer voice answered. Was that Madame?!? "I will do better," and that had definitely been Madame Renee's voice! "It won't happen again, Ma'am."
"Excellent! Now, give me a kiss. I must be off before . . ." Madame's door swung open, bringing Mother and daughter face to face. "CHRISTIE!" Amanda almost yelled. "Oh pooh! If you're already here this must have taken longer than I'd planned. Well, it can't be helped. I'll see you tonight, dear, as we planned. Now, don't you need to get ready for Madame's class?" At Christie's goggle-eyed nod, she smiled. "Good. Run along then. Renee? Walk me out, please."
Dumbstruck, Christie just watched as the two women strode for the studio foyer, her Mother clearly in the lead with Renee hustling to keep up. What the heck? That was . . . weird. Definitely weird. And hadn't she heard her Mother ask Renee to give her a kiss? No, she hadn't asked. She'd told Renee to give her a kiss.
All Christie could think was, "Oh. My. God." And then hustle off to get ready for class. Maybe she'd have time for a short meditation, too. She REALLY needed to clear her thoughts!
~-~
Madame Coulter was in the studio when Christie came out. Seeing her student, she beckoned her over. "Christie, after we finish our barre and positions work, I want to work with the more advanced students in a small group session. Would you mind working with the younger students? Our summer exhibition will be later this year than last, and I would like our newer students ready to dance in the Corps de Ballet. Could you give them some practice in synchronizing their movements?"
Delighted to have the opportunity, Christie nodded, even as one of her 'Little Christie' memories flashed in her mind. "I remember my first exhibition here when I was a little girl. I was in the Corps when we did the Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker. None of us were advanced enough to go en pointe, so we did an alternative choreography. If that's all right with you, Madame, we can work with that."
"Oh, my yes, that would be perfect. I know the youngsters are all anxious to go on their tip-toes, but they're not ready. That choreography, yes, I remember it. And I even have the music in the system. You can have the main studio, and I'll take the older students into the small studio. Thank you, Christie."
"Umm, sure, Madame. I love doing that, but aren't you going to be here to watch? Make sure I don't mess them up?"
"Hah! As if! Christie, one thing about you is that you have always been a perfectionist. You just handle it better than I do. . .have. You and the girls will do just fine. And, please, Christie . . .?"
"Yes, Madame?" a thoroughly gobsmacked Christie asked, staring at this strange woman in the Renee Coulter costume.
"Remember to help them find the joy in doing it," Renee half-whispered before turning on her heel and shouting out to the room. "Positions at the barre, everyone!" The students hurried to their assigned positions and assumed their 'attention' stance.
"All right, ladies. After we finish our fundamentals today, we will split up into two groups. I will take the advanced group into the small studio so we can start work on our late-summer exhibition. Assistant Dance Mistress Christie will work with our newer students on some lovely choreography for the same show.
Christie goggled at that. Assistant Dance Mistress?? Where did that come from, she thought even as Madame continued. Just two things, girls! Christie IS in charge, right?"
A giggle rippled through the studio as all the younger students responded together as they'd been taught, "Yes, Dance Mistress Renee."
Nodding her head in acknowledgment, Renee's lips quirked upward into a smile. "Second, if you are working with Assistant Dance Mistress Christie, you are not yet ready to start working en pointe. That's okay, this choreography allows that, and I'm sure you'll all be beautiful. Just let me say again, NO en pointe until I and ONLY I tell you that you are ready. You might hurt yourselves and miss performing in my exhibition. You don't want to miss my exhibition. Trust me! I will be meaner than Cinderella's wicked stepmother if you get hurt! You do not even want to think about what I'll be like if you miss our exhibition for that reason. Everyone clear on this?"
Twenty voices in unison answered, "Yes, Dance Mistress Renee."
"Excellent, such smart students. Very well, First Position, everybody! We have a great deal to accomplish today."
Well, thought Christie as she moved her hands and feet into the First Position, wasn't that weird? She had girls giggling in class, and she called me Assistant Dance Mistress? As if I needed more to think about today.
~-~
The girls had been great for Christie. They'd worked very hard and accomplished quite a bit but still managed to have fun doing it. By the end of the one-hour session, they could string together five positions in the choreography and perform them in sync with each other and the music. Almost. Still, it had been grand. As a treat, Christie had demonstrated the entire dance for them towards the end of class so they could see what they were working towards. She even remembered not to go en pointe herself as she wanted to set a good example.
Actually, they went a little over their scheduled class time because the girls hadn't wanted to quit. Finally, Christie had been forced to put her foot down, reluctantly she privately admitted, so that Madame could get ready for her afternoon classes. Mothers and older sisters who'd arrived just before class was supposed to end had watched as their budding ballerinas floated about the studio under Christie's watchful eye. Their impromptu audience saw that the girls were working hard and smiling hugely.
As the studio finally started to empty, Christie saw Renee and all but bounded over to her. "Oh, Thank you, Madame! That was so much fun! Thank you for letting me work with them like that."
"And from what I saw, quite productively, too. Suppose our young dancers continue such effort and dedication. In that case, we'll be doing that dance at the exhibition, and they will all be wonderful! Thank you, Christie."
"You . . .you want me to keep doing that? Working with them on the choreography? Getting them ready to dance in the exhibition?"
"Well, you are the Assistant Dance Mistress, aren't you? And by the way, if you're going to be helping with the teaching, I will need to make some accommodation in your tuition - something of a stipend discount, I think."
Practically bouncing in glee, it was all Christie could do not to hug the older woman. "Oh, that is just super, Madame! Thank you again," Only to be surprised when Renee frowned and began clasping her hands together almost nervously. "Are you all right, Madame?"
"Oh, I'm fine, Christie, thank you for asking. Ummm, but I do feel that an apology might be in order, though."
"OH! What did I do, Madame?" Christie asked, suddenly worried. "If it was my presence this morning, I assure you I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just heard my Mom's voice and . . ."
"Stop," Renee said, holding her hand up between them. "It's nothing like that, and I'm the one who needs to apologize. Yesterday, my comment about how partnering you might injure a danseur. In the parlance of the dance, I all but called you a fat cow. It just came out, and it wasn't fair. Even if you had stayed in my classes, your growth spurt would still have happened. In fact, it might have been worse because of what someone as disciplined and determined as you might have done to control your weight. Truthfully, it was just my own sadness that you won't learn to be the dancer I envisioned up till that point. A professional, fully trained danseur would have no problem partnering with you. Sadly, none of my boys are likely to develop the ability and strength necessary to support your training. They certainly don't have it now. My comment was out of line, and I am very sorry if I hurt your feelings yesterday."
"Oh, Madame, no, I wasn't hurt or upset. You didn't say anything I haven't said to or about myself. I took it as a light-hearted tease and appreciated that you felt comfortable enough with me to tease me. We've come a long way since January."
A single tear leaked from the older woman's eyes. "Well, I'm glad you understood then and now. We have come far together. Oh, my, look at the time. I'm going to be late for a luncheon engagement if I don't hurry off. See you next class, dear."
Christie just stood there for a few moments, watching Renee bustle off to her office and wonder what had just happened. Good Grief! Renee Coulter had just APOLOGIZED to her! For what was nothing worse than a typically snide Renee sort of jibe! Not only that! She had really meant it! And Oh My God!! Renee Coulter had called Christie 'dear'. Really??!?
Shaking her head, Christie slowly headed out of the studio to her car. "The day just keeps getting weirder and weirder," she told herself quietly.
Now, she was almost afraid to see what came next!
~-~
Even after nearly an entire year of living as a girl and a 17 year lifetime of girl 'memories', one thing Christie still tended to overthink was wardrobe selection. Charlie had it easy. Slacks or jeans, a t-shirt or polo and cross trainers served just fine for almost any masculine need. A little chilly? Fine, add a hoodie. Really warm outside? Okay, switch to shorts. Easy. As a girl, though? Eh, not so much.
Girls worried about their clothes. Was this outfit too formal or that one too casual? Were these accessories appropriate to her ensemble and the event? And worst of all? What type of shoes to wear with her 'final' choices. Christie' felt she was adequately girl-indoctrinated that proper answers to all those conundrums and an untold myriad of vital questions about her couture mattered to her. A lot.
Actually, most times, she really didn't have any real problem with her attire. Like her Mother had told her, if she just went with the flow and let her 'inner girl' take charge, everything, including clothes, just seemed to fall into place for her. Unfortunately, Christie hadn't listened to her 'inner-girl' tonight. Her bed, where most of her closet's contents lay haphazardly discarded, was proof-positive on that score. Yup, she was guilty of vestigial male clothing indecision! Her sentence? Put everything away properly before her Mother got home to give her grief about the mess.
AFTER, she finally let her 'inner-girl' select her outfit! So, squaring her shoulders and giving herself a stern mental talking-to, Christie had settled down and worked it out. After all, they were going to a diner, not a four-diamond restaurant. She was going to visit her best girlfriend, not pay a formal call on a visiting dignitary or meet some superstar boy-band heartthrob.
Ultimately, much to Christie's dismay, when she saw herself in the mirror, her 'inner-girl' had selected the female version of Charlie's go-to guy outfit. Her favorite denim skirt replaced the jeans. She wore a comfy but flattering t-shirt over a matching summer camisole instead of Charlie's polo. She completed her look with a pretty, comfortable pair of low-heeled sandals.
That had been just too simple, she groused to herself. Why hadn't she picked this outfit an hour ago? Because you were overthinking again, McKellar. Okay, but she wasn't going to agonize over her makeup!
SURE she wasn't.
Fortunately, Amanda arrived after Christie had restored order to her closet, but before she could fret herself into changing. Amanda hauled her daughter off to their favorite small-town diner. "You look nice, dear," her Mother said as she started her car. "Simple, yet neat. And how long did it take you to choose your outfit tonight?"
Christie resisted gritting her teeth and snarling. Amanda knew her too well, so she decided to make light of the experience, hoping to deflect further parental teasing. "Oh, not long at all, Mom. Actually, putting everything away and reorganizing my closet is what really took the time. Good thing I was home from the studio by one o'clock, huh?"
"Well, I'm sure you had enough time to try just about everything in your closet," Amanda replied in her deadpan Mother-voice before laughing with her daughter.
The diner wasn't far from their home, so they were inside and waiting to be seated by 5:45. While they waited for the hostess to return to escort them to their table, Christie felt an irresistible need to check her hair and makeup. Amanda watched bemused as her daughter pulled a comb and mirrored compact from her purse and began fussing with her hair.
"What are you doing?" She finally asked as Christie thoroughly inspected her face in the tiny mirror. "You look fine."
The question actually startled Christie, who stared at the comb and compact as if trying to figure out where they'd come from. Looking up from her mirror, Christie started to say something but frowned as she really considered her Mother's question. After several moments, she took a deep breath and replied, "I don't know, Mom. I don't think I've ever just started mindlessly primping in public for no apparent reason before, but all of a sudden, I had this urge to make sure I looked all right. . . No, wait, that's not quite it. I really wanted to look the best I could, and I was annoyed that I didn't have all my makeup with me."
"Well, that's out of character for you. An urge, you say? Weird."
Christie sighed as she returned her grooming tools to her purse. "Weird is my word of the day, Mom. No reason that here and now should be any different."
"Oh, really?" Amanda asked with a smile. "Well, here's the hostess. Let's get seated, and then you can tell your Mama all about it."
They ordered their dinners, deciding to share a salad made using the same ingredients as a muffuletta sandwich and iced tea. "So, daughter-dear, tell me all about your 'weird is the word of the day.' Inquiring mothers want to know."
Sighing, Christie took a sip of water and gave a short grimace. "We'll just take it as a given that I failed to let my inner-girl out to help choose my outfit tonight and paid for it in post ensemble closet restoration. As to my other weirdnesses today? Let me count the ways. Dance class went surprisingly great. I did get to work with young girls - Renee made me Assistant Dance Mistress. That was weird, but things got really strange after she did that. Renee had the girls giggling - right there in class - and she didn't get snarky about it. She was, well. . .she was pleasant."
Shaking her head at that memory, Christie continued. "Then, after class? When the kids had left? She apologized. To ME, and I'm absolutely sure she meant it, too. Do you remember I told you about her little zinger yesterday about me being too big for her danseurs to partner? She was concerned I was upset and wanted to apologize. That's a first in all the time Christie remembers working with her. And she will give me a discount on my class fees for working with the younger girls!"
Christie blew out a breath as she remembered the Renee incident. Then she saw her Mother grinning slyly at her. That brought yet another weird event back to mind. "And I distinctly heard you, in Renee's office this morning, tell her, not ask her, mind you, but TELL her to kiss you. Something's really weird with that, Mom. What the heck is going on with you and Renee, for goodness sake??!"
Surprisingly, her Mother's grin didn't leave her face, and in fact, it only dimmed a little before she shook her head and chuckled to herself. "Okay, I hear you, but that is not something to discuss here and now, Christie. It involves information that is SPECIAL MCKELLAR FAMILY related. Special as it relates to you, me, and my Mom, okay?" She stopped and stared intently at Christie, who immediately understood her Mother's reference to the family's magical legacy and nodded her acceptance. "Definitely not for public consumption. If you must know, and now that it is out in the open, I think you do, I'll tell you about it tonight after we get home. Okay?"
Christie tried for a classic 'put upon teenager sneer' and almost made it to the apparent amusement of Amanda. "Okay, Mom," she growled before brightening. "Look! Food!"
Their salad was spicy and filling and required several iced tea refills as they ate to cool their mouths. Amanda was just getting ready to signal their waiter for their bill when Christie suddenly sat up very straight, pursed her lips and crossed her eyes. Shock evident in her face, Christie started, "What was tha-a-a-a-. . ."
She never finished her question. As Amanda watched helplessly, her daughter's body went rigid, her tongue flicked out as if trying to wet her lips. At the same time, she began to breathe deeply, almost gasping, through her nose and mouth. Her eyes were tightly closed, and she remained absolutely still like that for several interminable moments before uttering a soft, relieved sigh. Then, just as quickly as it had started, Christie went limp, her relaxing body sliding down into her chair.
Amanda's healer talents went instantly on high alert! She reached out to grasp her daughter's hands firmly in her own to forge the closest possible healing link between them. Urgently, she pushed her healing energy into her daughter, hoping to stop whatever had caused the seizure and arrest any associated harm.
Meanwhile, her scans didn't turn up anything particularly wrong with the teen. Christie's pulse was elevated but returned to normal even as Amanda scanned. The only other abnormality she could sense was that Christie's endorphin concentration in her bloodstream seemed higher than Amanda might typically expect to detect.
Finding nothing wrong with her daughter she could fix - for the second time - and no indication of what had caused this reaction frustrated Amanda greatly. Amanda squeezed her daughter's hand, trying to rouse her. Finally, Amanda called her by name, no longer caring if she made a public scene. "Christie! What happened?"
Her daughter's eyes fluttered momentarily before opening and beginning to clear. "Umm, wow! What the heck happened? I don't quite know, Mom. God, I seem to be saying that a lot today. Let me think - see if I can make any sense of this." Closing her eyes, Christie focused on what she had just experienced. She began to speak softly as her memory played what she could remember back to her slowly. "When it first started, I got this sort of pleasant sensation around my lips, and then . . .I felt angry? No, not angry, frustrated - VERY frustrated, and I wanted to do something about it, only I didn't know what to do about whatever was bothering me. Then the world just went white. I wasn't thinking; I wasn't really feeling. And then it was over, and I felt completely boneless."
Amanda made another quick check of her daughter's condition. Again, she found nothing wrong while all her vitals had returned to normal levels. "Are you all right? Maybe we should skip the visit tonight?"
Christie considered that and then shook her head. "I think I'm okay, and I really wanted to get both of us close enough to Valerie that we could try to tag team her with our combined healing. I don't think we should put that off any longer than necessary."
"Well, if you're sure," Amanda offered, clearly unhappy with her failure to determine the cause of Christie's apparent seizure. "Let's pay our bill and get going. Maybe your next event will happen there, and the doctors will be useful."
~-~
The drive to the hospital passed in silence. Both women contemplated the day's events and planned for what was yet to come. Amanda was deeply concerned about the strange seizure Christie had just suffered. If she included the sharp, persistent pain in her daughter's buttocks two days ago, that was two unexplained events in the past seventy-two hours. Were they related? Without any actual data, the answer was, at best, a firm 'maybe.' What she needed to do was prepare as if they were somehow connected. Racking her brain during the drive, she had only come up with one cause that fit her current information. Christie might well be the focus of some type of magical or paranormal attack. If that was the case, it was pretty darned subtle as, so far, Amanda hadn't been able to determine and/or track the cause. She was going to have to call her own Mother and see if she had any ideas or knew of any other practitioners who might be able to help them.
For her part, Christie was trying to come up with a way to use her precognitive abilities covertly in Valerie's presence. With Papa Kim's help, she'd gotten better at focusing that magical power while meditating. Unfortunately, going into a meditative trance was rather obvious, and questions Christie did not want to be asked would be asked. Somehow, she needed a method to prevent anyone other than her Mom from seeing what she was doing - including Valerie, she suddenly realized. Maybe Mom could put her to sleep? Probably. Perhaps Mom might have an easy way to keep outside eyes away as well?
"Mom?"
"Mmm, Yes, Christie?"
"I was wondering. Suppose I need to go into a trance for a short while in Valerie's room. Do you have some way to shield us from monitoring and nosy outsiders until I've finished?"
"How long do you think you'll need? Ten or fifteen minutes is easy enough. Would that be sufficient?"
"Should be. If it isn't, what I'm looking for is probably beyond my current ability level anyway. I want to try the tricks Papa Kim taught me to focus my precognitive abilities. I want to look at Valerie's future recovery. May not work because I'm not sure I can combine my healer's sight with the precognition, but I still want to try."
"I can't see how that could hurt Valerie, and you might learn something. Some things actually, like about her future and more about how your powers work. Okay, just let me know when to shield us."
"And since Val isn't in the know about those powers, maybe you could put her to sleep while I look?"
"No problem, dear. Well, here we are. Let me find a place to park, and we'll go check in at the visitors' desk."
~-~
They arrived at Valerie's room shortly after seven o'clock. Currently, she was the room's only occupant, so she had a clear view of the door. "Christie! Mrs. M! How great to see you! Thank you for coming."
"They wouldn't let us in until they moved you out of the ICU," Christie grumped. "Said BFFs didn't qualify as immediate family members. Stupid rules."
She and Amanda moved a couple of chairs closer to Valerie's bed when Christie noticed a vase full of pink carnations displayed where Val could see them easily. "Hey, nice flowers, girlfriend. A gift from the hospital's therapy dog?"
Valerie snorted out a laugh. "As if! And you know very well who they're from, wise apple! I have it on excellent authority that you threatened Daniel with bodily harm if he didn't come and visit me. Good job, by the way! Thanks, girlfriend. I'm guessing you also clued him in on the flowers?"
"Yeah. He was so damned cute, hemming and hawing about coming. Did he tell you he thought you and I were a couple, and he didn't want to intrude on us?"
Eyes wide, Valerie giggled. "A Couple? Us?? You're kidding. Really?"
"Nope, not kidding; it was kind of sweet of him, to tell the truth. So you got the visit and the flowers, huh? Not bad, Val. Maybe next time, you'll really luck out and get a kiss when the nurses aren't looking."
"What do you mean next time, girlfriend?" Val challenged, eyes twinkling in remembered mirth.
Christie squealed and bounced in her seat. "Deets, Valerie," she demanded sternly. "I'm your BFF! The Girl Club rules say you have to give me all the details!"
"If you girls are going to start lying . . .I mean, talking about boys, I will make a quick visit to the ladies' room," Amanda interrupted. "I'll be back in about ten minutes. Try to have all the salacious revelations out of the way by then, hmmm? I'm not sure my poor old heart could stand the excitement."
Valerie grinned as Christie pulled her chair up closer to the head of her friend's bed. "Your Mom is just so great! I just love her."
"Yeah, yeah, I love her, too. Now, on with the nitty-gritty. How the heck did you coax a kiss out of Mr. Shy Guy?"
"Well, it wasn't as easy as it should have been. Right off the bat, I was a little ticked off that I didn't have any warning, and that's partly YOUR fault, Christie. Worse, I didn't have anything here to fix myself up with. There I was, bored out of my mind, watching Oprah, and the nurse came in to tell me I had a visitor - Daniel something. Ack! No comb, no brush, no mirror, and the guy I have evil intentions for is here to see me! I went a little nuts and started finger combing my hair and did the romance novel 'slap your face' trick to ensure I had some color, you know? And there he was - all tall and cute and trying to hide behind that damned flower vase! I almost laughed, but I was too excited just then."
"I'm still not hearing any kissy deets here, Stevens. I'm beginning to think you may have had delusions instead." Christie prodded.
"Oh, you'll get the details, McKellar. Anyway, I kept licking my lips and looking up at him worshipfully."
"Right, worshipfully. More like a starving predator licking her chops before taking a big honking bite."
"Well, maybe, but he still sallied forth and kept coming closer and closer. And then he stopped. Finally, I just told him he was required to kiss me and help make it better. I didn't know eyes could get THAT wide, and I was afraid, just for a moment, he was going to bolt. But he didn't!" Valerie reported, looking very self-satisfied and smug. "I actually saw him center himself. You know, the way they teach us when we're going to attempt a breaking at the dojang? Exactly the same. And then? He leaned over me and was damned careful not to touch me with his hands - DAMMIT! And kissed me. A sweet, tender little peck on the lips. Just like he might give to a favorite maiden aunt or little sister!"
Christie couldn't help it. She chortled at Val's description. "And then?"
"Well, I guess as first kisses go, it was probably okay. I mean, my eyes crossed from it, all right? But then he started to stand up! Let me tell you! That didn't suit me at all! He wasn't getting off THAT easy. Before he could step back out of reach, I had him by the collar of his shirt, dragged him back down to face level and laid one on him! I didn't let go right away, either!"
"Wow, way to go, Val! What did he do? Fight to get away and preserve your suspect virtue?"
"Ha!" Valerie crowed. "Maybe for a second, but when I didn't let go, he started kissing me back, and man, that boy can KISS! I mean, the whole world just went WHITE! My body locked up." Valerie glanced at the door and then leaned over closer to Christie and whispered, "I think I actually came! One second, every muscle in my body feels wound tight, and then, SNAP, total relaxation. God, it was wonderful. The only problem was that he managed to get loose."
"Aww, poor baby," Christie managed to tease. "Kiss-us interruptus!" but her mind was swirling as she connected Valerie's description of her interlude and her own recent seizure episode at the diner. "Umm, Val? About what time did Daniel get here? Do you remember?"
"Hmm, not really sure, but maybe ten minutes before six? Oprah was still on, but they were getting ready to wrap it up for the day. Yeah, that's about as close as I can get without a clock."
"And there you were, all ready to claim your man, and you didn't have any of your girl tools."
"Yeah! That still pisses me off! Mom is bringing me a mirror, comb and brush tomorrow, but the hospital won't let me have any makeup. Atmospheric contaminants, allergic reactions or other such garbage."
"So, how long did he stay? We didn't run into him on our way up here."
"Maybe a half hour, forty minutes? I remember the six-thirty news was already on when he left but hadn't gone to their first commercial break yet. Maybe six-forty or a little earlier. Thereabouts."
"And the kissing happened how long before he left?"
"Lord, McKellar, I should have video recorded it for you! Sheesh. It wasn't that long before he left, that's for sure. If he stayed more than five minutes after the last kiss, it wasn't by much. I think I scared him," she confided smugly. "I am, after all, a very dangerous woman."
The girls laughed over that, but all Christie could think was, 'It's like we shared the whole visit experience! I wonder . . .'
Christie suddenly squirmed in her seat. "What's the matter, Christie? Something wrong with the chair?"
"No, the chair's fine. Just my bottom is tender. I was out with my Mom a couple of days ago, and something stung me - HARD - right on my butt cheek, and then, whatever it was, did it again to my other cheek. It really hurt! I had to ride home in the car's back seat on my tummy. It's mostly okay now, but I think I've been overdoing it just a bit today and aggravated it."
"Really? Well, my butt got stung, too, but I KNOW what and who did it to me! The doctors had this nutritional supplement combined with an anticoagulant or some such thing. It had to be injected into large muscle tissue. Hurt like a bitch, I tell you. I couldn't stand to put any weight on my butt for a whole day! As a matter of fact, that was two days ago, too. They wanted to administer it while I was still in the ICU so they could monitor my response. My response was pain!"
Christie maneuvered the conversation to other topics, filling in Valerie on what she knew about Tad while she was at it. She told Val how much fun she had that morning teaching the little ones at dance class when Amanda walked back in.
"Is it safe for someone over thirty in here yet?"
"Sure is. Hey, Mom, you want to show me where the little girls' room is and then keep Val company till I get back?"
Amanda nearly just told her daughter to ask the nurse at the nursing station but caught something in Christie's look. "Sure thing, Honey. Be right back, Valerie."
Christie checked for anyone close by outside the room and whispered urgently to her Mother. "Mom, everything odd that's happened to me, the stings, the seizure, even the orgasm?"
"What orgasm, Missy??!" Amanda hissed back, shocked.
"The seizure thing at the diner might have been an orgasm. Anyway, all those issues correlate to things that happened to Valerie. She got these massive shots in her butt, and I felt them. She was super frustrated with her appearance when Daniel showed up, so I fussed with mine. She got kissed and almost blacked out from the physical release. I felt the same things. The times seem to match up, too."
"That's a little hard to believe, Christie."
"I think when I established the first healing link with her, after the attack by Tad? I was still unconsciously focusing my power as I had when I kicked Tad and shattered his knee. I didn't know I was doing that, but maybe I somehow linked us psychically at the same time?"
"Okay, assume it is possible. What now, and how do we find out? More importantly, how do we find out without tipping Valerie off?"
"I think I really need to try the precognitive trance with her now. Don't know if it will tell us anything, but it's the only thing I can think of to do. While I'm gone, put her to sleep. When I come back in, set your shield up. We'll do the combined healer intervention first, and then I'll go into my meditative trance."
"Sounds like a plan. Okay. Valerie will be asleep in five minutes. Don't be too much longer than that."
Valerie was indeed asleep when Christie returned. As one, the two women went to stand on either side of Val's bed. They each placed one hand on Valerie's head while holding each other's hand with their free hand. Christie could feel and 'see' her Mother's power flowing into her friend but couldn't really tell what was happening. Christie knew she was limited in what she could do with her untrained powers. Therefore, she attempted to merge her strength with her Mom. Perhaps Amanda's already superior abilities could be strengthened if Christie could put her healing energy at her Mom's disposal. Amanda grunted in surprise but then began using the shared power as if it were her own. Christie thought it helped but still couldn't tell for sure.
Finally, Amanda broke their connection to Valerie. "Good thinking, love," she smiled tiredly to her daughter. "Giving me your energy made a difference. I think we improved her, just a little The damage definitely won't spread any further, I'm sure. However, I still don't have the sufficiently fine control to repair what is still damaged at the cellular level."
"It's something, at least. Now, let me get into the precognitive state so we can finish up, But you look exhausted, Mom. Will you still be able to maintain the shield?"
"Ten minutes on the outside. Less would be more certain."
Nodding, Christie settled into the lotus position and found her center. She quickly entered her meditative trance and then shifted her focus to Valerie . . .and their future.
A few minutes later, Christie awakened and sighed. "You can drop the shield now, Mom. I'm pretty sure that Valerie and I are psychically bonded."
"What the hell, McKellar," came the sleep-faint voice of Valerie Stevens. "I FELT you. You were in my head. What's with that?"'
Amanda and Christie gaped at each other in stunned surprise. "Oh, crap!" they said simultaneously.
~-~
It was just after ten o'clock when the McKellars arrived home, Which was the direct result of an irate night nurse all but physically evicting them from Valerie's room. Okay, so they had sort of ignored the first two friendlier reminders that visiting hours were over. Amanda had been too tired to shield them from the nurses and monitoring equipment anymore that night. They'd again ignored the second polite reminder to leave so they could impress on Valerie how vital secrecy about the link was.
As much as any of them understood it. Nowhere in Amanda's books had the possibility of pervasive psychic link been addressed. Links, such as the type Amanda used for healing, were supposedly only ephemeral, typically lasting only so long as the sorcerer focused power on it. Even Amanda's Mother, who had been called by Christie on the drive home, was at a loss to understand such bonding was possible.
Fortunately, they'd gotten Valerie's promise to keep quiet about what she'd learned, provided Amanda and Christie came back to fill in the blanks. Amanda smiled as she remembered the 'pinky-swear' promise Christie had insisted upon with Valerie. Evidently, another one of those 'girl club' rules her daughter had learned from her experiences the past year. Actually, that was a memory Amanda knew she'd treasure for the rest of her life. Now, if she could somehow manage to forget the image of her seventeen-year-old daughter having a public orgasm in their favorite diner. Win some; lose some.
Christie looked longingly at the stairs that led to her bedroom. She was so far past tired she was positively dragging. Amanda wasn't much better off. "Mom?" she called out as Amanda settled into her favorite easy chair.
"Yes, Christie?"
"I know you said we'd talk about you and Renee tonight, but I don't think either of us thought we'd be getting home this late Maybe we should hold off until tomorrow?"
Amanda took a moment to gather her tired wits and considered her daughter's offer. She was tired, and the request was very tempting. Unfortunately, tomorrow at work was jam-packed, so if they didn't discuss it now, Christie's questions would have to languish unanswered until after dinner tomorrow night. "I think we should at least deal with the crux of it tonight, or we'll both worry over it until we do. I don't want it getting blown out of proportion by either of us, so I'll give you the bare facts, and then we can discuss them in more detail later if you still have questions. Take a seat, Christie."
Christie sat across from her Mother on their sofa. "Okay, Mom, Thanks."
"Right. I was attracted to girls before I was transformed into Aaron. Oh, I liked boys well enough, and I did my share of high school flirting with them. However, I was careful not to let the other girls in my class know how I felt about some of them. It simply wasn't done, don't you know, back in the Dark Ages."
"Yeah, um, that's what, about 20 years ago That's like, the New Millennium, right?"
"True, true, but pre-Aaron, I was a fifteen-year-old high school sophomore and apparently not quite as jaded and worldly as you are now. ANYway . . .at age sixteen, I transformed into Aaron, and lo and behold, girls were now fair game. I think I still had some degree of attraction to boys, but I suppressed that as best I could. I knew I didn't want the hassle of dealing with the 'phobes for what I was sure would only be one year.
"And at the end of the year, I did complete my transformation back to Amanda, but now I was an Amanda who had a lot more experience romancing girls. I still liked and dated boys, but I began to think I liked girls more. I went to college, became a lug, graduated and started work as a paralegal law clerk. My plan was that I'd eventually take the Bar exam and become an attorney, but then I met your father. That was it for me. Six months later, I was a bride. Eighteen months later, I was a mother. Twelve months after that, I was a widow."
"I'm so glad you're my Mom, you know. I want you to be very sure of that!"
Amanda smiled and dabbed at a tear. "Thanks, honey. Okay, you need to understand that the rest of this story is about Amanda in the Charlie Timeline."
"Sounds like a science fiction thriller."
"Eh, more like a paranormal romance. I never was that attracted to another man - not in either timeline. I dated guys, and I even had some 'friends with benefits' along the way. Now that you're Christie, you know that a girl has needs. Those guys scratched the itch, but none of them came close to your Dad. Somewhere along the way, I started dating girls, again. Long about the time Charlie was five or six, I met this really striking woman. Regal, charming, elegant and totally built," Mom said with a wicked grin. "And I fell hard for her. She had been a principal ballerina for the Paris Ballet Company. She was injured in a car accident and needed reconstructive ankle surgery. Even after several surgeries and a great deal of therapy, she couldn't go back to dancing full time. She could still go en pointe, but not long enough at a time to dance professionally, so she became a Dance Mistress."
"Madame Renee?"
"Madame Renee," Amanda answered with a nod. "For the first few months we were seeing each other, I never saw her in her studio, only outside of her work. She liked things her way, but in the beginning, we were in the 'in love and loving it' phase. We would indulge each other when we could, so if I gave into something she wanted, it was okay because she would return the gift later. Gradually, however, she began to take more and give less. That behavior crept into our bedroom. She became more domineering, less patient, less loving and less lovable. One day, she slapped me when I wouldn't do something she wanted in the bedroom. Renee is strong for her size; she's a dancer and an athlete, and she clocked me a good one. However, I am my Mother's daughter and a mighty powwerful sorceress."
"She's lucky you didn't destroy her."
"As I said, I am my Mother's daughter. When Renee woke up, I had her handcuffed to her bed. A large cup with the handcuff key in the bottom was in her hands. I'd used my magic to freeze the water. She needed to thaw the ice to get the key and free herself. I packed any of the stuff I'd kept at her place, drove home to you and Mother, and started over.
"Long story shortened, I wanted to understand her. Actually, I stalked her with my magic helping, so she never knew it. I learned she was just as nasty in her school as at home. When I looked into it, I found that she thought that was how Dance Mistresses taught because that is how she had been taught. Moreover, one of the reasons she became so good as a dancer is that she actually thrived under such treatment. Come to find out that our Renee is really something of a masochist with a solid submissive streak. Something she ruthlessly suppressed when she had to become a teacher."
"You mean, she really thought that acting like a . . .a witch was how you taught ballet?"
"It's how she was taught and all she knew. Anyway, I had no idea how to deal with her. Mother suggested I talk to some experts, so I did. Psychologists, relationship counselors, oh, I talked to a bunch. Then I talked with this one psychiatrist. Interesting lady. She'd paid for her schooling by working in a dungeon as a dominatrix. She understood a great deal about that dynamic. She still practiced, too, although not professionally anymore. Anyway, she got me involved with some local groups who are into that so I could learn more. I found out that I was actually dominant myself. And that, dear daughter, is why Charlie never met any of my dates."
"Ooookay. So you decided to get back with Renee once you understood her and thought you were up to dealing with her issues?"
"Not quite. Fast forward to June of last year. Suddenly, my Karate Kid son Charlie is my ballet princess Christie, who is, wait for it, the student of Madame Renee Coulter."
"Bet that gave you a moment's pause."
"Yes indeedy. But it was the strangest thing. In the Christie Timeline, Renee and Amanda never met. Oh, let me tell you, I did some intense memory mining on that one. It turns out that in this timeline, I met the psychiatrist/dominatrix while I was in college, and she was in graduate school. So I learned all about dominance and submission in the Christie Timeline as her submissive girlfriend. Later, I became her apprentice and then a partner in her dungeon. I actually picked up a large percentage of our 'consultations' when her Medical School commitments ate into her available time. That's why I didn't go to law school in this Timeline. Anyway, we drifted apart. She had to go do her internship and residency so she offered to sell me the dungeon. Only, I didn't really enjoy what we did there enough for that kind of commitment. I like playing my way by my rules; I don't like performing to a script written by somebody else. Anyway, at that point, I started working as a paralegal, met your father, etc., etc., etc."
"It is getting kind of late, Mom," Christie said after glancing at her watch.
"Just a few more things. When you broke it off with Renee, I was relieved, but then you went back to help mentor your young friend. The Renee I knew would have made your time with your lives hell, especially when you had the gall to grow like you did. So I made a point to go to her office and have a few choice words with her. She knew of me - I was a parent of one of her longtime students - so she met with me. Let me tell you, I went loaded for bear - severe hair, stark makeup, tight black suit, black stockings and heels, but instead of a bear what I got was a fragile little bunny rabbit."
"WHAT? Renee? No."
"Yes Seems that she'd just gotten the chewing out of her life by one of her students who demanded, 'Where's the joy, Renee? What makes a kid work hard enough to be good enough if there's no joy in the art?' You broke her, and then I showed up in my stern school-mistress suit, and she just bawled all over me."
"So you kept her?"
"I couldn't just leave her! So I kept her, but now I understood what drove her and what she really needed. So, along with other benefits, I've been helping her rediscover her joy in ballet. You're helping her learn how to impart that to her students."
"And this morning? You said something about a matter of payment?"
Amanda smirked, "Are you sure you really want to know?" At Christie's hesitant nod, the smirk grew. "Be it on your own head, then. Remember I told you she's a bit of a masochist, too? Sometimes, when she feels the need for a little disciplinary attention, she'll misbehave on purpose and make sure I know about it. Injure her danseurs, indeed! Pfft! As if! I got to the seat of that problem for her, right enough, and it worked. She did apologize to you, didn't she?"
"I guess it did. The seat of the problem, eh? Mom, that's just weird. Gee, most kids have to come to grips with their parents having sex. Mine has to go a step further. Promise me, Mom, no leather outfits in the house! Please!"
"Aw, but you'd look so cute in a tight leather catsuit. Very Emma Peel-esque."
"Who the heck is Emma Peel??"
"Look her up on Google, love. Any more questions?"
Shaking her head, Christie stood and offered her Mother a hand up. "Probably, eventually, but I'll be darned if I can think of a single sensible one right now."
Once she was on her feet, Amanda wrapped Christie in a hard hug. "We'll get through this, kiddo. Hang in there for just a little while longer."
Christie simply stood there, enjoying her Mother's hug and basking in her love for several minutes. Before letting each other go, Christie leaned in and kissed her Mother good night. "Love you the mostest! Now, I'm totally exhausted, Mom, and maybe, just maybe? If I'm really lucky, I'll wake up tomorrow and discover that today has just been a bizarre dream. Real Days Just Aren't Supposed to Be This Weird!"
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 18 - Possibilities and Preparations
I - The Morning After
Amanda woke the next morning and stretched. A quick sniff of the air told her Christie was already up and had programmed coffee - as usual, but still greatly appreciated nonetheless. Amanda wasn't sure which was the better 'waker-upper,' the first sip or the first smell of coffee in the morning. She simply relished both.
Except for the surprising visit with Valerie last night, Amanda had a wonderful day yesterday. She'd gotten through everything at work and had enjoyed a wonderful luncheon get-together with Renee. Admittedly even the revelation of her extraordinary social life to her daughter had been far more straightforward than she'd feared. In fact, she had concluded she was glad that she'd been able to come out to Christie and not to Charlie. Boys could be strange about some things, as her experience with her son in the 'Charlie Time Line' had taught her. Girls were just so much more resilient when it came to relationship issues. Even though Charlie was still there, lurking in the back of Christie's pretty head, her daughter mainly was all girl now. Well, except maybe when she tried to get dressed up.
Fifteen minutes later, showered, dressed and ready for the new day, Amanda headed down to the kitchen for her coffee. As she poured the first cup, she looked outside, expecting to see Christie finishing up her morning exercise regimen, only she wasn't out in her usual spot. Curious, Amanda went around to look out the patio doors and saw her daughter. She was seated in the lotus position, facing the rising sun. Usually, Christie would be hurrying inside to shower and get ready for breakfast by now. Concerned, Amanda slipped out the patio door and went over to stand in front of her girl. She didn't speak, unsure of the correct way to wake someone so deep in meditation. Should she shake her? What?
Amanda was about to go inside and call Papa Kim for answers when Christie's eyes blinked open. "You're blocking my sunlight, Mom."
"Oh, pardon me, but I just now realized I didn't know how to snap you out of your trance - safely anyway."
Christie laughed. "I'm not really unconscious when I meditate, so you don't have to worry about me going all 'fight or flight' on you. A light tap on the shoulder should work and will be safe enough. What's up?"
"You weren't where I expected you to be, and you weren't doing what I expected you to be doing, so I got concerned. Why aren't you doing your exercises?"
"Finished them almost an hour ago. I even got in two Tai Chi long forms, too."
Suddenly all maternal concern, Amanda pounced at that. "When did you get up?? Are you all right? Did you have trouble sleeping after your weird day yesterday? Any bad dreams?!?"
"Once I managed to sleep, I slept fine, and no, I didn't have any bad dreams. Then I woke up at about four o'clock, and well. . . . Let's just say I couldn't get back to sleep. Let me shower, and I'll tell you about it over coffee and breakfast, okay?"
~-~
Thoroughly frustrated and wanting answers, Amanda waited impatiently for Christie's return. She tried to distract herself by pouring coffee, cutting fruit and dishing up yogurt, but that was too quickly finished. So when her daughter, all fresh and sweet from her shower, walked back into the kitchen, Amanda pounced! "What TOOK you so long, and what the heck do you mean you slept fine but couldn't fall asleep and then woke before the birds!? You got some 'splainin' to do here, girl!"
"Mom, chill! And I didn't take any longer than usual. In fact, I skipped shampoo and conditioner because I wanted to get back down and talk to you."
"Well, whatever you want to discuss can wait, young lady! What was your problem falling and staying asleep!?"
Amanda took a threatening step towards her daughter when Christie shook her head and smiled wryly. "Well, if you really want to know, Mom, my problems were at least part YOUR fault."
"MY FAULT!?!?"
Now Christie giggled. Her Mom was really spun up. This was out of character for the typically calm, in-control woman. "Yes, Your fault! At least, in part. After all, you were the one who threw out that line. . .what was it? Oh, yeah. 'Emma Peel-esque .'I'd never even HEARD of any Emma Peel who wore catsuits, and it bugged me, okay? So I pulled out my handy-dandy smartphone, and by the power of Google, I found THIS . . .
Christie offered her Mother the smartphone with a full-screen image on the display.
Now Amanda managed to smile. "Yes, that would definitely keep me awake at night. Really sexy snake, too." She then began to quickly enter her own search into the phone.
"Sexy SNAKE?? Mom, EWWW!!"
"What? I like snakes. But, since we were talking about Emma Peel and leather catsuits. THIS is more along the lines of which I was thinking . . ." Amanda handed Christie the phone with a different image displayed, crossed her arms and smirked. "Almost seems modest, eh, Missy?"
Christie stared at the picture for a few moments and then realized. "Somebody made a kid's model kit of her? REALLY?"
"Oh, come on now. Emma Peel is much better covered than Wonder Woman or Supergirl. They had model kits, too; I guarantee those were targeted at the younger male demographic."
Christie took her seat at the breakfast bar, staring at the picture. "Well, I found what I found, and I'm not sure that finding your picture would have helped as I was already . . .disturbed from our discussion of your, umm . . .relationships, I guess? Add in my long-distance threesome with Valerie and Daniel? Well, let's just say I remembered my second birds and the bees session with you and needed some female system maintenance before I could sleep."
If anything, Amanda's smirk grew more expansive, and she sang, "Let your fingers do the walking da di da da." And then laughed out loud as her daughter flushed bright red. "I assume your . . .adjustments helped? You did get to sleep?"
Still blushing, Christie managed a small smile. "Eventually. It was a little weird, which was in keeping with the rest of my yesterday, but afterward? I was sort of annoyed. At what I couldn't quite figure out then, although I have a theory now after this morning."
"Oh, something you learned during your meditation?" Amanda asked, very intense and interested now.
"Some of it came to me then. However, my first real clue was after I woke in the grips of one bodacious orgasm! At first, I just put it down to a girl's version of a wet dream and a result of all the agitation from yesterday and last night coming out."
"Girls do have sexy dreams, Christie. I think we discussed this during B&B2, The Femme Side discussion."
"And that's what I thought until I got this, oh, I don't know, feeling? Sense? It felt like when I was a kid after someone pranked me and said, 'nyah nyah .' Still feeling pretty glowy, I think I replied - sort of 'Okay, bring it on!'"
"That doesn't sound like something to lose sleep over. You were probably half awake - half asleep and still experiencing whatever dream started your motor running."
Christie's smile dimmed, and she turned serious. "Except I wasn't asleep or dreaming. Especially when I started getting these nebulous feelings of surprise, annoyance and maybe even fear. Mom, they were like the glimpses I get on a dreaming precog when I'm not focused and meditating. Anyway, I couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up, did a heavier than normal morning workout, and then meditated focused on the sunrise."
"Okay," Amanda said thoughtfully. "From your demeanor, I'd say you learned something. What?"
"It's the link with Valerie. Now that we're both aware of it, it seems to be getting stronger. Last night? When I jilled off? Evidently, she sensed it through the link. The annoyance I felt? That was Val trying to get back to sleep. Near as I can tell without talking to her? She probably woke up a little before four AM by a nurse or some such person and needed to relieve her own stress afterward. The 'nyah nyah' was her thinking about our shared orgasm and wondering if it had happened again. She sensed my response, which caused her surprise-fear reaction I felt."
Amanda took a fortifying sip of coffee as she considered the possibilities of Christie's theory. Had anyone who was not immediate family ever had such a window into her family's sorcerous affairs? Not that she could think of. Another issue for her Mom to research the family records. "And you think it is getting stronger? This link?"
"I think so. I think it's like learning any new skill. The more you do it, the better you get. In our case, I think our brains optimize whatever neural pathways we use."
"What? You can read each other's minds? Telepathy??!"
Christie thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No, nothing that clear. At least, not yet. It's more like what I always imagined empathy to be when I read a fantasy novel. Sensations, emotions, feelings? Those seem to come across. The stronger, the more clearly, too, so, well, SEX!!"
"Oh, of course, sex. The more primal the response is, the more easily it seems to transfer. Remember you felt annoyance and fear."
"Yup, and that brings up the big question. How much do we tell Val about us and about our powers? If this thing eventually becomes almost telepathic, keeping secrets from her is gonna be kind of hard, ya know?"
"Even about Charlie, dear?"
"Oh god, I don't even want to think about having this link, not even THIS strong as Charlie! Can you imagine 'sharing' intimate moments with a non-participant? Crap, we'd have to schedule our interludes on a shared Google calendar, so we didn't distract each other at a critical moment - like driving!"
That caused Amanda's smirk to return. "Mmmm, and if just getting kissed sets her off, that could be a real distraction, particularly to someone with male plumbing."
"Okay, that does it! If I go back to being Charlie, Val and I HAVE to be a couple. Sorry, Daniel!"
"If you go back to Charlie? I don't think you will have any problem performing the transformation this weekend. You're far more powerful than I was at the same point, and I did it easily."
"Mom, one of the biggest personal insights I've gained in this trial is that I am a healer. Not that Christie's a healer or even that Charlie is a healer. I. AM. A. HEALER. I can't do anything else. I'm pretty sure that Christie is and will be a healer. I'm not sure about Charlie. If he's not, I will change back to Christie to fulfill what I've come to accept as my destiny."
"You know what your Grandmother found in our history, right? No male sorcerers in our family line possessed the healing talent. And then there's the problem of your Christie back story. We actually know very little about such double transformations. However, we do know that the longer you wait to accomplish the second change, the more your timeline deviates."
"I'll know within moments of completing the transformation to Charlie, Mom," Christie replied, her voice entirely sure. "My precognition is pretty clear on that. Unfortunately, I just can't see what the answer will be."
"Well, that's frustrating. So back to our immediate problem. What do we tell Valerie and when? You know her better than I do, Christie. What're your thoughts?"
"One of the things I was doing in that trance was trying to see beyond the day after my birthday, and I can't make heads or tails of any of it. What I see is incomplete and nebulous. I don't even know if the link survives the transition, but Murphy says it will. I don't see how I can withhold anything or try to mislead her. Eventually, she'll know everything if our link stays in place and keeps getting stronger. The best solution I can come up with is just to trust her now and get her on my side."
"I agree," Amanda replied immediately, and Christie sighed in relief. "So when?"
"My birthday's Sunday, and I'll be attempting the transformation that night. I'd like to tell her before I try that, and I'll need you there for shielding. So, Saturday afternoon?"
"Day after tomorrow? That works for me, but maybe you should talk to Valerie today and let her know why we're not doing it right away. After getting kicked out of her room last night, she'll probably expect us back this evening to finish the story."
"I will. Val will be okay with waiting once I tell her why. God, this is all happening so fast all of a sudden."
Amanda finished her coffee, grimacing that it had gotten cold on her, then glanced at the clock. "And speaking of sudden, we've been talking past my normal departure time. Think about how you want to handle things with Valerie. I'll call you before lunch so we can check in." She rose and hurried out to her car. "Love you!"
"Love you, too, Mom. Don't Speed!"
Christie started to take care of the breakfast dishes when another question hit her. "My Mom thinks snakes are sexy?!? Is she actually serious, or was she just messing with me? SNAKES, for God's sake."
~-~
Photo Credits
Emma Peel, Queen of Sin: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d4/d1/87/d4d187a7fd8c6956d3f8dc688...
Emma Peel Aurora Model Kit: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c2/6c/92/c26c92153c17186e5ba59e1da... Peel Aurora Model Kit Box
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 19 - Possibilities and Preparations
II - The Would-be Sorceress Plans
Still somewhat distracted by the very idea of sexy snakes - what would they wear to be sexy, anyway? Legless leather catsuits? Snake-suits? Christie parked in the hospital visitors' parking lot. "No time for this," she growled quietly to herself. "Have to get Val to buy into delaying the full reveal until Saturday without revealing exactly why."
Entering, she idly wondered if the hospital's physical therapy department had a heavy bag - she REALLY wanted to hit something! Shaking her head, she strode purposefully to Val's room and was pleased to find her friend still hadn't gotten a roommate. Thank goodness for small favors. Now, if only the nurses would leave them alone. Maybe if she . . .?
Christie changed direction and went up to the nurse's station. Two women in scrubs, one of them was older and evidently in charge, looked up as she waited patiently for them to finish whatever they were doing. "Can we help you, Miss?" The older nurse asked.
"Oh, I hope so, Nurse . . ." Christie made a show of looking at the woman's name tag, "Nurse Jenkins. I'm here to see my friend Valerie over in Room 205. I was here last night, and well, we got chatting and lost track of time." Looking somewhat abashed, she continued. "And well, your colleague on that shift had to kick me out. I wondered if it was a good time to go back in for more girl-talk, or if there's something you guys need to do for her and I should wait, or even come back later?"
Nurse Jenkins grinned at the hopeful young girl and looked over to her partner. "Becky, anything you need to take care of in 205 before 'girl-talk'?"
"Nope. She's had her morning meds and her breakfast. We're good to go until lunch. Have fun! She could use a little cheering up after what she's been through."
"Thanks! We won't be too loud! Promise!" Waving happily to the nurses, Christie hurried off to see Valerie.
At the door to Valerie's room, Christie stopped and knocked on the open door, getting her friend's attention. Pleasure lighted Val's face as she saw who was there. "Get in here, girlfriend and pull up a chair. Man, I'm glad to see you this early. I wasn't sure if you had dance class or not."
"Yesterday was ballet day; today is afternoon class at dojang. How are you feeling?"
"Mostly okay. Nothing hurts, but the uncertainty of it all is pretty stressful. I've still got this brain bruise where that asshole hit me. According to the doctors, it isn't getting worse, but it doesn't seem to be getting much better either. Those blasted shots in the ICU evidently weren't as effective as they'd hoped. They're talking about whether to do it again or try something else."
"Wow, but you feel okay otherwise?"
"Mmm, I had a couple of dizzy spells yesterday - whether that's because of the meds or the injury, they can't say. However, I'm being a bad patient about using that damned bedpan, so the nurses have to escort me to the bathroom when I need to go. I HATE being an invalid, and that bedpan just makes me feel like one. I can walk - mostly - so I get to use the bathroom just like a grown-up girl!" Enough asperity leaked to Christie to know that Val had recently made that point to at least one nurse.
"So, what's the long-term prognosis? It's not getting any worse, so that's a good sign, right?"
Val sighed loudly. "Better than it getting worse, anyway. Problem is that it's already bad enough. Long term? Could be anything from no symptoms at all to epileptic seizures. My problem is that they," and she did the 'finger quotes' gesture with her hands, "Don't know where on that range I will be. Damn, Christie, I'm worried about my parents. This hospital stuff is gonna get really expensive. I don't know how they're going to pay for all of this."
"Well, I can at least relieve you there. My Mom has already talked to your folks. Mom and her bosses at the law firm have been on Tad Green's Dad's case for a couple of months now. Remember him complaining about my Mom and her lawyers when he jumped us?" At Valerie's nod, Christie continued, "Evidently, they had processed everything short of a court injunction because he hadn't done anything quite bad enough at that point. Well, he's done enough now! Aside from the criminal case, which will be huge, our folks are bringing a civil case against Tad's family for damages and restitution. According to my Mom's boss? Paying your medical and other recovery costs will be the least of it, and Daddy Green will be damned pleased if the judgement is THAT lenient. Trust me, girlfriend. You're covered, so stop worrying and start getting better!"
"Really?" Valerie asked, trying to hope. Christie simply nodded. "God, I hope you're right. I mean, Mom's all about planning for the worst case, which means more hospital time and really limiting my physical activity while they monitor my condition. That means no Taikwondo and, also get this? NO DATING. Too much excitement, don't you know. God, Christie, I wish you'd broken both Tad's knees! And that he'd gotten his skull cracked when he fell to the ground screaming!"
"Wow, don't hold back, girlfriend! Tell me what you really think!" Christie teased before she became more serious. "That really sucks, though. I wish I could help - could do something to make it better."
"Hell, Chris, you saved me - might even have saved my life by calling 911 as fast as you did. But enough of that. What's new with you, or better yet, what do you have to tell me about yesterday?"
Looking over at the door, Christie nodded and then turned back to her friend. "I sort of hinted to the nurses that we needed some special girl talking time, and I think they will give us some space, at least until lunchtime. Wow, this will be strange, but let me ask you some questions first as I need to make sure I have my facts straight, okay? It'll get a little personal, but I pinky swear to tell no other human, living or dead, what I learn, so don't freak."
"Wow, that doesn't sound threatening - much. Okay, girl, ask away. All freaking will be held in abeyance until after your Q&A."
"Smartass," Christie grinned. "So, question 1. Did you wake up around four am this morning?" Valerie looked at her, surprised, but then shrugged and nodded. "Great. Now, question 2 is where this gets a little personal. After you were awake, umm, did you conduct a little sexual stress relief?"
The other girl's eyes narrowed to slits as she stared hard at her friend. "Remember, you are in a freaking-free zone!" Christie warned teasingly.
"Okay, so, yeah. There's only one floor nurse on night shift. So after she finished giving me my meds and taking my vitals, I knew she would be busy for at least fifteen more minutes or so, and well, I needed it, okay?!!?"
"Got it. And while you were at it, were you perhaps thinking of my experience yesterday when you, make that when WE got kissed by Daniel?"
"Hmm, it started out about Daniel - God that KISS - but as things . . .umm, progressed? Yeah, the thought of you sharing that experience did cross my mind and tickle me a bit."
"And after the big finish, did you perhaps think it would only be fair if I got to share this morning's experience with you? Something like, 'Take that, McKellar'?"
"Maaayybe." Valerie drawled as she began to blush.
"Okay, that's what I figured. Look, Val, I think this . . .connection between us is still there and might even be getting stronger. Right around four AM today, I was soundly asleep and having the best-wet dream EVER when I suddenly woke up in the middle of the best orgasm of my ENTIRE LIFE!"
Valerie's open-mouthed, eyes wide open stare told Christie her friend had made that connection, too. "And when I got this nebulous sort of 'nyah nyah, take that' feeling, I just thought, 'Hey, bring it on, sister!' Which I thought was just the tail end of that great dream, until I got this sensation of surprise and, well. . . Val? Were you maybe a little afraid at that point?"
"Oh, My, God! YOU FELT IT! I. . . I HEARD YOU!... You . . .Oh My God, Christie. That is so messed up! REALLY?" Christie only nodded, smiling gently at her friend. Valerie tried to say something more at least a couple of times but snapped her mouth shut each time before anything came out. Then, her forehead crinkled, and her eyes narrowed as she began to look very intently at the other girl in her room. "Last night. Around eleven o'clock. . . You jilled off, didn't you, McKellar? YES, YOU DID! I can see it in your eyes. YOU BITCH!!"
"Huh? What? How am I a bitch, Stevens? Dang it, Val. I'm the one who got woke up at four in the bleeding morning, and I'm the one who had a damned orgasm in public in front of my MOM!? So, how am I a bitch??"
Valerie giggled and pointed an accusing finger at Christie and was incapable of further speech. When she finally managed to control herself, she growled, "You drove me crazy last night! You just HAD to do it right at shift change, when both the evening and night shift nurses ran around doing their nursey things. Crap, I must have had a nurse in and out of my room four or five times before you finally finished. What lit your fuse, McKellar?"
Snorting a laugh of her own, Christie smirked at her friend. "Oh, I was still pretty worked up from my experience with you and Daniel, but on top of that, my Mom had one of THOSE talks with me and mentioned someone named Emma Peel, comparing me to her. I looked her up before bed. Shall we say that my itch became major?"
"Who's Emma Peel??"
"Old-time TV character. Wore a lot of leather and kicked a lot of butt. Anyway, sorry for the long-distance tease. Like I said, whatever this thing between us is, it seems to be getting stronger. That worries me."
"Why?"
"Well, suppose you have another one of those Daniel kisses while I'm driving, just for starters? Second, I don't know how it was on your end? I was clearly sensing your emotions this morning. Perhaps clearly enough to figure out what you were feeling and mostly why. It's not quite mind reading, but I just told you what I felt, and you pretty much confirmed my suppositions from your end."
"Okay, but why is that a problem."
"And here's where I can only say, I promise I'll explain everything to you Saturday afternoon when my Mom can be here to stand watch. Look, Val, my family has secrets - pretty serious ones. Secrets that have never been shared with anyone outside our family. We're worried that if this thing between us gets a lot stronger, you and I may not be able to keep anything from each other."
"Crap!"
"Yeah, crap. Since this is on me, I've decided you have a need-to-know. I've told my Mom that I have to tell you everything before this thing gets any stronger. I don't want you surprised by anything you 'hear' and then accidentally expose us."
"You're not criminals or foreign spies, are you? Nothing evil like that, right?"
"No, nothing like that. Anyway, I need Mom here because it's her secret, too, and she'll be able to help make sure that no one else is aware of what I will tell you. And I picked Saturday to ensure we'd have all the time we needed, especially after getting kicked out last night."
"Wow. Christie McKellar, Woman of Mystery. You're really serious?" At Christie's solemn nod, Val took a deep breath, then blew it out. "Okay, I agree. We'll do the full disclosure on Saturday. Everything is hush-hush until then. Pinky swear."
"Pinky swear, Val. Thanks. Now, I need to leave to prepare for today's class at the dojang. I really need some time on the heavy bag today."
"I hear that, girlfriend, and I am green with jealousy. At least Daniel is coming by after his class today."
"WHEN?" Christie yelped. At Valerie's shocked look, she gave an embarrassed giggle. "Umm, so I can be done driving home before you two consummate another kiss?"
Both girls giggled, and Valerie reached over to smack Christie on the arm. "He's due at four o'clock, and he'll probably be kicked out sometime around five when they serve dinner, such as it is. Be safe in your little cubbyhole before four-thirty if you know what's good for you, girl. I've got plans for that boy."
"Got it. Have fun and take care, okay? Gotta run. Bye."
~-~
The class at the Kims' studio was not one of Christie's better efforts. Too much was happening. Too many things were coming to a head. There were too many decisions and preparations to be made! She had nearly decided she should have cut today's lesson when Wilma summoned her over to her.
"Jeja Christie! That last combination was not performed to your usual standard, and it was not the first time today. I should hear your dobok pop when you execute that form. I have heard and seen you do that, so what is the problem? Some lingering injury from your conflict with Tad?"
Embarrassed, Christie shook her head. "No, Wilma, it's not anything like that. My focus is off today. I went to see Val before class, and it is on my mind. I was just about to call it a day when you beckoned me over."
"I will take Jeja Christie, Wilma," Grandfather Kim said, suddenly materializing behind them. I want to make sure she is correct in assessing her physical well-being before allowing her to continue class."
Both Wilma and Christie bowed to the eldest Kim, "Yes, Sa Bum Nim," they both intoned. Wilma went back to overseeing her class while Christie followed Grandfather into one of the smaller workout rooms.
After they'd seated themselves on the mat, Grandfather regarded his student intently. "All right, Christie. What is the problem you did not wish to share with Wilma?"
It was like a dam burst for Christie as everything bothering her rolled out in a chaotic torrent of words. Everything from the link to the family secrets to her concerns about the time stream to worrying about who turned up Monday morning - Christie or Charlie. Her desire to focus on her healing talents and the likelihood that Charlie would not have those abilities. And what about the things that had and had not changed with her? If Charlie came back, would Jimmy go back to having been hurt by the dog and be dealing with that psychological trauma? What would happen to her Mother's secret affair with Renee? It was all just so overwhelming, and it all was going to be driven by a 16, soon to be 17 year old's decision on who he OR she was and would be in the future.
"That is a great burden you have taken upon yourself, Christie, but I think you forget one key factor in all of this. Regardless of your decision, you will not be alone dealing with the world once you make it. Your Mother will be there. I will be there. We will both know what has happened this past year, and we will be able to help you. Just as I did when Charlie became Christie and couldn't be there to save young Jimmy. We want to help. We will help. All you have to do is let us."
Sniffling now, Christie just sat there for a few moments considering her mentor's words. Finally, she looked up and asked. "Can it really be that easy, Papa Kim?"
He smiled and then laughed. "Of course not, Jeja. Life is never 'that easy,' or what would be the point of living it? You have a challenge to face - one much greater and more demanding than most people could ever dream of facing. Just know that you do not have to face it alone."
Christie wiped her nose on the sleeve of her dobok and nodded. "We're telling Val everything on Saturday. If this link keeps getting stronger, we may be unable to keep any secrets from each other. Heck, I'm afraid to drive when she's with Daniel after yesterday."
"Go home, Christie, and get some rest. You've had a very long two days and a very short night. I'll delay Daniel's departure from the dojang until you text me that you're home safely. As to your connection with Valerie? Such things are rare but not unheard of. I've heard of psychic techniques that can be used to control such links, at least when you are aware and conscious. We will begin work on them next week if it should still be necessary."
Christie rose to her feet and bowed deeply to her teacher, mentor and friend. "Thank you, Sa Bum Nim. I don't know anything more about what I need to do than before we talked, but somehow, I feel better. You're right. I'm not, and I won't be alone in this. Guess I'll see you Monday."
"If you decide to attend your dance class tomorrow, try to concentrate better than you did here today? You don't want to injure yourself there, either."
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger Part 20A - A Sorcerers' Pre-Birthday Celebration
Amanda sipped her second cup of morning coffee while keeping an ear out for any sounds of Christie stirring. She smiled as she realized that this was the first cup of morning coffee she'd had made for herself since Charlie, now Christie's last birthday. Eggs and omelet fixings were prepared and ready to cook since her daughter had missed her dinner yesterday. That her girl would wake up ravenously hungry was at least partly her fault, so Mom was ready to dish up Christie's favorite breakfast treat. After all, Amanda had been the one to place a heavy-duty sleep spell on Christie before turning off her alarm.
Arriving home last night, Amanda had found Christie's car in the driveway but no obvious sign of her presence in the house. A quick mental scan found her sound asleep in her bedroom - at six pm in the evening. Switching her scanning to her healer sight, Amanda had been relieved to find nothing physically wrong - the girl was just fast asleep. Amanda had almost awakened Christie to find out why she was sleeping so early but had hesitated. Maybe she really needed it, but why?
Rather than disturb Christie to get her answers, she'd called Papa Kim to see if he had any idea why her daughter would be dead to the world so early in the evening. Amanda gave a soft chuckle. Wow, had he ever! Papa Kim had given her chapter and verse of Christie's performance issues at the dojang class and how he'd pulled her aside for 'a bit of a chat,' as he'd called it.
Amanda had been dumbstruck by the revelations Papa Kim had drawn out of her daughter. Oh, she'd known that the girl had a great deal on her mind just now. For goodness sake, her birthday decision would be required the day after tomorrow. Ordinarily, the issue that would concern most young sorcerers the most was whether or not their trial goals had been accomplished. If so, they would be able to transform back to their birth gender and come fully into their power. Evidently, that concern wasn't even a phantom blip on Christie's mental radar. However, the worries and concerns on her daughter's mind had very little in common with her peers' problems. Considered as a whole? Amanda thought Christie's problems were almost overwhelming.
"But she's never even hinted that those things were weighing on her. We've talked through most of them, and I thought she had put them all to rest. Heavens, Papa, I'm her Mother! Why didn't I know about this? Why did she tell you and not me??"
"Maybe because I cheated?" A soft, comforting chuckle sounded in her ear. "Let's just say that I covertly and subtly encouraged her to unburden herself to me. I'm sure you could have done the same with your abilities, but you are her Mother. You probably have some sorcerer's code about such things. I'm just an interfering old Grandfather who can always get away with manipulating a favorite granddaughter. Although I will admit, I don't think I will be able to do my 'Jedi Mind Tricks' on her in the future. I think she's ready for the transformation you told me about."
"I think so, too, Papa, and more importantly, Christie thinks so as well. She as much told me that yesterday."
"I see. Well, Amanda, as to your concern about her sleeping, I must take credit or blame for that, too. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted, so I strongly encouraged her to go home and rest."
"Well, thanks for talking with me, Papa, and explaining what happened. I'm going to reinforce your encouragement with a little sleep aid of my own to ensure she sleeps herself out. Then, we'll see, won't we? Any bets on who shows up at your dojang next week?"
"Your child will, Amanda. And as I told Christie, we will be there to help either Charlie or Christie as needed. Good night, Amanda."
After hanging up on Papa Kim, Amanda had sat and considered what she'd learned. Then, she'd made calls to her Mother, Renee and her boss before going back upstairs to ensure Christie got the rest she needed.
~-~
"OH SSHHHHIII. . . .UGAR!!!"
Amanda grinned as she stood up to head over to her refrigerator. Someone had just woken up and looked at her bedside clock. Christie would typically have left for her morning dance class half an hour ago. If she was going. Which she was not. Not today, in any case.
Thundering steps rumbled the stairs just before a bed-hair disheveled Christie burst into the kitchen. "I'M LATE!! My alarm got turned off somehow. Madame Rene will have a cow. I've got to . . ."
Amanda stepped in front of her dithering daughter and put a hand over her mouth. "What you have to do, Missy, is go back upstairs, take a shower and dress for a shopping day and other such genteel activities."
"But Madame Renee . . .
"Knows that you won't be there today because you've been overdoing it since your release from the hospital. I called your dance mistress last night to let her know I was keeping you today, and of course, being the marvelously compliant woman she is, there was no problem with that. Now, run along and make yourself presentable. Your hair is a disaster. I'll have your favorite egg white omelet ready to plate when you come back down. And Christie?"
"Yes, Mom?"
"Come down the stairs like a young lady this time, please?"
Christie swallowed back a gulp and nodded. "Yes, Mom. Ten minutes, okay?" And she was off before her Mother could reply.
"Harrumph," Amanda growled. "What young lady takes ONLY ten minutes to complete her morning toilette?" Her daughter's bedroom door opened ten minutes later, followed by gentle footfalls tiptoeing down the stairs. "Evidently, my young lady, it would seem." She smiled as she answered her own rhetorical question.
Finding an overstuffed omelet and coffee waiting for her on the breakfast bar, Christie slid onto her stool and took her first sip of coffee. "What's up, Mom? Why the big breakfast and calling off my dance class? In fact, what's with turning off my alarm clock? God, I never sleep . . . this . . . late . . ." Christie's fork stopped halfway to her plate when she suddenly fixed her Mother with a steely glare. "You did it!" She said accusingly. "You turned off my alarm, and you put some kind of sleep charm on me! I haven't slept this late in YEARS!!"
"Oh, stop glowering at me and eat your breakfast before it gets cold. Yes, I turned off your alarm and zapped you with a sleep spell. You were sound asleep when I got home last night. Sound asleep before six pm, I might add! When I called Grandfather Kim, he gave me the story of your little meltdown yesterday. You NEEDED sleep. I AM the Mother, and I made sure you got some badly needed sleep. End of THAT discussion, young lady."
A forkful of omelet deflected what was sure to have been an injudicious and smart-ass retort. "Take another bite," Amanda ordered, "And swallow. THEN you may ask a question if you like."
Christie thought furiously as she chewed the ordered second bite. "You said 'shopping and other activities?' Since when? I didn't know you planned a shopping day. What do you need?"
Amanda refilled her coffee cup without answering her daughter. She was heading back to her own seat when their front door opened. A familiar voice called out, "Hello, the house!"
Delighted, Christie started to stand, calling out, "Grandma!" Only to be gestured firmly back into her seat by Amanda.
"You haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. Eat your omelet. My Mom knows where the kitchen is."
Rebekah Hanson bustled into the kitchen, stopping to give Christie a quick peck on the cheek before embracing her daughter. "Sit, Amanda, sit. Your old Mother can pour her own coffee."
Almost finished with her breakfast, Christie looked at her Mother and then her Grandmother. "Grandma Bekka, are you here for whatever mysterious outing Mom just laid on me out of the blue?"
"Why, of course, I am, sweetie. I wouldn't miss your special day for anything."
"Ummm, what special day, Gran? My birthday is Sunday. I have no idea why today would be my day, special or otherwise. Mom? What's going on?"
"Yes, your birthday is Sunday. According to family lore, that is the first day you will be able to attempt the retransformation and thus come into your full power. Our family has a long-standing tradition for candidates who have undergone a change of sex trial. The family gets together the day before your birthday for a sort of Pre-Birthday Celebration. And yes, I know, it should be Saturday, but SOMEbody," and here Amanda cast a gimlet eye on her suddenly bashful daughter, "Made other commitments for us all on Saturday, which your Grandmother and I agree are important for us to keep."
"You said 'shopping,'" Christie said a little warily. Female or not, shopping was not something Charlie or Christie particularly enjoyed. It was a task to be completed, not an adventure to be savored. Just another of those shadows of masculinity that got in her daughter's way sometimes - like dressing.
"One of our traditions is that we buy the candidate some suitable outfits for their new station in life as a full-fledged sorcerer. It was like buying a young man his first pair of long pants or a girl her first formal adult gown back in the old days. Sort of a change of life statement."
Christie considered that and frowned. "But, how does that work if the candidate is going to change sex on his or her birthday? I don't think you could fit Charlie in something purchased for me or vice versa."
Rebekah laughed and patted her granddaughter's hand. "It's magic, darling. It will work out."
Grinning, Amanda agreed. "On my day, Aaron got a brand new suit and all the extras, complete with leather briefcase and shoes. When I woke up as Amanda, my closet held the perfect prom dress, shoes, purse and accessories. Like Mom says, it's magic."
"That's just . . .well, I almost said weird, but I have a new standard for 'weird' after the day before yesterday, so I'll just say that's confusing. So okay, that should take us about half an hour. What else is on the docket?"
Shaking her head sadly, Amanda signed in resignation at her poor, deluded child. "If we start when the stores open at ten o'clock? We MIGHT be finished in time to put on our glad rags for our dinner celebration. Your Grandmother has made eight PM reservations for us at her favorite dining establishment."
Christie felt her cheek starting to twitch. "TEN hours? To buy one outfit? You're not serious."
"No, no, of course not," Amanda said in a sickly sweet reassuring tone. "We have to be done shopping by four so that you'll have plenty of time to get all sleek and beautiful before we head off to dinner."
Both Mothers laughed at the look of abject horror that crossed Christie's face. Standing, she brought her right fist to her heart in a Roman gladiator-style salute. "We who are about to shop till we drop, salute you!"
Then started to leave the kitchen, only to stop at the doorway. Grinning evilly, Christie turned and looked at her Grandmother. "Grandma Bekka. Did you know your daughter thinks snakes are sexy??" And then tore from the room before either woman could react.
~-~
It was nearly midnight when a bone-tired Christie finally got ready for bed. Her new LBD and her new business suit were hung in her closet with the matching shoes racked beneath them. How had she EVER let her Mother talk her into delicate black sandals with four-inch heels for the LBD? The two-inch heels on the conservative business pumps were bad enough, but those stilettos were killers. So what if she regularly danced on point. Those definitely went on the list of negatives for Christie, positives for Charlie.
Truth to tell, it had been a pretty great day - dinner especially. Even the shopping hadn't been TOO awful. Grandma had really helped there as she'd kept Mom on a reasonably tight leash and focused on what they were there to do. Even so? Amanda must have had her daughter try on more than a dozen different outfits. The first two they'd found would have been fine. Although, truth time again, the ones they eventually bought just MIGHT have been a little cuter and more comfortable.
The last thing Christie did before lights out was to check her alarm clock was set for her preferred wake-up time. She would get her workout in tomorrow, and that was that! And she wouldn't make coffee! So there! Take that, Mom!
Except that she knew she would make the coffee for her Mom. Sighing happily, Christie turned out her light and was almost instantly asleep.
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 20B - Birthday Celebrations with Friends
It was Saturday, but it wasn't anything like a 'Normal Saturday.' For one thing, this wasn't a 'Normal Saturday Class Day at the Dojang.' It was Test Day, and there was basically nothing for Christie to do for it. She wouldn't be testing as often as she had been now that she was working towards her upper-level belts. Charlie had this same experience in his timeline. However, he'd still always been able to come to test day excited about participating in someone else's testing. Charlie had been allowed to spar. On the other hand, Christie was restricted to only sparring with Grandfather Kim. So, it was test day, but that meant no class, no testing, no sparring for poor little Christie. Bummer.
Still, she was determined to hold to her usual routine as much as possible. Yes, it was her 17th birthday - happy birthday to her - and yes, it might be the last day she would ever have as Christie. When she thought carefully about those issues, they were really just more reasons to enjoy being 'Christie' to the absolute fullest. What could possibly be better? Coming to one of her favorite places, filled with some of her favorite people and enjoying watching some of her favorite activities? If tomorrow was to become Charlie's time, then by God, he'd remember today as Christie fondly!
So, she'd arrived early - just like always. She'd changed into her gear and come out to stretch and warm up - just like always. She was practicing the Poomsae required for her next belt when she saw her girls rush into the studio ahead of their Mothers. They scurried into the dressing room but were back out again in mere minutes. They rushed over to Christie and attacked her with an enthusiastic group hug.
"You guys ready?" She asked, trying to sound stern. The three girls all nodded vigorously, making Christie laugh. "That's RIGHT! You darn sure are, and don't you forget it! C'mon over to the corner of the mat. Let's get loose." And again, just like always? Christie began leading her young friends through a complete warm-up that looked remarkably like the testing they'd be doing only a short time later.
Finished, Christie gathered them around her, with her in the center of their little circle. "You guys are ready. You just did every drill, every Poomsae that the Masters could ask of you, and you were all dead on the money. Just keep your heads during the sparring. Remember, try to score, try to stop the other person from scoring, but try not to hurt. You're all gonna do GREAT, and your Moms and I will all be so proud when they tie that new belt around you before the party. Okay?" They all nodded. "Okay, group hug, then go kick belt!"
She watched as they ran off to the side of the studio where the instructors were handing out test assignments. Turning to the audience, she caught sight of the girls' Mothers, waved and gave them the 'A-OK' high sign.
Christie's Mom wasn't there, although she did plan to come to the combination graduation and birthday party later in the morning. That really wasn't unusual for a Test Day when Charlie or Christie was not one of the students getting tested, but Christie still missed her right now. Just one more missing something. This day already had too many of those.
"Your protegees look to be in top form today, Jeja," Grandfather Kim appeared at her shoulder. "After that workout you called a warm-up, I don't know why we should even bother testing them. They all did very well."
Christie smiled at her mentor. "For the memories that they'll make doing the test, Grandfather. I guess I'm a little focused on memories today, but there you have it. Sure, I've already told them they will pass, but sometime in the future, they will treasure the memory of having a Master tell them they DID pass. I think it is particularly important today for Cindy."
"Oh? And why is that, Jeja?"
"Madame Coulter is trying to set up some special auditions for her over in Philadelphia. If they go well for her, there could likely be some amazing opportunities opening up to her soon. The downside would be a greatly increased time commitment to the dancing. Cindy and her Mom may have to make some difficult choices this summer."
"Whatever is best for the child, Jeja. She has that type of potential, then?"
"She's so much better than I was at the same age, Grandfather, and she doesn't have my growth gene. She could be very, very special if she just gets the chance."
"Your other girls?" He asked gently.
"They're staying here. Those girls did ballet because that is what 'little girls do.' They are much better at Taekwondo than at ballet, and they like it better, especially that little hellion Carly. That pair may give you future Brenda Sell or two, Grandfather."
"Oh, a challenge! Excellent. What about you, Jeja? Will you pursue a Mastery in the Taekwondo?"
"Have to wait and see about that, Sa Bum Nim. A lot will depend on who's taking classes with you after tonight."
"Ah, yes. As I understand from your Mother, you will face a significant milestone tonight. How are you handling that? Do you believe you have accomplished what was required of you and learned what you needed to know?"
"We'll find out for sure tonight, but I really think I have, Grandfather. The single most important thing I've learned about myself really has nothing to do with power. I am going to be, no, scratch that! I NEED to be a healer. Honestly? I could lose all my powers tonight when I do whatever I'm called on to do, but I still have this unquenchable NEED to be a healer. If that need requires that I go to medical school? I WILL go to medical school. That's no longer optional for me."
"A true vocation, so basic to your true self, is hard to ignore. Is being here today difficult for you, Christie? I know we told you that you would have a party today, but we could change that. Would you rather go home and prepare yourself for tonight?"
"Honestly, part of me wants to run away and hide, but I won't. This might well be my last memory of this place and these friends as Christie. I want to cheer for my girls and celebrate with everyone who passes. Even if they don't know exactly why I'm celebrating."
"Excellent, Jeja. Well, my grandson is gesturing frantically for me to come to the judges' table, so I must leave you for a while. Find a seat and enjoy watching your girls - how did you put it? Oh, yes. Enjoy watching your girls 'kick belt!' I really must remember that phrase for the future. See you at the party, birthday girl!"
~-~
Amanda arrived as the last set of sparring bouts was ending. She saw Christie, surrounded by young girls and their Mothers, all talking at once - likely about the test results. As Amanda approached the group, Christie saw her Mother and almost ran over to sweep her up in a bear hug. "I'm so glad you're here," She whispered into her Mom's ear. "If this is my last Christie day at the dojang, I am so happy you'll be a part of my memories. Love you, Mom!"
Amanda almost burst into tears as she hugged her child and shielded her face in her daughter's hair. And maybe wiped a surreptitious tear or two into that mop of hair in the process. When she was sure she had control of her own emotions, she gave Christie one more squeezing hug, then put her arm around her to lead her back to her pack. "Let's go wait for the good news with your girls, okay?"
~-~
Of course, Cindy, Kelly and Carly all passed. In fact, all the yellow belts that Christie had been helping Wilma teach advanced to the 7th Geup Green. She was so proud of them, too. The party was fun, especially with the addition of a decorated birthday cake for Christie's celebration.
Amanda and Christie had left a little early, wanting to have a light lunch before seeing Valerie in the hospital. They had pointedly avoided talking about Valerie or what they were going to do with her, just as they avoided any discussion of what would happen later that night. As a result, what conversation they did manage over lunch was somewhat more stilted and stiff than their usual easy banter. In the end, they realized that they really weren't all that hungry. They packed their leftovers into containers provided by the restaurant and then left for the hospital.
They'd planned their arrival to be after the lunch trays had been cleared away and the nurses' afternoon rounds finished. Amanda warded the nurses' station to be aware when any duty nurses went out onto the floor. At the same time, Christie headed for Valerie's room.
"Hey, Valerie," she called as she moved inside. "How're you doing?"
"You don't happen to have a pizza, extra cheese hidden in your backpack, do you? I'm getting really tired of all this no-salt, low fat, no flavor, healthy food in this place!"
"Sorry, girlfriend, I was afraid I would be strip-searched for contraband on the way in, so I left the cake with a hacksaw baked inside behind, too."
Amanda came in then and warded the hallway outside the room so that she'd know if someone was approaching the room. Then, she set her 'Cone of Silence' spell around Valerie's bed before taking one of the seats there.
"Mrs. M?" Valerie said, her eyes on Amanda, "You're aware of this crazy mental telephone line between us, right? As a result, Chris believes she needs to reveal some big McKellar family secrets to me. Just want you to know, Mrs. McKellar, that Christie is the best friend I've ever had! I'd never do anything to hurt her or abuse our relationship. If it's a secret, it will stay a secret, even if I know it through this strange link between us."
"Thank you, Val. I appreciate you saying that, but I already knew it. You're special. My daughter's BFF would have to be. I trust you completely on these issues."
"So, girl, make with the big reveal, Valerie ordered, turning her attention to Christie. "I'll keep the secrets, but my curiosity is raising my blood pressure! That's not good for me right now. DEETS, McKellar! All of them!"
"Guess you've been watching the same Netflix soap operas for teens that my Mom has. Deets? Did you really just say that, Stevens? Okay, all of them, then. Detail One and this is a biggie, okay? Magic. Is. Real."
Valerie shook her head as if trying to clear it. "Umm, THAT's Detail One? You're kidding. What's the real story, Mrs. McKellar? Your daughter is messing with the mind of the sick girl! Don't make me push the crash cart button, Christie! Stop playing and give me some truth!"
Amanda held up her hand and, having gotten both girls' attention, said, "She's not messing with you, Val. Magic. Is. Real."
"And we're both sorceresses," Christie added quickly.
Disbelief and the first hint of anger darkened her face. "Prove it, then!"
Christie shrugged. "Well, I'm still at the starting out, apprentice level, but okay. Watch this." She lifted her hand up with her fingers rigidly pointing upward and lit them all on fire.
Val's eyes widened but then narrowed. "One of the kids in my science class did something like that with her chemistry lab starter kit. Got anything better?"
Amanda laughed and said, "I've got this, Christie." Closing her eyes, she concentrated and then fixed a challenging gaze on Valerie. "All right, Miss Unbeliever. Tell me your name."
"My name? Really?" At Amanda's quiet nod, it was Valerie's turn to shrug. "Okay, as you both very well know, my name is Pippi Longstocking. . . NO! Wait, I don't know why I said that! It's really Tinker Bell . . . Oh hell!"
"Oh hell? No, that's not your name, either," Amanda chided playfully. "C'mon, girl, what's your name?"
"Darn it! It's Truly Scrumptious. Oh, man! Honest, my name is Smurfette . . .oh, now that's just embarrassing. I quit. Magic is Real, and you're a sorceress. Now, Can I PLEASE have my name BACK?!?"
"Of course," Amanda said generously as she waved her hand at Valerie. "And what's your name, little girl? What's your name?" She sang.
"That was a song? Okay, let's give this a try. My name is . . . VALERIE! Oh, thank goodness."
"A simple compulsion spell. It made you substitute the name of a childhood story character for yours whenever you tried to say your name. Simple, effective and evidently quite convincing, eh?"
"Well, Chris, that's one heck of a Detail One. What's Detail Two?"
"I think magic might be easier to accept because I can't prove this one to you. I swear the following is true on my honor and on my friendship with you. Last year, to the day, in fact, I was a guy named Charlie McKellar."
Valerie only stared for almost a minute before her mouth opened and then shut again. She stared a bit longer until she took a deep breath and asked, "On your honor? And on our friendship?" Christie nodded, holding her right hand up, palm towards Valerie and crossed her heart with her left hand. "Wow. Okay, that is going to take some explaining. Should I take notes?"
"We'd prefer you didn't, dear," Amanda said dryly. "I've been doing this for longer than my child, so why don't I try to explain first. You can ask questions as we go along or at the end, whichever suits you best. Okay?"
At Valerie's nod, Amanda launched into a 'Reader's Digest Condensed Version' of the McKellar family history of sorcery. When Amanda attempted to explain that some family members did the gender change when they turned sixteen, Valerie pounced. Biology major Val wanted detailed biology and genetic answers. All Amanda could give her were vague explanations based on family historical and empirical data.
Amanda continued the story, getting into the particulars of Charlie's transformation into Christie and the challenges Christie had met and overcome so far on her trial.
"So, let me see if I understand at least some of that. Tonight is the first night you can change back, right?"
"Right," Christie answered.
"But you won't know until you try whether you've actually finished this trial thing which is the requirement for you to be able to do the switch-back?"
"Right again!"
"And if you change back to Charlie, I won't remember any of this?"
Christie frowned at that. "That's been the family experience to date. Remember, however, that you and I are linked. We have no idea what will happen to that link when or if I change back to Charlie. If we're still linked, I don't think there's any way I can keep you from learning any of our secrets. That's why we're talking now so that if I do change back into Charlie and we're still linked, you will have access to my memory and know that I tried to explain it to you."
"You know? That's just weird, McKellar. Trying to keep that line of logic straight is making my head hurt. Leaving that aside, I'm guessing, what did you call it? Oh yeah, in this other timeline, we're still friends?"
Christie blushed bright red at that, and Valerie pounced again. "What?!? What's got you turning red as a sunset?"
"Umm, well, ya see, Val . . Umm, I think you were going to become Charlie's girlfriend."
"Girlfriend? As in dating kind of girlfriend? You're not kidding?"
"I think so. You see, at Charlie's birthday party last year at the dojang? You fed me. . .errr him his piece of birthday cake while sitting on . . .his lap."
"I DID? You're not making that up?!"
"Nope, and it was a little more than that, too."
"More than me feeding you like some harem girl feeding her sultan? Oh, tell me more, o great storyteller."
"Weeellll, Charlie couldn't eat his cake by himself because . . . Hewassaranwrappedtoachairandcouldn'tmovehisarms,handsorlegs!" Christie blurted out in a rush.
"WHAT?? What was THAT? Slower this time!"
"Charlie was tied to a chair, wrapped in Saran-Wrap, kinda like a dobok clad mummy and couldn't move his legs or arms. So you volunteered to help him. Only you meant you'd help him eat, not get loose."
The appraising look that came into Valerie's eyes as she considered her best friend's words was . . .kinda scary, actually, Christie thought.
"A little consensual bondage between lovers can be great fun, Valerie," Amanda put in, just to tweak at her daughter a little bit more.
"It does seem to have. . .possibilities," Val said smiling.
"So, to change the subject - please! Are we ready to check Valerie out now?"
"Of course. Valerie, I will use what we call 'Healer's Sight' to look at the injured part of your brain. I will usually know if I can do anything to help when I do. If I see something I can fix, I will. Now, you just need to lie still for me."
Amanda began to link and explore the injury. Shortly after she'd started, she became aware of Christie laying her hands on Amanda's bare arms. The bright light of her daughter's emerging power acted as a drop-light, further illuminating the injured places in Valerie's brain. With the extra focus, she could sense a small area where the damage had not been arrested by her previous attempts at healing. The site was small, and she was concerned she might not have enough power or sufficient control to effect a repair.
Suddenly, she felt extra power coming into her, enhancing her own, and even focusing it into a more narrow tool. Carefully, she went after the damaged site and was able to arrest the spreading. She still couldn't repair the damage already done, but at least she'd stopped it from getting any worse. With a sigh of satisfaction, she broke the link.
After Amanda had explained to Val what she'd found and done, Valerie yawned deeply. "All of a sudden, I'm really sleepy," she told her two guests.
"Go to sleep, Valerie. We'll be back to see you tomorrow or the next day. Get some rest now."
"'K. See ya, Chris. Helluva story, girlfriend. 'Night."
~-~
"What now, Christie?" Amanda asked as she started the car. "Anywhere you want to go? Anything you want to do?"
Yawning herself, Christie sat back in her seat and laid her head against the headrest. "Home, I think, Mom. I have no idea what's in store for me tonight or even if I'll get any rest. I think I want to try to take a nap so I'll be as ready as possible for whatever fate has in store for me."
"Probably wise. I can give you a mild sleep charm if you like. Nothing so strong you won't be able to wake up if you need to, but enough so you could drop off."
"Let me try without first. If I'm awake after half an hour, I'll take you up on it then."
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger Part 21 - Verdict and Sentence
"It is time for you to go upstairs, Christie, and learn whether you are, as all of us believe, ready for the next phase," Amanda intoned, her voice deeply solemn. "As my Mother and I were told in our turn, so I will now say this to you. When you know your time has come, look deeply into your most secret self. Your Mind, Your Body and Your Spirit. If you have completed your trial and are truly ready to emerge fully into your power? You will find Charlie there, waiting for you. Gather yourself, reach into yourself, and pull him out. The magic will invoke, and you will emerge."
Amanda turned and nodded to her Mother. Rebekah remained silent but came over and embraced Christie and then kissed her solemnly before stepping away. Amanda took her place and repeated the physical blessing. Then she also stepped away. "Go in peace, daughter, with our blessing. Trust your intuition and find your true path."
The intensity of their shared emotions made Christie's breath catch in her throat, and for a few moments more, it was all she could do just to stare at her two loved ones. Finally, she called upon her training, centered herself, and bowed deeply to her Grandmother and Mother. Standing back erect, Christie turned away and headed up the stairs to her room.
Inside, Christie moved to the place she had prepared for her night's journey. Her yoga mat was in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror she usually used for practicing her ballet positions. She'd moved her bedside lamp to illuminate the mirror in the otherwise darkened room. Her preparations were complete; Christie stripped off her robe, assumed the lotus position and focused on her nude reflected image in the mirror.
Slowly, carefully, she entered a deep, meditative state and then focused her 'inner eye' on her own being. Deep into her body, into her mind, into her very essence and spirit, Christie searched. Suddenly, a speck of light appeared and seemed to beckon to her. She followed it, deeper and deeper. Slowly, the bit of light began to grow, began to take shape, and she drew ever closer, she found herself looking at a human form. Closer yet, she could see that the body was nude and male. Ever closer she came, until at last, the male shape resolved into the figure of Charles McKellar.
Christie 'reached' out with her 'hand' intending to grasp his, but Charlie dodged. She tried again, closing on him, but once more, he avoided her grip, much to her dismay. Taking a moment, she just studied herself? Himself? in the void around them. Then she pounced and snatched Charlie's hand in hers before he could react. Then she began to pull.
Whenever Christie had let herself daydream about how this moment would be, never, not even for a moment, had she thought their meeting would be this adversarial. Charlie fought her, resisting her every effort to bring him to the surface. What she had imagined as a magical, beautiful dance had devolved into a blasted tug of war.
Well, she told herself firmly, if that's the way it had to be, she could darn well handle it. Channeling everything she was into the effort, Christie pulled with her entire being. Slowly at first, the two avatars began to move 'upward.' Faster and faster, they rose until they flashed through to the surface together. Eyes clearing, Charlie now sat on the yoga mat in the lotus seat, looking at his reflection.
He sat there for several moments, again searching for his center. Recovering somewhat, Charlie stood and examined his nude masculine body. He was taller than he had been a year ago - maybe two inches and probably twenty pounds heavier by the look of his well-muscled physique. What about his power?
Thinking of that made him instantly aware of the wellspring of power bubbling up within him. He tried some of the things he'd learned as Christie and found them much easier now. Taking a deep breath, Charlie summoned forth his healer sight . . .
And got nothing.
He tried again, using another healer technique his Mother had taught Christie. Nothing again. Determinedly, he focused his chi as Grandfather Kim had taught him. Trying to use his precognitive abilities to access his healer skills, he found nothing to unlock.
Because there was nothing to find. Charlie, like all the men in his family before him, was not a healer.
Not sure what to do next, Charlie resumed his lotus seat and began focusing on recalling his "Charlie Timeline" memories. He then screamed in rage and despair when they played before his mind's eye.
Valerie had been Charlie's girlfriend. 'Had been' was the operative phrase because Valerie was dead in this timeline. As he had in the Christie Timeline incident, Tad had attacked Charlie and Val from behind. This Tad had come at them from behind. He'd gone for Charlie first, again with a rear-naked choke, but far more effectively applied in this timeline because he'd been planning it. The rest of the incident played out the same as the Christie incident. Valerie had attacked Tad from behind, breaking his hold on Charlie. This incident was just the same as Christie's had been. Except for two critical differences.
Charlie wasn't a healer. When he'd tried to mimic his Mother's abilities to help the fallen Valerie, nothing had happened. No healing. No link. And Val had died of a massive brain hemorrhage before the EMTs even arrived at the scene.
The second difference was that Charlie was physically much more powerful than Christie. He was also a black belt karateka who was nearly ready to test for 2nd Dan. Charlie had completed Christie's back elbow, back-kick combination, finishing with a spinning back fist to Tad's face. Charlie had, like Christie, unconsciously focused his developing sorcerous power behind all three blows. The elbow broke Tad's ribs. Charlie's back kick destroyed the other boy's knee. The coup de gras came when Charlie's spinning back fist drove the shattered remnants of his opponent's nose and cheekbone into his brain. Tad died instantly.
Tears flowed freely as Charlie went over the incident again and again. The cops had decided it was justified self-defense. However, they'd been surprised at the amount of damage Charlie's attack had inflicted. Grandfather Kim had been there, as before, but there was nothing for him to do. In the end, Charlie knew he'd failed. He'd failed to protect his girl, and he'd failed Sa Bum Nim by using his arts to take a life.
What was it that Master had said on that old TV show? Charlie remembered being enamored of the syndicated reruns of the show 'Kung Fu' when he first started learning the martial arts. Oh, yeah. Master Kan had told young Caine, "Avoid, rather than check. Check, rather than hurt. Hurt, rather than maim. Maim, rather than kill. For all life is precious, nor can any be replaced."
And now, two lives had been lost because he'd failed. Worse, his determination to be a healer wasn't happening. Oh, Charlie could go to medical school, but that wasn't what he and Christie had wanted. Christie had planned to use her Healer Sight and Talent to understand diseases in ways Charlie never would be able. Then she could use those magically obtained insights to find more mundane methods of accomplishing what she could with her magic.
Dammit, he did not want to live with having been a killer! More to the point? Christie's Valerie needed him. . .her. Charlie/Christie NEEDED to be a healer.
Sitting up straight, Charlie focused on the image in the mirror. For the fourth time this evening, Charlie centered himself and dove back into his inner self. This time he went searching for Christie.
Several hours later, Amanda and Rebekah, having heard nothing and seen nothing of either Charlie or Christie, had crept stealthily up to his/her bedroom. Cracking open the door, Amanda peaked in and saw her daughter, unconscious, lying on the bedroom floor in front of the mirror.
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 22 - Facing the Morning After
The smell of freshly brewed coffee tickled at the edges of Christie's awareness. Although sleep still beckoned, she cracked one eye open and surveyed her space. There was sunlight peaking around her bedroom's window shades, suggesting that she had missed sunrise again. Struggling awake, she glanced over at her digital clock and took in the time and the day. It was Monday which meant morning ballet class, and she only had an hour before she had to head off for the dance studio. Reaching over to turn on her lamp, Christie was momentarily surprised to find it missing from her bedside table.
Sitting up, Christie took stock of her situation. She was momentarily startled to see her lamp on the other side of her room, near her dressing mirror. Where she'd put it in preparation for the last phase of her sorcerer's trial. But the last thing she recalled was sitting on the yoga mat and seeing Charlie's reflection in her mirror. She almost asked herself how she'd gotten into bed, dressed in a nightgown no less, when the answer immediately became apparent. Mom and Grandma had taken care of her.
Pulling off her nightgown in preparation for her morning shower, Christie stopped in front of her mirror and scrutinized herself. Evidently, Charlie's attempt at the transformation spell was also successful. Christie was back in all her feminine glory.
Christie took a minute to consider what she should do next. There were questions she needed to answer and problems to be faced. For a moment, Christie thought about trying to find answers to her questions on her own but then thought better of it. Between the two of them, her Mother and Grandmother had many years of experience dealing with sorcerous issues. Christie figured she'd get better answers far more quickly with their help than by stumbling along in the dark by herself.
Nodding to herself, Christie hustled into her bathroom.
~-~
She found her Mother and Grandmother sitting at the breakfast bar drinking their morning coffee when she strode in, dressed in a leotard and leggings, ready for dance class. She went to the cupboard for her own cup, poured her morning coffee, then took her own seat at the bar.
Christie was trying to decide how best to initiate this discussion when her Mother exclaimed, "You decided to choose Christie?"
Nodding, Christie put her cup down and sighed. "Yes. Charlie wasn't a healer," she told them solemnly, "And as I told you both, there is something in me, in my spirit if you will, that needs to be a healer. Charlie could have gotten a medical degree, but he couldn't do what I want to accomplish by combining my powers with modern medical technology."
"And you still have your healer talents?" Rebekah asked gently.
"Pretty sure I do, Grandma Bekka. I was going to tinker around upstairs trying to figure out what I can now do, but that seemed inefficient when I had you two here to help me. Besides, I have to be at class in a little over an hour to help teach the kids, so I didn't want to waste any time. What do you recommend we do first?"
Amanda nodded and thought for a moment. "Why don't you go over into the center of the kitchen and stand straight, arms out at the shoulders. Mom? You want to scan for raw power while I try to categorize her abilitie from her aura?"
Christie assumed the requested position, standing before the two older women. She relaxed her mind and was startled when she actually felt the touch of each sorceress' power as they scanned her.
"OH, MY GODDESS!" Rebekah yelped. "Her power! It's bubbling and sizzling like an erupting volcano. I've never . . . Amanda, she's half again as powerful as you, and you were the strongest I've ever scanned before her."
Amanda didn't immediately reply and stayed focused on her own task of sorting through her daughter's aura, then correlating that to her magical strengths and talents. Amanda's spell worked like a spectrograph; only the output should have given them clues to the extent of Christie's new abilities. However, her daughter's auric frequency peaks and nulls didn't correlate to anything she'd ever sensed before. Finally, she dropped her spell and sat heavily down on her chair. "Mother? We may need to call in some Old School experts to examine her. Her aura is unlike anything I've ever seen before. She has some extreme auric frequencies that I have never encountered before. The only thing I'm sure of is that she is, in fact, a Healer. A remarkably POWERFUL healer."
"Well," Grandmother said, "That's all well and good. Only one small problem with that. If we don't know what she can do, how in heaven's name are we going to train her?"
"That's why we're going to need the experts, Mom. I can help her with her healing, and you can manage general sorcery, but whatever abilities those other frequencies indicate? We have to know what they are to even plan her training."
"Umm, Mom? Grandmother? Am I a danger to others?"
"Are you dangerous? Potentially, yes," Amanda said carefully, "But everything I know about our abilities is that using them requires intent. Otherwise, we couldn't sleep. A nightmare might lead to some type of catastrophic response, and to my knowledge."
"What about what I did to Tad?" Christie asked, but at the same time recalling Charlie's experience in the other timeline.
"You had intent, child," her Grandmother answered. "If I recall what you told me about it, you focused everything you had when you retaliated against him. The act of focus is intent. If you were attacked from behind again? Taken by surprise and reacted as you've been trained in your martial arts? You would be very dangerous to your attacker, probably even lethal. Otherwise? No, you're not because you do not want or intend to hurt anyone."
"How long do you think it will take to get these experts here to evaluate me and recommend my training?"
"Your Mother has to go to work today, but I'll reach out to my contacts and set something up. I'm fairly sure we can have someone here in a few days."
Christie shrugged her shoulders and nodded. "I guess I'm going to be walking on eggshells until then. Is there anything else you can do now?" Mother and Grandmother shared a look, then shook their heads. "Okay, so we wait. In the meantime, I do have a question about last night."
"Only one?" Amanda asked, chuckling.
"For now, anyway. How come you didn't tell me how hard I'd have to fight to get Charlie to come back with me when I found him?"
"Huh?"
"What??" her Mother asked. "What do you mean you had to fight?"
"Well, at first, I thought it must have been part of the trial - sort of a final challenge? Whenever I reached out to him, he dodged away or broke my grip. Several times. I practically had to attack him, and even then, once I had a firm grip, he still resisted me the whole way back to our reality."
"That is very strange," Rebekah murmured. "I've never heard or read of such a thing. In my case, my alternate self met me halfway, and the instant we touched, I was back in the real world, transformed." She looked to Amanda, who was nodding in agreement. "It took a little effort to find him, but once I did? Nothing like you've described."
"I wondered about that. I figured you'd have at least hinted if there was something like that involved." Shaking her head at the memory, Christie added softly to herself, "It was as if Charlie didn't want to come back with me."
"Why wouldn't he?" Amanda demanded. "It's the culmination of the trial, the key step to the next phase. Why would you even think that?"
Christie didn't immediately reply; she just sat there looking unhappy. Finally, she blew out a breath and looked up at her Mother. "He wasn't a healer, Mom," she said softly.
"So?" Grandma Bekka retorted. "Neither am I. There must be something else, dear."
"Maybe. I think I might know, and I think . . . I think I need to discuss this with Grandfather Kim. I'll tell you if you absolutely must know, Mom, but I'd really like Papa Kim's take on this first. It's psychic stuff, and uhm, pretty far out there on the weird scale."
Amanda didn't like that idea at all. Christie saw her start to tell her daughter that couple of times, but she stopped herself each time. "I really want to know, Christie, but if you think this is something you need to discuss with Papa first, I will accept your judgment. But only for the time being. Promise me that you will discuss whatever this is with me eventually. I'm your Mother, and you . . .you're my baby, and I need to protect you!"
Rising from her seat, Christie moved quickly to stand between the two women, encircling each in one arm. The three women rocked each other, offering comfort until the youngest of them spoke. "I promise. I think it's like the precog stuff. I'm hoping Papa Kim will be able to help me sort this all out in my head." Breaking the hug, she looked at their kitchen clock. "Now, I've got to be off to the studio, and you, Mom, are running late for work. See you both later. I'm gonna try to see Grandfather Kim this afternoon."
~-~
When Christie finished her ballet lesson, she felt better. The kids had been great, and they'd accomplished a great deal. Even Madame Renee had been impressed. Maybe, sometime in the future, Christie figured she could get almost used to the new almost-nice Renee Coulter. Before class, Renee had asked Christie, quite nicely, if the younger woman felt well enough to participate today. It was only Monday, and her Mom had kept Christie out of class on Friday because she'd been overdoing again. Maybe someday she would. But then again, maybe not.
Christie had called Sa Bum Nim before her ballet class, and he'd told her he'd have all the time she needed after 1:30 but would be tied up working with the advanced black belts until then. They'd agreed upon 2PM since Grandfather simply couldn't say no to a student who had a question or needed guidance.
With time on her hands, Christie decided to go visit Valerie. Her link to Valerie seemed to be more robust and more detailed than before her trial had ended the previous night. If she concentrated, Christie would swear that she could smell the distinct odor of hospital-grade disinfectants. She also seemed to be able to sense when Val had a visitor. She needed to give her BFF a status report on their linkage after she dumped the whole sorcery deal on her last Saturday.
As Christie walked in, Valerie was just finishing her lunch - which Christie clearly sensed had not been a culinary delight. "Hey, Stevens, how are you doing?"
"Christie! It's you!"
Giving herself a thorough looking over and then stepping in front of a nearby mirror, Christie nodded and smiled at her friend. "Yup. I'm definitely me. Good call, girlfriend."
"Oh, you! You know what I meant. You're not that. What was his name? That Charlie-guy you said I knew. So either what you told me about didn't work, or you changed back after the first try worked?"
Christie moved a chair to be close to Valerie's ear and still have a clear view of the room's entrance. In a near whisper, she replied, "It worked, and I did, in fact, change back."
"Well, why, dummy? I mean, I'm all for girl power, but if you were born a guy and raised a guy, why not stay a guy? No glass ceiling and all that crap."
"Two reasons, really. First, I have a reputation to maintain. You'd have been Charlie's girlfriend if he'd stayed, which meant he'd have to cut Daniel out of the picture." Christie was trying to be careful and not tell Valerie all of Charlie and Val's story. "And after all the effort I went through to hook you two lovebirds up, I just couldn't allow that. So I'm still all-girl, and Daniel can safely continue to plight his troth! And I remain the undisputed matchmaker of the Kim Dojang. Good thing you don't do girls, huh?"
"Yeah, okay, McKellar. You are a true marvel of modern romance. So, what's the second and more likely, real reason you are here in all your feminine glory, hmmm?"
Christie was glad Valerie would never know the real reason and told her, "Charlie wasn't a healer. Never could be a healer because he didn't have the right powers. So Medical School to become a doctor was his only option, and that just isn't good enough for Charlie or me."
"And you still have healing abilities?"
"Yes, and I am much more powerful that way than I was last time we talked."
Eyes wide, Valerie stared up at Christie with hope shining on her face. "Does that mean. . . does that mean you can fix me? All the way?"
"I'm pretty sure I'll be able to once I learn how to control it. Right now, I don't think I should try. You know that saying that boys have, 'if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail?'"
"No, but it sounds like the kind of crap boys would say."
Christie giggled. "Yeah, well, Right now? All I have is a damned hammer. A freakin' great big one and I think I need something a little more subtle and finely controlled before I try to mess around in your grey matter."
"Well, when you put it like that. How long do you think it will take you to learn? The doctors are really noncommittal about how bad this might get or how soon."
"Okay, my healer abilities basically come down to two different talents. One is the ability to directly interact with living tissue and fix what's broke. Right now, that's a sledgehammer. The other ability is what we call Healer Sight. I can see or sense what's wrong. That works just fine. Between my Mother and me working together on you last Saturday, we arrested any further spread of that bruise on your brain. It's not going to get any worse. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET ANY WORSE. I am SURE of that, okay? Believe me, Val! That's the straight stuff."
A couple of tears leaked out of Valerie's eyes, and she reached over to place her hand on Christie's. "Okay, girlfriend, I believe, and thanks."
Christie patted her friend's hand and smiled. "You're welcome. Anything else on your mind? I need to grab some lunch and see Grandfather Kim at the dojang."
"Oh, lots and lots, McKellar, but nothing that can't wait for another time. Have a good lunch."
"Thanks, babe. See you soon." Christie leaned over and kissed her friend on the forehead. "Keep the faith, girl."
Christie had just about reached the door when Val called out to her. Looking back over her shoulder, she stopped and lifted a single eyebrow in query. "Hey, Christie? Whoever said I didn't do girls? Byeeee."
~-~
Christie wasn't sure why it was so easy to unload on Papa Kim - his Jedi Mind Tricks, maybe - but it seemed like she could tell him anything, and he'd be able to help. As she went over last night's adventures in detail, he simply sat and listened quietly. His trademark little half-smile encouraging her to tell him everything.
"I just . . .no, let's say it this way, Charlie couldn't confront what he'd done, what he'd lost, his failure. All we could think of was that old Kung Fu Television show. There was that quote from the first show about avoiding rather than checking up until maim rather than kill because all life is precious. I've told my folks and Val that Christie is back because of the Healer thing. That's mostly the truth but in all honesty? If Charlie had been a healer with Val and Tad still dead? I don't know what I would have done."
"A very said tale, Jeja, and one you should take with you in the future. Let me, however, make a few observations. Master Kan's statement is very accurate and something to live by, but you must remember that he did not say you can never kill. Just that it is the very last resort. Remember that the Shao Lin were an order of warrior monks. In their mission of protecting and helping people, they sometimes had to step in where others would kill, and their only recourse was to kill first.
"Secondly, recall that Tae Kwando is a martial art. It can be a sport played by artificial rules intended to prevent injury or worse. However, I have taught the arts to young soldiers in the South Korean Army. They did not learn these skills to practice sports; they learned to stay alive in a hostile world at war.
"So, let us consider Tad's attack on Charlie and Valerie. Had Charlie not reacted with his whole ability, had he 'pulled his punch,' there might have been three deaths and not just two. Charlie did as he had to do, Jeja, and the only blame in that is Tad's. Charlie did not fail. He did his best.
"Now, as to your statement that even if Charlie had been a healer, he would have gone back to Christie because you did not say it, but it was because of shame?" Face crumpling, Christie nodded her agreement and tried to choke back sobs. "Jeja, if Charlie had been a healer, Valerie would not have died, just as she did not die in this timeline. You told me Charlie tried to use his healer abilities on her. If he'd had them, they'd have done what yours did, and when you transformed back to Charlie, he would have been able to help Valerie in the same way you will soon be able to, correct?"
Christie forced herself to calm and considered Sa Bum Nim's words. Valerie had died because Charlie wasn't a healer, but if he had BEEN a healer . . .? "It makes my head spin trying to follow that logic, but I think maybe you're right," she finally said with a watery little smile. "Maybe."
"Meditate on it, Jeja. I think you will see what I mean and find peace. All right?" Breathing deeply, his girl nodded. "Anything else?"
Sighing again, she nodded. "Sa Bum Nim? I am MUCH more powerful than I was; much more powerful than Charlie was in his TimeLine. I am afraid that I might inadvertently lash out like I did against Tad during class sparring sessions. I'm wondering if I should give up the arts for the safety of others."
"No. As I said after the Tad incident, you will always have this power just below the surface. What you must do is be in absolute control of it. To accomplish that, you must discipline your mind, body and spirit. My family and I will teach you, and you will learn. You need the arts more than ever, Jeja. However, I do not think you should plan on competing unless it is something like Freestyle Poomsae."
"I was never much into the competition side of things anyway, Sa Bum Nim. What is Freestyle Poomsae?"
The old man grinned broadly at his student. "Think of it as a fusion of Ballet and Taekwando done to music and scored like gymnastics. I think you could be a contender, Jeja."
"Wow. Cool, Grandfather. What a great concept! Madame Renee could help me, too!"
Papa Kim laughed and reached over to pat Christie on the shoulder. "Just so, Jeja. Now, I think you should go home and have a heart-to-heart with your Mother. Just between you and me? She called me today, very upset about what you felt you couldn't tell her. She needs to know, and you need to tell her, yes?"
"Yes, Grandfather. Thank you."
~-~
Part 23 - Just Learning to Be Christie - Again
Since it was only a little after 4 PM when she left the dojang, Christie knew she had at least an hour before her Mother would get home from work. Grandma Bekka was probably waiting for them both, but Christie seriously wanted to do this rehash only once. In addition, she could use a little alone time to get things a little straighter in her own mind. Christie started her car, pulled away from the dojang and headed to the city park. In the shelter provided by a quiet little copse of trees, Christie settled in to consider the best tactic to take when she explained herself to Mom and Grandma.
On the one hand, they were both very concerned about her 'Charlie Time' experience, especially after being so reluctant to talk about ALL Charlie's reasons for reversing the transformation back to Christie. They were in no mood to accept a figurative pat on their heads and then told 'not to worry about it .'Crap! Mom had even called Papa Kim! From WORK!
On the other hand, what did they really NEED to know? That was a thornier issue. They knew that SOMETHING had happened last night to upset Charlie/Christie because, no, she hadn't exactly been subtle with them when it came to her emotions, had she? But now was not this morning, and her feelings and mindset were not the same as when she had come downstairs this morning.
Thanks to Papa Kim. He had been right on the money with his observations, too. Charlie had no choice but to react as he did when Tad had attacked. Charlie would have been out quickly and likely dead if Tad had been able to reapply his hold after Valerie's attack. How THAT outcome might have impacted this damned trial was a question Christie simply did NOT want answered. EVER.
Charlie had been in a confrontation with an opponent using deadly force - he'd reacted the way he had been trained with countermoves appropriate to the threat. Had Charlie killed? Yes. Was he a killer? Well, that depends on how one looks at it. Was there any other way Charlie could have stopped Tad's kill move other than by the application of deadly force on the part of Charlie?
And the honest answer kept coming up, 'No.' He'd been mere seconds from being completely unconscious. Charlie wasn't going to get a second chance. It was really a simple choice. Go big or go home. Or rather, go big or go to the hospital. Or to the morgue. From that perspective, the answer was also 'No. Charlie wasn't a killer.' He was simply a guy in a crap situation who had been given only one viable choice. That choice had resulted in Tad's death.
With that out of the way, what would she tell Mom and Grandma? Whatever she decided had to be the truth. The explanation also had to be serious enough that they would understand why she had needed to talk to Papa Kim. And finally, it absolutely couldn't clue them in to the really dark crap Christie had floating in her head this morning. Her watch told her she'd run out of thinking time. Mom would be arriving home just about the time she did if she left now. No way was Mom working overtime tonight! Amanda McKellar would be a woman on a mission!
~-~
Surprisingly, Christie was the first home. As she entered the house, she received a text from her Mom that she was just now leaving her office. Then she found a note on the breakfast bar from Grandma Bekka that she'd gone out to get some Chinese takeout for dinner. Both women planned to be home in the next ten to fifteen minutes.
Deciding that a bit of alcoholic lubrication might smooth the coming talk, Christie checked the fridge. She found an unopened bottle of her Mother's favorite white wine. She quickly collected her Mom's serving tray, ice bucket and wine glasses and put the wine on ice. Christie's little offering was laid out in the family room when her Mother's car pulled into their driveway. Moments later, the less familiar sound of her Grandmother's vehicle heralded her return.
Christie had just finished setting out the wine when both women hurried into the house. "Hi, Mom, hi Gran," she called out to them, "I'm in the family room, and I set out wine to go with Gran's takeout."
"Wine?" Amanda answered as she came into the room carrying some takeout bags. "You think we'll need it?"
"Can't hurt. 'A little wine for thy stomach's sake' etcetera. Here, Gran, let me help you with those," Christie said, reaching up to take some of the remaining bags. "Mom? Why don't you pour while I get some water for me."
"Just bring another glass, Christie. A little wine won't hurt you, either, and it might loosen your tongue."
"MOOooom!" Causing all of them to laugh. Once the wine was poured and the food dished up, Christie took a deep breath and began. "First, I want to apologize for this morning. I had a lot jumbled up in my head. I'm sorry I put you off, Mom, but it really helped me when I talked to Grandfather. I don't know what it is about him, but he's just so good at helping you make sense of things."
"He's a good and wise man, honey. I'm glad you had him to talk with about whatever you had to work out."
Nodding, Christie looked at her plate and then set it aside. Maybe after she'd unburdened to family, the food might look more appetizing. "Okay, I told you that I'm back as Christie because Charlie wasn't a healer. And that's the truth, only there's more to it than just that. I've been trying to figure out how to tell this . . ." She paused, frowned, and finally sat straight in her seat, squaring her shoulders. "Right. Some essential background information first, and I will use the third person for Charlie. It's the only way I can keep him and me straight in this . . .mess."
"All right, dear," Rebekah said encouragingly. "We have used that ploy ourselves when thinking or talking about our sex change trials. Go ahead."
"Thanks, Gran. Valerie Stevens was Charlie's girlfriend in his timeline."
"GIRLFRIEND?!?" Amanda demanded. "How did that happen? When? I mean..."
"Mom," Christie snarked. "You remember Charlie's birthday party at the dojang." At her nod. "Well, who fed Charlie got fed his birthday cake? Because he was just a little tied up at the time."
Amanda choked back a laugh. "Oh, god, I didn't remember that because that isn't what happened in this timeline. Val fed you. . I mean, Charlie, while sitting on his lap."
"Yeah. Mom, like most guys? Charlie was pretty clueless about girls, but he wasn't so oblivious that he missed that clue! In Charlie's timeline, they started dating and were getting pretty serious for a couple of sixteen-year-olds."
"Serious? You. . Damn! Charlie and Val had sex?"
"Need to know, Mom. I haven't tried to remember that memory of Charlie's, so I can't say for sure. But to be clear, they were a couple and spent a lot of time together. Now here's where it gets messy. The attack on Christie and Val by Tad in our timeline? Happened to Charlie and Valerie, too. The big difference was that instead of confronting Charlie face-to-face as he did with Christie? Tad attacked Charlie and Valerie from behind with the same chokehold. Basically, the rest went pretty much the same as it did in this timeline. Valerie attacked Tad, breaking his hold on Charlie, Tad back fisted Val in the temple, and Charlie neutralized Tad."
"So, basically, it was the same as what Christie and Val experienced?"
Christie felt tears begin to burn her eyes as she shook her head. "Almost, but not quite. Charlie wasn't a healer."
Amanda felt herself getting impatient and interrupted, "You told us tha. . . Oh, no . . ."
"Charlie wasn't a healer," Christie repeated. "He tried to heal Val. He'd watched you do it in that timeline, and he tried with everything he had in him. Valerie died there on the street before the EMTs even arrived."
"Oh my God, and you - Christie - experienced that right along with Charlie," Grandmother breathed softly.
"And Charlie felt her die under his hands," His Mother snarled, even as she launched herself at her grieving child. "Charlie should have killed that little shit!" Christie felt herself wrapped into her Mother's arms and let the tears fall freely. Soft, comforting sounds were whispered into her ears as she was gently rocked back and forth.
Sniffling, Christie tried to sit up. "I've got to finish this. Charlie loved Valerie as much as a young man can love a young woman, and her loss devastated him. Moreover, I, and by that, I mean, me, Christie, love my Valerie. She needed me, and Charlie realized that I could still help her. Yeah, I want to be a healer. That much is true, but the primary reason Charlie invoked the transformation is so that we could be here in this timeline for my Val."
Amanda nodded, rubbing her cheek against her daughter's. "You love her . . .like that?"
"Don't know. Maybe. It's just too much of a jumble just now to try and figure any of that out. Hell, Mom, I just hooked her up with a really nice guy because I didn't think she liked girls - not as lovers, anyway. I saw her today, and she corrected me on that. Blew me away, let me tell you."
"Like Mother, like daughter, I guess," Amanda mused. "You know, Christie, Mom and I were a little worried that you might be unable to invoke the transformation spell this year. You went through your whole trial basically without any romantic interests. For Mom and me, that was a big part of our experience - dealing with the new opposite sex."
"I am positive that my trial was about becoming a Healer, Mom. I am certain that the talent is hard-linked to the females of our lineage. Learning that healing was my true calling was the key to my being able to invoke the transformation spell. Mom? You should go eat your dinner. I'm okay now."
Amanda reluctantly released her hold on Christie but didn't get up from where she sat crowded up against her daughter. Instead, she reached across the coffee table and collected her plate and her wine. "So, you said you visited Valerie?" Christie nodded but still made no move toward her own plate. "And did you try to heal her? From what Mom and I saw this morning, you certainly should have more than enough power for it, now."
"No," Christie sighed. "Thought about it but decided I really needed more training first. I'm kinda like belladonna, I think. You know, the plant they call deadly nightshade? It is toxic as all get out, lethal in fact, but properly processed and administered to a patient appropriately and in tiny doses? It can be used safely to treat a wide variety of ailments. My power is like a 10-acre nightshade garden on steroids. I must be able to control it very finely before using it on anybody. Otherwise, I will certainly do a lot more harm than help."
"I never had that problem," Amanda objected. "I mean, I was fixing bruises, cuts and skin burns from day one. No problems."
"We already know that your talent isn't that powerful, to begin with, Mom. Like my nightshade analogy, you started out only able to administer tiny doses. Oh, as you've gotten more experienced, you've become more clever and efficient using your talent, so you can do more now than when you first emerged."
"So where does that leave Val and her current medical condition."
I did use my healer sight on her. That's just passive sensing, so I couldn't hurt her with that talent. What we did together for Val on Saturday arrested the damage. We have time now for me to get that training."
"So that's your plan now? On top of dance and Taekwondo, you're going full speed ahead with your healer and sorcery training?"
"I think I pretty much have to, Mom. There's just so much I have to learn - just to be me - again. I'm just too powerful now. I used to wonder how Superman interacted with just-plain normal earth folks. He's so strong that he can knock down brick buildings with a finger flick. I think part of the reason he's okay around us fragile types is that he grew into his powers from early childhood, interacting with normal folks every day. I haven't done that. I just woke up one morning as Superman, err, girl, and now I have to learn how to be this new me without breaking anything or anybody in the process. It's a little scary."
"Your Grandmother and I understand, at least a little, because we've also been through that. We'll get you the help you need, Christie." Her Mom assured her. Sighing, Christie just leaned into her Mom, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
~-~
Part 24 - First Healing Magic Trainer
Christie slowed to cool down from her Sunday morning jog. Since she didn't have dance or taekwondo on Sundays, she took that as an opportunity to do a longer run than she did as part of her regular workouts. The early July morning was already quite warm and indicated that the day would be another hot one!
She'd spent the last hour reflecting on everything that had happened since her birthday/transformation day. Papa Kim had stepped up her meditation training now that she'd come into her full powers. He still wouldn't let her spar with just anyone, but at least she wasn't knocking the heavy bag off its chain anymore, and she couldn't just let herself go as she had back in May sparring against Tracy. Keeping her Chi (Grandfather's term for it) under control required a calm, cool head. It was just as well Christie wasn't particularly interested in Taekwondo competitions. Getting 'psyched up' for a sparring match was definitely not a good idea.
With her Mother's and Grandmother's help, Christie was developing better control of her Healer Sight abilities. Sometimes, she felt like a human electron microscope; her 'mental resolution' had become so fine. However, unfortunately, Christie still had to learn more about what her talent saw. Injuries, sicknesses and other physical problems looked 'wrong' to her, but in most cases, she didn't know precisely what was wrong. As her Mom observed, it was kind of hard to fix something if you didn't understand why it was a problem. You might accidentally fix something that wasn't broken and make things worse instead of better.
Valerie was starting carefully monitored physical therapy over at the hospital. The doctors were concerned about her motor controls and wanted to ease her back into any physical activity under knowledgeable supervision. Christie was careful to keep track of her friend's brain injury. She was pleased to see the last inhibition field her Mom had created was still preventing the damage from spreading. However, this was one of the places where Christie could sense something was still 'wrong' but didn't know what or how to heal it. Somehow, Christie didn't think Mrs. Stevens would let her daughter practice taekwondo until she was fully healed. Maybe she'd let Val try dance when she was released from the hospital? No sparring in ballet and the exercise would at least satisfy Valerie's need to be active and fit. Something to talk over with Val during their next visit.
Mrs. Dewinter, the head counselor at Dolley Madison High School, was due back from her vacation later this week. Christie had made a tentative appointment to meet with her. She wanted to discuss her remaining program of studies to prepare herself for a Pre-Med program at college. Christie had already completed most of her core graduation requirements and had plenty of slack in her senior schedule. Her fall schedule already included several advanced placement courses; redirecting them to a more science-centric program shouldn't be a big problem assuming seats were still available in those classes.
Rounding the corner onto her street, Christie saw an unfamiliar vehicle parked in front of her house. Mom had told her she had made arrangements for Christie to meet with one of the better sorcerous healers today, but it wasn't even eight o'clock yet! Slipping into her backyard, she crept to the patio doors to have a peak. A woman dressed in a gray business suit was sitting at the breakfast bar with her Mom, drinking coffee. Her Mother's apparent ease with the stranger meant that the woman was a guest and not a threat. Just a relatively early guest. The healer, perhaps? Only one way to find out, Christie told herself.
Opening the patio door, Christie called out, "Mom, I'm back!" and walked into the kitchen.
"Ah, Christie, you're home," Amanda said, looking up from their guest. "You were gone longer than I expected. Everything all right?"
"Just my regular Sunday morning run, Mom. You usually sleep later on Sundays, so I guess you didn't realize I try to get in ten miles on mornings I don't have dance or karate."
"And I forgot to tell you our guest would be arriving first thing this morning My bad. Sorry, Karen." The other woman made an 'it's nothing' gesture as she looked Christie over carefully. "Christie, I'd like to introduce Dr. Karen MacTire. She is an associate professor of osteopathic medicine at Johns Hopkins University. She is also a sorceress with potent healing talents. I've asked her to come and see if she can help you with your abilities. Karen, this is my daughter, Christie McKellar. As I told you, she fully emerged from her trial last month, and her healing ability far exceeds my own."
Christie walked over with her hand extended in greeting. Dr. MacTire was a brunette of about Christie's height but a bit more slender than the athletic teen. She had a smile that lighted her eyes and a warm aura that put the younger woman at ease. "Pleased to meet you, Dr. MacTire. Are you of Scots heritage since your name is 'Mac' and not 'Mc' like ours?"
"And I'm very pleased and excited to meet you. Please, call me Karen, and I'll call you Christie if that's all right?" Christie nodded as they shook hands. "And no, 'tis Irish I am. Mac Tire is actually Irish Gaelic for 'wolf.' Someone in our family's past might have been Mcmactire but decided it was a bit too much of a mouthful."
"Well, I need a shower before I can do anything else in polite company. Should I dress in anything particular, Dr... I mean, Karen?"
"Shorts and a T-shirt will be fine with me, lass. But who is this polite company you're worried about? Amanda, I thought you said we'd have the entire day to ourselves." Karen demanded accusingly of Christie's grinning Mom.
"Oh, off with you, Christie! I can tell between the pair of you I will have my hands full today. I'm gonna have to call MY Momma to help keep you two hellions in line!" Amanda retorted and then stuck her tongue out at their guest.
Giggling at the older women's antics, Christie scurried off to get cleaned up. "I haven't eaten yet! If the Doctor needs to bleed me, fine, but I expect to be fed right after!"
~-~
Since Karen assured them that no blood-letting would be required, they settled down for one of Amanda's tasty breakfasts. "Christie, I understand that your Mother and your Grandmother have scanned you and started your general training. Can you tell me why they don't feel capable of overseeing your healer training?"
Christie looked over to her Mother, who simply smiled and nodded and then replied. "Mom says I'm just too strong. I did some simple stuff before my trial was over - eased a monthly, stopped some bleeding, but even I can tell that I'm so much more powerful now than I was back then. Back then, I was swinging a feather; now it's more like one of those hydraulic hammers they use to pound building supports down to the bedrock."
"An odd simile that, Christie. So visual, too."
Amanda snorted a laugh. "Well, my original analogy to her was the difference between a jeweler's hammer and John-Henry's sixteen-pound sledgehammer, but that was before she came into full power."
"Indeed," the doctor mused. "Well, in that case, once we have finished this delicious breakfast, I think I will begin by redoing the scans myself. I have your data, Amanda, and I'm sure they are accurate, but I am more powerful and better trained, so I may see something you did not."
"Great!" Amanda replied immediately. "I couldn't make heads or tails of her aura myself. It was like staring into the sun at high noon with the naked eye! It was blinding!"
"Well, we shall see what we shall see, then."
~-~
After finishing and cleaning up after breakfast, the three women adjourned to Christie's favorite meditation spot in Amanda's garden. "Lovely arrangement, Amanda. I can see how Christie would find this place so inviting. Now, Christie, I am just going to passively scan and record your aura. Just relax. Don't do anything magical. Just let your mind empty."
"Is it all right if I sit down? That's how I'm used to meditating."
"That's fine for a start. If I need another position, we'll do that next. For now, I want to see your aura when you are completely at rest."
Nodding, Christie sat on the grass and assumed her lotus position. Moments later, her mind was in her 'safe place,' and her face was completely relaxed. "Excellent," Karen murmured to Amanda. "Now, let's see . . . . HOLY MOTHER MARY!!!" the doctor yelled and instinctively brought her arm up to shield her eyes.
"Karen??!" Amanda called out, hurrying over to her friend. "Are you all right."
"I'm okay," she hissed softly. "Never in all me born days . . . Heavens above, Amanda. You got your analogy wrong. She's like staring into the noonday sun through a telescope. My mind's eye is seein' spots, for god's sake. Give me a bit of time, okay?" A few minutes later, Karen looked back at Christie. "Is she still out of it? She dinna react at all to that?"
Amanda smiled. "She's been studying meditation techniques with a 90-year-old Korean Grand Master. We'll have to call her back if we want her before she's ready to come back on her own."
"Amazing. Well, let's rouse your daughter. I've got another test or two still to run, but I'm startin' to feel just a wee bit uneasy about training her meself!" Amanda and Karen had known each other since their training days. That her friend's Irish burr was coming through spoke volumes for just how off-balance or excited or both Karen was at that moment.
~-~
"Now, Christie, I have a spell I want to try out on you. This is designed to inhibit particularly powerful trainees' sorcerous strength so they can ease into learning to use their abilities without harming themselves or anyone else. Once it is removed, there will be no lingering after-effects, so it is completely safe."
"Okay, Karen. What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to scan me with your Healer's Sight. That is harmless anyway, so it is a good place to start. I will cast the inhibition on you at full strength. That should completely block your access to your power. Then I will gradually reduce the strength of the inhibition until your Sight starts to return. Any questions?"
"Umm, should I try to push through the inhibition if I can?"
"Yes. I want to know when your power starts to overcome my spell. Ready?" Christie nodded. "All right, start trying to scan me. We will continue the test until you tell me you have your full range of Sight back."
For a few moments, Christie felt disoriented, as if she were trying to look through a foggy night at swirling lights. Taking a deep breath, she centered herself and unleashed her Healer Sight. The fog disappeared instantly, and Karen was bathed in the 'light' of Christie's Healer Sight.
Fascinated with the process, Christie did as she had been told. She scanned Karen's body. "WHOA!" She breathed, "What is THAT?"
"What is what? What happened?" Karen demanded. "What are you doing, girl?"
"Umm, you have this speck, in your left breast . . .it's tiny, about the size of the head of a pin, but it's . . 'wrong' somehow. It's only a few hundred cells at most, but they're different from those surrounding it. Oh, COOL! You're being treated for it, aren't you, Karen? Mom? It's like the inhibition ward you used with Valerie, only this one is at the individual cell level! Each cell is . . .sort of locked up. NEAT!"
Karen stepped back, staring at Christie in apparent disbelief. "Did I jump the gun and start looking before you got your spell complete?"
Dr. MacTire slowly sat down on the patio bench. "No, my spell is at full strength. No one has ever been able to access their powers when I cast that spell at full power. And you saw . . .you called it a speck?"
"Yeah, a speck. Something's really wrong with those cells - I think it might be isolated to the cell nuclei. Still, I haven't had a lot of higher-level biology courses yet, so I'm not sure about the nuclei thing. Just that the wrongness seems to be pretty small."
"And you saw, what did you call it, an inhibition ward around each cell?"
"Well, they looked like the ward that Mom used on my friend, but she put it around the entire injury. These are much smaller and seem to just enclose one cell each. I want to learn to do that!"
Karen shook her head slowly. "Join the club, young lady. I'd like to know how to do it, too. So far, my Mum's all but given up tryin' ta teach me how."
Christie cocked her head, looking at the speck more closely. "Ya know, it wouldn't be that hard . . .I wonder. Yes! Did it!"
"Did. . .what, Christie," Amanda asked cautiously.
"Put those fields around the cells in that other speck - the one on her right ovary. They looked wrong the same way the ones in her breast tissue did. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try with them, and whoever did the first ones could examine the wrongness there. I think those cells were trying to fission, so I stopped them."
"You. Stopped. Them. And these wrong cells on my ovary, you say?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, I got carried away. They just felt so wrong. I can undo the wards if you think I should."
"No . . No, that's fine, dear. It can wait until . . . Excuse me, please. I need to make a phone call." And rising from her seat, Dr. Karen MacTire, DO, hustled back into the McKellar house to retrieve her purse and phone.
~-~
Curious but not wanting to intrude, Christie and Amanda listened in from outside the patio's screen door. Karen didn't seem to care if they heard her anyway, as her side of the conversation was emphatic and rather loud.
"Mom, I NEED you. . ..Mom, I don't care that you've been shooting all morning. Yes, I know your rifle needs to be cleaned every time it's fired. MOM! I need you NOW. It is URGENT! STAT! Ask Poppa Paul to clean your rifle for once. You can grade his performance when you get back, but MOM? I. Need. YOU!" Karen stopped to listen and then let out a relieved breath. "No, I'm not at home. You remember, don't you? I had a consultation today with Amanda McKeller's girl? I need you here, Mom, YESTERDAY! Yes, Mom. That'll be fine. Thank you. Love you too. Give Wilma a head scratch for me."
With that, Karen broke the connection and started to put the phone back in her purse. Reconsidering, she slid the phone into the pocket of her suit coat and headed back out to talk to the McKellar women.
~
"And your Mom is coming here?" Amanda asked, surprised. They were chatting as they ate a light lunch of salad and iced tea out on the patio. "All the way from Edinburgh?"
"Ah, nay. Mum retired last year. She's a Professor Emerita of Medicine there now, but she got tired of having to age her looks. What's the point of havin' magically youthful looks if you have to look 75 years old every Monday when you go to work? She retired and moved here, so she isn't likely to run into her former colleagues. She has a place up in the mountains of western Maryland, so she's relatively close to me now and can help with my medical research from time to time."
"Edinburgh?" Christie asked. "Not an Irish college?"
"Ah, lassie," Karen grinned, hardening her burr intentionally, "The University of Edinburgh might be considered the United Kingdom's version of Johns Hopkins Medical School. 'Tis true that it is almost as good. Plus, they paid her an outrageous salary and catered to her every whim to get her out of Dublin."
"I can't wait to meet her!" The younger girl enthused.
"And I suspect she feels much the same way about you. We'll know by how much as soon as she arrives. She'll make the two-and-a-half-hour trip in less than 90 minutes if she's really excited; otherwise, it'll take two hours. Mum doesn't much care for speed limits."
~-~
Part 25 - Second Healing Magic Trainer
The women finished cleaning up the lunch dishes when Christie turned to Karen and asked, "So, what's your Mom like? Is she going to be okay with getting ordered here without any prior warning?"
Oddly, Karen blushed. "Ah, perhaps I should warn ye about me Mum. . ."
"Karen," Amanda interrupted. "Your Irish is showing. You'll want that under control before Aunt Jessie gets here."
"True. All TOO true, Amanda, and thanks. Anyway, Christie, you must understand that one of my Mother's things was working as a battlefield surgeon during Operation Desert Storm. She's always been a bit. . .well, gruff and authoritative about her work, but she really liked how the military docs did things and how everyone snapped to when she gave an order. My Mom really LIKES giving orders. The only thing she likes better is when her orders are promptly and exactly obeyed. Her corrections can be rather . . .harsh."
Christie nodded her understanding. "Kinda like Gunny over at the gun range, Mum? Especially when he's instructing a newbie on gun and range safety?"
"An apt comparison, dear," Amanda replied with a smile. "Only remember that Gunny has become somewhat more civil in his reprimands of erring students. He's gotten more used to dealing with civilians and their inadequacies. I don't think Aunt Jessie has or ever will, right, Karen?"
Shaking her head, Karen almost groaned. "No, she hasn't, and she won't, most especially when she's been called in to train a new healer. I'd sort of hoped to be able to get you started before I had to call her in. You know those army comedies where young recruits are beleaguered by their training sergeants, Christie?"
"Yes, I've seen a few of those."
"Well, let them be your guide, at least until Mum decides you are worth her time."
"Seriously?" Christie asked, and when both older women nodded emphatically, "Wow. Okay, then."
Just then, the quiet of the early Sunday afternoon was shattered by the full-throated roar of a carburated, over-revved V-8 engine. "Oh God," Karen almost whined, "And she's at least ten minutes earlier than my worst guess. C'mon, you two! We definitely don't want to keep her waiting."
~-~
Jessica MacTire, MD, Ph.D. Professor Emerita of Medicine, University of Edinburgh, climbed out of a fire-engine-red 1969 Ford Mustang Mach One muscle car. To Christie's eyes, Both the vehicle and the woman looked as if they were annoyed to have stopped running. Jessica was taller than her daughter and possessed a huskier, more powerful build. Jessica MacTire exuded an unmistakable aura of 'She who WILL be obeyed! Or ELSE!', and Christie was pretty sure she didn't EVER want to experience that implied 'or ELSE!'
"Oh, shite, Mum! You ran off with Poppa's car??! How could you?"
"Eh, he had my truck," the intimidating woman said as she strode up to embrace her daughter. "'Sides, you said 'Stat,' didn't you?"
"Yes, Mum. I guess I did at that."
"And I'd have been here sooner, but yer Poppa needs to tune that beastie up some. Barely made 125 on my way here."
"MOMMA!??!" Karen tried to sound sternly disapproving, but her Mother shut her down with a glare.
"Aw, quit your blatherin', colleen. No copper is ever gonna see me go by, let alone catch me! Well, Amanda. What're you waiting for, girl? Where's my hug?"
Laughing, Amanda moved into Jessica's hug. "You haven't changed a bit, have you, Aunt Jess?"
"I have," the older woman refuted quickly. "I've gotten meaner and less patient, and didn't I tell you to call me Jess or Jessie last time we got together? Aunt makes me feel old. Now, is this lass staring at me like I was some type of kelpie or questing beastie your daughter? Present her already!"
"Yes, Aunt. . . I mean, yes, Jessie. May I present my daughter, Christie McKellar? Christie, this is Dr. Jessica MacTire, MD and Ph.D. in psychology. When I first came into my healing talent, she was one of my trainers.
Christie had no idea where it came from, but she felt an overwhelming urge to curtsy to their guest. She did and was sure she looked ridiculous in her T-shirt and shorts. "It is an honor, Dr. MacTire."
"Well, you've taught her manners, Amanda, and I would guess Karen taught her how to say my name since she didn't mangle the Gaelic TOO badly. Well, it's bloody hot out here. Let's go inside, and you can all explain why I'm here and not riding my Indian around the mountains of West Virginia."
~-~
Christie sat quietly while her Mother and Karen detailed what they had done and learned about Christie and her powers over glasses of Amanda's iced tea. Jessica took it all in and then turned a stern, assessing eye on Christie.
"You got anything to add to all that, girl?"
"Not really, ma'am, at least nothing quantitative. I just feel like I'm walking around with a high-powered, fully loaded pistol with a hair-trigger and no safety."
"So, you've been trained to use guns?"
"Yes, Ma'am, by both my Mom and the retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant who oversees our local gun range."
Nodding, Jessica replied. "That's good, then, because your analogy is right on point. However, if you're too powerful for my daughter to inhibit you, it's more like you're walking around with armed explosives. Perhaps between the two of us, we can inhibit you enough to train you as we normally would, but if not, this all just got a great deal more challenging. In that event, it is all on you. You have to control your power. You're too powerful to walk around uncontrolled. Just looking at your aura, I don't think we'll be able to inhibit you, so you will need discipline."
"That's what Grandfather Kim, I mean, Grand Master Kim told me - after I destroyed Tad's knee. He won't even let me spar with anyone he hasn't personally approved. It's one of the reasons he's been teaching me meditation and other psychic arts."
"All right, that will help. Now, I'm gonna apologize before we even begin, Missie. If I come off like a pissed-off Regimental Sergeant Major dealing with a boot camp reject, it's because that's the way I know I can lead you through what you need to learn. It's not personal - it's caution and caring."
"I'll do my best, Ma'am," Christie promised.
"Then let's get on with it. I just scanned my daughter and found those individual cell wards you put around those cancerous cells on her ovary. Let's start with those and how you knew they needed warding. Then we'll get into how you knew how to do it."
~-~
Much later, Jessie turned from her daughter to look at Christie. "And you say this 'wrongness' you see is very tiny and restricted to inside each warded cell?" At Christie's confident nod. "So, it seems likely that your hypothesis that what you're seeing is in the cell nuclei is correct. I just wish I could see what you're seeing. I see just fine to the cell level, but trying to see anything finer is beyond me."
"Umm . . Maybe . ." Christie began, unsure.
"What is it, girl?" The doctor snapped.
"Well, maybe if I merged with you, I could add enough power to your own that you might be able to see what I see?"
"WHAT?!? Merge? That's unheard of! Why would you even think of such a thing?"
Shrugging, Christie looked at her Mother before turning back to Jessica. "Because I've done it - twice. Once where I used my Mom's power and once where she was able to draw on mine."
Jessica looked from Mother to daughter and back again, her mouth open to speak but said nothing. Amanda merely nodded her agreement with Christie's assertion. "How?"
Christie stood and walked over to stand behind Jessica. She reached out to put her hands on the doctor's bare arms and stopped abruptly. "May I lay my hands on your arms, please? Momma and I had physical contact both times we did this, and I think that was necessary for the power to flow."
"Do it," Jessica ordered and then yelped. "Holy Shite!! I can bloody FEEL your strength - it's like a reservoir of power! Now what?"
"I'm not sure. We just did what we normally did, but we somehow used that reservoir to augment our power. Try looking at Karen again with the Sight."
"Oh. . . My . . . God! Christie! This is amazing! It's like the first time I looked at human hair through a microscope - only more! And you can just . . .do this?!?"
"With my Mom and evidently with you. I didn't know it was anything special because the first time I did this was before I fully emerged."
"Something for us to work on with this young lady, daughter. It's like I finally got a pair of glasses that worked after years of thinking everyone saw things as fuzzy as I did. Now, if I could just figure out something to do about those wrong little beasties in there . . ." Jessica finished, obviously talking to herself now.
Christie gave a slight cough before shyly offering. "I think I can do something, but I just wasn't sure it was a good idea, so I didn't."
Jessica spun about so quickly that their physical contact with Christie was broken. "What do you think you could do??! How?"
The young woman took a couple of steps back, fighting the urge to cringe under the doctor's suddenly intense and focused stare. "I'm pretty sure . . .very sure, I can just sort of pull the wrongness out of those cells. I did a little web surfing before lunch. If I understand what I read, cancer is basically uncontrolled cellular reproduction. Cellular reproduction starts in the nuclei where the DNA genetic material is stored. If I pull out the nuclei, no DNA, no reproduction. Ummm, right, Dr. MacTire? And even if I'm wrong, it's no more than a few hundred cells right now, and with your wards in place, they aren't doing anything anyway, right?"
Christie suddenly found herself being the focus of three intense and focused stares and decided to seek her mental 'safe place' to avoid showing weakness before these powerful women.
"Hmm. Can you do it while you share your vision with me, lass? I'd like to see if I could."
"I think so. It's really two different things like Mom always says - actual healing instead of the Sight. Shall we try? Karen? It's your body. If we try this, I insist on your permission."
"Hell, girl, I just wish I could see, too! If you think you can get this bloody time-bomb outta me chest, I'm all for ye tryin'!"
Christie looked to Jessica, who simply nodded and turned back to face Karen. "Mom? Would you hand Dr. MacTire that white tea saucer, please?" Amanda did as requested while Christie laid her hands back on Jessica's arms. "Got a visual on the cells, Doctor?"
"Aye, I do. Whenever you're ready then, Christie."
Closing her eyes, Christie concentrated her Chi as she'd been taught by Papa Kim. The cells came into view but quickly resolved into smaller discrete points of 'wrongness.' Focusing as tightly as she could, she reached into each of the warded cells and . . .pulled.
"Tis gone!" Jessica all but crowed. "Every last bit of it, but where . . .?"
"On the saucer, Dr. MacTire," Christie said. "Focus your Healer Sight on that tiny spot of pink."
"Lord above, girl. That's . . .that's what was wrong in those cells. And the cells," Jessica turned back to look at her daughter, "They're dead - ready for the body to dispose of like any cell past its due date. I can't find any sign of cancer or pre-cancerous cells anywhere in her except for that ovary. Can you do the same again?" A second spot appeared on the saucer. Jessica stared at it in wonder. "Holy Shite, girl. You are going to study medicine, aren't you?"
"Well, I want to, so I can figure out what needs fixing and then figure out how. Maybe even without needing magic for the fix, too."
"Good. Apply to Johns Hopkins. Karen!"
"Got it, Mum," Karen replied. "I'll get her fast-tracked. I want her in my laboratory!"
"Good, I may come out of retirement as a consulting researcher or some such thing."
"Christie?" Amanda put in softly. "Is this what you want? Together, Jessica and Karen can scare bulldozers, but I won't let them railroad you into a decision you don't want."
"I'm good, Mom. And now I'll know what to say to Mrs. Dewinter when we meet to revise my senior course schedule. I was already trying to figure out how to do a Pre-Pre-Med program at my high school. Now, I have Karen and Dr. MacTire to advise me and support me with the counselor."
"You, young lass, may call me 'Aunt Jessie' if you please. Gods above, but you have so much to teach us!"
"ME? Teach YOU? That's not the way I see it, Docto, . . .I mean, Aunt Jess."
"We'll all be learnin' from each other, and that's that! So, tell me about this friend of yours that your Momma mentioned. The one with the brain bruise . . ."
~-~
"I'm not comfortable with this, Aunt Jess," Christie said for at least the fourth time since Jessica had laid out her plan.
"Ah, dinna fash yersel, girl! We're just gonna see if you can heal another bruise, just like ya did for my Karen just a little bit ago. I'll make sure you try in a spot where nothing bad can happen if it doesn't work. No problem at all!"
No problem, Christie grumbled. Just another bruise. Sure! Karen hadn't been best pleased when Jessica had thumped the meaty part of her thigh with the handle of a kitchen knife. Evidently, the younger MacTire bruised easily. Christie's Mother taught her to heal bruises by increasing the blood flow to the injured area, thus accelerating the natural healing. Instead, Jessica's idea was different.
First, she'd set up the individual cell inhibition wards around the live cells injured by the thump. Then, she'd had Christie look and then 'pull out' anything outside the barriers she sensed was 'wrong.' It Turned out that was mostly blood, other fluids and ruptured cells that wouldn't heal anyway. Jessica was quite satisfied with the effort, pronouncing the bruise almost healed when they'd finished. It certainly wasn't as colorful as when they'd started and Karen had said it didn't hurt as much anymore. Jessica had decided there was no time like the present to try out this new treatment methodology and had immediately dragged Christie, Amanda and Karen off to the hospital.
Mom had been SO right about the MacTire team! She felt like she was being escorted by Caterpillar D11 Bull Dozers!!
"Now, now. If this isn't as successful as I think it will be, it will still do no harm. Moreover, with your ability to see and heal within the cells, we'll eventually learn how you can heal your friend another way. But, as I said, I think this will work."
"Okay, okay. Let's go in and try, but if I don't feel the 'wrongness' or don't feel that I can do anything about the 'wrongness,' we drop back and punt, okay?"
"Now, why would you want to go poling a boat down a river?" Jessica asked, all innocence.
"MOM! Even I know you've become crazy about American Football. Christie, how many women do you know who've painted orange and black Cincinnati Bengal stripes on her GREEN John Deere tractor?!" Karen demanded, giving a slightly exaggerated shudder of distaste.
"Ah, there ya go, daughter, tellin' all my secrets again." Jessica caught sight of the nurses' station. "Is this where we check-in?" At Christie's nod, they checked on Valerie's availability. As it was Sunday, she had nothing but free time until dinner.
Christie led the women into the room. Valerie saw her and called. "McKellar! About time you got here, and where's my pizza!?!"
"The interns on the first floor confiscated it again. You have some very hungry doctors in this hospital. Mom? Cone of silence, please?"
Christie quickly made introductions and explained why they had come. Valerie nodded her understanding. "So this is kind of like a test? To see if this does any good?"
"Or any harm," Christie put in. "Dr. MacTire says it shouldn't do any harm, but we're still going to go slowly with this until we're sure. Until I'm sure."
"Well, if you can't trust the girl you're tied to by a magical mental link, who can you trust, right? Anyway, today's probably a good day to try this. I have another brain scan scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Maybe they'll be able to tell something happened from this when they review that. So. What do we do?"
"I'll do the individual wards again, Christie. If you can handle it, I'd like you to amplify my Sight again while you decide if you can do anything. I'd really like to observe your healing her I can without reducing your effectiveness."
~-~
"Eww!" Valerie complained as she looked at the small brown mass in the white sample dish Jessica had obtained for this project. "THAT'S what was in my head? It looks like gerbil poop!"
"Well, Miss Stevens, I'm glad to say I don't know exactly what gerbil poop looks like," Jessica replied, "But that is what Christie pulled from your head out of that one tiny finger of your bruise. I think what she did will be obvious enough that the doctors will realize something has changed when they review your scan tomorrow. I expect they'll be surprised."
"GOOD surprised or BAD surprised?" Valerie asked.
"All good, I think. The tissue Christie left behind appears normal and healthy to me under her enhanced Healer Sight. That should get your doctors' attention tomorrow. We'll come back after you get the test results back and plan how to do more repairs in a manner that won't get you turned into a medical experiment. I think we could do more right now, but I don't want to overstress Christie since we don't know how much of a toll this takes on her physical and magical resources."
Valerie yawned hugely. "Well, it seems every time Christie comes here to do her magical stuff, I need a nap. I'm exhausted all of a sudden."
"We'll tell the nurses you dropped off. They'll keep an eye on you and make sure you get up for dinner."
"Okay. And next time, McKellar? Wiggle your nose, blink your brown eyes, or shake your boo-thing, but get the damned pizza up here! You're squandering BFF points, girl!"
~-~
As they walked to her Mother's car, Christie stopped and gave herself a little shake.
"Mom? Could we go to the range? Please? I really want to shoot something!"
"And aren't you a girl after me own heart, Christie McKellar!" Jessica crowed. "Yes, let's go to that range of yours! I want to meet this Gunny of yours and then kill some targets!"
Karen and Amanda just stared at each other, then gave a 'what are ya going to do' shrug and followed their two would-be-target-killers to the car.
~-~
Part 26 - Life as a Sorceress
Christie and her Mom stood waving as Jessica's Mustang disappeared around the corner, headed for the Interstate highway and her home. Honestly, Christie was sad and glad to see the incredibly energetic and powerful woman leaving - at least for a while. It was incredible how much Aunt Jessie had helped her accomplish in just one week. At the same time, the woman was just plain exhausting. Thank god she was in her seventies because she'd have worn Christie down to a nub if she'd been in her prime!
"Let's go in and crash, daughter!" Amanda said with what sounded like a heartfelt sigh of relief. "We both need and deserve a break! Take out for dinner, your choice! Your Mother needs a drink! Meet me in the family room in ten minutes!"
Christie didn't even get a chance to reply before her Mother was off and through their house's front door. "Guess I'm not the only one Aunt Jessie has been running ragged," she giggled softly as she made her way inside.
Keeping up with the good doctor had meant several take-out dinners - mostly pizza and Tai food. Christie was in the mood for something just a bit more substantial. Moo Shu Pork and rice sounded like just the ticket, too. A couple or three appetizers would do nicely to begin replenishing the energy reserves she'd used in the past few days. Lord, she hoped she didn't make a fool of herself the next day at the dojang.
She walked into the family room to find her Mother holding a large glass of white wine. "Heavens, Christie, I am so glad I had to go to work every day this week! At least I got a short respite from our Mad Doctor. How are you holding up? Oh, and you can have a small glass of wine, too. You are definitely not leaving this house until tomorrow."
"Thanks, Mom. I'll wait until we have the Moo Shu first. I think it will go nicely with it. To answer your question? To use one of Aunt Jessie's phrases? I'm fair knackered! I want to be in the same physical shape as Aunt Jessie in my late seventies. Heck, I want to be that fit right now! I thought I WAS in shape! Showed me, didn't she?"
Amanda giggled and took a sip of her wine. "Showed us both, but I, at least, should have expected it. She's always been like that, and I don't think she's ever slowed down. In fact, I think she's more active now that she doesn't have a set routine to get in the way of her flights of fancy!"
"What amazed me the most, I think, is just how small a world I seem to live in these days. Either that or whatever fate has directed my trial and emergence has played more games with me. Did you know that Aunt Jessie already knew both Gunny and Papa Kim?"
"I only caught the edge of that about Gunny because I was signing our guns and ammunition out of the range's secure storage. What was that all about, anyway?"
"They met during the first Iraq war. Gunny's Lieutenant had taken some bullets, and Gunny carried him into Aunt Jessie's mobile hospital bellowing for a medic, a corpsman or a doctor. Or anyone, evidently. The kid was fresh from training and had gotten hit covering Gunny's retreat from an Iraqi ambush. Gunny got out without a scratch, but the Lieutenant didn't. According to Aunt Jess, the Gunny was, shall we say, rather unhappy and annoyed about that."
"I can just imagine how Jess would have said that, so you don't have to, young lady!" Amanda put in as haughtily as she could manage.
"Okay, Mom," Christie answered meekly. "ANY-way, apparently the Gunny had put a lot of effort into training this new officer and was determined not to lose him. Jess said it was touch and go at first - he'd nearly bled out before Gunny got him into the compound over his shoulder."
"But he pulled through?"
"Yep. According to Gunny, he will be promoted to Brigadier General next fall. Gunny's got an invitation to the promotion ceremony. He evidently thought very highly of the man because he couldn't stop thanking Aunt Jessie, even after all these years."
"So that's what that was all about. I wonder if Jessie did her special whammy."
"Pretty sure she did. When Gunny wasn't looking, I put my finger to the side of my nose and made it wiggle. Aunt Jessie smirked and gave a quick nod. She knew Papa Kim, too. Did I tell you that?"
"If you did, I was too tired for it to register. What's that story?"
"Well, Aunt Jess is also a karateka. They met in Korea about forty years ago when Jessie was scheduled to compete in a tournament there, and Papa was one of the organizers. I guess they each recognized the other as a person of power even back then. They were a little sparse on details, so I'm not sure a tournament was the only reason Dr. MacTire was there. Just a feeling, you know?"
"You're the pre-cog, Christie, not me. So what happened in your class when they reunited."
"Oh, that's the best part of the story, and probably why I didn't tell you all about it earlier while Aunt Jessie was here to box my ears for telling on her. Papa Kim challenged her to spar. She initially said no, but Grandfather just kept needling her! Evidently, she's 7th Dan and, well, you know she has a short fuse, right?"
"Let's just say I'd want a ten-meter match if I had to light it."
"Good one, Mom! So, she borrows my spare dobok and walks out of the ladies' dressing room wearing it but without a belt. Papa had a seventh-degree belt waiting for her. She tried to tell him she was only a sixth dan. Grandfather reminded Jessica that she had evidently been awarded the seventh when she retired from the university and moved to the US. Her only comment was, 'Well, dammit, Kim, I never tested for seventh dan!' To which Grandfather replied, 'except when you routinely kicked the ass of your 9th Dan instructor."
"I bet that had her muttering."
"All in Gaelic, too. Well, it wasn't English, anyway. So they started. Master Kim was refereeing, and the four senior black belts were scoring. They're about halfway through the bout when Jessie just goes off and throws a hissy-fit!"
"Really?! Not Aunt Jessie!"
"Yeah, really. She's just standing in the center of the mat, yelling at Grandfather.
"Goddammit, Kim! Stop taking it easy on the old woman! I can still take a f'ing punch!"
"Grandfather just stalked right up to her and went nose-to-nose with her. "Shut up and fight, YOUNG woman! I'll have you know I turn 90 in two weeks, and I wouldn't DARE take it easy on you! I'm too damn busy trying to keep my head on my shoulders and my clock from being cleaned!"
"At that point, everyone in the dojang, including Master Kim, is just about rolling on the floor laughing. Master Kim finally declared the match a no-contest and wouldn't let them continue. Then he ran like hell because they were both after him at that point. I guess they all kissed and made up later because Master Kim and Papa took her out to dinner after class."
"Now that is a show I wish I had seen," Amanda said, wiping away her own laugh tears. "And your progress helping Valerie has been just wonderful, too."
As Jessie predicted, the brain scan results had shown signs of improvement. Unexpectedly so, at least for the doctors. Poor Valerie spent most of Monday and Tuesday in and out of various hi-tech medical machines being scanned up one way and then down another. The doctors finally concluded something had improved, but they couldn't find any reasons why. Jessie and Christie had made two more of the new treatments over the last week. Jessie remained concerned about how much each treatment might be draining Christie's magical reserves and wanted to stay on top of that. Still, every test and scan indicated that the treatments were helping to heal Valerie's injury. Jessie decided she would come back two or three times a week for the foreseeable future to assist with the treatments and to further train Christie.
The doorbell rang. "Food!" Both women cheered. Christie collected their feast while Amanda went to the kitchen for napkins and plates. Both women did full justice to the delicious food, and nary a scrap nor lick remained when they'd finally decided they were satisfied.
They both went to bed early that night, and both slept soundly, although Christie was visited by one of THOSE dreams. The dream wasn't anything threatening, nor was it sufficiently vivid that she could remember any specific details yet. However, she thought it might have something to do with Valerie.
~-~
Part 27 - Indeterminate Precognition
Amanda came down from her bedroom to find Christie waiting for her in their little breakfast nook. She'd slept in a bit since it was Saturday, and she was actually surprised her daughter hadn't left for taekwondo practice yet. Christie brought her coffee, toast, and fruit, all nicely presented. Knowing her daughter, Amanda grinned. "Okay then. Good morning to you, my lovely daughter. Thank you for fixing my breakfast. Now, what do you want, girl?"
Christie giggled. "Well, I was going to wait for you to get up anyway, so it seemed like a good idea to have your breakfast waiting."
"So, you really DON'T want anything?" Amanda asked, an eyebrow raised in query.
"Hrrmph. I didn't say THAT, now did I?" Causing both women to have a good chuckle at her mock indignation. "Okay, I was hoping you could drop by the dojang after the class finished."
"Oh? Something up at the Kims?' Amanda asked as she spread jam on a toast point.
"I still have that blasted dream I told you about. I'm pretty sure it's something to do with Valerie, but I have no clue what it's about beyond that. I plan to ask Grandfather Kim to help me with a meditation session later today to focus my precognitive talent. The dream keeps coming back every night! That bothers me because I'm not experienced enough with this thing to know what that might portend."
"I can certainly be there, dear," Amanda replied, "But you won't need my power as you did with the Cindy episode. You have far more power now than we had between us for that precognition."
"Yeah, I know. I don't need your power, Mom, but I darn sure need YOU when I do something like this. At least until we know if there are any hidden problems with using this talent. You haven't been able to find anybody to train me in this skill, so we're both flying blind except for what Papa Kim can help us with. I feel safer when you're there with me."
Amanda stared at her daughter, momentarily at a loss how to answer that. Wiping her lips with her napkin, she stood up and walked to hug her daughter. "Umm, wow. How many Moms get told by their seventeen-year-old daughter that she needs her Mother - for anything?" A few tears ran down Amanda's cheeks, and a happy sob or two choked out as she struggled for her composure. "Oh, god, baby! You need me? I'm already there! Want me to drive you? We can leave now!"
Christie hugged her Mom back and simply basked in their shared love. "Eat your breakfast, woman!" She finally ordered as sharply as she could manage as she began to lead her back to her seat. "I want you in primo condition for this little adventure! Carbs for energy are what you'll need. Eat!"
Grinning back up at her daughter, Amanda ate. "Yes, Ma'am!" She replied with her mouth - and heart - full.
~-~
Grandfather Kim was more than happy to assist. Soon after Christie's class had finished, he led the two McKellar women to his tiny office. "So, you've been experiencing another repetitive dream? Like the one you had about young Cindy's need to dance?"
"Yes, only more nebulous. I have no idea what's going on except a vague feeling it has to do with Valerie. Oh, and that it keeps coming back - like you said, Grandfather, repetitively. I didn't know you could be bored and asleep at the same time!"
The old man chuckled at that. "Well, then, let us see what you can see. We'll start with our basic meditation exercises. When you are comfortable in your safe place, you can begin to explore this vision. Amanda? Why don't you roll my desk chair over behind Christy, so you are within reach of her? If she thinks your touch will steady her search, I believe we should accommodate her. Are you ready, Jeja?"
Grandfather's use of the Korean word for 'student' signaled his readiness to act as Christie's guide. "I am ready, Sa Bum Nim." She replied softly.
"Very well, then. Let us begin with our breathing exercises . . ."
~-~
Christie and her Mother were home in the McKellar family room about two hours later. "So, what do we know?" Amanda asked as she handed her daughter a cup of her herbal tea blend.
"I'm pretty sure it's about Val. I spent the drive home thinking about it and what I believe I saw was that she's going to break up with Dan. Oh, he's the boy I fixed her up with."
"I remember," Amanda replied. "You believe that's what you saw? Why aren't you sure?"
"Because I'm inferring that from what I know I saw. The vision came down to Val looking sad - ALONE and sad, and Dan with another girl - a petite little pixie with very long black hair. I got a good look at her, but she's no one I recognize, but she and Dan appeared rather close, you know?"
"I do. I know Dan's family somewhat. His father, anyway. His company is a client of the law group I work for. I think I remember one of the law partners saying that he used to work overseas before becoming a department head at his company's local offices. It means he might be moving out of the country again. Do you have anything to support that theory?"
"Not really. My intuition likes the theory, and I'm sure something else could fit what I did see, but that's it."
"But you didn't see anything that made you think anyone was at real risk? Remember, you knew Cindy would have been diminished if she hadn't gone back to try dance again. Anything like that concerning Valerie?"
Christie thought hard about that for a few moments and then blew out a breath. "Just that she was unhappy about something."
"Darling," her Mother said with a sad smile, "Girls your and Valerie's age are often sad, and often, it's about a boy . . . or boys. So what are you going to do?"
"Hey! I was gonna ask YOU what I should do. You're the Mom. You're supposed to know all the answers!"
"Nice try, kiddo. Now, what do you think you should do?"
"I don't KNOW, darn it! I think whatever I do beforehand could cause trouble. If they break up, she might think I had something to do with it. If they don't break up, she might think I was trying to break them up and lose trust in me. I . . . I might've told her that Charlie . . .and me . . . might be attracted to her. THAT way." Christie admitted as a vivid red blush suffused her cheeks.
"So maybe the best thing you can do is nothing for now. Take this as a possible warning and be prepared to do what girlfriends do for their BFFs when they break up a relationship."
"And just what the heck is that, pray-tell? Remember who you're talking to here, Mom, and just how ephemeral my real-world girl experience is!"
"Oh, I'm sure you can figure it out. Just be ready to run if Valerie calls out to you. She might need to cry, or she might need to vent. That's two reasons Best Friends Forever have shoulders and ears."
Christie sat quietly, sipping her tea, even though she really didn't like her Mom's herbal brews. Finally, she leaned over to kiss her Mother and said, "I need to think about this. I'm gonna go up to my room for a bit, Mom. Call me when you're ready to make supper, okay?"
~-~
That night, Christie was still thoughtful as the two women prepared and ate their dinner. Over ice cream as a dessert, Christie looked up at her Mother. "Mom? You remember back over Thanksgiving when you and Gran started my sorcery training? You materialized that scalpel so you could cut yourself."
"Actually, I summoned it from my medical supplies, but to answer your question? Yes, I remember."
"Are they any limitations on that? Like distance or how much weight or volume you can summon?"
"Hmmm. I don't really know if there are any hard limits. I've summoned items from over a hundred miles away when I needed something I forgot to pack. And I usually limit myself to things I could easily pick up by hand without straining. I'm not sure that's a real limit, but I've found that a fairly reliable guideline."
"So, something like a mug of coffee or a large take-out soda wouldn't be a problem for you?"
"As long as they were already poured and I knew where they were? I could handle those easily. Why?"
"Oh, just a notion. Is it hard to learn? The spell, I mean? Could you teach it to me now that I've emerged?"
"Easy-peasy. Help me with the dishes, and I should have you up to speed on the spell before bedtime."
"Thanks, Mom. Oh, and I've set up an open line to Valerie via our link. I'm not eavesdropping, but if she has any emotional events, I should be aware."
"Like having her almost-boyfriend break up with her?"
"Yeah. Kinda like that."
~-~
Over the next few days, Christie continued to study what she could find online about fixing broken hearts and other teenage angst. She made preparations while keeping her mental ear tuned to her girlfriend. One day, Christie saw Dan looking particularly down at their Wednesday morning taekwondo class. However, when she tried to catch up with him after class, he'd already left, not bothering to change out of his dobok.
Something was happening. Christie didn't know what, but she was positive something was going down that would involve her. She was just about to call her Mother to ask for advice when Valerie's emotions exploded across their link. Her friend was crying!
Dropping everything, Christie ran to her car. As she started the engine, she put every bit of empathy she could muster into her end of the link. The message was, "Hold on, girlfriend! I'm coming!"
~-~
Christie raced into Valerie's room to find her friend staring at the door as if waiting. Little white tear trails streaked her cheeks, giving evidence that Val had been crying before, if not then. Her eyes went wide as Christie hurried in, and she pointed at her friend. "You. . .you CALLED to me! In my head! I heard you telling me to hold on and that you were coming! How. . .?"
Breathing deeply from the emotion and her mad dash up the stairs, Christie plopped down in the chair beside Val's bed. "Okay. You remember I told you that sometimes I get these crazy dreams? That sort of mean something? Or not, but I've had one I felt was about you. Over and over again, too!" Christie gave her friend chapter and verse on what she'd known and not known and what she'd decided to do for her friend.
"So," Valerie said thoughtfully, "You might have had a vision about Dan's Dad having to move his family to Tokyo to take over their office there? But you weren't sure, and you didn't want to mess my head up needlessly if you were wrong?"
"I've only had one other of these experiences, Val. I saw some flashes but got nothing solid to make me think I was right either way."
"But you saw Dan with another girl - one you don't know."
Christie winced. "Yeah, that bothered me a lot, but Dan's a really good guy, and I couldn't see how he'd do something like that. So, I've sorta been spying on him, but until today, he's just been the same old Dan."
"His dad told him they were moving this morning. He was still in his dobok when he came to see me. I was almost more upset for him than for me."
"Well, it's too bad for the pair of you. You should have had more time together. Heck, you never even got to have a date!"
Valerie smirked at that. "Date?"
"Isn't that what you hoped for?" Christie asked uncertainly.
"Oh, that, too, I guess," Valerie said with a dismissive wave of her hand and then giggled. "Actually, I was thinking of sparring with him. I really wanted to kick his ass, ya know?! So, you were preparing for the worst, eh? What was on the agenda, huh?"
"Yeah, about that. You know that Charlie and I are sort of girl-experience deprived, right? So since I had no flippin' idea what to do, I did what every teen would do in my place."
Valerie's eyes narrowed. "You either asked your Mother, or you googled it."
"Both, actually. Unfortunately, the stuff on Google was mostly about helping older girls. According to the web, they tend to get drunk on too much wine a lot. I didn't think the nurses would approve of you swinging from the chandelier - if you could find one - and Mom wouldn't buy the wine for me anyway."
"Nice try, McKeller. So what did you do, and I don't see my freaking pizza, either!"
"Well . . ." Christie held out her hands in front of her as if carrying bowls. "Alakazam!" She said, and two single-serving boxes of ice cream from their local gourmet ice cream shop appeared in her hands. "Chocolate or strawberry, Stevens?"
"Are you kidding? CHOCOLATE!! Gimme!" Her friend retorted, reaching out for her treat.
As they sat enjoying their ice cream, they chit-chatted about how things were, as Valerie put it, 'on the outside.'
"My Aunt Jessica got her daughter Karen to have some of your gerbil poop analyzed. It's just inert blood and anomalous protein residues. Not toxic or anything like that, but Aunt Jess thinks it might insulate/disrupt electrical impulses between brain cells. The Johns Hopkins University Hospital lab has never seen anything like it. Might be a good research topic for the medically inclined sorceresses to pursue after we get you all fixed up."
"Gonna give me another treatment today?" Valerie asked as she licked her spoon.
"Aunt Jessie is coming back later in the week. I want her here when I do anything like that. I did the last three treatments with her just watching, but she's a doctor, and I'm not. I want to have her watching, just in case anything goes off on us. You're just too damned important to me, Valerie. If all she does is slow me down, so I don't overdo or push you too hard too quickly? It's worth it. I want you to be happy, healthy and live a long full life. I'm not going to rush this."
The tears were back now, but Valerie was smiling, too. "Thanks, Christie. You're damned important to me, too. Just thanks."
The two girls ate in companionable silence until the last dribbles had been scraped from the take-out cups. Christie then took both containers, the spoons and the napkins and sent them to her kitchen waste can. "And voila, no evidence. Except for that smudge of chocolate on the tip of your nose."
"You!" Val laughed as she wiped her nose with a tissue. "So, anything special going on at the dojang?"
"You know that Grandfather's 90th birthday is coming up soon? Young-Soo and Master Kim have a major bash planned. Lots of big names from the Federation and from the schools are coming. Wilma and I had this idea for a special performance for him, but we've been having a little trouble refining it at the dojang. You know how Grandfather always suddenly just 'appears' out of nowhere? Makes it kinda hard to keep it all a secret, so Wilma and I are planning to go over to Madame Renee's dance studio so we can work on it in private."
"Ooo, tell me more!" Valerie enthused.
"Look, I want to make sure I can do it first, okay? It's kind of a free-form Poomsae done to music. If we get it right, I'll make sure that Wilma videos it so we can show it to you, okay?"
Valerie curled her lip. "Okay, but you know stress is bad for me, so don't keep me in the dark too long."
"Okay, I promise. Now, I have to run. It's my night to fix dinner."
"See you, McKellar. Thanks. Love you, girlfriend, but just one thing?" Christie stopped at the door and cocked an eyebrow at her friend. "I'll love you more if you zap us in some pizza next time!!"
~-~
Continued by Paula Dillon and Tigger
Part 28 - A Gift for Grandfather
Young-Soo smiled in pleasure and not a small degree of relief. The party was on, and so far, it was going well. He and his father had long since given up any attempt or pretense of having surprise birthday parties for Grandfather Kim. The old bird was too sharp, too cagey and had too darned many birthdays to be truly surprised by a celebration. Oh sure, he'd gone along with the game when Young-Soo was young and then again for Eun Ae's formative years. However, that had been a few years in the past. Now? There was just no way to pull this birthday shindig off secretly. Too many of the world's Taekwondo luminaries wanted to attend Grandfather Kim's 90th Birthday Party.
Still, coordinating the travel and logistics for more than fifteen of the world's ranking Grandmasters AND the President of the World Taekwondo Federation, Dr. Choue Chung-won, had been challenging to say the least. Getting them all home again should be far more straightforward. He hoped. Well, that was a problem for AFTER the party. Now, it was time to relax, kick back and celebrate his grandfather, the man known throughout the United States and Korea as 'Grandfather Kim.'
"Grandson," Papa Kim asked softly from his seat at the head table, "I do not see Jeja Christie. Have you heard anything? There's nothing wrong, I hope."
Should have known the sharp-eyed old man would notice that his favorite student was not currently in the crowd. "She said she had a surprise for you, Grandfather, but she would be just a little late. She said she had some last-minute things to do to perfect her surprise."
"Oh, very well. As long as she is here soon," Grandfather replied before returning to his conversation with Grandmaster (9th Dan) Brenda Sell, who had come up to chat with him.
~-~
"Are you ready, girl?" Wilma Davis asked as she brushed an errant curl back from Christie's forehead. "Here, let me repin that. Perfect. So, Ready?"
Christie took a deep, cleansing breath. "As I'm likely to be, Wilma. This seemed like a really cute idea, but now? With all these Taekwondo high mucky-mucks out there? My God, Wilma! We'd have more star power than a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show if they were models!"
"Miss McKellar," Rene Coulter interrupted firmly. "You. Are. Ready. There. I have said so! Now, go out there, break a leg and amaze everyone. Including me, by the way. Trust me, you do NOT want to disappoint ME! Right?"
"Right," Christie answered with a giggle. "Guess I'm ready, then. Wilma? You're on! Let's do this."
~-~
Wilma walked out to the main studio and then took her place on the makeshift announcing stand, positioned off to the side of the head table. A quick mouse click and an oriental-sounding gong peel reverberated through the dojang, causing all conversation to stop, all eyes shifted to the gaily-dressed young woman. "If you would all move to your seats, we have a special surprise for Grandfather Kim. Please clear the main mat as quickly as possible. Thank you."
Clearly wondering what was going on, Grandfather looked from Wilma to the main door, expecting to see Christie enter with her surprise. Then, motion in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to the hallway to the dressing rooms and saw . . .Madame Coulter coming out into the studio?
"Masters, honored guests, fellow instructors and students, it is my honor to introduce a performance that seeks to fuse two arts as a special gift to Grandfather Kim. Oh, and one more thing, Master Young-Soo has granted a one-time dispensation to the custom of no shoes on the main dojang floor. Just in case you were concerned, Madame Renee." The older woman who had arrived at the announcing stand chuckled softly and curtsied, careful to show her own shoeless feet.
"And now, making her first of a two performance limited engagement, we present BallerJeja Christie and 'The Dance of the Koryo Plum Poomsae."
Christie stepped out of the hall shadows and dance walked to the center of the dojang's main mat. A murmur of voices passed through the assembled party-goers as they took in her costume. She was a vision in white, wearing a classic Bolshoi style ballerina outfit of leotard, tights, tutu and crown, with lace accents. And yes, she was wearing toe shoes. When she reached center-mat, Christie faced Grandfather and the Head table and assumed Ballet Position One. Almost. She held her 4th Geup Blue Belt by the ends in both hands. Quickly, she donned the belt about her waist and tied it off with a perfect square knot.
Christie finishing tying off the belt was the signal for Wilma to start the music. The familiar strains of 'The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' began to play throughout the dojang. Executing a formal Taekwondo bow, followed by a ballerina's grand curtsy, Christie began her fusion performance of the Koryo Poomsae and the Sugar Plum Fairy's dance.
Most of the movements and transitions were purely balletic. Christie did most of her movement en pointe and added choreographic flourishes and extensions. However, the specified movements of the Koryo Poomse were performed in the correct order and with the proper form. As an exclamation point for each Taekwondo move, the choreography had just the slightest hesitation built-in. Christie held and demonstrated each required element for her very knowledgeable audience. The music ended as Christie floated back to center-mat, facing Grandfather again. She curtsied deeply, then came back to a position of attention and bowed again formally to the assembled Masters and Grandmasters seated at the head table.
For almost painfully long moments, the dojang was absolutely silent. Then, Grandfather Kim stood, came around in front of the Head Table, and returned Christie's bow. The rest of the Head Table immediately stood and followed Grandfather's lead. A softly uttered "Charyut (attention)" brought everyone, including Christie, back to attention, at which point Grandfather began applauding, grinning widely. Applause and cheers spread rapidly through the audience as everyone was now standing. Christie gave another curtsy and then turned to dance run to the dressing room.
Not having that, Grandfather hopped down from the dais and took off in pursuit of his student. Moments later, he returned with the brightly blushing ballerina on his arm. He gestured for Madame Renee to join them, and she came over to take Papa's free arm. Back at center-mat, Grandfather presented Christie to the audience for a 'curtain call' and another curtsy, then escorted her to the Head Table. He then went on to introduce both women to the assembled dignitaries.
When she tried to leave after that, he simply wouldn't release her arm and seated her next to him at the table. "Grandfather, I need to change," she hissed in a whisper.
"No, Jeja. It is my birthday and my surprise. I am keeping my Koryo Plum Fairy for the party." Master Kim relinquished his seat so that Renee could join them. "I must say, that was delightful, and I am sure I have your ballet Sa Bum Nim to thank for much of that, too. Wilma said two performances? When and where will the next one be, Jeja. I want tickets."
Renee reached into her purse and pulled out a large envelope which she handed to the old man. "There are complimentary backstage passes in that envelope for you, your family and friends to attend my school's summer recital next week. My price for helping in this enterprise was that Christie would relent on her refusal to solo - silly thing worries that she'll take opportunities from my other girls. Anyway, she will be repeating this performance there, but with two small adjustments."
"Adjustments, Madame Renee? Really? It seemed just wonderful to me as is."
The dance mistress got a sardonic grin on her face as she replied. "Yes, but Christie will perform in a dobok and bare feet for my recital. To account for that dispensation your grandson gave her so she could wear her toe shoes in the dojang."
Christie's blush came back in full force. "Umm, actually, it's not quite my usual dobok, Grandfather. I think it's more a costume from the old Kung Fu TV show. It's very colorful, free-flowing and really silky. Actually, it looks terrific when I dance in it. Umm, it just doesn't pop and snap for anything, though."
"So you will show your dance friends elements of our martial arts even as you showed my guests aspects of your balletic art. Very appropriate, Jeja. I look forward to it. Now, have some cake and tell me how you all managed this without me knowing about it. I cannot recall when I've been quite so surprised - particularly at a birthday party.
~-~
Epilogue - Closing the First Circle
It was the third Saturday in August and another testing day at Kim Young-Soo's Karate Dojang. Christie and Valerie were both in attendance, although neither were among the students testing today. Christie was still a few weeks short of meeting the five months as a 4th Geup Blue Belt that the Federation required before a candidate could test for the 3rd Geup Red Stripe Belt. Grandfather had told her that if she wished, he would allow her to test due to her having more than enough total training hours to satisfy the spirit of that rule, but she'd decided to wait for the next test day later that fall. Valerie hadn't been cleared by her doctors for any contact sports yet - much to her annoyance.
Val had finally been released from the hospital in time for the Fourth of July holiday. It had taken the presence of the highly acclaimed Dame Jessica MacTire, MD Ph.D. and Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, to help engineer that escape. And not because she wasn't and hadn't been getting progressively better! Oh No. The local docs' issue was that THEY couldn't figure out HOW Val was getting better, and they REALLY wanted to know! They were all for keeping her in durance-vile, hooked up to every hi-tech medical contraption they could find until they DID figure it out. Naturally, they had Mr. and Mrs. Stevens convinced that was the best, safest option to assure their girl's full recovery.
Aunt Jessica had put paid to that silly notion, right enough! They could monitor her just as well as an outpatient as they were currently! The doctors couldn't offer a single fact or datum that demonstrated that staying in the hospital did anything measurably positive towards Valerie's recovery. Hurricane Jessica demolished the local medical ivory tower gang. Valerie would spend her Sundays in the hospital for tests and scans and whatever else the doctors could come up with. However, so long as her condition improved, which it had, the outpatient status would be sufficient for Val's needs. In fact, Aunt Jess figured that she was maybe three, four at the most, Christie-treatments from being completely healed.
Their next challenge would be how to get the athletically inclined teen back into some rigorous physical activity. Valerie was already going crazy due to the lack of exercise. She wasn't even allowed to go running, for heaven's sake! 'Too much shock transmitted to the brain through the spine,' some idiot doctor had opined in Mrs. Steven's hearing. Val's Mom was perfectly happy to wrap her daughter in yet more cotton-wool bundling - for her own safety, of course!
Christie had learned some new Gaelic curse words when they relayed that 'considered medical opinion' to Aunt Jessie. Too bad she had refused to translate them for the girls afterward, though. They had sounded really cool, and better yet? No one else would know what they'd said!
As a possible solution to Valerie's exercise deficit, Christie tried to convince her friend to try dance at Madame Renee's studio. At least until they could convince the local doctors AND Valerie's Mom to let her do more than that. "There's really no impact, you know," Christie had loudly told her friend where Mrs. Stevens couldn't help but overhear, "And no contact if you only dance solo. Just good stretching and strength-building activities. I'll even be there with you to make sure you don't overdo it!" Well, at least she'd tried. They'd have to keep working on Valerie's Mom in the meantime.
They were currently waiting for today's committee of black belts to finish their deliberations on who to advance to their next rank or not. None of Christie's students were testing this time either, and only a couple of the people she usually trained with had tried. Christie's main reason for being here today was to watch Donnie Colt's 2nd Dan Black Belt test. Charlie and Donnie had taken every belt test together from 4th Geup Blue Belt to Red Belt in Charlie's timeline. They'd always been a team - working, learning and testing together. Advancing together, too.
They would have tested for 1st Dan together, too, if Charlie's transformation to Christie hadn't happened. In this timeline, Donnie had earned his 1st Dan black belt that day, and so far as Christie had been able to tell earlier today, he'd passed this test as well. She liked to think that Charlie would have been testing for his 2nd Dan today along with Donnie and that he would have been advanced, too.
Waiting until the fall for her next test wasn't that big a deal for her anymore. With the Federation's increased emphasis on their time in rank requirements, she wasn't planning on earning her black belt before she left for college anyway. What with her ballet, school work and sorcery training, there simply wouldn't be enough time to do it all AND pack in the hours in the dojang required to meet the intent of the rules for advancement. Besides, there wasn't any point in calling attention to herself or the school. Christie would be ready for her 1st Dan test sometime during her first semester of college. She would just have to find a good dojang wherever she attended college. Probably in Baltimore, Maryland, she mused, if the MacTire women got their way. They probably would, too. Or else, Aunt Jess style.
It had taken more effort than she'd expected, but she'd finally managed to convince Mrs. Dewinter to shift her senior-year course selections over to those recommended by her Aunt Jess. Mrs. Dewinter was close friends with and thought very highly of the school's Government, World History and Economics teachers. Their comments about Christie's performance in their classes taken from their final grade reports had been sadly accurate. They had included comments about 'lacks motivation,' 'doesn't apply herself,' and 'only does what is required.'
Thanks to her solid 4.0 grades in all her other courses and her Mom's and Aunt Jessica's personal intercession with the woman? Christie had finally gotten the advanced, science-heavy course load she'd sought, but there'd been a price. She would have Mrs. Dewinter breathing down her neck for at least the first grading period until Christie proved to the woman she could hack the load. Christie sighed mentally. She probably should have listened to her Mom about working harder on those stupid courses for those boring teachers. Oh, well. Life-long learning, as the teachers like to say.
Ballet was going very well, thanks mainly to the new and improved Renee Coulter. Christie loved being the Assistant Dance Mistress because she really loved working with the little ones. Renee loved it because she could see her students working harder and performing better under her new enlightened teaching style. Christie still helped with that by watching out for any sign of regression on Renee's part. Christie also helped with the soloists. Lisa had made particularly great strides in the past year.
In fact, both Lisa and Cindy would be going to Philadelphia before school started for preliminary auditions with Ballet Company there for appointments to their associated ballet school. Cindy might even have the opportunity to audition for the role of Clara in the Company's annual holiday performance of The Nutcracker. Both girls would have a foot in the door with the Company and other organizations as dancers to watch! They'd been noticed, and so long as they kept working and improving, other opportunities would open up for them.
And she was dating Val - almost. Maybe? Well, they'd been doing a lot of stuff together since Aunt Jess had sprung her friend from the hospital. Not just girl pal things either. They'd gone to dinner and a movie, gotten dressed up and gone to Philadelphia to see the ballet and even caught a baseball game together. Best of all, while they were there? Valerie had reached over, taken and then held Christie's hand! Maybe Valerie did do girls? Christie was really looking forward to what came next between them. BFF or lover, either or both would be fine with her as long as they stayed friends!
Which left the Sorcery aspect of her life, Christie thought. Her Mother and Grandmother were working Christie hard on the techniques and applications of general sorcery. Jessica and Karen were making several visits a month to help Christie refine her healing abilities. The only aspect of her sorcerous gift that she wasn't really all that gung-ho about was the precognitive thing. If she were honest with herself, that talent kind of scared her. Okay, maybe it scared her quite a lot.
Perhaps the whole 'Fate of Cassandra' theme from Homer's Iliad made her want to avoid using that ability. That whole 'seeing the future' deal really seemed like a double-edged sword. What if she started looking, found something but misinterpreted the vision, so she did the wrong thing? Or worse, suppose she had been right, but something bad happened anyway, and someone found out she'd known in advance and 'hadn't done anything?' Sure, the idea of being able to predict a disaster was nice in theory, but in practice? She wasn't so sure about that. The darn visions weren't like watching the 'News at 11:00'; they required interpretation! And they were darned nebulous, too.
So far, the recurring dreams had alerted her to employ that talent. Those had turned out okay, so, for now? At least until they found someone who could train her in using this 'gift'? Christie would let her dreams and fate be her bell ringer. No dreams, no peaking. That was her plan, and she would, by gosh, stick to it!
The door to the testers' conference room opened. Grandfather Kim marched out, leading the assembled black belts back into the dojang's main studio. Young-Soo went to the podium while Grandfather and Master Kim went to stand by the mat with the other black belts arrayed behind them. Master Kim had a bag hoisted over his shoulder that all the students knew contained the belts that he and Grandfather would shortly award to the successful candidates.
From junior rank to senior rank, the tested students who'd passed were called forward by Young-Soo to have their new belts wrapped about them and tied by the two Grand Masters.
Until, at last, only one student remained. All the juniors had passed their tests and been advanced. "Masters, instructors, students and guests. Your attention, please," Young-Soo said over the announcing system. "It is with great personal and professional pride that I announce that Donnie Colt is hereby invested with the rank of 2nd Dan Black Belt in the art of Taekwondo. Front and Center, Donnie Colt!"
Valerie and Christie leaped to their feet and began applauding wildly, as did the rest of the audience. Charlie's friend Donnie had come a very long way. As had she, Christie thought happily, as had she. She was proud of them both.
Mississippi Bee Queen
by
Paula Dillon
Cold, alone and hungry a runaway transgendered girl wanders onto a Bee Farm looking for work, so she could eat.
The hive was in a turmoil, with bees numbly rushing around on the comb. Due to overcrowding and a failing queen bee, two things were about to happen. One the hive was about to have a succession to replace the old queen and there had to be a swarm to reduce the size of the hive. Either of these events alone could cause havoc in a bee hive. When you have both at the same time, it could create utter chaos in a hive. If the old queen died first, the first queen to emerge could destroy all the remaining queen cells and she could try to hold the hive together. That would fail and result in a queenless swarm.
The hive had formed seven queen cells, four of them in close proximity of the main brood cells, and three queen cells were spread far and wide, throughout the hive. The hives reigning queen could be seen hovering near one of the far-flung queen cells. She was painfully vibrating her wings and her abdomen as if she were communicating with the pupae in the queen cell saying, “Grow strong my daughter, grow fast, hatch soon, hurry, hurry. You must leave the hive as soon as you can. I won’t make it till you hatch, my lovely daughter. You must lead the swarm out of the hive. One of your sisters is already buzzing how she will kill all her sister queens and take over the hive. Grow strong, fast, my child and flee the hive.”
This queen pupae, we will call her Azena for clarity, was the first laid, by four hours. She was a Caucasian or more specifically a mix of an Apis mellifera Caucasian queen and an Italian Apis mellifera ligustica drone. Her fratricidal sister, Melliferia is a good name for her, was of an Apis mellifera carpatica or Russian drone as their mother had mated with several dozen drones on her mating flight. The Russian bees being brought to the US because of their resistance to the Varroa mites and their good hygienic behavior.
Melliferia though had another contender who had been laid three hours before she had been. Nadine’s heritage is unimportant because her future was measured in days, but her sacrifice would be immeasurable in the history of this hive.
The old queen did die just hours before Azena hatched. Azena hatched two hours before the unnamed queen. Nurse bees immediately began feeding her honey and the worker bees frantically urged her to flex her wing muscles. It was as if they were saying, “Eat my queen grow strong, work your wings, we must flee.” The hive felt the murderous intent of Melliferia, they needed a queen to swarm with.
Melliferia finally emerged from her cell and instead of stopping to be fed, she immediately attacked to two other queen cells on her comb. She chewed the wax tops off of their cells and started ripping her rivals to shreds stinging them several times each. Queen bees don’t have barbed stingers like worker bees. They are able to sting their targets many times without ripping their abdomens to pieces. She was piping as she was doing violence to her sister queens. (Piping is a high-pitched song or noise queen bees make. Some Entomologist think it is the queen saying, “Here I am, I am Queen” as sort of a challenge to her sister queens, or it could be a call to the workers saying, “You have a queen now and it is me.”) Just like it is with the highlander there can be only one queen to the hive. The nurse bees gave her wide berth as she did her deadly deed. The whole hive was vibrating as if to say, “Please don’t kill all of your sister queens, we need to swarm, our queen,” recognizing her probable ascendancy to the throne.
Melliferia would have none of this, screaming, “Death to all of the pretenders.”
Just as she killed the second queen on the frame she emerged from, in her cell, the queen Nadine made her presence known. She was a little smaller, not quite as strong as Melliferia had been, but she was very agile and well fed and had more energy than the murderous queen. They engaged in a long battle between the combs falling to the hive floor. They rolled around trying to bite and sting each other while trying to avoid being ripped apart or stung to death.
A full forty percent of the hive urged Azena to flee the hive now. “Come queen we must leave now!!!”
Azena made it to the hive entrance. Thousands of bees were almost clogging the entrance as they fled the hive in swarm, but they all made way for Azena.
Nadine died, but not before severely injuring Melliferia. After giving a weak effort at piping after winning her battle, she was not met by nurse bees bringing her honey, rather she was met by a swarm of angry workers who balled up on her stinging her to death, because she was injured. Life is hard in the bee hive. They all knew they had one more queen in her cell that was within hours of hatching.
The swarm with Azena, flew high to a nearby tree to give their queen time to rest and gain strength. They remained in the tree for two days, the workers formed a protective shield around her from the elements. The workers had engorged themselves with honey before they had left the hive. They fed and groomed her.
Azena grew bigger and stronger till she was ready to mate. The swarm urged Azena to fly out from them, higher and higher. She entered another swarm, this swarm was not like the swarm of her sister workers, this was a swarm of male drones from numerous hives from miles around. One male drone after another mated with the virgin queen leaving their endophallus everted, turned inside out, hanging from her oviduct. She mated twenty-one times before she began to fall toward the ground from exhaustion. She headed back to where her swarm was.
Angela was hungry. It had been two days since she had been dropped off in Jackson Mississippi. It was late February and it was cold in Roanoke Virginia. One of the youth shelters’ counselors had dropped off the sixteen-year-old girl, in Jackson, on her way home to visit her parents. It had been against the shelters rules for counselors to do this, but Angela was different. It was a bit warmer in Jackson.
Angela Parsons was a foster kid. She stood about five feet six, had blonde hair that came between her shoulder blades and was skinny at about one hundred and ten pounds. She was fifteen when she ran away from her foster parents. Her own parents had died in a car crash in Baltimore Maryland, where they lived. They were both older parents. Her Dad had been forty-six and her mom had been thirty-nine when she had been born. There were no relatives alive when her parents died, so she was shifted into the foster system when she was just twelve. She went through three foster homes, before she just said, “Fuck it!” She gathered her birth certificate, social security card, pictures of her and her parents and her meager possessions and planned her escape. She took three weeks to ferret her belongings in a place where and when she could get them to get away.
She was different and her fosters just weren’t prepared for, or of the right mind to deal with a transgendered child. Since she was two or three she identified herself with other girls, rather than the boy that her birth certificate indicated she was. Her parents accepted the fact, when she was eight, but her first foster parents tried to beat it out of her. They didn’t use their fists, but she always found it hard sitting after they took a belt to her butt. The other fosters just tried to ignore the fact and never provided the things she wanted to wear and insisted on calling her Alan.
There was snow in Roanoke, when she left the city four days ago. She didn’t know where she was but at least the temperature was in the sixties today. What the day or date was she didn’t know, she was just thankful she wasn’t freezing.
She had to get some money and food or turn herself into the foster system or just die. She hadn’t decided which was worse at this point.
She was wearing her best clothes she had gotten from the youth shelters; a blue jean jacket, a thread bare flowery blouse, jeans, socks and ragged pair of running shoes. Her underwear was gone. It had gotten too funky for her to wear.
She had spent the night in an abandoned barn, a few miles away and now she walked down an old pot hole filled road. She found some edible plants, like chickweed and dandelions along the road. She learned the hard way which plants could keep her alive and which made her deathly ill for a time. Her stomach growled but she was alive.
Angela saw a sign by the road, “McNeil’s Bee Farm,” and another smaller sign that read, “Help Wanted.” She didn’t know what time it was exactly, but the sun had been up for a while and it was less than a quarter of the way up to being high in the sky. She took a chance the people were already up and working. She walked up the drive to an older style home. She was surprised to see a high-tech doorbell. It had one of those camera/speaker things. She pressed the doorbell.
“Hello, how can I help you?” The doorbell said in a deep masculine voice.
“Hi, I Angela Parsons and I saw your help wanted sign. I will do any kind of work.”
Dan looked at the thin waif of a girl, the screen of his phone showed him. Her height made her a teen, but she was very skinny and a little mussed. “Come around to the back and we’ll talk.”
Dan McNeil was fifty-two years old, he stood a couple of hairs higher than six feet tall and weighed in at two o five. He had close cropped salt and black pepper hair. His oblong face was tanned and weathered. He left his office in his warehouse and headed out to meet the girl. As he stepped out into the yard he saw quite a few bees flying around. It wasn’t unusual, the red maple was in the midst of a major nectar flow and pollen production, while the temperature was in the upper sixties. The bees were going crazy foraging.
Angela came around the corner carrying her blue jean jacket.
Suddenly the random mass of bees began to coalesce into a swarm behind the girl.
“Stop!” Dan ordered.
The girl stopped and felt hundreds to thousands of bees landing on her back.
“Don’t panic, just hold your arms out to your side. Whatever you do, don’t swat any bees.”
Angela’s back began to become very warm and her blouse was weighed down. She could feel a lot of bees walking around on her back. Inside she was scared, but the man’s warm but firm voice calmed her.
“Jacques! Get me a nuc (a five-frame hive for a new colony of bees) with a honey, a pollen frame, a brood frame and a queen clip.”
Jacques Boudreaux was a sixty-three-year-old Cajun. He was five feet four, with a grizzled spotty complexion and had a head of stark white hair. He had been born on the Atchafalaya river near Morgan City Louisiana. He was a very educated Cajun, having graduated with a Master’s Degree in Entomology. He could affect a strong Cajun accent when he wanted, but usually sounded like an old Mississippian.
“On it Boss,” a guy with a French Cajun voice said.
Dan walked up to the girl, giving her a warm smile, “Hi I am Dan McNeil and you seem to be wearing a swarm of bees. What’s your name again?”
She stood still and said, “I am Angela Parsons. I saw your help wanted sign and came to check it out.”
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen, almost seventeen in August.”
He guessed she was a tall fourteen or maybe fifteen. He would have called her out on it, but he wanted to keep her calm.
“Do your parents know where you are?”
“They are looking down at me right now from heaven. They passed away three and a half years ago. I ran from a foster home, a long time ago.”
Dan knew about the burgeoning problem of kids living on the street. Angela was the first he had met.
“When was the last regular meal you ate?”
“I guess it was at Roanoke, Virginia. I stayed in a shelter there for a week. I left about two days ago.”
Jacques returned and handed Dan the things he had asked for. Then he backed off and turned on his Go Pro 5, videoing his boss at work.
“Now I’m not going to cop a feel, but I am going to start collecting the bees off you. Things could get a little intimate. You’re not allergic to bee stings, are you?”
“I hope not, since I’ve been stung a couple of times already.”
Dan walked around her and kept talking to her as normally as possible. “Why did you run away, did they beat you?”
“No, my last fosters were just ok.” She hesitated to tell him the whole truth, but decided to push on a bit. “They wouldn’t let me be who I really am.”
Dan was a little confused, “What? Who are you?
“Can I tell you the truth without you getting mad.”
“I can’t say I don’t get mad at people. I don’t tolerate fools, but yes I promise not to get mad at you.”
“I’m transgendered. A girl in a boy’s body. I was born Alan Parson, but I prefer Angela. My parents just loved the Alan Parsons Project.”
“Ok, I can’t say that I am an expert on the subject of transgender children, being you are the first transgender person that I know personally. I am looking for the queen bee now. I think this is a swarm from one of my hives. When things get too crowded hive the old queen and half the bees in the hive leave to allow a new queen to set up house.”
Dan slowly separated the bees with his bare hands, digging gently into the biggest mass of bees. Somewhere near the middle of the mass is where you will generally find the queen. Bees don’t go madly about stinging people. They will sometimes sting to protect their brood, their food and idiots that greatly disturb them. If you handle calm bees gently, they will usually just ignore you.
“Don’t you usually fumigate bees to handle them?” Angela asked.
“You mean smoke them? I would, but that would scatter some of them. You don’t want them crawling somewhere the sun don’t shine, do you?”
“Not really. Just do what you need to do.”
“Ah there is the queen. She’s on your spine right between your shoulders. Stay still I’m going to catch her in a queen clip. Boy is she a beautiful queen. Just stay calm, girl.”
Dan took the clip. It looks sort of like a butterfly clip girls use to hold their hair in a ponytail, only it boxes up a queen bee without hurting her. He moved in and caught the queen with three other bees. He came around in front of Angela to show her.
“She looks to be a strong cross between an Italian bee and a Caucasian bee. She is the large dark bee in the clip, can you see her.”
“Wow she really is pretty. What are those stringy things? Is she hurt?”
“No, she has just been mated today. Those stringy things are endophallus organs pulled out of the drone bees. That is how they pass on their genetics.”
“That’s got to hurt the drones,” she giggled.
“Yep two to five seconds of ecstasy and then the agony of death,” Dan said, laughing.
Dan took the queen in the clip and rubber banded it in a wooden frame, which he put in the nuc.
“Aren’t you going to let her go?”
“Not today, I want that queen and the swarm to call that nuc home and begin to work the brood first. I’ll let her go in a couple of days. Her bees will feed her through those gaps in the clip.”
“What is a nuke? Is that a bomb.”
“No nuc is beekeeper slang for nuclear hive, spelled N U C. Bees need a warm dry place to hang their hats. A nuc provides them a warm, dry, safe home to live in.”
Angela giggled again, “I didn’t know bees wore hats. Ow, that one got me in the armpits.”
“It happens. I won’t tell you the worst place that I have been stung, it hurt like the devil.”
Angela giggled again, she knew where he was talking about, “Ruined your love life for a few days, didn’t it?”
“Yes and no. I am a lot like you, only it was my wife and daughter. They died in Starkville in a car accident going to Mississippi State University, while I was in New York on business. It was about five years ago.”
“Oh, I am so sorry.” Angela said, fearing she opened an old wound.
“No problem. Life goes on,” Dan said, a little wistfully.
Angela could tell he was a little hurt by it, but he was right life goes on. She could feel his pain, because she knew it too.
Dan began slowly brushing the bees off her back with his bare hands. The bees fell into the nuc and hid amongst the frames of the hive.
“I would guess that you had about ten thousand bees on your back. This is a very gentle hive.”
“Don’t tell me how many, now I can imagine being stung ten thousand times. How many times have you been stung.”
“Up to four or five times on some days that I work with my bees. Being stung comes with the job, if you know what I mean?”
In about twenty minutes he was down to the last ten or twenty stragglers, that just wouldn’t be caught. He took a bee brush, in hand.
“Ok there aren’t many left, but these bees just don’t want to go. I am going to pull your blouse out of your pants and away from your body and brush the rest away. So be warned you might get stung.”
Dan tugged her blouse, out of her jeans and pulled it away from her back. She felt him lightly touch her neck with the brush. He counted to three and in three relatively quick brushes he cleared almost all the rest of the bees. He put the lid on the nuc and Jacques came to take it away.
“Hang on a bit. Put your hair up in a bun around the hives. You have seven or eight bees caught in your hair. I am going to have to pick them out. Jacques put that nuc by my hives.”
He crushed the bees trapped in her hair and pulled them out one by one.
“Ok, your free of bees, how are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling fine, no hives, I am breathing ok. I’m just a little tender in places.”
“Come on inside my home. You can take a bath. Bees release a pheromone when they sting, to alert other bees. You need to wash it off.” which was true, but she also stank. “I will fix you something to eat too.”
He led Angela up to Samantha’s, his daughter, room. From her closet, he pulled out some jeans and a long-sleeved work shirt, along with a pair of her work boots.
“Sam’s bath room is there; her underwear is in the drawers. See if you can wear these things. You need to wear these boots, if you can, in the bee yard. Put the pant legs inside the neck of the boots and tie them up good. You can lock the bedroom door if you want, but nobody will disturb you. I will be downstairs, fixing you something to eat,” he said leaving her alone.
Angela set her backpack down and looked the room over. She loved this room from the flower print wall paper, to the dresser, vanity, bed stuffed with animals and framed pictures. This was a girl’s room. She undressed and checked out the dresser. Samantha had a lot of pretty things. She found some bras. Sam still had all her bras from 32AA to 36D. Angela found a heavily padded 34 B bra and grabbed some matching panties. She entered the bathroom and started drawing a bath. She couldn’t help but add some lavender bath salts, she found, to the tub.
Downstairs, Dan could hear when Angela started her bath. He figured that it would be a while, so he called his lawyer and had a hypothetical talk.
Angela was in heaven, she could have stayed in the bath for hours, except for the promise of food. Her stomach was basically empty right now. So even though she hated getting out of the bath, she did. The bra was a little tricky till she turned the bra around and fastened it up front. She then twisted it and got the straps over her shoulder. The panties fit well, being bikinis. She loved the nylon and lace. The shirt was a little big on her while the pants were a little tight at the waist and loose at the hips. Still she got them buttoned and zipped. She had to put tissue in the toes of the boots, plus wear two pair of socks to make the shoes fit right.
She looked at her reflection. She loved the illusion of boobs and wished that they were real. Maybe someday. She stopped and stuffed a couple of panties in each cup. It improved the look, not too big and not too little. The panties kept the cups of the bra from being mashed flatter. She smiled at herself as she put her hair in a bun. Her mom had taught her how to do a knot and a bun when she was still alive. Angela shed a tear. She dried her eyes and then headed downstairs, she was desperately hungry.
Dan was just pulling some biscuits out of the oven when Angela came in the kitchen. He had heard the old door opening.
“Butter these biscuits while they are still hot. I have some of my special honey for you. How do you like your eggs?”
Angela began buttering the biscuits, “Over medium, I can’t stand runny whites, but I like runny yolks.”
“I usually like mine that way or scrambled.”
Dan set an old one-quart mason jar of raw honey down of the table, “Try that with your biscuits and tell me what you think? Your breakfast will be ready in a minute.”
The honey was darker than she was used to and raw. Angela had never seen honey like this before. She took a honey spoon and drizzled some honey on the buttered biscuit. When she bit it her eyes got really big, the flavor just exploded in her mouth.
“Oh my god, this is good. I ain’t never tasted honey this good before.”
“When they process honey, they filter out the pollen and then pasteurize the goodness out of it, it loses something. Raw honey is better for you.”
By the time Dan set the plate of food down, Angela had already scarfed down three biscuits. The two eggs and four strips of bacon soon disappeared too along with another biscuit. Ideally, she shouldn’t have eaten more than two biscuits on a stomach not use to a lot of food, much less the eggs and bacon. The honey did wonders for her blood sugar levels. She felt a surge of energy. Her stomach ached a little from being stuffed, but she felt better than she had in a long while.
Dan eyes got huge as he saw her eat. The girl was almost in a frenzy as she shoveled, that is the only way he could describe the way she was eating, she was shoveling it down. Even Jacques, who was just a hair or two bigger than Angela, didn’t eat that fast and he was a fast eater. Dan had seen him finish off a three-pound platter of crawfish in ten minutes and eat dessert.
“Well if you are working for me, we have a lot of work to do before lunch time. It’s nine thirty and we have four hours of solid work to do. Follow me.”
“Yes sir,” Angela said, stuffing a last bit of honey biscuit in her mouth.
She got up and followed him out back to the warehouse, keeping a nervous eye on a row of about twenty hives. Dan found a pair of gauntlets for her, (long sleeve gloves, that beekeepers wear to protect their hands and forearms from stings) and a bee veil.
“My bees are plenty gentle enough to handle, but I want you to wear the gauntlets and veil till I know how well you handle being around them. When we get around a wild swarm we may both suit up in bee suits, but around here you won’t need a bee suit.”
Angela put the gauntlets and veil on. The veil was support by a Styrofoam pit helmet. Dan handed her some tools for her to stuff into her pockets, explaining what they were. He then handed her two buckets and they set out for his hives. Dan headed out without putting on any protective clothing.
They stopped short of the hives and he had Angela stuff the smoker with old dried leaves, of which there were thousands on the ground. Dan stuffed some more in and showed her how to light them. They approached the hives on an angle coming in behind the hives. Dan took the smoker and lightly smoked the bees to scatter them. He smoked the front and around the lid.
“These hives are my special hives. With a couple of exceptions, they are all direct offspring of my original hives, that I started here. I have been bee keeping since I was twelve, but these hives are from when I graduated from Ole Miss. Hand me the hive tool please,” Dan said. “Always approach the hives from the sides or the back. Bees make a sort of glue, called propolis. It is a mixture of tree sap and a secretion from one of their glands. Tree sap not nectar. Without a hive tool, I don’t think me and Jacques together could open some hives by hand.”
Dan inserted the hive tool, which is like a small wrecking bar/scrapper and pried in a gap, to loosen the hive cover. Angela could hear the creaking as the propolis cracked.
“There are many wrong ways to open a hive and one right way. After you loosen the cover, reach forward and raise it up away from you. If the bees swarm out it will be away from you,” He said demonstrating the procedure.
Dan went over a hive inspection step by step with Angela explaining what he was doing and why. Angela stood about four feet away and watched carefully as Dan worked. He showed her the various frames of the hives, what honey they had, the pollen stores if any, the eggs the queen laid, the capped brood, and pointing out the queen. The queen was a golden brown and had a white dot on her back.
“The white dot on her back indicated that she was born in 2016.” Dan said.
He stuck a piece of duct tape on top of the cover after her reassembled the hive and made some quick short-hand notes on what he had seen in the hive.
As they went from hive to hive Angela began to creep closer to Dan so she could better see what he was doing and how. She began anticipating what he needed and by the sixth hive Dan had her doing the inspection. She was nervous, but Dan’s presence gave her the impetus to go on. The ninth hive had a small to moderate infestation of small hive beetles.
“See that small insect there,” Dan indicated by pointing. “That is a small hive beetle. If they are left unchecked they will ruin a hive. My bees have them corralled up top, but let’s give them a little hand.”
He had Angela insert several beetle traps in the hive. While he placed a couple of beetle strips in the hive and sprayed the ground under the hive with beneficial nematodes.
“That was a good hive last year, but it got weak over the winter. I should have been into this hive weeks ago. I was just too tied up.” Dan made notes on the hive and on his smart phone to check back in a couple of days to see how they were doing.
“Hives are like that. They are strong in the late spring and early summer, but they taper off in August and September. By October they are beginning to winter. Bees won’t fly below about sixty-two, they begin to cluster in the hive in the fifties and when the temperature is forty or below, they will cluster tightly for warmth. Bees create warmth by vibrating their wings and bodies if they have enough carbohydrates, that is honey, sugar water or bee candy in their hives. If it is too cold they will starve to death with a hundred pounds of honey in their hives. If the inside of the hive gets too cold, they stop moving and begin starving. Late February here, my bees began making some early flights to scout out the lay of the land and see if anything is blooming.”
The next ten hives, Dan had Angela begin queen spotting. She started off slowly finding the queen, but then she got the knack of things and began spotting the queen before Dan. She spotted a queen with a green dot on its back.
“That is an old queen, she was born in 2014. Queen bees can live three to five years, while worker bees live about forty-two days.” Dan said.
He looked closely at the brood frames. The queen was still laying eggs like a banshee, but made notes about possibly re-queening the hive later this year.
Then they came onto a hive that had half the bees it should have. They both couldn’t find a queen and there were several queen cells that were open, while one was still incubating.
“I think we have found the hive that swarmed on you Angela. The hive was too big and apparently, the queen was dying. Put the hive back together and we will check on it in a week and see if there is a new queen on the throne.”
They finished up their inspection at about two and headed back to the warehouse. Dan showed her where to put her things and where to clean up a bit. He went into the office to make some notes. Ten minutes later they were headed to the house.
“So, what do you think about this job. Is this something you would like to learn to do?”
Angela thought for a few seconds, “I really liked working with you and I liked what you taught me. I just don’t have any place to stay.”
“I hypothetically talked to my lawyer. That was one of the things we talked about. You basically are emancipated. Your fosters haven’t provided you any money or support in the last six months, right?”
“Right.”
“There could be problems if you lived with me, you know a sex abuse claims, type thing and me with no legal custody over you, but I came up with a solution. I have another property with an apartment. You would work here and get paid. You would live there and rent would be you looking after the property and doing a little cleaning. I haven’t used that place in twenty years. It could be dreadful. When you get to seventeen we will get you a driver’s license and get you legally emancipated. You wouldn’t have to go into any foster home. You could live like you choose. What do you think?”
Angela started crying. She didn’t know if this was a miracle yet, but it was the closest she had ever been to a miracle. Dan was worried that he had gone too far too fast with the girl. He just didn’t want her to go back to living on the street. He couldn’t save all the homeless kids, but he could save one, this one.
“Deal!” Angela said. “I don’t mind living alone and it has been good, working here.”
“Ok. Clothes, pack up everything in Sam’s old room. It is doing no good sitting there collecting dust. Take it with you. She has some suitcases or you can use mine for a few days. Take whatever you want from her room. It’s not doing me any good and I am sure she would want someone to use her things. Holler when you get done. I will fix us some lunch.”
“Do you have some large garbage bags, that is all the suitcase I need right now.”
“There should be a box just beneath the sink.”
Angela found an unopened box of heavy weight leaf bags. She took it and headed to Samantha’s old room. First thing she loaded up all the underwear. That is the thing she missed the most living on the streets and in shelters. They only passed out basic stuff. She did put the other girl’s 36D bra’s in another stack. They were pretty, but there was no way she could wear them and stuff the cups.
She found a box of toys for girls, she wasn’t so innocent that she didn’t know what the toys were. A couple were just plain huge and one was odd. It was a dildo with a knob on the backside, it took a few minutes to figure out a girl would use it on another girl.
In the closet, she found a range of sizes from too small for her to clothes that might fit, to some really nice things she could grow into. She bagged everything. She did put the things she thought she could wear now, including work clothes and shoes, into a couple of suitcases she found. The girl had a lot of jeans and long-sleeved shirts.
She also cleaned out the bathroom, she got combs, brushes, body scrubbers, shampoos, conditioners, bath salts, razors, deodorants, bath cloths, towels, tampons and panty-liners. She also found six months of Birth Control pills, she took them too. She raided the girl’s vanity and emptied it too.
She cleared off the dresser top
Under the bed, she found a nice, but old laptop computer. Dan had said to clear everything out, but she would ask before she took that. She was surprised to find a shotgun on the other side of the bed. She didn’t take that.
It was close to five thirty when she began lugging bags downstairs.
“Samantha had an old laptop, can I take that?”
“Are you sure? That thing has to be at least eight years old.”
“I haven’t worked on a computer since I was twelve, so if it works we are about even.”
“Sure, I will get a new one for the office over there, but you can have it. If there is stuff on it that would embarrass me, I don’t want to know about it. Ok.”
Angela thought she knew what he meant, after finding the toy box, “I understand. Did you know she had a shotgun?”
“We all have them, for home defense. Leave that here till I teach you to shoot. We do get bears and some wandering vandals at times. Bears love honey, bees produce honey.”
They ate dinner and then loaded up a new suburban with the bags. Dan then drove over to his other property. It was about four miles farther out of town, but fairly hidden by trees. Angela had spent the night about a half mile away from there. They turned off the main road and Dan handed Angela a key to unlock the gate. The suburban crossed between the gate and Angela nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a loud buzzer. Dan was laughing as she closed the gate behind them.
“What was that loud noise?”
“That my dear was your door bell. This place is surrounded by trees, so you can’t see someone coming. When I worked here, I didn’t want someone to drive up on me, unnoticed. That cattle guard triggers the buzzer when someone drives over it.”
They drove just under a quarter of a mile.
“That building to your left is a Bee shed. I will tell you about it later. There is your honey barn and there is the warehouse/office/apartment.”
They drove up to the office door. Dan let them in. The lights worked. The office was about 300 square feet. It had a large picture window facing the parking lot and there were a half dozen dry erase board along the other three walls, with various pieces of office furniture throughout. It was very dusty but not really trashed. Dan checked the phones, they still worked.
“You start working at my place on Monday, so for the next four days clean this office and your apartment. Your apartment is through that door.”
Angela followed Dan through the door to the apartment. It was a one room efficiency. To the left was a kitchenette and a door to the warehouse. To the right under a window was a full bed and night stands. Along the wall they entered through was a desk. The far wall had a dresser, a closet, a pantry and the door to the bathroom. Although it was one room, it was larger than the office and it was a little less dusty. The bathroom only had a sink, toilet and shower. Besides the iron stains in the toilet, the floors needing a good mopping and the shower scrubbed, it was the cleanest room. The kitchenette needed cleaning. The refrigerator was surprisingly clean and it was cold. The microwave was clean and operational as was the induction stove. The water worked and there was hot water.
“Can we unload into the warehouse? I need food, sheets for the bed and cleaning supplies.”
“Sure, let’s get busy.”
He went to the desk and pulled on a yucky picture. Behind the picture was a key safe. Dan opened the key safe and pulled out a ring of keys.
“These will be your keys. You can unlock everything on this property with these keys. Put them in your pocket” He said handing her the keyring that held about fifteen keys.
He unlocked the warehouse bay door and then he drove the suburban inside. Angela lined up the bags by what she knew was in them and what she would need soonest.
Dan went around the corner and checked out the washer and dryer that was behind the bathroom. He showed Angela how to use them.
After unloading the suburban, they drove to the nearest Wally World. Dan bought her everything she needed for cleaning and sleeping. For food, she selected two weeks of the basic foods and microwave dinners. She explained that she hadn’t been allowed to cook in foster care, when Dan inquired.
When they returned to Angela’s new home, they cleaned and filled the fridge and proceeded to make the apartment livable. Dan used a shop vac to clear up the dust, while Angela attacked the bathroom. They mopped, scrubbed the walls, cleaned the kitchenette and made up the bed.
They sat when they were mostly done and talked about what they wanted to do tomorrow. Dan left when Angela fell asleep talking to him. She woke briefly when the Suburban rolled over the cattle guard.
Angela woke at about five. Since she had been living on the streets, she never got much sleep. It didn’t pay to be a heavy sleeper when someone could sneak up on you. She got up to use the restroom and then went to the kitchen. She was surprised to see a gallon jug of McNeil’s raw honey, by the sink. She cooked a can of biscuits and had milk, biscuits and honey for breakfast.
She thought about taking a shower, but she was going to get dirty today, so she skipped the shower. She took her keys and unlocked and opened the whole warehouse so it could air out. Angela took two of Samantha’s cotton scarfs, she covered her hair with one and her nose and mouth with the other before she attacked the office.
With a moistened wash rag, she began at the top of the walls and worked her way down using an articulated ladder to get all the way to the drop ceiling and to the ceiling fans. She was basically just knocking the dirt onto the floor and office furniture. She had finished the walls and the ceiling fans when she heard the buzzer go off several times.
A large flatbed truck and two pickup trucks pulled up, with about eight or ten people, luckily, she saw Dan at the wheel of the deuce and a half flatbed. Angela smiled and waved at Dan. He got out of his truck and waved back.
“I am surprised to see you up an at it already. We worked till almost midnight last night.”
“Living on the street, I didn’t sleep much. I don’t know when I woke, but it was still dark.”
“Jake, get those two mules running in the warehouse. Amanda get to mowing and cleaning up the yard. Bill hit the office and get it clean, Brenda hit the bee shack and the honey barn, get them clean…” Dan said, issuing orders to everyone he brought. “Angela come with me, we are going to build some bee platforms. We are going to start you a hive.”
Everybody got busy as bees working on their assignments. Angela helped Dan measure out four bee platforms. Dan setup up stakes and began to dig post holes with a post hole digger. After watching how Dan did it, Angela tried her hand at it. On her first try, the digger just bounced off the hard-packed dirt Dan just had to laugh and Angela just stuck her tongue out at him. She got it stuck in the second time and kept it up. Dan finished off three post holes and the one Angela was working on. He cut the 4x4 and had Angela hold them in place as he leveled them. They then packed in the dirt, rechecking the level when they finished and installed crossbars to hold the hives up off the ground.
Angela didn’t know exactly what she was doing, but she took orders and kept doing it.
A Kawasaki Mule rolled out the back of the shop and over to where Dan and Angela were working on the third platform.
“Boss I got this one working, I need to rebuild the engine on the other one, moisture got in the cylinder and it’s seized up.”
“Okay put it on the back on my flatbed and take it back to the shop, get it running but do it right. Replace the engine if you have to.”
About ten, Jacques drove up in his truck towing a large bar-be-que pit. He set up by the office and began cooking burgers and hotdogs. The flatbed truck left with the mule on it.
When the people finished one job, they found another job that needed doing without being asked. When Dan and Angela finished, they went into the warehouse and began checking things out. He showed her where all the switches were and where the breaker box was.
“These hive boxes, frames, bottom boards, inner covers and top covers all need cleaning and sanitizing, Angela. I will show you how to do that Monday at my warehouse. You can clean these up, when you work around here.” Dan said. “These six pallets of bees’ wax you can do whatever you want with, the wax it’s yours, but don’t throw it away. It’s worth eight to twenty dollars a pound for virgin wax. It needs to be melted and processed a couple of more times to get them totally clean. I will show you how to do that. This area is your wood working area. You can build your own hives, frames and such. Don’t use the equipment till you learn to use the machines. This is your walk-in freezer. We freeze our hives, frames and such during the off seasons. Freezing kills, small hive beetles, mites, wax moths and such, it gets down to forty below in there. You can’t lock yourself in, you can open the door from the inside.”
Angela followed Dan out the rear bay door.
“There is your incinerator, it runs on propane. There will be times you will need it.”
“This is your honey barn. After you harvest honey, you can extract it and bottle it.” Dan said, pointing out the various equipment from the decapper, storage tanks and extractor. “You won’t get any honey this year but…”
“This is your Bee shed. This building has a lot of functions dealing with bees and bee health. I will show you mine and you can decide if you want to go down those lines.”
“Here is the wax Melter. I built this when I was into dipping my hives and frames in paraffin wax. Don’t process bees wax here. I can teach you that later, if you want. It works better than paint alone, but it isn’t commercially viable to do on a large scale. It runs on propane.”
“You have three propane tanks; a man will be by Friday to pressure test them and to fill them.”
“A man will come by tomorrow to check out your septic tank and your drainage field tomorrow.”
From there they went back to the office, it was clean and in operational order. There were two computers there and an LED TV that was on.
“You got things looking good Bill.”
“The satellite dish is setup and going, I have this place patched in on the wireless internet. The computers, mirror server and printers are running. I was working on updating the dry erase boards, as the server syncs up with ours. Leave the server running 24/7 and turn off the computers when you are through with them.”
Dan turned to Angela, “We aren’t invading your space soon, but there are times when I lose power and internet while you have power and internet. I can run my business from here. You can also use the computers, internet and television in this room.”
Bill showed her how to long into the internet, helped her set up e-mail accounts, gave her limited access to the company business server and taught her how to look up information on their server. Dan gave her a list of phone numbers that she could call if she needed something.
A man came out of her apartment pulling a machine.
“Hi, I am Charlie Dunn. I just finished steam cleaning your mattress, box springs, couch, bathroom, plus your air ducts and all the hygienic surfaces.”
At twelve thirty everyone stopped what they were doing as Jacques rang the dinner bell. Angela got the chance to meet all the people who had helped get her place clean and in order, as they went down the line to get some burgers and dogs. They all greeted her and treated her like an adult. They guys shook her hand and the girls all hugged her.
Jacques had potato salad, beans, burgers, hot dogs, buns and a fried pastry dipped in a honey glaze. It was a help yourself buffet, set up on folding tables. Angela had to giggle as the people looked like a mass of bees feeding on a honey comb. She purposely went through the food line last. She got some potato salad, beans and a burger all the way and four honey bites, grabbing a diet coke on her way to a table that had been set up for eating.
Angela sat with the girls that had been working. All the girls wanted to know everything about her. She told them the sanitized truth, leaving out her transgender status. The girls told her what they did for Dan. Brenda Swanson was a beekeeper, she worked in the bee building. She produced the queen bees Dan needed and made up bee packages with queens that they sold to local beekeepers. She also did all the checks for Nosema Carenae, Varro mites, European Foulbrood, American Foulbrood and other bee diseases. Amanda was a beekeeper, but she liked to mow and keep the bee yards clean and clear. She would fill in when Dan needed an additional beekeeper, she just didn’t like to travel. Susan Jones was an office worker, she was glad to get out of the office today with Bill. She did the accounts, scheduling, payroll and such.
The food was wonderful, especially the honey bites. Angela really loved them.
When the feed was over everyone helped in on cleaning up. Jacques helped by hauling all the trash away with his equipment.
Jake came back with the flatbed, loaded down with a dozen nucs. Angela worked with Dan on how to setup the bee nucs and Jake worked on his own.
“Now this Nuc contains the queen that adopted you. Set it down where ever you want it.”
Angela choose the platform nearest the warehouse. Fifteen minutes later they had all twelve nucs in place.
“These are your hives, not mine. If you work with them, they will teach you beekeeping. They are the best teacher there is. Listen to them. All of them have honey and pollen and are good for a few days. Early tomorrow, lite your smoker and unplug all the hives to let the bees get out. Also in your number one hive, let your queen out of the clip.”
Dan then taught Angela how to drive the mule. He had her drive around her graveled parking lot. It was obvious that she was scared for the first few minutes and then she began to have fun. He then had her drive the whole property. She drove to the tree line and followed it around his property.
“This field hasn’t been worked in three years, I need to see what it looks like. Thirty years ago, I lined my entire property in bee friendly trees and I sowed the open spaces with Clover, Alfalfa, and perineal wild flowers for my bees.” Dan said Identifying the plants and trees. The Clover and Alfalfa looked good, the wild flowers needed reseeding.
Many of the trees were just coming into bloom. Dan explained what would bloom next and so forth and which plants would bloom when. He told her who her neighbors were, where they lived and what they did. It took them thirty minutes at a slow pace to come back around the front.
“Another way I check out my bee resources is by a drone.” He said, as he pulled a drone and a laptop out of his truck.
He booted the computer and set up his six-rotor drone, “This is a professional drone. You can autonomously send it out in a 400-foot circle and its camera will transmit to this laptop.”
Dan sent the drone out. It autonomously traveled in a 400-foot radius circle at fifty feet above the trees.
Angela and Dan watched the screen of the laptop. There were trees around many open fields. Dan stopped the drone and pointed out a field of lavender.
“Your bees will be spending their summer in this field when all that lavender comes into bloom. I can’t go far enough but you see that tree line. There is an apple orchard in bloom.”
“How far will bees travel for nectar and pollen?” Angela asked.
“Two to two-and-a-half-mile radius. That use to be a stock pond, the wall toward the riverside has collapsed. We need a water source for your bees. Open buckets and troughs won’t do, I will come up with a watering method.”
When the drone returned, they put it up and went to the office. Dan downloaded the MP4 files into the computers. He showed her how to watch the video on the computer.
“Angela, I talked to a friend who is at Mississippi State about you. She would like to come out to talk to you and offer you some help. She is a clinical psychologist and she has counseled transgender kids. If you want to see her, I will call her and she can be here on Saturday. What you tell her stays with her. She won’t tell anybody. It’s up to you would you like to speak to her?”
Her mom, took her to see a child psychologist before, so she knew the routine. They had talked about the whole process, not in graphic detail, still she got the picture. She had liked the person her mom had picked, “Yes I will talk to her.”
“Good I will call her tonight. I have got to get back to my office to get some paperwork done. Lock up before bed and call me if you need something.”
Angela kissed Dan’s cheek before he left. She parked the mule in the warehouse, and closed the bay doors. She then walked to the outbuildings and checked to see if they were secure.
Back in her apartment, she looked around, it looked a lot better than it did twenty-four hours ago. It even smelled better now, but she didn’t. She pulled in bags that contained hygiene supplies, underwear, shorts and t-shirts. She selected some and went to the bathroom. She really would have loved a bathtub but she was thankful for the shower. The warm water felt good and it was nice being clean. She took time to shave her legs and her armpits. She nicked her legs a couple of times, pressure and a bit of tissue paper stopped the bleeding, but she did a fair job shaving.
Dressed in panties, a bra which she had to pad out, shorts and T, she got to work. She first sorted out the underwear that she would use, discarding the overly ambitious bras. The stuff she could use went into the dresser the rest she re-bagged. She would need some more bras. There was a lot of shapewear, a couple of corsets and corset like things that she wanted to check out later that went into the dresser too. Next, she put the sleepwear, sportswear, t-shirts and sweaters that had been folded in also. The dresser was stuffed when she finished.
Next, she pulled in the bags of clothes, which she sorted out on the couch, into piles of work clothes, everyday clothes and dress up clothes. The closet was big, but not big enough for everything. She began a second sort by size. She tried many of the clothes on. For the fitted clothes, her waist was just an inch or two too big. She stripped down to bra and panties and went back to the dresser. She pulled out a high waist spanx shaping brief. The brief wasn’t easy to get on. It had a lot of spandex in it and was quite tight at the waist. She did like the way it looked on her. It held her tummy flatter and pulled her in on the sides. What she liked best about it was the fact that the little flesh between her legs was quite hidden. She practiced unsnapping the crotch and snapping it back together. She decided to wear something like this as often as possible. She was small, but now that she was eating, she was afraid of looking more like a boy.
She got back to the clothes and found that the spanx had made a big difference. About a third of the clothes had to go. They were from when Samantha was thirteen or fourteen and were way too small. Most of the newer dresses fit nicely. She hung them up on one side of the closet. Skirts was another story some had to go, there were mini-skirts she couldn’t believe Dan knew about. Angela’s mom would have skint her alive for wearing them. Sam had belts as large as some of the skirts. The spanx helped the waist of some of the skirts Angela wanted to keep. What Angela really liked were some of the ladies’ slacks. She liked the look, the feel and the way they fit her, she just need more rump and hips. Angela hung up the skirts, slacks and tops she was going to keep, along with a real nice skirt/pant/jacket suit. She then went through the work clothes. She had plenty that fit her, beekeepers didn’t much go for tight fitting clothes, which bees could easily sting through.
She bagged what she couldn’t use or want and carried them back to the warehouse. Next came Samantha’s makeup and hair care products. There wasn’t enough room in the bathroom so it had to be the desk. She needed a mirror on the desk. Everything fit in and on the desk. Sam’s jewelry went on the dresser. She had a lot of pierced earrings, Angela would get her ears pierced or pierce them herself.
Bag by bag, she kept what she wanted and moved the rest out. Lastly, she set the laptop up on the desk and plugged it in to charge. She had been around computers, but her fosters only allowed her limited supervised use. The charge light came on and she just let it charge.
She went to the fridge and made a small sandwich to eat with a glass of milk. After cleaning up, she checked locks and then went to bed. Someone had set up a clock radio, so she knew it was ten thirty. She needed to get a watch. She figured out how to set the alarm for six and went to sleep.
The next morning, she woke about fifteen minutes before the alarm. She took care of her needs. Looking into the mirror above the sink, her teeth looked horrible. She needed to start brushing her teeth, she had toothpaste, she just needed a toothbrush.
In the office, she found a pen and paper to make a list of what she needed. Toothbrush was the first item.
She dressed in work clothes. In the office, she checked out the TV. She found the ‘Weather Channel’. She knew roughly where she was, but not the nearest city or the name of the roads. She turned on the computer and logged into the company server. There it was on the company’s homepage. McNeil’s Bee farm. Dan McNeil President, blah blah blah, box 2459 rt396 Bolton, MS. She booted the browser and called up a google earth. She was able to locate his farm and worked her way to where she was.
She went to her hives a little after seven, wearing a veil. She stopped at her hive first and unblocked the entrance. There was a light rush out. When the exit settled down. She took off the top, located the queen, in the queen clip. She released the queen on the top bar. The queen seemed to stand on the top bar looking at Angela, then she slipped quickly between frames and got to work.
It was just a simple matter of unblocking the entrances of the remaining hives. Most reacted very well to being release and set about scouting. The last hive didn’t sting her, but several bees buzzed her closely, showing their displeasure at being caged before the call of nectar and pollen changed their attitude.
Angela walked a few yards away looking at the bees at each hives entrance, observing their behavior. Bees were coming and going just minutes after being released. Some of the bees had already found the Red Maple that was blooming just behind them. Her hive seemed to be in full forage mode. Her boss said, listen to the bees. She knew what he meant. The bees wouldn’t actually talk to her, but she could learn to read their behavior by listening to them. All the bees were ignoring her as they had more important things to do.
She walked back to the office. She had noticed one of the dry erase boards had “Bee Calendar” written across the top. She got the day and date off the computer and looked at the board. It was February 26. There was a blue line from the 24 th of February to 18 th of March marked Red Maple nectar flow and pollen. Early March also had hive inspections and many other tasks that needed to be done for the hive, like initiate swarm prevention measures, test for Varroa levels, etc. Other major pollen and nectar flows were listed and many other tasks throughout the months all the way to December 31 st.
Another board had a calendar marked Weather Conditions, each day had a line for minimum and maximum temperatures, wind speeds and directions, sky conditions, barometric pressure, precipitation and humidity. She needed one of those weather station thingies that they had in their earth science classes. She logged on the server and saw a pull-down tab for weather. McNeil’s Bee Farm had the current conditions listed and the year total for precipitation.
There was a large map of the area with individual circles around her apartment, McNeil’s Bee Farm, and three other minor bee keepers in their section of the map. The map’s legend told that the circles were about two-and-a-half-mile radius circles. Her bees overlapped a little with Dan’s bees and someone named Jack Brown. Also, areas were highlighted and the vegetation identified.
Another board was for pollination services and agreements, locations, deliveries of bees, number of hives, what they were pollinating, date due, water source, date return, in route and beekeeper assigned. At the top was the number of hives available, her jaw dropped when she saw the number twenty-one-thousand hives. Angela went back to the computer, but she didn’t have access to this data.
Another board listed four wintering farms, number of hives at each farm and condition of bees.
Another board listed bee health by location.
Wow, Angela thought, beekeeping was much more complicated, than it seemed, at first. She started the second computer and began researching beekeeping. She started by looking for the videos listed on You-Tube and began creating a playlist.
She started watching some of the videos, quickly rejecting some of the Ma and Pa small beekeepers and subscribing to some sponsored by this department of agriculture or another. She had fifteen subscriptions going by the time she received a phone call. The septic tank man called. She drove to the gate to let him in and got back to her studies.
She found several good series of videos by master beekeepers. She would talk to Dan about them, as some contained contradictory information about certain aspects beekeeping, but they seemed to provide consistently good information about general procedures and were in line with what she had already learned. The more she watched the more she realized what she didn’t know. She began a word document listing questions that she had.
Come noon she nuked a broccoli and rice casserole to go with a bologna and cheese sandwich. She studied the boards more closely as she ate and tried to make heads or tails out of the information present.
She cleaned up from her meal, and changed into a mini-skirt with a poet’s blouse and a pair of wedge sandals. She used Sam’s red lipstick. Angela also grabbed a nail file and a bottle of deep plum nail polish. She did her nails as she watched some more videos. There were hundreds of videos, so she wasn’t going to run out of information anytime soon.
At about four, the septic man knocked on the office door. Angela went out to talk with him.
“I checked your septic tank, and your field lines. I pumped your tank and added a bio-culture to it. I ran a rooter down your main field lines, they really needed that. I got all kinds of roots out of the line. You are good to go now. I suggest you add the recommended bio-culture to your toilet at least once a month. Don’t flush any feminine hygiene products down the toilet. They won’t degrade. The way your septic system in designed, you don’t have to worry about backups inside you building, there is an over flow behind the warehouse. Call me if you have any difficulties or you have an overflow.”
Angela signed off on the Man’s work. He certainly smelled like he had been working.
While she was outside, she walked by her hives, all of them seemed to be as busy as bees. Her special hive, as she thought of the one that got her into this, was the busiest of them all. The bees were visiting all the flowering trees behind the hives. She drove the mule to lock the gate and then drove around the field. The fields weren’t blooming, according to the board they wouldn’t start flowering till sometime in April or May, but there were bees in the trees along the fence line.
She parked the mule in the warehouse and saw that she had a quarter of a tank. It was after five so she called Dan.
“Hello Dan,”
“Hello Angela, how are things going?”
“I opened all the hives up at seven and released my queen. The septic man came, he spent about seven hours working. He pumped the tank and rooted out the field lines. He said things were fine. Also do I have gas for the mule?”
“Yes, you have gas. You have a yellow flammable liquid storage locker by the side bay door. We put twenty gallons in there, yesterday. Keep track of how much you use and notify me when you get down to one full can. We will get you some more. How did the bees react to being released?”
“Most just ignored me and went about their business. One hive though had four of five bees that buzzed me. My hive was very well behaved.”
“That isn’t uncommon, but keep notes on which hives are aggressive towards you, or if they attack in swarm.”
“The bees all hit the trees all along the fence line.”
“That is their main source of nectar for now. You can see what is coming next on the bee calendar in the office.”
“I saw that. Is it possible to get one of those weather station things?”
“Sure, I’ll have Bill come out tomorrow and set one up. Mrs. Preston will be out on Saturday. She is the lady I told you about. Mark down on your calendar next Friday we will inspect your hives, and call me, any time of the day, if you need me. Brenda talked to me about setting up a queen operation at your site. She may be over tomorrow to talk to you.”
“Ok Boss,”
“One other thing, I will set up a bee fountain, tomorrow, over by the bee shed. They should be alright till then, you have a couple of creeks nearby.”
“Ok, thank you boss.”
“Bye, see ya.”
Angela locked up and sat in the office watching TV for an hour or so. Before she showered and changed into one of Sam’s sleep shirts. It felt so good sleeping on a bed that hadn’t been used by hundreds of people in a shelter.
The alarm woke her at six the next morning. She cleaned up and dressed in a cute skirt and blouse, before doing her makeup. She used the bathroom mirror which was awkward, carrying her makeup back and forth. Angela wished she knew how to curl her hair. She found a pair of high heeled sandals and put them on. It had been over three years since she had last worn high heels. She knew the basic’s and so she practiced walking for about fifteen minutes.
In the office, she checked the weather on McNeil’s homepage and checked that by what the ‘Weather Channel’ showed for their area. She made note of a cold front that was expected to pass through, within the next forty hours. The temperature was expected to drop to the low forties at night, with the highs in the low fifties before returning to the sixties on Tuesday. She noted on the dry-erase boards the current temperature as the min for today.
She studied the YouTube videos on Spring hive inspection, which was pretty much what she had done on Dan’s hives. She took special interest in the hives with supercedure cells and swarm cells. They also talked about how to spot a hive that is preparing to swarm and how to stop hives from swarming. She then watched a video on running a queen operation.
At about nine-thirty Angela had to drive to the gate and let Bill in. He drove his truck in with a sixteen-foot trailer, that had a pipe that was longer than the trailer. It also had a machine on the back.
Outside the office, she talked with Bill.
“I am going to set up the weather station on this drill stem. That will put it up about twelve feet above the top of the warehouse. I will set up the thermometer in a box by the tree line. The various modules will respond wirelessly to a receiver in the office which will be connected to the computer. You can check the weather on the receiver and on the computer. Next I am going to ditch witch a water line for the bee fountains the boss has coming in later today.”
“Sounds like you have a lot of work to do. Can I help in any way?”
“No, I got it in hand, it’s a one-man operation. It would be a real shame, seeing how nice you look today. I will say this, though. The Boss has really perked up since you have showed up. It was hard to get him doing anything but his bees. These past few days, it has been good to see him live and interact with people. You’re good medicine for him.”
“He told me about his family.”
“That took the heart out of him. He has been going downhill slowly. Oh, Brenda will be here about eleven. I need to get to work.”
Angela went back to her video on working a queen operation. She found it a fascinating video. When she finished that video, she looked at the bee calendar. Two weeks after tomorrow there was a bee clinic scheduled in Jackson and a URL was listed for the clinic. She went to the website and read all the information about the programs. She made a note to see if anybody was going, so she could go. She made notes of the programs she wanted to attend.
Brenda arrived right at eleven. She hugged Angela in greeting.
“Helloooo Angela,” She said, exaggerating the words. “How are you dear?”
“I am doing fine, I am still getting used to the place and getting it setup.”
“Yes, if you need any help call me. I know what it is like moving into a new apartment without anything. I lost a home to a fire and had to move into an apartment. The home was a total loss.”
“I can’t wait till I get my first paycheck. I already see items that I need. I need a toothbrush. A makeup mirror and I don’t know what else I need. I had to lean over the sink to apply mascara. That mirror is too high.”
“Dan must have mounted it so he could shave. He is six feet tall. I may be able to help you there. Like most women, I collect makeup cases and many have lighted mirrors in them. You did a pretty good job with your makeup.”
“I was twelve when mom passed away. She was teaching me hair and makeup. My fosters only taught me basic hair. I need to get my hair styled. It’s been nearly two years since I last had it worked on.”
“Get with Susan on your hair and makeup. She once worked in a salon, till it closed. Then she went to work with Dan. So, tell me what do you know about a queen operation.”
It was a silly question, since she was young and didn’t know anything about bees earlier than three days ago.
“I actually watched several YouTube videos on it just this morning.”
“Oh, which one?”
“It was by Gordon Young.”
“That is a good one. What I want to do is start what is called a queen castle system.” Brenda said, explaining what she meant and presenting various pictures about her operations over at Dan’s place.
“You have everything at Dan’s place why start another here?”
Brenda saw the map on the wall, “When our queens fly to mate, they go over this way. There are two other beekeepers there and there. Bees from here are too far away from there to mate with drones from those places. Jack Brown is here Dan’s bees can’t get to his bees and his bees can’t get to our bees. He runs a very good small operation of about thirty hives. We can improve both our stock of queens by moving some here. Genetic diversity is usually a desirable thing. Dan needs a lot of queens He has just over twenty-one thousand hives, and we go through several thousand queens in a year. We also sell queens in March and April. He has four other queen operations and we trade stock back and forth. Having a fifth can help us in a pinch if one sites has a disaster. A tornado last year damaged one of our sites. We were down to three for a month.”
“Do you want me to work it?”
“Oh dear. Not yet I will teach you, but I will be working with the queens. Put on your walking shoes and I will show you where I want to set up.”
Angela changed into a pair of Sam’s walking shoes and went with Brenda. Bill had the drill stem in the ground and was setting up some weather instruments on it. Brenda led her back behind the bee shed.
“I want to build a fenced in area around here and move about twenty-four hives here. Ten of them will provide me with brood and the rest will be my queen castles. I should be able to produce four hundred queens a month from here from March to October. I will be here four days a week. Checking on them when I get rolling. Only Dan and I will have the keys to my bee yard. Is that ok with you?”
“It’s Dan’s property, so I have no problem with it and it will be good seeing you here. Are you going to the bee clinic?”
“Yes, I will be there. I am teaching the queen castle there. Jacques and Dan will be there too.”
“Good I want to go also.”
“I will tell Dan, he should give you a ride, if not you can ride with me.” Brenda said, as they walked back to the office.”
Bill was backing out a ditch witch off the trailer to dig water lines. Inside the office, Brenda gave Angela a list of videos on YouTube that Angela should watch and a few sites the provided good information on bees.
“Let’s go get a burger and then I can help you with the few things you need. Dan told me to get you anything you need. I can use his business credit card.”
Brenda drove them to a Golden Arches to eat. She explained where everything was in the small town. They also talked bees as they ate. From Macdonald’s they hit Walmart. Brenda helped Angela get everything she needed. They picked up a makeup mirror, toothbrushes, teeth whitener, and many other things.
“Do you use pads or tampons dear?” Brenda asked.
“I have Tampex and Always Dri-liners.”
Brenda picked up two more packages of each.
“How about underwear?”
“I am good with panties, I need bras. Sam was way too big for me.”
“What size are you, dear?”
“I wear a 36B. I could use about four more.”
They picked out six more and some silicone cutlets. Angela got her ears pierced twice at the Walmart Jewelry counter.
Angela was ready to go, but Brenda seemed to be stalling.
“What is Dan doing at my apartment?” Angela asked.
Brenda began giggling, “What, you think something nefarious is going on?”
“Nefarious, no. Underhanded, no. Surprising, yes.”
Brenda looked at her watch, “Oh I am supposed to get you a cell phone on the company’s account. So, you can contact the boss when you are out in the field or he can contact you.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“And I am doing a very good job at doing it.”
“They are installing the bee fountains right.”
Brenda’s eyes got big, but she didn’t say a thing, but smiled. They hit the electronics counter and Angela was handed an LG Nexus phone with an Otter Case and put it on McNeil’s Bee Farm account. Brenda programed in a dozen work related phone numbers into the phone.
“We need to go to Dan’s home. I need to log you into his WIFI and download about a dozen apps you will need, for work. I am not stalling on this, you will really be able to use this phone and the apps while you are learning beekeeping.”
They paid up and headed to Dan’s office. Brenda took Angela’s phone and used a password to let it log into the WIFI there. For the next hour or so, she installed the apps she wanted, including a handful of games.
“Ok I am going to teach you how to send a group text,” Brenda said.
She went step by step, letting Angela do the work to setup the group text. She then told Angela to type in a message saying who she was and anything else she wanted to say. Angela texted “Hello I am Angela Parsons. Assistant Beekeeper to Dan McNeil.” And then she hit send.
“Now the whole group knows your name and has your phone number.”
“What is my phone number?”
Brenda’s phone beeped twice when the text message came through to her phone. She showed Angela her phone and she memorized her phone number. Then she took a picture of Angela and added the picture to Angela’s number.
In a minute, Angela began receiving test messages welcoming her, from other employees and beekeepers in the county.
Brenda showed her how to check her text messages and how to reply to them when necessary. One text was from Dan, which read, “Tell Brenda to bring you over to your place.”
Back at Angela’s place, they took her things into her apartment, before checking on what was done. They took the mule out beyond the bee shack. A group of guys were just finishing up on two bee fountains.
They were really two two-tiered bird baths, but the pools were filled with river rocks.
“Hey Angela, Brenda.” Dan said. “What do you think?”
“Hi boss,” Angela said. “I like them, why so far away from the warehouse.”
“To discourage robbing behavior. If the fountains were by the hives the wild bees will find the fountains and maybe begin a raid on your hives. Hives can die out if all their stores of honey and pollen are stolen.”
“What are the rocks for?”
“To give the bees someplace to land to get a drink. If they land on the water they’ll probably drown.”
“When will they run water?”
“As soon as you send Bill a text to turn on the water and the pumps.”
Angela texted Bill and within a minute the waster started to slowly flow. When the lower pool filled the fountains up top began to burble with water. Within minutes a stray bee found the water, got his fill and took off.
“By tomorrow this place will be busier than a Starbuck’s offering free latte’s.”
“Brenda, we fenced in your bee yard and built eight platforms.”
“I’ve ordered some new stock. I have four Russian’s and some Carniolans coming in next week. I will get them started over at your place and move them here when they get settled.”
“Good, I notified Jack that we will be operating from here. We will set up the hives when you are ready. Monday, we have a lot of work to do. I will pick you up at seven Angela. We begin shipping bees out to Ohio and Illinois in two weeks and to Wisconsin in a month. Check with Gene and Tammy, Brenda.”
“I will have five hundred Queens if they need them, if not we can sell the rest at the clinic. I should have thirty or forty queens from your number one hive. They should be ready for mating by Wednesday.”
“Angela, Monday you will be cleaning hives, tops, bottoms, inner covers and frames. Tuesday. you will be learning how to make bee cages for queen bees. Tomorrow is Saturday have fun people.”
“I am going to be out of state for two days, checking out a possible pollination contract. If you need something Angela, call Jacques, Bill, Brenda or Susan. Oh, here is your first week of pay Angela.” Dan said, handing Angela three hundred dollars. I am impressed by how hard you work. Keep it up. We will set you up a bank account the Monday after this Monday.”
Angela hugged Dan and had him blushing. When they headed out, there was about fifty bees getting drinks.
Angela Parsons got dressed in her spanx, jeans, bra stuffed with panties, long sleeve blouse, socks and work boots. She had a bowl of bran-flakes for breakfast sweetened with a tablespoon of honey. That stuff was addictive.
She stopped in the office to check the weather. The temperature at six fifteen was forty-eight degrees. The barometric pressure was twenty-nine point sixty-five and rising. It had rained during the night; the twenty-four-hour precipitation total was six-tenths of an inch. The wind was out of the northwest at twelve knots. The relative humidity was twenty-six percent and the dew point was fourteen degrees.
It was obvious that these numbers were important in some way. Angela would learn just what these numbers meant. She did know the temperature and wind speed meant it was a bad day to open a bee’s hive. She also knew that if the barometric pressure is falling, it was likely to indicate a storm might be brewing. She also knew that the relative humidity indicated just how much moisture was in the air and dew point was the temperature at which dew formed. She looked that one up on the internet. “Dew point: the atmospheric temperature (varying according to pressure and humidity) below which water droplets begin to condense and dew can form.” Ok, she basically knew what all the numbers meant. She made a point of recording the data on her dry-erase board. She just needed data from later in the afternoon.
She got Sam’s blue jean jacket, it was less worn and in better condition than her own and a quilted vest to keep her just a bit warmer. She remembered to unplug her fully charged phone and take it with her, clipped to Sam’s belt. When she went outside it was a bit crisp. There was no activity around the hives. She knew her bees were well fed and could handle the weather as it currently was, with no problems. The sky was light and the sun was waiting to just peak its head out. She walked to the gate and unlocked it. She walked to the fence line and turned and headed to the bee fountains. The water was gurgling, but there were no bees, drinking. She walked to the back yard behind the bee shed, where the queen operation would be. She saw an eight-foot-tall chain link fence, enclosing an area about twenty-five feet by forty feet, that had eight bee platforms.
Her arms were getting a little cold, so she headed back to the office. It felt good to get a walk in. Better now that she was well fed and had a warm place to go to.
In the office, she pondered how to spend her time. She wanted to learn, the thing she missed most since running away was school. Now she was getting a taste of why it was so important. She was learning what she didn’t know and needed to know. She made a list of the things she wanted to know.
1. Beekeeping
2. Weather
3. Math
4. Science
5. English
6. Biology
Now that she had internet access she believed that she could find some of the information. She just had to find the better sites. She knew the internet was full of junks sites and misinformation. Maybe the psychologist could help with that. Well many of the things on the list she needed more information before she committed to learning. So, she started watching beekeeping videos. She started at the beginning and began taking notes of import, on a writing pad. She replayed one video because it was interesting and just what she needed to know right now. It dovetailed with what Dan had taught her so far.
She found a funny man, who was a master beekeeper, he liked to tell jokes as he taught his students about bees. She realized that he used humor to keep his students focused on him as he passed on important information. He was talking about bee behavior and what it could tell the beekeeper. He showed bees that were in front of their hive. She held her backside up in the air and she was fanning her wings.
“I just put the queen in a clip with a bunch of her bees in a five-frame nuc containing drawn out comb. Most of the colony is still in the tree. These bees just came out on their front porch and are sending their sisters a flare. They are releasing Nasonov, that is a honey bee pheromone that is like saying come on girls, get your butt in gear and get on down here, ya hear.”
He then showed another clip of video from inside the hive. A bee was engaging in weird dance.
“These kids today think they have invented a new dance. This bee is doing what we beekeepers call a waggle dance. She’s telling her sisters. Hey girls, I just found some mucho grande grub. Get a move on it girls we got to feed the hive. That girl could stay in the hive and her sisters know how far and in what direction the food is located. She can even give those girls a taste of the grub so they know just what they are looking for. Now that is a dance. Now look over there that girl wasn’t present at the previous dance, but she is echoing the original dance so more of their sisters know where to look. Sort of like one of those flash mobs ya hear about.”
His methods were a little corny, but they were very effective at teaching the students.
Angela was watching him talking about another bee behavior when she heard the buzzer go off. She paused her video and walked outside the office. A lady in an old but well kept, ford mustang was driving up to the warehouse. She stopped a few yards away. The lady, was about forty to forty-five, a little taller than Angela. She appeared fit and had a nice shape. She was dressed much like Angela was only she had a navy P coat.
“Hello, I am Margaret Finch. I am looking for Angela Parsons.”
“Why is she missing? I am Angela Parsons.”
“Good Mr. McNeil asked me to come out and see you. That is some buzzer you got there. I heard it all the way out at the road.”
Angela got a wild hair up her backside and said, “You say you heard a buzzer. I didn’t hear anything.”
Margaret laugh a warm laugh, “Ah, your either deaf or you’re trying to pull one on me. How are you doing today?”
“I am doing pretty good today. Why don’t you come into my office?”
Margaret laughed again, “Now you are sounding like a therapist inviting a patient in. Lead on doctor Parsons.”
Inside the office, Angela took Margaret’s P-Coat and hung it on a coat tree. They sat in some office chairs.
“So, is this where you live?”
“Yes ma’am. There is an apartment just the other side of that door. I look after this place and Dan teaches me beekeeping.”
Margaret looked Angela over. She really needed help in her appearance. Her breasts looked like a girl stuffing her bra to make an impression. Other than that, she appeared to be what she presented.
“Dan didn’t tell me a lot about you, so why don’t you start at the beginning.”
“Well I started out as a baby, I don’t really remember much about those early days. I must have some memory block about my tine before I was four.” Angela laughed.
“You don’t have to go quite that far back Angela, but it is good to know that you didn’t fall out of the sky as a fully formed teenager.”
Angela told the lady her story starting from when she was six. Margaret laughed again as she got the Alan Parsons bit. She listened closely when Angela told her about her parents and the way they treated her. Angela got her backpack with her pictures and things to show Margaret. Alan indeed was dressed as Angela and was in a picture with her mom. She explained that her dad took the picture. There was another picture of the three of them together.
“You know you ain’t the first psycho I’ve talked to. Sorry I meant psychologist. I get those words mixed up all the time.”
“Sometimes those psycho’s fit the bill. We have really crazy people tending to people.”
“About the time that the picture with me and Mom was taken. She took me to a child psychologist. They first tried to talk me out of being a girl. I had him losing his temper. That was fun. Then she took me to a Dr. William Green, he is a good one.”
“Was he out of Baltimore?”
“He was about an hour away from where we lived, so maybe one of the suburbs. We did word associations and such. It has been four years or so since I have seen him.”
“Why?”
“Part of the reason I am here today. I was twelve and Mom and Dad were out on a date. I didn’t have a baby sitter. Any way there was a police chase and suspect hit their car. Dad died immediately, Mom lasted a week and I went into foster careless. The fosters could care less as long as they got their stipend. The first foster family I lived with was the worst. They tried beating the girl out of me. The next two only gave me boy clothes. The last pair were strange.”
“In what way.”
“I could only have four pair of pants, four pair of underwear, four T-shirts, four button up shirts and four pair of socks. I had a pair of running shoes and a pair of dress shoes. They weighed and measured us weekly. Our food was measured out in grams, nothing extra. No snacks, no desserts, no junk food, you ate what they provided or you didn’t eat. They kept logs on our development. The food was quote “wholesome”, but bland. They accounted for every penny, saving receipts. One hour of TV a day, no computer, for us that is, no video games. They had a large library of books we could read. They did eat what we ate, I will say that, only a lot more. A year of that home and I had to book it. There were four of us at six hundred dollars a kid per month. They spent about three hundred a month feeding all four of us. At least they did take us to doctors and dentists. There was no love in that house.”
“So where did you live after that?”
“On the street or in youth shelter in bad weather. I ate in soup kitchens when I could, I dumpster dived and learned to eat edible plants, like Dandelions. The last shelter I stayed in was in Roanoke, Virginia. I stayed my two weeks there and had to go. One of the counselors gave me a lift from Roanoke to Jackson, now I am here.”
“How did that happen?”
“I was at wits ends. I didn’t want to go back to foster, but I was desperately hungry. A couple of places I worked for food. So when I saw a sign that read McNeil’s Bee Farm, help wanted, I took a chance.”
Angela then told Margaret about the bee swarm, the food, the honey and working the bee yard.
“He offered to let me stay here and clean this place up. I also start working in his bee yard on Monday.”
“So, what are your ambitions, what do you want to do?”
“I fell in love. I want to be a beekeeper. I want to learn what I don’t know.”
Angela showed Margaret the notes she made this morning, “I want to learn this stuff, till September. If I am legally emancipated I would like to finish high school. I want to take the bees where they take me. Dan said something to me that I am beginning to understand. Listen to the bees and they will teach you beekeeping. I want to do all of that as a girl. Can you help me?”
“Can I see where you live?”
Angela took her back into the apartment. Everything was very clean and in order.
“May I look in drawers, look in closets and such?”
“Have at it.”
Margaret did a cursory search of the apartment. In the bath room, she found tampons and pantiliners. She asked about those and Angela answered her. Margaret laughed.
“Be sure to make some of each disappear each month.”
She checked the pantry and fridge, “No cook able foods?”
“I can bake biscuits and boil water. That is all I know.”
“That needs to change. Learn to cook child. It’s not rocket science. Do you have a phone?”
“I have a phone up front and a business cell phone.”
“Give me your numbers.”
“Can you help me?”
“Open your mouth and let me look in.”
Margaret looked into Angela’s mouth, “You need to brush your teeth and see a dentist.” She saw what she wanted to see. Angela did have her third molars just beginning to erupt. She could pass for seventeen now.
“I just got my first toothbrush in a while and I brush and water picked this morning.”
“Yes, I can help you, as long as you follow my rules.”
“First, I will call you and you will call me, at least once a week. I will come see you once a month. I think I know of an online high school. It wouldn’t do to start in March in the middle of school. I will proctor you for any tests you have.”
“The online schools have you work at your own pace. I expect you to keep me informed of your progress. Do you agree?”
“Agreed.” Angela said, as she gave Margaret her phone numbers and programed Margaret’s number into her cell phone.
“You are now my patient and you are covered by client confidentiality. That means I tell no one what we talk about, without your permission, including this interview with two exceptions. The first if you tell me you are going to do harm to others. The second if I believe you are going to commit suicide. I don’t believe you would do either.”
“Now tell me what is in your bra?”
“Panties?”
“We must do better. You will be twigged if you keep doing this.” Margaret said, she pulled a measuring tape out of her purse. “Dealing with transgender patients, I come prepared. I have four sizes of breast forms, you can wear till you get better. Take off your blouse.”
Margaret measured Angela, your band is a 36. What size is that bra?”
“A 36 B.”
“That is a good look for you. You can grow later.” Margaret went to her car and returned with a box. “These could only fool a blind man, they feel good but keep them covered up. A company called Real Breasts make some of the best. I’ll order some don’t worry, they are paid for. Now lay down.”
Margaret glued two silicone breasts onto Angela, “Once every two weeks peel them off with this solvent and reapply them after twelve hours. Put your bra back on.”
The difference was like night and day. The bra looked like actual breasts were filling them.
“Let’s go get a pizza.”
Some things Margaret made Angela do was make a purse and fix her makeup. Almost every girl carries her purse with her almost everywhere she goes. Sam had a nice leather hobo bag, that had almost everything. They left the condoms in the bag and replaced the pantiliners and tampons. There was a makeup bag, that had everything a girl would need to fix her face on the fly. Margaret opened another small bag and pulled out a small plastic thing.
“This Angela is something some girls use. It is a fingertip vibrator. A girl can masturbate with this item. I am telling you, because many women would recognize what this is for. I would leave it in, but it is up to you.”
She also spent some time in how girls carry their bags. In Angela’s case, it also helped with how she carried her arms.
“When we are out eating, keep an eye out for how other girls do things, but try not to stare too much, you could wind up with the L label being stuck on you.”
Angela got in the car with Margaret, like she had always done. Margaret had her get out and get in the car in a more feminine manner. She picked up the right way of doing it quickly.
They went to Sicily’s Best Pizza. Angela impressed Margaret with how she handled herself. Angela had obviously spent more than a little time around girls. They talked quietly about the way other girls were dressed, how they carried themselves and how they acted.
“Consider this place like a stage, Angela. All girls whether they realize it or not are acting on this stage. They all are worried about how the world sees them and they hope, for the most part, that the world perceives them in a favorable light. Most trans girls are worried that they will be twigged or spotted. Genetic girls worry that they will be seen as too feminine, too butch or too snooty. The more successful realize this and just relax and be themselves.”
Angela hadn’t considered that all life was an act before, so she relaxed and looked over the crowd with a fresh eye. She asked herself, what role is that person portraying, what is that girl trying to say with her portrayal.
Margaret wondered what was going on in that pretty girl’s mind. Angela hadn’t responded to her last comment. Yet she looked more relaxed and appeared to be looking at other people, with a more critical eye.
“Oh my god. Dan is a genius.”
That comment surprised Margaret, “Tell me what you mean by that.”
“I already told you. I mean Dan told me to listen to the bees and they will teach you all about beekeeping. This is a hive and these people have their own role in the hive.” Without looking, she said. “The blonde girl to my right is playing the queen bee. She expects everyone to take care of her needs. The two girls with her are her nurse bees. They feed her ego and help keep her clean of innuendo. Those guys over there are drones, they serve the hive no purpose at all. Ideally drones don’t fertilize queens from their own hive. That group to the left are foragers, they are the strength of the hive. The hive lives or dies by the strength of their foragers.”
This time it was Margaret who was strangely silent, as she considered what Angela just said. She hadn’t told the girl, that she too was a beekeeper. She had met Dan at a beginner’s bee class. She had three hives. It relaxed her after the stress of working with her clients to tend to her bees. Margaret looked the same group with a different eye now, applying Angela’s revelation. The girl was brilliant. It’s going to be fun working with her.
The last test of the night came when Margaret and Angela retired to the ladies’ room. Angela was a little nervous, but she forged on. They had to wait a bit, there were already several girl’s waiting in que. Margaret took this time to chat with Angela. A good percentage of guys go into a restroom and never say a word to each other. To other guys they used this place to brag about themselves. A lot of girls continue their social roles, towards each other, in this room. So, Margaret got Angela talking about bees while they waited.
It took Angela a little time that night to get use to sleeping with her breasts. The panties she stuffed in her bra were compressible, the silicone seemed to bore holes in her chest if she laid down on them. They were a bit of a pain, but she could deal with pain. He breasts meant she was closer to her ideal. That night she switched from a stomach sleeper to a back and side sleeper.
Her alarm woke her this morning and she was a little groggy. She showered, brushed her teeth, water picked, put on a whitener strip and brushed her hair out. When she dressed, she worked a little bit with one of her new bras. She found that she had to stretch out the straps a bit. She then tried the back fasten routine. She had to lean to put her breasts into the cups. She took the ends of the band and stretched them behind her. It took a bit to get the hooks into the eyes, but she got it. A few tugs, here and there, of the bra got everything in place.
She looked at that bit of flesh, at the junction of her legs. If she were a guy, it wouldn’t be impressive, in fact it wasn’t impressive for a boy of eleven or twelve. She didn’t care about that though, she wished it was a tenth of the size it was. She really didn’t think she needed a vagina, she just needed a little less reminder that her body was wrong, that was what she thought right now. She put on her spanx. They fit a little tighter now. The spanx improved her waist and lifted her rump, rounding it a bit. She knew she had gained a little weight but she looked good.
She wanted to check the temperature but she had that big window out front. She knew there wouldn’t be anybody out front, but she couldn’t make herself go into the office in her undies. She put on a T-shirt. It was fifty-two outside, the humidity was thirty-six percent and the dew point was twenty-five degrees. The wind speed was seven mph out of the west north west. The barometric pressure was 29.82. The skies were clear, no precipitation.
It was another jeans, shirt and running shoes type day. She didn’t need cold air up her skirt.
She went out for another walk in the crisp cold air. Her bees were again huddled together for warmth, she imagined. Huddled sounded better than clustered. She made the same loop that she had the day before paying more attention to her surroundings, looking for things she hadn’t seen before. She picked a dandelion. She had eaten more than a few of these before and looked at it closely, more closely than she ever looked at one before. She picked a flower off a tree and looked at it. She collected a few other specimens out and carried them with her. She had seen some magnifiers and scopes in the bee shed, she would use them.
There were two research grade microscopes in the bee shed. One of the was the classic scopes that send light through a glass slide to view the specimen. The other was one that lit the specimen from above and you looked at the reflected light. That was the one she used to look at the specimens she collected. She turned on the lights near the scope and looked at the various flowers, changing magnifications to get a better look.
Then, beginning with the Dandelion, she began to sketch out what she was looking at. She had drawn a bit while she was in foster care, so she tried her hand at drawing the flower. She drew the various parts of the Dandelion looking back and forth between the scope and her sketch. She then cleaned up the drawing. She could do better she thought, but it wasn’t bad for the first try.
She then tried to draw a tree flower. It was different from the Dandelion, but there were several similarities, between the two of them. She wasn’t sure of the type of tree the flower came from, but she drew a nice representation of it, cleaning the picture up a bit after she finished it.
Her phone rang while she was drawing the veins in the petals.
“Hello,” Angela said.
“Hello Angela, this is Bill. I need you to do me a favor. Do you think you can reboot the server?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I will talk you through it.”
“Ok give me five minutes, I was out on a walk.”
“Ok call me back, when you are ready. I got some things I need to do at my end.”
Angela turned off the lights of the microscope and then headed directly to her office. When she called Bill, he walked her through doing a cold re-boot of the sever. In thirty minutes, they had the two servers humming perfectly.
“That went nicely,” Bill said. “I had a hiccup on this end and I am glad we had set up a mirror server. They are cross checking data right now, syncing up to each other. It would have been a nightmare with me having to drive back and forth, several times and half a disaster without the mirror server. Thank you, Angela.”
“You’re welcome Bill.”
It was one, when she had finished with the server, so she went into her apartment and made a ham sandwich and opened a bag of chips. She took the sandwich and chips with a diet coke and found a website on botany. She read about the parts of the flower and what they did. She found that some plants had male flowers and female flowers on different plants and some flowers had both sexes on one blossom.
After cleaning up from lunch she changed out the garbage bag liners and realized she had a problem. What does she do with the garbage. She called Dan. He laughed and said to put the bags in the warehouse for now, he would get a dumpster delivered Monday or Tuesday. One never knows what one needs till they need it.
Angela checked the weather, the temperature was in the mid-fifties and the wind was dead calm.
She practiced on her makeup skills doing more and more. She knew where she could get more info on makeup. She opened Sam’s laptop and booted it up. It had Windows 7 instead of Windows 10. She got an eyeful when she got to the desktop. The wallpaper had a porn scene with two girls, one was doing things to the other, like the toys she found. She wanted to get that off the desktop. It took a while for her to figure things out and now she had a large bee eating nectar or collecting pollen. She got the laptop logged into her WIFI and onto the internet.
YouTube did indeed have videos on how to do your makeup. She watched a few and tried to copy their actions. She was a little rough at first, but she began to improve. Unlike drawing, which was making marks on flat paper in front of you, makeup required you to work in a mirror and do things to your not so flat face. It was hard, but it was a learnable skill.
You tube also had a video on how to find and clean up your computer from things like her desktop, browser history and unwanted files on the hard drive. It took a long while. Samantha had lots of lesbian porn and female domination videos. Sam liked girls and she liked to dominate girls, wait a second, she also liked girly boys too. Too bad Angela couldn’t un-see things.
Angela felt sorry for Dan for a second, no if people consent, it could be their cup of tea, but it wouldn’t be Angela’s cup of tea. She deleted this video too.
She carefully reviewed Samantha’s bookmarks deleting without going to any sites that had anything to do about sex, there were a few. She would get someone’s help on this, but who, she didn’t want anybody who knew Dan.
All in all, she like working with the laptop, it was fun and worked well.
She rode the mule out to the gate, to make sure it was secure, and do a quick check of the place. She wanted to get use to driving. The mule wasn’t a car but it required similar skills. Which unknown to her was Dan’s intent. So, she treated it like a tool instead of a toy like most wild boys would do.
She locked up all the buildings and cleaned herself up for bed. She went to sleep early setting the alarm for five thirty.
Morning came she got up, cleaned herself up, ate, did her makeup and set her hair up in a bun. At six thirty she heard the buzzer and got ready, putting her phone on her belt and her keys in her pants pocket. She grabbed her purse. Dan entered the office as she came out of her apartment.
“Here, put a second set of clothes in this gym bag. Thing could get a little messy at work.”
She took the bag and put a couple of sets of everything in it and her running shoes.
At work, she was assigned a locker to put her things in. The locker had a combination lock built in.
She was assigned to work with Joe Kool. That really was his name. He had her make a horse trough of cleansing/sanitizing solution as he did the same. He then demonstrated scraping a hive body to get all the wax and propolis off, using a hive tool or a hardened scraper where needed. He then showed her how to sanitize the cleaned-up hive body.
He watched as Angela did the same with several hive bodies. He checked her work and approved of it. They both began tearing through a mountain of hive bodies, inner and outer covers, bottom boards and queen excluders. It was slow work and messy, but she had a rubber apron to keep most of the gunk off her.
Dan watched her, at times from the office. She was still working hard after an hour and a half. Joe had to work hard to keep up with the little girl, he had been skeptical at first, but she was a worker.
Angela was getting a little tired, she knew her arms would be sore tomorrow, but she kept at it. They took a cigarette break or at least Joe did. Angela got a cup of coffee. They had gone through a lot of hive parts, but only dented about fifteen percent of the total.
Jacques came into the warehouse, “Angela, get your clothes bag, tool bag and put three nucs, with 5 drawn frames in the back of my truck. We got a couple of large swarms to deal with.”
She apologized to Joe got the three nukes and frames, and the other things into Jacques truck.
There was a small ornamental tree in front of a home. The bees formed a beard that bent a tree branch down. The lady of the home was almost frantic. The tree was next to the driver’s side door of her car. She passed on going to work this day. Her boss got a good laugh as she texted him a photo of her situation.
Jacques approached the tree to ascertain the bees attitude. He wasn’t attacked. He backed the car out to give them room to work. Jacques gave Angela instructions and she followed. First, she took a dozen pictures as he setup two Go Pro cameras. They tried to spot the queen bee. They both knew she wasn’t on the outside, but it was a good try. Angela put the box under the swarm, swabbing a drop of lemon grass oil on the box, while Jacques bent the branch down, to get closer to the nuc.
“Step back Angela, I am about to make some bees a little upset.”
When she was back, Jacques gave the branch a hard shake. The beard fell into the box and he stepped back a minute. Ninety percent of the bees fell into the box and stayed there. Five percent of the bees were wildly flying around, but not stinging. The rest of the bees clung to the branch.
The lady clapped, as the two beekeepers approached the hive. Jacques put the lid on the hive, the bees on the ground were marching to the hive. Angela was looking at the branch, she caught a glimpse of something and found that she had a bee clip in her hand. Without thinking her hand parted the bees and she reached in with the other hand to clip the queen. It was a pretty caramel colored tiger stripped Italian queen. She handed it to Jacques, who marked the queen with a white bee pen.
“Dang girl, who taught you how to do that?” Jacques exclaimed.
“The humorous beekeeper. I watched him on YouTube catching swarms.”
Jacques rubber banded the clip in a frame and put the frame in the nuc. In another hour, the bees had all marched into the box. They blocked the entrance, taped it up and secured it in the truck bed.
The next call was to another home several miles away. The home owner reported a swarm. He showed Jacques and Angela where the bees were. Bees were going in and out of an enclosed soffit.
“That isn’t a swarm, that’s a colony.”
Jacques took a flexible bore scope and stuck it into the opening the bees were using. He found the colony and showed Angela and the home owner. The picture wasn’t good but the could make out several combs with bees on them.
“We need to deconstruct the soffit, remove the bees and the comb. You can then have someone repair the soffit.” Jacques told the owner.
“Can’t you just kill the bees and plug the opening.”
“I don’t kill bees and it wouldn’t matter if you did someone would have to tear open the soffit and remove the bodies and the comb. If you don’t, you won’t ever get rid of the roaches and the moths. They will find a way into your home and wreak havoc.”
“Let me think about it, I will call you guys back.”
Angela and Jacques went back to the truck and drove away.
“That son of a bitch ain’t going to call us. If the bees are lucky, he will call a good exterminator, who will tell him exactly what I told him. If not, he will kill them himself, get stung a half-dozen-times and ruin his house, but it ain’t our problem.”
Angela could tell that Jacques was pissed.
The next call was to a swarm in a police car. The cop had gone code seven at Mary’s diner and left his window open. There was a large swarm inside the car hanging from the headliner. Jacques had Angela glove up and put on her veil. They both needed get into the front of the car.
“Hey Sydney, I didn’t know you went around arresting bees,” Jacques said.
“We don’t,” said Patrolman Sydney Grooms Sergeant. “I was tempted to have Grooms drive his car back to the department, but that would-be cruelty to the bees. Took you long enough to get here Jacques.”
“I got lost in Louisiana, had to eat a mess of crawdads.”
In fact, the Sgt. Had told Jacques to take his time getting there. This was an object lesson for Officer Grooms.
Jacques and Angela had an un-official contest to see who could cage the queen first. Together they cleared the car of most of the bees. Jacques clipped the queen first only because he was in the passenger side. Angela being smaller was in the driver’s side. They used a bee vac to remove the bees. One more stick in Officer Grooms side was, he was a non-smoker and Jacques heavily smoked the car and sprayed Bee-Gone behind the dash, under the seats and in the back. That car would smell for weeks. They caught it all on Go Pro. That would be on YouTube in hours.
Back at the warehouse, they got the bees processed in. Jacques dumped the bees, from the bee canister into a nuc with fames and their queen.
Angela went back to work with Joe who had made some progress with the mountain of the hive bodies. They proceeded at a slower steadier pace, they both realized that it wasn’t a sprint, but a marathon they were in. It would take two more days to finish, but they had made a start of it.
Jacques went out and brought Dan and Angela some pulled pork sandwiches and some sweet tea.
“You and Joe made good progress with the cleaning and sanitizing. Good work on picking that queen out. I kinda expected you to be suited up handling bees.”
“Sorry I saw a flash of caramel and just reacted.”
“You saw how docile the bees were and you didn’t get stung so don’t worry about it, but not all bees are like that just be careful. Oh, and Jacques that video of you two working the police car is priceless. The cameras even caught the Sgt. ripping Shawn a new one. That home owner called back. An exterminator told him the same thing and his price was higher. I scheduled you to go over there on Thursday.”
“It’s rendering on YouTube as we speak boss. I had to do a bit of editing out the four-letter words.”
“Boss, do you have any aspirin,” My arms and back are a little sore, Angela said.”
He opened the desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of Naproxen Sodium, “I was meaning to tell you two, that you were going too fast, but I think you learned that yourself. Put that in your purse, you will need it. Why don’t you go to Sam’s room and take a warm bath?”
“No soap or shampoo up there. I took it all, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Nope, I told you to do it. Use my bathroom, Arlene’s things are still there or you can move it to Sam’s bath room. I’ve got to talk to Jacque and make some calls. Come back here when you finish and you’re ready to go home.”
Angela took Dan’s advice and moved what she needed to Sam’s bathroom. The bath was glorious. She soaked a good thirty minutes, reheating the water. The shampoo and conditioner were from Wen, and the body wash was honeysuckle. She loved Arlene’s deodorant. Spring Fresh deodorant gel.
Angela felt a whole lot better when she went to the office at six. Susan was just turning off her computer.
“Hey Susan. Brenda told me to talk to you about my hair. It hasn’t been trimmed or styled in two years.”
“Girl, I am going to spank you.” Susan threatened. “Be ready to come over to my place after work tomorrow and spend some girl time with me. You have such a lovely blond, head of hair. Learn to take care of it,” she said lightly pinching Angela’s cheek.”
On the drive home, Dan said, “I will help you inspect your hives in the morning depending on how cool it is. It’s too late today.”
“The Weather Channel said it could be in the low sixties tomorrow morning. It warmed up nicely today,” Angela said.
After Angela let them in, Dan drove to check the fountains. It was about an hour before sunset and the bees were lining up to take a seat at the bar. It was the most popular watering hole for miles around.
Dan dropped Angela off at the warehouse, staying long enough to see she got in before driving off.
Angela was up the next morning, about an hour before six. She took a warm shower and took a couple of pain pills, she was aching a little. It wasn’t a bad pain, but just sore muscles from working hard.
She put on her spanx and found a waist nipper that wrapped around the waist and had six hook and eyes that hooked up the front. She tried that, it was a stronger elastic and pulled her in nicely. She could wear regular panties with it. The jeans fit better too at the waist. She finished dressing and went to fix something to eat. She had two hard boiled eggs and toast with butter and honey.
Checking the weather. It was sixty degrees, wind out of the south east at five. The humidity was fifty-two percent and the dew point at forty-two. The barometric pressure was 29.82 and holding steady.
Dan arrived just after sunrise. Angela was waiting with her tools.
“I see you are ready. Let me do this first inspection.”
“Yes, sir Boss.” Angela said cheerfully.
Dan started at the far hive.
“This was the unruly hive,” Angela added.
The hive was just getting busy, he smoked the bees and used a hive tool to open the hive. A few bees weren’t happy about being disturbed. The honey frame was being used and nectar was being added. There was pollen being added, the queen was laying as there was some new capped brood. The queen was found on the last frame laying like a storm. They had plenty of room, but soon would need a ten frame, hive.
Dan went down the line checking one hive after another. The fourth hive appeared to be queenless.
“I will call Brenda, she will check the hive and prepare to re-queen it. The queen could be on a mating flight or she could have been killed. It happens.”
“You do the honors on your hive. We got to get a name for it.”
Angela smoked the hive and used a hive tool to open it. Her hive was busy. The honey frame was full. The pollen frame showed fresh pollen, the brood frame showed the brood had hatched and it had new eggs laid. Her queen was found on the next frame she was climbing out of a cell where she had just laid an egg. The last frame showed that it was being filled with nectar.
“Clean some ten frame deep hive bodies and get some drawn frames out of your freezer to thaw on Friday, five of your hives need to graduate to ten frame Langstroth hives.”
Angela made notes on her phone as they drove to work. Dan assigned her to cleaning duty today solo. Joe was out in the pasture with four other beekeepers doing hive inspections and adding boxes to the hives there.
She spent four hours cleaning and sanitizing. She made good progress and the mountain was getting noticeably smaller. After lunch Dan called her into his office. We are going to my big field.”
Dan handed Angela the keys to the Suburban saying, “you’re driving.”
After they got in the Suburban, he talked her through the process of driving. They belted in and Angela started the beast. She drove around their lot slowly. Angela was scared to death and thrilled at the same time. Besides being a little timid at the wheel she did well. He then directed her where to drive. It wasn’t on a county road. The hives were located on this property. They were just a little further away. The road led them through a forest of Red Maple and Willow around a large creek which they crossed on a wooden bridge and out into a very large pasture.
“I have four hundred acres here all in bee friendly plants. Only wild bees and Hank Simpson’s bees can get here. This field is lined a hundred feet deep with bee friendly trees. This field grows blackberries, alfalfa, clover, potatoes, goldenrod, sunflowers, lavender, etc. etc. etc. I have ag students who come out here to do the planting and harvesting for halves. I subsidize the seed. The only rule is I approve or disapprove of the plants and the pesticides. I have 400 hives scattered around the field. I train new beekeepers here. They pay me to learn and I get half the honey.”
Angela drove past people working the fields and bee keepers tending hives. There was a large pond to the east. She drove at ten mph down the road and they came to a bend. Jacques was tending a hive there. They stopped and walked over to him.
“How’s it going Jacques?” Dan asked.
“Going good, Dan. If we get good rain this year we are going to have a bumper crop, maybe up to 200 to 250 pounds of honey per hive here.”
“Oh my, that would be over twenty tons of honey,” Angela said, in exclamation.
“That is on a good year, my Dear,” Dan said.
“How’s those new beekeepers working out?”
“Fair to midland. Ole Joe is really getting after it.”
“He’s afraid of being shown up by a measly novice girl, I think.”
“Don’t know about Fred. He knows lots, but he has a heavy hand. Angela here could show him up in a couple of weeks.”
“Cut the corn Jacques, I know you are brilliant,” Angela retorted giggling.
“You cut me to my heart, My Lady,” He said laughing.
“Nah Jacques, she is just a smart kid.”
Angela drove again. She was beginning to have fun and drove more confidently. She got back around to the front parked it in Dan’s spot.
“You have a hair appointment. Go ahead and get cleaned up. Susan will get off as soon as you get back to the office.”
Angela took a bath and got cleaned up. She needed to do a couple of loads of laundry. She went down to the office after she got cleaned up.
Susan was waiting for her when she entered, “Don’t set your gear down. We are headed right out.”
Susan grabbed her purse and her keys. She led Angela out to a three-year-old Chevy Malibu, “Toss your bag in the trunk. I know you have been cleaning those hive bodies.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Don’t Ma’am me, Angela. My name is Susan. So how was your day, sugar.”
“It feels good working. I am a little sore. Those hive parts aren’t really heavy, till you lift a hundred of them several times.”
“The boss is just getting you stronger. Beekeeping ain’t heavy work till honey harvest. Then them boxes get heavy. A full medium super of honey weighs forty pounds or so. All of Dan’s hive might have four, five or six supers.”
“That would mean about a couple of thousand honey supers and twenty thousand frames.”
“You are quick sugar.”
They got to Susan’s home in about fifteen minutes. It was closer to Walmart. She lived in a nice country home. Two stories, on a brick pier foundation, that had a large porch with rocking chairs and a swing.
“What do you know about hair care and makeup dear?”
“Very little. Mom taught me to do my hair and I just started practicing makeup when they passed away. The fosters I had thought that makeup and salons were a luxury that I wasn’t going to have.”
“I have seen that a few times, so I know what you are talking about. Just sit in my chair and let me take a good look at you. You have wonderful hair. It needs a lot of work, but we got time. Dave won’t be home tonight. He’s a cross country trucker. Two weeks out and two weeks home.”
“Would you give me free reign?”
“Yes, I guess.”
Susan pulled out a style book and began pointing out pictures of what would look good on Angela. Angela pointed out a few herself.
“I like my hair long, I just need to put it up in a bun out in the yard. I got some bees caught in it that first day.”
Their selection came down to four and Angela said, “Would this one look good.”
“It sure would, let’s get started.”
First Susan waxed Angela’s brow. She had good bone structure around the eye’s. Susan gave Angela brows much like Ann Hathaway’s. She gave Angela’s hair a nice wave and added undertones to give it texture. After partially drying her hair, she styled it and then fluffed it up after drying.
“I know you can’t have long nails working the hives, but using gel coat polishes can help strengthen the nail. I’ll teach you how to do them.”
She cleaned the polish off and then shaped and buffed Angela’s nails in a short oval.
“Now this polish doesn’t dry till you zap it with UV light. Then it’s hard as nails.”
“He’s spending a lot of money on me. I’m worried about that. He’ll go broke doing things for me.”
“Honey, that man is made of money. His father and him were in tech stocks back in the 70’s through 2010’s. He sold out after his family died. He is worth almost a hundred million, and don’t you think he ain’t getting nothing out of it.”
“You have been a medicine to him. He needed someone to help when you came. Don’t worry he ain’t no pervert and you are learning something important ain’t you.”
“Yes ma’am, he saved me too.”
“Then let him do for you girl. He ain’t trying to get in your pants and he don’t want ya to be a kept woman. He wants to see you strong and independent. He’s learning to do things he should have done for his own daughter. He was always away doing business, instead of doing things with his wife and daughter. It might not have made one hill of beans different about whether they lived or died, but he blamed himself so much.”
Angela promised herself to work hard and to do well, as Susan worked on her makeup.
Angela was staring in the mirror looking at herself for over a minute. She never got a word out, her eyes were as big as saucers. She would start to speak, but then she would look like a Gourami fish. It wasn’t a look Susan expected, but she had seen it before, when she had shown a girl who thought she was plain, look beautiful.
Besides the clothes, Angela was ready for the red carpet.
“Why are you here in this town Susan? You are a miracle maker.”
“I could be Angela, but this is my home. I got family all around me and a man who loves me. That is what home is.”
“Yes it is,” Angela said, a stray tear falling down her cheek.
“Now don’t go crying and ruining my work girl. Let’s go out and eat. I don’t feel like cooking now.”
Susan started fixing her face, “Now I got ya a makeup kit with everything I used on you and then some. Now you go ahead and practice all you want. You got enough to last ya.”
When Susan looked very good too, Angela asked, “Take a picture of me with my phone, please. It will give me something to shoot for.”
They went out to eat. For the first time in a long time, Angela was beginning to love being around people. She and Susan had the time of their lives, just eating and talking.
When she got home she texted Margaret and attached the photo, before she started a load of laundry. Before she got the washer started her cell phone rang.
“Hello Margaret, Angela said without pausing to see who was calling.”
“Hello Angela. What happened?”
“I don’t know. What do you mean?”
“Who did your hair and makeup?”
“A lady at work. She was a beautician, but now she works for Dan.”
“Well you look marvelous dear.”
“And how does that make you feel?”
“ARRRGH!!! I am the psycho not you Angela, and don’t you forget it. Tell me all about it girl.”
They chatted for about ten minutes while Angela worked.
“Oh, I have called Dan, you have a doctor’s appointment of Friday and a dentist appointment on Monday. He cleared it. I will pick you up at nine, both days.”
“Okay take care Margaret.”
“You too.”
Angela started a second load of clothes and started drying the first. She wanted one of those rolling clothes hanger racks like stores used to move hung up clothing, at least she had a folding table at hand.
The next day it was a little warmer when she got up. Dressed and fed. She brushed out her hair intending to leave it down till she got to work. The only makeup she used was lipstick and mascara. She went outside to look at her bees. All the hives were busy except one. Brenda had left a note that the hive was queenless and that she had a queen coming in on Wednesday. She got her gear when she heard the buzzer.
Dan smiled when he saw Angela. She reminded him a lot of Sam. Yes, he knew that Angela could never replace Samantha in his heart, but he was determined to save Angela and maybe save himself at the same time.
At work, she finished cleaning and sanitizing the hive parts. She then went to work with Roger who was building hive supers. They took lumber and laid out marking templets on the wood. Roger would use the saws and do the cut outs and a dado blade to do the finger joints and the frame rests. They cut wood for about forty supers and then then both worked on jigs to square the bodies, glue and staple the hive bodies. He then taught her to make frames. He used the saws to cut the frame wood after Angela marked the wood using a template. They made four hundred medium frames. It was surprising how fast they could work together. They didn’t finish the frames by quitting time but they got two hundred squared and finished.
When Dan took Angela home after work, the office lights were up and Brenda’s pickup was sitting up front.
“Brenda must have re-queened your hive today.”
“Yeah, she left me a note that she would.”
They both got out of Dan’s Suburban and headed into the office. Brenda was sitting in front a computer tapping away.
“Hello Guys,” she said. “Just checking package orders and orders for queens. How were your days?”
“Busy, I am getting a new appreciation for the work beekeepers do,” Angela said.
“Especially Commercial Beekeepers,” Brenda said. “Hey, Angela did you use the microscopes in the bee shed?”
“Dan said I could, did I do something wrong?”
“No not at all. I was just wondering about these drawings,” Brenda said, handing Dan the two drawings.
“Crabapple and Dandelion. These are pretty good drawings.”
“I was walking around the property and I was picking flowers to see what the bees were eating. I did some drawing of specimens in science back in middle school and high school. So, I put the flowers under that microscope so I could draw in better detail.”
Dan looked closer at both drawing, “These are excellent. You did a great job drawing the petals, getting down to their veining. The stigma, style, anther and filaments all look very well drawn.”
“Can, you label the parts so I can learn them.”
Dan took a mechanical pencil and began labeling the plant parts. He did the same with the dandelion.
“I’ll tell you what Angela,” Brenda said. “Next Wednesday. I will help you dissect a bee, and show you what Nosema Carenae and Varroa Destructor look like.”
Brenda got up and hugged Dan and kissed Angela’s cheek, “Well I need to get home and fix my kids dinner. I will be back to check that new queen on Friday.”
“I have a doctor’s appointment Friday and a Dental appointment on Monday. So, I won’t see you. Take care.”
“If you are really interested in learning there are some old Bee Journals in those cabinet and I can bring some of my old college textbooks. Keep up the good work girl.”
Angela kissed Dan’s cheek before he left.
She fixed something to eat and then went out to the warehouse to clean and sanitize some hive bodies. She also checked the freezer which was full of drawn comb in medium and deep frames. It was cold there so she got out of there in a hurry.
Friday, she got up at six thirty and went for a walk around the property and opened the gate. The hives were in full swing with the temperature in the mid-sixties. This walk gave her a chance to stretch out her muscles. She had never done as much work as she had in the past nine days and she felt good. At seven she came back to her apartment took a shower. She put on a mini-skirt, blouse and a pair of Sam’s kitten heels, before doing a full makeup job and brushing out her hair. She put her birth certificate and social security card in the wallet in her purse.
This was normal, this is what she should have been doing for years.
She was ready when the buzzer went off. She was locking up the office, when Margaret pulled up.
“Looking good, girl,”
“So, do you, Margaret.”
“I’ve got to compete somehow, so how are you doing”
“Good, I’ve worked harder than I ever have and I feel good.”
They chatted as Margaret drove them to the big city of Jackson.
“Why Jackson?” Angela asked.
“I have some doctors that work with my clients and that is where they are. I have already given them a buzz on you, so they know what to expect. They won’t embarrass you.”
“What are they going to do?”
“They are going to give you a complete physical, from head to toe and we will discuss where we are headed from there. Also important is that these doctors are a little more accepting of alternate lifestyles. This is the conservative South after all. Not all doctors are as accepting.”
When they got to Jackson they pulled into the University clinic. Where they went to the office of Dr. Cyrus Jackson, endocrinology. Margaret helped Angela with the mass of paperwork that comes from the first trip to a doctor’s office. Angela signed her name as A. J. Parsons.
“Why did you sign your name as A. J.?”
Angela opened up her purse and took out her birth certificate, “Because that is how my birth certificate, lists my name. I was Alan to my parents, but legally I am A. J.”
Angela was called, “Can you go with me?”
“If you want, yes.”
A nurse took them to an area to take all of Angela’s vitals. She then led them to an exam room saying. “Take you clothes off behind the screen and put the gown on. The doctor will be with you in a few minutes. It was closer to ten.
“Why is a few minutes so long to doctors.”
“I have always wondered about that too Angela. It is hard to be exact when you have several patients waiting.”
There was a knock and then the door opened. A man in his late forties entered, saying. “Hello, I am Dr. Jackson and you are A.J. Parsons?”
“Yes, Dad was a fan of Alan Parsons, Mom took mercy on me and made it A. J. Parsons, I like Angela though. I have my birth certificate, if you want to see it.”
Angela showed him her birth certificate.
“I see you are sixteen and where are your parents.”
“They are deceased. They were older and they had no living relatives. I was placed in foster care but I ran away. The fosters wouldn’t let me live as a girl.”
She gave him a short story of how she came to be here.
“You are her psychologist Margaret.”
“You know that I am Cyrus.”
“Just have to check. You know the legalities. Well Angela so you basically support yourself and are gainfully employed right.”
“Yes sir.”
“Then you are qualified to make your own medical decisions. Let’s have a look at you.”
For the next hour Angela was poked, prodded and put under the microscope, so to speak. The doctor took off the breast forms for his thorough exam. He paid special attention to her genitals.
“Has your penis always been so small?”
“Yes sir.”
“Have you taken any drugs on a regular basis?”
“Not since my parents passed. Mom used to have me take vitamins.”
“I guess it would be too much for you to know what they were?”
“Flintstone’s vitamins.”
“Did you use any marijuana or other illegal drugs on the street?”
“No sir.”
“What did you eat?”
“Food at the shelter and l learned to forage,” she then told him, what she thought the names of the plants she foraged were.
Dr. Jackson had her describe a few of the plants, as some of them had toxic look-a-likes. He then ordered chest and head x-rays, a bunch of blood tests and a urine test. It was another hour before all the tests were completed.
“Ok young lady, you can get dressed. I will be back with you in a few minutes.” Dr. Jackson said, as he left.
“Just put your breast forms in the cups,” Margaret said.
Angela got dressed and the Doctor came back
“Well young lady. You appear to be healthy. Your x-rays look good, you heart and lungs sound good. I am a little concerned about the size of your genitals but I will wait till of the tests to come in. I will see you again in two weeks have my nurse schedule an appointment.”
Margaret then took Angela to another medical specialist, “This is a prosthetic’s shop, that I recommend to my client’s. They do the best color matching I’ve seen. Their breast forms look and feel authentic. You could almost go topless and not be twigged, but don’t.”
Margaret introduced Angela to the proprietor of the establishment, “Angela this is Ms. Wendy Brinks.”
“Hello Ms. Brinks.”
“Hello, but cut the crap, just call me Wendy. Come back with me into an exam room.” She said laughing.
“Take your blouse off but leave your bra on, please.”
Wendy took several measurements of Angela with her bra on and several more with her bra off. She used a machine to determine the skins tone, by reflective light.
“Now let’s talk size. For your age and body shape the forms you had on, gave you a good appearance. With them you are a 36B. Now if it was me, I just might push that to a 36C. What do you think?”
“Could I see what I would look like with a C cup?”
“Sure, just lay down on my exam table,” Wendy said, a she fumbled around in some drawers. “A lot of transsexuals go too big with breasts. They think it will help hide a larger waist. It won’t. You don’t have that problem though.” Wendy brought a box over to Angela. “Now I am going to attach these with Adhesive pads. If you plan on wearing breast forms full time you use a medical adhesive the will hold them on for two weeks. Then they need to be taken off to clean the forms and the skin. Dead skin will build up and over time they will come off on their own.”
With the breast forms on, Angela sat up. She could tell that they were significantly bigger. She looked at herself in the mirror. She liked them, but she had liked the shape and size of the other forms too, “What do you think Margaret?”
“You are at an age where you expect significant growth, these will fit you better over the long run. Wendy what is the mean breast size today?”
“For natural un-augmented breast 34DD is the current mean. By that I mean 34DD is the most sold bra size. You Angela, don’t need to suddenly jump from a 36B to a 36D. A 34DD and a 36D are basically the same size cup.”
Wendy explained how breast sizes went from band size and cup size, “But like I was saying this looks good on you.”
Angela smiled, “I agree, I will take these.”
“Oh, no. Not these, these are just my demo forms. Now for nipple size and aureole color,” Wendy said, bringing out a tray that had a dozen different size and color nipples and aureoles. “Males normally have smaller nipples and aureoles. Women can have many different sizes and colors. On a computer monitor she called up a hundred pictures of women’s breasts.
Angela was overwhelmed by the differences, of course she hadn’t seen any naked women, “How would the medium relaxed nipple on the medium aureole in a deep rose look?”
“Like a good choice I think,” Wendy said.
Margaret agreed, “You don’t want to look like you are sexually stimulated all the time. The large nipples can be seen through the blouse even when you wear a bra.”
“The relaxed could still be noticed in some conditions, but they are “too be expected”. Women have them dude, so what, get a life,” Wendy said.
“Ok, then you have my choice.”
“It will take about an hour, but I need you to stay here so I can make comparisons. You can watch TV or talk.”
Angela and Margaret sat and talked while watching TV. It felt strange to be sitting there talking bare chested while talking with Margaret. She kept looking down at her breasts.
“So, what do you think, Margaret?”
“I think that they are not that much bigger than what you have worn. They look good on you. What Wendy is making right now will look much better.”
When Wendy came back with a box, Judge Judy was tearing into a ditzy female plaintiff. She had Angela sit on the exam table.
“Now I am going to have you put these on Angela, because you are going to have to do it yourself at home,” Wendy said, taking the demo breasts off.
She then talked Angela through putting them on and taking them off. Using a weaker rubber cement like adhesive. Angela did it a couple of times, before Wendy showed her how to use the long term medical adhesive.
“You have to schedule time to do this. It only takes about fifteen minutes to do it right, but do it right or they might look out of kilter. Don’t take them off too much as you can tear the forms. Clean them every time you take them off. Lay down for five minutes to let the adhesive set, that is very important. After the adhesives sets take a little more adhesive and make sure the edges ate tacked down well. Then you can use this makeup to further hide the seams. You can wear a bikini with them but I would suggest a one-piece swimsuit or a tankini that covers the whole breast. The breast forms don’t tan skin does. Use the right size bra, the wrong size bras can damage the covers. I brought you a right size bra. So, what do you think about my work.”
Angela sat up and looked at them, the breasts looked as real as people can make them. She finished dressing as Margaret settled with Wendy. The blouse she wore fit better with the new breast forms on. Angela didn’t know that the forms totaled up to nearly twenty-five hundred dollars.
“You know what we need to do now?”
“Food?” Angela asked.
“Besides food, your right, we need food. But we need therapy, retail therapy. You need new bras and some clothes of your own. I knew Sam, she was bigger than you are.”
“Not in the waist. I have to wear spanx or a waist nipper to wear her jeans and her shoes don’t fit me well. I have to stuff the toes with tissue.”
“I bet she was wearing them to reduce her waist to look better. Well keep wearing them it will be good for your figure.”
“Especially since I am gaining weight. I’m eating regular now.”
“Well you will on gain to what you should have been, with the way that you are working. Dan told me how you made another of his students sweat cleaning hive bodies.”
“I was just trying to do a good job and keep up with him. I didn’t want to look like a slacker.”
“And that is why you will do good. You put the word good before keep up. You wanted to do a good job and keep up. Always do good first then speed up as you get better.”
They stopped at a restaurant and had chicken Caesar salads and some natural strawberry sorbet
From the restaurant, they stopped at a lingerie boutique. Margaret taught Angela about the different types of lingerie and what they did to the body, whether it enhanced the bust, reduced the waist, lifted the tush or just to look sexy. They went through the store, Angela tried on many of the items except for panties and hosieries. She left the store wearing a waist nipper that better fit her and a really nice bra.
Then they hit the shoe store. For work she came out with a tall lace up boot that had a side zipper and a pair of rain boots for muddy days at the hives. A pair of running shoes and a pair of walking shoes, the walking shoes were dressier in black. Then four heels, four flats and a pair of ballet slippers.
That was all that Angela let Dan buy her. She would buy more when she got paid. What she got, she considered a necessity, like the breast forms, to her they were a necessity. The lingerie was a necessity. The shoes were an extreme necessity, well the heels were for fun. Angela liked the way her legs and tush looked with them on.
On the way, back home they stopped at Margaret’s home. She lived about thirty-five miles from Dan’s place. She had a large split level modern log home. It was spectacular. The home had a beautiful front yard of about a half acer of land and the back yards was about two acres. Near the back-fence line were three bee hives. They rode in a golf cart to the hives so Angela could get a look at them.
“These hives are different from the one’s Dan uses.”
“They are flow hives. I can harvest the honey without disturbing the bees. They cost more so they aren’t commercially viable. Watch.”
Margaret opened a panel to reveal a glass wall they could look through and observe the bees working. “I find it relaxing to come out here to watch them work.”
“I haven’t been keeping bees all that long but I try to watch mine every day. Especially the one that adopted me.”
“Tell me about that, how did you feel when the swarm landed on you.”
“I was scared as hell. I could picture me getting stung a thousand times. It was Dan’s voice that kept me calm. I still received five stings. If I had freaked out, it could have been much worse.”
“Yes, it could have, but from what I know bees don’t usually attack to sting from a swarm.”
“I didn’t know that then. I do now.”
Margaret opened the windows into the other two hives and Angela looked in. She stopped on the last hive.
“Margaret, do you know that you have some emergency queen cells in this hive?”
“Where?”
“Right over there.”
“Oh, my. That is my newest hive.”
Angela took out her cell phone and called Brenda, “Hello, Brenda. I am looking at Margaret Finch’s hives and I see some queen cells on the bottom of the frames.”
“Those may be emergency cells. Did you check for the queen yet?”
“No, I haven’t,”
“Look for the queen and see if there are any eggs laid and call me back.”
“Do you have a work shirt and hive tools?”
“I have a bee coat, smoker and hive tool. Let me get them.”
Angela took off her blouse beside the bee hive. Margaret came back with her hive tools and bee coat.
“You know most women don’t undress outside.”
“Yes, they do. How many times have you seen a woman take off her pants and shirt at the beach.”
“That is different they have a swimsuit on.”
“Which covers more this bra or a tiny bikini. That is one thing I’ve never understood. How some women are squeamish to be seen in a bra and panty when they usually cover more than their swimsuits.”
“Or they are alone in a locked house and they lock the bathroom door,” Margaret said. “It’s classical conditioning. Women are at their most vulnerable state, when they are using the toilet or taking a bath.”
With the bee coat on Angela began to disassemble the bee hive, starting at the inner cover and top. Next, she smoked the honey super, even though there were no bees there. She lifted the honey super off and removed the queen excluder. In the top brood box had about half honey and nectar, but no brood or eggs. They were three emergency cells that were capped on the bottom of the middle frames, that looked viable, but no queen and more than a few small hive beetles, but not a whole slew of them. The young brood seemed to wander around. She lifted the deep brood box and set it aside. There were a lot of bees in the bottom brood box running around. Angela took frame after frame out inspecting the them looking for eggs. She didn’t find a queen, not even in the bees who hung around the hive walls and on the bottom screen.
Angela called Brenda back, “There are three emergency cells in the top brood box that are capped. The hive has a bunch of bees just eating honey. The pollen stores are low. It looks like a weak hive to me.”
“How old is the hive?”
“Seven months, I started it with a package late August. They did well on the golden rod flow and I fed them weekly through the winter,” Margaret answered.
“There are two things you can do. First see if the queen cells hatch and second get another package and queen.”
“What would you do?”
“Hard question. I would harvest the queen cells and see if they emerge in a queen castle and start a new package. If the bees are queenless they are likely to accept a new queen and the bees in the package. If you wait the queen bees could abscond, especially if they know the queen cells aren’t going to hatch. Adding a new package could give you a strong hive.”
“Well I don’t want to lose this hive. I will pick up a bee package and let Angela harvest the queen cells.”
“Are you going to be at your home in, say, two hours.”
“I was going to take Angela home.”
“Stay there Angela, I will take you home. Put the hive back together but leave the honey super off.”
“Well are you up for dinner Angela.”
“As soon as I take off this high fashion bee coat, sure.”
Angela took off the bee coat and put her blouse back on.
It was about an hour and a half before Brenda showed up. Margaret had made Rueben sandwiches for the three of them. Which consisted of corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing grilled on homemade rye bread with steamed asparagus, she grew and hot German potato salad.
“I always love coming over to Margaret’s place to help with her bees,” Brenda exclaimed. “She has a wonderful way of paying me for my time. To think Mark is taking the kids out to The Burger Stop, while I slave away eating measly food like this.”
“I’ve never eaten a Rueben sandwich before. This is so good,” Angela said. “And the potato salad is so scrumptious.”
“This is what you can do, if you learn to cook, Angela,” Margaret said.
As they ate Brenda, was taking a covert, long, hard stare at Angela. The girl just seemed to grow right before your eyes, “You look nice today, where did you guys go.”
“Margaret wanted to talk with me about my parents and how I got along living on the streets. She wanted to know if I had PTSD whatever that is.”
“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s what some people suffer from when they lose a loved one or like you, also because you were put into the Foster Care system.” Margaret said. She did indeed want to know about that, but she intended to broach the subject in a roundabout manner. Angela was smart, very smart.
“Did you crack open a hive dressed like that?” Brenda asked, looking at Angela wearing a white chiffon blouse, black mini-skirt and black high heels.
“Doesn’t everybody wear clothes like this when they work with bees?” Angela asked, facetiously.
“Yes, she did,” Margaret added. “Although she did wear my bee coat, with the veil off and no gloves.”
“I could just see that on the cover of Bee Journal. Well the food was good, but the bees are calling.”
Brenda got the package of bees and they headed out to the hives. “Oh Angela, don’t leave a honey super sitting next to a hive. It encourages robbing.”
“Yes ma’am, I didn’t know that, but there wasn’t any honey in it the honey was all in the brood boxes, but I shouldn’t do something that could become a bad habit, right.”
“Right,” Brenda said. “Well I want to see you open that hive girl.”
Angela approached the hive and Brenda took out her cell phone and began recording video in 1080 hd. She pulled frame after frame showing Brenda while Margaret held the phone. Margaret even took her phone in close to get a better look at what the girls were seeing. Angela pointed out the emergency queen cells for the phone.
They then got into the lower brood box.
“There is one last test for a queenless hive,” she said, getting a queen cage out.
“Putting the queen cage on top of the frames and seeing how the bees react.”
“Where did you learn that?” Brenda asked.
“The Humorous Bee man on YouTube.”
“I didn’t know that,” Margaret said.
Brenda set the queen cage on top of the frames in the brood box. In about twenty seconds the hives bee started coming out and started ministering to the queen in the box. Brenda picked up the queen cage.
“If the bees were out to kill the queen, they would be trying to tear a way into this queen cage and you couldn’t easily push them away from the queen. I can lightly push these bees around, see.”
Brenda pulled out a dental pick and handed the queen cell and the pick to Angela, “Ok Look at the screen, Angela. Can you see that one end is block by candy?”
“Yes.”
“Take the dental pick and remove the cork on that end of the cage. Don’t try to pick away the candy the bees will release the queen themselves.”
Angela did as she was instructed to. Brenda then had Angela place the cage between frames. She then placed a pollen paddy and a sugar water feeder on top of the hive, before closing it up.
“You know Angela, I agree with Dan and Jacques, you have a way with bees and I can’t believe how much you already know. What is Nosema?”
“Which Nosema, there is a Nosema Apis and a Nosema Ceranae. A fungal infection in the gut of a bee. It steals Adenosine Triphosphate from the bee. Nosema Ceranae is the big killer.”
“Well, we have to get on back home Angela get your stuff.”
All the way home Brenda stole glances at Angela, the girl seemed older and more mature every time she was around the girl. Her bust seemed to explode also.
“Are you wearing a new bra or something, you have a very nice shape now?”
“Yes, during a bout of retail therapy Margaret got me into one of those newfangled add two cup bras.”
“Ah that would explain it. Besides you’re acting more mature, you are looking more adult at the same time. Don’t’ change a thing girl you look good.”
Angela just smiled to herself, Brenda had done wonders for her ego.
The next morning Dan came out, he helped Angela do a hive inspection and was with her as she moved seven colonies into new living quarters. She put her special bees in a hive body that she had painted gold, and it was just in time for them. All the brood that Jacques had put in the hive had emerged and all the frames were now being utilized. He taught her to checkerboard the hive honey on the outside, then new frame, frame from the nuc, new frame and brood in the middle. She spotted her queen quickly. They seemed to stare at each other for a minute and then got back to work.
They finished the job in a little over an hour. The hive with a new queen looked good. It was a little behind the rest of the hives but they were working hard.
Angela did all the work as Dan gave her directions. When she finished that, they got into the Suburban and he had Angela drive it around her property a couple of times. He taught her how to parallel park between two trees. That took about an hour for her to get right, though she didn’t damage his Suburban or the trees. She was just misjudged her starting points, turned too much or too little and was just a little timid. A Chevy Suburban is about two-thirds the size of a main battle tank.
At the far corner of the property there was a gate between Dan’s property and the neighbor’s property. Dan had her stop and they went up to the gate. There was a large pasture and they could see a barn, a house and a large arena in the distance. They could see horses running across the pasture.
“That is William Moody’s place, he raises thorough breed show horses. His daughter Ashley, is fifteen and is a show jumper. His son Zachary, is seventeen and is studying animal husbandry at high school. They have a step mother about eight years older than them, her name is Megan.”
“Those horses are beautiful.”
“One of those horses could run fifty grand, if he’s a decent jumper. The best show horses can go for millions.”
When they returned to the office, Dan pulled out a four-bladed drone, “You’ve seen my two-thousand-dollar drone. This is a three-hundred-dollar drone. It has a camera that records. It uses a flash drive, but can connect to video screen on the controller. It only flies for about fifteen minutes. Get used to flying this, it is harder to fly and it isn’t autonomous, but it is good for training. Effective control with this drone is strictly line of sight. I think these drones can be a big bonus to the bee industry.”
Angela and Dan spent two hours putting the drone through its paces. She learned how to fly it around the yard, sending it out and collecting data and bring it back safely. He taught her how to use her computer to view the video and how to identify what they were looking at in the video.
Angela crashed quite a bit in the first half hour, but this drone was designed with minor mishaps in mind. The four arms were designed to carefully come apart in the event of a crash, without catastrophic damage to the craft. Surprisingly taking off was almost at hazardous as landing. The biggest sin is letting the battery run down at maximum distance from the controller and having to walk four hundred feet to pick up the drone. Angela had to learn how to get the maximum data in the time allowed and return it safely.
Before Dan left, he handed her a debit card in her name, with account data. He had set up a bank account for her had deposited her week’s pay directly into the account. Inside the office he helped her locate, assign a password to the account and how to access the funds online.
“Your balance is six-thousand-two-hundred-fifty dollars. Five thousand of that is only to be used for emergencies, business related expenses and education. I require receipts if you want or need to touch that five thousand. Emergencies are medical, motel rooms if you get stuck somewhere, food, legal expenses and such. Business expenses, are if you need to buy bee equipment, even if it is just to try something out for yourself, to see how it works or facility repairs, if something breaks down and Jacques and I aren’t around. Education is for bee education, online high school or any education, as long as you can seriously justify the expense to me. I won’t second guess you, but I will provide you advice on your choices.”
After Dan left, Angela fixed some food and sat down in front of the computer and did a google search for the best plants and trees for bees. She found a lot of information on the subject, then she cross referenced plants that grew well in southern Mississippi. She wrote down the common names and the scientific name. With a list of about fifty plants, she then looked deeper into why each plant or tree was on that list.
The best plants produced a lot of nectar and pollen. Nectar makes honey the bees’ carbohydrates, and pollen is the protein source for the bees, more specifically the larva and young nurse bees. Of the bees only bees that have just emerged from their cells and have become nurse bees can digest pollen and convert it to food for larva and worker bees. Forager bees are most excited about bringing in a load of pollen than a belly full of nectar. Workers pass off nectar to other workers who will add a glandular secretion to it before putting it in a honey cell. Forages bringing in pollen will rush to the nearest pollen cell and make the deposit themselves. Any nectar would do for a hive, but bees need a varied collection of pollens. One pollen provides some amino acids while another provides other amino acids and no pollen provides everything they need.
She began chasing rabbits as one fact she read piqued her interest and then another fact caught her eye. She saw how everything was interrelated to the health and prosperity of the hive. She would need some time to separate the facts into separate fields of study, but it was all interesting to her and was fun.
Angela then bit the bullet and searched YouTube for beginner cooking courses. She was beginning to like cooked food. She made notes to try some things out. She could cook somethings now but she needed more ingredients than she had. She made a list of things she thought she needed. She would check with someone else before she bought anything.
Sunday. she went for a walk in the morning wearing a pretty blouse and slacks. She did a pretty fair job with her makeup. After checking the weather and looking at her bees, she went for the first time alone outside of the property she was on. She walked down the road towards the Moody place. There were a lot of cars there and some that were just turning in. The parking around the arena had many trucks and horse trailers. She decided to take a chance and see what was going on.
The arena was a couple of hundred yards from the road. People around the arena were unloading horses, brushing them down and saddling them up. She walked around in a daze just looking at all the activity. Horses were being led in and out of a stable. Many of the people were dressed in proper riding attire, high boots, breeches, blouse or shirt and coat. it was hard to tell some of the male shirts from some of the lady’s blouses.
The arena had jumping obstacles set up and there were people and horses that were walking around the course, inspecting the obstacles and such. Some people were riding their horses round to exercise and loosen them up.
An older lady came up to her, “Hey Sugar, I’m Patsy Drake.”
“Hello, I’m Angela Parsons.”
“I ani’t never seen you around before. Are you riding in the event?”
“Oh no, I have never ridden a horse before. I live the next place over and I was just taking a walk. I saw all of the activity and wanted to check it out.”
“We have these riding events every two or three weeks. To get ready for some serious competitions. You are welcome to mix in, meet people and to watch these events. There is some refreshment over by the house and bleachers over by the arena. Now go on girl and meet some people.”
A very pretty woman, a very pretty teen girl and a handsome boy, all in riding attire, were doing a meet and greet type thing, near the buffet style tables. The woman was younger than thirty and the kids were teens.
“Hello welcome to our event. I am Megan Moody and this is Ashley and Zach. I haven’t seen you around before. Are you a rider?”
Megan was gorgeous and fit her riding attire very nicely.
“Hello I’m Angela Parsons. I work for Dan McNeil and I’m living next door.”
Zach smiled and said, “I’ve seen you ridding your mule around checking your fence line. What do you do for Dan?”
Zachery Moody was everything you would expect from a farm working male fit for a romance type novel. He was slim, but muscled and had short close-cropped hair.
“Yeah that was me you saw. I was just looking at what was growing around the property, I’m an assistant beekeeper.”
Ashley was eyeing Angela up and down. “I’m Ashley, you know, you would look absolutely smashing in riding attire.”
Ashley was the teenage, modern equivalent of a southern bell. She had long curly chestnut brown hair and incredible hazel eyes. Her figure fit her age. She was just at the cusp of blossoming as a woman.
“I’ve never ridden a horse before, I wouldn’t know which end goes forward.”
“Well just watch these riders today, we have several riders that will be going to the Nationals, riding today,” Meagan said. “Just get yourself something to eat and find a seat over at the arena. We are starting in about fifteen minutes.”
The food on the buffet looked scrumptious and it was apparent this was no average cheese and cracker type food. It was a catered affair with quality canapes, pates, meats, cheeses and small dessert bites. There was also sparkling grape juices, champagnes and wines in fluted glasses. She could take a champagne and nobody would know the difference. She did take a white sparkling grape juice though.
She selected about a dozen little bites and took her grape juice looking for a seat. She found most of the tables were occupied. One refined lady, seeing her plight offer the girl a seat at her table.
“Hello, I am Eleanor Whitmire.”
Eleanor’s appearance spoke of money. She wore a tan colored couture ladies suit and fitted calf high light brown leather boots with block heels. Her diamonds and jewelry were the real thing. Her makeup was impeccable as was her hair.
“I am Angela Parsons.”
“Well Angela, it’s nice to meeting you. It’s a lovely day for an Equestrian Event isn’t it.”
“Although it isn’t spring yet, it is a very nice day and this is my first equestrian event.”
“You don’t sound like you are from around here. You have a lovely, let me think Maryland or no not Delaware, maybe Pennsylvanian accent.”
“I was born and raised in Baltimore, ma’am.”
“So, what brings you into the deep south.”
“Bees. I am studying beekeeping from Dan McNeil.”
“He is a fine gentleman. His hives pollinate my peach orchards.”
“And where are your orchards, ma’am?”
“I have twenty thousand acres of peaches in Mississippi and Georgia.”
Angela ate as very properly as she could be, taking small dainty bite. She believed that she was expected to be able to hold up her end of the conversation without too much dead silence.
The woman noticed that she wasn’t from class, but that the girl was making a real effort to be polite. She thought Angela was just delightful.
When the girl finished her food, Eleanor suggested, “You must come with me and find some seats, the event is about to begin.”
Her seat happened to be at a patio table with an umbrella and cushioned seats instead of the bleachers.
“Since this is your first event, I will give you a running commentary. Just tell me if I am boring you.”
For the next two hours Eleanor gave a delightful commentary as rider after rider took to the arena floor. Ashley was a star in Junior girl’s division. She had a clean run, her first time through. Zachery wasn’t quite as good but did well with just four faults and Megan had eight faults in the adult division, knocking two bars off in the triple jump. In the second round, the best four riders in each class had a ride off. Ashley and another girl tied and had to go into a timed tie breaker. Ashley won when her opponents horse refused a jump, the horse hadn’t been square to the gate on his first try. The girl made a loop around and the horse made a second try, completing it easily. Ashley ran over to the girl and hugged her when she got off the horse.
There was a fierce competition in the Adult division in both the best male and the best female. Two seconds separated the winner from second place in the male category, with both horses having clean runs all the way through. And three ladies fought tooth and nail for their trophy. Two horses presented identical times while the third was only four seconds slower. Their second ride off, the organizers added another bar to each obstacle. Neither rider had a clean run, but the winner had four faults and the second-place rider had twelve faults taking out the triple jump.
Eleanor latched onto Angela as she went to greet and congratulate the competitors. Giving encouragement to the also rans and laurels to the winners, while introducing Angela to everyone.
“Where’s your vehicle Angela?”
“Oh, I don’t drive, I walked to here. I don’t have a driver’s license.”
“How old are you?”
“I am sixteen, I’ll be seventeen in August.”
“Well let me give you a ride home.”
Angela wasn’t given a choice. Eleanor led them to a huge Chevy Silverado 1500 with crew cab and a gooseneck hitch. Eleanor handled the truck well and drove Angela right up to her office.
“Your family lives in a warehouse?”
“No ma’am, I live here by myself and to answer your next few questions. My parents passed away when I was twelve. I ran away from foster care. Dan gave me a chance. I work here and at his place. He is teaching me beekeeping and no I don’t intend to go back into foster care. I can support myself,” Angela said, a little too indignantly.
“Good for you girl.” Eleanor said, reaching into her purse. She took out a business card and handed it to Angela, “Call me, if you need any help or you feel overwhelmed and want to talk.”
The next day Angela wore a pants-suit. She didn’t want to wear a skirt in a dentist’s chair. It was her worst day since, she had met Dan. Her teeth were cleaned, bleached and scaled. Scaling off the plague was a nightmare. Then came the fillings, she had three teeth that had cavities that had to be drilled out and filled with a composite resin filling. She had to gargle and swish her mouth out twice a day for a week with peroxide, but her teeth looked a hundred times better.
Angela went back home with Margaret. Together they checked the re-queened hive. The queen was out of the cages and she was hard to work, laying eggs. The bees were bringing in nectar and pollen.
Inside Margaret’s home Angela asked about cooking.
“It’s going to cost you another phone call each week.”
Margaret started out by teaching Angela some simple things to cook. Like baking biscuits from scratch, cooking an omelet, and making gravy and after eating comes cleaning up.
“To start with, what do you have?”
“I have pots and pans, a set of knives, silverware, glasses and plates.”
“No spices?”
“Catchup and yellow mustard, oh and mayo.”
“What did you eat?”
“Cereal, canned biscuits, honey, sandwiches and microwave meals.”
They spent a couple of hours on the basics of cooking. Margaret and Angela cooked a roast with potatoes, carrots, celery and tomatoes. She had Angela use the pressure cooker instead of a crock pot or slow roaster. For a down home touch, they also had fresh turnip greens and cornbread, with honey. It was a simple meal and nutritious. While they worked, they discussed simple meal planning and preparation.
On the way home, they stopped at a couple of cooking related stores to pick up some things and then to a grocery store where Margaret began teaching Angela to shop for herself. She then helped Angela sort things out in her kitchenet and pantry.
The next week was hard work, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Angela was out in the field, with Dan and Jacques working with the bees. They were doing spring, Nosema and Varro mite checks with Brenda to obtain a springtime baseline. Angela was working with Brenda, while Dan and Jacques were with their students the first day and then they rotated who they were with the next day and so on. They sampled every hive, numbering the specimen jars with the date and hive number. The students including Angela, did the bulk of the heavy lifting opening the hives up, as Brenda, Dan and Jacques took the two samples from each hive.
Friday, she was working with Brenda making up seventy-five bee packages, (a queen in a cage and three pounds of bees,) for the weekend and caged queens for sale the next day. Angela handled a few of the queens, just to learn how, but Brenda packaged nearly a hundred and fifty queen bees. Angela would get bees for Brenda who did the rest.
At home Angela tried to cook breakfast and dinner. She had mostly good successes and a few spectacular failures, but she was learning. YouTube was becoming an important tool for her. She just had to sift through the chaff to get to the wheat.
During the week, she arranged with Jacques for a ride to the bee clinic. Dan had to fly out to Wisconsin for business. Friday evening, she tried on more of Sam’s clothing and found a nice pant-suit. She could tell she had gained some weight, even with all the work she had done. It was in her legs, arms and rump where she saw it most, and not in the waist. Of course, she wore her spanx or her waist nipper at least sixteen hours a day.
Saturday Angela got up at five in the morning. She bathed and got cleaned up. Her breakfast was homemade biscuits, with butter and honey, plus a couple of hard boiled eggs. She set a couple of energy bars next to her purses to take with her. She fixed a pink leather crossbody purse with all her necessities, putting the energy bars in the purse not knowing where any food places were at the site.
She worked slowly on her face getting her makeup just right and her hair in a curly ponytail. She had to put on a corset to get the suit on and then her black high heels that had block heels. She fixed a medium size crossbody purse with her things.
She checked to weather here and in Jackson and saw it was sunny and in the low seventies. Her bees were going in and out, the Red Maple was still in bloom and some other trees were starting to bloom. She had just walked by the last of her hives, when she heard the buzzer. She was ready to go when Jacques rolled up in his F-150. The back of the truck was filled with bee things for sale.
Half the Bee clinic was taking place at a hotel and the other half in the middle of a high school football field. The football field was being used in the sale of bee packages and caged queens. The hotel took exception to the possibility of having thousands of bees flying around. The clinic went nine to five on Saturday and Sunday. Meetings would be held in various conference rooms, with the vendors setup in the main ballroom.
Angela registered, paid the entrance fees and received her schedule. She walked around the ballroom looking at all the displays and looking at all the people there. She was amazed that so many people were here because of bees.
There had to be four hundred people here from Mississippi and Georgia. Angela did buy somethings. She got a dozen bee clear plastic bee capture clips. She attached them to the strap of her purse. They looked like a bandolier of bee clips. There were people selling hives and hive parts of all different shapes and sizes. There were bee handling clothes, bee supplements, bee feeding equipment, bee tools, bee treatments. AFB/EFB test kits, genetic testing of bees, instructional beekeeping videos, books, periodicals and services. Jacques was selling some equipment, he designed.
Angela bought some of the books, periodicals and a decorative bee festooned tote bags. She also bought a belt she could hang all her tools on while she was working bees. She took cards and literature from a couple of dozen sellers
She attended the first beginner beekeeping seminar. The person running the seminar, had the people hold their hands up if they didn’t yet keep bees, were first year beekeeper or a two year or longer beekeeper. About fifteen percent didn’t keep bees yet, half were first year bee keepers and the rest had been keeping bees for two or more years. Then he asked them to hold up their hands if they had one hive (the majority, two or three hives (a third), five or six hives (about ten), ten or more, Angela held her hand up.
“Sir how long have you been keeping bees and how many hives do you have?”
“I have been keeping bees for a year, I have twenty-four hives, I inherited them when my great-uncle passed.”
“How about you sir.”
“I have sixteen hives and I have been doing this for two years.”
“And you, young lady.”
“I have twelve hives and I have been keeping bees for three weeks.”
Then he began his program about beekeeping and the importance of bees pollinating our trees and our crops. He emphasized that bees were absolutely necessary for our food supply. He touched briefly on the problems bees face with colony collapse disorder, Nosema and Varroa. Those topics would be covered by others here. He went into the critical role of the amateur beekeeper. Amateur beekeepers have been the backbone of the bee industry for years. Commercial Beekeepers can learn from what you do as you learn from them. You beginning beekeepers are important, we need you to learn, we need you to raise healthy bees and so on.
It was an interesting class, but it focused on the why, not the how to. The next seminar was on the hive inspection. Angela already knew much of what was taught, but she liked this seminar better. At one point the instructor put up a picture of a brood frame and asked who can spot the queen.
Angela was the first to hold her hand up. “There isn’t a queen on this frame you have a laying worker.”
“Give that lady a lollipop, tell us what you see.”
“There are more than a few cells with three or four eggs in them and the eggs are laid on the sides of the cells and not the bottom.”
“Queens lay their eggs in the middle of the base. Worker bees’ abdomens are shorter and they can’t get all the way in. That was a trick question. Seeing eggs in a cell doesn’t mean you have a queen. The next shot I guarantee there is an unmarked queen and she can be seen.”
Angela spotted the queen bee as did several other people. She let one of them answer.
“The queen was a smaller queen, maybe a virgin queen. She is in the top right quadrant.”
“Good eye.”
The instructor pointed her out with a laser pointer. They looked at another frame. The queen was harder to spot. Angela spotted the partial obstructed bee because of the attendant that was feeding her.
“Right dead center, an attendant is feeding her and others are grooming her.”
“Right. A queen bee almost always has a retinue of attendants. They take care of her, clean her and feed her. Sometimes you have to look at all the bees to find the queen.”
The instructor went onto the other reasons for hive inspections. He ran a video of an inspection.
“What do you see?”
“A crowded hive and a swarm queen cell,” Another beekeeper said.
“This hive swarmed two days later. We want to prevent swarms. Swarms are bad for us and our neighbors.”
Angela spoke up, “I helped my mentor remove a swarm from a police car. He left his window open at a diner.”
“You helped Jacques Boudreaux with that, removal. He told me about that.” He stopped for a minute to look at her. “Are you the lady a swarm landed on? Dan McNeil recovered a swarm off your back. You’re on YouTube.”
They broke for lunch. Angela found the hotel’s restaurant crowded with attendees. If Angela had had a car and could drive, she would have gone to the burger barn four blocks away. She braved the crowd and got a table. As she was ordering the instructor came by her table.
“Hello ma’am, I maybe shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t know how you felt about being pointed out.”
“I don’t mind. Did Jacques put the cop video on too?”
“Yes, he did, if you were in it you couldn’t be identified, anyway. He puts all his videos on line. There are too many people who are deathly afraid of honey bees and their first response is to nuke them with pesticide. His videos and many like them show that bees for the most part shouldn’t be feared. In that swarm video, you were wonderful.”
“I was scared shitless to tell you the truth.”
“But you didn’t over react. Not many people could do that.”
“That was my introduction to beekeeping two weeks and some odd days ago.”
“And Jacques took you out on a swarm recovery.”
“He took me out on three. One idiot wanted to kill the bees in his soffit rather than pay to have it disassembled and the comb removed.”
“Oh, bad call. That would have been roach city. I’m glad you are here. We need more young people like you to give a damn about bees and become responsible beekeepers.”
After lunch came the program that Angela wanted most. The seminar on bee diseases and parasites was divided into two sessions the first on Nosema and Varroa today and the second on European and American Foulbroods tomorrow.
They watched a video of a beekeeper doing a test for both Nosema and Varroa. She had done part of this before but then the video showed them in the lab. The physically counted the Varroa in the alcohol bath test. About three hundred bees were put into a lab bottle and about 300ml of alcohol was added to it. They agitated the bottle and the Varroa sank to the bottom so they could be counted. In the Nosema test ten bees were put in a baggy and crushed a ml of water was added for each bee, they then did microscopic examination where they counted the Nosema and even magnified the bees gut where they could be easily seen.
They also discussed the treatments available. There was a faction the presenter said, that didn’t believe in treatment and he gave their reasons. It was apparent that the man was from the treat camp. He stated that Nosema and Varroa hit hardest in August and September. Months when the hive is beginning to shut down for winter and were partially responsible for a large percentage of the winter die off of bees. Weakened foragers die early, nurse bees are pressed into foraging shortening their lives and there aren’t enough bees left in the hives to regulate the hive temperature come winter or they starve to death from low food supplies.
“If you don’t treat, you may never have a strong enough colony to produce significant amounts of honey. The colony needs to live two or three years to become strong honey producers. I won’t tell you that you must treat. I will say the bees deserve it.”
After the presentation, Angela got a ride to the temporary bee yard at football field with a beekeeper Jacques had introduced her to. He had closed-up shop and went to help Brenda. She was walking, without protection, towards the area where the bees were. Fifty yards away there was a small cloud of bees, circling the field. She could see one vendor making the packages or nucs right there by their truck, which explained all the bees in the air.
Angela couldn’t believe it when she looked down at several bees she was wearing and spotted a big light-yellow caramel colored queen which was unmarked. She captured it with a clip and continued walking to where she saw Jacques and Brenda working. She saw another beekeeper with a bunch of bees on him. He had been working on the bee funnel, that was being used to fill the bee packages. There on him was a bold tiger stripped Italian queen. She offered it to him but he was too busy.
When she got to Jacques and Brenda with her queens. Jacques just loved the light-yellow caramel queen. He inserted her into a queen cage with a half-dozen-workers he just snatched out of the air, while Brenda did the same with the Italian and a few bees she collected.
They switched out the queens in a couple of packages and gave the bees to Angela.
“We goin to create two more hives for ya Angela.” Jacques said, in his best Cajun drawl. “Put them in the bed of my truck and get a veil on at least.
Angela put her clips back on her purse and headed to Jacques truck. The longhorn hood ornament made it easy to spot. She put the two bee packages, where the sun wasn’t shinning on them and where they could get some ventilation.
Jacques and Brenda sold bee for about an hour and a half. Angela just watched the two of them work the crowd and sell their bees. Brenda brought her truck around and loaded up her things with their assistance. They both headed home. Jacques stayed long enough to help Angela start her new bee packages in two five frame nuc. Adding five frames of drawn comb to each nuc.
“Brenda will bring some hive feeders tomorrow and show you how to use and feed them. They won’t have a honey or pollen store ready for them and there is no brood, so they will start slower.”
Sunday Jacques picked Angela up, just before seven. He had to be there early, because he and a State Ag Representative, were doing the seminar on EFB/AFB.
Angela wore a navy mini-skirt and a floral print silk blouse, red jacket over her Navy pumps with a four-inch heel. She had done a superb job on her makeup. Jacques had to take a photo of her in this get up.
“Oooo doggy, I need to get my shotgun out. Girl, are you out on the prowl?”
“No, I just wanted to look good.”
“Like that guy on the TV said, “You look Dy na mite.””
At the hotel, there were fewer people visiting the vendors, but there was a crowd in the seminar on foulbrood. Jacques talked about the various types of foulbrood, there were the big two European and American and a lesser condition called chalkbrood. He gave the official history of who and when they were identified, along with simple ways of diagnosing foulbrood, although samples should be sent to the State Ag department for final confirmation.
Tim Burton from the State Agricultural Office then gave the people the law concerning foulbrood and the states stance on preventing the spread of foulbrood. Together they worked to answer a mountain of questions from those present.
The prevention of the spread of American Foulbrood was quite draconian. Upon the states determination of AFB. That is if the state finds more than two percent of the brood infected with AFB, all parts of the hive, the honey and all bees are killed and destroyed by burning. No if’s and’s or buts. Tools used on the hive must be heated above three hundred degrees. Clothes, gloves and shoes worn must be treated in a specific manner.
He showed a video of a nice-looking, well decorated hive being burned in the proper manner and the proper way for all clothing to be treated afterwards.
EFB and Chalkbrood can be treated and must be quarantined, till the state clears the hives or orders their destruction.
Angela was wide eyed as she saw the bees killed by being sprayed with diesel and the hive being burned.
The next week for Angela was very busy every day. She ran hive inspections for Dan’s personal hives adding honey supers to all the hives. There was lots of honey being made. She went out three times that week on swarm recoveries. One recovery started in the morning and went into the next day. Angela got another hive out of that.
When she asked about the number of hives she could run off the hundred acres, she lived on. Dan told her, “You’re not just counting your property, but all the property around you. I ran a hundred hives there when I worked that site. Look at your site map. There are sources of food for bees all around you.”
Brenda began setting up her queen castles, while Angela was at work, she would be there for a couple of hours every day now.
Friday Angela was informed that she needed to see her doctor on Monday and that she should pack a three-day bag. Margaret told her she would be spending Monday night till Tuesday evening at her place and told her not to eat after midnight. She was told that the doctors wanted to do a biopsy on her testicles, to see if they were functional. Her testosterone levels were very low. She would need one-day for recovery at minimum. Angela was to be picked up at six thirty.
“They aren’t trying to turn you into a male, Angela,” Margaret told her. “When something isn’t working, they need to know why, especially when it came to ovaries, uteruses and testicles.”
She told Dan who also told her she had a legal visit on Wednesday, “Your Lawyer will meet with you on Wednesday for you to file a writ of emancipation. He wants to talk it over with you.”
“What will the writ do?”
“Nobody can force you into the foster system after the court grants emancipation. No more looking over your shoulder for somebody out to get you. Right now, you are pretty much off the radar. When you apply for a driver’s license you will be on the radar. Next Friday hopefully I will take you in for a test to get your learner’s permit. After Driver’s Ed, you can get your Intermediate driver’s license and at 17 you can get your regular license. I need you to be able to drive to me or Jacques for this or that. Don’t worry I have several trucks on my personal insurance, I will loan you once you get an intermediate license and you will have your own insurance.”
Saturday Angela was tending to her bees. She had to feed four hives, so she set up and fed them all to reduce the chance of robbing bees. She had all the equipment. She had four hives to go when she heard horse hooves.
“Hello Ashley, hello Zachery, just let me finish up feeding my Bees.”
“You feed your bees. I thought with all these trees blooming you wouldn’t need to do that.”
“I wouldn’t but four of my hives are fairly new, and don’t have any honey stores. If I feed only four my other hives may start robbing since they are stronger.”
Angela finished up as the teens watched her. She only wore a veil this day. She dropped off her tools and her veil in the back of the mule and went to meet the two teens after checking that she was bee free.
“So, what are you two up to, today?”
“Just stretching out our horses’ legs. Horses should be ridden as often as we can to keep them from going cantankerous on us. Ashley saw the gate, I told her it was your place and she wanted to drop by.”
“You wanted to see her too, brother so cut the blarney. So, what did you think of the horse show.”
“I loved the show. It was the first horse show I have ever seen. I sat with that nice lady Mrs. Whitmire, who helped me understand what was going on.”
“You were sitting with the high faluting crowd. She’s the closest thing to royalty in Mississippi. She often has dinner with the Governor Albright,” Ashley stated. “Did she like you?”
“She gave me her card and asked me to call her.”
“Then girl you better call her. It would be considered rude not to. Call her Sunday after two. Be prepared to do whole lotta of listenin.” Zachery added. “She can talk a coon right out of a tree.”
“But only when something needs saying, brother.”
Angela had Ashley and Zachery tie off their horses on her mule and then showed them around her digs.
“Is this where you really live?” Ashley asked.
“Yes, this is where I really live and I love it. I was living on the streets, but this is a mansion.”
“Why were you living on the streets?” Zachery asked.
Angela told them the partial story. They didn’t need to know the reasons she ran. A much-subdued Ashley asked, “What was it like living on the streets?”
“It was scary at times, and it was very worrisome where my next meal was coming from, but I couldn’t stand being in Foster Care any longer.”
Zachery asked her, “What did you eat?”
“I did a lot of foraging for food in the wilds. I don’t want to go into a lot of details. I want to leave the past in the past.”
“I understand Angela,” Ashley said. “Now you need to come over to our place. Have you ever ridden a horse before?”
“Can’t say that I ever had. I was a city girl, till I ran, and there aren’t many wild horses on the route I took, getting here.”
Ashley looked Angela over, “How old are you?”
“I am sixteen and I will be seventeen in August.”
“Ashley brightened up, “We can be girlfriends. My nearest girlfriend is four miles away. If we want to hang, somebody has to drive us.”
“That is only a short ride on a bicycle.” Angela stated.
“Well we need to be getting home, Angela.”
Ashley went to a dry-erase board and wrote her phone number, “Call me, we need to get together.” Ashley hugged Angela and took off with her brother.
Angela watched the pair as they mounted their horses, “By the way Angela do you mind if we use our mutual gate to come visit you?” Zachery asked.
“No, I don’t mind, but let me check with Dan, it’s still his property.”
“Ok, well give Ashley a call,” and they rode off.
Watching the two of them ride off was amazing. The two powerful beasts they rode were beautiful, poetry in motion.
She spent the rest of the day cleaning up and doing laundry. She took time to practice cooking and the rest of her time she was cross checking the information she had learned in the seminar with official sites online. The seminars just gave overviews on this information, she was able to dredge out the meat of the information.
After her shower, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror, she had recently bought. She had put on a few pounds, in the weeks she had been here, but they were good pounds. She couldn’t see her ribs, her waist was an inch or two narrower, there was the beginnings of curves on her hip, rump and legs. She liked her legs the most, they were firm and shapely, especially when she stood on her toes. She was wearing her waist nipper almost all the time, so she put it and her panties on, before she went to bed.
The next morning, after checking the weather and doing a walking inspection of all her hives, she packed a bag for a three day stay with Margaret. Then she went to the office to watch some more YouTube videos. One she watched, was of a beekeeper recovering a colony that was built up in the floor boards of a house. The man was working inside the home. He had pulled up the carpet exposing the plywood floor boards. He used an infrared thingumajig to measure the heat that was radiating off the hive.
Angela thought, she needed to get one of those things.
The man used an electric saw to cut through the plywood carefully avoiding floor joists and nails. When he pried up the plywood there, revealing a massive comb, in a space that was about eight feet by about fourteen inches. She watched him vacuum bees, carve comb placing it in an open frame with rubber bands and repeat. He always said he was looking out for the queen. He found the queen, capturing her in a clip and then finished cleaning up. He had maybe ten pounds of bees and thirty frames of brood, pollen and about two hundred pounds of honey. She showed the hive he built from this recovery. The hive consisted of three deeps and a super. The hive had accepted the move and were working hard. A later video showed where he had made six splits off the hive.
Angela fussed around and then got her cell phone and Eleanor Whitmire’s card out. She had a full battery so she made the call to Eleanor.
Eleanor was in a business meeting with several executives from an ag co-op, when her personal cell phone rang. Gwen, her PA answered it.
“Hello,”
“Hello, I’m Angela Parsons and I am calling for Eleanor Whitmire.”
“Just a moment, let me see if she is able to talk with you.”
Gwen leaned over and whispered to Eleanor, “It’s an Angela Parsons, should I say that you are not available?”
“Excuse me gentlemen, I have an important call to take, I have full confidence that my Vice-president will be able to conclude our business. Gwen, I am only to be disturbed in an emergency.”
Eleanor took her phone and went to her office, closing the door and sitting before and pulling out a folder, before answering, “Hello Angela, how are you?”
“I am doing very well ma’am. How are you doing?”
“I am doing marvelous deer. I am sorry for taking so long to get to you. I was in the middle of doing something, I couldn’t quickly stop.”
“Believe me, I know what you mean, Ashley and Zachery rode up on me the other day while I was working on a hive. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I needed to finish what I was doing.”
“I’m sure they understood, they are good kids.”
Eleanor and Angela talked back and forth before Eleanor began to press a little for details. Angela hesitated, but answered her questions. The older woman skillfully elicited information, without seeming to have asked a question. As Angela answered her, Eleanor would make a mark on a piece of paper. She hated doing this, but a woman of her means had to know who she was talking to. She knew almost all the answers before Angela said anything. The things Angela held back were some of the important ones and Eleanor wasn’t about to pull them out of her. She would wait till the girl trusted her enough to tell her.
Angela was enjoying her time talking with Eleanor to. The woman shared her life experiences with her. Some of the things she shared were only known by a few other trusted people. They both laughed at some of the antics the other was involved in, as they shared more with each other.
Angela told her about going to the doctor on Monday, “What’s wrong dear?”
“I have some hormone problem, I don’t know enough to explain it but I hope to find out tomorrow.”
“What time will you be home tomorrow?”
“I won’t be returning tomorrow. I will be staying the night with Margaret Finch.”
“Well call me as soon as you get back and let me know how you are doing, dear.”
“Yes ma’am, I am about to lose battery power, but I must say that I have really enjoyed our talk.”
“Me too, dear. Call me anytime.”
“Gwen dear, whenever Angela calls, I will be informed, regardless of what I am doing. If I am unavailable do what you can for her.”
Gwen smiled at her boss and said, “Yes ma’am it will be my pleasure.”
In the morning, Angela showered and dressed in a long skirt and flats. Instead of eating she visited her hives. They were inactive as the sun hadn’t risen yet. She sat down on a bucket in front of her gold hive. She occasionally got a flash of a worker bee walking by.
She got up and walked to the gate to unlock it and walked to the office to get her things. It wasn’t too long till Margaret came to get her. Angela slept for the first thirty minutes on the road and woke just five miles from Jackson
When they met with the doctors, they had the hormone conversation. “You know the where both males and females both produce testosterone, estrogen and progesterone, in differing amounts. Their own sex hormone levels are much higher than their opposite gender hormone levels,” the Doctor said.
“Your testosterone levels are very low, while your estrogen and progesterone levels are pre-pubescent and we need to know why. Your testicles are small and feel abnormal. By your hormone levels, they don’t seem to be functioning. Now Angela, we aren’t trying to masculinize you. Whenever some body part doesn’t work, we need to know why. If you suddenly couldn’t walk that would be important to you. We want to find out if your testicles are useless or if they could function. We are going to take a needle biopsy and take a good look at the tissue. If what we see is not good, we may perform a single or bilateral Orchiectomy. Or removal of the testicles. I know you would probably want them removed, but we can’t do it till you are eighteen, unless it is a medical necessity. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
They talked some more of the medical full disclosure and the fact that she would only be under local anesthetic, etc. etc. etc.
Angela was wheeled into a surgical suite by wheel chair after she had undressed and put on a gown. She was helped onto an exam table and her feet placed in stirrups, she was prepped and given a shot to deaden the area. A doctor inserted a needle and withdrew a sample. They left her in the stirrups, with a nurse to hold her hand. Thirty minutes later they came back in.
“There is nothing serious wrong, but your testicles are non-functioning and present a hazard to your health. They need to be removed. We talked to Margaret and she concurs with us. Do you want them removed?”
“I’ve never wanted them take them away, at least my first foster father did something good for me.”
Thirty minutes later Angela was laying on a raised bed. Her legs wide open and a light dressing down there. She and Margaret talked.
“So, what did your foster father do to you?”
“He was mad that I put on a dress I found that one of his foster girls who had been adopted, left behind. He said, “I will show you that you’re are a boy and not a girl” He kicked me in the balls and said, “Real girls don’t hurt like that when they are kicked there. Boy, did it hurt. My foster mother gave me some pain pills and she put a bag of ice on me, for a couple of days. I hurt for about two weeks. I never said anything about it because I was afraid of him.”
Margaret was given instructions on Angela’s care and they left after two. At Margaret’s place, Margaret had set up a lounge chairs and umbrellas fifteen feet away from the hives. Angela loved watching bees. They had a long talk, where Angela talked more explicitly about her time in foster care.
When Margaret had to go inside for one of her other patients, Angela just sat there. A couple of bees landed on her and walked around a bit, “Hey ladies, how are you doing?” She said. The bees ignored her and just walked around on her forearm. The pain meds were wearing off, but the pain was just a dull throb. She had hurt worse than that. The bees got bored and flew off.
Angela had to change the dressing after she needed to use the rest room. The surgeon had folded the scrotum to create a pseudo labia that hid her diminutive penis. She, had no choice but to sit now to urinate and clean herself well.
She had to wear cotton panties with panti-liners. She could walk but couldn’t lift anything heavier that a gallon of milk for a week to keep from stressing the sutures. In ten days, the sutures would dissolve. She had another doctor’s exam in a week, to examine the surgery. If everything went well she could return to work on Tuesday next week.
At dinner Margaret said. “I talked to your lawyer, he said he will meet with you here tomorrow and I will take you home on Wednesday. I know you miss your bees.”
“Dan must think I am a slacker.”
“No, he understands. He knew homeless kids sometimes have medical problems. He said you still have your job and take all the time you need. That is all he knows of your condition, unless you tell him.”
“I will, he already knows I’m different. You know with those windows on your hives you ought to put some camera on your hives. You could blue tooth them to your computer and watch them throughout the day. Maybe drill a hole in the window covers for a camera and then light the hive with low wattage LED lights.”
Margaret sat there thinking about that, wondering if the LED lights would disturb her hives and wondering what kind of cameras would work in that environment. She really did like that idea.
The next day Angela was feeling better she was still sore down there but she could and had lived with worse pain, before. She dressed in pink mini-skirt and a heather gray silk chiffon blouse, over her bra, waist nipper and the white cotton panties she had to wear for five more days. Her shoes were her walking shoes, the doctors and Margaret insisted that she leave her heels home.
Margaret made them both southwestern omelets, that were quite spicy. Angela used to hate hot peppers till she lived on the streets, she changed her mind though because they were food she sorely needed. Now she has grown to like the touch of fire in her food. Coffee was another item she used to not drink, on the streets though it was warm, when it was cold.
After breakfast, she did her makeup to impress the lawyer. Margaret watched her and offered her advice on creating a look that was sophisticated, but not over the top. Angela liked what she saw in the mirror, she had learned a lot from YouTube and the people around her.
Darren Roberts arrived at Margaret’s home at precisely five minutes to ten. In the legal profession, you always had to be on time. He already had the base facts from Dan, a teenage transgendered girl wanted to be emancipated. He didn’t know what he would see though. He had seen a few males in female clothes before, they stood out like steamed broccoli in a bowl of rice. He wasn’t prepared though for what he found.
Darren was a charming man of forty-six years. He looked like a well-muscled rancher from one of those westerns of days’ past. He had salt and pepper black hair, a chiseled jaw and steel gray eyes on a six-foot hunk of a man. He earned his law degree from Cornell and really learned the law in the state house and senate, working with different representatives and senators. Those people can smile at you and shake your hand, while they cut your gizzard out. The state superior court and the court of appeals was worse, every one of them was a shark in a tank of guppies looking for their next meals. Dan was his first big client after trying to save the world in Mississippi.
Margaret led him into the kitchen, where a pretty young girl was sitting.
“Hi, I am Darren Roberts.”
“Hello, I am Angela Parsons.”
“Now that the niceties are out of the way. Where is my client Margaret?”
“She is your client.”
Darren started to stick his foot in his mouth, but years of training at the halls of government taught him to count to ten before he spoke, “I am sorry ma’am, I didn’t expect a lovely lady as yourself needing a lawyer.”
Angela giggled at the man, “Nice save, white boy. I really am your client.”
“Do you have ten dollars ma’am. As sort of a retainer. Then I will officially be your lawyer and be bound by the cannons of ethics.”
Angela paid him his due. He had her sign an agreement.
Angela and Darren then got down to business. For three hours, they talked. Angela showed him her document, Birth Certificate, Social Security Card and many other things she had accumulated over the years. He made copies of the items, including photos of her and her family.
He brought Margaret in to question her extensively, his eyes got big when he learned of the operation.
Several times Darren called his office and had his people get on this or look up that. Dan had already provided employment information. He also used his computer to check up law references and read to the statutes. He could do so much more for her than just emancipate her.
Before lunch he stated, “Give me two weeks and I will have all my work lined out and our paperwork typed out. Then you and I will have a court date, here in Jackson. If you have any problems on your status call me and I will work it out, Young Lady.”
Margaret fixed lunch for them. She cooked chicken parmesan, stemmed asparagus with hollandaise sauce and risotto.
Darren’s eyes got really big when he took a bite of the chicken parmesan, “Miss Margaret, I am going to have to ask for your hand in marriage. This food could grace any four-star restaurant in New York. My house keeper is a great cook but you are way above her.”
Margaret laughed. “Cooking is something I picked up while I attended NYU, and it’s going to take more than flattery to get a ring on my finger.”
When Darren got up to leave he said, “Again, Miss Parsons, forgive me if I made a bad impression on you. You have shattered the notion of preconceived notions.”
Angela shocked Margaret and Darren, when she stood up and kissed his cheek, “Consider yourself forgiven.”
Darren turned to leave and Margaret said, “Stop Darren. This little vixen has branded you.” Margaret took a tissue and wiped off Angela’s lip print on Darren’s cheek. “You might have a hard time explaining that at the office.
Angela just giggled like a little girl.
The big surprise of the day, came when a long stretch, fully restored and modernized 78 Lincoln Town Car. Margaret and Angela were sitting on the front porch talking at the time.
The driver got out and opened the rear door and assisted Eleanor Whitmire out of the car.
“Is that who I think it is?” Margaret asked in surprise.
“If you think it is Eleanor Whitmire, it is.”
“Hello Angela, it is so good seeing you. I was just on my way to Jackson to see the Governor, and thought that I would drop by to see how you are doing. Hello Miss Margaret, I’m so sorry for intruding like this, but I just had to know how your young charge was doing.”
“Hello, Mrs. Whitmire,” Margaret said. “Please sit down and join us, we just sat down to have some tea. Would you like a cup?”
“That would be absolutely divine, dear.”
Margaret went inside to whip up some tea, it had been a little white lie, but with a person like Eleanor, this was an expected diversion.
“You are looking lovely today dear. So, tell me Angela, how are you doing?”
“Thank you, Eleanor. I am doing good, I just had a bit of minor surgery, I just had to have and I’m not allowed to walk very far or lift heavy objects for a week.”
“Who is looking after your hives?”
“My boss Dan and Brenda Swanson are helping me out.”
“That’s nice dear. They must care a lot for you.”
“I think Dan saved my life.”
Eleanor and Angela talked till they were joined by Margaret. They had a nice cup of Oolong tea. After about thirty minutes Eleanor said, “I’m afraid that I must be going, I mustn’t keep the Governor waiting too long.”
After she got into her car, Margaret said. “Don’t listen to her Angela. The Governor would wait on her till the cows came in. You never told me how you got to know Mrs. Whitmire.”
Angela told Margaret about meeting Eleanor at a horse show, and how the lady was so nice to her. She also showed Margaret, Eleanor’s card and about calling the lady.
“I can’t say for sure Angela, but if you know Eleanor, she probably knows more about you than you know about yourself. Knowing who she is talking to is important to a lady like that.”
“So, you think she knows I was born a boy.”
“I can’t say she does, but I think, she knows who all your teachers were in grade school and middle school, besides who all your fosters were.”
Angela would check it out, she had her own smarts.
Margaret took Angela back to her place on Wednesday. Even though it was raining, the first thing she did was to look at her hives. All the feeders were half full to full and the bees were all hiding inside their hives warm and dry. Brenda’s truck was over by the bee shed, so she went there after dropping off her bags.
“Hey, Angela, it’s good seeing your.”
“It’s good seeing you too Brenda. How were my bees?”
“Your bees are doing good, especially your gold hive. I found the gold super you set aside for it and put it on your hive and I fed all your bees twice a day. Why did you start a feeder on all your hives?”
“I had your two bee packages, they didn’t have any honey stores, so I started them on a pollen patty and a sugar water feeder, so they wouldn’t starve. I didn’t want any robbing to start so I fed all my hives. That was ok wasn’t it.”
“It was more than ok, it was the right thing to do. Especially with this rain. It’s going to rain for two days at least. Rain can slow the growth of a hive.”
Angela looked at what Brenda was doing, “Your grafting queens today?”
“Yes, I am grafting larva and hoping the hive will turn them into queens. I know that I shouldn’t do it with this weather but I need to get it done. Pull up a stool and get ready to learn, girl.”
For an hour, Brenda carefully selected brood to harvest and place in some beeswax cups she had made. She melted some wax and then attached the cups to a nipple, insert a three-day old larva into the cup and attached the cup to a frame. She had thirty queen hopefuls. Angela held a large golf umbrella while Brenda returned the frame to the hive and the grafts into a special queenless hive.
“In eight days, I will cage all the queen cells and then place them in one of my queen castle cells and hope that they get mated,” Brenda said as they walked to Angela’s office.
“The bee inspector came by on Monday. He checked all of your hives and declared them to be in good shape,” Brenda showed Angela the report. “Put that in a file and keep it. It’s important. I updated your weather calendar and a few other things. Oh, and Dan has a surprise for you. Let’s go back into your apartment.”
Inside the apartment, Angela noticed she had a little more room and things looked newer. She now had two closets, and in her bathroom, she screamed. Dan had redone her bathroom. In two-days he added five feet of space and not only did she have a shower, she had a bathtub.
“Oh, my god, I love that bathtub. I need to get me some bath salts.”
“Done, look on your shelf.”
There was a collection of bath salts, oils and new towels.
“I told Dan, the shower is good enough for boys, but girls also like to take baths and just soak. So, a couple of weeks ago he had made plans to expand this apartment. It didn’t take long when you were away for a few days. He had eight workmen in here to get it done. He wanted to be here, but he’s in Illinois right now.”
“He’ll be back on Friday and he wants you back on his hives when you come back to work.”
Brenda and Angela sat and had a talk. Brenda never asked about the medical issues and Angela never talked about them. It was one thing to tell someone who knew and another to tell someone who didn’t know. Still she loved talking to Brenda. She talked like an adult talking to another adult, or a beekeeper to another beekeeper. She just loved it.
Angela put the new bathtub through its paces. The tub was a fifty-seven-inch clawfoot tub. It was an older tub and appeared to be refinished, but Angela found it to exquisite. It held heat well and she could be in the water up to her chin, leaning back to relax. The botanical salts were just wonderful and relaxing.
Before bed Angela checked the weather for the locale. It indeed was going to continue raining today and maybe all tomorrow and until at least ten on Friday.
Rain is a good news, bad news item to bee keepers. Rain insures that plants grow and grow in abundance, but rain also prevents bees going out to forage. The bee calendar is showing that the sugar maple was in bloom for another week. She locked up and then went to bed.
It was raining in the morning, her weather station showed one and three tenths an inch of rain from yesterday and two tenths today. The bee calendar said that spring sprung today, but the temperature was in the low fifties today. Angela made about twenty gallons of sugar water and she replaced the quart size feeders and added half gallon feeders.
After she dried off, she took a shower and dressed warmly for the day. Margaret gave her some online high school online sites. She registered for one, using her debit card and chose her classes and began studying. One thing good about this site. She wasn’t locked in to an eight to three schedule and she could study at her own pace. She signed up for the Mississippi required courses. She started out taking a series of tests, so she would be in the right grades for her study. She stopped for lunch and made mac n cheese with chicken strips and green beans. It was simple but good. After lunch, she finished her tests and she got an email listing her grade levels,
English 9 th grade
Math 9 th grade
Science 10 th grade
Social Science 10 th grade
Computer Science 10 th grade
She was also given a list of the appropriate classes she would begin, the next time she logged in; English Composition 1, World history 2, Algebra 1, Biology 2, and Computer Science 1.
She went ahead and began her classes. She started her Algebra class and her English composition class. The courses included a video of the class and a quiz sheet she had to answer for each class, with a reading requirement. The reading consisted of Kindle books she downloaded. She downloaded all her text books.
She wanted to get an iPad so she could carry her books with her.
Around seven she got a call on her cell phone, it was Eleanor.
“Hello, Mrs. Whitmire.”
“Hello, Angela how are you feeling.”
“Much better. I can hardly have any pain at all unless I move too quickly in the wrong direction.”
“Follow your Doctor’s orders. So, what are you doing tomorrow.”
“Not much, really can’t work with the bees in this weather. I do need to buy an iPad if I can get a ride in town. I am beginning to take some high school classes online. The books are all Kindle Books.”
“That is wonderful. I can pick you up at ten, we can shop and then lunch in the city and dinner at my home.”
“I wasn’t fishing for a ride with you, but I would appreciate the ride. I can’t wait till I get a driver’s license.”
“Wonderful. I was offering because I am free tomorrow. You know, you are like every teenager wanting to hurry up and learn to drive.”
“Thank you very much Eleanor. I will be ready.”
The next morning Angela checked the weather. The temperature was in the upper forties, she had seven tenths of an inch of rain yesterday and two tenths so far today. The forecast was for the rain to stop between ten and noon as the front passes through. Temperatures should begin to warm to a high in the low sixties by three.
She fed her hives and picked up some debris from the trees. All the bees were sucking up the sugar water. The skies didn’t look as dark and it was just sprinkling outside. She would feed them pollen patties tomorrow if the rain stopped and it was warm.
She went inside and began cleaning up. She corseted herself so she could wear her black pant suit, put on stockings and put on a frilly white blouse to wear under her jacket. She chose a pair of black stilettos to go with the suit and created a suitable daytime look with her hair and makeup.
With two hours to go before ten she started on her World History class and her Biology class. She had just started her Biology quiz sheet when she heard the buzzer. Eleanor walked into the office as Angela was finishing up.
“What are you doing, Angela?”
“I am taking some high school classes till I can start high school in the fall. That is why I wanted the iPad, my texts are all Kindle… Finished, I got an A on the quiz sheet. That and reading are their homework.”
“That is wonderful dear. I like that look on your.” Eleanor said, looking Angela over.
Angela closed her classroom and grabbed her purse.
Eleanor drove them to the store where Angela got her phone.
“Hi, your back, what can we do for you today.”
“Mr. McNeil bought me my phone here and now I need an iPad.”
“Sure, we will just put it on the account, which iPad do you want.”
“Give her the 128GB iPad Pro Emily. It is for her work, Emily.”
“Sure thing, Mrs. Whitmire.”
Emily set the iPad up out on Dan’s account and helped Angela setup her email, her amazon account and her bank account. They went to the Apple Store and picked out a dozen apps. Emily taught Angela how to use the iPad and many of the apps.
Angela’s hobo style bag was just large enough to contain it in its cover.
From the phone store, they went out to eat. Eleanor received first class treatment at the restaurant she chose.
Angela told Eleanor more of her story and had an idea, “After my parents died, I was placed with three foster families, The Brooks, the Carson’s and the Simpson’s,” which was true. “The last family was a little unbearable, but they were the best at the same time. They didn’t hurt us or treat us poorly, we were just a commodity to them. Betty Simpson,” false name. “Counted every calorie we ate.”
“Betty Simpson?” Eleanor asked, when the name didn’t match what was in her file.
“Caught you. It was Beatrice Simpson. How long have you known?”
“You really are something else, Angela. Yes, I know and yes, I checked you out. I knew a few days before you called. I don’t mind you being transgendered. Although I hardly believed what I read. You are such a natural girl… no make that a woman. You look between eighteen and twenty. By the way, where did you get that suit?”
“It belonged to Samantha, Dan’s daughter. It doesn’t bother you, that I am transgendered?”
“Should it? Twenty years ago, it might have bothered me. It has to do with my rearing, you know. Things were different back then, less flexible. We all learn as we grow. My feelings now are, you haven’t hurt anybody, you are a hard worker and without you telling me, I would never have believed it. Believe this Angela you are a far better woman than many I deal with.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Angela felt like crying and Eleanor put her arm around the girl.
“Now, now girl, don’t ruin your pretty makeup.”
“The medical reason I was at the doctor’s office,” Angela said, sniffling. “My mother and father let me grow up as a girl. I dressed as a girl and did girl things with Mom. My first fosters, all my fosters for that fact didn’t let me live as a girl. My first foster father though was cruel. He caught me in a dress, that one of his previous kids had left. He told me he could prove I was a boy and not a girl. He kicked me between the legs so hard. His wife gave me some good pain meds and iced me down, down there. The doctors found that my testis didn’t work and to keep them could prove hazardous to my health. They removed them Monday after a biopsy.”
“Oh, you poor girl. Why are people so cruel to each other?”
They finished their meals, but instead of going home. Eleanor drove them to a Nordstrom. She led Angela to the women’s section and asked a sales representative if Jenifer was on today. The girl left and Jenifer Woods came out.
“This is my niece; this suit is the wrong size for her. I want her decked out in teen and business fashion from skin out.” She said, making a list of what she wanted. “She is not to know the price. I will be back in four hours.”
Jenifer smiled like a shark smelling blood and got to work. Today would be a big payday for her. She had a lot to do and not a lot of time. Poor Angela didn’t know what hit her. She tried to explain that she didn’t need all these clothes.
“Honey it’s like this, I want to keep my job. If I don’t do as she said, I will be out of here. So be nice and get dressed. We have a lot to do.”
“Help me, I am being devoured by a clothing monster.” Angela said. All the girls just giggled at her plight.
Jenifer had three girls working with her. If one thing fit she got four. A seamstress came out to fit some suits leaving some room for the girl to grow. All her clothes disappeared. She was re-corseted and dressed from the skin out, they did let her change her panties in a dressing room. Angela never left the back where they were working on her. Everything was sophisticated chic. Angela even got loads of work clothes that fit a beekeeper. The most embarrassing was the sleepwear. Angela had to try on a couple of nighties.
When Eleanor returned, Angela was wearing panties, a padded brief, a corset, stockings, blouse, a D&G burgundy skirted suit/with pants, the skirt was a straight top of the knee skirt, her jacket had a peplum hem and a pair of burgundy pumps with a four-inch heel. She wore a ladies’ gold Rolex date-just watch. She had a bee brooch and wore bee earrings and her makeup had been adjusted properly. Angela was gorgeous.
“Jenifer have them bring the things down to the loading docks, I parked my F150 there.”
“Eleanor, I am mad at you.”
“You’ll get over it dear. That suit looks nice on you dear.”
“You shouldn’t have spent all that money on me.”
“How much did I spend on you?”
“They wouldn’t tell me, but this watch would take a couple of hundred-thousand box tops to get it.”
Eleanor had to laugh at that, “You can’t buy that watch with box tops, dear.”
Angela growled at Eleanor grabbed her new Chanel hobo bag and followed that woman.
Zachery was due a punch to the stomach for telling her to call Eleanor, God bless him.
“Slow down, Eleanor, I want to give you a piece of my mind.”
Eleanor stopped and turned toward Angela. Angela kissed her cheek and said, “Don’t do that again, ya hear, but thank you.”
When they got to the dock, they were loading three tall shipping cartons in Eleanor’s truck.
Angela found it a challenge to get in the truck with the straight skirt on. Thankfully the truck had an aluminum step or she would have never gotten in.
On the drive back, Angela got another wild hair, “Eleanor, stop by the office. I want to surprise the gang. I will be reading from my iPad like I am giving you your schedule. I want to see if they catch on that it is me.”
“Ok, there is a pair of reading glasses in my purse put them on, they are the half frame variety.”
Eleanor drove around Dan’s home and up to his office, his Suburban was out front. Angela put the glasses on and began reading from her iPad as they approached the office.
“Your phone call with speaker Jim Ryan is at two and you are scheduled to have dinner with the governor at seven. Mrs. Whitmire.” Angela said, once they entered the office.
“Also contact Jimmy Carter, I want to know how the Habitat for Humanity program is going. See if he can find time to talk to me.”
Everyone in the office looked up, all eyes were on Eleanor of course.
“Hello, Mrs. Whitmire.” Susan said. “What can we do for you?”
“Is Dan in, dear. I heard he was out of state.”
“Yes, ma’am let me go get him.” Susan made it all the way to the door. She stopped and looked back at the two women, smelling a rat. “Oh, my god. Let me go get Dan.”
“Dan, Mrs. Whitmire is here to see you.”
Dan dropped what he was doing and followed Susan, who was giggling like a banshee. Dan had been working on his table saw. He was brushing the dust off him as he entered the office.
“Hello, Mrs. Whitmire, what can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to know about your assistant beekeeper, let me see. Ah her name is Angela, I think?”
“Yes, she is Angela Parsons. I really like her. She is a hard worker and a quick study. She hasn’t caused you any problems, has she?”
“Would you recognize her if you saw her.”
Dan looked dumb founded by that question, “Of course I would know her.”
“Hello Boss.” Angela said.
Dan’s jaw hung wide open. He had never seen Angela dressed up like this, before.
“Close your mouth Dan, around here you might swallow a bee and that would be bad.” Angela said.
“Swallowing a bee could be quite painful,” Eleanor said.
“How… how are you doing Angela.”
“I am doing fine. I have to see the doctor on Monday, and then I will be back to work on Tuesday come hell or high water.”
“I would hug you girl, but I am covered in saw dust.”
Angela came over to him and kissed his cheek, “I just want to thank you, boss. Thank you for everything. Sorry for missing so much work.”
“You just take care of yourself kid. Now get out of her before I have you painting hives in that getup.”
“She would be the best dressed beekeeper in that getup,” Susan said.
“I’ll talk to you later Dan,” Eleanor said.
“Hold the boat, she ain’t going anywhere, till I get some photos of Angela,” Susan said.
“What happened to you girl?” Dan asked.
“I happened to her,” Eleanor said. “You treat her well or you will answer to me.”
Dan just laughed and held up his hands in surrender, “I’m not going to go up against you, Mrs. Whitmire, I will be a good boy.”
There was crowd of people waiting when Eleanor and Angela left the office. Most of the guys were wolf whistling.
“I think they are whistling at you, Eleanor.”
“You’re a sweet girl Angela, but I know better than that. My dear.”
The beekeepers weren’t allowed to hug her in her new clothes. Angela just gave promises of a hug to her friends.
When they finally got on the road, there was a car waiting on them when they drove up at Angela’s place. The car followed them up to the office. Eleanor had Angela unlock the bay door and Eleanor backed into the bay.
“Angela this is my personal assistant Gwendolyn Manning. Gwen this is Angela Parsons.”
“Hello, Miss Parsons.”
“Please call me Angela, and hello, Miss Manning.”
“It’s Gwen.”
“Gwen get Gus to unload my truck and have the girls clear out her closet and hang, fold and put her new things away. Angela give your keys to Gwen and she will see to it that the place is secure. You’re going with me to my home.”
“Don’t get rid of my jeans, my work shirts or my shoes, especially my work boots, I need them.”
“Of course, Miss Parson.”
It took Gus twenty minutes to carefully unload the truck. Then the girls dug in after being shown where the apartment was.
Angela then went with Eleanor to her place.
The girls bagged all of Angela’s old clothes, except for her good underwear, shoes and work clothes. Then they cleaned all the closets and drawers, before they began to work unpacking the cartons. Gwen organized it like a military operation. One girl found Samantha’s toys and wasn’t bothered by them. She just washed them in the sink, disinfected them with bleach and put them away in the nightstand by the bed, for Angela to use. After the girls finished with arranging and putting away the new clothes. The girls had to be creative with the space to get everything organized. They spent an hour cleaning and sprucing up, Angela’s living quarters and bathroom. Angela could eat off the floor if she wanted to. They cleaned and rearranged the kitchen space. They then cleaned up the office taking care not to erase the dry-erase boards. They put drapes up over every window. Gwen put the finishing touches by centering a large Pooh-bear on the bed.
She then packed an overnight bag with Angela’s new clothes; selecting a Chic outfit for tomorrow, her underwear, including a corset and her makeup. Gwen made sure of adding one of Samantha’s toys to the bag, so Angela could take care of business that night if she needed to. The other girls were already outside, so Gwen kissed the tip of the dildo, and dreamed about Angela using it in her vagina.
They locked up and secured the place.
Eleanor drove her truck less than a mile and a quarter to her estate. It was big, Angela remembered seeing it on the satellite map in her office. Eleanor’s property fell into Angela’s two-and-a-half-mile circle, at least most of it did. There was an orchard of peaches and other trees galore. Her bees would be foraging here for sure. There was, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Angela was looking so hard at the pollen and nectar sources she missed the home at first. Her jaw hung open when she did see the mansion. It was an old Plantation home, improved, from the 1840’s. Two servants met them as they drove up.
One of the servants opened Angela’s door and the other helped Eleanor exit the truck and then moved the truck to the car barn. Angela and Eleanor then went into the home. Angela could picture herself in an ante-bellum gown with lace gloves and parasol, walking up the steps to this mansion.
“So, what do you think of my home, Angela?”
“Oh, Eleanor it is lovely. It looks just like the pictures I have seen of the deep south plantations.”
“It is a pre-civil war Era plantation from my husband’s side of the family. It is the old Whitmire Estate.”
The head housekeeper met them at the open front door, “Rita, take Angela Parsons on a tour of the home. I have some phone calls to make, and Oh if Miss Parsons shows up at my home, she is to be treated as family.”
“Yes, Mrs. Whitmire.”
Rita took Angela on a tour of the mansion giving her a running commentary of what this room was and who that portrait portrayed. The furniture was all period restored, the crystal chandeliers were Schonbek, the massive grand dining room table came from the Black Forrest of Germany and could seat thirty people. There was a ball room almost as large as her warehouse. This tour was like walking through the movie mansion of “Gone with the Wind” except this wasn’t Savanah, Georgia.
They wound up in a setting room where Eleanor met them.
“So, what do you think about my home.”
“I am speechless, I expect to see Rhett Butler step through the door with Scarlet O’Hair on his arm.”
Eleanor liked this girl, Angela could imagine things like they were.
A servant appeared and stated, “Dinner will be ready in an hour and a half Mum,” the servant said in a mild English accent.
“Thank you,” Eleanor said. “Rita take Angela to her room for the night, so she can cleanup and rest a bit.”
In her room, a servant helped her remove her jacket, unzip her skirt and step out of it. She helped her unbutton her blouse and told Angela to lay down and rest a bit. She would be back to help her dress for dinner in half an hour.
Angela laid down and did fall asleep wearing her corset, panties, stockings and heels on a luxurious bed.
She was gently awakened in half an hour. A servant helped Angela cleanup her face, touch up her hair, do her makeup and dress in a lovely pink chiffon floor length gown. The gown just happened to go well with her burgundy heels. The servant took several pictures of Angela, including using Angela’s phone.
Angela was escorted down to the intimate dining room. She had to walk carefully so as not to step on her gown’s hem. The servant told her how to descend gracefully down the staircase and not fall by lifting the hem of her dress a bit.
She was surprised to see Megan, Zachery and Ashley Moody with a man who had to be William Moody. After introductions were made Ashley hugged Angela, who then cheek kissed William, Megan and Zachery.
Angela sat next to Ashley at the intimate dining table. Angela had to adjust her skirt as she sat, to keep it from pulling on her shoulders.
Dinner was a five-course affair. Her table mates talked horses, bees and politics as they ate. The meal was eaten at a leisurely pace. Angela was having the time of her life.
William loved it when Angela asked about his jumping horses. He would smile as he described blood lines, Stallions, and Mares. Meagan and Zachery were big on the training of the horses. Ashley was an excellent rider.
William asked how Angela got into beekeeping and Angela unashamedly described how she got the job with Dan McNeil.
“A toast to Angela,” Mr. Moody said, to those assembled. “I pray that you will learn and prosper. In your endeavors. This country needs more people who will pull themselves up, as you have.”
“Here, here,” the assembled people said, raising their glasses.
Angela raised her glass, “All I needed was a little help from my friends.”
The Moody’s left about ten and Angela found out that she was spending the night. She didn’t mind, because she was tired. A servant helped her back to her room and helped her to undress all the way. The servant took her to the bath room to a bath that had been prepared. Angela slid beneath the warm fragrant water and let her woes wash away.
She checked her legs and shaved them and her armpits and then she checked her breast forms, they were still well attached. She would have to take them off and clean them and her chest when she got home. She bathed and got out of the tub. After she dried off, she powdered herself. A servant helped her get dressed in a lovely white lace peignoir. Her hair was brushed out and braided. She was tucked in bed.
The next morning, Angela woke early enough to dress herself. She was just applying makeup when a serving girl entered her room. Angela was dressed in heels stockings, panties, bootcut dress pants, corset, a cream, long sleeve chiffon blouse with puffed up shoulders and a silver Concho belt. The servant looked her over and added a vest, some bangles and some long necklaces. The servant adjusted her makeup job a bit and pronounce her fit. Angela was escorted to the back porch for breakfast and met Gwen.
“Mrs. Whitmire sends her apologies, but she had to fly out to DC for an important meeting. Have a nice breakfast and I will take you home when you are ready. It has been wonderful having you here Angela, please do come back. I know Eleanor loved you being here. Just call me if you need a ride.”
Gwen lusted after that girl, but she would never admit it. She kept her work separate from her love life and Angela was underage. Also, unfortunately the girl was eight years younger than she was. When Angela would be eighteen, Gwen would be twenty-six, probably too old for the girl. Gwen could lust and dream, at least.
Gwen drove Angela home after breakfast, she stayed and watched the girl looked at her hives before she headed into the office.
Angela was wide mouthed as she looked at the office. The drapes, the flowers, the sitting area in front of the TV, all were new. The office looked quite homey now. Her apartment was a bigger shock. The place looked quite homey, the kitchenette was spotless and her bath was spotless and well kept. She loved the drapes over her bed and the pooh-bear on her bed. She laid down for a few minutes and gave the pooh-bear a big hug.
Angela got up when she heard the buzzer and a truck drive over to the bee shed. It had to be Brenda. Angela went over to greet her.
Brenda stuck her head out of the lab door, when she heard high heels clicking on the floor. It was a sound she never expected to hear in the bee lab. Her eyes got big as she saw Angela. She wolf whistled and said, “Oh my Angela what train hit you and replaced you with Taylor Swift.”
“I’m not as old or as tall as Taylor swift.”
“But you are just as good looking. Come on in and talk to me while I work.”
Brenda asked Angela how she wound up looking like a starlet posing for the paparazzi. Angela explained about the train wreck she had after spending the day with Eleanor Whitmire.
“That explains it. When Eleanor puts her foot down, people scramble at her bidding.”
“I like the woman, I didn’t ask for all of this.”
“Angela, she is a lonely woman. She never had any kids and her husband died twenty years ago. They put off having a family and then it was too late. Let her be nice to you.”
Brenda took Angela out to the Queen yard and had her open a few hives, all the while Brenda was videoing Angela. She could see it now. The Sexy Beekeeper Channel on YouTube.
Benda and Angela worked on the queen castles for a half hour. Brenda’s work on her queens was looking very good. She would have twenty-six queens in a week and they would see how well they are mated and they could be in Dan’s hives or on the market, by the end of the month. Brenda was amazed at how intelligently Angela talked about the hives, and the questions she asked. She had seen master beekeepers who couldn’t talk as clearly or as intelligently as that girl.
They two marked the queens as they came across some of the emerged queens. This year’s color was yellow. Brenda even added a two-digit queen code, denoting which line of queens they came from, making notes on her tablet. Brenda wanted feedback from Dan and her customers about how her queens were doing. She tracked her lines and kept long files on her bees. After they got back in the Bee shed she showed Angela her work.
It felt good to Angela to get back to handling bee. She had learned so much from Dan, Jacques and Brenda and she found bees so fascinating.
Angela went back to her office and got right back into her high school studies before dinner time she had been through one day of all her classes. She got A’s on all her quiz sheets. Before bed she began her reading for school.
Angela fell asleep dressed, with her makeup on. She was finding that she wasn’t super girl. She began to despair that she would be able to get everything she needed to do, done. But she drove herself on. Sunday morning, she set her iPad and phone on to charge, she dressed in her work clothes and went out to inspect her hives after checking the weather.
Her gold hive was beginning to make a lot of honey. It was amazing how fast it grew. She looked for small hive beetles, wax moths and varroa along with looking for all the queen problems that she knew of. They were growing but they didn’t appear to be overcrowded. She graduated her two nucs into ten frame hives, before going back to the office to do another day of high school.
She liked getting back to learning things, she took double classes in her ninth-grade subjects trying to catch up. The math and English seemed easier than when she was fifteen. It may have been that she was more relaxed now or just more motivated to learn than she had been. She then did her reading for school.
Angela cleaned up and went to bed early. She had a doctor’s appointment the next day.
In the morning. she dressed in a very soft feminine look. There could be no mistaking her intent in life. She did business professional makeup job and created a voluminous hair style. She wore her pink skirt suit with a blue chiffon blouse, over a corset, with pink four-inch stilettos. Margaret raved over her appearance.
Angela did her homework reading as they drove to the University Clinic.
“So, what are you reading?” Margaret asked.
“I started the online school you suggested and I am trying to get ahead in my studies.”
“Tell me about the clothes?”
“Eleanor happened. She asked me to spend some time with her. I wanted to buy this iPad so I could carry my text books with me to read whenever I have time. The next thing I remembered is being in Nordstrom and the sales lady was given Carte Blanche. I got a whole new wardrobe. Don’t get me wrong, I love the clothes, I won’t send them back, but she shouldn’t have done it.”
“I think she sees a possible daughter in you Angela. She seems to care a lot for you and she is able to help her loved ones.”
“That just makes it hard to refuse. I can see that I can make it now. I am good at something important. All these gifts are smothering in a way. I am beholden now to so many people for so much.”
“That is good Angela. Be gentle but firm to people, you may still need them later in life. Also, it is good that people need you as much as you need them. So, don’t be quick to throw the baby out with the bath water.”
“I had dinner with Eleanor and the Moodys the other day and spent the night at Eleanor’s home, it was just marvelous Margaret. I had fun. You should have seen the gown I wore to dinner. I really loved it.”
“Who are the Moodys?”
“They are my neighbors and they are horse people. William Moody is in his late forties. He is ruggedly handsome. Meagan Moody is his wife she is in her late twenties at best. She is gorgeous. Ashley is a year younger than I am and Zachery is a year older. Ashley is a really good show jumper, she is very pretty and Zachery is your classic, handsome farm worker, you would see in romance novels.”
“Do you read romance novels?”
“When it was the only thing I could get when I was on the streets. Some were alright and other were so soppy. I liked the historical romances the best. They had a better story around them.”
“How is your beekeeping going.”
“I love it Margaret. Working with Dan’s hives is great. Brenda is teaching me her queen business too.”
“How about time for yourself?”
“I catch some like at the dinner I went to. It was wonderful.”
“Don’t ignore your own needs Angela, you need time for yourself. How are your breast forms doing?”
“I took them off this morning and cleaned them and the skin beneath them. They are just sitting loose in my corset cups right now.”
“Good they might need to see you without them.”
They arrived at the University Clinic. Margaret was behind Angela most of the way in. Angela had such a cute posterior and her walk was fabulous. Margaret, bet she didn’t know the effect she was having on those around her. She needed to be taught to slow down a bit. She was walking like she had a problem that needed solving.
They only had to wait a few minutes to be called in Angela seemed to fade momentarily into the little girl. She held on Margaret’s hand tightly as they were led to the exam room. Angela did have to undress, Margaret helped a little with the corset. She noted the girl had been wearing a size 25 corset that had about an inch more of room between edges in the back. Her figure looked good with it. She also saw the padded brief use to create that spectacular derriere.
Angel finished undressing on her own and put on a gown.
The doctor came in and checked her heart and lungs, he noted a slight puffiness to her nipples and chest. He checked her crotch, the stitches had dissolved and she had healed up nicely. He then looked her over completely nude to observe her figure. He could tell from the marks on the skin that she was corset training.
He cleared her for work, but told her to start slowly and then work up to full speed. Margaret wondered if he knew what slow speed was to Angela. Margaret figured slow speed to the girl was fifteen miles per hour faster than the traffic. The Doctor also told her if she was going to corset train she needed to watch her diet. She was to eat small meals often and to eat nutritious foods and less junk foods. She still needed carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
“You are in very good health, Angela. I am going to start you on your feminizing hormones. A body needs hormones to grow properly. From the test, we performed, you haven’t been getting the levels of hormones you’ve needed.”
The doctor went over what he was giving her. She was getting a shot of Estradiol Valerate, one every two weeks, daily Estrace pills, low doses of Progesterone. He wanted to see her in two weeks.
Margaret and Angela left the clinic and went out to eat. Margaret got Angela to slow down a bit by stopping and looking in store front windows. Angela had to stop and come back to where Margaret was.
“This isn’t a race Angela, I can’t believe you can walk that fast in those heels. Relax slow down.”
“I’m sorry Margaret. Even when I lived on the street I walked fast. That is where I picked that up. I kept out of trouble that way.”
“How?”
“If you walk fast, you are more able to run and more people ignore you. It’s the people that sit around or walk slowly around that got picked on. They were easier targets or that is what I saw.”
Margaret didn’t know if that was true, but it was something to think about.
“Do you know how sexy you walk? Especially with the padded briefs you wear.”
“Humm, not really. It’s not something I do consciously.”
“Tell me, Angela, when are you the happiest?”
“That’s easy. When I open a hive up and watch the bees work. I find them fascinating. I could watch them for hours. Or when I am moving a handful of bees from a tree into a nuc. I’m not a thrill seeker, I won’t jump a bicycle or skateboard across a busy street. I feel a wonder when I have a handful of well-behaved bees. Next is when I am learning something.”
“So, dressing as a pretty girl isn’t on your list.”
“Dressing as a girl is a necessity. Dressing as a pretty girl is fun. It’s something I like to do. I love working with bees.”
“I see it’s the difference between love and like. Bees are love, being a girl is like.”
“Yeah it’s something like that. What I love makes me happy. What I like is good for me. Bees can make me happier faster than trying on pretty clothes.”
The drive home, Margaret let Angela study. She had learned a lot about her patient today. Glancing over at Angela, if the girl was reading as fast as she was flipping pages then she was a fast reader.
“How fast a reader are you, Angela?”
“When I was in foster care, books were my release. I got to where I was a fast reader. Like I read ‘The Fellowship of the Ring on one Saturday. I pictured myself as Arwen. A strong confident Elven Woman or Eowyn, Theoden’s daughter. She confused me though.”
“How so?”
“Eowyn was strong enough to slay the Witch King of Angmar, but she let her father be controlled by Grima Wormtongue.”
“I hadn’t thought about that Angela, you are very inciteful. Sometimes it is harder to help your friend or family, than it is to face a foe of immense power, I would guess.”
“Anyway, I speed read something and if I need more understanding or if things don’t make sense. I just reread those sections. I look for keywords, that catch my eye. I might stop if I don’t know the word and the sentence doesn’t give me a clue to the words meaning and look that word up. You know what Varroa is right. The first time I saw that word the word mite was next to it. So, I didn’t have to look it up. Nosema on the other hand I had to look up. I had to look up ATP, since Nosema steals ATP from bees. Am I making sense.”
“Sort of but I think I know what you mean.”
When they got to Angela’s place, Angela showed Margaret around.
“The gold hive had the queen bee that got me into this place. She is beautiful, darker than an Italian Queen. At a bee conference, I found the queens in those two hives. One landed on me and the other landed on a man working with bees. Those two hives I got from swarms that I recovered. The rest of the bees Dan gave me. His area is saturated with bees. Here my bees only compete with a beekeeper about a mile and a half in that direction.”
They went inside the office. Eleanor’s people made this space a little more livable. They put the drapes in, added silk flowers and cleaned the place to immaculate precision. She led Margaret into her apartment.
“I had a box with some of Samantha’s toys, if you know what I mean.”
“I can imagine it.”
“Well then cleaned and disinfected them. They then wrapped them in saran-wrap and placed them in my nightstand.”
Margaret had to laugh when she heard that.
“They arraigned my things better than I could have and cleaned, cleaned and cleaned. I wished that I would have had them my first day here.”
“Cleaning can actually be an artform.” Margaret said.
“Well I need to get back. Are you Ok?”
“Thank you, Margaret. You are a lifesaver.”
Angela went to her school and did one day’s work there. Something clicked in Algebra and it all became easier. She did a second day of algebra, to cement it.
Back at work Angela worked like a zealot for Dan, working long hours. When she wasn’t working with his hives she was working with Brenda learning how to run a queen bee operation. Brenda taught her how to graft larva into a queen cups they made from virgin bees wax and attached to a deep frame with three rows of larvae. She was also assigned reading by Dan and Brenda about bees, all the while she was trying to keep up with her school work, while she was also learning to drive. There were many days she got up at six to be at work at seven to get home at six and to get to bed at eleven, to just repeat the cycle. It was better though than when she lived on the street, but still she needed a little more time to herself.
In the middle of April, her lawyer Darren Roberts filed three petitions in the court at Jackson. The first was for a Writ of Emancipation, the second was a request for a gender change and the third was for a legal name change from A.J. Parsons to Angela Juliet Parsons. They were given a court date on the thirtieth of April.
Dan spent two days teaching her the safe way to process beeswax. One safety feature at Dan’s place and at Angela’s place was the use of a commercial steam kettle to melt the wax instead of open flame or electric heaters. The temperature of the wax could never rise above two-hundred-twelve degrees, although the kettle is regulated to raise the temperature to only one-hundred-seventy-five degrees.
They melted two hundred pounds of wax at a time and strained it through two filters the first run, into ten-pound blocks. The second melting they used very fine filters and the last run they used an extremely fine filter into four-pound blocks. Dan gave her the first four blocks of pure beeswax, she produced.
Angela did finally get a chance to visit the Moody’s two weeks after dinner with Eleanor. Saturday after she tended her bees, adding a second super to her hive, she drove her mule through the gate between their properties.
Zachery was exercising a horse on a lunge line and Ashley was riding her jumping horse around the arena. They both waved at Angela as she drove up, but they kept doing what they were doing. Angela found out that the kids used Saturdays to exercise the horses. That was their jobs. If they were going to own horses they had to be responsible horse owners like Angela was a responsible beekeeper. Ashley was the first to finish and rode up to the gate near Angela. While she was saddled, she demonstrated her skill in opening a gate, riding through it and closing it without dismounting.
She dismounted and led her horse to Angela where they hugged.
“Sorry I owe Peppermint thirty minutes a day of exercise, according to my step mother. I don’t mind it, it’s fun.”
“I know, it’s like my work with bees.”
“Zachery has an hour and a half to go. He is hoping to become a certified horse trainer,” then she hollered at her brother, “We will be up at my room, when you finish Zach.”
Zachery continued working with the horse as Angela followed Ashley into the barn. Peppermint was in horse heaven as Angela was co-opted into helping brush her down. The girls found all her itches as they brushed her. Peppermint was neighing and her legs would twitch as they found one good spot after another.
“Every other Saturday, Peppermint and I practice jumping. She is a good jumper, but next year I will have to graduate to a bigger horse. I will go from juniors to adult division, when I reach seventeen.”
“Peppermint is a really pretty horse.”
“Yes, she is.”
The two girls went up to Ashley’s room. Ashley grabbed a pair of panties and said, “I will be back in a few minutes.” She went into her bathroom and Angela heard the shower going. She sat on Ashley’s bed. Angela used this time to pull out her iPad and do some school related reading.
Ten minutes later Ashley came out of her bathroom wearing only her panties.
“I love horses but I don’t like smelling like one,” she said, getting a bra out of her dresser. After putting on her bra she invited Angela into her closet. “See if these breeches will fit you, they are a little large on me.”
Angela seeing Ashley in bra and panties, sat on a stool in the closet and took off her boots and jeans, so she could put the riding breeches on. They were very tight on her everywhere but the seat, “These breeches are tight on me.”
“They’re supposed to be. They are cut to show off our legs and derriere. Event judges can tell what your body is doing when you wear them. They cut style points off if you wear Gaucho pants.”
Angela easily buttoned them.
“What size blouses do you wear, Angela?”
“A four or a six.”
“Ooh pooh I wear a two.”
Ashley then ran her hands over Angela’s legs and rump, feeling the way, the pants fit. The breeches looked very good on Angela. Angela found them a little strange, the back seam of the seat tried to split her cheeks and they really lifter her there. Three weeks ago, she couldn’t have worn these, considering the way the pants fit her crotch. She now had nice lines down there.
“Why are you wearing spanx.”
“I have an athletic figure. I got tired of having no waist and a flat seat. I don’t understand why I have boobs, but no butt.”
Ashley laughed as she finally found something to put on. She dressed in an off the shoulder peasant blouse and a cute mini skirt.
“I would try to get you into my skirts, but the way those breeches fit you, it would be impossible. Your waist is too big and I know my boots would be even worse.”
There was a quick knock on the door and it opened. Meagan stuck her head in. “Oh, hi Angela, turn around let me see you in those breeches.”
Angela turned for Meagan. “You do look good,”
“Thank you, Mrs. Moody. Ashley wanted to see if I could wear them.”
“Yes, I was a little zealous when I bought them for her. Do you ride?”
“No ma’am, I have never ridden.”
“Well you must ride with us some weekend.”
“I only have half a day on Saturday, I really need to go home in a bit. I am taking high school online so I can go to the local high school.”
“Well make time girl, all work and no play isn’t healthy. I mean it. Keep those breeches, I don’t know if Ashley will ever grow into them the way she eats and exercises.”
“Oh Ashley, Daddy says for you to call grams. She wants to hear from you and Zachery.”
“Yes Ma’am, Mom. Right after Angela leaves, please.”
“Don’t forget.”
“So, a girl your size is on a diet and exercise.”
“The lighter I am, the easier it is for Peppermint to jump, but I have to be strong enough to maintain my balance on my horse. I do stomach crunches, push-ups, I run and I ride.”
Angela kept the breeches on, put on her boots and tucked in her blouse. Ashley ran a nice belt through her belt loops and fastened it. Angela looked at herself and agreed that the pants looked good on her. She just needed one of her nicer blouses to look good and just the right makeup.
“You don’t mind me having these pants?”
“It will be years before they fit me, right.”
Angela leaned in to kiss Ashley’s cheek, Ashley turned her head so their lips met instead. It was more than a quick peck.
Inside Ashley was jumping and gave Angela just the tip of her tongue to her lips. Angela was a little confused because she liked the kiss.
The two girls sat on the bed and talked for a few minutes. Angela found the girl talk exciting. She realized she had a lot of catching up to do to be a proficient girl talker. Ashley just put it off because of Angela’s life to this point.
Finally. Angela made her excuses, saying she had to leave. Ashley gave her friend a hug and a little more daring of a kiss, as they tongue kissed and another quick peck to the lips.
Angela felt a little flush as she left. She waved at Zachery, who had a different horse on a lunge line. She drove back to her place, her head in a daze.
When she got back to her office, she parked her mule and went in. She really did need to log into her school. She sat and looked at her breeches. The tan pants were two tone, tan with a darker brown reinforced area where the saddle leather would rub the pants. They had a lot of spandex stretch to them hugging her legs. She touched her lips where Ashley had kissed her and she was in a daze again. She needed to talk to Margaret about this.
She did double classes today in all her subjects, finishing at seven thirty. A double class only took her an hour and almost a half to complete. The only breaks she took were a short lunch and a snack at three thirty. She was breezing through her material.
Monday, she had another doctor’s visit. He gave her another shot, more pills and took blood to test for her hormone levels. She spent an hour with her lawyer and then lunch with Margaret, Angela just loved her cooking.
Sunday, she cleaned some more supers for her hives and took out ten medium frames for each super out of the freezer. After she finished that she did doubles in math and English.
Her court day finally came. Dan, Margaret, Jacques and surprisingly Eleanor Whitmire showed up. They all met in the judge’s chambers because of the subject. The judge looked at the three petitions and started with the Writ of Emancipation.
After Angela was sworn in, the judge asked, “State your legal name for the record.”
“A. J. Parsons, your honor.”
“Is it your intent to seek emancipation.”
“Yes sir.”
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen, I will be seventeen on August 9 th this year.”
“What do you parents say about this?”
“Your Honor I am Darren Roberts, consul for A.J. Parsons. The parents in question are deceased. I included their death certificates in the brief. A.J. Parsons was a ward of the State of Maryland.”
“I am sorry, please excuse my faux pas,” The Judge genuinely stated. “When were you last in the custody of the foster system.”
“I ran away from my foster home twenty months ago.”
“Why?”
“I am transgendered and they wouldn’t allow me to live as a girl, besides that, they weren’t bad, but there wasn’t any love in the house. The Foster kids were just a paycheck to them. They took good care of us but didn’t love us.”
“I see. Are you prepared to support yourself?”
“I am. Mr. Dan McNeil is my full-time employer.”
“And what do you do for your employer.”
“I am a Beekeeper.”
“Mr. McNeil, I see that you are in the court room. Is this true?”
“Yes, Your Honor. She has been in my full time employ for two months and in that time, she has become my best young beekeeper.”
“And where do you live A.J. Parsons?”
“I live in an apartment, by myself, that I keep up on my own, on a property owned by Mr. McNeil, sir.”
“Do you know that by seeking emancipation, you are giving up any claims of support from the State of Maryland?”
“Yes sir.”
“And what about your Education.”
“I am currently enrolled in an online high school, since it was the middle of the term, when I arrived in town. Here are my current courses and the grades I have obtained, your honor,” Angela said, handing him here grade report and a URL so that he could verify her enrollment and her grades. Which he did.
He saw that she had been behind in her education, but also saw that she was doing well. He heard of this school and knew them by reputation, as being above average.
“Is it your testimony that these are your actual grades and that the grades are your own individual effort.”
“Yes sir.”
“Have you brought any witnesses that wish to speak on your behalf?”
Dan McNeil, Jacques Boudreaux, Margaret Finch and Eleanor Whitmire all spoke on behalf of A. J. Parsons.
“I find that this minor child A. J. Parsons is an Emancipated Minor child.” The judge signed the order.
“The next motion I will take up is the Gender change.”
The judge asked if it was her intent to live as a girl. He asked if she had taken steps toward feminization. He was surprised that she had and that she had a bilateral orchiectomy already.
Margaret spoke up towards the medical necessity of the doctor’s actions and presented documentation of the reason.
“Do you have medical insurance, young lady.”
“Your honor all my full-time employees are insured by me. I have sufficient funds to see to their health care,” Dan stated
“I see, I grant the petition for gender change and I grant the petition for name change as well. Angela, I expect you to register for school in… Which school district would she be in Mr. Roberts?”
Darren checked his notes and answered the Judges question.
“So, ordered. My clerk will supply you with the required documents Mr. Roberts. Congratulations Angela Juliet Parsons. Did your parent happen to like Alan Parsons the singer?”
“They were crazy about him Your Honor.”
“Well congratulations and my condolences on your loss, Angela Juliet Parsons. I like the ring of that name.”
“Me too sir.”
They all went out to lunch at a very nice restaurant, on Dan’s dime. While they celebrated. Darren gave her the papers she would need to give her some legal rights most sixteen-year-olds don’t have. Like the right to sign contracts.
Dan took her from the restaurant to the Mississippi Department of Motor Vehicles where she took her driver’s written test. She had to use two of her new documents and her birth certificate, so she could take the test as Angela J. Parsons, female. The test took her fifteen minutes and she had to wait in line, for half an hour, to have her picture taken.
Her picture ID would come to Dan’s home address and he would get it to her. Dan had already arraigned for her to study driving, with a friend who was a defensive and evasive driving instructor, who taught business executives to drive.
“One warning Angela, William Carter is a bastard of a teacher. He doesn’t give a damn but that you learn it right. You do it his way or you hit the highway walking. If you learn to drive from him and do as well as I know you can, you can confidently drive anything, anywhere. He was a Secret Service and Diplomatic Security Service driving instructor. He knows his shit and can find his ass without a map and written directions.”
The next two weeks were the worst and the best of her life. William literally scared the bejesus out of her. She met the man at a large parking lot at a closed factory that Dan owned. She and Dan were standing in the middle of the parking lot.
William drove in, driving a 2017 Dodge Charger Police Pursuit Vehicle, at high speed and drove donuts around the two of them, forward and backwards. He then three high speed bootleg turns in the vehicle coming to a stop eight feet from them in a drifting turn. The car was even painted in police colors, without an indicated jurisdiction and had a PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique: a technique to spin out and stall an evading vehicle) bar on its front bumper.
“Hi, I am William Carter. Dan tells me you need to learn how to drive. I’m not so sure you want me for an instructor, because if you do learn from me, that driving you saw from me will be your final exam from me. I don’t take talk back from anybody. If I tell you to do something I expect immediate compliance, no second guessing me young lady and no crying. I don’t have a heart to break and I don’t give a rat’s ass what you feel. If you want to learn from me get behind that wheel now.”
Angela did get behind the wheel. She was scared to death. Her personal hell for the next two weeks, began at that moment. He was as bad as Dan told her. He drove her hard for four hours a day, six days a week and she was a nervous wreck for an hour after class, but… She did learn. She started out with basic driving which she picked up quickly, then it got worse from there. William gave her his full DSS drivers’ course. She had her ups and downs. On top of everything his car was a five on the floor, manual transmission, rear wheel drive. It wasn’t till the last day, that she thought she might survive.
Angela drove William back to the parking lot where it had all begun. He hadn’t been kidding about the final exam. Dan and Jacques were standing where Dan and Angela had been standing two weeks earlier. He told her what to do and when to do it till she did a drifting turn to a stop. She got out of the car and kissed the ground dramatically.
“Dan, you owe me eight tires and a transmission, but she will do. In another twelve years, she might be a good driver, but she passes. Young lady don’t drive like that unless your life depends on it, but you know you can do it if you have to. Also if I hear a rumor of you drinking and driving there will be hell to pay. I will personally kick your ass. If you want to get drunk, do it at home.”
The driving test was a breeze. The trooper who gave her, her test, was a son of a bitch, who liked to fail teens on their first try. The parallel park test the cones were eight inches shorter than the book stated that they should be, Angela took ten seconds to park the car. She should have aced the test, but he was a son of a bitch and deducted two points for bullshit. She, Dan and William, who came to the test, all knew it was bullshit and the trooper knew that they knew it. They knew she could have drifted into that parallel park in about two seconds.
Angela paid for her own insurance and was given the use of a 2015 silver Chevy Silverado 2500, 6.6 L V8, four speed manual transmission, crew cab, with a retractable locking truck bed cover, Rhino bed liner. It had a frame hitch and a gooseneck hitch. The only restrictions on her license were daytime only and only one passenger under seventeen till she turned seventeen and got her regular license. She immediately loaded the truck with nucs, frames and a set of beekeeper gear.
Angela’s first stop after hugging Dan and Jacques, besides loading up her gear was to the Moody place. William was barbecuing steaks when Angela drove up, everyone looked up as she pulled in. Ashley was the first to recognize her and she ran shouting Angela’s name.
Ashley nearly bowled Angela over as she jumped into a hug.
“Since when did you get a license Angela.”
“Just today Ashley”
“Hello Angela,” Mrs. Moody said. “New ride.”
“It’s a loaner for work.”
“You must stay for dinner,” William said.
“I don’t need to intrude.”
“Sit your backside down and grab a plate. We’re about to eat one of my steers. How do you like your steak, screaming, whimpering or medium.”
“Medium, I guess.”
They all set down to eat. Angela had to explain why she hadn’t been over in three weeks. He life had just been so hectic. She left out the legal stuff, but told them all about getting her license and the driving instructor from hell, that could find his ass without a map and written instructions.
“Let me guess, William Carter,” William said. “I heard about him.
“He was good, but I was an emotional wreck after each class behind the wheel. He has the personality of a bull shark.”
“I’ve been meaning to talk to your boss for a couple of weeks. I just didn’t have time,” William said.
Angela felt a cold chill thinking this can’t be good. She didn’t have any reason to worry. The man greeted her.
William continued, “I think I have a swarm, somewhere around the barn.”
Angela, was relieved. She was afraid it would be about her. She looked at her watch it was five-ten, “I can check, but I wouldn’t be able to capture the swarm. It’s a big no-no handling bees after dark. They get so cranky.”
“Look up there at the barn. That big door up high is the hay door. Look at about forty-five degrees from the top left corner near the roof line.”
Angela did look, she didn’t see a swarm, but she couldn’t be sure, but she may have seen some flickering shadows. “I can look after dinner, but I won’t disturb the bees today, if there are any. If it is a swarm, It might be gone tomorrow.”
Angela sat to the left of Ashley at the table on the porch, as they ate and talked. Angela couldn’t ever remember eating a steak before. As a kid of twelve she lived on burgers or Mac-n-cheese. The steak was delicious. Angela felt Ashley’s hand on her knee. Her fingers were gently massaging the underside of her right knee. It felt good. She tried not to react and then she felt the girl’s left leg rub up against her leg.
Meagan caught Angela’s attention, “You know Angela, your life is so interesting, you ought to write a story about it.”
“I already have. I wrote a fictionalized story about a girl who became a beekeeper.”
“Did you put us and Eleanor in it,” Zachery asked.
“No I couldn’t figure out how to put a strong figure like Eleanor or a family of horse people in it without making it too true to life. I wouldn’t do that to you people.”
Ashley’s hand was now up on her inner thigh about as far as it could be, without it being obvious to the others at the table, which was mid-thigh. She could feel Ashley’s well-manicured nails drawing circles on her inner thigh.
Angela really enjoyed the meal and the company. The steak, potato salad, corn on the cob and the beans were delicious. The conversation felt really good to her also. It had been over four year since she had had such conversations with her own family.
After dinner Ashley volunteered to take Angela up to the hay loft. Angela took her headlight and cell phone with her. She looked at Ashley’s cute ass as she followed the girl up the two by four ladder. Ashley gave her a brief but passionate kiss when Angela cleared the ladder. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was wonderful. Ashley opened the hay door to allow as much light in as possible. Light from the setting sun help illuminate the loft a bit.
Angela could hear bees. She put on the headlight and got her cell phone out. She climbed up a few bales of hay and looked over the top. This wasn’t a swarm, it was a full-blown hive, hanging down from the ceiling almost to the floor a minimum of eight feet long. It had been there for years. She snapped a few photos of the massive hive. Ashley had Angela take a few photos with her cell phone.
Angela sent her pictures to Dan as Ashley did the same to her family’s phone. Angela received a phone call as the Moody’s met in the barn.
“Hello Boss,”
“Hello Angela, where are you?”
“I am in the Moody barn, where I received a surprise.”
“Is it as big as it looks.”
“I would guess that the comb is eight feet by six feet by eighteen inches.”
Dan whistled, “Oh my gosh, let me talk to William, if he is there.”
Angela handed her phone to William, while she helped Meagan and Zach understand what they are seeing, while Ashley looked on. Ashley’s hand was on Angela’s, back, but drifted down to her rump.
“Angela,” Mr. Moody said. “Dan wants to talk to you.”
“Yeah, boss.”
“Jacques and I will meet you there at seven thirty, bring a change of clothes. It’s going to get messy.”
“Roger boss.”
Angela went home, she parked her truck in the bay next to the mule and loaded some ten frame brood boxes, frames, bases, inner and top covers. Inside her apartment, she packed her duffle.
The next morning Angela was up early enough to look at her hives. She would inspect them tomorrow. It was sometimes hard, she wanted to open her hives every day. But a beekeeper who did that could drive their bees away. Bees were happiest when left alone.
Angela pulled her truck out and closed the bay door. It took longer to open and close the gate than it did to Drive the short distance to the Moody’s entrance. Jacques was already there when she arrived. William Moody was up in the loft with Zachery. Angela could see them both there. They were just looking. Angela started unloading her equipment. She would wear her veil, but take her jacket and gloves up there. She put on her tool belt. Just as she finished Dan drove up.
Angela led the way for them to the hayloft. She could see four Go Pro cameras had been setup.
“Just climb up on those bales and look over the top. You will be able to see the bees and comb.”
One at a time Dan and Jacques went up to take a look.
“I think you might be seeing two or three colonies that have built together,” Jacques said.
“I’m not sure, I guess it is possible. I do see three separate sections of comb, but they are so close together,” Dan said. “Jacques you Angela and Zach stay up here. Zach drop the grapple fork down William and I will send up the equipment.
With Zachery on the guy rope, William and Dan got the equipment tied onto the rope and pulled it up to the loft, where Zachery pulled it inside. Jacques set up a folding table set up the brood boxes and stacked the open frames behind him. He then set up the bee vac.
Zachery pulled off his shirt and grabbed a pair of hay hooks and started slowly moving bales of hay around. Creating room for the three beekeepers to work.
“Angela, we will start out with you, vacuuming up bees and cutting comb. I will take the comb and pass it to Jacques to rubber band it in frames. Zachery, you should go down.”
“I am staying up here and watching.”
“Ok, but if the bees get unruly you are down the stairs, no argument.”
Angela climbed up the hay bales with the vacuum tube and her tools. She had six queen clips, just in case. She turned her head light on and set a wide beam and started vacuuming up bees, starting at on an end comb. She had to work in stages, vacuum and cut comb, which she passed to Dan. Vacuum, cut, vacuum and cut. Jacques had co-opted Zachery into helping him rubber band comb in frames. The first comb was just honey and pollen. Jacques sorted it out into separate frames. Angela was vacuuming bees off a brood comb when she stopped. She took a queen clip and reached into a mass of bees.
“I’ve got a queen,” she said, passing it back to Dan.
She then began cutting brood comb, there was a lot of capped brood. This hive’s population was about to explode. Zach was having fun, working with Jacques who was doing his Cajun, swamp water routines, as they were attaching comb. Angela hit another honey comb. This one was very heavy and much wider. She tasted the honey, it was very good. She kept cutting and vacuuming.
“Take a minute Angela,” Jacques said. “I need to change capture cages in the bee vac.”
“Ok, I just finished the third comb.”
“Change places with me and wash the honey off of your gloves,” Dan said.
“I am going to be looking like a straw man. The hay is sticking to the honey on my clothes.”
“Ok Dan, go,” Jacques said.
Dan began the vacuum and cut routine on more brood comb. His last cut on this comb was near the ceiling. He stopped and called for a queen clip. Angela handed him one. Oh, she is a pretty one.” He said, passing the queen to Angela.
It took four more hours. They had seven deep brood boxes, five deep honey supers, caught five vacuum cages of bees and four queens. On top of that there were a dozen capped queen cells. It was decided that the bees should go to Jacques place as he lived farther away. The bees would have left Angela’s place and returned here in days and Dan’s place was just inside their flight range. They sprayed the whole top area with Bee-Gone. A slightly repulsive spray, at least for bees.
Dan and Angela went over to Jacques place and began to make hives. They needed to get nurse bees on the brood frames asap. They split the bees four ways and made four hives. The confusion of all the bee together in the cages overcame the bee’s propensity to kill the queen that wasn’t theirs queen. Each hive had two brood boxes and a full box of honey and a second empty box of drawn comb.
Angela was running around crazy as Dan and Jacques was chasing her, spraying her with water hoses to get the honey and straw off her. Finally, she resigned herself to getting soaked. They let her take her cell phone off of her belt.
It was unusual to have honey at this time of the year, but Jacques was setup to process it. They had twenty deeps or about eighty pounds of honey to harvest. In Jacques bee shed, Angela was taught how to hand crush the bits of comb they had bound with rubber band. Angela got most of the honey out of the comb, but Jacques had a crusher that got most of the rest out. They strained it, not filtered it, they left the natural goodness in the honey. They had just short of eight gallons of honey. They took two each and Angela was to deliver the last two to the Moody’s.
“Take the rest of Sunday off Angela.” Dan said.
“Gee thanks, boss,” Angela giggled, “I look forward to taking the rest of my day off, off.”
Angela called Ashley and told her that she was dropping off two gallons of honey. Ashley and Meagan were both waiting at the backdoor Angela looked the mess. She didn’t stay long. Meagan took the two gallons, while Ashley snuck a quick kiss in. Angela parked her truck and stripped off in front of the washer. She took the rest of her clothes and made a load.
She took a quick shower and washed her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror. Full frontal she looked feminine, even with her leg spread apart. She dressed in underwear, shorts and T and then set a load to dry and another to wash.
She took the honey into the kitchen. She had eaten a gallon of honey in three months and now she had two. Her gold hive might actually make two medium supers of honey if she left them with two supers. The bee calendar showed two more major nectar flows one in late June and then Goldenrod in mid-August and into September.
The barometer made Angela look closer at the Weather Channel. A line of thunderstorms was headed this way. She called Dan and Jacques, who went to check the tie downs on their hives. Angela just had to look out her window to see hers. She ran to cheek, the queen castles and got back just before the weather hit. She cut the lights off and just watched the flashes in the sky. It was frightening and exhilarating at the same time to watch. The latest word was that the storms would continue through Monday evening.
Ashley called Angela, “Hello Angela, can we just talk. I get nervous with this kind of weather.”
“Sure, just let me sit down. I was just watching the weather.”
“The weather scares me.”
“Why is that Ash?”
“My momma was killed in weather like this.”
“I am so sorry, what happened?”
“She was outside on her way to the barn, to check on the horses, the wind ripped off the hay door and it slammed into her. She died two days later, from the internal injuries. I was ten-years-old and hurricane Gustav hit us.”
“Well let me tell you something, I am afraid of the weather too. I was crossing through a wooded area, I didn’t know where I was. A strong thunderstorm hit, lightning was striking all around and there was nowhere safe for me. I was drenched to the bone. I found a depression in the rock wall to hide in. I know I wasn’t hurt, but I can still picture the lightning striking all around me.”
Ashley and Angela talked until Ashley’s cell phone battery began to fail, “Thank you, for talking to me,” Ashley said. “My battery is about to die.”
“Call me back later, if you need to talk. I don’t mind.”
The next morning it is pouring, Angela calls in that she is going to be studying school work if it is raining, Susan tells her not to worry. The boss is on the phone about this or that.
Angela put on a nice mini-skirt and a blouse and started up her online high school. After her classes she got a phone call from the online school. They want her to find an education professional to proctor an exam for her in two weeks. They tell her most of the students usually go to a local high school and get an instructor or an administer to administer the test.
She called the local high school and talked to the vice principal, a woman named Madeline Monning. She told the vice principal that she was a legally Emancipated girl of sixteen and that her parents were deceased. She wanted to enquire about having someone proctor some exams for her and that she also wanted to register for school for this fall.
When the vice principal inquired about why Angela wasn’t already enrolled, she explained to Mrs. Monning that until March, she was a homeless teen and was living on the street. Now she had a job and a place to live and wanted to continue her education. Mrs. Monning asked if she could come in today for an interview. She gave Angela the address of the high school.
Angela Dressed in her burgundy suit and heels, did her makeup in a business professional look and programed the GPS in her truck. From the outside, it was a rather nice building for being a rural school. It didn’t look more than ten years old. She found the visitors parking lot and entered the building through the light rain. She was directed to the office by the security officer.
Madeline Monning didn’t know what to expect when she had talked to the girl on the phone, but this well kempt woman wasn’t on the list.
After greetings, they two began a question and answer session. Angela presented her Mississippi driver’s license and her writ of emancipation for identification. The vice principal asked for two references.
Angela gave Margaret Finch as one reference and she called Gwen if she could use Eleanor for a reference so she could register for school. Gwen checked with Eleanor.
“Angela is that you?”
“Yes Ma’am. I am with the vice-principal Madeline Monning and she asked me for two references to register for school.”
“That is unusual, hand her your phone.”
Madeline Monning’s demeanor changed greatly when she realized who she was talking to, “I just wanted to make sure, that what the girl is telling me is the truth, Ma’am. No Ma’am she won’t have any problems, registering for school. Thank you ma’am. Oh while I have you on the line. I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t ask about the summer fund raiser, we are raising money to help students that need assistance. That is very generous ma’am. Thank you.”
Madeline shook her head and laughed, “You could have given me a warning.”
“I didn’t expect to get through to Eleanor. I was talking to her PA.”
“Gwen is one smart woman herself. Now you say you are working, who is your employer,”
“Dan McNeil of McNeil’s Bee Farm.”
“Do you live with him.”
“No ma’am, but I do live on a property owned by Mr. McNeil. I do get my mail through the office.”
“What kind of work do you do for him?”
“I am a beekeeper. I attend to forty hives for him and I assist the other beekeepers.”
Madeline thought the girl might be just an assistant beekeeper and was inflating her job a bit, “So have they found the root cause of Colony Collapse Disorder.”
“Some people point to the pesticides Nicotinoids, but many experts still don’t agree. There is a myriad of possible bee diseases that afflict Apis Melliferia and that contribute to the cause. I think the cause might be a multifaceted problem, encompassing drought, disease, pesticides and parasites that might have led to the decrease of the bee population.” Angela said blowing smoke up Madeline’s backside. Angela had always been a bit of a smartass. Her motto was, “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.”
“Alright you win. What was the last school you attended?”
Angela answered her.
“We will request your records and the records from the online school. I will contact the online school and have the tests sent to this school. I will call you a week before the test. You will also need to be tested by us for placement. Is that agreeable Miss Parsons?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“I think the school is going to be a more interesting place with you around, Miss Parsons.”
The final bell of the day rang before Angela left the office. When she was walking down the hall she heard her name called.
“Angela!” It could only be two people and one of them was Ashley.
“Hi Ashley.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Registering for school this fall.”
“You look good, for a teacher. I am going to have to teach you to dress like a student.”
“I just wanted to make an impression on Mrs. Monning.”
“Come with me, Mom should be waiting for me. Zach is already at his job.”
Ashley and Angela went out and met Meagan. There was just a light mist as they left. They walked to where the parents waited to pick up their children. Meagan greeted the two kids.
“Hi Ashley, hello Angela, what are you doing here?”
“Registering for the fall, Mom.”
“That’s good Angela, everybody needs a good education.”
“Yes ma’am, It is good seeing you but I really need to do my shopping.”
“Ok, see ya Angela,” Ashley said.
Angela really needed to do her shopping, but she also wanted to explore the area. She had been in the area for three full month and she hadn’t even been to town to just wander around. This wasn’t a major metropolitan town, but there was a mix of low cost shops and upscale stores. Considering people like Dan, the Moodys and Eleanor lived around here it might be expected. She stopped at an ice cream shop and bought a shake. She hadn’t had one of those in a while.
Despite the rural nature of this area, she liked the slower pace of this city when compared to Baltimore. If you needed more than this town could provide, the city of Jackson is just thirty or forty miles away. You just might drive that far in Baltimore just looking for what you wanted.
Angela stopped at a gas station and fueled up and then hit Walmart. She really wanted to do her shopping. Angela went down every isle at Walmart. Every Isle. She bought quite a few things, mostly odds and ends that she didn’t know she needed till she saw them. She bought her food last. The bed of her truck was filled with bee stuff so her things went in the back seat.
As Angela approached her warehouse, she saw a four-seat gator parked out front. The gate had been locked so it could only mean a Moody was around. Angela looked and sure enough she saw two Moodys. Meagan and Ashley Moody were coming around the side.
Angela got out and used her key to initiate the bay door. She turned and hugged both Meagan and Ashley.
“Follow me on in,” Angela said, as she pulled into the bay. “This is my eight-thousand square-foot garage.” Angela said giggling.
She pulled to a stop and opened the door to her apartment. When she turned back Meagan and Ashly were already emptying her truck.
“You did go shopping Angela,” Meagan said.
“Yeah for some reason, I just can’t stop eating. I tried it for a week and I just had to eat. If you know what I mean.” She said with a tease in her voice.
Angela had ten bags, but she only needed to make one trip, thanks to her friends.
“So what are you two doing today?”
“Ashley asked me if you two could have a sleep over on Friday. I told her I wanted to talk to you first,” Meagan said, as she and Ashley were putting up her food.
“I want to have a long talk with Ashley first, if I can.”
“Privately I assume.” Meagan stated. “Smart girl, Ashley can be such a trickster at times. Don’t play strip poker with her.”
“I have a TV just through the door. The remote is on the coffee table.”
Angela took Ashley’s hand and led her to the bathroom and closed the door behind them.
“We need to talk Ashley.” Angela said, taking a long slow breath. “Ashley, I have to tell you something. You, your family, Mrs. Whitmire and all the people around here. Are the best thing that is happened to me, since January the twelfth at eleven-thirty-five when a police officer told me my parents died.”
“I need to know if I can tell you something and you have got to promise not to tell anybody.”
Ashley found one of Angela’s razor’s and nicked a finger and one of Angela’s fingers. She put the two fingers together. “I promise, if you promise.” Then she put her finger in Angela’s mouth and Angela’s finger in her mouth, till they stopped bleeding.
“Ok if you break that promise, I am going to have to leave this state, it is that important.”
“Don’t leave please. I like you so much.” Ashley said, frightened. “I don’t have many friends, because I am always riding or practicing jumping.”
“For the most part, what I have told you and your family is the truth. I have left out one detail. In my heart, I have always been like the Angela you see now.”
“A really ritzy dresser?”
“No Ashley, it would be a miracle it that were true. You see, I was born differently and no I don’t mean C-section or test tube baby. I was born Alan James Parsons. My body was male, but in my heart I have always been a girl.”
Ashley’s face was unreadable. She was looking Angela up and down, “I have to believe you. You wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble for a joke, but I just can’t see it.”
“The breasts are silicone. I had testicles, but they are gone. I was kicked so hard they ruptured.” Angela sat back on the sink’s counter after pulling up her skirt and lowering her panties a bit.
Ashley got on her knees a looked. Angela had what looked like a vagina, but at the back of the labia, there was the small head of a penis.
Ashley pulled up Angela’s panties up and her skirt down. “I’m a lesbian.”
Angela laughed, “I think Meagan at least already knows that, I know I did.”
“You think she knows?”
“Do birds fly, do bears shit in the woods, yes she knows. You might want to talk to her about it, but give it a month or two.”
Ashley was deep in thought, “Shit, you might be right. I think she is too, She married Dad to help us out, she was Mom’s best friend. I think my Mom hit from both sides of the plate too.”
“So, are you okay with me?”
“We are still kissing best friends though. You kiss too good.” She said, planting a wet kiss on Angela and mostly cleaned up her lipstick.
“You’ve still have a little smudge in the corner.”
“Leave a little too Angela.”
Ashley then mussed up Angela’s hair just a bit. “I’m leaving no doubt now. It’s better to leave no doubt than it is to leave doubts. If she thinks I’m a lesbian then…”
“I am too.”
They went to find Meagan. She was in the office watching the news. She looked at the girls and smiled, “Girls you need to fix your makeup. If you two are going to make this work, you need to be more discrete. No more hands under the table and clean up better after you kiss. Be discrete. I take it that it’s a yes. Just as long as you two stay here. I will agree to it.” Meagan hugged both kids at the same time.
Back at the bee farm things were in high gear. The bees were pumping out honey and the beekeepers were adding supers, cleaning super boxes and frames. Angela was on Varroa detail with another student and Jacques. They used propane powered foggers to fog the hives with an oxalic. Fogging each hive for thirty seconds. It kills the mite but the bees survive. You need to fog every seven to ten days to break the mite’s reproduction cycle. They hit all the hives during the shift.
The Varroa mite lays eggs on bee larva around day five, worker bees are capped around the tenth day after they were laid by the queen bee. While the Cell is capped and both the larva and the mite grow. Around the twenty second day the worker and Varroa mite emerge from the bee’s cell. Mites are safe from fogging while they are in a capped cell with the bee pupae. The day after the first fogging workers and drones emerge along with Varroa. The second fogging kills them and the third fogging kills more bringing the Varroa down to manageable levels. It is hard to kill all the Varroa without killing all the bees.
Varroa populations grow rapidly from late May to early August so hitting them in late May is strategic. It is all about timing when it comes to fighting mites.
Workers need to wear respirators that filter for organic acids while they are fogging out in the fields.
Jacques followed Angela home after work to fog her hives and the hives in the Queen operations.
Wednesday. she worked with Brenda in her queen operation. They were grafting queens. Brenda demonstrated her grafting technique. She grafted a dozen bee larva that were laid three to four days previous into beeswax queen cups, using virgin wax. The virgin was cups were previously attached to Queen cell bar frames Brenda would then watch over Angela’s shoulder as she grafted larva. Three-day old larvae are about the size of a comma on a typed page and are very easy to kill in the grafting process. Angela killed a fair few in the process, but she had very good muscle control. She just needed practice spotting likely larva and practice transferring them to the queen cups.
When they had thirty grafts on a frame they would put the frame into a queenless hive. Before the queens emerge they are transferred to a queen castle for finishing and mating. Mated queens are put in a wood queen shipping cell ready for Dan to use or for sale. Brenda and three other beekeepers were on contract with Dan. He had the right of first refusal for any queen they produced. He paid them for working for him, then he paid five dollars for every queen he used from them. The queens he didn’t buy they were free to sell on the open market at 25 to 35 dollars each. They made good money, working for Dan and he had a ready supply of queens from January to October. They were Dan’s best paid beekeepers.
“How come there is a variation in Queen bee prices?”
“The queens’ major blood line, how well mated they are and the productivity of my bees, the disease resistance and the reputations of Dan and I.”
“I may classify a queen as an Italian by looks or genetics but there are no pure-bred bees in the US, unless they were bred on remote islands. I believe that more diversity is needed in our hives today. Their mother may leave the hive and breed with twenty to forty drones, although eight to ten may be average. Unless we do artificial insemination. Artificial Insemination is the only way to assure you know which particular subspecies a bee is. The training needed to use the equipment is extremely difficult. You must remove a packet of sperm from a drove that is smaller than a period and insert it in the queen’s oviduct, without killing her. I wouldn’t want to try that.”
Brenda played a video on her laptop computer showing a researcher doing an instrumental insemination of a queen, from harvesting the drone’s sperm, to homogenizing the sperm from a hundred drones to inseminating the queen.
After the video, they took the queen cell bar frame and inserted it in their queenless hive.
After one Angela took the rest of her day to study for her online high school. She really wanted to be ready for her tests. She received confirmation from the school that Mrs. Monning was acceptable for her proctor and that they were mailing her the test packets.
The next day Angela and Dan went to another site of his bee operation, near Tupelo, MS. It was almost a carbon copy of Dan’s Jackson operation. She got to meet a lot of beekeepers there and to inspect a few hives.
She and Dan were invited to come with the AG agent there to a hive inspection in the area. It wasn’t one of those good inspections. Angela got to see, first hand, the inspection of and destruction of a hive infected with American Foulbrood.
The first thing that Angela noticed was the smell. The hive smelled of decay. She then opened the hive, taking each part of the hive and putting it in a burn barrel as she was instructed. The whole population was down to a few hundred bees. She got to the brood frames, where the smell emanated most strongly, The Ag man then did the stick test to cheek for the ropey consistence of a larval cell and a milk test, simple presumptive tests for AFB. The official tests are done in the State Bee Labs. The bees were then sprayed with diesel fuel and they waited several minutes till they were all dead, then the hive was burnt in the burn barrel.
Angela was crushed at the fate of the sick hive. The Ag man then did tests on several other hives, putting one more to the torch.
The next day they drove from Tupelo to Clarksdale, Ms. Angela got good look at this place.
“I have one other place near Hattiesburg, MS. That is why I am out of town all the time and why you are keeping up with my hives now. I was just getting where I can’t keep them up as I should. I had been switching from a beekeeper to a business executive. Since you came into my life though Angela, I am spending more time with my bees. Thank You.”
They were on the road home when three thirty hit. High school was just getting out. Angela called Ashley thirty minutes later and told her, that she would be home in about an hour.
Angela had just taken a shower and got dressed, when she heard the Moody gator drive up to the place. Angela met Ashley as she was coming into Office. The two girls hugged and kissed. There could be no other people on the place, after all the front gate was locked and she hadn’t heard the buzzer, but someone on foot could circumvent all of that. So, she was glad for the drapes, that covered the office windows.
Ashley taught Angela what girls do on a sleep over. They had dinner and then they did makeovers. Ashley got into Angela’s closets.
“Seriously Angela, we need to take you on a clothing shopping spree. Your closet is ok for Meagan, but your only sixteen.”
Ashley did find some nice things that she had to try on. One outfit Angela had fun corseting Ashley. She left the girl in the corset all night.
Ashley got even when they played “Truth or Dare”. Neither one of them would ever tell what they did that night.
Ashley hooked up her DVD/Blu-Ray player at about eleven. Both girls were heavily made up and wearing scandalous sleepwear. Angela nuked a bag of popcorn and they watched a couple of movies. They covered up with a blanket on the couch and watched “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and “High School Musical.”
They fell asleep in each other’s arms well before the second movies credits rolled.
In the morning, Ashley was the first up. She had to dash all the way to Angela’s bathroom. She came back moaning for Angela to get her out of this damn corset. Ashley had pulled the wrong tails on the corset and wound up knotting it tighter, instead of slipping the knot.
After cleaning up they dressed in Angela’s work clothes, Ashley wore a complete bee suit and then took a good look at her hives starting with her gold hive. Strangely her gold hive was on its third honey super. All her hives looked very good. The rest of her hives would produce enough honey to winter if Angela feed them, which she planned to do beginning with the August dearth.
She had ordered ten, eighty-pound barrels of dirty sugar, at Dan’s insistence. Dirty sugar is the tailings of the sugar manufacturing process and is unfit for human consumption. It is easier to sell it that way than to further refine it. It is often used in livestock feeds though.
Angela cooked breakfast for them. She cooked southwestern omelets, going easy on the jalapenos. Ashley help by chopping vegetables and putting the biscuits on.
The front gate alarm buzzed, “That would-be Brenda, she’s here to work on her queen operation.”
Brenda was invited in by Ashley and she joined the two in having a lite bite. The highlight of the breakfast, was the hot biscuits with honey and butter.
“I like this honey. Each honey has its own unique flavor depending on where the hive is located.”
“That is the honey Dan and I recovered from Ashley’s barn.” Angela told Brenda.
Brenda went to work with her bees and the girls changed to skirt, blouses and heels.
Ashley got permission to go to Jackson with Angela, to go shopping. Angela took a quick look at her bank account and saw that she was up to seventeen thousand dollars. She was depositing about twelve hundred a week with bonuses for working on Dan’s hives and only spending for food, auto insurance and gas.
The girls drove to the city of Jackson, with Ashley providing directions to Teen Fashion stores. The pair had so much fun shopping and trying on the latest teen fashions. The girls could both grace the cover of Seventeen magazine. Ashley had very good tastes when it came to teen fashion. She didn’t like the trampy looks or the dressed down looks many girls wore to school. They modeled the clothes for each other, leaving the fitting rooms and doing an exaggerated runway walk. Angela learned a lot about accessorizing the clothes. Wearing the right scarf, vest, hat or jewelry was just as important as wearing the right clothes, with the right makeup and hairdo.
Since the girls were spending, the sales ladies began offering their ideas and encouragement.
They both ended up buying a couple of outfits from skin out. They selected one set of matching bras and panties. The bra and panties were on the sexy, racy side. They agreed to wear their matching underwear where ever they were on Saturday. This being Saturday, they left the store wearing them.
They stopped at the mall’s food court to eat. The place was crowded with the under eighteen crowd, eating, drinking and watching the other under eighteen kids. Being two hot chicks they had to fend off the attentions of many of the male species, there. Ashley provided Angela with suitable instructions on how to say no without being mean. Although with one group they had to be mean. The boys were trolling the food court and mall security came and gave them assistance in how to leave the mall, the boys that is.
Angela did buy some horse riding clothes, a complete set including the knee-high riding boots and knee length spanx. The spanx were to help present friction rashes and help keep muscle soreness to a minimum. Ashley promised to take Angela riding tomorrow.
They left the Mall and hit a movie at the theater. The theater was one of those movie taverns where you could eat a meal while watching a movie. Ashley and Angela held hands for most of the movie, except when someone was around, like their waiter.
Ashley called her stepmother, when she was back in the area.
“Boys are lucky, they can go pretty much where they want. Zach, can just leave a note and drive to Gulfport with his guys, but I have to call in.”
“Calling in shows that you are responsible enough to follow the rules. You build up respect with Meagan, when you follow the rules.”
“I know, I almost wish…” Ashley almost said that she wished that she was like Angela. She stopped as she realized what that would mean.
Angela was perceptive enough to know what her friend was going to say, “I know what you mean, Ashley, but I would live in a convent if I could get my parents back, with all of their rules.”
They kissed for a bit and then Ashley drove her gator home with all her purchases.
The next day, Angela was in and out of a saddle inside a small corral, wearing her new outfit riding an English saddle. Meagan and Ashley tagged team Angela, teaching her how to ride properly. She was on a pony named cinnamon twist, because of her coloring. After an hour of instruction, the three of them went on a short ride of about a mile and a half. Angela was a little sore from the ride.
“Every rider gets saddle soreness when they first start.” Meagan stated. “The tight pants helps reduce chaffing and friction burns and help support the muscles around the legs and rump. You are using different muscles than you had been.”
“Can you come with us to a show jumping event next weekend in Memphis?” Ashley asked.
“Check with me on Wednesday, Ashley. I need to do things this week.”
“Mrs. Monning had called Saturday evening, she had received the tests and Angela was to come in on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
Angela had called Dan and informed him. She also talked to Margaret over the phone.
Tuesday Angela dressed in one of her teen fashion outfits. She had a blouse, pants, vest and heels. Her makeup was school girl basic and she went with big hair today. She would take three tests today and two tomorrow. She met with Mrs. Monning in the school’s conference room. Each test was allotted an hour and a half. The tests were harder than she expected, so she wound up using most of her time.
Mrs. Monning looked over the previous test as Angela was doing her next test. She was surprised at the complexity of the tests and how well Angela was doing on all the parts of the test. Mrs. Monning didn’t say anything. Angela still had to come in and do testing, but she was certain that Angela would be starting in the eleventh grade in all her courses. She did well in, English, Math and Science. She needed work in history, but was passing and she was a little behind in computer science.
Wednesday, she finished her tests by noon. Very mentally stressed. It was a chocolate shake kind of day. She drove to the ice cream parlor and got her shake. School had been out for a week and there were quite a few kids there. Angela took a seat and sipped on her shake. A couple of guys hit on her but she looked older than many of the kids there. One lady pulled into the shop in her BMW convertible and left her top down. Angela liked the vehicle, but she liked her truck better.
“Oh my,” Angela said. A large of bees swooped in and took up residence in her convertible. “Lady,” Angela said, after going over to her. “I hope you don’t have to be anywhere soon. Your car just filled up with bees.”
The lady gave out a short string of cuss words. “What am I going to do?” She asked.
“Hi my name is Angela and I am a beekeeper, Let me call someone.”
Angela called Jacques, as Dan was out of town. “Hi Jacques, have you ever seen a eighty-thousand-dollar car filled with bees?” She sent him a picture. Jacques said, he would be there in an hour.
The bees were being a little bit of a horse’s ass. So she put on her full Bee suit and started her smoker. There was quite a crowd when Jacques and a student arrived. Seeing Angela in her suit, they too suited up.
“Hi Jacques, how are you?”
“Doing good, Angela. This is a one of my new students. Rick Samples meet Angela Parsons.”
The two said, their hellos and then Jacques asked, “What do we have here?”
“I think it is a swarm of feral bees. They were kind of testy. I got bumped about fifteen times just looking at them from ten feet. No stings though.”
The three of them went to talk to the lady.
Angela introduced the lady to Jacques and Rick. The lady introduced herself as Rebecca Comings. “I know this will take a while, but how long will it take to clear my car. I’m supposed to be somewhere in an hour. I already can’t make it.”
“It depends on how well the bees co-operate, it will take a minimum of two hours to clear all the bees out maybe four hours.”
“Please do what you need to do, try not to hurt the car, pretty please. Just get them out.”
Rebecca retreated into the ice cream parlor, people were setting up GoPro camera’s everywhere from many different angles. It would be the most videoed bees capture known, as more than fifteen YouTubers and a news crew filmed the capture, not counting all the cell phone videos. The ice cream shop was doing land office business. One brave soul asked if he could set one up on Angela’s truck.
The three beekeepers set their own camera’s up along with their bee vac. They took turns getting into the car and vacuum out the bees slowly. Police had come and set up a perimeter around the car, as there was a cloud of bees around them now. Rick was the first person to find the queen, but then Angela found two, Jacques wasn’t left out and found the largest queen.
“I think a hive ready to swarm might have completely abandoned their hive. We might have twenty thousand bees here,” Jacques said.
They got all the bees vacuumed that they could and had to wait for some to alight, before going for more.
Mrs. Monning was sitting on her car just outside the perimeter, watching the beekeepers work. She thought one was Angela Parsons, but wasn’t sure till the older one called for her.
Jacques talked to the Lady and asked if they could spray the car with Bella B, a repellant beekeepers will sometimes use. Rebecca looked at the bottle and smelled it.
“It’s not too bad. Use it if it will get me out of here faster. It doesn’t stain leather, will it?”
“We can spray it on the carpet. Your car had dark carpet. It shouldn’t stain it. Or you can wait till we get all the bees. I asked about it because I can’t guarantee the leather seats.”
“Use it. I need to go.”
First Jacques asked Rick to drive the bees to his home. Angela got in the car spraying under the seats and the floor mats front and back, while Jacques video-taped Angela working. Ten to fifteen minutes later, the bees had dispersed. They couldn’t detect their queens and the smell irritated them. Angela and Jacques put their things away in her truck. The lady hugged the two of them and got into her car as soon as it was safe to do so.
“Girl, where ever you are there is a swarm.”
“Honestly, Jacques, I was just relaxing after my tests at school. I looked up and saw the swarm. I didn’t bring the bees with me.”
“Your bees are much nicer than these. They aren’t African but they aren’t gentle bees. They did look good. I wonder where they came from?”
“I think they are feral.”
“Could be.”
Angela drove Jacques home. Rick was already dividing the bees into ten frame deep boxes. He had already caged the queens in wood queen cages. Strangely the bees were much more docile now.
“Something either irritated the bees, or they are a bipolar bee colony.” Rick said. “I’ve never seen bees change so quickly.”
They later found that a house fire had occurred a mile or so away. They figured the bees just fled.
Angela got home and then fixed a bite to eat. She had talked to Susan in the office. Susan told her to come to her home and get her hair worked on. She also told her she was good to go on the weekend to Memphis and reminded her about her Monday doctor’s appointment.
She called Ashley and told her, but she had to be back for a doctor’s appointment in Jackson at ten on Monday. Ashley said she would call her back.
Ashley called and said that they would be back by ten p.m. on Sunday.
“What do I wear?” Angela asked.
“Bring your pink and burgundy suits, along with a couple of casual outfits plus a bikini.”
“I don’t have a bikini.”
“I have a few extra. I have one that has a boy-cut bottom and has a fuller top.”
“Ok, what time do we leave?”
“Friday at five.”
“I will be there.”
When Friday came, Angela left work early at two thirty. She stopped at Walmart and bought a dozen pair of pantyhose, some women don’t wear them but she liked them.
She had packed the day before so she just had to clean up. She did her hair, makeup and got dressed. She moved everything to her truck and drove to the Moody place, locking her place up tight.
William took her bags and secured them in the bed of the truck, forward of the gooseneck hitch. Everybody was there at four thirty so Zachery loaded the horses and took off for the nearly five-hour drive.
Angela could tell that her friend was excited. She and Meagan couldn’t stop talking about the show. Ashley fell asleep after they left Jackson. She was leaning on Angela. She had to put her arm around the girl’s shoulder.
They hit a truck stop near Winona to get a bite to eat and check the horses. Zack watered them before they got on the road again. They pulled into the fairgrounds first to the stables to feed the horses. Zachery spent the night in the horse trailer. It was a combination horse trailer, with living quarters, big enough for one person. There was a bed/kitchen/shower and toilet, along with an electric generator. William bought it so they had somewhere to change at a riding event and so they could look after their horses. Zachery also liked to socialize with the other grooms, some of them female, that put arriving horses in their assigned stalls and take care of the horses.
Some of the horses even have their own body guards, 24/7. Since the era of Tommy “The Sandman” Burns, aka Timmy Robert Ray. Insurance companies who insure horses have gotten a lot smarter. They sometimes require bodyguards and order Necropsies on horses who have died and were heavily insured.
Angela and the rest of the Moody’s went to their hotel for the night. Angela and Ashley were in one room and William and Meagan were in another. Ashley was tired, so Angela put her to bed and watched a few videos on her tablet.
When they awoke at six, Ashley was spooned up against Angela. It had been wonderful sleeping with the other girl keeping her warm. She rolled over and kissed Angela, who awoke. They only had a few minutes though when a soft knock on the adjoining door came.
“We’re awake mom, I’m heading into the shower.”
Ashley and Angela both headed into the shower. They didn’t play long, because they had to be dressed for breakfast at seven.
Angela dressed in her pink skirt suit with heels, did her makeup and her hair. Ashley just dressed in jeans and t-shirt. She and her mom, would dress for the event in the trailer. Meagan was similarly dressed as Ashley, while William was dressed like Kenny Rogers dressed as a Southern Colonel, down to the beard and mustache, properly waxed. When Meagan saw the girls, she giggled. She went over to her bag and got a pink ladies top hat with a white veil, a light gray silk scarf and a lady’s walking stick that had a horse head handle.
Angela thought she looked smashing, but a little snobbish and standoffish. Meagan convinced her to wear the hat and carry the cane. Meagan just knotted the scarf and added some bobby pins to hold the hat better. She also did Angela’s lip and eye makeup, to give her a high society look.
They ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant. When they got off the elevator, Angela gave her best high society expression. At Meagan’s prodding William offered Angela his arm. Angela and William weren’t the only ones dressed up neither were Meagan and Ashley the only ones dressed down.
Everyone including Angela received their stable passes and tickets for their seats. Zachery was flirting with a girl who looked between seventeen and twenty, she was very pretty and wearing her equestrian outfit, which she filled out very nicely. Meagan and Ashley headed into the trailer while William and Zachery went to inspect the horses and prepare them for competition. Angela just strolled amongst the crowd. She adopted many of the mannerisms of the people there. Many acted like real people, while some affected the don’t bother me, I’m better than you, demeanor. Angela could do that, but she didn’t like it. She adopted her adult, friendly demeanor.
It was early, so Angela continued to mingle with the crowds. The Dressage portion of the event was to begin in fifteen minutes. She found her seat and was looking around and caught a glimpse of Gwen and not too far away was Eleanor. She walked over to their box.
In her best Rhode Island accent she surprised Eleanor by saying, “Oh hello Mrs. Whitmire. How ARE you doing today.” She said emphasizing the ARE.
Eleanor looked around in surprise but she answered in a similarly droll tone. “Oh Miss. Parsons. I am doing well. You must tell me how your vacation with the Kaufmanns went on.”
“It was simply MAHvelous, dear. Skiing in Switzerland, touring the French Riviera, visiting Monaco was very enjoyable.
“Uggh you two, cut that out. I thought both of you were human. I’m not so certain now.” Gwen stated.
“Hello Auntie Eleanor, how are you really doing?”
Eleanor laughed and hugged her faux niece. An action that didn’t go unnoticed, “I am doing very well. I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
Rumors were spreading faster than the horses. Gwen moved behind Eleanor so Angela could sit next to Eleanor.
“I am doing very good. I just finished my tests from school and even though they were hard. I think, no make the, I know I did well. Tell me what is Dressage?”
“Dressage my dear is equestrian at its finest...” Eleanor gave Angela a shortened explanation of dressage as the event began. She gave her a running commentary as the riders began. Dressage was being used to narrow down the field for the show jumping tomorrow.
It took Angela a while even with Eleanor’s commentary to understand the subtleties of what she was seeing. Ashley’s turn came before Meagan’s. Eleanor was quite complementary of the young girl’s riding, as she performed her tasks, she praised her posture, and the way she moved her horse about the course. She said Peppermint looked good and her gate was outstanding. Both Ashley and Peppermint showed a lot of confidence. Angela just liked watching her friend.
Meagan came on as the adults started riding. Meagan and Chestnut Blue were good, but not as good as Ashley and Peppermint. Ashley scored a nine and Meagan scored an eight point five. They both scored well enough to pass onto the jumping event.
Angela’s phone rang a little before noon. Ashley was in her families box and wondered where Angela was. “Hi Ashley I am sitting with Eleanor two boxes over and one down.”
Ashley hugged both Angela and Mrs. Whitmire, Angela changed seats with Gwen and sat down with her friend.
“Dad is taking us to lunch in an hour. He is looking at a new horse for me, an Appaloosa gelding named Comanche Prince. Dad, Mom and Zach are looking him over with the vet. My parents, asked me to come get you and have you out back at one.”
Angela looked at her watch and saw they had an hour. “We have an hour then. Are you going to ride Comanche Prince tomorrow?”
“No I haven’t trained on him. We both have to learn to trust each other, before we compete.”
They were watching a male rider doing the Dressage. “He is very good. I would love to have that horse. The horse is Indian Sunset and the rider is Henry Blackfield. They were National champs last year. Indian Sunset is a retired racehorse. He place fourth at the derby two-years ago. That is a three million dollar horse. When he isn’t show jumping he is sitting stud.”
Henry and Indian Sunset, scored a nine point five, for their run through dressage. They watched a few more riders, before they left, to head to the stables.
They both gave Eleanor hugs and kisses before they headed to the stables. That had more than a few tongues waggling, wondering who the girl in pink was and what her connection to Mrs. Whitmire was.
Back at the stables Zachery was working with an Appaloosa on a lunge line. The horse was taking some low jumps while the men were paying close attention to the animal’s form. Then Meagan got on him and rode him around in dressage style and then through a few regulation jumps.
William saw that Ashley and Angela were back. He asked Ashley to ride the horse. Zachery gave his sister a leg up, she sprung up with a grip on the reins, landing softly in the saddle. Ashley leaned over and whispered softly in the horse’s ear while lightly rubbing his neck.
Ashley started off at a cantor doing figure eights, to get used to the horse. She then took four standard jumps with the horse. Comanche Prince was responsive to her and took the jumps well. She then did some of her dressage tasks.
Her father taught her how to react to a horse he was thinking of buying. She was to have a neutral response, when asked about the horse. She had keywords that told William that she liked the horse. “He needs training, but he will suffice,” told him that Ashley loved the horse. It wasn’t a done deal as William and the horse seller needed to barter, after he had a talk with a vet William trusted. That would take a few days because the vet took blood and other samples to test.
They left the exercise yard and the stables, heading out to a restaurant. After they gave the waiter their orders, the Moody’s began to discuss Comanche Prince. William pulled out a prospectus on the horse.
“The horse was five years old, as a racehorse he was only good as a racehorse. Out of fifteen races he had three places and four shows, but never won a race. He seemed to run better behind another horse. Mark Blaine bought him to use as a show jumper. He did well but he was never a champion.”
Zachery then spoke, “I have looked at the tapes of Mark riding Comanche Prince. He was always a little heavy handed with the horse. One thing I do know is that the horse has good form. Mark weighs in at one-eighty-five to your one-fifteen. You have firm hands but you are softer at the reigns. I can’t say he will win for you, but it is possible.”
“He wants four and a quarter for him,” William stated.
“Peppermint only cost forty-two,” Ashley said. “We can use her as a brood-mare, Comanche Prince is a gelding. If he can’t jump he is just a pretty horse. I like him but I’m not sure he is worth the price. Also in timed jump off he isn’t chasing another horse.”
“My feelings exactly. Mike lost four events in timed jump offs. He seems to love jumping, but he is a little slow accelerating off a jump. He will give you clean runs but… I think he is good, but at that price no. I will wait on the vet report, before negotiating.”
That evening after watching some more dressage and eating dinner they all went back to their rooms.
“You girls, have fun, but you young lady need to be asleep by ten.” Meagan said. “You need to be sharp tomorrow.”
Ashley kissed her step-mom’s cheek and went with Angela into their room. Ashley turned on one of the movie channels and they both got into bed after taking a joint bath and dressing in panties.
“You look bigger Ashley.”
Ashley smiled, “Yes I have grown from an A cup to a B+ cup over the last two months.” Ashley said. “I think you have grown too.”
“A little maybe. I have only been on estrogen and progesterone since the middle of April. My doctor said that I shouldn’t see any substantial growth for five to eight months.”
“Put on a bra and let me see.”
Angela put on one of her bras. Ashley felt the tightness and fit of Angela’s bra.
“Have you always used the middle hooks in the back?”
“Yes, that is what I was taught to do. So I could loosen or tighten the bra if need be.”
“Look down between your bra and chest. Your breasts are pushing your bra away from your chest, just between your breasts. When you buy bras that area should be flush with your chest. You have grown. You’re at least a D cup with those breast forms on.”
“I have grown. I just didn’t notice.”
“The way bras fit are the ways girls usually learn they are growing, unless they are fanatical about measuring.”
“I don’t have my solvent or adhesive, so we can’t see. I had to take them off and clean them early, because they itched like the devil and I couldn’t scratch where I itched.”
“How old were you when your foster father kicked you down there?”
“I had just turned thirteen, so nearly four years ago.”
“That may have been before puberty set in.”
“It was, that is why my voice never broke.”
“My girlfriend is becoming a woman.”
They kissed for a while and shut the TV off to go to sleep.
The next day, they found a slightly disheveled girl coming out of the Moody trailer. She grinned sheepishly as she scurried away. The girl was a cutie. Zach was just pulling on his shirt.
William had a talk with him about keeping safe and using a condom, while the girls were all in the trailer getting dressed. The first time that Angela saw Meagan just wearing her panties, she longed to look just like her. Meagan was beautiful. Meagan began with putting on a corset. It wasn’t for reducing her slim waist, it was for her posture while riding. It kept her sitting more upright. Ashley didn’t wear one, at least not yet. Then came their beautiful riding clothes. They both wore spanx long leg underwear, to prevent chaffing. They then out on their blouses, breeches and boots. Meagan did their makeup and put their hair in ponytails that were folded back and tied off with black ribbons secured with bobby pins.
Angela went to their box and saw Gwen who smiled and waved at her. Angela joined her.
“Eleanor is with one of the governors of the event. She will be back shortly. How are you doing?”
“I am doing great. I have learned a lot about horses and horse riding.”
“Eleanor use to ride herself till she broke her back in a fall. She has never ridden again, although she still supports riding programs.”
“Hello, my niece,” Eleanor teased. Loudly enough for many to hear. She did it intentionally because of the rumors her sources had picked up.
“Bonjour tante Eleanor comment allez-vou aujourd’hui?” Angela teased back.
Eleanor laughed, “Bon faire mon enfant. I didn’t know you spoke French.”
“I’m afraid I just used my entire vocabulary. I picked that up from a cartoon.”
Word spread around that Eleanor had a niece that grew up in France. Someone added that she went to Kingsworth International School in Paris. Her parents were international travelers after all. She IS such a refined young woman. They speculated about if she was going to go to Oxford or Harvard to finish off her education.
The jumping event started off with the junior division, the top eight boys and eight girls would participate. Then the top eight men and women would ride.
The big competition in the junior division was in the under sixteen girls. There were two national champions riding.
The first round there were four clear runs. Ashley was one of the four. In the second round. Ashley started out with a clear run. She was followed by a national champion. On the double jump her horse swung wide and stumbled severely injuring his front left leg, falling and unsaddling the girl. The horse was helped off the field by a vet and the girl had a dirty face and was in tears. The horse was put down out of sight of the crowd, after the girl gave him one last hug.
The remaining two girls had clear runs so a jump off was required to determine a winner. The national champion went first and posted the time for the other girls. The second girl got lost in the maze of jumps and made a wrong turn. Ashley then did her run. These were the highest fences she had faced in competition. She started out well but then Peppermint did a stutter step, halfway through the course, approaching a jump so she could get off on the right hoof. That cost Ashley a couple of seconds on the recovery of the jump. She finished second. As Peppermint rode back to the stable she limped a little. Still it was Ashley’s best finish at this level.
“Tante Eleanor, Peppermint is hurt.”
“I think so too. Let’s go see if she is ok.”
Angela took Eleanor’s arm as they headed to the paddock. Ashley was hugging and petting Peppermints neck while the Vet was checking her left foreleg and talking to Zachery and William. Meagan was exercising her horse and didn’t know what was going on.
“She didn’t break anything but she’ll need to take it easy for a couple of months. She’ll recover but, William, I think she’ll be a good broodmare,” It was the vet’s way of saying, she may never be as good as she was. “I want to take her back to the equine hospital for x-rays,” he said, after wrapping her leg.
They unsaddled Peppermint and brushed her down, while the vet went to get his trailer.
“That is one hell of a horse Ashley,” William said. “I saw her hurt her leg landing off that jump where she stuttered. She kept on running for the rest of the run. It had to have hurt her.”
“I tried to pull her up she just kept running. So, I let her have her head. I would have let her stop.”
“I know Baby. She wanted to do this for you and for herself. I got a line on another horse. Vet said, that Comanche Prince was loaded up on Cortisone and pain killers. Soon as she gets the ok with the vet, we will breed her with my stallion.”
“Sunday’s Child and Peppermint. Her first foal will be Peppermint Sundae.”
“Good name.”
“Call me William when you get home, I might be able to help with a horse,” Eleanor said. Mrs. Whitmire owned a couple of stables and had her fingers on a hundred horses that were very good. “You’ll have to train hard to get ready for July Ashley.”
Meagan rode well, she just wasn’t as competitive. She was eliminated in the second round with four faults. She was devastated when she found out about Peppermint.
They stayed in Memphis long enough to get Ashley’s ribbon and cup for second place. Sunday’s Son was visibly upset that Peppermint wasn’t in the van with him. Meagan and Ashley got him calmed down for transport home. The horse seemed to understand when the two women rubbed him and said she was ok. She just has to spend some time with the vet.
Angela held Ashley on the way home.
Angela took off her breast forms and soaked in the tub. Her breasts seemed to lift a bit when she submerge her chest. Without the forms she was just under a AA size cup, but her aureoles appeared larger and her nipples were about twice as large. She could feel the breast buds were firm.
The doctor confirmed Angela’s Diagnosis, after he inspected her chest, “I will recommend you for breast augmentation in two months. When you turn eighteen I will sign off on your Vaginoplasty, if Margaret Finch concurs. Start massaging your chest when the forms aren’t attached, so your skin is more flexible and elastic. Use a good cream on it. It can help when it is time for surgery.” Dr. Jackson demonstrated the massage on her.
Angela was on top of the world when she met with Margaret at her home. They talked for an hour about this and that. Margaret felt sorry for Ashley when she heard about her horse.
“Horse riders and horses build an unusually strong bond over time. Be her friend because she will need it.”
Angela hurried home and reattached her breast forms after massaging her chest. She dressed up nice and sat in her office checking out videos on her computer. She found quite a few of her on YouTube. In the video of her at Margaret’s she was labeled “The Sexy Beekeeper.” You couldn’t tell it was her because of the veil, but it was her in mini-skirt, bee jacket and heels. That video had gone viral in a month garnering two-hundred-thousand plus hits. She also found a couple of dozen videos of her working with Jacques on the BMW convertible video. The best of them was from the guy who set the GoPro on top of her truck. His video had a better angle than Jacques video of the capture.
She was shaken out of her reverie by her buzzer going off she stood and looked out of her office window. She could see a law enforcement vehicle and a Ford Tarus, driving up. She made like a secretary She picked up her land line phone and pretended to talk to Susan as the door to the office. She didn’t know why they were here but she had a bad feeling in her gut.
“Susan I need those end of the month reports for May, so I can file the tax reports for the boss,” Angela said, in her best Mississippi transplant accent. After the people entered the office area. “I don’t care if you are over loaded, dear. Well get them to me. Catch ya later, I have company here.”
“Hello Sheriff what can I do ya for.”
“I’m a Constable Bill Davis, Ma’am, not a Sheriff.”
“So, what can I do fer ya officer.”
“This is Sylvia Green and Dorothy Goldman from Mary-land CPS. That’s Child Protective Services. They are looking for a boy named Alan J. Parsons.”
“What did he do kill a child or sumthin?”
One of the ladies came forward, “No, but he did run away from our foster care. The Governor has sent a request that he be returned.”
“It’s just me and Brenda here right now.”
“May we look around the constable asked?”
“Knock yourself out sir, ma’am.”
They looked through the warehouse, Angela hoped that Brenda didn’t twig that Angela wasn’t a girl by birth. She picked up her cellphone and called Eleanor.
Gwen answered. “Gwen! I need Eleanor. There are two people from Maryland CPS here to pick up Alan Parsons,” Angela said, giving Gwen the particulars.
“Drive on over here if they let you go. Call me back if they don’t try to detain you.”
Angela grabbed her purse and keys and locked up the office, as the people went to check the outbuildings.
Angela got in her truck and pulled slowly away. She didn’t want to seem like she was running. She made it to the road and turned toward Eleanor’s place, looking back every few seconds. She called Gwen back as soon as she was three hundred yards away.
“They didn’t follow me. I am on my way.”
“Good, Eleanor is already looking into things.”
Another two minutes and Angela made it to Eleanor’s drive. Another couple of minutes and she was stopped in front of her home. Gwen met her there. She escorted Angela to her office where she was on the phone.
“Judge Wortman, Angela is now in my home… Yes she is alright… It was a constable Bill Davis, and Maryland CPS workers Sylvia Green and Dorothy Goldman. They told her that they have a governor’s request for his return… Yes sir… We’ll be right there, along with my attorney.”
“Thank goodness you are alright Angela. You did right to call me. They aren’t going to take you away from me and Dan. But we do need to face this warrant or request up front. I have a dozen people working on this right now. Trust me, this is one fight they won’t win.”
“Gwen have my Lincoln out front in ten minutes. Angela, did you bring your papers,”
“Yes, Ma’am I always keep them on me.”
“Let me fix my face and we will be going to the courthouse in Jackson.”
Angela was surprised by how fast Eleanor changed from a country lady to a matron of the state of Mississippi. In twenty minutes, they were on the road to the courthouse. Eleanor Whitmire made three phone calls to the people she needed on the way.
Eleanor’s Driver stopped in front of a skyscraper and picked up three men and a lady. They all fit Easily into her stretch Lincoln Town Car limo, for the short ride to the courthouse. The lawyers debriefed Angela on her encounter and inspected her papers. They told her that she was legal and that no request from the Governor of Maryland would be honored.
They stopped in front of the courthouse that Angela had previously been in. They went into the Courtroom instead of the judge’s chambers. Angela sat next to Eleanor Whitmire in the gallery while the lawyers sat in the bar.
The constable Bill Davis sat with Sylvia Green and Dorothy Goldman.
The bailiff came out and said, “All rise for the Honorable Judge Stanley Wortman.”
The judge came out and sat on the bench, “Bailiff what is the matter before us now.”
“The state of Maryland is seeking the return of a minor child named Alan J. Parsons.”
“Who represents the State of Maryland?”
“We do your honor. I am Sylvia Green and this is Dorothy Goldman. We are employees of the Child Protective Service of the State of Maryland your honor.”
“Who represents the minor child Alan J. Parsons.”
“The lady stood and declared that, “We do your honor. I am Gloria Beck. This is David Bridgestone, Morgan Kaufman and Randolph Renfroe attorneys at law, your honor.”
“What petition do you bring Ms. Green?”
“We have a petition signed by the governor Stanley Jansen, Governor of the State of Maryland requesting the return of the minor child Alan J. Parsons, who absconded from the state of Maryland.”
“Was he a convicted criminal?”
“No, your honor, we are just seeking the return of a minor placed in our custody by the family court of Baltimore Maryland.”
“In my court words have meanings, using the word absconded for a child who merely left your custody is abhorrent.”
“Excuse me your honor.”
Gloria Beck stated, “Our client is no longer a burden to the state of Maryland, having been legally adjudicated an Emancipated Minor.”
“What backwater judge would emancipate an irresponsible minor,” Sylvia Green stated.
“One thousand dollars’ contempt. It was this backwater judge, Ms. Green. Continue Ms. Beck.”
“Said minor is a hardworking, tax paying citizen of the State of Mississippi, your honor and does not wish to return to the State of Maryland. It is our contention the State of Maryland has no right to force their return.”
“That is stupid, The State of Mississippi has no right to deny our Governors request.”
“Two thousand dollars’ contempt Ms. Green. The trifecta is ninety days’ incarceration.”
“You honor excuse me. I ask that the attorney present the child.”
“The Emancipated minor is nearby your honor.”
“Excuse me your Honor, I am here,” Angela said standing.
“I acknowledge your presence Miss Parsons, please take a seat by your lawyers.”
“This person can’t be the person we are looking for, Your honor.”
“Then can we go, Your honor.”
“I think you better take a seat young lady, till we clear this manner before us,” the judge said. “Angela Parsons are you indeed the person they are looking for?”
“I might be your honor. It depends on the wording of the request.”
The judge smiled. He had already shown how words were important.
“May I see the request Ms. Green.”
The bailiff took the petition from the lady to the judge and he read the document.
“Miss Parsons has you ever been legally named Alan J. Parsons.”
“No, Your honor. I was legally named A. J. Parsons, but not Alan. I have my birth certificate, issued by the State of Maryland.”
The judge read the document and stated. “I find the request of the State of Maryland to be defective on its face. I further find that the child before us named Angela Juliet Parsons to be no longer under that State of Maryland’s jurisdiction, and any attempt to remove her from this state will be tantamount to kidnapping.”
“You can’t do that your honor. I demand custody of this boy.”
“You have won the trifecta ninety days’ contempt, Ms. Green. A court of competent jurisdiction has just made the ruling.”
“Your honor, there is something that I don’t understand.”
“What is that Miss Parsons?”
“Three things really. The first is I left Maryland and moved through four states and kept out of the attention of Law enforcement and Child Protective Services along the way. They knew or should have known, that they could never have returned me without tying me up and throwing me in the trunk of their car. They couldn’t take me on a plane. I would have raised such a fuss that TSA or the airlines wouldn’t have let me on a plane. That goes for trains and busses too. In a car first stop light, restroom break or gas stop I would have been gone. How did they expect to make me return to Maryland?”
“Good question and your second point, Miss Parsons.”
“In this age of shrinking state budgets, have you ever heard of a state seeking extradition of a person guilty of nothing but wanting to live on their own?”
“And the third point.”
“I am basically weeks from being old enough to blow off on my own. It’s my understanding that a seventeen-year-old can require support till they are eighteen. But a seventeen-year-old can’t be forced to stay with their guardian. If that is correct I will be seventeen in five weeks. That is kind of late to be worried about a minor regardless of emancipation. Something stinks.”
The judge sat there rubbing his chin. Angela had made valid points. The whole court room was considering what Angela said very carefully, including the district attorney who was standing next to a bailiff.
“Your honor, may I speak Amicus Curiae?”
“Can you bring light on this matter. Mrs. Whitmire.”
“I believe I can and I also have some questions.”
“Enlighten us Mrs. Whitmire.”
“I often have need to understand who I am dealing with and what the character of the people I deal with is. So, when I first met Angela Parsons and she told me her story. I had my people authenticate her story. I found that Angela’s father was a successful electrical engineer and her mother was a photographer of great renown. At the time of their passing their estate was valued in the range of six and a half million, including a home valued at one point four million. The home was sold on a quitclaim deed and I couldn’t find a trust in the name of the child.”
The judge looked up at the District Attorney for the county of Jackson, Ryman Samuels. “Mr. Samuels, I think we may have crossed the line into something that is of interest to you and a colleague of yours in Maryland. I would greatly appreciate knowing what is going on in relation to Angela Parsons’ estate and trust.”
“I would too, your honor. Will the bailiff please read the Miranda Rights to Ms. Green and Ms. Goldman. While I will contact the Maryland Attorney General. I also seek a seventy-two-hour detainer on a material witness warrant on Sylvia Green and Dorothy Goldman.”
“Granted.”
“You have the right to remain silent…”
“This court is in Recess,” the judge said.
“All rise.” The bailiff said.
Angela went and hugged Eleanor. Eleanor turned to Gloria, “Ms. Beck see what assistance you can be to District Attorney Ryman Samuels.”
“Yes Ma’am, We’re on it. We have lawyers in Baltimore we work with.”
“Well niece of mine. How about we leave this place and go home.”
“Sure, Tante Eleanor.”
“I like the ring of that. Would you mind me making it official?”
“If it makes you happy. I am game for it.” Angela said, without thinking about the consequences.
“I am on it Mrs. Whitmire.” Gloria said.
Gwen was standing beside Eleanor’s Lincoln when Eleanor and Angela came out. She opened the door for them and then sat up front next to the driver.
“Home Please.” Eleanor said. The she raised the privacy shield. “I hope you don’t mind me checking on your background.”
“I don’t mind. I didn’t know I had any money or property. I would give it all up to able to live the way, I want to live as Angela Parsons.”
“What is a quitclaim deed?”
“it is a quasi-legal sale where the seller grants the buyer the rights of ownership without the guarantee of a warranted deed. What that means is someone sold the property without proving ownership of the property. You could sell my home on a quitclaim deed, and the buyer could move to possess the property. If I failed to assert my ownership there are some circumstances where the sale could become legal, as far as the buyer is concerned. The seller would be committing fraud and the clock starts on the statues of limitation. Charges of fraud have to be filed within a certain amount of time. Depending on the type of crime and the state it is committed in.”
“So, someone sold my parents’ home without a guarantee that they owned it.”
“It seems to be so. I just found out today. I asked myself, why would they want you back so bad. I don’t have proof, but it is my belief that they never intended to take you all the way back. Your questions shook everyone. Without accusing them, you said, that they might want to kill you. You may have been right. If I am right they were going to kidnap and kill you to cover up their fraud. We are stopping by your place and getting your things. Be a good girl Angela, and listen to me, you are staying at my place till we can assure your safety. I would do that for Dan or the Moody’s or anybody I hold dear.”
“I will be a good girl, Tante Eleanor,” Angela said kissing Eleanor’s cheek. “What would you have done, if the judge had ruled that I had to go back to Maryland?”
“I had already talked to the judge about that. I would have been appointed as your guardian and you would have never left my custody. Gwen and I would have been with you all the way, to insure your safety.”
Angela did pack her clothes, makeup, medication, solvent, adhesive and the other things she needed, taking time to change into some casual clothes. She wouldn’t leave though until she checked her hives. Eleanor, Gwen and the driver watched as she went from hive to hive doing a quick inspection. She even added a fourth super to her gold hive, all without the aid of smoke or a bee suit.
When she was satisfied that the bees were doing good, she locked the place up and locked the gate when they exited.
Angela was setup in a room and had the assistance of a maid to put her things away and to setup her vanity.
She took time to call her friend Ashley and told her what had happened. Ashley was shocked, but she was glad that Mrs. Whitmire had been there for her. Ashley then told Angela that Peppermint was doing alright. She had a fracture in the proximal sesamoids of her left front leg.
“She is wearing a cast and they are bringing her back here. Dad has found a five year old thoroughbred stallion and we are going to a Kentucky horse farm to look at him, next week. Do you think you can come?”
“I’m not sure I don’t trust them people from Maryland. I don’t think those two ladies, would be capable of pulling something like this off, without someone else involved. I think they were just the serpent’s tail.”
“Probably not.”
“Eleanor, has a private security team here now. Everywhere I go they go.”
“Bummer. I was hoping to get together with you.”
“Give it a week or two.”
“Ok see ya girl.”
“See you too.”
Angela got a call, later that day, from Madelene Monning to come to the high school for testing, tomorrow at eight in the morning.
Angela told Gwen, who made a call.
Angela put on her black pants suit to go to school for testing. She had breakfast at six thirty with Eleanor. Eleanor told Angela that she and Gwen had to go to DC for a meeting with their US Senator. She also told Angela that she had two people that would accompany her to the school to look after her safety.
“Well tell them that I am driving and that we are using my truck.”
Eleanor thought for a second and then agreed to it.
Angela and two security people rode in her Chevy Silverado 2500 to Robert E. Lee high school. She was again in the conference room, but Madelene Monning was joined by four teachers. Each teacher would minister the test in the class that they taught. First was English. Naomi Joiner gave Angela the English test. Angela had to read an excerpt of a book and then write a four-page summary using a computer, without spellcheck/grammar checker.
Angela sped read an excerpt from The Hunger Games. Then she went through it again highlighting details she deemed important before she began to type. It took her twenty-five minutes to type the report. She then went through it error checking it before turning it in.
Then came Ramon Conroy and history. This test was multiple choice and a verbal test. This was her hardest test of the day. Different schools emphasized different things in teaching. It was half US and half world history. When Angela finished that portion of the test. She and the teacher had a forty-five-minute discussion on history, so he could get a fix on what she knew best.
Between eleven and twelve-thirty she did the math portion, given by Justin Smith, which was her easiest test. She thought, she understood how math could be used now. Basically, the test was an algebra one and two test. The questions weren’t easy, but Angela was able to answer the questions, with a reasonable certainty. She was left a with a little uncertainty about mean, mode, median and standard deviation. She had a basic understanding but had only just touched those ideas.
Angela then had a pizza for lunch with her protectors. They asked how she was doing and she said, that she would pull her hair our when they got back home. The female bodyguard just smiled and winked at her.
The science teacher had two tests for her. She had done chemistry in Baltimore and had done reasonably will and she had taken biology online. Greta Gilmore gave her both a chemistry and a biology test. What really impress the science teacher after the tests when Angela began discussing the biology of Apis Melliferia, Nosema Ceranae and Varroa Destructor. Angela wanted the teacher to know she was interested in science. The teacher was surprised to learn that Angela had only been studying bees for four months.
Madelene Monning and the three other teachers came in to talk to Angela as she talked with Miss Gilmore.
“Angela, we need to discuss your tests and best come up with a plan for you. You have acquitted, yourself well for being out of school for a year plus. We need about a week to come up with our best plan and match it up with Mississippi educational requirements for graduation. We understand that you are working as a beekeeper.”
“Yes, ma’am. But being a beekeeper my time at work will ramp down starting in September.”
“A working student can work a maximum of twenty-five hours a week, will you be able to do that? Looking at your results we can get you on a work program. You can go to school for four hours and your work will give you two credits.”
As long as she didn’t count working with her own bees she could do it, “That would be acceptable. I want to become an entomologist with emphasis on Apis Melliferia.”
Mrs. Monning sent her home with a stack of books for her to study, between now and school at the end of August. She carried an English grammar text, a trigonometry text, a chemistry text, a Mississippi history text and a biology text. Angela was told to study them in that order.
On the drive home, she stopped by McNeil’s Bee farm.
“You two aren’t allergic to bees, are you?” Angela received two no’s.
Angela met with Susan and said that she would be back tomorrow and that she would get into Dan’s hives. Susan told her Dan and Jacques were both at Gulfport meeting with a group of beekeepers down there, to weatherize their hives for this hurricane season. Putting permanent identification tags on all hive parts, strengthening anchoring systems and discussing where to evacuate bees to, in case of a close strike.
Beekeepers on the gulf coast have two options during this season. They either have one hell of an anchor system in case of a near miss, or to evacuate their hives if a storm looks like it might even be close. Their hives can’t take a storm hit too close or too strong.
Angela’s two protectors were having a look around, they had taken mules on a ride about checking out the property, selecting observation points and discussing how this place could be approached by foot and by vehicle.
Angela also stopped by her place so the two could get a look at her place. She took them on a drive about. They liked the buzzer at the entrance to her place, but didn’t like the tree line encompassing the property. They also locked the gate between her place and the Moody’s place. They discussed putting an alarm at that gate. She was going to have to talk to Ashley about what happened. Angela didn’t want them to think that they weren’t welcome anymore.
At work the next day, Angela checked the bee calendar in Dan’s office, there were some specific things she had to do in this week’s inspection. She was inspecting seven hives a day over three days to get all the hives in.
The first hive was humming something fierce when she approached it. She was expecting something wrong with this hive so she put on her jacket, veil and gauntlets. The hive was a little grumpy when she opened the top cover, they had plenty of honey in the three supers. She got down past the queen excluder into the brood box after smoking the hive. Pulling out frames in the brood box she started finding emergency queen cells and no new eggs or young brood. She couldn’t find the queen in the top brood box or the bottom brood box, but she did find twelve emergency queen cells.
Brenda was at this site right now so she called her.
“Brenda, this is Angela. I am at hive twenty-one and the Carniolan queen there is gone. I can’t find any eggs or young brood. There are about a dozen emergency queen cells on the top brood box, that look pretty good and the hive looks good, but just a tad bit agitated.”
“On my way, I will check the hive and harvest the queen cells.”
Angela then moved onto the next hive. The queen there was doing a good job. These bees were into their fourth honey super. She did make note of some small hive beetles that had been propolized (surrounded by bee glue) into a corner. She killed these with her hive tool.
Brenda was looking at hive twenty-one as Angela went to hive nineteen. The hive looked very overcrowded.
“I will need one of those queens here Brenda.”
“What have you got?”
“I want to do a split here.”
Brenda came over and looked the hive over, “Do that and close off the new hive. I will re-queen it tomorrow with one of Dan’s queen. I know he likes to keep his queens in his hives. Recheck hive twenty-one and the nineteen split to see if the queens emerged and if they got mated.”
Angela did the splits, only moving capped brood into the new hive, shaking the nurse bees into the hive. She balanced out the honey and pollen stores, eight of the deep frames were honey and there were four frames of pollen. She finished making the new hive and marked it as twenty-two. In the seven hives, she scheduled for today she had to do a second split, marking it as hive twenty-three. Hive sixteen was about to swarm and had swarm cells at the bottom of the frame. She moved the swarm cells with the new bees and closed off this hive also.
Angela made her report to Susan who would e-mail Dan. Angela spent the rest of the day cleaning hive bodies and frames for tomorrow.
Ashley called and said her family was on the road to a horse farm near Lexington Kentucky on Thursday night. They talked for about an hour until Ashley’s phoned needed a charge.
When she finished her inspection two days later, she had made six splits, Brenda would queen them with queens from hive twenty-one. Friday, she opened all the hives she had closed. The bees stayed with their new hives.
When she got home early on Friday, Gwen told her to get cleaned up. They were going on a trip and Gwen had already packed Angela’s bags.
“Where are we going?” Angela asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, Angela. You can ask Eleanor when we meet with her.”
“What do I need to wear?” Angela asked, drying off. “Comfortable clothes.”
Angela chose a mini-skirt, off the shoulder blouse and heels. They weren’t exactly comfortable clothes, but she wanted to feel girly. She also took the English grammar text with her. When she was ready, she and Gwen rode deep into Eleanor’s property. Angela was amazed at how much there was to Eleanor’s property. They came up to a one mile long runway. A King-Air 350 sat on the runway. Eleanor was sitting in the plane talking on the phone while reading something on her tablet, as Angela and Gwen boarded. Eleanor finished her conversation and then greeted Angela with a hug.
“Hello Angela. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Tante Eleanor,” Angela said, giving Eleanor a kiss to her cheek.
A female pilot came into the back and said, “We’ll be ready to take off in three minutes, Mrs. Whitmire. Please buckle in and turn off all cell phones and tablets till we reach cruising altitude.”
The King Air’s engines kicked into life. The pilot did her runups, called Jackson departure and they were in the air. Angela only looked out the window for about five minutes as they climbed to twenty-thousand feet. She then took out her English grammar book to read. She read three chapters and went back over them to make sure she understood what she was reading. Eleanor and Gwen had been busy on a laptop while they were up in the air. Angela checked her watch when they were told to buckle up for landing. They had been in the air a little over an hour and a half. Angela saw large grassy fields coming up to meet them. The plane banked to the left before the flaps and landing gear were deployed.
Angela’s eyes got really big when she saw… Horses, “Tante Eleanor, there are horses here. You could have told me!”
“What and ruin the surprise. That is what I treasure the most. You will see Ashley in the morning. Keep the surprise till then. Also I was only just fairly certain I could make the trip. I would’ve hated saying yes a week ago and then say no today.”
“Still you are a sneaky lady. Tell me that you own this place.”
“I own several such places, Angela. I was once a fine rider myself. My people breed race horses and show horses here.”
The plane gently touched down and did a one eighty on the runway to taxi back to the hangar.
A suburban met them and took them up to the house. As much as the place near Jackson was a plantation, this place was an ideal horse farm. All the fences were white wooden horse fences surrounding Kentucky Bluegrass fields with maybe thirty horses running free. The stable was as larger than the warehouse where she lived, larger than the Moody stable by half. Angela could picture ladies and gentlemen coming here before the derby. It looked much like the White House, in Washington DC, with tall white pillars, holding up a semicircular covered entry.
Three ladies and three gentlemen met them when they pulled up. After helping them exit the vehicle, the men hit the luggage, with Gwen telling them what went where. While the maids helped with the things Eleanor and Angela. carried with them.
Eleanor was talking on her phone, “Francis take my things to my room, Renee take Angela to her room,” Eleanor stated. “Have her come down at eight for dinner,” and she was gone in a flash to deal with some kind of important business.
“Hello Ma’am, I am Renee, would you please come with me.”
Renee took Angela’s things and led her through the entryway. There were two curved stairways and a large crystal chandelier just inside the front door. The place was like a palace. They took the right stairs up and took a right turn on the walkway.
The bedroom looked stunning. It was actually a suite. It had a sitting room to receive a guest in and the bedroom was through a second door. The bedroom was something out of Disney, a room fit for a princess. There was a beautiful canopy bed, a lavish dresser, an armoire, a dress form, a closet, vanity, a cushioned chest for blankets at the foot of the bed, scones on the walls for lights and… and… and oh my.
A man brought Angela’s bags into the room. Renee went to work putting her things away.
“I take it that my Aunt has money. I mean Mrs. Whitmire.”
“Is she your aunt?” Renee asked.
“I wish she was, I love her like an Aunt. She is the closest thing to family I have. She sort of adopted me. She gets a kick out of it when I call her Tante.”
“Mrs. Eleanor is a fine woman, Ma’am.”
“She said something like making it official last week. I figured she was just humoring me.”
“Mrs. Eleanor doesn’t humor people, saying things like that. If she says it, take it to the bank Ma’am. Let me draw you a bath and I will get your evening things ready.”
Angela guessed that Renee was waiting for her to get undressed. She was confident in how she looked, so she did just that and walked naked into the bathroom. The tub was warm and fragrant, as bath salts had been added. Angela could spend all weekend in this bathtub. She did get out though after a short soak. She dried and put her underwear on.
She chose not to wear a corset for dinner tonight. She had worn one almost eighteen hours a day for two months. Her waist was down to twenty-five inches now. She had also broadened in the hip and yes at her bust. She felt smaller below the bra and broader through the bust. There was a gap between her bra and her chest, below her boobs. She needed new bras or smaller forms. She didn’t want smaller breast forms.
Renee helped dress her in an off the shoulder emerald green chiffon gown, with an empire waist and green stilettos. Does Eleanor keep a hundred dresses and shoes around for all of her guests? Renee changed Angela’s earrings into a pair of long drop diamond earrings and a diamond necklace of similar design along with a diamond tiara on her head. They were real diamond pieces. She felt positively overdressed. Everything fit and looked so nice. Renee then did Angela’s makeup. She looked like she was ready for an evening at the Met, dinner at the White House, or a red-carpet appearance.
Angela wouldn’t be surprised if Eleanor took her size and had the dress made. Angela looked in the mirror, the dress looked simply wonderful. It was simple but highlighted her slim figure.
Renee escorted Angela downstairs and to the dining room. Eleanor was standing by her chair talking to Gwen. They were both quite beautiful in their gowns.
They all sat at one end of a table for sixteen. Dinner was to be served in courses. They talked as they ate.
“I have talked to Mr. Moody, Eleanor. He and his family will be here at Eleven in the morning,” Gwen stated. “The vet will be here at eight to look over your horses and perform any tests that Mr. Moody wants done.”
“Have Jack prepare the horses ready for inspection by nine and put them in the paddock. Have him set up five barriers for Ashley to jump and have Debra ready to demonstrate the horses’ jumping.”
“Tante Eleanor, I understand you used to ride?”
“Many years ago, Angela, I was a National Champion and an Olympic Champion. I rode till I broke my back in ninety. I was pushing a little too hard to make up time on a jump-off, my horse refused a jump and I went head over heels. I landed on my back across a gate. My back is too stiff now and I can’t maintain my balance enough to jump. I ride occasionally, but I don’t have the time to give the horses my full attention.”
Eleanor looked a little wistful for a few seconds as she remembered her previous days of glory.
“I will show you her trophy room after dinner,” Gwen told Angela.
Dinner was a leisurely affair. Angela could just see a dinner here taking two to three hours, in the Ante-bellum era.
“Do you always dress so nicely for dinner here, Tante Eleanor.”
“Whenever I have a guest here for the first time, I love to show them the elegance of a more refined time. This home was built in the eighteen-forties and rebuilt in the late eighteen-sixties. It had been destroyed almost completely during the war of northern aggression.”
“This is a historic horse farm, Angela. Five miles from here Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, the Grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, instituted the Kentucky Derby back in eighteen-seventy-five. Since I have owned this property, I have sought to restore some of its faded glory. I restored the home and the horse farm.”
Angela got up and kissed Eleanor’s cheek, as a tear escaped from her eye. She had been reliving the glory of this horse farm. Eleanor brushed her hand against Angela’s cheek and smiled warmly.
After dinner Gwen did take Angela on a tour of the trophy room. Angela saw that she needed a room for everything. Starting at the age of fourteen Eleanor rode and won trophies and ribbons all over the country. Gwen gave her a commentary pointing out certain milestones in her career in show jumping, ending when she was twenty-five.
“Eleanor never comes into this room. It is too painful for her to think about what might have been. She doesn’t mind for people she cares about to come in here though.”
“She is so beautiful, Gwen.”
“Yes, she is.”
Renee came in Angela’s room in the morning at six-thirty, to prepare her for her day.
“Renee, I have a dear friend coming in today. Would you be up to helping me pull a trick on her?”
Renee smiled and gave her an evil grin, “It depends on what the trick is? I won’t see anybody hurt mentally or physically.”
“Can you dress me up like you? I want to see how fast my friend recognizes me.”
“You’ll have to act properly. I won’t have Mrs. Whitmire’s dignity besmirched.”
“Agreed.”
Eleanor was a little aggravated it was nearly eight and Angela hadn’t arrived for breakfast.
“Some more tea please,” Eleanor asked a servant. “Where is that girl?”
Gwen looked up from her tablet to talk to Eleanor, as a servant returned with the tea pot to pour. Her eyes’ got really as she saw the servant. Angela came over and poured for Eleanor.
“Thank you my dear. Would you check on Angela please.”
“Yes, Mum.” Angela said.
That is when Eleanor’s eyes shot up and saw Angela. She was wearing a knee length maids dress, bib apron, flowered head piece and flats. Her makeup and hair were just like any other maid at the estate. She let out a laugh.
“What on earth are you doing child?”
“I wanted to see how long I can go without Ashley recognizing me.” Angela said sitting next to Eleanor.
“Please stand Angela, a servant doesn’t sit around her employer.”
Angela snapped right up at attention.
“You look nice my dear. Since you seem to like this, you will wear that outfit and keep in character till bedtime. Be in the front foyer by ten-thirty. Our guest should be here by eleven. Renee have her work till then and make sure she looks and acts proper. She is your charge.”
“Yes mum,”
Renee had Angela doing maid type things, including vacuuming and dusting.
“Sorry it backfired,” Renee said.
“I don’t mind Ma’am. I work harder as a beekeeper.”
“You keep bees for Mrs. Whitmire?”
“No, I have my own bees and I also keep Dan… No make that Mr. McNeil’s bees.”
“Oh, I know Mr. McNeil. He has stayed here several times.”
“Mr. McNeil is my employer.”
“We need to clean up before the Moody’s arrive.”
Angela had to change her dress, bib apron, into kitten heels, change her headpiece, fix her hair and freshen her makeup. Renee changed Angela’s looks with makeup as much as she could. Making her look older and more mature.
Angela, Marla for now, was waiting down by the door at ten till eleven, with six other people. Noreen, Mrs. Whitmire’s head of household staff, inspected each of the servants, with the same critical eye. She straightened Angela’s headpiece a bit and picked a piece of lint off her dress.
They stood inside until they received word that the Moody’s had turned into the drive. Noreen led them out and lined them up. Angela was the last on the left. The two men were on the other side and Eleanor and Gwen came up the middle.
William’s F-450 dually pulled up, pulling a gooseneck horse trailer. The male servants helped with the doors and helping the ladies out. Eleanor welcomed the people to her Kentucky horse farm. Ashley was surprised to see Eleanor there and looked for Angela. Noreen assigned the servants to specific quests. Marla was assigned to help Ashley. She took Ashley’s things. Zachery saw Angela first and started to say something. Angela held a finger to her lips. She took Ashley’s things and led her into the house and up the stairs.
Meagan was talking with her step daughter all the way. She told Ashley to change into her riding clothes and be downstairs ready for lunch in an hour. Ashley followed Marla/Angela into a room. She stopped when she saw somethings already there.
“Is somebody already in this room? Whose room is this?”
“It’s mine and yours if you want to stay with me,” Angela said.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe I followed you all the way up here and not see you. Why are you dressed as a maid?”
“I wanted to see how long it would take you to realize it was me.”
“Well get them clothes off and let’s get changed.”
“Can’t do it. Eleanor said I had to be a maid till bed time.”
Ashley giggled and then said, “Well then you can help me to undress and to dress up. Take my clothes off of me.”
Angela did just that, she unbuttoned and removed all her clothes and underwear. She then helped her friend to get dressed. Ashley almost needed help to get her breeches over her curves.
“You are going to need new clothes to compete in Ashley. You are growing up girl.”
“I know. Mom is going to take me to Lexington to get some more clothes, on Monday.”
“I will be back in Mississippi tomorrow evening. I have hive inspections to do on Monday.”
“Oh crud, at least we get tonight and tomorrow.”
Ashley did her own hair and makeup, before Angela helped her with her coat. Angela then touched up her makeup and hair.
“I like you looking like that, Angela. Maybe we could play with that back home.”
“That could be fun, but I want to see you dressed like this too.”
“I can just see the two of us dressed as French Maids wearing impossible heels,” Ashley giggled.
Angela led Ashley down to the dining room and helped her with her chair. The others had been appraised by Eleanor of Angela’s presence.
“You are so cute Angela,” Meagan said.
“Thank you mum.”
Angela then turned to go.
“Where are you going Angela?” Ashley asked.
“It isn’t proper for servants to sit with Guests. I am heading into the kitchen to help with the meal.”
“Mom?”
“I agree with Angela doing this, Ashley. I might have you do this back home. It’s good to understand what some people do for a living.”
“She can at least come with us to the Paddock? Can’t she Mrs. Whitmire.”
“Yes, she can serve us there.” Eleanor said. “So, who was the first to penetrate your disguise, Angela?”
“Zachery ma’am, he saw me when I went to retrieve Ashley’s things. I motioned for him to be quiet.”
Angela did indeed assist with serving lunch. Noreen watched the girl work, she wasn’t as smooth or as polished as the rest of her staff, but she took instruction well and gave her best effort. She had seen maids that have worked for years that didn’t put in as much effort.
After lunch, they headed down to the paddock. Angela carried a tray of drinks for the people to partake of.
Groomsman had four horses saddled and ready for the Moodys’ to peruse. William, the Vet and the trainer began to look over the horses and talk, with Zachery looking over their shoulders.
Debra Wong, rode each horse around the paddock so they could all see how each horse moved and handled.
Angela got distracted by a horse that was watching all the action. She wandered over to a chestnut thoroughbred horse. She started petting the horse and rubbing him between the eyes.
All eyes had been on the other paddock, Eleanor looked over at to her right and saw Angela. She walked over to the child and put her arm on Angela’s shoulder.
“He is a pretty horse. Are you thinking of taking up riding?”
“No, ma’am. Owning a horse is a big responsibility. I already have a big responsibility. It wouldn’t be fair to the horse to buy one and not take care of it myself. It would take two to four hours a day of time I don’t have. I owe it to my bees and to the horse, not to buy one.”
Angela scored an ace with Eleanor. Owing a horse was a big responsibility and she was glad that Angela put her bees ahead of a horse. Eleanor owned these horses, but they weren’t her horses. They belonged to the people who feed them, mucked out their stalls, washed and groomed them and rode them daily.
Meagan and Ashley got up on a pair of horses and rode around the paddock. They rode at a trot and then at a cantor for several minutes. They both looked good riding. Ashley stopped and let her step-mom take the jumps first. The gates weren’t at championship levels, they were high enough to give the riders and horses a feel for each other. Meagan was a good rider, of that there was no doubt, but Ashley was better when she took her horse around. It was like the horse knew what Ashley wanted to do, by force of mind. They both rode all four horses. Then they talked to William and Zachery.
Zachary then worked the horses Ashley and Meagan liked on a lunge line, it was lucky for William that they liked different horses. This was a learning experience for him too. These were better horses than Zachery had worked with back on their farm. It was like a ballet watching him and the horses move about their paces.
Eleanor and William went to the big house to talk horses over some Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 20-year-old, fine Kentucky Bourbon. Eleanor had already decided that Ashley would get her horse. They were just trying to decide just how dear the horses were. Eleanor led, but William knew this dance too. It took three bourbons, each, to come up with a price. Really, William liked this bourbon so much, he didn’t want to pay her price too soon.
Angela had to bathe and get dressed in a fancier maid’s dress, apron, stockings and higher heels. This dress had a lot more frills and lace. It hit her just above the knee and included a lace headpiece. Ashley had fun with helping her get dressed after they bathed together that is.
At dinner Angela did more helping than serving, Noreen required more precision when serving dinner. She would wheel the trolleys in with the food for the other maids to serve.
When she finally got to go to bed and not be a maid, she was glad. She and Ashley got to have a bit of fun before they both fell asleep.
After breakfast Meagan, Ashley and Angela went on a ride on the luscious Kentucky blue grass. It was fun and Angela was glad it was a short ride they went on. Angela insisted that she rub down the horse she rode on. She told the groom, she rode it, she’ll take care of it. Just tell her what to do. After their ride on horses Angela and Ashley got to take a tour of the horse farm on a mule as long as they stayed on the trails. They were warned not to make ruts in the pastures, a horse could fall on.
They came in for lunch at fifteen minutes to noon and then Angela had to get ready to leave. Ashley wouldn’t get home till Wednesday.
Meagan and Ashley drove down to the airstrip to say goodbye to Eleanor and Ashley. Angela got to hug her friend just before she boarded the plane to take her home.
The next morning Angela went to work with her protector who disappeared in the woods around the area. Angela got right to work. Dan was in town and noted what Angela had done and made some requests. Angela checked the hive that produced the emergency cells and the six splits, she found and marked and marked six queens. One of hives, the queen cell had hatched but there was no queen to be found. Either she was out making her mating flight or she was gone. The hive was a little agitated and she could hear a slight roar. Talking with Jacques, they would check on it in two days. To see if the queen had returned. Sometimes when installing a queen cell in a hive the queen would go out to mate and never return. She might get lost or killed, there were dragon flies near the creek, while she was out mating or she might make mating flights several times in her first few days.
Angela then worked with Brenda in the queen lab and her queen castles. Toward the end of the day, Brenda asked Angela if she would check the queen castles at her place.
The next, day Angela’s protector appeared at the pickup truck as Angela went to go to her place. She pulled up to her gate. Her protector got out to unlock the gate. Angela pulled in and stopped. She was looking at her building in the distance.
“What’s wrong Angela?” the man asked.
“Every day I or anybody else have driven in, I have heard a loud buzzer. I drove over the cattle guard today and no buzzer.”
The man called in on his radio.
“Stay here let me check it out.
The man walked about thirty yards and saw a black car parked around the side of the building. He motioned Angela to go.
Angela shoved her Chevy Silverado in reverse and backed away, tires squealing. She backed left and put the truck in first heading back towards Dan’s place.
The car by the warehouse sprung to life and peeled out after her. It took a few shots at her protector, who returned fire.
Angela’s truck was big and powerful, but it’s power was more suited for towing and carrying loads, not road racing. The black Dodge charger was built for speed. It started shooting at her. She couldn’t outrun it, so she pulled a gutsy move. She threw her crew cabbed extended bed pickup into a bootleg turn at forty-five miles-per-hour.
Deputy Jennings had just left a six-car accident with fatalities. He often came out here just to cool off and chew his tobacco here. They didn’t like deputies, chewing or smoking inside their cruisers. “Damn social justice people would get their panties in a twist if they smelled cigarette smoke in a city vehicle.” He said as he took a chaw of Red Man. Deputy Jennings was the top accident reconstruction expert in five counties. He nearly swallowed his chew when he heard tires squealing and shots, being fired. He had just called in the shots when he saw the white pickup rolling at high speed, in the distance. He saw the muscle car about a quarter of a mile behind the truck. He called in the black car. He couldn’t give chase. He had a large pasture between him and them, they could be miles away before he got to where they were.
He spat out his chew when he saw the truck go sideways and then bootleg the turn. Jennings had never seen a truck that size do a bootleg turn on a country road, as narrow as these roads. The truck then played chicken with the muscle car. The muscle car flinched and jerked to the right flying off the road and landing thirty-five yards, in the pasture, bouncing. The whole front end of the black car collapsed.
Deputy Jennings mike had been open all this time. The dispatcher heard, “Shots fired, black car is shooting at white truck… Oh my god… shit… and what the fuck! I’ve got a single car accident. Send backup, EMS and fire here immediately.”
Jennings got in his cruiser and made tracks. There was two ways to get near there. One was a fifteen-minute drive on the roads. The other way had him driving crashing a gate to the pasture and driving cross country. He chose the latter. There was a gate a couple of hundred yards down the road. His bumper guard took out the gate and drove across the field. He could see an armed man coming up on the black car. As deputy Jennings drew near the man put his gun on top of the car and held his hands up.
When Deputy Jennings was near enough, he could see the man and recognized him as one of Mrs. Whitmire’s security people. Still he drew his gun as he approached the car.
John Wilkins was handcuffed and Deputy Jennings recovered his gun, before checking the driver of the black car.
“I think he broke his back, Deputy Jennings. That was some impact he took.”
Other patrol vehicles began to appear. Dan, Jacques, Brenda, Eleanor and Gwen all arrived within minutes. Angela stood crying next to her truck. A state trooper was questioning Angela about what had happened. He didn’t believe her story about her doing a bootleg in the big pickup and accused her of lying to him.
Deputy Jennings finally made it over to them.
“Who was driving that white Chevy Silverado?” Deputy Jennings asked.
“This girl said she was, she said that guy was chasing her and shooting at her. She, told me she did a bootleg turn in the Silverado and played chicken with him. I think she was lying.”
“You better damn well believe that girl. I saw it happen. Look down at the fucking road, there is your evidence.”
The trooper looked down at all the rubber that Angela laid down on the pavement. He and Deputy Jennings measure it out. When they got to where Angela was perpendicular to the road. Deputy Jennings cussed again, “Damn she was good, her truck filled the road here. If she were a few inches more to the right shoulder or the left shoulder she would have rolled her truck, when she caught the gravel. Her rear end slid around here and she left rubber as she accelerated back this way.”
“So, she intentionally ran the Dodge Charger off the road. That is attempted murder with a motor vehicle.”
“Damn Roberts don’t they teach you troopers anything. Look at her tail gate, tell me what you see.”
There were four holes in the tail gate and a shattered front windshield from a bullet deflection. When they opened up the back they found all four bullets mangled, but with readable lands and grooves.
“It was self-defense trooper. The dude in the charger was shooting at her, and yes I saw that too, from over there,” he said pointing to a popular speed trap hide.
There was a big crowd at the highway patrol barracks, as they attempted to sort things out. One Deputy had found a Glock nineteen that had been recently fired. The ballistics matched the slugs found in the pickup Angela had been driving. Her story and John Wilkin’s story dovetailed perfectly with the account that Deputy Jennings had given. The sheets had come in on the driver of the Charger, named Mason Hill. He was a small-time hood from Maryland and the car was a rental. An ADA (Assistant District Attorney) had questioned the man and he gave up the person who had hired him. The man worked in Maryland’s Department of Human Services office.
Deputy Jennings had done the math on Angela’s truck, using the vehicles, weight, speed, tires, coefficient of friction of the road and skid marks to come up with her maneuver second by second. She had been going forty-eight. The skid marks told him that. She was going nearly thirty when the charger took the dive. He figured a dozen different ways the girl could have died in that maneuver and that didn’t include being shot to death.
He went to talk to her. He found Mrs. Whitmire and her PA talking to the girl and holding her hand.
“Hello Ms. Parsons, I’ve got to know how you learned to drive like that?”
“My boss needed me to be able to drive myself. He hired a man named William Garret to teach me.”
“Hell, I know him well, you owe the man a case of whiskey. He drinks Johnny Walker Red Label. You will be able to go home shortly. They want you here till they are sure you’re safe. Angela, Did you know a Rhys Philips?”
“No, who is he?”
“He was in Maryland’s DHS.”
“He was in charge of her trust, Deputy Jennings,” Eleanor said. “Angela’s parents died, and their estate was placed in trust. I think he sold her home and looted that trust.”
“How much are we talking about?”
“Between six and eight million, from savings and life insurance. The home was worth a million six. The DA already knows much of this. He is in liaison with Maryland’s Attorney General’s office since Tuesday, last.”
“Mason Hill is in traction at the hospital and will be for quite a while I think. After that he gets to spend twenty to life with our fair state.”
Angela’s attorney from Dan, Darren Roberts showed up and Angela’s attorneys from Eleanor, Gloria Beck with a group of lawyers. showed up to talk to her. Darren agreed to work with Gloria Beck. Eleanor told them what she learned and then left them with Angela. Ryman Samuels, The District Attorney showed up. He met with Angela, and her attorneys, after having met with the State Troopers and the Sheriff’s officers.
“No charges will be forth coming against Angela Parsons. From what I now understand. Mason Hill had been hired at about the same time the two women Sylvia Green and Dorothy Goldman had been sent down here to retrieve Alan J. Parsons. Rhys Philips an attorney for Maryland’s Department of Human Services, which oversees their child protective service was supposed to have administered a trust for the child. We have found out that no trust had been set up, but Rhys Philips used his official status to collect all monies belonging to A.J. Parsons and to sell the property owned by her parents. He depleted her trust by using fraudulent payments for services performed for the child. The last year was spent desperately attempting to find the child to block any request for access to the trust. When the Child turned seventeen she would have been able to begin receiving payments directly to herself. Funds the trust didn’t have. Rhys Philips sent Mason Hill here to prevent that day from ever occurring.”
“How did they find me?”
“They never took notice of your emancipation, it was the high schools request for your school records that triggered all of this mess. CPS put a request in your file, when Robert E. Lee high school requested your records, wheels began to roll.”
“Gloria, I suggest you hit the State of Maryland for twenty-four million or so triple damages and also sue for return of Angela’s assets, plus punitive damages and so on.”
“Already filed in U.S. District Court. You just gave us more ammo for the fire.”
“Why is the state of Maryland liable?” Angela asked.
Gloria smiled as she turned to her client, “The state of Maryland had a fiduciary responsibility to maintain and control the trust for minor child A.J. Parsons. An employee of their agency became responsible to maintain and control that trust. He then looted the funds and sold the property, without authorization. Liability attached to the State of Maryland.”
“Can I sleep in my own bed now at my bee farm?”
“I would suggest that you allow us a couple more weeks, to make sure we have all the guilty parties, rolled up.” Mr. Samuels said.
“Will my insurance pay Mr. McNeil for the damage to his truck? It got shot up.”
“You are not to worry about the truck,” Darren Roberts said. “Dan has already replaced it with a new one as sort of an early birthday present. It should be sitting in front of Mrs. Whitmire’s home in the morning. He also said, he wants to know how his bees are doing.”
Angela laughed, it will be good to have all this drama behind her and get back to work. She left with Mrs. Whitmire and headed back to her estate.
“The Moody’s are going to need some fence repair. I don’t know if they had any horses loose on their pastures.”
“I already took care of that. I saw that when I drove up. So how are you really, Angela?” Eleanor stated.
“I was highly, certifiably pissed. That guy was after me for no other reason than money. Tante nothing against your amenities, I have loved staying with you and I will stay a couple of more weeks, but I need to get back in my apartment. That is when I know that I am back on track. That I’m not afraid anymore.”
“So, you are ready to leave your Tante in an old folks’ home now?”
“Hell, I don’t know any old folks’ homes that would have you. You would be organizing group escapes or riots for better food. No I still need you. I promise to come over several times a week when you are in town or you can come around to my place and I will make time for you. I just need to feel normal. You’ll have to chase me away from being around so much.”
“That is acceptable Angela. Just let us see to your safety first.”
Angela was grown up, of that Eleanor was sure. She wished that the child had had more time, but Angela was past childish things. She was a young woman now. Not unlike Eleanor had been at her age. Some people are just forced to grow up faster than others. She had given up so much so she could be a world class show jumper and it nearly took everything from her.
Angela went to her room after kissing Eleanor’s cheek.
Eleanor made a call before she went to bed. Rhys Philips was still at large in parts unknown. She had a bad feeling about this. He sent one person to kill her and maybe two others who might have been unwitting accomplices. She would let the courts determined their innocence. If he was smart he would take the money stolen from Angela and run. Eleanor didn’t think he was smart. She didn’t want Angela to feel like she was in a cage, but she didn’t want her safety to be jeopardized. She talked to her security chief.
In the morning, Angela ate breakfast with Eleanor, “I have to go to Pensacola Florida and I may be gone several days. Be safe my dear. Oh, something was dropped off for you this morning,” Eleanor said handing Angela the keys to a new pickup truck. “It’s parked in the side lot. Dan hopes you will find it acceptable. He said, ‘Happy Early Birthday. It’s in your name.”
Gwen and Eleanor had to leave when they heard the plane landing on the runway. Angela waved them off from the Veranda on the backside of the home. Then she got her things and went around the side of the home. There in the parking lot, by the garage was a brand new black cherry red, metal flake, crew cab, extended bed, Chevy Silverado 2500 with a locking retractable bed cover. Logos were painted on the doors. Mississippi Bee Queen Bee Farms, Angela Parsons Head Beekeeper with a Bee wearing a crown.
Angela was nearly in tears. She made herself get behind the wheel and familiarized herself with the layout, before she started it. The truck coughed once before the four-hundred-forty-five horses roared into life. She backed it out and headed to work. As she drove by her place, she had to stop. There was a new sign up at her place. Mississippi Bee Queen Bee Farms. She really began to cry. It was hard letting Dan and Eleanor do these things for her, but she told herself that they were doing what her parents would have done for her.
Dan was in the office and was on the phone, planning hive moves, following the best nectar and pollen. Angela had put on her reddest lipstick when she saw his truck if front of the office. She didn’t say a word, she just came over and kissed his cheek before getting to work. Dan didn’t know he was branded by lipstick till he went to the bathroom hours later. He had wondered what had been so funny to the ladies that came into the office. On his cheek was Angela’s lip print. He smiled into the mirror and left it there.
Sourwood was just coming into bloom and he had Angela go through his hives and rob honey where she could. Dan wanted the sourwood honey unadulterated. Half the honey she harvested would go back on the hives after the sourwood petered out. These frames were set aside in freezer while the rest were extracted. The huge sourwood source was too far away for Angela’s bees.
She worked with the people extracting the honey, learning how the process was done step by step, from frame to labeled bottle. Half of it was bottled and half in food safe five gallon buckets for mead production. They harvested over one-thousand-six-hundred pounds of honey.
It was nearly eight that night when Angela got a chance to go home, after hitting the shower to get the sticky honey off her there. As she drove up to Eleanor’s home. She was met by Rita, Eleanor’s head housekeeper here.
“I was wondering when you were going to get home. I need to introduce you to Eleanor’s security chief. I will have a plate of food for you on the back patio.”
Angela spent twenty minutes with him. He put an app on her phone that logged into the server at her office/apartment. There was now an upgraded security system, that had motion sensors, infra-red systems, fire/burglary sensors and cameras. The computer server monitored the system twenty times a minute. The system would alert her of loss of power or phone lines. The system kept a log of everything. Her cell phone would be sent a text message of faults and intrusion, plus she got her buzzer back.
Angela looked on her phone at her place. She could see her bee hives sitting there in the light from her building. She didn’t mind all the security, she knew the world was becoming a less secure place all the time. Wishing it wasn’t so didn’t do a thing about changing that fact.
The security chief finished talking with her and sent her up to eat her dinner.
Angela visited her own hives the next day. Her warehouse had been painted to match her new logo. She noticed a new hive that she hadn’t put down along with a few new bird houses. There were wires going to the new hive and when she opened it, it did indeed have bees. It also had a security cam in a vent hole. The bird houses probably had cameras too.
She found a few problems, that were easily fixed. She would harvest honey from her gold hive on Saturday.
She headed on into work and got to helping Brenda, till lunch. Dan then loaded up Angela’s pickup with ten five-gallon buckets of honey on pallets. They carried the honey to another warehouse type building.
“This is my Select Reserve Honey Mead production site. I turn three pounds of into a gallon of Mead and age it for twelve years. I then sell it for seventy-five dollars for seven-hundred-fifty milliners. This honey will produce seventy-five thousand dollars of mead.”
Angela’s mouth hung open. The honey she figured was about five thousand dollars, so seventy-five thousand was fifteen times more money. Angela filtered the honey twice, while Dan cleaned the large brewers’ kettle and adding six hundred gallons of purified water. Dan weighed the honey very carefully before adding it to the water and adding yeast nutrient he set the kettle to heat and stir till it got to one hundred-sixty degrees. He programed to keep it at that temperature for an hour and to cool it to ninety degrees. When it got hot he ran a test to measure the sugar content of the mix.
“I will come back tomorrow and add the yeast and my secret ingredients. I will rack the mead in twenty days and then forty days. It will set for four months and then I will bottle it to age for twelve years. Did I hear you cough? Angela. Cough for me.”
“cough-cough.”
Dan pulled out a bottle of sparkling mead dated 1990. “This is my cough syrup.” He uncorked the bottle and poured he a shot glass of mead.
Angela sniffed the mead. She could smell the honey, vanilla, cinnamon and a couple of other things. She carefully tasted it. It was delicious. She sipped the shot slowly savoring the flavor, trying to classify the flavors. She licked the shot glass clean and then coughed again, holding the glass towards Dan.
“Not unless you get pneumonia or snake bit girl. At least until you are twenty-one.”
They spent an hour and a half cleaning up, the vat of honey was just beginning to cool and was still about one-hundred-fifty-degrees. The empty buckets were much easier to carry.
Angela got off early and went to the Moody’s place the next day. They had returned home. Angela got to watch as Ashley began practicing putting her horse “Cinnamon Squares” through its paces, while Zachery was acting as her instructor. Meagan was watching the two of them work.
“I hear you had an interesting Monday, Angela.”
“Very interesting. I was shot at for one thing.”
“I heard, are you OK?”
“It was a shock but I am doing well.”
“Don’t let that stop you from dropping by and being with Ashley. She likes you a lot. We won’t hold that against you. Just be careful, please.”
Ashley worked for two hours riding several horses and taking care of them, before she got to quit and talk with Angela. Angela had to have dinner with the Moody’s at their insistence. She had to retell her story. Angela had to take Ashley on a short drive in her new truck. She liked the new Logo on the truck. Angela also showed some of the things done to her place without leaking the security details.
They sat on the couch in the office and just held onto each other for the longest time, without saying anything. Ashley had to be woken at eight so Angela could give her a ride home. Angela locked up and drove her home and returned to Eleanor’s.
The High School called the next day and asked her to come in on Friday. They wanted her to talk to the guidance counselor and get a plan for her studies and to pick up her fall semester schedule. They also needed a form to be signed by her employer for work credit for school. The form was faxed to Dan who returned the fax and gave the original signed copy to Angela.
David Hughes was her guidance counselor.
After introductions he asked, “So do you look forward to going to a university after graduation?”
“Yes sir, I want to study entomology.”
“Forensic or other?”
“I want a degree in entomology and studying bees. I am currently a beekeeper and have my own Bee Farm.”
“Oh really, good for you. I looked at your test scores and I believe you can do it. You scored well in math and science.”
“That’s good I worked hardest in those areas since March. I took an online high school course while I worked.”
David gave Angela the run down on courses she would need to get into most any university’s entomology department. Mostly biology and math, but she was also required to take inorganic and organic chemistry, so she could understand some of the biochemical reactions that take place. She also needed to have a thorough understanding of English composition so she could publish her observations in an intelligent manner.
“Nothing is more irritating than having to read a poorly written scientific paper,” he said. “Or one that is purposely full of BS. To get a Master’s or PhD degree, in the sciences, you have to do research and post findings in a well written paper. You’ll have thesis advisors who will nitpick and tear apart poor grammar and rhetoric, just as fast as poor analysis and faulty conclusions.”
“There are several things we need to do this summer. We need to know which universities offer degrees in the fields you want. Come back next month and I will give you a list. Going to universities, these days, is a lot of work. The earlier you start planning the better your chances are. You need to take the right classes and you need A’s in as many classes as possible.”
“Also, August 12 th this year, you need to come in and take the SAT test, that is the Scholastic Aptitude Tests. They are your key to getting into a good school. Write that day on your calendar, write it down in blood, paste the date on your forehead, tattoo it on your stomach. It is vital that you take it and get as good a score as possible. You can retake the test in the spring and next summer if you have too. I also suggest you take an SAT cram course online, between now and then. There is an art to taking the SAT, beyond just knowing the material. I know many intelligent students who couldn’t perform when taking SAT’s.”
David showed Angela a sample test from a reputable online scholastic education site.
“Also keep a diary of the things you do. If you go to bee meetings, keep a list. If you volunteer at a children’s hospital, keep track of your hours. Get involved with your community. Join bee groups and keep track of the meetings. Talk with the speakers if you can. Keep a list of people you know. Knowing the right people can open doors, but ask their permission to use their names as references. Write yourself a paper on what you learned. At work keep up with the tasks that you perform, even the menial jobs. Practice writing a resume, learn how to put your best foot forward without inflating your work. Like how many hives do you have right this minute?”
“I have seventeen hives and I have been put in charge of Dan McNeil’s personal hives of around twenty-seven hives. I also work with Brenda Swanson who has feeder hives and queen castles.”
“That’s it. Create a work journal and log in your jobs, date it, list what you learned and how it affected your work. Just make sure you can back up any statements you make about yourself. Print it out on very good printer paper and keep it in a folder, where you can find it. Practice researching and writing technical papers. Practice doing video logs on beekeeping and learn how to sound intelligent. You may have something correct to say, but if you can’t effectively say it, it will hurt. Practice before you post.”
“Most importantly, yes you need to be in social media, but be careful what you post and where you post. What you post can and will bite you where it hurts the most. Do not try to intimidate people, don’t talk down or insult people, don’t troll people on the internet and ignore people who do this to you. You can ruin your life with what you say on social media. Universities have people who are paid to research what you say and do in social media. If it’s on the internet they will find it. I had a student bound for Harvard, after they tracked down his online personality, he was lucky to get into Mississippi State. Oh and NO PORN SITES PLEASE. Everything you do on the internet can be tracked.”
“it’s my job to help you, Y-O-U you succeed. If you have any problems come see me at school, before it becomes a problem. I can’t help you if you don’t come see me. I’m not sorry if it sounds like I’m preaching, because I am.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hughes. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
David printed out her fall semester class schedule before Angela left.
When she got to her place she put bee escape boards on the hives she was going to harvest honey from tomorrow. The escape boards are bee mazes, placed between the brood boxes and the supers. Bees in the supers can find their way into the brood box, bees in the brood box can’t find their way into the supers.
Ashley called as Angela was pulling away from Eleanor’s estate and wanted to visit. When Angela told her she was harvesting honey, Ashley asked if she could watch, so she picked her up, with the proviso that Ashley be back at noon to do her riding.
Ashley recorded on her Go Pro, as Angela used her mule to collect honey supers from her hives. She collected two supers from her gold hive and one from three other hives. All the supers she collected were heavy with honey. Once she had the supers she took them to her honey barn, de-capped the frames and ran them through the extractor. Straining the wax caps, bee parts and debris, but not filtering the pollen or good biologicals from the honey or pasteurizing it. She collected one-hundred-eighty-two pounds of honey or just over sixty, one quart mason jars of honey at twelve dollars a quart. She needed Mississippi Bee Queen labels. She took a picture of the logo on her truck
She undressed in front of the washer/dryer starting a load of clothes before she showered. Ashley was kind enough to not video this. Angela asked if she could review the video before it was posted and explained why. It was something Ashley had not thought of and agreed. Ashley installed video editing software on Angela’s computer and downloaded the video.
They watched it once before Angela took Ashley home, giving her a quart of honey. She took a quart by Dan’s place and gave him one quart of honey and she took a couple of quarts to Rita, Eleanor’s head housekeeper.
She then went back to her office to familiarize herself with the video editing software. She also compared her video with some of the better YouTube videos on honey harvesting and extracting. Except for her commentary her video was very good. It wasn’t that what she said was bad, but the quality of the audio went up and down depending on whether she was looking at the camera or looking away from the camera, where the mic was located. The Go Pro also had problems focusing in real close on the bee combs she was trying to show.
While she was on the computer she set a personal journal and a work journal. She opened the fictional story she had written for her online school and removed the fictional parts and expanded certain parts of the story including her transgender status. She tripled the number of pages and included the real people she met since she came to this part of the country. She did an edit and printed it all out. She moved a file cabinet into her apartment and created folders for her various papers she had created.
Before she logged off the computer she checked her bank account. She had only spent money of food gas and auto insurance. She was surprised at how much money she had in her account. Dan had deposited near twelve hundred dollars a week into her account. Minus the five thousand for business and educational expenses, she had just under twenty-thousand dollars. She knew it was a ridiculous amount for a beekeeper, but it was keeping her out of foster care.
Angela ordered two Go Pro cameras and a Canon HD video camera with two wireless microphone channels with the wireless mics. She also picked up tripods for everything and insulated cases she can carry in her truck, some studio lights and software.
She shut down and then headed back to Eleanor’s place. She found Gwen and sat down with to talk about public speaking.
“You really need to talk to Eleanor she has many public speaking engagements. What is your goal in public speaking?”
“I want to do a video log on YouTube on Beginning Beekeeping from a beginner’s point of view. I know I have a little more experience than most beginner beekeepers, by the number of hives that I have worked, but in time I have worked bees for only four months.”
“Why now?”
“My high school guidance counselor suggested that I learn how to promotes myself and put my best foot forward. I need to learn how to sell myself.”
Angela explained everything, what Mr. Hughes had discussed with her.
“I never thought of doing that and to start planning for university now. I can help evaluate your speaking. I do it for Eleanor, but you really need to talk to Eleanor. Speak to her at dinner, tonight. She does a lot of public speaking.”
Angela dressed semi-formal in a black dress and heels, for dinner. Just adding a touch of jewelry that looked good on her. She carried her purse with her iPad in it down to dinner. She sat down when Eleanor came in and sat down. Eleanor had taken time to appraise the girl’s dress and mentally approved. They talked as they were served, mostly pleasant chit-chat. Eleanor and Gwen talked a bit about business and Eleanor’s next engagements.
After an appropriate amount of time Angela brought up public speaking
“To what end, Angela?” Eleanor asked.
“On being able to talk to people about what I love, Beekeeping. I know that I have only been a beekeeper for such a short time, but I love working with them. David Hughes, my high school guidance counselor, said that I should begin to learn to sell myself to the people I am talking to. I hope to study entomology in College. The best colleges I would need to sell what I have done and hope to do, to them to gain entrance. I have seen some beekeepers on YouTube who have the knowledge but they are not able to effectively express themselves. They come off sounding less believable.”
“I want to start a video log stating right off that I am a beginner, admitting that I don’t have all the answers, but I do have something to share with other beginners. I have one video that I am not happy with, it was a failure of the equipment rather than the way I present it. My voice became more or less comprehensible depending on if I was facing the camera or not. I can’t be holding up a frame and not be looking at it.”
Eleanor smiled and said, “We’ll have a look at it after we finish dinner.”
They finished eating and then went to Eleanor’s office to watch her video. She emailed it to Eleanor’s computer as it had better graphics and then they played it. Eleanor was surprised to see how casually Angela handled the bees, without protection. She had been right about the audio and the auto-focus functions. It was a good start but needed work before posting it.
“I like that you identified yourself as a beginner. Any mistakes you make in beekeeping, will be written off as inexperience. I am far from an expert, but you seem to handle things quite well. Identify where your strengths are, and don’t apologize for them. You can ask for assistance from your audience. That will blunt some people who would be your critics. If you put yourself on YouTube you will have your critics. Let them rant but don’t respond in kind.”
“Mr. Hughes told me to watch what I say in social media. The way he said it. “What you post can and will bite you where it hurts the most.””
“Your Mr. Hughes is a wise man. Think before you post anything controversial. I found some good videos on YouTube on public speaking.”
Angela giggled, “A lot of my education has come from YouTube lately. From Bees, to makeup, to clothing and cooking have come from YouTube.”
“Just remember dear to sift the wheat from the chaff. Let Gwen or myself see what you want to post first, at least till you get some practice at it. Watch what you comment on other peoples’ posts. Angela, are you on social media yet?”
“No ma’am. I only have an email address.”
“Good. Gwen, why don’t you help set her up on social media and assist her in posting on it tomorrow.”
“I would be happy to ma’am.”
Sunday Gwen and Angela went to her office and setup her Facebook and Twitter accounts. Gwen explained the difference about the social medias. Angela Got an Angela Parsons Facebook account Gwen used a picture of her dressed as a teen in a blouse and mini skirt. She also started an account under the title “Mississippi Bee Queen Bee Farm” with a picture of Angela in jeans, boots and a work shirt, standing next to her new logo on the truck.
“I am going to have Olivia, work your multimedia accounts. She’ll have your logon names and passwords. She is only fourteen and is a social media mogul. She’ll be your press secretary. You can tell her what you want to post and she will take care of it, after checking with me. Talk to us before you post anything, Olivia has a devious mind and knows how things can be twisted and misconstrued. She will come to me if she has any questions. She is my little sister and I trust her explicitly. She has three computers going in her bedroom. She is paralyzed from the waist down and can’t get around easily. Mom looks after her and I keep her in toys. She will butt heads with Eleanor and win about a third of the time.” Gwen said, programming Olivia’s phone number into Angela’s phone.
Angela called Olivia, who was waiting for her. She and Olivia had a good long chat about what she wanted to post. Olivia didn’t want to post locations other than general locations, like the state of Mississippi being the closets identified location and she wanted to post non-specific histories. Olivia showed that she knew about Angela being transgender and that it didn’t bother her. She would work to not let this information reach the social media till they were ready, but the three of them began to assemble strategies to overcome a possible discovery. Gwen would decide when more specific details should be added like a closer location.
Olivia has a pack of friends who will keep her news feed hoping. She already researched bees and bee keeping and showed that she could ask intelligent questions. Angela would answer the questions on bees and beekeeping. They would be real questions and Angela was expected to give real answers, quoting experts when necessary.
When Angela finally hung up on her call she really liked Olivia, the girl was pseudo-chaotic, but was friendly and bubbling over with joy.
“They ought to package whatever your sister is on and sell it”
“She is something else. Before you ask, she was hit by a car, while riding her bike two years ago and broke her back. She is paralyzed from the hips down. Her best friend’s mom was driving. She may never walk again but, she has a sweet, mischievous spirit about her. Oh, if you ever meet her, her wheel chair is turbo charged, watch out for it.”
Before they left they checked Facebook, Olivia had already gotten to work posting a history for Angela Parsons. Olivia stuck to the truth, but withheld many details of Angela’s life. The people on Facebook didn’t need all the gritty details of her life, where she held from or where she currently lived. She did include the fact that Angela had been in foster care, after the death of her parents, but little else of her journey to Mississippi and none of the fact that she had been born a male.
For “The Mississippi Bee Queen” there was a short synopsis of Angela’s short career as a beekeeper, leaving only the vaguest of hints of where she lived and worked, only someone familiar with her or lived in this community would know where she lived. There were short posts about some of the swarms she helped collect, the hives she inspected and her work with a Master Beekeeper. The incident that got her the job was partially included.
Angela moved back to her warehouse home. Her first day back she inspected all her hives, adding honey suppers where needed. It being mid-July, the honey flows were begging to taper off a bit, but her bees had plenty of flowers still blooming to keep the hives going. She made some splits off some of her hives that had grown packed. She hardly wore her bee suit or veil, except for her one hive of Russian bees. She only had three stings from her other hives, but she got nearly a dozen stings, with all her armor on, from the Russian hive. All her hives were doing reasonably well, with some better than others.
She took her truck over to Dan’s place and did a quick check up on his bees. Dan had gone through in the waning of the sourwood and recovered much of the sourwood honey himself. He gave Angela a gallon of sourwood honey so she could compare it with the red maple honey.
The next day she spent a lot of time with Brenda working in the queen bee operation. Angela was getting a very good hand at grafting larva from a brood filled frames into a queen cup. Her hives were still producing a generous number of drones to fertilize up and coming queen bees. She wondered about the hives that were within flying distance of her hives.
She decided to check out the other beekeepers in her neighborhood. After work, she drove around using the addresses off the local Beekeeping Association address book she was given.
She drove first to Jack Brown’s apiary. It was about a mile and a half away from her place. Jack was out back tending to a twenty-acre truck farm that produced about twenty different vegetables. He then sold that produce directly to restaurants in Jackson, by contract. Years of working vegetable patches and four years at Mississippi State gave him the wherewithal to grow produce in a sustained manner. He even had a four-acre temperature/humidity controlled hydroponic greenhouse so he could produce vegetables almost all year long for his very best, highest paying customers. Some high-end restaurants pay top dollar for fresh local vegetables in January and February.
Jack Brown was the classic country farmer in his late 30’s. He was wearing an Atlanta Braves baseball cap, a white t-shirt, bib-overall’s and Dickies Work boots, as Angela drove up on his property. He waved and headed to meet up with her, followed by two blue tick hound dogs.
“What kin I do fer ya, young lady,” Jack said.
“Hello, I’m Angela Parsons. I have a bee farm just over the rise to the north of you.”
“I am Jack Brown and this dog is Salt and Pepper and the othern is Soap and Water. Be careful aroun Soap and Water, she like to clean everythin with her tongue. She gets everythin as clean as Soap and Water. So you the gal that be working Dan’s old patch? I hear say you’ra hell of a driver too. Ol’ Vern Jennings was going on and on bout a girl who could drive her extended bed pickup, like an ol moon shiner/bootlegger.”
“That would be me. I am also working with Brenda Swanson on her queen castle operation and wondered about what the drone situation was in the area.”
“I have bout forty hives here. I produce enuff queens to keep my hives buzzing, but I have noticed that my hives er doin better, stronger. My queens er probly matin with your drones, at the drone congregation area overn the Moody place.”
“Whereabouts is the DCA? (drone congregation area)”
“Ya know where the crick crosses behind your place and on to the Moody place, follow the fence line bout a mile. Me and Willard’s bees meet up at that place to mate, I areckon. Ben don belong to the association, he do want nuthin to do with people comin on his place. Ya know that all hives in Mississippi spose to be registered with the State.”
“The inspector came to my place to inspect me for foul brood, small hive beetle, Nosema and Varroa.”
“That cause Dan be a commercial bee keeper. It’s his reputation online. Keep your hives right young lady, you’ra building your reputation too. Would ya like to take a lookn at my hives.”
“I’d love too, Jack. I find beekeeping fascinating.”
“You got a veil in yer truck?”
“Do bears shit in the woods?”
“Well get yer veil an common with me.”
Angela got her veil and followed Jake to his hives. Jake had a large chicken run and chicken coop right next to his bee yard. There was a three-electrical wire fence surrounding the bee yard and maybe twenty to thirty chickens all around the hives.
“I have forty ten frame hives and eight mating nucs here in my bee yard and another eight nucs in my greenhouse. The chickens help me get rid of my small hive beetles and I use an oxalic acid fogger to treat for Varroa. The bees help me to maximize my produce by pollinating. The electrical fence helps me to keep the bears out of my bee yard.”
Angela looked real close at Jack, as he talked about his bees. All the country talk she had been hearing was gone from his voice.
“How big a problem are bears around here.”
“Most of the problems comes late fall and winter as the things bears eat becomes scarce. It could be worse if we were four hundred miles further north where the winters are fiercer. Bears don’t hibernate here, so they forage all year around. When food is readily available they will stay in the woods. You need to watch yourself when you go out in the fall and winter young lady.”
They first just looked at all the activity around the hives. Jack irrigated his produce and so had plants coming in all summer long. The air around them was full of bees flying here and there. Jack opened about six hives just to look in and see how they were doing. He had three or four medium honey suppers on all his hives and the brood boxes showed a good mix of worker brood and drones.
“Some beekeepers like to get rid of their drone brood, to help control their Varroa mite level. I think they are shooting themselves in the foot. If the hives swarm or they loose a queen, they need drones from as many hives as they have to mate with any Virgin queens.”
“I know. Varroa have an affinity for drone brood. Dan taught me to treat. He has too many hives not to treat.”
“Unfortunately, Willard Dinkins don’t treat his bees. He hides his hives out in the woods, every spring he comes to me to buy queens and packages of bees. He loses between fifty and seventy percent of his bees every year to mites. Well I say he don’t treat, he does use essential oils on his hives. That saves some of his bees, every year.”
“If his bees were out in the sun, the heat of the day would help with his mites. They don’t do well in the hot sun. Bees can take temperatures up to a hundred and twenty for short periods of time, the mites start dying off around a hundred and eight. The bees don’t like the really hot days but they can survive. I keep my hives in the morning sun and the shade about two in the evening.”
“So, what is Willard like?”
“He is a cross between a prepper and a shiner. I know he has a still but I have never seen it, but I can smell it when he is cooking mash. He is a good man, but he is suspicious of everybody. He is also one of those 2 nd amendment types. There would be a war if the law ever came around there to take his guns. There are quite a few of those in this neighborhood. I would suggest you don’t go visit him, young lady. I don’t think he would hurt you, but….”
Angela was so engrossed at listening to Jack, watching what he was doing and looking in the hives, that she jumped in fright when she felt something hitting her boots. A couple of chickens were trying to make a meal out of her shoelaces, which they thought were worms. Angela had jumped about five feet till she realized that it was the chickens trying to eat her boots.
“Greta, Beatrice, you two be nice to Miss Angela. I know her bootlaces look yummy, but they are no good for you two,” Jack said, while laughing. He shooed the two chickens away. It took a lot of convincing them that they should go, as these two birds were fearless. “Sorry about the girls, they think they own the yard.”
Angela had to laugh too, when she finally caught her breath from the attack, “That’s alright. I didn’t realize my boots looked like food.”
After they closed the hive they were looking at, Jack led Angela to his greenhouse operation.
“This is my greenhouse, I grow lettuce, tomatoes, chives, radishes and onions along with a bunch of other vegetables for Jackson’s restaurants. Them’s that willing to pay top dollar that is. Them yellow boxes would be the bee hives I keep in the greenhouse. I can grow more produce in this greenhouse, than on the rest of my farm, but my expenses are a lot higher. I keep temperature, humidity and lighting optimized for growth. I also have twice the workers to keep everything going in the greenhouse.”
“Do you also sell your honey?”
“My wife sells the honey and wax, at fair’s around the state and in Louisiana. We get more money for our wares that way, than selling it to the stores. We make about twice as much after spenses’. How bout you?”
“I haven’t given it much thought. I am a first-year beekeeper, but I think I may be leaning to raising bees, instead of selling honey.”
”That is where the money be, girl. I make about sixty thousand dollars a year selling honey, with my forty-six hives and maybe just as much from selling beeswax. I could make about two or three hundred thousand a year raising queens and bees for packages and nucs with my hives, but that is a full-time commitment. I net about two to three million running the truck farm year-round, so that is what I will do. Learn from Brenda and you kin do bettern me. We need more people in beekeeping jus for the bees.”
After visiting the greenhouse, Angela got to meet Jack’s wife Nellie. They stopped on the back porch to take their boots off, Cornelia didn’t like them tracking in fertilizer into her kitchen. She was in the kitchen fixing lunch for all the people who worked on their truck farm, as they entered. The kitchen smelled wonderful. Angela was invited to sit down and have lunch with the Browns. Cornelia was serving her own venison/pork sausage stew. Angela found that the stew was just a little on the spicy side, but she loved the blend of flavors.
Cornelia was thrilled to have a chat with Angela. She had heard tons of stories about the girl already. She was surprised to find out that many of the stories were true. Jack gave her the names of a half-dozen other beekeepers who would be glad to have her visit them, while they ate. Cornelia bragged about all the trophy’s she had won at the State Fair, from honey, pies, produce and stews.
Angela stayed for another hour before she headed out. She felt wonderful after interacting with these people. She felt a little sad that her parents weren’t with her now, but she was happy that she was starting to live again, instead of just existing.
She stopped by the Moody place, Ashley had already finished up her riding and grooming her horses. They went up to her room, so she could shower and clean up. Ashley just had to show off her boobs. She was experiencing a growth spurt and had just notice it. She blew through a 32B into a C-cup and was threatening to go to a D cup. She had also grown nearly two inches of height to five feet six and a half inches tall. She had really matured over this summer. Made up Ashley could easily pass as an eighteen-year-old girl.
“I so want to go clothing shopping right now,” Ashley said. “My mom though wants me to wait till the middle of August, so we can see how much I will grow. I have already grown out of my new riding clothes. We are almost the same size now Angela.”
“I just need my real boobs to grow to match, my breast forms.” Angela said. “The breast forms are starting to get a little uncomfortable, because my chest insisted flat anymore and I have to really press down on the forms to make them fit, when I reattach them. I am just shy of a full A cup without them and a full D cup wearing them. I guess I could go without them, but I like the way I look with them.”
“On you they look excellent, Angela.”
“I am kinda attached to them right now,” Angela said, which had them both giggling.
Hours later at home Angela got a call from Gwen, “Angela dear, this is Gwen.”
“Hello Gwen, how are you doing.”
“I am good, Olivia is great, she wants to meet you next week and Eleanor is happy. The reason I am calling is that Eleanor wants you dressed in your best suit on Tuesday, you have a court date.”
“What’s up now? Is this about Maryland or am I being sued?”
“Oh heavens no. Just be ready at eight on Tuesday morning we will pick you up. You can meet with Margaret in the afternoon, also.”
“Ok, Tuesday morning at eight, I’ve got it on my calendar, Gwen.”
“Ciao, Angela.”
“Ok, see ya later.”
Sunday, Angela took care of her own hives. It was the third week of July. She gave most a cursory exam and a few received a more thorough inspection. Out of twenty-six hives, she could count the number of small hive beetles, she found, on her fingers. She had just treated for Varroa three days ago. All the hives looked good and her bees were busy. She didn’t find any swarm cells or supercedure cells. There were many frames of brood, with plenty of room for the next round of brood. Her bees were doing good.
Each hive had at least one full medium hive body full of honey and many like her gold hive had two. It was the end of July and the summer dearth was beginning. One major honey flow was about three weeks away, goldenrod. She wouldn’t take anymore honey away from her bees, this year. She would also feed them during the dearth. She had everything she needed. In the next week or so, she would cook up fifty gallons of sugar syrup. From what she had been told that should last a week or two.
Monday, she went over to Dan’s she spent the day inspecting his hives. His hives were looking better than when she first saw them back in March. From the notes on the hives, Dan had been in his hives several times this summer. She noted the honey stores, pollen, an estimate of the hives strength and any parasites. His hives were doing very good too. It took all day going through his hives. Before she left for the day, she reported to Susan that she had a court date tomorrow.
Angela got up at ten till five on Tuesday. She fixed herself scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits with honey for breakfast. When she finished she cleaned up the kitchen and took a relaxing bath, shaving her legs before she got dressed.
She dressed in the nines in her black suit. She did her hair and makeup before she put on her white silk blouse and suit jacket. Angela had gotten very good doing her hair and makeup since March. She learned a lot from Susan and Ashley. Today she took her que from Ashley. She did her hair in a low bun and did a sophisticated makeup look, with a cool red lipstick, that Ashley uses when she is riding in an event. Angela looked at least twenty when she finished with her hair, makeup and her nail polish. She changed out her post earrings to pearl drops, added a gold cuff bracelet to her right wrist and a twenty-inch pearl necklace. She stepped into a pair of black patent leather pumps, which had a four-inch heel. She could rub elbows with the best patrons at an elite equestrian event.
She grabbed her black Gucci handbag, when she heard her buzzer go off indicating, that Eleanor and Gwen had arrived. After locking up the office she turned and was surprised to see a new three-quarter ton Chevy van with handicap plates. The van’s paint job was beautiful. It was a navy blue with a huge galaxy of stars painted in bright sparkling colors. The sliding door of the van opened revealing what had to be Olivia sitting in her wheel chair. Gwen and a lady who had to be Gwen and Olivia’s mom came around to meet Angela.
Angela, you look darling today. Eleanor had to go to Jackson yesterday to conduct some business and stayed over. This is my Mom Rachel and my sister Olivia, they surprised me this morning.
Angela greeted the women with a hug and then they climbed into the van. Gwen and Angela got in the back and Olivia turned her wheel chair around so she could keep the others entertained. Angela gave Olivia a kiss on her cheek before sitting and buckling in.
Olivia was as beautiful as Gwen was. She would have been a real heartbreaker if she hadn’t had her accident. She was dressed in a white cotton blouse and a pleated plaid knee length skirt.
The forty-five-minute drive to the courthouse in Jackson Mississippi found Olivia talking at a thousand miles an hour wanting to know a thousand different things. Angela liked the girl. Angela had to retell her life story. She didn’t leave out any important detail, including how she knew that she was a girl born in a boy’s body. These were her friends after all. Rachel Manning even asked Angela a few questions, when she could get a word in sideways past Olivia. Angela had fun talking with the family. This is what she missed the most in her life.
Rachel dropped them off at the handicap accessible entrance, and parked the van. Gwen, Olivia and Angela went in to get a start on going through security. It took Olivia a few minutes to pass security as a couple of female Deputies had to look over the rig she was driving. They were as courteous as they could be, while ensuring the security of the courthouse.
When they got up to the third floor they saw Eleanor and her lawyers along with Margaret Finch, waiting in the lobby. Eleanor greeted them all giving Olivia and Angela hugs and kisses.
“We must hurry on in,” Eleanor said. “We have about five minutes before our case comes up.”
They entered in the court room. Eleanor’s attorney indicated that Angela should come and sit with them at the lawyers table. Angela had just sat down when the bailiff said, “All rise for the Honorable Judge Stanley Wortman.”
Judge Wortman entered his court room. He had a keen eye and smiled when he saw Angela and Eleanor. He also took note of Olivia as she was raising her articulated wheel chair bringing herself to a standing position.
“You may be seated,” The judge stated. “Bailiff what is on the docket today?”
“A petition of Adoption, by Eleanor Whitmire and Angela Parsons, your honor.”
“Have Mrs. Eleanor, Miss Parsons and their Attorney approach, bailiff.”
Angela’s eyes were almost bugged out after what the bailiff said. She had to be coaxed to stand and follow Eleanor to the bench. It had started out as a joke and was about to become real.
Standing at the bench the judge asked Mrs. Whitmire, “Is it your intention to adopt Miss Parson as your daughter? Mrs. Whitmire.”
“As My niece, your honor.”
“Are you alright with this Miss Parson?”
Angela stuttered a few times, before she got out that she was alright with this.
“Is Angela Parson renouncing her Emancipation.”
“No, your honor,” Eleanor answered. “She will just become my niece, sir.”
“What is the purpose of this adoption?”
Eleanor answered, “Your honor, I am getting old. Neither Angela or I have any living relatives closer than two levels of consanguinity. My husband died before he and I could have a child. I have missed so much, not having a family around me. Angela Parsons is in this situation also. I want us to be able to call each other family, your honor.”
“Miss Parson, do you feel this way also?”
Angela was in tears as she said, “I already think of Mrs. Whitmire as my Aunt. I love her as much as I loved my parents. I would be proud to be her niece, your honor.” Good thing her makeup was water proof.
“Will she assume your last name, Mrs. Whitmire?”
“No, your honor, she will retain her own last name to honor her deceased parents.”
“Then by order of the court, Angela Parson give your Aunt a hug and a kiss.”
They kissed and hugged. Angela and Eleanor dried their tears.
“Your honor,” Gloria Beck, attorney at law added, “We have some additional business to attend to.”
Angela was busy talking to Eleanor and didn’t hear what Gloria was up to.
Gloria filed a copy of Mrs. Whitmire’s will and an irrevocable trust for Angela Parson. Angela wasn’t shown the documents at the time. If she had been aware of the contents of the two documents, she would probably have fainted, she was now worth in the neighborhood of a hundred million dollars in money and assets, including Eleanor’s home and orchard near Angela’s bee farm, held in trust till she was eighteen, twenty-one and twenty-five. Half of Mrs. Whitmire’s assets would go to Angela upon Eleanor’s death with the other half going to various charities and equestrian organizations. A major wall street accounting firm along with Mrs. Whitmire’s attorney, Gloria Beck and her Law Firm were assigned as administrators over the trust.
Angela was fingerprinted and her prints were added to the trust documents, for her protection.
Gloria handed Angela an envelope with the pertinent documents, with proper court seals and signatures on them, which she put in her purse without inspecting them.
Angela got hugs and kisses from everyone once she left the bar. She took time to hug Aunt Eleanor and scold her at the same time, saying that she didn’t need to do this. Angela loved Eleanor regardless of not really being her niece, but she realized that now she couldn’t really say that. She was now Eleanor’s niece.
The last business Eleanor and company had before leaving the courthouse was to file for a passport in the name of Angela Parson, in the county clerk’s office. Where Eleanor got two passport grade photos of Angela, she couldn’t fathom.
The lawyers took their leave and after Rachel and Olivia spent about a half hour taking care of her needs. They all went out to one of the nicest restaurants. The restaurant was a cross between southern cooking and Mediterranean fare. They spent nearly two hours eating and celebrating. Margaret and Angela spent about twenty minutes alone talking at a separate table.
When Angela finally got to her back to her bee farm, Olivia just wanted to see Angela’s bees. Angela got Olivia into a veil with her mom’s permission and led the girl over to her gold hive. They were her gentlest bees.
Olivia wheeled her chair over to the side of the hive, where Angela indicated. She used the chairs articulation to stand so she could see in the hive. Angela still in her Armani suit and heels, opened the hive up, only taking off her jacket. She showed Olivia frame after frame of honey bees working their honeycomb. Angela found a drone bee, drones don’t have stingers, and put the drone in Olivia’s hand. The drone walked around on Olivia, before it flew off.
“Ouch,” Olivia said.
She looked down and saw a bee struggling with its stinger embedded in Olivia’s leg beneath her skirt.
“Mom, a bee just stung my leg and I felt it. I FELT IT MOM. I FELT IT STING MY LEG!”
“I am so sorry Olivia,” a worried Angela said. “Even I get stung around here on a daily basis.”
Angela reached down and coaxed the stinger out of Olivia’s leg. Shooing other bees away from the girl.
“I am so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Angela. That is good news in a way,” Rachel said, crying. “That is the first thing Olivia has felt beneath her waist in two years. I will have to make an appointment with her Doctor this week. Can you try to get a bee to sting her other leg?”
Angela looked Olivia over first. Seeing that there was only minor irritation at the sting site and that Olivia looked alright and was breathing good, she captured another bee by its wings and held it next to her other leg. The bee didn’t like being mistreated and stung the girls calve.
“Ouch, I FELT THAT TOO MOM.”
Angela closed the hive while Rachel, Gwen and Olivia talked, about what had happened. What had happened could be considered a blessing and a curse. Olivia could feel the stings, that was good news, but it also meant that she might feel other pain in her legs too, Like cramps, which could be bad.
Angela got hugs and kisses from the Manning’s. Olivia promised to call later.
Wednesday Dan came over to Angela’s place. He had seen bear tracks on his property, recently. He brought with him a shotgun, a lever action Henry repeating rifle, scoped deer rifle and a 9mm Barretta automatic pistol. Angela spent the day learning how to shoot. Dan taught her the right way to handle and fire the weapons.
Angela learned just what the berm behind her warehouse was for as Dan set up various targets for them to shoot at. The targets were human shaped, deer shaped and bear shaped.
“Angela, listen to me closely I will leave the shotgun with you, loaded with noisemaker blanks and pepper bean bags, for bear. I am also going to install electric fences around your hives. We do get the occasional black bear in this part of the country. Bears will decimate a bee yard. They will destroy every hive and eat all the honey. Just be glad we don’t live in the pacific north west, they have grizzly bears up there. The noisemakers are usually enough to run the bears off. The first two rounds will be noisemakers the next three rounds will be bean bags with OC pepper in them.”
The next three hours they spent learning how to use the various weapons. Pistols were best under ten yards, shotguns were good up to fifty yards, except for the bean bags which were good for twenty yards max. The lever action rifle and the scope mounted rifle were good for targets a lot farther away.
She was taught not to point the weapons at anything, she wasn’t prepared to kill, except for the noisemakers and bean bag rounds. Noisemakers were best fired up into the air, while the bean bags had to be aimed at the bear.
Angela’s dad had been an Lt. in the Airforce-Security Force when she was born. Until her parents died she had lived around guns, but she wasn’t allowed to touch them.
There were several painful lessons that day. The first being that shotguns have a lot of kick in them and you had to shoulder the weapon right to keep from hurting yourself. The .308 Remington bolt action rifle had a nice kick to it also. The Henry rifle shot an oversized pistol round, the WCF .44-40. Angela liked that gun the best and was good at hitting what she shot at. The 9mm Glock was fun to shoot, but she would need more practice with that gun.
Dan left the shotgun in the closet just inside the office, loaded with non-lethal mix for bear, just as he had explained.
Angela checked her bank account online, before doing some shopping she needed to do. When she got to her account something looked way wrong. There were too many zeroes before she got to the numbers. Last month she had a little over seventeen thousand in the bank. Now her account was sitting at seven figures, two-million-nineteen-thousand-six-hundred-eighty-two dollars. It had to be a bank error. She checked her deposits and saw the problem. Tuesday there had been a two-million-dollar deposit. When she checked that deposit, she saw that Eleanor Whitmire had made an electronic transfer of the money from her personal account.
Angela went from penniless to a millionaire in six months. She got her purse to see what other nefarious things Eleanor had contrived. The first envelope had the adoption record. The second envelope contained a will for Eleanor. Angela almost dislocated her eyes when she read the provisions of the will. She will be a very rich person if she outlives Eleanor. She was going to have to talk to Eleanor. When she opened the third envelope, she just sat there. She gets five million when she turns eighteen, she gets another eighteen million, when she turns twenty-one and when she turns twenty-five she gets fifty million. On top of that she now owns the house that Eleanor currently lives in, with the proviso that she can still live there, along with three thousand acres of land, the home sits on. There were a half-dozen other bequesrs she didn’t have any knowledge of.
She called Gwen. When she connected she asked Gwen to pass a message on to Eleanor, then she blew a raspberry into her phone, “That will be all Gwen.” She knew Gwen would faithfully give her the message. She could imagine Eleanor being in a fit of laughter.
In reality Gwen was laughing so hard, she couldn’t breathe. She had to drink a glass of water, that Eleanor had offered her, before she could pass the message on.
“Eleanor your niece called and asked me to pass on a message to you.” Gwen started to crack up laughing again.
“Well what was the message?”
Gwen looked at her boss, stuck out her tongue and then blew Eleanor a raspberry. Something she had wanted to do so often herself, she just didn’t have the courage.
“Ahh, she must have read the paperwork we gave her. I wondered when she would get around to it.”
“You two were made for each other,” Gwen said.
Eleanor surprised her by giving Gwen a big hug and a kiss to her cheek, “That is the best thing you could have said to me, dear. I am also taking care of you and Olivia too.”
“And thank you, Eleanor. You’ve been a real life saver where Olivia is concerned. I would walk barefoot over broken glass for you… you know that don’t you?”
“Yes, I know and you know that I would never ask that of you.”
Gwen was with Eleanor in a business meeting, when she got the call about her sister. Eleanor left the meeting with the businessmen and had called ahead to get the best neurosurgical team to see to Olivia’s condition. Gwen believed that they had saved her sister’s life. Eleanor had paid for a new handicap accessible home and van for her mother and Olivia. Plus, Rachel doesn’t have to work now and Eleanor hired a live-in nurse to help take care of Olivia.
Angela didn’t quit working, even though she now didn’t need to. She kept up her hives and Dan’s hives. She didn’t tell anybody about what Eleanor had done. What Eleanor does with her money was Eleanor’s business and Angela wasn’t a braggard.
She was working on her hives in August. The dearth was well in, now. The dearth is when there is no food for the bees coming in and it was miserable hot weather. Angela was setting up feeders on each hive. She had this new hive top feeder system that inhibited robbing. Feeding at this time kept the queens laying eggs so the hive would be ready for the goldenrod that should come in, in a couple of weeks. She only wore her bee jacket, gloves and veil when working with her one Russian bee hive. Only the Russians got upset enough to attack anyone just for disturbing them slightly. She had just opened the hive and set up the hive top feeder, when she saw a man approaching her.
“Don’t come closer till I get this hive closed up mister. What can I do for you?”
“I am looking for Alan or Angela Parsons?”
Angela looked at the man, she had been shown his picture before. It was Rhys Phillips the man from Baltimore. He had his right hand behind his back.
“Alan ain’t here right now,” Angela said, pressing on the screen of her smart phone.
“You are that pervert Alan, aren’t you? The lawyer for my man told me about you,” he said pulling a gun from behind his back.
“Don’t come closer Mister. These bees can be a real bitch.”
Rhys kept approaching Angela. She ducked behind the Russian hive and he began shooting. The hive took the first four shots. Angela felt a thud, but no pain. She grabbed the bottom of the hive and put her shoulder into it, as she lifted and pushed the hive over. The hive fell at his feet causing him to fall over on top of the hive. Thirty thousand angry Russian bees poured out of the hive. Rhys Phillips scrambled to his feet swatting at bees and running. Angela just laid behind the hives for a minute or two and began to crawl away.
Eleanor’s security team came in at this time. Angela had to stop them from approaching the topped over hive. She pointed them in the direction the man had run. Three of the security people went in chase of Rhys Phillips, while two stayed with her, at a distance. Angela had to walk a hundred yards before the bees stopped attacking her. She had taken thirty or forty stings. The bees had gotten into her bee suit through several holes. Mr. Phillips had shot her through her silicone breast forms. She had three holes the bullet had gone through the right breast form into the left breast form, where it had lodged. She was hurting, but she thought that she was ok.
One female security guard let her go in and change out of the bee suit, take her shirt and bra off along with the breast forms. Angela put on a clean bra after removing all the bee stingers. She stuffed the clean bra with silicone cutlets and panties. The shape wasn’t the best, but she looked a little normal.
The sheriff came along with a paramedic. Angela told the paramedic about the numerous stings she had taken. He took her vitals. Eleanor, Gwen, Dan and Jacques arrived one at a time. The paramedic gave Angela an antihistamine and wanted to transport her to the hospital. Angela didn’t want to go, but Aunt Eleanor pulled rank on her. Gwen rode with her in the ambulance, giving instructions on where to take her if she wasn’t critical. They wound up taking her to the University Hospital where her doctors were.
The ER doctor admitted her as a precaution. She had forty-one welts on her chest where she had been stung. He kept her on an antihistamine drip and a non-opioid anti-inflammatory pain reliever.
Margaret and Doctor Jackson came to visit her along with another Doctor. They had Angela explain how she got here. Angela explained about getting shot in her breast forms and stung by forty-one Russian bees.
The odd doctor introduced himself as Dr. Willian Donovan, a plastic surgeon.
“I was going to see you about breast augmentation if you wanted it. How do you feel about that?” He said.
“Go right ahead and put them in, just be sure to fill this bra,” Angela said, handing him, her bra.
“No can do, right now. After taking so many bee stings, I want to give your body time to heal. High school starts in three weeks. Dr. Jackson will do a physical in say a week, if he clears you I can do the surgery in ten days. The vaginoplasty will have to wait till you are eighteen, if you want it and Margaret signs off on it.”
“I want it but that can wait I don’t plan on jumping in anybody’s bed, anytime soon.”
Margaret then spoke, “Oh I bought some more breast forms, but you can’t attach them while you are hooked up with an EKG. You’ll have them for when you are released.”
“Good I miss not having breasts. I sort of got used to them and now it’s like I am missing a leg.”
Angela had to put on her bra with Margaret’s help and put the breast forms in the cups. Doctor Jackson started to object, but Angela threatened to leave the hospital Against Medical Advice. Margaret helped maneuver the breast forms so they didn’t interfere with the EKG leads.
The doctors had to leave except for Margaret, when the Sheriff’s Deputy, Deputy Jennings arrived to take Angela’s statement.
“Mam, you sure are a lightning rod for trouble. Care to explain what happened today?”
Angela told him her story as he took notes. He stopped her several times to ask questions. She continued till she finished.
“We got that Rhys Phillip character. He’s right here in this hospital as a matter of fact. The doctors say he is in critical condition from over three hundred bee stings, but they think he will make it.”
“I warned him not to get too close to my Russian bees. He did what I wanted him to do, he kept moving closer. When he got about six feet away I was sure my bees would take care of him.”
“The DA is just itching to get a hold of him. He plans to arraign him here in the hospital when he gets out of the intensive care unit. He’ll be breaking rocks for forty years, if he is lucky. Then Mary-land gets him for some more time. Oh well, I guess I better go so your visitors can come on in.”
Eleanor, Gwen and Ashley came in. Angela had to repeat her story for them. Eleanor called in a female security guard when she heard that Rhys Phillips was in this hospital too.
Angela got discharged from the hospital, the next morning after a doctor checked her out. Gwen came to pick her up.
“Dan and Jacques send their regrets,” Gwen said. “They worked till sunset trying to get the bees back into the box. They got most of the bees in, but there was still many flying around. They are at your property right now working on that hive.”
“Those were Russian bees, they aren’t as aggressive as Africanized honey bees, but Rhys got them pretty stirred up. I guess me tipping their hive over didn’t help either.”
“I can’t imagine what getting stung three hundred times is like. He deserved it for trying to kill you.”
“That should be the last attempt on my life. I hope. How many more could blame me for their failures? How far did Rhys get before they caught up with him?”
“According to our security chief, he almost got to the Moody entrance. He was very, I don’t want to say ugly, but the swelling from all those bee stings was a little grotesque. He would have probably died without intervention.”
“It’s good that he will survive. I hope he has a long life in prison. The same with that other guy.”
“Eleanor isn’t going to ask, but she would really like you to move in with her.”
“You know I would have been a target somewhere else, Gwen. I’m not going to live in a cage, not even a gilded cage, but I might take her up on it. I have liked living on my own these past months, but the last few weeks, I learned about what I have missed being alone.”
Gwen drove up to Angela’s doorstep. Dan and Jocks were sitting on the tailgate of Jacques truck looking at a huge swarm of bees in the air. She and Gwen walked up to them.
“Your Russian bees are absconding,” Dan said.
“Yeah they don’t like the rent and the accommodations girl.”
“Will they survive out on their own? I mean we are well into the dearth and they won’t have any stores.”
“I figure, you might have killed the queen when you tipped the hive over. They’ll probably be dead within sixty days.” Dan added.
“That hive wasn’t much for making honey, but that queen could sure produce brood,” Angela said. “That was one of my strongest hives, next to my gold hive.”
The rest of Angela’s bees were robbing the old Russian hive, since the Russians were no longer defending their old hive.
Miles away Willard was having one hell of a swarm come into one of his dead out hives. He didn’t know if they were Russian or African, but they didn’t like it when he intruded into their space. The hive they were claiming had succumbed to Varroa a couple of weeks ago, the mites had already died or moved on. The dead bees honey was still in the hive. Maybe they would stay and maybe they would survive.
“Oh Angela,” Dan said. “Be at my office tonight at seven. I have some very important news. See if Mrs. Whitmire can come also.”
“I will be there.”
Gwen called Mrs. Whitmire and informed her of the meeting. She said that she would be there.
Dan and Jacques left the girls and headed into their office.
“Eleanor wants you to clean up and suit up for this meeting. She also wants us at the house at two, to have a late lunch with her. So go hop into the shower and don’t forget to shave your legs. I will get your clothes ready.”
Angela did as she had been told. She would attach her breast forms after she dried off. She did note how scratchy her legs felt as she shaved them. When she came out Gwen helped her properly attach her breast forms and then began helping her dress.
This procedure included being strapped into a corset, which Gwen was merciless at tightening. The reason of which became clear, as Angela put on a pair of stockings, panties and a padded pair of spanx briefs. The pink skirt that belonged to the suit had a smaller waist than Angela’s normal fair. Before Angela put on her blouse and jacket Gwen did her hair and makeup, in a sophisticated chic business look.
Angela could wow a boardroom with her looks and her brains, when they were finished fussing.
“Unless you are working in the field Angela, this is a look you should adopt when you are doing business. It shows the people you work with, your commitment to doing business.”
Angela stood in front of her full-length mirror in a pink Alexander McQueen business suit, a Stella McCartney white silk blouse, off black stockings and black patent leather pumps with four-inch heels. She loved the makeup look, she could pass for twenty years old and the hair was flirty yet sophisticated. She was every inch a business woman.
They arrived at Eleanor’s place at about one thirty. Gwen went to her room to get ready herself, because Eleanor too was in full war paint. Angela and Eleanor went to the veranda and sat at a table and were served tea.
“You’re dressed for a board meeting, Aunt Eleanor. What’s up? Dan isn’t quitting beekeeping, is he?”
“No, Dan isn’t quitting. After the call, I put out some feelers. I am not sure, what I found is what is going on, but I don’t think it is coincidence, either. What I found is important, but I will let Dan have his thunder, if I’m right. How far are you willing to take beekeeping, Angela?”
“As far as I can take it. Thirty to forty percent of the food we eat is touched directly or indirectly by bees. Bees have been on a decline and we need to work to save our bees, by any means necessary.”
They talked for about forty minutes, till Gwen joined them, all dressed up herself. They talked bees while they ate with Gwen taking notes as if she were at a dinner with business executives. The lunch lasted to nearly four.
Eleanor then took them on a tour of her property, first going farther from Angela’s home and then headed back towards Dan’s place. Standing at the fence furthest east on Eleanor’s property looking east they could see the trees circling Dan’s property. A half mile of pasture separated the two farms. The intervening property was five hundred acres of fallow pasture land.
“This is Mr. Wes Stinson’s pasture. It has lain fallow for about ten years. He used to grow Cotton and the last few years they planted hay, to sell, but it has been let go, as Mr. Stinson is no longer able to work the field himself. I too have left the six hundred acres of fallow on this end of my property, as I no longer keep horses on this farm. I have talked to Mr. Stinson about selling. He is in his eighties and was in fair to poor health, considering his age. I am going to buy that land and let him continue to live in his home, I think. He was agreeable to that proposition. It too will be your property too Angela.”
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, Aunt Eleanor.”
“It is your legacy dear. Don’t argue with me about it. I’m not going to take it back.”
“But…”
“NO! buts Angela. I may have ten or twenty years left in these bones dear. I have no living relatives that I would care to give it too, in bequeath. You have been like my own niece dear and now you are officially related to me. So, no buts dear.”
“I don’t love you for what you can give me, Aunt Eleanor. I love you because… I just do!”
They drove back to their house and freshened up a bit before heading to Dan’s place an hour early. Eleanor was interested in the twelve-foot square satellite map of the county. Eleanor and Gwen studied the map, with Eleanor identifying the various large properties in the county. They also took note of the various known beekeeper locations marked on the map.
Angela found what had to be Mr. Dinkins’ property. He saw what looked like a dozen bee hives down the road from the Moody’s, across the way from Dan and down the road from Jack Brown. The hives weren’t marked, but were in the right position. She found she could find several other unregistered beekeepers by looking at this large map.
People started arriving and Angela, Gwen and Eleanor went into greet and meet mode. Chairs had been set up in the warehouse for all the people. Dan had really planned for this meeting. Angela knew a few of the people having met them at some of the functions of the local Beekeepers Association. Eleanor’s presence with Angela gave her more prestige. Eleanor was never far from Angela, but she let her niece do the talking, responding when someone spoke directly to her. There were about a hundred people there now.
Dan came into the warehouse a few minutes before the meeting began, to talk to individuals and to shake a few hands. He was joined by the county’s Agricultural Extension Agent and an official from Mississippi’s Agriculture Commissioner’s office.
Dan took the floor, “Hello everyone, I am glad you could make it. I received a call yesterday, that affects us all. Adam Morrison had a stroke. He is expected to live, but he will be incapacitated for a while. For those of you who don’t know it. Adam was the biggest supplier of bees, queens and equipment in three states. Gloria Morrison told me that she is selling the bee business, so she can spend time helping nurse her husband back to health. I told Gloria that I couldn’t handle the bee business and my pollination services at the same time. She wants to sell the operation within the next thirty days.”
“What is needed is someone to buy the business and move it to their land and run the queen operation and also the bee production business. Please hold your questions until everyone has spoken.”
That is why Eleanor was invited Angela thought.
The state Ag Commissioner got up and talked, before the county agriculture Agent spoke. They both talked about the importance of the job that Mr. Morrison had done. The state and the county both promised their assistance, in insuring the success of anyone taking up the quest.
When it came time for questions.
Angela stood up, “How many hives did Mr. Morrison have?” It was a question that needed to be asked.
The Ag Commissioner took this question, “We are talking about 600 ten frame hives, 900 five frame nucs and 400 queen breeder nucs. Mr. Morrison produced six thousand three-pound packages, five hundred nucs and twenty thousand queens a year. He also produced ten percent market share in bee hive bodies and sold bee suits, tools and equipment, in the southeast.”
“What are the land requirements for that kind of operation?”
“Mr. Morrison operated on six hundred acres of land, that was surrounded by bee friendly habitat of about two hundred thousand acres. He still had to feed his bees at several points in the year.”
“Dan, would using Mrs. Whitmire’s three thousand acres as a base of operation would it significantly affect your operation?”
“It wouldn’t have a severe negative impact. I might have to feed my bees a little more.”
“What would be a good estimate of the worth of bees, inventory and equipment and what are the expected revenues?”
“I haven’t asked Mrs. Morrison yet, but on my estimates three hundred thousand for the bees and maybe another quarter of a million on the assets. Revenue is what one could make out of the operation. I don’t know Mr. Morrison’s revenue, but he and Gloria did well from their bees. Selling bees to beekeepers, is where the money in beekeeping is.”
“What about labor, running an operation that size would require how many people to do it right?”
Dan answered that question, “Fourteen people would be needed in bee production side from February to June then maybe six full time beekeepers the rest of the year. Three or four could handle the equipment sales during peak months, three the rest of the year. Two to three administrative personnel would be needed.”
Mrs. Whitmire then asked about ten questions, of the panel. Angela knew from the Questions that they were going to do this.
Of all the people there only, Dan and Eleanor were capable of handling an operation this size. They knew that Dan couldn’t run this operation and thee bee production operation. They thought it was strange that Angela was asking all the questions, but she was apparently attached somehow to Eleanor.
Gwen had been taking copious notes about all the information that was being presented. There would be a late night at the Whitmire estate tonight.
Those present asked questions for another hour.
Angela, Gwen and Eleanor, met with Dan, Jacques, Brenda, Rick and a couple of more of Dan’s beekeepers along with the state and county officials.
“I would do it Mrs. Whitmire, but I am all over the country trouble shooting.” Dan said. “It is what I do best. I can do either the pollination service or the bee production service. I feel I need to keep doing what I am doing
“You are a good man, Dan. My niece and I will buy and take over the bee production.”
That came as a surprise they didn’t think Eleanor had any living relatives.
“Who is your niece?” Dan asked.
“Angela will be my executive vice president in charge of Bee production of course. I just adopted her. Angela dear, please tender your resignation to Dan. You’re going to be much too busy with school and running, “The Mississippi Bee Queen” to work for him also.”
“Sorry Dan, I am also moving to Aunt Eleanor’s estate. To be closer to the bee operation.”
They talked for another hour, Eleanor bought Dan’s property where Angela had lived. That would be the base of operations. Brenda and another two working Dan’s Queen operations would be taking over that property to run the queen breeder operation and they would look for another two people to work queens. Jacques would move his teaching over to Eleanor’s bee production operation. Eleanor would also buy the adjoining property from Mr. Stinson. Eleanor planned to build a warehouse/office complex there, which would be their base of bee operations. Another building would be constructed on her property to deal with the bees.
The next three days found a beehive like level of activity at Eleanor’s estate. There was a team of lawyers and experts on the estate for long days of work.
Angela, wearing a skirted suit, and Eleanor took a helicopter ride to look at the area surrounding Eleanor’s estate taking note of the vegetation, with the river nearby water wasn’t a problem. They flew out to Mr. Morrison’s operation, to talk to Gloria Morrison. They paid Gloria thirty percent more than what she could have hoped for on the open market, to help defray her medical expenses.
Eleanor arranged with Dan to help transport and set up the hives on Eleanor’s estate.
Three days before Angela’s seventeenth birthday, she got her breast surgery. They made her just a little smaller than her breast forms because they expected her to grow into her bras.
Angela had an epic birthday. She had almost fifty people there to wish her a happy birthday. Eleanor had gotten her a dozen business suits and high heels. Eleanor was old school and didn’t believe in ladies’ pants suits and flats in the office. Hosiery was always a requirement.
A week later she started school. She hired a dozen students to work part time for “The Mississippi Bee Queen” working on building hives, selling equipment and working in the office. Angela and her workers wen to school for half a day and spent four hours working.
Mr. Stinson set up small bee traps so he could use their stings to help with his arthritis. After he got stung once or twice, his hands felt better.
“The Mississippi Bee Queen” was slightly in the red due to startup costs the first year. Mostly due to the cost of the Stinson property and the McNeil property. The Bee Queen also paid Angela for the lease of the Whitmire Estate. Eleanor had insisted on this. Angela was as knowledgeable as most of her beekeepers after the first year and ten months of operation and she had gotten a good education on the business side of things too.
When she graduated from high school, she took off eight weeks to have bottom surgery, before starting off at the University of Mississippi in Jackson Mississippi. She did her Masters at the University of Kentucky and Her doctoral at the University of Florida.
For her Doctoral Thesis she spent eighteen months on an isolated Caribbean Island, owned by one of Eleanor’s friends. The Island had no native bees and was too far from other places for the bees to fly. Three other students joined her for their projects to split the time they would have to be on the island. They gathered data for each other.
Angela’s project was to try and develop other bees to strengthen the current bee populations. She airlifted a thousand new queen bees over the eighteen months, for Brenda to work with.
Her Queen Bee operation became the third largest in the country, while her bee production was the largest in the south. The Queen from her gold hive had become the basis for several lines of her queen bee operation. She emphasized diversity of genetics in their hives, to her customers, not selectivity.
Olivia became her personal assistant in the bee operation, calling the shots when Angela wasn’t around. She still couldn’t walk, but the health of her legs had improved over the years. She goes to her doctor to receive weekly bee stings.
Eleanor retired to her horse farm in Kentucky for her last few years. Dan retired selling his bee pollination operation to one of his and Jacques students. He still works on the teaching hives Angela has on the Stinson property.
Ashley and her brother were both big in the Equestrian neighborhood. Ashley took gold in the Olympics and nationals. Zachery became a premiere breeder and trainer, working with many of the top riders.
Ashley and Angela never got together. It wasn’t that bees and horses don’t mix well, they don’t, you don’t want to be riding a horse stung by a bee, but the time bees require and horses require can consume ones’ time to do anything else. They talk all the time and get together occasionally for a vacation together, but then they go back to what they know and love.
Ashley and her husband, Rex Norman, ride competitively and teach competitive riding. They have three kids, two of them adopted.
Angela met Clint West, who teaches Forensic Entomology at the University of Mississippi. They married and adopted three kids.
…But those are other stories, Bye for now.
Numbers
by
Paula Dillon
Roger was a brilliant mathematician. Things go strange though when he just goes to bed.
Roger Brandon was tired and was going to bed. Roger was a grad student at Stanford and had spent the last twelve hours typing away on his dissertation; Math and Computer Encryption. Roger was twenty and had graduated with honors on a double major BS in Math and Computer Science with a second BS in History, all in four years.
Roger got bored of high school and had chosen to graduate after his second year and had a full ride in Math to Stanford. He just had to get away from all the petty bullshit at high school. He hardly talked to any of his class mates there, the other students little in common with Roger and they didn’t talk to him or socialize with him. He didn’t have a girlfriend and had never dated there. Now at Stanford, he had a girlfriend, Jessie Wolf.
Jessie Wolf had latched onto him his first semester there and had told him that she was his girlfriend. At least she wasn’t an airhead, she was a math and physics major there and she was two years older than he was. She was seventeen while he was fifteen. They loved talking shop, which is what he called it. He also helped her with the math on her classwork, proof reading and double checking it. She also taught him a few things, like interacting with average people, how to seem like he wasn’t a crass, rude, nerd and about boy/girl things, although he was still a virgin. They were both too busy to get into that sex thing.
While he was a senior at Stanford, Roger was recruited by a large corporation to test their firewall and data security. The IT man had talked to a professor there and had asked about any candidates for a white hat hacker and Rogers name had come up. Roger breached their firewall a dozen times and left hundreds of Easter Eggs, for the corporation’s computer people to find. The Easter Egg was nothing more harmful than a German Tiger II tank and an American M26 Pershing rolling on screen, exchanging three volleys of fire before a message popped up saying surprise. That particular Easter Egg would then uninstall itself. He was then hired to help plug up the holes in the company’s defenses. The corporations IT Vice President told Roger to leave the Easter Eggs for IT to find, He offered a bounty to IT for each egg they kept a computer operator from finding. Roger just did the work for fun and was surprised to receive a mid-six figure pay check. He used that money to buy the house he lived in.
Roger took a shower, dressed in a pair of blue plaid Joe Boxers and crawled into bed.
>>>>><<<<<
Nora Davis was tired. She was a math major at Stanford and spent the last four hours going over her notes. She was a graduate assistant to one of the professors there and was to help teach an undergraduate level class for her professor, who was in Washington. He had been summoned there at the behest of some big-wig, it was all so hush-hush. The Dean of Math and her Professor had asked her to take his two undergrad classes for a week. She would receive favorable treatment on her dissertation on Math and Code Breaking in exchange. She was also informed that she would receive credit for her dissertation, but that she might never be able to publish it to the general public, governmental secrecy or some bullshit, but they were almost frantic about having her research on the subject. She even had a federal agent visit her and run a background check.
Nora graduated high school at eighteen and had chosen Stanford to attend. It wasn’t easy for her and she had to really work to convince the admission people to allow her to attend, but after being locked in a room with three math professors for several hours, they whole heartedly admitted her. She didn’t have any use for a boyfriend, especially one who couldn’t talk about her love, Math. Also she only had a half scholarship and needed to work on campus and summers to earn the money to attend. She did have a girlfriend, but they never talked about their relationship to others, luckily they shared a dorm room at Stanford. After they had graduated with BS’s, Math for Nora and Physics for Gwendolyn Manning, Gwen bought a them a home near campus, close enough for them to walk to school on nice days, California had many nice days, to live in. She came from a family that had money so the price of the house was no sweat off her back.
Gwen and Nora slept in and kept their things in separate rooms, while it was OK for two girls to share a house, it wasn’t OK for them to be seen sleeping in the same bed. Their full beds would allow them to play around, but both of them needed to keep their security records in tact or they wouldn’t be allowed to progress in their fields.
Nora took a nice warm bath and shaved her legs. She dressed in cotton panties and a pink cotton sleep-dress and went to bed.
>>>>><<<<<
Both became mentally alert at about the same time and both stood. Both sensed the presence of another but didn’t see anyone. Both turned to the dresser mirror and saw a conglomeration of male and female reflected back.
Nora gave a mental shove and Roger popped out of her body wearing an ankle length sleep shirt, while Nora’s chest was flat and she wore a pair of Joe Boxers. She covered her now flat chest with her arms and looked at Roger. Roger felt the long hair he didn’t have and looked down to see that he had a pair of sizeable boobs, in fact they both in each other’s bodies.
“What are you doing in my bedroom?” they both asked.
“This is my bedroom," they both replied.
“I own this place,” Roger said, simultaneously as Nora said, “Gwen owns this place.”
“Gwen bought this house in August of thirty-five, when do you say you bought it.”
Roger was beyond perplexed as he looked at Nora, “Oh my god, in August of 2005. What was the date, when you went to sleep?”
“May 25, 1937”
“I went to sleep on May 25, 2007”
Nora shook her head in confusion, “If this is a joke by Gwen, I am going to kill her,” Nora said as she went to the door. She turned the door knob and pushed on the door. It was solid as a rock. Roger came over and helped her.
“Something is wrong, this door feels as solid as stone,” Roger said.
“I know this house is solidly built, but not that solid. Try the bathroom door,”
There were two other doors to this room, Nora watched as Roger in her body went straight to the bathroom door and opened it. She went to the closet door and opened it to find it was empty, the dresser was also empty.
“It almost seems that we are in another dimension,” Roger said. “There is a lot of work out there on extra dimensional space.”
“It looks like we aren’t going anywhere for a while. What was the last thing you remember and what is your name?”
“Roger, Roger Brandon. The last thing I remember is lying down on that bed to go to sleep. What is your name?”
“Nora Davis, I am a grad student at Stanford.”
“I too am a grad student at Stanford. What are you working on?”
Nora hesitated, maybe this is some kind of test by the G-men, and then again many people knew she was a math major. They just didn’t know what her specialty was, “Math.”
“I am working on getting a Masters in Math and then I will get a Master degree in Computer Science.”
“Computer what? What is a computer?”
Roger shook his head, if she was in 1937, there would be no computers, “Have you heard of Charles Babbage.”
A light went on in her head, “Yes he had a design for a Difference Engine back in the early to mid 1800’s. He never built it.”
“The difference engine would have been a mechanical calculator. A computer is a machine that can do many things and is electrical in nature.”
“Alan Turing wrote a paper last year on Computable Numbers.”
“Yeah he proved that some machine would be able to do all sorts of computations if it were represented as an algorithm. They made such a machine, but it wasn’t mechanical. It would be hard to describe to some-one without basic electronic knowledge.”
“Well it looks like we have nowhere to go, so let’s sit down and talk.”
They sat down on the bed and talked about mathematics, from their own point of view. Nora had some trouble with some of the math concepts Roger talked about, after all there had been many new development in Math in eighty years, but she realized that she was with a kindred spirit. Her ears perked up when he began talking about encryption and decryption.
“What do you know about codes and deciphering codes?”
“Cyphers were my entertainment when I was growing up. That and video games. I use to get Master class cryptography magazines and work the puzzles out in my head. Numbers were my friends.”
“Video games?”
“Oh right, if you don’t know about computers, you don’t know about video games. How about Television?”
“I know about Television. I watched the thirty-six Olympics on Professor Johnson’s TV. The picture quality was poor but we gave it to those Germans.”
A light clicked on in Roger’s head, “Of course, you come from the thirties, the war hasn’t happened yet.”
“What are you an Idiot? The war happened twenty years ago when I was a wee tot.” Nora’s face blanched, “Unless you are talking about Hitler and Germany. There are all sorts of stories in the news about Hitler.”
“I don’t know what you have read, but Hitler is worse than anything you can imagine.”
“Maybe that is why my professor, Dr. James went to Washington. Oops I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Whatever you do, don’t go to Europe for the next ten years and if you have any friends there now get them to come to the U.S. Now. Immediately. Sooner is better.”
“Is it that soon?”
“Pretty damn quick. Read the London Times, if you can get it. Pay attention to Neville Chamberlain.”
“He was just became Prime Minister of England. Tell me more.”
“I am afraid to. There is a theory called temporal paradox. If we could time travel, we could go back in time and kill our grandfather, but then we wouldn’t exist, so our grandfather would be alive and so on.”
“Shit,” Nora said. “We might have screwed things up already. If I make it back, I am going to have to give H. G. Wells a thorough read again.”
“We just have to trust that we haven’t screwed things up.” Roger said, yawning.
>>>>><<<<<
Roger woke and opened his eyes and said, “Damn that was a weird dream.” He pulled off the covers and hesitated, he was still wearing the cotton sleep shirt. He grabbed his chest and crotch. One hand didn’t feel anything and the other felt his stuff. He pulled off the ladies sleep shirt and found he was wearing a pair of cotton granny panties. “Damn I loved those boxers.”
Nora woke in her bed and sat up, mumbling about her dream, until she realized that she was bare chested and had on some weird men’s underwear. “And who the hell is Joe Boxer.” What was that boy’s name, she thought… Roger Brandon. Why is he wearing Joe’s Boxers? Is he a homosexual? She giggled as she thought about him waking up dressed like a Nancy Boy. Then she chided herself, she was a homosexual herself.
>>>>><<<<<
Roger thought about what he should do. He could do nothing and keep what he thought happened to himself, or tell someone, but whom? Jessie probably, but she might think he was crazy. Who was that girl? Nora Davis, that was her name. He’d do some research and then decide what to do later.
Roger got online and then checked Stanford Alumni for the thirties and forties. He actually found some Stanford Yearbooks online and found her pictures in several. He did a search on Nora Davis and math. He got a plethora of hits from 1948 and beyond, but nothing besides the yearbooks and Stanford Alumni files from before that. He went to the Library and went to the section that held research papers. He found her name listed in the index, yes she had done a dissertation, but no dissertations were on file.
“Damn, in her field, she would have done a dissertation or two… unless they were deemed classified.” Roger said to himself. “Open Records Act.” He almost shouted to himself, and he was in the field and had a good reason to ask. How should he frame his request and who too? Hmm Office of State handled intelligence before the OSS. Math and cryptography were probably her specialties.
He would talk to Jessie after all their classes today.
>>>>><<<<<
Nora went to Gwendolyn’s room after she got dressed. She carried the boy’s underpants with her.
“Gwen, can I talk to you a bit. You will have to promise not to spread what I am about to tell you around.”
“Of course I can keep your secret. We both have an explosive secret. What is it Love?”
Nora sat on Gwen’s bed and told Gwen about her “Dream”.
“You have been reading way too much H.G. Wells and Jules Verne girl.”
“Then explain this, Gwen.” Nora said, proffering the boys underwear. “I lost my pink sleep shirt and panties and awoke wearing these, unless you are pulling some weird kind of trick on me.”
>>>>><<<<<
Jessie came over to Roger’s place after her last grad class, she wished that Roger would hurry up and bed her, but she wasn’t one to push him. They boy needed a lot of maturing before they had sex. The boy and her needs were a paradox in themselves.
Roger seemed to be on pins and needles.
“Jessie, I have a really weird story to tell you.”
Jessie couldn’t help but giggle at times as he told his story. “It seems you have an overactive imagination.”
“I thought you might say that.” He then showed her his research on his laptop.
“You must have heard or seen her name somewhere before.”
He took Jessie up to his room and pointed to the sleep shirt and panties. “That is what I was wearing when I woke up.”
“I have got to move in with you. I would have loved seeing you in those, but I see what you mean,” Jessie said, as she picked up the cotton panties and sleep shirt. She inspected them closely, the panties appeared commercially made but there was no label. The sleep shirt looked to be home sewn and nicely done. They appeared to be fairly new, there were a few signs of wear, but they were in good shape. She had seen some vintage lingerie before and what she held was consistent with what she had seen. She didn’t make it a habit of sniffing underwear, but she did. She did smell a woman in the crotch. This was beyond Roger’s practical mind to pull something like this off, by thrift store shopping.
“If what you say is true, put them on for me.”
“But they are girl’s clothes.”
“If you want me to believe you, put them on.” Jessie reasoned that any full blooded male would rather die than wear women’s clothes. They are just fabric and besides the pink colored night shirt, fabric is fabric.
“Now?”
“Now, I want to see you do it.”
Roger slowly undressed and then dressed in the two items. Jessie had a predatory look in her eyes as she looked Roger over. She backed him up to the bed and pushed him over on to it. She took off her jeans, straddled him and began groping and kissing him.
“I believed you when I saw the clothes,” Jessie said, when they came up for air. “Your story made me a little horny, thinking about you wearing these things. I wanted to see if you would put them on for me…” Jessie then thought for several seconds and said. “We didn’t seem to open an extra-dimensional portal.”
“It was just me then and it happened after I fell asleep.”
Jessie got another gleam in her eye, “I want to try an experiment. It won’t hurt you but it will be a little strange to you. What size was she, in relation to your size?”
Roger got his laptop and showed Jessie her picture as he described her. “She was an inch or two shorter than me not more than that. She was bigger than me in the chest,” Roger made two fists and put them on his chest. “She was maybe slightly more projected than the pinky side of my fists and her hips were a couple of inches wider and projected backwards a couple of inches more than mine. I think her waist was about the same as mine.”
“Lift up the sleep shirt let me check the panties.” Jessie said.
The panties were a little tight at the waist and about four inches lose in the rear. Jessie tried to imagine Nora wearing the Joe Boxer underwear she had bought for Roger. She felt herself get wet in the panties. She then did some mental calculations into what she could get Roger into, which Nora might like.
“Stay here Roger, I will be back in an hour or so and don’t change clothes.” Jessie said pulling her jeans back on.
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen looked at Nora in a way that sent shivers up Nora’s back. Gwen wasn’t usually the aggressive one in their relationship, but she could be adventurous. She took Nora out and had her hair styled and permed in a short curly flapper style pixie cut. Gwen then went and bought Nora a whole new outfit. Nora was too frumpy in her style of dress and if a boy was going to be wearing her lover’s clothes she was going to exact some revenge on him. Revenge might be too strong a word, but she wanted Nora to give him something to remember.
When Gwen got Nora back home, she dressed Nora in a long corset that went from the bottom of her buttocks to over her shoulders. Gwen had place a note under the corset and tied off the corset in a way that Nora couldn’t undo it by herself. Nora complained, but Gwen gave her a loving kiss and continued what she was doing. She rolled real silk stockings up Nora’s legs and attached them to the garters that hung from the corset. Next Gwen got Nora into a pair of T-strap heels. Gwen wore shoes like this and neither she nor Nora liked them all that much, but Gwen wore them for the look they gave her. Gwen then dressed Nora in a blouse, jacket and a figure hugging to below the knee, mid-calf pencil skirt. Nora could only take twelve, thirteen inch steps in that skirt. Gwen then gave Nora her best dance hall girl makeup job.
Gwen wanted to rip Nora’s clothes off right there and ravish the girl, but it had taken her so long to get the frumpy librarian grade clothes off her lover and into these oh so nice clothes. She didn’t want to ruin her work. Nora had a hard time sitting and getting comfortable, but she sat down and talked with Gwen till bed time.
>>>>><<<<<
Jessie got back to Roger’s home. She was afraid that Roger might flip when she showed him what she had. She had bought something like a Kathrine Hepburn pantsuit and blouse in modern materials. It was the rest of her purchases that she was afraid he would balk at. She had bought a wig, breast forms, an underwire push up bra in a 38C, a below the bust corset, panties, nylon stockings and some really daring stiletto high heels. It was costly but if this didn’t work she had Roger in some really sexy clothes.
Jessie had Roger bathe and shave off all his sideburns and all the hair below his nose. It took a couple of dozen smoldering kisses to get Roger rigged out and made up. She gave Roger a party girl makeup look. Jessie wanted to rip off his pants and panties and screw the devil out of him, but that could come tomorrow when she helped him undress. When she finished she didn’t let Roger sit but made him practice walking in high heels. He wasn’t good when he went to bed, but he could stand, walk and sit without killing himself.
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen helped tuck Nora in bed; she closed the door and locked it from her side, tucking the key in her bra. She then pushed a chaise lounge chair in front of the door and lay down to sleep herself.
Jessie helped Roger get in bed; she closed the door and pushed a lazy boy in front of the door. She sat and reclined the chair so she could sleep.
>>>>><<<<<
Nora and Roger woke and gave each other a mental nudge, to separate their bodies.
“Oh my god,” Nora said. “Our girlfriends are so evil.”
“Tell me about it. What the hell do you have on under this skirt, blouse and jacket?”
“The same sort of thing you have on under this pant suit.” Nora said.
“Only worse.” Roger said.
They had to help each other stand, which wasn’t easy for either of them. They held onto each other as they walked over to the mirror.
“I like my clothes except for these heels. What kind of heels are these.”
“They are called stiletto heels,” Roger said. “They are in style with many party girls.”
“Oh, what you are now wearing, is what our dance hall girls wear.”
They both sat on the edge of the dresser and talked about their girlfriends and their reaction to what they had told them. They both had a good laugh.
“Roger I have been thinking about what you said. I sent a lot of letters to friends overseas and asked them to come visit me, without saying why. I have also thought about this paradox thing, you mentioned. Fate put us together for a reason, other than our sick girlfriends’ imaginations.”
“I too have thought about it and nothing bad had happened from what I told you yesterday. I also researched you. There was little information before 1948 except for seeing you in a couple of Stanford yearbooks. So I figured you might have worked in some intelligence capacity between thirty eight and forty eight.”
Nora thought for several minutes about what he had just said. Maybe her professor had gone to Washington to talk about her, or maybe they both were dreaming fiction.
“I have been checked out by a federal agent. He talked to me and Gwen and several of my friends and associates. I have some sort of security clearance, but I don’t know what kind.”
“Sounds like they are vetting you for a job or something.”
“I will tell you the truth, my dissertation is on Math and Code breaking. I was told that I won’t be able to publish it, but I will get credit for it.”
“That is why I couldn’t find your dissertation in the library. They noted that you did one and that is all.”
“So what can you tell me about the German codes?”
“The big break with the German code came when the HMS Bulldog captured a German code machine produced by a company called Enigma. The Japanese had a similar machine code named purple.”
“Japanese? The Japanese are in the war too.”
Roger realized he stuck his foot in it. He then gave Nora a brief primer on WWII.
“WWII was a close thing, without the work of our code breakers, the war might have turned out differently”
Nora then grilled Roger on code breaking. Roger was surprisingly knowledgeable and of course knew things she had yet to learn.
“I wish I had a chalk board or my computer.” Roger said. Then he looked at the mirror. “Nora see if there is a bar of soap in the bathroom.”
She went in the bathroom and came out with a bar of soap. Roger took the soap and began writing on the mirror. Nora giggled and studied what Roger wrote on the mirror. Time in this room meant nothing in comparison to the time their bodies back in their own time were going through.
“I need to do some research and will get back to you, if we find ourselves back here.”
“I have one request if we get back together. Could you come back dressed much like this ladies pant suit? I much prefer this to wearing boys clothes.”
Roger grimaced, but nodded, “I think my girlfriend will love me in this getup.” Roger said.
“Just lose that corset, the one I have on now is better. I will do the same with Gwen.” Nora said yawning.
>>>>><<<<<
Roger woke still dressed in the pencil skirt, jacket blouse and whatever else he had on. He tried to stand but couldn’t.
“Jessie can you help me. Jessie,”
Roger could hear some furniture being moved and the door finally opening. Jessie began to giggle and then laugh as she saw Roger. His short hair was now pixie cut and it looked like it was permed in tight curls, “I love that outfit on you. It’s cute. Why did you call for help?”
“It’s what I have on under the skirt and blouse that I won’t let me stand up and I need to use the restroom.”
Jessie helped Roger stand and unzipped the skirt. She again giggled till she laughed as she saw how long the corset was. She took off the jacket he wore and unbuttoned the back buttoning blouse.
“I am going to have to get a knife to get this corset off of you. The knot is really done up tight. I don’t know if I could ever get it undone.” Jessie said, as she headed to the kitchen.
Jessie quickly returned with a paring knife and began cutting laces. Roger felt relieved, he sat and removed the stockings from his legs and dashed to the bathroom. Jessie saw the breast forms and an envelope fall as she removed the corset.
While Roger relieved himself, Jessie opened the letter. As she opened up the letter, she heard the bathtub begin to fill. Good she could read the letter uninterrupted.
I don’t know who is reading this but I hope it is Roger’s girlfriend. You don’t have to dress Roger as restrictive as this, but seeing that he is alone with my girlfriend and lover. I want to request that he always be dressed as a lady, when he comes to see my girl.
I don’t know why they are being brought together, but I feel that it is important. Maybe we can meet too. I am a physicist here at Stanford. I know it is strange for a girl to be into Physics, but Nora and I are different kind of women. What do you do?
Gwendolyn Manning
This could be fun. She had never thought about being a lover to a she-male before but the thought now intrigued her. At least if he didn’t object, she would keep him in panties and stockings.
“Jessie can you help me with my hair,” Roger called from the bathroom.
Jessie went into the bathroom and saw Roger standing there with only a towel around his waist. He was blow drying his hair which was still in short tight curls. She took a brush to it but that only made it more cute and feminine.
“Sorry Roger, it looks like it was permed. It may take weeks or months for it to grow out, or I could give you a shaved head.”
“I like having hair.”
“Some guys get their hair permed and hey this is California. Just own it at Stanford today.”
To maintain an ‘A’ average he couldn’t afford to miss his two classes, so he put on a Rolling Stones T-shirt and a pair of tight jeans and headed to class.
Jessie went to her apartment got some of her things and moved them to one of the spare bedrooms. She was going to stick around and see what happened next.
>>>>><<<<<
Nora woke and slowly managed to get up. She found the back zip of the pants when she went to the bathroom. Gwen had left strict instructions for her not to take anything off till she helped Nora undress. She went to the door after relieving herself and found the door locked. She knocked and called for Gwen. After the fourth knock she heard Gwen say, “Just a minute Nora.”
Gwen moved the chaise lounge from in front of the door, retrieved the key from her bra and unlocked the door. When she opened the door she was a little disappointed. She had worked hard to get Nora into a sexy skirt and blouse, now she was in a pantsuit, but it was a cute girly pantsuit.
“You almost look like Kate Hepburn now, Nora. I think it looks good on you. Let’s see what’s under the wrapper,” Gwen said.
“Roger’s girlfriend is almost as sick as you are Gwen,” Nora said, as she took off the jacket, took off her pants and unbuttoned the blouse. “She had Roger in a corset and stockings too.”
“Wow, look at that bra and that corset. It’s much prettier than our lingerie. Those panties are so cute, I love them. Tell me how do they feel?”
Nora went to the mirror and took a good look. All her lingerie was white and cotton except for when she rarely wore silk stockings. (Nylon stockings weren’t developed around till 1940 as nylon was first produced in 1939. In 1920 stockings changed from cotton, solely for warmth and comfort, to silk or rayon as flapper skirts began to rise.)
“These stockings aren’t silk or rayon, Nora. I don’t know what they are made of, but I like them. The same goes for the panties. The bra is something else also.”
“We can’t let these be seen outside of you or me.”
“I know, how could we explain this stuff. Put these shoes back on let me take a good look. Those heels are taller and more pointed than most ladies shoes. He wore those?”
“I couldn’t say, but he was wearing my clothes and I was wearing these clothes when I woke. That is all I can say for sure.”
“I like that makeup job. Jessie must be an artist.”
“Roger called this a party girl look. It’s a little different from our dance hall girl look.”
“I hope she keeps dressing Roger as a Nancy boy so you can get some more stuff like this.”
“Gwen we aren’t doing this for the clothes. There is a war coming and I might be able to help the US. Roger is brilliant. He may be more intelligent than me and you. We talked about what my dissertation is about which I can’t talk about.”
“I know, Dr. Lawrence from Berkley came to school a few days ago and talked with me. He said he had an important project and wanted to know if I would be interested in joining him. He said he couldn’t explain it to me till the government said it was alright.”
“All in all, I wish this Roger was a girl. No I don’t wish that. Roger is a pretty nice person for a guy. He doesn’t put on any male pretenses. On top of that he was pretty cute in a skirt. Good thing I got you, love. I would have to marry him and keep him in skirts.”
For some reason Gwen just broke down laughing till she cried. If this didn’t seem so damn important she would burn the house down. She didn’t want to think about losing Nora to a guy.
>>>>><<<<<
The next day as Roger was getting ready; he shared an idea with Jessie, “Doing this every day is growing weary. Nora and I need to set a schedule for rendezvous. “
“I was thinking the same. Also we need to cut down on the clothing expenses. We need to set up a sort of uniform that you two can trade. I also want you to ask Nora to set up a time and maybe me and Gwen can meet with ya’ll too,”
Jessie dressed Roger in a black skirted suit, suitable for wear in any law firm or bank, under which he wore a bra and corset. Not that one, but another like the one he wore with the Kathrine Hepburn pant suit. The skirt was straight and came to just below the knee. It might be a little scandalous in the thirties, but it was strictly conservative by today’s standards and Roger knew that much. One new thing Roger wore was pantyhose. Jessie also included a cross shoulder that contained a dozen dry erase markers.
>>>>><<<<<
Roger and Nora awoke in their room and first looked each other over. Nora loved the suit. Roger was relieved to just have the Kathrine Hepburn pant suit on.
Nora and Roger then talked housekeeping. Instead of meeting everyday they agreed to make a calendar and split it up to two days a week.
“Let’s set up a schedule, we won’t use this bedroom for the next three days. If we come across we come across, we will find some way to deal with this. That will give me time to do so real research. Also Jessie wants to set up a uniform, like what you are wearing now or what I am wearing now. The clothes you are wearing are part of a ladies business suit in my world.”
“Good, I didn’t want to buy a clothing store either. Gwen wants to see if she can come across.”
“Jessie said the same thing. So three days from now we try to come across.”
“Now you can’t seem to know any of this stuff till the people you work for, read you in on it. You understand.”
“Yes, I can’t know what a cipher machine is till I can discover it, hopefully in their presence, or they tell me what it is.”
Roger then began to give Nora a primer on codes, recognizing codes, all where codes were secreted and how codes were broken. Much of the stuff Nora already knew, from her research, but it was good to know that Roger knew them as well. He covered transposition codes, single replacement codes, book codes and dozens of different methods of encryption. Some came as a surprise to Nora, such as a one-time pad. He took her from encoding a message to decoding the resultant cypher text.
The two of them had to clean the mirror several times. The more Roger saw that Nora knew the more complex he began to get. Nora paid rapt attention, as Roger got into using algorithms to help decode ciphers. After a period of time, they stopped what they were doing and sat on the bed talking.
“I want to try something; we could study better if we had materials. Try building a secret covey hole in the side wall of the closet, or under the floor boards,” Roger said. “I will do the same on the back wall. I don’t know if this room is forward in time, backward in time, between times, or somewhere else in time. Put something innocuous in there and we will see if we can store stuff to use there.”
“It could answer some questions. I think I can handle that duty myself, I am pretty handy with a wrench, a saw or a hammer and nail.” Nora said, flexing her right arm like a body builder showing off his biceps.
Roger had a shocked look on his face, “You are? I just call people in to do stuff like that.”
“You are so like Gwen. Of course she has money. How about you?”
“I received six figures for a job I did and spent almost two hundred twenty thousand on this house,” Roger said sheepishly.
“Oh my God and I thought Gwen was crazy for paying twelve thousand for this house. What could you do to earn over a hundred thousand for one job?”
“I earned six hundred eighty five thousand dollars working on computers. Statistically I could have saved the company I did the job for, tens of millions of dollars. It took me six months to get all the kinks out. The cost of living has skyrocketed since your time.”
“I’ll say it has. I earn thirty cents an hour and that is high pay for what I do.”
“What do you do?”
“I am a graduate assistant for Dr. James and I did work as a janitor on campus. Gwen is paying me four dollars a day to keep the house. It’s funny, because she helps me.”
“She loves you, doesn’t she?” Roger said yawning.
“Yes and I love her too,” Nora yawned.
>>>>><<<<<
Nora woke and went to Gwen’s room to talk to her lover. Gwen was excited about the prospects of meeting Roger and Jessie. She then unwrapped Nora piece by piece, “The hose really are strange, the stockings are part of a panty,” Gwen said. “I like that Jessie seems to like corsets too. Roger probably doesn’t have a waist and I know you could stand to lose a little of your waist.”
“Oh come on Gwen, I’m not fat,” Nora said, indignantly.
“No not fat, just pleasantly plump.”
They hurriedly got dressed and both headed to college. They were both called to their dean’s office. Nora went to Dr. Johnson’s office Dean of Math and Gwen went to Dr. Novak’s office Dean of Physics.
Nora was invited into the dean’s office after waiting ten minutes. When she entered the office, she saw three men standing in front of the Dr. Johnson’s desk. Dr. Johnson, a man wearing a gray suit and a Naval officer.
“Nora Davis welcome,” Dr. Johnson said. “Nora this is Timothy Smith and Commander William Trent. They wish to have a talk with you and I will make myself scarce,” he said, as he headed out the side door of his office.
“Please have a seat Miss Davis,” the man identified as Mr. Smith. “I am Timothy Smith, special assistant to the President on security matters. Don’t bother trying to find out who I am. That isn’t my real name. We have some good news and maybe some bad news for you. First you will be graduating with honors in May. Your dissertation has caused a stir around Washington. Even unfinished it is being passed around the Office of State and even the President has seen it.”
Nora smiled and said, “I assume that is the good news.”
“Rightly so, I guess there is no point in putting this off,” the man said, reaching in his breast pocket. “By order of the President of the United States of America, President Franklin Roosevelt, hereby requests that you Nora Louise Davis report to the San Diego Naval Training Center on June 23, 1937, for induction into the United States Navy. You now hold the technical rank of Ensign, after training you will be given the rank of a Navy Lieutenant.”
Nora just shook her head. In a month she would be in the Navy whether she liked it or not, “Guys you could have just asked. I have been reading the newspaper and watching the news reels at the theater. I might have said yes. I probably, no that isn’t right. I would have said yes. Why the big hurry?”
“Because we also wanted to inform you, that you may not speak to anybody about your work, without permission of the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Navy Claude Swanson. Any breach of that order will be treated as a breach of the Espionage Act of 1917. I am sorry, but we had to do it that way. The world is headed to hell in a hand basket, we need you and we need you research.”
“Can I at least talk to Gwendolyn Manning; she has been my sounding board. I have already talked to her about certain aspects.”
“We know about Gwendolyn Manning. I will talk with my boss and Commander Trent will get back with you on that matter. Until further notice Commander Trent is your commanding officer.”
Commander Trent sat down with Nora and had the woman sign a briefcase full of documents.
Elsewhere on campus Gwendolyn Manning was receiving much the same treatment, except she was inducted by the US Army Air Corp.
When Gwen and Nora finally got together, they compared notes.
“So you got visited by the Navy while I got visited by the Army, I have to report to Fort Bragg on July 6 th.”
“Yes, if they had asked, I know I would have said yes. Instead I got drafted. I didn’t know that they could draft a woman.”
“They can when the President signs off on it for national security reasons. I need to go tell my mom and dad. I will be home by ten, Love.”
“Ok, I guess I am going to write my mom and dad, or I could call the Williamson’s down the road, they have a telephone, but I don’t want to spread this around too far right now.”
“Why don’t you write a telegram, I could drop it at the Western Union office on my way to my parents’ home? But do write them a letter. I wouldn’t say anything else about your dissertation to them.”
Nora took a piece of paper out of the brief case she carried her school stuff in and wrote a quick note out and handed it to Gwen. She just said. “Mom, Dad, guess what? I’m in the Navy. Sending a letter to explain. Love Nora.”
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen did stop by the Western Union office and sent Nora’s message off, before heading to her own home. It was an hour long drive to get there and she was fuming all the way. She drove up the long drive and parked under the covered drive. She came in the side entrance and headed straight to the living room.
Richard and Amanda, Gwen’s parents, were sitting in the living room listening to Fibber McGee and Molly on the Radio and reading the newspaper.
“Hello Mum, it’s so good to see you,” Gwen said, hugging her mom. “FATHER, IN YOUR OFFICE NOW!” Gwen said, without stopping.
“I wonder what has gotten our daughter so up in arms today.” Amanda said, sarcastically.
“I haven’t the slightest,” Richard lied. “But I guess I am about to be educated.”
Richard put his newspaper down and followed in his daughter’s wake. He found her sitting in a chair in front of his desk. He closed the thick door and walked over and took his seat behind the desk.
“I am not going to ask if you work for the government, or what you do for them. I won’t ask, but how could you do that to me and Nora. I know you are behind it.”
Richard had a smug smirk that he hid from his daughter with his hands. He leaned forward putting his elbows on his desk. This was the pains of having a genius for a daughter.
“If I were who you think I am. Then you already know why. It had to be done. I know how you feel about Nora. You can’t hide that from me. The two of you have to be reminded that we need to have what you two know. If it got out that the two of you were, how shall I put this delicately, a number? It could seriously affect your ability to do government work. That is where you two are headed, government work. So if I did what you think I did, I had a serious reason to do it.”
“Gwen I love you and Nora. You two are my girls. I don’t care that the public sees what you two do as wrong. It’s none of their business, but I know you know where the country is heading. Hitler is making waves in Europe, the Japanese are at war with the Chinese right now. How long before War involves our interests? Add up the numbers and tell me I am wrong.”
“Why am I in the Army Air Corp now and Nora in the Navy?”
“You two are going in different directions right now. You know that. If you asked, Nora would follow you in a heartbeat. We need the both of you doing what we believe you two can do best. I didn’t make that decision dear. Other people did.”
“You could have at least given us a head’s up about it.”
“If I do what you think I do. No, I couldn’t give you a head’s up. I pray that there will be time for the two of you, after whatever happens, happens. Oh by the way, I have another business trip; I have to travel to Honolulu, Manila, Singapore and Sydney. I will be gone six to eight months. I leave at the end of the month.”
Richard Manning was a legitimate business man and he did have business concerns in those places, but he was also an intelligence asset for the Secretary of State and he wasn’t reporting on the state of businesses in these areas. He personally didn’t do any spying, but he had spies reporting to him.
“Oh Dad, please be careful. You may be a pain in the butt, but you are my pain in the butt.”
“I do what I have to do, Gwen, same as everybody else. You’ll stay for dinner with your Mother and I.”
“Of course Father.”
>>>>><<<<<
Roger had a carpenter come in to install a safe in his closet. Roger bought the safe and indicated where he would like the carpenter to create a concealed cubby hole for the safe. The carpenter began taping on the back wall of the closet looking for studs. Hearing none he pushed on the wall and it gave and moved a few inches. A few more hard pushed by the carpenter and Roger caused the wall to swing in.
Roger entered with the carpenter. They found a room that was six feet wide and eight feet long lined with shelves on three sides. The big surprise was what was on the shelves. There was probably four hundred bottles of whiskey, scotch, gin and rum.
“When did you say that this house was built?”
“I was told that it was built around 1920. This must have been a rum runner’s house. They would often build secret compartments and rooms to hide their liquor.”
“I am a drinker and I have never heard of some of these brands of alcohol. Judging by all the dust on the bottles this room hasn’t been opened in a long while.”
“Just put the safe under the shelf over here. I am going to get some oil or grease for the door.”
“Don’t bother I have some lube that will do just the trick,” the carpenter said. He went out to his truck and came back with two spray cans. He sprayed the hinges and worked the door back and forth. He discovered the locking mechanism that they broke and how to unlock it. You raised the shelf above the right hanger bar and the latch unlocked. The door then worked like a dream.
“That will be a thousand dollars, or a case or two of liquor.”
“What will it be, whiskey, scotch or gin?”
“Yes,” the carpenter said, laughing.
When Jessie got home Roger led her to his bedroom closet. He raised the right shelf and pushed on the wall.
“The carpenter did all of that in one day?” Jessie asked.
“Nope, this house was originally built in the 1920’s. We figured that it was a rum runner’s home.”
“Why?”
Roger led her into the closet and she saw the dust cobwebs and the liquor.
“That would be a pretty good indicator that this place could have belonged to a rum runner. Go get a broom and dust pan we need to clean this place.”
Jessie and Roger tied towels over their noses and mouths as they worked. They dusted the shelves swept the cobwebs out and swept the floor. They then took moist cleaning cloths and mops to the room, it was so dusty.
“I have been doing some of my own research on Gwen,” Jessie said. “Although I’m working on Quantum Field Theory, she seemed to be studying Artificial Radiation Induced by Neutrons. I know that I can help her.”
“You’re talking about basic nuclear decay; a neutron hits an atom causing it to decay into another element or two, releasing radiation and neutrons which hit other atoms stimulating them to decay and releasing radiation, etc. etc,” Roger said.
“That is the beginning of a chain reaction, if there is a critical mass of the decaying element present. Understanding that is the key to unlocking the power of the atom and that would make Gwen a hot property in the physics world at that time.”
They finally got the room clean moving out a mountain of dust in the trash can. Jessie grabbed a bottle of Glenfiddich off the shelf and she got them both drunk after they had a bath together. She also took care of Roger’s virginity that night as they fell asleep on his bed.
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen and Nora spent about five hours putting in their secret compartment. Nora was pretty handy with tools for an egghead. Nora created a secret compartment in the side wall of the closet, and they had fun doing it. Gwen hardly knew a keyhole saw from a crosscut saw. Her family hired people to do things like that.
The walls of the closet were cedar lined. Nora removed the bottom two feet of cedar boards. They both were surprised to see just how much space there was. Standard inside walls are about five inches thick depending on the thickness of the lath and plaster on the walls. Nora found that there was no lath behind the cedar wall boards. They had been secured directly to the walls studs. The space was about twenty inches deep. It looked like it was almost made for a secret compartment.
Nora took the boards did some of her magic; she was very good mentally at figuring out grids in her head and began reassembling them with a couple of hinges added. She created a section for her secret compartment in the first part of the wall. When she finished you couldn’t see the work she had done, she had even had an inspiration for a lock. She created a locking system that used a piece of heavy wire to open the secret compartment. You just insert the wire in what looked like a nail hole to lift the locking bar.
“I think we could line that area with some asbestos blocks and make it a fire proof storage.”
“Why make it fire proof. I know that the house is still there eighty years later. We just need something to see if it has been found sometime in those eighty years.”
“Oh, right. I hadn’t thought about that. I think I can help with the tell, Gwen said digging through her purse. She took out a book of matches and tore one out. “Open the secret compartment.”
Nora opened it then Gwen took the match and put it just between the hinges, holding it there as she closed the door. There was just a tiny bit there that wasn’t visible, but could be felt.
“Now open the door Nora.”
Nora opened the door and the match fell. Nora hugged Gwen and kissed her friend.
“You are a genius, Gwen.”
“I know and so are you.”
They reset their tell and closed the door. Nora then hid the wire above the door on the door casing behind a couple of brads she tacked in for that purpose.
They were both feeling a little randy. They both took off their clothes and did what they usually did in this type of situation after taking a bath together. Tired they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
All four of them awoke in a very crowded bed. Roger was in Nora’s body and Nora was in his, while Jessie was in Gwen’s and Gwen was in Jessie’s body. Everybody was naked. It was a very awkward few moments as everybody tried to find something to wrap around them. Nora in Roger’s body wound up tearing up a pillowcase and using it as a loin cloth. After determining who each one was they sat on the bed.
“I think we need to make it a rule not to get in this bed unless we are dressed,” Nora in Roger’s body said.
“I think we already did but something came about and well, you guys seemed to have had the same idea,” Roger said.
Gwen and Jessie both blushed.
They sat on the bed and awkwardly began talking.
“Oh I finished my secret compartment,” Nora said. “How about you, Roger?”
Roger in Nora’s body just smiled and said, “I have something to show ya’ll, but you first Nora.”
The four of them headed to the closet. Nora found the wire where she left it and then felt for the match end. It was still there.
“Roger feel right around here. You should feel the end of a paper match.”
Roger in Nora’s body reached down and felt for the match. He barely felt it, “Yes I feel it.”
“That will tell you if this secret compartment has been opened. Now you take this wire I hid above the door and insert it into that nail hole like this and viola it opens.”
The door opened and the match fell. There was an empty space.
“Very good, at least we know that you can make changes that can affect this room.” Roger said. “Now let me show you something.”
Roger went to the opposite side of the closet and pushed up on the closet shelf on that side, “I hired a carpenter to come in but he found something that surprised the both of us,” Roger said pushing on the back wall.
The back wall swung back and Roger showed them the secret room, “This house was probably built by a rum runner, because look.”
The four of them entered the room and saw all the bottles of alcohol.
“I think it was, Roger. It was rumored that the man sold alcohol to many of the college professors and a few of the students back in the twenties,” Gwen in Jessie’s body said. “My dad knew the man; in fact he was probably a customer. He disappeared in thirty-three or so, under suspicious circumstances, it is said.”
“Well things don’t come backwards in time, in this room. I had a safe installed in here and as you can see there is no safe.”
“We also cleaned the room very well,” Jessie in Gwen’s body said. “And as you can see it’s dirty, just not as dirty as it was in our time.”
“Well Nora and I will try to leave you two a message in this room tomorrow.”
“Maybe we can leave some emergency clothes in this room too.” Nora said.
“Agreed,” Jessie and Roger said. “Although it would be best to never use this room unless we are dressed,” Jessie said.
“Right, so let’s meet tomorrow. I will leave some paper and pencils in here so we can get down to work,” Nora said.
“You said you were in physics too Gwen.” Jessie said.
“Yes I am and oh we have something to tell you two. We have been drafted. I have been drafted by the Army Air Corp and Nora was drafted into the Navy.”
“That makes sense knowing what you two are studying. We’ve done some research, on both of you.”
“Yeah Gwen I know what your master’s thesis was on, but it wasn’t in the library.”
“Really, and what is your field of study.”
“An offshoot of Quantum Mechanics called Quantum Field Theory.”
“I know of Quantum Mechanics, but what is Quantum Field Theory?”
Gwen and Jessie then began talking in the arcane language of physics, So Roger and Nora got back to talking about math and codes. After what seemed like hours they all fell asleep.
Jessie awoke first. She was back in her own body. Roger was lying next to her. At least she hoped it was Roger. She had liked their first foray into sex and Roger was currently sporting a perfectly useful morning woody. It was hard working the clothes into a position that she could make use of that woody and not wake him, but she was able straddled him. She slowly rode him for several minutes before he began to wake. As he awoke he began to become an active participant. Jessie began to teach him how to make her happy and feel good and she learned what Roger liked. Much to Jessie’s delight, Roger wasn’t a wham, bam, thank you ma’am kind of lover. She was able to get her rocks off long before Roger came and deflated.
After they cleaned and dressed up they went to the closet. Roger found the wire above the door and checked to see if the match was in place, it was. He then opened the door and found what had to be an eighty year old chocolate cake. The cake was desiccated, dusty and rather funky. There was a note there from Gwen, thanking Roger and Jessie. She said she enjoyed the experience. She also asked Jessie several physics questions along the lines of her thesis.
Roger then went to the secret room he found. He opened the door and found the room just as he left it. The safe was there and eight key punches later it opened. Everything Roger had put in the safe was still there.
“Roger I need to go to the library to do some research, for Gwen.”
“Can’t you use the internet?”
“I don’t want to use the net to research fission. Somebody might get the wrong idea.”
Roger wasn’t a conspiracy theorist, but coming from a hacker background he knew that there was some truth behind the Echelon conspiracy.
“I think I will go with you. I found out that our library has a Japanese purple code machine. I want to study it. I also want to check out more of how they broke the enigma and the purple codes.”
“I bet you could teach a class on that in your sleep Roger, but come on.”
Jessie and Roger did go to the library and do some extensive research on their topics, at least as extensive as they could given the time constraints. Jessie was allowed in the library’s physics archives and was able to see the actual papers concerning their research on nuclear fission in the forties. She also dug through the libraries books on the subject.
Roger had better luck. When he went to see the purple code machine, there was also an old man there, named Ronald Winslow, who worked in the MAGIC program. Magic was the code name of the code breaking program during the war. Ronald Winslow had been a hotshot twenty two year old math student himself. Back in 1940, he had been drafted into the Navy. The details of his activities and the MAGIC program weren’t declassified till 1978. Since then he has written several books and papers about the program. Roger and Ronald had a great time talking and with the aide of one of the libraries archivists, they actually were given a chance to look at and operate the purple cypher machine. Roger’s ears perked up when the man began talking about the unsung people he worked with. Nora Davis was one of the people he mentioned.
He had lived in Japan till he came back to the US in January of 1940. His parents were at the US consulate in Japan from 1928 to 1940, when they were ordered back. He could read and speak the language, but more importantly understood the connotations of what they were communicating. He spent those twelve years in a Japanese high school and a Tokyo college. His parents being well respected people who worked for the US Ambassador to Japan didn’t hurt his cause either.
They stopped at the mall and ate an early dinner and did a little window shopping. Jessie did see an outfit on a mannequin she liked. The outfit consisted of a cute pair of long flowing pants, almost like gaucho pants, made from layers of a black silky gossamer fabric and a top made of the same material in layers of yellow. Overall it was something similar to some clothes made in the thirties only in modern fabric. Jessie bought the outfit skin out in Nora’s size, including lingerie and heels. She also bought a really nice vintage styled dress, she hoped Gwen would like.
Gwen and Nora were busy themselves. Gwen thought she would be cute and make a chocolate cake to hide in their secret compartment. They also stuffed both rooms with writing materials, books and stuff that they could talk to about their respective fields.
Although it would be a rush Gwen also took time to talk to her father. She drove to the family homestead and had a long chat with him. They always had long talks before he had to leave. She declined staying for dinner as she told her Dad she had an important meeting tonight.
As they prepared for the night Gwen put Nora into another corset. One thing good coming out of all of this she thought was that she got to see Nora in something other than her frumpy clothes and actually looking stylish. This Jessie had good tastes. Another thing, she loved the clothes that came from Roger’s time period and she was glad that they were coming back in time.
Dressed both couples laid down on their bed and soon fell asleep.
After they all woke Gwen and Nora took a few minutes appraising how each other were dressed. Nora loved the pantsuit, Gwen though it was very pretty, but wished that it was a skirt or dress. The top Nora wore would was shoulder less but the fabric was ruched around the color. Nora also had on an above the bust corset, that had cups, satin panties, although she would have to wait to discover those, stockings and four inch patent leather pumps.
Gwen also loved the skirted suit she wore, the shoulder pads on the jacket and the way the jacket flare in waves at the waist, was more from her time period, although the antiqued fabrics were modern. She had just the hat to go with the suit. She was also quite corseted. Jessie wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine.
Roger was wearing another back button blouse, a jacket and a pencil skirt over their lingerie and a corset. He had to admit it looked good, but he preferred the lingerie Jessie had him in better. The rayon stockings were almost as good as the nylons Jessie had bought.
Roger looked at Jessie. The clothes that Gwen had worn looked very nice. The clothes were feminine but still business. The wool jacket and skirt matched. The Jacket was fitted to the waist, had narrow sleeves and oversize buttons. The skirt was a high waist skirt that flared down to mid-calf. She had period heels and stockings also. She had on a bullet bra that lifted, separated and shaped her breasts into a pair of peaked cones.
They stopped admiring themselves after a few minutes and then got down to business. They found the writing paper and books in the secret room with the whiskey. Having something to write on really helped in their discussions.
The couple met eight more times before the end of May. They all turned in their dissertations and all had been accepted and approved. They all graduated. They all met one last time.
After graduating, Jessie talked Roger into getting his ears and his belly button pierced. Jessie even trimmed and plucked his eyebrows a bit to get a little more feminine look. He tried to draw the line at Hyaluronic Acid Lip injections to plump up his lips a bit, but Jessie was quite successful at convincing him. She had a friend come over who wasn’t a doctor, but in LA there were many unlicensed people who would do beauty parties where they would do HA or Botox injections. Jessie reasoned with Roger that they would be on vacation all summer long and by the time school began in the fall and they were both working on their Doctorate’s, his lips would be mostly back in shape, like his brow and his hair.
“It won’t hurt you one bit to spend some girl time this summer. You wouldn’t win a Miss America pageant, but you look good enough to pass on the street as a good looking woman.”
“What will people say if I go girly?”
“Who cares? I mean I am your best friend. This is California and they accept transsexuals a little better here. You can just about write your own ticket, when you get your Doctor’s degree. Your brain is your money, besides nobody will know us this summer.”
Roger didn’t want to admit it to Jessie, but he liked many of the things that Jessie dressed him in, except for the heels. The heels were good looking and he liked seeing women dress in them, but they were uncomfortable. He knew that Jessie could talk him into wearing them.
Jessie’s friend came over, a few days before their next trip back in time. Monica Carson did indeed inject his lips with hyaluronic acid; she plumped both his upper and lower lips by not quite 40% larger than they had been. His lips look about like Angelina Jolie’s lips now and they felt really tight and stretched out. The best thing he could say about them was that they were very nicely shaped and didn’t look like overstretched sausages like some celebs that had bad lip jobs. Monica also styled his short curly hair a bit more feminine.
They also stuck the breast forms on with a long wear adhesive. Jessie had also found some latex and silicone gurl panties that were padded in the back and sides and had a woman’s pubic mound and labia. They hid his penis and scrotum, but were open in areas so Roger didn’t need to take them off when necessary. They also worked like a girdle to flatten his tummy. He would have to wear a pair of regular panties over the, gurl panties.
He had also taken to wearing a corset, when he wasn’t at school and wearing panties almost all the time. Jessie would dress both of them in bras, panties, corsets, stockings and heels, do their makeup, and spritz each of them with fragrances that complimented each of them and mixed well together. She would take him and shag the heck out of him.
Jessie had fallen in love with him and seeing him dressed in gorgeous lingerie just sent her over the edge. She was going to propose to him this summer and marry him before Christmas; he just didn’t know it yet. She would keep him trim and fit and occasionally in skirts and heels. She really didn’t want him transition all the way, she loved that certain part of him that gave her so much pleasure. She couldn’t wait to take him out and get him some more feminine clothes. If he lets her, she will keep him looking his feminine best all summer long, at least till a couple of weeks before school starts.
Everyone went through a lot of preparation before their last night for a while. Jessie and Roger went to a day spa. Roger had been nervous about being known by a male name at the spa. Jessie told him that the spa was cool about transgendered customers. The spa informed her that they might or might not have a few transgendered people working the clinic. Still Jessie and Roger sat down and worked on a female name for Roger. After going through a list of girl baby names Roger chose Renee Michelle Brandon.
They both loved the pampering by the therapists at the spa. Although Renee had shouted some expletives when she had her legs waxed.
Jessie wondered about Roger. She wondered if she had taken him down a road she shouldn’t have. He hadn’t fought her at any step that she had taken him down. She looked at him; she couldn’t see any of the shy boy she had fallen for.
Jessie wasn’t questioning her feelings for him; she did love him so much. He just seemed different, more confident in some ways. Jessie really loved what she saw in him. He just seemed to be taking to his feminine role like a duck to water. Roger wore panties and other feminine clothes almost all the time. He wore lipstick all the time around the house. He seemed to smile more broadly and was beginning to pick up many of Jessie’s feminine gestures. Like right now he was dressed in bra, panties, stockings and heels and he was walking back and forth like he had been walking in heels his whole lifetime.
Roger/Renee was going over her own feelings right now. He loved being a boy and loved Jessie so much, but she loved the softer more feminine side that Renee brought out in him. He knew a lot about transsexuals. When he took psychology they talked about them some and when he took Human Sexuality, they spent a couple of weeks talking about them. He wasn’t going to go all the way, he wasn’t going to take hormones and have reassignment surgery, but he really could live like he was now, with maybe just breast implants. He loved looking down at his faux breasts fitted in such a pretty bra as he wore now. He also missed the corset; he would have Jessie lace him in a corset before they dressed.
They had gone out shopping the day before and picked out a couple of gowns to wear tonight. They spent a small fortune on the dresses. They were modern/vintage gowns. Jessie found some pictures of dresses that were similar in style to the pictures from the thirties and forties. The fabric was rayon; something that Nora and Gwen could wear, as long as they were ambiguous about where the dresses were made and who sold them.
Jessie spent several hours getting them both ready for their night.
Gwen liked Roger and Jessie. They seemed more real than some of her the so called “Friends” she had now. She didn’t really think of her current friends as friends, but because of her father and mother, she had social friends. Her so called friends would ditch her in a New York minute, if they found out about her and Nora. She found that hard to accept since she already knew some really bad stuff about some of them. Some of the things she knew would send some people to prison, if it wasn’t for their social, political or family connections. Yet her love for Nora would bring them both down if it got out. She and Nora could be arrested in some states like Texas or Georgia. It was all just a big game.
She went all out in choosing clothes for tonight. She had the money to do it. Nora in the past had objected to her spending such money on her. She almost had to twist Nora’s arm for her to take four dollars a day for keeping their home. This thing with Jessie and Roger had allowed her to do more for Nora as far as clothing went.
The girls had gone all out on shopping. Gwen bought her piles of clothes, from the skin out. Nora liked dressing simply, maybe because it was all she could afford, but she liked the clothes Gwen dressed her in and that she got from Roger. Nora would never admit that to Gwen, she knew that if Gwen saw a glimmer of acceptance, Nora would find herself dressed as nice as anyone in Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan or Vogue. Gwen never treated her poorly, because of how she dressed, but she did seem a little disappointed to see her in the ladies pants, she got from Roger.
Nora giggled as she thought about liking the ladies clothes she got from a boy like Roger. Maybe she could compromise a bit with Gwen. She could dress like Kathrine Hepburn in pants occasionally and Carole Lombard in dresses at other times. Kathrine Hepburn did dress up nicely on the screen, but off screen she was hardly seen in a skirt or a dress. Carole Lombard was just gorgeous all the time especially when she let her hair grow out longer.
When it came time to dress for their last meeting in a while, Nora turned to Gwen and said, “Okay Gwen, do your worst to me.”
Gwen happily clapped her hands and began getting them both ready for tonight.
It became apparent as both couples began to examine themselves after they woke, that they all had the same idea when it came to dressing up. At least Gwen and Jessie had the same idea. They all laughed and hugged each other.
“Looks like we are all dressed up with nowhere to go,” Gwen said. “I mean we could all go to the opera or theater dressed as we are now.”
“Yes, too bad there is no extra-dimensional opera or such,” Jessie kidded back.
“It’s too bad that Gwen and I are going in to different directions,” Nora said. “I would love to keep meeting with you two. It’s been refreshing having someone who we can talk about our love of math and science to. I am going to miss you Roger.”
“Call me Renee, when I am dressed up. Jessie has convinced me to vacation with her this summer dressed as and acting like a girl,” Roger said. “To tell the truth, I don’t find it as objectionable as maybe I should.”
“It’s too bad people can’t live the way they want to. I know that Nora and I would never be allowed to do what we are going to be doing if our relationship got out. How is it in your time Jessie?”
“Lesbians and gays are still sorely persecuted and can only get married in a couple of states, presently, but they are no longer overtly arrested for their lifestyles in the US. Police can still arrest them; they just have to be creative in doing so.”
“Gays?” Nora asked.
“Polite speak for homosexual males, just like they use lesbians for girls,” Renee said.
“And what about Nancy Boys,” Gwen asked.
“They are probably persecuted worse than a gay man,” Renee said. “The term they use now is Trans-gendered and that is a very complex subject.”
Renee spent a bit of time explaining about human sexuality as seen in his time period. Jessie was amazed at what he knew. She listened as closely as Gwen and Nora.
“So where does that put you, Renee,” Gwen asked.
“As I said, it’s a complex subject. I actually like dressing this way and looking pretty, but I don’t think I want to go all the way. Guess I am going to start talking to a psychologist that is up on gender identity problems and find out.”
“Won’t you be persecuted, when it comes to employment?” Nora asked.
“I think I am lucky when it comes to that. I am in the top 0.125 percent of the population in intelligence and I can do things on a computer that people will pay top dollar for. They may not like it, but I will be a hot product when I get my Doctorates. It will be like it is in Hollywood with the gay and lesbian actors.”
“Who?” Asked Gwen.
“All I know is rumor, and you should hate rumor,” Renee said.
“Yes, I see what you mean. I will let them have their secrets as I keep mine.” Gwen said.
“I say we have a drink to our friendship,” Nora said. “I have some glasses, we have some booze, let’s have a drink.”
“From the bottle, Nora oh you are so risqué.” Gwen said, giggling.
“No I put some glasses in the secret room,” Nora said.
“Then why didn’t you put some Champagne or wine in the closet.”
“Warm champagne, how droll,” Nora said, in her best high society tone. “The Queen would just have a fit. I didn’t think about this till just before bedtime and we don’t have any wine at home.”
“Gwen there are some brands, I never heard of maybe you could enlighten me on which are good and which are good for nothing,” Jessie said.
They all went back into the closet and took a look. Most of the bottles, Gwen pronounced as good to start fires and nothing else, but there were some good bourbons, scotches, American whiskeys and gins. They took a bottle of Kentucky Bourbon and the four glasses. Nora poured two fingers into each glass. They each said a toast to friends and gave each other hugs.
They took the bottle poured two fingers more and sat on the bed to talk. It was like four girlfriends talking. They found that finding topics all four knew about was harder than it seemed. The usual topics of fashion, makeup, movies and didn’t quite work, so they talked about themselves. Who they were, where they were born, their education, families and hopes, were topics that were easy.
All too soon they fell asleep.
Gwen woke first and found that she was in bed with, she hoped Nora in Roger’s body. She shook the boys shoulder saying, “Is that you Nora. Nora, Nora wake up.”
“Wha… wha… what is it?”
“Is that you Nora?”
“No it isn’t, are you Jessie?”
“You miss that too. I am Gwen.”
“Oh shit.” Roger said. He sat up and looked around. This was his bedroom.
Gwen had looked after Roger did and came to the same conclusion, “Yeah, this isn’t Nora’s bedroom.”
“The secret compartment, they should have sent us a message there.”
Gwen helped Roger get up and together they went to the closet. Roger squatted and felt the cardboard match end. He stood and got the wire and opened the secret compartment. There was a five page typed message there.
Roger read the message with Gwen looking over his shoulder. Jessie and Nora were back in time so they had plenty of time to think it over before they wrote the message. The first thing they said was to try again tonight. They then began listing things that might have gone wrong. The things they wrote didn’t make sense to Roger or to Gwen, till they read the last one. Jessie stated that she and Roger had just recently become sexually active together. In fact they had sex several times a day for the last week. Jessie didn’t come out and say it in plain language, but Gwen suddenly said, “Oh my, I could be pregnant, in this body.”
“That is a variable that could change things.”
“But we had sex many times over the last three weeks.”
“This is important, Roger when was the last time, Jessie had her period.”
“I don’t know, I don’t keep up with the dates.”
“I don’t suppose you know how long her cycle is either. Does she keep a calendar?”
“I suppose she has one on her smart phone.”
“Where does she keep it?”
“This way. She keeps it in her purse.” Roger said as they went for the door.
The door did open. He led Gwen to where Jessie always set her purse; she puts it next to the couch where she sits in the living room. He picked up the purse and out of reflex held it out to Gwen.
“I think you should open it Roger. I’m not sure what I am looking for,”
Roger opened the purse and in one of the side pockets on the inside, he pulled out a small rectangular device. He hit a button and the face lit up. Gwen’s eyes got really big. She saw the calendar for May. The date was highlighted by the device.
“Can you go to a previous month?”
With a swipe of his finger April appeared. Gwen studied all the notes, after seeing how Roger had done it; she swiped it back to April, March and February. There were some dates that had a letter B. She then counted the days between the letters B. There were twenty four between February and March, twenty three between March and April and eighteen days till today.
“She should start her period within the next week to ten days. Otherwise, Jessie is right. This doesn’t make sense unless Jessie’s body which I was in got pregnant while I was in it.”
Roger was deep in thought, he wasn’t a big student of medicine but he knew more than basic knowledge about health. He and Jessie had been having sex several times a day over the last week. Three or four days in the Fallopian tubes and implantation could have occurred while they were in the room, “The math for it is right, considering the variables, this is the conjecture that seems most plausible. It is the one variable that could have changed.”
“Well we aren’t going to solve this riddle till tonight. I’m hungry and I need a bath,” Gwen stated.
Roger led Gwen to the room that Jessie was using, when she stayed over. As he showed Gwen where everything was, he was surprised to see so much of Jessie’s things in the room. She had almost moved all her clothes in. That was cool to him though. He had been of the mind that he couldn’t live without Jessie. It saddened him to think that he just might have to live without her now.
“Well this is all of her clothes; I believe the bathrooms are still in the same places. Get dressed and I will take you out to eat. I will leave you here while I go to my room to undress.”
Roger went back to his room to undress. He got about five steps away when Gwen called him back. She was still wearing the clothes that she had worn for Jessie and she had booby trapped the button closure and knotted the corset laces. Gwen had Nora sew about four stitches at the neck of the dress.
Roger broke the stitches and unbuttoned the dress. Gwen then had him unknot the laces to the corset. She then did the same for Roger. He headed to his room and they both took a bath.
Jessie woke and was laying on a boob. She wished that Roger had real boobs; guys just didn’t know the pains and joys of having boobs. She loved it when Roger gently played with her boobs. He liked playing with them years before they had begun having sex.
Jessie opened her eyes and looked at Roger, except it wasn’t Roger’s body. She gently shook Nora, but whispered, “Roger, Roger.”
Nora’s eyes fluttered open and she looked at Gwen.
“Are you Roger?” Gwen asked.
“No you silly girl. I am Nora.”
“Oh shit, I am Jessie.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know, but I want to get out of this corset and take a bath. We can sit down and talk it over after breakfast. We’ll need help getting out of our corsets, turn around.”
Jessie unzipped and un-laced Nora, who did the same for her. Jessie had knotted the laces.
“Does Gwen have a room here?”
“Yes second room on the left.”
“Good that is the room I use too.”
They then headed to their bathrooms. They were definitely in the past looking at everything, Jessie thought.
After her bath Jessie went through Gwen’s drawers. It was almost seemed like invading Gwen’s privacy, digging through her drawers, but she needed something besides an evening gown to wear. Jessie just shook her head looking at all the vintage clothing. She picked out a pair of cotton Granny panties wishing for a pair of bikini panties she was used to. It was when she picked out a bra that she really despaired. Gwen had a lot of vintage bras. Jessie supposed that they were really nice for their era, but she would never choose one of these, if she could choose a modern bra. Where were the things that Jessie had sent back in time?
Jessie then put on a girdle and stockings before dressing in a skirt, blouse and clunky heels. Gwen’s vanity was just as foreign to her, so unlike her usual practice, she bypassed it, except for lipstick.
When Jessie came out from Gwen’s room, Nora was in the Kitchen fixing breakfast. They sat down at the kitchen table and ate quietly. They didn’t talk till they had finished and cleaned up. When they sat down in the living room, they began to try to figure things out.
“Let’s look at this scientifically,” Jessie said.
Jessie and Nora began stating what they knew about the situation, which wasn’t much. Jessie took a pencil and pad and began writing things down.
“This thing worked a dozen times till last night. Last night something changed? What on earth changed Jessie?”
They listed a couple of dozen things. They dismissed some variables but still listed them. Finally Nora asked if she and Roger had been doing it.
“Oh shit, I wish I had my calendar. I kept a calendar where I kept up with my period. I know it had been several weeks since the last day I bled. Shit we have been screwing like rabbits and I’m not on the pill.”
“The pill?”
“Yeah, the pill. Back in my time they have a contraceptive pill. That keeps you from ovulating. It basically is a series of pills containing estrogen and progesterone. They trick the body into thinking it is pregnant, past the time of ovulation. Then it allows menses at the end of the month.”
“The only contraception we have is condoms and rhythm, and rhythm is called a fools method for pregnancy. From what we have come up with so far, that is the only real variable that could be different. I suggest we put a message in the secret compartment. Get them to try to meet again tonight. Let me type it up Gwen. Your handwriting is generally atrocious.”
Jessie was surprised to see an electric typewriter. Nora was an excellent typist. Jessie was outstanding with her word processor. She had actually never touched a typewriter. She wished she had her computer and laser printer. She was surprised to see that Nora was typing on an electric typewriter.
Nora saw Jessie looking strangely at the machine, “This is Gwen’s typewriter. I didn’t know whether you typed or not.”
“I do, but I use a different kind of machine to type on. It’s a computer with a printer.”
“Oh like a teletype machine.”
“Somewhat.”
Nora gave Jessie a lesson on using an electric typewriter. Jessie then typed up a few pages herself. She sorely missed the word wrap, auto-format and other features of her word processor and had to use an eraser, when she tried to squeeze a word in. Nora taught her to hyphenate long words at the end of sentences.
“I would never have gotten my thesis written if I had to use an ancient typewriter, like this one.”
“Are you kidding this is the newest typewriter out there. Gwen’s parents always get the latest gadgets around. They even have the latest RCA console radio. Gwen and I are one of about forty thousand people in LA to have their own private phone; we don’t have to put up with a party line.”
Jessie just had to laugh and shake her head. She had a lot to learn.
Roger took Gwen out to eat. She was amazed Roger’s automobile. It was a pretty, powerful and huge Lincoln Navigator. The interior was awesome compared to her car. Her head was on a swivel as Roger drove and she got a good look at the area. She was astonished at the city. It looked a hundred times larger than the area when she was with Nora. She quickly got lost as Roger drove onto the freeway. She knew this area well too. She recognized only a few of the building that existed in her time. The traffic though left her gobsmacked. There were more cars; it seemed, just in this area than there were in all of LA county back in the time where she came from. More than likely she was right.
Roger just let her take it all in. He didn’t know what to say. He wondered how he would ever teach her everything she needed to learn, if she were stuck here. Also even without the sex, he really missed Jessie. She was his rock, his sounding board and somebody he had depended on. He imagined it was the same for Gwen and Nora.
He parked at the restaurant, one he hoped that neither he nor Jessie had been to before a long way from where they lived. He didn’t want Gwen to run into someone Jessie knew well.
“Oh a bit of advice, don’t look at the prices and comment. I am sure that the prices are a lot higher than any you have ever seen before. Just know that this is a reasonably priced establishment. You can expect two dollar coffee.”
“That is high. I complained when coffee went to a nickel cup.”
“Everything is a lot more expensive,” Roger said, grabbing a bag, much like a purse that he kept his tablet in.
They went inside and were seated at a booth. He sat next to Gwen, which she found a little uncomfortable.
“He leaned over and whispered to Gwen, I just want to sit next to you so you can see my tablet,” which he pulled out of a messenger back he carried it in.
They both ordered coffee and browsed the menus. Gwen was shocked at the prices but she recognized some of the menu items. She pointed out what she wanted to Roger. After the waitress took their orders, Roger logged into the restaurants WiFi.
“Is there anything you are really dying to know?”
“I am really afraid to ask many things, because I hope to go home. So I don’t want to know about Nora or myself. If I am here more than a few days, I need to know about fashion and makeup. I have always been on the stylish edge. The clothes we got from you and Jessie are nice, but almost alien.”
“That is easy.” Roger said, as he called up YouTube. There were plenty of videos of fashion and makeup there. So he searched for a fashion show.
Gwen’s eyes were riveted to the tablet as the fashion show started. Her eyes got really big when she saw a girl’s breast pop out of her top and saw another model’s breasts, nipples and all through her blouse.
“Does that happen often?”
“Not in everyday life, but on the runways it does. I don’t know many girls who would be that casual about something like that. Fashion shows may not be the best place to learn fashion. I may take you to a mall after we eat.”
“I am fascinated by this… Tablet. Does everybody have them?”
“No, but the number of people without one is dropping daily. They are just a part of our technology.”
“How do you use it?”
Roger gave her a primer on the use of a tablet, especially Google search. He hooked a keyboard to it and let Gwen play with it. Surprisingly her first search was on Hitler and Europe. He was amazed at the speed that Gwen could read at. He would never be able to keep up with her. Jessie was fast but Gwen was scanning page after page at ten to fifteen seconds a page.
“Can you actually read that fast?”
“Yes, I use to drive my professor crazy at how fast I could read their papers and textbooks. At college, I’ve read all my text books by the third day of class. By mid-term I have usually read them three times over. I read Les Misérables in French in three days.”
“What languages do you speak?”
“I am fluent in English of course, I speak French like a Frenchman, Spanish and I am fair in German. My Dad is the linguist of the family. He had left to go to the orient, a few weeks ago.”
Gwen then googled her father. She didn’t find anything at all. Knowing her father though, not too many people would know about him.
“Is that your father’s name?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t be surprised if you don’t find people from back then. You might find him on a genealogy site, but I wouldn’t suggest going there. You might find something you don’t want to know about.”
“Roger I am scared to death. I want to go home.”
“I know. I am worried about Jessie also, but I know she is a strong girl. From what Nora told me about you. I know that you are a strong person too.”
“I don’t feel so strong. I feel lost. I couldn’t drive home now and I use to drive all over California. You are the only person in this time that I somewhat know.”
“We are on vacation from college till late August. Would it help you if I dress as a girl? Would it be less threatening,” Roger whispered.
“Maybe, but let’s hope we can sort this out tonight.”
From the restaurant, Roger took Gwen to the mall. Frightened Gwen held tightly onto Roger’s hand. She couldn’t believe, the size of mall. They walked in and Gwen began to relax a little as she saw many people there just having a good time. There were four stories to the mall and hundreds of stores on each level. It was hard to believe all the clothing stores there were, let alone the stores that sold things she knew nothing about.
As she walked through the mall though, she began window shopping and watching the people in the mall. She would stop and look at this or ask Roger about what he thought about that girl’s clothes. Gwen was surprised at how knowledgeable he was about and how open he was about talking about ladies clothes.
“What would Jessie wear if she had the money?”
“I’m not sure, but I know what clothes she has and you saw a lot of them this past month. I like it when Jessie dresses in her suits. They fit the academic community better and she looks downright gorgeous.”
“You looked pretty good wearing the things she chose I assume. Did you like dressing up?”
“I thought it was ridiculous at first, but I kind of liked wearing those things. Nah that ain’t right, I really liked wearing those clothes. Jessie was quite frisky the days after our meetings. Face it, me in a three piece, Italian suit and I still look wimpy. Put me in one of her Armani suits though and…”
“I agree, if I didn’t have Nora, I could have ravished you. So are you a Nancy girl?”
“I’m not sure what that means, but let me explain the current way science looks at it. The current label general label for guys that like to look like girls is transgendered. Am I transgendered to some degree, probably yes. To what degree I don’t know. Would I want to have surgery to become a girl, I don’t think so.”
“They have surgery to make a guy a girl?”
“Not completely, they can make a vagina and they implants that simulate breasts, they can give a guy female hormones, but they can’t create a pair of ovaries.”
“Are there girls like that too, you know transgendered?”
“Yes, and medical science has done a lot for them, but the results are not as good. One doctor jokingly said that it was easier to dig a hole than to build a pole.”
“How many people are that way?”
“I don’t know the estimates, but it is higher than most people realize. If they were treated well by the public, there could be twice as many as expected. Fear keeps many of the transgendered in hiding. There are a few very successful Transgendered people, but most are treated as the dregs of society.”
“So where does that put you?”
“I’ definitely in the closet, but I think I would still be marketable. I might be able to get away wearing a TuTu to work and still find work. There are some really good trans people that can’t find good jobs, because of who they are. You’re not offended are you?”
“I can’t cast stones. Nora and I are lesbians. Besides, you seem alright for a guy.”
They went into a few of the stores shopping. Several times Roger held Gwen’s purse while she went into the dressing room. She realized it would take some getting used to skirts so short that even some flappers wouldn’t wear. It was fun though. Roger would give her his opinions. Her Dad would never be caught shopping for with her mom for women’s clothes. It was just something he drew the line at.
Gwen got a real kinky grin on her face, and whispered into Roger’s ear. “What size skirt fits you well?”
“Not sure, what size does Nora wear? Jessie bought all the clothes.”
Gwen selected a low rise micro-mini school girl skirt, a school girl blouse and a pair of saddle oxford stilettos in black and white.
Roger whispered into Gwen’s ear, “Nora will look like a striper in these clothes.”
“Are you talking about burlesque?”
“Sort of. Nowadays they have strip clubs where the girl’s already start in next to nothing and go all the way.”
Roger paid for the clothes and they headed back home. Roger did stop at a pharmacy and buy two pregnancy test kits. Each kit contained two tests. Gwen just walked all the isles looking at all the merchandise. She told Roger what their pharmacies were like and Roger talked about the quackery that many of the pharmacies her day sold.
“Cosmetics before 1950’s might contain dangerous levels of lead, mercury, copper, tin, bismuth and antimony. A government agency now regulates what can go into cosmetics. Did you ever see the ingredients listed in your cosmetics? ”
“Can’t say that I ever checked.”
Roger picked up a tube of mascara for Gwen to read. The writing on the mascara tube was too small to read. Roger did find a stand of reading glasses. Gwen could, using the strongest glasses, read what was in the tube.
“Every ingredient has to be approved by the FDA.”
When they got home Roger had Gwen use one of the pregnancy test kits.
“Wow, we have to pee for the doctor, who injects the urine into a rabbit. We usually have to wait till we miss our second period.”
“These tests work as soon as ten days after conception. You should be right at that point today or a few days later.”
Gwen read the pamphlet that came with the tests. It beats killing a rabbit, she thought. She checked Jessie’s watch and peed on the stick. Roger was at her side when a minus was the only sign that showed as three minutes had passed.
“Let’s assume implantation might have occurred last night. That could be the change in variables that left you in Jessie’s body. We will test again at four days, eight days and at twelve days from today.”
As the sun went down Roger and Gwen got ready. Gwen tucked a message beneath the corset that Roger wore. They both bypassed the makeup. Gwen didn’t know what to use off Jessie’s vanity. She was also amazed to see what looked like a camel’s toe in Roger’s panties as he tried unsuccessfully to adjust the mini skirt lower. Gwen giggled and Roger stuck his tongue out at Gwen, which caused Gwen to break out in fits of laughter. Gwen put on one of Jessie’s pant suits. She found some hair goop and slicked back her hair and had Roger dry it and spray it. Her hair was uncomfortable, feeling like it was a skull cap glued onto her head, but the hair had a masculine appearance. Gwen then checked the secret compartments and set their tells before they headed to bed.
Roger woke inside Nora, after they separated; they found that it was just the two of them. Nora shed some tears, she was going to be alone, it seemed.
“Damn it,” Roger said. “I think it’s because Jessie, with Gwen in her body, is pregnant. She checked Jessie’s calendar and found that she should have started her period.”
“Help my Gwen,” Nora cried. “Be there for her and tell her that I love her.”
Roger comforted Nora in his body, “Jessie will be there for you. She is that kind of girl. Tell her I am sorry I got her in this mess. Tell her I love her too. We could try again in nine months after the baby comes.”
“No we couldn’t. Jessie and I will be in our jobs with the military. It will be hard to pass enough information to do it right. Maybe if we didn’t start our jobs in a year it would work, but we both start in June. I am sure Jessie can do her job.”
“Yes she is brilliant. I know one thing, she will miss her computer.”
“and something called a word processor.”
“Let’s try again in eight days. We should know by then if Gwen in Jessie’s body is pregnant. Try to get all the variables back to the same.”
Nora agreed to try again in eight days and they talked about all the possible variables. They hugged as they got tired. Nora gave Roger a kiss on the lips. “Kiss Gwen for me when you get back, tell her it is a kiss from me.”
“The same for me,” Roger said.
Jessie was the first to awake. She looked around and was crestfallen, this wasn’t Roger’s room. She shed a few tears till she looked at Nora. It had to be Gwen’s sense of humor, seeing Nora in an outfit that would get probably get her arrested on a moral’s charge if she were seen in public. She shook Nora’s shoulder. Nora’s eyes fluttered open.
“Is that you Nora?”
“Yes it is,” she said.
She reached over and kissed Jessie “Roger sends his love.”
Jessie hugged Nora and they both had a good cry.
Roger woke with Gwen, in Jessie’s body, in his arms. Gwen woke and looked deep into Roger’s eyes and knew the truth.
“Gwen, Nora told me to kiss you. She kissed my lips just before we parted.”
Gwen hungrily kissed Roger. She dreamt of kissing Nora and she became more passionate. Her hands began to roam all over Roger’s body. Her eyes shot open and she stopped as her fingers came to rest brushing up what felt like a vulva.
“If you are Roger, why do you have a vulva?”
It took Roger a few seconds to realize where her hands were.
“It’s a latex/silicone thing like the breast forms I am wearing.”
“Show me Roger.”
He was embarrassed but felt that he owed her that much. Gwen finished pulling Roger’s panties down. Gwen inspected Roger and saw the truth about the breasts and what he called the gurl pants. Roger worked them down a bit and Gwen saw that indeed Roger was a boy.
“Can you wear them for me, at least until I get use to you?”
“I need to not wear them for a bit. They get a little clammy, I need a bath too. I will wear them as much as possible, but they need to be cleaned daily. Go to Jessie’s room and get me a half-slip to wear.”
Gwen headed to Jessie’s room and went through her drawers. She found a half-slip and a pair of panties there and went back to Roger’s room. He was in the bath room and she could hear the water running. She went back to the bathroom and saw Roger sitting in the tub. She set the things down and sat on the toilet.
“We are going to try again in eight days. We should get a positive test by that time if you are pregnant. Gwen you may not want to hear it, but if you are pregnant. Gwen it will be hard to wait nine months to do this again.”
“Yes Jessie will be in the Army Air Corp and Nora will be in the Navy. Did you check the secret rooms?”
“Not yet I was waiting for you.”
“How are the breasts held on?”
“They are held on with a long term adhesive. I can easily wear them for two weeks. After cleaning they can be attached for another two weeks.”
“Can you take them off if you have too?”
“Yes with a solvent. I was going to have Jessie attach them to me this summer, Jessie liked me with them and I kind of liked them too,” Jessie said gently removing his breasts.
Roger then shaved his body, while Gwen watched.
Nora and Jessie were discussing what they needed to do now.
“I need to know about Gwen’s family, friends, professors and acquaintances. I need to know how to dress correctly for this time period and use your cosmetics. I know the cosmetics I use are a lot different from this time period.”
“I can help you there,” Nora said.
“I will be using math, how do you get fast accurate math done.”
“We use a slide rule. It's accurate to about four places.”
“Can you teach me?”
“Sure. I can teach you.”
They took a bath separately. Nora found a note when she took off her corset. She would share that with Jessie later. After her bath she met Jessie in Gwen’s room. Jessie already had a bra and what Jessie called granny panties on.
“How does Gwen dress to go to school?”
“That is easy. If Gwen is around people and not playing tennis or riding horses she always wears a skirt and blouse. The more important the situation the more formal she gets. She almost always wears a hat.”
Nora began to show Jessie how her lover wore her clothes and how she wore her makeup. Jessie picked up that Gwen dressed as an American aristocrat. She was always so proper. This was going to take some getting used to. There was a formal tennis outfit for tennis; at least Jessie was a decent player. The outfit was a long skirted culotte. There were Jodhpurs, frilled riding shirt, formal coat and a top hat for riding a horse. Jessie rode horses too, but she rode a western saddle, not an English saddle. At least the jodhpurs were pants.
“Does she ever dress casual?”
“At times, I guess, like around our house when we are being lazy bones, but she has always been a smart dresser.”
Nora taught Jessie about makeup. The mascara came in cakes and you used a brush to apply it. The brush Jessie was familiar with. It wasn’t like the round brushes in her tubes of mascara but was like a brush she owned. It was like a single row tooth brush.
“I’m not as good as Gwen with makeup. She was teaching me. I could do without it, except for my lipstick.”
“I loved my makeup. I wish I had my kit with me. I would probably look out of place here made up like I did in my time.”
“Somewhat, but Gwen used less than most girls and yet she looked so much better.”
With Nora’s help the Jessie/Gwen get everything on and looking good. They sat down to begin making a list of things that Jessie needed to know as they ate. They had a couple of pages in checklist style of things. They were beginning to go over it the list when there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Nora said.
She went to the door, “It’s your Mum, Gwen.” Nora said, from the door.
Amanda swooped into the room and looked critically at her daughter after hugging her. Jessie was at a loss so she just walked over and hugged her mother and said, “Hello Mum, how are you today?”
“Cut the crap, are you Jessie or Roger. Gwen kept me up on what was happening. She had a premonition that something might happen.”
“I am Jessie.”
“I have no doubt that you are Nora, by the way you greeted me. I am Amanda Manning, Jessie. Now tell me about the situation.”
“We did our thing two nights ago and when I awoke I was in Gwen’s body in Nora’s time. We tried again last night but only Nora and Roger made it there. Gwen is stuck in my time in my body. I think the only variable that could matter, is that my body got pregnant while Gwen was in it, or that I began my period while she was in it.”
“Roger told me that he and Gwen think that pregnancy is the answer.”
Amanda began laughing, “I am happy but sad. I would love to see Gwen with child. What year was it in your time Jessie?”
“Two thousand and seven, seventy years into the future.”
“Damn, I won’t be able to live that long. She told me that you had a secret place to hide things that they could find.”
“Yes we do Amanda. I’ll show you.”
“Good, I want to send her something valuable, so she will be able to live on it for a few years. I have a thousand twenty dollar gold pieces. It’s only twenty thousand dollars but it should help.”
“Help, that is almost a million dollars in our time. Oops maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”
Amanda looked shocked, but asked, “The cat is out of the bag. How much is gold worth in 2007?”
“Around eight hundred dollars an ounce or so. I haven’t checked gold prices lately. It is said an ounce of gold has the same buying power today as it did a hundred years ago. While inflation can change what paper money can buy. Also the gold coins could have a collector’s value in excess of their intrinsic value.”
Amanda smiled; they spent about forty dollars a month on food and ate very well, “Is eight hundred thousand a lot of money in your time?”
“I could live comfortably for ten or twenty years on it depending on inflation, but she could spend that in a month, if she lived like a queen. Upper middle class, earn about sixty thousand a year. This house in our time is worth five hundred thousand or so.”
“Gwen paid seven thousand for it.”
“It is a nice house, in our time.”
Jessie and Nora then went with Amanda and helped her bring in four brief cases that weighed about thirty pounds each. Jessie took them to the bootlegger’s compartment.
“I think this house was first owned by a rum runner,” Jessie said.
“It was, Richard, my husband, actually helped him with the finances to buy the house. He had connections my husband needed. Richard was also a customer during the dry days. I wouldn’t be surprised to find other rooms secreted in this house.”
Roger was now in full girl mode with the breast forms attached and the gurl pants on. He was dressed in a corset, his Kate Hepburn pants, blouse and Nora’s high heels, with the large block heels. Gwen helped him a little with his makeup, she just used powder, mascara (which she really loved compared to her own in 37), a little eye shadow and lipstick.
Gwen dressed in Jessie’s red suits. It was a little flashy, but Roger said that Jessie wore it a lot. He also told her that she did dress casually around the house, but after years of training Gwen found it hard to dress down.
They then went to check the secret rooms. There was a note in Nora’s secret compartment to check the rum runner’s room. In the rum runner’s room they found four brief cases.
“My Mum sent a care package to me. I had a premonition that something would happen and told Mum.”
“What is in the cases?”
“Not sure, let’s check.”
They opened the cases up and looked.
“Oh my, it’s my mother’s gold collection. In the twenties mom started buying gold coins, Dad did too. He used his to buy up stock after the big crash of twenty-nine. He paid pennies on the dollar for a bunch of stock in companies that survived the crash and should prosper. Mum buried her gold coins in the back yards months before Roosevelt stole all the gold in the US for the government.”
“How much gold is there,” Roger asked.
“I don’t know, let’s count it.”
“and sort it by date and mint,” Roger said.
Gwen didn’t know why, but she humored him. It took them a while but they got it all sorted out. They had a thousand coins, ranging from 1847 to 1933, in forty two stacks.
“Mum sent me twenty thousand dollars.”
“She sent you over a million, dollars. Gold today is worth eight hundred dollars and ounce, but the real value of most of these coins is in the collectors market. Each gold double eagle is worth at least eight hundred, but there are coins that may be worth up to twenty or thirty thousand dollars,” Roger said.
He got his laptop and his tablet. He booted up the laptop, setting up a spread sheet in Excel and showed Gwen how to operate it, while he took his tablet and began in 1848 to check coins. He then told Gwen what to type.
“Coin value varies greatly depending on year and condition. I can’t grade the coins, but I can give you an estimate. We need to get a numismatist involved and have the coins graded.”
Gwen watched Roger work. He looked like he was almost in a trance as he checked each coin individually. She typed what he told her into the spread sheet. It looked like a huge multi column journal they used in accounting. She had to make him stop after about two hours. She was starving and he hadn’t eaten either.
He used his tablet to order a pizza and salads along with drinks.
“Lunch will be here in thirty minutes,” he said getting back to work.
It was actually twenty five minutes later when the door bell rung. Roger stopped and went to answer the door. He was back in three minutes with the food.
He showed Gwen the kitchen and got salad dressing, plates and silverware. Gwen was so busy looking at the kitchen; Roger almost had to pull her out to eat.
“I love that kitchen. I don’t recognize some of the things; you have got to show me.”
“I don’t use the kitchen much. Jessie came over and used it the most. I would eat a lot of take-out and delivery.”
They ate and talked about things. Gwen was worried about being pregnant, about Nora and about poor Jessie. Roger shared many of her concerns and really missed Jessie. They cleaned up after they ate. Roger was surprised that he only ate a slice and a half of pizza; he had to put the rest in the refrigerator. Gwen was fascinated by the light in the fridge and the dishwasher in the kitchen.
It took a few more hours, but they got a preliminary value of Gwen’s coins. Roger showed her how to run totals for each column and to run a grand total. The grand total of all the coins was over two million dollars.
“I’m not an expert, you need an expert. I suggest that we pick out about twenty to thirty coins. I have a friend that is a serious numismatist. He works with a coin grading company.”
“Why not sell them all at the same time?”
“Flooding the market with a thousand coins, could greatly devalue the coins. Your best bet is to sell no more than ten coins in a month. Also you’ll probably have to pay taxes on them. We can’t say you own them all your life. We will have to have discovered them, and that is income, subject to state and federal taxes.”
Gwen looked at her spread sheet and selected a dozen coins, that should give her about forty thousand dollars and two of the least valuable coins. They then put the rest of the coins back in the rum runner’s closet. Roger carefully wrapped a couple of hundred coins in tissue paper. He said that those were the most valuable. He also printed out a copy of the spreadsheet. Checking which coins were to be sold.
She then had Roger make an appointment to see this numismatist. Roger got his smart phone out and texted his friend, that they had come across some gold coins. Minutes later he got a text back, asking them to bring the coins to the grading company the next day.
“Gwen, this money is all yours. Call it your safety net. I suggest we take the rest of the coins and put them in a safe deposit box in your name, before we take the coins to see the dealer. The story we will give is that I own a house that was used by a rum runner and we found them in a secret room. If we tell this story, the house could become, let’s say a matter of interest for other people. A safe deposit box is your safest bet.”
There were safe deposit boxes in her time, so she knew it was prudent, “Okay.”
They went to their separate bedrooms to sleep that night. Gwen got a little lonesome and crawled in bed with Roger. She just needed to hold on to someone tonight. Roger didn’t say anything he just held onto her. He was glad for her company also.
The next morning they ate. Gwen chose another suit and chose a one of the suits she sent forward in time for Roger. He just grinned and bore it. After they were both dressed and their faces made up. Roger looked more than a little retro, but stylish too. Gwen wished that she had a small box hat to crown Roger.
Gwen checked Jessie’s purse and wallet. She was glad to see that she had ID. She was surprised that it had a picture and that she looked exactly like the real Jessie. Gwen also made a purse for Roger to carry. If he was going in girl mode, she was going to help him look the part. They went in the garage.
“That is Jessie’s car,” Roger said pointing to the 69 Camaro SS. “She wants to fix it up till it is one hot car. The engine is at a rebuilder’s home right now.”
The car needed some work on the body and a paint job. Gwen liked what she saw, but she would miss her 36 Cadillac Convertible Coupe.
“She also has a 2000 Volkswagen Beetle that is parked out back.”
“I am not familiar with Volkswagen, did you say, that means people’s car in German.”
Roger got her to look it up using her smartphone and use the google voice search as he drove to a bank.
They got Gwen a large safe deposit box, using Jessie’s ID and social security card. She also insisted the Roger’s name be put on the signature card. The bank officer who assisted them raised an eyebrow as he checked Roger’s ID, “What is the world coming to when a good looking girl is a guy,” he thought to himself. He then gave both of them keys to the box.
Gwen and Roger both moved the gold into the safe deposit box. A thousand gold double eagles weigh over 73 and a third pounds. At least the bank let them use a cart. It didn’t take the bank officer many seconds to guess what was in the brief cases. It wasn’t the first time a client brought in a large amount of gold, but without evidence of a crime and a subpoena, his lips were sealed.
Roger then drove them to John’s business. After introductions, John asked, “Why the girl garb Roger?”
Roger giggled and teased, “I’m thinking of making some cosmetic changes. Jessie loves the look as much as she enjoys the package.”
“Whatever floats your boat. So is this the chick that finally got you under her thumb.”
“Yes, she is.”
Gwen gave John an innocent, coy smile, as if to say, “What me?”
They then got down to business. Jessie showed John her gold coins and Roger began to tell John their cover story. The funny thing was it was almost a hundred percent true.
“Jessie and I were going to make some changes to the old homestead and we found the inside didn’t match the outside. There were some really large discrepancies in wall thickness. We found a secret room with some alcohol from the 1920’s and some gold coins.”
“Jeez, why can’t I get that lucky? How many coins did you find?”
“A few.”
“Yeah right, just don’t go trying to sell large quantities at the same time. Most of these coins are worth about eight or nine hundred dollars each, but you have three coins worth about thirteen thousand total, one worth eleven thousand and another worth about twenty four thousand. I’ll pay you eighty percent of fifty six thousand two hundred fifty dollars which is forty five thousand.”
“It’s up to you Jessie, I gave them to you.”
“It’s a deal,” Jessie said, holding out her hand to shake John’s.
John did a direct transfer from his bank account to Jessie’s bank account, using his computer. Roger helped Jessie with the transaction. Gwen would have to have a talk with Roger. She needed to understand the banking system, but she knew now wasn’t the time. John handed Jessie a receipt for forty five thousand dollars for rare coins.
Amanda had Jessie and Nora come to her place. Jessie loved driving the Cadillac. It took her a little practice getting use to the car, the stick’s shift pattern and the clutch. Thankfully her dad gave her a 69 Camaro with a Hurst four speed stick.
“Jessie, what do you need to succeed, in replacing Gwen if she can’t come back?”
Jessie showed Amanda the list she and Nora began making. Amanda looked over the list and began adding things and amending other things. After they were somewhat satisfied with the list, Amanda took them on a tour of the estate.
“First you are no longer Jessie Wolf. You must always answer to Gwen, Gwendolyn, Gwendolyn Manning or Miss Manning,” Amanda said. “You must call me Mum, unless you are mad at me. You then refer to me as Mother. Your father is Dad or Father when you’re mad at him.”
Amanda pointed out the staff and who they were, Gwen’s favorite places on the estate, the stables and tennis court. They went everywhere saving Gwen’s room for last. Gwen’s room was a little girl’s room grown up. The colors were pink and blue with gold gilt. There was canopy bed with a gauze mosquito net. The furniture was all Queen Anne. The toys were gone, except for some really nice porcelain dolls.
“Gwen, Nora has her own room; she stays in that room for propriety till after ten. She then sneaks into your room.”
“How did you know…?” Nora said.
“Honey, almost all the staff knows. I know things are different, but you two need to act the same way. You two were always a little more affectionate than you should have been. Out staff though are good people so you don’t have to worry. Nora, I know it may be hard, but you have to treat Gwen the same way now, at least for the next month. After you two go your separate ways, well things happen, but neither of you can have another lesbian affair, till you two can come back together.”
“Gwen we dress for dinner, at seven. Nora your dresses are in your room of course. I will help you with your makeup. My Gwen loved your makeup, but said it was positively scandalous.”
“I am sending the staff on vacation in two days, except for the cook, a maid and a groundskeeper. We will use the library as our battle ground, starting tomorrow.”
Roger explained the various cards in Jessie’s wallet and how to use them as he drove them to a restaurant.
“Oh Roger, I can’t keep calling you that, when you are dressed like a woman.”
“Jessie and I already discussed that. I chose Renee, Renee Brandon is my name.”
“Ok Renee, It is good meeting you,” Gwen said.
They went in the restaurant. They first had to visit the ladies room. Renee was a little nervous, but with Gwen there to reassure him, he or rather she got it done.
As they sat and ate, they talked about things.
“I think that if you are pregnant and can’t go back, you should be able to get a year stay on starting your Doctor’s degree. That is if you want to continue on.”
“Yes I would like to continue, but I am sorely behind times, when it comes to physics.”
“I can help, some. I took physics and I helped Jessie with her course work, although she had to explain things to me a few times. Jessie had me scan all of her textbooks onto her laptop and I converted them to .pdf files. She liked not having to carry all those books around. She also has a couple of hundred physics papers and other books on Physics on her computer and her tablet. Plus you can use the internet to look up others.”
“All that is on that thing you call a laptop computer. “
“And her smart phone and tablet. I have a friend who has a cottage up near San Francisco. I think we should spend a few days up there.”
“I suppose we could take a train up there.”
“We can drive there, in under eight hours.”
“Lay on MacDuff,”
“and damned be him who first cries ‘Hold! enough!”
They went home after eating and packed up. Renee called her friend and got permission to use the cottage for as long as he needed it, the friend was going to Europe next week. Gwen was more than a little scared at seeing all the traffic. Renee drove up the coast. He explained how to operate his vehicle. When the traffic thinned out a bit, he put her behind the wheel. Gwen was tentative at first. She wanted to grab the stick shift, but Renee’s Navigator was an automatic. She was amazed at how light the steering wheel was. On her Caddy, especially at slow speeds, it takes a lot of strength to turn the wheel.
It was an adventure when Renee taught Gwen how to use her credit card to initiate the pump, to fuel the Navigator. She had always had a man at a gas station to pump the gas for her. She pulled off the highway and into a gas station Renee indicated. Renee had Gwen open her wallet and pull out a gas card. She inserted and removed the card in a slot on the pump. She nearly panicked as she saw the pump’s price jump rapidly. It would take Gwen a long while to get use to the prices.
They stopped and ate twice along the way, trading driving duty each time they stopped. Gwen didn’t like the music choices, and missed her radio serial programs like Ellery Queen, Fibber McGee and Molly, Gasoline Alley, Philip Morris Playhouse, Texaco Theater and The Lone Ranger. The music was especially horrid. Renee switched to satellite radio and found a thirties music station. She found it strange, but it seemed to keep Gwen happy.
When Gwen wasn’t driving, she was looking at the scenery along the way. Back in her time, she would have really taken a train on distances like this, but in a way this was nicer than riding on a train. She also looked at the ocean when it was visible.
She loved sitting on the beach and watching the waves and even fishing at times. This is where Gwen went when she was thinking about physics. The sounds of the waves would clear her mind. She loathed though the swimming costumes that decent women had to wear in the twenties. They started to get more daring in the thirties and women could actually swim in their costumes. She was tempted to just cut the arms and legs off a union suit to swim in.
Renee took the wheel about fifty miles south of San Francisco. They were just about ten miles away from the cottage. Gwen knew the area somewhat, but there had been nothing in the area when she was last through.
Gwen loved the beach home. The back wall and the south side of the home were all glass. You could see for miles in those two directions as there was no homes or obstructions to see the ocean or to the south. The street side and the north side were stone facades. They parked in front of the garage and entered through the front door. There was a huge living/dining room area with a kitchen and three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms.
They moved their things into separate bedrooms and met up in the kitchen. They were both surprised to see a well-stocked pantry and refrigerator.
Gwen sniffed the milk and said, “This is still fresh.”
“Yeah, you can check the expiration date on the jug, instead of smelling it. My friend might have called ahead and had the kitchen stocked up for us and from the smell of the place, he had it aired out too.”
“Let’s go for a walk on the beach,” Gwen said. “That’s where I went when I was stuck on a Physics problem. Do I have a swimsuit?”
“I packed two of Jessie’s favorite bikinis. Let me show you.”
Renee led Gwen into the bedroom she had chosen. He helped Gwen unpack and set out two bikinis and Gwen put her lingerie and casual clothes in the dresser and hung her pants, dresses, skirts and blouses.
When she saw the bikinis her mouth hung open, “Are those swimsuits? I have lingerie that covers more.”
“Yes, most girls that have the figure for them wear bikinis on the beach. Even some very overweight girls wear them and look horrible in them. Jessie wore them all the time. She made them look good.”
Gwen picked up the more substantial suit, which had an underwire bra style top and a French style panty. She went to the bathroom. It wasn’t hard putting the suit on, the top had a large metal hook that hooked into a fabric loop. It didn’t take too long to hook it up. Gwen liked the way the top lifted her breasts and created more cleavage. If she was able to go back, she would wear as many bras and panties as possible. She loved the lingerie at this time. Gwen spent a lot of time looking at herself. She had longed for something like this in her time. She could go out wearing this, she told herself.
When Gwen came out, Renee was wearing a bikini that covered more than what she was wearing.
“How come I am showing so much and you so little?”
“I have to cover up the silicone. If I went out wearing your suit, I would have some unusual tan lines. The silicone breast forms and gurl pants don’t tan.”
Renee handed Gwen a sarong and showed her how to put one on by tying hers off at the hip. Gwen followed suit. They both put on a pair of flip-flops and headed out to the beach. The back deck was twenty or some odd feet higher than the beach. There was a staircase that went down to the sandy beach.
The sun hung low, about fifteen degrees above the horizon as they walked on the beach. There weren’t too many people on this section of beach, because of the jagged rock wall the house sat on continued for miles in each direction. The no more than a dozen people there owned homes just like the one they were staying in.
Gwen’s eyes got really big when she saw a woman wearing a micro bikini. The panty had a one inch wide strip and came up not more than two inches. The bra was a piece of string, which had two triangles of fabric that were about one inch at the base and maybe three inches up from the bottom. Considering how big her breasts were (around a DD)), the top amounted to two postage stamps on a string. Gwen hoped she didn’t show her surprise openly.
A few of the people were surf fishing and there were some boats fishing just beyond where the waves began.
Gwen sat and just looked at the surf come in.
“I love to watch the ocean and hear the roar of the waves. It helps clear my mind, Renee.”
“It’s fun to come out here, when I want to get away,” Renee said. “And I love to fish.”
“Me too. I caught a nice halibut about two weeks ago. It weighed about thirty five pounds. It took me forever to land him,” Gwen said.
“There are some rods and tackle in the garage, we can fish tomorrow. I’ll go get us some live shrimp.”
They sat on the beach till the sun set, they saw the green flash as the sun disappeared. The mosquitoes came out around then too and chased them back to their deck, where the bug zappers were flashing where mosquitos were dying.
Gwen stopped and starred at the bug zapper, “They are using high frequency electricity to zap bugs that come near to the wires.”
“Yes the mosquitos are attracted to the UV light, whenever a mosquito comes within a quarter of an inch of those wires; he is hit by an electrical charge and dies.”
Gwen counted eight bug zappers around the deck and she also noted there were fewer mosquitos around the deck.
There was a shower head out on the deck Renee, washed the sand off of her and she had Gwen do the same. Just inside the back door, Gwen stripped off and rinsed off her suit in a sink near the door.
“Renee was a little surprised to see Gwen naked. Just hang your suit to dry here. I know you didn’t have anything like these,” Renee said, pointing to a washer and dryer as she too stripped off. “This machine is a clothes washer and this one a clothes dryer. Not everything is machine washable or dryable. You have to check the clothing tags. I’ll show you in a couple of days, when we have something to wash.”
“We had servants who took care of our clothes.”
“Well Jessie and I do our own clothes, except for dry cleaning, which Jessie had a lot of.”
They went to their separate rooms, cleaned up and got dressed in shorts and T’s. Renee was sitting on the couch in the living room watching a big screen TV.
“Oh my, I love the future,” Gwen said, while sitting very close to Renee. “Show me how to operate, this
TV.”
“We have over two hundred fifty TV Channels. The TV is operated by this remote. This button turns on the TV and the cable box,” Renee spent twenty minutes showing her how to operate the TV, while Gwen operated the remote.
When Gwen came across some X rated simulated sex movies her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
“This is soft core porn. They don’t show a man’s penis or a girl’s vaginal area, but everything else is fair game.”
“They had stag films in my era, but girls didn’t show their crotches and wore pasties.”
“There are a few places you can watch hard core porn. They show everything. I guess some people are just voyeuristic. I don’t get off on it, but then I was a virgin when we began all of this. Jessie liked me dressing as a girl.”
“You do look good dressed up and you look good and quite convincing. I can see why she liked your looks.”
“This is all artificial. This isn’t the real me.” Renee said, sounding a little disappointed.
“I disagree. You make a pretty nice girl. Being a girl is more than breasts and a pussy. You are caring, intelligent and strong. All good points for a girl in my book.”
“Jessie was the strong one. I just kept her happy so she would stay with me. I loved her Gwen, I’m ashamed, I don’t think I ever told her that.”
“She knew Renee, believe me. Having someone tell you they love you is good, but you showed her that you loved her, that is better. Just like my Nora knew I loved her too.”
When they got tired they both went to their separated bedrooms. Again Gwen didn’t like feeling alone. She went to Renee’s room and crawled in bed with Renee. Renee just wrapped Gwen in a hug and they both went to sleep.
The next five days Renee and Gwen spent the hottest part of the day, catching Gwen up on physics. Gwen was impressed at just how much Renee knew. Renee told her that she was Jessie’s sounding board, so Roger picked up a lot of advanced physics. Renee was impressed at the speed that Gwen could read at. She was scrolling the page down on the laptop screen hardly ever stopping the screen scrolling, except to ask questions.
When the day began to cool they spent time on the beach. Renee caught a king salmon fishing, while Gwen caught a couple of halibut. They had some fine eating. Renee smoked her salmon in a smoker on the deck while Gwen baked hers with mayonnaise and almonds on top. They froze what they didn’t cook.
Gwen had been the strong one out of her relationship with Nora, but now she desperately needed Renee’s strength. The last day before they went back to LA try to hook up again, Gwen took a pregnancy test. The test strip showed a positive.
“I am Sorry Gwen. You are pregnant.”
“I don’t regret being pregnant, but I will miss being with Nora.”
“I know you may not love me, but I will marry you to give the baby a name, that is if you want too. Regardless I will help you through this.”
“We will see what happens,” Gwen said, kissing Renee’s cheek, while a tear traced her cheek.
As they drove back to LA, Gwen asked, “Do you think going back in time might hurt the baby?”
“I don’t know. This is all new territory. I doubt a doctor who actually believed us could tell you?”
“I’m not going to try to go back. I won’t hurt your baby Renee.”
“Tell Nora I love her but… I couldn’t live with myself if something I did to get back to her, hurt the child growing in Jessie’s, no make that my body. Maybe we can try after this after I have had your baby.”
Renee knew that this probably meant that Gwen would never go back. She didn’t say that though. Nora and Jessie would already be in technically challenging jobs. Gwen could never catch up to where Jessie was. The logistics would be insurmountable. That would mean Jessie couldn’t return till after the war at least. After seven years would they want to trade places again or would their lives be so entangled that they would want to stay where they were.
Much the same thought process was going through Gwen’s mind. She wanted to go back, but she knew she either couldn’t or wouldn’t if it could harm the baby. What Renee said meant a lot to her and she was seriously considering it.
Gwen worked hard on Renee’s looks. She had fun making Renee as girlish as she could. Jessie had a liquid silver silk mini dress. Nora would get arrested if she actually wore it out in public. Gwen was still behind in makeup for this time but she was assuming a modern look. She just needed to learn more. She still got Renee’s face looking great.
Amanda got into the game with Jessie as they got Nora rigged out and looking good. At least they didn’t shoe horn her into a corset, Nora thought. She wore an elegant high waist mid-calf length skirt, a five inch belt, a frilly ruffled front blouse and a jacket that was fitted to the broadest part of the hip and had thick shoulder pads. Her shoes matched the skirt and had three inch spool heels.
Jessie took a while selecting her outfit. Amanda came up with one of Gwen’s gowns, which she hadn’t worn in a while. It was a floor length gown in purple, with a square lace trimmed neckline and puff sleeves. Jessie really liked the dress. She made up her face while Nora and Amanda watched. Jessie didn’t tell Amanda or Nora, that she didn’t think Gwen was coming back, but she felt that they knew.
Nora and Jessie laid down and quickly fell asleep. Back in the future Roger/Renee laid down Gwen came over and planted a big one on Renee’s lips
“Give that to Nora, if you will. Tell her I love her and will sorely miss her,” she then left the room.
Nora awoke and shook Roger out of her. She looked around and when she didn’t see Gwen, she hugged Roger and began crying.
“I’m sorry Nora, Gwen is pregnant. She didn’t want to risk something happening to the baby,” Roger whispered, to Nora.
“She told me to tell you she loves you and misses you greatly. She also gave me something to give to you.”
Nora leaned back and asked, “What?”
“This,” Roger said, leaning towards Nora and kissing her deeply.
Nora returned the kiss with fervor. After about ten minutes they broke off their kiss. They then sat side by side holding hands.
“We could try again in ten months,” Roger said. “But I don’t feel that would be practical. You and Jessie would be in very sensitive jobs and it would be impossible to catch Gwen up with the people and projects.”
Nora nodded and began crying again softly, “Jessie and I had this conversation too. She was resigned to being Gwen.” Nora then giggled, “Jessie misses her makeup, apparently makeup has changed a lot over the years. Oh and the bras also. She said our bras aren’t as comfortable or cute. She misses you most of all.”
“I’m sorry this was all my fault,” Roger said.
“No it isn’t, we needed what you and Jessie brought to us.”
“But if I just kept it in my pants a few more weeks.”
“Jessie needed you Roger and besides she knew the odds of getting pregnant. It was her choice. We can try again after the war, but things can happen. We will get a message to you through the house, if we can.”
They sat for what seemed like hours talking about this or that. Nora kept Roger very close to her. She needed his support. As they were beginning to get tired, Nora asked a favor of Roger.
“Tell Gwen that I will always love her and keep her in my heart.”
“Tell Jessie that I love her too and I am sorry for how things happened.”
“Give this to Gwen for me and I will do the same for Jessie,” Nora said, giving Roger a long smoldering kiss.
With that they both fell asleep with their lips still touching.
Nora woke first. She turned to face the sleeping Jessie, Nora then kissed her. Jessie’s eyes fluttered open.
“Gwen is definitely pregnant. Roger asked me to give you this kiss,” Nora said.
Jessie and Nora kissed and cried for several minutes. If they had been wearing night clothes it might have gone much farther, but they broke it off instead of having to get undressed.
They came out of the bedroom and found Amanda asleep on a chase lounge chair. Nora gently woke Amanda.
“Gwen?” Amanda mumbled.
Jessie sadly shook her head no.
“Then you must take Gwen’s place. We will need her in the War effort. I can read the omen’s Jessie, I know war is coming with Germany and probably Japan too. You two pack up, we are all headed to my place. Gwen school begins in earnest for you today.”
For three weeks Gwen was grilled, the Manning’s had hundreds of pictures of everyone. They should have bought stock in Eastman Kodak. In fact they did own point seven two percent of Kodak stock. Nora knew all of Gwen’s professors, having met them with Gwen and she knew many of Gwen’s friends at school. Amanda taught her how to dress and do her makeup like girls did in this time period.
Orders for both Gwendolyn Manning and Nora Davis came in the mail with instructions on how to get to their respective destination and who to report to, along with train tickets.
Jessie despaired at always having to look so proper, she didn’t look forward to dressing military proper also. She took her lumps though and threw herself into her work.
Jessie was surprised and glad when they found a copy of Gwen’s thesis in a safe in Gwen’s room. Amanda had to call in a locksmith to get them to drill it out and open the safe. Jessie was able to get an idea of Gwen’s research and experiments, the detectors and equipment she used and her ideas. More importantly was her footnotes and appendices. They showed her who she drew material from, books she used, research data and more. Jessie read the paper over and over when she wasn’t dressing, making up her face, identifying people in photos and overall learning to be Gwen.
Gwen’s paper was almost spot on, from what Jessie knew. She was certain Gwen could build a rudimentary bomb on her own. With what Jessie knew, she could help keep the other researchers on track, by use of questions she could ask or comments she would make.
Jessie/Gwen and Nora made the rounds they normally made and were always circumspect in their relationship when out in public. They appeared as always as just very good friends.
Jessie hated the swimming costumes she had to wear, when she and Nora went on the beach. She also inwardly cringed when she went fishing, but she handled the stinky bait and was able to reasonably make decent casts with the rod. Jessie prayed that she wouldn’t catch anything, but she found she had a knack for fishing and could catch three or four fish anytime she went out. Nora had to teach Jessie how to clean fish.
Amanda had to teach the Jessie/Gwen how to drive like a woman and take care of her Caddy. Things like where to get fuel, how far she could drive on a tank of gas, where to get the car serviced and how often, what to do in case of an emergency and such. Amanda found the new Gwen was quite adapt at driving, although she had a lot to learn about turning the steering wheel. Jessie had never driven without the aid of power steering.
Amanda got Nora behind the wheel of Richard’s 1935 Lincoln Roadster. Nora was a bundle of nerves, but with Amanda’s loving patience she proved to be a competent student, even better than her Gwen because she drove more carefully. Nora got her first license two days before she had to take a train to San Diego.
Nora and Gwen spent that evening kissing and cuddling. The Jessie/Gwen recognized that Nora needed it.
Amanda spent the next day teaching both Gwen and Nora how to pack for an extended time. The girls at their separate training bases would be treated as administrative staff. That is how they got by the restriction of women in the military. Amanda found out what was acceptable and what was unacceptable on base. Amanda put three thousand dollars into both girls’ checking accounts and told them to call if they needed more.
Gwen got on a train headed south to San Diego. It was a tearful goodbye, Nora got hugs and kisses from both Gwen and Amanda.
Gwen left the next day on the train to Fayetteville North Carolina, reroute to Fort Bragg.
Nora had a four hour train ride to San Diego. There was a desk at the train station that handled Naval Personnel in transit. The Petty officer looked at her papers and arranged transport to the Women’s Barracks on base. She spent the night in the barracks on her assigned bunk and the next day she was inducted into the navy as an Ensign. For the next four months she spent learning to be a naval officer.
She buy her own uniforms, three sets of whites, a blue, PT gear and a set of lamented having to look sharp every day and her main uniform was either a white skirt or a blue skirt. She hadn’t been a slob, but she loved to dress casual. Except for PT and cleaning the barracks or policing the grounds, she was always in a skirt and flats.
Unlike the other females there, she was trained on the 1911A1 and the M-1 carbine. Ensign Davis did very well with the 1911 A1, she scored in the top fifteen percent with the pistol, but the M-1 carbine was a little much for her, she only just qualified with that weapon.
She also was put in a class for a couple of months, to learn radio operation, sending and receiving Morse code. Nora found she had a good ear for copying Morse code and she could send Morse fairly well. By the time she finished the course; she could copy twenty five words a minute and send twelve.
When one of her training officers inquired about what she was doing, when she wasn’t with the rest of the recruits, Ensign Nora E. Davis referred her to the base commander. The base commander reminded the training officer about how cold it was in Alaska. No further inquiries were made about Ensign Davis comings and goings.
It took Jessie four days to go cross continent to Fayetteville North Carolina. The train stopped at every backwater town. At least she had a bunk in the sleeper car, sleeping on those narrow bunks wasn’t fun at all, but the meals in the diner car were pretty good, a lot better than airline food at least.
She arrived in Fayetteville two days before she was scheduled to report for induction. She took a taxi into town and checked into a hotel. After freshening up she went for a walk and caught a movie. It was strange seeing a black and white movie with poor sound, but the movie, “Damsel in Distress”. She actually liked seeing Ginger Rogers dance with Fred Astaire. She then went window shopping, there were a few women’s stores in town and she looked over the fashions of the day. She just shook her head and determined to just accept what she couldn’t change.
Jessie/Gwen reported to base on time and was inducted as a Second Lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corp. She too had to buy uniforms on the base. She was already better fit than some of the women with her, but she still had to work hard to get into shape. She too spent most of her time studying with her fellow students.
She too had to qualify with the 1911A1, Thompson submachine gun and the M-1 carbine. She did better than expected. She had shot her Uncles guns on a farm. If she had been a male she would have qualified a sharpshooter. She left the Drill instructors shaking their heads and getting on the asses of the guys that were having trouble qualifying. Second Lieutenant Gwendolyn NMI Manning had a lot of new recruits cussing her name, when no one was around.
She also had trouble with a Captain on base. He was downright rude with her and came within inches of having her thrown into the stockade for refusing to answer his questions. The Captain resented women in the Army, especially a female officer. Her DI reported this to the base commander, he recognized that she was more than she appeared to be. The DI had served under the bases Colonel for many years and was as much a friend as a non-commissioned officer could be with an officer.
The Colonel stormed into the Captain Benjamin A. Werner’s office. Lieutenant Werner was ordered to pack his gear and report Fairbanks Alaska to begin plans for a weather station there, in the most expeditious manner possible, which means as soon as fucking possible.
Lieutenant Werner was on a train to Seattle, Washington in four hours. From Seattle he was in a flying boat carrying supplies to an Army Air Corp survey team, in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Nora Davis and Gwendolyn Manning both graduated and got their gold oak leaves. Lieutenant Nora E. Davis was given thirty days to report to Washington DC. Gwendolyn NMI Manning was given thirty days to report to San Francisco, to begin working with Dr. Earnest Lawrence at the University of California at Berkeley.
Nora took the train to LA. Amanda met her there and drove her to her home. Gwen flew from North Carolina back to LA. She swore that she would wait for airline travel to improve before she flew again. Amanda and Nora in uniform picked Gwendolyn, also in uniform, at the airport.
Richard, Gwen found out, was again was in the south pacific as things were beginning to get dicey there. She shuddered as Amanda told her his itinerary. He was headed to Manila, Singapore, Papa New Guinea and Bangkok. He was moving many of his south pacific interests to Australia, and collecting intelligence, unknown to this Gwen.
They spent a week together and then Nora left to go visit her parents in Texas City, Texas.
Amanda sat down with Gwen, “I know inside your head, you’re not my Gwen. I want you to understand that in my eyes you are my daughter; consider me your mother and what is mine is yours. If you have any financial needs call me or send me a telegraph. I will bring down heaven or hell to help you.”
“When you go to San Francisco take the train and buy a car there.”
“Mothball Gwen’s Cadillac, Amanda.”
“Mothballit?”
“Take it to a mechanic, have him fix it up like new, drain the gas tank, oil pan, radiator and take the tires off. Buy spare parts for the car. If Gwen can’t come to the car the car can eventually get to Gwen and it will be a very valuable car then. Nora said she loved that car.”
Amanda had a twinkle in her eye, Gwen did love her Cadillac. It was her first car and she kept it in excellent condition.
“Also if you like stockings, buy them by the case. They will become very valuable in the next few years. You’ll need a car that doesn’t use a lot of gasoline and buy a couple of sets of tires and save them. Rubber will be hard to get.”
Amanda listened, so we will be at war with Japan, she thought.
“Get me a Wall Street Journal, let me make some stock suggestions for you. Don’t buy a lot of any one company but buy a little of a lot of companies.”
Amanda got up and went to her room and returned with a Wall Street Journal. Richard handled their businesses, while Amanda handled their investments. Gwen went through the New York Stock Exchange report. She didn’t recognize some of the stock ticker symbols, but Amanda seemed to know most of them. Gwen circled many symbols. Companies like Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M), National Cash Register, International Business Machines (IBM), Electric Boat Company, Container Corp of America, Minneapolis Honeywell, International Paper and Power, Douglas Aircraft and many more, she listed as buy. Many more she listed as don’t buy and some sell as fast as possible. Amanda made some notes to take a serious look at the families stocks.
Amanda took Gwen clothing shopping before she went up to San Francisco. Since she would be around Academics, she would be able to wear street clothes, wearing the uniform only when she had to make a report to a superior officer. Amanda bought her a five piece nesting trunk set.
Amanda went with Gwen to San Francisco. It was a fourteen hour train ride with all the stops the train made along the way. Amanda helped Gwen find a small house to rent just a couple of miles away from UC Berkley. Gwen bought a 1938 Packard Phaeton and a Schwinn ladies bicycle. When the weather was nice, she would ride her bike to the University, otherwise she would take her car.
Gwen did have to put on her uniform, drive to Oakland California and report to a General William Davis there. She drove her new car there and had to show the gate guard her orders, before she was allowed on base. She was given directions the Generals headquarters and where she could park.
General Davis looked over the major and could find no fault in her appearance. He then inspected her orders. He then ordered her to return to keep him briefed on their progress, the first weekend each month. He ordered her to start a contact log of people she talked with and especially people who sought her out. The General told her that she would be under covert surveillance at times and if she spotted any surveillance at all, she was to call it in to him or his adjutant with as much detail as possible.
She was also to report any unusual behavior, or activities of others in her department, or any unauthorized access to materials or facilities. She was also ordered to always carry her 1911A1 at all times she was out and about and to maintain proficiency with her firearm. She was informed that the base has a firing range that she WILL shoot at, at least monthly!
General Blake ordered her to report Master Sgt. Oliver Combs at the base range and to qualify with her weapon. He already had orders typed out and signed.
She inwardly groaned at the thought of maintaining a contact log and having to carry her sidearm whenever she was away from her home. She was currently wearing her 1911A1 as it was considered part of her uniform.
She drove to the bases range and handed over her orders. Master Sgt. Combs read her orders and read her the riot act. This was his range, her oak leaves didn’t mean shit when she stepped onto HIS range.
Major Gwendolyn NMI Manning requisitioned two hundred rounds from the Armory and Mater Sgt. Combs didn’t know why the old man wanted her to shoot so much. He didn’t need to know, but if she was going to carry a sidearm and be expected to shoot well, she would damn well be a good shot. He made her his personal student.
Major Manning in skirt, blouse, coat and flats, took her assigned station at the range. Sgt. Combs was all over her as he ran her through several extended courses of fire. He was pleased at her shooting, but didn’t tell her that. She had plenty of room for improvement after all. She kept her shots inside the eight ring, with most in the nine ring.
It was late when Major Gwendolyn Manning was dismissed and allowed to return home. She was surprised when she saw what Amanda had done to her home. The place was fully furnished, curtains were up and the kitchen was stocked.
“Thank you Mom, you didn’t have to do all of this.”
“Of course I did. You have to go to Berkley tomorrow, when would you have gotten this done.”
“Whenever I had the time, which would have been in a while.”
Amanda stayed a few more days, then returned to LA. Gwen went to the University and reported to Dr. Earnest Lawrence PhD., to begin her doctoral work.
Nora had arrived in Washington DC and was assigned a room at the women’s BOQ (Bachelor Officers Quarters) on the Marine Base at Eight and I. She reported to Colonel Jason Brandt. Colonel Brandt had given LtCdr Nora E. Davis the same spiel that Major Manning had received, except that LtCdr Nora Davis was expected to live on base and to wear the uniform of the day.
Nora had to take a military driving test, and was turned over to a Master Gunnery Sgt. to learn how to shoot, a Master Gunnery Sgt. had different ideas about who was a good shot, than the Navy had. The first few days she must have shot over two thousand rounds, before the Gunney was pleased with her progress.
She spent time learning where everything was and navigating around Washington DC, as she might be called upon to carry dispatches to various agencies. At the same time she also took lessons for the gunnery Sgt. in the radio room. She brought her abilities to send and receive Morse code up to twenty-two sending and thirty five receiving.
She also spent three hours each day receiving a very intense tuition in cryptography. There were thirty students in the class when she started. Within three months the class had been whittled down to eight. She was very good at this and her superiors were pleased with her performance.
Languages was another course of study, she had to take. She took German and Japanese. Nora learned that the Japanese sent their coded dispatches out in Romanji or Roman letters. Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana were just too complex to encode using telegraphy at this time.
After being in DC for a month, she had a brief case, filled with dispatches, chained to her wrist. Colonel Brandt went with her as she delivered the papers. Some of the papers she just dropped off with the recipient, others she had to hand them the dispatch, stay with them as they read it and have them sign off on the dispatch, before putting it back in her brief case.
After three months she received a Top Secret need to know clearance and started spending time in the Navy’s code room and The Department of State’s code rooms as an observer. She was there to learn. One person would decode a dispatch, pass it off to another person, who if needed would translate the dispatch to English, passing the plain text message off to another person who would classify and prioritize the message, determine the recipient and send the dispatch to the recipient.
Nora started out handling normal coded dispatch traffic as she was taught cryptography. In her classroom the codes she was given were getting harder and harder. She despaired that she too would be cut from the program, as some of the codes took her days to solve. Her instructors didn’t give her any clues as to how she was doing, but didn’t dress her down as they had done to some other students who were no longer here.
They introduced all sorts of encryption systems to the students. Some of the codes were virtually unbreakable. He told them that most of the quote unbreakable codes were more suited for intelligence assets rather than military or diplomatic uses. He then began introducing the students to code machines.
Jessie/Gwen started class with Earnest Lawrence as her doctoral advisor. She had picked a topic of using nuclear decay to produce power. She figured that was germane enough to what she would be doing for the Manhattan project and maybe she could prevent some of the bad things that happened with the nuclear power industry.
When she wasn’t studying for her courses, doing research for her Doctoral thesis, teaching some of Dr. Lawrence’s graduate classes, grading graduate papers, working with Dr. Lawrence on his cyclotron, or reporting to the General, she had time to herself. She did have some time for herself, but not a whole lot of time. Her own research was immediately classified and she was given a Secret classification. This meant that she could only work on her paper within her office at Berkley; she also had a short list of people that she could consult with or talk about her thesis to.
On the 3rd of September 1939, Britain Declared war on Germany. The code room in Washington was running hot with all hands on deck. Coded messages were coming in left and right. Everyone was working hard. Lieutenant Commander Nora Davis was desperately trying to decode the mountain of dispatches coming in. The Japanese were still using the RED and BLUE code machines, even though they were issuing more complex PURPLE code machines. The Japanese Navy still believed RED and BLUE were secure. The code room was able to get some second hand information about what was going on in Germany through the Japanese.
At the close of 1939 Dr. Lawrence, Dr. Seaborg and the General Blake, came to the conclusion that she was best needed elsewhere. So she was packed up and sent to Chicago to work with Enrico Fermi. She took the train; the army moved her belongings and her Packard to Chicago. She was now in the heart of the Manhattan project.
Gwen and a handful of doctoral students, under directions of Fermi and the other PhD’s began drawing up the plans for what would become Chicago Pile 1. Other students were handed the job of assembling pellets of uranium into rods, while others were charged with producing graphite rods.
Thanks to the Army SIS, PURPLE was broken and a PURPLE code machine was constructed. The United States was deep into the Japanese coded communications. Not being fluent in Japanese wasn’t a hindrance to LtCdr Davis. She could recognize many Japanese words and there were always translators around to confirm when she had hit the right settings and began decrypting transmissions.
She was on duty on December 6, 1941, when the Washington Station began receiving a long coded transmission. She worked with the man who was using the code machine to decrypt the message. Translators were looking over their shoulders and when they saw the tenor of the first few sections, they began waking people up, like the Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Secretaries of War Henry Stimpson and Navy Frank Knox and even President Franklin D. Roosevelt was awakened.
After the fourteen part document was translated, heavily guarded Couriers were sent out with brief cases attached to their wrists. The American code breakers actually beat the Japanese signals personnel at the Japanese Embassy in Washington by hours in decoding the infamous Fourteen part message.
Secretary Hull read the Fourteen part message as if he had never seen it and informed the Japanese Ambassador that bombs had already fallen hours earlier on Pearl Harbor.
On December 2, 1942 Chicago Pile 1 went critical for twenty eight minutes. George Weil pulled the last control rod, while Fermi was measuring neutron activity. Gwen took the readings and estimated the amount of power the pile was generating, if the pile had been generating steam.
Gwen finished out the semester and was moved again. In January of 1943 she moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico. Strangely she didn’t work with the fissionable materials but was assigned to the explosive experts who were assigned to crush the sphere.
In May of 1943 LtCdr Nora Davis was promoted to Commander and sent aboard to England to join in the work at Bletchley Park. She was happy that she could at least wear civies to work there, but the uniform de jour was a skirt and blouse.
Alan Turing was just starting to work on colossus and Nora got to work with Turing on the machine. The things that she and Roger had talked about helped her get up to speed and actually prove of assistance to Alan Turing.
Ever since the time she had worked with Roger, Nora had been thinking of code breaking mathematically trying to construct an algorithm to solve the codes. She would sit down and draw flow charts of steps and procedures. Alan had walked up behind Nora as she was drawing a flow chart. He didn’t say anything, he just watched her work. Alan put her on the programing team the next day.
Nora felt more relaxed than she had been in Washington. The need to perform was still there but here in England, she didn’t have as many officers, who didn’t know what she was actually doing looking over her shoulder. She was in with many more like minds. She did have to make reports to a superior officer, but they weren’t around the barracks where she was staying when she wasn’t working.
She fell in with groups of other ladies who were working at Bletchley. Like her they didn’t talk about what they did during their time at work. She started going with some of the women to a nearby pub. One time she was at the pub she met a charming RAF bomber pilot, by the name of Squadron Leader William Blythe May.
William was charming enough and handsome. She didn’t take offense when he snickered when Nora told him, that she was with the US military here. He jokingly said, “Maybe you should wear your uniform here so she could salute him.”
“I just might do that. How often do you come here?”
“After a flight or when I’m not on alert. I just can’t say for sure.”
He wouldn’t say even if he knew. Nora realized that. Knowing when a bomber pilot would or wouldn’t be on alert could tell a spy, when the planes would be on the ground or in the air.
“Well I will see you, when I see you then,” Nora said.
Nora reported the contact on her contact log turning it in at the end of the week.
She did go back to the pub in uniform. It was two weeks later when he came in with several members of his crew. They snapped to attention and saluted her. She smiled and returned their salute. She then had five men sitting at her table.
“You didn’t tell me you were a bloody commander.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“Are all of you women officers, so good looking?” Flight Lieutenant Jeffries, who flew on William’s wing asked.
“No, the uniform makes us all look the same.”
“Begging your Pardon Commander,” one of the aircraftmen said, “That just ain’t so Ma’am. You make that bloody uniform look good.”
S/Ldr May ordered a round of drinks for international co-operation.
After their drink, the aircraftmen excused themselves to hunt female companionship. Nora had another drink, but she needed to stay sober as long as she was in England. She made her excuse after a couple of hours and returned to her barracks.
Nora had weekend duty the next week. Dressed in Civies she kept going there. S/Ldr May wasn’t there the next weekend or the weekend after. S/Ldr Mays finally showed up with his face bandaged and his left arm in a sling.
“What happened to you William?”
“My plane took a buttload of flak from the Jerries. They are getting fucking better at shooting in the dark. I lost my bomb aimer, my navigator and my wireless operator. ”
“So how bad were you hurt.”
“I may not be flying anymore; I took some shrapnel to my right eye and broke my ulna on my right arm. I just did get my Lancaster back to base; my wounded engineer had to help me land. It will be a week or two till I find out if I am blind in my right eye or not.”
Nora took a slightly inebriated William to the apartment he was staying at and William found a use for some of those condoms they were being given, besides cover gun barrels. Nora though didn’t stay all night; she had duty the day after. She kissed William at three in the morning and made her way back to her barracks.
Jessie/Gwen was finding her work frustrating, it’s fairly easy to flatten a sphere with explosives or to get some really strange shapes, but it is very hard to crush a sphere so that it remains fairly spherical. They were making real progress, but the going was slow. There were just so many variables.
Gwen did get some time off and got to meet with Amanda in Albuquerque, a few times a year. It was early in 1944, that Jessie/Gwen found out that Gwen’s father Richard, had been killed. He had gone in to check on one of his contacts. He had run into a Japanese spy, the Americans thought, near Bangkok, although they still didn’t have a body, just a radio message from Richard’s contact in Malaysia. It had taken over a year and a half for this information to reach Amanda as the Americans had tried to verify the information.
Amanda and Jessie/Gwen got drunk that night and stayed in Amanda’s hotel room. Jessie/Gwen talked to Amanda about a guy she was working with. David Overton was a grad student at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, he was sort of a nerd, but brilliant at what he could do. He had enlisted in the Army, but they made him a Lieutenant and sent him here instead of Europe or the south pacific.
Amanda asked Jessie to compare him to Roger. Jessie stopped and thought about it.
“David is a lot like Roger. I hadn’t thought about Roger in a while. I’ve just been so busy to stop and miss him.”
“You may want to dress him up like you did Roger, but don’t. It could hurt the both of you.”
Amanda didn’t have to say it could destroy her security clearance, Jessie knew that.
“Amanda, I don’t think, that I will ever get back to the future. I couldn’t stand breaking relationships again. It was hard losing Roger and I have needs.”
“I could have told you that when you first couldn’t get back, that you probably wouldn’t get back. It was something you had to discover, Gwen. All I can say is follow your heart.”
Jessie/Gwen hugged Amanda and had to return to Los Alamos.
May of 1944 Bletchley Park noticed an increase in coded traffic from Germany. It was hard not to speculate what this meant. There were Americans everywhere. Things seemed to be building up.
S/Ldr May had the patch taken off his eye and the news wasn’t good. William traded the gauze patch with a black patch. Nora told him that he looked like a rogue or a pirate with his black eye patch.
“The better to steal your heart my dear Nora,” William said twisting
S/Ldr William May wound up driving a desk doing administrative duties for the RAF. He was in on planning the strikes the brass chose, working the intel desk. Since he had been where the RAF pilots were going, he worked to make the pilots’ job as safe as he could. He found it was harder sending pilots to highly dangerous missions, than it was flying the missions himself. He was always there in the mornings to count the planes as they returned. Nora and duty were all that kept him going.
Starting on June first all the code breakers were put on notice and had to remain in barracks if they were not on duty. They were told that it was critical that they decode any intercepts as quickly as possible for the next few weeks. Messages from or to the German high command were to be given priority.
S/Ldr May was knee deep in intel reports and mission requests. He basically stayed on base as he just caught quick cat naps, before digging back into the mountain of paper.
Nora and William were both too busy to realize that the other was also too busy. They both hoped that the other wouldn’t be upset that they hadn’t been around.
William was the first to realize what was happening as the RAF were pounding France from Calais to Caen and in for a hundred miles. The Code breakers soon were receiving a steady flow of frantic requests for re-enforcements from local commanders to the German high command.
Gwen’s group was making good progress as they began experimenting with the trigger system for the conventional explosives that would crush the plutonium sphere. Gwen was also making progress with Devid. She didn’t get him all dolled up like she had with Roger, but she got him to take better care of his appearance when he wasn’t working. They had also used quite a few condoms in their research.
Gwen hated Los Alamos when she got here. The place was hot, dry and dusty. She still hated it, but she didn’t have to wear those stuffy clothes that the real Gwen wore. She mostly wore Khaki slacks, a light cotton blouse, western boots and a pit helmet during the day and added layers of clothes as evening cooled to night. She missed her TV, computer and air conditioning most of all.
Only her Packard had air conditioning, you dropped the top and drove like crazy. This though was frowned upon in times of rationing. Because of her job, she received ration stamps for ten gallons of gasoline a week instead of eight. There really wasn’t a shortage of gasoline, it was rubber that was in so short of supply.
Nora received permission from her Admiral to get married to Wing Commander William Blythe May. William May got checked out by the US Navy, just as Nora Davis was checked out by the RAF. William knew that as soon as the war was over that he would be retired. So they agreed that he would follow Nora wherever she went. She was talking about staying in the Navy if they didn’t boot her when the war was over. They were married on the twenty-ninth of December 1944.
Everybody was hoping for a War end by Christmas. The Ardennes Counteroffensive threw a monkey wrench into that idea. The Germans weren’t laying down and playing dead.
February 5th 1945 Nora was sent back to Washington DC. The Allies seemed to be months away from ending the war there. Her commanders felt that the Japanese would be a tougher nut to crack. Nora arrived back in Washington on the tenth of February and went back to work.
By this time Gwen and her group had been very successful and the effort was shifted to bomb building. The actual work of assembling the bomb fell to Oppenheimer and the senior staff. The junior staff there worked in support.
The war in Europe ended in May and in June Wing Commander William May rejoined his wife in Washington. Nora continued to work in the message center handling Purple traffic.
David Overton was in seventh heaven when he got to blow up one hundred eight tons of TNT on May 7. It was the largest explosion he had ever gotten to detonate.
July 16, 1945 Gwen was at the twenty mile mark. She set up the instruments to measure radiation at the site she was at. David was at the barracks, when The Gadget was detonated at the Trinity Site. A couple of minutes after it was detonated, he and the others at the base felt the explosion. David was heard saying, son of a bitch.
August 6th little boy was dropped on Hiroshima and on August 9th Nagasaki saw the fat man dropped on their city. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 and signed a formal surrender on September 2nd.
The doctoral students at Los Alamos were allowed to go back to school. Gwen and David were put on 30 days leave while the military decided what to do with them and the other doctoral students that they had drafted.
Gwen sent her Packard home by rail and followed it three days later. David came with her and got to meet Amanda in LA. Nora and William joined them a few days later. Nora was asked to stay on as a crypto-analyst and she decided to accept the Navy’s offer.
While everyone was there Gwen announced that David had proposed to her on the train ride, from Santa Fe, NM. She then put on the engagement ring that David had given her a few days before. He had waited till he was in LA to go shopping for a ring.
Amanda, Nora and Gwen had a girls day at a salon and a heart to heart talk at the Brown Derby.
“I just want you to know that I love both of you,” Amanda said. “I see that you are both tied to other people now and that my Gwen will probably not be coming back. I will miss her, but I can’t ask you two to stop your lives, just to get my Gwen back. Also I don’t expect my Gwen would want to come back after carrying a baby for nine months.”
“I am sorry Gwen said. I wish this had never happened, but it did. I love David as much as I loved Roger. You’re right I couldn’t turn my back on him.”
“I feel the same way with William. I really did need what I got from Roger and I really missed Gwen, but now I couldn’t leave William, even if Gwen came back.”
“Good we got that out of the way. Gwen, I took those stocks that you told me about and even in times of war, I was almost able to almost double my worth. I sold Richard’s business interests in the south pacific and invested that money. I want to give a portion of that to my Gwen. So I want you and I Gwen to invest a portion of it for Roger and Gwen and a portion for you, Nora and your husband William. I know you can give me some good guidance Gwen.”
“I think we can do that Mom.” Gwen said kissing Amanda’s cheek.
“You don’t have to do that Amanda,” Nora said.
“Of course I do. I still love you Nora and you meant so much to my Gwen. So be a gracious woman and say that you Mom.”
“Thank you Mom,” Nora said, kissing Amanda’s other cheek. “I think we also need to send Roger and Gwen a letter through the room.”
“It’s been eight years since the swap. How much time has passed for them?” Amanda asked.
“Probably no time at all, we could write a letter and it will be like Roger and Gwen would get it when they wake up,” Gwen said. “The future hasn’t happened yet.”
“Let’s do that girls, each of you write a letter to Gwen and to Roger and tomorrow we will drop it off in the closet.”
Amanda went by the Stationers and bought some special stationary and pens. They each wrote a letter to Gwen and each wrote one to Roger. They drive to the house they shared and put the letters in the secret room.
“Don’t ever sell this house Gwen, and keep it in good condition,” Nora said.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I am still trying to figure it out. It’s a conundrum.”
The Gwen/Jessie woke and entered Roger’s room. Roger/Renee was just beginning to stir as she came in Roger/ Renee was wearing Nora’s clothes. Gwen lay next to Renee and tried to inhale Nora’s scent, from the clothes. She hugged the boy dressed in her lovers’ clothes. Renee woke to find Gwen crying on her shoulder. He hugged the woman and kissed her on her forehead. Gwen looked up and kissed Renee ravenously.
Things continued for quite a while as the two were almost frantic in their actions. Gwen became very aggressive in their actions. It was she who undressed Renee and it was she who decided what they were doing. Renee loved Gwen enough to let her do what she needed to do. Renee was Gwen’s first and the sex they had was magical. Gwen collapsed on Renee’s chest when she was done.
When they finally stirred, they got up and took a bath together.
Gwen giggled as she looked at what they, or rather she had done to the gurlpants. They were almost shredded. Renee had several pair, though and without being asked put another one on while Gwen watched. They then dressed quite alike, in panties, jeans, bra, t-shirts and heels.
Renee then checked the secret compartment and found the letters. Both sets of letters were quite long and dated years after they had first met. Renee said they were written in less than a year after the war. The letters explained what Nora and Jessie as Gwen had done from the day after Roger and Nora last met. Nora apologized for falling in love with an English aviator and marrying him, it was the times they were in and one thing led to another. Jessie told Gwen about David and how she fell in love with him, while they were blowing things up. The letters made them happy and sad at the same time, but explained many things.
“Can we go back to that beach house and I need to be away from this house, Renee,” Gwen said. “I want to sit on the beach and think.”
“Sure, we can use it all summer long. My friend is out of the country right now. He hates to leave it unoccupied.”
They packed up and were on the road just after lunch driving up Cabrillo highway. Gwen, who was comfortable behind the wheel by now, shared the driving duties. She had fun driving Renee’s massive SUV. They stopped to watch the sun set into the Pacific Ocean.
It was after two in the morning when they got back to the beach house. They hadn’t raced to get there and stopped a couple of times for fuel and food. The both of them dropped their bags at the door and collapsed in a bed together, still in their blouses and jeans. The rising sun found the two of them entwined in each other’s arms.
The sun was well up when Gwen woke. Neither of them had closed the curtains on the westward wall and light was flooding in. Gwen felt wicked and blew a raspberry on the sleeping Renee’s neck. Renee woke with a start causing Gwen to flop off the bed and onto the floor.
Instead of cooking they both got cleaned up and went out to eat. Gwen loved that there were so many restaurants. The food was as good as she could cook. Nora was the cook at their home and at her mother’s home they had cooks. Renee could cook pretty well, but then they had to clean up. Now though she resolved to learn how to cook for her daughter. She knew in her heart she was having a girl.
On the way back to the beach house Renee picked up some live bait. Renee got the fishing rods out of the garage and they went to the beach to sit and think and fish. Renee got the rods and the chairs and they went down to the beach. There were a few people around mostly neighbors, who were doing what people do on the beach, walking dogs, throwing frisbees, swimming, looking at the surf and of course fishing.
Renee stuck a pair of rod holders a foot deep into the sand. They then baited their hooks and cast them out into the sea. Gwen barely got a chance to sit, when her rod tip dramatically bent. She got her rod and set the hook sharply and began to fight the fish. She could tell she had a halibut, by the way it was sucking up its body on the sandy soil of the beach. That made it much harder to reel in. She waded waist deep and kept her rod tip high, reeling it in till the tip was level then pulling the tip up high again.
Renee got a hit too, though her fish was running and it was a big one. It was easier to fight than Gwen’s whose fish was still hugging the bottom. Renee headed her fish away from Gwen so they wouldn’t get tangled together and landed a huge striped bass about a yard long and maybe ten to twelve inches from stomach to back. It was a female ready to head to an estuary to spawn so she released it.
Gwen was just getting her fish near shore. Renee took her line and pulled it perpendicular to the shore and helped land the halibut. Gwen was exhausted but was smiling from ear to ear. The halibut weighed in at twenty two pounds ten ounces. Renee told Gwen to relax and took the fish to the cleaning station they had at the bottom of their stairs from the beach house.
Renee gutted and cleaned the halibut, tossing the guts to the gulls, which fought over the entrails. She then fileted the fish and took the filets into the kitchen to cook some and refrigerate the rest. Renee was just about to put the fish in the broiler when Gwen came in. She helped Renee fix the rest of the meal, frying the potatoes as Renee was making her tartar sauce.
They ate a belated lunch, Gwen loved the Halibut almandine. She asked him how she fixed it. Renee began to tell her what she used and how she brought it together. Renee asked Gwen about her cooking. She said she always had someone else do the cooking for her.
“Well I am far from a master chef, but I can teach you the basics. I make a killer cheese cake.”
“Ohhh I love cheesecake.”
“Let me see what we have in the fridge and I can get the rest of the ingredients at the supermarket.”
After they cleaned up after lunch Renee made a list on her tablet of the things she needed and checked off what she had.
They went to the same bed room and got cleaned up. Dressed in Jeans and T’s they headed out.
Gwen looked at the four car garage and asked, “Why don’t you park in the garage?”
“It’s already full of cars. My friend William has four old classical cars in there.”
“Oh really,” Gwen said. “How old are the cars?”
“There is one from the twenties, and three from the thirties. I’m not into classical cars, so don’t ask me what they are.”
“Can you show me when we get back. Those cars are from my time period.”
“Sure, if you want to drive any of them. I just have to call the mechanic to look what you want to drive over. William likes to have them driven a bit, whenever anybody he trusts is here. For some reason I can’t fathom, he trusts me. I’m afraid I might break them.”
Gwen was amazed at the size of the supermarket. The store itself seemed to be a half an acre. She was a little clingy as they entered the store. Renee led her through the various departments asking what types of food she liked. Renee hit the fruits and vegetables, picking a dozen ears of corn amongst the other things. She then hit the can goods, the baking aisle and so on finishing in the meat and dairy section. Renee would barbecue tomorrow. Fish and barbecue were the things Renee did best, next was Cajun foods. She could have bought crawfish, but she would work Gwen into that first. They soon filled the cart Renee was pushing and Gwen picked up another cart and they began adding things to it.
Gwen was used to food shopping with Nora. She would drive them to the various stores and help with carrying the bags into their home. The supermarket with everything in one store was great, though she nearly had a coronary when the clerk announced a price well over four hundred dollars. She could have emptied a meat market and a produce market with that much money.
It took them three trips from car to the kitchen to get everything inside and then half an hour to put everything away. Gwen was fascinated by all the features of the kitchen, from the refrigerator light to the huge freezer. Renee explained their operator as one scientist to another as they worked. They had to sit down for a few minutes to cool off.
After they had sat for a few minutes, Renee said, “Let’s go look at the cars.”
“Good I love cars. The fancier the better,” Gwen said.
Renee punched in a ten digit number into the security pad. She explained the security system to Gwen. When the light turned green the door unlocked and the lights came on. They entered the garage. The first car they came to was a thirty-two Duesenberg.
“I know that car it’s a thirty two Duesenberg, my father had one like that. Boy is that thing fast.”
The next car a thirty-seven Lincoln model ‘K’, Gwen began to smell a rat, their family car had been a thirty-seven Lincoln Model ‘K’ and it looked just like that car. The next car she recognized as a Packard, but didn’t know anything about it.
Gwen skidded to a stop though when she came to the last car. It was her 36 Cadillac Phaeton convertible, up on jack stands with the wheels off. She was sure of that. She almost ran around it and jumped into the driver’s side door. She didn’t start it, she didn’t know if it had any oil in the crankcase or water in the radiator, but she knew this was her car. It had the original steering wheel and she could feel a spot where a ring she liked to wear, had worn the wheel a bit. Everything was like she remembered it. She reached under her seat and pulled out an umbrella she kept there. It wasn’t the same umbrella but it was there. She then checked out the license plate. It was her license plate.
“Who the hell is this friend William? This is the car I drove Nora around in.”
“His name is William Sherman Jennings Russell. I met him at the university.”
“We had a neighbor named William Jennings Russell; he was on the board of Standard Oil CO. of California. William hoped to marry his son, William the second off to me.”
“Williams father, William Jennings Russell the fourth is on the board of SoCalGas.”
“This is my mother’s doing, god bless her. Call the mechanic; I want to drive my car.”
Gwen was caught up with sadness for a few seconds as she realized that her Mom had most likely passed away by this time. The she thought of her Nora and Jessie. According to Renee this was sixty, no seventy years past her the time she was last with Nora. They were probably gone too. She turned and grabbed hold of Renee and cried. Renee could guess what was going on in Gwen’s mind, she just held the crying girl.
“I am sorry it happened this way Gwen. I would do anything I could to make it not so.”
“Don’t say that Renee… Roger. This isn’t your fault. Fate has a twisted sense of humor. You also have lost someone you love and if I can be even a small part of your future, then I will be. I can see why Jessie loved you. You are as kind a man as I have ever known. Yet there is real strength in your heart and soul.”
Renee couldn’t help it but she began crying herself. After a few minutes Gwen kissed Renee, passionately. It didn’t take much encouragement to move into the bedroom. Renee did hit the button that closed the drapes this time.
That evening they dined on hot pastrami on pumpernickel with lettuce, pickles and tomatoes topped with Russian dressing. Gwen loved her sandwich. Renee then taught Gwen to make a chocolate chip mint cheesecake, while she made a Turtle cheesecake. They had small slices of each as they watched television and drank brandy.
Gwen finally made use of some of Jessie’s bedtime lingerie and got Renee into it too, which was fun for both of them.
The next day they sat down to have a study session. The mechanic came to work on all the cars and get them street ready. They went out on the back balcony to study and listen to the ocean. Renee knew a lot about Jessie’s course of study, but at the same time it was clear at just how much more advanced Jessie had to be. Gwen was reading Jessie’s laptop notes; she found that her notes were brilliant. Gwen had to go back and forth reading the excerpts of reference works. She was beginning to understand Quantum Field Theory a bit, but she was far from the expert, that Jessie had been.
“Jessie told me that Quantum Field Theory was part of the framework that led up to the search for the Higgs Boson and the Higgs Field.”
“Have they discovered the Higgs Boson yet?” Gwen asked.
“Not yet but they are building the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva Switzerland, in hopes of discovering the Higgs Boson.”
“Cern?”
“Oh sorry, I put the cart before the horse. CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The group was created to fund and build the collider.”
Renee then explained what she knew of colliders and such as they walked up and down the beach. Gwen found an intact sand dollar. Renee put it in her pocket. When they got back to the beach house the mechanic was just finishing with all the cars. He also told then about and showed them where there was a closet of vintage clothing. There were racks of vintage driving clothes ladies’ and men’s dusters, hats with scarfs to tie them down. Most of the clothes were from before Gwen’s time, but she had seen pictures of men and women wearing these clothes in open cab autos of the 1900’s. The dusters were tan or black, but much of the rest of the vintage clothing, was quite colorful.
Renee and Gwen both selected dresses, lingerie and shoes from the closet, although Renee couldn’t find any vintage shoes and they scuttled to their room to dress. They had to help each other dress. There was nary a zipper on any of the clothes, and the dressed buttoned up the back. Renee wore a pair of calf high boots with her lovely blue outfit, while Gwen went with a number in cream lace dress with button hook above the ankle shoes. They both wore hats tied with scarves.
Gwen put the top down on her Cadillac Phaeton and looked at the garage door.
“Can you open the door, Renee?”
“Sure can,” Renee said. She found the remote and hit a button. The door rolled up.
Gwen smiled at that and went through the procedures for a cold start. Her car started like a dream.
“Drive outside and let me close the garage door.”
Gwen drove fifteen feet and Renee hit a button to close the garage door. When it closed Gwen drove off. She was at home in her Car Renee would give her directions to a park they could drive through. Away from the big city, the traffic was moderate, which was heavy for Gwen, but she was fearless nonetheless. The Cadillac in such good condition received a lot of attention as it rolled by. The two pretty girls in vintage clothing added to the allure the car had.
Gwen was having fun as she drove. They got to the park and drove around on a shaded road. The park was quite busy with children playing, people jogging on the trails and people having picnics.
“Too bad we can’t stop for a walk, we can’t leave this car unattended, it can be stolen in a minute, or damaged by pranksters. A car like this in original condition is worth a lot of money.”
They did stop though and walk around within a stone’s throw of the car, never getting more than thirty yards away. Quite a few park goers asked the girls to model with the car. Most used their cell phone cams to photograph them. Renee hand her tablet to a lady runner and had her take their picture. One man, who had several thousands of dollars of cameras, came up to them and offered a business card. He asked, no make that begged the two women to let him photograph them and the car. Renee looked the guy up on her tablet and found that he had a website, a Facebook page and a Better Business Bureau rating of B+. Renee and Gwen talked it over, they were having fun. They agreed and followed him to the Golden Gate Bridge.
The photographer found a green spot near the bridge where the car could be displayed with the bridge in the background. The car looked wonderful; San Francisco had a nice ocean breeze that kept the sky crystal clear. What surprised the two girls was that a makeup artist arrived while the man was setting up his cameras. He took pictures for an hour and the makeup artist did their makeup and kept them looking fresh.
“We don’t need money but can we get a large print of the best shot?” Renee said.
“Sure, if you will just sign these releases.”
Renee scrutinized the release. It was just a standard photo release and the photographer listed as compensation a 32 x 40 framed print. Renee and Gwen weren’t concerned about the commercial exploitation of these innocuous, but nice photos.
The man displayed them on his laptop computer. Gwen was flabbergasted, but didn’t let it show. She selected three photos, and Renee selected two more. The man said he would be delighted to give them the five prints and the one he would select. He took their address and after he gave the girls hugs, he left on his way.
When the girls stopped for Gas on the way home they had a large crowd around the car. One old man volunteered to pump the gas for them. Gwen and Renee answered questions about the car, as many people wanted to take their pictures with the car.
For dinner that night, they had salads, dirty rice, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce and blackened Cajun style halibut. Gwen had never been a really spicy food eater, but the halibut and the dirty rice were just so delicious.
Renee and Gwen were heading to the living room to watch television, when the phone rang. Renee answered the phone, “Hello,”
“Thank God, your there Roger. My laptop had a meltdown and there is a lot of critical data on it,” William told him. “Really the data is priceless. Do you think you could spend some time on it and help me out?”
“You didn’t save the data to an off-site storage?”
“No I didn’t, I’m not sure some of those places are safe.”
“I thought you were in Europe for the summer.”
“I was but the board called me back.”
“Sure, bring the laptop and another laptop like it with you, William, along with an IT toolkit.”
“No problem, you are a real life saver dude,” William said, hanging up.
Renee began laughing as she thought about that word ‘dude’ and how she looked right now. She could easily go back to looking like Roger, but she didn’t know if she wanted that now.
“It seems, you will get to meet my benefactor tomorrow. He has computer problems.”
Renee pulled Gwen down in his lap as they sat on the couch, “You will have to help me to dress tomorrow. I want to see how he will react to a beautiful Renee Brandon and you will have to Jessie Walker.”
Gwen knew this was coming; she would have to take on Jessie’s life sooner or later. She would need Renee’s help, but she could do this.
Renee at this moment was driving Jessie mad, as she was nibbling on a spot on her throat, which was sending fire and electricity up and down her spine as she was watching TV. Then when his hand touched that spot between her legs, she couldn’t get them both undressed fast enough. She was terribly hot and bothered. She was in control enough to work the silicone panty off of Renee, before she ravished the poor dear right there on the sofa.
Gwen now Jessie couldn’t believe how quickly she went from normal to wanton at the hands of Renee. Renee seemed to know just which buttons to push, to light her fire. That thing that made Renee so special, gave the new Jessie so much pleasure, it was hard to believe.
Renee was flabbergasted that the new Jessie could keep him going for so long. Roger hadn’t been a quick shooter before, but this Jessie seemed to know how to keep her motor running for over an hour. She was also able to kick start little Roger or make that little Renee now and to do it all over.
“Oh, if this is going to work, Renee,” Jessie said, while riding him a second time. “You’re going to have to marry me.”
“Tonight?” a groaning Renee asked.
“No you idget, not tonight but soon. I’ll not have our daughter grow up without proper parents.”
Renee came again inside Jessie, and began laughing hysterically.
“Normal parents,” Renee got out between laughs, “A father who, prefers to dress as a girl and a mother who is part of two people, one of whom was born in the 1910’s.”
Jessie couldn’t help but laugh at those ironies herself as she lay panting on Renee’s chest, “Well maybe normal might be a bit out there, but at least she will have two people who deeply care about her.”
“It could be a boy.”
“No I feel a feminine spirit inside me.”
“A cross-dressing boy maybe.”
Gwen laughed at that. That laugh sent ripples through her that reached Renee’s shriveled manhood, causing it to respond and harden again, which lit a fire in Gwen.
They were both exhausted when they got to bed that night. They just collapsed in bed together clinging to each other.
They were both surprised to wake as the sky was beginning to lighten. They sat naked on a sofa and watched the waves roll in from the ocean. The gulls were out fishing in the surf. At seven they got up and took their baths and made to get ready for the day.
Renee had brought the entire wardrobe of clothes she had worn since this chapter began so long ago. After Jessie had gone through it all, she settled on the Hepburn pants and a very feminine blouse. Renee found herself corseted back in her gurl shorts and dressed to emphasize her bust. Renee was made to wear her highest heels with that outfit.
Jessie had fun doing Renee’s hair up in a style that was in keeping with Kathryn Hepburn and the time that Gwen had lived in. The makeup was the part that Renee really liked as Jessie did a Hollywood Starlet glamour look, it was a little much for early morning, but the look fit her. Renee’s cheekbones and lips became the best features on her face, although her eyes weren’t too bad either. Jessie just dressed in a nice skirt and blouse, with normal hair, makeup and heels. The Gwen part of Jessie had fun playing dress up with Renee.
At ten a bright red Ferrari pulled up in front of the beach home. Jessie met him and helped him bring all the gear in. William didn’t bat an eye as he walked by Renee setting the precious laptops down on the dining room table.
“Roger or whatever you are calling yourself, I really need your expertise.”
Renee sat and when she had everything she needed began to work.
“I was working, while I was plugged in. Something happened and the laptop smoked and died.”
“You shouldn’t let the magic smoke out of the computer. These things run on smoke, when they lose the smoke they die,” Renee said giggling. “I am Renee by the way, when I am dressed like this.”
Renee worked about two hours on the laptops opening both up, pulling the hard drives out and reinserting the important hard drive into the new laptop. He really could have gone to a competent IT person to do it, but Renee was more than competent. Renee was able to save the data and do a bit of unscrambling of the last bits of data. William jumped into working on the new laptop adding some lost bits of data, organizing and formatting it.
“I gotta run Renee, but I will be back in a couple of hours. I know you two have some questions. I will have some guests with me when I come back. I like the new you Renee.”
“How many guests? I will have dinner ready when you get here.”
“Me plus two. One needs a more bland plate. Gotta run.” William said, scurrying out the door.
They heard an engine roar and tires screech as the car pealed out of the drive.
“He looks a lot like his… great, great grandfather,” Jessie said, figuring three generations from ‘The Senior William Russell’ she knew.
Jessie helped Renee plan a meal fit for people like she had been, as far as what dishes to make. Renee pulled some recipes off the internet of things they could make without going shopping. They got right to work. Jessie was put to work chopping vegetables for a gumbo, while Renee made hush puppies, baked fish, red and tartar sauces, coleslaw, fried oysters, mashed potatoes and shrimp, some boiled, some fired.
Renee had to threaten Jessie with a spanking if she didn’t stop nibbling while she was cooking, “If you keep nibbling you won’t be able to eat when our guests arrive.” She finally had to chase a laughing Jessie out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon in her hand. Jessie had two shrimp in her hands and a shrimp tail sticking out of her mouth.
Jessie cleaned her hands and then spent fifteen minutes setting five places at the dining room table.
“Renee they are here.”
William got out of the limo and helped two ladies out. The first was a young woman, about William’s age and an older lady. Gwen knew who it was as soon as she saw her. It was her, or rather it was Jessie/Gwen.
“Oh my God, Renee it is your Jessie.”
It was Gwendolyn Overton in her nineties standing tall and proud, yet walking well if a little slow.
They greeted William at the door and led them into the living room.
After they were inside and Gwendolyn was seated William made the introductions. “Renee, Jessie, this is my wife Gwendolyn Overton Russell, call her Gwendolyn and her great grandmother Gwendolyn Overton, call her Gwen, it will help keep things straight. Jessie, Gwendolyn, this is Renee Brandon and Jessie Walker.”
“Dinner will be ready in five minutes,” Renee said. “I have a bland plate ready for you Gwen.”
“Why on earth would I eat a bland plate of food? The bland plate is for my great granddaughter; she is pregnant and can’t keep spicy or fried foods down right now.”
They sat at the dining table and had a pleasant meal. Gwendolyn wanted her husband to hire Renee as her cook. Renee thanked her but said she had a full time job, working on her doctorate and keeping her pregnant fiancé in line.
Gwendolyn’s eye became brilliant as she looked at Jessie Walker, “How far along are you?”
“I checked after I missed my first period. I got a couple of negative tests, but the last two were positive, last week.”
Mrs. Russell smiled and said, “Wait a couple more weeks before you go to the doctor. They sometimes aren’t as good as those home tests are. I got a home positive, went to the doctor and got a negative and two weeks later the doctor changed his tune.”
“I guess I need to hunt a good doctor down, but I don’t know where we will be living.”
“I don’t feel comfortable at the old place either,” Renee said. “But I do want to go back to Stanford for my Doctorate.”
“Me too.”
“I have been meaning to tell you Renee. Great Grandmother had me put this place and the cars in the garage in your name. You will need a house in LA too to go to Stanford,” William said. “I can arrange a house in Malibu for you two.”
“Will, be a dear and let us have some girl time here,” Gwendolyn said, after they finished eating. “Come back in about two hours. I need to talk to these two.”
“When the chairman of the board tells me to take a hike, I take a hike,” William said. He left after kissing his wife and her great grandmother on the cheek.
When they were all alone, Gwen turned to Jessie and said. “Granny here tells me you are the real Gwendolyn Manning.”
“Yes, she is wearing my body, but she is the real Jessie Walker and I am the real Gwendolyn Manning.”
“How did this happen?”
“I have had much time to consider it, but I have never come up with a reasonably scientific explanation, at least not one that will conform to scientific analysis,” the old lady said. “There was a need for information exchange, Gwen and I got caught up in the exchange. Before I go on, your mother Amanda Manning has a present for you. She passed in 69 but asked that I make sure you received this.” Gwendolyn said opening her briefcase. “It is a portfolio worth approximately a hundred million or so. She and I picked and choose the various investments over the last seventy years.”
“And you didn’t use insider information at all,” Renee said laughing.
“Heavens no. Don’t even say that. The SEC has ears everywhere. I will admit to selling Enron and World Com at least a year before their crashes and I never was on their Board of Directors.”
“I bet you are on the board of Microsoft and Intel.”
“And Apple. Plus about a dozen other Corporations. I have a present for you too Roger.” Gwendolyn said handing Roger a portfolio.
“That is a portfolio worth about fifty million. You didn’t lose as much as Gwen did.”
Renee began crying, “I don’t need this. I still love you Jessie.”
“I love you too. I will be gone in the next few years, but Gwen needs you more, right now. She is carrying our baby.”
“What about Nora?” Gwen asked.
“Nora married her English airman and carried on as a Navy Cryptanalyst. She retired as a Rear Admiral in seventy four and passed away in ninety two. She had so wanted to meet with you too. Especially when her husband passed, but she didn’t want to pressure you to come back. She didn’t die alone; she had a happy life and had many wonderful grandkids to take care of her. She loved you so much.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, everyone just hugged everyone else.
“What are we going to do about the house?” Renee asked.
“I don’t know, fate might need it again,” Gwendolyn said. “even if it was the house, that was the link. I’m not sure that it couldn’t have been Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos having fun. I have the same amount of evidence for both.”
“Well we are getting married as soon as possible,” the Jessie said.
“Let’s fly to Vegas tomorrow.” Renee said
“You can use my corporate jet to fly there and back,” Gwendolyn said.
“A jet.”
“One of those big silver birds you see flying. A plane that uses jet engines,” Renee said, pulling a picture of a Boeing jet up on her tablet.
“Ok and why a dirt water gambler’s town like Las Vegas.”
“Renee don’t say a thing, Gwen your last statement about Vegas was only half right. Gwendolyn call William and have him get the jet ready and our Suite at the Aria Sky Suites in Vegas ready. We leave in two hours.”
Renee and Gwen went to pack their bags.
“I am sorry about you losing Nora, Jessie. I kinda know how you feel. We don’t have to do this, I will still be by your side, regardless.” Renee said. “I will do my best to love you like you deserve to be.”
“I will miss Nora very much and there will be times that I will cry about it, but our child needs both of us and I really want our child to have you as a parent Renee. I like you too, you drive me crazy.”
“Do you love me?” Renee asked.
“Yes, not like my Nora, but I do love you and I will love our baby.”
“I can live with that.”
William and the Limo picked them up and drove them to the airstrip. The Gulfstream jet was sitting on the tarmac and the pilots were doing their pre-flight check. A steward came out and took all the bags and stowed them away. Miss Walkers head was on a swivel taking in the sights of all the giant beasts around them.
Once they were on the plane, Jessie asked, “How long a flight is it to Las Vegas two, three hours?”
“Try a little over an hour. That is by the scenic route also. I asked the pilot to do a circle around the city so you can see what a dirt water town Vegas is.”
They flew around Vegas twice spiraling into the airport. Gwen was given a front seat view through her port hole at the city and all the lights. Gwen remembered driving through Vegas with her mother and father on their way somewhere. It was just a desert then and a dozen buildings or so in the twenties. The lights were the most fascinating feature of the city.
While they circled the city Gwendolyn had a private talk with Renee about several things.
A limousine met them at the airport and took them to the heart of the city. It too took the tourist route to the hotel. It was an amazing trip. Jessie though was concerned when a wheel chair met them at the hotel.
“My bones are old and my legs tire easily, but my heart is strong dear.” Gwendolyn said. “This is what I do to keep William and my great granddaughter happy. I don’t plan on dying for years yet. I am ninety seven, I want to live to a hundred seven at least.”
The suite took up a third of a floor and had a dozen rooms to it. Jessie went with Gwendolyn to her suite to help her get ready for bed. Renee and Jessie went to bed in another bedroom. Jessie just held onto Renee tightly.
When Jessie woke, she was alone for the first time in since Renee’s last trip into the past. When she exited the suite, Gwen Russell was the only person there.
“Great Grandma wanted to spend a little time with Roger. They have been apart for seventy years. I am supposed to take you clothing shopping after we eat. You’ll love the stores here. You know the way I figure it. You are my Great Grandma too. One who would look so good in the clothes I wear.”
Jessie had to laugh as she thought about it. This girl was from her line in the past, “I guess I am. So you do believe, in all of this.”
“She told me the dates of things she had no way of knowing would happen, since I was a kid. I finally asked her if she was a psychic. She paw-pawed that and then told me her story. I didn’t believe her, but how else can I explain the hundreds of things she told me. It was like a history lesson of things that were going to happen. The most conclusive was the hanging chad event in Florida. We had a president of the United States, elected by a controversy, in a state his brother was governor of over thirty days after the election and an obscure reason for that election. She told me too many details too far ahead of the election. She told me about the collapse of two huge corporations, while the companies were soaring. She told me about a couple of disasters, terrorist attacks that were coming. She was either psychic or what she said was true. She saved my Dad by sending him out of the country on business.”
A waiter arrived with their breakfasts on a cart. Gwen signed the check and he took off. After they had their coffee and finished their food, they went to their rooms and dressed for the day.
Gwen overwhelmed Jessie over the next seven hours, Gwen was a professional clothing buyer for a major high end chain retailer. They first bought two sets of Louis Vuitton luggage and had them sent back to the hotel room. That was followed by hitting almost every high end fashion store and boutique in Las Vegas. Mrs. Russell even did some shopping for Renee that Jessie and Renee didn’t know about. Jessie found it strange shopping and not carrying any bags, but whatever she and Jessie Russell liked just disappeared, except the red Oscar de la Renta skirt and jacket suit, and the red Jimmy Choo open toe pumps she now wore.
They finally wound up at Josephine’s Salon at five. Gwen always loved going to the salon, even though some of the procedures were a pain. This salon was different, yes the chemicals still smelled, but the procedures weren’t as big a pain. She had her legs waxed, a big pain then and now, gel nails, a perm, color, cut, she had her makeup matched, applied and a tutorial on DVD’s with a professional makeup case filled with makeup. The perm had been the biggest change; she loved not being wired to what looked like an electrocution device called a Frederick’s Hair Permanent Machine. Seeing herself in the mirror with one of those monstrosities clinging to her head, was enough to put her off getting a perm.
Jessie looked and felt great as they returned to the suite at eight. Renee smiled and greeted them with kisses. Jessie had to take a step back and look at Renee, she had changed. It was her boobs they were at least a cup or two larger.
“What were you two up to today? Your breasts look larger.”
“They are and they are as real as modern cosmetic surgery can make them. Gwendolyn and I had a talk. She apologized for getting me into dresses and skirts.”
“It was more my fault. I did that to Nora and you just got caught up in it.”
“But I didn’t not like it Jessie. I have always been a little effeminate. But when I saw what I could look like, I fell in love with the way I looked. I had surgical implants today. Be careful touching them they are a little sore. This doesn’t change anything does it?”
Jessie just grabbed Renee’s hand and pulled him into their room. She undressed him down to his bra and panties feeling for little Roger. She then had Renee remove her bra. Renee chest was bruised, she showed Jessie where she was bandaged near her armpits. Renee explained the procedure to Gwen.
“Did you go to a hospital to do this?”
“No I went to a clinic and the surgery was done on an outpatient basis. I was in and out in five hours. I have to go back the day after tomorrow.”
“Are you hurting?”
“No, they gave me some really good pills. They make me kid of loopy.”
Jessie giggle, “It’s hard to tell if you are loopy or not, you dingbat.”
“This doesn’t change things does it?”
“No, somebody is going to have to take care of you, to keep you from cutting something off I’ve grown to like,” Jessie said copping a feel down below.
“Gee you’re just like a guy, you only care for my body,” Renee said. “I have to put my bra back on. I am supposed to wear this one and a couple of others like it for four or five days, while I heal up.”
“I am jealous yours are bigger than mine. Just how big are you?”
“After the swelling goes down, I am supposed to be a 36 D. You have no reason to be jealous, yours are real. After the baby comes, you can get yours done too.”
“Can we still get married.”
“I am still a male legally, just packaged a little differently. I have to say that you look marvelous Jessie. I like what you’ve done to your hair.”
“Gwen and I spent the day shopping and ended up at a salon. I do appreciate the modern salons over what I had in the past. Oh tomorrow we have to go to the courthouse and get our marriage license.”
The next day they went to Clarke County Court House and got their marriage license. The clerk who issued the license hardly batted an eyelash; she had seen many strange things in the license office. She did scrutinize the signature on Roger’s driver’s license and the signature on the license application.
Gwen took Renee then and went shopping, while Gwendolyn went with Jessie shopping.
Renee was fitting with a tuxedo that didn’t hide any of her girlish figure. When you have an Am Ex black card, you can get a lot of things done well in a hurry. The tux fit like a glove, except the legs were a looser fit.
After the tux, Renee received the same treatment that Jessie had the day before. They didn’t buy a single piece of clothing that was anywhere near masculine. Nobody that came into contact with Renee had any idea about her, or if they did they didn’t say anything about it because Renee was dropping some serious dough on this shopping trip. Renee left the last clothing store wearing a black Dior skirted suit, a Ralph Lauren white charmeuse blouse and black Prada heels. They then went to Josephine’s salon.
Jessie was taken to a bridal gown store. Gwendolyn saw to the new Jessie getting the royal treatment. The two women knew that this might be the last time in a year or two that Jessie would have a decent figure so they opted for a form fitting Floor length gown. Jessie felt just so feminine and girlie in the elegant gown; she almost drooled at her own image in the mirror. Again the treatment was fast and first class all the way. As fast the people at the Bridal shop was moving, Gwendolyn and Jessie did spend most of the day at the shop, but when they left Jessie had a fully fitted eight thousand dollar gown.
After Renee came out of the Salon looking much sexier, she and Gwen went to a Jewelry store. Gwen kept Renee from buying the biggest most gaudy wedding ring sets, but they did plop down nearly thirty-five thousand on a set of Rings. Gwen was impressed with Renee; after she went got past looking at rings fit only for a queen, she picked a ring set that was beautiful, yet elegant.
Jessie and Gwendolyn went to another Jewelry store and Jessie with a little prompting from Gwendolyn bought Renee a really beautiful wedding set too. Jessie was hesitant, because she didn’t know how Renee would take to wearing a ladies wedding and engagement ring set. Gwendolyn knew just the right size to buy the ring in.
Over a romantic dinner that night Jessie proposed to Renee and they traded engagement rings. Jessie loved her ring, and Renee couldn’t take her eyes off of the ring on her finger. It had a large square blue diamond surrounded by colorless, round cut diamonds and channel set baguette diamonds that went halfway on the sides.
Tears were falling from Renee’s eyes and Jessie sat in her lap. Renee was still sore so Jessie was very careful with her. They still made love in a more sedated manner. Gwendolyn made sure that they slept separately; she knocked and came in just before midnight. Renee moved to another empty room. The brides shouldn’t see each other before the wedding, she told them.
Renee was awakened first, she and Gwendolyn had breakfast together and then they were out to the salon. Jessie and Gwen then went out and did the same at another salon. Renee was surprised by being handed a suit bag after her hair and makeup were done. She was dressed in the prettiest black lace corset she had ever seen, black lace panties, black diamond patterned stockings, white tux shirt, tux vest, tux pants, black stilettoes and tux jacket. The outfit was perfectly fitted even though Renee had never tried it on.
Gwendolyn took the new Jessie to a classy wedding chapel and the former Jessie now Gwen and William took Renee to the same chapel. Now in Vegas there are fifty dollar wedding chapels and five hundred dollar wedding chapels. This chapel went well past a five hundred dollar wedding chapel and must have cost fifteen thousand dollars minimum. They even had a good fifty guests or so. Of course they only knew Gwen, Gwendolyn and William, but they rest of the guests made it feel like a regular wedding. They also had a flower girl, three bridesmaids, three groomsmen, a young male ring bearer and a five piece string and piano group. Gwen had arranged for a full thirty minute service
The new Jessie looked lovely as she walked down the aisle, while the musicians played Mendelssohn’s wedding march. Renee looked quite lovely herself, as Gwen approached the altar. After a ten minute sermon on marriage to the audience and five minutes talking to Jessie and Renee about the importance of their vows are to each other, they exchanged their vows and rings.
Jessie got to throw the bouquet and Renee threw Jessie’s garter on the steps of the chapel. They then were ushered to the limousine, where two girls assisted then into redoing their makeup and changing into going away suits.
They were driven to the airport, where Gwen met them by her plane. She told them the jet was theirs for the next thirty days and that she would meet them at the house just outside of San Francisco in a month.
Jessie and Renee joined the mile high club several times, between Las Vegas and Honolulu on that trip. Their lone steward kept herself conspicuously absent, once she discovered her charges engaged in certain pleasures. It didn’t bother her that one of the girls wasn’t a girl. She would just occasionally check her monitors to see if they were dressed before she checked to see if they needed anything.
They spent the month on several of the Hawaiian Islands, just relaxing and having fun. Renee also tutored Jesse in Physics in their spare time. Jessie was an eager student. They even visited the library of the University of Hawaii to look at some current physics books to study the various theories bouncing around. Jessie was intrigued about the work at CERN. Back in her time particle physics was just in its infancy. Bubble chambers were just coming in vogue back then and Dr. Lawrence had created the first cyclotron in 1932. Renee supplied her with the basics and a little of the advanced theory.
Jessie had so much fun, just being able to talk to someone about her love for her field of study again. Yes studying is work, but she loved her quest for knowledge. Renee did her best to bring her lover up to date, as best she could.
Renee also leased a helicopter and pilot to take them on a tour of Kilauea, Jessie wanted to visit the area on foot, once she saw the lava flows, but Renee pointed out that that wouldn’t be a good idea for a pregnant mother. She told Jessie about all the hazardous gasses and fumes could hurt the baby. That was all it took to dissuade her. Jessie told Renee about what she knew of the 1924 eruption of Kilauea when she was a very young girl.
They also spent time doing many of the regular touristy things. They both wore tiny bikinis although Renee’s always had bigger bottoms, which carefully kept things in hiding. Jessie seemed to get a thrill at knowing what Renee was hiding.
Jessie also loved shopping and loved all the high quality clothing shops. She bought a lot of clothing, but she just loved window shopping and being around other shoppers.
Jessie just seemed to assimilate in to this period of time. She was soon completely at ease with being seventy years in the future and being with Renee was a big part of her fitting in. She still had a lot to learn about the future, but she was no longer fearful about her future.
The only sore spot in their honeymoon was the morning sickness Jessie started experiencing towards the end of their trip. A few days, all Jessie could keep down were ginger ale and crackers. Renee took Jessie to a doctor on the big island for her first official pregnancy test, which came out positive.
They flew back to San Francisco a few days later. A limo met them and drove them to what was now their home on the beach. Gwen was already there with her nurse/assistant.
“How was your honeymoon, girls?” Gwen asked after hugging the two of them.
“It was great and it would’ve been better, but I started having morning sickness. A doctor there finally confirmed that I was pregnant.”
“So what did the doctor say?”
“He said I was pregnant and healthy. He also suggested I make an appointment with my doctor back home.”
“I took liberty to come up with your medical history for you. So you will be able to talk with your new doctor intelligently. I don’t think you should go to my doctor. She might notice some anomalies between us. I also took the liberties of researching the best San Francisco doctors for you. One is just a few miles from here.”
“Good I will make an appointment for next week.”
They sat around and talked about their adventures in Hawaii till Gwen got tired and with her nurse’s assistance went to bed. Renee and Jessie sat next to each other looking at the ocean and watched the sun go down.
The next morning Gwen talked with Jessie and asked if she wanted to get back into physics. Jessie stated the obvious, that she loved physics dearly, almost as much as she now loved Renee.
“I have written and collected several books. I also created about a hundred hours of video that connect the physics of the thirties with the physics of today. I also have some tutors ready to assist you, if you want? Also, I hope you don’t mind, but I would like to stay around till our baby is born. I feel like it will be mine, as much as it is your’s.”
“I don’t mind, as long as Renee doesn’t mind.”
>>>>><<<<<
Jessie studied went Gwen and others. She proved to herself that she had still had a sharp mind and quickly picked up the concepts and theories. The Internet proved invaluable, as long as she found reputable sites, as there were many junk science sites around also.
She met her appointment with her doctors and took their advice. Things were certainly different than what pregnant mothers in the thirties faced and she liked the difference. She and Renee often ran on the beach till she started getting bigger, then they would often walk to keep fit.
Gwen lived long enough to see Jessie’s child born. It was a boy and Jessie convinced Renee to name the baby Roger Brandon the 2nd. Gwen also got to the discovery of the Higgs Boson. Renee and Jessie were actually in Meyrin, Switzerland the week that the particle was discovered. They went there on vacation to visit the facility. She was talking with many of the researchers there as she was working on her doctoral thesis. Jessie did get her doctorate and became a professor of physics at Berkley.
Renee never fully transitioned; she and Jessie liked her special parts, although she did have some extensive feminization surgery. She and Jessie had three more children. They also collected many cars and set up a sort of auto museum. They drove almost all but a few of the oldest cars. Renee also became one of the leading mathematicians working in computer security.
And did they live happily ever after? That is another story.
The end
by Paula Dillon
Leslie lost his dad in Iraq and then his mother died. What is going to happen to this boy who has lost so much.
“I am going to lay down, Aunt Janet. I need to be by myself for a little while.”
Janet didn’t want to really leave the sixteen-year old boy by himself, but she recognized that he might actually need to grieve in his own way. She hugged the boy, wiped the tears from his face and then kissed his cheek.
“Okay sweetie, but remember, I am here to help you if you need it. I love you so much. We both are our last living relatives; I need you as much as you need me.”
“I know, I love you too.”
She hugged him once more and then watched him head to his room. Janet looked over the living room, the kitchen and dining room. The place was a mess from where they had had visitors bringing food, eating and sharing in their grief. She started to begin the cleanup, but was overcome with grief. She then opted to head to the guest room she was staying in and laid down on her bed, to have a good cry.
Janet came stark awake. The apartment was dark; the only light in the room came from the clock radio, which showed the time, in bright red numbers, to be 5:12 A.M. She had been crying till she had fallen asleep, over twelve hours ago. She desperately needed to relieve herself, so she got up and hurried to the bathroom.
After she had relieved herself, she felt much better, at least until she looked at herself in the mirror. She had failed to clean off her makeup before she had laid down. She laughed to herself till she almost cried again; her red puffy eyes and her heavily streaked makeup, gave her a horrid appearance. She stripped off her black dress, pantyhose and underwear, then jumped into the shower. She let the warm water wash over and revive her, while she washed away the grime of the previous day.
She wrapped a towel around herself because she hadn’t brought any clean things or her robe with her, so tiptoed back to her room. She just hoped that she wouldn’t run into Leslie before she got to her room. Luck was with her, as she could see no light coming from under his door as she went by.
She dressed in a pair of jeans and a peasant blouse, before making up her face. She wanted to look fresh and beautiful for her nephew today. There would be more time in the future to grieve, but for now she had to help Leslie survive.
The apartment was still a mess when she came out of her room and turned the lights on. She got to work cleaning it up. She first grabbed a trash bag and began picking up paper plates, plastic cups and plastic silverware. She had two large bags worth when she went to the trash dump. Then she picked up all the dishes that the people had so kindly brought over for them to eat. Those dishes that still had food in them, got emptied into another trash bag and she pre-rinsed the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. She made sure she knew whose dish was whose before she started the dishwasher, so she could return them to the rightful owners. It took three full dishwasher loads to clean them all.
The apartment was halfway presentable by eight. Still, Leslie had failed to make his presence known. Janet went to his room and lightly tapped on his door. She didn’t hear anything so she cracked his door open a bit and peeked into his room. She gasped when she saw that his bed, though rumpled a bit, was empty.
Panicking, she checked his closet and the bathroom. He might have gone in there while she had her back turned. He wasn’t there. She then ran to her sister’s room. She gasped as she saw a body on the bed. There was a girl, no… no, it was Leslie lying there, wearing his mother’s silky night gown. He looked so much like her sister. His shoulder length hair, which he usually kept in a ponytail, was loose and lay around his head. He looked so pretty. Janet had never thought about how her nephew would look, dressed as a girl and yet, there he was. The only thing feminine that had been added was the gown, but he looked so nice.
She smiled as she saw his chest rise and fall, she had been afraid that he might have taken some of his Mom’s pills, she had a lot of heavy duty pain and cancer drugs, or something to end it all. He was still alive. How should she handle this, she didn’t want to embarrass the poor boy.
The first thing she did was to go to the master bathroom and flush all those pills her sister took, down the toilet. She knew that she shouldn’t do that, there were prescribed methods of disposing of medications, but she didn’t want to leave temptations lying around.
She thought while she worked. Maybe Leslie dressing as a girl, for a little while, might not be a bad thing; girls were allowed to grieve more openly by society. She knew it was hogwash that boys shouldn’t cry. Maybe he dressed in his Mom’s gown to be closer to her. Janet didn’t know, but she would find out.
She checked her sister’s room and then the rest of the house, for anymore meds. Once she was satisfied that there were no more dangerous drugs in the house, she came back to the sleeping form of her nephew. He looked so angelic lying there.
She fretted several minutes over what to do. Finally she walked over and sat on the bed next to Leslie. His hair was so soft and silky, as she ran her fingers through it. She could tell that he took good care of it. She knew he used Paul Mitchell shampoo and conditioner on it. It smelled of coconut and the smell made her hungry. The shampoo and conditioner was in his bathroom and she had been using it too since she had come down to stay with her sister.
Finally she reached down and kissed his cheek, before whispering in his ear, “Wake up, sweetie. Time to rise and shine,” as she shook him gently.
Leslie cracked open an eye, it took a bit more effort, as his lashes were matted together and his eyelids were gummed together from crying.
“Morning Aunt Janet.” Leslie said. It felt good waking up this way. His Mom sometimes woke him up with a kiss.
He then remembered how he was dressed and panicked a bit.
Janet understood what was going through his mind and said, “Its okay sweetie, I don’t mind. Why don’t you go use the bathroom and I will be here, waiting to set your hair?”
Leslie got up and hurried into his Mom’s bathroom. He had been surprised at Aunt Janet’s reaction. He thought back at what had happened the day before. He had cried quietly on his bed till it had gotten dark. He had gotten up and had peeked in on his sleeping Aunt, before wandering about the apartment. He missed his Mom and wondered how or if he could get on with his life. Hours had passed, he was tired and had gone to bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. Finally he had gotten up and gone to his Mom’s room. He hadn’t gone in there since before she had passed away. Aunt Janet had gone in there and had picked out the things she had been buried in.
Lying on her bed, he could smell his Mom and found some comfort. He had grabbed one of her pillows to hug. When he had done that, he found her gown folded beneath the pillow. He didn’t remember getting undressed and putting it on. He guessed he had done that on automatic. He just remembered that it smelled strongly of her scent. As he lay there, he just fell asleep, feeling comforted.
Leslie debated taking the gown off, but he was naked underneath it, so he didn’t do that. He did cover the gown with his Mom’s long satin robe, that hung on the back of the bathroom door. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, with a new toothbrush he found in the medicine cabinet.
Aunt Janet was waiting for him when he came out of the bathroom. She smiled when she saw him in Melissa’s robe; he looked that much more feminine in it.
Leslie saw his Aunt standing by his Mom’s vanity. He was glad that she didn’t look upset or mad that he was dressed in his mom’s things.
“Sit here sweetie and let me get your hair.”
He sat on the stool in front of the vanity. Aunt Janet brushed the tangles out and continued to brush it till the hair had a shine to it. She took a wet comb to it and sectioned the hair off, clipping it in bunches, to the top of his head. She then took Melissa’s hot rollers and rolled Leslie’s hair up. She then took a nail file and set about filing his nails. They were atrocious; he had taken to chewing his nails over the last few weeks, because he was so worried.
“You need to take better care of your nails; we can get you some tips later, if you want?”
Janet then selected a nail polish and added two coats to each nail. Leslie watched, as she painted each nail a nice dusty rose. His Aunt’s actions surprised him, but he wasn’t complaining. She then used a matching colored lipstick, to do his lips, carefully giving him a cupid’s bow. He could taste the lipstick; it reminded him of those times his Mom kissed him.
When Janet heard Leslie’s stomach growling she said to him, “You must be starving, put your Mom’s slippers on and come to the kitchen. I will make you something to eat.”
Melissa’s slippers, or more correctly called wedge mules, were next to her bed, where she had left them. He found that they were about a half an inch longer than his feet and just a little too narrow, but weren’t too uncomfortable. He found the two inch rise of the heel manageable, as he stood and walked to the kitchen.
Janet poured him a cup of coffee, in a pink and gold china cup. They had both been living on coffee and adrenaline, for the last two weeks, since Melissa was hospitalized, before she had passed away. They both needed to cut down on the caffeine, but now was not the time. Leslie smiled, as he sipped the potent brew. Janet and he both liked their coffee black and strong, in comparison to Melissa’s brown and sweet. He stared at the lip print he left on the gold leafed brim of the cup. He brushed it away with his finger before replacing it with another lip print.
It was a simple breakfast, just scrambled eggs, sausage links and toast, but they both felt better after eating.
“Now, why don’t you take a bath in your mom’s bathroom, and if you want to, I will help you get dressed. You might shave your legs and your arm pits, if you want.” Janet told Leslie, figuring that if he wanted to keep dressing up as a girl, he would do that much. “I will run a tub for you; you will spend at least a half hour soaking in it.”
Janet ran the tub and added a fistful of lavender bath salts. The fragrance was relaxing. Leslie found the water was very warm and had to slowly get in the tub. Janet had covered his rolled up hair in a bath cap. He relaxed in the tub for ten minutes before he took his Mom’s loofa and bath gel, to clean himself. He scrubbed himself pink, trying to scrub away the pain he felt. When he finished, he saw his Mom’s razor and decided to go ahead and shave his legs and armpits. He didn’t have much to shave; he hadn’t even begun shaving his face yet. His legs only had a few fine hairs, though his armpits had a lot more. Leslie didn’t like the hair he grew in his armpits, he realized after it was gone; it just kept the stink in place.
Leslie had to come out in just his Mom’s robe; Janet had taken the gown out of the bathroom. He found his Aunt waiting for him.
“Take your robe off Leslie; I need to measure you, to see what I have got to work with.”
She smiled as she saw that he had shaved his legs and armpits. She took a measuring tape and took his measurements. He was thirty-two at the chest, thirty at his natural waist and thirty-four at his hips. She figured that he was fifteen pounds underweight, at a hundred and fifteen pounds, for his five foot, seven inch frame. Janet had lost a few pounds herself in the last few weeks. It is hard to eat when you are sick and worried.
“You are too thin, we both need to pack on a few pounds.”
This can only help with what I am going to do for him, she left unsaid. She wrapped a merry widow around his waist. It took off a couple of inches she needed to get off his waist. Janet stuffed the cups of the merry widow with several pair of pantyhose.
She then took a pair of stockings and rolled them up his legs, attaching them to the garter tabs. She was amazed that his penis hung limp, as she smoothed them up his legs. Personally, she found it quite stimulating when she put on her stockings.
“Stockings go on before panties, or you have snake the straps through the panty, so you can go to the bathroom easier, Leslie,” she said, in a matter of fact voice. “Otherwise, you have to undo your garter tabs first.”
“Okay,” Leslie said, paying rapt attention to what his Aunt was doing. He had never worn stockings before and loved the way they felt on him.
Janet then handed him a pair of white silk lace panties and a padded brief to put on. If there was one bad thing about Melissa’s figure, it was that she had a flat butt. She had a nice bust and a slim waist, she had been a 36C up top and was 26 inches at her waist, before she had gotten sick, she just needed a little padding to make her 34 inch hips and butt look better. So she almost always wore a padded brief.
Janet had to help Leslie with the problem of where his penis and testicles had to go with the brief on. She found that the testes could be massaged up and his penis could be held in place by the brief while pointed towards his butt. She was pleased that he had a feminine front now. Leslie didn’t say it, but he liked the look, albeit it was a little uncomfortable, but he could live with it, he thought.
Leslie then was led over to the vanity, where Janet had him sit with his back to the mirror. She worked on him for half an hour, adding foundation, powder, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, blush and lipstick. She had almost started to pluck his brows, but thought that that might be a bit too much right now. She just wasn’t sure about this. Leslie tried to pay attention to what she was doing, but it was hard to, since he couldn’t see what she was doing.
She then unrolled Leslie’s hair and did her best to style it in a feminine style. Combing and teasing it, before she sprayed it, with a healthy dose of hair spray. When she was finished, she was pleased with her efforts.
“Can I see what I look like now?” Leslie asked.
“Let me get you dressed first. I want you to get the whole effect.”
Janet escorted him to Melissa’s closet; she already had an outfit in mind. Most of Melissa’s clothes would look nice on Leslie, but most would be a bit mature for a teen girl. Janet found a turquoise blouse and a black wool-crepe knee length pencil skirt. It would be loose enough for him to walk in, but tight enough to force him to take smaller steps.
The blouse fit nicely, but it took a little work to get the skirt buttoned and zipped up. He would need a corset to fit in some of Melissa’s clothes, Janet realized. Leslie then put on a pair of black patent pumps that had a three-inch stiletto heel, which Janice handed him. The heels were a little tight, but long enough for his feet. His Aunt then added a pearl necklace and clip on earrings, a few bangles and two rings. She then fussed with Leslie, till he couldn’t stand it.
“Stop fiddling with me and let me see, Aunty.”
“Alright, just one more thing first.”
She helped him into a matching black jacket, before helping him walk to the full-length mirror. He found that these heels were just a little harder to walk in.
“Close your eyes,” she said. She then turned him to face the mirror. “Okay, open them.”
Leslie wasn’t prepared for what he saw. There in the mirror stood his Mom, no not quite his mom. He could be his Mom’s and his Aunt’s sister or daughter.
“Oh my,” Leslie said. He got weak in the knees and would have collapsed if not for his Aunt Janice.
“You look like your mom when we were teens Leslie.”
They hugged and cried for a bit, taking strength from each other.
After they both had a good cry, they both giggled as they looked at each other.
“You look like a raccoon,” Leslie said.
“You are the pot calling the kettle black, girl. Come on, let’s get your face cleaned and get you out of that outfit,”
“Do I have to, Aunt Janet?”
“No, you don’t have to; I just thought you might want to.”
“It’s alright; I kinda want to stay like this for a little while.”
“Well, let’s clean up our faces and get made up girl.”
They sat side by side on the stool at the vanity. Janet took a makeup wipe to both of their faces. She then did her makeup, showing Leslie what she was doing and then she redid Leslie’s makeup. Leslie followed closely what she was doing. Leslie stopped her and asked what she was specifically using at various times.
When they both looked good, they just stared at each other in the mirror.
“I just can’t believe how good you look as a girl, Leslie.”
“I know. It’s weird in a good way. We could be sisters.”
“Let’s see how you do in those heels.”
Janet helped Leslie stand and walk to the living room. She then gave him girl lessons on how to sit, stand and walk. She corrected the way he held his arms, as he stood and walked. Leslie was a fast learner and within a half hour, was walking as well as any girl. Even his voice sounded girly. At puberty, his voice had gone down very little, but he just had to change his intonation to get a sexy voice.
At about eleven, Janet told Leslie, “I need to go out for a while. I want to take a box of dishes to your mom’s workplace so the girls there can get their dishes back and I will pick us up some Chinese for lunch.
Will you be ok here alone?”
“I will be ok Aunt Janet; you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Are you sure? I can put it off till later.”
“Go Aunty, I’m not going to do anything crazy.”
“Alright, you have my cell phone number, if you need me.”
Janet went to the kitchen and picked up a box of dishes, she gave her niece a kiss as she left. She just couldn’t think of such a lovely creature as a nephew.
(to be continued)
Leslie practiced walking and such, after his aunt left. He went back to his Mom’s closet and looked at her things. The closet was filled almost to overflowing. She had dresses on one side and skirts, blouses and slacks on the other side. At the back, she had maybe twenty pair of shoes, from flats, to heels, to atheletic shoes in a wall rack. He found a pair of black heels, which had a T-strap and what appeared to be five inch heels. He had never seen his mom wear them. He took them back into her room and tried them on. They pinched his toes a bit more and were much tighter in the heel and sides of his feet. He also found them a lot harder to walk in them, he was wobbly and nearly fell a couple of times, but they looked fabulous on his feet. He took them off when his arches started to hurt, it might take some more practice in a lower heel and a better fitting shoe, he thought. He decided to put the first heels his aunt handed him, back on.
He noticed that his aunt had done a lot of work cleaning the apartment, but he saw that there was still more to be done, to get the room shipshape. He began straightening the living room up and then vacuumed the carpet. He then finished cleaning the dining room and the kitchen, washing their breakfast dishes.
He had just finished with the kitchen, when the doorbell rang. He had been so comfortable dressed as he was, that he didn’t think. He just went to the door and opened it.
“Hi,” Leslie said as he saw Amanda West, a girl he knew from school.
“Hello, I am Amanda West. Is Leslie in, I know him from school?”
“Of course, I know you Aman…” Leslie then realized he was in deep shit.
“Is that you Leslie,” she said, taking his hands and stepping inside. She then closed the door with her heel, behind her. “Why are you dressed up as a girl and why do you look so damn good?”
Leslie was on the brink of tears from embarrassment. He just stood there sputtering. He tried to turn and runaway, but Amanda just held on to his hands.
He really started crying then. She just wrapped Leslie up in a hug, patted his back and let him cry on her shoulder, while she murmured in his ear, that it would be alright. It felt so good holding this lovely girl.
When he was cried out, she stepped back and giggled, “We need to clean up your face, where is your makeup Leslie?”
“It’s in my Mom’s room.” Leslie said.
“Lay on MacDuff,”
Leslie led her to his Mom’s room. Amanda had him sit, as she perused what was on the vanity. She found the makeup wipes and proceeded to clean off his face.
“Let me get out of these clothes,” Leslie said.
“Please, don’t change just because of me, let me fix your face up,” Amanda begged, smiling at Leslie. “You looked so lovely.”
Leslie sniffed one last time and just nodded yes.
Amanda smiled as she began to work on his, no make that her face. She had fun as she gave Leslie a more dramatic glamour look. Leslie’s mouth just hung open, as his friend worked on him. He knew enough to know that this was not an everyday look. He had liked what his Aunt had done, but he loved the way Amanda made him look.
When she finished, she took his hand and led him back to the living room. They sat and talked.
“Why aren’t you in school, Amanda?”
“We were only in school for half a day. They let us out before lunch; the teachers have a workshop this afternoon. I came by to just see you.”
Leslie then opened up and told Amanda how he wound up dressed like this. Amanda just held his hand as he told his story. She had worried about him before she came over. She hadn’t been able to come to his mom’s funeral. He smiled as they talked and they even laughed as they described their shock at seeing each other.
It felt good having someone his age to talk to.
They then began telling each other funny stories and having a good time.
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Janet unlocked the door and entered the apartment. She was surprised at hearing laughter and not just from her nephew.
She said, “Hello kids,” as she saw her nephew and a girl sitting together. “I am Janet Blain,” she said, as she held out her hand to the girl.
“I am Amanda West. It is nice meeting you,” the girl said, “I am a friend of Leslie’s from school.”
“Its nice meeting you too, Amanda. Are you hungry? I have plenty of Chinese if you like?”
“That sounds yummy,” Amanda said, smiling.
Amanda helped Leslie stand and together they followed Janet into the kitchen. Leslie got out some plates, as Amanda found the silverware and got some cokes out of the fridge. Janet set the food on the breakfast island and sat on a stool.
They talked about this and that as they ate. Janet observed the kids and began to relax a bit. She didn’t think Amanda would hurt Leslie. It didn’t matter if a few people found out about Leslie dressing up; they wouldn’t be here but a few weeks longer. Janet and Leslie would be moving to her home a thousand miles away. She just didn’t want to see Leslie hurt while they were still here.
“So tell me Amanda, It must have been quite a shock to see Leslie.”
“Oh it was. I thought she might have been a cousin or something, at first. She looked so good.”
“I thought my world was over at first, but Amanda was so nice to me,” Leslie added.
“Don’t worry Leslie, I would never hurt you.”
“I know that now, but you know, people get hurt for being different,” Leslie said. “That’s why I cried when you first saw me.”
“People can be so cruel, but I am not that way. I just figured that that was how you were dealing with your grief. When are you coming back to school, Leslie?”
“I am afraid he is not Amanda, I live in San Francisco and I have been away from my business interests too long now, with my sister’s illness and such. We will be here another week or two, but then Leslie will be going back with me.”
Amanda looked sad and hugged Leslie. “You have got to come back for at least one day, to say goodbye to your friends.”
“What friends? I was pretty much a loner.”
“If you would have just opened up a bit more; I know half a dozen girls that would have loved to have you on their arm, including me. You were just too shy.”
“Really?” Leslie said, with a look of incredulity on his face.
“Really,” Amanda said with a look of determined compassion on her face.
“Why didn’t they say anything?”
“Girls don’t usually ask guys out, Leslie,” Janet said. “They are programed that way, by their mothers.”
“Yeah, what’s a girl gotta do to get your attention? Flash you?” Amanda said, as she raised her blouse, showing him her bra.
Leslie exhaled some coke through his nose.
“Amanda! Please.” A shocked Janet said. “I think you have made your point.” She was grinning, but had to work hard to suppress a snicker.
Leslie was unable to talk, while he was coughing and trying to clear his nose. Amanda was patting him on the back, trying to help him, after lowering her blouse.
When he finally got to where he could breathe again, Amanda cleaned his face a little and then planted a smoldering kiss on his lips. Leslie struggled a bit and appeared to wonder where to put his hands. Janet smiled and counted to twenty.
“Okay kiddos, you either have to come up for air, or get married and I am not going to sign a consent form, Amanda.”
Amanda broke the kiss and then gave him another short kiss.
“I love the taste of your lipstick, Leslie.”
“We will come to school next Thursday, Leslie needs to turn in his books and I need to sign him out.” Janet said.
Leslie was barley lucid and Amanda really did need to support him a bit.
“What are you two doing tomorrow?”
“We hadn’t planned anything,” Janet said. “I wanted Leslie to be free, so he could…”
“I know,” Amanda said. “How about we go shopping for this Leslie?”
“What for, I don’t need anything?”
“While your Mom’s clothes are really nice on you, I am sure that there are clothes that are better suited for a teenager Leslie,” Amada said.
Leslie sputtered at the thought of going out dressed as a girl. “Nah, I don’t think so, no, no way. People would laugh at me. I could get pounded into the ground.”
Aunt Janet just sat back and watched the two kids interact. She wouldn’t make him go out shopping, but even she thought it might be a good idea.
“Nobody would know, Leslie. I didn’t recognize you. It will be fun.”
“Someone could recognize me, my reputation would be ruined.”
“For me, please? I would love to go shopping with my bestest girlfriend.”
“Aunt Janet, help me?”
“I don’t know, this town is big enough, the odds of meeting someone you know at a distant mall are slim. I suppose, with Amanda and me there, that even if you were uncovered, you wouldn’t get pounded. It might do you good to get out. Another thing, since you have been dressed in your Mom’s clothes, you haven’t been as morose. Lastly, who cares if anybody recognizes you, in two weeks, we are out of here. I won’t make you go out shopping dressed as a girl, but I noticed how much fun you have had and how lively and animated you have been. It’s your call, girl.”
Leslie didn’t mind being called ‘girl’ and it has been kind of fun. He was just scared about this whole being dressed as a girl thing. He didn’t exactly know why he dressed in his Mom’s nightgown. It felt so comforting to feel what his mom felt and the gown felt so good. The hairs on his arms stood up, as if he were chilled with that thought.
“But I don’t have any money,”
“Shopping is more than just buying,” Amanda said.
“Besides, you aren’t penniless, Leslie. Your Mom didn’t have to work? Your father had a half a million—dollar, life insurance policy and a policy to pay off this apartment. You know, this apartment is actually a condo, worth nearly seven hundred thousand. You own this apartment, free and clear. Melissa worked to have a little extra spending money, but she also maintained a hefty life insurance policy on herself. She didn’t want to leave you needing for anything. If you didn’t want to work, you could live very comfortably on it and the interest off the savings account, for many years. Besides, you are my responsibility now,” Janet said, hugging Leslie. “And I am not penniless either. Amanda is right though, if you want to be the girl Leslie, you need things that would fit a teenage girl.”
“Come on, it will be fun, Leslie.”
“Oh, alright. I will be your Barbie Doll tomorrow.”
Amanda jumped up clapping; she then kissed Leslie and hugged Janet, “I will see you tomorrow at nine. The malls open at ten. I need to go home.”
“Need a ride, Amanda?” Janet asked.
“That would be wonderful; I live about ten blocks away.”
“I need to pick up some things, if we are going shopping tomorrow. Will you be alright, Leslie?”
Leslie smiled at his Aunt and said. “Don’t worry, I will be fine.”
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Janet thought about what she needed, as she drove Amanda home. She had seen some things that cross dressers needed, in some of her lingerie catalogues. There were breast forms that could be attached with that could be attached with adhesive and some lingerie that could hide a male’s penis, scrotum and testes. The odds were in her favor that she could find what she needed.
“Are there any ‘Lady Margo’s’ lingerie shops nearby, Amanda?”
“Yes, there is one at the mall on Seventh Street. Why?”
“If we are going shopping tomorrow, I need to pick up some things for Leslie.”
“What things?”
“That's for me to know girl.”
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Leslie looked at the clock and saw that it was just five fifteen; since he didn’t know when his Aunt would be back, he wandered back into his Mom’s room. This was her room, so he felt closer to her here. In her closet he looked at all the dresses, skirts, blouses and slacks there. He took some of the clothes off the rod and held them up to him. He took time to remember seeing his Mom wearing this dress, or that skirt, with this blouse. He took off the skirt and blouse he was wearing and began to go through her wardrobe. He was saddened to find that he couldn’t wear some of her favorite things. His Mom still had a nice waist and although he was slim waisted, and was wearing something to take a few inches off, he figured he needed to take about two more inches off, still.
He still found quite a few things he could wear. He stepped into one dress and struggled to get it zipped. He had seen his Mom do that many times, she had made it look easy. Leslie found it awkward at best and had to change arms and arm position several times, to get it zipped up. What had taken his Mom seconds to do, had taken him a couple of minutes to figure out and accomplish.
The dress he now wore, was a baby blue and silver, ankle length formal; it was fitted just beneath the bust. It had a u shaped neckline, which was gathered at the breast and would have shown the curves of his breasts if he had any. Instead, he could see a little bit of pantyhose, which had been stuffed up top. The dress was a little loose down to the top of his hips and had a lot of fabric at the hemline. The hemline pooled just a little on the floor.
He didn’t remember his Mom being that much taller than he was, she must have worn a higher heel. Back at the shoe rack, he tried to remember what shoes she wore with this dress. He found a silver pair of sandals that was just a mass of tiny straps that arced in many different directions. He thought they were pretty cute. He sat on her bed and tried them on. He found that he had to wind the straps up his calf and they hooked together well above the thickest part of his calf. The sandals were an inch and a half higher than the black pumps and fit a little better too.
The soft fabric of the dress made him shiver as he walked in it. Even though he could take a longer stride wearing this dress, he found that it wasn’t comfortable doing so because of the heels and the fact that the dress would bunch between the legs, if he tried to do so.
He remembered that his Mom had worn this dress when she had gone to hear the symphony orchestra, with a guy she worked with. He walked to the living room and got out the family photo album. He had taken his Mom’s picture, when was it… six, no, seven months ago. He found the picture he was looking for. He smiled and began to cry a little, she was just so beautiful. Who was that guy… it was… Paul… Dunn, no… Paul Denton. That was who it was, Paul Denton. He looked to be about eight to ten years younger than his Mom. She had told him that his girlfriend had just broken up with him the week before. The tickets had cost him a small fortune and he didn’t want to go alone.
Melissa loved Classical Music and while she didn’t really consider the guy marriageable/dating type material, he was a nice kid. They both had a great time and she rewarded him with a kiss on his cheek, when he returned her home afterwards.
Leslie went through all the pictures, there were many happy times held in these albums. Melissa really liked taking pictures and having pictures of her and Leslie together. There were even pictures of his dad in the album. He looked handsome and strong.
“What would Dad think of me now?” He asked himself. “I know he would still love me, Dad was that kind of a man. He didn’t care about people’s lifestyles; he only cared how people lived out their lives. He always told me to do good and live my life proudly.”
Leslie clutched the albums to his chest. “I’ll have to make sure that I take these with me.”
He wiped his tears with the back of his hand. He laughed as he saw the mascara stains on his hand.
“Why do women wear this if they have to continually be aware of crying? I know, because it makes them look good.”
Leslie went back to his mother’s room. He found the makeup wipes and cleaned up the errant makeup. He cleaned it all up and then sat and looked at all the things sitting on the vanity. He then tried to remember what his Aunt and Amanda had done to him. He started with the foundation. He took a sponge and then dabbed a bit of foundation on it. He put small spots of foundation all over his face and then worked blending them together. He remembered his mom doing something similar, but he hadn’t paid attention back then. Leslie liked the way it evened out his skins texture and color. He picked up a compact and a large brush and then sort of painted his face with the pressed powder. That took the shine off of the areas of his face,where the makeup had worn thin.
“Girls don’t like their faces to look oily or shiny, I believe.”
He then looked at his Mom’s eye shadows. She had several palates that had many different colors of eye shadows. Many of them had never been used. He took a smaller brush and dabbed it in the various pots in the pallet. He then brushed it on the back of his hand. His skin tone was very much like his Mom’s had been before her illness, except she had gone more pallid at the end. It had been frightening to watch his Mom deteriorate at the end, but he found that he couldn’t not watch her. He had loved her so. He found a couple of colors that went together well and tried to apply them to his eyes. He had to start over several times before he realized that he had to add the color slowly, building it up till he got the results he wanted. This made blending colors easier and it was easier to get the other eye’s appearance closer.
He took that lesson to heart, as he tried to use the eyeliner. Luckily, he had a steady hand; he just never tried to draw a line on his eyelid before. The mascara was easier, especially since he only did his upper eyelashes. He didn’t want to try the lower eyelashes, which Amanda did. He brushed blush on his cheeks and diffused it a little more with the brush. He finished up with lipstick. He wasn’t entirely displeased with his look, it was his first try after all, but he clearly wasn’t as good as his Aunt, or Amanda.
(to be continued)
“Hi Leslie, that dress looks good on you. Stand up and give me a twirl.”
Leslie stood and did a full 360.
“Did you do your own makeup?”
“Yeah, it’s not as good is it?”
“No it isn’t, but hey, that was your first try, right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Then it is excellent. Did you have another cry?”
“Yes, I was looking for a picture of Mom wearing this dress. I remembered taking the picture. I just started crying when I saw all of the other pictures.”
“It’s alright to cry, sweetie. Everybody needs to do it; it relieves stress. As long as it is a good cry.”
“What is a good cry?”
“It’s hard to explain, crying over a loss like yours is good, as long as crying doesn’t dominate your life. Crying and wasting away, are not good. If you cried all day, every day, about your mom a month from now, then crying is dominating your life. That is not good.”
“SO, what did you get me, Aunty?” Leslie asked, seeing the shopping bags she had.
“Who said it was for you, Miss smarty pants?”
“I just figured that it was, since we are going out tomorrow and right now, I cut a less than perfect image as a girl,” Leslie said, indicating her nonexistent cleavage.
“You are too smart. Yes, I thought about that. If we go shopping for clothes, which most girls your age do religiously, then yes, you need something. So let’s go to Melissa’s room again.”
Once there, she said, “I know this will be embarrassing, but I need you to take all of your clothes off again and lie down on the bed.”
Janet had to help him with the merry widow; it was tight and had a lot of hooks in the back.
Once he had gotten undressed and had lain down, Janet took an alcohol prep pad and cleaned his chest. She placed one breast form on his chest and moved it around till she had it placed just right. She made a few marks on his chest. She then put adhesive on the backside of the breast form and let it set for a minute. She then carefully positioned the breast form on his chest and pressed down on it. She then went to work on the other one, matching its position closely. She then worked with the seams where the breast forms met his skin, making sure they were firmly in place and barely visible.
“Just lay there for five minutes to let the adhesive do its job.”
“Did they have to be so big?”
“They are the same size as your mother’s breasts. You will be able to wear her bras. She has some really nice things.”
They then went to the bathroom, where Janet hooked up an air brush; the store she had gotten the breast forms from had some semi-permanent makeup. She did an airbrush job on the breast forms, to match Leslie’s natural skin tones and feathered the makeup at the edges of the breast forms. She was pleased with her work. Leslie’s breast looked very natural, just like any girls’ breasts. She changed colors and then darkened the areolas a bit. She used an extra fine spray and built up the color slowly to a medium mauve, which was close to what she and her sister’s areolas were.
Leslie’s eyes got really big as he looked at her girl’s. He had only seen what a few pictures of what a girl’s breasts looked like a few times, in an educational film and a few other places he couldn’t remember, he wasn’t an expert but his breasts looked as natural as any he had seen.
“They look so real.”
“Yes they do, I bought them because they looked so natural.”
Janet had him stand there till she was certain that the makeup had dried and the color had set.
“Now I would like for you to wear a corset tonight, so we can get your waist down a little bit more.”
“I know, I was a little big for some of my Mom’s clothes in the waist. I tried to put some of her skirts on.”
“Your mom had a twenty-six inch waist, she was proud of it. I could probably get you into them, but you might pop a button or two. Your Mom didn’t need one, but I got a couple of corsets for you.”
Janet pulled a couple of really fancy corsets. One was a blue silk brocade, over the bust confection, and a white satin under the bust corset. Janet unhooked the blue corset and stretched out all the lacing. She first measured Leslie’s waist. Leslie was down to twenty-nine inches.
“Wearing that merry widow has taken an inch off your waist.”
“Really?”
“It’s just temporary, but yes this corset will take more off. You ready?”
“I guess. That blue one is really pretty.”
Janet put the blue corset around Leslie’s waist, hooked the busk, and began tightening the corset. Leslie took its abuse stoically, as it got tighter and tighter. After the third pass, she tied it off and measured his waist.
“You are down to twenty-six and a half inches; just relax for a bit, once the corset stretches out, I will tighten the corset some more and take off another half inch.”
“I am finding it a little hard to breathe in this thing.”
“That’s understandable, women who wore those in the Victorian age often suffered from vapors, of course their corsets were much tighter. Just breathe short shallow breaths. You will get used to it in a bit. Breath with your chest.”
Janet then rolled the stockings on his legs and then handed him a panty gaff and told him how to use it. He had to sit to put it on and lay back as he arranged himself. Leslie then raised his hips to pull it up. He then stepped into the black pumps, which he spent most of the day in.
“You look so much like my sister, your Mom that it hurts. You are just so beautiful Leslie.”
“You are beautiful too, Aunt Janet. I have always admired the way you and Mom looked.”
Janet couldn’t help it; she just had to hug this wonderful creature.
“Your Mom was so proud of you Leslie. She used to call me all the time and tell me what you were up to and how she loved you so.”
“She always told me and showed me, that she loved me, Aunty. I will miss her, but I know she would want me to go on and live my life fully.”
“You don’t have to do this Leslie; you can stop whenever you want to.”
“I know, but it has been kind of fun, do you mind if I continue doing this for a while.”
“You can do whatever you want too, Leslie. You just need to be a guy when we sign you out of school on Thursday.”
Janet tightened Leslie’s corset a bit more; then she helped him into the night gown and robe, he had worn this morning.
“I am hungry; I waited for you to eat, because I don’t want to eat alone right now.”
“Alright Baby, let’s go eat.”
Janet followed Leslie out of her sister’s room. She couldn’t believe how graceful Leslie walked. He could grace a catwalk walking like that. His hips had a sexy wiggle that wasn’t overdone, like you see on some comedies.
They had plenty of food left over from the wake that had to be eaten soon. Janet looked at everything in the refrigerator. A lot of what was left over would have to be thrown away soon. Janet made two small salads and a couple of sliced turkey sandwiches. She set them on the table along with a couple of cokes. They ate and talked. Janet asked whether he wanted to keep the apartment, since they were moving out west.
“Originally, I thought I might like to keep it, but I am going to be with you for a minimum of two years, probably longer, if you let me.”
“You can stay with me as long as you like, Leslie. It will be good having somebody to keep me company. I have been so lonely living by myself. I say this with all my heart ‘mi casa es su casa’ for as long as you like.”
“Alright, so we will need to put this place up for sale.”
“I will call a broker on Monday, Leslie.”
“What is San Francisco like?”
It’s like any other place, sweetie. It has its good points and its bad points. It is a little more accepting than many areas. It has a lot of steep hills…”
“And earthquakes…”
“Yes we have quakes. Most we don’t even feel. Some do shake things up a bit. My home is well built, especially after the last big quake, The Loma Prieta quake, shook us up pretty good, and yes we are still looking for the big one, but I wouldn’t trade my home there for one in any other place.
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Leslie awoke at five-thirty Saturday. Janet had taken off his makeup and heels, and then rolled his hair up on some prickly brush rollers; before he had lain down to go to sleep. He felt wonderful and horrible. He loved the feel of the night gown and stockings, but Janet had only slightly loosened the corset slightly last night. It was hard for him to sit up, not being able to bend at the waist, but with some effort, he got up into a sitting position. He stood and found his feet were a little sore from the heels and made his way to the bathroom. He sat and did both of his businesses.
Afterwards he looked at himself in the mirror. He could see nothing of the boy he was, from his blond hair in curlers, his crystal blue eyes, the curves of his breasts, the narrow waist and shapely legs; everything reminded him of his Mom at a younger age. He loved the corset, absentmindedly he imagined he and Amanda standing there in identical lingerie. He blushed and wondered where that thought came from, but then again, it wouldn’t be so bad, would it.
He turned looked over his shoulder into the mirror and saw how the laces were done. He reached back and managed to pull the knot loose. He then worked some slack into the corset laces, so that he could un-hook the busk. With the corset off, he giggled, as he could still see the impression it left. There were two crescents beneath his faux breasts and he could see where all the edges and where every stay had been. His back even showed the crisscross pattern from the lacing. Leslie’s gaze went lower; he was almost surprised to see the only vestige of masculinity in front of him. It looked strange and out of place to him, more so than the breasts on his chest.
Leslie then began to fill the tub. He added some of the bath salts; he liked the way his skin felt after his last bath. The warm water ignited a bloom of fragrances that filled the bathroom. He had to slowly step in the tub, as it was warmer than he had expected. As he sat down, he luxuriated in the warmth of the water and the fragrance heightened his senses. He had always been a shower kind of guy, only taking a bath when he pulled a muscle, or hurt his back. He might have to rethink that though, as he just relaxed.
There was a light knock on the door, about twenty minutes after he had begun his bath. Aunt Janet opened the door and stuck her head in.
“Good, you got undressed and you are taking a bath, not good that you aren’t wearing a shower cap. I will have to blow dry your hair, it is so humid in here.”
“Morning Aunty,”
“Morning Baby, how are you?”
“I’m alright, just relaxing.”
“When you’re ready I’ll have some clothes ready for you.”
“I’m about ready. I’m starting to turn into a prune, I think.”
Leslie stood in the tepid bath and grabbed a towel. He dried himself off and wrapped the towel around himself just above his faux chest. He had seen girls do that in the movies. Walking into his Mom’s room, he saw his Aunt, dressed in a robe, getting some things ready.
“Ok sweetie, go ahead and drop the towel.”
Leslie did as she asked. She also took off her robe. Leslie saw that all his Aunt wore, were a pair of blue bikini panties. This was the first time he had seen her half naked.
“Here is how a woman puts on her bra,” she demonstrated. She stuck her arms through the straps and pulled it towards her chest. She leaned forward and pulled the bottom of the bra down and then towards her chest, making sure her breasts were in the cups. Janet then found the hooks with one hand and the set of eyes she wanted with the other. She then brought her hands together behind her back clipping the ends together, before adjusting the way the bra fit.
Leslie had seen that again on TV, they hadn’t shown the girls breasts, but they did show her hooking her bra. Janet then handed him a bra to put on. Leslie picked up a white lace bra and just copied what he had seen his Aunt do. He got his faux breasts into the cups, but found that hooking the bra behind him, more than a little challenging, the first time. It took him a couple of minutes to accomplish. Janet then had him redo it a couple of times. The second time he was a lot faster and by the fifth time it only took about ten seconds longer than his Aunt had taken.
“Very good and now put your gaff on.”
He had used the gaff the day before and had lain back on the bed to do it. He knew that if he was going out, he wouldn’t have a bed handy, so he tried doing it standing. It hurt a little, as he massaged his testicles up into him and pulling up the gaff, without everything falling out of place, but after a couple of tries he was able to accomplish his task. He then adjusted the garment while looking in a mirror. With that last incongruity out of the way, he saw a narrow hipped girl, who looked cute. His waist had expanded a bit, but was still narrower than a couple of days ago. The gaff was plain and more like a thong, so his Aunt had him put on a pair of white lace panties.
Janet then handed him the white satin corset and then talked him through putting it on and tightening it. This corset fit just under the breasts, down to the tops of his hips. He wrapped it around his waist, after stretching out the laces and hooking up the busk. He then adjusted how the corset set, puling it down a little more over his hips.
“Alright, stand with your back to the mirror and look over your shoulder,” she said. She then showed him how to find the middle and pull those laces out to form wings. “Now with one hand, hold the wings in front of you. You have over X’s and under X’s. Start with the bottom most over X and pull it. Then move to the next over X and pull out the slack, then with your other hand, pull the wings to take out that slack. Then start from the top down, the same way. It may take several passes to get you down to where you need to be.”
It felt strange tightening himself in the corset, but not in a bad way. After the second pass, Janet measured his waist.
“Just a little bit tighter, Baby.”
After a third pass, his waist was down to twenty-five and three fourths of an inch. She then talked him through tying it off. It wasn’t much different than tying an apron on. He had done that before, helping his Mom when she was baking in the kitchen. The image in the mirror was much more girly now and her posture was very good. He hadn’t told his Mom or his Aunt, but he often suffered from mild back pain, since he crashed his bike, on a slick road and the one thing he now noticed was, it felt good wearing the corset.
He then rolled a pair of stockings on, connecting them to the tabs, after threading the straps through his panties and gaff. He then put on a padded brief and now all his curves were in place.
Janet then pulled out a pair of heels; they were black and white, saddle ox shoes, with a three inch heel. The heel cup, pointed toe box, top piping and grommet reinforcement, were a patent black, the sides and the shoelaces, were white. It was sort of like a schoolgirl fetish shoes, but not as extreme. Janet slipped them on Leslie’s feet and laced them up. These shoes were a little longer and a tad wider than his Mom’s shoes and fit his feet a whole lot better.
He then put on the black tweed mini-skirt, white silk/cotton blend blouse and a black satin vest. The skirt came to mid-thigh and had three gold chains at the waist. The blouse had sleeves that barley hung past the elbow. Janet adjusted the back of the vest and completed the look with three long beaded necklaces (one red, one white and one blue), a half a dozen bangles on his right arm and a charm bracelet on his left arm.
Janet then had him sit at the vanity. She did his makeup as appropriate for a sixteen-year old girl, which was pushing her parents just a little. She used the hair dryer on his hair a bit and then unrolled it.
“Your hair absorbed a bit of humidity while you took your bath. I had to dry it, otherwise your hairstyle would start drooping too early. You have lovely hair, Leslie. So much like your Mom’s.”
“I know she encouraged me to wear it longer. Dad didn’t mind it being longer. She just loved brushing and playing with it; it felt so good when she did it. When I was nervous or upset, she would sit me down and brush it till I relaxed. She taught me how to take good care of it.”
“She and I used to love brushing each other’s hair when we were young girls. My big sister taught me how to take care of my hair too.”
When Janet finished styling Leslie’s hair, she escorted him to the full length mirror. Leslie’s mouth hung open. There, standing next to his Aunt, was a school girl his age. He looked no different from dozens of other girls at his school. More than that, though, he saw his Mom when she was sixteen.
“Let me get dressed and we will get some breakfast.”
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Janet went to her room to dress, leaving Leslie looking at himself. She thought about what she was going to wear. She had thought about dressing in mom mode. You know, how mothers dress, when they have a pretty teenage girl to compete with. Or she could dress as an older sister to Leslie. Instead, she decided to dress as a fashionable young Aunt. That’s what she was after all. She had gotten use to dressing for business, in skirted suits and such.
Looking at her wardrobe, she chose a gray, scoop necked top, an almost knee length, floral print skirt and an off black blazer, to which she added a pair of off black pantyhose, black pumps and a bit of jewelry. She looked mature, yet flirty.
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After they ate breakfast, Janet got one of her sister’s purses, a shiny black, Dior flap handbag with a long gold chain and filled it for Leslie. She included many things a girl needs, makeup, tissues, keys, wallet, tampons and Leslie’s cell phone.
“Ok Leslie, for this to work today, you have to think girl… no more than that, you have to be a girl. In your head, everything you think and do, has to be things a girl thinks and does,”
“You mean, I have to act kinda spacey, like I had a frontal lobotomy,” Leslie said, giggling.
Janet punched Leslie lightly on the arm, “Smartass. You know what I mean.”
“Oww, that hurt,” Leslie said, trying to keep from laughing. He failed, actually they both failed. Both of them broke out in laughter and wound up hugging each other for support.
“Oh it feels good, laughing and hugging you like this, Aunty.”
“I know. I like this too.”
Their reverie was broken up, by the phone ringing. They both dried their eyes before their makeup got ruined and Janet answered the phone.
“Hello,” Janet said.
“Hello, this is Amanda,”
“Hello Amanda, we are ready and waiting for you.”
“Can you guys come by and pick me up? My Mom kinda wants to meet you?”
“That’s not an unreasonable request; we will be there in about twenty-five minutes,”
“Okay bye, see ya in a bit.”
“Bye,”
Janet hung up the phone grabbed her handbag and turned to Leslie, “Amanda wants us to pick her up. Her parents want to meet us. They don’t know you’re a boy do they?”
“No, I haven’t met them, I know Amanda from school and she had come over here with a group of girls once, when they were having a band drive, or something.”
“Good, and now what are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Say, I am a girl.”
“I am a girl.”
“Now say it like you believe it.”
“I… am… a… girl!” Leslie said, with feeling.
“Good, grab your purse and let’s go, girl.”
Leslie grabbed her purse and put it over her right shoulder; she held the front chain in her right hand and followed her aunt out the door. Repeating in her mind over and over again, I am Leslie Brooke and I am a girl. Leslie felt something shift in her mind, she was now a girl in her mind, but that was alright, since she was a ‘girl’. She thought about how the girls her age acted and stood a little straighter and thrust out her chest a bit more. “I am Leslie Brooke and I am a girl,” Leslie said, in barely a whisper, as they headed out the door.
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The apartment building they came to, was every bit as nice as the one Leslie lived in, although it hadn’t gone condo. Amanda lived on the fourth floor. The doorman opened the door for the ladies and tipped his hat to them, as they approached the door. Janet and Leslie both smiled and thanked the man. Unconsciously, Leslie fluttered her eyelashes at him, causing him to blush. He was so use to being ignored, unless he had done something that displeased one of the residents. He found that he liked these ladies so he returned their smile.
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Janet knocked on the door to Amanda’s apartment. A smartly dressed lady in her early forties answered it, smiling. “Hello, I am Gloria West, Amanda’s Mom and you are?”
“I am Janet Blain and this is my niece, Leslie Brooke.”
“Please come on in and make yourself at home for a bit. I always like to meet the people Amanda will be staying with, before my daughter goes over on a sleep over.”
Janet and Leslie barely registered any surprise at Gloria’s declaration. They would both have a little chat with Amanda later.
Amanda jumped up with a great big smile and hurried over to Leslie. She gave the girl a hug and gushed over her appearance.
“Please have a seat and let’s talk some,” Gloria said.
Amanda took Leslie’s hand and led her over to a love seat, as Gloria and Janet sat together on a couch.
The adults sat and talked, while the girls ran on talking about a hundred different things. Janet watched the girls with one eye, as she talked to Gloria. Gloria didn’t notice this, as she too watched the girls with one eye.
“So, are you going to be around the girls all the time, Janet?”
“Yes, I will be with them when we go shopping, and I will be in the condo where they are spending the night together. There will be no late night forays into the unknown for them, you can bet your last dollar on that.”
“How is Leslie taking the loss of her mother?”
“It was a little rough at first; we both cried and were morose for a bit. I have no doubt that there will be more tears though.”
“Surely, there will be. You don’t think it is too early for a sleep over do you?”
“No, I think that Amanda is just the medicine Leslie needs. She needs to see that life goes on. You know, her father died in Iraq.”
“No, I didn’t know that, so she has lost both parents.”
“Yes, four years ago for her Dad. I am amazed that she can laugh and get on already.”
“I lost my Teddy too, when Amanda was seven.”
Theodore West had been Gloria’s Teddy bear, love of her life and Amanda’s father.
“Life goes on though. We mourn when we have to and then we get on with life.”
Gloria turned to the girls, “Girls, you can have your sleepover. Why don’t you two go to Amanda’s room and get her things?
“Thank You, Mom,” Amanda said, jumping in her seat. “Thank you, Mrs. West,” Leslie said.
The girls got up and hurried to her room.
After the girls had left the room, Gloria turned to Janet and shocked her pantyhose off of her saying, “Leslie and Amanda don’t know it, but I knew Melissa Brooke. I was co-chairing a charity drive and Melissa was one of the workers. We talked about families as we worked, so I was quite surprised to find out that Melissa had a daughter named Leslie. Tell me about it Janet.”
Janet was embarrassed and it showed. “I am so sorry Gloria; I didn’t set out to deceive you. We had just planned to go shopping today?”
“I believe you, my Amanda can be so rambunctious at times. What I want to know about is Leslie? I was surprise to see her. I couldn’t for the life of me, see anything but a girl sitting there and talking to my Amanda.”
Janet decided to be completely honest with Gloria and gave her a short version of what had happened, what was going to happen and their future plans.
“Is Leslie going to be a girl in San Francisco?” Gloria asked.
“I don’t know. I told Leslie that what she did, was up to her. I am just glad that she was laughing and smiling again, and I know that she is being genuine. She isn’t putting on airs with me.”
“I believe you. It is unusual, but I agree with what you have done. From what I have seen, Leslie is all girl. It may come as a shock to my Amanda though. Call me early next week and let’s have lunch… and call me if you ever need to just talk.”
“I will, Gloria and thank you for not embarrassing Leslie.”
“I would never think of doing that to that poor girl.”
Janet couldn’t help herself and just had to hug Gloria.
“Whether it is the Leslie he was last week, or the Leslie she is today, that goes with you to San Francisco, they need to go to a Psychologist, Janet.”
“I know. I already have someone in mind.”
“Good girl. You know she looks so pretty.”
“I know, she looks so much like her Mother.”
“She does, doesn’t she?”
The women heard laughter coming closer and the girls came back into the room, carrying a bunch of stuff.
“Come here Amanda,” Gloria said, taking out her wallet. “I know you already have your allowance this week, but I want you two to have some fun today.”
Gloria took out her wallet and counted out five twenty dollar bills and handed them to her daughter.
“Listen to Mrs. Blain and don’t give her any trouble, Amanda. You girls had better be good.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Amanda said, kissing her cheek. “We’ll be good.”
(to be continued)
The girls put Amanda’s things in the trunk of Melissa’s town car. Amanda sat in middle of the front seat, Janet drove and Leslie was in the passenger seat.
“Tell me, Amanda,” Janet said, “I don’t remember saying you girls could have a sleep over.”
“I just thought that I could help Leslie more, if I could spend the night with him.”
“Think girl, Amanda. For today and any day Leslie is dressed like this, she is a girl. You could have warned me at least, when you called me this morning.”
“I was afraid you might say no, I am sorry, please forgive me Janet, you too Leslie.” Amanda said, looking down at her hands sitting on her lap.
“I guess it is easier to ask for forgiveness, than for permission. It turned out alright Amanda, you just need to think of others before you act,” Aunt Janet said.
Janet and Leslie both gave her one arm hugs which brought a smile to her face.
Janet drove to a mall that was all the way across town. It was about a forty minute drive to get there.
Janet found a parking space about ten cars away from the entrance. She watched Amanda and Leslie collect themselves so they could exit the car. Amanda was bubbly as expected, but she found Leslie acting like any other teenage girl albeit a little calmer.
“Let’s go girls,” Janet said.
“Alright, I am ready too,” Leslie said, smiling.
They got out and headed in. They walked together and talking. The mall was enormous and was designed as a giant X that was three stories tall. Each arm was about a hundred and fifty yards long with a major store anchoring each arm. The center of the mall was an enormous garden area that had many small kiosks and a food court. Just inside the door was a four sided map/index totem. One of those you are here things. They stopped and looked at it a bit, but they decided to just wander around a bit.
Leslie was like a kid in a candy store, as a guy, he liked to explore a new mall. He knew girls for the most part loved it even more. Exploring its walkways to see what stores were there, was their recreation. The boy Leslie was fascinated by the electronics, bookstores, novelties shops and games stores. The girl Leslie, with her companions, were here for fashions. Leslie just followed the girls lead.
The first shop they headed into was Victoria’s Secret. Janet decided to get the worst over first, also it was on the first floor not too far from the main entrance. They found it quite easily. Leslie knew that girls just loved to look at and try on lingerie. It was a large part of what the girls at school talked about when they felt they weren’t being overheard by boys. At school Leslie was sometimes on the periphery of girls and they didn’t really see him as much of a threat, and so at times he was shocked by what they talked about. Then again maybe they did it to see if they could shock him, he just didn’t know.
Anyway he, no she thought, I am Leslie Brooke and I am a girl. Girls love to shop, I love to shop. Anyways she just did what Amanda did; she went up to the racks of lingerie and started picking through them and inspecting them to see if she liked them. She found the racks sorted logically by size.
“Leslie, find three or four bra’s that you would like to try on,” Amanda said, “then we will go into the changing rooms and try them on. Let’s each get a matching set, so we can be dressed alike.”
“That sounds good, but Aunt Janet needs to get a matching set too.”
Janet’s eyebrows rose at that, she didn’t think that Leslie would be so comfortable going through lingerie racks, let alone suggesting that his Aunt get a matching set of bras and panties too. “Ok girls, but it might be best if I select the type of bras and you two match it. I need more support than you two do? Do you know your sizes?”
“I am a 32B size 5 or small Mrs. Blain,” Amanda said.
“Of course you know that I am a 34C and size 5 small too Aunty.”
Janet smiled, Leslie had to have checked out the new bra and panty she had gotten for him, “Well girls, I am a 38D and a size 6 medium, girls.”
They searched the racks for just the right bra and they each showed each other their finds. Janet insisted on an underwire bra with good support. She had seen several good bras, but wanted Leslie to find one that she and the girls could wear. She didn’t know it, but Amanda was doing her best to steer Leslie over to the good bras too. When Leslie pick up a shell pink demi cup bra the others just gushed over it.
“Get one to fit you and then get a couple of more your size and then let’s try them on.”
The girls went back to hunting and in about five minutes they each had four bras to try on. They then went to the changing rooms. The changing rooms were about the size of a small shower stall. There were hooks to hang clothes on and a curtain that hung from the top of the room to mid-calf. There was just two other ladies trying on things when they came in. One lady was in the hallway checking herself out in the mirror. She smiled as they came in. They each choose a room.
“Will you be alright by yourself,” Amanda whispered, into Leslie’s ear. She was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to get into and out of a bra without help.
“No problem, girl.” Leslie whispered back.
They each changed into their matching bra. Amanda was amazed with how the demi cup bra displayed her breasts look a lot bigger, her breasts were lifted and then pushed together. Leslie’s eyes got larger as she looked at herself. They met up in the hallway.
“Ooh that is a pretty corset,” Amanda said. “How does it feel?”
“It’s tight but, I have gotten used to it,” Leslie said. “I just wanted to get down a size or two.”
Leslie hoped that that sounded like a girl. She knew they were very concern about their dress size.
“Well what do you girls think of this bra?” Janet asked.
It had been a while since Janet had worn a bra like this. She didn’t really need to look bigger, but it was nice to see them sticking out front rather than hanging down.
“I like mine, and Leslie looks good in hers,” Amanda said.
“I like this one too Aunty,” Leslie said. She had a lot more cleavage than just what the breast forms gave her, as some of her real flesh had been push in and then up.
Janet was amazed, her Leslie was standing around in a bra and corset around women in various states of dress acting no differently than she or Amanda or the other ladies that were there. Leslie had gone into the lion’s den and had come out smiling.
After they each tried on the other bras they had chosen they put the ones they
weren’t keeping on the return rack and carried the ones they were keeping. Janet made sure that Leslie kept more than she put back. They then found matching panties for their selections.
They spent about an hour more shopping there. Leslie came out with the most. Janet knew that Leslie could wear most of his Mom’s things, but it felt good for a girl to have her own things too. She came out with eight bras and sixteen panties, along with some slips, camisoles, sleep shirts, jammies and things.
When the items were rung up, Amanda was a little surprised at how much they had spent, but Leslie was shocked. Janet just smiled at the girls. Leslie thought about how guy things were relatively cheap maybe five pair of briefs for ten dollars, boxers maybe three for ten dollars and five white t-shirts for twelve dollars. The bras at VS’s cost between thirty-five to seventy dollars and the cheapest panty they had selected was nearly eight dollars.
As they left Victoria’s Secret Leslie said, “I getting a little hungry, can we get a small bite?”
“I’m not surprised. You didn’t eat much breakfast with that corset on. We’ll try to stop for a small bite every couple of hours. You really need to eat to keep your energy up,” Janet said.
While they ate Amanda had a thousand questions she asked Leslie about the corset, breast forms, shoes and the clothes Leslie was wearing. Leslie answered what she could about how everything felt and such, but she let Janet answer about which stores they came from.
“I would love to have a corset and a pair of those shoes,” Amanda said.
“You don’t really need a corset, Amanda, you already have a twenty four or five inch waist,” Leslie said.
“How do you know, you haven’t measured me.”
“No but I have two eyes, I always thought you were beautiful.”
Amanda blushed and smiled at Leslie, “I always thought you were beautiful too Leslie.”
“Even though the Leslie you knew was a guy?”
“Yes, I thought you were too beautiful to be a guy. I didn’t care though, guy or girl it didn’t matter to me. I guess I am Bi, then when I saw Leslie the girl I sort of went crazy. I had the best of both worlds. At least till I learned you were moving away.”
“I am sorry girls,” Janet said. “There is just no way we can stay.”
“I know, Ms. Blain, but we can still be best friends forever,” Amanda said, holding her left pinky towards Leslie.
Leslie wrapped her pinky around Amanda’s and said, “Best friends forever.”
The girls leaned towards each other and gave the other girl a quick kiss to the lips, to seal their friendship.
Janet thought that that was an extremely feminine thing to do. She really needed to talk to Carla Freeman tonight.
After they selected and ate their salads they hit the teen specialty stores. Amanda and Leslie went wild selecting and trying on clothes, mixing and matching colors, fabrics and textures. Janet and the girls selected a lot of clothes for Leslie. There were skirts, dresses, tops, slacks, jeans, shorts, sweaters and jackets. While the boy Leslie had two thirds of his closet filled, the girl Leslie was going to have to figure out where to put everything.
They had so much stuff they had to make a trip to the Lincoln and stuff the trunk.
They then popped into Neiman Marcus to pick a couple of suits and some dressier teen fashions. Leslie looked fantastic in a maroon suit and a cream colored suit. Janet bought two skirts for each suit, a short sexy skirt and a knee length skirt for business.
They walked past the formals on their way to makeup. Amanda saw a gown she just had to try on. It was a one shoulder floor length black chiffon gown. Leslie browsed while her friend hunted for the gown in her size. She was smitten by a floor length teal organza gown, which would look great at any formal event. Janet was lost in her shoppers trance and encouraged Leslie to try it on. Janet went with the girls to help them try on the gowns.
When they left their dressing room, they looked each other over.
“Amanda you look so stunning in that gown,” Leslie said.
“She does, doesn’t she,” Janet said.
“If I am stunning then you are a killer. You’ll kill all the guys in that dress girlfriend.”
“You need a higher heel though Amanda or they could hem it up for you,” Janet said.
“I have just the shoes for that dress they are a black patent pump with a T-strap above the ankle, Amanda. They are too small for me now. They are eight and a half’s, what size do you wear?”
“I wear an eight; I might be able to wear them. How high are the heels?”
“Maybe five inches.”
“I have got to try them on. I have never worn a heel that high before.”
Janet loved the way the girls looked so much she bought both gowns.
In the beauty department Janet bought Leslie all new makeup. Melissa’s makeup was a close match to Leslie and he could keep much of it, but Janet felt better getting Leslie her own makeup. She spent enough at each name brand kiosk to qualify for the free give away. Leslie was given everything a girl needed for a six month journey and a very nice makeup case to hold it all. Janet and Amanda had so much fun helping Leslie, who seemed to be having just as much fun. Leslie even selected her own scent
Acqua Di Gio Perfume. Janet liked it on Leslie it was a light fresh scent.
From the jewelry department, Amanda and Janet helped Leslie pick out some earrings, bracelets and other things that were more appropriate for a teen, for dressier occasions Leslie could use her Mom’s jewelry, Melissa had a lot of pretty things. Janet spotted these two silver necklaces that had silver and diamond split heart pendants with the inscription BFF. She would come back for these two necklaces.
The last department they hit was the shoe department. Leslie the boy owned five pair of shoes (two pair of dress shoes, two pair of athletic shoes and a pair of house shoes and one pair of western boots). Leslie the girl had to have two dozen pairs of shoes, including two calf length boot, three ankle boots, five pair of pumps, four heeled sandals, four flats, three pair of house shoes, three sports shoes.
Janet had to pull the car to the loading dock. The poor Town Car had never been fuller. The girls had no choice but to ride in the front seat.
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Janet pulled up to the curb in front of their apartment building, the doorman rushed to open the passenger door. He helped Leslie out giving her a curious glance and then he helped Amanda. Janet had gotten out and asked for a dolly. (A hotel luggage trolley for the British readers.) After looking in the backseat, he went back inside and pulled one of those bellman carts out to the car. It took him ten minutes with the girls help to load the cart.
“Leslie, you and Amanda go on up, while I park the car.”
No one saw the doorman’s eyebrows rise and his eyes bug out a bit as he pushed the cart for the girls. Another doorman took his place as they headed to the elevator. He eyed Leslie in an appreciative manner, while he tried to resolve the incongruities.
He knew almost all of his tenants. The Leslie he knew was a shy quiet boy, whose mom just passed away. He just quietly pushed the cart following the girls to the apartment of Melissa Brooke.
Leslie opened her purse and took out her keys to open the doors.
“Call me downstairs and I pick up the cart ma’am,” he said after pushing it into their home.
“Thank you William,” Leslie said.
“You’re welcome, Leslie.”
After he left Amanda turned to her friend, “You know you just told him, that you knew him, don’t you.”
“Of course, I know him; he has been on our door for years.”
“Yes, but Leslie the girl, hasn’t been around for years.”
“He is alright. He won’t be a problem. Besides I am gone in eight days.”
“Alright, but still be careful.”
“Let’s give Aunty a fashion show. Grab you gown and follow me.”
Leslie grabbed her gown and led Amanda to her Mom’s room. After laying her dress on the bed she went into the closet and came out carrying the heels she told Amanda about and the silver sandals she had worn earlier. Amanda had already taken off her blouse and skirt. She was wearing a convertible bra and was adjusting the way her straps went.
“Ohh…Those shoes are to die for Leslie I can’t wait to try them on.”
Leslie undressed and then Amanda helped her with the sandals and the dress.
“Girls, I am home,” Janet said as she came in the apartment.
“We’re in Mom’s room Aunty,” she heard in reply.
Janet then went to Melissa’s room. There she saw Amanda in her underwear, zipping Leslie into her formal.
“Really, You girls should unload the cart, before you start playing dress up.”
“Where are we going to put everything Aunt Janet?”
“That might be a problem. We can go through your Mom’s things and give them away. I guess. I don’t know.”
“We can put Mom’s things in the boy’s room for now I guess, I will be staying in this room, I think,” Leslie suggested.
“Alright then take your gowns off and let’s begin to work then.”
Leslie pouted a bit and then said alright.
Janet first selected older clothes and handed them to Leslie and Amanda. She was amazed to find both girls still in their underwear, wearing sky scrapper heels. The two girls would then take them to Leslie’s room and laid them on the bed. Janet then began picking things that were more mature, things a teen usually wouldn’t wear, and she worked on both sides moving things to the other side till half of the closet was clear. Janet knew her sister really loved to shop and thought about her own closet which was no different.
“Amanda would you be a dear and fetch the dolly?”
“On the way.”
Janet looked at Leslie. She was cute standing there in her underwear with those sandals on, smiling.
“You OK kiddo?”
“I am great Aunty,” she said, smiling and then hugging her Aunt.
She smiled back at her niece, and when Amanda pushed the cart to the door she said.
“Okay shoes on the floor, clothes on the bed till we get some hangers for them.”
The girls unloaded the bags of clothes onto the bed and then formed a line and passed each other the shoe boxes. Janet then set them on the floor, with the boots at the back.
When the cart was empty Aunt Janet then said. “Okay girls, while I take the cart back downstairs you two go through the vanity. Get rid of any eye makeup that has been opened and used. I don’t really want you to use those things Leslie. You can keep anything that isn’t opened. Get rid of your mom’s foundation too. It’s not the right shade for you.”
Amanda sat at the vanity and Leslie fetched a new liner for the trash can as Janet left the room pushing the cart. Amanda pointed out which makeups to Leslie had to go. They kept the unopened, things mostly lipsticks, mascaras and such. They then began throw away the old makeup, of which there was a lot. Amanda also threw away most of the old brushes. She knew that Mrs. Blain had bought Leslie a new set. She just kept some of the really nice sable brushes.
“The last month and a half Mom stopped wearing much makeup, mostly she just wore lipstick. She said she just didn’t feel like getting dolled up.”
“I am so sorry Leslie. I can understand your Mom not feeling up to putting on her makeup. When my Grandmother was sick, she was the same way.”
“Did she die too?”
“No, but she came close. She was very sick for almost a year.”
The girls had almost finished when Janet returned.
“Okay girls you did fine. Now Leslie get your makeup case and bring your makeup here. Leslie hand your friend your makeup. Amanda, when she hands you something put one of each item on the vanity top and put the rest in the case.”
Janet sat on the bed and watched the girls work. Amanda first cleaned the vanity. It had collected a bit of dust in places. She had Leslie get her a bath cloth. The girl then cleaned out all the drawers, before she started putting Leslie’s things away.
They talked and laughed as they began emptying the bags.
Janet realized that Amanda had a smart sense of humor, but what startled her was the fact that Leslie did too. She had never seen her nephew joke around that much; he had been the shy quiet type. But Leslie as her niece was something else she thought.
Aunt Janet left the girls to their own devices and went to her nephew’s room. She went through the clothes that were on the bed and began to steal hangers. She made to piles of clothes. She sorted one pile of clothes for goodwill (the larger pile) and one pile for further evaluation.
It only took the girls twenty minutes to get the makeup sorted out. Once Amanda was finished she went over with Leslie where everything was.
Janet came back to the room the girls were in and dumped a load of hangers on the floor.
“Girls go through the bags, hang the clothes that need it and hand them to me. I will sort them and hang them in the closet.”
Leslie went through the bags, clothes that needed hanging she handed to Amanda, the rest she folded and placed them on her bed. Amanda took the clothes Leslie handed her and put them on hangers before handing them to Janet who hung them up.
It didn’t take long for the girls to finish hanging the clothes up.
Janet then attacked the dresser. She threw away the panties and piled the bras up; she would take those to goodwill too. She kept most of her sisters slips, nightgowns and things, throwing away some of the older, worn things that were still in the dresser. She then had the girls hand her Leslie’s new clothes.
Working together it had only taken the girls about an hour from cart to a clean room.
They all giggled when they heard Leslie’s stomach growl.
“I will order some delivery. Leslie, find a robe for you and Amanda. After we eat we can play dress up.”
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Janet called an Italian restaurant and ordered chicken fettuccini Alfredo, eggplant parmigiana and white bean salad for three.
The girls came into the living room wearing short satin kimono robes. Janet had to smile seeing Amanda in her sister’s five inch heels. She was walking a little timidly trying to get use to the added height, but she did look so good in them.
“Do those heels fit Amanda?”
“They were just a tad long, but they feel alright.”
“Walk around in them a bit and see if you can get use to them.”
Amanda walked around with Leslie. They both had a seductive walk. Leslie was just as good as Amanda if not better in the taller heels. Amanda then began giving Leslie tips on how girls send messages to boys, with their walk posture and how they looked at the boys.
“Boys are dumb creatures Leslie; you have to send them messages to them using body language. Whether you are interested in them or you don’t want anything to do with them or you’re out of their league, you can tell them without saying a word. Then there are boys you have to hit over the head with a two by four to get their attention.”
“Like Leslie?” Leslie asked.
“Yes like Leslie.”
“You also have to be careful of the boys who can’t take a hint or “NO!” for an answer. Those boys can be dangerous, especially to a girl like you. Please don’t get yourself hurt,” Amanda said. “I would hate myself if you got hurt.”
Leslie hugged the girl and said. “I can’t promise that I won’t get hurt, you know what people are like, but I will promise to be careful. I am also sorry that I used to be one of those dumb boys. I liked you a lot, but I felt that I wasn’t macho enough for a girl like you.”
Janet’s mouth hung open. She would have to think about what Leslie said, very carefully. She didn’t know but thought that her nephew might not be back that much, if ever. She saw two girls comforting one another.
She then went to the kitchen and opened up a bottle of red wine and decanted it so it could breathe. She then set three places in a formal style, with wine and water glasses. Her sister had a nice taste in tableware.
When the doorman buzzed them, Janet told him to send the delivery man on up. After paying for the food they sat down to eat.
Janet poured them each one glass of wine. She believed children should be taught how to drink the right way. Her mom taught Melissa and Janet to drink, not to get drunk but to appreciate the wine and how it went with the food they ate with it. She told this to the girls.
She took her wine glass and sniffed its fragrance. A wines fragrance could tell you whether it was fit to drink and what your palate could expect. She described the fragrance to the girls. They took their own glasses and evaluated the wine. It was a good wine and as Janet took her first sip, she found that the flavor spoke well for the fragrance.
The girls followed suit and then discussed the wine, before they started eating. The wine complimented the flavor of the food. They sipped it slowly like Aunt Janet did while they ate.
Leslie had never been a talker at the table. He would respond if he was asked something or was talked to directly, but it was sort of short answer stuff. Now Leslie tried to help keep the conversation up at the table. Janet for one found this new Leslie delightful.
After dinner the girls helped Janet clean up.
They then went to Leslie’s room, which is how they thought of Melissa’s old room now. The girls were disappointed that they were told not to put their gowns on. Janet had other ideas, she and Amanda tutored Leslie on how to mix and match. They had her make a dozen outfits matching tops, bottoms, dresses and shoes, then choosing accessories to go with it. Leslie became a quick change artist, using ticks the girls showed her and with her fashion lessons she could dress for different occasions.
Finally Janet had Leslie strip down to her underwear and sit at the vanity. She first put Leslie’s hair in a bun and decorated it with a tortoise shell comb. She saw that Amanda was doing a twist with a pretty butterfly clip. Janet then worked on her niece’s makeup, working quickly but carefully. She didn’t take time to show them what she was doing. She just did it. She gave Leslie an elegant, sophisticated look.
Amanda had gotten her makeup while Janet worked on Leslie and put on her own foundation, powder lipstick and blush. Janet then applied her eye makeup, giving her the same classy look.
The girls loved what she did for them, even though they were just in their undies, they looked very good.
Janet then helped them to get dressed.
When she got them dressed she took pictures of them with her camera and her phone before she let them go to the mirror. Once they were both dressed she noticed a change in both girls. They both were regal in their demeanor. They stood a little taller, held their heads up and their faces showed a calm grace. They weren’t being haughty or snooty; they reminded her of Princess Diane. Yes she was royalty, but she showed she cared about other people.
She took the best picture on her phone and sent it to Gloria. She then texted Gloria.
A few minutes later Gloria texted her one word, “Wow!”
“Girls I am going to make us tea, then afterwards I am afraid you will need to get undressed and into sleepwear.”
The girls groaned, they didn’t want to go through the hassle to be dressed nicely just for a few minutes but they did what they were told to do. They knew she didn’t want them ruining their dresses.
“Go to the living room and I will bring the tea to you.”
The girls headed to the living room talking as Janet headed into the kitchen. She called Gloria on her phone and talked to her as she prepared the tea. They hatched a plan as they talked.
Janet brought a tray into the living room. On the tray was a fine China tea service and everything they needed. Janet poured the tea and asked how the girls like theirs.
“Honey and lemon, please,” Amanda said.
“Cream and sugar,” Leslie said.
She passed the girls their tea. She didn’t need to tell them to be careful; at least she hoped she didn’t have to. Janet then made her own tea with cream and sugar.
“So Leslie, did you enjoy your day today?”
“Oh Aunt Janet I had a lovely time today. I had lots of fun. Being together with you and Amanda was wonderful.”
“May I call you Aunt Janet too,” Amanda asked.
“Of course you may Amanda, I would love that.”
“I really loved shopping with you and helping Leslie. She is so wonderful. I am glad we are friends.”
She gave Leslie an air kiss, not wanting to mess up their makeup.
They talked for ten minutes and then Janet proclaimed it was time to change. She helped the girls get undressed and let them alone to change into sleep wear.
Fifteen minutes later they came out. They had cleaned their faces, let their hair down and had changed for bed. Amanda wore a satin sleep shirt and Leslie wore a cotton tank and satin jammies, sans corset. Her waist looked small but would expand overnight. It was apparent that she still wore her gaff, though.
“I don’t have to tell you two not to mess around, NO SEX, do I?”
“No ma’am,” they both replied.
“Good then I leave you two to your best behavior. Do whatever you two want to do and go to sleep when you feel like it. Just remember, I will be rattling your cages in the morning.”
After the girls acknowledged her words, she left them alone.
(to be continued)
Leslie and Amanda have more fun together, as the time of parting draws near.
Out of Mourning- Part 5
by
Paula Dillon
In her room, Janet called her friend Carla Freeman, Carla was a PhD, a Clinical Psychologist, on a landline. They had gone to college together. Janet chose to take business and Carla chose psychology.
“Hey Janet,” Carla said,
“Checking your caller ID, I see. Hello Carla, we need to talk.”
“Go right ahead, girlfriend.”
Janet spent an hour and a half talking to her friend. She told her everything she could remember, holding nothing back. She sent Carla the pictures she had taken on her phone.
“I don’t know if I did the right thing Carla. I just didn’t want to hurt her. Then I, or Amanda and I, went crazy shopping today. I spent almost five thousand dollars on girl clothes and other things, just for her.”
“That was some shopping spree girl, did she have fun?”
“I really believe she did. What do you think?”
“I think that I need to talk to her and see what she has to say. Does she think of herself in the feminine?”
“Yes she does, or it appears so. It’s almost like she is a whole different person. As my niece, she is bubbly and vivacious, while as my nephew, he was shy and silent. Did I hurt that boy?”
“Probably not. I won’t hazard a guess without talking to the patient, but I approve of your handling; except for maybe your overzealous shopping trip. He might feel trapped into being a girl, but if I had to make a bet on it, I think SHE loved the attention and closeness.”
“Will we ever see my nephew again?”
“Time will tell, girlfriend. I won’t make any guarantees. Would it upset you if he didn’t?”
“I love Leslie too much. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Good girl. When are you coming back to California?”
“Next Tuesday. I have to check Leslie out of school, arrange for the sale of Melissa’s home, pay the bills and stuff, before I can come home. The Will was simple, as she had put everything in Leslie’s name while she was still alive.”
“Leslie knows he can end things anytime, right?”
“Yes, I made sure he knew that. I told him several times that he can change back anytime.”
“Good, then tell him again when you two are alone and let him decide when its time.”
“I need to get some sleep, Carla.”
“Take care of Leslie, but just as important, take care of yourself. I look forward to seeing you two. Bye.”
“Bye Carla.”
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Amanda took Leslie’s hand and led her back to her room.
“ ‘I’ want to teach you how do to some makeup,” she said, with emphasis on the I. “It’s a rite of passage that girlfriends experiment with makeup, ignoring their mother’s advice, to create some provocative looks.”
Amanda had a humorous, predatory look in her eyes and Leslie had a humorous look of terror in hers.
They sat at the vanity and began playing, teaching and having fun. There were some good looks, some spectacular failures, and a lot of hilarious results. They were giggling, laughing and joking, all the while they created a small mountain of used makeup wipes.
They sat on the bed and then Leslie was taught how girls paint each other’s nails.
“Your nails are so short.”
“I know, my Aunt already talked about that with me. The last few weeks my Mom was alive, I was a knot of worry and took to chewing on my nails.”
“I am so sorry, Leslie. That was terrible about what happened.”
Both girls began to cry and held on to each other.
“Are you going to be alright, Leslie?”
“It still hurts and I imagine it won’t be going away anytime soon, if ever. I mean, I really loved my Mom, but she told me not to let this ruin my life. I intend to show my Mom I love her, by going on and living well.”
Amanda experimented with the nail colors by painting each nail a different color. Leslie had over a dozen different colors. After Amanda finished, they talked about each color and debated which looked best, which would go better with this look, or better with that look.
“Pick a color, Leslie.”
She looked at her nails and selected a color, “I like this bubble gum pink for now.”
Amanda cleaned all her nails and then began to paint them all bubble gum pink. She even did Leslies toenails.
“At least you didn’t chew your toe nails, Leslie,” Amanda said, sniggering.
“Eww gross,” Leslie said, gagging till she began laughing.
“I saw you in your panties, after you took off your padded brief, how did you hide your ah…” Amanda said, pointing at the other girl’s crotch.
“Oh, my Aunt bought me this thing. It’s called a gaff, it’s like a thong. I have to push my balls up into my body. It surprised the hell out of me when she first helped me do it. Then the gaff holds my penis in place, pointing towards the back.”
“Okay, I knew it had to be something like that,” she was still a little uncertain, but she got the gist of it, maybe.
Leslie then returned the favor and painted Amanda’s fingernails and toenails.
“You ought to get some acrylic nails, Leslie.”
“Those are semi-permanent, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. They last months.”
“Can’t right now, a boy is expected at school on Thursday.”
“Maybe we can get you some press on nails then, you can take them off whenever you want to.”
“Are you alright with all this girl stuff?” Amanda asked, with a worried expression. “I mean we did get a little crazy today.”
“Aunt Janet told me I could stop anytime I wanted too. I certainly can afford it. Aunty and I aren’t hurt for money, I just don’t want to quit right now.”
“Are you ever going back to being a boy?”
“I really don’t know. I know being a girl isn’t all fun and games, but I have never felt so alive. These last two days have been like a dream, a good dream. I just can’t say what will come out of all of this.”
After their nails dried, they each put on a pair of high-heeled sandals. Amanda pushed Leslie down on the bed, straddled her lap, and kissed her, slipping her tongue in her friend’s mouth. The kiss went on for over a minute.
“Not bad, but let me teach you how to kiss like a girl. Kiss me like I kissed you.”
Leslie was uncertain about this, but did it anyway. She was apparently a quick study, because this kiss lasted longer and had both of them moaning. It was a good thing she was wearing the gaff.
“hmmm… much better, you aren’t such a bad kisser. Movie time now; do you have any microwave popcorn?”
“That is one of the four basic food groups, along with chocolate, Ice Cream and soda, isn’t it?”
“You bet it is. Fix your lipstick, then go pop us a bag.”
Leslie headed to the kitchen and Amanda grabbed the blanket, off of the bed, and a couple of pillows, before heading into the den. Leslie found Amanda covered with a blanket, with the TV on, on an ‘ON DEMAND’ channel.
“Dang, your Mom blocked the mature rated movies.”
“Yeah, she did. You can still pick R and down though.”
Amanda raised the blanket and patted on the pillows, next to the arm of the couch. Leslie sat on the pillows and Amanda pulled Leslie on her lap and put an arm around Leslie, pulling her close, and starting the movie.
It wasn’t long after the popcorn was gone, that Leslie started to get drowsy. Amanda saw this and turned the girl toward her, pulled her into a hug. Leslie gave Amanda a light kiss to the throat and then fell asleep, lightly snoring, her head resting on Amanda’s shoulder.
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Janet woke early the next morning. She got up and put a robe on, before heading to the kitchen. As she passed through the living room, she saw the kids sleeping together on the couch.
A head moved and an arm waved to her. Amanda mouthed, “help” as she got closer. The girl moved the blanket, so Janet could see. Leslie was asleep and she was hugging Amanda’s leg to her chest. The girl had it in a death grip and her hand was in a delicate position. Amanda looked flush.
Amanda whispered, “I need to get up to pee, but I can’t get loose without waking Leslie. Her thumb is in an embarrassing position. Whenever either one of us moves, ‘OH God.’ It’s such an exquisite agony to orgasm with a full bladder.”
Janet gave a snigger at the situation. Leslie is a sound sleeper, but when he wakes, he is fully awake. Janet took the hem of Amanda’s sleep shirt and tickled Leslie’s nose. Leslie moved her arm to scratch her nose. Amanda quickly moved her leg, and Leslie rolled over. Janet helped the girl to get loose. She found it funny, watching the teen rush in five-inch heels, to get to the bathroom.
In the kitchen, she started heating a pot of water. She retrieved a cup and a bag of tea; she was surprised though, when a pair of arms encircled her in a hug.
“Morning Amanda,”
“Good Morning Aunt Janet.”
“Want a cup of tea?”
“Sure.”
Janet got another cup and teabag, when the kettle whistled, she poured their cups.
“Did you girls have fun last night?”
“Yes ma’am, I showed her how to use makeup and we made each other up. She’s a little shaky, but I think she will do fine in that department. Then we did each other’s nails. She really needs some press on nails till Thursday. Then we watched a movie and ate popcorn. We talked awhile, while we did our makeup and nails.”
“What did you two talk about?”
“Oh, about this and that.”
“Amanda, do you think we went too far with all of this? I am afraid that I am hurting Leslie.”
“Oh no Aunt Janet. I think this is just what Leslie needed, when she needed it.”
“Well, I worry that he might feel trapped into being a girl. I told him he could stop anytime he wanted.”
“That’s what she told me. I won’t tell you everything we talked about, but she knows she can quit at any time, she knows being a girl isn’t all fun and games, she doesn’t know when, or if, he will come back. She had as much fun as we did, yesterday. She seems like a whole different person, or maybe a completed person. I don’t know.”
“That’s my thoughts too. My nephew wasn’t a go-getter. My niece, however, is going to be something else.”
“They are both the same person, but your niece is more open and outgoing, I think.”
“So, does she think she is a girl?”
“She knows she wasn’t born a girl, she isn’t delusional, but I think she has the heart of a girl. She is definitely more feminine than masculine, even before this weekend. Just guessing, but I think she will be a, not a girly girl, but a warm, sophisticated girl.”
“A Princess Diana, type girl?”
“Before my time. I was one or two, when she died, I think.”
Janet looked over to the breakfast counter. Her laptop was there, charging. She got it and after booting it up, searched for ‘Princess Diana’ on You Tube. She played a couple of selections for Amanda.
“She had her faults, we all do, but she could be sophisticated and elegant, yet she loved children. She would get down on their level to talk to them,” Janet said.
“She was very pretty when she was dating Prince Charles, but you can tell that she began to get weary, as the years went by.”
“Power can do that to you. What time did you two get to sleep?”
“A little after midnight. Leslie was so tuckered, she went to sleep on my shoulder.”
“Let’s fix her breakfast; we have some things to do.”
The smell of coffee and bacon woke Leslie up. She sat up and looked at her toes, she had ten pretty toes. She stood carefully in her heels, and went to the nearest bathroom. After finishing her morning business, she let her nose lead her.
Janet noticed Leslie coming into the kitchen, “Good, you are up, we were just about ready to wake you.”
Leslie smiled and hugged her Aunt and Amanda, “Good morning, how are you two?”
“We’re pretty good,” Janet said.
They sat down and ate. They talked about what they were going to do.
“First, we need to get your ears pierced, Leslie. Just some simple studs; which you can hide with your hair. Amanda pointed out, that we can get you some press on nails. They can be removed easy enough. Are you up for this?”
“Whatever you think, Aunty. I am depending on you.”
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They all took time to shower and get dressed. Leslie was bound into her corset, to get her waist back down to twenty six inches, her waist had expanded a bit over night. She then dressed in a green silk blouse, brown, slim slacks and brown boots.
Janet opened her sister’s jewelry case, looking for something to compliment Leslie’s outfit. She selected a gold chain and pendant, a gold cuff bracelet and a couple of rings, her eye’s went big as saucers as she spotted one other item, she took it and put it in her purse.
Dressed, they headed out. The first place they went to was to a beauty shop. Janet arranged for both girls to get their hair done.
“Hi, I am Gina, I have Leslie.”
“Hi, I am Reggie and I have Amanda.”
“This is my niece Leslie and her friend Amanda.”
The girls followed their stylists to their workstation.
“What can we do for you today?” Gina asked.
“My niece is appearing in a play. Have you heard of Victor/Victoria?”
“Yes, I know the storyline. Is she playing Victoria?”
“Yes, she needs to look like a guy, but she doesn’t want to get rid of her long hair. In fact, the director wants a long haired Victor. She just doesn’t want a too masculine hair style; she wants to be able to look feminine too.”
Gina ran her hands through the girl’s hair.
“It already is pretty androgynous. You have been a bad girl too; you need your split ends taken care of. I can see some possibilities.”
Gina went on to explain to Janet and Leslie, what she wanted to do. When they agreed, she sent Leslie to the shampoo station.
“Isn’t she really a Victor, wanting to look like Victoria?” Gina whispered into Janet’s ear.
With a little trepidation, Janet whispered back to Gina, “Yes… she is… She is transgendered from what her psychologist tells me. I just want her to be able to look feminine at home and not get killed at school.”
“I fully understand, I have a few male customers just like her, but few of them could pass as easily as she could.”
“How could you tell?”
“No one thing gave her away, rather, it is the sum of several clues; her hair, her nails, and the fact her ears aren’t pierced. That, coupled with the play you say she is in, the corset she is wearing and her eyebrows, just add up that way. Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter to me, I find that it is a challenge for my skills. She makes a very pretty girl.”
“Please, if you are going to pluck her brows, don’t pluck them too much.”
“I might clean them up a bit, but I will leave them full.”
“Speaking of pierced ears, I would like her ears pierced and these put in,” Janet said, handing Gina a pair of earrings.
“Oh pretty, they aren’t starters, so I will use a piercing needle.”
“Good, I am going to pick up a few things, how long will the girls be?”
“No more than an hour and a half.”
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Janet came back early from her forays. The girls were almost ready, so she waited up front for them to be finished. Amanda came out first. She looked fabulous. She had had her bangs trimmed and her hair shaped, before her makeup was applied. They hugged and talked for a few minutes.
Gina then came out and announced Leslie. Leslie then stepped from around the corner. Her hair and makeup were done better, than Janet or Amanda could ever hope to do. Gina had trimmed Leslie’s split ends and shaped her hair a bit. She had pierced Leslie’s ears and inserted the studs that Janet had supplied; a pair of Princess cut, one carat t.w. studs. She had also done Leslie’s nails.
She looked fabulous.
“I showed Leslie how to glam up her hair using a curling iron and how to make it look right for the play. I trimmed her brows a touch, nothing too drastic. She is wearing press on nails right now and I changed her makeup routine a bit, to bring out her natural beauty. It was a privilege to work with her. Did I nail her, or what?”
“I think you did a wonderful job,” Janet said.
“Leslie, you look great girl.”
“Thank you Gina. Girls, we need to go, we have a lot to do before dinner.”
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They went to eat lunch and hit a few more shops. They notice that they were turning a few heads as they went along, but they enjoyed the attention that they were getting. Leslie got some of the odd things a girl needs, to take care of her hair, berets, clips, scrunchies and other things.
In leather goods, Leslie picked out a wallet and a matching purse. Her Mom had a number of nice purses and wallets, but these were Leslie’s first.
Janet wanted Leslie to have things she could identify as hers, rather than just things that were handed down to her from her Mom. Those things are still important, but so are things that were bought just for you.
They got home about two in the afternoon. Janet sat the girls down and talked to them, “I have a surprise for you, I talked to your Mom last night, Amanda. I sent her a picture of you two girls dressed up. Gloria loved the way you two looked. She wants us all to dress up for dinner. She will be here at five and then we will all head out to a photo studio for glamour shots.”
Amanda and Leslie both jumped up with excitement.
Leslie was amazed over the next two hours, as the three of them got ready. As a boy, he had never taken more than ten, or twenty minutes, to get ready for a formal event, although, he remembered just how long it had taken his mom to get ready. The fact that she and Amanda were mostly ready from their time in the salon, made the forty-five minutes it took even more shocking.
They worked as a team to help each other. Janet picked out several of Melissa’s dresses and tried them on. She had to change bras once, to try on the strapless dresses. Most of Melissa’s things didn’t fit her bigger bust and waist well; the dresses just pulled to tight across the bust, or wrinkled, as the seams where pulled too tight. She did find a nice gown in a Royal Blue Satin halter top, gown that fit nicely. The gown just fit beneath the bust and flared enough from there, to fit Janet’s slightly larger frame. She wore a halter bra underneath the dress, after checking that the bra was hidden by the dress.
Janet then put on one of Melissa’s garter belts and a pair of stockings. At least she and Melissa had their shoe size in common, that made selecting shoes that matched the dress easier. Amanda took a wet comb to Janet’s hair, as Leslie began to take care of polishing her fingernails. With her hair rolled up, Janet then did her own makeup. It took her about twenty-five minutes to get a look that she was happy with and complimented her dress.
With her hair still in rollers, the girls helped each other get dressed in the gowns and shoes. Janet helped select some accessories from Melissa’s things, for them all to wear, and elegant handbags to carry.
Janet sat at the vanity and worked on her hair. After she got it in shape she checked her makeup, touching it up where needed. She then checked the girls’ makeup and hair, touching it up.
They were gushing over each other’s appearance, when Janet said, “Girls, you look almost ready, I have one more thing for you.” She handed each girl a wrapped box. “Okay, give the box you are holding to your friend and then you may open them.”
The two girls handed the boxes they were holding to the other. They opened their box. Inside the boxes were a silver and diamond split heart pendant, when they are put together they read BFF. On the back of Amanda’s was Leslie’s name engraved and on Leslie’s, Amanda’s name was engraved.
They thought that the pendants were the most beautiful things they had seen. They helped each other put their necklace on. Leslie started to kiss Amanda, but she stopped her saying, “Careful, we don’t want to have to redo our makeup.”
They leaned forward a bit and gave each other a light peck on the lips.
“Gloria should be here in a few minutes,” Janet said. “Why don’t we just sit in the living room for a bit.”
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Gloria West dressed in an emerald green evening dress. The dress had a deep V and was fitted to the waist, followed her hips and then went straight to the floor. She had also spent hours getting ready. After she had seen the pictures of the girls on her phone and had heard what was on Janet’s mind, she was thrilled to go along.
She parked her Mercedes and fed the meter. The doorman hammed it up a bit and bowed deeply after taking off his hat. He then opened the door for her. She giggled and blushed as she passed by him.
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Janet opened the door and let Gloria in after she answered the door.
“Oh my, you all look so nice,” she said when she saw the girls.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Mom. Look at my pendant Aunt Janet got for us.”
“Oh my, it is lovely. I see Leslie has one almost like it.”
“It is a BFF, or Best Friends Forever pendant, Mrs. West,” Leslie supplied.
The girls stood close enough, facing each other, for Gloria to put the two halves of the necklace together. She then turned them over and saw the girls’ names on the back.
“I think they a very nice, did you thank Janet.”
“Thank you Aunt Janet,” they both replied, hugging her.
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The photographer whistled as the four ladies entered her studio.
“Hello, I am Dorothy, what can I do for you ladies today?”
“We want singles on all of us, me and my niece, Gloria and Amanda, the girls together and a group shot.”
“Well, I have to say that you all look so nice. Is this for a special occasion?”
“No, not really, Leslie and I are moving to California and the girls want a memento of their friendship.”
Dorothy had fun doing this shoot; she had seen the split heart pendants and shot the girls so that the heart halves could come together. She shot the girls holding the heart together with their lips touching in a sedate kiss. The photographer urged the girls to express themselves. They all had a good laugh as the girls vamped a pose or two.
Leslie and Amanda did Thelma and Louise of Park Avenue number, with two prop shotguns, Fedoras, and a couple of feather boas, while they leaned on each other back to back, they gave their most angelic smile for one shot and sultry smiles for the next.
The photographer fed off of the girls’ enthusiasm and humor. She encouraged the girls to go farther than either would have on their own. She had the girls change into Can Can outfits
“I should have the proofs back on Friday and you can select the shots you like. It will be two weeks for retouching and processing.”
“You can send me the prints I choose by mail, can’t you?” Janet asked.
“Sure, we do it all the time, but I prefer to use UPS.
“That is fine.”
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At Pierre’s French restaurant, the girls were treated like celebrities by the valet’s, who opened the doors for them and parked their car, to the waiters and the maá®tre de, who helped them take their seats. They fed off of the attention and they took on a more regal and sophisticated bearing. The waiter handed each lady a menu and took their drink orders. The menus listed each item in French, with an English translation following.
“Leslie, you have had two years of French, I would like to see it put to use. We will each select our entre’ and you will order it for us in French,” Janet said.
Leslie paled a bit, it was true that he/she had taken two years of French, receiving A’s for his/her course work, but he/she had never used that French in a practical manner. “Yes ma’am, I will try.”
Amanda went all Yoda in response and said, “Do, or do not, there is no try,” in her best voice mimicking the diminutive Star Wars character.
“Don’t blame me if you get hamburgers and French fries, instead of veal Cordon Bleu.”
They discussed what they wanted, asking Leslie what this was or that. Leslie didn’t know what some of the things were, but together the four of them figured out what they wanted.
The waiter had a surprised look on his face, as Leslie ordered. He knew French; it had been a requirement that he know enough French to take orders at this restaurant. He was fairly competent, having spent a year aboard in France, but he mistook Leslie as being French. He happily took the ladies orders.
They each got what they had wanted, in the end. While they were eating, they were serenaded by a violinist. They showed their appreciation by soft applause when he finished and he headed to the other tables.
All too soon things came to an end. The girls gave tearful hugs as they separated at Leslie’s home.
Leslie and Janet cleaned up in their separate bedrooms and got ready for bed. Janet was surprised when Leslie came into her room, “Aunt Janet, would you mind sleeping with me, in my Mom’s room? I just don’t want to be alone right now.”
Janet had avoided spending too much time in her sister’s room, it had brought back too many demons for her, but she needed Leslie, as much as Leslie needed her.
“No, I don’t mind.”
Leslie cried a little on Janet’s shoulder, before they booth fell asleep in each other’s arms.
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Monday began a whirlwind of activity, as they prepared to close out Melissa’s affairs. They talked to an attorney and gave him Power of Attorney over the condo and Melissa’s Last Will and Testament. Leslie had gone in “boy mode” to see the attorney. They would have to come back to New York in two months to finalize things.
Amanda had gone back to school. She couldn’t come and visit Leslie till Tuesday, after school. She fretted terribly over her friend, even though they had talked several times by phone. She found Leslie in girl mode that Tuesday, and helped her pick out the things that she would be taking to San Francisco.
Thursday, Leslie fretted a bit, as she and Janet headed to school. Leslie was in boy mode again, sort of that is. If you looked at him, you would debate what sex he actually was. He was dressed in a girl’s blouse, slacks and flats. He left the breast forms off, but wore panties and a camisole under the clothes. He had finished off the look with a tight fitting guy’s pull over sweater. He didn’t look quite like a girl, but he was far from masculine. He figured that what the people thought wouldn’t matter, since he wasn’t coming back to this school again. He even put on a little foundation and lightly bronzed his face, for a little color.
Janet was quite surprised by his look, but just hugged him.
They arrived at school at ten and spent an hour and a half just on the paperwork. They met Amanda at lunch. The girls he knew came by to say goodbye, but most the guys just distanced themselves a bit, after seeing what he looked like. A few manned up enough to say goodbye and wish him well, but most were afraid of catching something or other. Whatever it was, it didn’t bother Leslie, as he was surprised by how many girls came by for a hug and a kiss.
On the way home, Leslie asked if Janet could stop by a nail salon. She was surprised, but found one. Leslie had changed into a looser lavender girl’s sweater, as they got to the car and as they drove to the salon, she had added mascara and lipstick. The few things she had done had left no doubt that she was a very pretty young girl, albeit a little underdeveloped. She looked like a girl of thirteen, who was trying to look eighteen.
The nail tech just gave the two a big smile as she gave Leslie a silk wrap job and Janet a fill.
At home the first thing Leslie did was adhere her breast forms to her chest, don her corset, and dress in a skirt, blouse, pantyhose and trainers. She jazzed up her hair a bit, did her makeup and put her BFF necklace on. Leslie then boxed up most of his clothes and all of his underwear, but she kept three sets of guy things, two casual shirt and pant sets, and his suit, for just in case.
In her heart, she knew that one-day she would complete the job she had started and become as much a woman as she could become.
Amanda and Gloria did spend the last weekend with Janet and Leslie. The four of them had a girls’ weekend together.
Leslie was surprised when Amanda made love to her. It was both of their first times and it was great, but it wasn’t enough to change Leslie’s mind about staying a girl. They both had a good cry and cuddle afterwards.
Tuesday, Amanda and Gloria took Leslie and Janet to the airport, in Amanda’s new Lincoln Town Car. Gloria had bought Melissa’s car from Janet and Leslie. Amanda didn’t have a driver’s license yet, but that was coming very soon. It made more sense in selling it, than having it shipped to California.
The girls kissed and hugged at the airport. Gloria promised that they would both come visit after the school year ended.
Leslie was dressed in an androgynous mode. She had taken off her breast forms, but dressed in girl slacks, blouse, underwear, sans corset, makeup and trainers for the flight. She didn’t want to have any trouble with the airport security.
There weren’t any problems, although a lot of people had looked her over. She had used her school ID to get past security. She still looked enough like the boy in the picture to pass.
Leslie and Janet flew off to a new life together.
End of book one.
Raison D'etre
by Paula Dillon
Barbra sat in the coffee shop talking with Lisa. She sipped her fragrant elixir as Lisa spoke.
“There are certain principles to magic that can never be overlooked at any cost, Barbra. The first is balance. Say you cast a spell to bring you a hundred trillion dollars. If the spell worked yeah; you have a hundred trillion dollars but what would a cup of your coffee now cost you; a million dollars? It is possible that after the spell you are actually no richer than before. Where if the spell was that you would be well off might actually make you well off. On the other hand, say you cast a spell to be the most beautiful women in the world. You might become the most beautiful women but not have two gray cells left in your head to rub together you could wind up the classic blonde bimbo.”
All magic has its own consequences, which brings me to the second principle. The second principle is the principle of unintended consequences. Say you lived South East Texas where it rains maybe 30-40 inches of rain a year and your spell was that your 10-acre farm would be as lush as the Amazon would. There might be very little unintended consequences because that area is already somewhat lush and the area of the spell is small. If it was an area the size and type as the Death Valley, though the spell might work but the Amazon might end up looking like Death Valley as an unintended consequence. So you have to be very careful when casting big magics,” Lisa said“, or things can really bite you in the ass. Magic seeks a balance and can have unintended consequences.”
“So any spell can really throw a wrench into things, so why bother with it in the first place, and isn’t magic evil?” Barbra asked.
“Magic is not good or evil but the way magic is used can be good or evil, and there are things that can be done by magic that there are no other ways of doing. Knowing all the principles and all the things that can go wrong I still would not go back to the way I was before I learned the ways magic. Barbra, why don’t you come over to my place? And then we can talk some more about it?”
“Sure Lisa I am intrigued by what you are saying.”
The two women got up and paid their tab. Barbra didn’t know whether to believe Lisa or not, but she found her stories interesting at least. It was a short drive to Lisa’s home and Barbra pulled in behind her as she turned into her driveway of a nice house. The two women exited their cars and made their way inside. Lisa was not a bad looking woman in fact she was very good looking but she was greeted by another woman every much as beautiful as herself with a big, huge bone crushing hug and a very passionate kiss on the lips. The two seemed to glow in each other’s embrace.
“Barbra this person is my soul mate and lover Jennifer, Jennifer this is Barbra a friend I have made. I am trying to convince her to learn magic from us; she has a strong spark inside her.” Lisa exclaimed.
Jennifer had a big gorgeous smile on her face as she appraised Barbra. “Yes I see I hope you can convince her. I will make us dinner while you two talk. You will stay for dinner won’t you please?” Jennifer begged.
It would have been hard for Barbra not to stay. While at first she didn’t know quite how she felt about Lisa’s and Jennifer’s relationship, she now felt quite at ease with Jennifer’s charming personality. “Sure I would be delighted to stay for dinner.”
Jennifer half lunged at Barbra catching her quite by surprise. Barbra startled at first thinking that she might be attacking her, but all Jennifer was doing was giving her a big hug, and she melted into her arms and returned the hug. Barbra had to admit that Jennifer’s hugs were really good. Jennifer then minced her way into the kitchen and started their dinner.
“I forgot to warn you that Jennifer is a very touchy feely girl. I hope she didn’t startle you too much?”
“No it is ok; in fact I rather liked her hug. She is very nice and sweet. I can see why you like her.”
Lisa took Barbra by the hand and led her into the well-kept house. She would not have thought Lisa was so well off. The house was very tastefully done up.
“Lisa Your home is so beautiful, I love your furniture, and all your things are so nice.”
“I can thank Jennifer for it she furnished and did the interior design herself. She is very adept at it.”
As they sat on the luxurious couch, Jennifer brought in drinks, and served them and then headed back to the kitchen.
“How did you get into magic Lisa?”
“I had an encounter such as you had with me Barbra. A woman I didn’t know approached me and started to explain it like I am with you. I was not as nice a person though as you are and as I am now but she saw the potential in me and wanted to teach me. Her name was Alexandra, and she was very strong. I agreed to study with her and I learned very fast.
She thought she could change me to being a good person by showing me the good that magic could do for others, and for the most part, I used it for good. I still had a bad streak in me though, and I used magic inappropriately. Let me tell you that story and it will show you how some of the principles of magic worked too.”
“I am game for a good story,” Barbra said, only half believing what Lisa was saying.
“After I had been studying with Alexandra for about ten years I had become very good. The streak of bad inside me was buried deeply and had not raised its ugly head in a long time. Alexandra was a very loving teacher, but she still worried about me, and for good reason. I finally left her and went out on my own, to find my own niche in this world.
It was several years after I left that this bad streak started to rear its head in my life. I found that I liked to seduce and feminize guys, especially guys that were not overly masculine. I had been worried about the principles of magic as I designed my magic’s and thought I had worked out a way around them.
So I would cruise the bars at night and look for my next victim. I would look for a guy who was some what effeminate but strictly a guy at heart. I mean it was no challenge for me to take a guy who wanted to be a girl and make him one. I used all my feminine wills on them and would even have sex with them over a period. When I thought I had them, I would cast my spell. There next was the key to my spell. While I would design and cast my spell, it was only by their own words that the spell would do its work. Their own consent would be what triggered the spell. I would have them all worked up with sex and being given a royal treatment by a girl such as I, who would normally be out of the reach of one such as they were. I mean how many small effeminate males could ever hope to capture the heart of one as pretty as me.
I know it was cruel and please don’t judge me yet Barbra; it was just the way I was back then. I even admit that I was one mean bitch back then.
Anyway, getting back to the story, the key to my magic was I would trap them by their own words. I would get them worked up like I said and then cast my spell and then I would ask them if they ever wondered what it was like being a girl, I would sing the praises of being a girl, how great their orgasms would be and all the soft silky clothes they could wear. I would rub my soft silky stockings on their faces, some I even got dressed in my clothes, and I had them half out of their minds when I asked them if they would like to see what it was like for girls. If they ever said yes, my spell would go off. They would become girls and would wake up in some back alley dressed as a cheap two-bit hooker, not knowing who they were, how they got that way or even remembering who I was.
I wasn’t entirely heartless to them. The spell had enough power to prevent them from being raped, suicide, or killed because of being transformed, but they were lost and unemployed. The spell protected them also from STD’s, but not from pregnancy. Several of them went on to bear children. Many of the guys I transformed went on to become hookers. They just had no choice to survive.
I thought it was such great fun. I kept up with them and would visit them from time to time. They still never recognized me as being the author of their plight. The ones that bore children I did improve their situation, because I felt somewhat guiltily toward the children not necessarily the guys. Those ones gained a somewhat more comfortable life.”
Barbra’s jaw was almost hanging to her chest and had an incredulous look to her face. It was easy to see that if this story was to be believed that her sensibilities had been shocked, and that she was showing moral outrage to my actions. This was good.
“That is incredible, how could you be so cruel to those guys?” Barbra asked, “I can honestly agree. You were a bitch.” She half screamed at Lisa.
“Yes she was Barbra but let her finish her story before you judge her now.” Jennifer said just behind Barbra startling her enough to cause her to spill her drink. Like magic, Jennifer cleaned up the spill. “I am sorry Barbra I like to come in at this point of the story and support Lisa. She is not that way anymore. Also dinner is served.”
Jennifer took Barbra’s hand in hers to help her up. Barbra felt a lot of comfort in this, stood, and allowed herself to be led to the dinning room. It appeared to be a wonderful banquet laid out for their repast. Jennifer assisted Barbra and Lisa in sitting and she sat opposite Barbra to join them. The food was marvelous and the wine was delightful. The conversations at the table were the usual feminine banter you would hear at any fine restaurant. Barbra and Lisa raved over the desserts that Jennifer had prepared for them.
“Was it magic that made this dinner so good?” Barbra half kidded.
“No, Barbra, I wouldn’t use magic to do something as trivial as dinner. I just love cooking anyway,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer set about clearing the table as Lisa and Barbra headed back to the living room. In a few minutes, Jennifer brought after dinner drinks for each of them and sat next to Lisa as she began to tell more of her story. Jennifer slipped closer and closer to the object of her affection as the story went on.
“Anyway getting back to my story I had done this twenty six times over the next ten years. Some of the guys I made outlandishly feminine and some just fair to good looking. I never failed in my efforts to feminize them till the last man I met.”
“How old are you if you don’t mind me asking? You don’t look a day over twenty five and you look too beautiful to be over thirty five, and yet you have accounted for over twenty years.” Barbra inquired.
“No I don’t mind you asking. I am fifty-two although I look half my age, but I will get to that in a little while.
Anyway, the last man I feminized changed everything and I had to face the second principle of magic face to face, that of unintended consequences. I found him in a singles bar and had seen him shot down by quite a few ladies, he was good looking enough don’t get me wrong but he just didn’t cut a very dashing figure. I watched him very closely for several weeks and never saw him succeed with any woman. So I started my plans, this would be my greatest transformation of them all. I would keep this one for myself I thought.
So I set about to create a servant, a slave for myself. I set my mark on him then but I was not ready to spring my trap yet. I designed my spell carefully it was more difficult and more complex than all the other spells I had used and took several weeks to complete the writing of it. When I had it, just like I wanted it I cast my net, and drew him up into it. I was going to really humiliate this one leaving him with all his memories of what he was and will be. He was to be my hand maid, my house keeper, a toy for my friends, all the while knowing what he used to be and unable to express his thoughts other than in humiliating servitude.
I had him eating out of the palm of my hand, twisted around my fingers as those clichés go. It was also some of the best sex I have ever had at the same time. It went on for one week, two weeks, and then a whole month before I was ready to cast my spell. I cast it after a ten-hour session of lovemaking as he was still in the afterglow of our latest orgasm. I then popped the question to him. I expected the same yes that I had always received in the past but I was caught in an unexpected consequence. Instead of a yes his reply was. ‘If you will always love me and treat me this well, and we can be always beautiful and as intelligent and skillful as you are now and will ever be, and you will be with me by my side for all times then yes.’ I was trapped in his words I felt the spell go off as could he, or should I say she. She had constructed her words carefully and they had woven themselves within my spell. I could no more humiliate the one I loved, or bring shame to her. She was skillful in magic herself, as skillful as I am and her name became Jennifer.”
This was too much for Barbra who up and fainted at the name Jennifer. She was out for several minutes and woke being tended by Jennifer and Lisa. She sat silently for several minutes digesting what she had been told, before speaking.
“You mean to say that you were once a guy, now you’re a lady and all this really happened to you?”
“Yes Barbra, there is more to this story and now I must add to it. What Lisa didn’t know was that her mentor, Alexandra, also had been watching her. When it got to a point that she could no longer bear what Lisa was doing she had approached me, she had seen Lisa’s mark on me. I didn’t want to believe her at the time. I mean I had no concept about magic. I thought that Alexandra must have been out of her head. I just thought that she was just some wacko broad, but over a short period, I was convinced of her truth.
I then asked her many questions about magic and how it worked. She delighted in sharing with me. She really was a marvelous woman. Not knowing the exact conjuration that Lisa had used she could not tell me what to expect, but she deduced that Lisa used a form where the victim consented to the transformation. This bypassed some of the nastier backlashes that could come out of the magic. The victims just had no concept of what they were actually consenting to.
She told me what would happen and that I should just say no when I was asked any question like that by a woman that I would meet or have met. I asked why? She then told me what this woman had done and how she had done it. I was appalled and I had all intentions of saying no to any questions I was asked in the manner she had described. Something happened to me though; I fell deeply in love with Lisa. I thought and thought carefully about the problem I had. I didn’t want to lose what I had over the last month. I carefully constructed what my response would be, I took a big chance because I didn’t know if this would work or not but felt that it was worth the effort. So when I was asked I gave her my reply.” Jennifer said.
“My spell had a hole that I had failed to see. It was not completed by me but the person I cast it on had always had the last word in how the spell was cast. Jennifer’s words became part and parcel of my spell. My portion of the spell was already cast and could not be revoked, and because I required the subject’s approval for the spell, they could actually overwrite the portions on my spell and create a new spell. Jennifer added something to my spell that no other ever added and that was love. Our love became incorporated in the spell.
Trying to avoid one principle of magic, I ran afoul of another. I had failed to see that both of us were actually crafting the spell.” Lisa said. “Now I would have done it no other way, Jennifer has become my raison d’etre. My whole life has changed now. I have gone back and offered restoration to all I have wronged. I can’t excuse my previous bad behavior, but I set about correcting my wrongs. Many of my victims in fact twenty-one of the men I changed wanted to stay female. I made them and their children prosperous. I restored some youthful vigor to all of them and helped soften the insults of life they had faced. Some forgave me but I didn’t seek their forgiveness for my blessing.”
“I want to thank you Lisa for your story and thank you Jennifer for being so nice, but I feel that there is something you’re not telling me that I should know.” Barbra stated.
“There is,” Lisa stated“, your number twenty five. I need to know how you feel about being a women or reverting to a man. I will tell you this though as a woman you are strong in magic as a man you would be your old self.” Lisa said while making some gestures and saying some arcane words as the veil that separated the Barbra from Bobby rent.
Bobby’s memories were there but they were buffered. Though overwhelmed Barbra could see her past as Bobby played like a movie. Anger built within her as she saw that bitch manipulate Bobby and then she saw her life as Barbra. Tears fell from her eyes as conflicting emotions began to bubble forth. She saw that she had been lucky that some of the things that had made her geeky had stuck with her and she had not had to sell her body.
“I am placing another buffer between your past and present so that you may better able to decide dear. I am so sorry for mucking with your life. I don’t expect forgiveness but I or Jennifer can help make your life better, whatever you decide.”
“What of the family I saw that I had?” Barbra spat.
“They can know you, if you desire, no matter what you choose. They didn’t grieve for you Dear, it was as if you didn’t exist, but they can be restored to you. There is no hurry Dear, I can blot out your past again or leave you with your memories or even make your memories line up with your choice. I owe it and so much more to you.”
Lisa and Jennifer laid Barbra down on a bed as her mind sorted through the myriad of emotions she was facing. They covered her with a blanket and left her laying there.
“I am so proud of you Lisa. I know how hard this has been on you. It is good that you are helping those you have harmed. I know she will be ok she is taking it well, I think she will stay too.”
“Jennifer thank you for staying by my side, I am so ashamed of what I was. Thank you for making me what I am.”
Refrigerator Magnets
by
Paula Dillon
Twelve year old Tim got home from school like his Mom wanted. She had been rather cryptic this morning when she asked him to come straight home after school and to look in his dresser drawers alone. Mom was at work and would not be home till about 6:20 as usual. She worked hard and made a very good salary. She was always there for him when he needed her, at other times the neighbors were really pretty cool and were there for him when his Mom couldn’t be. Mom worked very hard for him, since his dad died years ago.
He got to his room and opened his dresser drawers top left drawer. There was an envelope sitting on top of a towel covering his clothes. The envelope in very bold print said, “READ FIRST!”
Tim sat on his bed and tore open the envelope and took out the letter. It was written in his Mom’s fluid graceful script.
Dear Tim;
Below the towel in your dresser are some different type clothes that I have added to your dresser. Hun they are girl’s clothes. No I am not saying that you have to wear them and I will never make you wear them. I just thought you might like to experiment with them. Some boys your age try on girls clothes to see how they feel and look in them, just in fun. They sneak into their mothers, sisters or some other girl’s room and borrow clothing. Some of the females who have their clothes taken do all they can to hurt the boys or to embarrass them. I don’t want this for you.
In your drawer there are six pretty panties, four pair of pantyhose, half slips, camisoles (those are like underwear type T-shirts for girls Tim), a mid-length satin robe (in your closet) and a few other odds and ends. I have included directions on putting pantyhose on because you just don’t pull them on like pants dear. If this makes you feel uncomfortable or disgusted dear please don’t be. You can just throw them away or put them on my bed and I will give them to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. I won’t be offended if you do either.
If you find that you like this, then you may wear these things around the house or anywhere you won’t be caught wearing them to your hearts desire. Just be careful people like to tease boys who wear girls clothing and sometimes hurt them too. I won’t ask you to wear them for me either. Just do whatever you are comfortable doing.
On the side of the refrigerator are a series of magnets. If you don’t want to do this take the magnets off the fridge and put them in the junk drawer in the kitchen and no more will be said about this. However if this is something you would like to do, you can ask for other things and for replacement of old or worn out stuff by placing the appropriate magnet on the front of the fridge, with or without a note detailing any color choices or types. Don’t worry about the cost dear we are very comfortable and you are important to me.
Occasionally I might put some other things in this drawer for your information or education on girl things or even more girl’s things you might like to try. I have added a lock to this drawer so that other people won’t inadvertently open it and embarrass you. I will have a key and you will have a key. So don’t hide anything in there you don’t want me to see.
If you like this I will even buy you other types of girl’s things (Bras, dresses, skirts, blouses, and even makeup). If you want to know about makeup or hair styling just sit beside me sometime while I am doing mine and I will try to teach you about it while I am working on my face and hair. My door is always open to you as long as I have my underwear on. You can even watch me dress dear. I will not read anything into you doing this while I get myself ready. Just understand that sometimes I may not have a lot of time to help you.
I love you bunches dear and I don’t want to make it seem that I 'm forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do.
Love,
Mom
Ps: attached is a code for the magnets.
Pss: if you do this I will expect you to take good care of your new things. Good lingerie (girl’s under things) should be hand washed daily and hung to dry, you may hang your clean stuff in my bathroom to dry when I am not there. I will see it gets back into your drawers if you like. (I don’t want to see permanent yellow or brown stains dear. A box of ivory snow is under your sink so you can wash your own things.)
Psss: you may look in my underwear drawer dear to get an idea of what you might like but please don’t try wearing my things, they won’t fit.
Yellow banana- panties attach note for a particular style, fabric, or color.
Red strawberry- pantyhose add note as above.
Watermelon-Bras there aren’t any in your drawer yet but I would be willing to buy some for you.
Daisy-skirts
Rose-blouses
Umbrella- dresses
Rooster- girl’s jeans
Baseball- girl’s shorts
Bicycle- girls T’s
Cow- shoes specify your choice. (You might have to go shopping with me just so I can know what fits but you will not have to be there when I buy them)
Orange-makeup (leave note about what type things
you want)
Cat- some girl type things not listed above but you really want (leave note detailing or even advertisement.)
A California Raisin - means you want to talk about the various items listed above at a secure time for you.
Tim went over to his drawer. He didn’t know where his Mom got such a crazy idea. It was true he had started noticing how girls dressed. He had been spying on Cynthia their fourteen year old neighbor. He would often watch her dressing from the window of his darkened room. Surely he hadn’t been seen, he’d been very careful. She wasn’t very careful, and gosh she was pretty. She was very nice to him and even helped him study at times.
He moved the towel and found a key to this drawer on top of four magazines. He put the key in his pocket and looked at the mags. Two were teen type magazines that talked about hair, makeup, relationships, clothing styles, and all sorts of girl things. One of the magazines was a really nice lingerie catalog, nothing cheap in there he thought. Lastly was an exclusive teen clothing catalog. Tim tossed these on his bed and turned his attention to the clothes.
The underwear was very pretty and felt silky in his hands. He liked very much the colors his Mom had put in there. The panties were blues, greens, yellows, blacks, nylon, satins and lace. Tim imagined that any girl would love to have these. He saw two very pretty camisoles (one in yellow, one in white) four half slips (yellow, white, blue and black) and a graphical demonstration of a lady putting pantyhose on and a short written instruction.
Tim closed the drawer. At first Tim thought that he would just ignore the clothes, or to take them out and put them on Mom’s bed. He didn’t want to see em thrown away they looked to be very nice clothing. He went and sat on his bed staring at the drawer. He didn’t know how long he stared at the drawer, but he was just drawn to go back and look at it.
Tim didn’t understand why but he got the yellow cami, panty and half slip and a pair of suntan pantyhose out and them on his bed. He took off all of his own clothes. He looked at the panties and picked them up. His pulse quickened as he felt the soft material, they were very pretty. He bent over and stepped into them drawing them up his legs. He shuddered as the material rubbed his skin, like jolts of electricity going up his spine. His little bits quivered as they were confined within the material. Next came the pantyhose. He read the directions and looked at the pictures. He took them out of the package and stretched them and bunched one leg up and covered his toes. He made sure the toe seam was straight and lightly stretched the gauzy material up his leg till he got to his knee. He then did the same to the other leg. He stood and worked the pantyhose till they were up to his waist. The sensation was indescribable as his legs rubbed together. He pulled the camisole and half slip on and looked at himself in the mirror.
Tim was at a loss for words. He looked cute, no more than that he looked very good. His Mom had long ago stopped insisting that he get his hair cut. His hair was just shoulder length and as he let out his pony tail and he combed his fingers through it so it fell to the sides covering his ears, he looked girlish. He would have felt bad or mad if anybody had told him that but now looking at himself… he was so confused right now. The feeling he got as he swished about was heavenly. He went to his closet and found the pink satin robe and put it on. It came to just above his knee. He tied the waist and looked at his mirror again. He looked like he had a dress on. He felt himself blush and got scared. He started taking every thing off. When he got the pantyhose halfway off he stopped and thought about it for several minutes, before putting everything back on.
Mom won’t be home for a couple of hours. I guess it would be ok to stay this way for a little while. He laid down on his bed and began thumbing through the magazines. He found some of the reading to his liking. He was amazed to read what girls go through to look good, those articles he read very carefully. He looked through the catalogs and looked at the clothes dog earring the pages where he thought the models looked particularly good. He giggled as he went through the lingerie catalog, some of the clothes he knew his mom would never go for and he found so much that appealed to him.
He got up and walked around the house. He knew he would never be seen, Mom always kept the curtains drawn together. He went to the kitchen and saw the magnets his Mom wrote about. He went to the living room and watched TV for a while. He kept stroking the things he wore. A little after six pm he ran upstairs and got into some boy clothes. The only things he really took off was the half slip and robe and pulled on his shirt, pants and shoes, before returning to the TV.
Alice finally got home, she was a little late, traffic had been bad. She parked her car in the garage, and entered the house through the kitchen door. She smiled as she looked at all the magnets arranged in a circle on the front of the fridge around a California Raisin.
Mom started humming Da ta da da, dodo dodo Da ta da da
Jack's Little niece has been kidnapped and the family gathers to help in her recovery.
Rescuing Amy
by
Paula Dillon
Jack Jennings got home from high school, where he was a seventeen year old senior, at about four-fifty. He came in the front door and put his books down on a table just inside the door. He could hear his Mom talking frantically on the phone to somebody, so he began to hunt her down.
“Oh my God Joyce, what do they want?!?” He heard his Mom ask. Her voice was close to panic.
Jack’s brow creased with worry as he rounded the corner to the kitchen, nearer to where his Mom’s voice came from.
“Yes, we can get that much together. Have you called the Police yet? Well go ahead and do it. I don’t care what they told you, go ahead and call them. I will be there in a couple of hours. I will send Jack over as soon as I can; I think I heard him come in the front door just now. Stay strong Joyce,” Mom said.
“Mom what gives,” Jack asked.
Francis Jennings rushed over to her son, tears left makeup trail down her face. She hugged Jack tightly and cried on his shoulder for a few seconds. Jack could feel her tremble and shudder as she cried.
“Oh Jack, it’s just horrible. Somebody has kidnapped little Amy and are holding her for ransom. They want half a million dollars or they swear they are going to kill her. Joyce is just sick right now and she is coming unglued. Can you go over there and help her. I have got to get to the bank.”
“I am on my way,” Jack said running out the door.
Jack got behind the wheel of his Mazda RX-8. It was tricked out like the cars in the movies, at least under the hood, where it counted. His Baby could do a quarter in ten flat and had a top end of one fifty. He hadn’t touched the black paint job like some of the people he knew did. He left stripes on the pavement fifty yards long as he pulled out on the street.
Joyce was his sister, she was newly divorced, twenty four, and had three kids, little Amy was just twenty months old. Her other two kids were Tina and Tommy, who were twins and just turned four last month. She had gotten the house they lived in, from the divorce and lived across town.
‘God, I can’t imagine what she is going through right now,’ Jack thought.
Twenty over the speed limit was as close to driving the speed limit, he got. The forty minute drive took him just over twenty nine minutes. He didn’t get picked up by the police till he neared Joyce’s home. A police cruiser lit him up in the last half a mile. A dark blue Crown Vic had just pulled up to the curb in front of her house. Jack put his Mazda into a drift, till he was perpendicular to her drive, then he gave it the gas, pulling into the driveway and coming to a stop. He made it in the front door ahead of the detectives and the street cops.
He found his sister crying inconsolably in the living room, holding the twins and just staring at the phone. He had just dropped to his knees to hug his sister, when the police came through the front door, guns drawn and pointed in his direction.
There were a few tense moments; Jack was handcuffed for a few minutes, as things were sorted out. The detectives finally convinced the uniforms to uncuff and release Jack. He was still issued a citation for doing fifty-five in a twenty five mile an hour zone.
With the street cops gone, introductions were made all around. The detectives were Det Jim Logan and Det Angie Parker. They finally asked Joyce to tell her story.
Joyce Jennings told the detectives that she had just put Amy, her daughter, into the playpen, in the living room and went to the kitchen to fix her bottle, and a snack for Tina and Tommy. The twins were in one of their rooms playing. She went to the sink to wash her hands and saw a guy in the back yard. Without thinking, she left the kitchen and looked out the back door to see the guy going over the seven-foot, wood, privacy fence, in the back yard. Joyce said she slammed the door shut, locking it by the deadbolt and ran to check the front door. It was wide open when she got there. She said she then ran to check on Amy but she was gone, a sheet of paper was lying in the play pen. Joyce said she read it and screamed, she then ran upstairs to check on the twins. She couldn’t find them at first, Tommy told her that her scream scared them and they had hid under Tina’s bed. When she hollered out their names, they stuck their heads out from under the bed. With the twins in hand, she said she reread the letter, called her Mom and finally called the police.
Det. Jim Logan asked to see the letter, so Joyce started to hand it to him. “No, don’t hand it to me, it may have prints on it. Just hold it up by the edges for me.”
Joyce held it up for the detectives to read.
The letter appeared to be printed by a laser printer. The kidnappers appeared to have a sense of humor, as the font they used looked like letters cut out of a newspaper, or magazine and glued to the paper. They were later to find out the name of the font was Ransom.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR BRAT AGAIN, IT’S GOING TO COST YOU $500,000. GET THE MONEY ALL IN SMALL USED BILLS, NO NEW MONEY. WE WILL CALL YOU AT MIDNIGHT AND GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO WHERE YOU WILL DELIVER THE RANSOM. THERE BETTER BE NO COPS AT THE DROP OFF OR WE WILL KILL YOU AND THE KID. DO AS WE SAY AND WE WILL CALL AT SIX AM AND GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR DAUGHTER.
As they finished reading the ransom note, a couple of CSI type guys came and knocked on the door. Det. Parker went to the door to let them in.
The CSIs were already gloved up; one took custody of the ransom letter, while Angie gave them a rundown on what they knew. He bagged, tagged and logged the letter, and finger printed Ms. Jennings before rushing the letter to the Lab.
“Ms. Jennings, was the front door locked when you put the baby down,” the other CSI asked.
“Yes, it is always locked. This is a nice neighborhood, but I just don’t feel comfortable leaving the door unlocked.”
“And you found the door open and Amy gone right.”
“Yes that is right. That is what frightened me so.”
“Do you have a hidden key anywhere out front?”
“Yes, I have a key on a wire tie, like you find on loafs of bread, in one of the bushes, to the side of the house.”
“Thank you, let me check the front door, then I will check to see if I can find that key.”
The investigator, Bill Gordon, went to check the front door. He got on his knees with his flash light and a magnifying glass, to examine the locks. One lock was on the door knob and another deadbolt, which was independent of the other. It wasn’t what he found that interested him, but what he didn’t find. There were no scratches on either lock.
Around the side of the house, the concrete drive extended up by the house, to a garage. A line of thorny bushes were next to the building. He looked for foot prints but didn’t see any; he then moved towards the bushes and stopped when he saw a cloud of agitated yellow jackets flying around the bush. Looking down on the ground, he saw two or three other dead yellow jackets and a bread wrapper, wire tie, on the drive way.
He went back to his vehicle, a Chevy van and got out a CO2 extinguisher, he carried. When he got a few feet away, he sprayed the yellow jackets and the bush. The exhaust from the extinguisher froze the yellow jackets and they fell to the ground. He sprayed the bush very carefully, making sure there were no other yellow jackets left alive. He quickly checked the bush for the key. He saw where the bark was stripped off the bush. Who ever had gotten the key had surely been stung multiple times, he thought. He photographed the area where the key had been, checked for any trace evidence and then backed away to be sure he wouldn’t get stung by a straggler.
Back inside he reported his findings to the detectives and suggested that they call the hospitals checking for someone with multiple stings to the hand and arm. He said it was a long shot, but maybe the person might show a reaction to yellow jacket stings. He then went in the back yard and checked that part of the woman’s story out.
He found foot prints in the soil near the fence. It looked to him that someone stood flatfooted and jumped up to catch the top of the fence. He marked and photographed the foot prints, made plaster casts of the shoe prints, dusted the fence for finger prints but only found smudges on the other side.
Inside Det.’s Parker and Logan were still questioning Joyce. Jack had taken the kids upstairs and was playing with the kids to keep them occupied. He loved his nieces and nephew and would do anything for them. He got them to take a nap about six, and went downstairs.
Joyce answered a couple of hundred questions for the detectives.
Det. Parker asked, “Joyce, tell us about your husband and your divorce,” Jack heard, as he came back into the room.
“Frank Stevens is a piece of shit, or he became that way, after the kids were born and he lost his job. He tried to hit Mom up for money for a business, but she refused. She had seen how shallow and belligerent he had become. I threw him out of the house and filed for divorce, after he hit me. I promised Mom a long time ago, that I wouldn’t become a punching bag for some man.”
Angie continued, “Was he always like that Joyce?”
“No, the first three years we were married were great. It was after Amy was born that things began to change. He never seemed to bond with the kids and seemed to resent the time I spent with them. Then his life seemed to spiral out of control, when he was fired from his job. He started drinking and fighting with me over anything and everything. I couldn’t do anything right by him.”
“Do you think he could be behind this?” she asked.
“I would bet my last dollar on it. That is the amount of money he hit Mom up for.”
“We want to see if we can discretely locate him and put him under surveillance, do you have his address or know where we can find him?”
Joyce gave them five or six places where he hung around and his last known address.
The front door opened and Francis carrying a large nylon gym bag and a bank guard entered the home.
Joyce jumped up and shouted, “Mom,” when she saw her and ran over to her, throwing herself in her arms, where they cried together.
Joyce, Francis, Jack and the two detectives sat down to discuss the case.
“We want to pay the ransom.” Joyce said.
Det Logan said, “I don’t think that is such a good idea. If it is your ex, he might be out to hurt you also. Do you think he might actually hurt the baby?”
“I’m not sure; I would like to say no, but… I just don’t know,” she said in a fit of tears.
“Mom, let me use your cell phone.” Jack said whispering in her ear.
Francis reached into her purse and handed her phone to Jack. He took it and called his girlfriend Melissa Grant. Francis tried to listen unobtrusively to her son, as he talked and also listen to what was being said by the others.
“Melissa this is Jack. I need you to do something. Go to my house and get in anyway you can. In my room, get my blue gym bag in my closet and the suitcase under my bed, and come over to my sister’s place,” he said, giving her Joyce’s address. “My niece has been kidnapped; don’t say anything about it to anyone else yet.”
“Tell her to go to the Reynolds place next door Jack, they have a key,” Francis said.
Jack jumped when he heard his Mom, but passed that tidbit on to Melissa, before hanging up. He leaned over and whispered into his Mom’s ear, “Mom I am going upstairs, send Melissa up to Joyce’s room when she gets here.”
“Ok, hun. I will send her up when she gets here.”
Jack hurried up the stairs.
The house was a beehive of activity as the police set up a trap and trace on the home phone, and a recording system, along with several receivers, so they can eavesdrop on the call. Except for cell phones, it is a fallacy that it takes two or three minutes to get a lock on a phone call coming in. With today’s technology, a trap and trace, can instantly pin down a land line, a cell phone takes a little longer, as the calls are triangulated from the towers, or the phone’s GPS system can be queried. If they know ahead of time about where the call will come from, they can rapidly localize where the caller is.
It was about an hour later, when a commotion at the front door attracted the people’s attention inside. Francis went to investigate and found Melissa Grant trying to gain access to the house. Francis interceded for her, with the officer at the door, and she was admitted.
Melissa came in carrying a suitcase and Jack’s gym bag. Francis relieved Melissa of the suitcase and led her upstairs.
“Why did Jack want his gym bag and suitcase? All that is inside the gym bag are his karate gi and gear,” Melissa asked.
“I think I know Melissa, but we shall let him explain.” Francis said, as she led the girl to Joyce’s bedroom.
The two girls knocked on the door and they heard Jack say, “Come on in.”
When they entered, Jack was sitting at Joyce’s vanity working on his face. He was almost finished with his makeup, when the knock came.
“Jack, what on earth are you doing putting makeup on?” Melissa asked.
“Mom, what are you doing here? I just asked you to send Melissa up.”
“Son, I know what you are doing and I approve. I think you might need both of us to help you.”
“Hey! People, what is going on?”
“The kidnappers want Joyce to deliver the ransom, Melissa,” Jack said, “She is basically a mess right now and on top of that she can’t defend herself like I can. She also has two other babies to look after. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try and help her. We look so much alike, that with makeup and a wig at night, I could easily pass for her.”
“But where did you learn to put on makeup like that. I mean you look good.”
Jack finished working on his face, as he explained, “Melissa, it is a long story. When Joyce went off to college, I really missed her. One day I went into her room, she had left a lot of her stuff home. I don’t know why, but one day I found myself just wanting to try to use her makeup. It was funny, the way I looked back then. The more I tried it, the better I got. Then I started dressing in her clothes and I put on a wig she had.”
Jack got up and took the suitcase from his Mom and opened it, pulling out what he wanted, as he continued his story. “The better I got, the better I felt. I can’t explain it, but I like to cross-dress. I don’t think Mom or Joyce knew I was doing it. I even taught myself how to do my hair, I wasn’t great, but I could do OK.”
“Jack, I am not sure when you started this, but I found out about it. I figured that if you needed to tell me, you would. I have known for about four years.”
His Mom’s words caused him to stop for a second and as he thought about it, he realized he had probably left enough clues. “Ok help me get these breast forms glued on then.” Jack said, as he dropped the robe. He was just wearing a pair of his sister’s panties.
Francis took one of the breast forms and found the glue, spreading it evenly on the flat, backside, of the form. “I even knew when you ordered these breast forms. Can you wear her bra’s with these attached.”
“Yes Mom, I was very careful when I ordered them to make sure they would fit her bras. I like the way sis looks, she has a great figure, but not as good as Melissa’s, I love hers.”
“Well you better Mister.” She said giggling, “There would be something wrong with you, if you liked your sister’s body better than mine.”
“Mom, go find a roll of duct tape for me,” Jack said after Francis had attached the second breast form.
“Ok, there is probably some in the garage.”
After Francis had left the room, Melissa turned to help Jack get dressed, “And just when were you going to tell me about all of this crossdressing stuff, Jack?”
“I don’t know Melissa, I was trying to quit it, because I didn’t feel I could tell anyone,” Jack said as he rolled on a pair of pantyhose. “I was afraid to tell you because I didn’t know how you would react. I didn’t even tell my mother, or sister. This will come as quite a shock to her.”
Jack then pulled on a padded panty brief over the hose. Melissa then helped him put on a waist nipper, that went from above the panty brief to just under his faux breasts.
“I can’t say I understand Jack, but I respect you a hell of a lot more for what you are willing to do for your sister and your niece. I won’t leave you over this, I promise, and I won’t try to hurt you either.”
The two shared a light kiss; Melissa didn’t want to smudge his makeup job. She was amazed at how sexy he looked and she didn’t understand how she could be so attracted to this lovely creature. Francis came in as their lips touched and she smiled at them.
“Well, I’m glad this isn’t going to be a problem for you, at least right now, Melissa.” She said to the teens.
The two teens were startled and both blushed heavily, turning a nice crimson.
“No, Ma’am it isn’t a problem with me,” Melissa said.
“Here is the duct tape you wanted Jack,” his Mom said smiling.
“Mom find me a loose, long sleeve, deep V neck blouse and a pair of loose fitting slacks to wear.”
Jack took the tape and went to his gym bag. He unzipped it and tossed his gi, his punches and kicks out of the way. He then started going through his weapons. He set out his whip chain, six darts, two razor sharp, polycarbonate knives, in sheaths, and a Kubotan (a metal rod about a half-inch in diameter and five and a half inches long.) He taped one knife sheath on his stomach, with the point just under his bra and another on his leg, with the point all the way up in his crotch. Two tasseled darts went in his faux cleavage and two were taped on either forearm. He checked to see that he could draw out each item easily.
Francis returned, with several of each item he requested. He tried each on, rejected a few, but found a white, chiffon blouse and a pair of black slacks. He then looked at the three pair of shoes he had in his suitcase. “I wished I had some flats to go with this, or maybe a pair of open toe sandals, with a short heel. I can’t wear sis’s, her shoes are too small.” He stopped and looked at his mom’s feet. She had on some black flats.
Francis looked where he was looking, then sat on the bed to take her shoes off and put on a pair of his shoes. They fit her pretty good.
Jack took his Kubotan and stuck it in the waist-band of the slacks, on his right side. Melissa helped him with buttoning the blouse, not that he really needed the help, but she smiled as she worked the buttons. He then wrapped the whip chain around his waist, on top of the blouse. It looked like many of the metal belts women wear.
Francis finished his look by helping him with his wig, or rather Joyce’s wig; that she had left at their house and forgotten. It was the same color as Joyce’s hair, but not as long. She had gotten it for her prom and to see how she would look with long hair. She liked it, grew her own hair longer and didn’t need it. Finally she brushed out the hair and sprayed it with hair spray. The wig was human hair and quite pricey. Jack had taken good care of it and it was in good condition, she noted.
Finally, Jack checked his makeup, did a few repairs and then added lipstick to his lips. Francis and Melissa were shocked as Jack closed his eyes and took on a feminine bearing. He stood and did a little twirl for them.
“Well, how do I look Mom, Melissa?” Jack asked, his voice was almost like his sister’s.
The two girls were gobsmacked for a few seconds and just stared.
“My God Jack, if I hadn’t seen the transformation, I would have never believed it. You could be Joyce’s twin sister.” Melissa said.
“She’s right Jack, You are simply gorgeous. I can see a few differences but they are small. Most people would probably have to see you two side by side, to pick you out. I doubt that even half of them could do it.”
“Now how do we convince those people down there to let me do the drop?”
“You just leave that to me Jack. Stay here for right now. Melissa come with me.”
Francis and Melissa went down stairs. They found Angie and pulled her to the side.
“Det. Parker, we need to talk, come with me for a second.” Francis said, leading the woman detective away from the rest. “I don’t think it is a good idea letting Joyce make the money drop. She is an emotional mess and she can’t defend herself.”
“I can’t agree with you more, Mrs. Jennings, but it is Joyce’s choice and she wants to go through with it. It would take too long to find a policewoman that looked like her; there is nothing we can do about it.”
“I have a different idea, just let me show you. Follow me.” Francis said, leading the detective upstairs. She then opened the bedroom door and led her into the bedroom. “Det. Parker, meet Joyce. Joyce, this is Det. Parker.”
“How did you get up here… Who is that Mrs. Jennings, Joyce is down stairs…” She walked over to the lady and looked closely at the person standing there. “Jack, is that you.”
“I don’t go by Jack when I look like this Det. Parker. I prefer to go by Rebecca, but tonight, I am Joyce.”
“This won’t work, he is just a kid.” Angie said.
“I beg your pardon Ma’am, I turn eighteen in a month.”
“You could get your ass killed kid, and I don’t think you could take care of yourself any better than your sister.”
“That is where you are wrong Ma’am. I can take care of myself quite well. I could probably take your partner out in hand to hand combat. I am a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a second-degree black belt in Wu Shu. About half the time I teach the black belt class and I do teach the brown belts at the dojo.”
Angie threw a back fist, back punch combination at Jack. He moved by reflexes and much practice, as he deftly blocked the back fist and trapped the punch with his left hand, twisted her arm, locking out the joint and his right hand snatched the Kubotan at his waist. He stopped from ramming the pointed end of it into her skull, at her temple by just millimeters. He jerked her arm up and swept her leading foot out from under her. Angie started to fall over backwards, but she was caught by Melissa, who had anticipated Jack’s move.
“Jack is good Angie, I take Karate at the same dojo,” Melissa said.
“I see, it’s been a while since I have been bested. Still you can’t block a bullet.
“Neither could a police woman.” Jack replied.
“I don’t know, but you are right, you would be better than your sister,” she said, “This might work. Let’s go downstairs.”
They followed Det. Parker down the stairs and stopped just outside the living room.
“Jack, Melissa, stay right here for a minute. Don’t come in till I call for you,” Angie told them.
Angie and Francis entered the living room. Angie walked over to Joyce and said, “Joyce, I don’t want you to go on the drop.”
“We already talked this over detective, I am going to do it.”
“Oh you will, just not you, I got someone to take your place.”
“If this is Frank’s doing, he knows me. A policewoman might not fool him.”
“I agree, Joyce meet Joyce. Come on in,” she said, loud enough for the teens to hear.
Jack took a deep breath and came around the corner. He strutted around in his best feminine behavior till he heard his sister catch her breath and say, “Oh my gosh… Who is… Jack is that… Oh my.” She ran over to her brother and threw her arms around him hugging him tightly.
“You agree this Joyce would be better than you?” Angie asked.
Joyce just nodded her head crying. She knew what her brother was capable of.
“Jack, I can’t ask you to do this. If it is Frank, he might want to kill me. He blames me for his failures. You know that.”
“All the more reason to let me do it sis. You have the twins to look out for. I just couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt.”
“I would die if you got hurt or killed because of this… but yes if you will do it, I won’t object. Just don’t get yourself killed, or I will never forgive you.”
“I will try not to sis.”
Det. Parker turned to a technician and told them to wire her up so we can get that out of the way.
The techie went over and asked Joyce/Jack to take off his shirt. Jack blushed, not out of fear of exposure as a girl might, but for what he had hid. He pulled one end of the whip chain and the other end fell with a thunk, that got everybody’s attention. He unbuttoned the sleeves, then the front of the blouse and handed it to Melissa.
The tech’s eyes got large as saucers as he looked at Jack’s stomach and arms saying, “Damn this Babe’s got teeth. You can’t wear them, they’re illegal.”
Angie walked over and looked Jack over. “I don’t see anything Ted, you must be hitting the bottle again,” she said, counting the weapons she could see and she knew there were probably more she couldn’t see.
Ted looked over to Det. Logan who held a hand over his eyes as if to say ‘I see nothing’. Ted just shook his head and wired up Jack. When he finished he just walked away.
Melissa stuck her tongue out at the retreating form’s back, as she helped Jack redress. Angie saw this and couldn’t help but laugh.
The tension was building as the clock ticked away the seconds. Angie looked at the clock, it was eleven forty-five. A check was made to see if everybody was ready for the anticipated call. Everybody had been ready for hours, but it was good to see that everybody was on their toes and ready.
The sounding chime on the clock, on the mantle, struck midnight and the minutes ticked away. It wasn’t till ten minutes after that, the phone began to ring.
Joyce was shocked, terrified and relieved to hear it ring. She looked toward the Det. Logan, who nodded to her, before she answered the phone.
“Hello,” Joyce said, her voice was dripping with fear.
“Is this the brat’s mother?” A gruff male voice said.
“If you mean Amy yes, I am her mother.”
“You get the money?”
“Yes, Is my baby alive, I need to hear my baby.”
“The brat is still alive and will remain so as long as you cooperate.”
“I need to hear my Baby, or you won’t get the money.”
The people at Joyce’s home could hear some discussion, but couldn’t tell what was being discussed.
“Ok, just a second.”
They heard a swat and a baby began crying. Joyce almost fell apart. The volume of the baby’s cry got louder, as they assumed the phone was brought closer to the baby. Joyce could hear the baby say, “Muma, muma,”
“Mumma is going to get you Amy,” she said.
Before she could say more, the gruff male voice came back online.
“You got twenty five minutes to get to the park at Jefferson and Oak streets. Park on Oak and walk to the restroom, wait there. Oh and wear a skirt and some high heels,” the laughing voice said, before hanging up.
Quickly Det. Logan asked did any of you recognize that voice. They all shook their heads, except Joyce who said, “Yes, No, sorta, I don’t know,” before breaking into a fit of tears.
Melissa had run off to Joyce’s room and returned tossing a black chiffon skirt at Jack and handed him a pair of black sandals with a three inch heel. Jack kicked off the shoes he had on and dropped his pants right there, before pulling the skirt on. He then hurriedly put the heels on. They were higher than he would have liked in this situation but they would have to do.
Det. Logan watched with interest as the boy worked. When Jack was finished, he turned to him saying, “Ok, go kid, we will be listening to you. If you want the cavalry to come in, just say Cinderella. Got it.”
“Yeah, Cinderella. Got it.” Jack said, taking the bag and the keys to Joyce’s SUV.
Everyone was surprised at his agility in those heels, but Jack didn’t think about it, he just did it. He didn’t know it for sure, but he had three GPS transceivers, one in the wire, one in the bag and one in the SUV. He got in the Escalade and drove off fast. He had a bit of driving to do to get there, ok. He had been promised that the street cops had been pulled out of the area and warned not to pull over this SUV. Just don’t kill anybody, they asked him. He was glad that he was driving it, rather than his sister. She scared him, the way she drove. She would always be talking on her cell phone, talking to the kids, or checking her makeup and lipstick while driving. His driving scared her too, but for different reasons.
The Park was in a somewhat deserted neighborhood, it was sometimes used by druggies. Jack figured this was done to scare the putty out of Joyce. He made it to the Park with about two minutes to spare. He parked the SUV, looked the area over discretely, describing what he saw and walked over to the restrooms and stood there. He waited ten minutes, before he heard a cell phone ringing. He looked around and found it and a blue tooth ear piece. He put the ear piece on and hit the answer button on the phone, coughing as he said, “Hello.”
“Good girl, we didn’t see any cops. Your daughter my live through this. Now, no talking from you and don’t hang up the phone. Over on Adams street is a beat up Toyota, near Riverbend drive. The keys are in the ignition, go to it now.”
Jack had about a mile to walk thru the heart of the park to get there. At least there was a sidewalk he could use. He worked very hard to present a feminine demeanor as he walked. He figured that he was being observed. He walked like a frightened woman trying to hurry.
He had not seen anybody, or heard anything out of the norm, on his walk. He saw the clunker sitting as promised. It was a twenty year old Corolla, if Jack knew his cars and he did.
Jack heard the voice in his ear say good girl, you found it. Now get in it and drive. Head on out straight, take the first right and the second left after that. Jack started the car and put it in gear. From the sounds of protest the car made as he drove it, he just hoped it would make it to where ever.
“Good now, go four blocks and turn right and get on the freeway.”
They had to be watching, Jack thought, as he hit the freeway access.
“Ok doll, drive to the Henderson Street exit and take a left at the light.”
He was headed for the badest part of town for a woman. There were all sorts of desperate people, gang members, muggers, rapists and such, just hanging around at all hours, on the street there.
“Ok, take a right and another right after that. Park under the bridge, get out and walk south.”
Jack didn’t have to pretend to act scared. He was scared, to the very core. He tried to remember what he told all his students at the dojo about remaining calm and doing what ever it takes to remain alive. He had an added incentive, or pressure, of his niece’s life at stake. His senses were in overdrive, hearing the things around him, and hearing things that weren’t there.
Halfway under the bridge, a figure stepped out that Jack thought he knew well. “Frank is that you?”
“You brought the money bitch?” His speech was slurred and he wobbled slightly as he walked. He walked with his hands close to his sides.
Jack just held up the bag. As he looked at the approaching figure, he saw a glint of a reflection, by Frank’s knee.
“You and your family are so high and mighty. They never gave me a chance. I could have really made it Joyce,”
“What about Amy, Frank, how is she?”
“Oh your precious Amy, you cared more for her than me, your own husband. She’ll be fine, but I am afraid you won’t be.”
Jack heard a noise of running feet behind him. He tried to time his next move. At the last second, Jack ditched the bag, grabbed at his cleavage, and sidestepped. He caught a glance of the guy behind him, Jack’s move allowed him to be missed and he caught the guy’s leg with enough force to send him flying to the pavement. He then hurled a dart at the falling form. The dart penetrated the Coccyx and lodged in the colon. The man hit the ground and skidded to a stop.
Frank started running at Jack. Jack yanked at the whip chain around his waist. He swung it once and launched the weighted ball, chest high, wanting to stop him, but Frank, more than a little drunk, fell forward as he ran. The pointed end of the ball struck him in the center of the forehead and lodged there with a sickening thud. Jack didn’t have to check to know he was dead.
He walked over to the prostrate figure of the other man lying on the ground and kicked him saying, “Punk, tell me where Amy is.” he said in his very masculine voice.
“Fuck no,” the man screamed in agony.
Jack dropped down by his side grabbed the man’s arm, bent it up his back and locked out his wrist. “Tell me or I will tear off every finger on your hand and scramble your plumbing, till you piss and shit in a bag attached to your waist,” Jack said, snapping the bones in one finger for emphasis.
The man yelped and screamed in pain.
“I have at least thirty seconds, before the cops can get hear. I can cause a lot of pain in that time,” he said snapping another finger.
“Alright, alright, stop it, she is at my aunt’s house, on West Dale.”
Jack repeated the address again and kicked the man in the head. He was sick in his stomach and walked away from the man and threw up next to a bridge pilling, before collapsing in tears. He didn’t know what happened for the next two hours.
When Jack came to his senses, he was in a hospital ER. He groaned and opened his eyes. Melissa shouted, “He’s awake, Francis.”
His Mom and Melissa smothered him in hugs and kisses.
“Mom, did they find her?” Jack asked tentatively.
“Yes, dear they found little Amy. You did a good job.”
He looked at Det. Parker, who came by his side. “Am I under arrest Ms. Parker? Frank Stevens was going to kill me.”
“No, not at the moment. The wire picked up the threat to your life. Frank did have an eleven inch Bowie Knife, that was one wicked blade. You will have to face a Coroner’s Court and a grand jury, but we are recommending a No Bill, due to self-defense. You will have to answer questions about Carl Jones’s broken fingers, but I don’t see anyway charges for assault coming out of it, under the circumstances.”
“Where are Joyce and Amy?”
Francis looked warmly into her son’s eyes and said, “Joyce is with Amy and the twins at our house, I think she wants to move back home with us. They have Joyce sedated somewhat and Alice Reynolds is with her and watching the twins. She freaked out when she heard that Frank wanted to kill her.”
“What happened to me?”
“Det. Logan found you mumbling incoherently under the bridge, the wire you wore also has a GPS locator. They came running, after they heard the threat over the wire, but they got kinda lost, when they heard you questioning Carl. They must have taken a wrong turn. After you gave them an address, they sent units there and found Amy. They took Carl’s Aunt and Sister in custody,” Det. Parker said.
“Any chance I can get out of here soon.”
“As soon as the doctor releases you. A nurse went to fetch him.”
They talked a little bit more about the things that happened. Jack was recounting what he had done, when they were interrupted by the doctor. He introduced himself to Jack as Dr. Wendell Kinney. He quickly checked the boy out. He asked a few questions that Jack answered and then he smiled.
“Well, you seem to be alright, but before you go, I want our staff psychiatrist to talk to you a bit. You have been through a traumatic experience and I am a bit concerned about the mental state they found you in. You can get cleaned up, there is a bathroom to the right and I understand your Mom brought some clothes, but don’t leave yet please.”
“I got the bag of clothes right here,” Melissa said, “Let’s go get you cleaned up.” She helped dress Jack in a robe and took him by the hand and led him to the bathroom. She went in after him and set the bag down. The two teens hugged and kissed for several minutes, before they did anything.
Jack took off the robe and looked at himself for the first time. There was blood on his blouse and it hung open, his skirt was torn in a couple of places, he didn’t have the wig on, the waist nipper was gone, along with the darts, that were on his wrist and in the bra, and his pantyhose were trashed, but he felt the knife was still in place on his leg.
Melissa helped undress him and started cleaning him up. He was a little embarrassed, but she just smiled at him. “I love you Jack, more now than ever. Just let me help you.”
“Did you bring the solvent for these breast forms?”
“No we didn’t.”
“Well, I can’t go home like this.”
“Why not? You wore a skirt and blouse here, you can wear a skirt and blouse home. I kinda liked you that way.”
“What ever you want, I guess.”
Melissa worked quickly cleaning Jack. He wasn’t an invalid but it was just something she wanted to do for him, after what he had done. After he was cleaned up, she helped him into another bra, panty and nipper. He then rolled on another pair of pantyhose. Melissa was amazed at how easily he did that. He then redid his makeup and Melissa put on his wig, which she had saved and cleaned up. She then dressed him in a burgundy silk blouse and a blue denim mini-skirt. Jack then put the heels he had worn, on. He checked himself out in the mirror.
“Well how do I look, Melissa?”
“I think you look fabulous, in fact I am a little jealous about how good you do look.”
“I could never look better than you, baby.”
“Good answer Rebecca, now let’s go show your Mom.”
Jack gave Melissa a hug, took a minute to put himself in the right frame of mind, before smiling and opening the door. He was acting completely feminine as the two teens left the bathroom.
Francis smiled as Rebecca and Melissa rounded the curtain, to their cubicle in the ER. “My, but you do look gorgeous dear.”
“Thank you Mom, I guess I owe my good looks to the genes you gave me. You and Sis set a high bar in the looks department.”
“Yes we do, don’t we. Melissa and I look positively plain, beside you right now, though.”
“Yeah, but both of you clean up real good, as gramps use to say.”
That had Melissa and Francis laughing.
“Well, It is a good sign when I hear laughter in the ER,” a lady in a white coat said, entering the cubicle. “Laughter really is good medicine. She looked at the three women and then at her clipboard. “Now, where is my patient Jack?”
“Right here Ma’am.”
“Ok, you don’t look like a Jack.”
“I go by Rebecca when I am dressed like this,”
“Well, ok Rebecca, I am Dr. Sarah Lange, but please call me Sarah. Do you feel like taking a walk, or would you rather go to my office, for a bit.”
“A walk would be good.” Rebecca said. She was a bundle of nervous energy and wanted to work it off a bit.
“You two can wait in the waiting room, we will be about an hour.”
“Ok, see you in a bit,” Melissa said, handing Rebecca a purse and kissing her cheek.
Francis hugged and kissed Rebecca, then she gather up their things from the cubicle and left with Melissa.
Sarah led Rebecca on a walk through the administrative wing. This area was lit up, but fairly deserted. They talked about what had happened that night. Rebecca was asked about how she felt about the things she brought up. She cried as she described what happened under the bridge. She hadn’t meant to kill Frank, but he was out to kill her. She started to shake, as she described questioning Carl; she explained she just had to find out where Amy was. She also told Sarah about getting sick and throwing up, before collapsing and blacking out.
“I don’t know why I blacked out like that, it is so unlike me.”
“Well it is not uncommon, Rebecca; you got sick and threw up because you were forced to do something repugnant. The fact that it bothered you shows you are still human. You collapsed because you had been running on adrenaline for so long, once the situation was out of your control, your adrenaline production ceased and voila. You blacked out, because at that time you couldn’t deal with what you had to do. You may be dealing with it for the rest of your life.”
“Won’t it go away after a while?”
“The effects may diminish, but they don’t usually disappear completely. I would worry more if they did. It would show that you are becoming too comfortable with killing someone. Killing should bother us. Sometimes it is necessary, but it is never good. Tell me, why are you still dressed this way?”
“Well, Melissa didn’t bring the solvent for the glue for the breastforms I am wearing.”
“You have mastectomy breastforms on?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get them from?”
“I ordered them on the internet.”
“So do you see yourself as a girl, or are you a boy who likes to dress as a girl, at times?”
“I am a guy at heart, but there is a part of me that wants and I guess needs to dress like this at times. Melissa, the young girl that was with me, is my girlfriend.”
“What does she think about all this?”
“She says she kind of likes it. She found out tonight for the first time. Mom said she already knew, but she had never seen me dressed up before.”
Sarah and Rebecca continued to talk as they walked. Sarah told her about what she knew about crossdressers and the transgendered. She explained that these feelings don’t generally go away. Jack might not always feel the need to dress as much, but he might dress less frequently, then again he might feel like this his whole life. The worst thing is trying to completely repress the need, or to deny it.
Sarah led Rebecca to a restroom and told her to clean up her face. Rebecca took a few minutes and did that. She found that Melissa had put everything she needed in the purse.
On the walk back, Sarah told Rebecca that she wanted to see Jack next week and then Rebecca the week after. She said she needed to see them for at least the next month, and that Rebecca or Jack could talk to her anytime they felt the need to talk.
They stopped by the desk at the ER and Dr. Sarah Lange signed off on Jack’s discharge and gave him a copy of the Dr.’s instructions.
Rebecca, Melissa and Francis went home. Everyone was exhausted but nobody was sleepy, they were too keyed up to sleep, except for Joyce. She had been so emotionally wrung out that the Dr. had her sedated when she got home.
Mrs. Reynolds only raised an eyebrow and smiled at Rebecca. She knew who she was. She hugged everyone and then went to her own home.
Melissa called her parents and told them where she was and that she wouldn’t be home till late today. She had told her parents some of what had gone on, but nothing of Rebecca. Today was not the day of revelation for that.
The three girls just sat on the couch with Rebecca in the middle, holding on to each other and talked till they fell asleep in that position. They slept till the twins woke them up. Melissa volunteered to take care of the kids till they felt like getting up.
Rebecca later woke up later to find that Amy had crawled into her lap and was sleeping contentedly.
Epilogue
Jack stayed Rebecca for two more days. He kept his appointments with Sarah. His relationship with Melissa grew and he proposed to her.
Joyce did sell her home and moved back in with her Mom.
Jack and Melissa married two months after they graduated from college. Rebecca continues to be an important part of their lives. They had a long life together and had five children.
Jack met the coroner’s court and the grand juries. The DA verbally harangued Jack over the coals and threatened him with prosecution for torturing Carl Jones, but no charges were ever brought.
Carl Jones was convicted of kidnapping and was sentenced to twenty five to life. He served fifteen and was paroled. His aunt was convicted as an accessory and was sentenced to ten years. She served seven, but died before her parole came through. His Sister hadn’t known the baby she helped care for was kidnapped.
Frank Steven’s parents tried to make trouble for Jack. They tried to convince the DA that their son was not that kind of man and that things were being blown out of proportions. They demanded to testify before the Grand Jury. The DA wouldn’t listen to them, he just played the tape for them. They tried a wrongful death lawsuit and sued for custody of the children, but their legal actions failed on all accounts. Worse yet, they were prohibited from any contact with Joyce, the children, Jack, and Francis, by a restraining order. At least till the kids were sixteen and could decide for themselves. The kids choose not to have any contact with them.
The end
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Safe at First
by Paula Dillon
Safe at First
by
Paula Dillon
Daniel Crane was not the most athletic boy on his high school baseball team; as a matter of fact he was the smallest and almost effeminate. You would never even select him in pickup games during the summer. He was just a hair over five foot and hardly one hundred pounds. If you passed him up though, you would be making a big mistake. He was the best defensive short stop his school had in many years.
He was not a terror with his bat with an average of only .210 but his on base percentage was the third highest on his team, and he had the highest base on balls in the district. He was the bane of many opposing pitchers with his ability to foul off their most effective pitches. It was not unusual for him to make the pitcher throw ten or twelve pitches to him per at bat, wearing them out till he drew a walk.
On base they called him the Road Runner. He was third in the state in stolen bases in this, his freshman year. He was known to torment opposing short stops by flicking out his tongue and going beep-beep. He was the only person in the state to have stolen home and he had done that twice.
Debbie Crane, his older sister hated going to her brother’s home games. It’s not that she hated her little brother but she resented her mother insisting she attend and walk her little brother home after the games. At least her friend Shelley Brooks was watching the game with her this night. Her brother’s team won the game 3-2 thanks to her brother’s base running. Debbie could care less about baseball but she was glad that her brother had the respect of the team. He had been often picked on, called all sorts of names and generally had his life made miserable till he was able to demonstrate his skills. Now he was often carried off the field on the team’s shoulders. As her brother’s popularity rose so did hers.
Debbie and Shelley met Daniel at the locker room door and headed to their home they lived less than half a mile from the school. They always took a shortcut across the recreations grounds next to the school. Debbie always carried her cell phone out when they did this because one never knew. Daniel carried his glove and shoes hanging across his bat as they walked.
Daniel was the first to notice the noise off to the side. It sounded like a muffled scream near the football bleachers. They saw three guys who were apparently raping a girl. Daniel dropped his glove and shoes and carried his bat into the fray, while Debbie dialed 911. The girl was being held down by one guy while another was having his way with her, the third was watching and getting him self ready to take over. Daniel swung his bat like he never swung it before and struck the one standing on the side of his knee. The guy holding the girl down stood and caught the bat in a massive golf swing in the crotch. The guy who was currently indisposed caught the bat to his rib cage, the ribs on his right side crushed. The force of the blow rolled him off the girl and left him in a wreck on the ground.
Daniel surveyed the three. None were making any move to get up, and looked to the girl on the ground. Her skirt had been ripped up the front almost to her belt and her panties and panty hose ripped up. She has high heel boots on and her blouse and bra ripped open. Daniel not knowing what to do reached a hand out to her to help her up. The girl, a high school sophomore, in shock seeing a guy reaching for her raised one of her booted feet and kicked him sharply with the spiked heel of her boot in his crotch three or four times. Daniel collapsed on the ground blinding flashes of pain racked his body and he passed out.
Debbie comforted her unconscious brother as she talked to the 911 operator and Shelley ran to comfort the girl. It was not long before police and ambulances started arriving. When one started to cuff her brother Debbie tried to explain what had happened to no avail. She called her mom and tried to explain what had happened. They would not even let her ride with her brother to the hospital. She explained over and over what had happened till one had actually listened to her and called in to the police riding to the hospital. The detective’s initial assessment matched the stories of the two girls. Barbra Crane Daniel’s mom reached the scene of the crime and picked her daughter and Shelley up and raced to the hospital.
Barbra parked across two parking spaces at an angle and raced to the ER, doors open engine running, Debbie close behind. Shelley re-parked the car, took the keys, Barbra’s purse and locked the doors. They all three met up at the nurse’s station in the ER. Barbra was demanding to see her son. After several minutes of ranting and raising hell she was finally led to her son. Debbie and Shelley had to wait in the waiting room for the time being, where Detectives found them to take formal statements. It was up to Shelley to give the clearest statements at that time, because Debbie was so hysterical that nurses received permission from her Mom and the Admitting Physician to give her a tranquilizer.
Barbra made her way to where her son lay in ER he had two bags of a clear liquid hooked into one arm and one unit of blood in the other. His crotch was a bloody mess. His pants and underwear were cut off. Doctors were busily working in the area sewing up bleeders. Of the five in the ER he had come closest to dying from loss of blood. A cop was stationed near her son but he was no longer cuffed. Three other boys were not so lucky. The doctor gave her a quick assessment of his condition and had her sign a surgical consent form.
Barbra collected her daughter, and headed up to the surgical waiting room. Shelley with her parents Ken and Nina Brooks followed. They were all nervous wrecks as they waited for news about Daniel. Shortly they were approached by another lady.
“Hello are you the parents of that boy who helped the girl that was being raped?”
“I am, who are you?!?”
“My name is Terri Anderson; it was my daughter Gina that was being raped. I am so sorry about what happened to your son.”
“Get out of here! I don’t want to talk to you right now! My son came close to dying because of your daughter. Go!”
“I am so sorry, she didn’t mean to hurt him,” Terri cried as she staggered down the hall.
Ken Brooks headed off down the hall after Terri as his wife Nina comforted Barbra.
“Barbra it wasn’t Gina’s fault that this happened, and surely you can’t blame Terri. You know she had to be in shock from the rape and seeing another guy coming after her she just lashed out. It could happen to any girl. You know that don’t you?”
“I know Nina, but why did it have to happen to my Danny? He is such a good kid. He didn’t deserve this.”
“Neither did Gina, but we have to live with it. We will give you all the support we can, dear.”
Ken came back and said that Terri would be ok and she understood Barbra’s grief.
A doctor and nurse in surgical scrubs came into the surgical waiting room.
"Mrs. Crane?"
"Yes Doctor, I am Daniel's mother."
"What I have to tell you is strictly for immediate family only. Could I recommend the others stay here or go out for coffee?"
"Doctor, I need my friend Nina with me is that all right?"
“Ok would you come with me?”
We followed the doctor to a private office and sat at a table.
"Alright Mrs. Crane; Your son Daniel is in serious condition. He is stable for now; he has received four units of whole blood due to his massive blood loss. We are giving him antibiotics and fluids intravenously. We have given him medication to help ease the pain and have him on oxygen since he had been anesthetized for the emergency surgical procedures. In surgery we found that he had suffered four deep puncture wounds made from a round flat tipped object. This not only penetrated the skin, but also caused deep crushing damage. Both of his testes were damaged beyond repair and had to be removed. His penis suffered two penetration wounds; one at the base near the scrotum and the other, two inches higher. His urethra and many of the smaller vessels were damaged, also beyond repair. Luckily, the major vessel providing blood flow was not severed or crushed. What remains of his penis is receiving adequate blood flow to keep the remaining tissues and nerves alive for now. Now, Mrs. Crane, I need to inform you that your son Daniel needs more surgery and very soon. As soon as later today or at the latest tomorrow morning…
Our first recommendation is for Sexual Reassignment Surgery or SRS. We would take what is left of his penis and form a vagina, his scrotum would form a vulva, and the formation of a responsive clitoris in a procedure known as vaginoplasty. We would then suggest that he start on female hormones and he would develop secondary female characteristics. He will never be able to be a parent. At a minimum I would recommend SRS, it would be his only option if he wanted to engage in sex. Decisions about hormones can be made at a later date. I know that there is a lot on your plate Mrs. Crane but this is something better done earlier rather than later. I strongly recommend against doing nothing.
“When can I see my son?”
“He is in recovery now. In an hour or two we will be moving him to his room. You can see him then. He is really lucky to be alive. If the EMT’s had not come as fast as they had he might not have made it.”
“Barbra let’s go back to ER waiting room it is more comfortable, till he gets a room.” Nina said.
Barbra and Nina joined the others and the five of them, headed back to the ER waiting room. As they turned the corner the waiting room was full. The whole baseball team and their families had shown up with lots of other well wishers.
“Go take her back up there Ken I will go talk to them and tell them the news. Don’t worry, I will be discrete Barbra.”
Ken whisked Barbra and the kids away and Nina headed to the crowd. She recognized the coach John Conrad and got him to calm the crowd down, so she could talk to them.
“Daniel is in serious condition but is expected to recover. He received his injuries while attempting to rescue a girl who was being raped. He is a hero folks. He single handedly took out three older boys who were raping a girl. He is in recovery right now and it is unknown how long it will be before he can receive visitors. That is all I can say right now as soon as we know more I will notify the principal and coach. Thank you for coming, but please go home for now.”
Questions poured out from the group but the coach took charge, thanking Nina and shepherding the team and other well wishers out the door.
Nina saw Carol another neighbor in the crowd. She waved at her and said, “Carol can I talk to you a second?”
“Sure Nina, what do you need?”
“I need to stay here with Barbra can Debbie and Shelley spend the night with you?”
“Of course Nina they can stay with me.”
“Just ask your daughter not to pump Debbie to much, she had to be sedated.”
“Oh of course. I will make sure Arlene knows not to ask too much.”
Nina, Carol and Arlene headed to where the others were. Debbie and Shelley didn’t want to go. Barbra agreed that they didn’t need to be here right now, and that they could see Daniel tomorrow.
A nurse found them and told them that Daniel was being taken to a room. The three of them followed the nurse to Daniel’s room. On the way they saw Terri also being taken to a room.
“Terri please forgive my rudeness earlier, I was so worried about Daniel that I lashed out at you. I know it wasn’t your daughter’s fault that caused this to happen. How is she now?”
“She is heavily sedated and recovering from shock and you know what else. It is going to take a while but hopefully she can put this behind her and go on. Your son is a brave boy I want to thank him when he feels up to it.”
“I am not sure when, but I will be by.”
They were led to rooms that were across from each other. The two women hugged each other and went into their respective rooms.
Daniel was asleep in his bed. Barbra looked at her son laying there. Besides the bruises at the wrists and arms it was hard to tell that he nearly died and how much his life had changed in a split second.
On down the hall at the opposite end of the corridor three other boys were in their rooms. One crippled for life as his knee was destroyed and the bones were pinned together hopefully to save his leg. One was emasculated, forever to be a eunuch with a fractured pelvis, and lastly an athlete who will never be a runner anymore after his ribcage was pulverized on his right side. All three closely watched.
Across the hall Gina Anderson lay heavily sedated since she arrived at the hospital and thankfully unconscious when she suffered the indignity of a rape kit processing.
Around one a.m. Barbra fell asleep in the chair by her son’s bed. She had dream of Daniel, as her son and her daughter. It was not an easy sleep she struggled internally with her demons. At one point she felt that she was bound and could not move her arms. She sat up with start and noticed that she was covered with a blanket. It was six in the morning. Daniel was still asleep. Nina was asleep in another chair.
She got up and put a hand on Nina’s shoulder. She woke and looked up at me. We got up and moved farther from Daniel, and in a whisper, I asked her, “What do you think Nina.”
“I don’t see as you have much choice, Barbra but like the Doctor said the surgery should be done.”
“I know you’re right but I have got to tell him.”
A nurse came in and tried to wake Daniel up. I went to be by his side so he would see me when he opened his eyes. It took a couple of minutes, he was very groggy but he finally opened his eyes.
“Hi Mom, where am I?”
Barbra sat on the edge of the bed and held her son’s hand and stroked his hair softly.
“You’re in a hospital dear. Do you remember what happened?”
“Kinda I think. There were some guys attacking a girl and I fought em off. I turned to help the girl up and the lights went out. She ok?”
“She is just across the hall dear. Honey I have to talk to you now. You know you were injured right?”
“You aint kidding I hurt all over.”
“Well you had surgery to repair some of the damage last night to save your life. You’re going to have more surgery soon dear. Do you know where you were hurt?”
“Between my legs is where I hurt the worse.”
“Well honey, your genitals were damaged very badly. Parts were damaged so badly they had to remove them. I don’t know how to say this, but you will never be a dad, but you are lucky to be alive and I love you.”
Daniel looked crest fallen and tears started falling from his eyes but he put on his best face and asked, “What else Mom?”
“Well, your penis was damaged too and there is this surgery they want to perform. It is called Sexual Reassignment Surgery. They want to create a vagina with what is left of your penis, use your scrotum to create a vulva and create a sensitive clitoris. Do you understand?”
“It was that bad?”
“Yes Honey, it was that bad. I nearly lost you but now you are back.”
“Am I going to become a girl?” Danny sobbed.
“Only if you want to. You’ll be able to take hormones but that we can talk about later. We will be with you no matter what. Is that enough for you?”
“Is there a choice?”
“Yes, but it is not a good one. You are disfigured down there, but you are alive my.”
“I don’t like it but I guess we can’t have everything. I trust you Mom. Do what you think best. I don’t think I am thinking so clear right now.”
Daniel did not receive a plate for breakfast so Barbra was not surprised when the doctors showed up early. There were three this time a plastic surgeon, urologist and a psychiatrist. They chatted with us for about an hour telling Daniel about all that happened and about what they would like to do. He listened closely to what they had to say. They covered what they called ‘informed consent’ legalities. Daniel agreed to the procedures and I as his guardian singed the surgical consent forms. Daniel would be prepped for surgery in a little over an hour.
The psychiatrist stayed and talked about what happened. Daniel didn’t recall how he had gotten hurt and he showed concern about the girl he helped rescue. She questioned him about all sort of things, school, his friends, Daniel talked freely with her. She even asked how he felt about the surgery, what he understood and about how he is managing with what had happened.
The psychiatrist left and a nurse came in and gave Daniel a shot. Barbra gave him a kiss on his cheek as he was becoming very drowsy and his lights went out. Debbie arrived shortly before Daniel was wheeled away.
Barbra took Debbie for a walk to the cafeteria; this was as good a time to talk to her.
“Debbie, Daniel is alright but he is going back to surgery. He was hurt very severely in his genitals Debbie. He lost both of his testes and his penis was rendered useless. Do you understand Hun?”
“You mean the things that make him a guy are useless or gone?” Debbie asked tears forming in her eyes, her face full of emotion.
“Yes Debbie the surgery he is going to now will finish the job, he was badly deformed. They are doing a vaginoplasty on him now, or giving him a vagina and vulva.”
“Is he becoming a girl?”
“Only if he wants to, but he will have the outward appearance down there of a girl. He is going to go through some major changes none the less dear, and he will need us to protect his secret till he is ready to choose his course. He can either take hormones after he makes his decision. He had very little choice about the surgery due to the severity and location of the damage he had. He will never parent a child and never be fully a male or female. Don’t discuss his surgery with anyone. At least we still have him, he nearly died last night. He will need our support whatever he chooses, but it may be easier if he chooses to be a girl. He is going to need your help also to keep up in school he will not be feeling up to it for a month or two dear. I will need to talk to his school.”
They headed back to the room, flowers, cards and balloons had started to arrive. Barbra and Debbie crossed the hall to Gina’s room, Terri saw her and a smile formed on her face. Gina was lying in bed silently.
“How are you Barbra?”
“I am doing Ok Terri. This is my daughter Debbie she was there also last night. Debbie this is Terri Anderson it was her daughter you three saved last night. How are you doing?”
“Hello Debbie I want to thank you three for what you did for my daughter. How are Daniel and you two doing?”
“We are doing well as can be expected. Daniel had to go back into surgery but he is doing fair. How is Gina?”
“Physically she is doing well emotionally she could be doing better. She will probably be leaving tomorrow. The psychiatrist wants to keep her for another day. How long will Daniel be here?”
“At least another week He is back in surgery, to repair the damage. He almost died. His first concern on waking was how your daughter was. He doesn’t remember how he was injured. That is best for now. He doesn’t need to know, at least until he is better.”
“The police are to interview my daughter today and then the psychiatrist wants to talk to her later. She is awake but tranquilized right now. I think she was more traumatized when she realized she hurt the boy who helped her, than she was by the rape itself.”
“Let her know that Daniel doesn’t blame her. It is not much but it may help her. The police will have to wait two or three days to interview Daniel he won’t be up to it for a while.”
Barbra, Debbie and Terri chatted for a while longer and then returned to Danny’s room to wait.
For Barbra it was a long grueling wait. She was glad for Debbie’s company. She was very nervous but a little afraid to show it. She wondered what Daniel understood about the operation. She knew he heard the doctors, but with his pain meds and such she wondered if he really understood things. Close friends came and went, more flowers and such arrived. Daniel’s room took on the appearance of a flower shop. Detectives dropped by but were unable to see Daniel and said that they would be back in a few days, after assuring Barbra that they were not looking into charging Daniel with anything. Late that afternoon she received word that Daniel was in recovery again and would be back to his room in an hour or so. At eight that evening Daniel was wheeled back into his room.
He looked so pitiful laying there but Barbra was assured by his breathing and the monitors that were hooked up to him. The surgeon assured everyone that Daniel was fine. He came through surgery well, and that the surgery was flawless, scarring would be minimal. He would sleep the night through they were told.
Nina showed up and volunteered to spend the night with Daniel, almost pushing Barbra out to go home. She did look rather haggard she noticed looking in a mirror. So she and Debbie headed on home.
to be continued,
Danni moves on with his life, as he learns to deal with becoming a woman.
Safe at First Ch 3
by
Paula Dillon
Danni passed all her classes she was glad that ordeal was over. Studying at home could be such a drag. On top of that was every thing she had to do in recovery from her surgery. After all the tests were over her Mom, Barbra thought it best to spend the summer at Aunt Michelle’s. Mom and Debbie helped Danni learn to be a girl while she was recuperating at home so when she and Debbie went to their Aunt’s home, Danni started living full time as a girl. Mom wouldn’t be able to join them till August.
Aunt Michelle was Mom’s younger sister, Michelle Webster. Danni had always thought she was a real knockout. Michelle was twenty eight and 5’9”, with a very attractive figure. She lived in a real nice house about 1000 miles away in Florida. Michelle had married and become widowed young herself. Her husband Cliff liked hang gliding and such. He had an experimental aircraft that he built himself and crashed it. He left her very well off, but he left her childless also.
Barbra and Michelle have always been close, so they always spend part of the year with her. Her house is a two story, six bedroom home. She has a Jacuzzi, swimming pool, and tennis court, along with other amenities.
Aunt Michelle was very excited to have the kids over for the whole summer. She fawned over the kids when they arrived at the bus station. She ran to meet them when they stepped off the bus.
“Debbie and Danni how are you two? It is so good seeing you,” she said hugging the two kids.
“Hello Aunt Michelle,” they chorused back.
“How are you two?”
“I am doing ok Auntie, I feel better, and I am starting to get stronger now.”
“I know, Sis and I have talked a lot about you Danni. You are looking good too. How are you Debbie?”
“I am doing fab Auntie, glad to get out of school for the summer.”
“Let’s get you two home, and get you settled in. We have so much to do this coming week.”
They made it home, and got their luggage into their rooms. Michelle helped them get their rooms sorted out. She looked Danni over, “Is that all you Danni or is that silicone, dear?”
“They are silicone breast forms Auntie; I have only been on hormones for a month. They have told me that it will be three to six months before I start to see real results.”
“I know it has been hard on you dear, but I am here to help you in any way I can.”
“I know and I appreciate it.”
Michelle and Debbie began teaching Danni more about being a girl. Danni became Aunt Michelle’s pet project. She took her to an upscale salon and Danni got a shoulder length hair weave, coloring and a makeover. She was really thrilled at the leg waxing she received, thrilled enough to want to put knots on Debbie’s head for talking her into it. It left Debbie and Michelle giggling as Danni would groan and screech in pain as strip after strip of hair was pulled off of her legs. The waxing and brow plucking were her most dreaded features of the make over. Overall though the ladies fussing over her made her feel good.
They also took Danni power shopping. She never really understood before how girls could spend hours shopping and come out with just one or two items or sometimes nothing at all, but now she knew. There were so many different things girls wore, and they required others things to be worn as well. All the colors, fabrics and such, she was just amazed. On top of all that were accessories that went with the various outfits, and shoes galore. Danny just had two pair of dress shoes and four pair of sports shoes, but Danni had tons of shoes flats, heels, sandals and trainers.
Danni had to take this all in spurts. Shop for a while rest for a while. She was regaining her strength slowly. She still was not a hundred percent but she could get around ok now. She did a lot of walking and it would still be a little while before she could do more vigorous forms of exercise.
Danni would walk to a park that had six ball fields and would watch them play. It was hard on her, she wished she could be out there with them, but that was no longer likely. In her mind she would critique the play of the fielders, especially the short stops.
Everybody that knows anything about baseball knows that short stop is the hardest position to play defensively. They have a huge area of responsibility from backing up the second and third basemen to covering 2nd and 3rd bases, relaying throws in from center and left fields. Decisions have to be made in split seconds. They not only have to be fast they have to be quick, and they had to have a good arm. They often have to make fast accurate throws off balance to second, first and home. Short stops aren’t expected to be able to hit, but it is nice when they can. Shortstops make many putouts and assists. When they do get on base, their quickness and speed make many of them savage base runners. Their base running can force defensive errors from pitchers, catchers and opposing short stops, increasing the teams scoring potential.
One particular game made her grimace; neither of the shortstops were worth their salt. Making numerous errors and generally not playing well. It got to the point she had to leave; she knew she was better than either of them. Frustrated she wandered away from that field, she had resolved to head on home when action on another field caught her attention. There on a smaller field was a bunch of girls playing fast pitch softball.
The girls were pretty good, and the games were generally low scoring pitchers duels. Danni was amazed at the speed the ball approached home. She saw a man with a radar gun and watched the display. They weren’t particularly fast from fifty to sixty-five miles per hour, but the distance from the mound to the plate was only about forty feet compared to sixty for baseball. Danni did some quick math in her head and realized that the relative speeds would be fifty percent faster for the same reaction times for a baseball. Damn, she thought, these girls are good. As the number of pitches the pitchers threw went up though, their control started faltering and the offense started getting hits. The girls were good in their mechanics playing defense, they didn’t throw like he had always seen girls throw. She definitely wanted to check this out some more.
Danni looked at her watch and saw that she needed to get home so after the game was over she left the park. The sun was down when she got home.
“Where have you been young lady?” Michelle asked.
“At the park Ma’am, watching baseball and softball.”
“Well you need to call me Danni, if you’re going to be this late. I worry about you. Now that you’re a girl Danni, we have to treat you like a girl. You know a lot of bad things can happen to girls. You need to look out for yourself more now.”
“I know, Aunt Michelle. I am sorry for not calling.” Danni said hugging her.
“I‘ll tell you what, I am going to get you and your sister a local cell phone, so you can call me. So how were the games?”
“Some of em were pretty good, others were dismal. I wish I could get back to playing ball. I watched a girls fast pitch softball game, it was pretty good.”
“Well you have blood work to go to tomorrow and a doctor’s appointment in four days, he should clear you for more active exercise, but you know it will be about two months before you will be a hundred percent.”
“I know. It will be good to get back to running and stretching, again soon. At least I am not sore and hurting like I was. I am still a little tight, but I should be able to work that out. Where is Debbie?”
“She is out with some neighbor girls right now. She seems to have made quick friends. That is something you need to do to.”
“I know but it is so different, looking at it from this side now Auntie.”
“I can’t begin to know how you feel darling, but I am here for you.”
Danni hugged her aunt and in a very feminine way gave Michelle a light kiss to her cheek.
Danni changed into a very pretty one piece swimsuit; she tried hard to fit in as a girl. She conceded that she did not have the figure to carry off a bikini but this suit was very feminine. The Jacuzzi had done wonders for her she always felt better afterwards. Debbie, Mom and Michelle had helped her so much. She felt confident picking out outfits and her mannerisms were becoming automatic. She realized that she still had a lot to learn though.
Michelle, who was wearing a very pretty pink bikini, joined Danni in the Jacuzzi. They hugged and wrestled playing before settling down to enjoy the warm jets of water.
“I want to go back to the park tomorrow Aunt Michelle. I also want to get a scorebook and softball rule book. The game is a little different from what I played.”
“Ok sweetie, we will go into town and get those things for you. I might just go to the park with you. I use to be a pretty good softball player when I was in high school and college.”
“About a million years ago?” Danni teased.
“Hey no fair shrimp, I am only about fourteen years older than you.” Michelle kidded back, splashing Danni with water.
The warm water and the massaging jets soothed their bodies and lifted their spirits. All too soon though they had to get out and dry themselves off. They donned soft terry robes and went inside. Michelle put together a light meal for them. Debbie came home as they ate and she joined them in the kitchen. They all chatted about their days. This was one thing Danni was really picking up really well. She and Debbie would talk for hours; she picked up girls inflections, intonations and vocabulary. Girls really do speak another language it seems.
Danni was tired, so she left them to get ready for bed. After showering and shaving her arm pits she looked at herself in a mirror. She frowned as she appraised her figure, no change yet that she could detect. She dressed in a silky sleep shirt and slippers as she took care of her skin. Next she braided her hair. She had to take care of the hair weave till her own grew out long enough, to style. Lastly, she used her dilator before going to bed.
Danni woke early this morning. After taking care of her business, this included: dilating, cleansing her face, brushing her teeth, letting out her braids and brushing her hair out. Slipping her satin kimono robe on and her fuzzy slippers she headed down stairs. Her Mom had long ago taught her children to cook their own breakfast, so she got the ingredients for her favorite omelet out of the fridge and set it on the counter. As Danni prepped the ingredients for a Spanish omelet, Michelle and Debbie showed up so she expanded the recipe for all of them.
After a round of mornings and hugs Danni started cooking. Michelle made coffee and toast, Debbie made some frozen orange juice. In a few minutes everything was ready and breakfast was served. They ate at a relaxed pace and went over their plans for today, agreeing to go shopping together that day.
At about nine that morning they all got ready to go shopping. Danni dressed in a powder blue skort, white tank top, white T-shirt bra and pink tennis socks with a pair of deck shoes, she was feminine but comfortable. Michelle and Debbie were similarly attired in shorts and tanks. Together they went to the mall.
When ever girls come go to the mall for almost anything the first thing they shop for is clothes. They hit several clothing shops and a cell phone kiosk before they came to a sporting good store. Danni found a softball rule book and a couple of score books. She walked by gloves, bats and such. Michelle seeing her there, walked over to her.
“Let’s get a couple of gloves and some balls; we can throw to each other. I don’t see where that would be against the doctor’s orders.”
“How bout you Debbie? We could make it a three way,” Danni commented.
“That’s a wonderful idea Danni. How about it Debbie?”
“I like baseball players, but not playing it. You guys know that.”
“Come on sis, there are a lot of girls that play softball.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Michelle and Danni picked up a couple of fast pitch softballs, got fitted for softball gloves and rubber cleated shoes. Danni loved the feel and smell of the glove on her hand. They also got a couple of visor caps that were popular with girl’s softball teams.
They shopped some more but Danni’s mind wasn’t into it, she wanted to play ball. After they got home and got their purchase. Debbie and Danni set their phones up to charge. They all headed to the park. They went directly to the girl’s field to watch them play. Danni got out a pencil from her purse and setup to keep score.
The game that was fixing to start was for girls 14-15. Watching the pitchers warming up Danni could tell that this would be a low scoring pitchers duel. Danni hurriedly filled in the score sheet as the players were announced. One team was playing in shorts and the other in baseball pants. Danni thought ‘yuck she would hate to play in those shorts; her legs would get eaten up diving and sliding.’
A pitchers duel, to many people, is a boring game. There isn’t usually a lot of scoring. Danni though was thrilled to watch the girls work. One girl had eleven strikeouts by the end of the fifth inning and the other had nine in a scoreless game.
At the top of the sixth, Danni notice the pitcher in shorts Cindy Sloan was starting to falter. Her pitches, when not in the fat part of the plate, were clearly out of the strike zone. She walked the first batter who became the first player from either team to reach base and hit the second batter. That brought up the other pitcher, Carol Wrigley up to bat. She was tall at about 5’10” and she was stocky for a girl. She had long black hair that came to the middle of her back. Most pitchers as a rule can’t hit very well. They just don’t get enough at bats and for them hitting is not emphasized. The first pitch to her was a duster that put the girl flat on her back. A duster is a pitch designed to move the batter away from the plate and to break the batters confidence. Carol got up, dusted her butt off (hence the name duster) and stepped back up to the plate. The next two pitches cut the edge of the plate for strikes. The next pitch was way off speed and was in the fat part of the plate. Carol swung and drove the ball to deep center. The outfielders had played her shallow, so she got on with a stand up double driving in two runs. Two to zip is how the game ended. Carol the winning pitcher was credited with a no hitter, walking two and striking thirteen out in just seven innings. Danni and Michelle both went up to congratulate Carol after the game and the team meeting. She was awesome.
“Hi Carol, that was a great game you pitched today, my name is Danni and this is my Aunt Michelle.”
“Thank you Danni, I am glad you enjoyed it.”
“It reminded me of my college days,” Michelle said.
“You played for which college?” Carol asked.
“Florida State, I was on a half scholarship.”
“I never knew that Aunt Michelle.” Danni said.
“Sure I played first base, for the Seminoles.”
“Not you too, Michelle,” Debbie added.
“That is my sister Debbie, Carol.”
“Hi Debbie, it’s nice meeting you. Well I have to go folks, hope to see you at more of our games, ya’ll take it easy.”
“Bye,” they all chimed in.
At home Michelle and Danni broke out the gloves and started just tossing the ball back and forth. It took some getting use to throwing the bigger softball around but Danni managed to handle it well. Danni was very impressed though with Aunt Michelle, she didn’t throw like a girl at all.
Danni started going to watch the girls play everyday. She started making friends around the field. She found herself accepted by the girls and their families, and her knowledge of play gave her plenty to talk about with them.
Angela, one of the player’s five year old sister asked her, “If you know so much about the game, why aren’t you playing?”
“I would love to Angela, but I am recovering from major surgery and the Doctor won’t let me yet.”
“What kinda of surgery?”
Danni blushed at the girls question, she didn’t want to lie to the kid, but she just couldn’t tell the truth, “Female surgery, Angela.” At least that wasn’t a big lie.
Angela’s mom overhearing the conversation reigned in her daughter, to prevent further embarrassment, and gave Danni a knowing look.
“Hi Danni, I am Heather Jenkins, I am Angela’s and Kimberly’s mom, the Kimberly that is playing right field. Do you live around here or are you just visiting. You accent says you might be from Texas.”
“Yes Ma’am, I am from Texas. My sister, Debbie and I are visiting my Aunt, Michelle Webster.”
“I know Michelle; she is such a dear person. So are you here for just the summer?”
“I am not sure, my Mom and Aunt are talking about me going to school here in Florida and Debbie going back to Texas to finish her last year there. We all might move here when Debbie graduates.”
“That is wonderful, we have some great schools here and I am sure you would get along fine. How old are you?”
“I am fourteen now, but I will be fifteen in August.”
“After the game you must come with us. You’ll get to meet a lot of the girls you will be going to school with.”
“I need to check with Aunt Michelle first, she nearly blew a fuse the last time I stayed out late and didn’t call.”
“And so she should have Danni. You need to be careful girl, and you shouldn’t give your Aunt cause to worry.”
Danni called Aunt Michelle and asked if it would be alright to go with Heather and the girls. Michelle was delighted for Danni, and yes she knew Heather Jenkins. They were good people, she said and it would be good for Danni. She asked Danni to hand the phone to Heather. Heather talked to her Aunt for about five minutes, before ringing off.
“Danni,” Heather said, “You are in my care till I get you home dear.”
“Thank you Ma’am, I appreciate it.”
“Good, let finish watching this game.”
Danni, who had not missed a pitch, started giving Angela a play by play commentary on the game. Angela hung on every word that Danni said. She sat very close to Danni and watched as she made notes and marks on the score sheet as the game went on. Danni loved talking to her about the game; even before her accident she loved kids. Heather just had a big grin on her face as she watched on.
After the game and team meeting on the field the girls left the playing field. Angela ran up to and jumped into the arms of Kimberly, giving her a huge hug. Danni and Heather came over to them.
“Kimmie this is my friend Danni. She is here from Texas with her sister. She know lots bout softball, but she can’t play now cause she had girl surgery, she is coming with us cause her Aunt said she could and she is gonna go to school with you.” Angela said in one breath, her mouth going ninety miles an hour.
Everybody’s head was spinning as Angela was talking.
“Hello Danni, I am Kimberly, please call me Kimmie though. I see you made an impression on my little sis. She is not usually this open.”
“Ok Kimmie, your sister is so sweet and adorable.”
“I see she has you fooled, she can be such a devil at times. So you play softball too?”
“Sorta, I am not doing much of anything right now. I have to be cleared by my doctor tomorrow, I hope, before I can do anything. Ya’ll played a pretty good game today.”
“Thank you. It was a good game. You’ll get to meet the team we are going to a local pizza palace to eat. Let’s go.” Kimberly said as she carried Angela.
They headed to the family SUV. Angela giving a blow by blow account of the game as Danni had explained it to her, to Kimberly. Inside the SUV, Kimmie asked Angela not to say anything about Danni’s surgery; she said that everybody doesn’t need to know about that sort of thing. Angela promised that she wouldn’t tell anybody else.
“Sorry Danni, kids can be so precocious at times. So how are you recovering?” Kimmie asked.
“I am doing well, it has been six weeks, but it will be a while before I get back to where I was physically.”
“It’s good you are doing better, so you are going to start school here, where do you live in town.”
“She lives with Michelle Webster, Kimmie. She’ll be going to your school dear.” Heather added.
“That‘s fabulous, you’ll like all the girls there. They aren’t as cliquish as some of the schools. I am sure you’ll get along fine.”
Further conversation was cut off as they arrived at Olde Italy’s pizzeria. Kimberly introduced Danni to all the players and the coaches there. She found herself immediately accepted by the group. They then talked about softball, boys, school, boys, clothes and boys. Danni fit right in, she was comfortable with these girls. She didn’t talk about her playing much but she showed had a wealth of knowledge.
After they finished eating a few of the girls headed to the ladies room. Danni had needed to go and felt good going with her new friends. She fixed her lipstick afterwards and met up with her group as they were ready to leave. Heather took them to their home and showed her around. This was a somewhat affluent part of town apparently. Heather’s home was almost as nice as Michelle’s. Kimmie and Danni talked some more in Kimmie’s room. All too soon though, it came time for her to leave. Kimmie hugged her and Angela made sure she got a hug before Danni left to go home. The girls exchanged home and cell phone numbers. Heather found she really liked this girl.
The next morning Danni wanted to show the doctors how well she had adapted. She dressed in a mint green bra and panty set, a forrest green mid thigh twill skirt and jacket, a white silk blouse, camisole, tan pantyhose, with black three inch pumps. She was very careful with her makeup going for a more mature look. Pearl drop earrings, bangles and her nice watch. She brushed out her hair and then touched up her makeup before loading her purse and heading downstairs for breakfast. Michelle whistled at her as she came to the breakfast table.
“Are you going to a business meeting or to a doctor’s office? You look gorgeous girl, like a very smartly dressed lawyer. Let me go get my pearl necklace dear it will go just right with that outfit.” Michelle said.
“Thank you Auntie, I just wanted to show the doctors how well I have adapted. You really think I look good?”
“They don’t come much better looking than you are right now.”
“Danni you are incredible, I am proud to have a sister as good looking as you are.” Debbie added hugging Danni.
Returning Michelle attached a single strand pearl necklace around Danni’s throat.
They all had appointments today, Michelle, Debbie and Danni would meet with a psychiatrist separately, and Danni also had to meet with an OB/GYN who would check her surgery and hormone treatment.
Truth be told Debbie needed the psych visit more than Danni. She had blamed herself for Danni’s injuries. It was an unrealistic view, as her actions had actually saved his life, but they were the issues that she had to work through. She felt bad because that she had complained about going to his games and having to walk home with him. All of it was unrealistic but none the less, a pain in her heart. Seeing how well Danni adapted though helped her in so many ways. She admitted that she had always wanted a little sister.
While Danni wasn’t really a hundred percent in the head department, she was well on her way. The psych complimented her on her appearance. She gave Danni goals and thresholds for her to obtain. They also delved deeply into the incident, her feelings and hopes. She was very excited to hear about the friends that Danni made. Danni still had to work through the feelings she had inside her, but it was becoming easier.
Michelle was given help to facilitate the two’s recovery. She was there to help keep the kids focused and headed in the right direction. She too had issues but they were minor, very minor.
Barbra back home was probably the worst off, she hid things too well. Doctor Stephanie Thompson knew this all too well and wasn’t about to let her get away, so she kept digging. Being alone both helped and hurt Barbra; she was glad the kids couldn’t see her anger but missed their presence dearly. She hated the boys that had caused this incident. She couldn’t fathom how Danni could just let it go so easily. She felt sorry for Gina, but still blamed her as well for the loss of her son. Stephanie pointed out that she hadn’t really lost her son, he was still there. He was just her daughter now.
The prognosis for the Crane’s and the Webster’s was definitely positive at this point.
Danni then met with the OB/GYN. He examined Danni from head to toe, paying particular attention to the areas involved in her surgery. He checked her blood work results. He had ordered a comprehensive panel including hormone levels. He pronounced her fit, gave her two hormone shots and adjusted her hormone pills a little, and cleared her for more vigorous exercise, warning her that if it hurts don’t do it, but if it is just uncomfortable to ease into it. He told her to warm up a lot and stretch carefully before exercising. He did refer her for four visits to a Physical Therapist to work out an exercise regimen. He set up another appointment for two months. On the way out they stopped by the PT’s office to setup an appointment in two days.
They had lunch at a very exclusive restaurant to celebrate Danni’s clean bill of health. Danni was quite happy and it showed in her walk. She had a very feminine swagger, not overboard or campy but classy.
They enjoyed themselves immensely. They were three girls out to have a good time. They turned eyes everywhere they went. Michelle and Debbie even talked Danni into a bikini. Too late Danni found out that that meant a bikini wax. She pledged to get even with them both. At least the top covered her up enough so she didn’t show her breast forms but it still looked stylish.
At home Danni changed into a pale yellow skort and a powder blue T. Danni loved skorts, they helped ease her into skirts and she didn’t have to worry about flashing her panties. She met Debbie and they went on a long walk together. Debbie and Danni used this time to open up to each other, and the exercise was good for the both of them. They talked about some of the things the psych talked to them about and worked on their issues together. Debbie felt better about things after talking to Danni and hugged her.
Back home, Danni went to the living room. She was by herself so she took off her skort and started stretching her groin area out. She could get two thirds into Chinese and American splits. That was good but she was use to going down to the floor. Sitting on the floor she spread her legs and stretched out her back; putting her head to both knees. She got dressed hurriedly when she herd the door bell.
Aunt Michelle had answered the door. Danni heard Heather’s and Angela’s voices in greeting, so she headed to the door.
“Danni, Danni there’s my Danni,” Angela said running to her and jumping into her arms.
Danni grimaced as if expecting it to hurt as Angela impacted her. To her relief it didn’t.
There was a sigh of relief from the three older girls there as Danni smiled and hugged Angela.
“Danni do you want to come to one of our practices today, Angela wouldn’t get quiet till I came by here.” Heather said.
“It’s fine by me,” Michelle said.
“Sure let me change shoes and get my visor.”
“Ok, we’ll wait for you.”
Danni ran upstairs and changed to her cleats, touched up her makeup, put her visor on, got her purse and cell phone.
Angela latched on to Danni when she got back downstairs. Kimberly greeted her in the SUV and the girls talked as Heather drove. The practice field was like any of the thousands of fields across the country. The girls got out of the SUV and Kimberly ran to where the team was meeting. Danni picked up Angela and carried her to where the families gathered while the kids practiced.
The girls broke up into groups; fielders off to the outfield began taking flies, the pitchers were off to the side loosening their arms and the infielders were at their bases taking grounders and making throws. Danni explained what was going on to Angela as they looked about. Danni got to talking to another of the families there and Angela wandered off. She passed through the open gate and stood on the first base sidelines.
Danni looked over there and saw her standing there and went to get her. As she got near she looked towards home as the coach hit a screaming line drive that got past the first baseman and was headed towards Angela. Without thinking Danni took a quick step and dove for the ball catching it barehanded, a foot away from Angela’s head. She tucked her right shoulder down rolled, came up on her feet, stepped towards home and fired a bullet to the catcher about 90 feet away. The catcher caught it but everyone was watching Danni. She didn’t notice all the attention she was getting because she was shaking her right hand which stung like hell. She took Angela’s hand and turned but she was swamped by people.
Danni found herself in a bear hug, Heather had her in arms wrapped around Danni, half crying.
“Thank you Danni, you saved my little angel from getting hurt.”
She was being patted on the shoulder and the butt by the players, as they congratulated her catch.
“It was nothing folks, it was just a reflex, please go back to practice,” Danni pleaded.
She was starting to get scared, at this point. One of the coaches, Amy Johnson, looked at her right hand and felt all over it. Her palm looked red and angry. She led Danni to the bench and sat her down.
“Bet it hurts like hell,” she said.
“It stings more than anything else right now, but yes it hurts.” Danni said tears falling.
The coach sprayed the hand with freeze spray, “That was one hell of a catch you made there Danni.” She said checking the hand.
“Just don’t tell my doctor, Amy. I was just cleared for exercise today. I don’t think he had diving for line drives in mind when he cleared me.”
“What position did you play, Danni?”
“Huh, excuse me?”
“You heard me, what position did you play?”
“Short.”
“I kinda figured it. It had to be first or short the way you made the move to your right like that, and no first baseman needs to make a throw like that. Why the doctor?”
“I am recovering from major surgery.”
“Well the hand may be sore for a few days, but I don’t think you broke anything, but a couple of nails. Ice it when you get home. What kind of surgery?”
Danni blushed and said nothing.
“Ok, I think I understand. Let me know when you can do more.”
Danni made her way to the bleachers, and found Angela there. Heather had one of her hands in hers. Danni sat on Angela’s right and held the other hand.
“You ok, Danni?” Heather asked.
“Yes Ma’am, my hand stung a bit, but it is numb right now. I am sorry about losing track of Angela.”
“Honey don’t worry about that, I am just so glad that you stopped that ball. She could have been really hurt back there. Angela wanders on to the field occasionally. She wants to be out there with her big sis, right Angela?”
“Yes Mommy, I wants to be jus like Kimmie, and Danni is my friend.”
“Yes Angela, she is your friend.”
“Danni I am sorry, you got hurt cause of me,” Angela said hugging Danni as tightly as she could.
Danni felt proud that she had been able to help her. Danni’s emotions got the better of her and tears started flowing from her eyes.
After practice was over Heather and company headed to Michelle’s home. They all escorted Danni to the door, which she opened and they all entered. Michelle heard them enter and came to investigate. When she saw Danni carrying her hand oddly and the grass stains all over her blouse and skort, she exclaimed, “What happened?”
Heather told Michelle the whole story as they headed for the kitchen to get some ice in a towel, as Danni led Kimberly and Angela into the living room. Michelle put a towel on Danni’s lap and ice in a baggie wrapped in a towel in her right hand.
The door bell wrung and more teammates showed up and within ten minutes the whole team and many of their parents had filed into the house. Pizzas and drinks were ordered. They were all talking about what they had seen Danni do. Those who had seen what happened told the story to those who didn’t see, and blah, blah, blah. The kids were in the living room and the adults in the kitchen. Throughout the evening Angela held on to Danni. It was apparent that the whole team and Angela had adopted her.
When Debbie came in she had a perplexed look on her face at all the people moving about inside their home. Kimberly found her wandering about, latched on to her and told her what had happened. As it got late the girls got together and cleaned up after themselves, the adults followed suit. The first floor and all the bathrooms were actually cleaner than when they arrived. Heather pried a sleeping Angela away from Danni and carried her to their SUV.
“Well that was interesting Danni,” Michelle said. “When are you going to don your cape, red and blue undies and fly around the room?” She asked giggling.
“When you make friends Danni, you go whole hog,” Debbie added.
“I don’t understand it,” Danni said, “It wasn’t such a big deal, cept I ruined my skort and my blouse. I’ll never be able to get the grass stains out.”
“You try to convince a mother, whose child you kept from getting hurt that it wasn’t a big deal. It will never happen. To heck with your blouse and skort, they can and will be replaced. A healthy and happy Angela can’t be replaced. I am proud of you Danni; I heard it was a great catch, and an even better throw home. Coach Amy was quite impressed with you too.”
“I’ll never be able to play with them Auntie, I will just have to settle with being a coach or manager.” Danni cried.
“I don’t see why not dear, you are a girl now.”
“Not really, I am just a pretend girl.”
“Don’t ever say that again Danni, you may not have been born a girl, but you are as much a girl in your heart as Debbie or I am. We all love you Danni, I know your Mom does too.”
Danni cried as her sister and aunt hugged her, she seemed to cry a lot more lately. It was like a pressure relief valve to her. She seemed to feel better after a good cry.
The next morning, Danni woke a little cranky, her chest itched, she couldn’t reach the itch because of the breast forms, and she was a little sick in her stomach. She knew it was because of the hormones. The Doc had told her that she might get that way, but it still didn’t make it any easier to take. Her right hand hurt some and it was a little hard to open and close, but that was to be expected.
Danni gave up trying to put her makeup on with her right hand, and it was worse doing it with her left. Just getting dressed had been an ordeal, especially the bra. She just cleaned the makeup off and went to her sister’s room. Debbie was just getting up herself, she opened her door as Danni knocked, smiled and hugged her, when she saw her.
“Debbie my hand is a little stiff, and I can’t put my make up on can you help me?”
“Sure Danni just let me get my own on.” She led Danni over to her vanity and had her sit next to her as Debbie worked on her own face.
She put on just a trace of makeup; neither of them needed very much, just a little mascara, a touch of powder, blush and lipstick. Debbie had taught Danni very well how to use makeup back home. That had been a fun time for both of them. After that they were both made up they went downstairs. Michelle was on the phone talking. So they made their own breakfast, or at least Debbie made breakfast. Danni felt sicker at the smell of food. She rushed into the downstairs bathroom.
Debbie was confused but Michelle, who had seen everything put her hand over the phone and whispered “Morning Sickness” to her. Michelle hung up the telephone, and explained to Debbie. “Until Danni’s body gets use to the hormones she might suffer from morning sickness from time to time and when ever they change her dosage she could be sick. She mustn’t show this to other girls they might think she is pregnant. By the way we have just been invited to a barbecue after the softball game Friday afternoon. She is crying a lot more too lately, have you noticed?”
“She sure has, Danny use to never cry.”
“That too, is hormonal Debbie.”
“Danni’s skin is getting nicer; I helped her with her makeup today. Her pores are finer, she is softer and smoother. I just love that Michelle, she is taking better care of her skin too.”
Danni came into the room. Michelle got her to try some toast; she managed to keep it down barely.
“I know you feel horrible now Danni, but it will get better. It is your hormones doing it Danni.” Michelle said.
“Yes Doc told me this might happen; it was probably those shots I got yesterday. My tits are itching and I can’t get to them to scratch em under the breast forms.”
Michelle sympathized with Danni, she knew what he was going through, “Yes Danni, we know what you mean about itching; it is good you can’t scratch them, it wouldn’t do any good anyway. How is your hand by the way?”
“Sore, but I will live.”
Debbie and Danni grew closer together than they ever were before; they got together and went out for a morning walk. Debbie taught her all sorts of things she needed to know, especially how girls and guys interact. They tried to do things together everyday. Danni liked being with Debbie and Aunt Michelle.
Danni joined the team at practices and games now. Amy got her into helping the team. She assisted the coach, at workouts and took care of all the equipment. She became a favorite of the players, always encouraging them. When they weren’t on the field Angela could be found at her side. She loved going to their games and watching.
Away from the field, her new girlfriends would go shopping, trolling the malls, and going out to eat. She went to their houses and they came over to hers. Aunt Michelle’s swimming pool and Jacuzzi were popular sites for the girls. Michelle would invite the team over for sleepovers. They always treated Danni with respect.
The parents loved Danni too, on top of her relationship with Angela, she baby sat many of their children she seemed to have a way with even the most difficult kids.
Danni started working out more and her fitness was approaching her previous levels. She got a new bike and rode it during the day and she would swim on days her friends weren’t playing or practicing. As she worked out it was easy to see she had lost some strength, but she was as quick and fast as she had been. The PT gave her some upper body exercises to strengthen her, they her helped a lot. The coach asked her when she could start playing again, but she deftly avoided that question.
Danni was a little frightened but decided to be open with the coach. She invited her home and asked her to come by herself for a talk. Danni got some news clippings and things ready. Michelle joined Amy and Danni in the sitting room as they talked.
“I know you are wondering why I am not going to play Coach Amy. Please don’t tell anyone what I am telling you, but I owe you an explanation about it. You see I wasn’t born a girl. I sustained an injury back home and as a result of the injuries I was basically castrated.”
Danni gave Amy some news clippings from the paper for her to read. She read them without comment till she finished. “your not one of the three boys were you?”
“No I was the boy who rescued the girl being attacked, The boys who attacked the girl, have all plead guilty to sexual assault and are serving their sentences in prison after they are released from the hospital.”
“In the hospital, what happened to them?”
“I happened to them. There were three boys, two seventeen and an eighteen year old; I took out a knee, hit one in the crotch, and shattered a rib cage, with my bat.”
“What happened to you Danni?”
“I went to help the girl who was attacked and took a stiletto heel to the crotch four times. I nearly died from blood loss but they saved me. They just couldn’t save my boy parts. After we talked to the doctors we decided it would easier for me to become a girl. Back home I use to play short stop for my high school baseball team Amy. I was pretty good at it too.”
“I bet you were good. So Danni are you on hormones now, since you don’t have any boy parts left?”
“Yes Ma’am, I have been on estrogen and other hormones for close to two months now. I am going to go to school here so I can be a girl full time. It would have been too hard to continue school back home as a girl.”
“So why can’t you play softball?”
“I am not a girl coach Amy.”
“As far as I am concerned you are. I will check district rules, but if you live as a girl, you look like a girl and you certainly act like a girl; to me you are a girl. I would never have guessed otherwise. You are a little bit of a tom boy, but you act feminine enough. I also coach the girls high school team Danni and unless I find out otherwise I want you on my team. You can work with the team though and practice with us. No need telling anybody else on the team either.”
Danni started working out with the team in late July. She took fielding and batting practice. She was a little rusty and the bigger ball took some getting use to. Batting gave her the biggest problem as she got use to the speed the balls approached home; she was fouling off more balls.
Danni and Aunt Michelle visited the school she would go to. Coach Amy met them there and took them to the Vice principle Myra Kingston’s office. They sat and talked for a couple of hours. Danni told her the reason for her transfer, not wanting to hide anything. Danni’s new legal identification had come in from Michelle’s attorney, along with Michelle’s legal guardianship, so Danni was officially registered as a girl for the fall.
Much to Danni’s dismay, the Vice Principle requested that Danni start as a freshman, instead of a sophomore. She said it would help Danni’s socialization to start as a freshman. She also told Danni that without any prohibiting medical condition she would be expected to take all the courses any other girl would take. That would mean taking PE or other substitute courses. She stated there would be no mention of my previous status as a boy: or even any documentation of that fact in official school records. As far as anybody is concerned Danni is and always has been a girl.
Ms. Kingston and Coach Amy asked Danni a few questions and started working on her schedule of classes for the fall. They helped Danni choose her math, history, English, science, music, home EC and PE. Danni cringed at home EC but they convinced her that it would help her get along with the other girls. They hand picked her teachers getting her into classes with the better teachers.
With school registration taken care of, Danni was informed that this school requires uniforms. They were given a list of vendors and their locations. Girls could wear selected Polo shirts, blouses, skirts, jumpers or slacks, in school colors, plus white, khaki, navy or black. No shorts except in PE and skirts no shorter than three inches above the floor when kneeling. There was no room for individuality but they strove for decency and civility. For the legs, knee socks, or pantyhose and tights, no fishnet stockings allowed. The allowed shoes trainers solid white or black colored piping allowed as long as it is not extreme, oxfords, Mary Jane’s as long as no heels over two inches, no sandals. Girls are allowed makeup as long as it isn’t extreme.
Aunt Michelle and Danni went out and got a good selection of the allowed items. Debbie giggled when she saw what was allowed, the school she would be finishing at wasn’t as restrictive in dress.
Debbie and Danni were excited to hear that their Mom would be arriving for three weeks vacation. Michelle took both kids to the beauty parlor and shopping to get them ready for her arrival.
to be continued
Danni and her family come to grips with all the changes that have occured. Along the way she even has the opportunity to help Gina.
Safe at First Ch. 4
by
Paula Dillon
Danni and Debbie were excited as they headed to the airport. It had been a long two months since they left Mom to visit Aunt Michelle. Michelle was also excited to see her sister and was anxious for her to see her children. They both had matured very nicely Michelle thought.
Danni had insisted that they dress to the nines when they went to pick up their Mom. All three had gone to a salon and had their hair done; Danni and Debbie looked so precious. Danni’s hair was done in a French twist with lots of tight curls hanging from it, she looked like she was fit to go to a prom or formal dance but it looked good on her. Debbie’s hair was done in a French braid that stylish but very mature. Michelle had a soft wave permanent that left her hair full of body and shine in a page boy.
Their clothing was outstanding. Danni wore a two piece suit in a black pin stripe; the skirt was fitted and hit her at mid thigh. Danni seemed fond of suits instead of some of the flashier teen clothes she could have picked. She also wore off black pantyhose that made her legs look simply divine and black patent leather pumps with a three inch heel made her look older. Danni had done her own makeup, she had gotten very good at it, and she looked very nice. Her eyes were simply beautifully done as she had blended her eye shadows, added mascara, eyeliner, tweezed her brow in a feminine arch and touched them up with a pencil. She looked twenty in many ways. Her nails were professionally done and made her hands look dainty and very feminine.
Not to be out done Debbie was dressed similarly, she wasn’t as suit crazy but her dress fit her nicely. It was her little black dress that had spaghetti straps a square neck and an inverted-V hemline. It was a little more risqué than Michelle liked, but she looked good in it and after all she wasn’t going out with a guy looking like that. Debbie wore pumps with only an inch and a half heel, but they were so pretty on her feet.
Michelle dressed in a suit also. She often wore them to meetings and such and she fit in nicely with the kids. She was very happy at how they all looked.
Danni tried so hard to fit in. It was easy for her to see the changes the hormones had done to her body. She still needed the breast forms but her waist, hips, face and skin texture were showing the changes she was going through.
They parked in the short term lot at the airport and made their way to terminal. Watching Danni walk it would have been hard to believe that she had been a boy in April. She had a very feminine walk, not overstated but nice.
They checked the monitors and found the gate Barbra would be arriving at. They went as far as security would allow them to go and waited for her to appear. They were about fifteen minutes early so they had to wait as passengers from several other planes deplaned. They gave each other a once over to make sure they all looked good.
The wait was unbearable as they watched the passengers come down the hall. Everyone held their collective breath as another group of passengers come their way. It seemed like it took forever and then they saw Barbra coming their way. Danni ran to her Mom when she passed the security gate shouting, “Momma!”
Barbra heard her shout and it took a few seconds to realize that the person shouting was her Danni, and shouted, “Danni!?!” She dropped her carry on and bent down to catch her daughter. It didn’t take long for their makeup to be streaked and smudged but they were elated. Debbie and Michelle joined in the group hug. They were all like little girls meeting their long lost friends.
It took them several seconds before they realized that a camera flash was going off and they turned to see that Stephanie had come too and was taking everybody’s picture. Danni saw her and ran over to her and hugged her also.
“Dr. Stephanie! It is so good seeing you too.” Danni said. Her eyes sparkling as she looked at her friend.
“It is so good seeing you to Danni, you look great girl.”
“Thank you Ma’am you look super too. I have missed you and Mom so much but I have learned so much.”
“I can see that, now go back to your Mom, she has missed being with you so much.”
Danni did that. They all cried as they were so happy to be together again. Soon they all gathered their composure and got Barbra’s and Stephanie’s carry on bags. They headed to the luggage carousel after stopping off at the ladies room to take care of their business and to fix their faces. It took quite awhile as Danni’s face needed a lot of work. The girls just stood there watching her as she made herself gorgeous. They all applauded her work.
“My, how you have grown so much,” Barbra said.
It was true Danni had grown an inch and a half in height and the hormones were putting flesh on her in all the right places.
“Yes she has hasn’t she, and she looks so happy too Barbra,” Stephanie added.
“You two won’t believe how much she has changed,” Michelle said.
“I am glad to hear that, I was so worried about her. She seems to have done a good job down here. It might have been so hard on her back home but she has really blossomed here. Don’t you think so Barbra?” Stephanie asked.
“Yes she has. I have missed her and Debbie so much.”
Finally presentable, they all left to pick up their luggage and headed to Aunt Michelle’s car.
“Why did you come here Dr. Stephanie?” Danni asked.
“I wanted to have one group session with all of you and your current doctor. I also wanted to ask you to do a favor for me, Danni. Plus this is a great vacation for me too. It’s a working vacation that I can deduct as a business expense.”
“You're staying with us, aren’t you,” Danni asked.
“I haven’t planned on it. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You must stay with us Stephanie,” Michelle insisted, “I have plenty of room in my house. I insist and it will give you a better opportunity to observe everybody.”
“Ok, you have talked me into it.”
With Stephanie’s acquiescence, the car full of women headed to Michelle’s home. The kids told their Mom about everything that had happened since they had been down here. Stephanie made mental notes of what was said and what she heard as she listened.
“Oh my, you certainly do have plenty of room,” Stephanie said as they drove up to Michelle’s home.
“Yes, my husband was in aerospace stuff. He died in an experimental aircraft he built for himself, four years ago and left me well enough off.”
Michelle got everyone situated in their own bedroom. The kids took their Mom in the bedroom nearest Michelle and Stephanie in a bedroom further down the hall.
Michelle then asked, “Would you two like to rest before dinner?”
“That sounds very nice.” Stephanie said.
The kids gravitated to their Mom’s room.
“Danni, I can’t believe how well you look and adjusted dear. What has been happening?” Barbra asked.
Danni gave her a condensed version of what had gone on. Barbra was impressed with her candor and openness; it was so unlike the old Danny. They talked for about thirty minutes.
“Mom, I am going to check on Dr. Stephanie, I will leave you with Debbie.” Danni said sensing that her sister needed some Mom time too.
Debbie and Mom hugged Danni, as she left to go to Stephanie’s room.
Danni knocked on Stephanie’s door. She opened it and invited Danni in. They sat on the bed and had a long chat about things; Stephanie was very interested on how Danni was doing.
“Danni, I would like you to do me a favor. I know you are going to go to school here this fall but I want you to come back with me for a few days and talk to Gina. Things have been hard for her. I want to show her that you have come out good. I am not suggesting that you come out to everyone but I think it would help her to see that not everything turned out so badly. She needs a reason to keep on going right now.”
“How is she Doc?”
“She is better than she was right after the attack, but it seems like she just wants to give up on life Danni. She still worries about what she did to you. It would really help her if she saw that she didn’t ruin your life.”
“If it is ok with Mom and I get back before school starts. I guess it would be good.”
“Thank you Danni, I know this has all been so hard on you, but you are really shinning now girl.”
The phone rang and Danni was the first to answer. “Hello. Oh hi Heather, sure I can watch Angela if she can go out to eat with us. My Mom and a friend came down and we are going out to eat. Sure she can still go with us. Just get her in a nice dress. Ok, your welcome.”
“I need to go tell Mom and Aunt Michelle that Angela will be going with us.”
“Who is Angela?”
“Oh you’ll just love Angela; she is Heather’s six year old daughter. She is such a sweet kid.”
Stephanie just had to smile as Danni left. She had turned out so well. She was just a typical teenage girl in so many ways, but more mature in other ways.
Danni, Michelle and Barbra were at the door as Heather dropped off Angela. Angela ran to Danni and jumped into her arms. She was dressed in a pretty pink, white and blue party dress. Heather talked with Barbra and Michelle as Danni took Angela to the TV room.
“Hello Heather, I am Barbra; Danni and Debbie are my children.”
“I just love your children Barbra, especially Danni. She is such a sweet girl and Angela loves her a lot.”
“I can see that, Danni is special but I love both my children.”
“I know what you mean; I wouldn’t trade any of my kids away. Kimmie, my other daughter is just as important to me as Angela. Well I got to get on the road I have a meeting to go to and I hope you don’t mind keeping Angela for me?”
“No, if Danni wants her to be with us then it is ok with me,” Barbra said.
Danni was having fun with Angela. They were watching a cartoon movie on TV. You couldn’t get a piece of paper in between the two and Angela’s face was beaming with a smile as she was held.
Soon Michelle informed them that it was time to get ready for dinner. Angela went to Danni’s room to help her get ready. Danni was still nicely dressed from earlier and just needed to fix her face. Angela watched as Danni cleaned off her old makeup and redid her face. She even put a spot of makeup on Angela just a little foundation, powder, some pink lipstick and some pink nail polish. Danni put the pink lipstick in her purse along with her coral blush lipstick and they met the others by the front door.
Barbra fawned over little Angela. “Such a pretty little girl you are and I see you like my little girl too.”
“Danni is my friend; I love her lots and lots.”
Danni told her, “I love you lots and lots too Angela.”
They all climbed into Michelle’s car and buckled up Angela in the back between Danni and Stephanie. They drove to a very nice restaurant. Danni told Angela that she had to be on her best behavior and act like a little lady. Angela promised that she would.
They had a wonderful meal Barbra was mesmerized by how both her children had matured and how well Danni and Angela got along. They chatted amiably away while they ate. Angela imitated everything that Danni did at the table, trying to look proper. It was easy to see the child adored Danni.
“Angela you are such a pretty and proper little lady,” Barbra said.
“Thank you Ma’am, I try.”
“Yes you are, and you’re doing a very good job. Danni she is so sweet.”
“She has a big sister named Kimberly; she is on the softball team I am working with. Angela is like the mascot for the team.”
“Tell me Danni, what are you doing with the softball team?” Stephanie asked.
“Well I help out as an equipment manager and also help in practices, you know mostly fielding, throwing and hitting the ball for them, oh I keep score sheets for them too. I am only about 90% recovered now but I am doing better.”
“How are you getting along with the other kids Danni?” she asked.
“Great, I was surprised at how things went. Angela was responsible for a lot of it weren’t you.”
Angela frowned a little, “I said I was sowwy Danni.”
“I wasn’t complaining dear, I was just explaining how you helped me make friends with the whole team. You see Stephanie, she wandered on the field during practice. I went to get her so she wouldn’t be hurt and the coach hit a screaming line drive that would have hit Angela in the head. I dove for the ball and caught it bare handed and threw the ball home.”
“Danni dun weal good,” Angela said smiling and giggling.
“I say she did Heather, Angela’s Mom, whom ya’ll already met, brought Danni home. Her hand was red and sore. Minutes later my whole home had thirty, forty, I don’t know maybe fifty people in it. Everyone was saying what a hero Danni was. They ordered pizza and drinks and we sort of had a party,” Michelle added. “They even cleaned my home before they left. What Danni left out was she caught the ball inches away from Angela’s head; she rolled and threw a bullet home. It was like she was playing in some big league game.”
“Oh my, I can see why the people love you here,” Barbra said.
“I see a pattern to you Danni, I am glad I got a chance to get to know you,” Stephanie said. “You see a problem and without thinking about it you react without concern for your own health, to help other people. Would you say that, that is an accurate assumption?”
“I guess your right. I just do what needs to be done.”
“Yes you do Danni. Yes you do.” Stephanie said.
The women finished their meal and headed back home. Danni and Angela went to finish the cartoon movie and the rest went to the kitchen for coffee and conversation. Stephanie told the rest what she has planned for them. She had been in contact with Dr. Valerie Tanner, everybody’s psychiatrist down here about having a group session with everyone present to go over issues that each person was facing. She also talked about Danni coming back for a few days to see Gina before school starts. Barbra wasn’t thrilled about having Danni come back to visit Gina, but Stephanie persuaded her to allow it.
“Michelle does Heather know about Danni?”
“No, but Danni told Coach Amy and Vice Principal Myra Kingston knows. Danni told them basically everything.” Michelle said. “It doesn’t look like there will be any problems. In fact they seemed to have made things easier.”
“That is good, the fewer people that know the better. She shouldn’t have to explain herself or to justify herself to everybody. I am impressed with her recovery so far.”
Heather picked up Angela and everybody went on to bed.
Danni rose first the next morning. She got dressed in a skort and blouse, and went downstairs to fix breakfast. She whipped up some pancake batter and cooked sausage for pigs in blankets. Debbie came down, started the coffee and OJ. Michelle came down, set the table placing strawberry preserves and real maple syrup on the table. Lastly Barbra and Stephanie made their way down as Danni finished cooking. Everyone dug in and had a wonderful breakfast.
“I have a surprise for everyone,” Michelle said, “Including you Stephanie if you like; I have three day passes for everyone at Disney World. It is only an hour drive from here, so we can go there, get three rooms and have some fun.”
“I think that is wonderful,” Stephanie said, “I have never been there, but you have got to let me pay for myself. I can use it for a business deduction. When we get back we can have our little group session.”
The others agreed that it was a good idea. They all pitched in cleaning up from breakfast and headed to their rooms to pack their bags for a trip. Danni called Heather and told her she would be out of town with her Mom and Sis. In an hour all the arrangements were made. Michelle got her Suburban out of the garage. They packed it with all they needed and hit the road.
It was good to see Barbra letting go with her kids. She began to realize that things would really be ok with her family and her world really hadn't come to an end. This trip was a real healing experience for her. Debbie and Danni really got along well. They interacted a lot seeing that they soon would be separated at least until Christmas. They all found out that Stephanie was a bit of a prankster and an instigator. She fitted in so well with them.
In three days they went on about a hundred rides, caught four shows, and played about a thousand games it seemed. They swam, they played and they all let loose. They were more of a family than they had been in ages. It seemed like they were five kids rather than two kids and three adults.
It was a completely tired group that headed back to Michelle’s home. Everybody retreated to their own rooms for a nap before dinner. Stephanie made a couple of calls before she laid down for her nap. She called Dr. Tanner and arranged for her to come here for a group session the day after tomorrow. She also called her personal answering service to check for her messages. She was very pleased with all that had gone on down here so far.
The time they all spent together went by rapidly. They were a big family again. Michelle loved being with her sister and all the love and affection that Barbra received lifted her spirits. It almost seemed like it never happened except for the present makeup of that family.
Dr. Tanner showed up early on the date of their session. She and Dr. Thompson were together comparing notes before the group session. Valerie was very impressed by her colleague’s impressions and the stories she related of their mutual vacation. When they were both satisfied they went to get the others together.
They all met in the living room. Valerie started the session by explaining what they were trying to accomplish. They wanted each person to basically tell the rest whatever they wanted them to know. What they felt, what they believed, what they wanted in life and such.
“Danni, since you are the main character in this drama, I would like you to start by telling us what you remember from the incident and we will go on from there,” Valerie started.
“Well it started as me, my sister Debbie and a neighbor Shelley were going home after a ball game. As we were crossing a field I heard a muffled scream coming from behind the bleachers. I saw three boys, one was holding someone down, another was you know I don’t really want to describe what he was doing. Is that ok?”
“He was raping a girl, that is all we need to know Danni.” Valerie said.
“Yes and the third one was standing, getting ready to switch places, I think. I ran over there taking my bat. These guys were big; a lot bigger than I was, but for some reason I wasn’t afraid. I don’t know but it seemed they were moving in slow motion and I was in hyper drive. I hit the guy standing first. I hit him with the bat at his knee. I could hear the bones crushing when I hit him. He went down fast.”
“The second guy I hit was the one who was holding the girl down. He started to stand after I hit the first guy. I swung the bat like a gold club and caught him in the crotch. I remember his expression as my bat hit; it was horrible. I still see his face sometimes.”
“The third guy was in a bit of a fix. His pants were at his knees and prevented him standing too fast. He looked pissed that I had interrupted him. But I turned and caught him with the bat in the rib cage. I felt the bat hit him and sink into his side some and heard his ribs crack.”
“I looked around at the boys lying there, they weren’t moving much so I dropped my bat. I looked over to the girl lying there. It was Gina Thompson but I would never have guessed it was her. She was bleeding from the nose and her clothes were all ripped up. I wanted to help her but didn’t know what to do, so I walked over to her and reached out my hand. I wanted to help her stand.”
“I don’t remember much after that until a few days later. By then everything was over with and my life had taken a drastic change.”
“For a long time I hated everything that happened to me. I hated what I became and how I now looked. I know that nothing will ever be like it was but I have begun to accept how things will be.”
“That was very good Danni. Tell us how you feel about all the people involved, the guys, the girl, your sister, and your Mom?”
“I hate the guys who started all this happening. I can’t help it but I hate them. I know what happened to them and I can’t feel sorry for them.”
“I was a little mad at Gina. I didn’t really understand why she did what she did, but I don’t blame her so much for what happened. I know now that she was in shock and only reacted to the things that were happening around her. She just saw what she thought was another threat and reacted to that threat. I guess.”
“Debbie she saved my life. If she had not called 911 when she did things could have been a lot worse for me, or so the doctors told me. I love her a lot.”
“Mom did what she had to do. I know she had a lot of hard choices to make and not a whole lot of time to make. I sort of remember being in a daze and people telling me a lot of things. I think it was at this time that I first saw Stephanie but I am not sure, and I sorta remembering telling my Mom that I trusted her decisions. Now I am thankful for the choices she made.”
“Tell us what you remember from your recovery Danni?” Valerie asked.
“Well like I said, it was several days later before the fog my brain was in lifted. My first recollection was I hurt. Then I saw Mom and Debbie there. They looked awful. I could see the worry in their faces and I tried to be strong for them. That is when I really remember Dr. Stephanie also. I liked her very much. Everyone was so much help to me; the doctors and nurses and everyone else. It was amazing seeing all the flowers, balloons and such all over the room.”
“Even Gina came into my room. She looked like death warmed over. I could tell she was afraid of me and for me. It was like she took two steps forward, one step back. She apologized for what she had done. I learned that it was Gina who had done the damage to me. I tried to be strong for her, but inside I was pissed at her too.
“It seemed that I was in the hospital forever, it was only ten days, they told me. A whole bunch of people were at my home when we arrived there. The whole baseball team my friends and neighbors were all there. It felt great that they all came there for me. I was glad that they didn’t know all that happened to me. I was afraid of how they would react if they knew. Nobody did though and they were all great.”
“Lots of kids came by my house. My teachers did too. They all helped me catch up on my school work and helped me pass all my classes.”
“When and why did you decide to transition to being a girl?”
“Well it was during one of my talks with Dr. Stephanie. She emphasized that I needed to be on hormones either male or female to continue to grow and such. I was never a big guy. The doctors told me that I was pre-pubescent. Is that right Stephanie?” Danni asked.
Dr. Thompson nodded her head to Danni’s question.
“I would never be a normal guy. I couldn’t even shower with guys anymore at school. Dr. Stephanie and I went over the pros and cons over and over again. It seemed that the only way to have a normal life would be to become a girl. It wasn’t my first choice, but I guess it was my best choice. I cried a lot before and after I made that choice. I hid it as much as I could but I know my Mom and sister knew it. We had a family meeting with Dr. Stephanie there and I told them what I wanted. We talked for hours that day. I wasn’t sure about it even after I said it but looking back I know it was right. Now I am legally Danni Marie Webster.”
Everyone but Valerie and Stephanie was crying by this time. Michelle had made sure though that there were plenty of boxes of tissues there.
“Okay that is enough form you for now Danni, we will get back to you though. Now Debbie it is your turn.
Debbie started the story from her point of view. “I was pissed at having to be there for my brother. I don’t like sports at all, but Mom always insisted that we come home after Danni’s games together. Shelley and I sat in the bleachers at the baseball field while the game was going on. That was the only thing that made it bearable to me. Shelley is my best friend back home and our neighbor. We met Daniel at the door to the locker room and left for the walk home. We heard the noise a muffled scream and Daniel was off. I always walked home with a cell phone in my hands. I had 911 on speed dial. Mom insisted that I always carry my phone. Well when he dropped his glove and shoes before heading over to where the noise came I hit my 911 speed dial. I told the operator that I thought there was a rape going on under the bleachers by the football field. He kept me online as he notified the authorities and while my brother was doing his thing. I nearly came unglued when I saw Daniel go down. I ran to him while I was talking to the operator. I don’t know what happened, I think I threw the phone down to help Daniel. He was out cold and I couldn’t see well enough to tell he was bleeding.”
“The police and the EMT’s arrived fast. They started checking everybody. I really came unglued when that stupid cop cuffed my brother. I don’t know but I believed I started beating on that cop. They wouldn’t listen to me and I was livid. They wouldn’t let me ride with Daniel in the ambulance. Finally a detective came and listened to my story. He called the other cops on the radio and told them what he thought. Somewhere in all that I found my phone and called Mom, I told her what happened. She came and picked me and Shelley up and drove us to the hospital. Mom raised total hell with the nurse at the desk till they let her back to where Daniel was. I wanted to go too so I screamed and shouted till I was given some kind of injection and wow I didn’t know what was going on for a while.”
“What do you feel about what has happened Debbie?” Valerie asked.
“I blamed myself for a lot of what happened. Daniel getting hurt, him being cuffed too and him having to go through all that surgery.”
“Do you think it was realistic, that this was all your fault?”
“No, but I can’t help the way I felt. All though he was my little brother and he was a pain in the butt at times, I still loved him. When he got hurt I felt that I let him down.”
“How do you feel about all the changes that have been made?” Valerie asked.
“At first it made me feel even worse although I tried not to show it. It seemed like he had a little reluctance to the changes at first. It showed in the little things he did. He tried to act strong but I could tell he was in upset over the changes. It hurt me that he was being forced to do something he dreaded.”
“It wasn’t to long though I think he started to accept those changes and I felt better. I did everything I could to make him feel accepted by me and my friends. I even twisted some arms of people who he wanted to see but were a little afraid too.”
“When he started on female hormones I tried to teach him all sort of girl things. He soaked it up like a sponge and I could almost swear he liked it. It was at this time I really started treating her as my kid sister instead of my brother. I can’t believe how close we have grown and how much she has matured since then. I love Danni so much and I am glad she is my sister.”
“Thank you Debbie. Now I want to hear from Michelle since she has also been seeing me about this. Then I will let Dr. Thompson work with Barbra for a while. Now Michelle, tell us what you know?” Valerie asked.
“Well I guess it was about a week after it all happened, before Barbra called me. I wanted to drop everything to come up there to be with her but she talked me out of it. I feel I should have anyway. She went over what happened to Danni and how she felt. I just let her cry to me over the phone. It was so hard to be so far away when I realized how my sister was hurting. We talked almost daily after that for the next month or so. You should have seen my phone bill. I at least made her call me collect or I called her most of the time. I think our chats made her feel better. I guess it was the middle of May when I called her and she told me that Danni was going to transition.”
“I knew the implications of a boy becoming a girl in the community he grew up in. I started planning for Danni to come here and to start school here the next fall. She didn’t say it out loud but I think that was on Barbra’s mind too. She was just afraid to ask it. We both wanted to protect Danni as much as was possible.”
“I finally broached the subject with Barbra. She admitted that she wanted that to happen she just didn’t know how to ask it of me. I love both of her kids and would do anything for them. They usually come here once a summer for a vacation lasting two or three weeks. I talked her into sending them here at the beginning of the summer. It would give Danni the greatest chance of making friends with the kids she would be going to school with. I had two bedrooms cleaned and painted in girl’s fashion and had furniture that was appropriate for girls their ages. I had everything ready for them when they got here.”
“I was excited when I saw the kids. It was easy to see that they were both scared and hurt when they arrived but they were also happy to be here. Poor Danni he really was like a boy in a skirt when he first got here. He tried hard though and as the meds did their work on his head. With your help and a whole lot of love Danni began to blossom. I talked with Barbra almost daily although she only talked to the kids every few days or so. She wanted to know everything the kids were doing. She was so excited when I told her about what happened at the ball field and about all the friends that Danni had made that day.”
“It was after that that we made plans firm plans for Danni to go to school here. Barbra thought though that it wouldn’t be fair to Debbie to make her change schools in her senior year. I had to agree with her. It would also make Danni have to stand on her own two feet for Debbie to go back to Texas while she went to school here. I think that is right also.”
“I will do whatever it takes to help Danni, Debbie and my sister Barbra.”
“Ok Dr. Thompson, your turn.”
“Ok Barbra, we have heard from your children and your sister. I know this is hard on you. It was harder on you than the others know, but we need to hear from you.”
“I will remember that day for the rest of my life. I had had a hard day at work and I was relaxing at home when Debbie called. She was awfully confusing at first. I had a hard time understanding her, she was shouting in the phone. What I did understand was Daniel was hurt, there was a rape and he was being cuffed. I finally got Debbie to tell me where she was and I went and picked her up and drove to the hospital. There were several in the area and it was only luck that I drove to the one where Daniel was. I came close to tearing that nurse a new… Well I won’t say the word I was going to say but to say the least I was very upset the nurse wouldn’t tell me where my son was and let me see him. When I got a chance to see him my heart almost stopped. They had him on an exam table and his feet were in stirrups. The doctors were feverishly trying to stop his bleeding. It was then that I realized how close Danni came to dying.”
“I remember getting on Terri Anderson’s case when she came up to me. It was her daughter Gina who had hurt my Danni. My claws came out if you know what I mean. I was mad at the world. I could have killed the boys who raped Gina. It was their fault all this had happened. It was good I didn’t see Gina until I had a chance to cool down. It was like my whole world was ending for a while.”
“Doctors talked to me about things but I was in a daze too much to intelligently speak about what they said. I just know that I had to make decisions that affected my children’s lives and none of us were really equipped to make those decisions at the time.”
“Everything seemed to be going in a direction I had no control over. I was just an observer not a participant. I had failed as a parent to protect my children. I wasn’t worthy of the responsibility of my own children. I wanted to die for a while.”
“I grew old in a hurry but I also grew stronger. I realized both of my kids would need me to be there for them. My boss was great. He gave me as much time as I needed before I came back to work and he still paid me. Since their father had died two years ago I have been very protective of my kids and I realized that they needed me more now than ever. That is what kept me alive. I couldn’t die and not be there to help my kids.”
“Since they have been here in Florida it has been very hard on me I still needed to work. Work was good for me. It got my problems off my mind for long periods of time. I was overjoyed to hear from Michelle. She was my life line; she gave me strength to go on.”
“I know now we are going to make it. Debbie is going to go home with me and Danni is going to go to school here. Next summer I am going to sell the home in Texas and move here. Hopefully Debbie will come here to go to college. Michelle and I are working out the details right now. Michelle has been so good to me.”
They all continued talking. They went on for about four hours. When Stephanie and Valerie finally called an end to it, the four girls had a big group hug and cried on each others shoulders. It had been a good session and both doctors were pleased with the way things went.
Stephanie and Valerie went out and had a drink so they could decompress and share notes. Most people don’t realize how draining a session like that is to their psychiatrists. Many of them see other psychiatrists to share their loads within the limits of their professional restraints. They were good together and for each other.
It was late when Stephanie got back to Michelle’s home. Danni was there to let her in even before she could knock. Danni just hugged her and said thanks as they walked hand in hand towards Stephanie’s room. Danni kissed her cheek before she left her at her room.
The next day everybody made plans to go back to Texas. Michelle refused to stay in Florida while the others returned and she made everyone’s travel plans. What good is money if you can’t spend it to help your family?
Michelle thought it best if everyone stayed in a hotel for Dr. Thompson’s next plans. Stephanie had to agree with that idea. They didn’t really want to alert the whole town that Danni was back. It was agreed that the kids’ closest friends could be notified and invited over after they had had their session with Gina and Terri. Michelle planned for her and Danni to spend three days there to get what they wanted to bring back and say their goodbyes, before they returned to Florida.
Finally, they were all packed up and a limousine came to pick them up. They headed to the airport and caught their flight back to Texas.
Stephanie had to leave them at the airport in Houston. Her Jag just couldn’t accommodate them all. Michelle rented a Lincoln Towncar and drove them to their hotel. They shared two rooms. Michelle and Danni were in one room and Barbra and Debbie in the other. Tomorrow morning they would meet Terri and Gina at Stephanie’s office. They were all exhausted, so they went to bed early.
The next morning Danni got up early and started working on her appearance. She didn’t usually dress frilly, she liked a conservative look but today she wanted to look as feminine as possible. She was excited and scared about what was going to happen today. She fixed her hair with tons of curls and fullness. Then she got herself into her green satin corset, nude color stockings and a matching panty. Then she dressed in a Kelly green chiffon dress with ankle strap pumps with a three inch heel that matched the dress. It was not really appropriate for wear this early in the day but she looked really great in it. Her makeup was impeccable, she had used every trick she had picked from all the girls who had helped her to look great. She added accessories as she deemed appropriate, a heart shape locket that had a picture of her Mom and one of her aunt, her sister and herself in it, a misty green translucent scarf, a few gold bangles, heart shaped drop earrings, and a couple of rings.
She woke her Aunt with a kiss to her cheek and a soft hug.
Michelle woke and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before she looked closely at Danni. She had a big smile on her face as she focused in on her. “Oh my, Danni you look gorgeous dear, you have really set the bar high for the rest of us girls,” Michelle said, “Thank you for that sweet wake up.”
“Your welcome, Auntie. I liked doing it.”
The hotel rooms the four shared were adjoining rooms and had a door connecting them. Danni then went into her Mom’s and Debbie’s room and gently woke them with a hug and a kiss.
Everyone got up and started getting ready for the day. Michelle asked Danni to call room service and order breakfast for everyone. She found the hotel menu and made selections for everyone. She had learned well since becoming a girl what everyone’s favorite breakfast was. Before the changes she'd never really paid that any attention, but now it seemed important to her. She had learned to pay attention to details like never before.
Their food arrived to Michelle’s room as the rest of the family was finishing getting ready. They praised Danni on her thoughtfulness as they sat to eat. They took their time eating; Danni had to eat slowly because of the corset. That was one benefit to wearing it, other than the nice figure it gave her, her posture and the enhancement to her bust. She really cared how she looked now, and finally understood what her Mom and sister went through to look nice.
Her good looks seemed to bring cheer to the rest of her family, too. They understood that she accepted that this was a part of her and that she was happy like this.
They finished eating, fixed their faces, and checked their appearances before heading out. It was Danni’s first time out in her home town dressed as such. She knew she would be running into people that had known her as Daniel, but she didn’t let that bother her. She was as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but she went out proudly and held her head up high. The four of them grabbed lots of attention. Barbra and Debbie even got calls of recognition from the people they passed. They would stop and be pleasant, Barbra would introduce her sister and niece to them and then they would move on. Nobody saw a boy pretending to be a girl.
They made it to Stephanie’s office; her receptionist led the foursome right in to see her. Stephanie was too stunned to speak at first. She had wanted Danni to look nice, but she was beyond description.
“Danni you look great. I never expected you to look this good.”
“Thank you Ma’am, but everyone here looks good too, even yourself.”
“Thank you Danni. I want ya’ll to move into the other office and wait there. Gina and Terri will be here shortly. I want to talk to them for a few minutes and then I will bring Danni in and then the rest of you. Ok?”
They all followed Dr. Stephanie into another room. It was comfortable but a little plain compared to her office. They sat patiently and waited for the call. Danni picked up a copy of Today’s Girl and started thumbing through it. She wasn’t really reading it but she used it to keep her mind occupied.
After about twenty minutes the tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. They were about to despair that they would be in there forever when the door opened and Dr. Stephanie entered. She spoke briefly to them, telling them that it was time. Danni and Stephanie entered her office. Terri and Gina sat in front of the desk.
“Gina I told you I had someone I wanted you to meet. I will let her introduce herself.”
Gina had a strange frightened look on her face, not one of recognition. Terri just looked confused.
“Hello Gina, I know you might not believe it but we do know each other. I don’t know how to say it any other way than except to say that I am Danni.”
Terri realized first who it was that stood before them. She gasped before her breath caught in her throat. Gina looked more confused for several seconds.
“Yes Gina, I am Danni Grant. I use to be Daniel.”
“Is this some kinda sick joke Dr. Thompson,” Gina shouted.
Gina’s face was filled with rage and anger. Everyone included Terri was shocked at her outburst except for Danni.
“No Gina, it is not a sick joke,” Danni said, “This is what I have become and I am happy with who I am now. My injuries were so severe I had little choice but to become as I am. I hold no ill will to anyone over it; not even against you Gina. I wanted you to see that I am well and that I am ok with what I have become. I wanted you to know that you can become whole too, to go on with no regrets in life.”
Gina sat and looked at Danni quietly for several minutes. Danni just smiled at the girl before her. The silence was deafening as seconds went by like hours. Finally Gina broke into tears and jumped up and flung herself into Danni’s arms. She cried on Danni’s shoulders for several minutes in a hug that made the corset seem too loose. Danni just let her cry. She could feel her let go of her hate, fear and anger.
Terri was amazed; her daughter was more animated than she had been since before her attack. Gina had seemingly crawled into a hole and pulled the hole in behind her. Now Gina seemed to be emerging from that hole. This remarkable person, Danni, it seemed had saved her daughter again. Stephanie moved the two girls over to her couch and had them sit down. Gina still clung to Danni.
Dr. Stephanie brought in the rest of the family. Terri and Barbra hugged and looked upon their daughters. After what seemed like an hour but was really only about fifteen minutes, the two girls started talking. At first their conversations seemed a little stilted, but as time went on they became more comfortable talking together. They talked like no one else was in the room. They began to sound like teenage girls talking.
Soon the others started talking. Danni had to relate to everyone what she had gone through and how she felt. Then Gina started telling everyone what she had gone through. It was like a veil that had lifted from Gina. She still needed more work, but at least she was now headed in the right direction. They parted with a promise from Terri and Gina not to reveal what Danni had shared till she was ready to come out to everyone.
Stephanie let them get themselves together and compose themselves before it was time for them to leave.
It was early in the afternoon when they finally hit the streets again. The four of them got in Michelle’s Lincoln and drove to a nice restaurant. That interview session left them all famished.
“Eat light girls,” Michelle told them, “After something as emotionally draining as that was we need some chocolate therapy.”
“Chocolate therapy?” Danni asked with a little incredulity in her voice.
Michelle leaned close to Danni’s ear and whispered, “It is a girl’s most secret thing to do when emotionally stressed.” She said that as if she was letting Danni in on something that was ultra top secret.
“Yeah Danni, girls get a lot of emotional support from anything chocolate,” Debbie added.
The restaurant was very nice, Mom had never taken the kids to this place before and after looking at menu’s Danni understood why. It wasn’t exactly the most expensive food Danni had ever seen, but it was close to it.
They all looked the place over, Debbie and Barbra even saw some people they knew here. It seemed though that everyone was caught up in their own groups.
Everything at the restaurant went smoothly till it came time to leave. Then Debbie and Danni had gone to the ladies room afterwards to take care of business and fix their faces before leaving. It was there while Danni was still in a stall that she heard.
“Hi Debbie. Are you and your Mom back in town now?”
“Oh hi Christy. Yes we just got in last night. We are staying at the Broderick.”
“That is great. How are ya’ll and how is Danny?”
“We are all doing great. Uh… Danny is doing good, he is still with relatives, and he is still recovering, but my Aunt Michelle Webster and my cousin Marie Webster came back with us for a few days.” Debbie said.
Danni realized that Debbie had used her new middle and last names. She finished getting herself together and exited the stall. As she washed her hands and started to fix her face Debbie exclaimed.
“Oh Marie, you have got to meet one of my friends from high school.”
Danni already knew Christy, she had always been a little aloof from Danny when they were at school but she seemed genuinely interested in meeting Marie. “Hello, you’re Christy right?”
“Yes Christy Allan, Debbie, Danny and I went to school together. We were all so shocked when he got hurt and we couldn’t understand why he had to leave to recover. I have to say I really miss him.”
This was news to Danni she didn’t think anyone would really miss Danny.
“My Marie, but you are hot girl. I love the way you look.”
“Why thank you Christy, I just love that dress on you. You look beautiful in it. Where did you get it?” Danni asked. Christy really did look good in that dress.
“I got it at Nieman Marcus; Mom got it for my birthday. As a matter of fact that is why we are here today.”
“Oh I didn’t know it was your birthday Christy.” Debbie said.
“It is not really, my birthday is this Saturday, but Dad is going out of town for business, so we are celebrating today.”
“Well happy birthday, Christy,” Danni said, “We are in a little of a hurry, but it has been really nice meeting you.”
The girls all hugged and air kissed, before parting.
“You handled yourself well Danni, I think she genuinely likes you,” Debbie said.
“You did ok too, Cousin Debbie.”
“Well it was our cover story for while we are here.”
“She said, she really missed me. She was always so aloof when I was around.”
“Silly that is the way some girls are around someone they like.”
“It is news to me Debbie.”
Barbra and Michelle were waiting patiently for them when they finally showed up. As the four of them were leaving they had to say hello a few times to people they knew and make introductions. Danni passed beautifully with these people. Nobody suspected that she had been a boy.
On the way home they stopped at an ice cream. It was a really retro turn of the century appearing shop. The ice cream was really good there and the waiters and waitresses really hammed it up. They had lots of chocolate. It was good that Danni had the corset on or she would have really had to work off all the weight off. Danni had gained more weight since becoming a girl than she had in the previous year, a product of the hormone therapy.
After ice cream they caught a movie at the local theater. Danni use to like action flicks but now her tastes had changed to more chick flick type films. This left Danni a little confused. She had not really thought about her sexuality yet and she still liked girls. She just didn’t know if it was in the same way she used to feel about them. She also realized that she was starting to notice guys too. It was all so confusing to her; she made a mental note to talk to Valerie about this. Valerie and Stephanie hadn’t brought this up with her yet, Danni guessed that they were waiting for her to broach the subject.
They went to sleep early that night. It had been an emotionally draining day. Tomorrow would not be much better. Several of Debbie’s and Danny’s friends that they agreed to be open with, would be going to spend the day at Six Flags Astro World. Barbra had already talked to the families and informed them how things stood and they had all agreed to keep the secret. There would be Shelley, Paul, Brenda and Arlene. They were mostly Debbie’s friends except for Paul. He had been on the baseball team and was Danni’s closest friend. Danni had also liked Shelley; he had liked her a lot, but had never told her so.
The next day they all dressed comfortably for a long day at the park. Even then Danni looked good. The families all came very early that morning to their hotel rooms for a meeting, a sort of ice breaking session. Danni had been fearful of how they would respond, but they had chosen which friends to tell, a few had actually figured things out themselves.
After the initial introductions had been made and such the kids and olds separated. The kids totally accepted Danni, the parents for the most part did too, but a couple of them were obviously not as comfortable about it as the rest of them. At least they understood the why and they truly seemed like they would do Danni no harm.
Shelley and Paul both seemed to latch on to Danni. She felt very comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time with their attention.
Everyone left for Houston at about nine. They all met up outside the main gates before entering. After receiving money and instructions from their parents the kids went one direction and the olds another.
Danni couldn’t remember having so much fun with these kids before. She was passed among them and had to ride some ride with each of them several times. Paul at times seemed very affectionate, but at least he had made no overt passes nor did he make any inadvertent intimate contact with Danni’s person. They just seemed to fit in well together.
Paul was actually in hog heaven. Here he was with “five world class babes” (his words). He had readily accepted Danni as a girl. That statement brought giggles from the rest.
The kids and the parents met at one of the restaurants in the park for a late lunch before separating for some more fun. Then after dinner there too and everyone thoroughly exhausted, they all called it a day.
The next day Michelle and Danni took Barbra and Debbie home. Danni picked up some things she wanted to take back with them. After a long tearful goodbye, Danni left her old life behind and prepared to begin her new life.
(to be continued)
Tim tells his story about a memorable Christmas.
(Lyrics now included at the end of the story.)
Santa Baby
by
Paula Dillon
I remember Christmas four years ago, very distinctly. How could I forget? That is when my whole life turned topsy-turvy. That was the year that Mom and I went to visit Susan, my sister in Vegas. She was a showgirl there, and invited us down there to catch their show. I just turned twenty one and had never seen my sister’s act here Mom would have killed me.
My name was Tim and even at twenty one I looked a lot like my sister who is twenty five. I have often been told that we could have been identicals except we had different things between our legs, so to speak.
Even now I found it hard to believe that my mom was going with me to see my sister dance bare breasted in a review in Las Vegas, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth. I mean I would get to see a lot of other babes similarly attired. I didn’t get off after all on seeing Susan half naked, but some of her friends, that could be interesting.
Anyway I am chasing rabbits so let me get back to my story.
Mom and I loaded up our old Chevy and drove to Susan’s place. She lived in a pretty nice house just outside Vegas. The place was larger than our home because property outside of the strip wasn’t that expensive there and property taxes were low due to other forms of income the county and state had.
We arrived at her home on the twenty third of December and we had tickets for the late show on the twenty fourth. We could see that she had the home all dolled up for Christmas. I mean she went the whole nine yards. She had all sorts of Christmas lights on the home and yard decorations galore. Inside her Ranch style home there was a huge tree with all the trimmings and tinsel decorations everywhere inside.
Susan was dressed as one of Santa’s elves when we arrived. She wore a figure hugging short red, white fur trimmed, elves’ dress that just covered her derriere and hardly covered her large chest, red tights, red high heeled calf length boots with four inch heels and a red Santa hat. She minced around us when we arrived.
After hugs and kisses Mom and Susan went inside and left me to unload the car. I was alright with that, I mean carrying the heavy loads was a man’s job right. Anyway I got all our bags in the correct bedrooms and we all sat down.
Mom and Susan were chatting ninety miles an hour if you know what I mean. You know how two women get when they hadn’t seen each other in two years or talked together on the phone in the last two days. Mom and Susan were probably responsible though for the telephone company’s last reported profit spike.
It was early there. I am the type that prefers to drive at night on long trips. You just have to watch out for the drunks between midnight and three AM. Susan was expecting us and had a brunch ready for us.
We had all day together till about five, Susan then had to leave and report to work. She was required to be there two hours before her eight o’clock show and then was there already for her ten o’clock show. She said that she would be home by midnight.
I slept in that afternoon to catch up on my zzz’s and missed her departure. I guess I finally got up though about four the next morning. The whole house was quite and I had the house to myself for the next four hours. I never really appreciated how well Susan was doing till I walked around the house that morning just looking at how nice it was.
This house would have cost a cool mint to buy back home. The place just spoke volumes about quality construction and furnishings. I had to smile to myself as I wandered about. She got all of this for dancing half naked I joked to myself.
Susan had been a dance nut since she was about four, I am told. She had taken ballet as a little girl, then modern dance, jazz dance, and ballroom dance later in her life. She always excelled in whatever she did.
I started the coffee pot and worked on getting breakfast ready for everybody at about eight. Mom had insisted that l learn how to cook since I was a little boy, and I have to admit I was a pretty good cook. I could cook as well as anybody in our home and I enjoyed doing it as well. It’s the clean up after cooking I hate, but I do it because no good workman leaves his tools in a mess after using them.
Mom got up at about eight thirty and Sis by nine. I had coffee, juice, milk, biscuits, gravy, hash browns and Spanish omelet’s ready for everybody by then.
Susan ate like she hadn’t eaten in a week, but she did it in a lady-like manner, I would have to say. The meal was wonderful if I may say so myself. There sure weren’t any complaints and everything was gone except the tableware after breakfast.
We all helped clean up and then lazed around the house till about one. Mom and Susan then disappeared to a salon; Susan had set up a makeover for her so she would look great for tonight. So I was again left alone at the house.
I put that time to good use I shook out my suit and tie making sure that there were no wrinkles. I hate wearing wrinkled up suits, fortunately all my clothes came out in good shape. I then spent an hour working on the spit shine on my shoes. They had a fine mile deep shine by the time that Mom and Susan got home. When I saw mom I was struck speechless, I mean she was gorgeous. I had always thought she was a very attractive lady, but tonight she was a babe and she was still only wearing knock around clothes.
Susan had to run to get to work but she told us not to worry about driving there, she had a friend that would drive us and act as a date for me. She told us just to be ready at seven thirty. She even had made dinner reservations for us before the show.
Mom went to her room to start getting ready. I waited about an hour because it didn’t take me that long to “clean up” so to speak. It took about twenty minutes for me to get ship shape and Mom took about another twenty before she came out of her room.
She had looked great when she came home from the salon, she now looked spectacular. There would definitely be a lot of broken hearts in Vegas tonight. All the guys would be sorry not to be going home with her tonight. The floor length gown she wore was like liquid sliver and showed her off like she was a million dollars on top of mile high heels. If she wasn’t my Mom I would have asked her out for a date. There was no way my date would outshine her this night. At least that was what I thought, but I was wrong.
At about five till seven our doorbell rang. Mom answered it and led my date in. I stood there like a gimp staring for a second as this incredibly beautiful girl my age came in the door. I stood there slack jawed till Mom lifted my chin saying down boy the evening is just beginning.
Rebecca’s was dressed similar to Mom only in gold. She was every boy’s wet dream, like some girl from any of those girly magazines. I couldn’t believe I was so lucky to have to two babes on his arms tonight. A real dream come true.
Rebecca took my arm and led us to her car one of those new Mercedes E63 sedans. I helped Mom with her door then I helped Rebecca who waited for me at her door. I then got in the back seat and sat back for the ride.
I can’t say enough about the place we ate. We were treated like visiting royalty, by the waiters and all the staff. I drew a lot of jealous looks from half the males there, the other half were afraid to just look because of the other thing Nevada was famous for the quickie divorces.
Rebecca did her part and fawned over me, like I was her sugar daddy. She even slipped me a hundred dollar chip from Harrah’s to leave on the table as a tip. Susan had arranged everything she said.
We arrived for my sister’s show about twenty minutes early; we had a table near the front. Rebecca then started plying me with booze. Egg Nog with Rum and Brandy was what she ordered. I think they used 150 instead of 80 because I got a buzz real fast. I am not much of a drinker you see.
The show was fabulous even though the women were bare chested it was quite artistic rather than erotic. I was really impressed by the quality and artistry of the show. Susan looked fabulous in all that mass of glitter and feathers. I never realized how much of a looker she was, till then.
I have said all of this and that is not the real story of what happened that Christmas. It was after we got home that things got interesting. Like I said I was plied with booze and had three sheets to the wind by the time we got home. We only beat Susan by twenty minutes as Rebecca drove carefully home. She had only drunk seltzer with a twist all night. I had to be helped into the house from the car. We were all giggling as we reached the front door.
I don’t know how it all happened after that except that I wound up in Susan’s elf costume, the whole shebang so to speak, plus a corset to make the dang dress fit. They called me Tina that night. To this day I don’t know who did the dirty dead, they won’t tell me the three of them just blush and giggle.
They kept up the assault with the booze anyway while we were home everybody drank. I swear I will never touched another drop after that night. Susan had a DVD of Madonna singing “Santa Baby”, you know the one. Santa Baby put a sable under the tree for me, I’ve been an awful good girl.(*Lyrics at the end of the story.) Somehow, I was convinced to lip-sync the whole song after they played it two or three times for me, instead of lip-syncing I sang the whole thing really vamping it up.
I found out later that they video taped the whole thing I did, it was so embarrassing. Anyway I sang about the sable, the convertible, the yacht, the mine, the checks, the decorations from Tiffany’s and the ring. The whole two dollars worth.
I don’t know what happened after that. The girls swear they don’t know either. Even Mom drew a blank, or so she says.
The next morning I awoke about five thirty with a Mega hangover. I had a bladder that was threatening to burst and a mouth full of cotton. Many of you know the feel I bet.
I tried to get up but found that I was still dressed in Susan’s elves suit. The corset made it hard to sit up. It took a few minutes but it was a sore necessity for me to get to the bathroom. I mean I haven’t wet the bed in eighteen years and I didn’t intend to start today.
I made it to the bathroom and managed to get the tights and the silly red thong down. I was shocked not to find my Johnson there, but logically thinking I figured the girls got me into one of those faux vagina’s some of the guys had been kidding about at school, as I sat to relieve myself. One of the guys at school had been a real fairy and he was kidded about wearing one. It sure felt realistic though in my hung over state.
My chest looked huge; there must have been twenty pounds of silicone hanging in front of me that refused to budge. I couldn’t believe it was my sister and Mom that allowed this to happen to me.
I tried to get out of the getup I was in, but it fit very tight and I didn’t have the dexterity to reach the dress’s zipper, even the zips on the boots were stuck, so I was stuck like that. I just got everything back in place. I looked in the mirror and expected a mess. Although my hair was a bit mussed I didn’t look half bad, even the makeup looked alright to an extent.
I was amazed at how well I was walking on those two stilts. I headed to the kitchen. I really needed coffee worse that I ever needed it. Two coffee’s, two Tylenol, two aspirins, and two hours later I began to feel human and fixed everyone breakfast.
At eight I was still the first one up again, so I made breakfast for four. I saw Rebecca’s car still in the drive behind my car and next to Susan’s BMW.
The girls started appearing over the next forty minutes. First Mom, then Susan and lastly Rebecca. They all giggled as they saw me dressed as an elf. They didn’t help me get out of all this getup instead they just repaired my looks. I was pissed, but Rebecca’s kisses kinda melted my resentment.
After everyone ate and had coffee we went to the living room it was kinda hard to get in there with all the presents there. Mom and Susan just looked at each other with a kinda dumb expression. Since I was the one dressed as an elf I delivered the presents. Rebecca was shocked to see there were quite a few for her even there. They were all struck dumb though when I found that the bulk of the presents were for Tina.
We all opened one at a time, starting with Mom. She received a mink stole. Susan got one in a silver fox, Rebecca got one in chinchilla. I opened my box and found a red sable coat. They insisted I put it on.
We then opened box after box, it was the biggest haul we ever had for a Christmas and the most confusing. All the presents we had bought for each other had been replaced and upgraded so to speak.
I found a huge box that was nested with box after box after box till I found the keys to a Mercedes. I then found an envelope with a letter from the San Diego yacht club with a slip number, a check for a ten million dollars, there were diamonds all over the tree, a gag gift of a platinum mine except it was made of real platinum and a huge diamond ring, not an engagement type but a cocktail type ring. That relieved me a bit. Lastly I found a letter from someone who called themselves Santa.
Dear Tina,
I saw your little act last night, and since you had been very good, I decided to give you what you sang about. You will find that you really are Tina now completely. If you are very good, the next year I will let you decide to stay or change back.
Love,
Santa
We were all flabbergasted as I read the letter, all three girls then drug me to the bedroom and started working on getting me undressed. The whole operation took over an hour; someone had super glued every connection. We couldn’t believe it, everything I thought was silicone was me. The whole nine yards worth. I was told I was a thirty eight D girl with a twenty five inch waist and thirty seven inch hips. The waist length hair I thought had been a wig was my own auburn hair. I was even complete down below.
Two weeks later I found out that all the plumbing worked as my friend came for a monthly visit as Susan put it. To say the least that was the worst part of all of this.
They later found drawers full of lingerie my sizes, a closet full of clothes and shoes that fit. There was a vanity in the room that had not been there the previous day that had tons of makeup, jewelry and everything else a girl needs. I even had a purse with a wallet, credit cards, passport and a Nevada driver’s license with my pictures and signatures on them. In the garage we found a big Mercedes convertible.
None of us had to work anymore we were all rich and we all stayed together. Rebecca, who had been straight as an arrow now shares her bed with me, and it is great. Susan and Mom have no trouble getting any man they want. We made a trip to San Diego and went out on my 120 foot yacht. Crewing the yacht had been easy we just asked and guys fell all over themselves to help us.
I finally ventured out to a casino dressed to the nines, we all were. We decided to do everything together. I couldn’t believe my luck at the games. I won about sixty five percent of the time. I was afraid that we were going to be tossed out of the casino’s as cheats, but one of the managers told us, no begged us to keep coming back, what little I won, not an inconsequential amount at least to me, all the time didn’t come near to what the guy’s around us were losing.
Well I was as good as any new girl could be the whole year, till it was the next Christmas. I again dressed as an elf and sang Santa Baby, yelling out that I wanted to stay this way. Everyone agreed they liked things much better this way. We had another good Christmas not quite as extravagant as our last but still better than any before.
Well that was all four years ago. Susan suggested I tell my story, we don’t believe it ourselves, even though we lived it and we don’t think you will either. I would never have thought that I would come to like being a girl. I just had never thought about it before. Even when my monthly comes, and I thanked God for that more than a few times, my life is better than before. So I give you this story as my Christmas gift to you and I blow you kisses.
Love,
Tina
Santa Baby
written by J. Javits and P. Springer
originally sung by Ertha Kitt
----------
Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me
I've been an awful good girl
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa baby, an out-of-space convertible too, light blue
I'll wait up for you dear
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be oh so good
If you'd check off my Christmas list
Boo doo bee doo
Santa honey, I wanna yacht and really that's
Not a lot
I've been an angel all year
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa cutie, there's one thing I really do need, the deed
To a platinum mine
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa baby, I'm filling my stocking with a duplex, and checks
Sign your 'X' on the line
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany's
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me
Boo doo bee doo
Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring
I don't mean a phone
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight
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Sixteen year old Ricky Davis lives in New York City. He has to go to LA to spend the summer with his sister when his parents decide to go on a second honeymoon. Things begin to happen after he gets there and he winds up in skirts.
Shimmy
by
Paula Dillon
Greetings, this is your Captain. We will be landing in Los Angeles in thirty minutes. Please fasten your seat belts, return your chairs and trays to the upright and locked positions…
Richard (Ricky) Davis looked out his window. He could see the ground getting closer as they neared their destination. It had been a little over a year since he had seen his sister Laura. Ricky was sixteen and his sister was nineteen. After graduating from high school in New York City she had gone off to college at USC, where she would be sophomore this fall.
Their parents Alan (62) and Madeline Davis (48) had decided to go on a second honeymoon, taking a med cruise. They told Ricky that they couldn’t just leave him alone in New York so they sent him to LA to spend the summer with his sister.
Laura had been a little hesitant about the idea at first, but their parents had worked so hard to make a comfortable life for their family, so she couldn’t just say no. She knew that her parents deserved to have some fun themselves.
It wasn’t that she didn’t love her brother; she loved him more than she could say. She had missed him very much over the last year. The problem was how Ricky would react to her sisters and how they would react to him. That was what worried her. They could sometimes be on a little over the top at times. He would be a lone male in a sea of estrogen (well except for when the girls had their dates over).
Her Mom and Dad had gotten her a ten year lease on a condominium, so she wouldn’t have to live on campus, for that Laura was eternally grateful. The condo, in a very nice section of town and had made her popular with many of her sorority sisters. They used her place as somewhere they could get away from the hassles of college and let down their hair and as party central for their sorority. They always took care to not let things get too wild (to a degree that is) and made sure that they didn’t trash the place. In fact three of her sorority sisters lived with Laura and helped pay the expenses.
The morning of her brother’s arrival, Laura had gotten a call from one of her professors begging her to help them. One of their research assistants had gotten sick and they needed her to take their place. A pod of Blue whales had appeared just off of Catalina and they would need her for three days. They had promised her extra credit and preferential treatment if she accepted. It took her all of five seconds to accept.
She had just enough time to pack, get two of her sorority sisters who lived in the condo with her to pick up her brother and head off to the university dock.
Ricky stretched his legs after the six hour cross continent flight. It had been crowded in business class and he was grateful to finally get some space to stretch. He had let the plane empty quite a bit before he stood up and got out of his seat. He grabbed his things from the overhead compartment and headed out. It was a long walk down the concourse to the arrivals section. He looked all around trying to see his sister beyond the security barrier.
Cindy Long and Susan Cartwright saw Ricky Davis heading their way. He was a lot cuter than Laura had told them and he looked a lot more mature than his picture, although he was still rather small. Susan could feel her panties getting wet as she saw him, he was so beautiful. She had hoped to get Laura in her bed for a romp for a long time, but Laura didn’t swing that way. Ricky looked so much like his sister in the face and he was incredibly slim for a boy. Ricky stood about five feet six and couldn’t weigh more than a hundred and twenty-five pounds. He had shoulder length light brown hair that would probably go blonde if they could get him out in the sun enough. He also had such a pretty face for a boy, almost a perfect diamond with such high cheeks, narrow chin, luscious lips and some incredible eyelashes to die for. He was much better than Susan’s last boyfriend. She daydreamed about how he would look in skirts and blouses.
The two girls held up a big banner that said ‘Ricky Davis Welcome to L.A.’ for him to see. They jumped up and down like cheerleaders, which Cindy was, to get his attention.
Ricky couldn’t see his sister, but was stunned to see two of the most beautiful blondes he had ever seen holding up a sign with his name on it. He was frozen in place, powerless to move, for several seconds, as he looked over the two girls from their heads to their toes. They were both a couple of inches taller than he was, one had long curly hair in a rich golden blonde and the other had a sexy pixie cut in a strawberry blonde and both were every boy his ages best wet dream. They stood there excitedly waving their sign, shining their thousand watt smiles, with their breasts bouncing all around, their cleavages hugely exposed and their incredibly long legs sticking out from under impossibly short skirts. Both of them wore very sexy high heels that were at least three or four inches tall. Ricky had never considered himself a foot man but he thought he had never seen better looking heels.
The two girls were so gorgeous; he was having problems of a personal nature. His pants began to tent in the crotch leaving him quite uncomfortable. He had to shift his hanging bag from over his shoulder to just in front of him to hide his growing problem.
“Are you Ricky Davis, Laura Davis’ brother,” Cindy asked.
“Yes I am. Where is Laura?” He asked.
“She couldn’t make it hun; she got called away on a research project. Anyway, we want to welcome you to L.A. I am Cindy Long and this is Susan Cartwright.”
Cindy gave Ricky a bone crushing hug and a kiss and Susan followed suit but her kiss was a lingering kiss that included some tongue. The girls’ kisses ignited a fire in Ricky’s groin and his body couldn’t resist their charms. All this attention and their current location out in public were adding to his discomforts.
Cindy ended their embrace with a little elbow into Susan’s side (Why is it that girls have such pointy elbows? They should be registered as lethal weapons). “Give the boy a break Susan. If you two go any farther, you two will have to get married,” she said giggling. “Let’s go pick up your bags now Ricky.”
Each girl took an arm, as much because they liked him and thought he was cute but also as a way of controlling how fast he walked. Boys sometimes have a hard time learning how to walk with girls, especially girls that are wearing heels. If the girls hadn’t taken his arms he might have walked their feet off.
Both girls snuck peeks at what he was trying to hide behind his bag, there wasn’t nothing that that boy had to be ashamed of they thought.
On the drive home they made Ricky sit up front between them. Ricky had a hard time finding a place to put his hands as there were bare legs everywhere, he just put his hands together between his thights. They hadn’t gone a mile when he fell asleep. Susan, who was sitting on the passenger side, just put her arm around his shoulder and just hugged him to her breast.
“Susan I know that look. You just be careful. Ricky is only sixteen. I don’t want to have to visit you on weekends in jail. You know they are cracking down on adult women having sex with minor boys.”
“I know, twenty years ago they would have just considered the boy lucky, nowadays they would see him as a victim.”
After they got to the condo the girls helped Ricky get his luggage and stuff into the condo. Cindy hugged and kissed Susan and Ricky goodbye as she had to get to work, while Susan gave Ricky the nickel tour of the condo
“Ricky this is our place, or rather your sister’s place.”
There were 3 bedrooms and two and a half bath rooms. Susan showed Ricky where she and Cindy shared a bedroom and Laura and Debbie McIntyre shared another bedroom. Finally she showed Ricky where his bedroom was.
“We save this bedroom as a guestroom, for when one or more of us has a guest,” Susan said winking at Ricky, who just blushed.
Each bedroom had two twin beds. Susan then told him, “You can use the bathroom Cindy and I share, to bathe in and also the downstairs half bath for you when you just need to go. The rest of the condo also includes a living room, dining room, kitchen and laundry. Out the backdoor there was a courtyard with barbecue pits and a swimming pool.”
“We have told all the sisters that you are going to be here this summer, but some of our air-headed sisters may accidentally pop in on you so lock the door to the bathroom when you go in.”
“I just love this place,” Ricky said yawning. “I am so sleepy I think I need to lay down for a bit.”
“Ok sweety, I will be here if you need anything,” Susan said giving him a hug and a wet kiss.
Two people had troubles getting their emotions under control. It took an hour of tossing and turning for Ricky to fall asleep and Susan was nervous and uneasy over how Ricky was affecting her.
“I think I love that boy,” She said to herself. “Damn I need a cold shower.”
Chapter 2
Ricky woke up about midnight. He was a little confused as he looked around the room he was in. It finally clicked in his mind that he was at his sister’s place in California. He glanced at the clock next to his bed and saw that is was 12:13 in the morning.
Hungry and thirsty he left his room and headed downstairs towards where he thought the kitchen was. As he came down the stairs he saw Susan sitting in the living room. What she was wearing started giving Ricky problems again. She was sitting on the couch with her legs tucked under her bottom, fixated on the television. Susan was wearing the sheerest black lace babydoll nightie that stopped at the top of her panties; the panties were just as shear as the nightie and hid nothing. Ricky stopped where he was. He could see her huge breasts, her nipples and her aureoles through the fabric of her nightie and a narrow patch of neatly trimmed hair in the front of her panties. She was a natural blonde he saw.
Ricky had never believed in love at first sight before, and he couldn’t really tell if it was love or lust in his heart, but he could see himself spending his life with this pixie headed angel (or was it pixie headed succubus).
Susan looked up when she heard a noise and saw Ricky. She gave him her biggest smiles and then blushed as she realized how she was dressed. Instinctively she drew her knees up to her chest and her hands wrapped around her ankles.
“Sorry Ricky, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I thought you were down for the count.”
Ricky could see the red glow of her embarrassment from where he stood, “I am sorry, Susan I didn’t want to disturb anyone but I am starving and thirsty.”
Susan got up and tried to cover herself modestly as she headed for the stairs, “Great let me fix you something to eat. Just let me get my robe and I will be right back.”
“It’s no problem Susan; I can just graze in the refrigerator.”
“I won’t hear of that Ricky. I can’t let my best girlfriend’s brother go hungry.”
As Susan passed Ricky on the stairs the silky materials of the nightie grazed his arm. The touch was electrifying and set off a chain reaction in his groin. He shuddered as he felt wave after wave of sticky cum begin to fill his shorts.
“In that case I think that I will change into shorts and a t-shirt.”
“Ok come down when you are ready.”
Five minutes later, after a quick cleanup and change of clothes, Ricky headed downstairs. He was dressed in a blue and yellow satin basketball shorts (his school colors back home) and tank shirt. Susan was in the kitchen, and Ricky could smell bacon frying. She was wearing a bright red shorty silk kimono robe that was shorter than the mini-skirt he had first seen her in. He could tell she had changed panties because they now an opaque red and matched her robe.
“Hi sweety. Does a southwest omelet with three cheeses, bacon, peppers and a side of hash browns sound alright to you?”
“Yes Ma’am, that sounds great.”
“Don’t you dare call me ma’am, Ricky. My name is Susan. There is a glass of OJ on the breakfast counter sweety.”
“Ok, thank you Susan. That is a beautiful robe Susan, is that a print or embroidering.”
Susan gave Ricky another thousand watt smile, “It is embroidering, Ricky.” She held her arms out straight to the side and slowly turned, letting Ricky get the full effect of the Robe. With her arms out to the sides Ricky could see the last two inches of her crotch. The robe had a multi-colored golden dragon embroidered on the front and the back with yin and yang symbols, lotus blossoms and a lot of other frills. He could also tell that the panties had some embroidery on the front panel.
“That robe is almost as pretty as you are Susan. I have never seen anything prettier than you.”
Susan stopped what she was doing and turned. She rushed over and gave Ricky another hug and a quick kiss, “Oh Ricky, you are such a treasure; I bet you have all kinds of girlfriends back home.”
“Not really Susan, the girls back home just want something from me, but none of them want me as a “boyfriend,” Ricky said, a little tear formed in the corner of his eye. “I just ain’t enough of a man for them to date. I am just a scrawny kid they use to keep their GPA’s up.”
Susan set a plate of food in front of Ricky and he greedily dug into it.
“I know how you feel Ricky, at high school I use to be an ugly duckling. I was a late bloomer, you could say. I didn’t grow up and fill out till I was a second semester senior.”
“I don’t believe that. You could never be ugly.”
Susan smiled warmly at Ricky, got up and went to get her purse. She dug into her purse setting all manner of things on the counter as she dug deeper. Pulling out her wallet, she opened it and pulled out a picture. “I will let you be the judge of that Ricky,” she said handing him the picture. “That is me, taken in October two years ago.”
Susan wasn’t ugly but she was rather plain, like a thousand other teenagers at high school. While she wasn’t rail thin in the picture, but she didn’t have many of the curves that helped create her good looks. On top of that she had a horrible case of zits. Ricky looked up closely at her face. Her skin was almost flawless now. In Ricky’s mind he couldn’t see how she could look any better. He could also see the beauty in the girl in the picture also.
“You weren’t an ugly duckling then, but I can see how much you have changed since then. I would ask this girl out if she were at my high school,” he said showing her the picture.
“Thank you, Ricky,” Susan said lovingly. Her eyes began to sparkle as tears formed in her eyes above a warm smile.
After Ricky finished eating, Susan pulled Ricky into the living room and sat down next to him. They watched the last of soppy romance and talked. Susan talked a bit about her life and drug out a lot of Ricky’s life in New York.
After an hour and a half Susan fell asleep leaning into Ricky’s arm. He was uncomfortable with his arm trapped behind her so he managed to pull it free and put it over her shoulder. As his arm came to rest there, she scooted into his lap and went back sleep lying on his chest.
Ricky was still wide awake. He looked lovingly at Susan. She was incredible. The lower half of her robe opened up beneath its sash and he saw a three diamond drop hanging from her naval, he also saw that the red satin panties also had a dragon embroidered across the front of them. He couldn’t help himself and he played diamond drop belly button ring. He always thought that they were so sexy and just loved looking at Susan’s. He also had to touch the dragon on her panty. Susan only stirred a little as he ran his fingers across it and he dreamed about the pretty pubic hair it hid.
**************
“Jeeze you guys. Get a room won’t you!!!” Cindy said loudly enough to startle Ricky and Susan.
They both jumped up wondering where the fire was and started to glow red with embarrassment.
“Nothing Happened Cindy!” Susan said. Her robe was now open all the way and just covered her breasts, at least enough not to get arrested if she were on the beach, but just barley. Her eyes began filling with tears.
“That is good Susan, but we need to have a talk,” Cindy was happy to note that Ricky was decently dressed at least.
“Nothing happened Cindy, really,” Ricky said defending Susan. His arm was around her shoulder protectively.
Cindy had a hand over her mouth hiding a smile. Laura had told her what a good kid he was. She could see it now.
“That is good Ricky. But you have got to know you are sixteen and she is nineteen. She can get in trouble if you all screw around,” Cindy said, as she pumped a forefinger back and forth into a ring she made with her thumb and other forefinger. That is called statutory rape, even if you wanted her to make love with you.”
Ricky looked down at his feet and began to cry, “I am sorry Cindy.”
Cindy hugged both of them. “I am just worried about both of you. Things are happening fast between you two. Just be careful.”
“We will Cindy. I think I am in love with Ricky.”
Cindy and Ricky both had their mouths hanging open at Susan’s admission.
“I don’t know… but…I… I… think I love you too, Susan.”
Cindy was flabbergasted, but as she looked at the two of them, she could see that they both had it bad, “Just be careful you two.”
Chapter 3
Susan and Ricky took separate cold showers and dressed. Susan wore a grey A line skirt that just came to the top of her knee, a white three quarter sleeve cotton polyester scoop neck blouse that showed just a promise of cleavage and flats. Rick was dressed in a red polo shirt, tan slacks and his cross trainers.
“Cindy is right Ricky. We need to be careful,” she said as they sat across from each other in the living room, “and I think we need to talk. I want to show you all my warts and see if you still feel the same way, Ricky, so “PLEASE!” don’t interrupt me. I don’t think I could finish what I am going to say, if I had to start over. OK.”
“Ok.”
“I have been somewhat sexually active since I was sixteen. I did that back then because I thought that that was the only way I could get a boyfriend. I only did it with two boys, but if you listened to the grape vine I was spreading my legs for any boy with three legs. I also did it with a girlfriend, Ricky.”
“I am a bi-sexual. I liked doing it with guys but I usually get more pleasure from the girls I have been with. Saying all of that, I don’t spread my legs for everyone. I have only had intimate relations with six guys and three girls. The last two guys I have been with… please don’t hate me for this Ricky, were the best of the guys. You see… we ah… I ah … sort of played dress up games, some of the time. With them looking like girls. You see I ah… really like pretty boys. You hate me now, don't you?”
Ricky did have a confused look on his face and Susan was having a hard time reading his emotions.
“You mean you made love with them as if they were girls?”
“We did it both ways, you have to use a little creativity, but I assure you they enjoyed it. Do you hate me?”
Ricky had an expression of deep thought on his face. This frustrated Susan a little. She took his head in both of her hands and looked into his eyes, “I asked you if you hate me. I can’t stand it answer me.”
“Oh, no, of course not. I don’t hate you. I was just thinking sorry.”
“About what?”
“What?”
“What were you thinking about, Ricky? Ooohhh you are so frustrating right now,” she said, cracking a little smile at least.
Ricky blushed deeply, a deeper red than he had been since he had been in California, “Abo…out wha… at you were tal… king about. About how you could do it with guys dressed as… as… girls. You know.”
Laughing, and feeling a sense of relief that flooded he heart for the first time since she started talking.
“I… ah… I don’t think I could hate you. I… ah… still think I ah love you.”
Susan began crying and hugged a shocked Ricky tightly in her arms. Ricky’s shirt began to get very wet and he was extremely nervous. He had hurt her somehow and made her cry.
“Sorry Susan, I didn’t mean to, hurt you and make you cry,” Ricky said as he began to cry on her shoulder.
“You silly goose, you didn’t hurt me.”
“Then… why are you ah… crying?”
“I am crying because I love you, Ricky.”
That statement caused a cascade of emotions and tears to fall. Ricky began to cry, which caused Susan to cry harder, which caused… (oh well you know what I mean.)
It took thirty minutes or so before the crying was over. They both wound up on the couch with Ricky in Susan’s lap basking in each other’s glow.
“How do you do it with a ah… boy… ah?”
Susan giggled, “I could tell how we did it, but I would rather show you when you get to be eighteen.”
“Oh. OK. Ah I am still confused a bit. Ah I figure with some makeup you could ah… make a guy ah… sort of look like a girl, but that is all I could work out. Guys just don’t have the figure a girl has.”
“There is no sort of Ricky. Of course ninety five percent of the guys would never make pretty girls. There are plenty of girls out there who don’t make “pretty girls” as for the rest of the body that is actually the easiest part.”
“But take me for instance; I just don’t have the right figure to look like a girl. I am just straight up and down.”
“I have been meaning to ask you about that Ricky. Are you anorexic or bulimic? I mean how much do you weigh?”
“No I don’t starve myself or force myself to throw up. I weigh about 127 pounds. I just have this problem. At least right now, my doctors say I am ok. They made me keep up with what I ate and they calculated my caloric intake. I just seem to burn up what I eat. I run and swim a lot, I just haven’t grown much. My dad is the same way. He is five foot five and 138 pounds. Now Mom, she is five foot ten and 145. God she is beautiful. My dad’s father was smaller than Dad; he was 5 foot two and a bit.”
“Okay getting back to your question. I have some things that help rearrange things, tuck some things and pad out other things. I can easily make five out of maybe a hundred guys pass completely as a girl, looks wise that is. Now how they think and act that takes a lot more work.”
“You’re kidding me right?”
“No I am not kidding you. I guess I can show you.”
She took Ricky up to her room. At the foot of her bed beneath a comforter was a footlocker. Susan put the comforter on her bed and opened the foot locker.
“I guess you can call this my toy box,” Susan said.
Ricky blushed as he recognized what some of the things were. There was a really long, very fat thing that looked like what he had between his legs.
Seeing what he was gawking at she said, “That is Junior. He helps me relieve a lot of tension.”
Susan pulled several things out of the trunk and sat them on her bed. Lifting up one box, she said, “These are some very high quality breastforms,” as she opened the box. “They were originally designed to help women out who have had mastectomies due to breast cancer. Transgendered girls also use them. You can put on a bra and place these into the cups or you can use some special adhesive to glue em down. They can give anybody the look of having breasts.”
“They look so real.”
“Go ahead pick one up and feel it.”
“They are cold Susan, but they feel like and look right I guess. Dang they are so heavy.” he said as he felt the breast form. He then reached out and felt Susan’s arm.
“They are made of silicone with a latex cover. Go ahead and gently squeeze my breasts. I believe you can do that.”
She thrust out her chest towards Ricky. Ricky very lightly touched one and then jerked his hand away.
“I think you can do a little better than that.”
She took one of his hands and placed it on her breasts. She then squeezed her own breast with his hand. She then had him cup that breast and he felt its heft. He then squeezed the breast form and tested its heft.
“I guess they are a lot alike.”
“The people who developed them, made sure they had about the same density, buoyancy and weight as a real breast. Can you imagine a woman with one breast that weighed two pounds and another that weighed three? One breast that floats and the other that doesn’t? Not good. Now this is a faux or fake vagina,” she said handing him the next item. “It has a sheath where a guy’s penis can be inserted. His testicles can easily be massaged back into his abdomen. It gives him the crotch of a girl. It also has padding on the sides and back to help give him the hips and tush of a girl. In other words his backside will look rounder.”
“This is vagina thing seems heavier than the breastform. It is heavier than both breastforms.”
“Lastly we have a corset. Not only are girls wider at the hips, they also have a smaller waist. This helps narrow down that waist. There are many other things that can help but those are the main three. So what do you think?”
“I don’t know what to think right now.”
“So do you still like me?”
“No, I don’t Susan,” he said.
This caused her to frown and she threatened to start crying again.
“No Susan, I love you I think. I don’t know I am so confused, but I think this is what love feels like,” he said kissing her cheek.
She jumped into his arms and fiercely hugged him, “I think I can live with that,” she said. “Let me fix you lunch.”
“Okay, my stomach agrees with that.”
Chapter 4
Susan smiled as she watched Ricky eat. She promised herself that she was going to keep her eye on him. She had had a girlfriend that was bulimic and wasted away till she died. She believed Ricky, but she was intent on confirming what he said.
She couldn’t believe her luck with him, she already knew more about him than any of her previous boyfriends and more than a few of her girlfriends. The more she found out about Ricky the more she loved him.
**************
At about 4:00 pm Cindy got home.
“Susan we need to go shopping if we want to eat. Hey Ricky, do you want to join us?”
“No I think I will pass on shopping. I would just get in your way.”
“Ok sweety, we will be back in about two hours. We have to make about three stops. How does Chinese sound for tonight?”
“Love it.”
“See ya then,” Cindy said, as she and Susan gave him a hug.
After the girls left Ricky sat there and thought about all that he and Susan talked about. For some reason he had not been repulsed by her revelations. He thought about the things she had in her ‘Toy Box’ as she had put it. He went upstairs and sat on her bed where the breastforms, corset and faux vagina were still out.
In all his life he had only dressed as a girl once or twice. When he was four or five and his sister dressed him up so she could play with him. She had tried to get him to dress up again one Halloween but he put up enough of a fuss that his sister and Mom just gave up. He was a big boy of eight after all and big boys don’t wear girl’s clothes.
He picked up the faux vagina and looked more closely at it. He could see the sheath that was there to tuck back his penis and could feel the various padded areas for his hips and butt. Setting that aside he got up and looked into the trunk. Susan had quite a few things shaped like penises. From the huge one he had seen earlier to some shorter and narrower models. Some had large veins that simulated blood vessels, while others had a smooth and polished finish. A couple even had scrotums attached.
Underneath a tray in the trunk Ricky found some bras, but didn’t find any panties. The bras were very pretty. Ever since Ricky was twelve or thirteen he liked to look at ladies underwear. He got his first education about Ladies underwear from the Sears and J. C. Penney catalogues his mom kept around the house. Later he was ecstatic when he found some Victoria Secret and Frederick’s of Hollywood catalogues. He had even seen some of the toy’s that Susan had in the Fredrick’s catalogue, but he had never seen any of them up close before now.
Ricky picked up a white bra that was covered in lace. It was quite pretty he thought. He had seen models wearing similar bras in the catalogues. As he looked at it he noticed the bra had pockets that he figured were large enough for the breastforms. The back of the bra had a tag on it that indicated it was a 36B bra. Holding it up by the straps he could see that it was bigger around than he was. He checked some of the other bras and the smallest was a 34C.
He couldn’t explain why, but he knew he had to take the bra, forms and faux vagina to his room. He had never desired looking like a girl before, but felt that if this was the way to Susan’s heart, he just might give it a try. He stripped off his jersey, shorts and his briefs. Picking up the bottom part he stepped into the leg holes and pulled almost all the way up. He had a little trouble inserting his penis into the sheath but he finally worked in. Ricky then remembered what Susan had said about massaging his balls up into his body. He tried this, the first time really hurt a bit, after they were up he removed his hand and they fell back down. The second time he kept his hand there and successfully worked the crotch up. The rest of the garment was a little tight, but it stretched easily over his butt.
Ricky stood before the full length mirror on his closet door and looked at himself. Turning left and right he saw that he did have larger hips and a nicely curved butt. The color wasn’t an exact match to his skin, but it was close. He thought about going into Susan’s room and getting a pair of panties out, but it wouldn’t be right digging into her drawers. She had shown him these things, possibly with the intent for Ricky to make use of he reasoned, but he didn’t feel right about digging through her things for a panty.
The faux vagina was a little cool on him, but he could feel it starting to warm up a bit. He didn’t want to run around naked, so he pulled on his basket ball shorts. The waist band was a little tight going over his hips but he got them on. The shorts were stretched tight over his hips and were molded to his backside.
Back at the bed Ricky picked up the bra and one of the breastforms. The breastform wasn’t totally symmetrical, holding it to his chest he saw that it fit better on one side than the other. He placed it in the pocket of the bra where it best fit and then he did the same on the other side. The bra felt like it weighed ten pounds. The bra had three hooks on one side and nine eyes in three groups of three on the other side. He had never seen his sister or mother putting on a bra, so he had to try and work it out in his mind on how to get it on. Finally he just pulled the bra behind him and hooked it up in front of him. The first set of eyes were too loose, the second set a little better, so he chose the last set of eyes. Ricky then turned the bra around and put his arms through the straps and then pulling them up over his shoulders.
His breasts now looked positively huge now and the bra dug into his shoulders a bit. He didn’t know the shoulder straps were adjustable. Turning left and right he could feel the tug of the weight on his chest. Back at the mirror he saw a girl standing there looking at him. He couldn’t believe how just the bra made him look so feminine. When you add the other part, he definitely had a girls figure, a mature girls figure. He looked as old as Cindy or Susan he thought.
He didn’t feel right wearing the bra without a top. He knew this was something most girls didn’t do so he grabbed his jersey and pulled it on. The jersey was really tight as pulled it over his bust. The jersey had been loose like most basket ball players liked before, but now it was prominently stretched over his faux chest. He turned and went back to the mirror. Ricky could really feel the sway of his breasts as he turned. Yeah they were his breasts, for now at least. The tightness of the jersey helped to control them but they did have a mind of their own it seemed.
Ricky saw that it wouldn’t take much for him to look totally like a girl. He felt that he could already pass and that scared him as much as it intrigued him. He checked his watch and saw that he had about an hour and a half before he had to get everything back in its place.
Thirsty he headed downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink. Ricky’s breasts jiggled with every step he took. He was forced to stand straighter almost leaning back a little to get his center of balance right. He wondered how girls got use to these things. Looking into the fridge he got himself a diet coke. He didn’t need a diet drink and he would have rather had a high octane coke, but he took what was there.
Coke in hand he turned to head back to his room. He started up the stairs and heard the door open and a voice say, “Oh hi.”
Ricky stopped and turned rapidly to face the voice. His faux chest kept turning and stopped skewed to the left. His gaze fell on another gorgeous girl. What is it with all the babes in California, he thought.
The girl at the door giggled, “Hi I am Rebecca Kittrich. You seem a little bit out of kilter.”
Ricky maneuvered his chest back around as he turned a bright red in embarrassment. He wanted to run and hide but in his heart he knew that would be futile. “I am Ricky Davis,” he said highly embarrassed. His eyes began to water and he threatened to break out in sobs
“Oh you’re Laura’s brother,” she said as she closed the distance and gave him a good hug, “It is so good meeting you, Laura said you were coming here.”
Rebecca held him long enough for the teen to get control of himself and then helped Ricky center his breasts better. “I see you have met Susan, I suppose. Is your sister here?”
“No she is out on a boat doing some kind of research.”
Rebecca shifted the bra back and forth, “I see what your problem is the bra is too big for your chest. You either need to attach the breastforms or get a better fitting bra.”
“Please I need to take these off; I don’t want Susan and Cindy to see me like this.”
“Are these things your things or are they Susans?”
“They belong to Susan.”
“You did this to yourself Ricky?”
“Yes ma’am,”
“Did they tell you to do this?”
“No ma’am.”
“Look my name is Rebecca, not ma’am. OK?”
“Ok Rebecca.”
Rebecca thought about Ricky’s request and then said, “I don’t think you should change. Cindy and Susan will be alright with this, but they need to know you went in their room without permission. Sit down, Ricky. Let’s talk.”
Ricky reluctantly followed Rebecca into the living room and sat down next to her. Rebecca asked Ricky a lot of questions about, what all he put on, why did he do it, how he felt about it, what he thought about all the toys in the chest and did he play with any of them, did he like girls, did he like boys and so on. Rebecca’s tone and demeanor showed that she wasn’t trying to be cruel and that she was genuinely interested in his answers. Ricky began to get comfortable, he was no longer afraid, but was still a little nervous.
“Well I have got to say you make a very pretty girl, and you don’t even have any makeup on. How old are you?”
“Sixteen, I will be seventeen in later in June.”
“I would have made you as eighteen or nineteen Ricky.”
The door opened again and Cindy and Susan returned arms loaded down with grocery bags.
“Hi Rebecca,” Cindy said, “Can you two get the rest of the bags out of the car.”
“Sure Cindy, let’s go Ricky,” she said taking his hand.
Cindy just caught a glimpse of Ricky as he headed out.
“Susan did you get Ricky all dressed up?”
“No I didn’t, you saw him before we left, although I told him all about me and showed him what was in my toy box.”
“Well we will need to be careful with him. We don’t want to hurt him or embarrass him. Just act like nothing is strange about it. I know that that will be easy for you.”
Chapter 5
It took the girls three more trips to get everything inside, and then they set about getting everything put up. Cindy and Susan set Ricky to doing tasks to help them out and Rebecca helped in areas where she was needed. Lastly they set out plates and chopsticks for the Chinese food they had bought.
Nobody had said anything yet to Ricky and he was getting where he couldn’t stand it, “Cindy, Susan I can explain?”
“We can talk about that later Ricky, just enjoy the meal with us,” Cindy said, as all the girls smiled at Ricky.
They passed the cartons of food around. Ricky found eating with chopsticks an adventure. Susan gave him pointers several times till he got the hang of things. More than once Ricky dropped a dumpling, vegetable or pieces of meat into his cleavage. The girls just giggled and Susan said, “Welcome to our world now Ricky.”
They talked as they ate. The girls talked about their latest news. Ricky was asked about his sister, his folks, school and things as the girls shared their lives with him too. Ricky found that he liked these girls as much as they have come to like him too.
By the time they were through eating Ricky had become somewhat competent with his chop sticks. He helped clear the table and clean up after their meal. When everything in the kitchen was ship shape Cindy indicated it was time to go to the living room.
“Susan lock and chain the back door, I will get the front door,” Cindy said. “We don’t want to be disturbed.”
In the living room the girls moved the coffee table a little further from the couch and had Ricky sit on it. The three girls sat opposite from Ricky.
“Ok first thing Ricky sit up straight, either cross your legs or sit with your knees together and your hands in your lap.”
Ricky sat up straight, which caused his chest become more prominent, and with his knees together, tucked to one side and hands on his lap.
“Ok, Ricky did you go exploring in our rooms while you were gone?”
“I only went in and got the things that Susan had shown me earlier. She had left them out on her bed after she had showed them to me. I also looked into the toy box and found a bra to put the breastforms in.”
“Is that right Susan?”
“Yes, I told Ricky all about myself. I wanted to be upfront with him. I showed him the breastforms, the faux vagina and the corset. He also saw some of my toys.”
“So Ricky, what are you wearing underneath?” Rebecca asked.
“Just the bra, breastforms and faux vagina.”
“You don’t have any panties on?” Cindy asked.
“No I didn’t feel it was right to look in your drawers and such. I didn’t want to get into your personal things. I just thought that since Susan showed me these things and told me about the boys she had dressed up, that it would be ok. I am sorry I went into your room without asking,” he added in tears.
“Ricky you were wrong for going into our room and I am Proud that you owned up to it. I am also proud that you didn’t get into our things. As for Susan’s things, you need to apologize to her,” Cindy said.
“I am sorry Susan that I got into your things. I kinda rationalized that it would be ok and that it was something that you wanted me to try. It was wrong of me to do so,”
Susan smiled at Ricky, “I didn’t show you those things to get you into them Ricky. I did that to show you all about me and to be honest to you. I forgive you for the intrusion into my things.”
Rebecca asked the big question on her mind, “Why?”
“Why what?” Ricky asked.
“Why did you put those things on?”
“I don’t really know. That’s not right, I do know sort of. I figured if that was how Susan liked her boyfriends. I was intrigued a little I guess by what she told me and in a way I wanted to see what it was like. Everything looked so real, but then again I wouldn’t know about that. I have never really seen a naked girl before. Lastly I liked Susan so much that I wanted to be everything Susan loved. I guess, I am just a little confused about it myself.”
“So you got dressed up in those things, because you wanted to see what it was like and because you like Susan?”
“Yes, I guess I did.”
“You don’t have to do that for me to love you, you just have to be loveable. Other things can come as we get to know each other.”
“Tell us about yourself, Ricky,” Cindy asked.
Ricky then gave the girls a fifty cents tour of his life, going into more detail than he had given Susan earlier. He hadn’t been sad or depressed about his life, but he was sometimes a little lonely. There just wasn’t anybody that he was best buds with. He had a few friends, who were nerds like he sort of was. They were outsiders and yet they were different in many ways from him also. He longed to be big and strong like most of the guys at school, but in his heart he knew he was probably as big as he would ever get.
Cindy looked over Ricky. “Okay what you have said makes sense to us,” Cindy said as she looked closer at Ricky.
He looked so pretty and feminine. If she hadn’t known he was a boy, she wouldn’t believe it. He seemed more comfortable now than when she had met him.
“Still you need to be punished, do you agree?”
“Yes, I agree,” Ricky said. His eyes were red from crying and his cheeks streaked with tears.
“Ok then, until your sister gets back, you will dress and act like a girl. Your sister will then decide what to do after that. Susan go get a measuring tape and some panties for this new girl. Rebecca get the drapes and set up the do not disturb sign, we are going to be getting down to the skin in here.”
Susan rushed upstairs and Rebecca closed the drapes after hanging a silk shawl in the window. The girls used that shawl as a sign that there were things going on inside that didn’t need a disruption. Everybody who came over regularly knew what it meant and honored it.
Susan came downstairs with a pile of clothes in her arms, a measuring tape and a tube of something.
“Rebecca, help Ricky undress.”
Rebecca helped Ricky pull the Jersey off, she noted how the bra was digging into his shoulders. “Oh you poor thing, those straps can’t be comfortable.” She first adjusted the bra letting out a bit more strap and then helped him pull down the shorts.
“You need to pull off the faux vagina and put on a pair of panties,” Cindy said.
Susan handed him a pair of panties. The girls turned around to give him some privacy. It took a couple of minutes to work the faux vagina off. He then pulled the panties on. The panties fit him loosely but didn’t fall down.
Cindy then took the measuring tape and took his measurements; Ricky had a twenty-nine inches in the chest, a twenty-seven inch waist and thirty-two inches through the hips. Cindy knew thirteen year old boys who were bigger than Ricky. She looked closely at him. He wasn’t emaciated, but she could see his rib cage.
“My you are a little wee thing, Ricky. I know many girls who diet till they can’t stand it who don’t have a twenty-seven inch waist. Are you sure you aren’t anorexic?”
“No Cindy, you have seen what I have eaten and I don’t do the purge thing. All the males on my father’s side are smaller than the females. My doctors say I am healthy.”
The girls then inspected him closely from his head to his feet. Cindy then said, “He has a nice face for a girl, nice long hair, no sideburns to speak of, no traces of beard, a long thin neck, sloping shoulders, a small but hardly noticeable Adam’s apple, hairy armpits, a light covering of hair on arms and legs, no hair on chest or back, soft but firm arms and legs, nice ankles and feet and he is not too shabby where it counts either. I would swear he is half male and half female. Have your doctors done a chromosome check on you?” Cindy asked as she looked between Ricky and Rebecca.
“I don’t know.”
“Ok, Rebecca go run a bathe for Ricky, Ricky you will depilate your arms and legs. We have some Nair around here to remove the hair on your arms and legs. You will shower to remove the hair and soak in the tub for at least thirty. You will then shampoo and condition your hair. Rebecca and I will then help you finish,” Cindy said. “Hop to it Ricky.”
Rebecca helped cover what little hair Ricky had in depilatory cream. She shaved his armpits and trimmed his pubic hair into a narrow strip up the middle with a lady’s razor. After fifteen minutes she had Ricky wash off the Nair with a wash cloth in the shower. He then hopped into the bath tub that was awash in bubbles and scented oils. The fragrance and the feel of the water did wonders to his nerves. Rebecca then shampooed and conditioned his hair for him.
Ricky got out of the tub and Rebecca had him pat himself dry. She wrapped his hair in a towel turban and handed him a robe.
The first thing the girls did when he got down stairs was attach the breastforms with adhesive. They then covered his privates with an ice cold towel and worked up the faux vagina. It was easier to massage his testicles into his abdomen and his penis into the sheath this way. They then tacked down the edges of the faux vagina with the adhesive. They then used a semi permanent makeup to hide the edges and make the appliances match more closely to his skin tone.
“You don’t have to take the faux vagina off to use the restroom, Ricky. You just have to sit down to pee. This adhesive will hold you for up to two weeks, but everything can be removed with a solvent we have,” Susan said.
Rebecca went to work on Ricky’s eyebrows. She trimmed those hairs a little shorter and plucked his brows into a medium width arch. Cindy and Susan applied some acrylic nails to his hands and then polished his finger nails and toes to a nice Rose Red.
They helped Ricky stand and he put on the panties he was given and the bra he had worn earlier.
“He needs a new bra, I think. A 32 D if I calculated it right,” Susan said.
“You are right Susan,” Rebecca said. “A pretty young thing, with some big hooters. You are going to have to fight the boys off Ricky, but don’t worry we are going to help keep the wolves and other predators away from you.”
“Thank You,” Ricky said, a little frightened by the prospect of dealing with boys.
Cindy then started to work on Ricky’s hair with a curling iron, while Susan just added a touch of mascara and a Rose Red lipstick.
“This is a new lipstick and mascara, Ricky. It isn’t good to be trading eye makeup. You could develop or give a girl conjunctivitis from using contaminated eye makeup. Lipstick is personal too, for obvious reasons. We will need to get you some more makeup. How much money do you have?”
“Dad gave me two thousand dollars in traveler’s checks to last over the summer. Mom gave me four hundred in cash.”
“We won’t have you spend more than a third of that on girl’s things Ricky. I will throw four hundred in for my future husband,” Susan said giggling.
“You would have me after all of this?”
“You’re damn right I would Ricky. I am proud of the way you are taking all of this.”
Cindy and Rebecca promised to throw some money in too. They both had AmEx Platinum and a couple of MasterCards and Visa Cards.
Ricky was then dressed in a frilly white lacy chiffon blouse and a navy tweed mid thigh pencil skirt. The girls looked at his feet then.
“Ricky what size shoe do you wear?”
“I wear a size 6.”
“My shoes are out I wear a seven,” Cindy said.
“I wear an eight,” Susan said. “He can wear mine. In fact I have a nice pair of navy pumps with a 2 and 3/4 inch stiletto heel that would just go great with that skirt,” Susan said running back to her room to get the heels, a ladies wallet and a silver Gucci handbag for Ricky.
Cindy helped Ricky into the pumps. They then helped Ricky stand and learn to get around in the shoes. They were surprised at his balance he didn’t wobble all that much, they just had to correct the way he walked and how he carried his arms. They also helped him with the way he talked. His voice was a high enough pitch to pass; they just had to work on his vocabulary and his timbre.
After thirty minutes he was doing fairly well.
“I think Ricky is doing remarkably well. I think we should take her out and do some shopping.” Rebecca said.
“I don’t know if that is such a good idea guys. What if somebody sees me as a guy in a dress?”
“It doesn’t really matter Ricky. Nobody knows you here and so what if somebody finds out you are a guy. Just thumb your nose at them; it isn’t any of their business. Nobody will hurt you, while we are with you, so don’t be afraid. Besides, you look so good I doubt anybody would even twig,” Cindy said. “We need to get you some more things to wear and it will be better and more fun if you were there with us.”
Susan looked lovingly at Ricky, “You look so beautiful Ricky, better than any of the other guys I dressed up. I love you so much dear, if you don’t want to go out I will understand, but I think you will have so much fun going out with us.”
Ricky wrapped his arms around Susan’s neck and kissed her deeply for what seemed forever. Cindy and Rebecca just looked at each other and giggled.
“Cindy, go get the fire extinguisher. We need to put out a fire,” Rebecca said.
“Sure thing Becca.”
The two love birds broke off their kiss. Susan had to repair their makeup and Cindy and Rebecca emptied the contents of his boy’s wallet into her lady’s wallet. They then loaded Ricky’s handbag with all the sundry things ladies carry in their handbags.
Susan looked at Ricky’s school ID, “Wow Ricky, I don’t mean to hurt you, but your ID photo looks more feminine than masculine.”
“I have had that problem all my life Susan. If I wore my hair short, long or in between, it didn’t really matter. I was even accosted once by an irate female teacher for not wearing a bra to school once. On the beach a life guard told me that this wasn’t a topless beach until I turned. She looked at my chest and the Speedo I was wearing and got really embarrassed.”
“Well I don’t care, you are still man enough for me,” Susan said smiling. “At least your ID says Ricky A. Davis. We can still keep calling you Ricky only it you will be Richelle Annette Davis. How does that sound to you?”
“I love it.”
Chapter 6
The girls had themselves a group hug and then headed out the door. Rebecca took the shawl out of the window before they went out the door.
The first place they went to was an outlet mall. This was a group of stores that sold seconds and irregulars of name brands. The stores included stores that exclusively sold Levis, Nike, Maidenform, Bali, Liz Claiborne and others. Their were at least forty or fifty different brand stores at this mall.
Their first stop was at the Merle Norman store. The girls walked up to the technician, who introduced herself as Colleen. The girls each introduced themselves
Rebecca said, “We are here to corrupt our little sister Ricki. Her mother never let her dress in sexy clothes or wear makeup. We think she is so pretty that that is a shame.”
“She isn’t the only girl I have met with such Puritanical parents,” Colleen said looking closely at Ricki’s face, “I agree you are so pretty Ricki. Your skin is so nice; I see that you take good care of it. How old are you?”
“Thank you Colleen, I am eighteen.”
“Well let’s see how we can introduce you to the world of womanhood.”
Colleen started the routine she had used thousands of times with her customers. She started on skin care and told Ricki that she had normal skin, which was good. She then began to use various products on her face explaining the products as she used them. Although Ricky thought his face was fairly clean, Colleen showed him how much crud there was on the cleaning pad she used. She emphasized that even if Ricki wore no makeup that she had to take care of her skin and it was more important if she did wear makeup.
“Since you have such nice skin, minimum day makeup for you will be mascara, and lipstick. You can add some eyeshadow if you want and maybe just a little blush to your cheeks. At night and for glamour, you can go whole hog, like I am doing now,” Colleen said as she worked on Ricki’s face.
She had first matched Ricki for foundation. Using a sponge she worked a very small amount all over her face and down her throat, feathering it lighter the lower she went. She found a blush that looked great on Ricki’s skin and added a touch to both cheeks. She then showed Ricki how to use an eyelash curler, eyebrow pencil, eye liner and mascara. Colleen then used three different eyeshadows to give Ricki some smoky eyes. Rebecca kept notes on what products Colleen used on Ricki’s face.
The girls couldn’t believe how gorgeous Ricki was. Their mouths hung open and they were speechless.
“Susan you better go buy a shot gun. It will be the only way we will be able to keep the guys away from our sister,” Cindy said.
Ricki was almost speechless herself, “Is that really me Colleen.”
“Yes it is really you dear,” Colleen said. This girl had been so easy to work with she had more fun than she usually had. She really enjoyed bringing out the inner beauty of her clients.
Colleen then did something she usually didn’t do. For the next hour she went through five different looks leaving Ricki with an evening appropriate look. The girls got Ricki two and three of each thing that was used. The cost was astronomical in Ricki’s opinion, but Susan just plunked down one of her Platinum cards and said nothing about it.
Ricki couldn’t explain what happened next, instead of just picking up a few things, her friends just seemed to lose it. All the girls seemed to get a glint in their eyes and hit the stores with a fashion stores with a vengeance. Even Ricki began to enjoy what they were doing.
Next stop was Bali’s. Where Ricki got three very lacy under wire bras, two T-Shirt bras, a dozen of the prettiest panties Ricki had ever seen, a demi bra, a slumber bra, a sports bra, slips, a half dozen stay up stockings, a half dozen regular stockings, three garter belts, a dozen pantyhose, three babydoll nighties, a satin sleep shirt, a satin robe and a silk robe. At the check out Rebecca plunked down her MasterCard. The cost wasn’t as bad as it could have been, irregulars and seconds were discounted deeply, but still it cost a lot to Ricki.
Ricki began to worry about all the money the girls were spending. Between Bali and Liz Claiborne he asked the girls about it.
“Don’t worry little sister,” Susan said. “My college is paid for all the way to a PhD, and Momma gives me five thousand a month to live on. I hardly spend over two thousand, thanks to Laura, Cindy and Debbie. On top of that I have a six figure trust, from my grandmother, a high six figure trust. I just don’t like the rich bitch act that some girls with money put on.”
“Rebecca and I work, we have scholarships, grants and money from home too Ricki,” Cindy said. “This isn’t hurting us one bit. Besides we are having fun. That is worth a million bucks to us.”
So it went from one store to another. Ricki received a quality wardrobe. She was given six dresses, a dozen skirts, almost two dozen blouses, tops and T’s, slack’s, jeans, work out clothes, shoes, purses, handbags, she had her ears pierced and two dozen earrings from studs to drops to hoops, bracelets, bangles, broaches, necklaces and such. They had to call a cab for three of the four to get home.
At home the girls all took an armful up to the condo. After Susan opened the door, they went inside and saw three more girls popping corn and setting up a party tray.
“Oh hi girls,” Susan said. “Girls this is Ricki Davis. Ricki this is Carrie Wright, Amanda Colburn and Stacy Lewis. They are three of our sisters.”
“Hi Ricki,” Stacy said.
“Oh, who is the lucky girl?” Amanda asked, eyeing all the packages.
“To heck with the movie girls, Fashion show!” Carrie shouted with glee.
“These are all Ricki’s bags and there are more bags in my car,” Rebecca said.
“Just drop the bags off in the living room,” Cindy said, as the girls left the condo like a herd of buffalo stampeding.
When they were alone, Cindy turned to Ricki, “These girls know that you are Laura’s brother. She told them to expect you. They love your sister very much Ricki, we all do. They would never do anything to hurt you. They just want to let down their hair and have some fun. I will understand if you don’t want to go along with this idea of theirs, but I assure you that you will have fun too.”
Ricki had been a little worried about these new girls and he looked longingly towards Susan.
“It’s up to you dear, but why don’t you go along with it? I will scratch all of their eyes out if they hurt you.”
“Ok, I guess.”
The girls emptied Rebecca’s car far faster than it took to fill it. Everything was set out and organized, while the center of the room was cleared for the fashion show. Stacy Lewis became the defacto MC of the show as she was the sorority’s President. She helped organize the clothes into outfits and set a logical progression of dress.
The girls worked together. They undressed and dressed Ricki. They gave her tips on walking, presentation, makeup, hair and demeanor. At first Ricki’s nervousness was apparent, but as the show went on Ricki didn’t have time to worry. When it came to the four inch heels that were bought for her, the girls worked hard to help her become fluid and graceful.
After three hours of constantly changing clothes and modeling them for the assembled girls, Ricki collapsed on a couch wearing a white lacy babydoll, panties, garter belt, stockings, white pumps with a four inch heel and a t strap that fastened above the ankle, a gauzy peignoir that she had never seen before and her face made up in the sexiest look yet. Her hair had been twisted into a knot except for two ringlets that framed her face.
It was then that Ricki noticed that all the girls there had at some point changed into sleepwear. A couple of the girls were just as sexily dressed as she was, while others were less so. The girls made him stand once more and each girl gave him hugs and kisses.
Susan grabbed Ricki and claimed a section of floor for the two of them. Blankets, sleeping bags and pillows magically appeared and the girls got busy laying out pallets. Lastly a movie was started, food was passed out and the girls got comfortable.
Ricki was in heaven spooned up with Susan. The movie was Never Been Kissed. Susan and Ricki necked a little bit but Ricki fell asleep before half the movie was over.
Chapter 7
Ricki was a float in a silk and satin cloud. She could never remember feeling better as she was gently nudged into wakefulness by the smells of bacon and coffee. As her eyes fluttered open she felt the weight of an arm across his abdomen. Susan was holding onto her tightly. She felt an urgency in her bladder that made her want to get up in a hurry.
One of the girls, Carrie, saw her wake and recognized the look helped Ricki disentangle herself without waking Susan, stand in the 4 inch heels and herded her to the downstairs half bath.
“Wash your face too sweety, clean the makeup off your face before you come out,” Carrie said, giving Ricki a hug.
Ricki pulled down her panties and sat to relieve herself. She couldn’t believe how long it took to finish. Looking into the mirror afterwards she looked like a Halloween horror picture. Her makeup was smeared and streaked. Her eyes looked like raccoon eyes, her lipstick was smudged and she wore about a half dozen different shades where she had been kissed last night by all the girls.
While she was cleaning off the makeup off her face, the door to the bath room opened and another girl, Rebecca popped in to use the restroom.
“Sorry Ricky I just couldn’t wait. I was about to wet myself.”
“That’s ok, I know the feeling. That is what woke me up.”
“Did you sleep well, honey?”
“I can’t remember sleeping as well as last night. I dreamt that I was afloat on a cloud of silk, lace and satin.”
“That is one of the benefits of being a girl Ricki. Did you have fun last night?”
“I guess I did, yes it was wonderful. I have a few friends back home, but I would never have done what we did last night with them. I just loved last night.”
“It wasn’t too intense was it?”
“I have to admit it was intense, but I wouldn’t trade last night for anything.”
Rebecca finished her business, washed her hands and kissed Ricki’s cheek.
Back in the living room some of the girls were already dressed. One girl had gone out earlier and bought several different type hangers. There were padded hangers, hangers that had slots for straps, skirt hangers and such. Several girls were hanging up Ricki’s clothes with others were folding and sorting her lingerie, taking things upstairs when they got an armful. Another girl started trimming Ricki’s hair after spritzing it with water. She didn’t cut much, she said, she was just trimming the split ends off. She then she rolled up Ricki’s hair and covered it with a shower cap.
After that they cleaned off the table and served breakfast. Ricki could swear that the girls were watching each mouthful of food she ate. She had two eggs, three strips of bacon, two slices of toast with jelly and a glass of orange juice.
When they finished she was escorted up to the bathroom and stripped. Stacy made her stand on a scale, twice, after the first time another of the girls stood on the scales to check their accuracy. Amanda ran her bath adding bathing salts and oils, Susan checked her for stray hairs,
Ricki was allowed to soak in the warmth of the tub till the water began to chill. She then began to clean herself with a loofah and a fragrant body wash. Her skin had a healthy glow as she stood and rinsed off. Two girls patted her dry, another hit her armpits with deodorant while Susan rubbed her down with a body lotion. Ricki had died and gone to heaven.
Ricki was then led to her room, where Stacy explained where she could find her things, opening her drawers to show her, her panties bras and things. Her T-shirts and tops in another drawer, her slips in another. All while selecting things for Ricki to wear.
Ricki wound up in a light blue scoop neck blouse, skin tight low rise jeans, t shirt bra, pantyhose, white satin bikini panty and a pair of strappy black sandals with a three inch heel. Carrie sat Ricki down and talked her through putting her makeup on. It took Ricki a couple of tries before Carrie was satisfied with the results. Lastly Carrie took the rollers out of Ricki’s hair and brushed it out. She made sure that Ricki’s purse had what she needed to make repairs and the troop of girls headed out to hit the mall.
The first place they hit at the mall was a hair dresser. After signing in at the desk, they sat and waited a bit. Ricki was looking through a book of hairstyles. Susan and Stacy would point out various styles and comment on how Ricki would look in them. Ricki saw a shot of Jessica Alba in a long layered style.
“Would that be easy to take care of,” Ricki asked.
“Yes it would Ricki,” Stacy said. “You just brush it everyday and shake it out. You would look good with it.”
Susan leaned over and whispered in his ear, “To go back to a boy’s style you would have to loose about half your hair, but I like it.”
Ricki was startled to hear her name called. She and Susan went up to the stylist who called her name.
“Hi I am Linda, and I will be your stylist today. Which one of you is Ricki she asked?”
“I am Ricki and this is my friend Susan.”
“Well just follow me please.”
Linda led them to her station and had Ricki sit down.
“Now what can I do for you today Ricki?”
“I would like to have my hair styled and colored today.”
“I can do that for you. Have you selected what you want?”
“I would like to have a long layered style like Jessica Alba and I would really love it in a dark auburn, if that is possible.”
Susan’s heart sank a bit, she was partial to blondes, but she thought with Ricki’s eyes and coloration, a dark auburn would really look sweet.
“I think that would look lovely on you Ricki, I think we could add some red and brown highlights to your hair too. What do you think?” Lucy said.
Ricki looked to Susan who said, “As long as it isn’t too red, like a light auburn to a copper red. I think it would be great.”
“That sounds great; we’ll color your hair and then style it.”
“If you want to come back in a couple of hours Susan, Ricki should be ready then.”
“Yes Susan, I want this to be a surprise to you too.”
“Ahh gee, I just ain’t wanted around here anymore Sis.”
“You are wanted Sis, just not now.”
Susan kissed Ricki’s cheek and told her to take care.
The sisters all left the salon and wandered about the mall. Several stopped in shops to look at this or that. Some stopped and bought their little Sister something here or there. The girls just couldn’t believe how they reacted to Ricki and how Ricki reacted to them. They couldn’t explain it but it was like she belonged to them and they belonged to her. They truly felt she was their little sister.
Ricki loved what Lucy had done to her hair. She jumped out of the chair and gave Lucy a big hug and wore a thousand watt smile.
“Thank you so much, Lucy.”
“You are so welcome dear, now sit down and let me show you how to adjust your makeup with your new colors.”
Lucy showed Ricki how to best utilize her makeup palette to take advantage of the changes in color to her hair. Ricki told Lucy how strict her Mom had been on hair style and makeup.
“Let me guess, she made you wear your hair either straight or in a bun?”
Ricki just nodded, “She didn’t use makeup and she believed her daughters didn’t need it either.”
“Well it certainly becomes you well. You are simply gorgeous Ricki. A girl doesn’t have to look like a slut with makeup, some girls who don’t know how to do it properly often do, but with proper use makeup can enhance beauty.”
I am glad I got the chance to work with this girl, Lucy thought. I really feel sorry for girls who have ultra strict parents.
Ricki was glad that her sisters hadn’t returned yet. She got to pay her own bill and left a twenty percent tip for Lucy. She hoped that that was enough.
Chapter 8
Ricki stood outside the salon and waited for the group. She only had to wait for about five minutes when they showed up. She couldn’t help noticing all the looks she got from both boys and girls. She knew what the boys were thinking after all she was one. It was the girls looking at her she couldn’t understand.
When the sisters got back to the salon, They just couldn’t believe what they saw. Ricki had gone from beautiful to stunning. Many of them thought that Ricki’s good looks were wasted on a boy, because she made a really wonderful looking girl. They excitedly hugged her and made her turn for them so they could get a good look. Their excitement was contagious and Ricki got caught up in it, smiling broadly.
The girls led Ricky to the food court. Ricki got a salad, two bread sticks and two pieces of pizza along with a high octane coke. Ricki still felt like she was under observation while she ate.
While they ate the girls passed Ricki packages. One girl had stopped at the Paul Mitchell store and had purchased some shampoo, conditioner and hair spray. Another had purchased a couple of silk scarves. A third had gotten a half dozen bottles of nail lacquer and matching lipsticks. All in all the girls had bought things other than clothing that they felt a girl like Ricki needed.
“I was thinking I like to swim, but I don’t think my old Speedo would be appropriate swim wear.”
“How good a swimmer are you?” Carrie asked.
“Pretty good, I was the first alternate on the four man relay, second best in the butterfly and breast stroke and first in back stroke at my school. I was a good sprinter but lacked the stamina for the longer events. Although the forms and hips look good, I feel I need to keep them covered. I don’t think they will tan too well.”
“We know just the place to go Ricki,” Stacy said.
After they finished eating they led their sister to a shop that specialized in swimwear. They looked at the various suit styles. Ricki must have tried on half the suits in the store that fit her. The owner had told her to keep her underwear on when trying on the suits. Ricki selected a competition suit, in USC’s cardinal and gold along with a swim cap and goggles, a flowery red, yellow and orange tankini. Susan picked out a gold bikini bra and a cardinal bikini boy-cut bottom. Ricki didn’t know who paid for them, just that she wasn’t given the opportunity.
Ricki thought about all the clothes, makeup, jewelry and things the girls had bought for her. In her heart she knew that she wouldn’t be her male self for a while, maybe the whole summer. She didn’t care; she liked everything she had experienced so far. She knew that when she went into the salon this morning. She didn’t know if she wanted to stay this way for the rest of her life, but being with Susan had excited something in her she hadn’t felt before. She felt she wanted to be a boy for Susan, yet she felt so good dressed as a girl. Life right now was good.
Ricki did fret a bit about what Laura would say or do. Her sister would be back tomorrow after all. Ricki just didn’t let her fears rule and spoil her time with the girls she now considered her sisters.
“I have a question Susan.”
“What do you want to know sweety?”
“Look at all of us. Every one of us is good looking and I have seen some guys our age looking us over but none of them have made an effort to move in on us.”
“It is the herd it is the herd mentality, Ricki. When a large group of girls are together it is harder for one or two guys to try to cull a girl from the group. If the girls don’t want the attention, it is next to impossible. They just from a circle the guys can’t overcome. Didn’t you ever see that at your school?”
“Some I guess. I interacted with girls more than guys, but the girls weren’t interested in me as a partner. They just treated me as a friend. That is the kiss of death for a guy, always a friend and never a lover.”
Susan leaned over and whispered in Ricki’s ear, “Not all girls are like that lover.”
“We haven’t…”
“We can’t… yet, but I will be patient. I promise you.”
Their last stop Stacy insisted was into the GNC (General Nutrition Center. They specialized in vitamins, nutrients and such.) Stacy and Rebecca consulted with the nutritionist there. They purchased 90 days of a multivitamin for women, a B complex, a sublingual B 12, a calcium supplement with vitamin D and a C complex.
Outside the GNC, Ricki stopped the girls and said, “I don’t need any vitamins. I have never taken any before.”
“Yes you do Ricki. Our foods these days are depleted of vitamins, and you need them to stay healthy,” Stacy said, her hands on her hips, a stance that Ricki had seen her mother take often when she was laying down the LAW.
“But…,” Ricki started as she noticed she was surrounded on all sides by the girls. “Alright I guess.”
Susan smiled and said, “See, I knew she would be sensible.”
“Movie time girls,” Stacy said.
“Chinese,” “Burgers,” “Mexican,” the girls called out. Mexican got the most votes.
“Mexican it is girls. I will stop at Taco House and meet ya’ll at the digs,” Stacy said.
“I’ll get the movies,” Carrie volunteer.
Back at the condo Ricki took off all her clothes and changed into her long satin sleep shirt and matching panties. She also took time to sort through some of the things she had been given today. She found a bottle of Perfume, she didn’t know how girls applied it but she knew they only used a very little. So she just put her finger over the mouth, turned the bottle back and forth, then she rubbed her finger over her neck.
Downstairs Ricki found a spot on the couch between Susan and Rebecca.
When the food arrived the girls opened the sacks of food and placed it on the table. Susan and Ricki passed around diet cokes and Cindy got paper plates. Ricki was asked about how she felt and about how she liked being a girl. She told them that she felt great and she liked being a girl right now. What she liked best was how close she felt to everyone here right now.
“I mean I have more friends in you girls than I had at home in New York. It feels like we are really a family. I guess I was happy in New York, but I really, really love being here with all of you.”
Stacy stood up; she looked at all the sisters around the table and said, “I think I can speak for everyone here. Even if it is only for a little while we consider it an honor to be your sisters.”
Ricki wasn’t able to enjoy the movies as much as she would have liked. Her sister would be back tomorrow and Ricki would have to face the music, so to speak, but she kept a brave face and refused to drag down everyone’s spirit. She didn’t realize that many of the girls with her this night shared the same feelings with her.
Ricki couldn’t believe how things had just snow balled on her. It was like an avalanche that once started refused to end. They had gone out to buy a few clothes and now she had a full wardrobe. She had even made it next to impossible to return to being Ricky this summer herself. She wondered in her heart if she had done that on purpose.
The next morning Ricki was the second person awake. Cindy was in the kitchen and was starting breakfast for everyone. Ricki hurried in the bathroom down stairs to do her business.
Ricki began helping Cindy fix breakfast for the troop. The smell of coffee and food cooking seemed to wake the dead. All the girls pitched in where they could and soon they were all eating. The next thing the girls did after eating was they set about washing dishes, cleaning the condo from top to bottom and doing the laundry.
When everything was right as rain Carrie, Amanda and Stacy made their farewells. That left Cindy, Susan, Rebecca and Ricki to face Laura when she got home.
The remaining girls then took turns bathing and getting dressed. Ricki with the other girls’ assistance took a long time getting her hair and face right. She then selected a matching beige satin bra and panty set, garter belt, stockings, camisole, mini half slip, a black mid thigh skirt and black three inch pumps.
Ricki was sitting with her back to the door as Laura entered the condo at about four that evening. She smiled when she saw her sisters and excitedly said, “Hi.” She walked over and the girls exchanged greetings with her.
She saw Ricki sitting there. She was use to her sisters bringing girls over that were hoping to pledge. She came over to the girl extended her hand and said, “Hello, I am Laura Davis.”
Ricki stood and as she started to speak a look of recognition spread over Laura’s face, “Hi Sis, how are you?” Ricki said.
Chapter 9
Laura was a little stunned, not only due to the fact that her brother was standing before her dressed as a girl, but also by how beautiful her brother was. “Oh my. Ricky you are so beautiful. Susan what the hell is going on?” All this was said in almost a continuous staccato.
“Let me start off,” Rebecca said, and she told the tale from what she knew.
Cindy then picked up the story about coming home and finding Rebecca and Ricky dressed like this. She explained that she decided that Ricki should remain dressed as a girl till Laura could decide if any punishment was due.
Susan then told Laura how all this happened from what she knew. She stated that she liked Ricki so much that she wanted him to know all about her, warts and all. She had shown Ricki her toy box not to get him into this lifestyle but to help explain some of the things she had told him.
Ricki then told his tale. “I am sorry Sis. I don’t know why I did what I did. I guess I was so in love with Susan that I just wanted to be a part of her life. If this was how she liked her guys, then that is what I wanted. I violated your trust along with Cindy’s and Susan’s trust. I feel I deserve to be punished. I just didn’t think this through.”
Laura sat in stunned amazement as everyone told their stories. She didn’t know what to say and kept quiet afraid to say the wrong things.
“You guys stay here for a bit. I need to go upstairs to my room for a few minutes to think and clean up a bit.”
Laura headed up to her room and into her bathroom. She took care of her personal needs and washed her salt tightened face and hair.
“I think that went really well, don’t you Susan?” Rebecca stated.
“She hates me now,” Ricki stated.
“She may be upset with you and me Ricki, but she doesn’t hate you,” Susan said.
“I agree with Rebecca, Ricki. I think she took it well. Your sister is a good person and she was bragging about you to all of us. Some of us have brothers that aren’t fit to be around decent people, but I really like you,” Cindy added.
Laura couldn’t believe Ricky had gone into the girls’ room. He had never done that to her, at least to the best of her knowledge he hadn’t. He had even seemed to not want to touch her or mom’s things when he did the laundry back home. She was still amazed by how he looked and smelled. He looked as good as most of her sorority sisters and better than some of them.
What was this talk about love? Laura did believe in love at first sight. She also believed that it was rare. There was no other explanation for why Susan had bared her soul to Ricky. All the girls in the sorority knew of Susan’s proclivity to dress her boyfriends, but Susan was so nice it didn’t seem to bother any of them. Ricky did look so good; he looked like a cross between their mother and their father while Laura herself took more after their mother’s mother.
It might do Ricky some good to spend some time as a girl. It might give him an appreciation for what girls go through. Ricky did make such a beautiful girl, she thought. But he did get into their clothes and makeup. She knew these were things that many girls found very personal. He did needed to be taught a lesson about that.
Laura made up her mind and went down stairs. She hoped what she was about to do was right.
Ricki was sitting on the couch with Cindy, Rebecca and Susan when Laura came down. Laura didn’t look mad, but she did look determined.
“Well Ricky, what am I going to do with you? You went into Susan and Cindy’s room and got into their things.”
“You are partially wrong, Laura,” Rebecca said. “He went into their room and got into some things that Susan had showed him.”
“But he is dressed as a girl?”
“That is another story,” Cindy said.
“You still went into Cindy and Susan’s room right?”
“Yes ma’am,” Ricki said.
“You got into Susan’s toy box right?”
“Yes ma’am,”
“You’re dressed as a girl now right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You violated Cindy and Susan’s privacy, right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You were wrong in doing that, right?
“Yes ma’am.”
“Ok we got that settled. I agree that you should be punished. Don’t you agree Ricky?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“What would you do if I confined Ricky to the condo for the rest of the summer?”
“Well I wouldn’t like it, but I think it is right in a way. I would take whatever punishment you decide. So I would stay inside the condo for the rest of the summer.”
Laura was never prouder of her brother than at this moment.
“Then that is my decision.”
Susan, Cindy and Rebecca couldn’t believe how harsh Laura was being. They had never thought she would do something like this and they jumped up to complain.
Laura smiled and held up her hands for her sisters to stop.
“I am not happy that you went into their room, but it is good to see you owning up to what you did. You could have denied it. No, I guess seeing you like this that would be hard to do, but you could have made attempts to justify your actions but you didn’t. So till the end of August, Richard Allen Davis will not step out of this condo, but at least for a short while my sister may as long as she has someone with her. Being dressed as a girl is not and I want to repeat that “IS NOT,” a punishment, except maybe for some of those horrid bridesmaid dresses some of out girlfriends make us wear, or maybe having to wear an anti-bellum or Victorian corset. After she learns the lay of the land and such, she can go outside on her own. I want to make sure she can handle herself as a girl first.”
Ricki and the girls had been sitting on the edge of their seats. After Laura had finished her pronouncement, their expressions had gone from sad shock to joyous amazement. Ricki jumped up from her seat and hugged her sister fiercely.
“I am sorry sister, I love you so much. Thank you,” Ricki said, crying on Laura’s shoulder.
Cindy, Susan and Rebecca joined their sisters in the celebration.
“I just can’t believe how pretty you are Ricky,” Laura said, hugging her brother.
“I am not as pretty as you are Sis.”
“Oh honey, you are sweet, but I can see with my own eyes. So what are we going to call you?”
“Ricki with an i Annette Davis,” Ricki supplied.
“Ok Ricki with an i Annette Davis. I suppose we need to get you some clothes.”
“No, Luara, we don’t. Now is time for the rest of the story.”
Rebecca took Laura’s hand and led her up the stairway, with Ricki holding Susan’s hand and Cindy following behind. Rebecca showed Laura all of Ricki’s clothes, lingerie and makeup. The girls explained how they had gone out to get Ricki just a few things and wound up buying the whole store, so to speak. Laura asked about the wig that Ricki wore and he explained that it was his real hair and about how he decided to change his hair and why. Laura was flabbergasted but happy for Ricki.
“Damn, I am going to have to borrow some of my brother’s clothes,” Laura said.
“I kind of doubt that Laura, you would have to lose twenty pounds to get in some of her outfits,” Rebecca said, teasing Laura. “She is way smaller than you, except for in the bust.”
“Damn, you got me there. Oh well.”
Sitting down on Ricki’s bed Laura asked, “I heard the words love and like. What is that all about?”
Susan and Ricki explained how they felt to Laura.
“You do know that you two can’t do the nasty for at least,” Laura stopped to think for a few seconds. “A year right?”
They each answered in the affirmative.
“Well I am going to need to talk to both of you individually and together several times in the next weeks. So don’t go and get too involved. Do you two understand?”
Again they answered in the affirmative.
“Did you have to make him so big in the chest, Susan? I am so jealous and glad that I am not that big.”
“I only have one set of breastforms Laura. On most guys it would make them a B cup or a C cup at the most. But Ricki is so…”
“I know, so small. He gets that from Dad’s side of the family.”
“Then Ricki is not anorexic?” Rebecca asked.
“No he isn’t, at least I don’t think he is.”
“I am not Sis.”
“Well we need to tell the rest of the sisters. They were expecting a boy named Ricky.”
“Stacy, Carrie and Amanda already know,” Cindy stated.
“Ouch! If Amanda knows.”
“The rest of the sisters that are in town know,” Rebecca finished.
“And some of them that aren’t here in town this summer, already know,” Susan added.
Rebecca looked and Laura and Ricki, “I don’t think we have to worry about the sisters though. All of them so far have treated Ricki very nicely.”
“Still it isn’t the sisters I worry about; it is who the sisters might let it slip to.”
“I think Stacy has that in hand. I talked to her this morning before they left,” Cindy added. “I do know the girls who Ricki has met love her.”
“Ok, Ricki come up to my room we need to have some sister time.”
Ricki followed his sister up to her room; Laura closed the door after they were both entered the room. Ricki looked all around. This was definitely a girl’s room and Ricki could see her sister’s touches to the room.
“Laura, I said I am sorry about all of this already.”
“I know, this isn’t about your situation. I just wanted to talk. Can’t I talk to my favorite bro… I mean sister? It is going to take some getting use to calling you sister.”
“They think of me like you do your sorority sisters.”
“Uhm that might just work. I haven’t seen you in like a whole year. How have you been doing?”
“I have been doing alright. Nothing much has changed since you left.”
“That bad huh.”
“Yes that bad. I don’t let it get to me though.”
“No girl friend back home then.”
“You know the kind of boys most girls like, Laura. After all you are a very pretty specimen.”
“Thank you, Ricki, and yeah I know what you mean. So tell me, how do you feel about Susan?”
“I think I fell in love with her the first time I saw her. Then when she kissed me, I knew that I really did love her.”
“Are you sure that wasn’t lust, Ricki?”
“Yes because I felt that too. I don’t know how to explain it, Sis. It was like a light came on in my brain and I wanted to do whatever it took to make her happy.”
“I see the same thing in Susan. You know what Mom and Dad would say about it, don’t you.”
“You’re not going to tell them about this,” Ricki said, indicating the way he was dressed.
“No, of course not. I was talking about you and Susan being in love.”
“Probably, if it really is love, it will be there after I graduate from college.”
“I think you got the idea, and it is true Ricki. If you two really love each other, it can wait till you are emotionally and mentally ready for it. So how were Mom and Dad doing?”
“I think they are doing great. They were acting so lovey dovey when I left, that I was suffering from sugar shock. Mom said that this was a second honeymoon for her.”
“What about Dad?”
“He was sick back in January. He went to a couple of Doctors and spent a few days in the hospital, but he said he got a clean bill of health.”
“It must have been something. You know how Dad feels about Doctors.”
“I know, but he was doing great since then. It was like he had a whole new lease on life.”
This statement bothered Laura. She would have to talk to Rebecca. “Ok Ricki, I need a nap go on downstairs. Wake me at dinner time. Oh and send Rebecca up.”
Ricki gave his sister a big hug. It really felt good to Laura.
“You know you really do make a very pretty girl,” Laura said as her brother/sister left.
Ricki called Laura after Cindy and Susan had finished making dinner. The girls sat around the table and chatted amiably as they ate.
“Ok Ricki this is how it is. I have three classes that are Monday through Thursday, from nine till four. We all have to leave here by eight and we will be back by four thirty. Stay around the Condo till we get back. You can go outside but stay on the property. We will take you around and show you where you can go by yourself. It is easy to get lost around here and you don’t have to travel far to find a bad section of town,” Laura said.
“She isn’t kidding Ricki,” Susan said. “Richard might have been able to move about somewhat safely but Ricki, you look so beautiful… Well we just want you to be safe.”
“I know Susan. Girls are much more of a target of violence than guys. On top of that I don’t know how to deal with people as a girl would. On top of that I am not really a girl. If that fact got out… Well I know some gay and lesbians at my school who were harassed and beaten. Can I at least go swimming here?”
“You don’t have a suit do you?” Laura asked.
Ricki held up three fingers as she chewed her food. Cindy and Susan just nodded their heads.
“Does she look good in them?”
Susan blushed and said. “She looks very good in them. They are in USC colors no less.”
“Go Trojans, I guess it is ok Ricki. First sign of problems though please get inside. Do you have a key yet?”
“No I don’t sis.”
Laura got her purse and took out a spare key she kept handy.
“Don’t loose it Sis, and I do love you, you knucklehead.”
Chapter 10
Ricki shook her head and looked with a partially open eye. The sky was dark outside and he was now shifting into wakefulness. Looking over at the clock radio next to his bed and he saw the numbers 4:06 burning into his retina.
Ricki got up and staggered into the bathroom. He usually just showered, but she had really loved the bubble baths she had over the last four days. The fragrant soothing bath salts sat on the ledge of the tub so she added about an inch from the bottle and began to add some very warm water. Ricki took care of the pressure in her bladder, sitting down was now second hand to her. She put on a shower cap and stepped into the warm tub and relaxed.
Being a girl wasn’t so bad she thought. The fragrance and warmth set her spirit soaring. She thought she could stay in the tub forever, at least till the water began to cool.
It was still just 5:15 when Ricki returned to her bedroom. She looked in her closet and selected a classic long sleeved polyester blouse in a dark turquoise and a gray mini-skirt. From her lingerie drawers she selected a dark blue bra and panties and a pair of off black sheer pantyhose.
Ricki dressed in her underwear and pantyhose, the feel of nylon going up her leg was incredible; she didn’t know how girls could not love the feeling. Then she sat down to try to work on her face. She cleansed her face and tried to get a little fancy with her makeup but after many tries she decided to keep it simple. She curled her eyelashes and then added foundation, powder, mascara and lipstick. Ricki didn’t know she had such thick, long lashes till the girls put mascara on her. It was one thing she loved about her sister’s eyes.
She then put on her blouse and skirt, and then she selected a pair of black sandals. For jewelry she added a couple of silver bangles and a silver clad turquoise drop on a silver necklace to complete her look.
Still it was only 6:04 and she was bored. Ricki went into the kitchen and decided to make breakfast for everybody. First she started a pot of coffee. She then took a potato and diced it fairly small. She set the bits in a pot of salted water and began to boil it. She found an onion and bell pepper and chopped these up. She put the vegetables in a frying pan with a little butter. She sautéed them till the onions began to turn translucent and began to brown a bit. She drained the potatoes and added them to the pan with a can of chili. She then cracked a half dozen eggs and began scrambling them with salt, pepper and cumin. Just before she finished she added some grated cheddar cheese.
Cindy, Susan and Laura had awakened and followed their noses to the kitchen. Laura set the table, while Cindy started making toast and Susan setting glasses of milk on the table.
“That smells wonderful Ricki,” Laura asked. “What is it?”
“It’s what I call shipwreck eggs,” Ricki said, telling the girls what was in the dish.
Susan and Cindy were a little uncertain about the dish, but their plates were clean when they left the table to get ready for school. They all gave Ricki their complements for the meal as she cleared the table, put the dishes in the dishwasher and took a clean wet dishcloth to the table.
Laura came downstairs with her book bag, dressed in shorts, a tank and a pair of cross trainers.
“Sweety, Rebecca will be by about twelve-thirty. She is going to show you around campus. She is also going to get you a cell phone charged to my account. So be ready for her. You might prepare sandwiches or a salad for you and her. Take care and be safe,” Laura said giving Ricki a hug.
“Ok Sis, have a nice day.”
“Thank you Ricki.”
Susan was in a rush and gave Ricki a kiss that lingered for a few seconds before bolting out the door.
Ricki checked out the cable stations on their HD TV. She liked the resolution of the TV and watched part of a movie, but became bored after a few minutes. Ricki checked to see what DVD’s and BD’s (blue ray discs) they had. She found a ten disc instructional set for Belly Dancing. On a whim Ricki put the first disc in.
In the two minute intro to the series there was an incredibly beautiful, graceful and sensual lady doing a belly dance. They began the lesson with a ten minute stretch routine, the lady explained the origins of belly dancing and championed its health aspects. She also told the viewers that the most important aspects are for the student, were to enjoy the dance and to smile.
“If you participate in the dance and do not enjoy the dance and don’t smile then belly dancing may not be for you.”
The first lesson on the disc contained the core-movements of the dance. Ricki watched the first few minutes of the core-movements and then stopped the disc. She rearranged the furniture leaving about a section in the middle of the living room open and restarted the disc from the beginning.
She kicked off her heels and found the skirt restrictive so she took off the skirt and blouse before continuing. She looked at herself standing there in just her bra, panties and pantyhose in the living room mirror and smiled.
The section with the core-movements alternated upper body movements with lower body movements and then combined the two. Ricki’s arm movements were a little stiff and lacked grace. For a boy this was normal. The lower body move was hip thrusts. Ricki smiled as she saw herself doing these, she imagined that she was doing them almost as well as the instructors on the screen.
Ricki went through the twenty minute core-movement section three times. She then fast forwarded through the stretch section of the next two sections and got into the lessons. The next lessons took six core-movements and worked on each harder and mixed them up to give the student a better idea of what worked well together. Each of these sections lasted thirty minutes with a five minute free dance period.
Even though the AC was running at 76 degrees Ricki started to work up a sweat. She really worked hard to do everything right and she was starting to feel muscles ache that she hardly used. She could have done a lot more but it had been a while since Ricky had worked his abs so hard, especially the lower abs. At the end of the second lesson Ricki looked to her right and saw Rebecca watching her.
She began to applaud and said, “Ricki that was wonderful. You were very good dear.”
She smiled and said thank you, then she realized how she was dressed. She tried to cover herself up.
“Come on now Ricki, you know I have seen you with less on. Anyway belly dancers are almost always as skimpily dressed as you are now,” Rebecca said. “Go catch a shower and we’ll go visit the campus.”
Ricki did catch a quick shower, shampoo and condition of her hair and dressed in clean underwear and pantyhose. Rebecca encouraged her to dress in the same blouse, mini and shoes though. After she blow dried her hair and made up her face, with Rebecca’s assistance they headed to the USC campus.
Rebecca first drove around the perimeter of the campus identifying the various buildings for Ricki. Ricki was amazed at the sheer size of the campus. Rebecca then parked in a lot that her parking permit allowed. They slowly walked around the Campus.
“Everybody that visits our campus is encouraged to visit Tommy Trojan. Tommy Trojan is a statue in front of the Admin Bldg.” She pointed it out as they crossed the quad to get to it.
Ricki looked at the statue and read the base. On one side it had the five attributes of the ideal Trojan. They were Faithful, Scholarly, Skillful, Courageous and Ambitious. On the other side it had a quote from Virgil; "Here are provided seats of meditative joy, where shall rise again the destined reign of Troy."
“Is Tommy Trojan the mascot?” Ricki asked.
“No the Mascot is Traveler; He is the white Andalusian horse that you see ridden at our home football games.”
Rebecca then took Ricki to the campus bookstore. Ricki picked up some USC regalia and souvenirs. She also picked up a USC Trojan scarf, a USC tank and shorts, a tube of lipstick in cardinal red and some gold and cardinal red nail polish. Rebecca picked up a new cell phone for Ricki and put it on Laura’s family plan.
“Laura has a cell phone family plan with unlimited text and 2000 phone minutes; Cindy, Susan, Debbie and I each split the bill. We can call each other without being charged extra and we rarely burn two thousand minutes. Our plan allows for six and you are lucky number six.”
At the student center, they got something to eat and drink as they talked. Ricki kicked off one heel and rubbed her foot and then the other as they talked. Rebecca began to program the phone with all the sisters’ phone numbers on it and texted the girls with Ricki’s new phone number.
“I was mean in a way,” Rebecca said. “I knew how tiring heels can be on feet and wanted you to experience that too. How are your feet?”
“They are a little sore, just like my stomach and sides are.”
“Yes, your sister used to complain about that too, Ricki.”
“My sister belly dances?”
“Yes she does. She and Debbie take lessons and dance with a group. They have performed for the sorority on occasion. They are pretty good at it. They go to classes on Tuesday and Thursday evening, when they are in town. You ought to ask your sister if you can go and watch sometime.”
Ricki smiled and said, “Thank you for telling me Rebecca, I just might do that.”
“Hello Rebecca,” the two girls heard and turned to the voice.
“Oh hello Candace. How are you doing?” Rebecca said, as she stood and greeted the girl with a hug and kiss to her cheeks.
“Doing great girl, just got back into town. Missed my early classes. Oh well I can make up the miss.”
“Candace this is Ricki Davis, Laura is her sister. Ricki this is Candace Mitchell, she is a friend of mine.”
Ricki stood and said, “Hello Candace,” holding out her hand like girls do.
Candace just ignored the hand and gave Ricki a hug and kiss, “Hello Ricki, it is good to meet you. Let me get a coke and I will be right back girls.”
“She seems like a nice lady,” Ricki said.
“Oh she is. I met her the first week I was here. She is a grad and I am a sophomore.”
The three of them just sat and talked for about an hour. Ricky had never been as open as Ricki was now. Of course nobody would sit down and just talk with him.
“Oh look at the time,” Candace said. “Got to run along to my three o’clock class. Ta ta.”
“We need to get home too. The girls will be getting out of class in an hour and I have a seven o’clock class.
At home Ricki after Rebecca left she practiced with her makeup; she was getting a little better at using makeup. She looked at her face and hair; she really did like looking like this. Where this was all going she wondered.
She also took time to change to a pair of Nike’s that felt really good about this time. Her feet were very tender after all the walking she and Rebecca did today. She had seen more than a few girls at USC that dressed nicely and had some sort of sports shoe on their feet. She figured that the girls would wear comfortable shoes to school mostly and then spice things up for social occasions.
When Laura got home she hurried to her room to drop off her things, take care of some pressing matters and to take a few minutes to decompress. Summer classes are very stressful you have all the regular material compressed into fewer number of days.
When she came down stairs Laura found Susan and Ricki talking. Ricki looked pretty good sitting there in her mini, blouse and cross trainers. Laura hardly ever wore heels on campus herself, unless she had a function to attend to and then she usually just carried a pair of heels in her bag.
“Hey guys, whatcha up too?”
“We were just chatting about our days Laura,” Susan said.
“Yeah sis, I watched TV for a while and then Rebecca and I headed to the campus. I couldn’t believe how huge that place is. I met a friend of Rebecca’s, a Candace Mitchell we talked about an hour and a half till she had to get to class. I stopped at the campus bookstore and bought some things, souvenirs stuff mostly. Do they have a pool on campus?”
“Yeah they have an Olympic length pool and a pool for diving. I can take you there a couple of times a week with you as my visitor. They also have a community outreach program to teach kids how to swim. If you were at the Student Center and bookstore, you weren’t too far from the PE bldg where the pool is. How about we show you around so you can learn the lay of the land, Ricki?”
“I would like that, Sis.”
“Let’s go in your car Susan so we can let the top down.”
Susan smiled and got her things. All three of them took time to check their faces before they headed out.
Susan had a 2007 Mercedes Cabriolet Convertible; it was a fire opal, two door convertible that sat four. She sat in the driver’s seat and lowered the top before she let Ricki in the backseat.
Ricki would have loved to sit next to Susan but she didn’t give her sister the chance to sit in the back.
They spiraled out for the complex. Laura and Susan pointed out the highlights of the area, including places to walk around in the day, parks, fast food joints, restaurants that were decent, a nearby cinema, and such. They also pointed out where not to be at night and where not to go at all.
The girls had been right, as nice as the area was a fifteen minute walk in the wrong direction could land someone in deep poo-poo. They drew an imaginary line down one street and asked and begged Ricki not to go past that line. It wasn’t that the area had assaults everyday, but they had quite a few there.
“The police patrols around the complex are enough to keep the problems on the other side of the street. That doesn’t mean the rabble rousers won’t come on our side, it’s just it is harder for them to get away with anything on this side. So generally they avoid this area,” Susan explained.
The girls returned home and began to fix dinner. They set Ricki to doing some tasks like chopping and stirring while they did the bulk of the measuring and mixing.
Dinner was a Caesar salad, a butternut squash soup, beef tenderloin medallions and grilled asparagus. Ricki helped set the table and to set the dishes on the table, along with a picture of ice tea.
Laura, Cindy and Susan all talked about their days, while Ricki reiterated what she had said earlier. After an hour the girls had homework to do so Ricki volunteered to clean up.
(continued)
Ricki learns more about being a girl. She helps her sisters out at home, where she can. Ricki and Laura find out that things are not well with their father. Ricki continues to learn the art of belly-dancing.
Shimmy
by
Paula Dillon
Chapter 11
The next day Ricki woke up an hour later. She had time to luxuriate in a bubble bath, the warm water soaked out the soreness of the previous day. She dressed more casually this morning, she wore her cardinal and gold bikini with her shorts, tank top, and cross trainers. On her face she just used a little mascara and lipstick. She even did her nails in a red/gold diagonal pattern. She used the red as a base coat and then painted half the nail in gold, on a diagonal and covered everything in a clear coat, as she had been shown.
They had a light breakfast of fruit and toast. Cindy and Susan checked that Ricki had taken her vitamins. Laura asked about them and was told what they were. Stacy thought Ricky needed them; because of his weight and all. Laura was familiar with them, so she agreed that they couldn’t do anything but help Ricki.
The girls oohed and ahhed, as they noticed Ricki’s nails.
“I see that you have become a regular Trojan there, sis,” Laura said. “It looks good, but you need a little more practice. I can see a few brush strokes and a bubble or two. We can work on that later.”
After breakfast, the girls got themselves put together and out the door at eight twenty. Ricki headed straight to the TV, stripped down to her bikini and started the first belly dancing disc. She started at the first lesson stretches, and the core-movement section, before getting into the next three lessons. Ricki found the lessons a little easier and she could see herself getting a little more graceful, as she imitated the instructor on the screen. She found that she could do the movements slowly, but when the instructor speeded things up, well… she still had fun.
Ricki was able to take a quick shower, do her makeup, dress in a skirt, blouse, pantyhose and her Nikes. She then made lunch for Rebecca and herself. She made two turkey sandwiches and used the last of the Romaine lettuce to make two salads. She also crushed some mint leaves she had found and added them to a pitcher of tea she had made.
Rebecca sat down with Ricki and ate lunch. They sat and talked a bit.
Ricki told her what Laura, Susan and she had done.
“Now I have to spend some time in the library studying Ricki, but I am going to take you to the student center. You can hang around there or wander about the campus. That will be better than just hanging around the condo. You can call me if you need me.”
“I think that I will like that, there is so much to see on the campus. I just like looking at the things around there.”
“Take your book bag and your purse, so you won’t look out of place.”
Ricky had been used to carrying one of those back-packs at high school, to carry his stuff in and was starting to get use to carrying a purse; girls just didn’t have the pockets to carry all the things they needed.
Rebecca parked in the same parking structure that she had before. She then had Ricki lead the way to the student center. She had to look closely to see where she was a couple of times, but she led them to Tommy Trojan.
They entered the Admin Building, snagged a catalogue and a campus map, before leaving. Rebecca then pointed to the student center and bookstore, before showing her where the library was. She handed the campus map and catalogue to Ricki.
“There are several libraries on campus. That is the Leavey Library and this is the Doheny Library, where I will be.”
They entered the library and Rebecca showed Ricki where she would be. “It’s my favorite table,” she said. Then Ricki took off to explore the campus.
As she wandered about, she found herself overtaken by a group of students that seemed intent on a goal. The group of about twenty students, about 60% male, just moved on by her. As she reached the back of the group, a tall rugged looking jock looked at her and said, “Stay with the group Frosh,”
Ricki started to object, “But I am not…”
“Come on please, I need to keep you guys together. Stay with the group,”
Instead of fighting it Ricki went along with the flow. A couple of girls in the group latched onto her.
“Hi I am Belinda Andrews,” said a tall brunette.
“And I am Chen Li Ming,” a petite oriental girl said, with only the slightest of oriental accents.
“I am Ricki Davis. How are you two doing?”
“Great! Freshman orientation can be grueling, can’t it?”
“I wouldn’t know, I am a junior.”
“You’re already a junior. My gosh, what were you a child prodigy?” Li Ming asked.
“Oh no, I am a high school junior.”
Belinda looked at Ricki’s chest and giggling said, “I see they grow them big where ever you are from.”
“I am from New York, New York, and these kinda of run in the family.” Ricki giggled back.
“I am from Seattle,” Li Ming said.
“And I am from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. If you are not a freshman, how did you get in our group.”
Ricki did her best impression of Third of Five imitation, “We are Borg, You will be assimilated; resistance is futile.”
The girls laughed and giggled.
“Well just come with us and we will see if we can have some fun,” Li Ming said.
They each took one of Ricki’s arms and latched on to her.
They were led to an auditorium. The three girls sat together and Ricki told them her story (leaving certain things unsaid.) They chatted back and forth till several other groups had joined them in the auditorium. Several speakers came out to give these freshmen motivational talks and information. The last one was one of the Deans.
“I want to welcome this group of fine outstanding freshman to our University. You are the Future of the USC Trojans, as the torch is passed to you, we hope that you will take up the challenges of the future of our University, Our State and Our Country. You will be the leaders of your generation. My generation will look to you for solutions and guidance. It is with great joy that we call you Trojans.”
“I know the experience that you are going through can seem a bit daunting and some may despair, but hold true to your vision and strive to succeed.”
“As you leave here today, you will find tables where you will receive your schedules and room assignments, for your stay. Please stop by and pick up your packets. The rest of the day is free and you may make use of all our facilities. Thank you for choosing the University of Southern California.”
“Hey guys, you want to hang together this afternoon?” Li Ming asked, as they headed to the tables that were set up.
“Sure,” Belinda said.
“Oh heck, why not,” Ricki said.
“Then just wait for us Ricki, while Belinda and I register,” Li Ming said.
“Okay,”
Ricki stood around as her new friends went to register. She was lost in thought until she was disturbed.
“Having problems,” a girl who came up to her asked. “What is your name?”
“Hi, I am Ricky Davis.”
“Hi, I am Amy Phillips. The D’s are in that line.”
“Oh, I am not a freshman. I am a junior.”
“Wonderful Ricki, what is your major?”
“I don’t have a major; I am just a high school junior. My sister goes to USC and I am visiting her for the summer.”
“How did you wind up in the middle of Freshman Orientation?”
“Resistance was futile and I was assimilated by a Borg in red and gold.”
“Oh, one of our Jock councilors picked you up.”
“Yep.”
“Who is your sister?”
“Laura Davis.”
“Oh I know her, she is a Greek isn’t she.”
“A Greek?” Ricky asked.
“Members of a sorority or fraternity are sometimes referred to as a Greek.”
“Oh, ok. Yes she is a Greek then.”
“Well welcome to USC, Ricki,” Amy said, “I hope to see you again.” Amy then left and tended to other kids who looked like they needed help.
Belinda was through first, she and Ricki saw Li Ming leave one line and stand in a second line. She eventually joined them.
“Did you have problems, Li Ming?” Belinda asked.
“A few, it is how we write our names. You write your name with your surname last. Orientals have their surname first and their personal names last. My family’s name is Chen, so I stood in the C line, but someone had placed my packet in the M’s, under Ming. Do either of you have a car.”
“No I flew in; a school bus picked me up. My stuff is in the Lobby of my dorm.”
“I don’t have a license yet,” Ricki stated.
“I drove down from Seattle, so I have my car.” Li Ming said.
Li Ming and Belinda compared their room assignments. They were both in the same dorm but different floors.
The troop followed Li Ming, as she went to her car. It was a Chevy Impala that was a few years old, but appeared to be in excellent condition. Ricki checked her map and saw they were on the wrong side of campus. They climbed into Li Ming’s car and drove to the lot closest to the dorm.
On the way Ricki’s purse started playing, ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Ricki got her cell phone and saw that it was Rebecca.
“Hi Rebecca,” Ricki said. “Oh, I am with a couple of new friends. I ran into a couple of girls here for freshman orientation and we kind of fell into a group.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I can take a cab home. Okay, see ya.”
Ricki helped Belinda and Li Ming get their things to their rooms. The closest to the door was Belinda. She just opened her door and dropped her things off. Li Ming was one floor up.
“We are free for the rest of the day, let’s go get something to eat. Ricki do you know anyplace good?” Belinda asked.
“I know where a couple of burger joints are, a Chinese restaurant and a Pizza joint.”
“Pizza please, I eat Chinese all the time,” Li Ming said, with a smile.
The three girls headed out to Tony’s Pizza. After they got there and entered the restaurant, Ricki’s phone began playing ‘Devil in a Blue Dress’. She got her phone out and saw that it was her sister.
“Hey sis, how are you?”
“Okay, where are you?”
“I am at Tony’s Pizza with a couple of girls I met at USC.”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No, not yet,” Ricki said. She looked over the crowd there and saw two people she knew. “Oh Stacy, Carrie and another girl I don’t know, are here.”
“What does she look like?”
“Tall, blonde, she looks like she could be a muscle builder. She is the most muscular girl I have ever seen up close.”
“Oh, that is Karen Graham. Tell them we will be there in ten minutes.”
“Okay, see ya.”
Ricki thought for about two seconds, then had an evil grin on her face and said. “Belinda and Li Ming would you guys like to play a trick on some friends?”
“Sure, as long as it isn’t hurtful,” Li Ming said.
“The girl on the end is Carrie Wright, the one in the middle is Stacy Lewis and the other girl is Karen Graham. Go up to them and act like your old friends. Stacy is the president of my sister’s sorority.”
The girls giggled and laughed at Ricki’s suggestion. “This will be good,” Belinda said.
Carrie, Stacy and Karen were deep in conversation. They were having a good time talking about guys they knew on campus and who would be better suited for whom. Li Ming and Belinda walked past the table and stopped.
“Oh my gosh; it is so good to see you three again,” Belinda said.
Stacy looked up, smiled at the girls and had a confused expression on her face. “Excuse me but do we know you two?”
“Sure, you’re Carrie Wright, Stacy Lewis and Karen Graham, right,” Li Ming said, as she pointed to each girl.
The three girls were really confused now. The two girls seemed to know them, but they were drawing blanks.
“Yeah, you’re sorority sisters, right and you Stacy, are president.”
“Yes, we are. I am so sorry. I don’t usually forget meeting people, but for the life of me, I don’t remember you two.”
“You’re kidding us of course, I am Belinda Andrews and this is my friend Chen Li Ming. We met you last semester on Campus.”
Stacy, Carrie and Karen were beginning to doubt their own sanity, till Stacy looked to the side and saw Ricki holding her camera phone up, recording all of this.
“Ricki! Get your pretty little butt over here,” Stacy said.
“Hi Stacy, Carrie and Karen,” Ricki said.
Karen was still at a loss and asked, “Who are you?”
“That is Ricki Davis, she is Laura Davis’ sister,” Stacy said.
“And I told my sister I saw you three. After I described you Karen, my sister told me who you were. I am sorry; I just had to pull this one on you. As the girls told you, this is Belinda Andrews and Chen Li Ming. I met them today on campus. They are here for freshman orientation.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself Ricki. I suppose you recorded the whole thing?” Stacy asked smiling.
“Guilty as charged.”
“Hi gang,” Laura said coming up behind everyone.
“Hey Laura, this is Belinda Andrews and Chen Li Ming, they will be freshmen this fall.” Ricki said “And this is my sister Laura, Cindy Long and Susan Cartwright.”
“Your sister was very bad, Laura,” Stacy said. “She had her friends come in and talk with us as if they knew us. We were thinking that we had lost our minds.”
“You mean you haven’t lost your minds?” Laura asked.
“Yes but even more so,” Stacy said. “All in all it was a good joke, Ricki. You had us scratching our heads and nobody got hurt.”
The girls moved several tables together and pizza started flying about. The sisters started to get to know the freshman and found that they liked the girls. Carrie was pledge mistress for their sorority and took an active role with these young girls. They were being grilled about who they were, where they were from, what they thought of USC, did they have a major in mind yet, how their grades were back home and if they had given any thought to joining a sorority.
Belinda and Li Ming were enthusiastically answering the sisters’ questions. Inwardly they had a little trepidation about being away from home and leaving all their friends behind. Going away for college can be daunting to freshmen. They were finding that when the fall semester started that they would already have a lot of friends waiting for them.
Everyone passed their cell phones around, to program their numbers and names into, with these new girls’ and wished them good luck.
“Well, I got to get home and change for my exercise class,” Laura said. “Susan can you take Ricki home?”
“Can do Laura.”
“What kind of exercise class do you go to?” Li Ming asked.
“I belly dance.”
“Oh how interesting,” Belinda said. “Do you like it?”
“Yes, you can say that, I love belly dancing. It is fun and a very good form of exercise. If you have trouble keeping your waist trim, then belly dancing can really help.”
Belinda didn’t have a large waist, but she did have a little roll when she wore her tight high waist jeans. “I might have to try that.”
“Yeah me too.” Li Ming added.
Laura left and the others began to slowly drift away. Belinda and Li Ming had to get back to the dorm. Susan and Cindy left with Ricki, to head to their home.
Chapter 12
The next morning, Laura asked if Ricki could vacuum and do the laundry, as they ate breakfast. They told Ricki how to tell their clothes apart. They had used a laundry marker to put their initials on the labels.
“Just hang or fold the clothes. Put the folded clothes on the bed and the hanging clothes on the hanger hooks, on the doors. Everyone will make their own beds and put their things up.” Laura said.
“Okay no problem.” Ricki said.
Ricki had sorted the clothes out and had already started the first load when the girls left for classes. Each girl had set a bag of clothes, a bag of lingerie and their sheets, set out in the hall upstairs.
In between loads, Ricki played a lesson from the belly dance DVD’s. She got all the laundry done, folded, sorted and delivered. Just before lunch, she vacuumed all the bedrooms, the hall and downstairs. She practiced her hip movements and the traveling steps, as she pushed the vacuum cleaner. Ricki thought it was funny, as she did hip thrusts and Egyptian steps, while she worked.
Rebecca called and said she couldn’t make it; she had a big research project to do. Ricki said it was alright. She changed into her tankini and headed out back, to the swimming pool. The pool was large, for an apartment complex, but less than a third of the size she was use to. She could dive in one end of the pool and dolphin underwater all the way to the other end. She found it a little more challenging to swim with these huge appendages on her chest. She found she had to adjust her strokes a little. She didn’t realize it, but with the adjustments she made, it actually helped her swim better. She swam back and forth, practicing her strokes. She had seen nobody while she swam, apparently everyone was at school or at work, in the middle of the day.
One someone did see her and watched her for quite a while. As he fantasized about her, he wanked himself off.
At about two thirty, Ricki called it a day at the pool and headed inside. Her shoulders and face were a little red from all the sun she had gotten. When she undressed, she saw her sunburn lines around the suit. After showering and shampooing, to get the chlorine out of her hair, she looked for something to help with the pain of the sunburn.
She did find some Solarcaine with aloe lotion (a topical antiseptic and lidocaine lotion for sunburns) to soothe her sun burned shoulders in her bathroom medicine cabinet. It felt so good going on. She would have to remember to buy some more medicated lotion to replace what she had used.
Ricki rinsed the chlorine out of her suit, squeezed the water out and hung it on a bar over the tub to dry. She went ahead and cleaned the bathroom Susan, Cindy and she used.
She found a light, cotton blend, sleeveless tank that didn’t irritate her shoulders too bad and she did have one strapless bra. When the summer was over, Ricky might have to use a spray tan to cover up his activities this summer. She then dressed in a denim mini and her sport shoes.
It was a little after three, so Ricki just practiced her belly dancing till she heard the back door open.
“My, you got some sun today, didn’t you,” Laura asked.
“Yes I did. I was in the pool for about two hours. Susan, or Cindy, I borrowed some Solarcaine from you. I will buy you some more.”
“Ok sweety, looks like you needed it, you might want to pick up a water proof, high SPF, (Sunburn Protection Factor, increases the amount of sun one can take without burning) sun blocker lotion too,” Susan said.
“Sorry, but we need to study real bad. Can you fix dinner in about an hour and a half?” Laura asked.
“No problem sis,” Ricki said. She went to the refrigerator to check what was available.
Ricki pulled out the fixings of a salad, some chicken breasts, and some fresh corn on the cob. She placed the corn in a pot of salted water. She then cut up an avocado, toasted some bread that she covered with a butter, garlic and salt mixture, to make croutons, tore some Romaine lettuce up and grated a block of parmesan cheese.
Twenty minutes before dinner, Ricki started the corn and grilled the chicken breasts, after rubbing them in spices. She then tossed the salad, added the croutons, dressing, grated cheese and sorted it out into four salad bowls. When the chicken was ready, she cut it into strips and placed them on top of the four salads she had made.
She set the food out and called out that dinner was ready.
While they were eating, Ricki’s phone rang. She noted that it was Li Ming.
“Hello Li Ming,”
“Hi Ricki, what are ya’ll doing?”
“Eating right now.”
“Can we come over; there isn’t anything to do on campus.”
“Let me let you talk to Laura,” Ricki said, as she handed her phone to Laura.
“Hi Li Ming… Do you two have swimming suits with you? Great, we can have a pool party.” Laura said, as she gave the girl directions over. “Be here about seven and you can get back to your dorm before the eleven o’clock curfew.”
“Belinda and Li Ming are coming over. Let’s get some munchies out and ice some drinks down,” Laura said.
Laura made a few more calls and then headed to her room, to get her suit on. Ricki went up and put her bikini on and a pair of flip-flops, then went to help in the kitchen.
Li Ming and Belinda showed up, as did a lot of the sisters. More sisters than Ricki knew. She was put in charge of a grill, by the pool, flipping the hamburgers, with Susan handling the food. On a table near by, were potato salad, baked bean, fixings and chips, along with a cooler of drinks.
Introductions were made and some girls hit the food with a vengeance, while others hit the pool.
After the food was all cooked, Ricki dove into the pool and took a half dozen quick laps to get the smell of smoke and food off of her. Up above, a curtain was slightly open and a camera quietly clicked away.
When Laura began to dance for the girls, Ricki couldn’t help to mimic her sister. She could see just how good Laura was, compared to her. Ricki’s actions did not go unnoticed by the sisters, who had her join Laura. At least Laura slowed down her movements enough, that Ricki had no problems. Laura smiled and was pleasantly surprised to see how well Ricki danced. It looked to her like Ricki had been going to classes for at least two or three months. Ricki was pretty sharp on her hip movements, albeit she didn’t have the skill too shift the routines into a fast mode. Her arm movements and chest movements though, needed a lot of work. Also she only seemed to know the basic core movements.
A couple of the other girls joined them and were a poor mimic to the Davis sisters, they were clowning a bit, but all of them had fun. Even Li Ming and Belinda gave it a go. Laura took time to teach them a few of the core movements. They were similar to some of the current dance moves on the club circuit. The two freshmen turned out to be pretty good, for neophytes.
Carrie cornered the two freshman girls and asked them to consider pledging this fall. The girls agreed that they would seriously consider her offer.
Ricki asked the girls if they wanted to come over tomorrow, but they both had to leave and head on home, after the freshman orientation was over, on Thursday. So at ten thirty, the girls gave everyone a hugs and kisses, before they had to go.
The sorority sisters had Ricki begin the clean up by herself, as they met to talk over what they thought of the girls. They also had more than a few compliments to give Laura about Ricki and sorely wished that she had been born a girl. She had brought them two very nice prospects and did whatever she could to help out.
As Ricki started taking things in, a camera continued to click away.
Chapter 13
The next morning Ricki got up and took her bubble bath, shampooed and conditioned her hair; last night she had only rinsed the chlorine out of her hair.
When she finally came downstairs, the other girls were already dressed and fixing breakfast. All three girls thanked Ricki for helping them yesterday and for introducing two really nice prospects.
“Ricki, I am really proud of you too. All of the sisters really liked you. They especially liked how you pitched in and helped with all the preparation. That party came on really short notice. Carrie and Stacy wanted all the girls to get to know Li Ming and Belinda.”
Ricki blushed and said, “I really had a lot of fun helping out. You have some really cool sisters, Sis.”
“They think I have a really cool sister too, Ricki. Where did you learn to belly dance?”
“From the exercise DVD’s I found here.”
“You have only been here for six days, how many discs have you gone through.
“Just the first, I want to go back through the first again, before I start the second.”
“You ought to come with me tonight then, put on that gold bikini top and a pair of shorts, Ricki.”
Cindy and Laura headed upstairs for a minute. Susan came around and gave Ricki a probing kiss, holding their two bodies together tightly. Ricki just melted under Susan’s passion. She would have done anything Susan would have asked of her, after that kiss.
Catching her breath, Susan said. “Ricki, come what may, I really love you so much, it hurts.”
“I really can’t believe all of this Susan. It is incredible, what I feel for you and how you make me feel. I love you so much too; I just can’t find the right words to say.”
One last hug and Susan said, “Hold that thought girl. I will see you after classes.”
After the girls left for college, Ricki stripped off to her panties and bra. She then started the first of the belly dancing discs and went straight through the whole disc. She fast-forwarded through the subsequent stretching routines, only just stretching out an abused muscle, occasionally. She felt better after finishing her routine today; her abdomen was a little tight, but not sore.
Looking at herself in a mirror, her already slim waist, seemed a bit slimmer. After showering and taking her vitamins, as she had the past five days, she stepped on the scales in the bathroom. She guessed she might have picked up a pound or two. It was just hard to tell.
At noon it was apparent that Rebecca couldn’t come pick her up, so she texted her sister and Rebecca, that she was taking a taxi to campus. Her nails looked good, but would need to be redone later tonight. Ricki was beginning to get pretty good at her makeup. She liked the way she looked; she began to wish that this didn’t have to end. She didn’t know if she wanted to fully become a girl or not, it was too early for her to tell. She just liked looking and acting like a girl, that much she did know. She then dressed in a skirt, blouse, a pair of pantyhose and her Nikes.
She grabbed her purse and headed to the front where the taxi would arrive. She was just a minute or two early. She noticed the looks she got from other tenants, guys and girls.
On campus, Ricki first headed to the campus bookstore and browsed her way through it. She made sure to pick up more Cardinal and gold nail polish. She also bought a few USC T-shirts, a book or two for her to read, and other odds and ends. Ricki then headed over to the student center.
Inside the student center she found the coffee shop and sat down with a cup of Mocha Latte. She pulled out one of the paperback books she bought and started to read it. About a third of the way through the novel she heard.
“Hi Ricki.”
Ricki looked up to see Candace smiling at her and heading her way.
“Hi Candace, how are you.”
“I am doing very good, I missed you the last two days, how are you girl?” Candace asked, after she hugged and kissed Ricki’s cheek. She then sat next to her.
“I am doing great. I made a couple of friends, the day before. They were a couple of freshman here for orientation.”
“Oh my, how did you get mixed up with that group?”
“I sort of got assimilated by a group going to the auditorium. I wound up in there, as the group was given a welcome and pep talk.”
“Are you thinking of coming to college here?”
“I haven’t given it much thought yet. I guess it is about time for me to do that. I really like USC, I think.”
“Yeah, they run those orientations to help freshmen get acclimated and comfortable on campus. It seems you are quite comfortable here.”
“Being here with my sister and her friends, makes it easier.”
“How was it back at your high school, Ricki?”
“Oh, I have a few friends, mostly girls, but no best friends forever. I can’t believe how easily I have made friends here. It isn’t that way at home.”
“I can’t believe that, you seem so vivacious and open to me.”
“I can’t believe it either, Candace. I don’t know why, but I am a lot different now, and I find I like being the way I am now. Before I was always a bit of a bore, or a nerd, if you know what I mean.”
“We grow a bit every day. We have to learn how to live, where we fit in and how to make our place in the world, Ricki. It is good for you to find your place.”
Ricki really liked Candace; she was so easy to talk to and really made her think. They talked for about an hour more, before her phone started playing ‘Pretty Woman’. She checked her phone and smiled broadly, as she saw that it was Susan.
“Hi Susan. Yeah, I am on campus, in the student center. Ok I will stay right here.”
“I see you have a friend coming over and I need to get ready for class,” Candace said, as she hugged Ricki.
Candace really liked Ricki; she seemed like a really nice person. There were some things about her that didn’t add up, but nothing she could put her finger on. She didn’t know why Rebecca wanted her to meet and befriend her, but she was glad having made friends with her.
She stood off and observed the girl from a distance. She saw Susan Cartwright, Cindy Long and Laura Davis come in and greet the girl. Susan seemed somewhat enamored with the girl, she thought. Maybe that is the reason. Candace headed off to class thinking about Ricki.
“Tomorrow we don’t have classes, Ricki,” Laura said. “You can come to campus with us, but we need to spend about half a day in the library studying. After that, we can show you the swimming pool we have. How does that sound?”
“Okay, if I bring my swimsuit and a towel with me, can I change in the locker room.”
“Sure, just be sure you don’t gawk at the other girls,” Laura said in a whisper. “It’s just us girls after all.”
They sat and talked for a while. Cindy had bought a latte for Laura, Susan and herself. Ricki passed on having another so soon.
The four of them left to go home, so Laura and Ricki could get ready for belly dance class.
Laura got her bag and had Ricki dress in her gold bikini top, one of her USC T-shirts and a pair of cardinal running shorts. Susan, who had never gone to one of Laura’s classes, wanted to go tonight. Laura giggled and said, “Sure you can come along Susan, that would be great.”
Laura drove the troop to the location where classes were held. Inside there were several girls already dressed in various belly-dancing outfits. Others were heading to the changing room. Ricki just pulled off her T-shirt and waited with Susan. When the instructor arrived and saw that most of her girls were ready, she called for their attention.
“Hello girls, it is good to see all of you. I see that I have two new dancers, can somebody introduce them.”
Laura held up her hand and said, “I can Mrs. Lively. The cute one in the gold top, is my sister Ricki and the blonde, in the blue blouse, is one of my roommates, Susan.”
“Well it is good to have some new dancers to teach.” Mrs. Lively said.
“Oh, I am not here to learn to dance. I am here to watch my friends.”
“Susan, we do not have observers at my class. If you come, you dance. Isn’t that right girls.”
They all chorused yes.
Susan looked at how all the girls were dressed. They all had fancy bras on. Some had filmy skirts on, some had gauzy pants.
Susan had a plain T-shirt bra on, under a cotton blend blouse and a mini skirt, so she just took off her blouse.
Sarah Lively had Ricki and Susan stand up front and to one side. She had one of her senior students work with them, as she worked with her regular students. All of them did their stretches, and began their lesson slowly. Sarah could see that Susan was a raw beginner. She was graceful and limber, but a beginner none the less. Ricki was another story altogether. What that girl lacked in grace, she made up in ability. She already looked like an early intermediate student.
Sarah had Laura take over her advanced class and she took Ricki aside. That let her other senior student have her way with Susan.
Sarah had Ricki do her core movements. Ricki didn’t understand all the names of the movements that Sarah used, but after a demonstration, she was able to do the movements. Sarah drove the girl hard, trying to get her doing the movements faster and more gracefully. Ricki gave it her all and then tried a little harder.
“Smile Ricki, give me a big beaming smile. Show me how much you enjoy the dance.”
Ricki smiled bigger and bigger as she worked out harder. Mrs. Lively was working her much harder than the DVD’s did. The muscles of her abdomen were screaming back at her.
Sarah saw her discomfort increasing and pushed just a little harder, before letting up on the girl. She had a big smile on her face, as she hugged the sweating girl. She separated her two new students and with a hand on both of their shoulders said, “You were very good Ricki, where did you learn to dance?”
“My sister has some DVD’s at home. I have been working out with them for a week.”
“Only a week? I have had students attend for months that have not done as well. You must come back, Ricki. I would like you to come to my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday classes.” She turned to Susan and said, “I would like to see you on Wednesday and Fridays.”
“But…”
“You looked good, Susan; you just need to learn a bit more and a lot of practice.”
“But…”
“Now, I expect to see you sweety.” Sarah said, in an authoritative manner.
“Alright…”
Laura was just beside herself seeing her friend sweat. It was hard for her to not laugh out loud. She had tried to get Susan to come before and now she had her. Susan didn’t exercise enough; she had a good diet, which kept her weight down at least, Laura thought. Well, that is over now.
Susan heard Laura snickering, and looked at her, blowing the girl a good raspberry.
Ricki did her best to look as angelic and innocent as she could, but her smile betrayed her feelings. She loved the idea that she and Susan would be working out together.
At home, Ricki took as hot a bath as she could stand. She found it hard to bend at the waist, in any direction. She just leaned back and let the warmth loosen her muscles.
There was a knock at the door and before she could answer, Susan opened the door.
“Move over Ricki, I hurt so much, I need a good hot soak too.”
“But…”
“I already talked to your sister. She couldn’t stop snickering at me. There is nothing you can do right now, and I don’t feel like doing anything either. So move over,” Susan said. The last bit was a command.
Ricki moved over. This bathtub was large, but not large enough for two people really. She had to tuck herself under Susan’s arm to fit well, but that wasn’t too bad really, was it. She just smiled as she tried to meld her body into Susan’s and only kissed her left breast tenderly once.
Susan felt a jolt to her very core at that kiss. She had never felt anything like that in all her sexual experience. She would swear it was almost a magical kiss. If her sides didn’t hurt, she would have ravaged the kisser.
They soaked together for about forty minutes, adding hot water to the tub as it cooled. They then washed each others back, shampooed and conditioned each others hair, and dried each other off. Susan was careful drying off Ricki’s shoulders. There were a few blisters and her skin was peeling. When Ricki was dry, Susan applied Solarcaine to her shoulders.
Laura was outside the door, when the girls emerged wearing robes and their hair wrapped in turbans.
“We didn’t do the nasty Laura. We just soaked and held each other.”
“I know, I just wanted to say how proud I was of the two of you. Especially you Susan, I am always proud of Ricki. I could see how hard Emily was being with you two and it was harder for both of you when Mrs. Lively started working with you Ricki.” Laura said. She gave Susan a tremendous hug, and then gave her sister the same.
Susan was almost in tears. Ricki had a huge smile on her face. The two hugged and kissed before heading to bed.
Chapter 14
The next day Ricki got a gym bag from Laura and packed her suit, cap and goggles, a towel, the novel she was reading and enough cosmetics to do her face. Then she dressed in a USC T-shirt and shorts.
The four girls piled into Laura’s six-year-old Lincoln Town Car and headed to campus.
Ricki found the student center busier today than it had been the other times she had been there. She saw one guy playing an acoustic guitar and singing. There were several students that looked out of it and were just resting. There were many students studying in groups here and there.
Guys everywhere, were flirting with and hitting on girls. Ricki had to fend off advances several times, from amorous suitors. Ricki ignored several and told some just to leave her alone. One guy, she had to threaten with castration, before he would leave her alone. He left muttering G** Da** Cu**, F****n Lez Bitch and sleazy skank. Ricky would have been all over a guy saying that to any girl. He would have probably been wiped all over the floor by that guy; but still that guy wasn’t worth the air he was breathing.
But still, there were a lot of good kids hanging around the Student Center. Ricki enjoyed hanging around there. She bought another mocha latte, took out her novel and waited for her sister and friends.
About one o’clock, Ricki’s phone started playing ‘Devil in a Blue Dress’. “Hello Laura.”
“Meet us outside, we are coming back from the car.”
“On my way.”
Together they headed for the pool. Ricki was a little self conscious, as they entered the ladies locker room, but nobody paid her any attention except Susan and her sister. When Ricki pulled out her competition swimsuit, her sister’s eyebrows rose. The suit was a cardinal and gold racer back design, but the legs extended all the way to mid calf on Ricki.
Ricki loved the 50 meter pool when she saw it. The pool they had used at school was only twenty-five meters. She went all the way to the blocks, to jump into the pool. The lane marker buoys were not there, but the bottom of the pool was marked. She stood on the platform, got in the start position and at some arbitrary sound she heard, she launched herself forward. Her dive was practiced and she was fluid in the air. She entered the water with a minimum of splash and dolphined till she was well past the ten meter mark. She swam with the freestyle stroke for the first fifty meters and turned doing the backstroke. She went at a little over half speed for her, just to warm up her muscles.
Vanessa Adams, USC’s women’s swimming coach, sat on the bleachers watching the action. She wondered about the girl in the competition swimsuit. She liked her grace and style as she launched herself off the blocks. Her form on the freestyle, while not the best she had seen, was very good. She saw the girl get back up on the blocks. Vanessa blew her whistle, when the girl got into the ready position, clicked her stopwatch and saw the girl launch again.
Ricki didn’t know who blew the whistle, but that was as good as any start signal she would get. She really dug into her strokes this time. The first 50 she swam the butterfly. Damn she thought these breasts were really a drag, literally. She could tell they were slowing her down as she swam and the extra floatation made it hard to keep her head down. Ricki had to make adjustments to her form. She gave it her best effort. She tucked and turned at the wall and went into the backstroke. She had never competed in the 200 individual medley; before she just didn’t have the times she needed for competition. She had a good leg on the backstroke, and at the turn, she went into the breast-stroke. Her lack of swimming practice was beginning to show, as she slowed a bit. At the far wall she turned and started the freestyle leg. Her oxygen debt was growing, but she pressed on as she hit her second wind. She touched wall and had just enough strength to hang on the wall, as she was spent.
Coach Adams clicked her stopwatch when the girl she was watching, touched the wall. She looked at her stopwatch, 2:39:47, not earth shattering, but something the girl could build on.
“Alice.”
“Yes coach.”
“Find out who that girl over on lane two is.”
“Sure thing coach.”
Alice ran down the bleachers and trotted over to the girl trying to catch her breath.
“Need a hand up?” Alice asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Ricki said, as she took the girls hand.
Alice helped haul Ricki out of the pool, “You looked pretty good out there.”
“I was sluggish on a couple of legs.”
“Yes, but your form was better than a lot of people I have seen. I am Alice Patterson.”
“I am Ricki Davis.”
“Why aren’t you on the swim team here?”
Ricki laughed a bit and said. “I don’t go to USC; I am a junior in high school. I am just visiting my sister this summer.”
Alice perked up and said, “Great, maybe you can come here and swim for us when you do graduate. Where do you go to school?”
“Back in New York City.”
“Oh my, you are a long way from home. Why don’t you come on up and say hi to Coach Adams?”
“Sure, why not.”
Ricki followed Alice up the bleachers to Coach Adams, who smiled as the girls approached her.
“Hi, I am Vanessa Adams, coach of the women’s swimming team.”
“I am Ricki Davis; I am a junior in high school, in New York City.”
“Your time is pretty good for a high schooler, 2:39:47.”
“She is visiting her sister who goes to college here at USC, coach.” Alice added.
“What high school do you go to, if you stay this good and have good grades, maybe we can work out a scholarship deal for you.”
“I don’t know coach; I don’t know what I will do with swimming.” Ricki was clearly nervous about this. “Let me talk it over with my sister and parents first.” Ricki was trying to be non committal about this.
“It won’t hurt to look into it.”
“I will be here all summer, let me talk with my family first.”
“Ok. Anyway you looked good Ricki.”
“Thank you.”
Ricki headed back down to the pool. Laura and Susan asked what that was all about.
“They were trying to recruit me for their swimming team.”
“That is good,” Susan said.
“No it isn’t Susan, think about it,” Laura said.
“Oh right.”
Coach Adams made some notes; she would have to call her friend in New York later today.
Ricki swam another eighteen hundred meters at a more leisurely pace, about half speed, except for about eight laps, where she pushed to about three quarters speed. She hadn’t been able to really swim in over three weeks. It felt good for her.
The girls helped Ricki in the shower, they all showered together. Laura was a little nervous about being naked in front of Ricki, but felt she had too, to help be camouflage for her.
Alice came into the showers, but took little notice of the girls, except a glance at Ricki. Ricki wasn’t a natural Auburn it seemed.
Several other girls showered with them and paid no attention to Ricki. Ricki dressed and went over to the mirrors, where the girls did their makeup. Ricki kept it simple and did a good job.
Coach Adams, in her office, picked up her phone to call a friend. “Hello Beck, this is Vanessa, how are you?”
“Oh hi Nessa. I am doing fine, how are things at USC?”
“We had a good year, and we are looking to do better. Listen, the reason I called is, that I want to check on a student who goes to school in New York City. A Ricki Davis, I saw Ricki swimming and while not great, Ricki has very good form and lots of potential. Check on high school swimming teams. If you find the school, find out what kind of student Ricki is. I am told that Ricki will be a junior this year.”
“Ok, I will find out what I can, without violating the students privacy. I can’t get the student’s school records without a signed permission, but I can ask around. Give me a week.”
“Great Beck, I owe you about a hundred thanks.”
“I just like helping students get a good education at a good school, Vanessa.”
“Me too, Becky. Me too.”
In the car on the way home, Laura asked Ricki how her swim session went.
“Pretty good, I could have swum faster without these,” Ricki said indicating her bosom. “But I did pretty good. In fact the extra buoyancy on the chest, might have helped me a little on the butterfly and the breaststroke. I had to make several adjustments to the way I did things, and I think those things really helped.”
“Well, we think you did good, none of the other girls seemed to notice anything different. Tell me more about Coach Adams, Ricki,” Laura asked.
“Well, apparently she timed me when I did the IM.”
“What is an IM?” Susan asked.
“It is an individual medley, you swim four laps doing first the butterfly, the backstroke, breaststroke and finally freestyle. She said I swam it in 2:39 and some change. It wouldn’t have beaten any of the guys back home and I never swam it in any competition, but I haven’t done any real swimming in three weeks, so that’s pretty good. She wanted to know which school I went too and what kind of grades I made. I put her off though, I told her I had to talk to my family before I could talk with her about it.”
Laura hoped that put her off, but she knew how aggressively college coaches recruited female athletes. It had a lot to do with Title IX. That act dealt with fairness in athletic programs and how they dealt with scholarships for female athletes. She didn’t understand the whole deal, but she knew it was important to the female coaches.
For many years seventy to ninety percent of athletic scholarships went to males. They also took the lion’s share of the school’s athletic budget. Yes football and men’s basketball brought in more revenue than field ladies volley ball or ladies basketball. At least there was a lot of interest in ladies gymnastics, but for too long, the boys had it all. Title IX sought to correct the imbalance, so girls who could not otherwise go to college, had a chance with an athletic scholarship.
At home Laura, Cindy and Susan took a nap, so Ricki decided to fix dinner for them. She took some fresh spinach and added the rest of the Romaine lettuce. She sliced a cucumber, half an onion, grated a couple of carrots, made some croutons, shredded some cheese over a salad bowl. She took out some beef cutlets, spiced them up a bit, breaded and pan-fried them, while cooking a can of sweet corn and sweet peas.
The smell of food brought the girls downstairs. They helped Ricki get everything on the table. Laura set the tableware; Susan made a pitcher of sugar free lemonade, and Cindy tossed the salad, got out the salad dressings and helped bring the food to the table.
“We could get use to this, not having to cook everyday,” Cindy said.
“Yeah it may not be Cordon Blu, but it is pretty good,” Susan said.
“Mom taught both of us how to cook,” Laura said. “Ricki is pretty good, but Mom was great, she could be anybody’s sous chef.”
“Really, why isn’t she?” Susan asked.
“She still loves to cook, but it is incredibly stressful in the kitchen of a four star restaurant. She tried it for a while and then told her chef where he could stick his French chef knife and it wasn’t in his butcher’s block,” Laura said.
“Mom never told me that.”
“Well she was just telling me not to let men walk all over me. Men were good for some things and are handy to keep around, but she said that I wasn’t any man’s door mat.”
“Dad is a pretty good man and father,” Ricki said. “He never felt he had to prove himself to anyone but his family.”
“He is one in a million Ricki.”
After diner, Cindy and Susan took care of the kitchen, Laura cleaned the table off and the girls got back to studying. Summer classes can be so brutal.
Susan changed and headed off to belly dancing class.
So Ricki cleaned off her nail polish and worked on her nails. Cindy took time to show Ricki how to polish her nails a little better.
Ricki then went up to her room to practice her makeup. She tried to match what she had seen the other girls wear and tried to adapt it to her colors. She never knew that this could be so much fun. She had seen her sister spend hours playing with her face, learning how to use her makeup. She would smile excitedly and run to show Mom, or Dad and even Ricky, what she had done. Now Ricki was beginning to understand her excitement.
When she had a look she was particularly proud of, she went downstairs to show her sister.
“Hey Sis, how is this look?”
“Wow, it took me months to get my eyes that good, Ricki. You really surprise me.”
Cindy just stared in awe at Ricki. “Are you sure you have never done this before.”
“No Cindy, this is my first time doing anything feminine.”
It’s not perfect, but you are better than a lot of college girls.”
“Thank you.”
Ricki’s face brightened, as Susan came in the front door. Ricki skipped over to her and hugged her tightly.
“How are you doing baby?”
“A little sore, but I think that I will live.”
“Turn around and cross your arms in front of your chest.”
Susan did as Ricki asked. Ricki then reached around Susan and picked her up. She could feel the tightness in Susan. She shook Susan once up and down and it felt like a zipper came undone, as her back stretched out.
“Eeeeep,” Susan said, and then, “Wow, that is amazing.”
Ricki then began to massage Susan’s lower back and sides. Susan moaned loudly, as Ricki hit and massaged Susan’s sore spots.
“Susan hush, if you moan any louder the people in the next apartment complex over might think we are having an orgy,” Cindy said.
“Let them, this feels sooooo wonderful.”
“Go take a hot bath baby,”
Susan turned and pulled Ricki to her and gave her a scorching kiss.
“You two, get a room,” Laura said, “No belay that, don’t get a room, just stop that in front of us. It’s not fair.”
Susan let go of Ricki, who was almost a puddle on the floor, her eyes were glazed over and there was no strength in her legs. Susan supported her for several seconds, till she got her feet under her.
“Look at what you did Susan, Ricki had worked on her face for over an hour and a half. She looked so good and now…” Laura said.
The lipstick Ricki put on, had blended with Susan’s and her mouth looked almost like a clowns, after their makeup had smeared.
“It…sss sokay sis, Sheeee can kisssss meee like thaaattt anytimeee.”
Susan looked at Ricki’s face, “Wow your eyes look simply divine Ricki. I just love what you did. That deserves another kiss.”
Susan gave Ricki a more sedate (barely) kiss. Ricki had a silly grin on her face, as Susan broke it off to go up stairs.
Chapter 15
Saturday was a day of rest for the girls. First they hit the mall; they visited all the clothing stores just looking. Ricki bought a black semi-transparent, cover-up jacket and matching sarong, to go with her bikini. She also bought plenty of SPF 30 sunscreen, because her shoulders were peeling like crazy. Laura picked up a new skirt and blouse, Cindy bought some shoes and Susan picked up some jewelry for herself and Ricki.
After leaving the mall, they hit the grocery. Laura let Ricki help select the produce and meat. She was surprised by the healthy choices she made. She also had a very good eye for quality vegetables.
“Where did you learn to eat right? You use to be a burger, fries and shakes kinda guy,” Laura asked
“I don’t know, I just feel better, when I am eating better. After you went off to college, Mom started taking me grocery shopping. She made me pick out the veggies, if they weren’t good, she would make me go back till I got it right. She also gave me a lesson on lean meats.”
“Are you losing weight?” Cindy asked.
“No, I have gained a pound or two, my abdominals have tightened up. I lost an inch at the waist. I now have a twenty-six inch waist. I measured.”
“Where did you gain?” Laura asked.
“My thighs and chest, I don’t know about my hips, they are padded.”
Susan was looking at his thighs, “at least you don’t have thunder thighs. I think they look rather nice.”
“Sort of like a female athlete’s thighs,” Cindy said.
“I have been using different muscles and using muscles differently since I started dancing.”
“You can say that again,” Laura added, remembering the days after she had begun to belly dance.
The last thing they bought at the store, was two flats of a nutrient supplement drink. Ricki protested, but the girls insisted he drink one of the cans a day.
After they got home and put up things. They made Ricki get undressed. Susan got out her solvent and they remove the breastforms and faux vagina. Ricki was embarrassed and put on a pair of loose fitting panties. Laura took the solvent and put it in her room.
They weighed him and measured him. Ricky was about two pounds heavier and an inch narrower at the waist. His hips and chest measurements were maybe a quarter of an inch larger from the first measurements. This time they did measure his thighs, calves and arms. If he gained or lost weight they wanted to know where. Laura couldn’t believe how thin Ricky was, but he looked to be in good condition.
They made him take a warm bath, while they cleaned the breastforms and faux vagina. After he dried off, he insisted that they reattach his curves and he became Ricki again, in his mind. She felt absolutely naked without them.
“Every Saturday we will do the same Ricki,” Laura said. “We want to keep up with how you are doing.”
They were amazed at how easily the seams seemed to disappear after the tacked the edges down and reapplied the semi-permanent makeup they had. Ricki just had a tan from the bottom of her boy-cut panty and above the tankini with two thin stripes where the straps went over her shoulder.
They then weighed Ricki with all the silicone on and took note of her weight.
Laura noticed how her brother/sister changed, as the breast forms were first attached. She could see the tension in his shoulders disappear, the smile reappeared on his face and he took on a more feminine posture. She wondered where this would end.
Susan checked the vitamin bottles and was pleased to see that Ricki was definitely taking them, as they had prescribed.
Everyone got dressed in their bikinis, they got Ricki to put on her cardinal and gold bikini, it really looked good on her. Then they headed out to the pool to catch the last rays of the sun. As the lights came on, they got a volley ball and passed it back and forth in the pool, not really competing at it.
Sunday, they all slept in, Ricki was first up at nine-thirty. She had taken a bath and gotten dressed before anyone else stirred. Ricki just had some coffee ready, when the rest came down.
After breakfast, the girls got their books and started studying. Ricki made room in the living room and played disc two. Laura would stop what she was doing and correct Ricki’s form. Ricki went through four lessons before taking a break and making chicken salad sandwiches, butternut squash soup (from a carton) and a veggie platter.
Laura, Cindy and Susan ate while they worked. Ricki took this time to shower. After makeup and dressing, she went down to the kitchen to do prep work on a vegetable lasagna that used zucchini. She got it to the point that it was ready for the oven and covered it, placing it in the refrigerator.
She sat on the couch and Laura, who had finished her schoolwork, sat next to her sister.
“Oh, summer classes can be so exasperating, Ricki. You get all the same material you would normally have three months to learn, in six weeks. Then you start the second summer semester, with the same deal.”
“I understand Laura. So where are your boyfriends?”
“Jason Craine is home for the summer, Debbie had to go too. Some students have to work hard to go to college. Summers give them time to earn extra dollars. Others like to party and it is hard to take classes in the summer and party. Cindy’s boyfriend left for a Canadian vacation and Susan was in between at the time you came.” Laura looked over her shoulder, Susan was gone, but her books were still open on the table. “I have never seen Susan happier, Ricki. Don’t get hurt and please don’t hurt Susan. I love you both.”
“I’ll do my best Sis. That is all I can do.”
“I know you will squirt. Let’s go for a walk.”
Laura and Ricki went for a walk around the condo complex and the neighborhood.
“Ricki tell me, do you really believe Dad is alright?”
“I am not sure. I guess that is what I want to believe. You know Dad, he feels he has to be strong for all of us.”
Laura’s eyes misted over, as she thought about her Dad. “Yes I know Dad. He is pretty good for an old man, and I know he really loves Mom and us.”
“What would he say about me?”
“He would love his second pretty daughter.”
“In my heart I think Dad is dying.”
“I think so too Ricki. We will need to be strong for Mom.”
Back at the apartment, Cindy had found the Vegetable Lasagna and had placed it in the oven. She had a salad prepared and was steaming some broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Susan was making garlic bread from a French loaf and a garlic/basil butter spread she had made. The smells coming out of the kitchen were intoxicatingly delicious.
After dinner, Susan and Ricki sat together on the couch. Ricki was tucked in underneath Susan’s arm. They spent some of their time kissing and hugging. In between sessions, they talked about their lives. Ricki found out that Susan wanted to be a business executive. Her family, while not wealthy, was quite well off. Ricki told Susan about her family and Ricky’s high school years. Ricki wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life. She explained about how she felt about her current situation.
“I don’t know, but I like looking like a girl. At this moment, I can’t see me any other way. Will you still love me like this?”
“I would love you if you were a guy covered in ugly hair and warts. I could love you if you won the Miss USA pageant. I will love you period Ricki.”
Ricki and Susan fell asleep in each others arms. They both looked so peaceful, that Laura and Cindy just left them alone. They woke about one in the morning and went up to Ricki’s bed. They took off their outer clothes and fell asleep holding each other.
Chapter 16
Monday morning Ricki woke to a warm kiss. When her eyes fluttered open, she saw Susan smiling at her.
“Morning baby, how are you?” Susan asked.
“Hmmm, I feel so good. I love you.”
“I love you too,” and after a quick kiss, she hopped out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
Ricki also needed to heed the call of nature, so she donned a robe and headed downstairs, to the half bath there. After relieving herself, she looked at herself in the mirror.
“Oh my god, I am a mess.” She had failed to clean off her makeup again before going to bed. She took time to wash and cleanse her face. She was lucky the girls kept some cleanser, astringent and moisturizer in the half bath.
She went from the half bath to the kitchen and put on some coffee, and started on breakfast. She wanted something different, so she made Banana Coconut bakes and some chocolate cookie oatmeal.
Laura, Cindy and Susan came down dressed and helped serve breakfast.
“Oh my, I haven’t seen bananas like this before, smells delicious,” Cindy said.
“Hmmm, it is delicious,” Susan said. “The oatmeal is good too, and it has been years since I ate oatmeal.”
“Mom was always creative, when it came to meals,” Laura said. “It rubbed off on us kids. I guess I have forgotten how good it can be. Thank you Ricki, for taking the effort to cook for us.”
Ricki got hugs and kisses from all the girls. They stayed long enough to help clear off the table. Ricki rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
After everyone had left, she started to clean up the condo. She gathered all the girl’s dirty clothes and then did the laundry. It took a little effort to sort the clothes by owner and to wash, fold and hang all the clothes. In between washing and drying, she had managed to vacuum the downstairs, doing Turkish bumps and Egyptian steps. After delivering the clothes, she stripped the beds and set fresh bed linen on each girl’s bed. She started the sheets washing and vacuumed the bedrooms and cleaned the bathrooms.
She took time to drink one of her drinks, take her vitamins and worked on her belly dancing. She replayed the second disk all the way through, for two hours. She thought she was getting pretty good at it. Her movements were beginning to feel more natural and fluid.
Then she took her warm bubble bath, shampooed and conditioned her hair, before dressing and doing her makeup.
It was getting close to three, so she made a light snack for when her friends and sister got home. She made tuna salad sandwiches, a veggie tray with ranch dressing and some fried mushrooms and zucchini.
There were five girls that entered the condo. Rebecca and Beverly, a girl she had only met at the pool party, came in with Laura, Cindy and Susan.
Ricki hugged and greeted all the girls and made two more plates of snacks for the two, as they sat around the kitchen table to study. She gave them their room to study. She went upstairs and packed her gym bag with clothes and a towel, for her belly dancing class.
At five she went down stairs to fix dinner. While fixing snacks, she had cut up some chicken breasts and set aside half the vegetables she had sliced, to make a stir fry. She added some fresh peanuts, peanut oil, peanut butter and traditional spices
Beverly stayed for dinner, but Rebecca had to leave to get ready for night classes. Beverly raved over the dinner; Laura, Cindy and Susan just smiled at Ricki.
At six thirty, Laura and Ricki left for belly dancing class, leaving Cindy and Susan with the clean up.
“I am having to come in and help teach, to pay for your belly dancing classes, squirt.”
“I am sorry Laura; I still have two thousand in traveler’s checks and about a hundred and twenty in cash. I can help pay.”
“No, keep your money, Mrs. Lively just wants someone to help with the classes, while she works with you. You are better than most of the beginners.”
“Oh, okay.”
After the stretching routine, Ricki was asked to join Mrs. Lively. She gave Ricki a belt with bells, beads, coins and other jangles that made noise.
“Here, this is for you; I want you to wear it whenever you practice. It will remind you to keep your hip movements sharp, when you hear it.”
The belt fit very tight just above mid hip. She gave her hips a cabaret shimmy after she got the belt on and smiled at the noise she was making now.
Ricki worked for the next hour and a half, learning movements and their nomenclature for the style of belly dancing, Mrs. Lively taught. There were slight differences between what the disc called the movements and what Mrs. Lively taught. Even the way some of the movements were made was slightly different, for the same movement the discs taught. While they worked, Mrs. Lively gave Ricki a short history of belly dancing and taught her about the different forms and styles of belly dancing.
Ricki was amazed that the woman could talk about the dance, teach her the movements, correct her and keep an eye on the other students at the same time. The woman was really great at multitasking. Mrs. Lively pressed Ricki harder than the tapes did and she was pleased at the progress that girl was showing.
This girl could be the star of my classes in a year, Mrs. Lively thought to herself, as she taught. She is a natural born dancer.
This class had more chest, arm and shoulder movements. Areas that Ricki sorely needed, but due to her swimming, the movements began to come easier. Laura glanced over and smiled, when she saw how well her sister was doing.
When they were done for the evening, Mrs. Lively made Laura and Ricki wait.
“I need to get measurements from you two. I want both of you to dance with us on the forth of July. Laura, I want you to be one of the feature dancers and Ricki will be in the troupe. I see you like red and gold Ricki,” Mrs. Lively said, looking at Ricki’s nails.
“Cardinal red and Gold, Mrs. Lively, Ricki has adopted USC’s colors on her own,” Laura said.
“Ah, yes I see, Cardinal red and gold,” Sarah said. She thought in her mind about having the sisters in mirror outfits, cardinal/gold and gold/cardinal.
Mrs. Lively measured Ricki in more places than she had ever been measured before. The new sites included biceps, forearm, wrists, neck, trunk, her hips at three different points, ankles and from ankle to her second toe.
Chapter 17
Tuesday through Thursday was a repeat of the previous week. Ricki would play her, yes she thought of them as hers now, belly-dancing discs after breakfast. Then after lunch, either Rebecca picked her up, or she took a taxi to campus. She met her friend Candace, on Tuesday and Thursday. She liked talking to Candace; they seemed to do a lot of talking. Wednesday she swam in her tankini at the condo’s pool, after they got home. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, she went with Laura to her belly dancing class. She got a call from Li Ming on Thursday; they talked for about a half hour. She found out that Li Ming and Belinda have talked twice since they went home. They were becoming fast friends, it seemed.
Vanessa Adams answered her home phone, “Hello.”
“Hi Nessa, its Becky. How are you doing?”
“Great and how are you.”
“Doing good Nessa. I found a Ricky Davis for you. Are you recruiting for the guys now? Anyway this Ricky is a swimmer and had fairly good times for a sophomore. He is good at freestyle, but is not as fast as his teammates are. He is very good on the backstroke, butterfly and breast-stroke. I talked to many of his teachers Vanessa and he is a keeper. He has a 3.875 average and is taking advanced placement classes as a sophomore. His 2 B’s are not in his AP classes. I can’t wait to see his transcripts.”
“Hmmm, are you sure there are no girls named Ricki Davis?”
“None that swim, Vanessa.”
“Ok, I owe you a weekend of fun and sun here in Sunny Cal-li-fornia, Beck,” Vanessa said, mimicking their state’s governor.
“Sure thing, and hugs to you. I might be able to come out in late July.”
“Great, I look forward to seeing you. Bye.”
Vanessa went over to her computer and opened the e-mail Becky had sent her. The e-mail had several attachments and after she virus checked everything, she began to open them.
One attachment listed Ricky Davis’s swimming times as reported in a news article and from his coach. The next were some statements that Becky got form several of Ricky’s teachers. Their praise was for him was overwhelming. The next attachments had photos, one of Ricky alone and the other was Ricky and his swimming team.
Vanessa’s eyes got really big as she looked at the pictures. There was no doubt, that the Ricky in the picture was the same Ricki that she had met.
She thought about Ricki. She was so graceful and comfortable with herself. Her thoughts weren’t of a guy dressed as a girl, but of a girl that was comfortable with herself.
“Maybe this Ricki is a transsexual,” Vanessa said to herself.
The thought didn’t bother her at all. USC was fair to all their students. Vanessa got out her IOC (International Olympic Committee) rulebook and checked something out.
“The girl could compete as a girl, after she had been on HRT for two years,” again to herself. “Such a pretty girl, I just wish she were older.”
Vanessa was a closet Lesbian; Ricki intrigued her though. She would have the best of both worlds. Maybe she would have to find herself someone like Ricki. She was enough of a professional though not to get involved with her kids, she would quit before she ever violated the schools trust in her. That didn’t stop her from looking, and a coach can see quite a bit. She didn’t ogle the girls in the showers, but she did appreciate the glimpses she got.
Friday the four girls went back to school to let Ricki swim. Laura had checked her in and then headed off to the library to do some work there.
Vanessa got an eyeful of Ricki as she dressed and said in passing, “Hello Ricki it’s good to see you here again.”
Ricki only had time to return the greeting before she was gone.
Vanessa smiled to herself; maybe Ricki has already transitioned and had come to California for a new start. She certainly didn’t have a boy’s crotch. She found herself getting a little wet, as she thought about the girl.
Ricki got her two thousand meters in, and a couple of the school’s regular swim team members worked with Ricki. Ricki was surprised at how helpful the girls were to her and liked them a lot. She swam against them in an IM race. She didn’t win but she kept on the girls heels, finishing fourth, less than ten meters behind the second place girl.
Coach Adams smiled as she saw the girls swim. She had asked the girls to help her recruit Ricki and the girls actually seemed to take a liking to the younger swimmer.
Vanessa wandered on down to the pool. “Very good girls, you too Ricki, you looked a lot better.”
“Thank you, Coach,” Ricki said. “I still haven’t gotten a hold of my Mom or Dad. They are on a Med Cruise.”
“No problems,” Vanessa said, smiling warmly. “I can wait. I am only trying to help you.” She waved to the girls and left not wanting to pressure the girl.
Ricki showered and changed. She sat down and made up her face. Several girls said hi in passing, she smiled back and said hi back to them. Ricki found it nice that girls seemed friendlier to each other. Guys, even some of the guys on his swim team, sometimes ragged Ricky about his looks and made crude statements toward him. Of course, the girls didn’t know Ricki’s whole story. What would they say if they knew there was a guy in the locker room, but Ricki found it increasingly harder to think of herself as a guy?
She blew herself a kiss in the mirror before she left to find her sister and friends.
Saturday, Laura and Ricki practiced belly dancing at their home. Laura had Ricki mirror her movements and asked her to try to remember the order of the moves. Laura then began to choreograph a routine. When Laura went left, Ricki went right and so on. Ricki tried to keep up with her sister and for the most part, she did a very good job. They had a four-minute routine; that they practiced over and over. It was easy to tell who was more skillful; Laura was just too good.
Susan and Ricki took whatever time they could get, to be together. Not just to make out, but doing things together to deepen their relationship. Ricki even began to teach Susan some of the cooking techniques her mom had taught her. Susan was a good cook and picked up different ways to prepare food from Ricki.
Ricki even found areas she could tutor Susan in her course work. Susan had stopped, because she was having problems with a calculus problem. Don’t ever take calculus in a summer class, if you can avoid it. It is a lot of study in a hurry. Ricki had passed AP calculus and helped Susan out. That earned her a big hug and a kiss.
Sunday the girls had Ricki strip and weighed her both with and without silicone. She was three quarters of a pound heavier and was fleshed out nicely for a girl. She had gained a half-inch in the hips and chest, and maybe an eight in her thighs. She was firmed out everywhere and had very few places where they found any build up of fat.
“You need to increase you fat intake a bit, Ricki,” Laura said. “You still need a little layer of fat.”
“Come on Sis. You’ve seen what I been eating.”
“I know, but I still know you are too thin. I wonder what your BMI (Body Mass Index) is. Drink two nutrient supplements a day. I can already see a difference. Your skin looks better and you have a healthier glow.”
“Alright Mommy.”
Ricki used Monday to clean up around the condo again. Laura, Cindy and Susan joked about how nice it was having a maid around the house.
“I am not going to wear one of those short lacy French maid costumes, with those five inch heels, around the house, so forget it,” Ricki teased.
Susan hung her lower lip and pouted, “Not even for me.”
Ricki broke out laughing, as did Laura and Cindy, “Well maybe for you, but not to do housework in.”
That brought a round of laughter and teasing from Laura and Cindy.
Chapter 18
Monday also brought another class with Mrs. Lively. She took pleasure in working Ricki till she wanted to scream. She had learned all the core movements to her satisfaction and was now working to refine her skills in those movements.
Tuesday, Ricki met Candace in the Student center again. She was sitting with an older man, when Ricki approached.
“Hello Candace, it is good seeing you. Am I interrupting you?”
Candace smiled at the girl; she got up and gave her a hug and a kiss. The man with her stood too.
“Hi Ricki, not at all, I was just talking to one of my professors. Ricky this is DR. Tom Whitlock, Mr. Whitlock this is Ricki Davis. She is visiting her sister, who is a student here. She is from New York.”
“It is nice meeting you Ricki.”
“It is nice meeting you too, Dr. Whitlock. Are you a medical Doctor?”
“No, I am a doctor of psychology. I teach psychology here at USC.”
They all sat and talked for half an hour. Ricki had to give her life history. Mr. Whitlock seemed very interested in her. His phone beeped and after he answered it, he said he had to go.
Candace and Ricki decided to eat there today. Candace raised an eyebrow as Ricki ordered a half pounder and a large fry.
“That is a lot of food for a girl your size,” Candace said.
“My sister and her roommates are concerned about my weight and my BMI, whatever that is.”
“Are you anorexic or bulimic?” Candace asked.
“That is about the fiftieth time I heard that question since I have been here Candace. No I am not, I just burn it all off. I stuff my face till I am sick. I dance, run and swim. I swim at least 2000 meters a week and belly dance everyday.”
“They are right, you know.”
“I know, but small people run in my family. I am bigger than my father.”
“Hmmm I want to see if I can try something out. I need to talk to my Profs.”
“People always want to try things with me,” Ricki said, with feigned exasperation.
“It’s only because you are cute and people just feel the urge to protect you.”
“Ok mommy three.”
“Mommy three?”
“Yes, Mom is mommy one, Sis is mommy two. Actually, you are five or six. There is Susan and Cindy, Oh, I can’t forget about Rebecca, Stacy and I give up.”
Candace couldn’t help but laugh, “Sounds like you have a handful.”
“Yes, but I love them all.”
“That is good, to love people and to be loved by them.”
“I know; I am so lucky.”
Tuesday night, Mrs. Lively called out eight girls’ names and asked that they stay after class for a bit. Laura’s and Ricki’s were the first names called.
While Laura worked with the other girls, Mrs. Lively had Ricki begin to put four or five movements together, in a fluid routine. Then she added one after another movement, then asked that Ricki repeat them.
Ricki could see that the girls in the class were doing the same movements, so she surprised Mrs. Lively by adding what she saw the other girls doing.
After class, Mrs. Lively addressed the girls assembled there. Maybe girls, wasn’t the right word for the group, because some of them were as old as thirty.
“Ok, we have two shows coming up for the Fourth of July and for Labor Day. I want the eight of you to join me Saturday evenings, to work on the choreography.”
“I probably won’t be here for the Labor Day show,” Ricki said.
“We’ll see hon, but I want you to dance for the Fourth at least.”
“Why her, Mrs. Lively, she has only been here for over a week?” One of the girls asked. “And she will only be here for one of the shows.”
“If she keeps up with her dance, she will be as good as any of my advanced students by December and besides I like her enthusiasm.”
“I will provide costumes for all of you, I just need to measure everyone.”
Ricki and Laura had already been measured and took their leave. Both girls were excited about the upcoming show, although Ricki had a little trepidation about it too.
Friday, after her swim and Laura, Cindy and Susan finished their library work; they received a large box from a DHL delivery man. It was addressed to Laura and Ricky Davis. The box weighed twenty-five pounds or so. The return address showed that it was from their parents and shipped from Cyprus. The girls excitedly opened the box, Cindy and Susan looked over their shoulders. Inside were hundreds of pictures, two copies of each picture, a couple of videotapes, a wrapped present and a lot of souvenirs.
They first went through all the pictures. It was so good seeing their parents having fun. There was a list of where all the pictures were taken and a little bit of what their parents had done that day.
After they had looked at all the pictures, they played the videotapes. The tapes weren’t what you could call professional quality, but they were very entertaining. Ricki got a sick feeling in her stomach. When she looked at her sister, she saw that she had the same bad feeling.
Although their parents were obviously having the time of their life, it was easy to see how drawn and sickly their father appeared to be. It had only been three weeks since Ricki had last seen her father. They didn’t say anything to Susan and Cindy at this time; they silently resolved to talk to each other later.
Dinner was a hushed affair, Cindy and Susan both sensed something was wrong, but they both felt that now was not the time. Both girls just supported their friends.
When it got late the girls headed up the stairs, Susan started to turn into her room, but Ricki held onto her hand. She then looked to Laura who just nodded to her. Laura held onto Cindy’s hand tightly and went into her bedroom. Both Laura and Ricki told their friend about their assumptions and both girls held on tightly to their friend and cried together.
Before she went to sleep, Laura e-mailed her mom the big question and asked her to call.
Susan went to her room and change into her nightie and rejoined Ricki in bed. They held onto each other for a while. Then Ricki pushed the shoulder strap off Susan’s shoulder till the breast was exposed. She then suckled on that nipple till she fell asleep. Susan just shared all the strength she had and comforted her lover. It felt good suckling Ricki, but it wasn’t a sexual thing to her this time.
Saturday Morning, Ricki woke up with Susan’s nipple in her mouth. She had remembered suckling on Susan, but wondered how it was that she still had her nipple in her mouth. She leaned back and saw that it was swollen and a little red. If she didn’t suckle on it all night, she definitely did most of the night. She looked up and saw a smile on Susan’s face.
“It doesn’t hurt does it?”
“It’s a little tender, but I will survive. You sent shivers up my spine all night.”
“Sorry,”
“Don’t be sorry, I loved doing this for you. Let’s go take a bath, your face is a mess. You didn’t take your makeup off.”
“Neither did you, raccoon face.”
For a second time they wound up in the bathtub together, and despite some kissing, roaming and playing, they didn’t do anything overly invasive.
They helped each other wash, shampoo and condition each others hair and after emptying the tub, they dried each others body and hair. Susan just clutched her nightie to her chest, as she headed to her room. She gave Ricki a little hip thrust, as she closed the door. Ricky went naked into her room, carrying her nightclothes.
They all went to IHOP for breakfast. The sense of dread that hung over them the previous evening was gone, but not forgotten, as the girls’ gossiped and joked with each other. They were all smiles and hugs this day. It was the only way they could function.
They hurried to the local grocery, after leaving the IHOP. Ricki selected some shrimp, fish, oysters and scallops for something different, along with their other meat selections. She picked up ingredients for a Caesar salad, fresh eggplants, more asparagus, onions, potatoes, shallots and artichokes.
They hurried home, put everything up and then Laura and Ricki headed off to Mrs. Lively’s place. They were the third and fourth girls there, but only by a few minutes, as the rest of their troupe showed up.
Mrs. Lively handed Laura two garment bags and Ricki two other bags and asked them to change into the costumes. In the dressing rooms they inspected the bags. The garment bags had skirts, coin bras, belts and thong panties. They stripped and dressed in their thongs and helped each other with the coin bras. The bras were very noisy and every square inch had several jangles of some sort. They shook their tits at each other. The skirts were simply gorgeous; they had multiple layers of translucent silk chiffon strips about eight inches at the hem gathered to two inches at the waist. Ricki’s was Cardinal over an underskirt of gold, while Laura’s was gold with an under skirt of Cardinal. The hems were finished with a contrasting gold or red trim depending on the layer. Laura helped Ricki with her skirt. It separated at the waist and hooked in the back by two large hooks. It fit very tightly just above the widest part of the hip. She then fastened a two and a half inch belt covered in the same jangles as the bra. Then Ricki helped her sister.
They sisters stood side by side smiling at each other in the mirror. Ricki had never seen anything as pretty and sexy as the skirt. They then helped each other with the jewelry and accessories from the other bag. Every thing made noise with the slightest movement, from the earrings, forehead chain, huge neck-pieces, arm bands, bracelets, waist chain and foot bells, that had a chain that looped the second toe and connected behind the ankle. There were also some things to adorn the hair and a jewel that could be attached to their navels by adhesive.
Getting dressed took a while and Mrs. Lively came in to check on the girls. They were just getting finished. Mrs. Lively smiled and inspected them. “Very nice girls, you both look so lovely. Wait here till I can introduce you and then hip thrust (in a hip thrust, you thrust the hip up front or down back) step, and M&M (an M&M is a move where you draw an M with the point of your hip in four moves up front, down neutral, up back and down back) alternately, your way in.
“Ladies, I want you to see what your costumes will look like. The only difference will be in the color of your skirts. So without further delay we have Laura!”
Laura came enthusiastically out with a hip thrust, step, M&M and doing L’s with her arms. The girls gave gasps as they saw her come in and then applauded till she was next to Mrs. Lively. She gave a cabaret shimmy and a chest camel.
“And now Ricki!”
Ricki put a big smile on her face and came in with the same routine; it was something she and Laura had practiced.
Everyone saw that Laura was the better, but Ricki surprised the girls as they saw her dance her way in. She was way better than they expected. When she was next to Mrs. Lively she gave a cabaret shimmy and a chest camel too.
“Girls, you can come up and inspect these costumes. They cost about a thousand dollars each and each of your will get an equally luxurious costume as my gift to you. Just please be careful and don’t get them dirty, they are a bitch to get cleaned.”
The girls fawned over the sisters as they inspected them. They asked Mrs. Lively a bunch of questions about the costume, jewelry and such. One girl blushed and jumped back as she spread Ricki’s skirt in front and came to Ricki’s thong panty.
“As Madison so indelicately found out, the skirts can be quite revealing. Each of you will receive a coordinating thong to wear with your skirt. I expect each of you to wear only this thong. I doubt that any of you will move in such a manner as to expose your thong, but it is possible. So each of you will either be clean-shaven down there or have a Brazilian wax job. You may, if you want, have an exclamation point, or landing strip there, if you don’t want to go bare. So what do you think; is this worth the effort?”
All of them were very effervescent in their enthusiasm.
“Then let’s dance girls.”
Laura and Ricki had huge smiles as they jingled and jangled.
After they had gone over the routines at least four times and had them fairly well down they broke for the day.
In the dressing room Ricki took off her skirt and thong, putting them in the garment bag. She then dressed in her regular panty and the shorts she had worn to class, but she put her belt back on. She did a couple of hip thrusts to make the belt sing. She didn’t take off the coin bra or most of the jewelry. The foot bells had to come off, but everything else she kept on. Laura seeing what her sister was doing followed suit.
The two of them left with enough swagger to their hips and chest to keep the jangle up. It looked kind of strange, but nobody would deny the two girls were having fun.
Mrs. Lively just smiled and dreamed of being young again, like the Davis sisters. She had known Laura for less than a year and her sister for only a week or so and had grown to love both kids.
Chapter 19
At home the condo was dark, as they entered. Laura put their garment bags in the hall closet and they entered looking around. The heavy drapes had been drawn and there were no lights on. It would take an incredible amount of effort to get their condo this dark. Both girls were worried that something might have happened. Laura kept Ricki behind her and silently crept to the light switches and flicked the living room lights on.
Girls came out from everywhere shouting, “SURPRISE!!!”
Ricki and Laura, were frightened half to death, they jumped back two feet making a loud jangling noise. Over the HD TV was a banner that read, “Happy Birthday Ricki”. Susan held a birthday cake in the center of the group.
All of Laura’s sorority sisters that were in town were there, along with a few friends (all female) that weren’t sisters, including Ricki’s friend Candace. The girls all rushed Ricki who was about ready to run from fright, to get their hugs and kisses.
Neither of the Davis sisters had yet to speak, they were so shocked. Ricki broke the silence with, “But today isn’t my birthday.”
“We know silly, Monday is your birthday. But we would all be tied up on Monday, studying,” Susan said.
“How and why did you all do this without me knowing?” Laura asked.
Stacy came up front and addressed the two of them. “While we know, that you could have kept the secret Laura, we decided to surprise you too. It seems, some of the girls wanted to get back at someone for various pranks that were alleged to have been perpetrated by you. Also, your surprise would greatly increase Ricki’s surprise. Carrie did you get the picture of those two jumping.”
“Sure did Madame President.”
“Good. So what is with these outfits that you two are wearing?”
“This is part of our costume for the fourth of July program,” Ricki said proudly jangling her chest at Stacy.
“If that is only part, you have got to show us the rest,” some girl in back said.
“We have skirts to go with our tops, but we can’t put them on. They would be a ‘bitch’ to quote Mrs. Lively, to clean.”
Laura and Ricki went to the hall closet and pulled out the garment bags and removed their skirts. All the girls oohed and ahhed as they saw them. The closest of them ran the fabric through her fingers.
“Oh, those are made from a high quality silk material,” Jordan Wilkes said. She was a sister that Ricki hadn’t met yet and she was a fashion major.
“Hi Jordan, this is my sister Ricki. Both of the skirts have twenty-five yards of silk chiffon sewn in floating panels. Mrs. Lively gave them to us, along with these bras and jewelry.”
Laura and Ricki put up their skirts after all the girls had a chance to look at them. Then the party began in earnest. The sisters made Laura and Ricki go through one of their dance routines, as the girls made jeers, catcalls and wolf whistles. The two of them made Susan stand in front of them and join them on a basic routine. She seemed to enjoy the attention she got from her sisters.
Then the girls played games; some of the games were quite juvenile and were for Ricki’s benefit, as they all knew her situation. Ricki was escorted to a donkey on the wall, before she was blindfolded and given a tail on a pin. Stacy pulled the donkey’s picture to reveal a picture of Susan. She was leaning away from the camera and with her backside displayed; her pantied cheeks peeked out from under her short skirt. Susan started to protest but was quieted by a look from Stacy. Ricki was turned around three or four times and then was aimed at the picture somewhat. She reached out with her left hand, found the wall and then the picture. She then pinned the tail on Susan’s left buttock. Susan gave an involuntary squeak. Ricki blushed when she saw what she had done, after the blindfold was removed.
Next they played twister, three fourths of the girls lost their match to Ricki. She was just too damn flexible and had a great sense of balance. They laughed, as a girl named Brenda, played Ricki. Ricki was laid out backwards, her feet were on the outside colors and her hands on the inside colors. Brenda was stretched out over Ricki and between her legs. Brenda was in the most precarious position with her legs and arms crossed to get them in the right position. The next color they had to move a leg. Brenda fell; Ricki gave an umph and collapsed.
One girl pulled out the old Mystery Date game for them to play. It was a big hit with the gathered sisters. Ricki dressed for a formal dance and when she opened the door her date was dressed to go skiing. Rebecca got the dud date and everybody laughed. Laura won dressed for bowling.
The sisters then urged Ricki on to open presents. She blushed, as over half of the presents were lingerie. Even Ricki, (who didn’t know Playtex, which she didn’t receive, from La Perla, which she did receive) knew that these were quality undergarments. She also received lots of jewelry from the girls. Ricki Also opened the package from their parents. Inside was a fully tricked out 14” Lenovo Laptop.
Lastly, they had Ricki blow out the candles, cut the cake and they all sat down to eat. Ricki got a chance to meet and talk to some of the girls she hadn’t met yet. Each of the sisters had a chance to sit next to Ricki for a few minutes.
“Excuse me Sisters,” Stacy said, trying to get everyone’s attention. “We have one more gift for Ricki. Ricki please come here.”
Ricki stood jingling next to Stacy.
Stacy opened a jewelry box and pulled out a sorority pin and pinned it to Ricki’s bra.
“Ricki in the short time you have been here, the sisters have grown to love you as one of our own. We have gotten together and decided to make you a sister. If you decide on going to USC, and decide to stay a girl, we ask that you join us. If you go back to being a guy, you will still be an honorary sister and we will still welcome you to our ranks, with full privileges.”
Ricki’s eyes filled with tears, but her smile betrayed her true emotions. She didn’t know why she felt this way, but she loved all of these girls. She tried to speak, but just wound up hugging Stacy. Ricki then had to hug all the girls.
As it got late, the sisters shifted gears and began to clean up the mess they had made and return the condo to condition one. Susan helped Ricki get her presents to her room and sorted out.
Susan spent the night with Ricki; they both loved the closeness they shared. They respected each other not to press on sexual issues.
Sunday came the regular inspection in front of the girls. It no longer bothered Ricki, as she considered herself one of them. She had gained another three quarters of a pound all over, even at her waist. All of this contributed to a softer, more feminine appearance. Her rib cage was still visible, but not as well defined; and her hips were not as bony.
“If you drink about a quart of water an hour, you will really look nice in about an hour. At least till you eliminate the water from your system,” Susan said. “That might make a real girl look a little bloated, but it will only help you.”
“Gain no more than two pounds for now Ricki. You look good,” Laura said. “We will wait to attach the enhancements to you Ricki; you need to let your skin breathe for a while.”
“Can I put the breast forms in my bra, at least?”
“That will be ok, but you really need to let your testicles cool a bit. If they stay too hot, for too long, their ability to produce testosterone and sperm can be damaged.”
“Ok,” Ricki said. She dressed in a bra and inserted her forms into it. It was a slightly unnerving picture, seeing a well developed girl, with a seven inch penis. Ricki then put on a pretty panty; she dressed in a low cut blouse, a tight mini, pantyhose, to help keep privates in place, at least a little and her cross trainers.
Laura, Cindy and Susan knuckled down to study and Ricki began fixing some of the seafood she had. She butterflied the shrimp, leaving only the last joint of the shell and cleaning out the vein (Yeah we know it’s not really a vein, as for blood, but…). The shrimp were very large, almost equal to a small prawn. She then battered the shrimp and set them aside in the fridge. Ricki took some fresh clams, potatoes and cream and began making New England Chowder, prepared the artichoke hearts and put together a salad.
When she began to get hungry, she started getting everything ready. She had made a tartar sauce and a red sauce for the shrimp. The soup looked and smelled delicious and the artichokes were cooking nicely. She started the shrimp and the girls cleaned off the table.
Dinner was served and the girls raved about the meal. The clam chowder was a big hit, there was enough left over for another meal, so it was refrigerated. The tartar sauce and the shrimp went fast.
“This is a delicious tartar sauce, what kind is it?” Susan asked.
“I made it too. It is a recipe mother showed me,” Ricki said. “Plus a little something I thought about. I added a bit of cilantro to the tartar sauce.”
“This is very good. I just love the artichoke,” Laura said. “Mom use to serve them too.”
After dinner, everyone helped on the cleanup. They worked in the kitchen till it was spic and span clean.
They then reattached Ricki’s curves. That made her so happy, she was almost ecstatic. She dressed for bed and caught a little TV with her sisters. She could call them that now.
(continued)
Ricki continues her swimming and her belly dancing. She also finds a job. The news she and Laura feared is confirmed, their Dad is dying. Madeline, Laura and Ricki's Mom, finds out about Ricki. Timely intervention prevents a rape. (Not in extreme detail. The scene should not be overly distressful.)
Shimmy
by
Paula Dillon
Chapter 20
Ricki was up early she cleaned up and took care of her needs. On her way downstairs, she took her dirty things and linen down to wash. She fixed breakfast and coffee, and had it ready when the girls came down. Some people take things for granted, when it is provided without their having to think about it. This was not so with her sisters. They never took this blessing for granted. Ricki allowed them the opportunity they needed, to do what they needed to do. They gave Ricki their hugs and kisses, for her selflessness.
Ricki began her cleaning routine after the girls left for class and practiced her belly dancing while she did her cleaning.
Laura was in her French lit class, when her phone rang. She got up to leave the classroom and answer it. She hoped it was her mom, none of her other friends would call during class.
“I am sorry; it’s my Mom, Mrs. Boucher. I have to take this,” Laura said, getting her things and leaving class.
(The Following conversation took place in French. I don’t know French, but Madeline Davis is French Canadian. She does speak French and Laura does too. So I had to use an online translator. Any errors in the French translation are the translator’s error.)
"Bonjour," (“Hello,”) Laura said, in French.
"Bonjour sueur." (“Hello sweaty.”) Madeline replied in French. "Vous voulez avoir cette conversation en français?" (“You want to have this conversation in French?”)
"Oui maman, je suis á l'école. Comment áªtes-vous? " (“Yes mom, I am at school. How are you?”)
“Je suis en train de faire amende chers. Sauf pour… oui je sorte de s'attendre á vous voir. Oui votre papa ne va pas bien. " (“I am doing fine dear. Except for… yes I kind of expected you to see it. Yes your Daddy isn’t well.”)
"Quel est le problá¨me avec lui maman?" (“What is wrong with him Mom?”)
"Il a un cancer chers. Il était hors d'usage quand il a été constaté. Votre pá¨re est vieux et il n'a pas envie d'essayer la chimio-thérapie qui avait seulement 5% de chance de ralentir le cancer, non pas de tuer le cancer. " (“He has a cancer dear. It was inoperable when it was found. Your father is old and he didn’t want to try chemo-therapy that only had a five percent chance of slowing the cancer, not killing the cancer.”)
"Pourquoi ne pas-il nous dire, maman?" (“Why didn’t he tell us, Mom?”)
"Vous n'avez pas venir courir chez vous, si vous savait qu'il était malade. Cela aurait interrompu vos études et il ne l'a pas voulu. Il n'a pas envie de voir tel qu'il est maintenant. Je n'était pas d'accord avec lui, mais il a été sa décision. Il a voulu vous les enfants á se souviennent de lui comme il l'était son ancien… en bonne santé soi-máªme, et non pas le shell de l'homme, il est maintenant." (“You would have come running home, if you knew he was sick. That would have interrupted your education and he didn’t want that. He also didn’t want you to see him as he is now. I disagreed with him, but it was his decision. He wanted you kids to remember him as he was… his former healthy self, not the shell of the man he is now.”)
"Mais maman, nous avons besoin d'avoir l'occasion de dire au revoir á lui." (“But Mom, we need to have the opportunity to say goodbye to him.”)
"Je suis d'accord avec vous Laura, mais il n'est pas á moi." (“I agree with you Laura, but it isn’t up to me.”)
"Ensuite, nous arrivons á l'endroit oá¹ vous áªtes." (“Then we are coming to where you are.”)
"NON! S’il vous plaá®t ne le faites pas, il pá¨res de briser votre coeur. Il est un homme fier, trop fier. Il vous connaá®t deux amour et il veut que tu sais qu'il aime vous deux profondément. " (“NO! Please don’t, it would break your fathers heart. He is a proud man, too proud. He knows you two love him and he wants you to know he loves both of you deeply.”)
"Combien de temps at-il?" (“How long does he have?”)
"Un mois, peut-áªtre deux. Nous n'allons pas faire de retour, je suis peur » (“A month, maybe two. We won’t make it back, I’m afraid,”) Madeline said, and then she tried to change the subject to a less painful topic. "Alors, comment Ricky est en train de faire?" (“So how is Ricky doing?”)
"Elle a fait grand maman," (“She is doing great Mom,”) Laura gasped as soon as she made her faux pas.
"Elle?" (“She?”)
"Je veux dire qu'il fait bien." (“I mean he is doing fine.”)
"Dites-moi la vérité Laura, je peut l'entendre dans votre voix." (“Tell me the truth Laura; I can hear it in your voice.”)
"Maman, c'est une longue histoire, mais Ricki que l'habillage est une fille, et je n'ai pas jamais vu son heureux." (“Mom, it’s a long story, but Ricki is dressing as a girl, and I haven’t ever seen her happier.”)
”J'ai toujours pensé qu'il était trop beau pour áªtre un garçon. Ne vous méprenez pas, il n'est pas quelque chose de mal avec les garçons, mais Ricky avait un tel esprit doux sur lui… Est-elle assez? " (“I always thought he was too nice to be a boy. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with boys, but Ricky had such a sweet spirit about him… Is she pretty?”)
"Oh maman, elle est tout simplement magnifique et elle a probablement un fiancé. Je crois qu'elle est en amour avec Susan une fille qui vit avec moi. Deux d'entre eux sont si heureux qu'ils sont ravis." (“Oh Mom, she is simply gorgeous and she probably has a fiancé. I think she is in love with Susan a girl that lives with me. Both of them are so happy they are ecstatic.”)
"Le temps nous dira fille, donnez-lui tout le soutien que vous pouvez Laura. Ne pas dire Ricki sur la derniá¨re partie de notre conversation, mais dites-lui que nous aimons chá¨rement lui. Donnez-lui un cá¢lin pour moi et votre pá¨re. " (“Time will tell daughter, give her all the support you can Laura. Don’t tell Ricki about the last part of our conversation, but tell him we love him dearly. Give her a hug for me and your Dad.”)
"Tenez-moi informé de papa, nous manquera quand il passe." (“Keep me informed about Dad, we will miss him when he passes.” Laura cried.)
“Je sais trá¨s chers, je l'espá¨re, pour voir mon autre fille, un certain temps dans l'avenir. Je t'aime tant de fois. Au revoir, my Sweet fille." (“I know dear, I hope to see my other daughter, some time in the future too. I love you both so much. Bye, my sweet daughter.”)
Nous vous aimons trop maman. Au revoir." (“We love you too Mom. Bye.”)
Laura made a call herself.
“Hi Laura,”
“Hello Rebecca, It is just as I feared.”
“How long?”
“Two months, maybe less.”
“I am here for you both. You know that don’t you.”
“Yes I do. Thank you. Bye.”
“You take care of yourself sister. Bye.”
Laura just sat on the couch outside the French classroom and cried quietly for a few minutes. She gathered her things and headed to the nearest women’s restroom to fix her face.
Ricki finished her work and her DVD belly dancing lessons early, so she got in her bikini and went out to the pool. It was fun always having a pool convenient. She swam in the pool for about two hours. Even with the sunscreen, Ricki was developing a golden tan and the requisite tan lines from her suit. The tan looked good on her, but it seemed a little bit off she thought. Ricki would have to show Susan and see if she had any ideas to make the tan lines look a little more like what it should look like.
They girls got home and studied for a bit before dinner. Ricki fixed hamburgers, fries and a banana pudding for dessert. The girls loved the burgers, but Ricki had to fight them to keep them from devouring all the pudding. It was just loaded with calories.
When it came time to get ready for belly dancing class, Ricki took Susan up to her room and showed her the tan lines.
“I can fix this when you get home. I need to get some things first, honey.”
Ricki and Laura wore their coin bras, belts and jewelry to class. Ricki worked with Mrs. Lively on the routines they had practiced on Saturday. She then had Laura join Ricki and do the routine they were choreographing themselves. Mrs. Lively loved the creativity of the Davis sisters; they were a good addition to her belly dancing class.
On the way home Laura stopped and broke the news she had from her mother.
“Ricki, Mom called me. It is just as we suspected. Dad is dying.”
“It can’t be. He just can’t,” Ricki said crying.
“You know it is true. You have seen it in the pictures.”
“We have to go see him, Laura.”
“You don’t have a passport and although we have an itinerary, it will still be hard to meet up with them.”
Ricki leaned on Laura’s shoulder and cried. “We will be there when they get home then.”
Laura was in tears herself and was hurting inside, “He probably won’t make it home. Ricki Dad wants us to remember him when he was healthy and vigorous. He doesn’t want us to see him waste away.”
“I never got to say goodbye, Sis.”
“I know. I didn’t get to say goodbye either.”
“We have got to call them, then.”
“I will try to Ricki. That is all I can promise.”
They held onto each other and had a good cry, before they cleaned up their faces and continued their way home.
Chapter 21
Tuesday, Vanessa had lunch with a professor friend of hers. Janet Wilkins was a professor of psychology. After they exchanged pleasantries and placed their orders, they sat to talk.
“Janet, I have a question about transgendered guys.”
“You mean girls that believe in their heart they are guys, or guys that believe in their hearts that they are girls.”
“Guys that believe they are girls.”
“Well, you don’t ask easy questions. There is a lot of information on that topic and the amount is growing daily. Transgendered is sort of an umbrella definition. There are different types of transgendered out there. This is just the nickel explanation for you, Vanessa.”
“Some people want desperately to be the other sex, even to go so far as taking hormones and seeking Sexual Reassignment Surgery. They are so desperate, they may fall into depression if they are prevented from doing so. These people are the ones who sometimes commit suicide if they can’t find release, or they lack emotional support from those around them.
Others are those that just want to look like the other sex, to whatever degree they can, some of the time. The rest of the time, they are comfortable as who they are. Others may take hormones to help with their appearance, but forego the SRS surgery. Some are happy to be half and half, so to speak. Still others dress for the sexual thrill. To be able to understand the differences, a psychiatrist or psychologist, spends many hours getting to know the person. It takes a minimum of one year of counseling to resolve where a person falls, before the mental healthcare provider will sign off on surgery. Some may be in therapy for years before they reach that point.”
“How young can they begin?”
“They can begin dressing and believing they are different as young as they can. Some may begin before grade school, at age three, four or five. Some when they approach puberty, while others a lot later in life. There is a quandary in the psychological community on this issue. The issue is, on when to start HRT. HRT, or hormone replacement therapy, can either feminize a boy who wants to be a girl, or makes a girl who wants to be a boy become masculine. The younger a patient begins hormones, the better the results. The difference can be rather dramatic. The big question is, how to be certain the patient is certain that that is what they want and need? At what age do we act on that feeling? It would be nice for them if at the age of eleven or twelve, we could begin HRT. They could develop along with their peers and they wouldn’t have to overcome what the natural hormones have already done. But what eleven or twelve year old is certain of themselves? They could change their minds and after four or five months on, HRT, the die has already been cast, the chance to change back to what they could have been has been greatly diminished.”
“Right now, the age is eighteen, although in some cases we can prescribe hormone blockers at twelve to fourteen. This will keep guys from growing beards and Adam’s apples, and girls from growing breasts, hips and such. The question is then, how long can they safely take the blockers. Surgery is an iron clad eighteen, because of its implications, and they should be as grown as they are going to be. Hormones are eighteen,”
“I know a guy who is comfortable with himself dressed as a girl. I don’t think it is for sexual pleasure. He appears so natural. I would swear he had surgery, but he is only sixteen.”
“I can’t give you a diagnosis. He sounds like a boy that believes in his heart that he is a girl. It would take a year in a Real life test, one or two years of counseling, and age eighteen before anything irreversible is done. If she has been living for a year as a girl, it is easy to see why she is so comfortable in her role. I doubt she has had surgery.”
“But he looked so natural in a bikini. If I hadn’t known him before, I would have sworn he was a girl.”
“What did you do, before you grew your boobs to look like you had them?”
“Stuffed my bra with tissues and other things.”
“They have gotten pretty sophisticated in this area, silicone breastforms, hip pads, gaffs to hide their penises and fake vaginas and such.”
“This person doesn’t know I know. What can I do for him? What do I refer to him as? How should I treat him?”
“Treat him as he appears. If he looks like a girl treat her that way. Use feminine pronouns and such. Treat her like any other person. Don’t ‘out’ the person to others, they have a hard life as it is. That can be real hard, because you know the truth. Try not to accidentally let that knowledge slip. You may have to go so far as to distance yourself a bit, till you are sure in your heart that you aren’t going to let it slip. Don’t go out of your way to let them know you know. You can make it more likely she will slip, force her to run away, or scare her half to death. If you see her in a ladies rest room and she is behaving properly for her appearance, treat her like any other female. You can do wonders for people like this by treating them like they appear. Be their friend if they ask and be friendly to them even if they don’t. Be there to protect her if she needs it. There are many people that target the transgendered for violence.”
“Girls who are transgendered have a different kind of a challenge. But that will cost another lunch. If you really want to know more, there are some college courses you could take.”
Ricki and Laura were in a brown funk for a few days; everyone around them could see it and were supportive of the girls. Laura was almost back to normal the next day. Ricki was taking it hard. Candace even made a house call to talk to Ricki. Candace now understood why Rebecca had contacted her, although she still had questions. She was taking grief counseling as part of her Master’s studies.
Thursday, though she had begun to come out of her malaise. Susan had been so good to Ricki and slept with her every night, just holding her as she slept.
The one spot of happiness was at the dance studio. Ricki threw all her pent up emotion into her dance. Thursday night had been a real awakening as she danced. Even though the thought of her Dad dying still distressed her, there had been a lot of love in their relationship. Thursday in her mind she danced for her father, she threw herself into the dance. She wore her biggest smile as the tears fell.
Mrs. Lively saw the emotion Ricki was putting into the dance and was entranced by the young girl. She was doing everything better than she had ever done. When she was done the whole class erupted in applause.
Ricky was embarrassed but the other students just smiled at her. Mrs. Lively asked Laura and Ricki to stay after class for a few minutes.
“Ricki you were wonderful, but what was all that emotion you were pouring out.”
“My Father is on a Mediterranean cruise and he is dying from cancer Mrs. Lively. We may never see him alive again.”
“Oh you poor child, I know how you must feel.”
“Even though he wasn’t here I was dancing for him.”
“How long does he have, Ricki?”
“A month, maybe two.”
“Do you feel better now?”
“Yes Ma’am, I feel a lot better now. That dance was cathartic.”
Mrs. Lively gave Ricki a warm hug and said, “I see, I feel for you, Ricki, I lost my father many years ago in Vietnam. He was a pilot. I also lost my husband, about ten years ago, in an industrial accident. If you need to talk Ricki, I am available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I hope you can dance with that same intensity, on the fourth Ricki. I just can’t believe how beautiful and graceful you looked.”
Chapter 22
Friday, Ricki was surprised, while she was swimming at school. She had just made her turn at 500 meters, when another swimmer splashed in the pool in the next lane. It was Coach Adams. Vanessa matched Ricki’s pace for the next hundred meters. Then she began to push a little faster. Ricki kicked it up a notch and kept pace with her over the next two laps. They then slowed for two laps and rested for a bit.
“Hi Ricki, how are you doing today?”
“Ok, and how are you doing, Coach Adams?”
“Very good. Let’s do the next hundred doing the butterfly.”
“Ok,”
Coach Adams pushed off and Ricki matched her moves, about two meters behind her. Ricki watched how she was swimming. Vanessa’s form was just a little different. It looked like she was a little more efficient in her strokes. Ricki tried to adapt her stroke a little. It is one thing to have a coach tell you what you were doing wrong and another to see how one might be able to see how to do the same thing a little more efficiently.
Ricki had already learned to swim better, with her forward appendages attached. Her and her belly dancing had really helped her. She was significantly stronger in her abdominals; this helped her more than she knew. At the turn, Vanessa was in the lead and she had a pretty good turn at the wall, but Ricki’s turn wasn’t good, it was great. She caught up and was side by side with the coach after twenty meters.
Their paces picked up significantly, in the last twenty-five meters, to almost competition speed. Coach Adams wasn’t trying to beat Ricki, she just wanted to push the kid a bit. Ricki’s youth and vigor were beginning to show, in the last 15 meters. Vanessa couldn’t have won at that point, even if she had wanted to, Ricki pulled from even, to three quarters of a body’s length ahead in the last ten meters and touched first.
“Wow that was some burst of speed you put on there, Ricki.”
“Thank you coach,” Ricki said, smiling brightly at Coach Adams.
“You seemed to have a little more power in your stroke. I saw the changes you made. Is it easier doing it that way?”
“Yes, it was much easier, and I always save a little energy if I can, for a last minute burst of speed.”
“That is good, if you can keep in range.”
“Yes ma’am, it is.”
“Ok, let’s just swim some more laps.” Vanessa said, smiling to herself, as she pushed off the wall.
Coach Adams swam another five hundred meters, her joints began to complain a bit. The injury to her back, which she had sustained four years ago, took away all of her Olympic hopes, began to tell. Swimming helped her flexibility a bit, but she could never get anywhere near where she had been. So she hopped out of the pool and dried off, while she watched Ricki.
Ricki felt good and swam another eleven hundred meters. It was funny, she hadn’t really considered belly dancing an aerobic exercise before she had started. That misconception was dispelled the first time she had tried it. The biggest benefit Ricki saw, was the strengthening of her core, her chest, abdominals, glutes and legs. This helped her in swimming more than anything else she had tried. She also noticed that she had a little better, no make that significantly better stamina now. She would swear that her ribcage was a little broader.
After her shower, she dressed and did her makeup. Her sisters were still studying, so she walked around campus. She smiled when she saw Candace.
“Hi Candace.”
“Hello Ricki, how are you doing?”
“Better, I know my Dad is dying, and there isn’t anything that I can do about it. But I also know that life goes on,” Ricki said, as she began walking.
Candace walked with her friend and they talked, “Don’t forget to take time to grieve Ricki. Grief can be cathartic, as long as one doesn’t live to grieve. You spent seventeen years loving your father, when he goes, you can’t just bottle up all those emotions and feelings that you had for him. It just isn’t healthy.”
“I am learning that and thank you for being such a good friend.”
“Ricki, I have something to ask you. Now don’t be afraid, I will always be your friend, but I have noticed some things about you. Are you transgendered?”
Ricki swallowed a bit, when she heard the question, but Candace had been a good friend. “I guess I am. I am just not sure. I was a happy boy. I guess, that is a somewhat happy boy. Since I have dressed as a girl, I have felt that life couldn’t get any better.”
Candace smiled at her friend. “I though so. Don’t worry, you aren’t broadcasting I am a boy to the world. Far from it, I find it hard to conceive of you being a boy. It was just a few little things about you, when we first met. Over the time I have known you; they have all but disappeared. I am studying to be a psychologist; I think that is why I picked up on them. So tell me, what brought out this transformation?”
Ricki told Candace the story of how all this had taken place. Candace listened intently to what the girl was saying; only taking time to stop her to ask a question about something she had said.
“If I were to guess Ricki, I think you are finding it increasingly difficult to think of yourself as a boy,” Candace stated.
“You are right, Candace. Everyday that I have spent being a girl has been a lot more real to me, than my whole life as a Richard. Look at me. Genetics has left me looking like this. I am as big as I ever will be. I am bigger than my father and my father’s father, yet I am smaller than many of the girls on this campus. Back home, Richard had a few good friends; here, Ricki has a lot of very good friends. Richard was more than a bit of a wallflower, he was almost a recluse. Ricki though isn’t afraid to get out there and live. It was like I was waiting for this moment my whole life. Everything just seems to fit.”
“Being a girl won’t always be a bed of roses, you know that don’t you.”
“Being a boy wasn’t bad at times either, Candace. I know that. It just seems to me that I am brighter, more confident and happier. I don’t know if I will always feel this way.”
“How far do you think you want to go on this road, Ricki?”
“I don’t know. I want to have kids. I know that I could never have them, if I did the wrong things. So I don’t really know what I want to do. I do think that I would like to have breasts of my own and I have no problem with camouflaging my hips. Although, I guess I would like to have wider, rounder hips too.”
“Well you are still young, and any fork of the road is still years ahead of you.”
“Do you know anything about it, Candace?”
“Some, all students looking to become psychologist have to take courses dealing with gender issues. Anybody who wants to change sex is looking down a long road with many years of counseling. It takes a psych to sign off on any surgery, Ricki. The big one is, you need to live a year minimum as a girl, for a year and during that year you will have to be in a treatment relationship with a Psychologist, or Psychiatrist. You will need to learn about hormones and what they can and cannot do, what cannot be reversed, if you take them. It is a big step taking hormones and it is an even bigger step, to have surgery. All of what I have just said is an over simplification of the process.”
“You seem to know a lot more than I do.”
“Like I have said, I have had some gender studies. Well I have to go, Ricki. I will always be your friend, call if you need me.”
“Thank you Candace and I will always be your friend too.”
Chapter 23
Saturday was a big day for the girls in the belly-dancing troupe. They had just four more days after today, before the Fourth of July. Ricki and Laura brought their costumes with them to the lesson. They were early and so began to change.
When the other girls came in, they each received a garment bag and a sack. Ricki and Laura helped the girls with their costumes, as they came in. All the skirts they saw were equally fabulous; there was a sea of blues, whites, greens, yellows, and pinks, with contrasting layers of color. Each girl treasured her skirt, they were all so beautiful, but Ricki liked hers and Laura’s the best. Soon there was a loud cacophony in the changing room as they donned their bras, belts and jewelry.
The girls were shaking and shimming, out on the dance floor, when Mrs. Lively brought them to order.
“Hello girls, I see that all of you are enjoying your costumes. Shake and shimmy for me and listen to the sound that you are making.”
The girls spent about twenty seconds doing various movements. They all smiled, as they shook and shimmied.
“Ok girls, that is enough. Let’s begin and while we dance, listen to everyone.”
Once the girls all started dancing and were totally in sync with each other, they all noticed a difference in the sound. The sound was louder and sharper. They smiled, as they came to this realization.
“Yes girls, it makes a difference when we all dance together. There will be a time for everyone to do their own thing in a dance, but when we all move as one; the dance will be perceived as stronger and more powerful,” Mrs. Lively said, as they danced. “Every movement has its own sound, its own texture and its own feel. Listen to the music you make and go with the flow.”
For the first time the girls all saw all of the individual routines, the girls had worked up. Everyone was appreciative of all the girls’ efforts and applauded appropriately.
Ricki really liked the routine that she and Laura worked up. She couldn’t wait till they had the opportunity to perform it for an audience. They got their share of applause when they finished.
They did the whole show three times, getting all the timing and movements perfectly synchronized. They critiqued each other and were critiqued by Mrs. Lively.
After they finished, Mrs. Lively meet with each of them and gave them each of them Salon appointments. Only Ricki’s and Laura’s were for the same time and day. They had to go to the salon on Wednesday, at nine in the morning.
When Ricki and Laura got home, they put their garment bags in the hall closet and headed up to their rooms to clean up, put their makeup on and to get dressed up. Susan had gotten them reservations at nice restaurant. Cindy helped Ricki with her makeup a bit. She had gotten good at her everyday looks, but her sisters really wanted her to shine tonight. Susan had even gone out and bought her a really nice dress as a surprise.
The dress was looked like a liquid metallic silver halter dress that came just above mid thigh. It had matching three quarter sleeve bolero jacket that came with it. She bought matching shoes, they were silver sandals with four and a half inch heels and handbag. Ricki got to wear some fabulous silver, chandelier, ruby earrings, a silver ruby cocktail ring and a three tier, silver and ruby necklace. The rubies were created rubies, Susan told Ricki, but they were still fabulous.
Lastly, Susan and Cindy worked with Ricki’s hair, to get it looking just right and a splash of perfume. Ricki had been in LA for four weeks and had yet to get out to do any sight seeing, she was still happy for her time here, anyway.
Before they left they had to ogle each other. They were four very beautiful young ladies. They stood side by side, as Laura set the digital camera’s shutter delay, so they could take a group picture. She took eight or nine pictures, to make sure she got it right and then reviewed the pictures before they headed out.
“I have to send this picture out to Mom,” Laura thought to herself.
They found a parking structure near Hollywood Blvd and La Brae, and then walked to their destination. Ricki had to stop and photograph Elton John’s, Mickey Mouse’s, and William Shatner’s stars, among the others they saw on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They followed the stars, looking at the names on them as they went. They came up to Grumman’s Chinese Theater next and had to stop and photograph many of the stars’, hand and foot prints. Ricki was very excited. She found Marilyn Monroe’s hand and foot prints, among a whole host of stars that had left their marks there.
The place they were going to eat, was a dinner theater. You know, one of those dinner and a show places.
At the restaurant, they were just four beautiful women among a sea of beautiful women there. They did receive more than their fair share of glances, from those around them. Hollywood is one of the most image-oriented communities in the entire country. It is a city where everyone is trying to impress the right people.
The maá®tre’d led them to their table. Several waiters seated them and handed them their menus. They noticed that they had a really great table; they were seated center stage, front row. After they ordered drinks, the girls began to browse the menus. Cindy was the one who knew the least about the items on the menu. Laura, Ricki and Susan helped her identify the things that were there.
One of the other patrons sent their table a nice bottle of wine; Laura turned it down, because they were all underage. She also told the waiter to tell the sender politely, that one of them was jail bait and none of them were interested in company.
“That won’t put them off Sis. There are enough perverts in this city that like underage lovers. That might even give them more thrills.”
“You might be right Ricki, but they will just have to take no for an answer. Besides, you are spoken for, I think,” Laura said.
“You bet your booty, she is spoken for,” Susan said, giggling.
After they ordered, they looked around to see who was there. Susan and Cindy swore they saw Nicholas Cage and Ricki thought she saw Sara Jessica Parker, but there were so many star look-a-likes about, one could never be totally certain. The place wasn’t an A-List exclusive establishment, like some of the Beverly Hills restaurants, but you did occasionally see ‘A-Listers’ here.
Their meals arrived at their table and they set about eating. Ricki had gotten chicken parmesan, and asparagus, with a side dish of curried rice. An odd combination, but Ricki liked her dishes.
Ricki learned a lesson; never eat curried rice when Susan was telling a slightly raunchy joke. When Susan got to the punch line, Ricki snorted a mouth full of the curried rice, up into her nose. The other girls were laughing as much as Susan, as was Ricki trying unsuccessfully, to gracefully recover.
As they continued to eat, the house lights dimmed and the curtain opened, to reveal the entertainment for the night. On stage, in a Tuxedo, was a magician, he had suddenly appeared in a flash of light and smoke.
“I want to welcome you all tonight. I am the Great Ramone Donotello, Master Illusionist.”
Donotello was a very technically proficient magician and a very good showman. He went through many illusions over the next twenty minutes. He was not into the grand illusions as David Copperfield and Chris Angel, but he was on par, sort of, with Mac King, David Blaine and Johnny Ace Palmer.
“I need an assistant for the next illusion,” he said, slipping into a mentalist routine. “I see a young lady, who has just had her seventeenth birthday.”
Spotlights started to scan the audience and Ricki looked crossly at Susan, who just smiled innocently, too innocently to actually be innocent.
“I see silver, lots and lots of silver. Oh yes, a lovely silver dress and shoes.”
The spotlights panned right through Ricki, passing her. They stopped on the floor beside her; then slowly came back and stopped on her.
“Madame, will you do me the honor of being my assistant, for the next illusion?”
Ricki looked crossly again at Susan’s Angelic expression, causing those who could see, to laugh and applaud. Ricki then gave a genuine thousand-watt smile, stood and walked to the stage.
The month of belly dancing lessons had given her a natural hip roll, as she walked. She couldn’t help herself; her hips just went into motion naturally. The spotlights followed her as she walked. The drummer in the band, that supplied music for the show, picked up on it and gave a, ta-tat, ta-tat on his snare drum, as she walked to the stage stairs. She stopped and gave the drummer a stare that could melt lead. She then gave him one of her biggest hip thrusts. The drummer went over backwards and knocked over his top hat, causing a tremendous clamor.
This nearly brought the house down, as everybody began laughing and applauding.
The Magician was never one to miss an opportunity said, “I see that I am not the only one here tonight, that is able to do magic. I think those hips should be registered as lethal weapons.”
Even Ricki had to laugh at that joke. The curry that she had inhaled up into her nose, took that time to cause her to sneeze.
“Ah, pretty one let me help you with that.” Donotello was never one to miss an opportunity to adjust his routine. He grabbed a bucket and a silk hankie as he palmed an amazing number of coins. He held the hankie to her noise and the bucket beneath it and said. “Come on dear, just give me a blow.”
Ricki blew her nose as loudly as she could into the hankie and as she did, a lot of coins fell from her nose into the bucket.
“A couple of more times, my Lady.”
Ricki blew her nose twice more and at least forty silver dollars fell into the bucket.
“Ah no wonder you sneezed, fair maiden,” Donotello said.
The crowd applauded, Donotello bowed and Ricki curtseyed as much as anyone in her dress and heels could.
Donotello thought this girl was a natural.
“Now Madame, what is your name dear?”
“Ricki Anne.”
“When was your birthday, my pretty little flower?”
What a ham, Ricki thought, “This past Monday.”
“And where did you get such lethal hips.”
“I take belly dancing lesson,” Ricki said, giving Donotello a chest camel and a cabaret shimmy. It was a little harder up on her stilts, but she was oh so sexy doing it.
Donotello scanned the crowds and said. “Someone please call the paramedics. I think there are a half dozen men having heart attacks out there.”
After the laughs and applause died a bit he said, “Now Ricky, on my magicians stand are a half dozen sealed decks of cards. Is there not.”
“There is.”
“Select one deck, my lady, open it and inspect it, make sure there is nothing funny about the cards.
Ricky picked one and found a good use for her longer nails. They easily sliced through the cellophane and seal, on the deck. She took out the jokers and the insert, and inspected the deck. All the cards appeared normal to her and nothing looked faked.
“Okay, select a card my lady and show your friends and the audience, but don’t let me see it.”
She did this.
He asked her to sign the card, insert it anywhere in the deck and to shuffle the cards. When this was accomplished, he asked her to stand on the stage about ten feet away and to loft the cards towards him. He now had a rapier in his right hand. She lofted the cards towards him. The way she threw the deck, they didn’t spread all that much in the air. He made a lunged with his rapier and stabbed at the cards. When all the cards hit the floor, there was one card was stuck on the sword’s blade.
“Is that your card, my lady?” he said, pointing the sword in her direction.
Ricki looked and hopped excitedly as she saw that it was indeed her card.
“Yes it is. How did you do that?” Ricki asked.
“A good magician never reveals his secrets. You may have the card. Please take the card as a souvenir. Give it to your friends and come back on stage.”
Ricki pulled the card off the sword and gave it to Susan to hold. She then went back up on stage. Donotello really only wanted an assistant for one illusion, but his mind started to click a new series of illusions, with this girl involved.
Donotello then pulled out the zigzag lady box, he whispered to Ricki, “just turn sideways to the right of the box, as the door is closed.”
Ricki had seen the trick before and kinda figured it out, but went along with the illusion. Donotello shut the door and she turned sideways after putting her face in one window and her hands in two openings and her feet in another. He then pushed two wide blades into the box, cutting her into thirds. Ricki gave a yelp as if in pain. Donotello then pushed the middle of the box to the right, so her mid section was no longer beneath her head or over her feet.
Ricki smiled, shook her head, wiggled her feet and waved to the crowd.
Donotello bowed to the applause and started to walk away and do the next illusion.
“Ah sir… sir… SIR! Could you please… ah… put me back together again. I can’t feel my toes.”
Donotello thought good girl, she was playing to the audience again.
Ricki was on the stage for fifteen minutes, as she participated in a half dozen illusions. She only knew how one was performed, but she wasn’t going to tell. She and Donotello had to bow to the crowd four times, before they let her return to her seat. Everyone was ecstatic. The management was so happy; they picked up the check for their table.
At home, Susan and Ricki spent half the night kissing, touching and cuddling with each other, before they fell asleep in each others arms.
Chapter 24
It was ten o’clock before Ricki and Susan got up. Cindy and Laura, were up and studying together. They received smiles and good morning sleepy heads, as they came down.
“Did you enjoy last night, Ricki?”
“It was fantastic. The dinner and show that is,” Ricki said somewhat embarrassed.
“What was I last night, chopped liver,” Susan said, feigning contempt.
“You were better than fantastic Susan, although we didn’t do ‘IT’,” Ricki said.
“We know that Ricki. Don’t worry. Susan is a screamer, as worked up as she was, they would have known in San Diego,” Laura said.
Susan stuck her tongue out at Laura, who returned the favor.
Laura got Ricki’s laptop out and ran the video and pictures they had captured at the Dinner theater. Ricki was amazed at how natural she looked on stage, as she played to the audience. She had intentionally hammed it up, but it came out so naturally, it was hard to tell that she wasn’t the magician’s full time assistant.
Laura had already emailed many of the pictures and the video they had taken to her mother that morning and received an email back in reply.
“Oh my, she is beautiful and so talented,” was all that Madeline could say. “I am trying to get Dad to give you two a call. I love you both so dearly, Love Mom.”
Monday, while she cleaned and practiced her belly dancing, Ricki received a phone call.
“Hello,” Ricki said.
“Hello, this is Freddy Dawson. I am looking for a Ricki Anne.”
Ricky recognized the voice as being from Ramone Donotello. “Yes that is me, Mr. Donotello.”
“Good, you know who I am. Ramone Donotello is just my stage name.”
“How can I help you, Mr. Dawson?”
“I was wondering if I could talk you into being my assistant full time. I was very impressed with your stage presence and timing Ricki. It almost looked like we had worked together for at least a year.”
“I have a lot on my plate right now. Mr. Dawson. I don’t think I can fit something else in.”
“Please give it some consideration; right now I have five acts a week, two shows on Friday and Saturday and one on Sunday. I could pay you one thousand a week, as my assistant. The time you would be committed to would be about ten hours a week for rehearsal and twelve hours for the performances and prep time.”
“I don’t know, Mr. Dawson. I also spend a lot of time in practice at belly dancing. We have a show on the Fourth of July that we are working hard on. I would also have to have permission from my sister also. I live in New York and I am just staying with her for the summer.”
“Hmm, I still could use your help the last three weeks of July and all of August. Please give it a lot of thought, Ricki. I think that you were awesome for just someone I pulled out of the audience.”
“I will Mr. Dawson, but I don’t think it will be possible.”
“Well let me give you my number so that you can call me back later then,” Mr. Dawson said, and then gave her his number.
“I can’t say I will do it. In fact I may be too busy, but I will think on it and talk to my sister.”
“That is all that I can ask of you, Ricki. Thank you and take care.”
“Bye.”
Ricki sat and considered the offer, four thousand a month, for eighty-eight hours of work. It was fun work too. Ricki had really enjoyed being on stage Saturday night. She had fun working with Donotello and enjoyed the audience’s reactions and applause.
After she completed her cleaning and belly dancing, she went outside to swim for an hour. The swimming relaxed Ricki and she was picking up a nice golden tan, from being in the sun so much. Living in LA was certainly better than living in New York. They both had air quality problems, both had high humidity, but she just liked LA better.
After showering to wash the chlorine out of her hair, Ricki considered what she wanted to cook for dinner that night. She began to get a hankering for Gumbo, so she texted her sister to stop at the grocery and pick up some fresh okra, among other things. She then began her prep work on what she had. She selected the seafood she wanted, set out the spices she would use and chopped what vegetables she was going to add. She was lucky that Laura had a huge collection of spices. There was everything she would need to make the dish.
Lastly just before her sisters were to arrive, she made some snacks for them and set them out on the table. She received a text message back that said that Stacy, Carrie and Rebecca would be with them. Ricki made sure she had enough of everything for them and tried to make sure there was room for everyone to study.
Stacy, Carrie and Rebecca were the first there. Ricki set out some drinks for them and they got down to business, after they admired Ricki’s appearance.
Susan, Laura and Cindy arrived and Ricki took the groceries from her and started working on dinner. She chopped the okra into small bits and started to boil them with some spices. They take longer to cook. For the next hour, she got everything together. Her sisters cleared and set the table for dinner. This was a first for some of the girls; many had never had a Louisiana Seafood gumbo before. It was quite spicy and some of the girls made faces as they ate, but after the initial reactions to the spices, they smiled hungrily and dug into the gumbo.
Ricki had thought that she had made enough gumbo for ten, but the girls devoured it all.
“Where did you get the recipe for that dish,” Stacy asked.
“I watched Emeril on TV back in New York. Mom made it a couple of times and I really liked it.”
“I am not one for spicy food,” Carrie said. “But if you make that again, you had better invite me over. That was delicious.”
“Oh Laura, that magician called me today.”
“How did he get our number?” Laura asked.
“He must have gotten it from our reservation. I had to leave my number with the reservation desk,” Susan said.
“What did he want, Ricki?” Laura asked.
“He wanted me to work as his full time assistant. He offered me a thousand dollars a week, for twenty-two hours work, till I have to go home.”
“What is all this about a magician and her being his assistant?” Stacy asked.
“Oh, you don’t know,” Laura said. She got Ricki’s Laptop and hooked it up to the HD TV.
She first showed the pictures of Ricki and the three of them with her. Stacy, Carrie and Rebecca couldn’t say enough about the appearance of their sisters; they were all flabbergasted to say the least. Then she played the video they had taken at the dinner theater. They laughed till they cried, as they saw the antics of the magician and their sister.
“How did he do that trick, Ricki?” Stacy asked, seeing her in the zigzag box.
Ricki just made a motion like a zipper across her lips. “My lips are sealed. Anyway, it was an illusion, not a trick; tricks are what hookers turn. A good magician never reveals how they do their illusions.” She had heard those things somewhere and they seemed appropriate.
The girls cleaned up from dinner, as Laura and Ricki got ready for belly dancing. They just wore their coin bras, belts and shorts, to go to class in.
Mrs. Lively just spent the hour and a half, polishing the routines that Ricki was involved in, as Laura worked with the beginners. Laura couldn’t help but sneak peeks, at how her sister did. It was apparent by her smile, that Ricki was doing very well.
On the drive home Laura asked, “So what do you think about the offer that Donotello made to you.”
“I don’t know Sis, I would have to go over to his place to rehearse and then my Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays would be locked up. I really liked doing it, but I like being with you girls better.”
“Well just think on it till after the show, on the fourth. You could do much worse than working for him. I think.”
Tuesday, Rebecca gave Ricki a lift to campus. There they met Candace in the Student Union and talked. Ricki had to retell all that had happened on Saturday and Monday.
“I would like to see that sometime,” Candace said. “That had to be quite an experience for you Ricki. Did you have fun?”
“I loved it, Candace, but I don’t know if I want to do it all the time.”
School was out from Wednesday till Monday. Ricki and Laura dressed in shorts and T’s as they headed to the salon. Mrs. Lively was there and they discussed what they wanted to get done with the technicians there.
“I would like to add extensions to Ricki’s hair till it comes to the middle of her back. I like her color, so that is not a problem. Give her hair nice wave, but not curly. Her brows are a little thick; thin them out and give them a more pronounced arch, work on her lashes and nails. Do you need waxing Ricki?”
“No I depilated my legs last night.”
“What about your bikini line?” The technician asked.
“I took care of that last night,” Laura said. “She just has a narrow strip up the middle.”
“How does that sound Ricki?”
Ricky looked to her sister who just gave her a little nod.
Sarah then discussed what they wanted for Laura. She was to have masses of long curly hair. She was asked if she wanted her hair to be colored to match Ricki’s. She looked closely at Ricki’s hair. She really liked the way it looked on her. Her hair was the same Mousy brown that Ricki’s had been. She hadn’t really been leaning to darker or red, till she had seen her sister’s hair.
“Do you think it would look as good on me?” Laura asked the technician.
The technician had Ricki stand next to Laura and draped her hair over Laura’s shoulder.
“You two are so alike, that yes I think it would look lovely on you Laura.”
It was a big step for her. She loved her sister’s hair and often thought about how they would both look with the same coloration.
“Yes, I think I would love that.”
Brenda was the technician/stylist that worked on Ricki. She first trimmed Ricki’s hair to make blending the extensions into her hair easier. Then she gave Ricki’s natural hair a wave. The extensions she would use already had a wave to them. Other people came around and did other things to Ricki. Her old acrylic nails were removed and she was given a new set of premium gel nails.
Ricki’s brows were waxed and individual false eyelashes were added, while Brenda worked on her hair. One technician used a temporary lip plumper on her lips. She felt her lips begin to tingle and felt them get a little puffy. She received a second treatment, before another lady began her makeup.
The makeup job was a glamour style, which really brought out the best features of Ricki’s face. She couldn’t believe how sexy she looked. She didn’t have quite a showgirl look, but she wasn’t far from it.
After four and a half hours, every thing came together and the girls were allowed to see what all the work accomplished. Ricki almost cried when she looked in the mirror. She was so happy; she couldn’t see a trace of her old self. She couldn’t find Richard anywhere in the mirror. No matter what road she would eventually take, she knew that she wanted to be this Ricki.
When the girls were allowed to see each other, Laura knew it too. Laura saw an incredibly sexy, confident, young woman, as she looked at her sister. Her long wavy hair did in fact come to the middle of her back. Her eyes looked huge, not anime huge, but large by human standards and expertly done up.
Ricki had on her biggest smile, as she saw Laura. Laura was more beautiful than she had ever looked. Her long curly auburn tresses, extended below her breasts. Her dark auburn hair looked simply divine. Her eyes were incredible. The new lashes they both had, were extremely long and beautifully curled.
“You know little Sis, that it is going to take an incredible amount of time, to get our hair in shape everyday now, don’t you.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”
The two girls were taken into another part of the shop and they were given glamour shots. The photographer spent two hours taking shots in various clothing and poses. Their favorite, besides the natural headshots they took, was of them dressed as western bar room dancing girls. It felt like they were fashion models during this time.
Ricki and Laura had fun, but they didn’t drive two blocks, before they found a fast food joint. Neither of them had eaten since breakfast. The person at the register had a strange look on his face, as the girls ordered, both because of the way they looked and for the fact that they ordered enough for four people. They didn’t eat it all, but what was left wouldn’t feed a mouse.
The girls had to repair their faces after they ate. Laura had to get the lipstick and lip gloss right, on Ricki.
“Ricki, your lips look so big, what did they do to them.”
“They put this on them,” Ricki said, as she pulled out a tube from her purse. “I am supposed to use this in the morning and a couple of times throughout the day.”
Laura looked closely at her sister, “Well it looks good on you.”
When they finally got home, Susan and Cindy were beside themselves. They took pictures of the girls, made them dress up and took more pictures. They took separate shots and shots together from various poses. The two felt like fashion models all over again. Laura later emailed these pictures to her Mom.
When it came time for bed, Susan and Cindy braided their friends’ hair and reluctantly, they took off their makeup.
Chapter 25
Laura and Ricki had to be at the studio at two o’clock, for the seven o’clock show. They stretched and did some warm up exercises. When they got to the beach at about four twenty, they carried their costumes into one of two motor homes that were being used as changing rooms and makeup rooms. Mrs. Lively supervised the makeup for everybody. They went for an extreme glamour look;
Nine women, changing in a confined space, can be a zoo. Ricki and Laura changed in the bedroom, with another girl. They had to help each other a lot, because of the confined space. The other girls gave no notice to Ricki as she dressed.
They each had a yoga pad to do their stretches. They took a lot of time to get their muscles all loosened up. They could hear the audiences’ reaction to the act that came before them, a bunch of guys breaking blocks of ice, stacks of cement bricks, handcuffs, bending iron bars over their heads and such. This was Venice Beach after all.
After last minute checks of makeup and costume, Mrs. Lively parted the curtain and went on stage. They could hear the catcalls, whistles and applause as she appeared on stage to introduce them.
The stage was a 20’x20’ plywood covered deck with another 20’x’20 towards the audience of sand covered beach. They would be dancing on the deck and on the sand, a first for most of the girls.
When they were called, Ricki and Laura were first out, side by side. They both put on their biggest and brightest smiles, as they came out from behind the curtain. Then four more girls came out as their names were called, followed by the last two girls. They went to their initial position and took a ready pose, waiting on the music.
When the music started, they began slow hip pistons (a hip piston is a sharp side to side movement to the L or R but the hips stays in the same plane vertically and horizontally and can build up speed into a cabaret shimmy) left and right holding their upper body pose. After an eight count and two left and two right pistons they stepped, hip thrust, step, hip thrust their way forward till Ricki and Laura were two feet from the sand.
Their opening number went for five minutes, their timing was very good, and their movements were sharp and graceful. Toward the end of the fist dance, the girls formed a circle and began circling and turning at the same time. This is a very complex movement to synchronize with eight participants. The circle went around twice, till Laura and Ricki were again at front. The circle broke with the girls taking a diagonal for three steps and a hop.
They were roughly in a U shape, with Ricki and Laura about fifteen feet apart. The two did a hip thrust, quarter turn to face each other. Everyone went still, as the music stopped.
Ricki then went beautiful eyes looking at you, with her left and right arms towards Laura. Her movements were fluid and graceful.
Laura returned to Ricki, long wavy hair.
Ricky returned beautiful face.
Laura started L and R hip pistons and gave her heart away towards Ricki. Ricki started her hip pistons and took her heart back.
They both began pulling (making pulling motions with the arms, not actually grabbing and pulling) each other towards them, they then began step, hip thrust, and M&M mirroring each others movements, their paths towards each other were ess’s.
When they were three feet away from each other, they did hip pistons and snake arms. The pistons turned into a cabaret shimmy and chest camels (the chest dips, head stays up and the belly undulates) towards each other. After the third chest camel they did a hip thrust and quarter turn and now faced the audience as the music stopped.
They started hip circles and figure eights, chest circles and figure eights, head slides, L arms, dipping and turning for about forty seconds. Laura kept herself well within Ricki’s ability.
They then took off on a divergent diagonals out on the sand, one step, two, three, hop, hip thrust and three rounds of left and right M&Ms. They then did hip thrusts quarter turn, one, two, three, hop on convergent diagonals towards the crowd, followed by cabaret shimmies and chest camels.
Hip thrust, quarter turn to face each other, shimmy, camel, rotate a quarter repeat, repeat till they had traded places. They then retreated on the diagonal; doing their previous steps, hop hip thrusts, M&Ms, then back to mirror their starting points.
They turned and bowed, turned and two sets of one, two, three, hop to the back of the U. Their routine lasted over four and a half minutes.
For the next twenty-four minutes various groups did their routine for the crowd. Laura danced with two of the groups and Ricki danced one more routine.
Given the temperature was in the upper eighties, all the girls were drenched in sweat by the end.
Mrs. Lively then came out and did a routine herself. It was easy to see why she taught; she outshone all her students, as she was a true Mistress of the Belly Dance. At one point she balanced a saber (Single edged, curved sword with a rounded edged opposite the sharp edge.) on its rounded edge on her head. She danced with it there for two minutes. The last twenty seconds, she twirled like a dervish with the sword balanced.
She turned towards Ricki and began pulling her to her. Ricki hadn’t rehearsed anything with Mrs. Lively but she came towards her, even though her abs were screaming. Ricki did hip thrust, step, and M&Ms toward her. It took her six repetitions to reach Mrs. Lively.
They then did follow the leader, with the dance moves, with Sarah doing the leading. When Ricki couldn’t do much more she then twirled around Sarah in a clockwise direction, while Sarah spun in a counter-clockwise direction. After fifteen seconds, the girls came from the back and rotated in a circle counter-clockwise. They stopped on the beat of the drum they kept their time with and bowed to the crowds.
The applause was deafening, there had been a lot of catcalling and wolf whistling when they first came on stage but they had silenced them with their skills at the dance. Now there was genuine applause of appreciation. It took nearly ten minutes for the applause began to die.
Behind the curtain the girls gave each other exhausted but enthusiastic hugs. They each wanted to get out of their sweet soaked skirts though; the humidity had kept them from drying. They also drank copious amounts of water for the next twenty minutes as they dressed in what they had worn earlier.
All of Laura’s sisters that were in town, were there to great Laura and Ricki as they left the enclosure, formed by the two motor homes. They were relieved of their burdens, till they locked them away into the trunk of Laura’s car.
The troupe of sisters then found a good place to observe the fireworks show that took place after sunset. The sorority threw a party right there on the beach. Laura and Ricki found all their needs met by the sisters. They really were sore and exhausted but they loved being there with their friends.
Ricki and Laura had both seen really large fireworks shows, having lived in New York and this show tonight would be hard to measure against the previous shows they had seen. They all oohed and ahhed as the star shells bursts in rainbows of reds, blues, greens, golds and silvers.
Susan and Cindy helped their room-mates to the car and Susan drove the sisters home. Laura and Ricki headed up to their baths to take a nice long hot bath, while Susan and Cindy took their skirts, shook out the sand outside and hung them and their bras to air out from the staircase banister. They would definitely have to go to the cleaners tomorrow.
Susan came into the bath to shampoo and condition Ricki’s hair and to scrub her back. Ricki was beginning to learn that long hair can be a pain in the a**, to deal with. Susan put the wet hair up in a turban and rubbed a lotion on Ricki's skin. Ricki took two ibuprofen and collapsed on her bed naked. She was asleep before Susan could cover her.
Chapter 26
In the morning, Ricki took another warm bath and spent an hour stretching the kinks out, before she began to feel a little bit better. She drank two glasses of OJ and a glass of milk with her breakfast.
Susan then had her sit down and first detangled her hair and then gently brushed it out. Ricki was purring like a cat from the attention that Susan was showing her. Susan then braided her hair and tied it off at the bottom with a red and a gold ribbon. Cindy did the same thing for Laura’s hair.
After dressing in swimsuit bras, t-shirts and shorts, Laura and Ricki then inspected their skirts for stains. They were still heavy with sand stuck to them. They then took their skirts and bras to a reputable dry cleaner. The proprietor had already received two other skirts to process.
“I caught your act down on the beach. I have never seen anything so sensual and beautiful in my life. You guys really did a great job. I will personally make sure your costumes get the best treatment, girls.”
Ricki and Laura thanked the man.
Laura then drove Ricki to the address Mr. Dawson had given them. Mr. Dawson had an office and a warehouse, in a decent part of town. Freddy greeted the girls and he gave them the nickel tour of his warehouse. The warehouse was full of the stage props that he used as the Great Donotello. He also had a small stage set up in the back.
“This is where I rehearse my act before a show Ricki. I really hope that you will be a part of my show. I saw you and your sister last night at the beach. I knew there was going to be belly dancing and took a chance that it was your school. I think that you two have a future in entertainment, and I am not just saying that just to get you to work with me as my assistant. I really mean it.”
“I just don’t think I am right for your assistant Mr. Dawson.”
“Au contraire Ricki. You are just the person I need. First you have a stage presence that is outstanding. It includes a comedic sense of timing, which is very important in our business. Second your small size is an asset in a lot of my illusions. Third your outstanding flexibility and agility make you a perfect choice.”
“Will she have to join a group like the Screen Actors Guild, Mr. Dawson?” Laura asked.
“Yes she will have to join SAM and IBM (Society of American Magicians and International Brotherhood of Magicians). I will pay your first year’s dues to those organizations for you. I will also require you to sign non-disclosure agreements for anything you learn from me. You can use what you learn with another magician, if he has the same illusions, but any that are unique to me, mum’s the word.”
“So if another magician has a box like you put me in, I don’t have to act dumb, but if you had a grand illusion like David Copperfield does, I can’t say a word.”
“Yes Ricki, that is exactly right. That illusion you did is called the zigzag lady; you can add that illusion to your resume by the way. Keep up with the illusions you take part in and add them to your resume. If you seek employment in Magic they will want to know what you know.”
“I am not eighteen, will that make a difference?”
“Yes, but not a big difference. I would need the signature of a parent or guardian and they would have to sign everything you sign. They would be bound by the same agreements.”
“I have guardianship over Ricki for this summer; our parents are on a Med Cruise. They signed a document of Guardianship, is that enough?”
“As long as there are no limitations that would affect the signature on any legal document, it will be sufficient.”
Laura opened her purse and handed Mr. Dawson the letter of Guardianship. After he read it he said. “Yes, this is quite sufficient I believe.”
“How about I give it the rest of the month as a trial run Mr. Dawson. Would that be acceptable?”
“I think that would work out nicely. It is my belief that if you give it that month, you will want to continue working with me.”
Mr. Dawson led them to his office and called up the .doc files he needed. He filed in the in the blanks using Ricky’s school ID and social security card for Identification.
Freddy then went over several illusions he was considering using this weekend. He wasn’t afraid Laura would talk, as she had also signed and was bound by the non-disclosure agreements. Somehow he roped Laura into working with him too. Having two beautiful assistanta on stage with him was better.
“What about costumes, Mr. Dawson,” Ricki asked.
“I have thought about that. If you are just working this weekend, then I like what you wore last weekend. If you stay on with me, Monday you can visit my seamstress.”
“Ok, that sounds good.”
Ricki and Freddy rehearsed for an hour and a half; tonight they would do the ‘pick the volunteer from the audience’ routine again. Saturday they would introduce Ricki as his new assistant. Freddy told her that her girlfriends could sit out front with her tonight, but Saturday and Sunday.
Ricki then had to get home to begin getting ready. At home, Susan and Cindy were very excited and wanted to hear all the details. So while Ricki was in the bath, Cindy sat on the toilet and Susan sat on the edge of the tub. Ricki told them what she and Mr. Dawson had talked about, while she bathed.
Susan worked on Ricki’s face applying makeup, giving her a dramatic appearance, not quite as heavy as when she did her belly dance. Cindy worked with her to get her hair just right; her new longer hair was more difficult to work with. Laura got all of Ricki’s clothes set out. Ricki got dressed, after her sisters finished with her makeup and hair. The previous weekend, Ricki had not worn stockings or pantyhose, but for tonight, Laura selected a pair of shimmery silver pantyhose. Ricki loved the way she looked, she checked herself out in front of her mirror for several minutes. Ricki’s sisters then rushed to get themselves ready.
They got to the dinner theater two hours before the show. They met with Mr. Dawson behind stage, and he went over the show again with Ricki. An hour before the show, they went out front to their table. They weren’t up front this time; in fact, they found themselves seated all the way to the back, by the bar. Their dinner and drinks arrived shortly, as they took their seats.
Many of the wait staff recognized Ricki and her sisters; they took time to compliment her for her performance last week. Looking over the crowd, the girls recognized a few patrons that had been there the previous week.
The light dimmed and the show began. The Great Donotello came out on stage and bowed for the audience.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight in the audience we have a special guest. Last week we were enchanted to have a lovely girl, become my assistant. I am trying to convince that lovely young lady, to be my assistant full time. So with your assistance, let’s bring that young lady to the stage in style.”
The spotlights were dancing over the crowd searching for Ricki. They knew where she was, but all of this was for dramatic effect. One spotlight settled on her and then the other two caught up to the first. The crowd applauded her quite loudly, as she stood up and began to make her way up to the stage.
The drummer again was doing his bit, and when she got to the foot of the stage she gave him a ten second hip shimmy to a drum roll and a hip thrust. This time there was a planned catastrophe that was even louder.
“Those hips of yours need to be registered as lethal weapons, young lady. I would like to introduce my assistant for the night. Ladies and gentlemen would you welcome Ricki Davis.”
The audience went wild with applause and whistles.
“Ricki Davis is just a high school student, who just happens to be quite an accomplished belly dancer. Any of you that might have been on Venice Beach for the Fourth, may have caught her performance.”
“I would also like to introduce Ricki’s sister Laura Davis. So give it up for Laura Davis.”
Donotello waved for Laura to stand and come up on stage. She didn’t want to be upstaged by her sister so she hammed it up on the way to the stage. The drummer gave her a cadence and she danced her way up.
There was another round of applause from the audience and after bows they went into their routine. The main illusion for the night was a blade box routine. Ricki walked up some clear Lucite steps and into a box that was up on a platform. Laura and Donotello spun the box for the audience to see all around it. The Great Donotello then helped Ricki into the box and closed the door. The box appeared small enough that there was little wiggle room for anybody, much less for Ricki. He then took swords, which Laura handed him and began to thrust them through the box. After the first sword went through, there was a shriek that came out of the box and some silvery material could be seen hanging from the sword. Donotello went to the other side of the box and pulled enough silvery material to have made up Ricki’s dress.
“Give me back my dress Mr. Donotello,” Ricki said, in a very indignant voice.
That really broke up the crowd and raised their level of anticipation. They giggled, laughed and oohed, as they hammed it up. The Great Donotello, with great showmanship, then plunged eight more swords through the sides and three more through the front. He then spun the box around, so the audience could see that there was no way possible for Ricki to still be in the box uninjured. He then began to withdraw the swords one by one.
When the door was opened, the crowd was half expecting to see a naked lady that was bleeding form numerous points. Ricki came out wearing a pair of harem pants and a coin bra, she danced around the stage for a couple of minutes, to the audience’s riotous applause. Freddy had thought about this that afternoon and had prepared ahead of time. The outfit had been easy enough to change into in the amount of time Ricki had, while the illusion went on.
The first show was an overwhelming success. The audience had loved Ricki and her dancing, along with the illusions that Freddy had done. Ricki dressed back into her silver outfit, it hadn’t really been her dress that Donotello had pulled off of the sword after all.
The second shows major illusion was similar but instead of a blade box, it was the wicker basket illusion. Ricki stepped into the basket from a portable stairs. It was a great trick getting into the basket, without giving the audience a different kind of show in her dress. Ricki knelt down in the basket that was just tall enough for her to kneel in. Laura then handed the Great Donotello his swords, after he placed the lid on the wicker basket. The first sword didn’t snag Ricki’s dress, this time. After a dozen swords pierced the basket, the audience couldn’t see any way anyway for even a small child to have survived in the basket. Laura and Donotello turned it, so the audience could see it from all angles. After all the swords were removed, Donotello took the lid off the basket and Ricki appeared in her harem girl costume.
Another audience member was called up on the stage and Donotello was bound with three pair of handcuffs and a belly chain that was padlocked in back of him. Laura and Ricki held up a curtain to hide him up to his neck. Laura held the right corner and the middle, Ricki held the middle with her hand next to Laura’s and the left corner. They didn’t have the curtain up five seconds when Donotello reached up and pulled it up a little higher. Another ten seconds found Ricki and Laura wound up bound at the wrists by a pair of handcuffs.
They ended the show with Donotello doing a disappearance act and a more compact version of the dance the girls had done at the beach.
Mr. Dawson was thrilled by the audiences’ reactions; the management of the dinner theater was very thrilled with the new arraignment. Freddy at first, had wanted Ricki to be dressed in a classic assistant’s costume. You know of those beaded, sequined leotards, with extremely high cut legs, but he had gone with the harem girl costumes, because of the girls’ dancing abilities.
The Great Donotello wasn’t in this business for the money, although he earned five thousand a week at the theater, it was the fame and the applause that he lived for. The girls brought a new dimension to the stage that he liked. He really hoped the girls would join him on a permanent basis. He really thought that Ricki could be a great magician, better than he was, if she put the effort into it. This didn’t cause him to be jealous of her, just protective.
Ricki and Laura became Mr. Dawson’s assistants that night. Laura didn’t think it was something she wanted to do at first, but once she got on stage and heard the applause, she really liked being on stage.
Magic is sixty percent stage presence, thirty percent skill and ten percent props. You could have all the right props and know how they work, but what separates the good from the great, is their stage presence. Knowing how to get people to believe in magic.
The next week was incredibly busy; all the girls had finals to deal with that week. Laura and Susan passed on going to belly dancing classes this week. Mrs. Lively agreed that school was more important.
Ricky and Laura did make time to go to the seamstress that Mr. Dawson had told them to see. The seamstress revealed the costumes he had come up for us. He seemed to like the belly dancing theme and the costumes were just different variations of them. The major difference was they were to be easier to get into and out of, a must for some of the illusions.
Chapter 27
After the show on Sunday, he had given the girls a check for their services. Mr. Dawson had paid them both about eight hundred dollars, after taxes and such.
At home, Ricki did everything she could to make it easier on her sisters to study. She had virtually taken over keeping the house clean, and providing their meals. Doing anything and everything that would help them.
She did take a taxi to Mr. Dawson’s office and rehearsed with him. He had taught her some more of the illusions and gave her a book and a set of DVD’s with some manual dexterity exercises for her hands. It included things like exercises with a deck of cards, palming various objects, flipping a coin across the back of her fingers, back and forth and ball exercises, like controlling small balls between her fingers. He spent two hours with her, showing her what he wanted her to learn from the DVD’s.
On the way home, Ricki had stopped at the mall and spent some of the money she had earned. She had found a couple of dresses she just had to have, including a gorgeous cocktail dress in lavender chiffon. The dress was low cut and just hung on the edges of her shoulders. She didn’t need a corselet for her waist, the dress fit her there nicely, it was her breasts. The breastforms weighed too much to just go braless, at least for her. So she found a strapless, lavender corselet, in the lingerie section, that helped give her chest lift and support. It just showed a hint of lace in her cleavage.
She then hit a shoe store and found a pair of heels that closely matched the dress. They were open toed, had a t-strap and four inch stiletto heels. The lady at the shoe store let her go into the back and helped her change into the dress, to make sure they worked together. She hid the dress from her friends; she wanted to surprise them.
Thursday finally came and all the sisters were planning a party at Laura’s house. They all wanted to unwind, because come Monday, many of them would start the whole study process all over again.
Ricki had planned the menu and party needs for the girl’s, and with Susan’s and Rebecca’s help, had gotten all the food lined up. She had already prepared a lot of the food, bagging it for storage in the refrigerator.
So after doing her belly dancing DVD’s and then doing her dexterity DVD’s, Ricki began to seriously prepare for the party. She began fixing ten pounds of spicy chicken wings, five pounds of meat balls, laid out three large sandwich platters, made five gallons of punch, (only a hand full of girls were over twenty-one and they were BYOB) diced and cut four different cheeses, cooked twelve dozen tarts, and five vegetable platters.
She had help at various times throughout the day, as her sisters finished their tests for the semester. Laura, Cindy and Susan arrived and Ricki directed their actions, till everything was as ready as she could make it.
They then took time to prepare for the party. Ricki had a hard time getting the corselet on by herself, but she didn’t want help. She did her own hair into a French braid that started at both of her temples and into a single braid at the back of her head. She painted her nails in lavender and added lavender lipstick to her makeup. Ricki had really learned a lot about makeup in the six weeks she had worn it. She displayed a lot of skill as she did her eyes. She expertly applied eyeliner and eye shadow and went for a glamour look that gave her smoky eyes with hints of lavender.
She then put on some suntan pantyhose and her new heels before donning her dress.
Laura, Cindy and Susan were beginning to wonder about their sister, but they heard her scurrying around in her room. She had locked her door, which was strange for her, so they couldn’t peek in and only responded with, “I am busy!” when they knocked.
Some of the other girls were already arriving to help, but found that their help was only slightly needed.
Things ground to a halt as Ricki made her appearance. The first sister that saw her almost dropped the party tray she was carrying. The others looked to see what had startled her and mouths hung open.
Susan said, “Oh my god,” when she saw Ricki.
Ricki glided down the stairs to the exclamations of her sisters.
“Well, how do I look,” she asked.
Susan ran over to hug her lover, she wanted to kiss her, but that would ruin her makeup job. “You look marvelous dear. I am going to have to eat you up tonight,” Susan said, with an evil grin on her face.
At seven the sisters and their dates began to arrive in earnest. All of them had taken a lot of effort to get their appearances just right, but they paled in shadow to Ricki.
The one thing about a large party at a multiunit condo is, that it is hard to just keep it to guests. Several guys, who had lived there, had seen the party, had hurriedly dress up and invited themselves. The girls didn’t mind, as long as the guys behaved themselves, as there were a few of the sisters who didn’t have dates.
Ricki was getting hit on quite a bit, but she made it clear that she was spoken for. Most of the guys reluctantly moved on, but a couple had persisted. One guy in particular was the guy who had called her a lez bitch at school.
Ricki didn’t like to cuss, but she told that guy in no uncertain terms to, “Get the F*** out of my face.”
Sam Dresden didn’t take that from any girl, especially one as hot as this chick. He saw a friend of his and passed the guy a twenty-dollar bill and received a small bottle from him.
Sam had some smooth moves, he had dosed many chicks to get what he wanted and while Ricki’s attention was occupied elsewhere he had poured the contents of the bottle into her drink. It was a double shot of GHB, so he had to be ready when she started to show its effect.
Ricki finished her drink and had moved around the crowd a bit, when she began to feel strange. An arm wound its way around her waist and gave her support.
Sam supported his conquest for the night. He tried to move her out to his place, but there were girls at the front and back doors, greeting the girls as they came in and went out.
The sorority had suffered from the effects of date rape drugs several times and had banded together to help each other out. They didn’t let any girl leave their parties unless they appeared clear and lucid.
Sam was undaunted and helped Ricki up the stairs to one of the bedrooms.
The sisters usually had a girl at the top of the stairs too, but she had gone to use the restroom.
Sam had maneuvered Ricki, who was rapidly falling unconscious at this point into her room. Sam threw the bitch on a bed, locked the door and began to undress himself smiling.
Susan had lost sight of Ricki, it should have been hard in that dress, but she had gotten involved in a conversation with some other sisters and had missed the action. She began looking for her lover. She checked at the doors and found that Ricki hadn’t left the building. She wasn’t in the downstairs half bath.
Laura had seen the worried expression Susan wore, “What’s up Susan?”
“I can’t find Ricky anywhere. I saw that she was getting hit on a while ago, but she seemed to be handling things well.”
“Did she go outside?”
“I don’t think so.”
Laura, Cindy and Susan went upstairs to check the bedrooms. Laura’s was occupied, but not by Ricki. Cindy and Susan’s room was also occupied by necking couples. Ricki’s room was locked. They had made it clear to Ricki that that was a no no at their parties, so they knocked.
Sam had gotten naked and had put on a condom. He hated using them, but with the state of DNA testing these days it didn’t pay to leave evidence. He flipped Ricki over to face him and began mauling at her. She was quite a babe and he was going to make her a woman tonight.
He heard the knock but just froze, not making a sound.
Laura was pissed, if Ricki was in her room and not answering the door, she had better have a good reason. She kept a tool on her key ring to pop all the bedroom doors open. She went to her room and got it. Back at Ricki’s door, she quietly inserted the tool and jiggled it a bit and the door unlocked. The three girls opened the door and entered.
Sam had just hiked Ricki’s skirt up and was pulling down her pantyhose when the door opened. What followed in the next few seconds was confusing to him.
Cindy had a black belt in WuShu, when she saw the guy getting ready to rape her sister she pushed past Laura. She hit the guy five times, not very hard but it was where she hit that counted. Each hit went to a specific nerve bundle that either caused pain or temporary paralysis to his arms and legs. He fell down on the bed landing on his erection with Cindy’s weight coming down on him. The impact to his erection caused it to bend at an awkward angle and damaged the blood vessels that feed the erection. He immediately deflated.
Cindy had landed right in the middle of his back with her knee. She maneuvered his right arm behind his back and into a wristlock.
“Susan, call 911!” Laura shouted, as she rushed to check her sister.
Ricki was out of it, but she was still breathing.
“Tell them we need the police and EMT’s.”
Bill Evans heard the commotion and took this time to quietly leave. His buddy, Sam, was knee deep in sh** it seemed. He didn’t want to get any of it on him.
All the sisters rushed to upstairs. They herded their guys downstairs except for one, who was the star cornerback for their football team. He knew Sam for the slimeball that he was, and took over from Cindy in keeping him occupied.
Candace who was also at the party, pulled Laura aside and spoke to her about what to tell the EMT’s so Ricki’s secret wouldn’t get out.
Chapter 28
Ricki woke to a beeping sound. She looked around and saw what she thought were doctors and nurses. Looking toward her chest she saw that it was flat and she wore a hospital gown.
“She is awake doctor,” a voice said.
She looked to the side and saw Laura. Ricki started to ask what had happened, but Laura held a finger to her lips.
A man in a white coat approached her.
“You are a very lucky person. I am Doctor Williams. You are going to be alright. How are you feeling?”
“I have a massive headache and my stomach is at war with the rest of my body.”
“We suspect you were given a date rape drug, possibly Gama-hydroxybutarate. That would go along with what you are feeling. We have some police that want to talk to you.”
“Not like this.”
“What in the hospital?”
“No, I want my clothes.”
“You’re perfectly decent, but your clothes have been taken as evidence.” the doctor said, not understanding Ricky’s reluctance.
“I want my bra and breastforms.”
Laura opened a bag she had and pulled out a bra. She took the breastforms that she had been given and set them on the bed.
A female nurse shooed the Doc away and closed the curtain.
“If you are going to put the breastforms back on, I need to move one EKG lead. We want to monitor you for a while more. Your pulse rate fell dangerously low for a bit,” She said, as she took the lead off one patch and moved it. Ricki put the bra on and placed the breastforms in the cups. After she was decent, they the called the doc back in with a female Police Officer.
“I am Mary Post. I am a detective in sex crimes. Do you understand me?”
“Yes ma’am,” Ricki said still confused about what was going on.
“Can you tell me your name and age?”
“Ricki Davis and I am seventeen.”
“Full legal name Ricki.”
“Richard Allen Davis, but I prefer Richelle Annette Davis.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know, I am very confused right now. I know I was at a party and… I can’t remember anything else.”
“That is very understandable right now. Date rape drugs do that. Are you a transsexual?”
Ricki was a little nervous and afraid and it really showed.
“You don’t have to be afraid Ricki,” Mary said. “I have dealt with a lot of people like you.”
“Yes I am. I don’t know what kind, because I am just learning about myself.”
“Did you voluntarily take drugs?”
“No Ma’am.”
“Did you voluntarily consent to sex?”
“No Ma’am and I am still under eighteen.”
“Do you know Sam Dresden?”
“No Ma’am.”
“Did you consent to have sex with Sam Dresden?”
“No Ma’am.”
“Do you see anyone you know in this photo spread?” Mary said handing Ricki a card with six pictures on it.
“Yes Ma’am, number three was hitting on me earlier tonight. I told him to get F*****. He also has called me a Lez bitch and among other things.”
“Did he know you were transgendered?”
“No Ma’am, only my sisters know that.”
“How many sisters do you have? I thought only Laura, was your sister.”
Laura spoke up, “I am his only biological sister. The girls she is referring to, are my sorority sisters, we kind of adopted her.”
“Ok, thank you for your time.”
“I still don’t know what happened,” Ricki said.
Laura turned to Ricki and began to explain, “We lost track of you at the party. Susan got me and Cindy, and we started looking for you. We knew you didn’t leave the condo, because we put girls at the doors keeping up with each other. Something has happened like this before Ricki. Anyway, we went upstairs looking for you. You were in your room and a naked guy was pulling down you panties, when we entered the room. Cindy took care of him. You should have seen her.”
“That’s all I need for now,” Mary said. “We will need a formal statement from you tomorrow, or the next day.”
Ricki turned to the doctor, “Can I go home now.”
“We would like to keep you overnight.”
“I don’t want to stay here overnight. Am I doing alright?”
“You are recovering.”
“Then I want to go home.”
“It would be against medical advice and I would need a guardian to sign for you.”
“Laura, sign me out.”
“But…”
“Laura, please sign me out.”
“Ok.”
She had to leave with the Doctor. She had to prove guardianship and sign the papers.
The nurse helped Ricki by removing the EKG leads and pads. Ricki started to get up.
“Slow down girl, I got lots to do before you can get up.”
She had to remove an IV line and a Foley tube. Ricki was embarrassed and upset.
“Where is my… padding,” she said.
“Sorry we had to cut that off.” The nurse went to the bag Laura left and saw the clothes in it. “I guess these are yours.” She then proceeded to help Ricki dress.
Ricki took her panties out and pulled them on. She massaged her testicles into her body cavity and pulled her panties up tight.
The nurse found a padded brief and handed that to Ricki. Ricki smiled; at least she will have some curves. The rest of the clothes were a pair of mid thigh shorts and a pullover top.
Lastly the nurse handed Ricki a card and said. “Honey if you need to talk, this is a rape counselor that has worked with transgendered rape victims.”
“But I wasn’t raped.”
“It doesn’t matter, dear. You can still suffer emotional trauma from this.”
Ricki left the cubicle in the ER. She was a little shaky at first, but joined her sister at the desk. She signed the release form, received instructions from the doctor and they left.
In the waiting room, just outside the ER, they found all the sisters and many of their dates waiting. Susan, in tears, flew into Ricki’s arms and held her so tight, she so couldn’t breathe.
All the girls waited their turn to hug their sister.
Chapter 29
They left the hospital by midnight. Laura drove the five of them home. There was Ricki, Susan, Cindy and Candace with them. Ricki, Candace and Susan rode in the back seat.
“So where is that shit head?” Ricki asked.
“He is in the hospital too,” Cindy said. “He fell on his erection with all his and my weight on it. I imagine he won’t get too many hard-ons in the future, or ever. He may vascular damage to his penis.”
Ricki didn’t know how she felt about that.
As they pulled to a stop at their condo, Candace asked the others to go on in and let her and Ricki have some time together. They left the two there.
“I know you think you are ok and maybe you are. Girls, who are drugged and raped, usually don’t feel the same disgust that other girls that aren’t drugged do, but Ricki some do. If you ever need to talk about things, call me please, or find someone else to talk to. Don’t try to be strong and hold it in. We all love you very much. Help Susan too, Ricki. She has just been beside herself with grief over this. She blames herself for losing touch with you.”
“This wasn’t her fault.”
“I know that, you know that and maybe on some level she knows that, but she is still hurting inside. Let her take care of you and talk to her. That is important, please talk to her.”
Candace and Ricki headed to the condo. They could see crime scene investigators at a condo a couple of doors down from hers.
“That is where Sam Dresden lives Ricki,” Candace said.
“Oh really.”
“Yes, I wonder what they are finding.”
“No telling.”
Inside Ricki joined her friends. They all talked about it for an hour or so and then they all headed to bed, or home. Ricki grabbed Susan’s hand and pulled her into his room. He unbuttoned her blouse and shorts, then unzipped them, letting them drop to the floor. She stepped out of them and returned the favor undressing Ricki.
Ricki stopped her from unhooking the bra, or taking the brief off.
“They cut up the faux vagina and took my breasts off Susan.”
“Do you still want to wear those things?”
“Yes Susan, I love looking like a girl, almost as much as I love you.”
Susan wrapped Ricki up in her arms and cried on her shoulder. “We will get another one then. I was so afraid that you wouldn’t love me anymore. Ricki, I love you so much it hurts.”
“I love you too, Susan.”
“Wait right here,” Susan told her. She went back to her room, wearing just her panties and bra. Ricki went ahead and got a sleep shirt on.
When Susan got back to Ricki’s room she took Ricki’s left hand and put an engagement ring, on her ring finger. She had to work it a bit to get it over the last knuckle, but it fit her finger nicely, saying, “Ricki will you marry me?”
Ricki began crying as she looked at the ring. It wasn’t that the diamond on the ring was so big (it was) or that she didn’t love it (she did), she cried because she was so happy. She threw her arms around Susan’s neck and kissed her. Then she ran off shouting for Laura.
“Laura! Laura! Come quick, you have got to see this.”
Laura came running, thinking something bad had happened. Seeing Ricki in tears scared her. Ricki nearly stuck the ring up her nose. It took her a few seconds to get things straight in her mind.
“Oh my god, oh my god, look Laura, look at it.” Ricki was jumping up and down, nearly injuring everybody around with the ring.
“Oh my Ricki, are you engaged?”
Ricki in answer, just hugged her sister to her chest. She then showed Cindy the ring, nearly putting her eye out.
Susan stood in the hall half naked, with her mouth hanging open in wonder. Ricki was such a girl, she thought.
After hugs and kisses, Ricki grabbed a hold of Susan and wouldn’t let her go to her room. She pulled the girl into bed with her. They hugged and cried and then they talked.
Ricki’s head rested on Susan’s shoulder. Susan stroked her hair and held her tightly.
“Ricki, are you going to go all the way with this girl thing?” Susan asked.
“Do you want to have my babies?” Ricki asked.
“Yes, I want to have your, no make that, our babies.”
“I want us to have lots of babies; we have so much love to share.”
“So how far are you going to go?”
“I want to have our babies naturally, Susan.” Ricki said, grinning at her fiancé. “I want my own breast and hips though too. I would love to be able for you to do this.” Ricki moved the strap of Susan’s bra off of her shoulder and began to gently suck on her nipple.
Susan felt an energy jolt, as Ricki began to suck and play with her nipple. She couldn’t understand how Ricki had this effect on her.
They hugged and kissed for hours. It was almost five AM before they drifted to sleep. As much as both of them wanted to make love, needed to make love, or hurt for a good screwing, they behaved themselves. That didn’t mean that they didn’t orgasm. Ricki manipulated Susan’s clitoris through her thin panties and Susan stroked Ricki’s hardon through her breif and took care of her needs.
When Ricki started to come, she had to bite down on Susan’s shoulder to keep from shouting. Ricky wasn’t unfamiliar with Thumbelina and her four sisters, but it had never felt so incredible. Susan did shriek at the pain that sent her into one after another, incredible orgasm. The other girls woke, but recognized the sounds; they had heard them before.
Chapter 30
Ricki was actually the first up at nine thirty. She had to take a quick shower; her panties were virtually glued on her.
It had bothered her that someone had tried to take something from her she didn’t want to give, but she wasn’t morose about it. She just didn’t see the worst of it. It didn’t feel like anything bad had actually happened to her.
She cried that she lost her pretty dress, she had found out they cut it and her corselet off, along with her faux vagina, but those were just things. She had her life and people that loved her.
She thought the ring was simply beautiful. It looked old. Susan had told her it belonged to her grandmother, on her mom’s side. She was never going to let it out of her sight.
Ricki dressed in her panties, brief, jeans, a chiffon blouse, and her lavender heels. At least she still had them. She sat at her vanity and did her face. She chose to look sexy. She didn’t want some guy taking the need to feel beautiful, away from her.
She kissed a sleeping Susan and left her lip prints on the girl’s cheek, and went downstairs. She passed on her belly dancing; she wanted to get her hips back first. She looked ok, but the padded brief seemed more phony, more impersonal to her.
She had a bowl of cereal and started a pot of coffee.
Laura is a coffeeholic; her nose can track a coffee pot at three miles. She was drawn downstairs by the smell.
“I am surprised to see you up already. Did you two…”
“Nope.”
“But…”
Ricki just held up her fingers and wiggled them, “I am saving myself for my marriage.”
“You must have some talented fingers.”
Ricki just smiled. “Susan has some fabulous fingers too.”
“Speaking of fabulous, you look FABULOUS too. This hasn’t turned you off of dressing has it?”
“Nope. I could have been attacked anyway. In fact I was, at high school several times. Not to be raped, but…”
“I know, Mom told me.”
“So, you are going to stay my sister then.”
“I think this is the real me, Laura. Susan and I talked about it last night. I am not going to go all the way, I don’t think, but I need to look feminine. I want my own breasts, hips and butt.”
“Tush, buns or derriá¨re dear. Girls don’t call it a butt.”
“Whatever, I just need to be beautiful. If you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean, but even real girls aren’t always beautiful. They grow old, they sag and their faces show their ages.”
“I know, but Mom is still a looker. Grandmother was too, at seventy two.”
“Pop is a pretty handsome guy too,” Laura said. She started to cry as she thought of their dad dying.
“I love him too, Sis,” Ricki said, as she began to cry too.
Ricki and Laura sat and talked about what they loved about their Mom and Dad. They talked about the good times, which were many, and the bad times, which were few and far between.
About eleven, Cindy and Susan got up and both tried to get into the same bathroom. Cindy looked, and saw Laura and said, “I am going to your bathroom, Laura.”
Laura nodded and smiled.
Ricki headed to the kitchen and began a light lunch for everybody. There was plenty of left over sandwich meat from the party.
Susan hurried down the stairs and exclaimed in a loud voice, “Look what that little minx did to me,” with false indignation.
She stood before Laura naked, just holding a towel and pointing at her shoulder. Susan sported a really nice hickey on her shoulder, where Ricki had bit her.
“We are going to have to start calling you sister FANGS.”
Ricki giggled. She came over and gave Susan a kiss that could boil water, and brushed the little mound of hair between her legs lightly with her fingers.
Laura could smell Susan’s arousal, at that light touch.
“Geez guys, no fair. Susan, go get dressed.”
Susan stuck out her tongue and, “harrumped” her, before heading up towards the stairs.
She didn’t make it to the stairs before a knock, was followed by the door opening. Stacy and Rebecca came in the door. They looked at Susan and just arched their eyebrows and shook their heads.
Ricki stood and gave Stacy a hug. A glint off of the diamond, caught Rebecca’s eye.
“Oh my, look Stacy,” Rebecca said.
Ricki just smiled and showed Stacy her left hand.
“Oh my, does this mean what I think it does? Of course it does. You and Susan?” Stacy asked.
Ricki had a thousand watt smile and nodded shook her head. Stacy and Rebecca mobbed Ricki with hugs and congratulations. Rebecca then began texting the sisters, as Ricki told them about her engagement.
Susan and Cindy had taken time to dress up right. They had expected a busy day, with lots of visitors. They came down dressed in nice dresses, pantyhose and heels. Susan’s dress just had spaghetti straps. She wore a strapless bra under her dress; going braless with her big boobs, was a definite no-no. Her makeup was flawless and sexy, but she didn’t try to conceal her lover’s bite. She was proud of her girl.
Sisters began coming out of the woodwork before one o’clock. They all wanted to see the ring and hear Ricki’s story. Just before two, Carrie and Candace came in, carrying a garment bag and a shopping bag.
Carrie looked at Ricki and said, “Laura told us that they cut that lovely dress and corselet, among other things off you. You looked so beautiful and alive in that dress so we have a surprise for you.”
Candace unzipped the bag and Ricki shrieked as she saw the same lavender dress she had worn. She jumped up and down and hugged all her sisters. From another bag they pulled a matching corselet and from a third bag another faux vagina. This one had a small patch of hair right up the middle that matched Ricki’s chosen hair color.
Ricki had to give double and triple hugs to everyone there. The girls locked the door and took off all of Ricki’s clothes and began to dress her. They re-attached her breastforms and then worked the faux vagina up her legs. This one fit tighter and was better padded than the other one.
Susan reserved the right to tuck “Junior” away. She gave him a tender kiss and told him that she would be seeing him again later, as she slid him into his sheath and tucked his two friends away. The girls then gave Ricki an all over spray tan after making sure all the edges of the breastforms and vagina were securely tacked down. They then strapped her into the corselet; this one was a size smaller than the one Ricki had bought. It made her boobs stand out a little more and took off another two inches from her waist.
Carrie had found some stockings, which matched the corselet. The sisters attached the garter straps to the corselet and the stockings. They then helped Ricki into a pair of matching lavender panties and her heels. They then tag teamed her on makeup and hair. They took out her braids, but gave her ringlets, that framed her face and brushed her hair till it glistened. Carrie and Rebecca then redid her makeup to go with her outfit.
Chapter 31
At about four thirty, Detective Mary Post came by the condo. She was surprise to hear a party going on. She knocked and was admitted. When she saw Ricki she had to gasp. She hadn’t seen the TG girl all made up. The doctors had cleaned her up, after taking pictures of her, but before she had seen her, but she recognized the dress that was being held in evidence.
“Ricki Davis?” She asked.
Ricki smiled and shook her head, and held out her left hand.
Mary was nearly blinded by the dazzling rock on her finger.
“Who?”
Ricki walked over to Susan and left her lavender lip prints on her cheek. Susan just blushed.
“What can we do for you, Detective Post?” Laura asked.
Mary had forgotten what she had come over here for, “Oh, I need you to sign your statements, girls. I was going to have to track most of you down, but all of you seem to be here.” She called the girls names and had them sign their statements.
“Also, I have news for you girls. Sam Dresden is in more trouble than just for the poisoning and attempted rape. In his home we found his cache of souvenirs. We are now certain that he was involved in maybe ten rapes and numerous stalkings. In fact, he had a collection of pictures of most of you girls. We think he was going to attack one of you three, Laura, Cindy and Susan. The dates on the photos showed he had been actively stalking each of you. Apparently he changed his mind when he saw Ricki.”
Everyone there gasped, as Mary told them that. They all knew how easy it was to commit rape under similar circumstances.
Ricki’s face went ashen, as she thought about the possibility of one her sisters being attacked, and gasped, “Shit… I am glad that he did choose me then. I wouldn’t want any of my sisters to be raped.”
“Nobody, Ricki, and I mean nobody, should have to go through a rape. Not even you,” Mary said.
“Does he know about me?” Ricki asked.
“Not yet, but that isn’t something we can hide from him and his attorney, if he goes to trial. We are hoping we can plead him out. Even if he pleads out, he will spend a very long time in jail. Twenty- five years on the rapes and another five to ten on the poisonings. We are using your case to hold him Ricki, but we are going at him for the other rapes.”
“Poisonings?” One of the sisters asked.
“Yes, the use of GHB on an unsuspecting victim, is considered a poisoning, which is considered an aggravated assault. The same if anybody gave someone drugs, without their knowledge. If the prosecutors plead this out right, he will serve one term for all the rapes and have the poisonings tacked on consecutively.”
“He is currently in the lockdown ward, at the hospital you were at. He will be remanded without bail, when he gets out of the hospital as a serial rapist. I am told that because of the vascular damage he received, that he will need penile implants to get an erection, in the future. Even then he will have a pronounced starboard bend that will make sex difficult for him,” she said smiling.
Mary had scarcely taken her eyes off of Ricki’s eyes, “So Ricki, is this how you like to live your life? Are you happy?”
“Yes Ma’am, I am very happy. I do love living like I do.”
“And these girls didn’t force you to do this?”
“No Ma’am, I did this to myself. The girls just helped me to create the best illusion I can. Sit down and kick off your heels for a bit Detective Post,” Ricki said. She found the DVD they burnt of the belly dancing that she and her sister did and of her working with Mr. Dawson.
Mary could see no hint of deception; Ricki looked proudly into her eyes, as she said those things.
Detective Post did sit down, but she wasn’t wearing any heels to kick off. She was fascinated, while watching the DVD. Ricki looked extremely natural and very comfortable with her body, in the dance portion. She also showed a lot of poise when she was doing the magic show. She knew many real girls who couldn’t do what this transgendered girl could do. As she saw Ricki doing a shimmy, she thought, “The hell with the some of them bit, most of them couldn’t.”
She didn’t know how she felt about people like Ricki. Most folks would call her a pervert. Mary didn’t think that way about Ricki. She was moved by the fact that she was a victim, but Ricki seemed to be handling that well. Nobody deserved what that guy Dresden subjected his victims too.
Ricki was making her reevaluate how she felt. She tried to look at things from the eyes of the transgendered. She couldn’t understand what made them feel that they had to do, what they did. She realized that she really didn’t have to understand the why; it was probably pretty complicated in the end. Mary wondered how many of them actually understood why they felt the way they did. She did have to try, to the best of her ability, to treat them no differently than she would anybody else. She knew many of her fellow officers didn’t feel that way.
Detective Post was a little surprised, when Ricki came over to her and gave her a hug, as she got up to leave and more surprised, when the rest of the girls followed suit. It was rare in her business to receive such affections.
“Ricki, if you ever have any problems with other LA Police, or which I can help with, call me. Ok.”
“Yes Ma’am. I will.”
Ricki and Laura then had to change and get ready for tonight. Ricki would have loved to have remained in her dress, but it wouldn’t work. It would take too long to change out of, during the show.
Some of the girls, that hadn’t seen Ricki or Laura in the magic show, had made reservations for the early show. They would receive a good show tonight, Ricki thought.
Mr. Dawson wanted to do several major illusions this weekend. He never repeated the same illusions, on the same day. So Ricki had to learn about six major illusions, for the five shows and both girls had to learn how to assist him, in doing the rest of his illusions.
At the theater, Mr. Dawson actually let the girls open for him, doing their belly dance routine. He watched them from back stage. At an appropriate time, he appeared on the stage with a flash of light and smoke. His first illusion, was his appearance.
He smiled to himself; he had to work harder to keep his lovely assistants from upstaging his act. Ricki and Laura did their jobs wonderfully. The major job for a magician’s assistant, was misdirection. The audiences’ attention would be split between what he was doing and what they were doing. The prettier, more poised and skillful the assistants were, the more he could get away with.
(continued)
This is the conclusion to Shimmy. Laura and Ricki get to talk to their dad. They meet their Mom in New York and say goodbye to their Dad.
Shimmy
by
Paula Dillon
Chapter 32
Sunday, Ricki got up early and took a nice long bubble bath, before getting dressed and fixing everybody’s breakfast. Susan came down wearing a robe and began helping. She and Ricki had been sleeping together (all they were doing was sleeping together) every night, since the attempted rape. They could hear the other girls moving around from the kitchen.
Susan was just setting the table, when the condo’s phone rang. Ricki was nearest, so she answered it.
“Hello,” Ricki said.
“Hello, Ricki how are you doing?” The voice said.
“MOM!!! Is that you!?!”
“Yes sweety it is me. Is your sister there?”
“LAURA! Laura, come quick. Susan put us on the speaker phone,” Ricki said shouting.
Susan went to the living room and hit the speaker-phone button. Ricki hung up her phone.
Laura and Cindy came running down the stairs. Laura was dressed in a towel, wrapped around her chest, dripping water all over the place, looking for the fire.
“What is it!?!” Laura asked.
“It’s Mom, Laura. Say hi Mom.”
“Laura is there. That is great, hi Laura.”
Laura excitement and dread showed in her face. “Hi Mom, how are ya’ll doing?”
“We are doing great, right now. Dad is here and he is going to talk to both of you.”
Ricki and Laura were so excited, they could barley contain themselves.
“Hi kiddos, how are you two?” Their dad asked.
“We are doing great.” Laura said, and Ricki confirmed it.
“We’ll, your mother has already told you what is happening, I am told.”
“I am mad at you Dad. How could you run off and not give me and Ricki the chance to say goodbye to you,” Laura said.
“I am sorry, I knew what was in store for me and I didn’t want you to remember me as I am now,” Alan said, coughing in pain, as if to add an exclamation to what he said. “I don’t have long now. I wasn’t going to call, but your Mom has been harping on me to call for two weeks now.”
“Go get him Mom, and give him a hug for us,” Ricki said crying.
Susan was holding Ricki close to her and Cindy was comforting Laura.
“Mom, Dad I want you to say hello to my fiancée, Susan Cartwright.”
“Hellooo Susan,” Madeline said, the surprise dripping from her voice.
After a few more coughs, “Hello Susan,” Alan said. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances. Still I am happy for you two.”
“Hello Mom and Dad,” Susan said. “I can’t tell you two how much Ricki means to me. I will try to make her, I mean him happy.”
“It’s alright, Susan. Madeline and I know about Ricki. Your sister told, their Mom and sent us pictures. While I can’t say I understand, I want all of you to know, we LOVE, Ricki and Laura. I can’t believe how beautiful you both are.” Alan coughed several times more. “I can’t say much more, it is getting painful, but I will be listening,” he said coughing.
“Dad we love you,” the Davis sisters said.
The girls and their mother talked for about twenty minutes, about things. She asked how Ricki learned to belly dance and how she got to look so pretty. Ricki also had to explain how she and Laura were working as magician assistants.
“Well Laura and Ricki, your Dad is sleeping now. I have told you all I can. I can’t wait to see you all. We love you all. You too Susan, we love you too. I believe I will be seeing all of you soon.”
“We love you Mom,” Ricki and Laura said.
“I love you too Mom,” Susan added.
The four of them cried together for twenty or thirty minutes, who keeps time in such instances. The girls dried their tears and went on with life. Laura and Cindy got dressed and Ricki and Susan set a cold breakfast on the table.
The girls still went to their job at the dinner theater. Susan went along and was allowed to watch from back stage. Laura had told Mr. Dawson about their Dad. He offered to let them go visit him, but quickly understood why that was impossible.
“I really like you two kids, especially you Ricki. When your father passes, call me and take as much time as you need. I want you two back, whenever you can make it,” Mr. Dawson said.
Ricki and Laura were able to smile and perform to the best of their abilities, this night. Susan watched them proudly from her vantage point. Even from backstage, she couldn’t see how the illusions were done.
Ricki got the chance to do the battle of the barrels, from inside one of the barrels
At home, Laura and Susan discussed whether or not they would attend the second summer semester. They decided to talk to their student advisors tomorrow and probably take fewer and easier courses, for the second summer semester.
Monday, Ricki went to campus with her sisters. Laura and Susan headed to their advisors to talk about their courses and course loads. They switched courses and dropped courses, and wound up with an easier workload that they would begin tomorrow.
Laura then took Ricki to Mr. Dawson’s to rehearse. Ricki did her dexterity exercises with Mr. Dawson and then went over several illusions that they would use this weekend. They were both instructed on how to assist, on the rest of the show.
They left Mr. Dawson’s and then went to Mrs. Lively’s place. They took their bags and changed into their workout outfits.
“Today girls, we are going to watch the performance we had on the Fourth, I think our girls did a marvelous job. We have two of the girls who were in the performance, here,” Sarah said, as she turned the VCR on.
After the tape finished, the girls gave a round of applause. Ricki and Laura curtsied to the class. Mrs. Lively then took Ricki aside and started working with her. She pointed out areas that Ricki needed to work on, from their performance. Ricki was surprised by Mrs. Lively corrections. She liked the portions that were adlibbed and most of the routine she had done with her sister. Her timing was off a little, in the opening routine, so they worked on that. The timing issues had to do with her not being as fast as the other girls. So she would wind up being half a step off or so and her trying to get her hips in position to take a step.
Ricki told Mrs. Lively about their Dad, and that they may be gone for however long it took them to get things sorted out. Ricki explained that she might not be back this summer, depending on what their mother wanted to do. Ricki did this while following Mrs. Livley’s leads. Ricki was beginning to be able to multitask.
Chapter 33
Tuesday found Ricki on the USC campus. She met Candace in the student center, along with Dr. Whitlock. She had kind of expected that. Dr. Whitlock wanted to walk and talk, so they headed out on a walkabout.
“Candace tells me you were nearly raped.”
“Yes, I guess I was, although I don’t remember a thing.”
Tom started asking Ricki all sorts of questions and Ricki started relating what she had been told had happened. Ricki cried a bit, as she told him about how the pervert had stalked her and her sisters and how she hadn’t been the first victim.
“You know that you are a victim too don’t you,” Tom asked.
“I guess, but I just don’t feel like a victim. I was more afraid for my sister, Susan and Cindy, than for myself.”
“I guarantee that it will hit you, Ricki. I would be willing to bet my salary on it. Right now you are in denial.”
“I don’t know… it just feels so surreal right now.”
Ricki went on to tell Dr. Whitlock about, what was happening with her father.
“Well, at least you got a chance to say goodbye. People don’t realize just how important that is. Balance that with the rape and your gender problems, it is easy to see you have a lot on your plate. You are pretty balanced right now, but I look at it like you are trying to juggle fifteen balls, while balancing a plate on your head and one foot. At some point, things will start to crash. Promise me you will take time to grieve over all of these things.”
Dr. Whitlock went on to tell Ricki what to look out for and how she should deal with grief. The main thing he told her, was to find someone with whom she could talk to and confide in, when things began to hit her.
Ricki’s phone began to play Devil in a Blue Dress and she answered her sister’s call. Laura and Susan were out of class for the day. Ricki said goodbye to Dr. Whitlock and headed out to meet her sister.
They got their bags out of the car and headed to the school pool for an hour. Ricki changed into her competition swimsuit; she was more comfortable in it than her bikini or tankini. Laura had to help Ricki put her now significantly longer hair into a bun and in her swimming cap.
She took eight laps to warm up; she hadn’t really swum any since before the Fourth. She then got up on the blocks and at some arbitrary sound, launched herself into the pool. She swam her hardest for four laps. As she swam, she felt the tension drain from her. It felt good to her, as her muscles began to burn from lactic acid buildup. The last twenty-five meters she had swum, as hard as the first fifty.
When she touched after the last lap, she just hung on to the edge of the pool. She looked around, half expecting to see somebody who had kept up with her swim, while there were other people around; nobody seemed to pay her any heed. She rested for a few minutes before she set off and finished her two thousand meters.
Whenever Ricki swam, she lost her self in swimming. It was just her, against her chosen environment. She knew she was alive. The only resistance she felt, was the water that flowed by her as she stroked her way on. Laura and Susan swam just to have fun; Ricki swam to be herself. Swimming at half pace, she still swam faster than many of the others in the pool. She didn’t notice them; she just knew what lap this was.
The girls showered and changed in the locker room. Ricki took time to shampoo and condition her hair. She sat in front of Susan dressed in her bra and panties, as Susan combed out and blow dried her hair.
Coach Adams watched Ricki from her office, as a girl she didn’t know, worked on Ricki’s hair. She didn’t see any masculine traits in Ricki and she wasn’t about to subject Ricki to any embarrassment.
Vanessa was lost in thought for several minutes. She had learned a lot about people like Ricki, since she had first met her. She had even gone to a bar, where the local transgendered girls, hung out. A lot of the girls there would never pass muster in her locker room. Vanessa still smiled at them and treated them as well as she wished to be treated. There were quite a few though, that Vanessa couldn’t figure out. Some might have been born a female like her or had become a female by choice, it was hard to tell.
One lady she hadn’t been sure about had asked Vanessa if she could sit at Vanessa’s table. The place was crowded so she had said sure. She had a great time just sitting and talking with the lady. Francis Caruthers was good; no make that very good, but after two hours of talking and laughing together Vanessa knew. Vanessa just let her have her dignity and kept her suspicions to herself.
Francis also knew that Vanessa was a genetic girl, and loved the way the lady treated her. It was refreshing to be treated as an equal by a GG for a change. Most people treated the transgendered as if they had some serious communicable disease at best, the worst she didn’t want to even think about. She had lost several sisters to violence over the years. Francis just couldn’t help herself but to give the lady she was with, a kiss.
Before they had to go, they had traded phone numbers and promised to call each other. Francis was going to wait to see if Vanessa was going to call. She didn’t have to wait all that long. The next afternoon Vanessa called and invited her to dinner Friday.
“Is this fast food, dress up or classy?” Francis asked.
Vanessa said, “Dress up classy; I have reservations for a dinner theater.”
“Oohh, I have this nice pretty full length, blue cheongsam dress, I have been waiting to wear out.”
“What color of blue, I don’t want to clash with you?”
“Oh, it is a royal blue, with a vine and flower design embroidered throughout it.”
“I can’t wait to see it. I have this forest green formal I haven’t been able to wear anywhere lately, Francis. Why don’t you come by my place about six then, on Friday,” Vanessa said, giving Francis directions to her home.
“Ok, I will see ya.”
As Vanessa was snapped out of her thoughts, she looked and Ricki was gone. She realized that she had to shower now; she could smell her own arousal. It wouldn’t do to have a women’s swimming coach smell of arousal, in a girl’s locker room.
Laura, Ricki and Susan stopped at a burger joint on the way home. They wanted to eat and rest before Laura and Ricki went to their dance class tonight.
Ricki dressed in tights, trunks, coin bra and belt that night. She danced with the class for the first time in a while.
Swimming was for her soul, but dancing, that was for her heart. She loved belly dancing. Everything about belly dancing appealed to her, she loved the costumes, the jewelry and the noise she was making. It showed on her face. Even if she hadn’t done the boobs and bits for Susan, she might have done them for the dance, she thought.
Ricki spent Wednesday and Thursday on campus and she swam when her sisters got out of class. After dinner they went to Mrs. Lively’s to dance, at night. Friday Ricki spent the day with Mr. Dawson. She had practiced the dexterity lessons every day this past week and she had gotten better, but she was far from a prestidigitator. They then spent several hours going over the illusions for the show tonight. Early in the afternoon, Mr. Dawson showed the girls an idea he was developing for his costume. He liked the Arabic looks the girls had; he came up with some blousy pants, curled toe shoes, a vest and a turban for him. He showed them the pictures he came up with.
“I like your pictures Mr. Dawson, but Donotello sounds Italian, not Arabic,” Ricky said. “Changing names wouldn’t be good for you either. How long have you been the Great Donotello?”
“Long enough, eighteen years now,” Mr. Dawson said. “Maybe you are right, let me think it over.
Chapter 34
At five fifty five, a nervous Francis got out of her car at the address she was given. The house was a nice two-story house, in a quiet suburb of LA. She walked up to the door and knocked. Vanessa opened the door, mostly ready, but she was still fiddling with her appearance.
“Hi Francis, come on in.”
“This is a lovely home, Vanessa. What do you do for a living?”
“I am a coach at USC. I coach swimming and fitness,” Vanessa said, putting on her lipstick.
“You look great Vanessa.”
“Thank you, but next to you, I need all the help I can get. That dress is wonderful. That is a silk satin dress isn’t it,” Vanessa said, smiling and taking a closer look at her friend.
Francis wore a royal blue cheongsam dress that went down to the top of her foot. It was slit on both sides to about four inches above the knee for mobility. The dress fit her like a glove in all the right places; she also had a handbag covered in the same material and four inch blue heels. “Yes it is, it, I got it in Hong Kong, my Dad was a business representative. He went to Hong Kong a lot to negotiate manufacturing deals. I went with him on one and had this custom made for me.”
“Well it is simply delicious, Francis,” Vanessa said. She hadn’t meant to use such a suggestive adverb, but the description fit it.
Francis smiled so much, she glowed, “Thank you, Vanessa.”
Vanessa got her bag and said, “Let’s head on out, we have a long drive.”
Laura and Ricki came out on stage and opened the show. Frank watched them from back stage and smiled. The audience loved the girls and it showed.
Vanessa’s eyes arched and her mouth hung open as she saw Ricki and Laura come out on stage.
“What’s wrong Vanessa,” Francis asked.
“I know those two girls,” Vanessa said. She debated telling her friend about Ricki, but decided it wasn’t her place to out her. “The one on the right is Laura Davis. The other one is Ricki her high school age sister.”
“Wow, they are both so beautiful.”
“Yes they are, I am trying to recruit Ricki for my swim team, but she hasn’t made up her mind yet.”
Vanessa waved at the girls, but they couldn’t see her, because of the bright lights in their eyes.
After the girls warmed up the crowd for four minutes, the Great Donotello came out on stage to do his number. Laura took his top hat, cape and gloves and Ricki made his wand appear and handed it to him. He did a dozen illusions that were part of his staple stable of magic. Donotello played to the crowd and had their rapt attention. One illusion required Ricki to go out in the crowd and select a volunteer. Ricki was nervous about this. She came out into the crowd and saw Vanessa sitting with another woman. She selected Francis. Francis tried to object, but the crowd figuratively pushed her on.
Vanessa was excited to see her friend led up to the stage. She and the rest of the audience gave her a hearty round of applause.
Francis was worried at first, but the great Donotello put her at ease. She was up on the stage for two illusions, a card trick and a coin trick. She jumped as Donotello made coins appear where she didn’t have coins. There were lots and lots of coins. She then selected a card and showed the crowd. Francis then shuffled the deck. Donotello had her fan the cards and look for her card. She couldn’t find it, and then he made the card pop out of Ricki’s coin bra, without her or Donotello touching the deck.
Francis was giggling like a schoolgirl when she got back to her friend.
“Did you tell Ricki to do this?” Francis asked, as she sat by her friend.
“I didn’t know Ricki would be here and I certainly didn’t know she was a magician’s assistant.”
“The only reason I believe you, is the way you looked at her when she came out on stage. Anyway that was fun.”
On stage two trunks were brought out. One box was locked and suspended ten feet above the ground. In the view of the audience; Ricki was chained and bound, then locked in a trunk, which was then bound in chains. Laura and Donotello raised a circle curtain around the trunk. There was a flash of light, smoke and the sound of a small explosion. Laura dropped the curtain. Donotello was gone.
Laura then unchained the trunk, unlocked the padlocks and opened the hooks, before raising the lid. Donotello appeared, restrained as Ricki had been. Laura then unbound the magician. Then Donotello took his wand and pointed it at the trunk that had been suspended. There was another explosion and the padlock fell and the lid opened revealing an unfettered Ricki.
The crowd went wild.
Francis and Vanessa were happy, as they drove to Vanessa’s place. They talked a lot about the show and wondered how the tricks were done. They just seemed impossible to the ladies.
At her home Vanessa turned to Francis, “Would you like to spend the night here?”
“You do know…”
“I don’t care, dear. I want you too, that is if you would like too.”
The two of them walked arm in arm into her home.
Vanessa found that Francis was a pre-op transsexual, who after years of hormone replacement therapy couldn’t perform, but the two of them found many ways to entertain and amuse each other.
They held each other tightly and cried themselves to a contented sleep.
Ricki and Laura were excited too. They had had fun with that illusion, Ricki knew how it was done, and Laura, although she was dying to know, didn’t ask. That was between Ricki and Freddy.
Chapter 35
The Saturday and Sunday performances were equally well received. When the girls got home on Sunday, they found Cindy in tears and they knew. Cindy gave Laura a telephone number and she called it.
“Mom, its Laura,” she said, when the phone was answered.
“Daddy is gone girls; he passed quietly in his sleep.”
Laura started crying, which started Ricki and Susan crying too.
“I figured as much when we got the message to call. How are you doing, Mom?”
“I am hurting, but I will survive. We will be landing in Athens tomorrow and I have made arrangements to have your father cremated there. That is the only way that they will let me bring him home.”
“When will you be coming home, Mom?”
“I will be in New York, JFK, on Friday, at six pm. I want to dump your father’s ashes off the Maid of the Mist, on Sunday.”
“We will be there Mom. I will drive your car and we will pick you up. We can drive to Niagara Falls on Saturday. We love you a whole lot. Ricki and Susan want to talk to you.”
Ricki and Susan each took their turn, giving Madeline soothing words of encouragement, as Laura cried on Cindy’s shoulder.
Before they all went to bed, Laura and Susan got on the internet and got airline reservations for three, for Thursday, at one o’clock, to LaGuardia.
“Why three?” Ricki asked.
“I am going with my fiancée. I am not going to let you face this alone.”
“How are you going Ricki, male or female?” Laura asked.
“Mom wants to meet her other daughter, Laura.”
“Good, we have got to take you shopping then tomorrow,” Laura stated.
“What for?”
“A black dress for funerals,” Susan said.
“But I don’t think there is going to be a memorial service.”
“No, but we will wear them when we pick up Mom and Dad’s ashes, out of respect squirt.”
“Well, jeans and some kind of top, will be the dress for Sunday,” Ricki said.
“Why is that?” Susan asked.
“We will be going on the Maid of the Mist, Susan.”
“Yeah, good thinking squirt. The Maid of the Mist is a boat at Niagara Falls, Susan. We will get very wet. Even with the foul weather gear they will provide us.”
“Ok, why on the Maid of the Mist?”
“They got married on that boat, twenty six years ago.”
“Oh, wow, that is a wonderful sentimental idea. I have to call my Mom tomorrow too.”
“Why?” asked Ricki.
“I have to let her know I am engaged, that my fiancée’s father died; and that I am going to New York, to be with him. You have to be here too. I am sure she will want to talk to you.”
“What are you going to tell her about me?” Ricki asked, worriedly. She hadn’t thought about others having to know.
“Don’t worry about it, Ricki, she will be cool. When Dad was still alive, he use to dress up for Mom. I used to dress up my brother Adam too. That was a laugh. 6’ 2”, two twenty, all muscle, in a little black dress. He did it to humor me.”
“I didn’t know your Dad was dead.”
“He passed away when I was eight.”
“You dressed up your brother too?”
“Yes, it was when I was ten and he was twenty. I had him go trick or treating with me. All the silicone, wigs and makeup in San Francisco wouldn’t have made him look like a girl.”
“How did you get him in a dress?”
Susan tugged on Ricki’s arm, adopted a sad puppy dog look, let her lip tremble a little and cried a tear. “I really needed some one who could go trick or treating with me, Mom wouldn’t let me go alone. He didn’t have a costume and Mom stepped in. He still laughs about it and I still blackmail him with the photos.”
“Laura help me,” Ricki said giggling.
“Nope, you got yourself into this; no way are we letting you out of it. I am on her side,” Laura said snickering. “You two will be good for each other, I think.”
They all had one last hug and then Susan and Ricki headed for her bed.
The next four days dragged and at the same time, passed too quickly. They called Mr. Dawson and informed him of their father’s death, and that Laura wouldn’t be there Friday and Ricki might not be back at all.
Ricki was then taken to find some suitable clothes for mourning. Susan and Laura looked at a dozen or so, short sleeved, black dresses, before finding the right one. They also found her a black hat with some netting that could be pulled down to obscure the eyes slightly, some black panties, bra, pumps with three inch heels and purse.
Monday after they got home from shopping, Susan called home. She talked to her Mom for a half hour before handing Ricki on the phone.
Talking to Georgia Cartwright was a trip. Ricki thought Mrs. Cartwright was going to be skin her alive, for corrupting her daughter, when she first started talking to her. She didn’t see Susan and Laura giggling behind her. After she had Ricki shaking in her heels, Georgia broke off the act, laughing and told Ricki, that it was all just an act and that they would welcome her, or him, into their family.
Monday night, Ricki and Laura talked to Mrs. Lively before class. Ricki didn’t know if she would be returning or not. Ricki would be able to attend class on Tuesday, but Wednesday, they would need to pack and that they would fly out on Thursday.
Wednesday afternoon, all of Laura’s sisters that were in town, came by for dinner. They shared their comfort and support, along with their hopes to see Ricki again, soon. There were two girls with Laura Susan and Ricki, making sure that they packed everything that they needed. Ricki made sure she was taking her laptop with the belly dancing DVD’s and Mr. Dawson’s DVD’s. One girl even went to her own apartment and got her own makeup case to loan Ricki, as that was one thing she didn’t have.
Thursday Stacy took the three girls to the airport in her SUV. She could only drop them off at the curb, due to security. The girls got their boarding passes, checked their luggage and went to their gate. They dressed for comfort for their flight, they each wore shorts, loose blouses and cross trainers.
When they arrived in New York, they found that they had an airport limousine waiting to pick them up and deliver them to the Davis home. Georgia had called ahead and made arrangements.
The driver took them to a three-story brownstone, on the upper east side of New York. Ricki unlocked the door and opened up the house. She didn’t have any fear of being seen. She looked so different from when she left, almost seven weeks ago.
There had been Davis’s in that home, for a hundred years. Even as old as that home was, it had been constantly renovated and was in better condition than many homes only twenty years old. The house had a kind of majesty Susan thought, as she looked at it.
Chapter 36
The next morning the girls rose late. They had to go out for breakfast because the fridge had been emptied of perishables. They ate at one of those twenty-four hour breakfast restaurants.
On the way home, they did some shopping and stopped at a florist to get some flowers for Mom and a wreath for their father.
At home, Laura pulled out the family album and went through the pictures.
“Wow Ricki, you really do look a lot like your father,” Susan said. “He is so short and thin, standing next to your Mom.”
“I tried to tell you, Susan.”
“And Laura, you are so like your Mom. You look just like her when she was a young girl.”
Laura dug into another album and found a picture of their grandfather on their father’s side. “This is Grandfather Robert Davis; he was even smaller than that our dad was.”
“He is so petite Laura, but he and your dad are so handsome in their own right.”
Laura found a picture of Robert at age eight. He was dressed not too differently from his sister, their great Aunt. “This is a picture of Robert and his sister Abigail, taken in 1906.”
“Which is which Laura, they look so much a like?”
“The one on the right is Abigail, she was born on January 1, 1900. Robert was born in August 5, 1898.”
“They are the same height, and have the same long hair. When we get married Ricki, I want to make copies of all these pictures.”
At one, each of them took a long bubble bath and made sure that their legs and armpits were hairless. They then dressed in their black undies, pantyhose and heels, before doing their makeup. Laura came in to do Ricki’s hair and makeup; she put Ricki’s hair up in a twist. Ricki was surprised that she was able to get all that hair up on the back of her head. Laura then used a little darker eyeshadow than normal and used waterproof mascara. She then placed the black hat on her hair and adjusted the netting a bit. Lastly, Laura went to her Mom’s room and retrieved a single strand of pearls and some pearl earrings for Ricki. Ricki only added her sorority pin to her dress.
Ricki retrieved the keys for the Lincoln Town Car, from the lock box and handed them to her sister. They left their home and drove to JFK. Traffic was as horrible as it always was at this time of day. They didn’t get to the arrivals gate till thirty minutes before their Mom’s scheduled arrival. They had to wait till another hour before their Mom cleared customs.
She appeared carrying a lone box, that held an urn with her husband’s ashes, and pulling a cart that held her luggage. Laura and Ricki ran to her and hugged her as soon as she stepped past the security gate. Susan stood a respectful distance behind Ricki. After they had a short cry, Madeline waved Susan over and hugged her.
“I see my son has good taste in girls,” Madeline said.
“He didn’t have a chance, Momma. He was swept off his feet by her,” Ricki said.
Ricki went to pull the cart, as they began to move towards the exit. Susan brushed him off and took the cart herself. Laura had taken the box with the urn, so their Mom could hold on to both of her children.
Madeline then took a good look at each of the girls, “You are all so lovely. Laura and Ricki, I can’t believe how much you two have grown since I last saw each of you,” she said, giving them a wink and a smile. “You must have grown several cup sizes in the last two months, Ricki.”
Ricki blushed, as she looked down at her bust. “It kinda just happened overnight, Mom,” she said, giggling a bit. “You’re not upset about it?”
“Heavens no, why should that upset me Ricki. You are as you appear, a lovely young lady. I could never be upset with you. Your Dad was so proud of you and your sister. He bragged about you kids all the time, even onboard the ship we were on.”
The kids loaded all of the luggage in the Lincoln, “Surely this isn’t all of the luggage you took, Mom,” Laura said.
“No, I could only take these with me on the plane. The shipping line will deliver the rest when we they get back to the states, in late August. They will deliver your Dad’s things too.”
Laura drove them home, with Susan sitting next to her. Ricki sat in the back with their Mom. During the two-hour drive, they had to tell their Mom everything that had happened. Ricki blushed, as she recounted how she had wound up in skirts.
“I agree to what you girls did to Ricky, and I am proud of the way that you took it, Ricki. You showed a lot of dignity and honor in accepting your punishment. So tell me, is this you now?”
Ricki opened her heart to her Mother. She told her that she didn’t know where she was headed, but she and Susan would find that out together.
“What about babies?” Madeline asked, “I want lots of babies from you and Laura.”
“Susan?” Ricki asked.
“I would be happy to have all of Ricki’s babies, Mom,” Susan said.
That brought a smile on Ricki’s and Madeline’s face.
“I called Bridgett Logan, an associate of your Dad’s. She is setting up an informal wake for your Dad, from ten to three tomorrow. Ricki did you choose a middle name?”
“Yes Mom, Annette.”
“Good, then you will be Annette Cartwright, Susan’s sister tomorrow and Ricky Davis was stuck on a cruise ship, to and from Hawaii. That is if it is alright with you, Susan? It will be easier than explaining Ricki to all those old fogies your Dad hung around with.”
“That will be fine,” Susan said, “I kind of like the sound of Annette Cartwright.”
Ricki knew that that would be better than exposing his apparent sex change to all of her dad’s friends.
At home, all three girls gave Madeline her flowers. She proudly put them in vases in the living room and set the urn, with Alan’s ashes, on the mantle. With the wreath the girls bought, in front and to the side of it.
Madeline made Ricki show her how her great figure had been accomplished. She felt very embarrassed as she disrobed down to her bra and panties in front of her Mom. Susan pointed out the bits of silicone she wore.
“You mean she can’t…”
“No she can’t, at lest till we take some solvent to free her,” Susan said.
“Then you two haven’t…”
“I will be honest with you, Mom,” Susan said. “We have slept in the same bed quite a bit. But we haven’t done the deed yet. It has been close and we have wanted too do it so badly, but…”
“Do your Mom and Dad know Susan?”
“Just my Mom, my Dad passed away when I was eight, and my brother is thirty. Mom probably told him as well. She was elated to find out we are engaged. She doesn’t care how Ricki looks, or is equipped.”
“How did you get your waist down so small Ricki?” Madeline asked, “Did you corset train?”
“No Mom, I have always had a narrow waist. I have lost an inch and a half since I started belly dancing too.”
“Shoot I may have to take that up too,” She said.
Everyone got up the next morning at five thirty and began getting ready. They dressed up in all in black again. Madeline insisted that Ricki wear her pearls, again. She thought they looked so lovely on her daughter.
Food and flowers started arriving at eight thirty, and other people who came to help, at nine thirty. Annette and Laura helped everyone with the food and drinks. Susan became an impromptu bar tender and made everyone’s drinks. Irish whiskey flowed, even at this early hour; Irish coffee was popular with the women, who had come.
Forty people had come to say goodbye to their dear old friend. By three thirty, it took a line of taxi’s to haul all the mourners home. The girls quickly cleaned up after the last friend left and an hour later, they had packed up and left for Niagara Falls. They talked as they drove.
“Ricki, do you want to continue school as a male, or a female?” Madeline asked.
“I would like to continue as a female, if it is possible, but I can’t go back to my old school like this.”
“I agree you can’t, the world isn’t ready for someone like you,” Madeline said. “How would you like to make a fresh start in LA?”
“I would love to Mom, but what about you. I want to be near you too.”
“I am going to sell my home here her in New York and find one in LA. I don’t know if I can live in this house anymore. I need to be close to my children, if that is ok, Laura?”
“I would love to live near you again, Mom. I have missed you so much since I have been gone,” Laura said.
Everyone in the car brightened up at that suggestion. Susan wouldn’t be so far away from her lover. Ricki would be close enough to Susan, her belly dancing and her job. Laura would have her Sister and her Mom near her.
“So tell me Ricki, how did you get a sorority pin?”
Ricki and the girls explained that the sisters loved Ricki so much, they made her a sister. They want her no matter what, Laura told her Mom.
“Mom, you just won’t believe how easily Ricki makes friends.”
“I use to worry about him when he went to school here,” Madeline said. “He had some friends, but most just wanted to use him. How were things in LA?”
“Ricki is so effervescent, people flock to her,” Laura said, “Tell Mom how you met Li Ming and Belinda, Ricki.”
Ricki began her tale about walking alone on campus and being assimilated by a group of freshmen. She told her how she had been latched on to, by Chen Li Ming and Belinda Andrews; and what happened later.
Laura had gotten two adjoining rooms, at a hotel in Niagara Falls. She and Susan started to go into one. Madeline stopped her daughter and said, “Let Annette and Susan take that room dear.”
“Too bad I don’t have any solvent with me, Ricki?” Susan said, giggling.
“Or not so bad, Susan. I don’t want to be a grandmother till after you two get married,” Madeline whispered.
Once in their rooms, Susan and Laura opened the connecting doors and they dressed for a late dinner. The girls dressed in blouses, heels and miniskirts. Laura had even gotten her Mom in one of her miniskirts. It rode higher up on her Mom’s hip and made the skirt outrageously short, but with one of their tight belly dancing belts, Laura got it to fit her Mom. Madeline looked so good. The skirt came to just three inches below her rounded tush. At forty-eight she still had some great looking legs, that seemed to go up forever. She just had to be a lot more careful than usual, about how she sat, or she would give everyone a show. Laura also redid her Mom’s makeup and hair, despite her protests.
Laura, Ricki and Susan had silly grins on their faces, as they looked at Madeline. She looked like an older sister, next to Laura. Ok, a lot older sister, maybe thirty to thirty-five or so, but considering her age, she was a dish.
“I don’t know how you talked me into this Laura,” Madeline complained. “And what is with all these jangles?”
“Oh hush, we can all see the smile on your face,” Laura retorted, “That is my belly dancing belt. I brought it home for you to see. Without it, we would have to hike that skirt up a little higher.” She teased.
“Yeah, I can see that happening, I would be arrested as a hooker.”
The four of them looked like girls on the prowl.
Madeline led them all into the hotel restaurant. They all drew looks from boys ten to ninety, and probably caused a few cardiac events among some of the older males there. The waiters were fighting to see who got to seat them. Madeline squirmed as she tried to adjust the skirt for maximum coverage, when she was seated. All of them had to cross their legs for modesty.
Madeline ordered a bottle of 96 Dom Pérignon and four glasses, when they got their menus.
“I haven’t seen a bottle of 96 in years,” Madeline said. “It is one of the best young champagne’s to come out in years.”
Together, they mourned the death of their father and celebrated the engagement.
Chapter 37
After everyone dressed, Madeline got up and broke the seal on the urn to reserve a small portion of the ashes to keep in the urn. They then headed to the dock where the Maid of the Mist was located. They got there early and told the Captain what they wanted to do.
He suggested that they do it about a quarter mile away from falls, the falling water creates a spray and causes the air currents near the falls that can be quite unpredictable and he didn’t want the ashes to be blown back on the rest of the sightseers. They might think that was a bit morbid. He promised to have an officer to tell them when to cast the ashes to the water.
They were handed rain gear to put on. The three of them took the urn and wreath with them to the stern of the boat and took up station there.
They were soon underway and noticed the incredible roar, a long way from the falls. The first mate came back and gave them the high sign. They all said a little prayer and their Mom cast the ashes to the wind. A few seconds later Ricki, Laura and Susan cast the wreath into the water.
“Goodbye Daddy,” Ricki and Laura said.
Madeline cried as she wished her lover, confidant and husband, a happy journey.
They all began to shed some tears, but they were disguised by the mists falling from the falls. The Captain had been right; the mist was swirling all around and worked its way into the raincoats they were wearing.
Madeline was glad it was over now. She needed to either get on with life, or die herself. Madeline’s life was dying at the same rate that the one she most loved, wasted away. She felt all the pain that she had been holding back for so long. A person can only be strong for a period of time before they had to let it all go, or to waste away themselves. The presence of her children, including Susan, gave her a reason to live. The beauty of the falls gave her hope, that there was love here, even as she said goodbye. She hugged her oldest child to her, to both give her strength and to draw strength from her.
Susan smiled as she looked at the falls. She had never thought about coming here, being a California girl, but the beauty and majesty of the falls stole her heart. Being here with the one she loved, only made this experience better. She drew an awestruck Ricki to her side.
Ricki’s heart was broken, as she helped cast the wreath off. She would never get to see her Dad again. She wouldn’t be able to see his smile, or hear his laughter anymore. As the boat made its turn, she was struck by the awesome power of the falls and knowing that this place was special to her Dad, lifted her spirit. She felt Susan’s arm encircle her waist and drew her close. Ricki drew strength from the person she loved.
Laura was sad and hurt, she hadn’t had the opportunity to see her Dad in over a year. He had in fact encouraged her to take classes throughout the summer, probably with this in mind. Her Mom’s arm around her shoulder, showed that she was loved and cared for. She turned towards her and held her in a tight embrace, which was joined by Susan and Ricki.
Chapter 38
When they got off the boat, they decided to head straight back to New York City. They wanted to turn the page and start a new chapter of life. They left their pain for a time, at Niagara Falls and headed off to the comfort of home.
“Laura and Susan, I would like you two to head on back to LA, on Tuesday and get back to your studies. I know you want to spend time with me and I want to spend time with both of you,” Madeline said. “Tomorrow we will pack up what you want to save from your room, Laura.”
“But Mom, we need to be together,” Laura said.
“I promise you this daughter; you will be sick of having me around in LA, before I will leave you. I don’t want you to lose credit for the classes you are taking and I need to get to know my other daughter. I don’t know how long we will be apart, but I won’t stay away too long.”
“You promise, Mom,” Laura said crying.
“Yes, I promise, Laura. Susan, I promise you that I won’t keep your fiancée away from you too long either. Also, I would like both you and Laura to find a good high school for Ricki to attend and a good neighborhood for me to live in.”
“I will miss you sorely, Ricki. We have spent so much time together, that I don’t know what I am going to do with all the time, while you are gone.”
“Believe me I will miss you too. I can’t tell you what it has meant to me to wake up seeing your smiling face. It won’t be the same without you.”
Things settled for now, if not exactly to the pleasure of Laura and Susan. The girls chatted about what they needed to do on Monday.
They arrived back home while it was still Sunday, just barely. Tired, everyone headed off to bed. Susan went with Ricki, and Laura went with her Mom.
Ricki and Susan were the first up the next day. After they took a bath together and dressed in T’s and jeans, Ricki got the keys to the Lincoln and they left early to get something for breakfast. Susan had to drive since Ricki had yet to get a license. NYC is a strange city, where mass transit is more important to the city, than being able to drive yourself around. There are times though, when not being able to drive can be a pain.
Laura wondered where Susan and Ricki were, when she got up. Ricki’s door was open and their purses were gone. She found a note from Ricki and smiled. She had taken over making sure that her and her sisters were fed, that was one thing she would miss. Laura did start a pot of coffee, set the table and then made travel arrangements for her and Susan. They would leave NY a little after one, in the afternoon.
Susan and Ricki returned with enough food for several days. Everyone pitched in and prepared, or put up the food. Susan got to see Madeline’s skills in the kitchen. Instead of preparing a simple breakfast, she went all out and began preparing Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce, cream cheese blitzes and fruit bowls.
While Madeline was cooking, Susan, Laura and Ricki hit Laura’s Room. Laura systematically went from section to section, identifying what she wanted to keep. Susan and Ricki would move the items to a corner of the room, in a keeper pile and give away pile. The girls made short work of Laura’s room.
Madeline had called some professional movers, while Susan and Ricki were away. They arrived after lunch, bringing boxes and a truck. Madeline decided that she would call a furniture broker, rather than move all the furniture to where ever they were moving. Madeline went into her room and decided what to keep.
Susan, Ricki and Laura then hit Ricki’s room. She kept a lot of memorabilia and mementos, but got rid of all of his clothes. She would rather wear her wardrobe that was in LA, than any of Ricky’s things.
The girls then helped Mom. Her room took the longest; almost all of Dad’s things, except his jewelry, went. Ricki and Laura picked out a few of Dad’s things they wanted.
As a group, they boxed up the home office, taking all the important papers they might need in the future. The last area they hit, was the kitchen. Madeline wanted all her good kitchen utensils and tableware packed.
The movers did all the hard work. The Davis’s just had to identify what went and what stayed. They wrapped, packed and boxed everything up for the family. Clearly marking on the boxes, what was in the box and who it belonged to. They had three secure boxes that contained the more valuable items. Madeline padlocked these, placed tamper-proof seals on the boxes and kept the keys.
The movers and the Davis’s went room by room, for a final check that they had everything they wanted to keep boxed up and loaded on the truck. The movers also took the items for Goodwill delivery as a free service. The truck pulled away, well after sunset.
They all set in the living room, looking at a house that use to be their home. It had a different feel to it. It was almost alien to them now.
Tuesday morning, Susan and Laura dressed comfortably and packed their bags before coming down to breakfast. Madeline and Ricki took that time to create a breakfast feast to surpass the previous breakfast. Everyone was a bit somber, as they sat and ate.
Madeline drove a quiet car to LaGuardia. Ricki and Susan sat in the back seat and snuggled close to each other. At the airport, Susan and Laura got their last hugs for a while, from Madeline and Ricki.
Back in LA, Laura and Susan picked up where they left off. They had only missed two days of school and their professors understood their reason. They easily made up the missed class work. Susan went to her belly dancing classes on Wednesday and Friday. Laura went to her Thursday belly dancing class and went back to work for Mr. Donotello. Both of them found that doing something, was better than just sitting around doing nothing,
Ricki and Madeline did call and talked for an hour. This was the highlight of the girls’ week. For the next month, they called LA three times a week. What frustrated Laura and Susan, was the fact that Ricki and Madeline were rather vague about where they were and what they were doing. They were even vague about why they were being vague. But being able to talk to Ricki and their Mom, helped bring smiles to their faces and helped raise their spirits. Things began to normalize in LA.
Laura did call a real estate agent and talked about her Mom’s requirements, and about high schools. The agent had tons of good information, which Laura and Susan were able to check out. They put all that information into an email and sent it to their Mom’s online account and talked about it a little, on the phone.
Madeline told the girls that she already had a contract on her house. They had listed the home at 2.5 million and hoped to negotiate for at least 2.2 million. A man who worked in Manhattan and was desperate for a home there, instead of having to travel a hundred and twenty miles a day, put a bid on their home of 2.7 million as is. He stipulated that the transaction be expedited and that he could lease the home till the paperwork cleared. He even made a bid on all the furniture that was there. He had placed half of the bid price in escrow, the balance of the 2.7 million would be paid on closure. He wanted this home, because it was just a short subway ride away from where he worked. Madeline’s broker estimated that they would close by the end of August.
A couple of the times that Ricki called, Laura thought she might have been experiencing a bit of pain, her voice seemed a bit strained, but she didn’t seem too bad. Susan was simply overjoyed to be speaking to her. Susan would get so lovey dovey, sickly sweet, that Laura told Susan to take it into another room. Laura had to giggle to herself, there was not doubt about it, Susan had it bad.
Chapter 39
Tuesday, the last week of this summer semester, Rebecca was sitting in the student center, having lunch with Candace. They were talking about the boys they were stalking, in a dating sense. Rebecca’s phone began to play “Black Magic Woman”.
“Ricki!” was all that Rebecca said, as she began digging through her purse. She then flipped the phone open and nearly shouted, “Ricki is that really you,” Rebecca shouted into her phone, before she even got it to her ear.
“You don’t have to shout, Rebecca; I can hear you just fine.” Ricki said. “Come on get real, “Black Magic Woman”, hand the phone to Candace.”
Rebecca instinctively reached out to Candace and then she stopped, “How did you…” She looked around and saw Ricki nearly doubling over with laughter. “You witch, get your pretty fanny over here,” She said, closing her phone.
Ricki was standing there in a Navy blue skirt suit, white chiffon blouse, and four inch navy pumps. Her sorority pin was prominently displayed on her navy jacket. Rebecca jumped up and closed the last few feet and threw her arms around her sister. Candace arrived at a more sedate pace and gave Ricki a hug.
Rebecca stepped back and looked Ricki up and down, “You look fantastic girl. Have you called your sister and Susan yet? Let me please.”
“No and promise me that you won’t tell them yet. I have a plan.”
Ricki waved at a woman who walked over to them. “Rebecca, Candace, this is my Mom, Madeline Davis. Mom this is Rebecca Kittrich and Candace McIntyre.
The four of them sat down and talked for a while. Ricki then began to layout her plan.
Friday, Rebecca had gotten reservations for the late show at the dinner theater that Laura was working at, for herself, Susan, Candace, Stacy, Cindy, Karen, Amanda and Brenda. They had almost the whole front section near the stage. The girls couldn’t believe just how magnanimous Rebecca was being, she had told everyone not to worry, that she was picking up the tab.
Laura came out on the stage and did a five minute belly dancing routine. This was well received by the crowd. The stage opened to show a packing crate on a Lucite pedestal with the front and back open to show there was nothing there. She spun the crate around so the audience could see all the sides. She closed up the back of the crate and then the front. Two seconds later after a flash of light and smoke, the crate fell apart to reveal The Great Donotello. The show went on for forty minutes more as the magician amazed and thrilled the crowd.
“Now for my last illusion of the night I need the assistance of a member of the audience.”
Laura looked to Freddy; she hadn’t rehearsed any illusion that had required audience participation, this week. She just smiled.
“I know a young lady out in the audience. A Susan Cartwright is out there is she not?”
The spotlights panned the crowd and stopped on Susan. She looked crossly at Rebecca for a second; she then stood and walked up on the stage.
“Now for this illusion, I will make three people simultaneously appear on stage.”
The curtains opened and revealed three tall boxes on Lucite pedestals. Laura and Susan were tasked to show that the boxes were indeed empty for the crowd.
Freddy then closed up each box. Four pyro pots at the front of the stage went off. Freddy then had Susan open the box she was standing next to.
Susan opened the door to reveal her Mom. She shrieked and jumped into her mom’s arms. Freddy then had Laura open the box she was standing next to. Laura opened the door to reveal her Mom.
“Momma!” Laura shouted. She hurried into her Mom’s arms.
Susan seeing Madeline standing there all but shoved Freddy out of the way.
“Ricki! Get your pretty little butt out here and give me a hug.”
The door to the third box opened and Ricki danced out, dressed in her cardinal/gold belly dancing costume that Mrs. Lively had given her and that Rebecca had snitched for her. Smiling she danced her way to Susan and gave her a sedate kiss to the cheek and a big hug.
Susan was joined in the hug by Laura and her sorority sisters, who had rushed up on the stage.
The crowd may not have known what had just occurred but they understood that this was some kind of reunion for the girls. They gave a round of heartwarming applause as things played out.
The curtains came down and Freddy bowed to the crowd. He then stepped behind the curtain normally to join the girls.
The girls were all in a group around the three arrivals, firing questions at Ricki left and right. Ricki put off answering any questions till they all got back to the condo.
Ricki and Laura changed in separate dressing rooms and they all headed to Laura’s condo. Ricki and Susan rode with Madeline and Georgia in her new Lincoln. They were necking all the way home, just keeping things decent enough not to get arrested.
When they all had arrived at the condo, they assembled together in the living room.
“First thing we need to do, I guess, is introductions. Girls, this is my Mom,” Laura said, and then she introduced the rest of the girls to her Mom. “Let us look at you two. You both are so gorgeous.” Laura said, taking a closer look at her Mom and her sister. It looked to her that her Mom had gotten a facelift and maybe had some liposuction done, but Ricki deffinately had a lot if changes made.
The girls then looked Madeline and Ricki over. Madeline wore a pale blue, skirted suit and a white blouse, with three inch blue pumps on. Ricki was in a off white skirted suit, a black, deep V necked, black silk blouse and four inch black pumps, her sorority pin displayed on her lapel. Susan let go of Ricki long enough for her to turn around for the girls, then she reattached herself.
Laura confronted Rebecca, “Don’t you ever pull something like this again Rebecca,” Laura said, with mock sternness. Her smile betrayed her heart though to her friend, who just smiled back.
“Don’t get mad at me, this was Ricki’s idea. They have been in town, for over a week,” Rebecca said, in her own defense.
“You have been here for a week and didn’t say anything to me,” Susan said, rounding on Ricki. Ricki was almost afraid that Susan was going to slap her.
“Don’t get mad at her Susan. I wouldn’t let her,” Madeline said. “We needed to get some business taken care of first.”
“She is still getting a spanking out of this Mom,” Susan said, sticking her tongue out at Ricki.
“You stick it out, you got to share it,” Ricki said.
“Later, lover,” Susan replied.
“Let’s all take a seat,” Laura said.
They all sat down in the living room. “Now tell us, what have you two been up to for a month and what have you done to yourself Ricki, you look a little different?” Laura asked.
“We are all girls here right?” Ricki asked, looking at Madeline and Georgia.
They just nodded to Ricki.
Ricki disentangled herself from Susan’s grasp and stood.
“Mom and I have been a little busy,” Ricki said, she unbuttoned her jacket and handed it to Susan. “And you’re right, I do look different.” She then unbuttoned her skirt and let it fall. Ricki steeped out of the skirt and Susan picked it up. Ricki stood there in her heels, black, sheer to the waist, pantyhose and a black, French cut, silk bodysuit. “We went to a clinic in Cancun, where I had lip implants, cheek implants, a nose job.” She said, reaching in between her legs to unsnap the bodysuit. She then pulled the body suit off and her nipples stiffened erect, at the cool air of the room.
“A boob job!” Susan shouted, as she saw her nipples.
“Yes, I got a breast augmentation along with,” Ricki then pulled the pantyhose down a bit and stuck her tush towards Susan.
Susan eyes bulged and she slapped Ricki’s rump.
Ricki winced a bit. “Hip and butt implants,” Ricki said. “But please don’t slap them too hard right now, Susan. I need another two months of healing, for my breasts and my rump.”
Ricki then pulled up her pantyhose and dressed in the bodysuit again, before sitting back down next to Susan. “I still have a little silicone left though. I have a small flap that I can glue in place, to keep a certain body part hidden.” Rick said.
Susan was smiling broadly and said, “I was wondering about that, Ricki. You’re still functional then.”
“Maybe not as well right now, as I will. I am on low doses of estrogen and finasteride, for the next forty-five days. Long enough to make a few changes, but not long enough to damage my testis. I will be on estrogen and finasteride for three months, of every year. Three months off and one month on, as long as I stay fertile.”
“That was a good start, but we want to know everything,” Laura said.
All of the girls there were smiling and agreed with Laura.
Ricki looked to her Mom, Madeline said, “It’s your story baby. Go ahead and tell them if you want.
“Ok, here is what happened,” Ricki said.
Chapter 40
(What follows is an extended recollection by Ricki, as she thought about what to tell the girls there. She related a lot of what happened, but not in as much detail.)
Tuesday, Ricki got up at about six and began fixing breakfast for her Mom. Madeline came down stairs and watched Ricki work in the kitchen.
“Laura said that you are really becoming quite a cook and a maid.”
“Yeah, I tried to help out where I could. Laura, Cindy and Susan were taking some pretty heavy weight courses, the first summer semester.”
“Hmm, you make a pretty good cup of coffee.”
“I drink the stuff too Mom, I like my coffee a certain way. So what is on the menu for today, Mom?”
“Well I am going to see our family attorney to begin getting some matters taken care of. Dad did a lot of it before we left on vacation. Like all the cars and the home, are already solely in my name. I do need to give the attorney the Grecian death certificate, the autopsy report and the statement from the attending Physician on the ship. He set up trusts for you and Laura, before he died; I need to check on them. He also had some assets that he couldn’t convert as easily, as the house and car,so I will need to file his will.”
“Can I go with you?”
“I need you to stay here, Ricki. I have a friend I went to school with, a Dr. Karen Jones, that I want you to talk too. She is a Psychiatrist. I want to know what she thinks about you. Don’t worry, she won’t make you change if you don’t want to, and she is not going to cut your balls off, although, I did hear her threaten to do that to one amorous guy at college. You might hate her, or you might like her, or both. She is that kind of person.”
“What if I don’t want to talk to her?”
“Then don’t, but I would like for you to give her a chance. She will be here about ten o’clock.”
Ricki didn’t know if she was going to talk to the Doc, but she said she would give the lady a try.
Madeline and Ricki took their baths after breakfast and dressed as smartly as they could.
Madeline left, dressed for business, at about nine, with a stuffed briefcase and her purse. She gave Ricki a big hug, as she went out the door. Ricki watched her head on down the block, toward the subway terminal nearby.
Ricki had dressed in a black mini, a dark shiny blue cowl neck blouse, off black pantyhose and her black sandals, with a three inch heel. She had worked hard on her face, to give her a more mature look, and put her hair up in a French twist.
She sat and nervously waited for Dr. Jones. She used this time to roll a coin back and forth across her knuckles and to shuffle, fan and manipulate a deck of cards she had. She liked the idea of going back to work for Mr. Dawson.
At about nine fifty, the doorbell rang and Ricki got up and answered it.
“Hi, I am Karen Jones,” a casually dressed lady said.
Karen Jones stood in the doorway, dressed in a pair of tight fitting jeans and a Yankee T-shirt. She appeared to be in her mid to late thirties. She had shoulder length blonde hair and some strikingly, brilliantly blue eyes. She didn’t appear to have any makeup on, but Ricki saw that, that was just an illusion.
“Hi Dr. Jones, come on in PLEASE.” Ricki said.
“Oh, I see that my fame has preceded me,” she said, as entered the house.
“Yeah, Mom said she wanted me to talk with you.”
They went into the living room and sat down, with a coffee table between them.
“Yes, she called me last week from Athens, just after Allan had died. I tried to help her deal with the stress of his death. How are you dealing with it, Ricki?”
“I am fine, right now. At first, I was mad as hell at Dad, for rigging it to where I couldn’t say goodbye to him. Laura and I didn’t know he was dying till late June. We suspected something was wrong, but…” Ricki said, stopping to cry.
“I know Ricki, I tried to talk your Dad out of it, but he was insistent about what he was doing.”
“It isn’t fair, I was so mad. Didn’t Dad know that it was a bad idea? Laura hadn’t seen Dad in over a year; she was crushed when she found out. At least Mom got him to call us before...”
“The way he went wasn’t pretty Ricki. The last weeks he really wasted away and was in a lot of pain. He wanted to save you and your sister the pain, he and your Mom were going through. And before we go any further, promise me one thing. Your Mom has been so strong for so long. She is going to need somebody to lean on. Are you ready for that!”
“I am ready to help my Mom do whatever she needs me to do.”
Karen began to tell Ricki what Madeline was going to have to face and the importance that she, Ricki and Laura, needed to grieve.
“Grief can be postponed, ignored and belittled, but one way or another, it is going to happen. The sooner one grieves, is usually the better. You can both take the next few days to grieve and talk Ricki.”
“You sound just like Dr. Whitlock, Dr. Jones.” Ricki said, whishing she had kept her mouth shut.
“Who is Dr. Whitlock?” Karen asked. She knew she hit a sore spot, when Ricki’s face colored.
“He is a guy I met in LA.”
“A psychiatrist?”
“No, a psydoc. I think is what he is called.”
“In relation to.”
“Well ah… I ah…”
“Look Ricki, either tell me or not. It is up to you.”
Ricki then bit her lip and told Karen what had happened.
“Your mother never told me that.” Karen said. Clearly disturbed by what Ricki said.
“I ah … haven’t told her about that. I was passed out and although I was bothered that he tried to take advantage. He didn’t and I didn’t know about it. My friends told me what had happened.”
“You will tell your Mom when she gets home, Ricki. I won’t say a thing about it. You will have to tell her.”
“She has enough on her plate, right now. I wasn’t hurt, no harm, no foul.”
“Poppy cock, there is no such thing as no harm, no foul, when it comes to rape.”
“I am just glad it was me, he was stalking my sisters too.”
“Nonsense, he violated you. You already said it bothered you. Yes it was good that the other girls weren’t raped. Yes you weren’t hurt as bad as you could have been, but just think what would have happened without your sisters’ timely intervention. It was good that he was caught, but you need to work through what happened. Also, he gave you an unknown dose of a dangerous drug. It could have killed you just as easily.”
Karen and Ricki talked about that for about an hour. She still wasn’t satisfied that Ricki understood, what she was getting at.
“It is good I came here today. We haven’t even gotten to what Madeline wanted, and I have already opened two cans of worms.”
“You came to talk about this,” Ricki said, indicating the way she looked.
“Yes, but we will be hitting the other things too.” Karen said. “Tell me about how you feel right now, dressed as a very attractive young lady. Tell me, when was the first time you dressed?”
“June 3rd this year. Oh and once or twice before the age of ten.”
Ricki then began to tell Karen about the circumstances of her present condition and what she had done since her first day. She left very little out of her story and none intentionally. Her eyes glowed as she talked about her belly dancing, and her work as a magician’s assistant. She smiled as she described her costume that Mrs. Lively had given her and their performance on the Fourth of July. She pulled out her laptop and showed Karen the pictures and video.
They had been talking for about three hours when Ricki’s stomach growled. “Would you like to have lunch with me Dr. Jones. We can talk while I prepare.”
She was hungry too, so she agreed, as long as Ricki kept talking.
Ricki began to heat up some New England clam chowder, boil some eggs and selected some vegetables and nuts, to chop up for a tuna fish salad. She continued to talk, as she began to work.
Karen watched and listened to Ricki. She saw that Ricki was very good at multi-tasking. Everything she was doing, seemed to be timed, so that everything came together at the right time.
Ricki was telling Karen about what she had done to help the girls, back in LA. She felt it was her responsibility to help them, so they could get on with their studies.
Ricki was far more mature than almost all the seventeen-year old males she knew and even more mature than many of the girls she knew too.
As they ate, Karen asked Ricki to start at the beginning, about how she met, or knew of Sam Dresden.
Ricki told her about him hitting on her at the student union, about him living a few doors down from them. She then told Karen about what Det. Mary Post had told her about him and what they had found in his apartment.
“He didn’t have the right to do what he did,” Ricki said, finally crying.
“No he didn’t, guys like him are into it for the power rush they get.”
“But why me? I wasn’t interested in him and I didn’t do anything to him.”
“No you didn’t, it is hard to say why he picked you out. You fit his needs. That was the only criteria that you needed to fit.”
Karen helped Ricki clean up the kitchen and watched as Ricki repaired her face after her cry.
Karen asked Ricki about how she felt when she wasn’t all, girled up.
Ricki told her about when she had to take the breastforms and faux vagina off to clean the skin beneath and allow the skin to breath. She then explained how good she felt, when she could get dressed again. She shared about her talks with Candace and then later Dr. Whitlock.
“So, Dr. Whitlock wasn’t referred to you because of the rape.”
“No, I figured my sister Rebecca had her friend Candace just talk to me at first. I don’t think Candace knew I was a boy, dressed as a girl, but she figured it out. Then she introduced me to her Professor. She might have told him. Candace is working on a masters in psychology.”
“Ok, I see. Tell me more about your conversations with these two.”
Ricki then began telling Karen in as much detail as she could about their conversations. It was hard remembering all the details.
“I need a break,” Ricki said. She called Candace, on her cell phone and handed it to Karen, after she talked to Candace for a few minutes.
Ricki then laid down and took a nap, while Karen talked to first Candace and Dr. Whitlock.
Chapter 41
Madeline came in and saw Ricki sleeping and found Karen in the kitchen.
“How is she Karen?”
“She is quite a remarkable person, Madeline. I think she will live.” Karen said, giving her friend a smile.
“You’re not going to tell me?”
“What and betray a trust, never.”
Karen then started in on her friend and how she was dealing with her loss. She was as hard on Madeline, as she had been on Ricki. They talked for about an hour, only stopping when they heard Ricki stirring.
Ricki went into the kitchen, she smiled when she saw her Mom and gave her a big hug.
Ricki and Madeline then began to work together to fix dinner. Karen saw how well they worked together, preparing the meal. Ricki almost seemed to be telepathic. She anticipated what her Mom seemed to need; the same could be said for Madeline.
They all made small talk, but even during small talk, a trained observer can glean data from them. Ricki seemed very comfortable in her assumed role. She was very feminine in everything she said or did.
Without prompting, Ricki then began to tell her Mom about the attempted rape. Madeline was outraged, and Ricki cried some more, as she went into details.
“Why didn’t you call me and tell me.”
“Mom, face it. You were ten thousand miles away and you had your own worries. What could you have done? Drop everything and leave Dad to die alone? Of course not! I was ok, I am having to deal with it, but I am ok.”
“You could have told me when I got home.”
“No, I couldn’t. You had things you had to do. We all did. We had to say goodbye to dad.”
“Then why tell me now.”
“Because, I needed too, because now is the right time.”
Ricki didn’t tell Madeline everything she had told to Karen, but she did tell her about the fact that Sam Dresden had been stalking Laura, Susan and Cindy, prior to Ricky getting to LA.
Madeline suddenly felt very old.
Ricki then hugged her Mom and said, “Mom, I am going to be needing you for a very long time. I know all this has been a shock to you, but together, it won’t be a problem.”
Karen just smiled and listened. She loved it when people worked things out, with only minimal assistance from her. She got a wonderful lunch and was anticipating a delightful dinner, as she watched them work.
Karen began to set the table, she wondered where all her fine things were and asked.
“Oh those things, I had them packed up. I am moving to California, to be closer to my children. They just left enough things for me to work with, while we are here.”
So they had veal, with a mushroom sauce, grilled asparagus, a Caesar’s salad and chocolate mousse, on melamine tableware, and drank a bottle of 1969 Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Mouton Cadet Rouge Bordeaux, from breakfast tumblers. A very good year.
Over dinner, the trio talked about various topics, from food, to the weather and such. Karen then said, “Ricki, the reason your Mom asked me to talk to you, was that she felt you would be more comfortable without the silicone. She said that if you wanted to be a girl, or even what is sometimes referred to as a she-male, that maybe you might be more comfortable doing so, with your own curves, so to speak. Do you understand?”
“You mean breast implants.”
“Yes and more. She wants to take you to a clinic, to get your breasts, hips, buttocks and some facial surgery. I told her how I felt about it, I was against it. Still am. But she insisted that if it is what you feel is right, and then to quote her ‘to hell with them.’ She would find someone to make you feel whole. Tell us what you think.”
“I am not ever going back to being Richard. I feel so right being Richelle. I will love having my own breasts, and hips and such. I don’t think I will ever go all the way though. I want kids, Susan wants kids and grandma will love our kids.”
“I can’t say I agree with Madeline. These steps she is talking about, are usually restricted to eighteen year old, or older. I did tell her that if she insisted and you agreed, to give her a letter to approve the surgeries, excluding SRS surgery. SRS surgery is where they change the genitals. They use the penis to create a vagina and the scrotum to create the labia. Do you want the rest of the surgery?”
Ricki thought about it for a few minutes and said, “Yes I do.”
“Then lets talk some more. Madeline, go watch some TV.”
“I can’t, no TV, but I will make myself scarce.”
Ricki and Karen did talk again, Karen seemed more adversarial in her approach and Ricki found herself getting more frustrated. At times she was close to tears as they spoke. It almost felt like she was verbally wrestling with the woman.
Karen confused her, at times she seemed like a nice lady and other times, Ricki felt the woman was a B****. She never doubted how she felt about herself, just how other people perceived her to be. She began to see how hard the life she had chosen for herself, would be. People would reject her, treat her badly, hate her and maybe even try to take her life, if they discovered who she had been. She understood that there was hate and prejudice in the world, against those who they deemed to be different and inferior.
Finally Ricki did begin to break down and cry. She was surprised to find herself being wrapped up in the other woman’s arms and having her hair stroked by that lady.
“I am sorry dear that I hurt you. You just needed to realize just what you were up against. I have no doubt that there beats the heart of a woman inside your body, dear, I just had to make sure. I still say you should wait till you turn eighteen, before you get any surgery, but I will sign a consent form for you.”
Ricki cried on Karen’s shoulder and drew strength from her, “Thank you Karen.”
Chapter 42
Madeline and Ricki only spent two more days in New York City. They contacted a real estate broker and put their home up on the market. They then met with a lawyer and then went to court, to legally change Ricki’s name to Richelle Annette Davis.
The next day, Madeline took her younger daughter shopping. Ricki added a lot of clothes to her wardrobe; most of the clothes would have to be sent by freight to LA. They bought a lot of clothes that befit a girl her age, some elegant eveningwear, and not a few sharp looking suits.
Early Thursday, a car service picked them up and delivered them to JFK for their flight to Cancun. Madeline had found a very reputable clinic that would do the surgery for Ricki.
They drove to the clinic on Friday and Ricki was given a complete physical. They then had the opportunity to sit down with the plastic surgeon. They talked about what Ricki wanted to accomplish and what results she hoped for.
Ricki then had to stand naked in front of the surgeon, as he checked her hips, buttocks and chest out. She then was able to dress and he checked out her face. All the time he took pictures and made copious notes, but she hadn’t detected any prurient interest in her.
The Surgeon then told them that the first of her surgeries would take place on in two days. The first surgery would be the hip and buttock implants. That surgery would take place on Sunday. Ricki would check into the clinic Saturday evening. He wanted to do this, so that Ricki would be able to sleep on her stomach for a week, before they would do the breast implants and facial surgery next Sunday. After that, Ricki would need to sleep upright in a chair, if possible, or on her back for at least a week.
The surgeon told them, Ricki would likely be just a little smaller through the hips and bust, than she was with her padding on, but later, if she wanted the extra size, she could come back and they could finish the job.
Madeline then talked to the Doc about getting some work done for herself. She wanted her face to look younger and to have some flab taken off her waist and possibly a fanny lift.
Ricki left the room, to let the Doc examine her Mom.
Madeline and Ricki went out and celebrated that evening. Ricki was only allowed to put her breastforms in her bra and to slip the faux vagina on, without gluing them down. Madeline let Ricki have one glass of wine, with their meal.
Ricki was nervous the next day, as they both checked into the clinic. They didn’t allow either of them any food that night and only a small amount of liquid, till ten that night, then nothing. Ricki had to suffer the indignity of having her bowels emptied by several enemas. Madeline stayed the night with her daughter.
They woke Ricki and her Mom, at about four thirty and gave her some pills and a shot. The nurse then had to give Ricki a Foley catheter. They then had her lie on her stomach on a gurney. She soon fell back asleep, till she awoke late in the afternoon, lying on her stomach, back in her room.
Madeline also had her facial surgery done the same day. Her facelift surgery was done on an outpatient basis. They tightened up her face a bit and gave her small cheek implants, to make her look younger. They will do the fanny lift and Lipo, the next week for her.
Ricki wasn’t allowed to get up for any reason, for two days and was fed only by a catheter, in one of her arms. She got solace for her condition, by calling Susan. On Wednesday, they started her on a breakfast of oatmeal and a lunch of jello, plus some equally disgusting mush. They also let her go to the restroom, with assistance.
Her butt and hips felt positively huge, as her Mom helped her to the restroom. Part of that, she was told, was swelling from the surgery. She sat gently on the toilet and did her business. Her first real meal had passed rapidly through her system.
Thursday, she felt a lot better, she got to sit in bed, instead of lying on her stomach and was allowed more solid food. Friday was even better for her. The swelling was minimal at this point and sitting became more bearable.
Saturday was good for Ricki, she felt chipper again, at least till after she called Susan. Ricki and Madeline were denied a dinner again and no liquids after ten that night. Both of them were again wakened around five, given another round of shots and pills. Ricki and Madeline then headed off to different surgical suites.
Ricki woke up feeling strange, her lips felt thick; her face and nose were heavily bandaged; as well as her chest. She was allowed a soft diet. It was hard getting the food into her mouth; her lips seemed to get in the way. Her Mom was laying on her stomach, in the bed next to her.
Monday, the call to Susan was a bit of a chore. It was hard to mask the little bit of pain, as she talked and she was very nasal due to the gauze in her nose, but she just had to talk to Susan and Laura.
Tuesday, they were both allowed to check out and recover in her Mom’s hotel room. That lifted Ricki’s spirits, she had taken the nurses advice to wait, before she looked at herself. She laughed a bit, seeing her Mom walking gingerly. She imagined all the swelling and bruising they both must have. Ricki hadn’t really even checked out her hips and butt yet. The damn surgical bra was heavy and uncomfortable. The skin of her chest felt as taught as a drum. She knew she was big in the chest, but she wouldn’t know how big, till the swelling from the surgery went down.
Friday, she went back to the doctor, who was very pleased with everything. All the bandages came off and she was cleared for travel. She just had to check with a doctor back home, for the next two weeks. She took a good look at all the work that had been done that night. She looked ugly from the bruising and such, but she smiled as she saw her potential.
Her face would definitely be cuter and all her curves would be hers.
The skin of her chest was still taught, but not as taught as it had been. She still had to wear the surgical bra for another week, though. Her hips and butt were smaller, than with the silicone, but she now had a good figure.
They both would look pretty wonderful, when they were finally healed up, she thought. She could already tell that her Mom’s face was looking nicer.
Madeline had gotten a call from her realtor and they had to make a hurried dash back to New York, on Saturday. Ricki would have like to have taken a day or two more, to recuperate, but she bore on.
In New York, at JFK, she had a bit of a time going through customs. Her Mom had to show all her paperwork and letter of transition, to get through, but they were only delayed for half an hour. They hurried to the realtor’s office, rather than home. They found out that someone wanted their home desperately and was willing to lease it, till the deal went through, and he would buy all the furniture they didn’t want to take with them.
Madeline agreed to let the home go on Monday. She and Ricki would take one last walk through, on Sunday and check into a hotel, on Monday. They hurried home from the realtor and packed the last of their things. By Sunday evening, there was nothing left in their home that they weren’t selling. They left their Upper East Side home for the last time on Monday at eight am.
Ricki took a referral to a physician on Tuesday, who checked the healing and scaring of the surgery. He was very pleased with how she was doing.
Their last stop before leaving New York, was a shop that Madeline had found. Ricki now had a harder time hiding what she had between her legs. Madeline found a prosthetic supply, that did custom jobs. They entered the shop and Madeline explained what Ricki needed. The woman who ran the shop said, she had just the thing. She had a flap of silicone, which could be adhered to the pubis. It had a sheath that encased the penis and then adhered in the back. It wouldn’t fool people, if she sat spread eagle for all the world to see. But she would be ok in a girl’s locker room. Ricki would also have to be as fastidious about keeping herself clean, as a girl down there, just as she had been with the faux vagina. The woman made three of them for Ricki.
Madeline made reservations for a month, at a residence type hotel, in LA. She arranged to have all their clothes, that didn’t fit into two suit cases, shipped to there, on a three day delivery.
Chapter 43
They flew into LA on Thursday and rented a car. Madeline used the cars GPS system, to take them to the hotel. Madeline and Ricki relaxed the rest of the day.
Friday, Madeline then took Ricki to DMV, to take her written driving test and to change her own license to the address of the Condo Laura lived in. Ricki passed the test. She had studied to take it in New York and the test covered most of the same basic information, she just never took the test.
They then drove to an auto dealership. Madeline got another Lincoln Town Car. Ricki was looking around, while her mother did business and found a car she fell in love with, a Mustang convertible. The Salesman was so happy to sell two cars; he drove the Lincoln behind Madeline, as she returned the rental. Then back to the dealership, where Ricki drove the mustang, with Madeline riding shotgun. The salesman followed Ricki to the hotel.
Madeline then got a wild Idea. Ricki had Georgia Cartwright’s phone number on her cell phone. Susan had put it there after she had proposed to Ricki. She told Ricki her plan, as she called Georgia on the cell phone. Georgia loved Madeline’s idea and took the first plane out of San Francisco.
Under Madeline’s instruction, Ricki did her makeup a little heavier, to hide the fading scars of her facial surgery. She wasn’t able to hide it all, but she was able to mitigate it’s detraction a bit. She wore jeans and a cowl neck, sleeveless tank top, with her 3 inch black heels.
Madeline had Ricki drive them to the airport, to pick up Georgia. For never having driven anything other than go carts, motorbikes and bicycles, Ricki did very well.
They stood in arrivals, holding a sign up for Georgia. Ricki had a profound sense of déjá vu. Susan had sent pictures of Ricki to her via email, so Georgia recognized the girl, as soon as she saw her. She didn’t need the sign they were holding.
“You must be Ricki, and you are Madeline.”
“That is us,” Madeline said.
Ricki was kind of nonplussed, as the woman gave her a huge bear hug, which picked her off the floor and squeezed the air out of her lungs.
Georgia whispered in Ricki’s ear, “I am so glad to finally meet the person who stole my daughter’s heart. You are a sweet thing.” Then to louder to both of them, “Let’s blow this joint. I got me a room in the same hotel as you do.”
Ricki tried to resolve this woman with the descriptions Susan gave her. Georgia seemed to be a barrel of fun, a fun loving person, but quiet, dignified and reserved. No way.
The only thing worse than having a back seat driver, is having two back seat drivers, Madeline made Ricki drive back to the motel. Ricki really didn’t need directions, she had the GPS unit in the dash and she had paid attention, when she drove to the airport. Still she received plenty of instructions from her two charges. At one point, when she was on an open section of road, she controlled the steering wheel with her knee. She turned, threw her hands up and said, “If either of you two want to drive, just say so.”
Georgia and Madeline nearly went apoplexic. The two women were a little quieter after that. Ricki was doing a good job, after all.
Ricki recognized the area they were in and took an unscheduled turn saying, “Moms, I want to drop by my bosses place for a few minutes, if that is OK.”
“Oh you mean Mr. Dawson, that magician right?” Georgia asked.
“Yes, I want to introduce you to him and see if he still wants me.”
Ricki drove for about five more miles. She stopped before taking a right turn, as she saw Laura drive away.
“That was close, Mom. Laura just left his warehouse,” Ricki said. “She must still be working for him.”
“How much was he paying you two?” Madeline asked.
“We each made a thousand a week.” Ricki said.
“I can see why she is still working for him,” Georgia exclaimed.
Ricki caught Mr. Dawson just coming to the door.
“Ricki, it is great seeing you. Your sister didn’t say anything about you being in town yet.”
“She doesn’t know yet. We are planning to surprise her. Mr. Dawson, I would like to introduce my Mom, Madeline Davis, and my future mother-in-law, Georgia Cartwright. Mom, Georgia this is Freddy Dawson, the Great Donotello.”
“Please come in, Ricki take them to the office, if you will.”
Freddy locked the front door and checked his appearance before heading back to the office. It was too soon for Madeline to be interested, but if Georgia was available, he was too.
Mr. Dawson met the ladies in his office. He stopped and looked Ricki over. “You have had surgery, haven’t you Ricki.”
“Yes sir, how did you know?”
“I can see a trace of bruising underneath your makeup. Your proportions are different. Your gate is different, like you are being careful how you walk. I would say that you have had your nose cheeks, lips, hips, and breasts worked on. I like you better this way.”
“You’re very sharp Mr. Dawson,” Madeline said.
“So how far are you going to take this surgery, Ricki?”
Ricki’s mouth just hung open.
“Part of magic, is observation. Yes you were very convincing Ricki and even more so now.”
“I have gone as far as I am going, for a long while at least, I think Mr. Dawson. I came back to see if you still wanted me to work for you.”
“Damn straight I want you back, when can you start?”
“Not this weekend, but next. I am still healing up a bit.”
“Don’t come back too soon, but you and Laura have made me a real hit. The restaurant was going crazy, not having you there. They were glad when Laura came back. The patrons buy more to eat and drink when you two are together. They like Laura, but they love you. Show me your work, Ricki.” Freddy said, as he tossed her a coin.
Ricki caught it on the back of her hand and rolled it back and forth across her knuckles. She flipped it with her pinkie and caught it on the back of her other fingers and rolled it back and forth. Freddy was amazed.
He then tossed her a deck of cards. She opened and shuffled the cards, fanned the deck, turned the top card and dealt five poker hands out. It was hard to see the second dealing, but the upright card remained on the top. Freddy then turned over five pat hands, a flush, a straight, a full house and four of a kind. Ricki then tuned over her straight flush.
“I see you have been practicing. Remind me not to play poker anymore, with you.”
“It gets kind of boring being laid up in the hospital.”
“Gee, I just thought you were fidgeting, Ricki,” Madeline said.
“No Mom, I was working on my manual dexterity.”
Ricki then showed them both sides of her hands; she reached behind Georgia’s head and pulled a coin from behind her ear.
“I can’t palm silver dollars like you can, Mr. Dawson, but I can do alright with the Susan B’s.”
“What do you mean Ricki?” Georgia asked.
“Stand up Ricki,” Mr. Dawson said. He went and got a bucket. He showed the ladies his hands then set the bucket on the floor. He grabbed a silk hanky, and held it up to Ricki’s nose. He then pumped her right arm like a well pump and coins fell from Ricki’s nose in time to his pumping. Thirty or forty coins fell nosily into the bucket.
Ricki couldn’t hold her laughter in, as Freddy worked. When he finished, Ricki began popping Susan B’s right and left. She wasn’t as good as Freddy, but he could see that she was doing pretty good, considering how long she has been working on it.
“Ok, let’s work on getting you back in the show, the weekend after next then.” Freddy said. “Your sister comes in after one, can you be here from nine to twelve. Wait, I just had a brilliant idea for how you can make your grand reappearance, Can you and Georgia come here with Ricki, Madeline.”
Ricki looked to her Mom’s who nodded. “Yes sir, we can be here then.”
“Great, then, I look forward to having you back in the show, Ricki.”
Ricki then drove the mom’s straight to the hotel.
The next few days, Ricki drove Madeline and Georgia sightseeing. Ricki saw more of LA over the next week, than she had previously seen.
On Monday, Madeline and Ricki went to a high school, near the condo, to register. Ricki’s transcripts had preceded her by three days. They still gave her a battery of tests and asked her to come back on Thursday. Ricki would start school the next Tuesday.
Tuesday, she took her driving test and passed it, with a 95%. Ricki was ecstatic at passing; the clerk at the DMV made a mistake and typed what she knew, rather than what was on the form. Ricki didn’t know it, but she was now a she, according to California DMV. Ricki walked out with her temporary regular license. They would mail her, her license to the Condo.
She drove her Mom to the campus and then met Rebecca for lunch.
Chapter 44
It was almost eleven thirty when Ricki finished telling her tale. She couldn’t ever remember talking for so long. Everybody was hanging on to the edge of their seats, as she finished.
“Susan, do you trust me?” Ricki asked.
“Of course I trust you, Ricki.”
Ricki got her purse and pulled out a document, with a blue cover. She only unfolded the bottom section of the document, then handed it and a pen to Susan. “Then sign this for me,” Ricki said.
Susan kissed Ricki and then signed it. She then unfolded the document and read the first few lines. Her face lit up and she wore a big smile on her face, “Oh my gosh,” She threw her arms around Ricki’s neck and pulled her in for a big kiss.
“Susan!” Georgia said, getting her daughter’s attention.
“Yes, Mom.”
“I will only agree to this, if I get a real wedding, with one or both of you in dresses,” Georgia said, “Before one of you get too big around the waist.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Hey, what is this all about?” Laura asked. “Don’t keep us in the dark.”
Susan continued kissing Ricki and just handed Laura the document. Laura took it and began reading it out loud.
“Declaration of Common Law Marriage,” was all she got out before Ricki and Susan found them selves surrounded.
Georgia handed Susan another ring and Madeline handed Ricki one of her grandmothers sets. They then exchanged ring sets.
“Where are you going to Live Ricki,” Laura asked.
“I was hoping to stay here, so I can go to the High school, Mom and I have chosen.”
“We’re going to bed,” Susan said, pulling Ricki behind her, “We have some catching up to do.”
“Dang it, nobody is going to get any sleep, around here tonight!” Cindy exclaimed giggling.
“Just be careful with her Susan,” Madeline said, as the figures disappeared up the stairs. “She is still healing.”
“Don’t worry Momma, we will be careful,” Susan said, as they entered Ricki’s room.
Madeline had the girls there, sign the document as witnesses. They only needed Madeline’s signature and two others, but all the girls insisted that they sign it too.
Susan and Ricki were up by seven the next morning. They started breakfast for themselves and Laura and Cindy, who had awoken to the smell bacon cooking and coffee brewing.
Sleepily Laura asked them if they had finally done ‘IT’. The only answer she got were the silly smiles on Ricki and Susan’s faces.
“I can’t believe we slept through it. What did you do Ricki, did you gag her.”
“I will never tell.”
“Well I hope that you two enjoyed yourselves.”
Ricki and Susan both giggled.
Ricki made her come back debut with the Great Donotello. She was a roaring success, at the diner theater. She had to miss the Labor Day show with Mrs. Lively; she found it a little painful to try shimmy.
At the high school, they met with a counselor there. With all the AP courses Ricki took, they gave her credit for her junior year course work. She would start the year as a senior, taking courses specific to California; history and government. Ricki having a job, would go to school from seven thirty to noon and then report to her job. She would receive high school credit for her job.
School started for everyone in the condo, Ricki couldn’t take care of the girls now, as she had to hurry out the door, even before her sisters. Georgia stayed in town long enough, to help Madeline find a five bedroom home, about ten miles from her daughters place.
Three weeks after Ricki’s return, Susan had to call her Mom. She told her that they would have to have a December Wedding, Ricki’s little swimmers were doing just fine.
Ricki got back to belly dancing in October. It took her about three weeks to get up to speed.
The sisters adopted Madeline and often used her bigger place, for some of their get togethers. Laura, Ricki and Susan spent a lot of time over there.
Madeline went to work at the dinner theater, in the kitchen. The female chef was a whole lot easier to get along with. She went in early and did the prep work for the chefs, coming in to cook in the afternoon.
Sam Dresden pled guilty to seven counts of rape and seven counts of aggravated assault by poisoning. Instead of facing a life sentence, he received a twenty-five year sentence.
Ricki and Susan had their wedding in the Garden, at Georgia’s home. Ricki wore a very tailored tuxedo, which did nothing to hide her charms. Susan, a little thicker around the waist, was resplendent in white. Other than Freddie, Ricki had no male friends. Her sisters stood in as her groomsmen. They all looked cute in their tuxedos. Rebecca was Ricki’s best man, with Candace, Li Ming and Belinda. Laura was Susan’s Maid of honor with Stacy, Carrie and Cindy. Laura had been horrified at the dresses that Susan originally shown them, as bride’s maids dresses, but then Susan showed them what she really wanted them to wear. She had selected a gorgeous red Egyptian belly dancing dresses, with a shear red midriff panel. They were almost as beautiful as Susan’s dress. Adam Cartwright was tasked to give his sister, Susan away.
A magician, who was also a Methodist Preacher, by the name of Roy Carson, married them. His congregation was made up with several girls like Ricki, along with several gay and lesbian couples. They were a very enlightened congregation. Roy raised an eyebrow at Ricki, as he saw how beautiful she was, and just smiled.
With Freddy, Roy and Ricki together, they had a misdirection of Magicians on stage. (That is what a group of magicians are called, ‘a misdirection of magicians’.)
The crowd was entertained by Mrs. Lively’s troupe for fifteen minutes as the rest of the sorority sisters acting as ushers, escorted the guests to their seats.
The four groomsmen came out on the stage and stood in their places and with a flash, Ricki appeared in her place. Roy then appeared in a flash of light and smoke, before them. Then the bride’s maids started up the aisle, followed by Adam and Susan, sans bouquet. Freddy made a bouquet appear for her. The preacher made a dove appear and set it on a perch, between Susan and Ricki. He then made his minister’s handbook appear out of thin air and began his spiel. When he asked the crowd about objections, Freddy and Adam got up and pointed Super Soakers at the crowd, ready to blast the offender.
The two then said their vows. Roy asked for the rings. Ricki made Susan’s ring appear from behind Rebecca’s ear, while Laura pulled yard after yard after yard of silk scarves from out of her mouth. The ring was attached to the last scarf. She took it and handed it to Susan. Susan and Ricki handed the rings to the Preacher, who blessed them. The two of them then exchanged rings. Roy had Ricki and Susan, turn towards the crowd and hold hands. He covered the couple’s hands with a white silk scarf for a couple of seconds. With a flash, he removed the scarf from Ricki and Susan’s hands, they found themselves handcuffed together. After Mr. and Mrs. Ricki Davis were presented to the crowd, Freddy made a hundred snow white doves appear, out of an empty crate.
The End
The Bequest
by
Paula Dillon
The Bequest
by
Paula Dillon
The ten relatives of John Herman sat at a large conference table, in the offices of Beckham, Beckham and Winslow. Charles Beckham rolled the large TV monitor to the center of the room and inserted the video tape, as his assistant passed out the first of many documents they would have to go over today. Charles pushed a button on the remote and the tape started.
An image of John Herman filled the center of the screen and John began talking.
“If a group of my family is watching this, it means that I have passed away and am no longer with you. That is a relief on my part as I am sure it is on yours also. I never knew you all half as well as you wanted and twice as much as I cared. My condolences to J.R.R. Tolkien’s relatives, who with my paraphrase I am sure probably offended.
I now want to go over my mental state as that will be the first thing questioned in this will. Charles has passed to each of you copies of my psychological fitness as certified by three preeminent Psychiatrists. Please take this time to go over the reports that lay in front of each of you. You will notice that each is personalized with your names and the names of the Psychiatrists and notarized by the Honorable William Crowley, judge of the 215th district of the State of California. You will sign the last page of the document or receive one dollar in your bequest, and hand over the document to Charles. If you contest my mental clarity now is the time to do so. I will say at this point that everyone here is receiving a sizeable bequest and nobody here is being cut out of the will. Also at this time, you will note the inclusion of a confidentiality agreement, you will not discuss the terms of the will amongst yourselves and anybody else other than your individual lawyers, and what is legally required.”
One by one they read the papers and a few signed quickly, a few fidgeted over them, till only one had not signed them.
“Sign the dang paper Timothy Herman, there aint nothing there that will come as a surprise to you.”
Timothy was startled by John’s reference to him in the video tape and signed the papers. All the papers were collected, notarized and a clerk headed off to court to file them, copies were returned to the various signatories.
“Now that we got my mental state out of the way let me say that each of you here is to receive at least five hundred thousand dollars in a bequest before I get to the main bequests.”
That brought smiles to each of the people there, and some smirks as they knew that they were going to receive more than the measly 500k that the others were getting.
“Now to the bequests for each of my employees; a schedule of their names should be handed to you now.” The assistant was passing out said schedule as John spoke. “I leave two hundred thousand dollars and a promise that you may stay at my mansion; despite what my main heir’s desire. Additionally my chauffeur Terri, I know how much you love that 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith, it’s yours. Dana, my Stewardess, the Beach front house in Malibu it’s yours.” Assorted bequests were made to various other employees. “Now to my main heirs you are receiving a document that states that you will not contest these bequests. Again if you do not sign you will receive one dollar as your bequest. So without further ado please sign.”
They looked over the documents and although they were disgruntled that some prime assets were given to mere employees; they one by one signed, but one.
“Margaret I know you are pissed that you didn’t get the Malibu house, you always wanted to live there I know, but sign it.”
Margaret signed the paper and snorted at her uncle’s attempt at humor. Again the papers were notarized and a clerk was sent to file the documents after copies were provided to the participants.
“Now a list of charities that are receiving funds and property from my estate are being passed out to you. I know that some of the bequests are sizable but I am assured that they are just the tip of the iceberg by my accountants. Again if you want a shot at the big prize sign the papers.”
It did not take long this time as they were anticipating their reward.
“Now for some more legalities.”
The tape went on listing the necessary things that were left; mentioning people who would be in charge till the terms of his will are discharged and such. The crew was starting to get restless. John was always known to be a man of many words. John was a consummate politician who never ran for office. He could have graced the floor of the Senate at any filibuster and held his own. Held his own hell, he could have owned the floor of the senate. They each knew that there could be at least six hours of recording on that tape and that John had probably not wasted an inch. John knew when he recorded this tape that he finally had them where he wanted them, and used this to his advantage. One portion of the will included a proviso that short of a medical emergency, that any participant, who left early, received only a one dollar bequest. He even had a respected doctor, his staff, and a ton of equipment on hand to verify any medical emergency for his lawyer.
“I know you are probably bored stiff by this time, and I am not sorry for it. I have had to listen to your bickering and backbiting for too many years and now you know how it felt, but I guess all good things must come to an end. Each of you are now being handed a certified check for five hundred thousand dollars and a document to sign, failure to sign the document and you guessed it, you get a dollar bequest. It just says that this is the first part of my gift to you and that you are not going to challenge the right of any other heir to their bequest.”
They all grudgingly signed the document. It was true that some were miffed that others were here and getting a sizable bequest but John had been crafty in his life and they had to submit.
“Now I know your itching to know about the rest of my estate. When I made this tape it was valued at one hundred twenty million dollars and now Charles if you would please inform them of its current value.”
“As per John’s request I have had the accounting firm of Johnson and Hardcourt do an appraisal of the estate and the value is up to one hundred sixty three million and some change.”
“Thank you Charles, for those stellar figures. Ok to my two children Kathy and Robert 6 million each, to my sister Anita 6 million, to my nieces and nephews a million a piece with the exception of my nephew Carlton. Each of you is being handed a paper again that you guessed it you have to agree to or receive no more bequests.”
The family was in shock so far. Jessica Herman looked at her cousin only a small portion of the estate had been handed out and Carlton seemed to be cut out. Carlton was a nice kid, she thought, probably the nicest of the bunch here, she wondered why he was the apparent black sheep, but nobody wanted to be in his shoes. She saw that he signed without hesitation, and had a smile on his face.
“There are more bequests people and everybody is getting something more, but we shall not go on till you sign, or leave.” John had a smug smile on his face, on the screen. He had maneuvered them well in his will and he had been proud of himself. After some grumbling the assembled masses signed them and as before they were notarized and sent by clerk for filling, copies were returned for each person.
“Now for the last bequests.” John went on about giving this to this person and that to this other person and so forth. It was noticed that Carlton was left out here too but no one said anything. It was also noticed that the bulk of the estate remained as John said. “That concludes the last of my general bequests with one exception. You will now sign that you will not challenge any past proviso and this time any future proviso to my will, failure to sign here and any bequest you might have already received and will receive will be null and void and you will receive, you guessed it a dollar. By the way dear family this whole affair has been recorded as a part of the legal formalities associated to this will and will become part and parcel to this will.”
The assembled family grumbled as they looked around to where Charles and his associates pointed out hidden cameras and gear to record them.
“Now for the last bequest and the bulk of my estate. You might have noticed Carlton that I have left you out of many parts of the will. I know this is alright with you, but it is not alright with me. Subject to certain provisions that you will learn in private, and certain other provisos, you receive the bulk of the estate. The provisos will be made public to the others no sooner than sixty days from now Charles, and if the rest of you leeches will now leave I will tell Carlton of the rest of the provisos.”
As if to emphasize John’s remarks, the buildings security arrived, to help escort the troop out to their waiting vehicles. There were shouts of recrimination and such but Charles reminded everyone that they had signed confidentiality agreements and signed away any right to attempt to contest the various provisions of the will. Any attempt at any legal action would be meet immediately by further legal action that will leave them basically penniless, as to their new fortune. Each family having received a place to live are being moved. Their belongings were currently being carefully removed from the mansion by a bonded moving agent and that they are being relocated to their new living quarters, as we speak.
The families grouped up and each made a beeline to their various lawyers and such carrying all the filed documents in their possession. Their lawyers will inform them that the will was well made and that their signatures had indeed been legal, that they also were not to talk to each other about the will or anybody else for that matter and that if they choose to contest the will that they could suffer much loss, and that any action they should take should wait until the rest of the document becomes public.
The room now cleared three people that had not been there before entered and sat across from Carlton, and Charles rolled the tape.
“Thank you Carlton for waiting here. You have always been my favorite. Here now with you is Dr. Susan Parker, a psychiatrist and all that rigmarole, she will explain it to you, Dr. Samuel Jennings, and Dr. Thomas Lane. They will explain their portions in what is to come. When you leave today twenty million dollars will be deposited in your account before you hit the first floor. I hope to God you stay and listen to the rest though. I know that you have always been different of all the people I know. You are a sweet and innocent child even at the age of twenty when I made this will. I know that you love the nicer things in life. Not money and cars and such but silks and lace.
I have had many conversations with Susan about you. I feel that you should have been born a female. You would make one heck of a broad there. (John giggled at what he just said). Here is my proposition to you everything else I own is yours if you will transition to female. To do this you have to convince Susan that I was right and you will have to believe it yourself.
The other two Doctors present are there to make it possible for you to do this. You have sixty days to decide to begin and a hundred twenty days to actually start. You will have to successfully complete, what they call a real life test, and certain other goals I have added and that they have agreed to. Nothing they do for one year will be irreversible to you and you can walk away with what you have so far received and will receive to the point you quit. I hope you will decide today so that you will be far ahead of where you are when it is finally made known to the rest of the clan.
My whole staff at home is ready to support you and to help you in any way. They can be trusted, they already know and they love you Carlton. I love you Carlton and please believe me, I am not making fun of you and I am not trying to make you into something you’re not. If after one year from the start of your Real Life Test, you wish to transition they will do whatever it takes to make you whole, otherwise they will return you to your present condition.
Each four months you persist you will receive twenty million, if you make a full year and transition then the rest of my estate is yours good luck Carlton or should I say Carly. If you wish to proceed then tell Susan now or whenever you decide, and she will start the ball rolling. You will have a hundred and twenty days from now, Carlton to start your RLT. I love you Carlton you are the best.” The tape ended at that point. (Basically Carlton has 120 days to convince Dr. Susan that he should be a woman so he can begin the legal requirements of the real life test. He had 60 days to decide whether or not he would make the attempt and sixty additional days to convince Dr. Susan her should.)
Charles stood and looked at Carlton, “Carlton I was your uncles attorney and if you wish I am yours now? I am set to defend you from any attacks from the others and I will win.”
“Yes thank you Charles, I will keep you.”
Charles produced a document and Carlton signed the agreement. “I have already been handsomely rewarded for my services but if you will give me a dollar then our relationship will be cemented.”
Carlton reached into his wallet and pulled out a dollar and handed it to Charles. Everybody there signed as witness that the will was completely read.
“Now what is your wish Carlton?” Susan asked, “I counseled John against it but I will honor his request if it is your desire.”
“I don’t know but I think I might like to try. I have always had questions, but I have always been afraid. Yes I will try Uncle John’s request.”
“Ok you have a hundred and twenty days to convince me and if you do then Dr. Jennings an endocrinologist will start his work. If you go forward then, Dr. Lane will take care of any surgical needs. Rest assured we are some of the best in the business, you may check out our credentials if you wish and make other selections. We are good at what we are doing and although I am not sure about you, you appear to be a good candidate but we will need convincing Carlton, and I assure you that will not be easy.”
They each set up initial appointments up with Carlton and wished him good luck. Susan asked if she could stay with Carlton for the rest of the day.
“Well that concludes our business today Carlton, thank you for your patience. You now have forty million in your account.” Charles said.
Carlton and Susan headed out the door; an assistant of Charles’s had an elevator car ready and waiting for them. Susan chatted amiably with Carlton about lots of things as they descended. Carlton really liked her. She had a bubbly personality and was easy to get along with.
As they exited the building Carlton saw Terri standing in period chauffeur attire, with another lady out side the immaculately kept 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith.
“Evening Carlton, Susan,” Terri said, “If you would be so kind as to give Cindy the keys to your auto she will take care of it for you, dear.”
Carlton reached into his pocket and retrieved the keys to his 1998 Chevy Blazer and handed it to Cindy. “Be careful Cindy it pulls to the right a little and the tires are a little worn but it is a good vehicle. It is just over…”
Cindy curtseyed to Carlton and interrupted him. “Thank you sir, yes I know where it is, and I am dropping it off at the shop for a major overhaul inside and out sir.” She smiled warmly at Carlton, and left.
Terri bowed to them and held open the door to the back of the Rolls. Carlton helped Susan in and then sat beside her, as Terri closed the door. Terri got in the driver’s seat and asked, “Shall we go home Carlton, or do you wish to eat, or do something else?”
“Susan, are you hungry, would you care for something to eat?”
“Sure if you are hungry.”
“Yes I am a little hungry.” To tell the truth, he was starving.
“Ok that sounds wonderful, what would you like to eat?”
“Oh I don’t care what would you like Susan? I am amenable to anything.”
“Well I have a fondness to seafood, what about you?”
“Yes I love seafood. Terri, do you know any good seafood restaurants?”
“Yes Carlton I do, I will make arrangements for you.”
Susan made some notes on her PDA, as they rode, and chatted with Carlton.
The inside of the Rolls was nice. It was a fully restored to original condition and was immaculate. It was very comfortable Carlton was in awe as he looked about it. Terri took very good care of it.
They pulled in outside a very nice restaurant. A Valet sprang to his feet and rushed to the door. At least I wore my best suit Carlton thought and Susan looked nice. Carlton stepped out and offered his hand to Susan.
“I feel underdressed here Susan.”
“Yes a little perhaps, but you’ll be alright dear.”
“Well, I really like that your lavender dress, it is lovely on you. Looks like you were expecting something like this.”
“Why thank you Carlton. I was rather hoping for a good dinner, I would have gone somewhere nice with or without you.”
“Well I am glad for the company, I spend most of my meals by myself and I am not the best cook.”
They enter the restaurant and were greeted, when Carlton mentioned his name they were quickly seated. Terri had called ahead and money definitely talked here.
Susan and Carlton talked about what was on the menu and all, she had to tell Carlton what some of the items were. Susan ordered a bottle of white wine. Carlton just asked that Susan surprise him. She smiled at that and when their waiter arrived Susan ordered for both of them.
“Tell me about your family Carlton?” Susan asked as they sipped their wine, and ate their salads.
Carlton ate in small bites and carefully wiped his lips.
“Well my father, Chance, was John’s brother. My mother Heather Compton was married to him for six years and I was born the fifth year, the year before she divorced him. He had very little to do with me, he died about eight years ago. We had very little to do with Chance’s side of the family until about seven years ago. John invited us to his home for Christmas. John wanted us to move in with him but Mom refused. We did alright we came out of the divorce with just what Mom had before and a few things, that were clearly hers. Dad’s lawyer was vicious she told me. We received three thousand a month in support till I reached eighteen.
Their meals arrived Susan had a seafood platter, with oysters, shrimp, crab and scallops. Carlton had Blackened Haddock.
Father’s estate went to his current wife when he died I got about twenty thousand out of it and my child support still continued, much to his widow’s consternation. He wasn’t as rich as John but the other wife still got about seven million. John pushed me to fight the will but I just let it be. Mom died about a year and a half ago and I have been living alone since. We visited John about ten; fifteen times a year but mom wouldn’t become a ‘kept woman’. John really liked us and I liked him. I never expected anything from him, not like this.”
Susan could see her selection was a hit with Carlton. He seemed to savor every bite. He was very dainty about the way he ate.
“Tell me how do you feel about what has happened so far?”
“I am shocked. I don’t know why he did what he did. I mean do I look like a girl to you.”
Susan looked over Carlton as she had been doing ever since she had first set eyes on him. Carlton stood about five foot eight and looked to be about a hundred and forty pounds. His features was soft and androgynous, he could very well pass as a female, except for the deficiencies in his figure. No Breasts and no butt she thought. His shoulders were not broad and his hands were fine though a little calloused from work. He had incredible blue eyes, his eyelashes were to die for and collar length hair of sandy blonde that could be styled in a sexy pixie or a short page boy cut. He had high cheekbones for a guy but not overly so, looking at his face he still doesn’t shave much and a weak chin a lot narrower than most males. He had nice skin almost translucent. She wouldn’t be surprise if he didn’t already have a hormone imbalance. He also talked like a female although his pitch was lower than most women. He did not have a particularly dominant personality; he most definitely was a type B personality. He negotiated like a woman, instead of making pronouncements like a male. He wasn’t handsome he was cute, that is the only way to describe it, cute.
“You would be surprised Carlton, with what can be done with a little makeup, black magic, smoke and mirrors. You don’t exactly cut a dashing figure do you?”
Carlton appeared to be a little hurt by Susan’s words. This was also noted by Susan, but he held his tongue.
“I guess your right,” he said in a dejected tone.
“I am not trying to hurt you dear but you must face facts. Let me make a few guesses. You make friends well, mostly female, but you rarely date. You mostly go out in groups and are well treated in the groups again mostly female. How did I do?”
Carlton sat open mouthed for several seconds and took a sip of wine as Susan talked. He felt her guesses weren’t guesses.
“Very good, Susan, too good; did John fill you in on all that?” he said with a touch of resentment in his voice.
“No he didn’t, what he did tell me is what was in the will and asked that I get to know you. I started to turn him down flat Gender Dysphoria is a condition not a game. I didn’t like it then and I still don’t like it; but I can see why he did this. He paid me well I will tell you that right now, but that doesn’t make your job any easier, in fact it will be harder because of it. I really don’t believe you can do it.” Well a few lies are out there already, she really believed he could and will do it. He just needs to convince himself. “For the next year plus your life is going to be hell. I intend to make it that way.” Not to forceful I hope but she needs a reality check. “According to the proviso between now and the beginning of your real life test you can dress how you want to, but I won’t let you start till you dress only as a female. I won’t approve hormones for you till you dress only as female and you can’t start your RLT till your on hormones and you only have a hundred and twenty days to convince me you need hormones. I get paid whether you pass or fail.”
Susan noted that Carlton cheeks were flush as if he was mad but he held his tongue. His eyes were watered like he was about to cry. She thought ‘oh lord, have I pushed too hard.’ A resigned look came over Carlton’s face, but somewhere he found a backbone.
“Well I will just have to see about that Miss Prissy.” Carlton said.
The way Carlton spoke and the voice he used to say it, how precious, he almost made Susan choke on her wine. She wished that she had that on video tape. This was going to be fun for her and for Carly she thought, but she would be sure before it was over. They both would. That was one thing she would not compromise on.
“Ok as Sherlock Holmes use to say ‘Come, Watson, come! The game is a foot’.” Susan said giving her best Sherlock Holmes impression.
They completed their meal and their chat and headed out the door, Terri had made arrangements and there was no check. As they were headed out the door the rolls pulled up to the entrance. The Valet opened the door for them, and Carlton assisted Susan into the Rolls, before entering himself.
As they pulled away, Carlton asked, “where to Dr. Parker?”
“Oh I am sure Dr. Parker would like to drop by the house for a short time Mr. Herman I mean if it isn’t too much trouble that is Ma’am,” added Terri.
“It is Friday and I haven’t got anything planned for Saturday Terri, I would be delighted to see Carlton’s new digs,” Susan giggled.
Carlton looked somewhat confused but brushed it off. “Ok home then, James.” Carlton said in a high brow English accent.
Terri giggled at Carlton, “Yes Sir, Mr. Herman,” she replied in as deep and husky a voice as she could affect. “Will there be anything else, sir?”
“Not at this time.” He turned to Susan and whispered, “What gives?”
“Don’t ask me, she works for you. I am as at a loss as you.”
They sat back and chatted about what had happened that day. Susan thanked Carlton for the meal and the company. Both had turned out better than she had expected. Carly was really a sociable character at heart.
They pulled in at John’s estate; it was a 6:30pm when they arrived. There was a stately lady at the end of the drive waiting for them. As they pulled to a stop Terri exited the vehicle and opened the door for Carlton and Susan. Carlton exited and assisted Susan which brought a smile to the lady’s face. Terri joined the rest of the Staff after shutting the door. There were 14 people lining either side of the walk to the front door. When Terri took her place in line, the lady addressed Carlton.
“Welcome Carlton, of course you know that I am Dana Smith, I am the Stewardess of this home. We all want to welcome you to your new home. This is your new staff. You already know many of them. The rest you will come to know. They are here to see that you have no need to worry while you are here. We have a little surprise for you according to your Uncles wishes. If you will, please accompany Anna your upstairs maid, and Sarah your handmaid.”
Everybody entered the mansion. It was not a Grand mansion by any means but it was close. Susan was escorted to the Library by Dana, as Carlton was escorted upstairs.
Carlton found himself taken to what they said was his new room. Sarah turned to Carlton and told him, “I don’t know any easy way to do this except come straight out and tell you. In accordance to your uncle’s wishes and your apparent acceptance of the will’s provisos, we are prepared to help transform you into a woman. What we want from you now is to take off your clothes and let us get you ready. We will do a transformation of sorts for you. If you will strip for us now Carlton.”
Carlton was at a loss for words and stood there with his mouth gaping.
“Come now Carlton it will be just us girls, trust us we will never hurt you.” Anna added.
Carlton just started removing clothes, when he got down to his briefs he hesitated, but was brought out of it by Sarah’s foot tapping. They smiled warmly at him when he was finally naked. They led him to the bath room where they started smearing him down with a foul smelling gunk. He knew what it was from his mom’s use. It was a hair removal cream. From the chin down he was completely covered. He stood there for fifteen minutes while the girls took care of other matters. They returned and had him step into the shower while they rubbed the hair away and rinsed the cream off. What few stray hairs were left they shaved. They dried him off and wrapped a towel around his waist.
Carlton was then led to a salon chair, where Anna went to work on his hair washing and conditioning it. She completely shaved off his sideburns. Sarah had glued something heavy on his chest while his hair was being washed and then started work on his nails. Anna sat him up and he saw that he now had breasts, silicone breast forms humongous ones he thought although in reality a small D large C is what they were. Their size actually complemented his figure nicely. He felt his hair was being clipped and shaped. Sarah switched hands. About the time Sarah was finished Anna was finishing his hair with a blow dryer. Carlton now had a set of red colored, three-quarters of an inch long acrylic nails on his fingers.
They had him lay down on a table and Sarah began working on his hips and butt, gluing silicone pads there. They also spread his legs and both began working with his scrotum, and penis. He smelled super glue, after four minutes they had him stand and turn around, nothing hung down. Anna brushed glue down on his crotch and cemented a hair piece to give him a dense but sculpted feminine bush. The mirrors were all covered and he could not see how he looked.
Another girl entered. She said her name was Belinda and she had some clothes in her arms. Together they pantied him in a pale yellow silk bikini panty with an embedded floral motif and Belinda drew a matching yellow silk, satin and lace corset around his waist. It’s busk was hooked in the front and his new breasts were adjusted in the cups of the corset. The corset extended down just past the top of his hips. Anna then tightened the corset but not overly so and sat him down in the salon chair.
Sarah started work on his face and Anna on his feet. His brows were first ripped out from his head or so it felt, he was wondering if he was going to have any eye brows left at all. His toes were being filed and painted. Sarah then started work on his face. He felt a sting in one ear and then the other, as Belinda pierced his ears. Sarah was putting all sorts of junk on his face and eyes. It seemed to take forever but they were working quite fast on him. They did everything in an organized manner and had planned for this day for a while.
They stood him up and Belinda tightened the corset once again, a lot tighter this time. He was sure that his sides were going to meet in the middle. He had a hard time breathing but they told him to take short breaths and relax they were only taking three inches off his thirty inch waist. Not much at all they said. They pulled a pale yellow silk camisole over his head; off black dot patterned silk stockings were rolled up his legs and attached to garters hanging beneath the corset. A short half slip that matched the camisole came next and he felt shoes with heels being placed on his feet. A translucent white silk blouse went up his arms and buttoned up his back and his feet lifted one at a time as he stepped into a skirt. The skirt was pulled up to his waist and zipped with his blouse tucked in. Anna touched up his hair and was spraying it as Sarah was touching up his makeup. A touch of an incredibly intoxicating perfume was added.
He felt a necklace being fastened around his throat, rings on his fingers and bracelets on his wrist. The last touch was a ladies diamond Rolex on his left wrist. The two girls stood and admired their work while he sat there. All total they had taken a little over an hour and a half. They stood him up and led him into his room. He had to walk carefully as he had never walked on three inch heels before and was quite wobbly. There was a tri-fold mirror set up in his room. Sarah had him close his eyes and they led him in front of the mirror. He stood there for five seconds before they told him to open his eyes.
When he opened them he couldn’t believe what he saw. Anna and Sarah were beautiful but he was in shock as he looked stunning. His hair had been given a Pixie cut and he had princess cut ruby drop earrings hanging from his ears. Around his neck was a gold chain with a larger princess cut ruby sitting on his chest. His breasts looked great beneath the princess collared white silk blouse and he could clearly see the patterning in the silk camisole. A black chiffon skirt hugged his hips and draped down to mid thigh, over his silk stockings into black patent leather pumps with three inch heels on his feet.
His eyes travel back to his face and he moved closer to the mirror. He had a hard time believing that it was him. His most striking feature was his eyes. From the high arc of his brows, to the silvery dark plumb shadow, the dark brown liner and mascara. Sarah had done an incredible job on his eyes. He was lost in his own gaze. Carlton couldn’t understand how any man’s gaze could drift down to stare at breasts after looking into such eyes. For several minutes he just stared and his eyes were misting. His dark red painted lips began to tremble. He was actually gorgeous.
“Don’t cry dear, if there is anything wrong we can fix it, nothing has been done permanent yet dear,” Sarah said.
“There is nothing wrong,” Carlton said trying to speak in a voice that matched the image he provided. “It’s just I have always been just a plain looking guy but you have made me look… I just can’t put it into words but I look like a stunning woman. It’s incredible; how?”
“Your uncle loved you a whole bunch Carlton and had us planning this for a long time. He had wanted to find a way for you to do this, while he was alive, but included it in his will hoping you would agree.
We knew all about you. From your height, weight, measurements, eye color, hair color, skin tones, to the things you liked. We took that information and put it together and came up with a plan. It would hurt us to hurt you dear. We loved John so much; he took care of us and asked us to take care of you.” Anna said.
Carlton just hugged the three girls that were with him. The girls just giggled as they realized that he liked what he saw. They saw him straighten up and look into the mirror. They stood in awe and could see a change come over him as if he had mentally shifted gears. A more feminine Carlton stood there. He simply glowed before them. They helped him walk around for a few minutes, he was far from expert, but at least he had not fallen on his face.
“Have you gotten a feminine name yet?” Belinda asked.
“Not yet but I think I would like Carly Marie Compton. Marie was mom’s middle name and Compton was her maiden name. I would like to honor her by taking them.”
“How sweet, Carly Marie Compton is a lovely name. It fits you well dear. Carly let’s go meet the others, they are waiting.” Sarah said.
Although the skirt allowed sufficient freedom of movement, the heels caused him to take shorter almost dainty steps. The girls kept giving him instruction in walking as they went. The going was slow but Carly was a quick study. They took five minutes for a one minute walk, to get to the library where Dana was entertaining Susan. Susan did a double take as Carly entered with the two girls. A look of wonder and surprise was on her face.
“My god is that you Carlton?” Susan asked. He was somewhat effeminate before but he was just plain feminine now.
“No Susan, it’s Carly. Carly Marie Compton, if you please.”
“Ok Carly Marie Compton, I will make the necessary changes to my files and I will expect you in my office at 11:00am on Monday and you better keep looking good, if you want to convince me. Now walk around, for me.”
For the next hour or so they coached Carly in walking, carrying her arms and such. Everyone pitched in, even Susan was suggesting and correcting. They had her sitting and standing. Crossing and uncrossing her legs while maintaining her modesty. They tried to instill the manners of a proper lady into Carly. She gained more confidence as they went, but she realized she would still be in school for a while.
The long day was starting to show on her, she was on the verge of exhaustion but refused to let that slow her down. Her feet, not used to heels were killing her. Finally Susan got everyone to relent; they all sat and talked for a few minutes. Susan wrote out a prescription and gave it to Dana who sent one of her girls out to get it.
Susan hugged Carly and thanked everyone for a wonderful evening. Terri was waiting for Susan in an immaculate Mercedes, and gave her a ride to her car.
Cindy returned from the pharmacy and handed Dana three bottles. One bottle had a mild tranquilizer, one a muscle relaxant, and the last an aide to sleep. Dana knew the meds well but still read the instructions and warnings carefully. Carly would not wind up another celebrity strung out on drugs, her health wrecked and her mind destroyed, not while she was alive.
“Carly before you take any medicine or pills promise to check with me dear. I don’t care which doctor prescribes them to you. I have a nursing degree and I know how doctors can prescribe all sorts of meds and are not really concerned about or paying attention to what they are doing. To many rich people think there are pills for everything, and wind up ruining their lives. All your uncle's money isn’t worth wrecking your life for, dear. If you carry this through you are going to be swallowing a lot of pills. I will teach you how to make intelligent choices in taking medicines. These three that Dr. Parker has prescribed are good in this case, but they may not be in other cases. Use your head; learn the way the meds work and how to recognize any of the bad side effects. It is your health.” Dana said handing Carly three pills and a glass of water.
“Yes Ma’am, I promise and thank you for caring.” Carly took the pills and swallowed them with a gulp of water.
“Anna, Sarah and Belinda you did a superb job with Carly today. Thank you so much, now take her and get her ready for bed.” Dana said, “I don’t expect you up Carly till at least 9:00 am but we will be ready for you if you get up earlier.”
Anna and Sarah escorted Carly upstairs; they made sure she kept her balance on her heels. Carly was doing better but she was obviously tired. She followed them to her room and helped her take off, her blouse, camisole, skirt, and half slip. Her corset was loosened a bit, but it was left on. They took her shoes and stockings off. She was helped into a chemise. She was led into the bathroom her face was cleansed, toned and moisturized. They took off her jewelry, put studs in her ears instead of the drops and brushed her hair. Carly was finally put in bed and the lights turned out. What she did not realize as she drifted into oblivion was Anna sitting in a chair watching over her as she slept.
(to be continued)
Carlton's Uncle always liked him although he lived on the fringe of his extended family. It was at the reading of his Uncle's will that Carlton found out just how much his Uncle cared for him. Carlton begins his transition into Carly.
The Bequest Ch. 2
by
Paula Dillon
Carly woke at her usual time of 6:00. She was use to the time; this gave her plenty of time to get ready for work. She was somewhat disoriented by her surroundings and the strange pressure on her chest.
“Morning Carly, how are you,” Sarah asked.
“Morning Sarah, were you up all night dear.”
“No Ma’am, I wasn’t, but there was someone here all night to comfort you in your new environment and trappings lest you panic, and to remind you to sit now to pee, since you have been rearranged down there somewhat.”
Carly tried to sit up but the corset gave her problems. Sarah came over and assisted her to stand. Carly threw her arms around Sarah and gave her a big hug.
“Thank you for all that you did. Everyone was so wonderful.” Carly whispered to her before releasing her.
The hug brought a tear to Sarah’s eye. It surprised her but it felt so good. “You’re welcome, dear. Your bathroom is right here. Dry yourself to as you will get a little wet when you pee.”
Carly headed to her bathroom. She walked on the balls of her feet as if she had heels on, and sat to pee after pulling her panties down. She took some tissue and dried herself. She stood and reached behind her and loosened the corset enough to unhooked the busk. It was strange working with these incredibly long nails. She laid the corset on the counter and took off her panties. Looking in the big mirror she saw herself. Her waist was somewhat narrowed by having worn the corset. Her breasts looked so real, as did her hips and butt. She giggled as she looked at her mound. It looked like any of the ladies pictures he (she) had seen before.
Carly reached in the shower and turned on the water.
“Sarah I am going to take a quick shower.”
“Ok do you need help getting out of the corset?”
“Nope, way ahead of your dear.”
The shower was a real nice European model with eight shower heads at various levels. Carly found a loofah and some shower gel that smelled divine. First she shampooed and conditioned her hair. Then she scrubbed herself with the loofah and gel. She was careful around her breasts, her mound and hips she didn’t know if they would peel off or not. She just loved that tuft of fur there.
Sarah was there waiting for her as she came out and dried her off. She then handed her a pair of white satin and lace panties. Sarah took a skin moisturize and worked it into her skin. It felt wonderful to Carly as Sarah worked. Deodorant for the pits, a soft silky powder, and then a matching white corset was wrapped around her. This corset didn’t go as low but it was very pretty.
“Your waist retained some of the shape from your previous corset dear and as you wear them more you will be able to have a more ladylike appearance even without them. But first we need to train your waist.”
“I saw that this morning Sarah and I liked how they helped me maintain my posture. So how tight are you going to shoot for today?”
“I am going to take four inches off your thirty inch waist, but you won’t notice it that much dear.”
Carly felt her whole insides being squeezed impossibly and her breath was taken away, but she endured it well. Sarah had Carly sit in the salon chair, and blow dried her hair. Makeup was next, Sarah was taking time to show Carly what she was doing.
“Sarah it was incredible what you did to my eyes last night. You got to show me how you did that. I just loved it.”
“That was a nighttime makeup Carly, but I will show you how to do them so they will always look good. You have some really great eyes, they are very easy to highlight dear. They are definitely you best facial feature. You can melt men’s hearts and look into their soul with those eyes.”
“Sarah I don’t know about men right now. I have never been attracted to them. That might change but I did love what you did.”
Sarah completed her makeup and as promised highlighted her eyes, but it was a different look. Carly’s eyes were no less attractive and just as stunning.
Sarah handed Carly a pair of pantyhose and told her how to put them on. Carly looked like she had done that before although she denied it. A matching camisole and half slip followed. Her outfit was completed with a powder blue long sleeve chiffon blouse, a white knee length twill skirt and the same pumps she wore the night before. Carly took time to revel in the soft silkiness of her clothes today. All her nerves were firing as the fabrics moved across her skin. She put on some bangles, a normal watch, a couple of rings and a light fragrance.
Carly looked at her appearance in the mirror. It was hard for her to believe that just yesterday she was a rather plain looking guy.
“Sarah, thank you so much for all you have done. Tell Dana I would like to have breakfast, in about an hour, with as many of the staff as possible please; if that would be alright?”
“Your welcome Carly and I will tell Dana.”
Carly walked around the room, she began to practice sitting, standing and such. She was interrupted by a lovely young lady who knocked at her door.
“Come in dear,” Carly said, “Hello I am Carly Compton.” She said holding out her hand.
“Hello Miss Compton, I am Randi Lewis.” She took Carly’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.
“When it is just me and the other staff you must call me Carly, ok. I want you all to be my friends.”
“Very good, then you must call me Randi. I would love to be your friend. My job is to teach you feminine deportment. You seem to have better than average skills already, but you will be like a flower blossoming when we are through. You will move like a lady, stand like a lady and act like a lady.”
“Ok we have a short time before breakfast, let’s begin.”
“Ok, when a lady walks it should look like she is gliding. Her arms are kept closer to her body and are not swung as she walks.” Randi said demonstrating as she spoke. “She walks like she is on a tight rope one foot in front of the other swinging her hips slightly as she walks. Never exaggerate any movement. Take smaller steps than you did as a male. Now it's your turn.”
Carly tried to copy the movements and action of Randi. Try as hard as she could she just wasn’t as graceful.
“Not bad, not bad at all for a start. You’re trying too hard, just relax and remember to glide. Flow into the room like a breeze dear. Hold your head high try not to bob it up and down. Keep your arms closer to your sides. That’s good, turn smoother dear. That is right, now sit. Smooth your skirt under you, as you sit and don’t plop down. Good. Now cross your legs at either the ankle, which is preferable, or at your knee. Try not to flash your panty dear. Again, but smooth the top of your skirt as you change legs. Hands folded together in your lap, back straight, not touching the chair. Very good. To stand, keep both feet together, knees together, push your chest forward and rise over your feet. Very good, don’t lean forward to stand, push your chest forward and rise. Now do it all again; walk around the room, turn, come back, sit, ankles, knees, hands, arms and stand.” Randi directed. “Better dear, again. Back straight when walking not leaning forward. Good you’re learning. I will give you an A+ for effort and a C+ for execution.”
Carly started to frown at the C+.
“Now don’t get frumpy dear, you were doing so well. Ladies don’t show frumpy. They may get mad as hell but they may never show it. Good that is better, smile show those pearly whites. You are lovely dear.”
“Thank you. Is it polite to hug?”
“Yes there are several hugs. The polite hug, one hand to back like this and an air kiss to either one cheek most of the time or to both cheeks like this.” Randi demonstrated. “A more familiar hug is like this, for a mother, father, a close friend. Don’t grind your chest into them dear, you are not out to seduce them, only light contact if any with your breasts. Now a hug for a very close friend in a not too public place, we can squeeze a little tighter your breasts can press into them but we still are not trying to seduce them. The more romantic hugs we will cover later. Very good, I love your hugs dear.”
“Thank you Randi. I like you,” Carly said.
A knock at the door was heard and Carly said, “Come in.”
Sarah entered and said, “Breakfast is ready, Carly.”
“Thank you Sarah, I will be down shortly. Randi, go on down I want to make my own entrance, and thank you again.”
Carly took a few minutes to steel herself before heading down stairs. She put one hand on the rail and the other on her skirt as she made her way down the stairs to the dining room. She stopped outside for a second to compose herself and entered the room. Everyone was there and standing behind a chair. She glided as best she could to the head of the table, turned as gracefully as she could and stopped by the chair. Head up, back straight, big smile on face.
“Hello, I am Carly Marie Compton, and I want to thank everyone for my welcome here yesterday. Everyone, when it is just us, please call me Carly, no Miss or Ma’am. I want to think of all of you as friends and co-workers. I know there are times for formalities and such, but at times like this we are friends. I understand that you have your jobs and I consider being a lady mine now. I would love to have your help. I know my Uncle cared for each of you. I want to care for you also, and according to his wishes this is your home. I would very much like to dine with many of you during the week. I hate eating alone. I hope this meets with your approval. I want to thank each of you again.”
Carly stood there for several seconds as her staff looked at her. She started to feel small but she just showed them a big smile. The silence seemed to hang in the air.
“Carly, I want to thank you for your kind words. You showed such grace and poise I would not have thought possible for just under half a day of training. I can say this and I believe my staff will agree that it will be a real pleasure assisting you. Randi whatever you did with her today keep it up.” Dana said and started to applaud.
The rest of the staff joined in the applause and their smiles beamed brightly.
“You have met Terri and Cindy, your chauffeurs. Anna is your upstairs maid and hairdresser. Sarah is your handmaid and makeup. Belinda is in charge of fashion and laundry, and Randi is deportment and your personal secretary. Mary is your voice coach and finance. You know George, our chef; and Vanessa and Nicolas are kitchen staff. Theresa is the downstairs maid; Denise is your head grounds keeper, with Eddy and Felicia as her assistants. These are your staff dear.”
We all sat down, except for Vanessa and Nicolas who began serving breakfast. Carly made sure she smoothed her skirt before she sat and sat up straight, her back away from the chair back, hands in her lap, and her ankles crossed. She was served first but she waited till all had been served and seated before starting to eat. She took her napkin and laid it across her lap. She ate in a dainty manner, a trait she had picked up from eating with the girls at the office. She listened intently to the conversation at the table and picked up what was proper and acceptable with these people. She joined in where she felt she could add to it in an intelligent manner. The girls were impressed that Carly was able to join right into their conversations.
After they had finished eating, Mary got Carly’s attention and together they paid their respects to the others. Carly followed Mary into another room where they sat. Nicolas delivered a pitcher of water and a couple of glasses.
“I am here to help you learn to talk and sound like a woman. We have all heard the cliché that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. Well honey, let me tell you, you look like a duck and walk like one but you don’t quack like one right now. This is the area that a lot of transgendered fail to pass in, and the big shame is if they had enough training they could easily pass. Take your voice for example you are just a hair or two from a normal female range, but the pitch of a voice doesn’t make it male or female. The things that make a voice sound male or female deal with resonance, range and enunciation more than pitch. I can talk in a baritone voice but I still sound female. You could talk in an alto and you would still be seen as a male. Close your eyes and listen to these voices and tell me if they are male or female.” Mary said starting an audio file on her laptop.
The file went through about ten different voices. Carly responded male and female to the voices.
“Ok, open your eyes and watch various speakers as they speak.” Mary restarted the file and various people spoke. One person provided three voices, which Carly misidentified twice. “One person there is a professional female impersonator. He can pass vocally as female but would never pass visually, so he does a parody of their appearance.”
Mary then had Carly do several vocal exercises and recorded her as she read off the screen of the laptop. Carly worked hard for over an hour. Mary then played back the first lesson and the last lesson. Carly could hardly tell any difference, but Mary was encouraging. Mary then gave Carly, an I-pod with a big MP3 lesson and exercise. She told her to listen and practice what she heard and talk, talk, talk girl.
About noon, Carly was kidnapped by Cindy, Belinda, and Randi. They actually made her go shopping. Carly was handed a purse made to fix her face and forcibly dragged to the Mercedes. Well they really didn’t kidnap her and they didn’t actually have to drag her; they just had to show her where it was parked. They took her to the mall. Carly started getting nervous the closer they got to the mall. She didn’t want to get out of the car when they parked, but they didn’t give her much choice. Carly tried to remember what Randi had drilled into her and she tried to glide.
Carly tried to pay attention to the people around them. Nobody seemed to pay any particular attention to them other than a few extra stares but they were looks of lust rather than revulsion. The first store they hit was the Gap. The sales lady took Carly’s measurements and gave her a size range for the various jeans. Belinda showed her some things and Carly was made to find others. After they had found about a half-dozen jeans and four tops Belinda led her to the fitting room. Hesitating for a few seconds she steeled her nerves and entered.
Carly stepped out of her heels, took off her skirt and blouse. The jeans Carly was trying to put on were tight. She almost wished she had a shoe horn. She finally got the pants worked up her legs. She felt the pants pull up her crack as she pulled the waist up, and somehow she got them buttoned. Stepping back into her heels she went out to the mirror. She was admiring them when Belinda came up behind her.
“Those look great girl. I like your corset with them.”
“Oh I forgot to put a blouse on.” Carly started to dash into her cubicle to get it.
“Don’t bother girl, plenty of girls wear a corset as a top. That combo looks GOOOOOD on you.”
“The jeans are way too tight,” Carly complained.
“That’s the way we wear them. We will get four pair like those and a pair or two of the relaxed fit jeans for knocking around but you definitely want those.”
Carly wound up with a dozen jeans, all of them tight but two pair, and a dozen tops. Cindy made arrangements for them to be delivered to the mansion.
Their next stop was the lingerie shop her corsets had come from. They selected dozens of bras and panties, chemises, camisoles, slips, stockings, pantyhose, nighties, six more corsets (tighter than the previous corsets) and everything else that a girl would need. Although money was not a problem now, she still winced when she heard the final price.
Slowly she started to really get into this shopping thing, and began enjoying herself. She found herself buzzing around the various shops looking at various lines of clothing. Belinda taught her, what went with what, and what would work best with her. She even started picking out things for the other girls to try.
They entered a shop that specialized in Professional Women’s Business clothing. Carly picked out a couple of suits that were off the Rack.
“Belinda you may think this is strange but I love women’s business suits. I know they aren’t as sexy as other clothing but the girls at the office really looked great in their suits.”
“Suits are a power image Carly, they say I am a woman but I still have power. Let’s find you some suits that make you look good girl.”
They hit the racks and found four suits that complimented Carly well, so she took them to the fitting room. Two of them fit like a glove and needed no alterations, the other two they discarded, and Belinda arranged to have three more hand tailored for Carly. Carly liked the two piece black suit so much she chose to wear it out. It had a fitted mid thigh length skirt, a short slit in the front left side and a very tight fit at the waist. Belinda assured her that it would be ok. The jacket had wide lapels that came down in a deep v to a single button. Carly’s blouse fit in well with the suit. Belinda made Carly change the shade of her pantyhose to a darker black, and buy a scarf, a purse, a wallet and a pair of pumps with a four inch heel to go with the suit.
“Good suits are good suits, but it’s in accessorizing them that makes them stand out. A scarf here, a lapel pin there, the right jewelry, all can make a woman look right.”
They hit the mall. Carly found the new heels more precarious. Her steps were forced to be shorter and her hips developed a little more swing. This had the girls giggling as they saw Carly move. Randi was very pleased with her pupil. Keeping control of her purse helped keep her right arm in a more feminine position, and her left looked very natural.
Carly saw one of the girls from work and without thinking went after her. Cindy moved to stop her but was too late.
“Sheryl how are you?”
Sheryl turned to where her name was called and had a very strange expression on her face as she saw a strange woman headed to her.
“Hello, do I know you?”
“Of course Sheryl,” Carly said as she came to a stop and then realized that Sheryl knew Carlton, not Carly.
Carly’s friends caught up to her and stopped by her side, as a look of recognition sprang on Sheryl’s face.
“Sheryl why don’t we all have a cup of coffee over at that shop, dear,” Randi said.
Sheryl walked next to Carly as they entered the store. They all took their seats in the corner, while Cindy took everyone’s orders and headed to the counter.
“Sheryl I think Carly has something to tell you. Please let her finish before you say anything.”
“Sheryl I am sorry if I startled you dear, there have been some things I have been meaning to discuss with you and the rest of the girls.” Carly improvised.
“You’re finally becoming a women right.” Sheryl said.
“Well yes, how did you know?” Carly sputtered, “Well I guess it is rather obvious seeing how I am dressed.”
“Oh Carly this is just the icing on the cake, several of the girls at work have been wondering about you for a long time dear.”
“You mean you talked about me doing this?” Carly asked in an incredulous tone, “They must think I am a freak then.”
“Not in the least Carly, believe me; they have been rooting for you. There will be some at work that won’t accept it and it won’t be easy for you dear; but there are quite a few of us that will stand by you.”
“I don’t think I am coming back to work Sheryl.”
“Yes you are dear; you don’t need to worry about how you will be treated.”
“You don’t understand, it’s not that I don’t want to, but that….”
“I won’t hear it dear, you’re coming back to work if I have to get a truck load of the girls and we have to drag you back. You can’t throw away a good job like that, besides we need you and you know it. Now be a dear and introduce your friends to me.”
Carly was lost in thought for a few seconds. In a way it was true, for a lot of their work Carlton was an important figure. It wasn’t that he was irreplaceable but it would take them a while to get Carlton’s replacement up to speed. The company could lose accounts, while that happened. It wouldn’t hurt Carly to leave work but it could affect the others left behind.
“Well Carly are you going to introduce me or am I going to have to hang a sign around my neck?”
“Oh sorry Sheryl, Sheryl this is Randi Lewis, Belinda Keys and the girl bringing our drinks is Cindy Reed. I sorta moved in with them this last week. Randi, Belinda and Cindy this is Sheryl Smith, one of my favorite co-workers.”
The girls hit it off with Sheryl and they were all soon trading gossip. The girls had heard enough that they were able to fall in line and not give Carly away.
“The three of us work for the same employer. We have known Carlton for a while and when we found out he wanted to transition we insisted Carly move in with us. We think she is just great. We are teaching her about being a woman.” Cindy said.
“Really? That is interesting. It is good she found some nice people to help her. I am sure that there are some of us at work who would love to help her. What all are you teaching her?”
“Well I am teaching her how to move, act, and present herself as a woman. I think she is doing great I haven’t had to teach her all that much, I bet she picked up a lot from the girls she works with,” Randi said.
“You’re right about that Randi, she was the odd man out at work, and she didn’t fit in with the guys that’s for sure. I guess that is why she worked so hard to fit in with us girls. Carlton was a bit awkward at first, but he helped us out in so many ways and tried hard to fit in with us. Never in a pushy masculine way, he never pushed us with sexual advances, or told crude jokes; he just worked to become one of the girls. Now he is one of us. Poor guy I know he took a lot of grief over it, but he was too valuable to us for the macho types to run off.”
Carly felt weird hearing herself talked about like that, but Sheryl was being so sweet.
“I am teaching Carly about fashion. She seems to know so much about it already. I am just polishing what I guess you girls started. I assume you talked about clothes and such around Carlton?”
“Carlton spent a lot of time with us away from work, and we do have some clothes horses at work so we often talked about that. I must say Carly that the girls at work are going to be so jealous of you, you are absolutely gorgeous. You are going to have to fight guys off. I would never have thought you would look so good. I would never have recognized you if it wasn’t for your voice dear, a little work and nobody would ever know.”
“Thank you Sheryl, I know this may seem awfully sudden, but I felt I needed a clean break with my past. I am just afraid about how I will be perceived at work. I am not doing this to make fun of the girls. It is just something I felt I had to do.”
“Well said, Carly. I think you will do just fine,” Sheryl smiles a big genuine smile at Carly.
We all got up to leave; Sheryl gave us all hugs, especially Carly.
“See you Monday, girl.”
“Ok, Sheryl, I am afraid I will need your help to grease the squeaky wheels.”
They had to hit some more shops.
“Oh lordy, what have I got myself into now.” Carly muttered.
“I think you did quite well, Carly. Not quite the truth but not really lying. I think she is such a nice lady Carly,” Randi added. “Going to work as a woman will be good for you, you can see how the other side makes a living. It will be a good teaching tool also. What exactly do you do Carly?”
“I worked as an expediter for an interior design company. We don’t carry an inventory and our design coordinators depend on me to see that they have what they need when they need it. Nobody does what I do for the company. So my job is pretty important. Without me the coordinators have to hustle their own supplies. I guess I could work for a couple of weeks and train my replacement.”
“That is not a bad idea,” commented Cindy.
“Well if you are going to work on Monday we have got to get cracking.”
They picked up more work style clothes, a cell phone, a PDA, briefcase, and more moderately priced jewelry. A stop at the Este Lauder counter had the three girls busy selecting makeup that Carly could learn and use.
After a day of shopping madness, we finally headed home arriving at about 6:00 that evening. Everybody whistled as Carly entered. Belinda made her change out of the suit into an evening dress before dinner. It was an ankle length of oriental styling made of corded turtle and knot type closures, a dragon was beaded into the black silk dress with slits up the sides to the hip. She kept Carly in her four inch heeled pumps. A change of jewelry and makeup and she was ready for dinner.
Randi appeared dressed in an evening dress as well. She was there to instruct her in walking in the ankle length dress. Although her feet hurt from being in heels all day Carly took it in stride. She found walking in a long dress a little more difficult, but was soon walking like any other girl. Belinda appeared, nicely attired, and together they headed to the dinning room. Carly was handed an evening bag to carry with her like she was out somewhere else.
The girls stood by their chairs till Nicolas and Eddy assisted them to sit. Everyone looked so nice, the guys in tuxes and the ladies in formal dresses, Carly made sure to comment and compliment each of them. Dana especially looked like a Grand Dame. She could easily mix with royalty. She was graceful and lovely in a stately sort of way. The table was set in a formal dinner setting with a whole slew of utensils and glasses by each place. Randi was sitting to Carly’s left and was instructing her in etiquette. The meal was served in courses, first was an array of Hors d’oevers, soup, appetizers, sorbet, fish entree, bread and salad, and finally desert. They had three different wines with the various courses, and a brandy after dinner. Carly had never eaten in this manner but she paid attention to the others instead of asking questions.
After dinner she was made to fix her makeup from her evening bag. This was something she had not done yet, but again, she followed the other girl’s leads and powdered her face and touched up her lipstick. After dinner they had a sort of mixer like a cocktail party. Carly took a snifter of brandy, not exactly a lady-like drink but she liked it. She was shown how to move from one group to another, socializing along the way. She was not allowed to just stand in one place, but was escorted from one group to another till she moved between groups on her own. She had to engage in polite conversation with each group.
At the end of it, they all sat around and Carly had to describe her day in as much detail as possible. She got a rise out of everybody as she described seeing a friend that Carlton worked with, and calling out to her, forgetting that she was Carly now. The girls complimented her handling of the incident. They giggled again as she told them that she was roped into working for at least a little while. The fact that Sheryl and other female coworkers had seen a woman in Carlton made them smile at each other. Cindy, Belinda and Randi made her give more in-depth details. They all agreed that it would be a good place for her to expand her female experience.
At about 11:00, Dana called an end to everything and Carly was taken to her room. Sarah had her remove her own makeup and take care of her skin. She removed her jewelry, hung her dress, and removed her shoes and pantyhose. Sarah didn’t loosen her corset like before but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it had been that morning. Carly put on her chemise and gave Sarah a good hug before lying down in bed. She was asleep before Sarah closed the door to her room.
Carly woke, still a little unsure of her environ, but she quickly recovered. She got up and took care of her morning business. She worked her way out of the corset and jumped into the shower. She inspected her chest closely and saw that the breast forms were still attached well and really matched her skin tone. The seams were hard to detect and the breasts felt pretty natural, not that Carlton had ever handled any real breasts.
Carly dried herself off and found a silk kimono robe in ice blue, and silk panties. She put them on and entered her room. Sarah was waiting for her.
“Morning Carly, how are you today?”
“Morning Sarah, do you ever sleep dear?”
“Yes, but I was going to ask you the same question.”
“I never sleep more than six and a half hours. I usually get up this early anyway, to get ready for work. It carries over to my days off.”
“Ok, I know the feeling Hun. Well, let me take your waist measurements Carly.”
Carly opened her robe and Sarah wrapped a measuring tape around her.
“Twenty six and a half inches very good I think we should shoot for twenty four inches that will give you a very nice 38-24-36 figure. What would you like to wear today dear?”
“How about I wear one of my corsets, jeans with an open camp shirt.”
“Sounds daring but not overly so.” Sarah went to the dresser and selected a teal satin corset that was very pretty and fitted it on Carly. She tightened it unmercifully, till Carly was down to at least twenty three inches. She then handed her a pair of pantyhose, which Carly carefully pulled on. Carly then worked her way into a tight fitting low rise pair of jeans. It took her several minutes to work the jeans on but buttoning them was quite easy. They only came up just over the top of her panties. She had to roll her pantyhose down beneath the waist band.
“They look great but how do women put up with skin tight jeans?” Carly asked putting on the camp shirt and admiring herself in the mirror.
“They do it so they can attract the attention of men dear.”
“I don’t know that I want to attract the attention of men, I still like women. Is that strange?”
“Then look good for yourself, and to attract women. Women like to admire pretty women also. I think that if everybody was honest most people at some time or other question their own sexuality, attraction and roles. More and more people are seeking a transgender solution to their lives. Openly it is less acceptable for men to express their femininity but why, after all, it is just another aspect of humanity.”
“Ok I will accept that, for now.”
“Let me teach you basic makeup today. You will need to be able to do your own away at work.”
Carly followed Sarah’s instructions as best she could. She found out it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Applying eyeliner and shadow was the hardest. It was an hour trying before she started to get acceptable results. It was work but Carly was having fun. She really wanted to be able to do her eyes like Sarah had done hers. It was about 8:30 so they broke for breakfast. Carly looked pretty good, at least as good as the average lady.
It was Dana, Randi, Mary, and Terri for breakfast. They complimented Carly on her appearance. They had omelets for breakfast today. Vanessa brought out hot tea instead of coffee for another new taste for Carly.
After breakfast it was Mary who occupied Carly’s time. For two hours she listened and talked, listened and talked. One voice exercise followed after another. Again Mary played Carly’s first and last attempt from the previous day, and the first and last from today. Mary was pleased with the results; Carly could hardly tell one from the other.
“There is a lot of difference from the first yesterday to the last today playing them first to last disguises the progress. I can’t say when, or if, you will sound completely female Carly. I believe you will, but I can’t say that with a 100% certainty. It may take one month, six months, or a year, then again next week you might make a major break through. You will start to see more people on the phone Ma'aming you. Yes ma’am, no ma’am, how can I help you ma’am. When you see that happen, that is when you will understand.”
Carly was tired and was headed to the kitchen to get a drink when she heard the chime for the front door. Without thinking she headed to the door and opened it. There stood Jessica Herman.
“Hello Jessie, come on in,” Carly replied.
Jessica came in staring at Carly knowing something wasn’t right.
“Oh shit, oh shit!” Carly said. She turned as Theresa arrived, “Better get Dana, Theresa; we will be in the library. Jessie please come with me and let me explain if I can.”
A very confused Jessica followed Carly into the library. She sat in the chair Carly indicated. She never took her eyes of Carly.
Dana arrived shortly and made all the connections she needed.
“Hello Miss Jessica. How are you?”
“I am not sure Dana. Is this who I think it is?”
“Well, I am not sure unless you indicate the supposed identity dear.”
“Jessie It is Carly now, Carly Marie Compton is what I go by now.”
“Carly as in Carlton Herman?”
“I don’t think Carlton would fit me anymore do you?”
“No, you definitely don’t look like a Carlton, but why?”
“I won’t lie to you Jessie, I have always liked you, but I need my sixty days or as many of them as I can have before the rest of the clan find out. I am becoming what you see Jessie. I know it is weird and strange, but now I need your help. I know I won’t be able to keep this secret, but I would like to present it as a fait accompli.”
“It was a shock, Carly. Carlton was the only person ever to call me Jessie. I liked you for doing it. I just couldn’t resolve what I was seeing and hearing to anybody I knew. The familial resemblance is there and your voice sounded a lot like Carlton, but you don’t look or sound like the old Carlton I knew.”
“The appearance is smoke and mirrors with a good application of makeup, a lot of silicone and glue. I can honestly say though, I really want it to be real, Jessie.”
“Well, Carly you really are stunning. If I had met you on the street I would have walked right by you and never have recognized you. If I heard you on the phone I would probably have figured it out but I would have wondered what happened to your voice.”
“I have spent 3 hours plus working with a voice coach and another five hours just practicing. My throat is a little tight now from all the work Jessie. I need to ask you to keep this between us now. I could just imagine what the others will say when they do find out.”
“Well Carly, they won’t hear it from me so you can rest that pretty head of yours. Stand up and walk back and sit for me please.”
Carly composed herself a second put her feet together in front of her, pushed her chest forward keeping her head level stood gave her best walk, turn, walk, turn and sit. She didn’t really think about it she just did it.
“My god, you look like you have been doing it all your life.”
“This is just my third day Jessie. I won’t go into why but it has just been great being Carly. What is your day like? Do you have anything planned, or can you stay for dinner Jessie.”
“I know how dressy Dana likes dinner to be, and I don’t have anything to wear. I guess I have plenty of time to go home and change.”
“I know I have something you can wear dear. You might have to put on a corset though,” Carly giggled.
Jessica looked at Carly’s waist, “Is that how you got your waist so small?”
Carly sat up a little straighter if that was possible to show off her waist, and flashed a smile at Jessica.
“I know this is hard to take Jessie, but how do you feel about it.”
“I am not that surprised Carly in a lot of ways you were like a girlfriend to me, but seeing you go from plain to a babe in three days, is a shock to my system.”
“You should see it from my side girl. I had never done anything like this. Some people I know encouraged and helped me, and voila.”
“Well they certainly did a good job.”
“You think I look good now? These are just rags, wait till you see me dressed to the nines, girl.”
Dana, seeing Carly had defused the current situation, at least for now, left them to talk.
Carly and Jessica wound up in her room. She showed Jessica all her new things. Somehow it became like high school girls checking out each other’s wardrobe. Jessica was pulling things out for Carly to model and Carly got Jessica to dress in some of her things. Jessica did need to put on a corset; Carly’s clothes were fitted tight at the waist. Jessica showed no embarrassment as Carly fastened a corset around her, and Carly showed no mercy when tightening the corset.
When Belinda, Anna and Sarah showed up the girls were in their undies between changes. Anna took Jessica to another room and started working on her hair. Belinda picked out dresses for both. Sarah started on Carly’s makeup concentrating on making her eyes, killer eyes.
Carly was dressed in an ankle length pink taffeta evening dress. It was form fitting, cowl neck, with puffed short sleeves. She wore a diamond encrusted necklace and matching bracelet. On her feet were matching pink satin pumps with 4 inch heels. Carly marveled that they had all these things ready for her arrival they had been so sure of her compliance. She was handed a small pink satin purse with the necessary accoutrements she would need if she really went out for a formal function.
The dress only was slit to slightly above the knee and it was the most confining dress she had worn yet. She could only move her knees inches and most of her movement was only by her lower legs. Randi made her practice walking some more in it, and gave her instructions for descending the stairway.
There was a knock at her door and Sarah entered. She looked like a dream in her knee length chiffon dress in a royal blue. “Your date is here Carly.”
Carly must have had a panicked expression on her face because Sarah took her hand and said, “Don’t look so worried we have him well reigned in dear.”
They left Carly’s room and found the others waiting at the head of the stairs. Jessica was simply beautiful in her beaded floor length gown of deep green. It had a deep V neckline that showed off her lovely cleavage and she was adorned with emeralds at strategic places. Five men looking very refined stood talking to Jessica and Anna. As Carly, Sarah and Randi arrived. A man stopped before each Lady and made their introductions before offering each an arm as they were escorted down the stairs. Rob was the gentleman who stood in front of Carly. He was about 6 feet tall and could have graced the cover of GQ magazine. He was handsome but he did nothing for her. She still flirted with him because she knew it was expected.
They went to a ballroom and were offered flutes of Champaign, and the couples mixed about the ball room. There were ten couples with the rest of the staff acting as wait staff. Carly’s date went to get her a refill of Champaign.
Dana approached and asked, “Are you enjoying yourself dear?”
Carly thought for a second before replying, “Yes I am. Where did these guys come from Dana?”
“Oh, these guys are hired guns, from a professional escort service, and they know better than to get out of line with anyone here tonight. I just wanted you to learn to be able to feel comfortable in situations like this in the future. You are doing so well, I doubt your date suspects. He also knows better than to make any suspicions known or to ask for another date Carly.”
Carly’s date arrived back just minutes before the dinner bell rang. He took the Champaign flute from her and escorted her to the dining room. Rob helped her with her chair and sat beside her.
The meal was served in courses and the conversation was lively. While not exactly at ease, Carly still managed to acquit herself quite admirably. Jessica sat across from Carly and they often caught each others eyes. Sarah had done a marvelous job on Jessica’s makeup, but Carly knew she had better eyes, but none of the girls here held a candle to Dana. Carly wondered where these thoughts had come from, now she was comparing her appearance to the other girls, trying to figure out who is prettiest.
Rob was charming and attentive to her, but it was easy to tell she was overtly not his type. He kept eyeing Randi’s date, across and down the table, it seemed. It is amazing what you can pick up by being attentive and using your peripheral vision. Carly found out that when not escorting pretty young damsels, Rob worked in advertising as an artist. He drew storyboards and other advertising artwork. He wasn’t a main cog in the organization but he made them look good. Carly told Rob she was an expediter for an interior design company which drew some interesting looks, as she described her job.
After dinner they retired back to the ballroom. Carly and Rob made the rounds talking with the various couples. The evening went well for her, and she found herself relaxing in her role. It was getting late, and she was going to go to work tomorrow, so she and Rob went over to each couple and made their goodbyes. Goodbyes seemed to take forever as a girl. She stopped by Jessica and her date.
“Jessie I am sorry. I am going to have to go to work tomorrow, so I really need to get to sleep. I hate to leave such gracious company.”
“I understand dear, I will drop by your room dear before I leave.” Jessica said hugging Carly, and giving her an air kiss.
Carly made her last stop at Dana. She marveled at how regal Dana appeared.
“Dana I am going to work Monday and I will need to get up early to be able to get there and function. So I will need to say good night dear.”
Dana took Carly by the arm and escorted her to the doorway, Rob by her side. The couples came by, one by one, polite hugs and handshakes were made, with polite goodbyes as they departed.
Rob escorted her to the foot of the stairs.
“Thank you Rob, I have had a wonderful evening. Take care, dear.”
“You’re welcome, Carly. I have had a great time being your date tonight.”
Carly gave Rob a peck on his cheek leaving a tell-tale lip print, and waved at Rob as she ascended the stairs.
In her room, she managed to remove her dress before Sarah arrived, and removed her shoes and stockings. Sarah supervised her skin care routine making sure she got everything right and helped her into her chemise. A knock was heard at her door. Carly put on her silk Kimono and opened the door. Jessica stood there looking still oh so pretty in her own clothes.
“Come in Jessie.”
Jessica entered Carly’s room, while Sarah retired from there, and said, “Thank you Carly for a wonderful afternoon and evening. I haven’t had such a good time in a while. You are such a gracious hostess dear.”
“Hostess?”
“Yes dear, from what I could see you were the acting hostess, and you acquitted your self quite admirably, as a hostess. You made everyone feel welcome.”
Jessica approached Carly and gave her a big hug. “Carly if there is anything you need, or if you just need a friend or a shoulder to cry on you will call me, won’t you.”
“Yes Jessie, I will call you. I am going to need all the help I can get. It would mean so much to me, if you would be there for me. I have always been quite fond of you, and it feels so good having you here now.”
Carly kissed Jessica’s cheek and released her hug on her. Jessica pulled Carly back for a second and left a kiss on her lips before leaving. It was not a lover’s kiss, not really, but it still burned into Carly’s consciousness. She dreamed of that kiss as she slept.
(to be continued)
The Brain
by
Paula Dillon
Beth Carlyle sat alone in a quiet corner of the lunch room at her new high school. It was a Monday, the beginning of her second week there as a junior and the third week of the new school year. It had taken less than three days there before some dumb ass macho jock to make her life miserable. He had made a play for her attention and she rejected him, in revenge he and his cronies had spread the L word around with her name.
Yes she looked at other girls, measuring up her looks with theirs and she could appreciate a girl who took the time to look good, but she just didn’t know which way her sexuality was headed at this time. She knew she had her fill with the macho jerk types; the last one she spent her time with all but raped her. She resented the masculine ethos, her own father had run off with another woman from his office several years ago, but a lesbian she didn’t know if that word could be applied to her.
Beth looked up and saw a very cute but plain girl headed her way. No wait… maybe not a girl, but very cute anyway. She/he was about five foot four maybe taller (an inch or two shorter than Beth was), a cute face, piercing blue eyes, short pug nose, high cheek bones, long strawberry blonde hair tied back in a pony tail, a sleek figure, but a very flat chest. This person was dressed in an extra large plaid shirt on a small to medium frame, baggy jeans and cross trainer shoes.
“Hi I am Greg, Greg Thomas, you’re new here aren’t you?” He said in a voice that was ambiguous at best.
“Hi I am Beth Carlyle, and aren’t you afraid of being seen with a lesbian?”
“Why do you have something catching?”
Beth giggled, she was starting to like this guy, “No, not really.”
“Can I sit down here and join you for lunch? I usually sit over here where it’s quiet too.”
“If you’re not afraid that it will damage your reputation go ahead.”
“Don’t worry about that, I don’t move in their circles.”
“Whose circles?”
“Anybodies, you name it.”
“Why are you a leper?”
Greg gave her a small strained smile, “No, nothing like that I am just smarter than all of them put together.”
“Oh, you must be the one they call ‘The Brain’.”
Greg blushed and looked a little frustrated as he sat his tray down and sat in a chair across from Beth. He didn’t realize just how cute he looked doing it.
“Yeah that is me, I even have my Pinky and the Brain T-shirt. On one side Pinky asks ‘What are we going to do tonight.’ The Brain answers, ‘The same thing we do every night, try to take over the world.’”
Beth nearly choked on her drink, “Word gets around this school faster than free concert tickets. I thought they were just making things up about a local genius.”
“It’s true, I are him.”
“They say you’re smart enough to go to college right now.”
“Yep, I have an IQ somewhere between 185 and 195. I already have an offer of full scholarships from MIT, UC Berkley and Stanford. I could leave today.”
“Then why don’t you.”
“I have a hard enough time getting respect right now, trying to fit in with my age group, imagine what it would be like at MIT for a fifteen year old boy.”
“Oh yeah, I see your point, but how do you survive here at all?”
“That is the easy part, they are cracking down on the educational fitness of the jocks, you know, “no pass, no play” type things, and no more free passing grades because you’re the star quarterback or such. This school’s athletic program is under an intense microscope right now. I spend half my day in my classes and the other half tutoring the jocks. I made a deal with them, they don’t pick on me or let others pick on me and I help them make the grade. They don’t like me though and that’s alright with me cause I don’t like them.”
“So you do their homework for them, so what.”
“Are you kidding, the coach has someone in there watching them making sure they do their own work. It really tickles me that they are being brought to heel.”
“I know what you mean,” Beth said, “but what about the rest of the nerds.”
Greg’s face got darker and Beth regretted using the “N” word. She was starting to really like this guy and was sorry she had hurt him.
“They can be as bad as anybody else. You see nerds compete for the best grades and can’t stand it when someone upstages them. There can be only one number one at a high school, the rest are also ran’s. You see they are competing for scholarships too and some go only to the best. You know what you get when you have a class full of geniuses and grade on the curve?”
“No, what?”
“A room full of ulcers.”
“Oh really.”
“Yes really. Of the rest, I’m not a hunk for the girls, and the guys think I am a sissy. I really hate that word.”
Beth noticed his eyes moistening, but he fought back the tears. The girls here are missing a really great guy she thought.
Beth looked at the clock and saw that lunch was about over and gathered her stuff.
“Well I need to go to the ladies, and lunch is about over. I will see you here tamale, I guess,” she said, winking at him sexily.
Greg groaned at the pun and blushed at the wink, but he was still smiling, so he felt better.
>>>>><<<<<
The rest of Beth’s day went by slowly. She was distracted by thoughts of Greg. It had really been good meeting him; he was definitely not like other guys.
After school Beth started her trek home, she only lived about seven blocks away. As she headed out she noticed Greg’s blonde head bobbing up ahead of her.
“Hey Greg hold up,” she hollered as she trotted to catch up to him. “You live this way too?
“Yeah, I live about ten blocks away on White Oak street,” Greg replied shyly
“Hey that’s just blocks away from where I live. Let’s walk together.”
The two kids talked about their days at school. Greg really liked talking about all the dirt he knew about the other students at school.
“The star quarterback’s parents had pushed their son to take harder courses so he could get better scholarship offers. He is definitely going to a big school, he can throw a nice spiral forty-five yards and drop it in a bucket, but calculus isn’t his cup of tea. The funny thing is though; he is smart enough to do it if he just put in some effort. He had gotten by, by pressuring his teachers to pass him but that is in the past. One of the teachers blew the whistle to the state athletics regulators. Sad thing, they reassigned the teacher to another school. I hear she is a social pariah there. Some of the linemen though must have single digit IQ’s. Must be all those impacts those guys take on the line,” Greg chimed.
“You know all high schools are like that, boy’s athletics are king, girl’s athletics and academics take a back seat. You won’t remember who was Valedictorian this year, but hey what about that QB,” Beth said.
“Academics to a point that is. There are too many teachers that only teach to the middle of the curve, those above and below average are left to fend for themselves. Mom says it is the dumbing down of America.” Greg pointed out. “They don’t want to make little Suzy or little Johnny look dumb and hurt their self actualization. So we wind up with a bunch of under educated people and tech jobs go Asia.”
They came up to Beth’s house. “This one is mine.”
“I live two blocks north and one block west of here.”
“Is you Mom waiting at home for you?”
“No, she is working and won’t be home till six thirty.”
“What about your Dad?”
“He died seven years ago, in a construction accident,” Greg said shyly.
Beth felt a pang of guilt, at opening a wound in Greg, “Oh I am so sorry Greg. I shouldn’t have been so nosey.”
“It’s Ok, I’ll survive, what about you Mom and Dad?”
“Mom is a big time corporate lawyer, Dad ran off with her secretary. Figure that out. She is working and won’t be home till about seven fifteen. Want to come in and help me with my homework?”
Greg looked like a deer caught in headlights, and then he looked down at his shoes and hemmed and hawed for several seconds.
“I promise I won’t bite you. At least not too hard,” Beth giggled. It had been a long time since she had played with anyone like this.
“Ok,” was Greg’s one word reply.
They went up to the front door and Beth keyed in her security code into the alarm pad, unlocked the door and led Greg inside.
>>>>><<<<<
Twenty miles away, Sandra Larson’s PC beeped. She clicked the icon on her task bar and clicked on the front hall camera at her home. She smiled as she saw her daughter Beth come in with a girlfriend… no wait that’s a boy… or is it, she thought as her eyebrow arched. Hmmm… I’ll just keep an eye on them, she thought.
>>>>><<<<<
“Nice house you have,”
“It’s as nice as yours if you live in this neighbor hood.”
“Yeah, but I like it anyway.”
Beth led them to the kitchen where they set their books down on the breakfast table.
“Wait here while I go change, it will only take a minute.”
“Ok.”
Beth went to her room and shed her skirt, pantyhose, heels and blouse. She selected a T-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes. Then she cleaned her makeup off, brushed her hair out a bit, added a touch of pink lipstick and sprayed a little perfume on.
>>>>><<<<<
Sandra kept an eye on the child. She had the security camera windowed on top of her work, while she researched in Westlaw’s archives.
>>>>><<<<<
Beth returned to the kitchen, where she really did get Greg to help her. She liked the way he made things seem easier than her teachers did. She was a little uncomfortable when he put his arm over the top of her chair and leaned a little closer to her, but she realized that he was extremely intent on showing her how to do the problem.
Greg was a little uncomfortable being so close to an actual living breathing girl, but he found her scent intoxicating. It took a monumental effort to concentrate on their work, but once focused he became almost machine like.
Beth wasn’t a dummy but she did have trouble understanding some mathematical concepts and she liked science although it was very hard for her. Greg was able to translate her work into easy terms. “Why can’t math and science teachers teach this way? Why do they always make it sound so mystical?”
“I don’t know, I think they have most of the knowledge, but some of them lack the communication skills or the desire to effectively transmit that knowledge. Of course some teachers are absolutely incompetent.”
Beth became absolutely giddy when she was able to complete several problems rapidly by herself. She turned toward Greg, hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. As she hugged him she felt what must have been a long line bra or waist nipper under the t shirt and shirt he was wearing. No he didn’t have boobs or a small waist, whatever, she thought.
When she broke the hug, she saw that Greg was a pretty shade of crimson, but had a cute smile on his face.
“So you want to watch TV for a bit, looks like you have an hour to get home.”
“Not today, I have to get dinner started for Mom.”
“Oh, you cook too?”
“Well sorta, I get things together so Mom can throw them into the pot. I could probably cook as well as she does, it is a bit like chemistry after all, but she really likes to do that for me. Mom is so tired when she gets home after work. I do a lot of the housework for her.”
Greg just moved up tremendously in Beth’s estimation, “Ok, see ya, Greg.”
>>>>><<<<<
“Hey sweetheart how was your day?” Sandra said as she entered her home and saw her daughter.
“Great, how was yours Mom.”
“Oh same ole, you know how it is for a lawyer, all that research, meetings, more research, writing, more meetings and phone calls ad nauseam. And your day?”
“Well I finally made a friend at school who isn’t hitting on me. His name is Greg, he lives two blocks away and he is a really sweet guy. Oh and he is a certified genius. He makes math so understandable I may even get an ‘A’ in Algebra II and in Chemistry II also.”
“Great, he sounds too good to be true. I thought you have given up on boys, dear.”
Beth looked thoughtful for several seconds before continuing, “He isn’t like other guys, he’s sort of an outcast like me.”
Sandra didn’t want to push her daughter too much, but there were things she wanted to know, “What do you mean?”
“Well he is small for his age, I don’t think he has any friends at school. He’s kinda cute, but not in a manly way. He is just different,” Beth said,
“Ok, sweetheart just be careful.”
>>>>><<<<<
Tuesday through Thursday went by like Monday had. Greg and Beth ate lunch together then studied together at her house. Beth touched and hugged him when they were in her home and Greg began to relax more being with her. They began to bond with each other, unlike either one of them had ever done before.
Friday Beth asked, “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Saturdays, I like to spend about 4 hours in the library studying things I like. Mom only works half a day. We get together at about two and do some things together?”
“Can I come with you to the library?”
Greg blushed a bit, “I guess, if you want too. I am sure that it will bore you to tears.”
“If you don’t want me to come that’s ‘OK’,” Beth said. She regretted the emphasis she put on ‘OK’.
“It’s Ok, it just me and a few college nerds getting together to butt heads a bit. We help solve each other’s problems and I get to have an intellectual discussion on my level. That’s all.”
“If you don’t want me to come, that’s alright. I just wanted to get out of the house a bit.”
“No, please come. If we bore you too much there is quite a bit you can do at the library.”
“Ok, when will you be by to pick me up.”
Greg thought a bit, “I catch the bus on Stanton drive at eight thirty. I guess I should be here about seven forty-five then.”
Great, there goes my beauty sleep Beth thought, “Ok, I will be ready when you get here.”
Beth gave him a big hug when it was time for him to leave. She swore he was purring like a cat as she held him. The top of his head was about ear level to her and rested on her shoulder. She felt his hot breath on her neck and it sent shivers up her spine. He just melted into her arms. She felt the same stiff garment she had felt every day this week.
>>>>><<<<<
Beth got up early on Saturday and came down to get some breakfast and coffee into her body so she could wake up. She was a little bleary eyed and looked a little like a zombie in her robe. Her Mom, was already dressed in her suit and ready to go out the door. Sandy raised an eyebrow seeing her daughter up at six o’clock on a Saturday.
“Well what are you doing today, Beth?”
“Greg and I are going to the library. I’ll be home about one I guess.”
“Ok Beth, next time tell me about your plans like that before it is time to go out.”
“Sorry Mom, I didn’t think about it, but your right. I promise that I will.”
“I love you and I don’t want to see you hurt. I also need to know where you will be, dear.”
“I know Mom, I promise to be a good girl.”
>>>>><<<<<
Beth hurried to get ready, she dressed in a shoulder less royal blue metallic top that was gathered around the neck, a matching strapless bra and panty set in black, a black tweed mini, off black pantyhose, black patent leather heels that had a two and a half inch heel and a black cashmere cardigan. She then worked on her shoulder length, shiny, raven black hair and then spent time getting her makeup just right. She looked good, sexy, but not excessively so.
>>>>><<<<<
Greg’s eyes got really, really, big when he saw Beth and his mouth hung open. He felt underdressed in his Pinky and the Brain t-shirt, baggy pants and extra large plaid long sleeve shirt that he wore as a jacket. He had walked over to her place carrying his briefcase and pulling his laptop computers.
Greg didn’t say a thing for several seconds, finally Beth said, “Close your mouth Greg before you catch a fly or start drooling.”
“Sa-sa-sorry,” Greg stuttered, as he blushed, “you look gah-gah-good. Ba-ba-better than my Mom.”
“Well let’s go, we don’t want to miss your bus, now do we?”
Greg took off with Beth in tow. She had to run for a few steps to catch up with him. “Slow down, Greg, we have plenty of time. I can’t walk that fast.”
“Sorry, I got carried away for a bit.”
She took his rolling laptop carrier from him and took his hand as they walked. He began to match her pace and walk at a comfortable speed. She began talking and he joined her in conversation.
They were a block away, when the uptown bus drove by.
“Shit we missed the bus, Greg. Sorry I slowed you down.”
“We’re not going uptown Beth; we’re headed for the University Library. That bus will be here in ten minutes.”
“Oh, ok. I have never been on a University campus, Greg.”
“It is huge Beth, you won’t believe how nice the campus is. The library there is bigger than all the city libraries put together.”
Sure enough they were there early enough to sit for a bit and rest before their bus came. Greg sat close enough to Beth that their hips touched.
The bus driver waved at Greg as he opened the door and said, “Hi Greg, who is your friend?” His eyes got real big seeing this babe hang on to Greg. He got jealous and felt his crotch tingle a bit.
“Hi Tom, this is Beth, she is going with me today? Beth, this is Tom, he is always my bus driver, it seems.”
“Hi Tom,” Beth said. ‘What a perv she thought as the man leered at her.
They got Greg’s stuff on board and sat close to the front. When they were both seated, Beth turned Greg’s chin towards her and gave him a kiss that could peel paint off metal. Greg’s eyes got real big, but he didn’t fight it.
Greg whispered in Beth’s ear, “What was that for?”
“I just wanted to show Tom that you were more of a man than he is. Did you see the way he was leering at me? The perv.”
“No, I am sorry. Not for the kiss, oh lord that was good. I guess Tom knows what kind of a loser I am.”
“You are not a loser, Greg. I wouldn’t spend my time with a loser. Tom now, he is a loser, leering like that at girls young enough to be his daughter,” Beth said as she cleaned her lipstick off Greg’s lips. She purposely didn’t get it all. She then got out her compact and lipstick out and repaired her lips.
Greg smiled at Beth and leaned into her a bit. She put her arm around him and pulled him in a little tighter.
>>>>><<<<<
Beth had never been on a college campus before. She was impressed by the immensity and grandeur of the facility. She held tightly to Greg’s hand as they approached the library. There were several co-ed types behind the counter who waved at Greg as they entered the facility. Greg gave them half a wave, but squeezed Beth’s hand a bit.
They took the elevator up to the third floor, and made their way to the science section. There were maybe a dozen students there but only three who waved at his approach.
“Hi guys,” Greg said softly, “this is my friend Beth. Beth this is Annabelle, we all call her Anna, crystal lattices, physics and math. This guy,” Greg said pointing, “is Wild Bill, quantum mechanics, fuzzy logic and chaos theory. Finally we have Joshua, super conductivity, chemistry and physics.
The guys gave Beth the Look, (You know they couldn’t believe a nerd had a real girl on his arm kind of look.) while Anna gave Beth a knowing smile.
“Are you a nerd too,” Bill asked, “or are you just a plebe?”
“Shut up Bill,” Greg said defensively, “she is my girlfriend. Treat her right or I am out of here!”
All four people were mystified at the way that Greg got his hackles up. Anna and Beth were proud of it. Bill and Joshua were confused by it.
“For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel. Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar lov'd him! This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, Quite vanquish'd him: then burst his mighty heart. . . .” Beth responded.
“Even at the base of Pompey's statua, Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. O, what a fall was there, my countrymen! Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, Whilst bloody treason flourish'd over us,” Anna continued.
The three guys all looked dumb for about five seconds. The girls giggled at their discomfiture. They then set up everything for today’s session. Beth sat between Anna and Greg. She listened attentively. It was interesting. She found she could help by running a computer and hitting the stacks for them. They would tell her what book they needed and she was able, for the most part, to find it.
“I need to go to the ladies, Beth. Do you want to come along?”
“Sure,” Beth said, as she got her purse.
When they were out of sight of the guys, Anna said, “It was really nice meeting you today. I liked the way you put Bill in his place, he is probably still wondering what it was you said.”
“I thought Greg was wonderful. He jumped on what Bill said to me.”
“Yeah, most guys like them, are slow to trust a pretty girl like you. I can see that you really like Greg. Don’t you dare hurt that boy. He is so sweet, I will scratch your eyes out.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t know where we are headed, but I have had my fill of jerks.”
“So young and already so disenchanted. You know you are smarter than you look.”
“Thank you, I think,” Beth giggled.
“Really I am happy for you and Greg, he’s a dear. The guys didn’t treat me as an equal till Greg showed them how much I knew.”
>>>>><<<<<
Beth and Greg stopped at the Student Union and ate.
“I want to thank you for coming, Beth. It was really interesting.”
“What, to show how much I don’t know?”
“Not at all. I think you asked some interesting questions that had the rest of us thinking. To often brains get together and can’t see the forest for the trees. They often miss simple solutions, while trying to over engineer or over think the problem. Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions, they help us to think. Besides,” Greg blushed, “I liked being with you today.”
Beth blushed, a little. Although she had been out of her league in brain power and she really didn’t think that much about Bill, she enjoyed being with Greg and his friends.
Greg snuggled in close to Beth, who protectively put her arm around his shoulder pulling him closer.
>>>>><<<<<
When they finally got to Beth’s home, Greg came in with Beth. She rolled the laptops inside and set her purse on a table in the entry way. She then turned to Greg, her arms went around his waist and she pulled him to her as she backed him up to the wall. She planted a firm luscious kiss to his lips and he threw his arms around her neck. They went on for about ten minutes before they came up for air.
>>>>><<<<<
Sandra said, “Good golly Miss Molly,” when she saw the kids making out in the front hall. She debated throwing a wet towel on the two by calling home. One she didn’t want her daughter to know just yet about the video cameras and two she was happy her daughter had a real friend. She was more than relieved when the kiss ended, Greg got his things and after a final kiss got his things and left. Her panties were more than a little wet from watching the kids.
“Where were boys like Greg when I was a teenager,” she said to herself.
>>>>><<<<<
Monday and Tuesday were like the previous week. At school they were just friends, at home they did homework. There were a few hugs and kisses, but nothing overly dramatic.
On Wednesday Beth led him to the living room instead of the kitchen. She was so ahead in math and science now she wanted to get to know Greg a little better. Greg was over his initial shyness around her and sat next to her on the couch.
They talked about this and that and about nothing when Beth finally asked.
“Greg, what are you wearing under all your shirts? Are you wearing a corset?”
Greg’s eyes teared up a bit, and he started to get up to leave, but Beth pulled him into a tender embrace.
“Greg I am sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, I was just curious.”
Greg trembles in her arms and began to softly cry, “You’ll make fun of me, if you know the truth. I like you so much. I’m afraid it would be over between us if I showed you.”
“Greg, I like you a lot. More than you could ever know. You have been a breath of fresh air in my life. I could never hurt you.”
The boy calmed down and melted into her embrace. He felt so alive with her. Maybe he could show her the truth.
“Do you have a tank or t-shirt and a pair of spandex shorts like you wear, that I could borrow for a bit.”
Beth looked strangely at the boy, he didn’t see her look as his head was buried on her shoulder. “Sure I guess, they might not fit you, but you can try.”
She led Greg back to her room. From her dresser she took out a powder blue spaghetti strap tank top, a pair of plain white cotton bikini panties and a pair of gray spandex jersey shorts she liked to wear.
“I don’t know if you wear boxers or briefs under your pants, but what ever you wear won’t look right under those spandex shorts. So if you wear those shorts put on the panties,” Beth said handing the clothes to Greg. “You can change in my bathroom through that door,” she said pointing.
Greg went into the bathroom and left Beth to her thoughts. So what if he likes to wear girls’ clothes. She liked being dominant in their relationship. She would like him if he wore dresses and skirts she thought.
“Beth, you ready,”
“Come on out, I won’t bite.”
Greg slowly opened the door and sheepishly entered her bedroom.
“Oh my god…” Slipped out of Beth’s mouth. Greg had boobs, nice boobs too. They strained the fabric of the tank a bit. Huge nipples too, bigger than hers. She walked over to Greg and turned him around. He had a slim waist, a nice butt and more hips than guys normally have. She starred at his crotch, she had seen boys wearing speedos for her old high schools swim team that didn’t fill out the front of their swim suits like Greg did. Hell he would have put the jock who attacked her to shame.
Greg tried to pull away and get back into the bathroom to change. Beth caught his hand and pulled him to her bed. She sat down and pulled him onto her lap. He threw his arms around her neck and cried on her shoulder.
“How?” was all Beth could get out.
Greg cried for a few minutes, before he sat up in her lap. “Four years ago when I hit puberty my chest started to itch, my nipples became tender and I had the beginnings of breast buds on my chest. It was a year before I got the nerve to show Mom. She took me to see a doctor. After examining me, he asked me if I was taking hormones, doing drugs, and a lot of other pointed questions. He came up with a preliminary diagnosis of an Idiopathic Gynecomastia. Idiopathic means that they don’t know what caused the Gynecomastia and Gynecomastia is the term for abnormal breast growth in males. Some boys and men for what ever reason sometimes develop breasts like women have. Most aren’t as big or noticeable as mine are. Also my waist narrowed a bit and I have a big butt. Except for my… you know. I look more like a girl than a boy. Are you going to make fun of me now.”
“Greg! I swear. I thought you knew me better by now. Have I given you any reason to think that I would make fun of you?”
“No,” he said sheepishly.
“Lay across my lap now.”
Scared now Greg got up and laid across her lap. He was rewarded by five hard pops to his butt by her hand. In a way he felt better now. She really did seem to care about him. Yes his butt hurt, she sure hit harder than it seemed she should have, but he thought she might actually love him now.
Beth was livid at the suggestion that she would hurt him. She used to butt to work out her frustration. He does have a cute butt she thought and she liked swatting it.
After his swats, she made him kiss her and then set right back down on her lap.
“I hate people who make fun of other people who are different, Greg. I won’t have you saying things like that or I will blister your butt till you can’t sit down for a week. Do you hear me!”
“Yes Ma’am,”
“Don’t Ma’am me or I will do the same to you again. I am your FRIEND, not your dominatrix.”
Greg didn’t know what to say so he just threw his arms around Beth’s neck and gave her a crushing kiss.
“No, softer like this,” Beth demonstrated.
They kissed for quite a while. Beth realized she was teaching him to kiss like a girl. It felt quite good to her and he learned oh so well, she thought.
“Now up Greg let me take a closer look at you,” she said after breaking off the kiss.
Greg stood shyly but more confident than before. He turned as she directed and took her probing hands with as much dignity he could manage. She felt his breast, nipples, waist and butt.
“How could I have missed feeling your figure, how did you hide it?”
“It’s easy,” Greg said headed into the bathroom. He came out dragging a heavy vest and handed it to her.
It was indeed made of heavy spandex. It was also padded on the sides and abdomen. The thing weighed about five pounds and he wore this everyday.
Greg was shocked when Beth stood up and took her blouse and bra off and put on his vest. She had trouble zipping it up, at least the top portion of the zipper as the vest compressed her breasts. She walked over to her closet mirror and looked at herself. From the neck down she looked like a guy in a skirt.
“I think I would rather wear a corset than this thing. It is crushing my poor boobs and it is hot as hell. You wear this thing all day long?”
Beth unzipped the contraption and took it off. She stood facing Greg and said, “you’ve seen mine, now lets see yours.”
Greg thought Beth made a pretty picture standing there bare breasted in her heels, hose and mini skirt. Yes quite a pretty picture.
He peeled the tank top slowly off swaying his hips like a stripper as he did. Beth had to stifle a giggle at his show, but her smile only encouraged the boy. When he got it off Beth dragged him over to the mirror and they compared what they saw of each other.
“We appear about the same size on top, you are wider in the waist and I am wider in the hips,” Beth said.
Beth ran to the hall closet to find a measuring tape.
>>>>><<<<<
Sandra nearly fell out of her chair when she saw Beth run out of her room bare breasted. She had seen the kids go into her daughter’s bedroom and wondered about what was going on. She was about to call the police when she saw her daughter run back into her room trailing what had to be a measuring tape. She suspended her actions and watched the monitor intently. There were no cameras in any of the bedrooms, she granted her daughter that bit of privacy. Now she wished there were cameras there. Not really. Ohh shucks. She’d give them twenty minutes and then make up some reason to call if she didn’t see them.
>>>>><<<<<
Beth measured Greg’s bust, low bust, waist and hips. She then let him measure her. He was 34B-27-34. She was 32C-26-36. He could probably wear all of her clothes, she thought. On her bathroom scales he was five pounds lighter than she was. It wasn’t fair she thought. Oh he was five foot four to her five foot six.
“Greg this doesn’t change the way I feel about you, I like you very much but we need to get bras and shirts on. Leave that thing off,” she said pointing at his vest, “at least till you get ready to leave.”
Greg just shook his head.
“I can’t hear your brains rattle from hear. Do you understand me.”
“Yes Ma…, Ok Beth.”
“Better, we will work on that later.”
Beth picked up her bra and put it back on. She then went to her dresser and got out a T-shirt bra to go under the tank Greg had worn. Greg struggled a little bit but got it hooked up behind him like most girls do. Beth helped him get his breasts seated in the bra properly and the straps adjusted.
She then kicked off her heels, took her skirt and pantyhose off and then dressed in a T-shirt and shorts like Greg wore.
“You really are beautiful, Beth,” he said as she dressed.
“You are too, Greg. I think with a little work, you could look as good as I do.”
Greg’s faced darkened a bit.
“Greg, I am not going to make fun of you. You have seen as much of me as I have you. If we play with our looks it will be up to you, but I think it might be fun. Doesn’t that bra feel better than that damned vest?”
“Yes it does. I wish I could wear it all the time rather than that vest, but…”
“Yes I know. I don’t want you to be hurt either. If you wore a bra to school they’d kill you, or make you wish that they would kill you. Around here though, I want you to be comfortable. What do you think about that? Is it a bra or the vest around my home?”
“Bra,” Greg said confidently.
Arm in arm they left Beth’s room and headed to the living room. Greg started to sit next to Beth on the couch, but she pulled him into her lap. They cuddled and talked. She let him tell her about all he felt about his problems and the trouble they caused him.
>>>>><<<<<
Sandra was having a bad day, she nearly fell out of her chair again when she saw the kids come out of Beth’s room. It looked for the world like two girls arm in arm, except for Oh my, she thought, he was definitely a boy, a boy that looked like a girl.
Beth had a dominant streak, she saw as her daughter pulled Greg into her lap.
What she was working on would have to wait. She wouldn’t disturb the kids. Her daughter had really blossomed over the last week or so. No there was other research that she needed to do. Greg’s tits looked so real, she knew her daughter didn’t have any breast forms. They had taken nothing into her room with them. What, oh what could it be.
Sandra got on the internet and began searching. She didn’t know him but she didn’t think he went around dressing as a girl. No he had breasts but… She saw some possibilities, but without evidence she couldn’t make a case.
>>>>><<<<<
It was about time to leave so Greg changed back; he hated this damned vest but couldn’t look like a guy without it. He loved Beth for accepting him as he was. He even loved her for spanking him, it showed she cared about him.
Beth insisted that he keep the clothes he wore, not because it would make her feel strange to wear them again, but because she wanted him to be able to feel comfortable at his home. She gave him one more paint peeling, toe curling kiss before she let him leave.
>>>>><<<<<
Beth hugged her Mom when she got home and asked how her day had gone. Beth had fixed their dinner and they talked while they ate. She gave her mom an edited version of her day and talked about Greg. There were big gaps in her story from what her mom already knew, but Sandra didn’t press her daughter too much.
“Mom, I need you to turn off net nanny and your keystroke logger for a few days. I can’t tell you what it is about, at least for right now and I really need some information that net nanny might not let me get. I promise it isn’t about anything bad, it’s just… I need to know some things.”
“Ok from tomorrow till Friday Net Nanny will be off.”
“And?”
“And the keystroke logger. How did you know about that?”
“Mom,”
“Ok, I won’t meddle for now, when you’re ready to talk, we will talk.”
Beth just hugged her Mom and sat in her lap.
>>>>><<<<<
Thursday Beth and Greg acted like they always did at school. They didn’t let on about their relationship, lest the rumormongers catch on and make their lives miserable. Any changes of the status quo could open them to various bullying. To the masses they were two losers taking comfort in each others company. But there were those fleeting touches and knowing looks they passed each other throughout the day that kept them going.
After school they hurried with a certain enthusiasm to Beth’s home. She pulled Greg into her room and ordered him to strip. He blushed but readily complied. Beth handed him a lace push-up bra and matching panties. It took a few seconds for him to hook the bra.
“Oh my, Beth, this bra makes me look bigger than I already am,” Greg said turning this way and that looking at himself in the mirror.
“Yeah, but it looks so damn sexy on you. Look at the way the bra supports your breasts. I love the soft fabric and the lace of that bra,” she said adjusting the straps of the bra to fit better.
He shivered as he pulled up the silky panties. He had never felt such luscious fabrics next to his own skin. He started to get a rise out of the feel, but with much will power he kept his dignity.
Beth giggled because she knew or rather suspected how he felt.
“Ok, now I want you to put on a pair of pantyhose. I have a really tight pair of jeans I would like you to try on. The pantyhose will help you to pull them up.”
“Ok, I guess,” Greg said.
Beth gave him some directions on how to roll up the legs of the pantyhose and how to work them up his legs.
“These pantyhose feel great,” he said, as he worked them up. “I can’t see why girls don’t wear them all the time.”
“They can be a pain at times, they’re sometimes hot and sticky, they ride up and slip down at times. You have to shave your legs all the time, hairy legs encased in hose looks tacky. Of course girls shave their legs anyway. They can be expensive to wear all the time because they develop runs, and believe me nothing looks worse than hose or stockings with runs. You only get three, maybe four wears with them if you are careful. Sometimes you make a runner right out of the bag, other times you might get six or seven wears. But please wash them after each wear, they can get ughh… so ichhy.”
“Yes I have seen some girls with runs at school,” Greg looked down at his legs. “They look good on my legs, but I can see what you mean about hair. I don’t have hairy legs, but I can see what hair I do have all mashed down.”
“Yes, you are learning. Now for the jeans. They were tight on me and your legs might be a little larger than my legs, but let’s try them on.”
Gregg worked on getting the jeans up his legs, they were tighter than the ones he wore. After several minutes he got the top of the jeans to his crotch and smoothed his legs out. The jeans looked to be an inch and a half longer than his leg.
“The pants are too long, I am standing on the hem of the legs. Guess I’ll need to take them off.”
“Not after all that work Greg. Do you trust me?”
“I am standing here in a bra, panties, pantyhose and a pair of girl’s jeans and you have to ask that.”
Beth giggled and gave Greg a kiss and giggled as she went into her closet. She came out with a pair of black patent leather sandals with a three inch heel. Greg looked panicked and backed away from her till he hit her bed. Beth had a gleefully evil grin on her face; she pushed him over with just one finger and attacked his feet.
After she attached the sandals which were only a little too small, Bet said, “Here let me help you stand.”
Gregg accepted her help and after a little wobbling he stood up straight. The heels reshaped his legs and actually made the jeans fit a little better.
“Now for the blouse.”
Beth proffered a long sleeve black silk charmeuse blouse. Gregg ohhed as he drew it on.
“Jeeze this feels better than the pantyhose.”
He had a little trouble buttoning up the front of the blouse as the buttons were opposite of what he was use too. Beth tucked the blouse in the pants and after pulling hard buttoned them. She started to zip them up but notice the bulge.
“Can your penis and stuff be pulled back, Greg?”
“I don’t know, I have never tried it.”
“Do you mind if I try?”
“In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess.”
Beth unbuttoned the jeans and pulled them just off his hips. She got behind him and pulled down the panties just a bit, and reached forward. She started by massaging his testicles up. Greg winced once as they seemed to pop up into his body. She then pulled his penis back. Oh it was long she thought. It must be six, seven inches long soft. She then pulled everything up, before she buttoned and zipped up the jeans
She looked at Greg, he was as tall as she was now and looked luscious. She felt herself get a little wet between the legs. She could see the bra through the blouse and it looked great. It looked that way on her too.
“Look,” she said.
For the life of him, all Greg could see was a girl. He should feel bad or ashamed about it, but inside he actually felt good about it.
“I look good, Beth. I don’t know why but I like it. Shouldn’t I be ashamed or something?”
Beth eased the rubber off his hair and brushed it out parting it in the middle, “No, don’t ever be ashamed of how you look, you are more of a man than all those jerks at school. I like that you can look pretty and soft. I hope I didn’t take you too far. You just turn me on Greg. I love you,” she said hugging him from behind.
“I love you too, Beth. I’ve needed someone like you for a long time. You make me feel good about myself,” he said turning around, putting his arms around her neck and drawing her towards him.
They kissed for several minutes.
“It feels so good to actually feel somebody hold me. Under that vest I could feel pressure, but not the tactile touch I feel now. I also like the way the bra holds my boobs instead of them being crushed,” his nipples could be seen standing out through the blouse and the soft silk of the bra.
“I see, I like it too. Now let’s go study. I have homework. Be careful take smaller steps in those heels.”
Beth helped him walk out of her room and into the kitchen. Greg was kind of wobbly, but he had very good agility and balance. He quickly got the hang of things as he walked.
“Oohh you are so good, check out how you are wiggling your butt.”
“I know that is why I always wear big pants. Mom tells me the same thing. I try to control it but…”
“Stop. Let me take a look at you.”
Beth walked about ten feet in front and looked back at him.
“Stand straight with your knees together.”
He did and Beth looked at him, his thighs didn’t touch at the crotch. She could see light from behind him there.
“Don’t take this wrong Greg. I like it that you’re a guy, but… you look like a girl everywhere except where it counts. I like that where it counts bit. You have nothing to be ashamed about that either. Let me show you what I mean.”
“Hold your legs tight and try to keep my hand from slipping through.”
Beth pushed her hand through at his crotch with just a little resistance. He doubted he could have stopped her hand.
“Your legs are farther apart at your hips like a girl’s”
“I know the doctor’s already told me that. They said the best they could do for me when my breasts stop growing is to give me a somewhat androgynous look. That would take facial surgery, breast reduction and lipo on my hips and butt.”
Beth hugged him tightly, “I love the way you look Greg, but I would love you no matter what.”
“I know and because of you, I am beginning to love the way I look for you.”
>>>>><<<<<
Sandra couldn’t believe what she saw. Her own security monitor was better than the daily soaps some women watch. Greg looked absolutely adorable and sexy in those jeans and top. How could this be a boy. Oh the look on her daughter’s face. She would spend do whatever it took and spend all her money to keep that look on her face.
She was going to take her daughter clothes shopping on Sunday. If the two of them were going to do this, Beth should have all the ammo she could ever need.
>>>>><<<<<
Greg helped Beth with her homework and began teaching her ahead of where she was in math and science. They were both pretty good in English, Spanish, History and Geography. Greg had placed out of those with just an “A”. Beth was actually better in those subjects.
The two of them sat closer together than they had and were touching each other in a non sexual manner quite often.
Beth pulled Greg into her mother’s office where their computer and internet connection was.
“Greg help me to understand your condition. Find some “GOOD” internet sites that talk about it.”
Greg sat in Beth’s lap and began to work. He created a file in the browser and loaded many of the sites, his doctor’s had given him.
“Now understand this Beth, my condition is a little different from most, not only do I have breasts growing, but my whole body seems to be affected. It is rarer but not unheard of.”
“You’re not sterile are you? I know guys with too high a level of estrogen will become sterile.”
“My estrogen is slightly higher than normal, but still within specs for a male. At least since my last doctor’s appointment I was fertile. Who can say what the future will hold. Why, do you want to have kids.”
“I just may want to have yours. I don’t know. We are years away from that anyway.”
Greg surprised Beth by turning sideways in her lap and planting a kiss on her lips. He then cried on her shoulder a bit.
“I never thought I would find someone who could love me the way that I am Beth. Even if it is for just a little while I am glad I found you.”
“I don’t think it is for a little while Greg, I don’t think I could live without you. I have a confession to make to you,” she said. “You see last year, I was like a lot of those popular girls at school. To my shame I would have probably snubbed you and made fun of you for being the way that you are.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“It’s true Greg.”
“What changed you?”
Beth hugged Greg even tighter than before and continued, “I was on a date with one of those fine outstanding jocks at my old high school. He drove out to Morgan’s Point, which is a make out site in the next town over. He all but raped me.”
“Did he…”
“No, but it was close. I imagine he could have, he was so much stronger than I am. He got frustrated when I wouldn’t spread my legs for him. I just might have if he could have been nicer, but he was just so ruff. Anyway he slapped me hard and tumbled me out of his car there, tossing my clothes and purse out and just drove off. My clothes were a shambles, torn and ripped. I had to walk barefooted for two miles to the nearest phone. Mom wanted to kill that boy. I convinced her not to do anything. We moved here the next month,” Beth said sobbing on Greg’s shoulders.
“I would never do anything that bad to you Beth.”
“I know, Greg, I know. I didn’t think I could ever love another boy after that. I tried to be with another girl, I found a willing partner but it just wasn’t in me. I am sorry, if I am so controlling and for making you into something you’re not but...”
Beth’s next words were cut off by the most aggressive kiss Greg had given anybody. Beth was surprised but got right into it.
When they came up for air, Greg said, “I’ll be whatever I have to be to help you heal, Beth. Just like you helped heal me. I just happen to like what we have done. No not what you have done to me, but what we have done. Do you think I would have done all of this, if it were repugnant to me. I have always liked the things girls wear and was a little intrigued. I would probably never have done it by myself, in fact I know I wouldn’t but it has been fun. On top of it all, if I haven’t said it before, I love you Beth.”
“Yes you’ve said it before but I don’t want you to stop saying it ever. I love you too, Greg.”
“I love you, I love you, I love you Beth.”
“Want to have some fun?”
“Sure, what do you mean.”
“Look up into the corner of the ceiling, wave and say I love Beth.”
“Ok,” he did as he was told. He looked up waved and said, “I love Beth.
“Say it again, but mouth your words larger.”
“I LOVE BETH.”
Beth turned towards the camera and waved mouthing, “I LOVE GREG.”
A few seconds later Beth said, “Answer the phone Greg.”
“It ain’t ring…” the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hello are you Greg?”
“Yes Ma’am,”
“Good let me speak to my daughter.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
Greg handed the phone to Beth. She took it and said, “Hello Mom.”
“Hello sugar, are you two certain?”
“I am,” Beth said. She turned the phone to Greg and asked, “Are you certain you love me Greg?”
“More than anything else of, I am certain of, I love you Beth.”
“Well Mom.”
“Ok Beth, just don’t go making me a grandmother yet. Does his family know yet?”
“It is just his Mom, his Dad passed away awhile ago and I don’t think so,” Beth said and turned to Greg, “Does your Mom know yet?”
Greg hung his head and said, “No, and I don’t know how I can tell her that her son likes to look like a girl and has a girlfriends that he loves.”
“Beth give the phone to Greg. Greg honey, she isn’t forcing you into any of this is she.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“No, she isn’t Ma’am,”
“Greg if I am your future mother-in-law, you have got to call me Sandra or Mom.”
“Ok Mom.”
“Good boy, you let me take care of that. Let me check my schedule and one of theses coming Saturdays or Sundays we will all get together. You might tell her you have a girl that is a friend, but nothing about girlfriend or lover. Ok.”
“Ok Mom,”
“Ok kiss Beth and give her the phone.”
Greg complied with pleasure.
“Ok, how long have you known?”
“How long have we lived here? You really should be more careful about what icons you leave on the taskbar Mom.”
“Why you little minx, you have nearly given me several heart attacks and had me calling the law.”
“That’s not why I did it, I was really giving you a chance to tell me about it. But you know, I really love you for being so concerned about me.”
“I love you too. Do you want me to turn the cameras off.”
“No, I like that you can know I am safe. There aren’t any cameras in the bedrooms are there?”
“No, I wouldn’t have done that to you. You do need your privacy. Now it is time to kiss that boy of yours, get him back in shape and home now.”
“Yes Mom, I will. See you in a little bit. Bye.”
“Mom told me I need to kiss you some more. I always do what Mom says.”
“Really?” Greg giggled.
“Well maybe not everything, but on this I will.”
After about ten minutes, Beth said, “We need to get you changed and back home.”
“Ok,” Greg said, as he was being pulled along. “Slow down, it is hard walking in these heels.”
Beth stopped and had a surprised look on her face and cracked up laughing.
“What’s so funny, Beth?”
“I never expected my boyfriend to say something like that to me.”
Greg thought about it for a second and started laughing too. They collapsed into each others arms laughing.
In her room Beth told Greg, “Take off the blouse, bra, jeans and heels. I like having you in panties and pantyhose. Just don’t get caught in them.”
“I won’t, I like wearing them too. I promise I will wash them tonight in my sink and hang them to dry in my bathroom. I may want to wear them to school tomorrow.”
Beth went over to her dresser and got out a couple of packages of pantyhose and several nice panties and gave them to Greg.
“Here you can have these too, then.”
“Thank you Beth. I love you.”
“Just wear socks over your hose. I don’t want you caught wearing them.”
“That makes sense, sure.”
Greg got dressed and after a passionate kiss at the front door, he said goodbye.
>>>>><<<<<
Friday on the way home Greg said, “I can’t stay this afternoon. I have been letting my house work slip. Mom hasn’t said anything about it, but I know she has noticed. She has picked up some of the slack, but I just can’t make her do it all.”
“Ok, Greg we will go to your house and I will help you, how does that sound.”
Greg, thought for a second, “You don’t have to Beth, but I would appreciate it.”
Beth called her mom on her cell phone, “Mom, I am going over to Greg’s house to help him with his house work. I will be home by six.”
“Ok dear just be careful on the way home.”
“I will it is just two or three blocks from our home.”
Greg’s home was indeed nice, Beth thought, of course it had to be they were in the same neighborhood. It was pretty clean inside, already.
“Ok, you know your house best, what needs to be done?”
“I have laundry, the kitchen, living room, bathrooms and mom’s bedroom.”
“Go ahead and get out of your vest and put a bra on. You know how your Mom likes her bedroom, you start there. I will start the laundry and work on the kitchen. You take the living room and we will get together on bathrooms.”
Greg gave Beth the nickel tour, showed her where everything was and then they got to work. Beth sorted clothes and started the laundry. It was easy to tell whose clothes were whose and she was impressed with his Mom’s clothes. They were nice without being overly expensive.
The kitchen looked to be a chef’s own kitchen, nice cutlery, good pots and pans. The design was practical and well planned. Pots were hanging from a rack over a central island that had a stove top and a prep area. They had a nice double fridge, double sinks, two ovens and a second prep area along the perimeter, along with many quality appliances. The cabinets and drawers were fabulous.
Beth started with the fridge, she cleaned it inside, checking for spoilage and such, then she cleaned the outside.
She could hear the vacuum going and knew Greg was at work. She stopped, took the wash out of the washer and started drying it, starting a new load in the washer.
They got together in Mom’s bathroom. Beth let Greg work and she made some adjustments to the things he did and she helped finish. They folded the first load of clothes and started the second drying. Greg put up his Mom’s things while Beth put up Greg’s.
She saw that he had indeed cleaned the things she had given him and had them carefully folded them and placed them in his drawers. She also saw that he had four vests besides the one he had worn.
They worked on his bathroom and the hall bathroom together. The house gleamed clean. The kids had done a week’s work in a few hours.
It was near six when Beth left. They only got in five minutes of kissing. Greg asked about Saturday. Beth confirmed that she wanted to go with him, before it was time for her to leave.
>>>>><<<<<
Beth was the one surprised on Saturday. She had taken the time to dress nicely, but Greg was there dressed in some slightly oversized dress pants, a really nice white dress shirt, an XL Members’ Only jacket and a tie, uckk that tie had to go. She took the tie off him in her hallway.
“If you are going to wear ties, we will have to get you some that aren’t so hideous.”
“Sorry I don’t dress up much, that was the only one I had.”
“That’s Ok, I like you without the tie,” she said giving him a light kiss.
>>>>><<<<<
Joshua wanted to brainstorm about super conductivity a bit. Beth was given a list of books they needed. She took about thirty minutes to round them up for them. The group was in a heavy discussion when she got back. She sat in front of on laptop and started keeping notes on the discussion. It wasn’t easy; they were at times talking fast and also using terms she wasn’t familiar with.
At one point Beth asked, “What happens to the material that makes it super conductive as it freezes?”
Josh and Anna got together in front of a porcelain board and started drawing out the crystalline structure of the material at room temperature and what they thought happened as it reach the point of super conductivity.
“It’s the free flow of electrons, without resistance, that allows super conductivity,” Joshua said. “We think as the crystal contracts, the electrons move to the outside of the structure and flow over the surface.”
“What would happen if the material instead of contracting expanded like water does?”
Wild Bill started to give Beth grief over that question. Anna jumped his ass on that one.
“Bill play nice or we will take your toys away from you and send you to bed.” Anna said. “As far as I know water is the only material that expands on freezing.”
Anna got a thoughtful expression on her face and started drawing the crystalline structure of water.
“That is an interesting idea, Beth. But water can’t be made super conductive and there is no research on a material like you are talking about.” Josh said.
“I was just wondering.” Beth liked Josh and Anna, you could keep Bill though she thought.
The discussion continued on till it was time for them to break up.
“What are you two doing for lunch,” Anna asked.
“I thought we would go to the Student Union and eat,” Greg said.
“Can I come along?”
Greg looked to Beth who nodded, and he said, “Sure,”
In the two years he had known this group, none of them had ever asked to go eat with him.
>>>>><<<<<
They sat in the Student Union diner and talked after they ordered.
“How come you never asked to eat with me before, Anna?”
“Don’t be rude, Greg?” Beth said.
“I wasn’t, I was just interested.”
“That ok, Beth. It isn’t hard to answer. I like you Greg, I like you a lot like a sister likes a brother. I didn’t want to give you the wrong idea, I guess. You just never had a girlfriend with you. I like her too by the way. I like the questions she asks.”
“Ok, I can accept that.”
“Thank you,” Beth said.
They talked a bit more before Greg and Beth had to leave to catch their bus.
>>>>><<<<<
At Beth’s home they were on each other hot n heavy once the front door closed. They wanted each other bad, right then, but restrained their passion a bit to just groping each other. Beth orgasmed from Greg’s hand rubbing the crotch of her panties. Greg came in the panties he was wearing as Beth ground her hose encased leg up his crotch. They both broke it off before they started ripping clothes off each other.
They straightened them selves up and kissed again.
“Wash those panties out at home before they stain, Greg,” she said giving him a wink.
“Ok, I will.”
Another kiss and he was gone. Beth stood there fanning herself.
“Oh my, I have never gotten that hot before,” she said to herself.
>>>>><<<<<
“Beth we have got to get you some help.” Susan thought to herself. “I don’t need to try to bust them up, but if they keep going like this, I will be a grand mother before school is out this year.”
She had debated getting Beth on the pill after the near rape. She was afraid to broach the subject because of her daughter’s fragile psyche. Now though the time is ripe. She didn’t approve of children sixteen having sex, but she knew that unless she put her daughter in a convent or locked her away some where, it might happen anyway though.
Susan made a note to set up an ob/gyn appointment on Monday.
>>>>><<<<<
Later that afternoon, Susan sat down to talk with Beth.
“Beth I know that I’m not around a lot, and I miss spending time with you.”
Beth had expected this talk and had run what she would say over in her mind.
“You know I don’t approve of kids having sex at your age. But l know how hard it is at times too. I was a teenager once. I am not going to tell you not to do it. That would put too much pressure on you, if you do do it. Do it here, not in the back of some guy’s car. Also I got you these,” she said handing her daughter a large box of condoms. “I am going to set you up for an OB/GYN appointment as soon as possible. Please wait for at least three months after you start your pills. If that isn’t possible, use the condoms, use them anyway even when you are on the pill, No birth control method is entirely one hundred percent.”
“We will try Mom, I promise you that. Nobody has ever made me feel the way that Greg does. I love him so much.”
“I know dear. If he is going to wear your clothes, and I must admit he wears them so well, we need to get you some more clothes. Oh and we will get some for him too. I don’t suppose you know his sizes.”
Beth just grinned and nodded her head. She took a pen and paper out of her purse and wrote down some numbers. She guessed on shoes, since hers was just a little small for him.
“Can he come with us?”
“I suppose you mean en femme. Do you think he would be comfortable going outside dressed as a girl? I would think he would need to work up to that point, let him build up his confidence a bit first.”
“Your right Mom, I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Try to get him all dolled up and see how he takes it. He looked pretty good the other day. Let’s pick out some makeup that would work with him. Don’t push too hard though Beth. Encourage him, but do take NO for an answer. That is all I ask.”
“Ok Mom, I will.”
“I am going to cut my hours back a bit to spend more time with you. I will let you know ahead of time when I am coming home. I know you don’t want me coming in on one of your study sessions.”
Beth blushed deeply and smiled. “Yes Mom, I will love spending more time with you too and I like that we can talk like this.”
“You two don’t act like this at school do you?”
“No Ma’am, it would cause a lot of problems I think. Greg has an understanding with the Jocks at school. He doesn’t want to become a target by having such a pretty girl friend. He has a lot to lose if he drew attention to himself.
That could affect me too. Guys leave me alone cause they think I am a lezzie. I know I didn’t tell you, but a few days after I started school here, a guy a lot like John was hit on me. I told him and other guys no. They started the L word rumor on me. We are both social pariahs, a bit and that is ok with us.”
“If anybody hurts you or Greg please tell me. I will legally castrate those bastards. They will wish they never knew you.”
“I know, I like how you handled John. You had him crying from fear.”
“He deserved it.”
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday, Susan and her daughter went shopping. Beth was in hog heaven. They hit all the teen clothing stores, several lingerie shops and shoe stores. They did about three thousand dollars damage to Susan’s American Express card. What is money if you can’t spend it on someone you love.
They got jeans that would fit Greg a little better, skirts, blouses, a few dresses and matching lingerie. They found some Merry widows that were so sexy and that would help with his figure. They bought hosiery, pantyhose, stockings, garter belts and stay up stockings. If Greg didn’t like to wear the stuff they got, Beth could wear most of it.
At one shop Susan made Beth stay in the car. When she came back Beth asked, “What did you buy in there?”
“Check out the bag dear.”
Beth opened the bag and found more panties. “Panties?”
“Close, dear. Those are panty gaffs. They hide what guys have that girls shouldn’t have.”
“Oh ok, I didn’t know there was anything like that.”
“I should hope not, you don’t know what kind of websites I found those type things on. Really Beth, there is a lot of smut on the internet dealing with transvestitism and transgenderism out there. I found some good stories and some I would ground you till you were fifty if you read them.”
“What do you mean?”
“I found some bondage and forced feminization, some treated boys and men really horribly, humiliating the guys, calling them sissys, sluts and much, much worse. I would represent Greg against you if you did that to him. I mean it,” Susan said, her eyes starting to tear up.
“I won’t Momma; I care too much about Greg.”
Susan had to dry her tears and repair her eye makeup. It had broken her heart at some of the stories she read. Others though made her more than a little wet reading. If only Daniel had been up for some of those games. Her daughter and boyfriend had woken something up in her that she never knew was there.
“Oh see if Greg’s Mom can come over on this Saturday, or next Saturday.”
>>>>><<<<<
Monday after school found them at Beth’s home. “Greg I am way ahead in homework. I have something else I would like to do. If you don’t want to do it just say so. I want you to try on some more of my clothes.”
Greg frowned for a second and Beth’s heart sank, but she refused to show it. He then perked up in a smile and said, “Had you going didn’t I.”
“Greg, you are so bad.”
“Shucks, I thought I was good.”
“You are good and you are good at being bad too,” she said sticking her tongue out at him.
Greg grabbed her and they were tongue wrestling for a few minutes.
“Ok, whatcha got for me to try on?”
Beth handed him a panty gaff and a piece of paper. “Try putting that on by yourself, I will help you if you need it.”
Three minutes later Greg was wearing the panty gaff.
“How is it?”
“It’s a little tight and a bit uncomfortable, but I will live. I like the fabric, and I like the look. Not for everyday wear, but it is alright for now.”
“Guess what I want you to put on?”
“Let me see, could it be skirts, blouses and dresses.”
“Yes, you’re right. Do you mind?”
“No not at all. What is next?”
Beth got a merry widow out of her drawer and started hooking him up in it. The garment supported his breast nicely and gave him a passable waist. She then treaded the garter straps through his panty gaff and said, “Normally you would have put this and your stockings on first, then your panty. You do it that way so you can go potty.”
Beth got to feel just how tight the panty gaff was in places, as she worked. She then rolled stocking up Greg’s legs.
“I just noticed you’ve shaved your legs, didn’t you.”
“Yes, I took what you said about hairy legs and hose, to heart. I liked wearing your pantyhose and I liked the feel of my smooth legs too.”
Beth rolled on and hooked the stockings to the garter tabs, “That is how you do stockings. What do you think?”
“If I didn’t have this gaff on you would see what I thought.”
“Ooh I think she likes.” Beth kidded.
“She does, at that. I guess I do look like a she. What’s next?”
“Shoes, we got some that should fit you quite nicely.” Beth produced some black pumps with 3 inch heels. She had bought some that were one size larger.
“Stand up and have a look.”
Greg stood and with assistance walked over to Beth closet mirror. “Wow I make this look gud,” he said, striking some poses that he had seen some ladies use on TV.
“Ooh la la, you are being such a tart,” Beth said giggling. “You do make the clothes look good.”
What followed next was a blur of clothing changes. Beth had him try on everything, they had bought for him. It’s getting late do you want to change back, go home like this or what?”
Greg was currently dressed in a pink chiffon blouse, and a black leather mini-skirt. He bit his lip debating. He really wanted to but was afraid too.
“I am scared to try. I think I could get into my house without being seen, but I would be petrified walking there alone.”
“I’ll go with you and help you get undressed.”
“Ok.”
Beth got the stuff he needed and stuffed it into a purse. She handed the purse and his keys to him. “Keep your keys in your hand and let’s go.”
The two girls walked down the sidewalks at a smooth and even pace. Greg looked like a natural in the heels. Beth could tell he was shaking a bit from nerves, but the look on his face was of exhilaration.
“We got to hurry mom will be home shortly,” Greg said.
“Then take off your blouse, shoes and skirt. Put a vest on, shirt pants, socks and shoes Greg,” Beth said as they entered Greg’s home.
“Ok be back in a minute,” he said heading to his room.
It took him about five minutes but he came out of his room changed.
“Come with me to the kitchen Beth. Help me get dinner started.”
Greg pulled a menu off the fridge and started getting the stuff out. Beth helped him chop and get things ready. They weren’t finished when the door opened and Linda, Greg’s mom came in.
“Well hello, Greg, who is your friend?”
Beth was taken back by this lady who came in. She was gorgeous. She knew where Greg’s good looks came from.
“Hi Mom,” Greg said hugging her, “This is Beth; I am helping tutor her in math and science. She is my best friend now too,” Greg said shyly. “Beth this is Linda Thomas my mom.”
“Hello Mrs. Thomas, it’s nice to meet you.”
“So this is why the housework was slipping, and probably why it was done so nicely on Friday.”
“I am afraid so Mrs. Thomas. I am sorry. When I heard about the housework slipping? I insisted that I be allowed to help, after all he had done for me. I really needed help.”
“No problem, dear and please call me Linda. I am glad my son could help and I am glad he has a good friend.”
“Oh my Mom wants to know if you would like to come over for dinner either this Saturday evening or the Saturday after that.”
“I can’t this Saturday; I have got to work late. Maybe next Saturday,” Linda said, getting a card out of her purse. “Have her call me at the office and we’ll see what we can work out. Can you stay for dinner tonight or is your Mom getting dinner on the table.”
“My Mom is a lawyer; you know what kind of hours they work. Let me call her,” Beth said pulling out her cell phone.
“Mom, Greg’s Mom wants to know if I can stay for dinner? Ok.” She said handing Linda her phone.
“Hello. Yes this is Linda Thomas, Greg’s Mom. No it’s no problem. I’d love to have her here for dinner… I can give her a ride home if you’d like too… No, that is no problem. How late will you be tonight?... Ok… I’ll have her home by eight… You’re very welcome. Oh Beth passed on the dinner invitation to me; I’ll give you a call after I check my schedule at work. Ok ta ta.”
Linda handed the phone back to Beth, “Mom… Ok, Mom. I will be good. Love you.”
“Well Beth would you like to help me cook?”
Greg frowned, his Mom never asked him to help cook. Beth saw him frown, but knew his Mom probably wanted to pump her for information. “Of course Linda I’d love too.”
“Alright let me go change and then we can start.”
When Linda got to her room, Beth turned to Greg. “I am sorry Greg. She had never asked you to help has she?”
“No, she let’s me get things ready then she shoos me out of the kitchen,” said, a little crestfallen.
“You really would like to cook with her wouldn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t lose face Greg, we’ll work on that,” she said kissing him.
Linda came into the kitchen sans suit, but in a very pretty floral print dress. Beth could see Greg appraising what she wore and smiling.
Beth helped Linda prepare dinner. It was easy to see that Linda knew volumes about cooking. She told Beth that she had studied to be a chef, till she met Roland her husband. She soon became pregnant after marrying him so put her studies on the back burner. She now worked as an executive assistant for a CPA, so she knew about working long hours.
Beth told Linda about her Mom and Dad. Linda hugged the girl when she learned that her dad had run off. She told Beth how she had lost Roland, and said it was probably better to lose a parent that way than to have one run away like Beth’s father.
“Roland left us enough money for the house, but to keep it running and clothes and such. I have to work. I am sure you understand.”
“Yes I do Mrs. Thomas. I know how much Mom sacrifices herself for me, to keep me in clothes and a good home. I would love to spend more time with her, but I love her anyway.”
While the girls talked Greg set a formal table. His Mom liked to dine formally on occasion and he liked helping her. He also reflected on what he was wearing. Except for the vest, pants and shirt he loved the clothes. He giggled to himself. He would rather be dressed in the skirt, blouse and heels he wore home without the vest.
“Oh what a lovely table you set Greg,” Beth said, when they came out the food.
“Yes Greg is a dear, I don’t know what I would do without him. I just love him so much.” Linda said as her eyes misted up.
“I love you too, Mom.”
They sat and had a pleasant meal, talking as they ate. Beth played footsy with Greg under the table. She could tell he still had the stockings on. The food was magnificent.
Afterwards they retired to the living room and continued to talk till a few minutes before eight. Linda prepared a plate for Beth to take for her mom.
“Mom will love this as much as I did. Thank you,” Beth said kissing Linda’s cheek.
“You’re welcome here anytime Beth. I have enjoyed you being here. It’s so good to see that Greg has a friend his age. Tell your Mom I will call her.”
Linda led Beth to her car and drove her home. Greg took this time to get undressed and put his nice things away. He was happier than he could remember.
>>>>><<<<<
At school, Rick began to notice how close Beth and Greg were getting at school. Beth was a babe and he couldn’t stand that that dork Greg had a babe hanging around him, when he Rick couldn’t even get an average girl. Even though it was purported that the babe was a lezzie, he was sure he could convert her into a hot blooded sexy slut to hang onto his arm.
>>>>><<<<<
They ended up at Greg’s home after school, he went to his room and changed into a bra, pink blouse, black mini skirt and heels. They then worked together to clean the house. Splitting up the work the rapidly got the house into shape.
The rest of their time Beth had Greg sit on the floor, while she sat on the couch and worked with his hair, not really styling it but sizing it up.
“I love your hair but we need to get it trimmed you have so many split ends. When was the last time you got it cut?”
“About six months ago, Mom made me get about an inch taken off.”
“I would love to have it styled, if we can find a way to make it feminine and androgynous at the same time.”
“I don’t know, I guess that would be ok. I just don’t want to get killed at school.”
“I agree, I don’t want you killed either, Greg. Would you like to try some makeup at my home tomorrow?”
“I think that I would like that. After all of this started I wondered what I would look like all rigged out. I have liked what we have done so far. I… I… have just been afraid to ask.”
“Don’t be afraid. I have been taking it slowly. I didn’t want to scare you.”
“I have been scared. I still wonder about what is happening, but at the same time I am thrilled and I just can’t wait to go farther. I don’t understand why you like me at times and that scares me worse.”
“I don’t know Greg. I don’t think I could love anybody else, but you. You are special in a lot of ways. If you wanted to stop all of this today, I would still love you. If I ever push too hard stop me Greg, please tell me to stop or slow down, promise me that. I don’t want to push you away from me.”
Greg got on his knees and turned toward Beth, slipping between her knees, he pulled her to him. They kissed and groped each other for quite a while.
“I need to get home and you need to change Greg,” Beth said breathlessly.
“I know, I just want to hold you for one more minute.”
After a couple of minutes and another kiss they parted.
Beth took the walk home to cool off. Greg’s kisses and touches had sent her over the edge into several wonderful orgasms. She wanted to take him right there on the couch.
“God I love that boy,” she said to herself.
Greg had to take care of a pressing problem in his own bathroom. The panty gaff kept him from getting relief while they were touching each other, but he needed to release the pressure that built up inside him.
>>>>><<<<<
Beth and Greg were headed to their table at lunch, when Greg was shoved away from her.
“Come on Babe you don’t need that sissy dweeb. Come over her and sit with me.”
“GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU JERK!” Beth said, moving over to where Greg was. “Greg is more of a man than you will ever be.”
Beth’s words struck a nerve in Rick, “YOU BITCH, you can’t seriously call that pansy a man. He ain’t even stuck up for you here.”
When Rick grabbed Beth’s arm, Greg launched himself at Rick even though the boy was taller, heavier and stronger. Rick straight armed Greg and slammed three punches in his mid-section. Greg was hurt by the punches, but because of the padding of the vest he wore, he was still on his feet. He then threw a punch at Rick. He wasn’t a boxer and missed the other boys chin, but the punch hit Rick in the throat. Rick fell like a sack of bricks.
Everything stopped in the lunch room. People couldn’t believe someone had actually hit the brain. As shocking as that was, seeing the Brain taking several hard shots and was still standing, before he dropped his attacker blew everyone away. Dave Walters a running back for the football team got to Beth and Greg and ushered them out of the lunchroom. A lineman and a wrestler assisted Rick in getting up and headed to the Nurse’s office. They told the Nurse that Rick had fallen down. He had in fact fallen down, several times in fact, on the way to the Nurse’s office. The two athletes had convinced Rick, that it was in his best interest to leave the Brain and his friends alone.
Greg was shaking like a leaf and Beth had a worried expression on her face.
“Are you ok, Greg,” she asked.
“My stomach hurts like hell, but I think I will live.”
“Good shot Greg,” Dave said. “Someone needed to take that ass down a notch.”
“Did I hurt him?”
“Not too badly. He may survive, if he survives the trip to see the nurse. Rick just pissed off a whole lot of people.”
“Our stuff, we dropped our stuff,” Greg said.
“Here it comes,” Dave said looking up.
A couple of cheerleaders had picked up their books and things. They also brought something for the two to drink and nibble on.
Beth and Greg thanked the girls.
“Drink that slowly, Greg,” Dave said. “You took quite a shot there, ole man. You should be ok though.”
Word spread throughout the school not to touch the Brain or any of his friends. A few guys like Rick were touched up a bit to make the point perfectly clear.
Nothing was ever said to Greg about fighting in school. Some teachers, who were about to intervene in Greg’s behalf, suddenly disappeared when Rick had gone down.
Greg took it easy in the study halls he helped in that afternoon. He was surprised at the words of encouragement he heard from some of his students.
There were many who still didn’t like him, but now they respected him a bit more.
The girls who had helped Greg earlier that day drove him and Beth to her home. Greg couldn’t wait to get out of his vest. As soon as the girls left and they were alone in Beth’s home. He shucked his shirts and vest. Beth probed his stomach, he winced a bit, he was still tender, and was obviously bruised, but not overly so.
“That vest saved you, I think Greg. That boy’s punches picked you up off the floor.”
“I know it did. It still hurt like hell. How are you Beth?”
“I am pissed at Rick, and was worried about you. Don’t ever do that again Greg. I am proud of you, don’t get me wrong, but you could have been really hurt,” she said smothering him with kisses. “He would never get away with hurting me but…”
“I know, but something snapped inside me when he grabbed you.”
They made it to Beth’s bedroom. Greg took off his pants revealing his pantyhose and panties. Beth handed him a wonder bra and a slip. After he got those on they sat at her vanity.
First she put his hair up in a simple bun with a couple of jeweled hair sticks, leaving a few tendrils to frame his face, which she curled with her curling iron, “We really got to get you a girl’s name. When you are dressed up as a girl it is really hard to think of you as Greg.”
“I like Gwen after one of my Grandmothers, I also like Laverne like my other Grandmother.”
“You can be Gwendolyn Laverne Thomas then. How does that sound, Gwen?”
“I like that very much.”
“I am going to do your makeup for you, Gwen, so you will look as good as I can do it. I will teach you later if you like,” she said, as she handed him a hand mirror and began to work on his face.
“I want to see how I look before I commit to learning makeup. I think I will look OK but I will have to see it to believe it.”
“I know you will be gorgeous babe, trust me.”
Beth took her time working on Gwen, making sure everything looked great. She gave her friend’s eyes a lot of work. It’s a shame boys can’t wear makeup like girls, she thought. Beth was surprising herself at the transformation of Gwen. She could be a homecoming Queen if she wanted.
She dressed Gwen’s lips with a lip plumper, before outlining the lips with a lip pencil. The lips slowly began to pump up a bit, not quite bee stung. She added a coral red lipstick and a lip gloss to make them shine.
“When we have more time, I would like to do something about your fingernails, maybe some press on nails, just to complete the look,” she said as she finished. “Now let’s get you in your dress, jewelry and shoes.
“Ok.”
Beth brought out a knee length spaghetti strap black dress with a deep V and a pair of black pumps. Gwen stood and Beth helped her with the dress, zipping it up when it was in place. Gwen then stepped into the shoes. Her earrings were some dainty pearl clip ons, “We need to get your ears pierced.”
“That would be alright, there are a lot of guys wearing studs and small hoops.”
Beth then put a real pearl choker of four strands, it made Gwen’s neck look longer and lastly a pearl pendant on her left shoulder.
Beth had a smile about a mile wide on her face as she stepped back to look at Gwen.
“Well,” Gwen asked, as she stood there. “How do I look?”
“See for yourself; Gwen,” she said as she led her friend to the full length mirror. “Close your eyes and don’t open them till I say so.”
“Ok, open you eyes.”
Gwen opened her eyes and had to blink a couple of times, “Oh my gosh, is that me? I look gorgeous, no better than that. I can’t explain what I am seeing.”
“Yes, you look awesome, Gwen. I can’t believe it. How do you feel?”
“I feel wonderful; I almost fainted at the feel of the slip and the dress. I absolutely hate the clothes I have to wear now.”
Beth came up and hugged Gwen from behind. She fondled her left breast with one hand, played with her crotch with the other hand, as she nibbled on her neck.
Gwen shivered and got weak at the knees, Beth’s touch was sending her senses into overdrive. She could feel herself trying to get hard in her gaff.
“Please stop that. You are making me terribly uncomfortable.”
Beth was hurt a bit, “You don’t like it?”
“No, I don’t like it. I love it. It’s just that… my guy gets terribly uncomfortable, when he can’t come out and play. That gaff is so tight it hurts when I try to get an erection.”
“Oh,” Beth said giggling and giving the soldier one last stroke. “I am sorry.”
Beth had Gwen walk up and down the hall three or four times. Gwen found her stride shortened by the skirt more than by the heels. The skirt wasn’t tight at the knees, but it did limit her.
Beth took some pictures of all this on her camera as Gwen struck some poses.
The phone rang and Beth answered it. “Hi Mom. Yes that is Greg; she is Gwen though when she is dressed like this, Gwendolyn Laverne Thomas, that is. She does look great doesn’t she? Really, Ok here she is,” she said handing the phone to Gwen.
“Hello.”
“Hi Gwen, this is Susan.”
“Hi Mom.”
“Gwen you look absolutely gorgeous, turn around for me.”
Greg did as he was told, Beth pointed to the camera he couldn’t see.
“Now I want to ask you again. Are you OK with this? I know Beth can be a handful at times.”
“I am better than OK! Mom, I love this so much.”
“Alright, I believe you. I just can’t believe how good you look.”
“I don’t believe it myself.”
“You kids be good, tell Beth I will be home at six fifteen stay there though. You’ll need to be Greg by then. I love you Gwen.”
“I love you too Mom. Bye.” Gwen meant it too.
The kids didn’t have a lot of time left, but they made the most of it. Gwen loved sitting on Beth’s lap as they made out. Beth went crazy groping Gwen and rubbing her hose clad legs. She loved the way Gwen played with her boobs.
Too soon they had to stop and let Greg come out. Beth could see the sadness in his eyes as he zipped up the vest that crushed his boobs.
“I could feel a whole lot better about this if I could just get rid of this vest,” Greg said.
“I know baby, I know.”
Dressed, Beth took down his hair and cleaned off the makeup. She looked closely to make sure she got it all. She saw that his lips looked a bit bigger than they had been. They looked delicious to her.
“I think your Mom is coming over Greg. Let’s fix dinner for them.”
“I kinda figured that out too, Beth. Show me what to do.”
“No I am just going to tell you. You are going to do the cooking.”
They hit the kitchen; Beth gave Greg a menu and set him to work. She gave him help where he needed it, and when he didn’t she set the table. She tasted this and that as he worked.
He fixed Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Salsa Verde, stir fried veggies, and made some mashed potatoes. Beth only had to help a bit at using the seasonings they had. They weren’t quite finished when Susan got there, but everything was in serving dishes when Linda got there.
“The food smells delightful,” Linda said, “Did you cook it Beth.”
“No, Greg cooked it.”
“With a little help from Beth on the seasonings,” Greg said.
Linda looked amazed, “Well let’s see how you did, Greg.”
“I want to find out too,” Susan said.
They all sat down and ate. They talked while they ate. Their Mom’s raved over the food, which brought a smile on Greg’s face.
“I am sorry I never let you cook Greg. You did a wonderful job.”
“Thank you Mom. I know how you love cooking. I love helping you too.”
“Well I was studying to be a chef, before I had to go to work. I guess chef school for you will start at home soon. If you would like too, that is.”
“Yes I would like that very much.”
“Now for the reason, we are all here. My boss and I have got to go out of town for a couple of days. I will be gone Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, returning late Saturday. I asked Susan if you could stay here. She said that she wanted to talk to you two first.”
“I do want to talk to them and lay down my rules. Alone if I could?”
“I understand, Susan,” Linda said. “I need to go to the powder room for a bit.”
When Linda closed the door to the hall bathroom, Susan began, “You two have been going hot and heavy. The only way I will agree is if after lights out, you two stay in your own beds. We have a guest room, I will expect you to use it Greg. Beth, I expect you to be in your bed too. If you give me your word, I will agree.”
Beth was disappointed and that was clear by her expression, but she said, “Yes Mom. You have my word on it.”
“Yes Mom, I agree to stay in my bed too,” Greg said.
“Don’t call me Mom around your Mom, Greg, at least not yet. I will take you at your words then. I don’t know what you may or may not have done. I don’t want to know, but you two need to cool it off a bit.”
“Yes Ma’am,” they both responded.
Linda came back in and Susan left for a few minutes.
“I don’t know what Susan said. I love you Greg and I can see that you like each other very much. You two can have fun, but please don’t make me a grandmother. I do want grand children, just not yet. I am too young for that.”
“Yes Ma’am,” they both answered again.
“Beth you are such a beautiful girl, I have a hard time believing my son has such a pretty girlfriend.”
“I am not as pretty as you Linda, and I think Greg is very special.”
“I think so too. I need to talk to Susan now.” Linda said, as she got up and walked out.
“Is your Mom and her Boss involved?”
“Hell no,” Greg said a little too briskly. “She told me she read him the sexual harassment, riot act. He is married too. Mom said, his wife could be a Playboy model and she can’t understand why he would want to play the field.”
The mothers were having a similar conversation about her boss. Susan was consoling a distressed Linda.
“I can’t afford to quit, he pays very well Susan, but if he touches me I am going to sue the bastard.”
“I will help you there Linda, we have a very good sexual harassment attorney in our law firm. Get witnesses if you can. Do keep notes on where and when. It will help.”
If there was one thing Susan hated, it was lecherous bosses, be they male or female. Yes she did believe women can be sexually harassing to male employees.
Linda cried on Susan’s shoulder a bit. Susan held her tightly till she calmed down. Then Linda cleaned up her face.
Back in the living room the kids noticed Linda’s red eyes but didn’t say anything.
“Susan and I talked it over. Greg I will bring you over here with your bags in the morning. After school you will be here. In an emergency you have your key, Greg and all of you will have the number where I can be reached.”
They sat and talked a bit before Linda and Greg had to leave. Beth didn’t let Greg leave without a kiss, a rather chaste kiss compared to some of their other kisses.
>>>>><<<<<
Thursday Greg and Beth arrived at school. Greg was nearly freaking out at people who were smiling at him, giving him the thumbs up and actually treating him as a person. Some guys, who despised him, avoided him like the plague.
Things went on as un-normal as they had been that day till lunch, then they really got weird. Four members of the football team escorted Rick to the table Greg and Beth sat at. Rick appeared to have a few dings, a black eye, a split lip and assorted bumps and bruises.
“Greg,” he said trembling, “I am sorry for hitting you and I want to apologize for being an asshole.”
“Beth, I won’t ever bother you again, I am sorry for trying to break you two up, I am sorry for grabbing your arm. I am a stupid numbnuts. I am not worthy of being in your presence. I am sorry.”
Rick turned to the four athletes; they looked at each other and nodded. Rick was out of there like lightning.
“Greg we are sorry you got hurt, Beth you don’t have to worry about any of the guys here. Sorry,” one of the jocks said, before they all left.
Greg started checking the ceiling and checking his pockets. Beth got a strange look on her face and asked, “What gives?”
“Oh, I was just looking to see if a lightning bolt was going to strike here or if I had a winning lottery ticket somewhere,” Greg said laughing.
“I know what you mean. It was even strange in the girl’s room. Girls that have never spoken to me seem to want to be my friend,” Beth said. “I don’t care, I may make friends with some of them, but not if they give you any grief or want to break us up.”
>>>>><<<<<
After school instead of going home Beth led them to a bus stop. The bus headed way uptown. Beth called her Mom and told her they were going to Rivera’s. Greg wondered what Rivera’s was. That was until they got to the shop. Rivera’s hair salon was an upscale place that dealt with Ladies and Gent’s hair styles. Both Beth and her Mom got their hair done there.
“I want to see what they can do Greg, are you up for it?”
“As long as I can look like a guy at school, I am up for it.”
Beth snatched the receptionist and had a talk with her. Susan had already called ahead, she found out. Beth was able to get the stylist she wanted. They were able to talk to her in private.
“Zane, this is my boyfriend Greg.”
“Hi Greg, any friend of Beth is a friend of mine. Now what do you have in mind?”
“Greg needs to get rid of some split ends, it has been six months since he had it cut last. Also we are thinking of doing the gender bender for a Halloween party. I want to know if you can cut his hair a little more femininely, but still have him look all guy in a pony tail?”
“Is this alright with you Greg?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Please call me Zane, or I will give you a Mohawk in reverse. Clean strip down the middle hair all around.”
“Ok Zane.”
“That’s better. Now take that band out of your hair.”
Greg complied and Zane ran her fingers through his hair.
“Good hair, nice length, let me see.”
Zane talked back and forth with Beth, about the hairstyle. She got a style book out and showed pictures to Beth.
“Ok Greg, here is what we are thinking,” she said, showing Greg the pictures. “I can do the basic cut and Beth can do the curling on the day of the party or you can come here and I can do it. In fact I would rather do it so I can see how you look. I am certain I can fix up both of you. After the party just wash and dry it two or three times and you can put it back to your normal ponytail.”
Greg looked closely at the styles, he liked them all, but one that was the curliest he loved. “Beth can you do the curls for this one?”
“I think so.”
Zane and Beth then talked about how to do the roll up and the comb out for the style. Greg tried to follow but it was like they were using another language.
“Ok Greg, let’s get started.”
First Greg’s hair was washed and deep conditioned. Then Zane trimmed it even. She sectioned it off and did a little more cutting, before blow drying it and combing it out. She combed it parted in the middle and showed Beth and Greg. His hair had lots of volume that he would need for the style. Then she combed it back and put it in a high ponytail.
“Call me a week before the party, and please let me do your hair. Pretty please. I think you will look spectacular,” Zane pleaded.
“Let’s wait up front, Mom is going to pick us up.”
“Alright,” Greg said. When they were up front, he asked. “So you want to go to the school’s Halloween Dance right.”
“Yes, I kinda would like too.”
“As what?”
“Well, you as a guy, playing a girl, who is playing a guy. Me, as a girl, playing a guy, playing a girl. What I mean is you as a girl wearing a tailored tux coat and pants, hair in tons of curls, makeup and a feminine mask. Me in your vest flat chested, hair straight, makeup to make it look like I have a five o clock shadow, in a gown, wearing a more masculine mask.”
“Sort of a Victor/Victoria, Victoria/Victor set up. That is interesting. I think I might go for it. Let’s tell your Mom and see what she says.”
“Good.”
>>>>><<<<<
They got in Susan’s car and told her their idea as they drove home.
“I can see some problems with it. At least for you Greg. He should vamp it up a bit so he could say it was just for fun. You know instead of just his breasts, get forms for him that are like a D, DD or E cup, an extra well-padded panty brief for say thirty eight in hips, a corseted waist to twenty two and five inch heels. He doesn’t need to be recognized and neither do you. Beth you would wear big dress, petty coats flat chest, thick waist say, we hide your butt or supersize it and combat boots or work boots under your ankle length skirt. Let me talk to a seamstress I know. Whatever you two do, don’t let anyone know who you really are.”
Susan’s idea tickled the kids, they really liked her idea.
“Oh Beth, you have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow at noon. We will pick you up at three-thirty Greg out front at school.”
“Your not sick are you Beth?” Greg asked.
Beth whispered in his ear and Greg blushed a bit. Beth had to giggle at his response.
“Ohhhhh,” was all Greg could say.
“Let’s eat out kids. I feel like Chinese tonight.”
“I thought you and Beth were English.”
“You will think I am Russian, if I have to spank you,” Susan said, laughingly.
>>>>><<<<<
It was nearly eight that evening when they got home.
“It’s too late for you two to play dress up, maybe tomorrow. Beth go get one of your nighties on, nothing too short or see through. Greg come with me.”
Susan handed Greg a long negligee and peignoir, “My lying cheating ex gave me this, I haven’t worn it, but you can have it if you want. I wasn’t kidding about sleeping in separate beds, but you kids can have some fun.”
The peignoir and negligee was gorgeous it only took Greg two seconds to agree. Greg took it and changed in his room. Beth jaw nearly hit the floor. She had never seen this sleep set before. All three of them went down to the living room to catch some TV before bedtime.
Greg curled up next to Beth on the couch, Susan took her easy chair. At nine forty-five Susan got up. “I want you both in bed at ten tomorrow is a school day.”
When she heard her Mom’s door close Beth asked, “Where did you get this negligee Greg?”
“Your dad gave it to your Mom.”
“I have never seen her wear it.”
“She said she never did wear it. I think your dad gave it to her after she knew he was cheating on her.”
“Ok, that makes sense. I love it on you.”
“I like it too.”
“We got ten minutes so quit talking and get kissing.”
>>>>><<<<<
Friday at lunch Greg missed Beth and his afternoon went slowly. He was finally glad when the last bell rang. He nearly bolted out the front door. He ran like he had radar right up to Susan’s Mercedes. Greg and Beth kissed when they finally got together.
“Ok kiddos, we have an appointment with my seamstress friend,” Susan said. “Beth give Greg the bag. That bag has a leotard, heels and a panty and bra set. When we get to the shop and you get in the dressing room take off all your clothes, including your vest and gaff if you have one on. Dress in the things in the bag. The leotard you put on by stepping through the neck and pulling it up, it is stretchy enough. Bring your vest out for Beth to wear.”
They got to the shop, Susan introduced them, “Guys this is Madeline, she does all my alterations and repairs. Madeline this is my daughter Beth and her friend Greg. They have something to ask you.”
The kids explained their idea for costumes for a Halloween Party. Madeline looked intent as the kids described their fantasy. Susan explained her idea of vamping up Greg’s image.
“You kids have leotards right,” She asked. When they said yes, she shooed them off to change.
When the kids came out of the changing room, Madeline looked at them as if she wasn’t bothered by their appearance.
“Ok Greg, I see your problem. Step up on the pedestal and let me get some measurements. You’re not the first boy I have seen with breasts before.”
Madeline took about twenty or so measurements of Greg, some more embarrassing than others, both with and without the heels.
“I think I can start with a vested tux and tailor it. I would suggest a thirty six D, Susan, a twenty four inch waist and thirty six hips. I would like the pants to come just to the top of the heels. You want everyone to see them clearly. We should pad the crotch and make you look like a super male porn star there. You would be full of contradictions. We want people to wonder. Your turn Beth.”
Madeline took a bunch more measurements of Beth with and without the compression vest on.
“For Beth I think I a high necked gown that would make her neck appear larger, padded shoulders to give a masculine appearance, puffy long sleeves to hide the lack of muscles in her arms, thirty four inch chest, thirty-two inch waist, and not quiet floor length. Make the skirt just above ankle length to show off the boots. Also she needs to wear three or four petticoats to make the skirt really wide at the ankle. Oh and a red union suit underneath the dress would be just precious. What do you two think?”
The kids told her they liked her ideas.
“Greg you need to wear the heels as much as possible between now and then, you have a month to practice and get comfortable. Also you need to wear a waist nipper or a corset for a week to ten days before to slowly bring your waist down to twenty four. Beth should do everything guys do, hold doors for Greg, get refreshments, guiding Greg to their table, holding his chair and leading while dancing. I think.”
When they agreed to her suggestions, she said, “I need you both here on Monday. I will have all I need to get started, but I want to put you both in your foundations so I can double check, my fittings. You know measure twice, cut once.”
The kids retired to their dressing rooms. Beth pushed Greg into her room and she went into his. He came out and knocked on her door and whispered, “Can I get my panty gaff?”
She opened the door and passed the garment to him. He then dressed in her pantyhose, blouse, mini-skirt and the heels he had worn earlier. Beth dressed in his shirts, pants and running shoes. She then helped him with his makeup, and brushed out his hair in a feminine style. She did her hair in a ponytail at the base of her neck.
When Susan saw the kids come out of the dressing room area she said. “Oh Madeline, I would like to introduce Gwen and Bart.”
Madeline was taken back a bit, but she smiled had them turn around for her. She said, “It is so nice to meet you two. Gwen you are so pretty, this project is going to be a joy to work on. Maybe a dark rinse, either golden brown or auburn, in your hair, to better disguise who you are, would work well. It would wash out after a couple of shampoos.”
“Thank you Ma’am.”
“Bart, you are still pretty, but I see that there is some possibility of this working out. Hmmm maybe we could give you a Van Dyke beard, a goatee, or some facial putty. They would hide your delicate chin and give you some more masculine characteristics. Possibly a pair of latex ears, and a latex Adam’s apple.”
After they left the seamstress shop they went out to eat. Gwen was a little nervous about it but did well. Bart helped her with her chair and also coached her on how to act. Gwen had to coach Bart on his masculine traits.
They passed on the trip to the ladies rest room not because of Gwen, but because of Bart. He was really too feminine to use the gents and too masculine to not raise questions in the ladies.
After dinner they headed home where Bart became Beth. Susan made some popcorn and they watched movies till bedtime.
>>>>><<<<<
Saturday Greg found out that Wild Bill had abandoned the group. He didn’t like having an outsider in their group. It didn’t bother Joshua or Anna a bit to have Beth there. In fact she became an integral part of their group. They liked her questions and ideas.
Joshua was still hot on super conductivity, again. Great strides have been made in the quest of a room temperature super conductor. They discussed what others had published. The secrets of some of the researchers could be easily understood. The best solutions to this problem could be worth billions to the inventors.
“I just wish we could afford the materials. Some of the rare earths are very expensive,” Joshua said.
“How about writing some of the researchers and corporations and asking for handouts?” Beth said. “They could write it off as public relations and educational research benefits.”
“Yeah we could include our resumes and outline our plans and experiments we hope to do?” Greg said.
Joshua was lost in thought, “Do you really think some big research group is going to give us thousands of dollars of materials for us to play with.”
“We’ll never know unless we try,” Anna said.
“As long as the strings that are attached to the materials aren’t too restrictive, that could work. I mean I would hate to make a discovery and have it ripped away from us by some greedy corporation or researcher,” Greg said.
“I could get my mom to look over our request and any agreement that was attached to any material. She is a corporate lawyer who loves sifting through complicated contracts.”
“Ok,” Joshua said. “Let’s get our resumes drawn up this week, and come up with a shopping list of things we would like to have. We’ll edit each others work, frame out our request and then have your Mom look it over.”
“Ok we will see you next week,” Greg said.
“Ya’ll up for lunch,” Anna asked.
“Not today. My Mom has been out of town and we need to get things ready for her to come home.”
“That’s sweet that you want to do that for your Mom, Greg. Well have fun and we’ll see you next week.”
>>>>><<<<<
At home Susan sat them down. “Greg, do you really want to do this now?”
“Now is as good as ever. I am much more comfortable dressed as a girl around you two and I want to share this with Mom.”
“Ok, then. I will go to pick up your Mom. I should be back in three hours. Stay in Beth’s room till we get dinner on the table. Then we will reveal and work out any problems.”
“Beth, start helping Gwen, get put together.”
Beth herded Greg in the bath room and told him to wash and condition his hair. Then to shave his face, pits, arms and legs.
Beth helped him get dry and into a panty gaff and robe. She then started combing out his hair adding a setting gel to it and rolling it up tightly on some half inch rollers.
While Gwen’s hair dried, she dressed in a Basque, garter belt and stockings, before Beth started to work on her face. She started with the lip plumper, then concealer, foundation, eye liner, eye shadow, mascara, eyebrow pencil, blush, another coat of lip plumper, lip liner, an eighteen hour lipstick and a gloss sealer.
Gwen watched Beth get ready. She showered and shaved, did her hair and rolled it up, before making up her face and dressing exactly like Gwen.
Beth then unrolled Gwen and combed it out spraying it with generous amounts of hair spray. Beth worked her hair up in a similar fashion. They then dressed in similar miniskirts, lavender silk blouses, and black patent leather pumps.
The girls then hurried to the kitchen to cook, they were running a little late. Gwen was still in the kitchen, when their mothers got home. Beth opened a bottle of wine grabbed two wine glasses and met the mothers in the dinning room. She got them into the living room, sipping wine, while she returned to the kitchen.
When they were about finished the girls walked right behind Linda who was talking to Susan. They went to Beth’s room to repair their faces. Then right back to the kitchen. Linda didn’t even notice.
Beth and Gwen got all the food on the table and called the ladies in. Susan and Linda came into the dinning room carrying the wine bottle and their glasses.
Linda stopped seeing the two girls, they were absolutely gorgeous, then it hit her, “Oh my, Greg?”
“Gwen for now Momma, at least when I am dressed like this,” she said walking prettily up to hug her Mom.
“Oh my, you are beautiful, no more than that gorgeous. You too Beth. Do you have any scotch Susan?”
“Twenty year old Chivas or a nice twenty-one year old Balvenie single malt?” Susan asked.
“Balvenie.”
“Neat, soda or on the rocks?” Beth asked.
“Neat.”
“Make that two,” Susan said.
Gwen helped her Mom sit down, she didn’t look all that steady.
“When? How? Why?” Linda asked.
Gwen sat down next to her Mom and said, “That can wait, I know you must be hungry Momma.”
Beth delivered the drinks and sat next to her Mom. They then began passing food around the table, talking but avoiding the main question.
The tension Linda had shown earlier melted away as they enjoyed themselves. She even corrected her daughter on her manners. Beth and Gwen exchanged a wink and a smile.
After everyone was pleasantly, but not overly full, Susan said, “Let’s go into the living room to talk.”
Gwen sat on one side of her Mom and Beth sat on the other side.
“I know you have a lot of questions Linda, but hear Gwen out first.” Susan said.
“Okay, then Gwen,” Linda said.
Okay Mom, you know my problem better than anybody else here besides me. Well they know about my problem too. I will never be able to look like a man. How many surgeries will it take to turn me into something in between? The answer is quite a few. Cheek, chin, breast reduction, hip lippo, waist and God knows what others.
Beth accepts me for who I am, not how I look. It was her who first got me into a bra, and then slowly into everything else. As much as some women hate bras, I hated that vest Mom. The first time I wore a bra, I was amazed, it felt good. I didn’t sway around like I did around our home. It supported my boobs instead of squishing them. Yes they are my boobs.
I then began dressing in clothes that fit, you know what kind of clothes those are Mom. You know what I look like undressed.
Now I am not talking about living like this full time Momma at least not right now. I guarantee though there is a time in the future, I don’t know when, but I will. Right now I will live in two worlds, so to speak. A guy at school and I will dress more comfortably at home and at Beth’s.
Oh, by the way I love Beth, when she proposes to me we will get married. We will have to fight over who wears the dress.
Linda and Susan nearly choked on their wine at that last statement. Beth and Gwen just giggled.
“Not anytime soon Momma Thomas. I need to graduate from high school and get into college and figure out how we will support each other.”
“When did all this happen?”
“Since the first week of September. I met Beth the Monday of the second week of school.”
“How?”
“A little bit at a time, Mom. I think Beth was being cautious and not pushing too hard.”
“The clothes?”
“That is easy, Mom.” Beth said. “Gwen and I are basically the same size. Mom bought some specialized clothes that help her complete the image.”
“What clothes?”
Gwen got up and went to Beth’s room. She brought out a panty gaff and handed it to her Mom. “This is all I need to complete the illusion Momma. It is designed to hide the one thing that makes me look like a guy. I wear one all the time Mom.”
Linda could see its resemblance to a panty and also noted the difference. “Do you still wear pants and stuff.”
“I have worn ladies jeans, they fit so much better Mom and I look great in them. I will probably wear them more now especially with colder weather coming. At school though I will still be Greg not Gwen.”
“What is with that name Gwen?”
“I thought it would make you happy. I chose Gwendolyn Laverne Thomas.”
“After your grandmothers.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“You’re not going to dress up this much all the time are you?”
“No, not all the time. Enough to keep Beth and I happy. I think she gets a kick out of seeing me like this.”
“You two haven’t…”
“No not yet mother, it has been hard not too,” Gwen blushed at her unintended pun, “and I can’t say how much longer till we do, but we haven’t done it yet.”
“I would like for you two to wait as long as possible. At least till you two are more mature and better able to face the changes. Yes, sex changes a relationship. You can only have your first time once and it should be special,” Linda said.
“I agree Linda and I am proud of our kids. The fact that they have waited, considering how intimate they had to get to make these changes, it shows how much they care for each other.”
“I didn’t think about that. Yes, please. Wait till it is special for both of you.”
“We will try Mom,” Greg said. “I am sorry, I never could be the man that Dad was…”
“STOP THAT RIGHT THERE GWEN! Don’t ever say that. You are more like your dad than you can know. He had some of the same problems you do. Maybe not to the same extent, but he had to have breast reduction surgery.” Linda said going over to her daughter and hugging her child. “They can’t tell us why your body went the direction it went, but I am now and always have been proud of you.”
Gwen had never seen her mother so adamant before on anything. “Sorry Momma.”
“You don’t have to sorry, Gwen. Just don’t hate yourself for being who you are. You may not be what the world expects you to be, but be the best person you can be. If you are happy with yourself then that is all that matters to me. If this makes you happy then I will be happy.”
“Beth, take Gwen to your room, your Mom and I have to talk.”
Beth took Gwen’s hand and led her to her room.
>>>>><<<<<
When Susan heard the door close she said, “I kind of figured that you wanted to talk. You were so quite the whole trip home.”
“Yes, I wanted to think about what I was going to do before I did it.”
“I have found that that is always best, especially when it comes to litigation or possible litigation. It’s your boss right.”
“Yes he is quite the bastard. On the trip, he and the client’s representative insisted on going to a titty bar to discuss business.”
“This is important who suggested the gentleman’s club?”
“The client’s representative.”
“Did your Boss object to going.”
“Hell no, you could see his pants tent up, when the guy suggested it. Does that negate my case.”
“No it doesn’t. The employer has a responsibility to protect his employees from harassment, from hostile environments, and offensive behaviors. If your boss didn’t make an effort to protect you then he is culpable.”
“Tell me about it.”
Linda was nearly crying when she said, “Well we finished our in house work with our client. Jim Collins, the company’s rep, wanted to talk about some future business. It was late and he decided he wanted to continue over dinner. That was fine we were all hungry. Well he told my boss where we were going. The name didn’t ring any bells for me. It was the ‘After Hours Hangout’. Should have known it was a topless bar, when my boss Melvin Lorenz got a hard-on. He insisted that I come along so I could take notes. Well when we got there it was plain to see what it was.”
“Did you go in?”
“Yes, I felt I had to.”
“What happened next?”
“Well we took out seats, they must have had four exotic dancers going at a time and maybe a dozen topless waitresses. Our waitress was even flirting with me, she winked at me and rubbed up against me. The guys really loved that. After that I just had to go to the rest room where I threw up. I couldn’t believe I was dragged into that place. Well I begged off, I told my boss I was sick and took a cab back to my room. I have receipts from the restaurant and my Taxi with addresses. You won’t believe what the receipt from the titty bar shows as the name of the joint. Richard’s Fine Foods. The address on the titty bar’s receipt matches the taxi receipt’s pickup address.”
“So they are hiding, the nature of the establishments from business accountants. It isn’t exactly illegal, but I think it is unethical. Let me call a colleague of mine.”
Susan got on her cell phone and called up her co-worker. She talked to Cindy Schindler their firm’s sexual harassment attorney. She gave her a rundown of what Linda had told her. Cindy then talked to Linda, who confirmed what was said and answered some other questions Cindy had. They made an appointment to have brunch at a local country club for the next day.
That out of the way, the two women sat back to relax. Susan put her arm around Linda to comfort her. Linda leaned into Susan for support, four glasses of wine and a double shot of scotch was more than she was use too.
How it happened neither woman could say, but they both turned their heads to say something at the same time. They found their lips only inches apart as they gazed in each other’s eyes. They kissed. It was just a soft light peck at first. They drew back a bit and each felt a hunger in her breast.
Linda wound up in Sandy’s lap. They seemed to forget everything else but this moment, the only thing that mattered was the longing they felt.
>>>>><<<<<
“Well do you think they’re talking about us Beth?” Gwen asked. She couldn’t hide the concern in her voice.
Beth smiled at Gwen and pulled her into a hug. “No I don’t think so. Your Mom had a worried look on her face when I delivered the wine, before she saw you. How are things at her work?”
“She likes her job, but I don’t think she and her boss get along very well. She doesn’t tell me what is going on, but I know something is bothering her.”
“Well let them talk then,” Beth said as she began to nibble at and kiss Gwen’s neck.
Gwen groaned at Beth’s ministrations. She found her own arms groping and exploring her lover.
Beth backed Gwen up till her legs hit the bed, one light push sent her over on her back. Beth’s mouth found Gwen’s and they began a protracted kiss as Beth ground her crotch on Gwen. Their groping, kissing and grinding reached a fever pitch till Beth arched her back, shuddered, gasped and then collapsed on Gwen.
Gwen was hotter than a firecracker and frustrated. She couldn’t get relief as easily in her gaff. Gwen rubbed her crotch on Beth, who felt another orgasm building. Beth took matters in hand and helping Gwen release her tension. She started to holler but buried her teeth into Beth’s shoulder, the pain from the bite sent Beth into another orgasm and she sank her teeth into Gwen’s shoulder.
Their bites went five… ten… after fifteen seconds they mutually released their bites.
“Oh, God Beth, what just happened? I nearly passed out,” Gwen said after a few seconds. “I never felt like that before. It was like an explosion of lights and sound. Oh God, I soaked my panties too.”
“I can feel it too Gwen, you weren’t the only one to orgasm girl. I had two or three or four, all while fully clothed. We need to get cleaned up.”
Beth helped Gwen up and began undressing her. “Well we ruined two blouses, Gwen. The lipsticks might come out but I am afraid the teeth impressions and maybe some blood might not. They undressed in the bath room. Naked they checked each other out, they each sported a nice bruise on their shoulders, where they had bitten each other. Gwen have gotten the worst of the deal but it was close.
Beth handed Gwen a shower cap and donned one herself and took a quick shower together. They found it hard to concentrate on what they were doing. They explored each others bodies a little.
They were both flush from head to toe, as much as from the warmth of the shower as from the stimulation. In Beth’s room, they dressed in lingerie, shorts and T’s.
“I am going to see what’s up with our Mom’s,” Beth said.
“Ok,” Gwen said. She followed Beth to the door.
Beth opened the door and started to leave her room, but was stopped when she saw her Mom’s bare shoulder. Gwen bumped into Beth and Beth bumped Gwen back into the room.
“They are indisposed Gwen, let’s get ready for bed.”
“Indisposed?”
“Yes, and don’t ask,” she said. She went over to her dresser and handed Gwen a very silky nightie. “Take off your bra and shorts, then put that on.”
She then got a nightie for herself. They changed and crawled into bed. Beth spooned in behind Gwen and they went to sleep like that.
>>>>><<<<<
Sandy and Linda were thoroughly exhausted and thoroughly satisfied. Neither of them had ever done anything like that before, but both of them needed each other. They had been oblivious to anything but each others needs for over three hours and were thoroughly in love with each other.
Sandy gazed lovingly into Linda’s eyes. She smiled at the other woman as she twirled a lock of her hair around a finger. Linda had a goofy smile on her face as she played with one of Susan’s nipples.
“Oh Shit!” Linda said, sitting up. “The kids.”
“Stay here a second,” Susan said, heading to her room.
She came back a few seconds later and handed Linda a silk robe as she dressed in a terry robe. Dressed they quietly crept up to Beth’s door. They opened it enough, that they could see by light coming into the room, to see that their kids were sleeping together.
“Let them sleep, Susan. They look so sweet there together.”
“I think so too. Let’s clean up the living room and kitchen. Then we need to get to bed also.”
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen was the first to awake facing Beth. She took a finger and adjusted Beth’s nightie till she had a nipple exposed. She then blew lightly on the nipple, which instantly hardened and became erect. Gwen then sucked softly on the nipple playing with it using her tongue. Beth still asleep groaned and pulled Gwen closer, mashing her head into her breast.
After about twenty seconds Beth sleepily said, “Oh God, Gwen that feels so good. Don’t you dare stop. I just love the way you woke me up.”
“Gwen, I want you so bad. How are we ever going to make it till the end of this term, much less till we are old enough to get married?”
“I don’t know, but it might be fun finding out how we can do it.” Gwen giggled.
Gwen felt the clammy wetness they had both left on the sheets.
“You know we need to shower again, don’t you, and I am afraid we left stains on your sheets,” Gwen said.
“Yes it’s a real shame Gwen, isn’t it,” she said giggling. “What time is it?”
Gwen squinted at a clock on a night stand behind Beth. “Six thirty seven.”
The kid’s got up and stripped the bed.
“Take our nighties and lingerie and wash them in the sink. There is some Woolite under the sink. I will take the linens down stairs and start them in our washer.”
Naked Beth took the sheets to the garage where the washer and dryer were. She didn’t worry about being seen, their Mom’s were probably pretty wasted.
Back in the bathroom Gwen was rubbing the stained underwear in the soapy sink to clean the stains. She looked in the mirror and saw she had a nice hickey on her shoulder and giggled. She rinsed and wrung out the water before hanging their fineries up. Looking at the two blouses she saw they were indeed ruined, their teeth had torn several little holes. She couldn’t help but shed a tear. The blouses had felt so wonderful and looked so great on them. She washed them anyway.
Beth came in and saw what she was doing and got a couple of plastic hangers to hang the blouses. “We may not be able to wear them out, but we can wear them here.”
After they hung everything to dry they got in the shower. They were strictly business and didn’t play around.
Gwen dressed in a blue denim skirt with a ruffled hem, a white chiffon blouse and sandals with three inch heels. Beth dressed in a black tweed slacks, a blue linen long sleeve blouse and penny loafers.
Gwen tried her hand at brushing out her hair; with a little instruction from Beth she did a credible job. They did their makeup and went down stairs to start breakfast.
>>>>><<<<<
Susan and Linda came down the stairs dressed in robes following the smell of coffee. They arrived in the kitchen as Gwen was expertly flipping an omelette.
“Morning girls,” Linda said hugging Gwen then Beth. “You two look wonderful.”
Susan followed suit.
“Morning Moms’,” the girls said, returning their hugs.
Beth handed the bleary eyed Moms a glass of OJ, coffee and two Tylenol as Gwen plated their breakfasts.
Over breakfast the four of them talked.
“Ok Gwen, I can accept you like this. Tell me of your plans from here on out?” Linda asked.
“Well Greg is still going to be going to school. I don’t think Gwen showing up in his place will be good,” Gwen said. “After school I will be whoever is convenient at the time. Beth loves me as Greg or Gwen. I like it best when I am Gwen I think.”
“Have you gone outside as Gwen yet?”
“Just once Mom, Beth I and went to see about costumes for the Halloween dance. I don’t think anybody will recognize me as Gwen. I promise you though we will be real careful.”
“I worry so about you dear. I want you to know I love you so much. I am happy with the two of you. How long have you known Susan?”
“About a week longer than you, dear,” Susan said smiling at Linda. “We debated how best to tell you.”
“Well I guess I am glad you waited to tell me till after my trip. I am not sure I would have let you two stay together if I had known before hand. Please wait to be sexually active. I’m not ready to be a grandmother.”
“We haven’t done it yet, Mrs. Thomas, it hasn’t been easy. I love Gwen, I don’t know why but I do. I know that I’m not ready to be a mom either,” Beth said.
“Beth, please call me Mom, I guess, if that is alright with you, Susan?”
“Yes it is alright, same for you Gwen/Greg.” Linda said, “Beth is going on the pill with the start of her next cycle, and they both have access to condoms. I want them to wait too, but I want them to do it where they are safe here in my home or yours, rather than at some lookout point or back seat of a car.”
Linda thought over what Susan said. She knew that it could be inevitable, she was glad they hadn’t done it yet and agreed about them being safe when they will do it.
“I agree Susan. I hate to sound like a broken record but delay it as long as possible. What do you two have planned for today?”
“We haven’t planned anything yet Mom,” Gwen said. “We were waiting to see how well you took all of this.”
“Beth, why don’t you take Gwen to the Kensington Mall. You can use your credit card, just don’t go hog wild. Linda and I have to have a talk with Cindy from work. Take the Mercedes, just be home by five.”
“Ok Mom, we will leave in an hour. That will give us time to get there, the mall doesn’t open till ten.”
“I need to get my suitcases out of the trunk so I can get dressed,” Linda said.
“We’ll go get them which ones do you need?” Gwen said.
“Might as well bring them all in.”
“Just put them in my room,” Susan said. “We both need a bath.”
Beth and Gwen cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen. They then went out to the car and brought in Linda’s suitcases and makeup case.
Gwen had to put on a panty gaff and pantyhose before they left for the mall. They stuck their heads in Susan’s bedroom. The Moms were nowhere to be seen so they had to be in the bathroom, the girls hollered at their Moms that they were going. The moms, in the tub together doing their thing, hollered at the kids to have a good time.
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen was kinda nervous about going out, even if she was in the car for the first part of their trip. She just stood erect and thrust her chest out and went. She began to relax a bit at the mall, when she saw how the people reacted to her. There was no pointing and laughing. She drew some attention because she did look as nice as most of the girls that were at the mall. She looked nicer than many of the shoppers there. Her clothes and makeup helped her fit right in.
The first store Beth drug Gwen in was a shoe store. Gwen had pointed out a nice pair of high heeled calf length boots, which would go nicely with her skirt. Gwen tried on a pair that was her size. The heels were stilettos that were four inches tall, but the shaft of the boots fit like a second skin, when they were zipped up. The leather shaft was buttery smooth but strong enough to help support her ankle. Gwen walked gingerly in them for a few seconds, but after that she began to strut her stuff. Beth loved them on Gwen and bought them. She had the sales lady box the sandals.
They stopped in a lot of stores that day trying on skirts, blouses, slacks and such. They bought some more jewelry for Gwen, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and such. Beth even bought some better looking clothes for Greg, shirts that would fit, some light weight pull over sweaters to help his disguise, and some straight leg girls jeans and chinos that weren’t overtly feminine and would look better than most of Greg’s oversized stuff.
The last store they came to was Victoria’s Secret. Gwen was only a little nervous there, more so when the sales lady professionally measured her for her bras. Only Beth and Susan had previously measured her before this. Gwen marveled at how comfortable some of the bras were and how sexy others were. Beth and Gwen came out with four matching panty and bra sets, along with some other lingerie.
They had a late lunch early dinner at the Mall stalling till four before heading home.
>>>>><<<<<
Susan and Linda had a fun time getting clean and helping each other dress. They dressed for comfort in shorts and Ts with very little makeup.
At two Cindy showed up dressed in slacks and a blouse. After a bit of chit chat they got down to business. Susan typed up Linda’s statement as she and Cindy talked. Linda presented the receipts to Cindy. Cindy called the Police department of the city they had been in to find out what kind of place the ‘After Hours Place’ was. They confirmed that it was a “titty bar” and that they used Richard’s Fine Foods on their receipts.
They talked for a couple of hours. Cindy read the statement on the computer and went over it with Linda verifying each point, point by point.
“Ok Linda, Meet me outside your office building fifteen minutes before you are suppose to be at work. We will go to their HR (Human Resource) Department together and present your case. They will tell you that you can file with the state and federal EEO or EEOC offices (Equal Employment Opportunity office or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office) to file a complaint. They will probably ask you to wait for an in-house review. That will be up to you. You will probably do good waiting to see how they handle it and it will ruffle fewer feathers. They can’t discriminate against you for filing though.”
“I think we have a good HR department. I will file with them first. Like I said earlier, he was read the act once already.”
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen was lost in thought on the trip home. She looked to Beth and asked, “So who is this Cindy, that our Mom’s are talking too?”
Beth sighed debating what to tell Gwen. The whole truth as she knew it won out. “Cindy is a lawyer at my Mom’s firm that handles EEO or sexual harassment complaints. How has your Mom gotten along with her boss?”
Gwen bit her lip and said. “She hasn’t really told me, I know she does good work but since she became an EA for her boss she has been rather tense and strained.”
“My guess then was there was some inappropriate behavior on this trip. Don’t worry Gwen; I think things will be alright.”
>>>>><<<<<
Cindy, Susan and Linda were talking about families when the girls got home.
“Hi Mom,” the girls said as they came into the living room carrying their purchases. They went to their Moms and got hugs.
“Cindy I know you know my daughter, this girl is Gwen as you can see she kind of attached to Linda. Gwen this is Cindy Schindler, we work at the same law firm.”
“Hello Gwen, it is so nice to meet you.” Cindy said giving her a million dollar smile. “I have to say you are as beautiful as your Mom.”
Gwen blushed upon hearing the compliment. “I don’t think I will ever be as pretty as Mom, but thank you anyway Ms. Schindler.”
“Please call me Cindy and I would not have said it, if it wasn’t true.”
“Thanks,” Gwen said. Then she looked at her Mom. “Mom is everything alright? At work I mean?”
Linda looked at her daughter and stopped to think for a few seconds, she looked to Cindy who nodded to her.
“Gwen, I am alright. There was something done that was very embarrassing to me on this trip. Not to me personally, but something I found very offensive. Melvin Wilson my boss and Jim Collins the rep from the company we were doing business with wanted to go out to eat. The place they chose was a topless bar.”
Gwen’s face got really red and she glowed with anger, “I am going to cut that guy’s balls off and stuff them done his throat. That sorry son of a bitch,” she said.
Everyone was taken back a bit by Gwen’s out burst. Cindy startled and sat upright at Gwen’s masculine display. She smiled to herself and thought that there was more to Gwen than she thought. She looked at the child with a careful eye. She didn’t act butch, was she a he, a transgendered or something. She just couldn’t tell.
“Don’t worry Gwen, that is my job,” Cindy said. “I will be happy to do that for you, at least in a legal sense.”
Gwen regained her composure and blushed, “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have gone on like that. Will all of you forgive me?”
Linda smiled, “There is nothing to forgive, Gwen. We all feel that way, but just watch your language young lady. Ladies do not call sons of bitches, sons of bitches. We use other words to describe them.”
“Well I have got to go,” Cindy said. “I have my own family to look after.”
>>>>><<<<<
“So what did you guys get at the Mall,” Linda said, eyeing all the bags.
“Well we got these boots,” Gwen said raising and extending a leg out.
Linda found it hard to believe that Gwen could walk so easily in those boots, but they looked so darling on her.
The girls then began emptying out the bags holding one item after another for inspection.
“Is all that stuff for you Gwen? How did you pay for it?” Linda said. You could hear the worry in her voice.
“Beth has a generous clothing allowance, Linda. I let her spend it anyway she wants, as long as it is legal.”
“But it is all so nice, it must have cost a fortune.”
“Linda, hush. We are happy to share with you and your lovely daughter and son.”
“But…”
“No, buts dear,” Susan said coming over and planting a kiss on Linda’s lips.
Beth and Gwen began giggling.
Linda blushed and was clearly smiling as they broke off their kiss.
Susan whispered in Linda’s ear, “They know dear, don’t be ashamed. I love you.”
Linda hugged Susan and whispered in her ear, “I guess they do, I love you too. It’s just…”
Susan quieted Linda with another kiss.
“Ok girls, time for a fashion show. Show us what you got,” Susan said.
Gwen started to pick everything up when Susan said, “We all know what you got, change here it will be easier.”
Gwen blushed, but then thought what the hell. She reached behind herself, undid the button and unzipped the skirt letting it fall.
Linda’s eyes got real big as she saw Gwen’s crotch, “How…”
“She is wearing a panty gaff, Momma Linda,” Beth said. “Let me get one so you can see.”
Beth ran to the room that Gwen kept her stuff in and came out with one. “It looks like a regular panty, but it allows her to tuck herself back.”
Linda looked closely at the panty. “It looks so small, how does it feel?”
“It’s a little uncomfortable Mom and at times it is a pain, but when I am dressed like this I like how it makes me look. I have been wearing one almost constantly for the last two weeks. It also keeps me from being embarrassed at times. I don’t tent my pants if you know what I mean.”
“OH, yes I see.”
Gwen tried on and wore everything but her panties for the mothers. Beth brought her, her vest and Gwen showed her Greg things. She took off her boots, took off her bra and dressed in her vest, chinos, dress shirt and pull over. From the neck to her feet Gwen was Greg. The hair, makeup and stocking feet were the only anomaly.
Greg then pulled his hair into a ponytail. He looked better than Linda ever remembered him looking. The pants were mid rise and fit in the hips and crotch.
After they sat and talked a while Linda finally got up and said, “Well let’s load up the car and head on home Gwen.”
>>>>><<<<<
Ms. Schindler met Linda Thomas at work. Together they went up to the third floor instead of the fifth where Linda’s office was. Inside the HR office they walked up to the receptionist’s office.
“Hello I am Becky Daniels. Can I help you,” the receptionist said.
“I am Linda Thomas and this is my attorney Ms. Cindy Schindler. I need to file an EEO complaint.”
“One moment Ms. Thomas, I need to contact a VP,” she said making a call. She spoke a few words, one phrase was EEO and hung up. “The VP of HR will be here in just a second. Please have a seat.”
Cindy and Linda barely had a chance to sit when a distinguished gentleman entered the office. He spoke briefly with the receptionist and then approached the ladies.
“Hi I am Jacob Farley vice president of Human resources.”
“I am Linda Thomas and this is my attorney Cindy Schindler.”
“If you would come with me to a private room we can discuss your problem.”
They followed him to a conference room and he assisted the ladies in sitting, before taking a chair across from them.
“The receptionist informed me that you have an EEO complaint Ms. Thomas, is that correct?”
“Yes it is.”
“May I record this session and may I have my EA here to take notes?”
“Yes you may, Mr. Farley,” Cindy said.
“Good,” he said and he made a call. A few minutes later a man with a recorder, laptop computer and a note pad came in. He sat at the head of the table and nodded to his boss.
“Ladies this is Fred Watson, my executive assistant. Fred this is Linda Thomas an employee of ours and Ms. Cindy Schindler attorney at law. You may start the recorder Fred.”
Jacob then read a statement into the record dealing with EEO complaints. He read from a document for about ten minutes. It was about the company’s rights and responsibilities, the employees’ rights and responsibilities, the rights of anybody accused and the consequences of making false accusations. He signed the document and handed it to Linda. “You may look that document over, I read it word for word. After you finish would you please sign it. Return the top two copies to me and you may keep the next two copies.”
Cindy and Linda read it over before signing it. Cindy kept the fourth copy, and Linda the third.
“I am sorry that that took so long, but these days we have to be circumspect in our actions.”
“I understand Mr. Farley,” Cindy said. “It’s ashamed that not everybody takes such care.”
Jacob opened a file that Fred had brought in. “Ok Ms. Thomas, I see that you work as an executive assistant for Melvin Lorenz, is that correct?”
“Yes it is.”
“Ok, now tell me about your complaint.”
Linda laid out her complaint to Mr. Farley going deeply into detail. Mr. Farley checked Linda’s folder when she said that Mr. Lorenz had been put on notice for prior bad language. He then checked Mr. Lorenz’s folder. Linda talked for about forty five minutes detailing the events. Fred seemed to be typing everything said, without a problem. Linda left out the parts about Melvin tenting out his pants and a few unnecessary details
“You say you have documentation?”
“Yes I do,” Linda said handing the receipts over to Mr. Farley.”
“I called the local police department and verified that the address on the receipts was definitely a SOB (Sexually Oriented Business), Mr. Farley,” Cindy said.
“I acknowledge receipt of two documents. The first a receipt from Richard’s Fine Foods and a taxi receipt,” Jacob said, he made marks on the receipts.
Mr. Farley then asked about ten questions. He wanted to know whose idea the place they went was, anything said by Melvin or the client, a description of the place, who did what and so forth.
“Ok, is there anything else I need to know.”
“No sir,” Linda said.
“I am giving you the next two days off on comp time. These days are not coming out of anytime you currently posses and neither will this time off be taken against you in anyway. We will take this time to do an internal investigation. You may contact State and Federal EEO or EEOC offices, but we would like to be given a chance to take care of this matter internally. It is up to you and your attorney. You don’t have to inform me of your decision if you don’t want to.”
“I will wait for your internal investigation, before I file any other complaint,” Linda said.
“Thank you very much, you may leave now. I have a lot of work to do,” he said, sounding somewhat irritated.
“That was short but sweet,” Linda said as they headed out of the building.
“He covered what was necessary for his investigation. They handled it quite well so far. I will be here for you for any meetings they may require,” Cindy said giving Linda a hug of support.
>>>>><<<<<
At school Greg was surprised that he was given a clear berth from by the guys who ragged on him all the time. What he didn’t know was the extent of the word that had been put out to leave him and his girlfriend alone. Beth and Greg were now sacred cows so to speak.
Many of the girls also commented on Greg’s appearance. Instead of the baggy Levis and sweat shirt he usually wore, he was dressed in a nice shirt, pull over sweater (that and his vest hid his non-manly curves) and a pair of chinos.
“Why are they commenting so much on what I am wearing?” Greg asked Beth.
“Girls know how much effort it takes to look good. It is their way of acknowledging the effort it took for you to look this way. They also talk among their friends about people who look ratty.”
>>>>><<<<<
After the last bell, Greg met Beth to head out, as they hit the front door they heard a voice calling out their names. They turned to see Linda off to their left waving at them.
“Mom, you didn’t get fired did you?”
“No, of course not dear. They did give me two days comp time though, so I decided to pick you two up.”
“That is so thoughtful Momma Linda,” Beth said. “Did you tell my Mom?”
“Yes she told me that you two had to see about some costumes. I told her I was off so I volunteered to take you two.”
“Great,” Gwen said a little hesitantly.
Beth gave Linda directions to where they had to go. When they got to the shop she also introduced Linda to Madeline. Linda was a little confused about coming to a seamstress shop for costumes.
“Stay here while I assist the kids in getting dressed. I am sure they want this to be a surprise to you.”
Greg and Beth went in the back and into separate dressing rooms. Madeline helped Greg first. She smiled when she saw he had on pantyhose and panties. She helped him into a blue brocade overbust corset. The corset had underwire cups to which Madeline added some silicone forms to fill out the D sized cups. She then laced him down to twenty five inches. She helped him into a pair of patent leather heels that had a four inch stiletto heel to them and told him to walk around and get use to the heels and corset.
Greg handed Madeline his vest for Beth to wear. Madeline assisted Beth into a union suit with a bottom flap, Greg’s vest and a pair of Doc Martens. Four petticoats were draped over Beth and an ankle length, long sleeved, high neck formal with a wide full skirt. The gown was Ice blue and had lace, ruffles and beads, not quite a wedding dress but just as pretty. The bodice of the dress looked so huge to Beth but lacked the usual darting at the bust that most women’s wear has. Madeline must have remade the bodice for this dress. The last things Beth put on was a wig that looked like a cheap long haired blonde wig someone would wear for Halloween, and a goatee. The moustache and goatee was pasted on with spirit gum.
Back in Greg’s dressing room Madeline then trimmed Greg’s waist down to the required twenty four inches and tied off the corset. Greg then put on the tux pants, shirt, vest and coat. His clothes needed to be altered, everything fit a little loosely.
Madeline had the kids put on some masks, they just covered from the cheeks to the forehead and were quite elaborate. Greg’s was white and had feather trimming around the upper edges, Beth’s was similar in black.
Linda was in shock when the kids were led out she couldn’t figure out who was who, but as she looked at the one in the tux she knew it was Greg.
“Oh my Greg that is you isn’t it.”
“Yes it is me.”
“I am going to alter the tux till it fits like a glove,” Madeline said. “We vamped up Greg’s looks. They are doing a Victor/ Victoria, Victoria/Victor type thing. We thought that even if he was identified, which I doubt, it would give him an out,” Madeline said. “On Halloween Greg will have his hair done and be wearing makeup.”
“If I hadn’t expected my child to come out, I never would have picked him out. I like this a lot I think. Beth you look great for a guy, wearing a dress.” Linda giggled, looking at the girl.
“I think so too,” she said in her manliest voice. She failed, she sounded like a girl trying to sound like a guy, as she tried to pump her bicep up.
“You are so studly, Beth,” Gwen said in a very girlish voice, as she pretended to hang on Beth’s bicep. “You are so my Hero.”
Linda just shook her head and found a place to sit down.
Madeline checked Beth dress first; she had the least to do to it. It only took her ten minutes of marking and pining. On Greg she had to alter the works. She started marking, the coat, the pants, the vest and shirt. It took a little over an hour for her to fit Greg.
“I will need Greg back next Monday to check the fit and then I will have everything ready for the next weekend.”
“How much is all of this costing?” Linda asked.
“Don’t worry about the cost, Susan has helped me so much and I just love what the kids are doing. I have plenty of time to do it. My employees do most of the work here and I save myself for my special clients.”
The kids went back to the dressing rooms to change. Greg found his clothes missing and in their place he found a skirt, blouse, cardigan and purse. In the purse he found his makeup. He changed into what was there. The blouse and cardigan were big enough to accommodate his extended bust and the skirt accommodated his waist. Beth didn’t have it with her when she came, Mom didn’t know, which left Susan or Madeline. Madeline was out because of the purse. Susan must have bought this stuff and brought it over.
He couldn’t get over how big his boobs looked and how much they weighed. He looked at himself in the mirror, he only saw a girl or rather a woman, who had a child’s face. He did his makeup, making it a little heavier than he would normally. He had an elegant appearance instead of a cheap appearance.
Linda’s jaw dropped and Beth eye’s got as big as saucers when they saw Gwen.
“How do I look?” Gwen asked.
“My God Gwen, if your face looked older you could pass for twenty two or so. As you are, you look nineteen easily,” Linda said.
“You look fabulous Gwen, I am so jealous of how you look,” Beth said.
“You do look nice dear,” Madeline added. “Susan brought some things over so you wouldn’t have to get out of character.”
Linda took the two girls out to eat, she watched Gwen out of the corner of her eye. Gwen was feminine in everything she did, the way she talked, the way she walked, the way she ate, and even the way she smiled. All of these things spoke volumes about a young lady.
“Gwen are you happy?”
“Yes Mom, I am happier than I have been in a long time. I want you to know that I love you so much Mom and I appreciate the way you have accepted what has happened to me so far.”
>>>>><<<<<
Beth was shocked to Greg the next morning, he looked a little sadder to be in his boy clothes. It was strange again how school went, as Greg was treated with a modicum of respect from even the students that usually harassed him.
After school Greg switched back to Gwen. Beth and Gwen then worked on Greg’s resume and a letter that they would send to the corporations, science and research foundations. Susan told them, that she would go over everything for them and their friends, if they liked.
>>>>><<<<<
Tuesday Linda got a call from the office. They wanted her to come in on Wednesday for a conference. Linda called Cindy’s office and passed on the time of the meeting to her.
Ten o’clock found Linda outside the HR office with Cindy. They were greeted by Becky, who made a phone call announcing their arrival. They were led back to a conference room. There were two chairs on one side of the table and five on the other. There was also a tape recorder and a steno machine set up.
After a short wait six people entered the room. Introductions were made and they got to business. Of note was the presence of an executive Vice president from their clients office.
Jacob Farley began by telling them that this meeting was being recorded by tape and steno and that they could get a transcript of the meeting next Monday. After finishing the formalities he got into the purpose of the Meeting.
“Ms. Thomas we have concluded our investigation of you claim. We found that you were indeed taken to an SOB against policy and that Mr. Lorenz failed to provide adequate protection to your rights. This is his second offense.”
“If it is agreeable to you, we will offer you a lateral transfer to another office. Mr. Lorenz has been demoted for allowing this to happen to you. He and any of our executives that we find to engaging in similar conduct are to attend and EEO workshop. It seems that this is not an unusual incident. Any further transgressions where an employee fails to protect the rights of their subordinates will be dealt with termination. It is our intent to provide a safe and comfortable workplace. We ask that you avoid contacting Mr. Lorenz on other than on legitimate business and he has been told the same on this matter. Violation of that item could result in a demotion or termination. We are also offering a settlement in this cause and a waiver of further actions related to this incident,” he said handing two copies of the proposed settlement to Linda and Cindy.
“We hope that our actions show our good faith and that no further proceedings are necessary. Acceptance of the settlement also includes a confidentiality agreement.”
Linda and Cindy looked over the agreement. They offered her twenty thousand dollars. The agreement also stated that this action could not be held against her, in her future employment or for promotions.
Mr. Ashton then began speaking, “On behalf of my company, I offer my humble apologies for the incident. We have terminated the offending employee and are sending our executives to EEO workshops. We hope that this settlement will bring a close to our involvement in this issue. We too take a dim view of our employees subjecting our vendors or clients to inappropriate behaviors,” he said handing Linda and Cindy two copies of their agreement.
This agreement was for a lot less, only five thousand, and contained a similar confidentiality clause and a waiver from further actions on this incident.
Linda and Cindy were given an opportunity to discuss the settlement. It was a good offer Cindy pointed out. The incident wasn’t as serious as it could have been. It would endear her with the company not to take it any further, Cindy pointed out. She also pointed out that the confidentiality was two way, the companies couldn’t talk about it either.
Linda agreed and signed the settlements, and she was handed two checks. She was told to report to HR next Monday for reassignment.
Beth and Greg were thrilled to hear the news when they got home after school.
>>>>><<<<<
Friday Beth and Gwen spent the night at Susan and Beth’s home, Beth and Gwen in separate beds. At least the kids had some quality time together.
Saturday found Susan and Linda dressed as for work, everyone got kisses and the adults left for work. Gwen dressed as Greg; he tried to look as sharp as he could. Gwen looking nice had rubbed off on Greg. He dressed in a gaff, pantyhose, socks, a dress shirt, blacks dress pants, a nice pull over sweater and a pair of tassel loafers. Linda dressed in a nice cobalt blue business suit and did the full makeup thing.
They caught the bus to college and headed to the library. Josh and Anna smiled as they saw their friends come in. The funny thing was that Josh was in his usual grungies and Anna was in a really nice heather gray knit, sleeveless, belted, sheath dress, matching opaque tights, and heels.
“Did we plan dress up day and forget to tell me,” Josh said. “You all look great.”
“No we didn’t plan this, I just wanted to look good for my main squeeze, Linda,” Greg said.
“I better be your only squeeze or I will show all of you how we turn a rooster into a hen,” Beth said, snickering.
Greg instinctively covered something important.
“Ok, Beth’s Mom, she’s a big time corporate lawyer, helped us design a letter asking for donations of materials for experiments on superconductivity.” Greg said passing out copies of the letter. The fifteen X’s is where we put the person’s or entities name. She also helped us fleshed out our proposed experiment. We just need copies of our resumes.”
“Do you really think that this will work?” Josh asked. He really wanted to get his hands on some materials to experiment with, but he didn’t know if it was realistic.
“I don’t know Josh. We are just three people. You are a Master’s candidate in chemistry and physics, Anna is a senior in physics and chemistry and I am just a genius nerd high school student. It probably won’t work, but what would happen if it did. They can’t shoot us for just asking.”
Anna handed Beth a USB drive, “My resume is on this drive.”
Josh hadn’t worked on his resume, but they got him to tell Linda about himself and his accomplishments and grades. Beth typed the information and would organize it into a resume later.
Anna was looking over Beth’s shoulder as she typed, “Josh, since you are the most educated, we will need to make you our group leader. We will also need copies of your high school and college transcripts to add to your resume.”
“Ok, I am on board. Greg, you and I need to come up with a shopping list of what we want.”
“I can do that, I have researched other peoples’ experiments with superconductivity and I have some ideas for other chemicals that might work.”
“Some of the materials are cheap enough. Ok you do some research in the scientific journals on what others are using and I will hit the published theses on superconductivity. We will compare our lists next week.”
“I would like to see us get some of all the top ten elements used in superconductivity research.”
“Me too,” Josh said.
Their brain storming session didn’t last much longer. Greg and Beth headed to the Student Union with Anna to eat.
“So why did you dress up today Anna,” Greg asked.
“Beth has met with us all these times, and she has always dressed up, so I couldn’t let her be the only person in our group holding up the feminine card so to speak. Besides, it’s fun to get dressed up occasionally.”
“Well I am prejudiced, but I think you look almost as good as Beth,” Greg said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment then. You do look smashing Beth why did you dress up?”
Beth grabbed Greg’s arm possessively, “Do you really have to ask?”
Anna laughed, “I guess not.”
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen made an appearance when the kids got home. Beth got Gwen all dolled up in one of her suits. It was what she called her five piece suit. The jacket was a navy and she had two skirts to go with it a navy skirt and a canyon rock grey skirt. She also had the same mix in pants. Over half of her blouses looked good with her suit, so she could create hundreds of looks with those five pieces, when you throw in accessories.
Beth first corseted Gwen, so she would get use to the corset for the dance. Madeline had given Gwen another corset to fit her natural bust and told her to wear it often. Beth took Gwen’s waist down to twenty-five and half inches. Gwen’s boobs looked like they were ready to pop out, but the corset kept them confined. Gwen changed her pantyhose to gray stay up stockings and navy pumps. Beth then tightened Gwen down to twenty-four and a half inches. Gwen’s waist was slightly smaller than she needed it to be to get in the skirt. Next she buttoned Gwen into a long sleeve lavender blouse that buttoned up the back. The grey side button skirt and the navy jacket.
Beth was rolling Gwen’s hair in her hot rollers, when their parents came in.
“Hello kiddos,” Linda said. “Oh my, can I do Gwen’s makeup. I have never been able to do that before.”
“Sure Momma dive on in,” Gwen said.
Linda first carefully examined Gwen face before she began to work, she cleansed and moisturized before she started working a concealer in around the nose and the places she knew Gwen’s face creased at. Gwen could see in the mirror that her Mom was doing more than either Beth or Susan had done, especially with the eyeliner and eye shadow. She also used a bit more blush on her cheeks. She finished Gwen’s look with a long wear lipstick and gloss.
Linda checked the rollers and then unrolled Gwen’s hair. She looked at it and began to work on it. She was having fun like she never had before. Linda was using a lot of tricks to work volume and style in. She finished it off by setting the style with hair spray.
Gwen was speechless; she couldn’t believe how glamorous she looked. Her mom had gone almost over the top, but she looked so good, no make that glamorous. She didn’t know anything about runway models, but she could picture her face on a runway.
Gwen stood and Beth helped her into the matching jacket. She too was dumbfounded by how her friend looked. The clip on earrings, necklace cuff bracelets and a pin completed the look.
“She needs to get her ears pierced,” Linda said. “But that can wait till Christmas break. I really love pierced earrings.”
“Well,” Susan said, “Why don’t we all get fixed up and go out to eat. Would you like to do that Gwen?”
Gwen wasn’t certain she wanted to be under such close scrutiny for so long, but she looked so absolutely glamorous that another part of her wanted to be seen, “I ah… think that is a wonderful idea.”
The rest of the girls had some work to do. Susan helped her daughter do her makeup in a similar glamour style and then Linda and Susan had theirs to do. They then found four scents that weren’t overpowering and didn’t clash with each other.
Gwen smiled at herself and couldn’t help smelling the wonderful flowery cologne Beth had sprayed her with. The fragrance was strong at first, but mellowed a bit as they drove to a mall that had several nice restaurants in it.
At the mall they didn’t just go straight to the restaurant on the third floor, they slowly strolled through the mall, stopping to look at the mannequins in the store front windows. Greg had walked through a mall before and had even glanced at some of the fashion displayed, but he had never spent as much time appreciating what she saw now.
Her breath caught though, when out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a girl in a grey dress.
“Beth, Anna is a few stores away.”
“Where?”
“Just to our left.”
Beth turned and saw Anna and another girl window shopping, “I don’t think she would recognized you.”
“She is very bright. She will recognize you and then put two and two together. I think I just need to walk past her alone. That will give me the greatest chance of not being recognized.”
The two girls told their moms about the problem. Gwen walked away from everyone, crossed to the stores on the other side till she was well past Anna. Beth and the two Moms did actually walk toward Anna. Anna smiled when she saw Beth.
“Hi Beth,”
Beth smiled brightly and said, “Oh hi Anna, how are you?”
“I am doing good. This is Wendy Right, she is my suite mate on campus.”
“This is my mom Susan Carlyle and Linda Thomas.”
Anna shook hands with Linda, “Oh you must be Greg’s Mom.”
“Yes I am.”
“I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed the discussions we have had with your. He has a wonderful mind and really keeps me on my toes. Wendy you know that boy that Josh and I meet in the library each Saturday.”
“The way you talk about him how could I not know about him,” Wendy giggled.
“And you are the lawyer that is helping us out.”
“Guilty as charged,” Susan said. “I like helping other people out, especially when my daughter speaks so highly of all of you.”
“Thank you so much Mrs. Carlyle, for everything you doing for us. So where is Greg, Beth?”
“He has his nose buried in his computer making a list of corporations and research groups who are working on superconductivity,” Beth said, thinking fast.
“That sounds just about right, but he needs to learn to relax. He could burn out before he is twenty.”
“Actually he is doing much better on that, since he has met Beth. She has gotten him interested in other things,” Linda said. She almost laughed at the thought.
“I am glad. Beth has been a wonderful addition to our group. She asks us questions that make us think harder and she types like a whiz. I am good on a keyboard but Beth is great.”
“Well we need to get going. We are meeting a friend at a restaurant,” Susan said.
“Wendy and I need to get going too. Our movie starts in about fifteen minutes.”
Susan, Linda and Beth walked a few stores farther and then checked behind them. Beth then got her cell phone out and called Gwen. Gwen told then that she was in the Barnes and Nobles bookstore.
They found her in the coffee shop portion with tablet out. She was actually surfing the web and drinking a Latte to calm her nerves. She put her tablet up and finished her drink.
“How did it go?”
“We ran into Anna and talked for a bit. She and her suitemate then headed to the movie theater.” Linda said. “Beth told her you had your nose buried in a computer.”
“Yes I was busy on my tablet.”
They window shopped for another hour before heading to the third floor restaurant. The place was packed so they had to wait about fifteen minutes for a seat. When they were finally seated, Susan and Linda ordered white wine and the girls ordered iced tea, while they looked over the menus.
Gwen was hungry but she knew she would never be able to finish some of the items on the menu, so she asked Beth, “Hey do you want to split something? I am starving but this dang corset won’t let me eat.”
“Okay, let’s order the seafood platter and an extra plate.”
The seafood platter had one stuffed crab, four butterfly shrimp, two pieces of fish and two fried oysters.
“Gwen I wouldn’t have believed how good you are, if I haven’t seen it with my own eyes,” Linda whispered to those at the table. “You haven’t been perfect, but nothing you have done says that you are not a girl.”
“Maybe this is who I should be Mom. It will be easier for me to be this way. I’m not really looking forward to all those surgeries I’m going to need to look right.”
“You want to be a girl?” She asked.
“I want to be me, Mom. If it is easier for me to be a girl, so be it. I like looking like this. You, Beth and Susan were the only people not to treat Greg as a geeky nobody. Gwen doesn’t get treated that way.”
“Do you think you would want to go all the way and have surgery?”
“I don’t think so, at least not right now. Like I said, I am not really keen on surgery. I know it is way too early to talk about kids, but if I do want kids, I can’t do anything permanent. I also think Beth might have a say in what I do.”
“If Gwen is happy like this, then I am happy. I don’t really want her to go all the way and become a woman. I like that Greg can be my boyfriend and Gwen can be my girlfriend.”
“We are years away from that point. From what I know, nothing can be done medically permanent till Gwen is eighteen. So she has plenty of time to consider that,” Susan said. “Gwen are you really happy now.”
“Yes I am.”
“Are you happier as Gwen or Greg?” Linda asked.
“I guess I like being both, but if I had to choose, I know it isn’t possible right now right to be Gwen full time, but I like being Gwen when I can.”
“Don’t get me wrong Gwen, I love my son, but it is fun having you around,” Linda said.
When the food came, Beth and Gwen split their meal, Beth got the stuffed crab, two shrimp and one fish filet and Gwen got the oysters, two shrimp and one fish filet. The kids had a separate conversation as their Moms were busy talking with each other. The looks they were sharing had nothing to do with the words that were coming out of their mouths at the time.
Beth leaned over and whispered to Gwen, “Maybe our Moms are going to get together and we will be living in the same home.”
“I think your right, I just hope our Moms are happy.”
“Me too. I think they both work too hard.”
Gwen turned to their Moms, “Beth and I are going to take the bus Beth’s home Mom. Why don’t the two of you just enjoy yourselves?”
“Well if you promise to go straight home take my car, we will let our hair out and take a cab home,” Susan said. “But you two better be good.”
“We’re just going to wander around the mall a bit before we head out, if that is ok?” Beth asked.
Susan checked her watch, “That’s alright as long as you both are home by eight.”
Beth and Gwen left the Restaurant after they finished eating, and went window shopping. Beth found this cool teen store and the two of them had to try on a lot of stuff. Gwen learned about wearing a corset as outer wear, goth clothing (some of it was pretty cool), hats (Greg wasn’t much of a hat man, but Gwen actually liked some of them) and such. Gwen could see the fashion trends that many girls at school wore and how many of the items there could be mixed or matched. They each bought a couple of blouses and skirts there.
“As much as I hate to say this, I think we need to head on home. It’s thirty minutes to eight. Knowing my mom, she will call home, to see if we made it there one minute after eight.”
“It’s strange, I never had so much just shopping for clothes.”
“It’s nice isn’t it, hunting for things that can make you look spectacular. I love you so much Gwen.”
“I love you too, Beth. Besides my Mom, you are the most important person in my life.”
“I can live with that.”
They walked out to the car and went home. Sure enough Susan called at five minutes after eight. Beth giggled and told her Mom to have fun.
Beth led Gwen to her room, where they both undressed. Beth Then fixed them a bubble bath to share. They kept their touches and caresses somewhat sedate. Beth didn’t want them to start something only to have to finish it by having sex together. They did have fun though. For the most part Gwen sat in front of Beth. They both still got each other off.
After they dried off and rolled their hair. Gwen was again corseted in a below the bust corset, and they both wore panties with their silk negligees. They cuddled and watched TV till ten thirty, when they went to bed separately.
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday the kids got up and after fixing breakfast for themselves. They dressed up, Gwen worked on her hair and face, with Beth’s assistance. Gwen was getting better at it, but she was far from being as competent as Beth. Gwen was good though at matching clothes, she was a fast learner. They finally came out dressed in one of their new just above knee length skirts, blouses, opaque tights and heels. Beth adorned the two of them in beads, belts, chains, pins and other teenager jewelry.
The parents didn’t get up till after eleven on Sunday. They came out of Susan’s bedroom in their robes, holding their heads. Beth brewed a potion (Tomato juice, lime juice, dash of tobasco sauce, pinch of salt, dash of black pepper, celery, 1000mg vitamin c, a multivitamin and a raw egg pureed together, plus two Tylenol) for the two mom’s that helped them get over their hangovers.
The kids massaged their moms’ shoulders and necks till they two women almost began purring.
“I could get use to this,” Linda said.
“Did we have fun last night?” Susan asked, still in a little pain.
“Oh yes, we had fun,” Linda said, giggling like a school girl.
Susan reached over and gave Linda a sedate kiss, “Not a word to the kids, but we will have to talk later.”
“I’ll go make you two a warm bubble bath,” Beth said. “You two can talk while you soak out all of your tight muscles.”
Linda and Susan were in Susan’s room for an over hour and a half. They came out arm and arm dressed in some of Susan’s casual chic clothes. Susan had on worn jeans, a sweater top, black blazer and black thigh boots. Linda was wearing black gem studded jeans, a pink print peasant blouse, a red blazer and faux fur trimed knee high boots.
Gwen had to whistle at their moms, “You two are smoking, girls.”
Linda hugged a smiling Linda to her side, “Why thank you. You two aren’t looking to bad either.”
“Would you two like to go shopping?” Susan asked.
“Go get our purses, Gwen, I will get our coats.”
When Gwen got back, Beth helped her into a short faux mink jacket, while she was dressed in a faux silver fox coat. It was a little cool outside.
The two teens had to hurry to the car. The temperature was in the low-fortties and there was a strong breeze. Gwen also had to learn about skirt control.
Linda was chuckling at Gwen after they reached the sanctuary of the Mercedes, “You need a good pair of lined boots and a long coast Gwen, if you are going to be a girlie girl. But I think you did really well keeping your skirt down.”
“That was a cold shot to the family jewels,” Gwen said.
The other three broke out laughing, “It’s not funny.”
“We aren’t laughing at you. It’s just hearing that and seeing you in a skirt. You might expect a girl to complain about her pussy being frozen, not her family jewels.” Beth said, barely in control.
“And girls would only say that is the presence of just girls,” Susan added. “With boys present she would just grin and bear it.”
At the mall the women piloted them to the teen stores. Their first stop was a shoe store. Linda steered her daughter to the boots. Gwen saw a pair of boots she wnated to try on. The boots were black suede and came just under her knee. They were lined in faux fur that felt like rabbit and had a removable band of silver grey faux fur around the top. The heel was a stacked heel about four inches tall and much larger than a stiletto at the base. The heel and sole were done in a no slip rubber.
“Oooo … I love these,” Gwen said, as she slipped one on. “I love the way the fur feels.”
“Just be warned that they can get very hot. They are a winter style boot, Gwen,” Linda said.
Gwen tried on another boot, which was just silk lined leather, with a three inch stiletto heel. Linda bought both pair of flats. Gwen wore the fur lined boots out of the store. She liked being taller than Beth.
Linda was so happy, at being able to take her daughter out shopping for clothes. She liked that Gwen could actually look so good. She didn’t blame Greg, for having his problem. She helped him disguise his problem which had him looking just so plain and dowdy as a boy. She had liked the way her son had looked in the boys’ clothes Beth had gotten him. Nothing though even came close to the way Gwen had blossomed.
Linda got carried away and Gwen just soaked it all in. In hours she had a complete wardrobe that would rival any other teen girls’ wardrobe. She thought that Gwen could go to high school and nobody would ever guess, but she liked where they lived and would hate to move to another school district, but it might be time to suggest that Greg should graduate. But then what would Gwen do. Go to MIT or Stanford, go to the local University, or stay at home for a few years. It was too difficult to think about.
Susan drove by Linda’s and Greg’s place. She told them to get what they needed for tomorrow and that they were spending the night again, with her and her daughter. Neither of them argued the point. Linda and Susan headed to Linda’s room. While Beth and Gwen headed to Greg’s room.
When they finally got to Susan’s place they made Gwen take a bath and wash her hair. Gwen still dressed in her feminine things after she dried off. Linda used a hair straightener; she had bought to take out Gwen’s curls. Still her hair looked so feminine.
>>>>><<<<<
The school days before Halloween were much the same as before except Monday. Linda picked the kids up after school and drove them over to Madeline’s. Linda had a couple of bags of things for the kids. Madeline assisted Beth in getting ready and Linda worked with Greg/Gwen. Greg took off his clothes just to expose his camisole, panties and pantyhose. Linda helped him into the corset and tightened it unmercifully. The corset was so tight she had to help Gwen finish getting dressed. Also Gwen had never worn a tux shirt before; Linda had to help him with the tux studs and cuff links. The shirt was tailored to fit around Gwen’s enhanced bust very nicely. Her 5 inch tall patent leather pumps followed her pants, and came before her tux vest and jacket. The final touch was the bow tie. Linda loved tied the tie for Gwen.
Gwen walked around tentatively in the heels. They were the tallest heels she had ever worn and it felt like she was walking on the tips of her toes. Linda loved what she saw and from the way that Gwen was posing for the mirror, she figured that Gwen liked what she saw. The tux fit her perfectly; Gwen couldn’t wear it if she gained another pound or two. As it was Linda had just tightened the corset just enough. Gwen looked very sharp. Gwen could sit, stand and walk well.
Linda and Gwen met Madeline and Bart in the back room. Bart was flat chested and almost a perfect rectangle from the waist up. He was wearing his gown, petticoats and Doc Martin boots. Madeline had speckled his face lightly with black makeup to give her a five o’clock shadow and he wore the three foot long straw colored wig. With just minimal makeup they both looked rather convincing.
Madeline checked Bart and Gwen very closely, before she pronounced the costumes fit. She had a big smile on her face as she looked at her charges.
“Well Linda, what do you think?” Madeline asked.
“I am stunned. They look like a girl in a Tux and a boy in a dress. Gwen actually fits her role better. Bart needs to learn how to walk and stand like a guy in a dress, or go completely campy.”
“I agree. They should also practice dancing tonight with those shoes on.”
Beth dressed in jeans and shirt, while Gwen dressed in a skirt blouse and heels. They took their costumes home with them. After they did their homework and ate dinner. Susan and Linda played some music and began giving them dancing lessons. The kids practiced dancing to several different kinds of music. It was obvious that Gwen needed the most practice, Greg never took the time to try any dancing at all. but after a couple of hours of practice Gwen showed some promise.
Every evening after school that week Greg became Gwen and wore her corset tied down very tight and her five inch heels. She would practice walking, sitting and things while she helped Beth with her homework, after which the kids would practice dancing.
Friday the kids got to wear their costumes to school. Greg wore a Harry Potter costume and Beth wore Ginny Weasley costume. They didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag about what they were wearing on Saturday. They did receive some ridicule for being so childish, but things went pretty well.
Saturday Beth drove Greg to college instead of taking the bus. He walked kind of strangely to the library. He did wear his vest, but he also wore a waist nipper beneath it. Anna and josh welcomed their friends and got right to work.
Anna had an idea on superconductivity and Josh was happy to see her working on a crystal lattice that she thought might explain the migration of electrons to the surface of a conductor. She plotted Barium, Yttrium, Copper and Osmium atoms in a lattice. She had a problem though there were very regular voids in her lattice that she just couldn’t fill. When Greg ran a simulation of the materials going from molten to solid, the materials started forming the lattice, but once several of these voids appeared the lattice seemed to warp. They needed an element or molecule to plug into these voids. They all tried to plug the voids with various atoms and molecules, but nothing seemed to fit. They worked hard for a couple of hours but didn’t make any progress.
>>>>><<<<<
The kids didn’t stop and eat after they left the library, much to Anna’s consternation. She had wanted to talk. Instead they went straight home and first got Gwen into her corset and her padded brief, over which she wore a tank and a pair of shorts. Zane arrived at their home shortly after Susan and Linda got home. She set about getting their makeup done. On Bart she took some face putty and broadened his chin and modify his cheeks. She then lengthened his ear lobes, gave him a five o’clock shadow and crowned him with a cheap looking wig. The last thing she did was paint on a black mask with acrylic paint.
There was very little there that suggested that Bart was or had been Beth. Gwen had gotten dressed and was ready for Zane. Zane took a lot of time on Gwen. She worked with putty on her cheeks, added lip plumper several times over two hours. She plucked a little more of her brow. Her hair came next. First she added a handful of falls. She tried several things, before settling on a half up do with jeweled chopsticks and lots of curls hanging down below a bun. Gwen had the illusion of having much more hair than Greg ever had. Zane finished Gwen’s makeup and then painted on a white mask with large eye holes. She trimmed the mask by gluing white feathers and rhinestones around the edge. Zane let Gwen eat something light and drink a little before she finished by doing her lips. Gwen’s lips had plumped up a bit. Zane coated those lips with a really red lip color and after letting the lip color set, she added a diamond sparkle lip gloss in silver.
Gwen’s lips looked very enticing and kissable, but it was several minutes before Bart was allowed to kiss those lips. Everything had to set first. As much as Bart was disguised Gwen was more so. Nobody would ever guess who the girl in the tux was.
The last thing they did was use to take care of their needs in the bathroom. Susan had discussed what they should do if they needed to use a restroom, but she cautioned them to try not using the restrooms at the school.
The kids were surprised when a limo came to pick them up at seven.
“Kids this is my surprise for you,” Susan said. “The firm let me borrow the limo we use for our clients. The driver will drop you off and then pick you up at ten to eleven, or you can call or text the driver, If you want to leave earlier. Wait inside till the limo comes. I don’t want either of you just wandering around outside the school.”
A female chauffer opened the limo door and Gwen was assisted into the limo by Bart. It was humorous to see Bart gathering up his skirt and step into the limo showing off the legs of the red union suit. Linda had to support Susan who was cracking up. They would use the video to entertain or blackmail their children later.
It was a ten minute ride to the school. They were dropped off just yards away from the entrance to the gym. They just had to enter one door and the gym was to the right.
Teachers were taking tickets and checking id’s and noting the costume. The dance rules stated that one person who was a student could bring one guest of school age who wasn’t a student. The kids that didn’t want to be identified generally had to make their identities known to the Vice Principal Sonia Colson. Beth and Gwen took this route. They whispered to Mrs. Colson who they were. Mrs. Colson’s eyes got really big as she looked the two over.
She then began laughing, “Really! I can’t believe it, but I can hear it with my own ears.” She said, smiling. She got consecutive numbers from registration and tagged the two kids. “You two go on in and have fun. I’ll be watching over you,”
Bart took Gwen’s hand and led her into the gym. The decoration committee had gone all out, there were bats, spiders, spider webs, tombstones, ghosts, goblins, smoking caldrons, witches, warlocks and skeletons all over the place. There was an altar set up with a body tied down on it. The tables was arraigned in a “U” towards a setup stage, with a large dance floor in the middle Gwen chose a table near, the refreshment bar.
Their entrance got everyone gossiping and wondering who the two were. Some students speculated about who they could be, but they were all miles away. The most popular guess was that they were both guests of other people.
Gwen had actually become a fair dancer with all the practice she had over the last week. Quite a few guys tried to tap Bart out so they could dance with Gwen. Neither Bart nor Gwen said a word, they just continued on dancing together, with Bart taking the male role. There were many ballroom dances this night, but there were a few slow dances.
The slow dances were the ones that brought out the wolves. They all wanted to rub up against Gwen during a slow. One guy got particularly nasty about wanting to dance with Gwen. He drew back like to punch Bart. He stopped though as he saw the football coach approaching in a hurry. He didn’t get busted for throwing a punch, but he was asked to leave.
There was a contest to see who could identify who in costume. Gwen and Bart didn’t participate but many others did. There were twelve people that were unidentified late in the dance. Gwen and Bart were misidentified by one person, who thought Bart was Greg and Gwen was Beth. The VP threw that id out. The contest stated the person had to pick the right person, wearing the right number. Those that were unidentified were invited up on stage for one last shot at being identified. Gwen and Bart declined the honor. The crowd insisted, they really wanted to know who they were, but Mrs. Colson said it was their right not to be identified.
Gwen whispered to Bart that they needed to go about ten fifteen. Even though she had used the bathroom before they left home and despite the fact that she didn’t drink much, her corset compressed bladder was almost full. Bart called for the limo.
As they were leaving a group of boys and girls approached, trying to find out who they were. They didn’t want to take no for an answer and didn’t like the silent routine. One guy tried to pull off Bart’s mask, but found it was just paint. Their anonymity was saved by a teacher. The limo picked them up and whisked them off.
The driver was a professional, who knew how to protect her charges. When she thought she was being followed she made a few extra turns. She caught some good yellow lights along the way. She got the kids safely to Susan’s home.
>>>>><<<<<
“Mom, I think I am going to go ahead and test out of high school,” Gwen said. “The party has shown me that I can’t trust the high school students.”
“What happened?” Linda asked, as she helped clean up Gwen’s face paint.
“Nothing really happened, but someone wanted to hit me just to dance with Gwen.” Beth said. “And someone was disappointed that they couldn’t unmask me, also. Teachers kept anything from happening.”
“But I am sure something would have happened, if they knew who we were.”
“Something might have happened,” Susan said. “We made you too good, Gwen. Maybe we shouldn’t have gone that far?”
“No Mrs. Carlyle what we did wasn’t wrong. So don’t go second guessing yourself.”
“I kind of feel you may be right Gwen,” Linda pondered. “But let’s sleep on this and talk about it tomorrow.”
>>>>><<<<<
Gwen and Beth beat their moms up by two hours. They showered together and got dressed up. Gwen wore her corset just not laced as tightly as the day before, she had gotten use to wearing it and she liked what it did for her. She dressed in stockings, heels and a blue/gray knit dress, which her mom had bought her. She just used a little mascara and lipstick.
When Beth came out of her bedroom she too was dressed in blue skirt, gray cowl neck sweater, heels and gray tights. The kids had a good giggle.
As they went to the kitchen, they talked, “Beth I am going to test out at high school and then live as Gwen. I don’t plan on going all the way. If you still want me, I am yours.”
“Of course I want you silly. We can be girlfriends with privileges,” Beth said, gently caressing Gwen’s crotch.
The girls kissed and went to fix breakfast. When their mom’s finally emerged from Susan’s bedroom dressed casually, the kids put everything together and on the table.
“I feel positively underdressed,” Susan said.
“Both of you girls look so nice.”
The girls hugged their moms and their other mom.
“I like dressing up,” Gwen said. “As long as I look like this naturally, I might as well dress to fit my looks. I want to test out of high school Mom.”
“The only way I will let you test out is if you start college. Do you really want to go to MIT or Stanford or any other university right now? I don’t want you sitting around home doing nothing.”
“I will go to the local university and get the basics out of the way instead of testing out of the basic courses. When Beth Graduates we can go to college together somewhere.”
“We can do that.” Linda said.
“Susan and I have something to say too,” Linda said.
“Yes Linda and Greg/Gwen are going to move in with us, if it is alright with you kids.”
Beth and Gwen didn’t verbally answer, they just hugged and kissed.
“You kids need to chill. We know how deeply you care for each other, but you need to control yourselves if this is going to work out,” Linda said. “We know that you two will probably become sexually active at some point. Put it off as long as possible. If you two start screwing like rabbits we may have to rethink this. Am I clear on that point?”
Both kids acknowledged their parents.
“We aren’t saying don’t, just hold off. I know of too many relationships that started off like firecrackers and end up in the dumps. We want you to forge a bond together, before you two do what you will do. Can you two do that.”
“Yes we can, Mom,” Beth said, just to be echoed by Gwen.
They spent the next few hours talking about the particulars of Gwen coming out. Susan promised to look at the legal aspects. Beth was sad to lose Greg at school, but was happy to be so close to Gwen.
Linda decided to lease their home instead of selling it. The home was paid off and completely theirs. She would get a management company to do the work. They could get two thousand to twenty-five hundred a month leasing their home. The management company would take twenty-five percent.
They all went out to eat. It was easy to see just how comfortable and happy Gwen was. Neither mom could see a hint that Gwen wasn’t what she appeared to be.
Linda leaned over to Susan and whispered, “How could I have not seen this coming? Am I a bad Mom?”
“No Linda, I don’t think Gwen knew she was like this, till she met my daughter. You might need to forgive me,” she whispered back.
“No there is nothing to forgive. My child is happier than she has been in years.”
>>>>><<<<<
Monday Linda Thomas called in at work. She had to take care of something for her child at school. She was excused and headed in to school with Greg. They came in a half-hour after school started.
Greg asked the secretary if they could see Sonia Colson the VP. He trusted her more than Walt Bremerton the Principal. After a call was made they went to her office.
“Please come on in and have a seat. Hello Mr. Thomas, is this your Mother?”
“Yes ma’am this is my Mom, Linda Thomas.”
“Well it’s nice to meet the mother of our brightest student. What can I do for you today?”
“Well after the Halloween Dance, Greg thought it might be best if he just tests out and go on to college.”
“Oh my, nothing happened, Mrs. Thomas. There were a couple of incidences, but they were nipped in the bud, before any harm could come out of it.”
“We know that. Your school did a wonderful job protecting my child. It’s just that…”
“Mrs. Colson, you do know that I am medically opted out of PE. Right?” Greg asked.
“Yes I do. I was informed of that by the school nurse.”
“Well I have a medical condition, which has changed my body. What you saw at the dance was mostly me above the belt.”
Sonia’s eyes got really big as she remembered the way Greg had appeared, “You mean you have breasts?”
“Exactly, I have been wearing a heavy vest for two years that compresses my chest. At the party I wore padding that took my breasts from a B cup to a D cup. Beth wore one of my vests to the party. It is getting where I can’t stand to hide them anymore. The vests are hot and they hurt me. I can’t take it anymore and I can’t imagine coming back to school suddenly sprouting boobs.”
“I agree that would be very disruptive and possibly hazardous to Greg. Let’s go to the nurse’s office.”
Together they left the office and headed about sixty feet to the Nurse’s Office. Mrs. Colson asked the nurse to check Greg’s chest out. The two of them went into one of the examination rooms. They were gone for ten minutes. When they came back the nurse asked Mrs. Thomas if she wanted her to tell Mrs. Colson what she found. Mrs. Thomas had to sign a release.
“I examined Greg and found that he had significant breast growth, a slim waist and significant fat deposits on his hips and buttocks. This is in agreement with the medical report I received from Greg’s doctor, except for the fact that he shows significant growth from the report. In just over a year Greg has grown a full cup and a half. He is almost a C cup.”
“Could he have surgery?” Mrs. Colson asked.
“I am not an expert on his condition, but from what I do know, they don’t usually do surgery till the condition stabilizes, what I mean is when the breasts stop growing. For all intents and purposes, Greg looks more feminine than masculine. He would suffer from the hands of others if he had to go to PE.”
“That isn’t what this is about? He claims it is hurting him to wear his vests. Is that true?”
“I would hate to have to wear his vest. It weighs four or five pounds and is very tight. I imagine that you or I would hate to wear that vest. I would say, yes it probably does hurt Greg to have to wear that vest.”
“Thank you.”
The two of them went back to Mrs. Colson’s office, “I will hate not having Mr. Thomas at our school and I know the athletes will probably hate it too. I will make the arraignments to test Greg out. Greg you are excused from school. I will call when we are ready to test Greg out. Between you and me, you make a very pretty girl. Is that what you are going to do?”
“Yes I plan to live as a girl, till I can make a decision on how I am going to live my life.”
“Well good luck. I really wish the best for you.”
Linda dropped Greg off at Susan’s home and then headed off to work.
At school Mr. Bremerton was very pissed off, when Mrs. Colson made her report to him. Greg was that important to the football team’s player eligibility. It would also drop the school’s GPA, without Greg’s 4.0 and accompanied by drop in the grades of the students Greg tutored. Bonuses were paid according to the schools GPA. He demanded to know why, but Mrs. Colson refused to say. She had half expected this and had already forwarded the request to the school board.
After her meeting she called Linda at work and informed her that she might need legal counsel. Linda told her that that wouldn’t be a problem. Linda called Susan who was happy to help, in fact she had anticipated that there might be problems.
Linda called home and Gwen answer, “Hello.”
“Gwen, Mrs. Colson called. The principal is mad, that we bypassed him. If the school calls tell them to call me.”
“Why would the school call Mrs. Carlyle’s home.”
“Oh, you’re right. I called Susan, she has someone already working on it.”
“Okay, love you Mom.”
“Love you too,”
>>>>><<<<<
Greg had become Gwen shortly after she had gotten home. She worked on herself for an hour to get her look just right. Gwen had just finished dressing and getting her makeup done, when her mom called.
After she finished talking with her mom, she took her laptop to the living room and logged on to Susan’s WiFi signal. It took her a while she had to hack the router, but she got in. She had to laugh to herself when she saw all the email from the school, most of it was from the students Greg tutored who were missing his tutoring. A few teachers that had heard about Greg leaving; emailed him and one from the Principal demanding that Greg return to school forthwith.
Gwen checked the home network and found a wireless printer. She printed the one from the principal out. She then forwarded the email to her Mom. She answered a few emails from people she sort of liked. She then emailed Anna, asking that she call Greg.
She had just finished making lunch for herself when her cell phone rang, “Hello.”
“Hi Greg this is Anna, what did you need.”
“I would like to talk with you face to face. I have something I need to tell you.”
“Okay how about I met you at Chucky Cheese’s, at four.”
“Alright, I will meet you there at four.”
Gwen then emailed her mom that she and Beth were going to meet Anna at Chucky Cheese’s at four. She wanted to know if Anna was going to be okay with Gwen.
After she finished eating she got an email back from her mom saying it was okay, but be careful, she would pick them up there at five and that she forwarded the principal’s email to Susan.
Gwen texted Beth about Anna, Chucky Cheese’s and asked her to meet her a block away from school at the bus stop.
Gwen left twenty minutes before the end of classes and was waiting when Beth showed up. She dressed in her blue/gray knit dress, blue opaque tights, heels and the faux mink Beth had worn.
“You should have heard the uproar at school, when they learned you were going to test out of high school. Mr. Bremerton had to assign two teachers to study hall to replace you. Now what are you planning?”
“I need to know if Gwen can be a part of the think tank. I thought I would approach Anna on neutral ground.”
They got on the uptown bus and sat in the back.
“Do you think she will accept you?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
“Hmmm … When we get there you go to the bathroom and let me talk to her first.”
They walked the two blocks to Chucky’s and Gwen goes off to the restroom. Beth found Anna sitting alone drinking a soft drink.
“Hi Beth, have a seat. Where is Criag?” Anna asked smiling.
“He had to use the bathroom, first. I also wanted a chance to talk to you first.”
A waitress came by seeing another person and stopped at the table. Anna ordered drinks and a pizza for everyone.
“Okay, I am listening.”
“First Greg is going to test out of high school and may join ya’ll at college.”
Anna smiled brightly, “That is wonderful, but shouldn’t he go to MIT or Stanford?”
“He wants to get the basics out of the way first, so we can be together. I will graduate not this May but the next.”
“That is wonderful, I know he is smitten by you. I can see how he has matured since you came into his life.”
“There is something else that may determine if he goes to the local university?”
“And what might that be?”
“How liberal are you Anna?”
“What do you mean?”
“If someone was different how willing would you be to accept them?”
“I would hope that I would accept them for what they are? He isn’t gay is he? You aren’t just his cover are you?”
“No I can attest that he isn’t gay. We haven’t done it yet, but that isn’t because we don’t want too. Greg has this medical problem that is affecting his body.”
“It isn’t serious, is it?”
Beth was at the crux of the issue, so instead of pussyfooting around it she said, “It’s not life threatening, but it is serious as a boy growing breasts can be.”
Anna sat up straight and looked at Beth. She could tell the girl was being serious, “You mean he has Gynecomastia?”
“I am surprised you know the word for it. Yes, but there is more. You know he has a cute face, too cute for a boy. He also has a figure to match it.”
“You’re not kidding are you.”
“I like you and him too much to kid about this. The vest, he has to wear to hide is breasts, is hot, heavy and painful. He wants to live as Gwen now. You almost saw Gwen when we met at the mall. He wasn’t ready to come out, so he walked by you and your friend before we met you. Gwen is really pretty, she just wants to be accepted.”
“I have got to see this to believe this?”
“Just look to your left.”
Gwen was walking tentatively towards the girls, “Hi, Anna,” Gwen said. “How are you?”
Anna’s eyes got big as she saw the girl. It took her a few seconds to see Greg in this girl, but to her credit she put her mind in gear before she opened her mouth to say, “Don’t just stand there Gwen, have a seat.”
Beth scooted over and Gwen sat beside her.
The waitress appeared and delivered drinks.
“Now that I see you in person, I now realize that I have seen you at the mall. You were wearing a navy skirt and jacket. Your makeup was to die for. You have got to teach me to do that. Anyway I saw you and thought you looked familiar, but I couldn’t place a name with a face. You look incredible girl.”
“Thank you. I was so afraid that you would hate me like this.”
“I would never hate you Gwen. I can’t say that I’m not shocked, but you look so good. How?”
“Gwen’s appearance right now, is my fault. I talked him out of the vest he wears to hide his breasts and into a bra. The rest just followed, if you know what I mean.”
“You’re wearing a corset right now aren’t you?”
“Yes, for my clothes I need a twenty five inch waist to fit and look right. My normal waist was twenty eight. You know how it is with girls’ clothes.”
“I would have thought that Greg had a thirty to thirty-two inch waist.”
“Greg had to wear a padded vest, his breasts got too big to just bandage down. Adding padding to his waist helped disguise his breasts,” Beth added.
“Greg’s baggy clothes and the way he always layered clothes helped cover up his shape too, didn’t it?” Anna asked.
“Yes, you don’t know how hard it was to just get dressed each day. It got where I couldn’t stand it. I felt so free the first time I dressed in a bra, tank and shorts.”
“Did you wear a bra at home?”
“No I would take my vest off and just wear a t. My doctor suggested that I wear a bra around home, but I just never got the nerve to put one on.”
“So you think you might want to start at the University this spring.”
“Yes, I just needed to see what you and Josh thought about the new me.”
“Well I can’t answer for Josh. I will try to feel him out without giving anything away, but you are alright by me.”
Their pizza arrived and they attacked it like starving wolves. They might have been ladies, but the pizza smelled so good. Gwen could only eat one and a half pieces. As they were eating and talking, Linda and Susan showed up. After hellos, Anna made room for Susan and Linda borrowed a chair and sat at the end of the table.
“Anna knows Mom and she is okay with it,” Gwen said.
“Good, but what we came here for was to tell you, Principal Bremerton has appealed to the board and asked that you not be allowed to test out. We have to meet the school board in private session, Wednesday night.”
“I think he just wants a free tutor for his athletes.” Gwen said.
“You might be right, also there is a certain prestige having such a brilliant student,” Susan said.
“There aren’t required courses in this school district that I couldn’t test out of,” Gwen said. “There are elective courses I couldn’t test out of but I don’t really want to take electives for two years.”
“When did this all happen?” Anna asked.
“Two years ago, at thirteen, I hit puberty and things went haywire. I started developing breasts the way girls do. It all started out with breast buds, small peaks and vaboom I am larger than many girls my age. Don’t ask me why.”
“What are your estrogen levels like?”
“My estrogen level is high for a teenage boy, but not high enough to cause sterility. The cause of my Gynecomastia is still listed as Idiopathic.”
“He can get a woody,” Beth said. “But he isn’t fast coming.”
“But you haven’t …
“As a matter of fact we haven’t,” Beth said proudly. “We might play more than we should, but we can’t help that.”
“Would you like to come home with us for a bit? I can drive you back to school later,” Susan said.
Anna smiled brightly, “Yes I would like that.”
Susan picked up the tab and they all headed to the ladies room to take care of their needs and to fix their faces. Anna didn’t balk at Gwen being there beside her.
When they got to Susan’s and Beth’s home they all went inside.
“Do all of you live here?” Anna asked.
“Yes Mom and I are moving in. They are both single parent and this is a way to save money and be with people we like.” Gwen said.
“Mom, we are going to my room for a few minutes.” Beth said.
“Alright kids, be good.”
Beth figured that Anna was just dying to know for sure. When they got to her room Anna talked Gwen out of her dress and bra. Gwen lifted her chest proudly to better display her girls.
“I know this is strange, but may I touch them?”
“I don’t mind, what about you Beth?”
“I don’t mind.”
Anna felt them and gently poked them. She manipulated the nipples and saw them stiffen, “Well they are certainly real, well-formed and react to stimulation. Put a t-shirt and some shorts on. Beth may I see one of his vests?”
Beth went to his room and returned with a vest. She handed it to Anna.
“It is heavy, may I try it on?”
“You might be too big for it fit right but yes you can try it on.” Gwen said.
Anna took of her blouse. She wore a soft green satin bra. She put the vest on and had a hard time zipping the last three inches. The vest was a little short on Anna and only came down to the middle of her waist. Anna was five inches taller than Gwen. Anna took the vest off.
“I agree with you Gwen that vest is intolerable.” Anna said, as she dressed. “I will support your effort to graduate. I will talk to Josh also. He should understand that this is a medical problem and what you chose to do about it.”
When they got back into the living room Susan had some drinks set out on the coffee table. They all sat around and talked.
“I can come to the school board meeting and I think I can get Josh to come to if you need us. I know that Gwen or Greg is already at college level.”
“I don’t think that will help right now, Anna. The meeting Wednesday will be a closed meeting. The fewer people there the better for Gwen, at least right now.”
“Well keep me apprised, I won’t talk with Josh until we decide what we are going to do. Call me Gwen.” Anna embarrassed Gwen by kissing her cheek.
>>>>><<<<<
Tuesday Gwen talked her Mom into letting her go to the Universities library instead of staying home. Gwen dressed in a skirted suit with heels. She wouldn’t look like a student. There aren’t too many college age girls these days who wear a suit to school, but she would look more mature than her age. After Gwen finished her makeup in a subtle daytime office style, with just a little emphasis on her eyes and with her hair up in a bun, she looked to be seventeen to eighteen.
After everyone had left, she grabbed her purse and wheeled her laptops out. Gwen headed for the bus stop. She only had to wait for five minutes for the bus and after a twelve minute ride she got off at the university. Gwen walked towards the library; she compared herself with the other girls that were on campus and concluded that she looked better than most, that made her feel good for some reason.
She set up on the third floor where the science books are kept and then began selecting books from the stacks deciding what to study. Gwen picked up several books on superconductivity and metallurgy. She sat with a short stack of books on her table and began working.
A few people filtered in over the next hour, many were shocked at seeing Gwen there. For the most part geeks don’t dress as well or tend to their appearances this well. They also have a hard time dealing with and trusting the good looking people at their school. She did though break the ice when one girl needed help with a calculus problem. Gwen found not looking like a 14 or 15 year old helped garner some respect.
There was soon a small group of students studying in the library. Gwen was occasionally interrupted and asked a question about chemistry, physics or math. She would give assistance where she could and was able to get her own research in.
About noon she packed up and headed across the quad to the student union for lunch. She had just gotten to the building when she heard her name called.
“Gwen, is that you?”
She turned and saw Anna.
“Girl you are looking good. Come we will have lunch together,” Anna said, taking Gwen’s free hand.
“It is good seeing you Anna.”
They headed to the counter and ordered their meals and got their numbers. They then found a table in the corner.
“So what is with the getup, girl? You’re not thinking of taking the President of the University’s job are you?”
“No I just wanted to look older and more mature. I didn’t want to be the geeky fifteen year old, if you know what I mean. People seem to think I am smarter if I look older.”
“Well, except for the fact that you look more like a young professor or teaching assistant, you look fabulous. Guess I am going to have to dress up more around you. Tell me one thing though, are you really happier like this.”
“Anna, I am happier than I have been since this thing happened to me.”
The kids got up to pick up their orders and then migrated back to the table after picking up condiments.
“You know before today, when I came here, students looked at me like I was a human oddity.” Gwen said. She looked right and left. She leaned over to whisper to Anna, “Greg just didn’t get any respect. He was fifteen and could easily pass as twelve or thirteen, but I look almost eighteen or so dressed like this. People treat me like I belong here.”
“I will tell you what I see. You look more confident in yourself, which is almost always the key to gaining respect. Greg was a brain; there is no doubt about that. You are smarter than I ever could be. On top of that you smile more than Greg does. Greg would smile when he had a sudden brainstorm, but in the in between times, his expression was flatter. Gwen actually looks happy when she is between revelations. It’s not my life so take this with a milligram of NaCl, I think there is no way you should ever be anything other than what you are now.” She leaned over closer to Gwen and whispered, “And I am not talking about the male/female thing. Be whatever it takes to be happy Gwen. If this is what it takes for you to be happy, then congratulations? I like what I see in you.”
Gwen flashed Anna a big smile, “Thank you. I also like what I have been seeing. I just hope the world will accept me.”
“Many won’t Gwen, you should already know that.”
“I know that is the main reason, I want to leave high school. Beth has shown me how to be happy, but if I went back to school like this, well I shudder to think what would happen.”
“It won’t be all that rosier here at least for a while, but after the clamor dies down I think it might be better for you.”
“Someone will find out won’t they?”
“How many totally brilliant girls just pop out of the woodwork everyday? People will wonder and in these days of instant information, how long do you think you can keep Greg secret? You aren’t the only genius on campus Gwen. With all the Math people at school how long would it take them to add one and one to get two? Gwen might fool them for a while, but count on being found out and outed.”
“Then should I quit?”
“Hell no! If they don’t like it, screw em. You are smarter than they are. Just give them your chin and walk away. You have just as much right to be happy as they do. There is a school that has an unusual cheer that their cheerleaders often do when they are being beat at sports. It goes, ‘That’s alright, that’s okay, you’re gonna to work for us someday.’ With you, just remember. If you apply yourself like I know you can, half the people here at this university might be working for you someday. Me included.”
“No you wouldn’t be working for me Anna. You would be working with me. That would be a big difference. I need people like you and Josh. I just hope he will take this well.”
“I wouldn’t hazard a guess, but we will see.”
>>>>><<<<<
Wednesday Gwen stayed home, and worked hard at channeling Greg. It wouldn’t do to talk or act like Gwen in front of the school board. She put on a pair of Greg’s pants, but still wore a bra and blouse till almost three. She dressed in her dreaded vest and Greg’s preppy shirt and pull over. Linda and Susan had both called to confirm that they would be there to pick Greg up at four. Just before Beth got home she went and found one of Beth’s large Hobo bag purse, she packed some things in it.
When Beth got home Greg was Greg. He asked Beth to carry the Hobo bag. Beth smiled as she looked in the bag and just put her small handbag into the bag.
The kids were ready when their Mom’s got home and the time to go meet the school board came. Susan drove them to their meeting.
It was a closed meeting so they met in a private conference room. There were the five members of the local school board, Walt Bremerton, the principal, Sonia Colson Vice-Principal and a female stenographer there.
“I will handle the Introductions,” Mrs. Colson said. “This is Linda Thomas and her son Greg. Susan Carlyle and her daughter Beth. Both kids are students at our high school. I am Sonia Colson, Vice Principal, this is Walt Bremerton Principal, Thomas Wainwright board member, Candace Lofton board member, David Cole board member, William Morgan board member and Wendy Carter board chairman.”
“This is a closed session, why are Susan Carlyle and her daughter here?” Mr. Bremerton asked.
Linda addressed Mr. Bremerton, “Mrs. Carlyle has been retained by me as legal counsel. She is a partner at Davis, Bloom, Travis, Johnson and Carlyle attorneys at law. Beth is fully apprised of the situation and is here to support Greg.”
“I will allow their presence,” Wendy said.
“The reason we are here is to determine if Greg Thomas can test out of high school and head on to college,” Sonia said. “On the third of November, Linda Thomas and Greg came to see me and made a formal request to test out of high school for the purpose of heading on to college. I forwarded their request to you board members.”
“I object to Mr. Thomas graduating and leaving school at this time. There is much, Greg has to learn and yes even though he is a very brilliant high school student, I don’t feel that it is in his best interest to leave high school yet,” Mr. Bremerton stated.
“That is what we are here to determine,” Mrs. Carter said. “Let’s hear from Mr. Thomas first. Why do you wish to leave high school and head off to college?”
Greg stood and faced the board members, “There are several reasons for my request. First I am being scholastically stunted in my growth. I can right now test out of all the required courses. I spend my days at school taking elective course in the mornings and then tutoring students for the rest of the day. I tutor so many athletes; I should be on the schools payroll. I don’t do their work for them, I just find a simpler way of communicating what the teachers are trying to teach them.”
“To get into an intellectual discussion on my level I spend my Saturday’s at college brain storming with advanced students there about whatever they are interested in. I don’t care what just as long as it is advanced. ”
“You spend half of your day tutoring students?” Mr. Wainwright asked.
“Yes sir. From twelve forty-five the three thirty.”
“What is your IQ, if you know it?” Ms. Lofton asked.
“Between 180 and 190. IQ’s in this range are notoriously difficult to measure. Only about .025 percent of the population have IQ’s above 160.”
“I see that you are medically excused from physical education.” Mr. Cole asked.
“We are not allowed to probe in that area. I have already seen the report from Greg’s Physician allowing the excuse,” Ms. Lofton stated.
“That is the second reason for my request,” Greg answered. “If the reason I was excused were ever found out the school would have a hard time ensuring my safety.”
Greg’s statement caused a small furor with the principal and board members.
“Mr. Thomas can’t make such unsubstantiated claims,” Mr. Bremerton stated. “The safety of my students is one of my primary concerns. I have very few bullying claims from any student.”
“The school district takes student safety very seriously, I see no reason to believe you would be in danger Mr. Thomas,” Mr. Wainwright stated.
“That is a remarkable claim, Mr. Thomas. Would you care to elucidate.”
“I would like to make it clear, but I would like to be assured that this will be in confidence with the Board. Mrs. Carlyle can you provide me with a NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement),” Greg asked.
“Yes I came prepared for this,” Susan said reaching into her briefcase.
“I would also ask that Mr. Bremerton and Mrs. Colson be excused.” Greg stated.
“I object!” Mr. Bremerton stated.
“I will allow it!” Wendy said sharply. “Mr. Bremerton and Mrs. Colson will wait in the lobby. We will call you back.”
After they left Susan took the floor, “It is important that you say nothing about what Mr. Thomas might reveal, if asked you may not say yea or nay in answer to questions about it. A no comment or better yet ignore the question, is required.”
When they all signed it, Greg asked, “Is that door a closet?”
“Yes it is,” Wendy stated.
“May I use it and then I can show you my problem.”
“Yes you may,” Wendy said, shaking her head in confusion.
Beth took her handbag out of the Hobo bag and Greg headed to the closet. There was just enough room for him in there. He closed the door and took off his shirt and vest and dressed in just a scoop neck T-shirt. He had more than a little cleavage showing. He then put his shirt back on and stepped back out.
There were many gasps as Greg came back out, “I suffer from a condition known as Gynecomastia, which means that I am a male who is growing breasts. I am not a transsexual and this is all me.” Greg unbuttoned the shirt, several board members started to object till they saw that Greg had a T-shirt on. Greg then showed them his cleavage. “I am not wearing a bra, but I should be when not wearing my vest. It is becoming painful for me to wear this vest.” Greg said setting his vest on the table.
Wendy understood the implications and asked, “I can see that that is all you. You wear this vest every day?” She picked up the heavy garment. “I can’t imagine having to wear this every day.”
“I am still growing and the vest is becoming painful, if my request is refused, I will wear a bra and blouse to school and I won’t be safe.”
“If Greg is hurt because of this, I will take great pleasure in suing the board and the district.” Susan said. “It is of no fault of Greg or anybody else that he is like this.”
“Can anything else be done for Mr. Thomas?” Wendy asked.
“Surgery, but I can’t go under the knife till I stop growing, and if I grow like my Mom I have a long way to grow.” Greg said buttoning up his shirt.
Linda Thomas was a very full 38D+ and found 38DD bras more comfortable. Several board members looked at Linda Thomas and tried to think about Greg looking like that.
“So it may be upwards of two years before I could get surgery and I am not really thrilled about going under the knife. I also can’t see me wearing that thing anymore also. It hurts, it’s very hot and restricts my mobility.”
“I can see that,” Mrs. Lofton said.
“I am going to change back. I ask that you keep this from Mr. Bremerton and Mrs. Colson, please.”
While Greg was in the closet, the board, Linda and Susan discussed the matter. They agreed to let Greg test out using a Test of similar academic strength as the SAT or ACT tests. Greg would need to test out in the top two percent. He would be excused from classes till the test to be given, by the board in this conference room in seven days. Greg could expect five hours of testing that day.
When Greg came out the chairman called in Mr. Bremerton and Mrs. Colson. The board announced their decision, over the objections of Mr. Bremerton.
“Mr. Thomas in seven days you will present yourself here at eight thirty in the morning to be tested. You will be here for seven hours and thirty minutes. The test will last five hours, maximum with ten minute breaks between sections and an hour for lunch. You will be contacted tomorrow and be given the form the test will take, so you may be prepared.”
“I will be ready.” Greg said.
>>>>><<<<<
I am working on this story
by Paula Dillon
Buying stuff, merchandise, for a resale store and an antique store, sixteen year old Ricky finds an assortment of strange things in an abandoned storage locker. On a computer he finds a diary.
The Diary
By
Paula Dillon
Ricky Crawford pulled his big extended bed pickup to the storage rental office. He came there for an auction. His mom runs a resale store and an antique furniture store. Ricky and his mom go to many estate sales and auctions where the renter fails to pay for the storage locker. Ninety days after the renter goes into default the property in the locker is auctioned off, to pay the rentor.
He decided to come to this auction on his own, after school. He had a gut feeling; call it intuition, that there would be some good stuff here today. He knew the auctioneer and greeted him at the sign in table to get his number. The auctioneer called his mom on the phone to verify that she would be legally responsible for the bids. He was only sixteen and the auctioneer was required to get bids only from people eighteen or over. Ricky would look the stuff over and if he saw anything he was interested in he would hand the phone to one of the auctioneer’s assistants. The assistant would then confirm any bid Ricky wanted to make, with his mom.
Angela Crawford, Ricky’s mom, loved that her son showed interest in her business and did things, like help her find merchandise, make deliveries and work at the store. She let him use his own money to bid at auctions, like this one. She had taught him everything she knew about auctions and estate sales. She was very good at spotting diamonds in the rough, so to speak, but she knew that in a few years her son would be better than she was.
She had to start the resale shop after her husband, Tom, left her in a ransack house, with bills piling up and a worn out Mazda Miata. Ricky was just eleven at the time. Angela took the last of their money and went to several auctions. She took what she found to other resale stores and sold what was in good condition. She and her son would then repair and restore anything that needed it, before selling it. Money was slow coming in at first, but after they discovered some valuable antiques in one sale, that they bought way under market value, things began to change for them. They paid off all their old debts, moved to a nicer home and had a couple of thriving businesses.
The crowd moved from one locker to another. This particular sale had five lockers that were up for bid. The first three looked like junk to Ricky and he held off bidding. The bidding was by a blind auction, the owner’s lock would be cut off the locker and the door would be opened, but there was no inspection of the contents. Bidders could only stand outside the locker and look in.
Ricky called his mom and handed the phone to the assistant bidding two hundred.
“Two hundred is the bid, who will make it three… three hundred… three hundred.”
“Two fifty,” a bidder went…
“Three fifty,” Ricky bid.
“Three fifty is the bid, who will give me four…four… four,”
People just shook their heads as the auctioneer pointed at several of them.
“Three fifty once… three fifty twice… Sold for three fifty,” the auctioneer went. The gavel sounded, the locker was closed and one of the auctioneer’s locks went on the door.
They then went to the last locker. There was a commotion as the last locker was filled to the brim. Ricky began to get an itch as he looked in. He got his mom back on the phone, “Mom this is the one, I will lay my last penny out for it.”
“How much do you have on you?” she asked.
“Four thousand after that last locker.”
“Ricky what are you doing walking around with that kind of money?”
“I just had a feeling all day. I can’t explain it.”
“Be careful son, don’t jump in too soon or show too much interest. I can be there with more money in thirty minutes.”
The bidding for this last locker started at five hundred and worked its way up to one thousand dollars. When twelve hundred was bid, Ricky stepped in with fourteen.
“Fourteen… fifteen… sixteen,” the bidding went.
“Two thousand,” Billy told the assistant.
“Two thousand is the bid… Who will give me two five… two five…”
“Two three,” another bidder bid.
“Three five,” Billy told the assistant.
“Three thousand five hundred is the bid… Who will make it four… four… four…”
The auctioneer surveyed the crowd trying to dredge up more bids but only getting head shakes.
“Three five going once… three five going twice… Come on folks, there is a lot of stuff in that locker. The kid is robbing you blind… Sold for three thousand five hundred dollars.”
Ricky went to the sign in table and paid the money he owed. He and the assistant went to change the locks out on the lockers. He always carried spare locks when he went to an auction. He then wrote a check to the storage place for another thirty days on the two lockers.
Ricky decided to check the contents of the first locker and made notes on his blackberry as he entered the locker. He found boxes of ladies clothes size eight and some furniture, a bed, dresser, dinning room table and chairs. The clothes were mostly in good condition with two exceptions. There were two gowns that were in great condition. The furniture was mid market stuff, not anything to write home and tell momma about, but it was good solid furniture. He figured that his mom could sell everything for about a thousand dollars.
He finished his notes and emailed his list to his mom. He put off checking the second locker since that one would take a lot longer to go through; tomorrow was Friday and he had classes.
**************
At home, Ricky started a load of clothes in the washer and began to fix dinner. After his Dad had left home, he took a lion’s share of the responsibility of keeping the home clean and in order, so his mom could work on keeping them housed, clothed and fed.
Twelve-year old Ricky had surprised his Mom with his first effort at cooking. It hadn’t really been edible, it was too salty, way overcooked and not exactly a balanced meal, but his Mom hugged him, smiled and ate it anyway. She then made a real effort to teach him to plan a meal, make a shopping list and cook.
Ricky was quite a fair cook now. Tonight he was grilling two chicken breasts, after having marinated them over night and doing a California stir fry: broccoli, snow peas, carrot strips, bell peppers, banana peppers, squash and bean sprouts.
He had just started the chicken cooking, when he heard the garage door opening.
“Hi Ricky, how was your day?”
“Good Mom, the washer just stopped, can you put the clothes in the dryer?”
“I think I can do that, I still know a thing or two about laundry,” she said giggling, as she set her things down on the table. She then transferred the laundry from the washer to the dryer and started a second load.
“I got your email of the first storage locker, I will send Tom over to empty it.”
“He should drop off the clothes at the mission store, except for the two evening gowns. I set them aside in the locker, they look very expensive.”
“Versace?”
“Prada. Why would some woman put things like that in a storage locker and forget about them.”
“Divorce,”
“Oh yes, that could be it.”
“Were there any shoes in the locker?”
“Some.”
“I will have Tom bring them in so I can go through them. I can’t see Prada dresses with Pay Less shoes.”
“Right, I didn’t think about that.”
“What about the second locker?”
“I didn’t get a chance to look in it. It is a 15’x20’ locker and it was packed to the gills. I think we hit a gold mine there. I would like to get a chance to look at it first.”
“I have no problem with that, you bought it. It is your stuff to do whatever you want to do with it.”
“I know, but I want to help support us too.”
“I know you do and I love you for that, but if you ever walk around with nearly five thousand dollars without telling me again. Well, let’s say you aren’t too big to bend over my knee.”
It was an idle threat, as she had never had to spank him. She had been surprised at how good a boy he was. Sure he had some rough points, all kids do, but Ricky was a keeper. He studied and worked hard. He did more than his fair share of housework and stayed out of trouble.
“Sorry Mom, I just got this feeling that I would do good today. I am going to check out the second locker tomorrow after school with Jennifer.”
“Ok, call me when you get an idea of what you find.”
“I will,”
**************
Jennifer Singleton met up with Ricky after school. They went to her home so she could change into something grubby. She loved diving into storage lockers, auctions and estate sales, almost as much as Ricky, as long as they didn’t run into anything yucky. There were times they found yucky things like dirty pots and pans boxed up and placed into storage. They even found a dead cat in a storage locker.
Ricky unlocked the lock and pulled the garage type door up. Jennifer oohed when she saw how packed the locker was. The front of the locker was completely blocked by neatly stacked boxes. Some of the boxes were light, some were heavy. They moved a couple of rows out of the way so they could get into the locker.
“Woo, look at all that furniture,” Jennifer said.
“Yep, I had a good feeling that this was going to be a gold mine.”
“I can see a couple of trunks and some suitcases in the back too.”
“We still need to clear some more of this stuff, so we can get in the locker.”
They cleared the rest of the boxes out of the way. The first piece of furniture they found was an old looking vanity, which was possibly made of cherry wood with a large oval mirror and stool. The mirror had a couple of bad spots around the edges where the silver was blackened. The vanity had intricate detailing and molding. The kids looked it over and saw no major defects besides an oxidized finish. The five drawers were intact and opened easily. The stool was a match for the vanity and had a tapestry upholstering that looked old and only slightly worn.
“I love this vanity, it looks like an antique.”
Ricky looked on the bottom side of the vanity, “I don’t know, it might just be an antique reproduction.”
“Can I have it? I have all my makeup and jewelry on top of my dresser right now.”
“You’ll have to twist my arm to let you have it,” Ricky said, laughing.
Jennifer grabbed Ricky’s hand and turned it about half an inch. Ricky cried Uncle, Uncle still laughing, I give. You can have the vanity.
Jennifer jumped up and down and gave Ricky a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you Ricky, you’re the best.”
“Here, make notes on my blackberry as I dig into this locker, please,” Ricky said, handing her the device.
“Anything for you, sweety.”
Ricky then began his inventory of the contents: two leather couches, lazy boy, end tables, coffee tables, two lounge chairs, kitchen table and chairs, dinning room table, six chairs and two leaves, flat screen TV and entertainment center, two floor lamps, four table lamps, Queen Anne table, grandfather’s clock, wood bed frame, Simmons pillow top queen mattress with box springs, wide dresser, with mirror and a chest of drawers, two book shelves, brass fire place set, office desk and a sundry household items. All of the items were good to excellent. A decidedly feminine collection of furniture.
“Put a fifteen to twenty k value on those items and email my mom.”
“Got it.”
It wasn’t five minutes later that Angela called.
“Hey squirt, what you want to do with the stuff?”
“Can you send Tom over right now?”
“Yes, he just got back from making a delivery.”
“I would like to get a lot of this furniture out today. There is some luggage and a lot of packed boxes. I will take the luggage home tonight and try to open them tomorrow. The boxes will go back into the locker till I can sort them out.”
“Sounds good, Tom will be there with the delivery truck in fifteen minutes.”
**************
Tom and Ricky loaded all the furniture into the delivery truck and the luggage and vanity into the bed of Ricky’s pickup truck. They were able to see the quality of each piece as they got to it.
“Your Mom said fifteen to twenty, I saw twenty-five to thirty. Some of these pieces, like that Queen Anne table, are real antiques. That bedroom set might draw ten by itself,” Tom said.
“I can’t believe they got everything into that locker,” Jennifer said.
“That is just the meat, I will go through the boxes next week. There may be clothes, kitchen utensils, books and stuff in the boxes,” Ricky said. “Someone might have moved, or lost their home, to have packed all this stuff.”
“I sometimes wonder about the stories, that these things we buy, could tell us,” Tom said.
“I do too, I wish nothing bad on these people, but Mom and I have made a good living off their things. I can haul the rest of the stuff Tom, thanks.”
“Take care kiddo, you too Jennifer.”
**************
Ricky and James, Jennifer’s brother, took the vanity off the truck and into their house, while Jennifer carried the padded stool.
“It may not fit in your bed room Jen,” James said, kidding his sister.
“It should, but if it doesn’t, the bed has got to go.”
“She’s kidding, isn’t she James?” Ricky said laughing.
“I don’t think so, but it should fit. I think?”
It did fit, but the guys had to do a little rearranging to get it in. They had to move the bed to a different wall, move her dresser and a chest of drawers.
“James, can you come over to Ricky’s and help with those trunks. They are very heavy,” Jennifer begged.
“It will cost you sis, you already owe me for helping rearrange your bedroom, to fit the vanity in it.”
“Ah come on, Ricky gave me this vanity.”
“That is the key sis, he gave you the vanity. You’ll owe me for the work.”
“Ok, what is your price?”
“Help me get a date with Virginia Winston.”
“The head cheerleader? She is outta your league bucko. I don’t think you want to get in a tussle with Michael Martin either. She is dating him right now. How about thirty dollars?”
“Sold, to my brilliant sister.”
**************
Jennifer came over Saturday after breakfast. Ricky was in the garage inspecting the luggage. The two steamer trunks were vintage Louis Vuitton Steamer trunks, with new four-wheel combination padlocks on them.
“Are you going to cut those locks off Ricky?” Jennifer asked.
“Not unless I have to, those locks are worth fifteen to twenty dollars a piece.” Ricky said, as he began working on the locks.
“It will take forever for you to try out all the different combinations,”
“Maybe so… here hold this for me,” he said, handing her one lock.
“How did you…”
“If I told you, I would have to kill you,”
Janice started to throw the lock at Ricky, who ducked, but she didn’t.
“I can’t tell you how many locks I have opened. I picked up some tricks off the Internet and through experimenting. Keyed locks are harder for me, and since I don’t have a key, I don’t bother with trying to save them. Wheel locks I love, I can get them off, change the combination on most and have a good lock,”
“If you can unlock them, then others can too.”
“That is why I don’t use them on anything really important, but for most applications they are good.”
Jennifer opened the first locker, while Ricky worked on opening the rest of the suitcases. The trunk looked like a mini closet inside. She found some really nice ladies clothing when she opened the first. Half the trunk had a hangar bar with clothes hanging from the bar. The other half looked like a chest of drawers and shoeboxes.
She started checking labels. Most of the dresses were very expensive club wear and a few evening dresses.
“Damn, these ladies things wouldn’t be out of place in Miranda Kerr’s closet.”
“Who is she?”
“She is a top fashion model.”
In the top drawer she found about a dozen 34D bras and a bunch of nice panties size five. They were all top market lingerie. In the second drawer were corsets and shape wear. The next drawer had slips, camisoles, sleepwear and hosiery. The contents of the bottom drawer shocked her. The bottom drawer held two sets of breastforms and two other things made of silicone, along with a medical adhesive and solvent. Mentally she figured out what they were and the kind of person all this had belonged too. She didn’t say anything to Ricky about her last findings.
The next trunk had more ladies clothes, two furs, skirts, blouses, a Dolce & Gabbana handbag, a Gucci handbag, a Louis Vuitton handbag, leather pants, jeans, shorts, shoes, four wigs and more lingerie, some still in their packages. Jennifer took out a package of panties and looked at it. It actually had instructions on the back, which she found odd, till she read them. They were something called gaff’s, meant to hide a man’s penis.
Jennifer began to develop a wicked plan in her mind.
She found another case was a very large professional makeup kit, which was eighteen inches, by twelve, by twenty four inches. It had tons of makeup, hair care products and a hair dryer.
Ricky unlocked another case and went to the last case. It was a high security aluminum suitcase and very expensive. He could drill it open, but the case may be as valuable as any contents.
“This case is going to be a bugger to open I feel. I am just going to take it to my room and put it under my bed. I need to do some research before I try to open it.”
Ricky opened the last case he unlocked. Inside he found a laptop and a digital camera, lenses and such, in a foam bed, “This one is going to my room too.”
“Ok, I am just going to check out these trunks a little closer, Ricky. I’ll meet you in your room in a few minutes.”
Ricky took his booty to his room. He placed the aluminum case under his bed and connected the laptop and its power supply, to an outlet. He would let the laptop’s battery charge for a couple of hours, before turning it on.
He checked the camera to see what batteries it needed. Seeing it had a rechargeable battery pack and finding a charger for it, he set it charging. Ricky was checking out the camera equipment in the case, when Jennifer came into his room.
“Hey Ricky, would you do me a big favor.”
“Depends on what the favor is, I guess.”
“Well, I figured out the type of person all that stuff belonged too. I got this weird idea and I wanna see if I can do what I would like to do.” Jennifer said.
Jennifer can be confusing at the best of times, Ricky was perplexed to say the least, “Huh? Say what you want to say, don’t beat around the bush.”
“These things belonged to a cross dresser, or some guy that wanted to be a girl. Would you please let me dress you up as a girl? I would like to see if I can make you look like a girl.”
“What, are you crazy?” Ricky said, a little too emphatically. His voice was harsher than he meant it to be and if he had seen how he looked in a mirror, he would have scared himself. “Do you think that I am a sissy, or something?”
Jennifer recoiled a little; she had never seen Ricky like this. “No I don’t Ricky, I am sorry,” Jennifer said, starting to cry. “I just wanted to see if I could do it. I would never do anything to hurt you. I like you too much. I am sorry.”
Ricky felt like he was a heel, he hadn’t meant to hurt Jennifer. She was his best friend. They had known each other since the fourth grade, they had kissed a bit and cuddled together, but they hadn’t gone any further. He went over to her and hugged his friend.
“Look, I am sorry, Jennifer. You just caught me by surprise. I use to catch hell in middle school, from the guys that called me a sissy.
“I know, but I never did that to you.”
“I know, you were one of my best friends, Jen. You can’t possibly make me look like a girl, though.”
Jennifer gave Ricky a half smile and picked up the gauntlet of that challenge. “I think you would be very surprised at what I could do Ricky. You are a very cute boy,” She said, drying her eyes on Ricky’s shirt. “I think I could make you look like a very pretty girl.”
“I can’t see you doing that to me.”
“Please Ricky, let me try it one time. Either way, if I make you look good or you come out looking like a drag queen, I will make it worth your while.”
“You’re kidding me!”
“No I’m not kidding you. Let me do it just once.” Jennifer asked, as she turned on all her womanly charm and looked at him with big, sad, puppy dog eyes. She hugged him tightly, molding her body to his.
Ricky didn’t know what to do. He didn’t really want to look like a clown, he also didn’t want to look like a sissy, or a drag queen, but he also didn’t want to see Jennifer cry again. Also, if she held him like this to much longer, his friend would rise to make his presence known.
“You swear that this is just between the two of us. You won’t say a word to anybody else.”
“I swear, or you can come over and take back my vanity back and sell it.”
“Oh crud,” Ricky hemmed and hawed. “Ok, if it is just between us two.”
“What time will your Mom get home, Ricky?”
“She is closing today, at the antique shop, and then she has to do her books and such, after she closes. She will get home somewhere between eight and eight thirty. I guess. What time do you have to go home?”
“I have to be home by five. My parents have this business dinner to go to. Go shower, and shave your armpits.”
“I don’t have to shave my face and yet you want me to cut off all six of my underarm hair? Do you want me to shave my legs too?”
“You hardly have any leg hair and you have more than six underarm hairs. You have at least twelve, in each armpit. I think armpit hair is just so gross. I don’t know how guys can stand it. Just wrap a towel around your waist when you get out of the shower.”
Ricky went to the bathroom and got into the shower. His Mom had bought him some disposable razors, anticipating him needing them. He had practiced with them a couple of times, a couple bloody times, and now he could shave them without nicking himself to death, but he never really needed to. Ricky wondered what his mother would think of him, when his first real use of his razors was shaving his armpits.
In Ricky’s room, Jennifer brought in the stuff she had found in the trunk. She then took off her own clothes, except for her bra and panties. She would have loved trying on one of the bras, they were the right band size, but she couldn’t hope to fill the cups. She was just a 34 A+. Jennifer also couldn’t use the breastforms either; they were made for a flat chest. She also loved the panties, a lot of the bras and panties were La Perla, but she didn’t know how clean they were, so she skipped them too. She then dressed in a garter belt and a pair of real silk stockings. The shoes she had selected were two sizes larger than her own, but she found some strappy sandals, that she could wear.
Ricky nearly choked, when he saw Jennifer standing in his room, in just her underwear. He had never seen her like this before, sure he had seen her in her bikinis before and they didn’t cover as much as her underwear now covered, but underwear wasn’t made to be seen either.
“Oh good,” Jennifer said, as she came over to give Ricky a hug. “You smell so nice and clean. Hold your arms out straight, like this,” she demonstrated. Jennifer pulled the towel causing Ricky to blush beet red. She then measured his chest, waist and hip, with a measuring tape she found in his mothers sewing kit.
Jennifer then wrapped an above the bust corset around him and began fastening the hooks, on the busk.
“What are you putting on me?”
“A corset. It is made to reduce the size of the waist and give a woman a nice figure.”
Over the next hour, Jennifer corseted Ricky and put in a set of D cup breast forms into the cups. She rolled up real silk stockings up his legs, got him into a gaff and a pair of La Perla panties. She then crowned him with a long, curly, dark auburn wig and did his makeup. On his feet went a shiny black pair of pumps, with a four inch heel. Jennifer was surprised that the shoes actually fit his feet quite nicely.
During all this time, Ricky had remained strangely silent, but observant. He couldn’t believe what he had gotten himself into and was trying to make sense out of everything.
When she finished with the makeup, she helped him stand and walk in front of his dresser. That was a chore. The breastforms had radically changed his center of balance and the four inch heels made him very wobbly on his feet. Jennifer had to hold him by both of his arms, to get him to walk without falling.
Ricky’s stood there, with a fish face, staring in the mirror. He couldn’t believe what a gorgeous girl he saw, standing next to Jennifer. The girl bore a strong resemblance to Ricky. She looked like an older sister or cousin. He also saw that Jennifer had a feral grin on her face as she looked at him.
“Oh my God. Is that really me?”
“Yes Ricky, that is really you. I knew that you would look really good.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“You are a beautiful person, Ricky. To top it off, you are a really great person. You care about me and what others feel.”
Jennifer led Ricky over to the bed and pushed him back onto it. She spent the next hour messing up what she had so carefully done to him. They kissed and cuddled and groped each other. Jennifer’s breasts were out of their cups and Ricky gently kissed and sucked on her nipples. They had never done that before and Jennifer was going crazy. She was almost choking Ricky, trying to force her breast deeper into his mouth.
After they had a chance to clean up a bit, Jennifer redid the makeup on both of their faces. She then spent an hour teaching Ricky to walk in the heels. Ricky was still a little wobbly at the end of the hour, but he wasn’t likely to do a face plant.
Jennifer then put on one of the clubbing dresses she had found in the steamer trunks and dressed Ricky in one too. Jennifer wore a gray, flapper style, dress, with all of those short strings on it, in layers and Ricky wore a strapless, blue tube dress. The dresses covered their underwear, but were inches above their stocking tops.
The last things they dressed in were a pair of furs. Jennifer helped Ricky into a mink jacket and Ricky helped Jennifer into a Chinchilla.
Ricky had never felt a fur before. He couldn’t help but run his hands over it, the sensation was intoxicating.
They headed into the living room and sat down to talk. Ricky was walking a little better, but he was still wobbly. Jennifer turned on the stereo, in the entertainment center and started an easy listening CD. It was a favorite of Angela’s, but Jennifer liked it too.
Ricky also found it hard to find a comfortable position to sit in. He was most comfortable sitting up straight and away from the back of the couch.
“How do you girls get used to these things?” Ricky asked, pointing to his heels. “They are hard to walk in and hurt like hell.”
“With a lot of practice, just like you are doing. If we spend hours in our heels, we can get used to them, but our feet still hurt. We just look so damn good in them. That is the reason we wear them, Ricky.”
“Why did we do this?”
“When I saw all the stuff in the lockers, I realized that it belonged to a transsexual, or cross dresser. Since I had everything a cross dresser would need, I just wanted to see what you would look like all dressed up. I thought that it might be fun for you too. Has it?”
“I guess it’s been fun, it is not like I thought it would be.” Ricky said, a little doubtful.
“You’re not mad about it, are you?”
“No, I’m not mad about it. I am in shock right now. I can’t believe I let you do this and how good a job you did.”
Jennifer gave Ricky a big hug, “Thank you for doing this for me. I won’t say that I will not ask you to do this again, but I will try not to pressure you to do it.”
“I don’t know about you Jen, but I am getting hungry, how about you.”
“I could use a bite to eat, why don’t you fix us something.”
“Sure.”
Ricky took off the fur and carefully walked to the kitchen, with Jennifer following him. Ricky made two salads and two steak sandwiches. Jennifer had him put his jacket back on, before he ate. They both ate more carefully than they usually did, trying hard not to get anything on their clothes or the furs. Being early May, the furs were a little warm, but at least the AC made things more comfortable.
Ricky found that he couldn’t eat half of what he had fixed. Jennifer just giggled and said, “I should have warned you about that, Ricky. The corset keeps you from eating too much, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, I see that now.” Ricky said.
The two of them began talking about things. It was another thing Jennifer liked about Ricky. She could talk to him about things that would send most boys running.
While they talked, the back door opened and Angela came in. She saw Jen and a strange girl talking.
“Hey Jennifer, how are you doing?” Angela said, setting her things on the table. “Who is your friend?”
Both girls noticeably paled, which caused her to look more closely at the stranger. After a pregnant pause she said. “Oh my. Is that you Ricky?”
“Mom, I ah…”
“Ricky got the trunks and suitcases opened, Mrs. Crawford. I think they belonged to a transsexual or cross dresser. There were things like breastforms, corsets, wigs and other things. I talked Ricky into dressing up.”
“Oh my… Is that a mink and a chinchilla?” Angela asked, rubbing her hand across the fur.
“Yes it is Mrs. Crawford.”
“They feel so scrumptious. I just love them.”
“Stand up Ricky, let me look at you. You too Jennifer.”
Ricky stood and said, “You’re not mad at me Mom.”
“No, why would I be mad? Getting mad over something so petty would make me less of a person. You are still my child and I love you. It was just a bit of a shock to see you dressed like this. I would be mad if you two went out in those dresses, though, they are way too short for girls your age.”
“No way would I go out dressed like this anyway,” Ricky said. “Do you think you could sell these coats?”
“In a heart beat. I won’t sell them at my shop, but I can sell them to a fur dealer. Most women don’t wear furs this far south, it just isn’t cold enough, long enough, to justify spending the kind of money they cost. They are worn mostly as status symbols, or for image.”
“What do you have on under your dresses?” Angela asked, looking at how big Ricky’s chest looked.
“Ricky is wearing a corset, a gaff, La Perla panties and real silk stockings. He also has some breastforms I found in the locker. I have my own lingerie on, except for a garter belt and silk stockings.”
“I have never worn real silk stockings, they are just to expensive, probably forty to fifty dollars a pair. What is a gaff?” Angela asked.
“It’s like a thong that hides his ah… You know ah…”
“Penis. We are all big girls here, we can use words like penis when it is appropriate. Excuse me girls, I need to call in to work.”
Angela took out her cell phone and called her shops. After she made sure her people would take care of closing her stores for the day. She said, “Jennifer, did you do the makeup on both of you?”
“Yes Ma’am, there was a makeup kit in the stuff too.”
“I hope you didn’t use the makeup that is already used?”
“No, I didn’t, I threw away the makeup that had been previously use. The kit looks like a professional beauticians makeup kit, with disposable applicators and stuff.”
“Really, let me see and I will give you some tips. You used way too much makeup. Girls tend to do that when they are just learning, Ricky.”
They headed back to Ricky’s room. She saw the laptop and camera, and asked about them. Ricky told her that they were part of the booty.
“You really did hit a gold mine. Vintage Louis Vuitton trunks, furs, high class lingerie, human hair wigs, twenty to thirty thousand in furniture, a laptop, digital camera system and no telling what else. You still have those boxes to check out. Seeing everything else, I suppose you will find some nice jewelry too.”
“This is the makeup kit, Mrs. Crawford.”
Angela went through every drawer in the kit, “This is a beautician’s makeup kit. A nice one too.”
Angela had some fun. She cleaned off the makeup that Jennifer had used and showed the kids a better way to apply makeup. The three of them had fun doing it. Ricky even tried his hand at makeup. He did pretty good except for the eyeliner and mascara. His hand was way too heavy applying it. This was one thing that Angela felt that she would never be doing, teaching her daughter to do her makeup, because she never had a daughter.
“Are there any normal everyday dresses in all that stuff Jennifer?”
“Of course there is. These just caught my eye.”
“I can see why. They are lovely for someone over twenty. Go pick out a couple and some flats or short heels.”
After Jennifer left, Angela turned to her son, “Are you alright with this Ricky? If not we can stop?”
“I guess it’s alright, I did it because I accidentally made Jennifer cry. I raised my voice when she first asked me. I didn’t say anything bad, but I did make her cry. It’s been sort of fun, but not something I am going to do everyday. Is that alright?”
“What ever you want is alright by me.” Angela said, hugging Ricky. “Let me help you out of this dress. I can’t believe these breastforms are so big on you,” Angela said, helping Ricky with the zipper.
“I guess they are made for a thirty-four D, which is what Jennifer said the bras were.”
Ricky knew his mom was a thirty-six C from doing the laundry.
“Thirty-four D and thirty six C are about the same size, it's just that the chest is larger beneath the breasts. Well, you should be a thirty something, A or B at the most. I will check you later. This is a very nice corset and Jennifer has it tightened almost all the way. It can only be tightened about another inch. How tight is it at your chest?”
“Not too bad really, it is very tight at the waist, but it doesn’t feel as bad now. It took me a little while to get use to it.”
Jennifer came back in with several dresses, some skirts and blouses, shoes and four handbags. Angela, seeing the logos on the handbags, picked up the Gucci and the Louis Vuitton. After looking at them she said, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, everything from this locker has been top line, these handbags are genuine too.”
“You and Jennifer should take them,” Ricky said.
“I don’t think so Ricky,” Angela said. “I don’t need a thousand dollar handbag and Jennifer shouldn’t carry one either. They tend to attract attention from purse snatchers.”
“As much as I would like to have one, I have to agree with your Mom. I wouldn’t wear diamonds, or a Rolex, to school either for those reasons.”
Jennifer and Ricky tried on several of the outfits that Jennifer brought up. Ricky settled for a blue/white print silk blouse, a black tweed jacket and a black leather slim skirt. Jennifer chose a little black dress with spaghetti straps.
“Jennifer, that dress is you, I think you should keep it. You just need to change to a strapless bra. Every girl needs a little black dress,” Angela said. “Just tell your Mom I gave it to you.”
“Really?”
“What do you think, Ricky?”
“I think she looks awesome in it. I have no problem with you giving it to her.”
“Can you stay for dinner, Jennifer?”
“Not tonight, Mom and Dad want me and James to go with them. They have some kind of business dinner,” Jennifer said, checking her watch. “In fact, I need to be leaving soon.”
“Then you can wear that dress tonight.” Angela said. “Let me give you a lift home. Ricky, you can change if you want to.”
Angela gave Jennifer a ride to her home.
Ricky thought about changing, but put it off. He didn’t know how the corset was tied off. Instead, he set about hanging the clothes that were laying on his bed. He went ahead and put them in his closet. He then went to the garage, got some more of the clothes and took them to his room. He went through them. He made two piles. The first pile were clothes like what he first wore, Club wear, sexy stuff his mother would object to and eveningwear. The second was for what he was wearing now, everyday dresses, business wear, and casual wear. The second pile went into his closet, or into his bottom drawer.
He didn’t know why, he just didn’t want to get rid of that stuff yet. His Mom came back into the house as Rick was getting a second armful of stuff.
“You didn’t change?”
“I’m not sure I could get out of the corset, Mom. I didn’t see how Jen tied it off.”
“What are you doing with the rest of these clothes?”
“I’m going through them, anything like those two dresses we first wore, I am putting into a pile to sell.”
“Good, they can go to the shop. They are too nice to just give away. Let me help you.”
They got all the clothes into Ricky’s room, in one trip. Together they made short work of the clothes. When she saw her son put some of the clothes away she asked, “Why are you keeping some of the clothes?”
“I don’t know, I can’t explain it, but if it is alright with you, I plan on keeping them for now.”
“Almost anything you do is alright by me, Ricky. I trust you son and I want you to be able to talk freely with me. I don’t care how you dress, just think about things and try to be safe. Females and cross dressers are at a higher risk of being assaulted, Ricky. I just want you to be safe and happy.”
“I know Mom, I love you.”
“I love you too. Let’s order a pizza and watch some movies together.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
**************
Ricky woke very early Sunday. He was disoriented, because he was sitting on the couch, his mother’s arms holding him. He was in serious need of the bathroom. He wiggled out of her grasp, without waking her and made tracks to the bathroom. He pulled the skirt up and his panties and gaff down, before sitting to relieve himself. After using the restroom, he washed his hands and the makeup off his face.
Back in his room, he took and hung up the jacket. He couldn’t believe he was still dressed. He hunted for and found the zipper of the skirt and unzipped it. He undressed as much as he could. He took off the silk stockings and removed the garter tabs from the corset. He couldn’t figure how to get out of the corset. Looking over his shoulders into a mirror, he could see the laces, but not how they were tied off. He was afraid of pulling something and making it worse. So he decided to leaving it on and got dressed . He chose a pair of black leather pants; that Jennifer had brought up. He had to put them on twice, as he found that they zipped up the back.
He had to choose a blouse to wear, because he couldn’t get his faux breasts inside one of his shirts. Lastly he tried on a pair of calf high boots. They didn’t feel right bare footed and his socks would make the shoes incredibly tight, so he took a few seconds to think. He then went to his mom’s room and borrowed a pair of knee-highs, which did the trick.
He checked his watch; it was a little after six-fifteen in the morning. In his room he hit the power switch on the computer and then headed back to the garage.
He had gotten all the hanging clothes and some of the stuff in the drawers, but wanted to completely empty the trunks. He wasn’t surprised until he found the second set of breast forms and what he could only describe as padded silicone panties, that had their own pubic hair. He took them back to his room, along with the last of the things he had brought home with him. He left the empty trunks and suitcases in the garage. He stashed everything in his drawers and closet.
Returning to the laptop, the screensaver was already up. It was in banner mode and it said read --read me, please--. He touched the touch pad and the screen went to the desktop. There were about a twelve ’.doc’ files on there. The one in the center read ‘read me first’.
Ricky opened the ‘read me’.
>>>>>><<<<<
Hi, my name is Sandra Metcalf. If this is being read, then I must not have come back from Thailand before the locker lease expired. If that is the case, would you please email my friend in Thailand and find out why. Just log on, my home page is my online email client. The account password is saved but is sandram061885.
If I just missed coming back, you can just erase everything on the computer, with my blessings. If that is not the case, I beg you to please read the ‘read me second file’. I know it is up to you whether you do it or not, but I hope you will.
If you have gone through my locker, you probably know a little about me already. If you want to find out more about me, I have left a diary where you can read it; if you want to. It is on the desktop.
>>>>>><<<<<
Hugs Sandra :-)
Ricky fiddled with the laptop. It was Wifi capable, so he just had to log it onto their home network and then on to the Internet. Once he started up the browser, the email site came up. In the draft folder was an email, Ricky opened up the file and read it
Dear Khamchanaka;
This email is being sent to you from a friend of mine in the states. I told you to expect it if I didn’t make it back and obviously, I didn’t make it back to the states. My friend needs to know what happened. You can be entirely candid with them and tell them what you know.
If it is bad, know that I began to care about you from our chats on the net. I valued the time I spent chatting with you; you are a dear. I want to thank you for letting me stay with you, while I was healing up. If it is really bad, my friend needs to take care of my estate for me.
I composed this email, because I just had a feeling, it might be needed. I had hoped that I would be wrong. You can just reply to this email, my friend has access to my email account.
Again, I just want to thank you again, Khamchanaka, for all the kindness you have shown to me. May you find your path to enlightenment, and don’t let the bastards get you down.
Sandra Metcalf.
P.S. My name is Ricky C. and I will do what ever it is that Sandra needs me to do.
>>>>>><<<<<
Ricky hesitated; he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt that the worst had happened, but even though he didn’t know this Sandra, he wanted to know what happened to her. After adding the post script, he clicked send.
Ricky continues to dress on his own. He opens the diary and begins to learn what life was like for Sandra.
The Diary chapter 2
By
Paula Dillon
Ricky sat at the laptop having just sent “the” email. He wondered if he had done the right thing. He was glad he couldn’t recall the email, in a way. He just hoped that Sandra Metcalf was alright. He got up and left his room, as he heard his mother moving about.
“Good morning Mom, how are you?”
“I am doing alright, I have a slight crick in my neck from sleeping in an upright position, but that isn’t anything. You are still dressed up.”
“I couldn’t figure how to get out of the corset.”
“Come to my room. I will show you how to get into and out of a corset.”
Ricky followed his mom into her room.
“Undress and I will help you, after I visit the little girl’s room.”
Ricky took off the boots and knee high’s, took the leather pants and blouse off and sat on the bed waiting.
“Ok Ricky, stand with your back to my long mirror,” Angela said, when she came back into her room.
She showed Ricky which ties to pull, to slip the knot and showed him how to loosen the corset, working the slack up and down. “Ok, this is the start point. After you put a corset on, this is what it should look like. Do you see?”
“Yes Mom.”
She then spent about ten minutes showing him how to re-tighten and tie off the corset. This time Ricky, by himself, had pulled the back together all the way. The corset couldn’t possibly be tightened any more. She had Ricky go through the process again, until he was comfortable with it.
“Ok, take it off. We need to clean it. Hopefully it is hand washable.”
Angela took the breastforms from Ricky and set them on her bed. He then took the corset off. The smell wasn't really horrible, but after fifteen hours in the corset, it really needed to be cleaned. Luckily the label read ‘hand wash in cool water, mild soap, hang dry”.
“Come with me, Ricky.”
He followed his mom into her bathroom, dressed only in panties and his gaff. She had one of those two sink lavatories. She began filling one with cool water and Woolite, which she kept in the cabinet beneath the sink.
“Any of the expensive lingerie should be hand washed, Ricky. That will help them to last longer. Washing machines and dryers can rip them to shreds.”
She gently washed and rinsed the corset, until the water, that came out of the corset, was clear.
“Do this as soon as you take it off. Don’t give it time to mildew. Then hang it over your bath tub, like this, do dry.” She said, demonstrating. “Now go hang it in your bathroom and take a shower. You smell a bit ripe.”
Ricky got all of his stuff and went to his room. He had a smaller bathroom all to himself. He looked at himself, after hanging the corset. His waist was still pulled in and he could see where the corset had been.
The shower felt good; he didn’t like to smell sweaty and the water felt wonderful; after being tortured by the corset for so long. Drying himself, he found that his waist had expanded a little. In his room, he thought for a few seconds and then started to get another gaff out, but stopped and got the faux vagina panty thing out. The leather pants had been loose across the butt, with this padding, he figured it would be tight as most girls wear their pants. He saw how it could work as a gaff itself and so he tried it on. It was a little tight as he pulled them over his hip, but it stretched nicely. He got himself situated before he pulled it all the way up.
He then tried out going to the bathroom, without taking the garment off and found that it was feasible. He just had to dry himself off down there, after peeing. He put on a fresh pair of panties that fit snugly. He got out another corset that didn’t have cups on it. He followed his mom’s instructions and found it wasn’t that hard to lace oneself into a corset. This corset was smaller and had about three inches to go, when he got it tightened. He took out a bra and hooked it up it in front. The band of the bra was a little loose, so he used the last eyes to hook it up, before turning it and running his arms through the straps. He looked at the breastforms and saw that they weren’t symmetrical and figure out which form went into which cup.
He looked in the mirror, after he got his bra and breastforms on. Maybe he should have been a girl, because even with his short hair and no makeup on, he could still see a girl in the mirror. He finished dressing in the kneehighs, pants, blouse and boots. He started to put the wig back on, but decided to check out the other three wigs. One wig was a very long black straight hair wig. The hair was about three feet long and the label stated that it was an oriental hair wig. Another wig was about a fourteen-inch blonde hair wig, the label stated it was a page boy wig. The last was a shoulder length, medium golden brown, curly hair wig.
The last wig was closest to his natural hair and he chose this one to wear. It took just a bit of tugging and fiddling to get it in position. The hairstyle was a little mature and made him look older, especially with his chest, waist and hips, but he liked it.
He then did a little makeup, just powder, mascara and lipstick. He had seen Jennifer and his mom do just that before they went out. He then went to the kitchen, where he smelled his mom’s cooking. She wasn’t surprised to see Ricky in girl mode, as she heard him come in, “Are you going to dress like this today?” She asked.
“I guess.”
“You look good, Ricky,” she said, noting the makeup.
“Thank you, breakfast smells good.”
“It will be ready in a moment. Coffee is ready.”
“How many corsets did you find?”
“I have four.”
“Rotate them if you are going to keep doing this and keep them clean.”
Angela also noted Ricky’s backside after he passed by her to get a cup of coffee. He looked bigger through the hips and entirely too comfortable dressing like this.
“You want to come with me today dressed like this. I need to do my paperwork at the shop and a few things. The store will be closed, so it will be just you and I there.”
“I don’t know…” Ricky said, thinking. “I guess it would be alright, if it’s just you and I there.”
“I like that wig on you.”
“I like it too, but it is just way too curly and adult looking for my tastes. I also have a blonde page boy and a really long black oriental hair wig. I might like to try that black wig on sometime, but only as a novelty.”
“Oriental hair is cheaper, is usually coarser and almost always straight haired.”
Angela went to her room and changed out of her bed-clothes into a pair of jeans and a blouse, did her makeup and got her purse. On a second thought she got another purse.
Back in the kitchen, she handed the purse to Ricky, “Those pants don’t have any pockets, so put your stuff in this. Also, include a powder compact, lipstick, and mascara. If you are going to look the part, you need to do it right.”
Ricky went to his room and put his wallet and keys in, along with the items his mom told him to add to it.
“Ok Ricky,” Angela said, on their way to his truck. “You drive. In the unlikely hood that we run into anyone, you are Michelle Long, got it.”
“Got it, my name is Michelle Long.”
“I am just letting you look over some new antiques. We did get some in, by the way, that you haven’t seen and Tom has cleaned up and put your last buy on the floor already.”
**************
Angela retired to her office and Ricky/Michelle went exploring in the store. He first picked up a PDA, in which they had logged all the merchandise in the store and the listed price. They also included an in house symbol, if the price was negotiable with the wiggle room, or the price was firm. He knew almost every piece of furniture there and after a short while, he had spotted and inspected the things that were new to him. When he found items he hadn’t seen, he would check prices, condition and appearance, making notes on each item. He would take that information and research it on the Internet, and trade magazines, comparing what they had, with what was available there. Then he would recheck the items, if there was any ambiguity in his mind
This was how he learned the antique business. He knew what to look for, how to spot counterfeits and frauds, how to price antiques, and how to make a pitch and close a sale. He wasn’t ready to work for a major auction house yet, but he knew more than many so called experts.
While he was lying on the floor, looking for a makers mark on a table, he heard a knock on their door. He got up and went to the door. A smartly, but casually dressed lady, was waving to him. “We are closed,” he shouted through the door and pointed at the closed sign.
“Please,” the lady said, loud enough to be heard through the glass.
“Just a second,” Ricky said, realizing that he didn’t have his keys with him. He got his purse and returned. Unlocking the door, he stepped out. “We are closed on Sundays and Mondays,” Ricky said.
“Hi, I am Linda Groveston,” she said, handing him her business card.
“Oh, sorry for being so short with you. I am Michelle Long.”
“No problem, I know you’re closed and I am sorry for bothering you, but I really need to talk with you, or the proprietor. I am an interior decorator and an antique buyer for my clients. I have been checking out the local antique stores and such, in the area. I know I am intruding on your work, but I have some major clients moving into the area and they are going to be buying a lot of stuff.”
“Just a Second, let me get Angela Crawford, on my phone.” Ricky got out his cell phone and called his mother. “Angela, (his Mom had him call her by her name, when they were at the store) I have an interior decorator and antique buyer, by the name of Linda Groveston, she wants to come in and check out the store… Yes… I can take care of her. Come on in and let’s talk, Ms Groveston.”
“Please call me Linda, Ms Groveston is my Mom.”
“Ok Linda, please call me Michelle. Now tell me, what are you interested in. I know everything we have.”
For the next two hours, Ricky/Michelle took Linda on a grand tour of the store, showing her the best that the store had in stock. Ricky liked Linda, she knew what she wanted and had a good eye. He didn’t have to explain why some things were very high priced. She had a list and made copious notes of her finds.
Angela poked her head out of the office several times and watched the two interact. Ricky was too busy to be self-conscious, he just acted naturally.
When Linda had seen all that she had wanted to see, she said, “I can see that I will be doing a lot of business with your store.”
“Would you like to talk to the Boss?”
“That is a great Idea.”
Ricky led Linda back into the office.
“Angela, this is Linda Groveston, Linda, this is Angela Crawford, the boss lady.”
“Hello Ms Groveston, has Michelle been helpful to you.”
“She has been very helpful and quite knowledgeable. That is surprising, in one so young.”
“Yes, she really is surprising.” Angela said giggling.
“It is so good to see businesses run by women. Like I told Michelle, I have some major clients that are moving into this area, who just love antique furniture. They have commissioned me to decorate their home and I am going to be buying a lot of antiques. I like your selection and plan to shop here quite a bit.”
“Thank you. We try our best to maintain a good selection. They aren’t always easy to come by, you know.”
“Tell me about it, anyway here is my business information, in case you want to check me out and call the Better Business Bureau, or the credit bureaus.”
“We are usually a cash business, but we can make arrangements for credit.”
“I am sure we can both profit from our businesses. Why don’t you let me take you ladies out to eat, I am hungry.”
“What do you think Michelle, are you hungry?”
“Sure Mom.” Ricky said, before thinking.
“I thought you two were related.” Linda said.
Ricky panicked and his feelings were mirrored in his face.
“Don’t worry, I made you a long time ago. I won’t say anything.”
“Made me? What do you mean?”
“You are a boy, aren’t you?”
“Yes ma’am. My girl friend dressed me up this weekend. I bought a locker that had a lot of cross dressers stuff in it and she wanted to see how I would look in it. Don’t hold it against my Mom.”
“I won’t, I think it is delightful, more boys should experience the fairer side, I think. You have been so natural all day; it has just been bits and pieces that gave you away.”
“Then you won’t mind eating somewhere a little further away from here?” Angela asked.
“Of course not. Michelle needs her comfort and safety.”
**************
Over lunch they talked about lots of things. Angela told Linda how she had come to open the business. She talked about how Ricky was her big help and how she was teaching him the business and such. Ricky talked about Jennifer his girlfriend, about buying a locker full of stuff and how he ended up dressed like this.
“It is good seeing more women owned businesses Angela and it is very good to see you teaching Michelle the business.”
“I didn’t set out to teach her this business, Linda, but she so wanted to help make us succeed, that she learned a lot by watching me. It was amazing how much she just absorbed. She almost took over keeping the home, so I could work.”
“You really are a delightful person, Michelle.”
“Thank you.”
The three of them then talked business. Linda told them of her new clients, and what they were looking for in the way of furniture and antiques.
**************
Back home, Ricky checked Sandra’s email, before calling Jennifer. There was no reply yet. He called Jen and found that she was busy and couldn’t come over. So he sat in front of the laptop and opened the diary.
>>>>><<<<<
This is the diary of Sandra Metcalf
I am writing this because my therapist suggested that I write a diary.
When I was born I wasn’t named Sandra Metcalf, I was named William Trent. My family consisted of my father, Wesley, my mother Barbra and my two sisters, Wanda and Amanda. Wanda was three years older than me, and Amanda was five years older.
We lived in suburbia, what can I say. We had the classic two-car garage home, the two and three quarters kids (I guess we took a quarter from someone else, who only had two kids to make me) and a dog.
For the first five years of my life, I guess life was good for us kids. We were kids, what do you expect kids to worry about. We were happy, as long as we had friends, parents that seemed to care, a place where we were warm and safe, and we were fed. I knew other kids back then who had less and I felt so sad for them.
My sisters and I got along well and we often played together. Children under six, or seven, don’t understand gender. Oh, they may know the few differences boys and girls at that age have, but gender is a complex concept to them. Boys knew that girls had cooties and girls knew that boys were just yucky. My sisters were no exception. So at some point, for me to play with them, they convinced me that I had to dress like they dressed.
We really had some fun times playing together. They taught me all about their dolls, their names, what type of dolls they were and how to dress them. Looking back, these were the happiest days of my childhood.
Then one day, Mom caught us. We didn’t think we had done anything wrong. We were just playing together as kids normally do, but Mom just went spastic on me. She tore the dress I was wearing, off of me. It had been one of Wanda’s best party dresses; that got her mad at me. She blamed me, not our Mom, who had actually torn the dress.
To this day, I can’t remember all the bad things Mom said about me that day, but I do remember the shouting, being spanked for such a long time and her railing at my sisters about how bad a boy I was.
My mom and sisters all treated me differently after that point. It was like I was less human to them and didn’t deserve to be loved at the same level as them.
My life wasn’t bad all the time; don’t get me wrong. There were times when we enjoyed being together, but we were never as carefree as before. There was a wall between us, a wall I couldn’t climb over, or walk around, or crawl under, to get to the other side. There were also the lessons; where Momma laid down the law. This was what boys were and this is what girls were. Boys who tried to be girls, were as evil, as girls that tried to be boys, maybe more so.
Where was daddy in all this? Daddy just kept mom happy. She ruled the roost. Dad went to work and brought home the bacon. He and mom never seemed to argue, especially around us kids. Years later, I found out what a myth that was.
Then school came, I didn’t fit in at grade school. I disliked all the rough sports, like football and the girls avoided me, because boys were still yucky to them.
All that I knew was, that things didn’t feel like they should have. I just didn’t understand it back then.
People say that time heals all wounds and in a way I knew that that was partly true. But there are some wounds that just never seem to heal.
I really didn’t have any friends till middle school. Lisa Carmichael, what can I say about her. She was wonderful, she is an angel and she was the first person to really understand me. I was basically a wallflower and Lisa was the kind of girl that cultivated flowers, rather than picking them. I can say that Lisa was responsible for me living as long as I have.
Lisa introduced herself to me the first week of October. I generally sat alone during lunch. Lisa came over and asked if she could sit at the same table, in the lunchroom. I was shocked to say the least. Lisa wasn’t the most beautiful girl in school, but she wasn’t far from it and here she was, sitting with me. I still don’t know how she did it, but she made me talk with her.
The one thing that really stood out about Lisa, was the way she dressed. Girls today would say she had impeccable tastes. She didn’t go into fad dressing, or preppie dressing, she loved sophisticated chic. You would hardly ever catch her dressed down in jeans and such. I think she enjoyed being a girl. Her mom was the same way; I think she may have been a model. I envied her.
Seeing her, awakened things in me long suppressed. It made me both sad and happy. I came to remember the happy times, with my sisters.
She was also the first person who recognized me for who I was.
From that first day, she went out of her way to greet me and see how I was doing. We became very good friends. She loved to talk; she could probably talk a Senator, practicing for a filibuster, into the ground. She also liked to hear other people talking too. I know, that is a contradiction, but that was Lisa.
She came to this realization a week before Halloween. She was keen on dressing in costumes for Halloween. She invited me over to her home after school. We went up to her room. Her room was a vision. It was everything a girl could want. I sat on the stool in front of her vanity and she sat on her bed. She told me about her ideas for her costume. She even had some drawings that she had made. I was amazed at her artistry. She could be a very good artist. I so wished that I could look like those pictures.
One costume pictured her like Galadriel, of Tolkien fame, should look like. The picture was much better than the one in the movie. The second picture had her looking like a Russian Princess; like Anastasia in the cartoon. She looked regal and beautiful. The last picture had her looking like Jessica Rabbit, of ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’, wearing that strapless Red dress.
It was while I was looking at the pictures, when she made her serendipitous discovery. She said, it was the way that I was looking at her drawings. I still don’t know what she saw.
Things got very uncomfortable for me, as she asked some very probing questions. The next hour was a blur, with me ending up wearing one of those costumes for her. I couldn’t believe she got me into her Jessica Rabbit costume.
She had a good laugh, but I had to cry. She was worried that she had hurt me, but I spilled my guts about how right this costume felt. She held on to me for a long time, before I told her about the first time I dressed as a girl, and about my mom and sisters.
I remember her words to this day. “Well, if they won’t let you be who you should be, then I shall have to do it.”
For the next three years, I became Sandra, (She chose the name for me) once or twice a week. I cried for days, when she and her mom had to move away.
>>>>><<<<<
Ricky read a few more pages, he found something intriguing about Sandra and would have loved knowing her. He turned off the laptop and set about returning to Ricky, before doing his homework and the reading for class.
(to be continued)
Ricky discovers Sandra’s fate and reads the contents of the 'read me second' file.
The Diary -chapter 3
By
Paula Dillon
Monday, Ricky went to school after picking up Jennifer. Jen talked about the dinner with her parents on Saturday and what she had done on Sunday. She was surprised though, when Ricky spoke of what he and Angela had done on Sunday.
“I am surprised you dressed up again on Sunday.”
“I don’t know, it was kind of fun to be with Mom dressed. It’s not something I want to do everyday, but for you and her it’s okay.”
“I was surprised that your Mom took it so well. Thank her for me again. My Mom just loved that dress. I am only lucky that it is too small for her,” Jennifer said, giggling.
After school, they stopped by Ricky’s home. They loaded the luggage and the steamer trunks into the bed of Ricky’s pickup and took them to the antique shop. His Mom was at the resale shop, so he left the stuff with Cindy. Cindy was the assistant manager of the store and ran things when Angela was out. She logged in the items and set them aside for pricing.
Ricky and Jennifer then headed back to the locker. Jennifer again made notes on Ricky’s blackberry, as Ricky carefully opened the cartons that were there. He found several boxes of books, there didn’t seem to be any extremely expensive first editions, but there were a lot of current fiction. He loaded them into the truck to take by the library, to see if they wanted them. Another box had some nice crystal and china, he marked that box for the antique shop. A box of everyday dishes was destined for the resale shop, along with some nice cookware.
He found a box, marked toys, and was embarrassed when he opened it.
“I guess you could call that stuff toys,” he said. “I think this box is destined for the dumps.”
“Let me see,” Jennifer said. She blushed a bit when she saw the contents. “You don’t have to throw them away, but they will need a very thorough cleaning and disinfecting before they are used again. It might be fun using some of those things, take that box home and we will talk about what to do with it.”
The biggest find he made that day, was the box marked silver. It held a tea service, silver ware and silver table service. There were also several boxes that held casual clothes. Ricky would keep some and send some to the mission store.
Everything was loaded into the truck, before Ricky cleaned both lockers. He turned them back over to the proprietor, as they were leaving.
In his room, Ricky showed Jennifer the diary, which she started reading. Ricky began messing with the camera then. He attached a normal lens to the body and began fiddling with it till it turned on. It was a nice professional digital camera system. He began taking pictures of Jen. She posed for a few, as she read, till she began to get a little annoyed. Ricky then reviewed the shots he had taken. He also found a few of a girl still in the camera’s memory, along with a lot of other pictures.
“Say Jennifer, do you think that this could be Sandra Metcalf,” Ricky said, turning the back of the camera toward her.
“Let me see. Oh she is pretty, but I can see some masculine features to her face; nothing too bad though. Did she have any photo galleries on her laptop.”
“I didn’t check yet.”
Jennifer then began to explore what was on the laptop. They found that the computer included Photoshop. She clicked on it and found that there were ten or twelve photo galleries listed. They found that Sandra was quite the photographer. She had thousands of art quality pictures of everyday things, flowers, landscapes, people having fun, children playing, buildings and the minutia of life. One of Ricky’s favorite was of two old men playing chess in the park. Words fall short of quantifying that shot, it was just priceless. Ricky set it as the desktop background. There was a couple of galleries marked ‘me and friends’.
There were a couple of hundred pictures in those files. The labels the pictures had, listed names and dates. The pictures went back nineteen years to when William was four or five. Then there were pictures of Lisa and William and Lisa and Sandra, but there were no pictures of William and his real family.
“Make me a memory stick of those pictures and that diary, Ricky. I need to get on home,” Jennifer said, checking her watch.
“Right and I need to fix dinner.”
They kissed and parted.
**************
Tuesday, Ricky didn’t have Phys Ed. He only had to dress out for P.E. on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. So when he dressed in the morning he wore a gaff and a pair of panties underneath his own jeans. He wanted to see what it was like for someone like Sandra, he reasoned.
The gaff didn’t hurt, but was a little uncomfortable; it served as a constant reminder that things were different. His jeans were loose enough that it wasn’t obvious that Ricky’s penis was tucked back and that he was wearing panties instead of his usual tidy whities.
When he sat in the lunchroom, he spent a lot of time scanning the students, trying to identify students that might be like Sandra, at least when he wasn’t talking with Jennifer. She would get upset if he ignored her.
He realized that it might not be easy. People like Sandra would probably develop defenses against detection. This was an average high school and he could only imagine what would happen to an effeminate boy, or a girl that was overly masculine. There were a handful of students that were pretty well in the middle. He thought for a second and came up with the word androgynous. He made a mental note to observe those students.
When school let out, he dropped Jennifer off at her house and then drove home. He loaded the boxes that he wasn’t going to keep, into the truck. His first stop was the resale shop. Candace helped him unload the things he had for her store and logged them in.
He then drove to the antique shop, to drop off the high dollar items. Cindy was excited by the crystal, china and the silver services.
“I am going to have to ask your Mom to price these, I would like to buy some of this.”
“Just take what you want Cindy.”
“Nope, I don’t think so. These things are just too valuable. I will take my employee’s discount, but I know that you spent your own money to buy this kiddo. I don’t want to cheat you.”
“I will probably make my money back on the furs alone.”
“Furs, I didn’t hear about any furs. What kind?”
“I found a mink jacket and a chinchilla jacket in the steamer trunks.”
“Even so, you still need to make a profit Ricky, and you will have to pay for college soon. What about the rest of that stuff?” Cindy said, pointing to the remaining boxes.
“Those are books, current fiction mostly, hard covers. I was going to see if the library wanted them. Where is Angela today?”
“We got a call from an auctioneer in Ennis, today. They had a rush auction, that was suppose to include some nice antiques. She went down to check things out.”
“I know, today Ennis, tomorrow Decatur, Friday Comanche.”
“You got it kiddo. Oh by the way, a Linda Groveston came by and made a big purchase today. She told me to say hi to you and give you a big hug, Ricky.” Cindy said, hugging the boy to her.
“Yeah, Mom talked to her on Sunday and I showed her around the store. How big?”
“A really big hug, I guess.”
“No the purchase, silly,”
“I know, don’t get your panties in your crack. I was just teasing you. She spent thirty thousand and put a hold on another twenty-five. I already texted your Mom. Tom is out making the delivery.”
“Ok, guess I will see you later.” Ricky said, giving Cindy a hug.
Ricky dropped the books off at the library. The Librarian was excited and gladly accepted the donation, as funds for new books was tight.
“We have been needing some new fiction, these books are all well respected authors,” She said looking through the boxes.
Back home, Ricky went to his room. He stripped off his school clothes and placed them in the hamper. He looked at himself in the mirror. His waist was back to normal, despite the fact that he was wearing panties, he was surprised that he could still see a lot of Michelle looking back at him in the mirror.
His Mom was going to be late today, so he decided to dress as Michelle. He got out a pair of pantyhose, a bra, his breastforms and a below the bust corset. He first dressed in the pantyhose. He had seen how his Mom had done it, and with the directions on the package, he found that it wasn’t hard. He tightened the corset as much as he could stand, before he put on a bra and his breastforms. He chose a white blouse, a gray skirt and black pumps.
He did his makeup and chose the long black wig, this time. It felt strange having hair all the way to his butt, but it did look nice in the mirror. He was amazed at how shiny the hair was.
He had to move his hair to the side, as he sat in front of the laptop and turned it on. After it booted up, he opened the browser. There was an email from Khamchanaka. He opened the file
>>>>><<<<<
Hello Ricky,
My name is Courtney. I am another trans girl that Khamchanaka is helping. She asked me to help write this letter so she could get it right and because this issue is still just too emotional for her right now. Also, her English is pretty good, but when dealing with medical terms, she was afraid of saying the wrong things.
Sandra arrived in Thailand ok, on the twenty third of November. She and Kham did a lot of sightseeing and clubbing at night, for the two weeks before her surgery. They became fast friends and had a lot of fun. We have attached a file with pictures they had taken.
She went in for surgery on the eighth of December. She had some facial feminization and breast augmentation, that day. Then on the fifteenth, she went in for Vaginoplasty. The surgery was a success. She had a very good surgeon. She stayed in the hospital a week before coming back to Kham’s home, where she was to recuperate, before heading back to the states.
It was a week after being discharged from the hospital, that things went badly. Kham found her one morning, her face was red and she was clutching her left arm. Kham is a nurse and so she took her blood pressure. She was 210 over 105. Sandra was having a Hypertensive Crisis. Sandra screamed and went into arrest. She was taken to the hospital, but they failed to revive her.
She was pronounced dead, December thirtieth at 9:05 A.M. local time.
They did an autopsy on Sandra. The Pathologist found that Sandra had an undiagnosed Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. He said the spike in blood pressure had caused the rupture of the aneurysm and caused Sandra to bleed out internally, causing her death. He also said that it wouldn’t have mattered one bit, if she had been in the hospital, unless they had done something about the aneurysm before the Hypertensive Crisis. What had caused the Hypertensive Crisis was undetermined.
I researched it on the Net with Kham’s help, Aortic aneurysms are very hard to detect and they would have needed to suspect them, to find it. They can be asymptomatic, meaning that the patient may have no symptoms that would aid in their detection and may never know they had one. Sandra had a time bomb inside of her and didn’t know it.
Khamchanaka said that, Sandra was very joyous after surgery. We have included a file with her diary entries for the days after her surgery. She was finally the girl that she felt she should have been born as. Non-transsexuals don’t know what it is like to feel like they are trapped in the wrong bodies. Sandra truly had a feminine spirit and the body of a male. We are very sad that she only felt her joy for such a short time.
Her death certificate has been filed with the US Embassy, here in Bangkok, Thailand.
Please Ricky, if you can, keep Khamchanaka in your heart and mind. If you have time, email her. She was pretty broken up by Sandra’s loss. She was encouraged, to have somebody enquire about her friend. It has also been good that there are others like us to help keep her busy. She had thought about not helping anymore. Kham is such a treasure to those of us having surgery. We need to let her know that we love her dearly. I know that I am going to keep up with her and encourage her.
With love,
Courtney
Ps: My email addy is included, if you need to talk to somebody about this. We transgendered need as many friends as we can find. I would really love to hear from you when I get home.
>>>>><<<<<
Ricky laid down on his bed and cried for a little while. He hadn’t known Sandra alive, but he still felt her loss, none the less. After a little while he felt better, but put off reading the ‘read me second’ file, till the next day. He felt that he was just so wrung out inside.
**************
Wednesday, Ricky helped out in the antique shop after school. His Mom had made a big purchase the day before and Ricky was helping to get it ready for display. The job consisted of cleaning the antiques without damaging its finish.
Many people make the mistake of trying to make an old table look like new. That’s ok, if the table was well taken care of and just needed to be cleaned a bit. If the item had seen better days, some people try to remove the signs of aging. Also, if there is heavy grime, you have to be careful you don’t remove the original finish, while cleaning it. People think if the table looks better, it is worth more, but refinishing can greatly reduce the value of an antique. It should be a crime to sand the finish off of a Joseph Meeks and Sons table and refinish it.
Ricky worked about two hours, before heading home. He knew that he was going to read the ‘read me second’ file today.
He changed out of his school clothes and into Sandra’s jeans and blouse, the long auburn wig, a touch of makeup and heels. He felt more in touch with her dressed like that. He was falling in love with lipstick, he often had dry lips and he found that lipsticks were very good at softening them.
He opened the file after booting up the laptop.
>>>>><<<<<
If someone is reading this, then I am gone. Don’t feel too bad for me. I know I was becoming what I always should have been and I just didn’t make it all the way through.
I know I don’t have any right to impose on a stranger, but please finish reading this.
I am not wealthy, but I am well off. When my grandmother passed away, I inherited much of her estate. My inheritance is worth about one point five million. My diary will tell you more of my story about this.
If you are game, here is what I would like you to do. First my friends online need to be told about what has happened. I left them in suspense, I don’t know why, but I just did. I told them that I was going for SRS surgery, but not where and I didn’t intend to email any of them till I returned back home as a complete woman. In case you didn’t know, SRS is sexual reassignment surgery, sometimes also called gender reassignment surgery. It basically amounts to correcting the mistake made of birth. It was to make me as much of a woman as I could be.
My friends must be going crazy by this time. So if you could, break the news to them. I would ask that you first go online using my IRC client and chat with them. When you log into the chat room, I imagine that you will be inundated with private chat requests. Don’t worry their chats won’t be of a sexual nature. We do discuss sex sometimes, but it isn’t a sex chat room per se. My best suggestion is to get in a private chat with The-Boss-Lady. She is the site admin, a real nice lady. She will help find a way to break the news to the others.
Then if you would, you can compose an email and include as many details as you are comfortable with and send it to all my close friends on my contact list. I thought about composing it for you, but I thought it would be best if someone else did it for me.
Lastly, I have my will in my aluminum suitcase. The combination is 4562-8731, take my will to my attorney and he will explain a profitable proposal for you. If you chose not to, I want to thank you for coming this far with me.
Love
Sandra
>>>>><<<<<
Ricky thought he could wait till tomorrow to notify Sandra’s friends. He pulled the suitcase out from under his bed and tried the combination. The two locks gave a satisfying click. Upon opening the case, Ricky was surprised. The suitcase was a veritable pharmacy. He found the will and closed the case. He would explore the contents later.
Ricky begins to do the things Sandra asked him to do for her.
The Diary -chapter 4
By
Paula Dillon
Ricky checked the time, he found that he probably had an hour or two before he needed to start dinner. He returned to the laptop and began reading some more of the diary.
>>>><<<<<
As bright as middle school had been, high school was dark. I kept my eyes open for another Lisa, but that wasn’t going to happen. The urges to dress as Sandra never went away, but I did find an outlet. Amanda went away to college, Wanda hung out with her friends most days after school, and Mom got a job outside of the house. The good thing about Amanda going to college was that she left about half her clothes in her room. We each had our own bedroom, Wanda and Amanda shared a bath and I had to use the common bathroom that only had a shower, sink and toilet.
Anyway, I took some of Amanda’s older clothes that she left at home. She never threw away anything at all and since she was bigger than I am, much of her clothes fit me just fine.
I found a couple of innovative ways of making breastforms, using old pantyhose and birdseed, instead of water balloons. Both methods have their ups and downs, but I liked the bird seed a little better than water balloons.
I also created a place to hide my stash, the space behind my closet the walls were about ten inches deep, instead of five inches. This space in the wall, was used to run the plumbing from the hot water heater to the various bathrooms and kitchen. I cut a square out of the sheet rock and created a small nook to hide my things in.
This lasted for all of three months. I should have paid more attention to Murphy’s Law, because that smelly stuff that always rolls down hill rolled right over me. A water pipe, which went through my hiding place burst, Mom had to call a plumber. Mom was with the plumber when they found out about my proclivities.
I think Mom was more upset that the plumber found the clothes, than if she had found them. I don’t know, she never talked about it. She just screamed at me for embarrassing her and being a perverted boy.
Things between Mom and I got worse after that. I wasn’t physically abused, like some transgendered kids, for that I was eternally grateful, but it was the verbal abuse and name calling that made things painful for me. Where Mom left off, Wanda took up the gauntlet and Amanda, when she was home from college. I just had to get out of that house.
I ran away from home. I didn’t know where else to go, so I went to Grandmother Kate’s (my Mom’s Mom) home. I left the week after Thanksgiving. I packed my backpack and took a Greyhound Bus. I just had enough money for the ticket and one meal, a quarter-pounder, fries and a bottle of water.
I rode that bus for two days almost, reaching my destination city well after noon. I then walked from the bus station to her home, a sixteen-mile walk. Most of the walk was along the service road for the interstate. Still it was nearly a seven-hour walk, with some very precarious intersections along the way.
I arrived at her home a little after ten PM. I hesitated knocking for about ten minutes, I didn’t know if I was going to be facing more of the same thing I had found at home. Amid all the warring in my soul, the front door opened and there stood my Grandma.
“William, is that you? What are you doing here? Where is the rest of the family? You’re not here by yourself are you?”
All that spilled out of my grandmother, before I could respond to question one.
Grandma Kate pulled me into her house. After looking at me, she led me to her kitchen.
“Sit, I will make a pot of tea and then we can talk. Are you hungry?”
I just nodded, and after eyeing me over, she began to cook just about everything in her kitchen, it seemed. We didn’t begin to talk, until I was about halfway through eating. I don’t think I could have talked with my mouth so full. I don’t remember what was said, or how long we talked. I only remember waking up the next morning on the couch, in the living room.
Grandmother Kate sitting in her chair, was the first thing I saw the next morning.
“Good morning William, how are you doing?”
“I am OK and you?”
“I am doing well. You know, your Mom still hasn’t called me and told me that you are missing yet. Did you tell her where you were going, when you left.”
“No ma’am, I just grabbed a bunch of stuff and left about three days ago, three days this evening. I think she is happy that I am gone.”
“I want to see just how long she will wait. I will give her a week. If she doesn’t call, I will call her. I don’t think that you will be going home.”
“Go take a bath if you are going to live in my house. You smell like a vagabond. Leave your clothes outside the door; there are a couple of robes hanging on the door. Go to the bedroom you use when you come here. I’ll find something for you to wear.”
I hadn’t noticed how much I stank till she told me and I was glad to have a chance to clean myself up. When I came out of the shower there were some girl’s clothes on the bed, jeans, panties and a blouse. I tried not to think about them belonging to my Mom, as I dressed in them. I never wore boy’s clothes again.
Anyways, Mom never called, Grandmother had to call her. After some hemming and hawing Mother admitted that I had run away. Sparks flew between them, till Grandmother Kate told her I was there, and they went through a second round of arguing. When all was said and done, I was to stay with my grandmother. Mom and Grandmother Kate made it official, they both went to a lawyer and had some paperwork drawn up.
Mom never came to see her mother again. I could tell that it was tearing my Grandmother up inside, but she made it clear, that I was just too precious to abandon. If my mother was too much of an ass to see that, then that was her problem.
Things brightened up a bit for me as I stayed with Grandmother Kate. She insisted that I see a psychologist about my wanting to be a girl.
I went to see my psychologist, and after four weekly sessions, she suggested that I live full time as a girl. I was happy and afraid at the same time. How would I be able to go to school?
Grandmother Kate had an answer to that problem, I home schooled for a year, with my Grandmother as my teacher. Boy can she be a harsh taskmaster. In many ways she was harder on me than my regular teachers were. Her lessons not only included the three R’s, but I had separate lessons on how to be a girl. In many ways those were harder than the regular schoolwork.
By the time the next school year started, I had learned a lot about being a girl and I was well ahead of the average student in my grade.
This is the end of the prologue to my diary and I switched to a more day by day diary.
Hugs
Sandra
>>>>><<<<<
After closing the file, Ricky called Jennifer up and asked if she wanted to go with him to a coffee shop, which was a Wi-Fi hotspot tomorrow, as he didn’t want his IP address to go out to everybody. After listening to what Ricky said, she agreed, and convinced Ricky that he should dress as Michelle. Ricky then printed out the ‘read me first’ and ‘read me second’ files. He attached a USB flash drive and copied the files that Jennifer had wanted.
Ricky then spent a little time playing with the makeup. He had seen Jennifer do that at her home, when he had gone over there to study. When they took a break, she would experiment with her makeup and ask Ricky what he thought of this or that. He found that putting his pinky on his cheek helped quite a bit when he worked with the eye liner. He also was getting better with applying mascara to his lower lashes.
He went back to the computer and found help for using the myriad of shades of eye shadows he had. He had pallets and pallets of different shades and colors of eyeshadows. You Tube surprised him, with all the tutorials on makeup available. He bookmarked them all.
Ricky stopped what he was doing and did his housework. He had let it slip a little and he didn’t want his mom to comment on that. He did a couple of loads of clothes, dusted and vacuumed the floors.
He took the wig, the blouse and bra off, the breastforms came off with the bra. He then put on a loose sweatshirt over the corset. The sweatshirt hid the corset and the top of the jeans. He cleaned the makeup off and cleansed his face.
He then fixed dinner for his Mom.
**************
Ricky and Jennifer sat together in the lunchroom. Ricky saw one of the guys he had been keeping an eye on. The boys name was Timothy. Tim was always smartly dressed, usually in a button up shirt, pullover sweater and chinos or jeans. His appearance couldn’t be called feminine, but it wasn’t masculine either. The boy’s hair came to the top of his shoulders and was neatly cut.
After checking the space around them, Ricky asked Jennifer, “Do you think that Timothy West could be like Sandra?”
“Um… He could be, I don’t know. He is cute though. He has beautiful hazel eyes. His eyebrows aren’t bushy like a lot of guys. He keeps them neat, but they aren’t arched. His eyelashes are longer than mine. I would trade eyelashes with him any day. His face is always smooth and clean. He has nice cheekbones and a nice head of hair. We see him checking out girls, but doesn’t leer or make rude comments, like the Neanderthal group. He dresses nicely and is very polite too. I don’t know if you could call him effeminate or not. I would date him in a heartbeat, if I didn’t have you. He seems like a very nice boy.”
Ricky was surprised by the amount of information that Jennifer had gleaned.
“Do girls always gather as much detail?”
“Girls notice more than boys do, especially people that are cute or people that are slobs. You ought to hear what girls say about you?”
“Tell me.”
“I can’t, it’s against the girl code, to reveal what one girl tells another, about a boy. It’s like doctor/patient confidentiality.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope, honest injun.”
**************
After school, Jennifer went with Ricky to his home. She had Ricky change into Michelle, while she changed into one of Sandra’s outfits. Jennifer put on a wig cap and donned the blonde wig. She always wondered what she would look like, without her mousey brown hair. Ricky chose to wear the auburn wig; the style fit his age better.
Jennifer dressed in a white silk/linen blouse and a gray wool/linen mini skirt, with black heels. Ricky dressed in a green silk blouse and a high waisted, royal blue, silk/linen mini, with a pair of strappy sandals. The skirt started about two inches below the bust and ended mid thigh.
Jennifer did the makeup for both of them. As they looked at each other in the mirror, it would be hard to identify either of them, without close inspection.
“Are you ready to do this?” Jennifer asked.
“As ready as I can be.”
They grabbed their purses and the laptop, checking that the battery was at full power and headed out. The coffee house was one they both knew of, but on the far side of town from them. It was a twenty-five minute drive from where Ricky lived.
As they entered the coffee shop, they saw that the corner booth was open. Ricky sent Jennifer to grab it, while he would order their coffees and biscotti. Jennifer began setting up the laptop, after she had taken her seat.
Ricky joined Jennifer; they sat side by side with their backs to the wall. The laptop found the Wi-Fi signal and soon they were on the Internet. Ricky launched the IRC client he found in the start menu and soon they had logged into a transgendered chat room.
It only took about eight seconds, before the name Sandragurl was noticed. It was like an avalanche that started off slowly and built up to a tempest. Ricky didn’t see the-boss-lady in the list of chatters there, but he did see a name with an ampersand by it. He double clicked that name, which sent a private chat request.
>>>><<<<<
@JolieB: OMG it’s sooo good 2 c u Sandra. How r u?
Sandragurl: I am not Sandra, but I know what happened.
@Jolie: That doesn’t sound good, so how is Sandra.
Sandragurl: It’s not good Jolie. I was told to contact The-Boss-Lady.
@JolieB: She isn’t here right now, let me skype her.
Things were quiet in the chat window for about five minutes. The-Boss-Lady then came on line and joined them in the private chat.
@The-Boss-Lady: Hi my name is CindyP. I hear that you have information about Sandragurl.
Sandragurl: Yes, my name is Michelle and I am with my girlfriend Jen. I came upon Sandra’s laptop. She had left some directions on it and a way to contact her. I was able to find out what happened with her.
@JolieB: So tell us, what happened Michelle?
Sandra: Can I do a copy/paste in this window?
@The-Boss-Lady: Go ahead.
Ricky called up the email that Courtney had sent and he copied the text of the message. He then pasted the text and sent the chat. It was five minutes before either girl replied.
@The-Boss-Lady: We were afraid something bad had happened. Sandra just told us that she was going to be gone for about four months. She was going for her SRS and didn’t give us any details or any way to contact her. Please do keep up with Khamchanaka. I know many health care people and a loss like that can be devastating.
Sandragurl: I will. Sandra said that you would find a way to break it to the chat room.
@The-Boss-Lady: I will, type /nick (name you want to go by) to change from Sandragurl to your nickname.
Ricky typed /nick MichelleL and hit enter. Sandragurl disappeared and MichelleL was listed.
@The-Boss-Lady: Good, now let me get the attention of the chat room and I will introduce you. Don’t do the cut paste in the open chat room. But tell them in your own words what happened to Sandragurl.
Sandragurl: Ok
@The-Boss-Lady: Alright, go ahead and close this chat window and return to the main chat room.
Ricky closed the private chat and waited for a few seconds. People were still trying to get Sandra’s attention, even after the nick changed from Sandragurl to MichelleL. The number of people in the main chat room had jumped from about eight to over twenty.
@The-Boss-Lady: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NOW HEAR THIS <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The chat room went silent for several seconds.
@The-Boss-Lady: MichelleL has joined us today. No, she isn’t Sandragurl, but she brings us news about Sandragurl. Give the girl a chance to speak. We all need to hear what she is saying. I have given her voice and I am only allowing one person at a time to speak. If you have a question, PM me, requesting voice. She doesn’t have all the answers, so please be patient. She will answer what she can.
MichelleL: Hi, I am Michelle and I bring news about Sandragurl. I didn’t know Sandra before this. It was a little over a week ago that I bought, at auction, the contents of a storage locker. One of the items I recovered was this laptop. Sandra had left certain files on the desktop and asked that I do certain things for her. One of the things involved finding out what had happened with her. She had written an email to a friend in Thailand requesting her to inform me. I went ahead and sent this email and I have received a reply.
The essence of the reply was that Sandra had made it to Thailand. She spent a couple of weeks having fun with a friend she had made there, before she had gone in for surgery. Early December, she received some facial surgery and breast augmentation, and on the fifteenth, she went in for SRS.
She was recovering at the home of her friend, when things went badly. Sandra had an undiagnosed Aortic Aneurysm and during a hypertensive crisis she had, the aneurysm burst. She died in the arms of her friend. Her death wasn’t related to the surgery, except I guess, that any major surgery can be dangerous, even if routine.
She left a dairy on the laptop and asked that I read it. I am doing this. I would have loved to have known Sandra before she died. She seemed like a very nice person.
Her friend in Thailand said that she was very happy after her surgery. She had finally become the girl she had been on the inside.
That is all that I know.
Some of the people there asked questions and Ricky tried to answer as best he could. It amounted to just restating what he had already said. He put off some personal questions, where they were asking about who he was. The-Boss-Lady put her foot down on the personal questions. Clearly some of the people there didn’t want to believe what Michelle was saying, but they had no basis to their doubts.
@The-Boss-Lady: Now Michelle has no reason to be lying. What she is saying has to be true. If you look into your hearts, you have to see the truth. Sandra is gone. The best that could be said is that Sandra finally made it into the body she should have been born in. Just like many of you have done or hope to do one day.
ScreamingCindy: Sounds like something that she would do. Sandra was always a bit of a drama Queen. She read too much Le Carre, Ludlum and Ian Fleming.
BrntoBfem: Yeah, she was a Bob Lee Swagger fan too, but she was our drama queen.
CalebtoCandace: Bob Lee Swagger was just a character, Stephen Hunter was the author Fem.
MichelleL: As soon as I finish reading her diary, would you like to read it. I don’t think she would mind others knowing what her life was like.
@JolieB: That is a great idea Michelle. You could post it on one of the many TG story sites.
@The-Boss-Lady: Also Sandra was in the care of a friend in Thailand. The girl was a nurse who helped others like us, going there for surgery. How about we each write her a bit, thanking her for caring for our sister? Michelle, if I collected all these letters could you forward them for us.
MichelleL: I guess I could. That might make her feel better. Sandra’s loss really hurt her bad.
Ricky’s cell phone began to ring.
MichelleL: Afk my GF Jen will be chatting with you.
Jennifer took over the keyboard and Ricky answered his phone.
“Hi Mom,” Ricky said.
“Hi Ricky, how are you doing?”
“Good and you?”
“Comanche was a bust, I am coming home early. Where are you?”
“Jen and I are at the coffee shop on North Main.”
“Oh, is Michelle stepping out again?”
“Ah… sort of.”
“Ok, I will be there in about ten minutes.”
“Ok, bye.”
“Mom will be here in ten, Jen.”
Jennifer and Ricky chatted with the people in the chat room. The-Boss-Lady changed the TOD (topic of the day) to show that Sandra had passed away in December. Some people left the room others came in which started a new chat on Sandra.
They looked up when they heard someone call out for Michelle. Angela was scanning the shop and waved when she saw them. Michelle and Jen scooted closer together and made room for Angela.
“So what are you two up too today?” Angela asked.
“We are chatting with some of Sandra’s friends, Mrs. Crawford.” Jennifer said.
“Who is Sandra?”
“Sandra Metcalf, is the person’s name who once owned the stuff in the locker I bought, Mom.”
“So why are you chatting with her friends?”
“Well, she left some files on this laptop. I opened one that gave me some instructions to contact another friend of hers. I did and found out that Sandra had died of an Aortic Aneurysm. I was then asked to tell her friends.”
“Whoa, start again.”
Ricky felt it would be easier to show his Mom.
MicehelleL: AFK need to talk to parental unit.
@The-Boss-Lady: How old are you, sister?
MichelleL: Sixteen.
@The-Boss-Lady: Ok sweetie, if you need an alibi, I will explain and give her a chat log, if you don’t have one. We want to thank you for telling us about our sister. Hugs :-)
MichelleL: Thank you.
Logging off the chat room, Ricky then opened up the first Read me file, the email he sent, the email he received, the second Read me file, and the chat room log, his computer had made, letting his mother read them. He had changed the ‘second read’ me file the day before and indicated that the will was hidden in the camera/computer case.
“And when were you going to tell me all about this?”
“This weekend Mom. I want to take her will to her Lawyer and I would need you with me. Mom, she was all alone and had no one she could depend on. I am reading her diary right now. Her Mom and sisters ran her out of their home. She lived with her Grandmother till she died.”
“How do you know she died?” Jennifer asked.
“Because Sandra inherited most of her estate.”
“You found this will?” Angela asked.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Have you read it?”
“No ma’am, it is in a sealed envelope with a lawyer’s name on it.” Ricky said, showing it to his Mom.
“At least he is local. Let me check on him, before you go see him. I want to find out if this is legit. Ricky, I don’t watch over your shoulder all the time, because I know you are a good kid. You still need to tell me things like this, before you act. I still worry about you.”
“I know Mom, I am sorry. I just felt that this was something I needed to do.”
“I would have probably let you do it, but I would have wanted to know about this beforehand. Now, on to other business. Do you two want to go with me to Austin for an auction this weekend?”
“You bet Mom.”
“Let me call my mother, Mrs. Crawford,” Jennifer said, getting out her cell phone.
Angela talked to Lisa Singleton, Jennifer’s Mom, and assured her that she would keep both kids on a leash.
“Well, she said OK. So if we are going, we need to go shopping.”
“For what Mom?”
“I am not going to have my daughter, looking more mature than she is.”
“What?” Ricky asked.
Angela leaned closet to the kids and whispered, “Your chest is too big. This is apparently something you like doing. If that is the case, we are going to buy you some breastforms more fitting your age.
(to be continued)
Ricky and Jennifer go to the auction. Linda Groveston meets them there and makes Ricky/Michelle an offer. Ricky gets some surprises and turns the will over to Sandra's attorney.
The Diary -chapter 5
By
Paula Dillon
Things happened fast after Mom made up her mind that something needed doing. We packed up the laptop and headed out the door. Jennifer and I rode with mom to a prosthetics shop. Mom explained to the shopkeeper, that I was curious about the transgendered and had ordered the breastforms that I was wearing. Inez, the lady at the shop, just accepted this at face value. Mom told her that I needed smaller breastforms.
“The transsexuals that I have known,” Inez said. “Want to have larger breasts. The reason being, I am told, is that it minimizes their larger waists and a lot of them just like big breasts. That won’t be a problem for Michelle, I don’t think?”
“Well, I don’t like the way that they make Michelle look more mature than she is.”
“Follow me girls,” the shop keeper said.
She led us into the back and asked Michelle to take her blouse and bra off. Inez then measured and fitted Michelle with a set of forms that were significantly smaller.
“These breastforms will give you an average B cup, Michelle. The breastforms you were wearing are closer to a double D on you.”
“That is much better,” Angela said.
“Do you want me to adhere them to her, we have a medical adhesive the will hold them on for about two weeks?”
“I have to wear them for two weeks? What about school, Mom?”
“No, of course not. You just use the solvent to peel them off,” Inez said. “They will be more natural this way. You will avoid having your bra twisting around you and wind up with a breast in your underarm. We have some bras too, not as nice as what you were wearing, but you can’t wear that bra now anyway.”
Inez attached the breastforms onto Michelle and got her into one of their bras. Angela bought another set of breastforms, a couple of bras, some adhesive and solvent. At the mall, they stopped and got a half dozen more panty and bra sets.
*************
The next two hours were a blur. Ricky/Michelle got his truck and headed home. Ricky changed into the faux vagina, clean panties one of his new bras. He decided to dress for comfort, so he selected a T-shirt, jeans and heels. Jennifer took off her wig, and skirt before dressing in her own jeans. Then Angela took her home to pack, while Ricky packed for Michelle and Angela. He selected casual and business clothes. Ricky was surprised to see what he thought he would need. He packed two large suitcases, make up kit and a garment bag, just for him for the two days, instead of his usual carry on bag and small duffle.
Ten minutes after Jennifer and Angela returned, they headed off. Ricky/Michelle started off driving, with Angela sitting next to him and Jennifer in the back. Angela began reading Sandra’s Diary, on Ricky’s laptop. Jennifer showed her the pictures that were stored on the laptop.
Angela took over driving duty after about two hours.
“Sandra does seem to be a nice person. After all she went through; I could see where she could have become bitter and angry.”
“I agree Mom; she just wanted to be herself and everyone else she loved, turned against her, except her Grandmother.”
“Ok, let’s talk about tomorrow. There is an open inspection from nine to noon. The auction will run from one to seven, Saturday and Sunday. They have a large warehouse full of various items. I will get two catalogues and we will split up. I will work from the front of the catalogue to the middle and you Ricky, will work from the back to the middle.”
“How much money do we have?”
“You can spend ten grand; we have fifty grand in cash and letters of credit up to three hundred grand.”
**************
Everyone was up at six to shower and get dressed. Angela did Michelle’s makeup. They all dressed in jeans and sneakers.
They had checked into a motel near the warehouse the night before. They took two adjoining rooms. Ricky/Michelle and Angela took one, while Jennifer took the other. They were so tired they just kissed and crashed in separate beds.
After they ate breakfast, they headed to the auction house. Angela Crawford registered, turned in her letters of credit and bought two catalogues.
Jennifer was excited, she had never been to an auction this size before. There were hundreds of people just wandering around. She and Ricky were going through the isles checking out the various lots as Angela went on her own, so that they could cover more of the in the three hours.
Ricky/Michelle took this time to teach Jennifer more about antiques. She showed her where makers are usually placed their marks on the furniture, which makers made more desirable furniture and such. Ricky and Angela would call each other to talk about this item or that item and they would make notes on which stuff they wanted and which they would avoid. Angela even called Linda Groveston about certain things they found. She was excited to hear about them and told Angela that she might come down for the auction Sunday. They each found questionable items, that may be old furniture, but wasn’t what the item was being advertised as.
At major auction houses, the auctioneers would vet the items that were up for sale. If Christie’s said an item was a genuine antique, it usually was. They have been wrong before and when proven wrong, they usually make it right. It’s their good name at stake, after all.
“Not everything that looks good is valuable, Jennifer and not everything that looks bad is junk. You just have to know what you are looking at,” Ricky said.
“It’s like people then.”
Ricky/Michelle had to stop and think a bit about what she said, “Yes I guess it is. So where does that put me.”
“You are a pretty diamond amongst rhinestones, Michelle.”
“Thank you Jen. I think you are a treasure more valuable than gold too.”
The two of them also took time to measure the other people who were at the auction. It wasn’t hard to tell which people were looking at the lots with a precise eye and which people were just going through the motions of looking at them. Sometimes you had to look very close at the people. Ricky/Michelle saw one lady that most people would dismiss as an air head. She was dressed in a sophisticated gaudy outfit that might have been in fashion fifty years ago on Hedda Hopper and would fawn over a piece of fluff while eyeing the piece next to it.
At auctions it was never a good idea to give away your intent to bid on certain items. Other people would pick up on it and if they thought you were a competent bidder, they would go after the item too. This is what an auctioneer hopes for. Auctioneers get paid a percentage of the sale price. The higher the price the more they make.
They met up in the middle just before twelve. They would have loved to check the things out more closely, but they needed to eat and went out to grab a quick bite.
They sat around and compared notes as they ate. There were quite a few lots that they were interested in and some they wanted to stay away from. They weren’t a big fish in this pond. Together they developed a plan to get what they wanted and what they could at a price that would provide a profit for them. They wrote their limits on certain items, into their catalogues.
The auction began right at one pm. Bidding was aggressive and short. Most lots moved in three to five minutes, with some of the better antiques drawing out the bidding to seven or eight minutes.
Angela and Ricky/Michelle got a few of the items they really wanted. Jennifer kept notes on what they had spent so far and kept them apprised. Where the bidding got hot and heavy, the excitement level of the crowd increased.
The “good stuff” didn’t come up till about three thirty. A 19 th century armoire that came with a provenance and was in excellent condition, was the first of the best. Bidding started slow, at about a third of its value. Angela jumped in with a bid, made to reduce the number of people bidding on the item and bring it to over half of it’s value. A couple of serious bidders came in. The bidding went back and forth till Angela made her limit bid. The bid held through going once and someone overbid her by five hundred. Angela gritted her teeth and bid a thousand over the last bidder and that bid held out.
Jennifer saw a bed, which was a close match to the vanity Ricky had given her. Angela told her, she would get it for her, if she worked at the resale shop over the summer. Jen called her Mom, who agreed to it. The bed went for a little more than they expected, but it already had a good home to go to.
Angela did well on the first day. She had spent about a third of her allotment for this auction, but had a lot to show for her efforts.
They met up with Linda, at the motel they were staying at. She had gotten a room there also. She wasn’t a bit surprised at seeing Michelle. They all changed clothes and met up, to go to a nice restaurant.
At the restaurant, they made their orders and then began to chat about the merchandise that was on auction. Angela went over what was sold, what she bought and what was left for the auction on Sunday.
“So, what are you girls going to do this summer,” Linda asked, as they finished talking about their auction business.
“I am going to work for Mrs. Crawford, at her resale shop,” Jennifer said. “I have to pay her for a bed she bought me at this auction.”
“Really, what is it like?”
Jennifer went on to describe the bed. She had learned from Ricky about how to accurately describe furniture and she liked showing off what she had learned.
“What I like about it most is, that it goes well with the antique vanity that Rick gave me.”
“Really, what is the vanity like?” Linda said, with some excitement in her voice.
Jennifer went on to describe it, in detail.
“That is really nice to have such friends like these. What are you doing Michelle?”
“Ricky will probably be working with his Mom, at her antique shop.”
“How would Michelle like to come to work with me? It might be nice to learn something about Interior Decorating and being an antique buyer for me.”
“You want me,” Ricky/Michelle said, showing that she understood the implications. “Working for you this summer?”
“Yes, I would like Michelle working with me this summer. Michelle can look more mature than a boy her age, and with what she knows about the antiques business, it can only help me. I have a lot of new clients coming here this summer. I really could use some help.”
Ricky felt trapped, he would like to work with Mrs. Groveston, but he didn’t know if he wanted to be Michelle all summer.
“Mom?”
“It is up to you kiddo. You know what it would mean, don’t you?”
“Yes, I would be here all summer.”
“It might help you to appreciate women better and you will get to understand the other side of the business, putting things together that work right and well together. It will also help you to understand what people want better.”
“How would we do this?”
“You can come live with me, if that helps,” Linda said. “I have a home a few miles away from your shop. You will still be in town and be able to see your Mom and Jennifer.”
“Can I think about it for a few days?”
“If you can let me know by Wednesday, Friday I would like to take you shopping for work clothes. I like to dress well for my business, suits, heels and such. You would need to dress for success.”
“Ok, I will let you know by Wednesday.”
**************
Sunday, Angela had Michelle and Jennifer dress in nice skirts and blouses. There would be no crawling around taking close looks at antiques today. Angela wanted them to look more professional. Michelle looked very nice in one of Sandra’s suits. She wore a blue/gray skirted suit, over a white chiffon blouse. The skirt was a little too short for business but looked good on Michelle. Jennifer wore a light rose skirt, and a tapestry vest with a lot of roses over a white blouse. Angela wore one of her business suits, a deep burgundy skirted suit with a matching vest, over a white silk blouse. They all wore pantyhose and heels.
They met Linda for breakfast. She too was attired for work. She wore an azure blazer and a black skirt, over an ash gray silk blouse.
“Hi everyone,” Linda said. “Now, that is how I would like you to dress, Michelle, if you come to work for me. You just need a little longer skirt.”
Things went hot and heavy at the auction. There were more buyers there and many were more savvy buyers. The bids were getting higher by the end of the auction for two reasons. First, some of the best stuff didn’t come up till then. Secondly the bidders didn’t want to go home empty handed.
Angela didn’t get everything she wanted, but due to all their preparation they didn’t get hosed and she did get many of the things she wanted for her antique shop. Linda also selected a few lots to bid on. She had Angela bid on them for her and then bought them from her.
Angela was lost in thought as they got back to the motel.
“Linda, I am a little torn right now. The kids need to get back so they can go to school tomorrow and I want to stay so I can arrange shipment. We are going to need more than my two and a half ton truck to get all this back home.”
“I can take them home for you.”
“Would you, that would be so nice. Michelle, do you have your key?”
“Yes Mom, I have my key.”
“Ok, you kids be good. I will see you all tomorrow.”
The kids packed up and met Linda in the lobby. On the drive home, Linda described what she had in store, if Michelle took her job.
“If you choose to take my offer, you will be working with me, as my assistant and with a few of my other people, learning what we do and working closely with my clients. I want you to meet and greet, and make them feel comfortable. I expect to hear your thoughts and ideas, as much as you will listen to the other people. I expect you to ask questions and help work on solutions. I expect you to read up on interior design in our trade magazines.”
“How much do you do? Do you start from bare floors and an empty house?”
“We do as much or as little as the client wants. We do empty houses, offices, and entire buildings. We help pick out flooring and wall colors, furniture, kitchens and accessories. I have also done accessibility make overs, for the physically challenged. You know ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance, ramps, doors, bathrooms and such. We’ve child-proofed homes, made houses safer and easier to keep up with, for the elderly. The elderly can be a pain to work with. You have to be patient and diplomatic. Often their homes are overflowing with clutter and they don’t want anything to go out the door. It may be good clutter, but even too much of a good thing can be bad.”
“Those things are their memories, they are afraid of losing them. Each item means something to them,” Michelle said.
“Even at the risk of a fall, from too much stuff in their rooms? The elderly sometimes need a lot of room and a safe path to get around their homes. We try to reduce the number of trip hazards and sharp edges, to reduce the danger of injury. A less cluttered home is safer and easier for them to keep clean,” Linda said.
It was well after eleven when Ricky/Michelle got home. Linda just dropped him off, after allowing him to kiss Jen good night.
Ricky undressed and removed the breastforms and placed them back in their box. Cleaned the makeup off his face, making sure there was no trace left and then went to bed.
**************
Monday was a busy day at school, all the teachers were shifting gears and going over all the things that would be on the final exams, which would take place the next week. Students were given a plethora of study material that they would be covering in class this week.
At lunch, Jen and Ricky talked about Linda’s job offer.
“Do you think I should take the job, Jen?”
“It sounds like a good job. It is strange that she wants Michelle for the job, but she seems like a nice woman. I think she may think you act and look more mature as Michelle.”
“Do I?”
“I like you a lot Ricky, but I think Michelle does act seem older, more mature. I know that she isn’t more mature or trust worthy, she gets her maturity and responsibility from you. Everything considered, I think you should take the job. It will be a good experience, learning to decorate a home or an office.”
“What do you think about Michelle?”
“If I didn’t have you, I might have to become a lesbian and seduce Michelle. I love her as much as I love you. There is one benefit I get from having Michelle in my life, I can borrow her clothes and she has some really nice clothes.” Jennifer said, giggling.
Ricky and Jennifer both went to their own homes after school to study. Jennifer’s Mom was the one to insist on that. Ricky studied for an hour and a half, he was pretty well ready for his finals. He possessed the ability to retain and understand much of what the teacher taught and more of what he read. So just going over the study material brought him up to date.
Closing his last book, he pulled the suitcase from beneath his bed and opened it. He picked up one prescription and read it. The first script was for Spironolacetone. He wasn’t familiar with it, so he looked it up. Spironolacetone was a diuretic and an anti-androgen. The next one was Estrace. Estrace was a form of estrogen, a female sex hormone. The next medicine he looked at was Lisinopril. Lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor used for high blood pressure. The next medicine was medroxyprogesterone. That was another female hormone. Lastly, there were many vials of Estradiol Valerate, an injectable form of estrogen and a bunch of syringes. He also found a chart that showed the course of treatment. It showed what Sandra took and when.
Ricky had a stray thought about the hormones, wondering what it would be like to take them. He had everything to start becoming more like Sandra, but did he really want to do that. He went to the phone and called the family doctor.
“Hello, this is Doctor Amanda Parker’s office, how may I help you?”
“Hello, this is Ricky Crawford, I was wondering if I could speak with Doctor Parker.”
“Oh hello Ricky, this is Cynthia, what do you need to talk to the Doc about.”
“I bought a suitcase at auction and it has a bunch of drugs in it.”
“Illegal drugs or prescriptions?” Cynthia asked with concern.
“They are all prescriptions, I think.”
“Hold on a minute!” she said.
“Hello Ricky, this is Amanda, tell me what you have.”
“Well I bought a suitcase loaded with a bunch of drugs, prescription drugs, cartons of prescription drugs and syringes.”
“Please bring them by my office, if you could.”
“Ok, I can be there in about twenty five minutes.”
“Ok, I will see you then. Bye.”
It only took Ricky about twenty minutes to close the suitcase and drive to the doctor’s office. He only had to wait about ten minutes to be called back to the doctor’s office.
Dr. Parker smiled when she saw Ricky and hugged him as he came into her office pulling his suitcase.
“Hello Ricky, how are you doing?”
“I am doing alright.”
“You could stand to put on a little weight, you seem a bit underweight to me, but tell me what you have and how you came to possess these drugs.”
“Well, I went to an auction at a storage locker rental establishment. They were auctioning off the contents of the lockers. This case was in the locker.” He said, placing the case on the doctor’s desk and opening it.
“Ok, let me see what you got,” Amanda said, putting on her glasses.
Dr. Parker took out one box and read the label to identify the patient, the medication and the prescribed dosage.
“So, do you know this Sandra Metcalf?”
“Sort of, but not really. I have learned a bit about her, but I never have met her.
Dr. Parker nodded, as she opened one of the bottles and took out a pill. She then took out her PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) and compared it with what it was suppose to be and with what it was.
“What do you know about her?” Amanda asked.
“Well I know that she was born, William Trent.”
“That answers a lot of questions. Do you know what these are?”
“They are hormones and blood pressure medications.”
“Can you get them back to Sandra Metcalf?”
“No, I can’t… She passed away in Thailand. She had gone there for SRS surgery.”
“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that,” Amanda said, showing real concern. “Do you know what happened to her?”
Ricky pulled out the email that he received from Thailand and gave it to the doctor. Amanda read the email and said, “Oh, that is so sad.” as she read it.
“Can you tell me what it was like for her? Dying that is.”
“Well, I don’t know if I would trust what you have been told, but if this is right…” Amanda said, and she explained what had happened. She used a chart of the human body to explain where the aneurysm might have been. She also speculated on what may have caused the hypertensive crisis.
“All of these pills were Sandra’s HRT meds, except for the blood pressure meds. She was taking them to transition from a male to a female. Well, I guess I will dispose of the pills and syringes for you. You haven’t taken any of this medication have you?”
“No ma’am, I haven’t.”
“You won’t mind if I check do you? This is like Detante, trust but verify.”
“I guess its ok.”
Dr. Parker pressed a button and her nurse Mary came in. “Mary, please take Ricky’s weight, temp, blood pressure and order these blood tests,” She said writing on an orders sheet.
Ricky went with Mary as Amanda was removing all the medicines and syringes from the case. She then searched the case to make sure she got them all. There were papers in the lid, but she found that there was a false bottom in the bottom. She opened the bottom up and found many velvet bags. She opened up one bag and found a bunch of pearls. She pulled out a twenty six inch strand of ten or eleven mm pearls and rubbed a couple of the pearls together. “Oh, my. These things feel real.” She said to herself. Looking at the clasp she said, “If this clasp is real and the pearls are real, these are worth a small fortune.” She found three more necklaces, an eighteen inch, a sixteen inch and a three strand pearl chocker, along with several sets of pearl earrings.
Amanda pressed the button again. “Mary, make sure Ricky comes back to my office.”
She opened another bag and found a bunch of smaller bags. Inside the smaller bags she found what looked like diamonds. She took a ring with a multi-carat marquis cut stone and breathed on it and watched her breath quickly fade away. She took the ring and made a short scratch on her glass desktop. She put the ring on one of her fingers and admired it. She would love to own this ring. She quickly took it off, as much as she wanted it, it wasn’t hers. She quickly checked all the bags and just found more jewelry.
A knock at the door preceded Ricky’s entrance. He saw all the jewelry set out on her desk.
“Ricky, it had to have been an exceptional day for you to win the bid on that locker. This is what I found under all the medications.”
“Are those REAL,” Ricky gasped.
“I don’t know sweety, but if I were a betting woman, I would guess that at least most are real. If they are, you might have a half million or more in bling here.”
“Take what you want Dr. Parker.”
“Oh Ricky, I love you,” She said, batting her eyelids at Ricky. “But no I can’t take any of this from you. It’s just too much. I suppose they are yours or your Mom’s now,” she said giggling, holding up the pearl chocker. “This would look so divine on you Ricky,” she teased.
Ricky blushed a bit and said, “I might give Jennifer a piece or two.”
“Jennifer Singleton, right.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“That would be too much in my opinion. At least for right now, wait till graduation time to give her some of the pearls and maybe if you two get engaged you can give her more. How are you two doing?”
“We are doing great; we both went to an auction in Austin with my Mom, this last weekend.”
“You two haven’t had sex yet, have you? You can trust me, I won’t tell your Mom, and I am only concerned about your health.”
“Not yet, we haven’t.”
“But it’s a close thing, right?”
Ricky nodded.
“That’s good, hold off as long as you can and use protection if you do. You don’t want to be a teenage poppa do you? Now get this stuff off my desk before I am tempted to snatch a piece or two and without fail be sure you let Angela know about this stuff.”
**************
At home, Ricky laid out all the bling on the kitchen table. He got his laptop and began making an inventory of the items. He just kept a few items off the inventory: two pair of diamond and pearl earrings, the 16 and 18 inch strands of pearls, most of the gold and silver bangles, a couple of, gold and silver necklaces, and a bracelet that had some pretty colored stones of green, blue and red. He figured that they were emeralds, sapphires and rubies, but he wasn’t an expert. He took those to his room.
The whole top of the dinning room table looked like a jewelry store, when Angela came in.
“What jewelry store did you rob, Ricky?”
“I finally got the last case open from the storage locker, Mom. Inside there was a bunch of … prescription drugs. I immediately called Dr. Parker and took all of them to her, in the case.”
“What kind of drugs were they?”
“Something called Spironolacetone, an injectable estrogen, Estrace, medroxyprogesterone and Lisinopril. Amanda said they were Sandra’s HRT meds and a high blood pressure drug. She said something about detante and trust, but verify, so even though she trusted me about not taking any of the medicine, she had her nurse check me out and took some blood.”
“Trust but verify, Ronald Regan used that term. I learned that it was an old Russian proverb "doveryai, no proveryai" It was good that you called her and I don’t blame her for wanting to verify that you weren’t taking those drugs. They are powerful hormones and they could be dangerous to your health, but where did this treasure come from.”
“Well, beneath all the drugs, there was a secret compartment in the case. She found all these velvet bags and this stuff was in the bags.”
“This makes sense now. I wondered about finding all those high fashion clothes and no jewelry,” She said, picking up a necklace with about, what appeared to be, fifty or so diamonds, from about one eighth of an inch, to a half inch drop. The large stone was cool to her touch, she breathed on it to fog it up, but the fog quickly dissipated. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass jelly jar and scratched it deeply. “Oh my, I think this stuff is real. So what are you doing with all of it, sitting out on the table?”
“I am making a list of it, so you know what we have, in case you take it to someone to appraise.”
“Smart kid, let’s see what you got?”
Ricky went down the list and Angela read over his shoulder. He had done a pretty good job. Angela corrected some of the item descriptions and expanded others. They carefully bagged up everything and took it to her room. Angela had a floor safe hidden beneath her nightstand and under the carpet, in her room. Ricky knew where it was and he also knew the combination, although he didn’t know what she kept there. Ricky printed out a half dozen copies of the inventory. Two copies went in the safe and the rest were secreted around the house.
Over dinner, Angela talked to Ricky about what she had found out.
“That lawyer we are supposed to go to, is legit. I found that he is held in high esteem by some lawyers I know. I called and made an appointment for two pm on Wednesday. I called your principal and told her we had some legal issues to work out. She said you would just miss P.E. and Chemistry that day, coupled with your perfect attendance and A’s in those classes, she approved you missing those classes. Have you thought about Linda’s offer?”
“Yes I have, I just wanted to talk with you alone first. What do you think about it?”
“Well, it would be good for you to learn about interior design. It ties in with antiques business, but it also encompasses so much more. I just worry about you portraying a girl all summer.”
“That worries me and at the same time, intrigues me too. I almost want to do it for the experience alone. I see how learning about interior design could help me later. I think I could hack being a girl all summer.”
“Aren’t you afraid of losing yourself in all that lace and satin?”
“I wouldn’t be losing myself, I would still be me, just in a different package. I would still love you Mom.”
“You have never been a macho manly man, Ricky, but that has allowed you to be a better man than most of the men I know. I will still love you, no matter what package you wear. So what is your decision?”
“I like Linda, I am going to accept her offer.”
“Ok, I will call her tomorrow, if you want?” Angela said, proud of her son. She would have been proud of him no matter what he had decided.
“Go ahead and call her Mom.”
**************
The next day, Ricky walked Jennifer in the front door at school. They talked till the one minute bell rang. Ricky gave Jennifer a quick peck on her cheek and pressed a small velvet bag in her hand, before making a quick get away, as they both had to hurry to get to classes.
At lunch, Ricky saw Jennifer heading his way, with her tray. He couldn’t read her expression, as she kept he face neutral. She would be terrific at poker, Ricky thought, as she sat next to him and moved a little closer than necessary.
“Well?” Ricky asked.
“Well what, Ricky?” Jennifer replied.
“Did you check out the bag?”
“What bag?”
“Stop playing, Jen. Did you look in the bag I gave you this morning?”
“You mean that black velvet bag, you pressed in my palm before home room?”
“Yes!”
“Oh, I thought you gave it to me to throw away. I dumped it in the trash can in Mr. Johnston’s room.” Jennifer said, in a non-plussed manner.
“What!!!” Ricky said, almost jumping out of his seat.
“Sit down Ricky, you’re starting to draw attention,” Jennifer said calmly, as she pushed her hair back a bit, revealing a diamond and pearl drop earrings she was wearing. “I just had to get you. You almost cost me an hour of detention today. Mr. Johnston didn’t like me disturbing his class when I opened up the bag. I gave out a whoop, when I poured out the earrings into my palm.”
“I could always take them back,” Ricky whispered into Jennifer’s ear.
“I am afraid that I would have to hurt you, if your tried that.” Jennifer said, calmly almost aloof, giving a certain body part a squeeze. She turned her head as if to whisper in his ear. She kissed it and said, “Thank you, Ricky. I love them dearly.”
The earrings had oblong pearls, that were almost teardrop in shape, about a quarter inch long and had a .5 carat, princess cut diamond, surrounded by a cluster of two to three point diamonds, in a flower petal pattern, for a t.w. of 1.3 carats, set in white gold.
After school, the two teens changed in to some of Michelle’s more stylish clothes, Jennifer put her hair up in a twist to show off her earrings. They did their makeup for a sophisticated look and headed to the coffee shop with the laptop. Once they got their cappuccinos and biscotti, they settled down and began chatting with some of Sandra’s friends.
@Thebosslady: Hey Micelle, it’s good to see u
MichelleC: Yeah, it’s good being here.
ScreamingCindy: hey girl, where u been
MichelleC: went to an auction with my Mom and also school. Final exams are coming up and I am spending a lot of time studying.
@JolieB: Yeah people, Michelle is still in high school, hint hint. You need to keep your grades up, so we understand.
@Thebosslady: I have a bunch of messages ready for you to send to Khamchanaka.
Michelle: sure, let’s go private. brb people.
Michelle double clicked on the boss lady’s name and opened up the chat window.
@Thebosslady: Hey Michelle, give me an email addy.
MichelleC: Sure, this is one that Sandra used with me.
Michelle typed out the address of Sandra’s account.
@Thebosslady: that one is different than the one I have for her. Can I keep up with you at this address?
MichelleC: Sure, that will be ok. I still need to finish reading Sandra’s diary, before I will put it out to post.
@Thebosslady: When you finish it, send it to me and I will edit it for you and then we will post it on a TG web site I know.
MichelleC: Sounds good. I have been really busy this last week and will be so the next 2 weeks. I will be taking Sandra’s will in to her lawyer tomorrow, finals coming up, helping my Mom buy and sell antiques and getting ready for a summer job as an interior decorator’s assistant.
@Thebosslady: Wow you really are busy. Going back to main chat room.
MichelleC: going to compose and send Khamchanaka the email as soon as I get yours.
They both closed the private window. Michelle opened up Sandra’s email account; she saw three emails there, two from Khamchanaka and one from Thebosslady. She opened and read the two from Kham. In both of them she was wondering if Michelle had gotten the email.
Michelle then began to compose the email she was going to send.
Dear Khamchanaka:
I am so sorry that I didn’t reply sooner. I have been very busy. I am still in school and am having to study real hard for my finals.
I got the email you sent me. I am sorry to hear that Sandra has passed away, but happy that she is finally whole. Please Kham, take courage that what you are doing is important to many girls like Sandra. Although this had a bad ending, please don’t stop doing what you do. I am attaching some messages from a lot of Sandra’s sisters thanking you for taking care of her. I am sure that many would like to keep corresponding with you. I believe that many of them are good people like you are. I will write when I can, so smile for me Kham and thank you so much.
Michelle
Attachements: Sandra.doc
Michelle attached the .doc thebosslady sent her and then sent the email off.
Back in the chat room, Michelle found that she was the topic of conversation. Thebosslady was telling everyone about what Michelle had to say. For the next forty or fifty minutes Michelle and Jen talked about who they were (rather loosely, never giving out detailed information that could identify them or where they were), how they came to know Sandra and what they hoped to do in life. They also listened to the people gathered there and got to know a few of them.
It was getting late, so the kids logged off after saying goodbye and headed home.
**************
The next day, Ricky dressed with panties and pantyhose under his clothes, since he was headed to the lawyer’s office after lunch. He wore a white, button up, long sleeve shirt, a burgundy cashmere sleeveless pullover, that had been Sandra’s, yet wasn’t too feminine, socks to hide the pantyhose, slacks and a pair of loafers. He loved the feel of the pantyhose, even if he had to wear socks to hide them from everyone else.
Ricky picked up Jennifer before school, she was dressed very nicely. She took more care about her looks, since Ricky also strove to dress better. He was never a slob, but then, he didn’t dress like a preppie either. Ricky was beginning to understand what a commitment it was and just how much time it takes, for a girl to dress up nicely. It was more than just slap on nice clothes. Jennifer found it easy to dress up for Ricky now.
At school, there were a lot more girls who looked fondly at Ricky and guys who looked strangely at him. The girls thought that he looked cute, while the guys thought he was a wimp. They all knew that he and Jennifer were an item. He heard not just once a girl saying, “Now why can’t you look that nice for me?” to their boyfriends.
Ricky had a nice lunch with Jennifer and then was met by his mother at the office. Together they headed over to the offices of Brian James Prescott, attorney at Law.
Brian Prescott’s office was ornate, but not overstated. A receptionist sat behind a long desk that had a computer, monitor and an office phone. Angela thought it was strange, as the receptionist looked to be typing on her desk without a keyboard. Ricky pointed out that she was using a virtual keyboard.
The receptionist turned to them and smiled, as they approached her desk.
“Hello, I am Beverly. Welcome to the Law offices of Brian James Prescott. How may I help you?”
“Hello, it is nice meeting you Beverly. I am Angela Crawford and this is my son Ricky Crawford. We are here to see Mr. Prescott about the will of Sandra Metcalf.”
“Please take a seat, while I notify Mr. Prescott that you are here.”
They only waited about five minutes, till two women came out and called their names. They stood and approached the ladies.”
“Hello, I am Angela Crawford and this is my son Ricky.”
Hello Mrs. Crawford, I am Pamela James, I am Mr. Prescott’s legal assistant and this is Cindy Jones, She is his personal assistant. Will you come with us, Mr. Prescott is waiting to see you.”
Pamela led them to a room that looked more like a sitting room, or a living room. The décor was meant to put the people there in comfort and at ease. Pamela had Angela and Ricky sit on a very plush, ornately embroidered couch. She sat in a chair, that was next to a nice leather high back chair.
“May I get you something to drink?” Cindy asked. “Coffee, Tea or Soda?”
“I’ll have a coffee,” Angela said.
“Me too,” Ricky said.
“Just one moment please.”
Cindy Jones was gone for a little over a minute and she returned with their drinks. She had just served them and taken her seat, when a man in his early thirties and a three thousand dollar Italian suit, entered.
He smiled and looked at Ricky and Angela. He extended his hand to Angela first and said. “Hello, I am Brian Prescott, attorney at Law.”
“Hello Mr. Prescott, I am Angela Crawford and this is my son Ricky.” Angela said, shaking Mr. Prescott’s hand in a lady like manner.
“It is good to meet you Mrs. Crawford, you too Ricky,” Mr. Prescott said, shaking Ricky’s hand.
“Now, from our previous conversation, Mrs. Crawford, I understand that you are here in relation to a client of mine, a one Sandra Metcalf, is that correct?” he said, as he took a seat opposite of the pair.
“Yes sir, Mr. Prescott. My son Ricky, bought at auction, the contents of a storage locker. Inside the locker were things belonging to Sandra Metcalf.”
“Please, call me Brian. Mr. Prescott is my distinguished father and sir makes me sound old. Yes, I recall that you claimed that Sandra Metcalf is now dead and that you are in possession of her will. Is that right? Mrs. Crawford.”
“Please call me Angela, if I have to call you Brian. Yes, Ricky emailed a lady in Thailand and she sent back a response that Sandra had died from a ruptured aortic aneurism. She stated that a death certificate was on file with the American Embassy, in Bangkok.”
“Yes, after your call on Monday. I made a call to the Embassy. They verified what you have said and faxed me a copy of the death certificate and copies of Sandra’s identification. I need to wait till I have the originals in hand, before I can execute the will, but I can get some of the preliminaries out of the way. Now which of you was the one that found this will and do you now have it in your possession?”
“I found it, Mr. Prescott,” Ricky said.
“Do you have some official identification, Ricky?”
“Yes sir, I have my driver’s license.”
“May I see it, please?”
Ricky took out his wallet and handed his driver’s license to Mr. Prescott.
“Cindy, please make a copy of it and return it to Mr. Crawford.”
“I know this is unusual, but Sandra was an unusual Lady. I greatly admired her courage and gumption. She made some unusual requests in her will, and being her attorney I complied with her requests. May I now have the will?”
Ricky took the will out of his backpack and handed it over to the attorney. Mr. Prescott opened and inspected the document.
“This is indeed a copy of her will, minus a few codicils. I am still in possession of the original will. It was Sandra’s desire that whoever brought in this will, watch a short video she made. I must ask you though, if you are aware of just how special Sandra was.”
“I know about Sandra having once been a male named William Trent,” Ricky said.
“Good, you know then and this doesn’t offend either of you?”
“No it doesn’t,” they both replied.
“Good, would you two look over to your right. Beverly if you will.”
Ricky and Angela turned to their right. On the wall was the largest flat screen TV they had ever seen. It was well over seventy inches. Beverly clicked a remote and the screen came alive. After a few seconds, the image of a pretty, blonde hair, blue eyed young lady, in her early twenties, appeared. She was dressed in one of the business suits, which Ricky had already worn.
Sandra then begins to speak.
Is this thing on? Of course it is, I see the red light thingy is on now. Hello, I know I sound headspacey, but just bear with me, this is fun. I have never talked to a camcorder before this. Ok, now for the not so fun stuff.
(Sandra then sat up straight and took on a more solemn countenance.)
Hello, I am Sandra Metcalf, aka William Trent. I have always wanted to work aka into a sentence before, I just never got the chance. Anyway, I have legally changed my name to Sandra Metcalf. Metcalf just happens to be my maternal grandmother’s last name. It is also my mother’s maiden name, but I don’t want to think of it that way. Yes, it is better for me to honor my grandmother.
My mother (Sandra’s voice was filled with disdain and sadness), father and sisters have disowned me. At least as long as I am called by and am dressed as Sandra, I am returning the favor. I am disowning them. There, I said it.
If this is being watched by anybody except me for my pleasure, then I guess I am gone. I guess I should be sad, but then I am not around at the time this is being watched, am I and that is not the point of this little video anyway.
Brian, he is such a dear person, is taping this for me. I suppose if he has done his job, or if whoever had the copy of my will, has already read my diary, you should by now already know that I am a pre-op transsexual. Transsexual doesn’t mean any reference to the actual sex act, but that I am a girl trapped inside the body of a boy. I hope that doesn’t shock you too badly. If you haven’t read my diary, I invite you to please read it. Brian has spare copies of it. It will explain a lot to you.
Anyway, that isn’t why I wanted you to see this, but it is background information.
You see, Uncle Frank passed away in 2006, about a year after I left home. He was pissed at my mother by the way treated me. I won’t call her mom, but she did give birth to me. He had no children or family, except his sister, my grandmother. He left all his money to her and stipulated that nothing go to my mother or my family, unless I had reconciled with them.
I called mother and asked if she was reconciled with me. I didn’t get past that point, as she slammed her phone down. So, I guess we aren’t. So, she, my father and sisters are on the out, on this money. Grandmother, God rest her soul, passed away about a year ago, and had a similar request in her will. (“They didn’t know how much money was involved in the will,” Sandra whispered conspiratorially into the camera. “And don’t tell them, if they haven’t already come to terms with me. Brian will tell you if they have.”)
I’ll admit that I went a little crazy with the money, once it was mine. If you could have seen my closet and my jewelry, you would know what I mean. About one third of the jewelry is some really nice paste stuff; the rest is the real McCoy.
Again, that isn’t really the real reason for this video. Getting back to my will, I have one bequest and one request. My bequest is… are you sitting down… of course you are, Brian wouldn’t have you standing and watching this.
Half of everything I have is yours. That should be a little over a million dollars in value. Brian is a very thorough and righteous dude. He will give you a better account of the monies and properties I have left.
Now for my request. I made a lot of friends online. Most are just like me. They are somewhere in their journey to become complete. Many have problems. You see, I am for the most part an exception to the rule. I can walk down the street and people would see what they think they see, a fairly attractive young lady. Only two or three, maybe four, out of ten, are as lucky as I am. One friend, God bless her soul, is about as feminine as Mike Ditka in a dress, but she is such a sweet person. Don’t you dare tease her; I will come back and haunt you. These people find it hard to get jobs that they are qualified for. Some don’t have enough money for food or rent, much less for the medications they need to feel right. Some of them are just barely surviving.
I would like to hire you. I want you to take care of my friends. I have included a list of friends in a letter, which Brian will give you. I want you, or him, to give them some money. I didn’t include them in the will for several reasons. First, it would make the will more open for attack, I believe, from my ex family. Secondly, they might take the money and spend it all, just trying to get right and forget about food or rent. SRS and hormones can drain a bank account. Brian knows what I mean. Many of them don’t want charity and some will take a lot of convincing to accept some money. All of this will take about a third of my remaining money. I would like you to be a life line to many of the girls online. I know they all can’t be saved, I don’t have enough money for that. This will take some wisdom on your part. Not everyone online are what they seem to be. You will be fooled, but use your heart. Also, The-Boss-Lady and a few of my friends will help, if you tell them what you are doing.
So, if Shirley412 needs money for rent, or if LuckyLucy knows that SuzyQ2 doesn’t have money for food, then contact Brian and give him as much information as possible. He will try to find a way to help. He just can’t spend the hours online, and then do the research and such, to help them full time. It will take someone who cares and can get to know the people, and gain their trust, to help them.
If you will keep up with the time you spend online and give Brian a list, then he will pay you thirty dollars an hour for your work. He will make seventy five dollars an hour himself. I tried to insist that he take more, he tried to take less, but I insist. Getting back to you, if you could only spend an hour or two a week, you could mean so much to my friends. I know it is a lot to ask of you and I hope that what I offer is enough for you to do what I ask. If not, let Brian know and he can hire someone to help them, but I would rather you do it. I can’t explain it, but I just feel it in my soul, that you are a good person. Anyway, just think on it and let Brian know after the will has been probated. If you hear about a need before then, let him know too, he will help.
Thank you.
Sandra blew the camera a kiss and winked.
Ricky and Angela were in shock.
“That was the Sandra I know and love. I am going to miss her wit and humor. She was quite a lady.
I don’t have the time to do everything she wants done, I am a busy lawyer, but I can spare a few hours a month to her cause. I do have some damn good researchers though. I can hand off things to them.
Sandra just had this damn crazy idea, in which this will thing would work out the way she dreamed it would. I complained it wouldn’t, but she insisted. If you decide to take up her cause, just tell me whenever you can.
She was wrong about the estate; half will be about one point eight million, not one million.”
“I will do it, Mr. Prescott,” Ricky said, surprising him and Angela. “I have already started chatting with her friends. They seem like they are a really nice bunch of people. I will help them if I can.”
(to be continued)
Ricky finishes school and prepares to spend the summer working as Michelle. He also talks with Sandra’s mother and sisters for the first time, feeling the friction that existed between them.
The Diary - chapter 6
By
Paula Dillon
Friday was a busy day in all of their classes. Finals were to start on Tuesday and the teachers were working their hardest to prepare all of their students for their tests. Ricky and Jennifer were glad when the last bell rang. They practically ran from the schools front door to Ricky’s truck. Together they headed to Ricky’s home. Jennifer had gotten permission to go shopping with Ricky and his Mom.
Ms Groveston had called the day before and had told Ricky how Michelle should dress for the shopping trip. She wanted Michelle to dress as business like as he could. Linda suggested that she wear one of the business suits he had, except she wanted him to wear the larger breastforms. She explained that larger breasts would make him look older, more mature, and that would help in how he would be accepted by her clients.
Ricky then called Jennifer after getting off the phone with Linda and talked about what they would each wear. He had only worn three of the five ‘Business Suits’ that had belonged to Sandra. They talked for about half an hour, before his Mom put the kibosh on their conversation, so he could go to bed.
Once they got to his home, from school on Friday they hurried up to his room.
“I want to take a quick shower before we dress, you can shower in Mom’s bathroom or wait for me to finish,” Ricky said, as they both began to undress in his room.
Ricky grabbed a gaff, one of Sandra’s nice bra and panty sets, and a pair of his large breastforms, before he headed into his bathroom. He turned on the shower and let it get up to temperature before stepping in. He wasn’t in the shower long, when Jennifer opened the door and stepped in with him. She had taken the time to put her hair up before she had joined him.
Ricky’s mouth hung open, as he looked at Jennifer. He had seen her in her bra and panties before, but this was the first time he had seen her completely naked. She looked incredibly beautiful to him. Jennifer reached her arms around his neck, pulling their bodies close together and kissed. Ricky’s body started to react. The kiss seamed to last forever, but only lasted a little over ten seconds. Ricky began to react physically, but Jennifer took his problem in hand.
Their shower lasted only a few minutes longer, than Ricky’s would have, if he would have been alone. They had precious little time to change; before they would be having company. Ricky hurriedly dried off and got his gaff on, before Jennifer caused his body to react to her again.
Ricky then cleaned and dried the larger breastforms, before attaching a double sided adhesive pad to the backside of them. Jennifer, standing there in only her panties, helped him to accurately place the breastforms. She placed them a little closer together, rather than centered over his nipples.
“Why did you put them so close together, Jennifer?”
“Your chest is broader than mine, If I centered the forms over your nipples your breasts would be too far apart. Girls with boobs that big, have a lot of cleavage. You should see Mandy’s chest, her boobs are not quite as big, but they are close together. I should know, I have seen her in the shower. She has the biggest tits in our school. If I centered them over your nipples, your cleavage wouldn’t look right.”
“Nobody is going to see my cleavage.”
“I will, and besides, they will look correct when you dress. Put your bra on and start on your makeup. Be sure you use more than a casual makeup, but not as much as you would for an elegant evening.”
Ricky thought he knew what to do, but he wasn’t entirely sure, but a few comments from Jennifer, helped him create a nice look.
“Why did you join me in the shower?” Ricky asked, as he blended the foundation on his face.
“I just wanted to see if you were still attracted to girls and that I could do “IT” for you. I was afraid I was losing you to your femininity. I also wanted to thank you for the earrings and besides, it was fun to see your expression.”
“It could have gone farther than either of us wanted.”
“No you wouldn’t, we didn’t have the time and you would never have forced yourself on me.”
Jennifer did her makeup, while Ricky loosened up the laces on the corset he selected. He needed it to get into Sandra’s skirts. He wrapped it around his waist and hooked up the busk. Jennifer had finished her face and helped tighten the laces on the corset. Together they brought his waist down to twenty-five inches, to where the halves were only about half an inch apart. Ricky surprised Jennifer, when he pulled out a second corset and began trapping her in it. Her corset didn’t get as tight on her body as his, but he did manage to take an inch and a half off her waist.
They then helped each other with their stockings, attaching them to the straps that hung off the corsets. Ricky remembered to snake the garter strap through Jennifer’s panties, before attaching it to the stocking. Jennifer just giggled, as he tickled her.
Ricky chose the long curly auburn wig. Jennifer shook it out a little and combed it with her fingers, before placing it on his head. She fiddled with its placement, till she was satisfied.
“I have some jewelry for us,” Ricky said, as he opened the drawer where he hid the stash of his jewelry and selected several bangles, earrings, and pearl necklaces for both of them.
“I am just loaning these to you right now. You can have them later if we get married.”
“You mean when, don’t you?” Jennifer teased, nibbling on his ear.
“Okay, when, but it will seem like a long time to us.”
“I know we should graduate high school and college first,” Jennifer said.
They hurriedly fixed their faces after dressing and filled their purses. Jennifer took pictures of Michelle’s suits, that they weren’t wearing, with her cell phone, so they could find matching skirts. They just made it into the living room, when Angela and Linda came in the kitchen door.
Linda smiled when she saw Michelle and Jennifer, “Hello kids, you both look so good,” she said, hugging the two kids.
“I agree with you Linda,” Angela said, “They are both so beautiful.”
“Well, I see you kids are ready, so let’s go,” Linda said. “We’ve got lots to do.”
On the way to the mall, they discussed what they needed. Jennifer convinced Linda, that they really didn’t need any more suits, just skirts, that were long enough and the right color to match the jackets Michelle already had.
At the mall, they headed to the high end ladies stores. Together they hit the racks. There were several racks of just suit skirts. It took a while, but they found eight skirts and four blouses that went well with the jackets Michelle had. Of course, Michelle had to try them all on. Jennifer and Angela helped Michelle change. She was also handed two more suits to try on. All of the skirts were within an inch above, or below the knee. Linda purchased six skirts, four blouses and a suit in black, because that was the one color Michelle didn’t have. They also picked up the accessories, to make the suits look like business suits.
They then went to the shoe store. Where Linda insisted they get some three-inch heels to replace the four-inch + heels Michelle had inherited from Susan. The shoes they bought weren’t Prada, Versace, Jimmy Choo or Vera Lang but they did match up with the suits.
“How are you for lingerie?” Linda asked.
“I have at least eight bra and panty sets and a few odds and ends. I have four corsets that I can change between, I have four or five camisoles, but I will need some more stockings or pantyhose, if I am to wear them everyday.”
“There are some women in the business sector, who don’t wear stockings or hose. I am not one of them, I think if you are going to look sharp, that includes the legs too. So, we will get you a couple dozen sets of stockings. Stockings will be cooler for you, when it starts to get hotter outside.”
At the lingerie store, Linda selected another couple bra and panty sets for Michelle, some camisoles, another two corsets, which fit Michelle better, and a couple of dozen stockings, in a variety of shades.
Lastly, they stopped at a wig shop, where Linda selected two wigs that they could put up in a French twist, or a bun for work.
“I can show you how to put them up in a French twist and bun, Michelle. Having your hair and makeup look good, is just as important as having the right clothes. Business frowns on big hairdos, or hair that isn’t kept neat and clean.”
After they left the wig shop, Linda took the group out to eat. She picked a nice restaurant and led them inside. She did a lot of business at this restaurant and the hostess led them to a table that Linda favored.
After ordering drinks and their dinners, Michelle said, “Tell me Linda, why are you doing all of this and why do you want me to work for you?”
“I have several reasons. First, since I first saw you dressed as Michelle, you seemed so comfortable being Michelle. I wanted to give you an opportunity to see what it was like to be a woman, in a safe environment. I have known several transgendered people and they can’t pass as easily as you can. They suffer from prejudice and ridicule, from people who hate what they represent.
Secondly, I hired you because I really need someone who has the knowledge base that you have. I feel like I can teach you a lot of things that will become valuable to you. I want to see how you see things also. People in Interior Decorating are always looking for new fresh ideas. They are always trying to reinvent the apple so to speak. People’s tastes are varied and eclectic. We are often called in to meld one person’s vision of what they like, with careful consideration to what the people they interact with, will find acceptable.
What I mean by that is, you may love Salvador Dali and may want your office to scream Dali, but your clientele may believe that a Dali inspired workspace is disturbing and repugnant. We have to work with the client to help them create a workspace that they can work in and that their clients can feel comfortable in. A psychiatrist might like Dali, but I would never create a Dali like workspace for him, to treat disturbed patients in.
Thirdly, I really need the help this summer. I have many new customers, younger customers at that. Most of them are female customers, who come to me because they don’t feel threatened coming to another woman to help them.
Fourthly, I like you. You seem like you are a hard worker and that you are self motivated and confidant.”
“I have some other reasons, but I think that that will answer your question. If at any time you feel threatened, abused, or that you aren’t being used to the best of your ability, talk to me. Let’s try to work it out between us, or if you feel it is necessary, we can terminate our association without any consequences for you, or your Mom.”
“I can live with that, I guess,” Michelle said.
**************
At home, Ricky put all her new things away, before logging into the chat room to talk with the people there. He liked talking to them and was well received. He had sent thebosslady the email that Khamchanaka had sent Michelle, thanking her for that encouraging email. Ricky found out that Kham had responded to everyone who had included an email address. He had thought about talking with thebosslady about what the lawyer had told him, but decided to wait till he was more certain about things.
**************
The next Wednesday, three things happened. First, the students finished all of their tests that day, although all of the students were required to attend school for half a day, on Thursday. Ricky and Jennifer had both done well in taking their tests. Secondly, the students who had purchased annuals, received their yearbooks just before lunch. Thursday was to be their signing day. Lastly, Ricky heard back from Brian Prescott. He told them that he had gotten Sandra Metcalf’s death certificate and had filed for Probate. He would need both Ricky and Angela, to come in, to sign some papers.
Thursday was a blast. The students brought their yearbooks to school and had fun signing them. Each class only lasted half an hour, as the students said goodbye for the summer, signing each others yearbooks.
The stampede after the final bell, was more frightening than any of the previous days, as the students only had one thing on their minds, ‘Summer Vacation.’
Jennifer had Ricky drive them straight to his home. She hustled him straight to his room, where they got undressed and showered. Jennifer then started getting Ricky into girl mode. She had him attach the smaller breast forms, bra, garter belts and stockings, where she stopped him. Jennifer also got dressed similarly. They both did their makeup and Jennifer selected a wig for Michelle.
Michelle hadn’t stopped to question Jennifer, till Jennifer pushed Michelle back on the bed.
“What are we doing, Jenn?”
“What do you think we are going to do?”
“But why?” Ricky asked.
“I made up my mind after we showered together Friday. I am afraid I am losing Ricky, but gaining Michelle. I wanted to rock Ricky’s and Michelle’s world. I will take either for life. I hope Ricky never goes all the way with Michelle, but I couldn’t take the chance to never have known what it would be like,” Jennifer said, smiling as she pulled out row of connected condom wrappers from her purse. “I won’t force you to do this, but I hope you will.”
“You didn’t have to do this,” Ricky said, taking the condoms from Jennifer. “I don’t think you will ever lose Ricky or Michelle, but you never really know, do you Jenn?”
“No you don’t, Michelle,” Jennifer said, as she took a condom from Ricky.
Jennifer had read about an interesting way of applying a condom. It got two jobs done, protection and stimulation.
Over the next three hours, the kids used four of the six condoms and Jennifer even brought in some of the toys, which had belonged to Sandra. They then used a fifth condom, as they showered together.
After they showered and dressed, Michelle saw that she had to change sheets.
“Geez, where did that blood come from?”
Jennifer giggled and said, “From me you idgit, you were my first.”
“Huh?”
“You broke my hymen, the first time we made love.”
“Hymen?”
“Geez, you need a biology lesson or sumpin. You popped my cherry. Girls have this membrane just inside their vaginas called a hymen. They hymen is torn the first time they have sex, although a girl can break hers in other ways, due to sports, accidents and such.”
“I ah… didn’t hurt you… ah did I.”
“It hurt a little, but it quickly passed. Over all, you were great. Was I your first too?”
“Yes, you were.”
“How was I?”
“Like wow! How do I put this? I admit that I have ah… jacked off. I suppose most guys do, but this was like WOW! I ah… just can’t compare it. You were wonderful, fantastic, stupendous, I just can’t put it in words.”
Jennifer smiled and giggled, “I think you put it into words just fine.”
**************
Angela stopped, as she walked past Ricky’s room. It was something she smelled, stale sex. It wasn’t just her son’s masturbation this time. She knew that this would happen sooner or later. The two kids had been inseparable for a while and had been getting a lot closer recently. Angela suspected that it had to do with all this gender bending. Maybe Jennifer was the type of girl who liked girls and found the best of both worlds in Ricky.
Whatever, Angela really loved Jennifer and she knew her Ricky did too. She hoped that the kids weren’t taking things too fast.
**************
Friday, Ricky and Angela went to Mr. Prescott’s office. They were led to the same cozy room where they had met Mr. Prescott before. Pamela and Cindy were there as before and Cindy fetched them some coffee.
“Hello Mrs. Crawford and Ricky,” Mr. Prescott said as he entered the room. “How are you two doing?”
“We are doing very well, and you,” Angela said.
“I am doing very well too. The reason I asked that you come in today is that I have confirmed everything that Ricky has told me and I am prepared to file probate. I have made arrangements to have Sandra Metcalf returned from Thailand and I will make final arrangements. That will take about four weeks. I will let you know if you wish to have some type of memorial service, although you wouldn’t be required to have one.”
“I think I would like to have one for her. I didn’t know her when she was alive, but after everything I have read and found out about her, wish I would have. She has blessed me so much, I feel it would be right and I would hate to have her passing go by unnoticed.”
“Excellent, then I shall let you know. Also, I have a bit of a formality. I need to notify Mrs. Barbra Trent and her two daughters, Wanda Draper and Amanda Trent of Sandy’s death.”
“I would like to do that.”
“Are you sure, it may not be pretty.”
“Yes, I am sure.”
Brian Prescott touched a device on the coffee table and asked Barbra to place the first of three calls.
“We will do this over the speaker phone.”
Everyone heard a phone ring once, twice and after the third ring a female voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Hello, is this Barbra Trent?”
“Yes it is.”
“Hello, I am Ricky Crawford, how are you today?”
“Fine, do I know you?”
“No, I am at the law office of Brian Prescott and we are calling today in reference to Sandra Metcalf.”
“Who?” Barbra said, with a touch of annoyance in her voice.
“You would know her by William Trent,” Mr. Prescott said.
“I told William the last time he called to never call me back again till he got over that foolishness. If you call me back, I will turn the matter over to my attorney. Now GOODBYE!!!” followed by a SLAM of the phone.
The call to Wanda went a little better, but the same result. Amanda did hang on long enough to find out that Sandra Metcalf had died, but her response was, “Good, it fits that pervert.”
“Sorry Ricky, I will send them a registered letter informing them of Sandra’s death. I will tell them only what is required by law. You could face a challenge of the will, but it won’t prevail, I wrote this will and I am very good.”
“Why do they hate her so?”
“I can’t say Ricky. What excuse is there for bigotry?”
“The sisters helped create Sandra and then they turned against her.”
“It was the mother’s fault, I think,” Mr. Prescott said, “She taught her bigotry to her innocent daughters. I don’t believe the sisters created Sandra, but they just had a hand in molding her.”
**************
Saturday, Linda came over and took Michelle and Jennifer to a salon. The salon knew of the special circumstances and worked with several customers that were like Michelle. They were careful to conceal her secret, although that wasn’t hard, as she passed better than most, if not all, of their special customers.
Michelle and Jennifer got the works; Michelle was given a cute pixie cut, and they taught her how to work with her wigs, so she could create the looks she wanted with them. They created a sexy arch with their eyebrows, gave them both exfoliating facials and attached acrylic nails to their fingernails, filing them back to three quarters of an inch. They waxed their legs, did pedicures, massages, had them spend some time in a Jacuzzi and gave them both a professional makeover.
Angela was surprised to see how beautiful both kids were. Michelle was positively radiant and Jennifer looked so sexy. Both kids could pass for twenty one looking as they did. She wondered if she would ever get her son back, Michelle just looked too comfortable, but she loved her daughter just as much.
The four of them went out to diner and a movie. Sunday afternoon, Michelle would move in with Linda for the summer. Angela would be alone for three months. At least she knew she would still get to see Michelle from time to time.
(to be continued)
John is brought a strange document to examine. As a board certified document examiner, he has seen more than his share of strange documents but none like this one.
The Document
by
Paula Dillon
John Washburn sat at his desk across from a very distraught young lady. She had to be the most gorgeous lady ever to grace his office. She looked to be in her twenties, stood about five foot eight, had tits of epic proportions but not grossly so, an overly slim waist, generous but shapely hips and legs that seemed to go forever. Her eyes, easily her most stunning feature, were almost hypnotic, and a shade of lavender he had never seen before. Her makeup was smartly done; John would describe it as professionally done. Her hair was straw blonde, waist length and more voluminous than any head of hair he had ever seen. She was dressed in a pink suit that showed off her numerous assets, but still quite business like. The jacket fit everywhere, as did the skirt that hit her below mid thigh. On her feet was a pair of impossibly tall five or six inch pink patent leather pumps. She was all lady, except for the fact that she didn’t seem comfortable in her own body. He couldn’t seem to put into words what made him feel that way.
She stated that her name was Bobbi Thompson and that she was referred to him by a friend who worked in the District Attorney’s office. She opened a brief case and took out a cardboard cylinder and withdrew a piece of parchment or vellum. She then handed him the ancient looking document. He carefully took it in his cotton gloved hands. It appeared to be three and a half, by six inch, piece of vellum, with twenty one tightly space lines of writing, in a dense script, he didn’t recognize. The page was adorned by a single glyph, or sigil. One edge appeared as if it had once been a part of a tome, or book.
John was a documents expert. He was often called upon to verify and authenticate ancient documents, determine validity of questionable documents, examine and compare handwriting and testify if necessary in court.
After questioning the lady, John determined that she wanted to know whatever John could tell her about the document, in a non-destructive manner. Although she did give him permission to snip a small portion of the gutter, of the page and to test minute portions of the ink.
Ms. Thompson would let him have possession of the document for two weeks and would look forward to seeing the results of his analysis in two months. She requested and he assured her, that the document would be insured for half a million dollars against loss or damage. She then gave him twenty thousand dollars and promised him another twenty thousand and expenses, when he gave her his results. Not the highest amount he ever earned for a job, but the most for a single page, in a case where he wouldn’t have to testify in court.
John shook Bobbi’s dainty hand. She gave him a full hand shake, not one of those half hand shakes women normally give. She then stood and departed. John was mesmerized as he watched her sexily swaying backside depart. He was embarrassed to feel himself stiffen in response to her form.
John took the document back into his lab. He put on the voice activated blue tooth headset to his audio recorder, switched on his magnifier lamp and began to make his initial examination. He described the page in as much detail as he could. His initial observations took a little over two hours, as he described everything from the number of stitch holes in the gutter, the size and dimensions of the characters, the color and quality of the page, ad nauseum.
He took a pair of scissors and almost evened out the edge where the stitch holes had been. You could still see where the holes had been, but just so. He bagged and tagged these snippets separately.
He then rolled out the page on a vacuum board and carefully rolled a piece of saran wrap over the page. He hit a button and the page flattened out. Tilting the page up and illuminating it with a broad band white light, he carefully photographed the document, in digital, several fine grain black and white, and color films.
He then set his system to automatically illuminate and record the document, using an alternate light source at wavelengths from 2000nm to 100nm light. This process would take several hours and with his system, he didn’t need to be there to observe it. He decided to come back to look tomorrow, when he had fresh eyes.
***************
Fresh, John took a look at the results of the image scan. As he panned through the images, several areas jumped out. There were places where the text had been changed. John documented where the changes were, what was there originally and what had been added to the document. He then took microscopic samples of the original ink and the ink of the substituted work.
The biggest discovery was the glyph, or sigil. It had parts that had fluoresced at quite a few of the different light sources. He took microscopic samples of each of the areas that had fluoresced.
He took all the samples bagging and tagging them, as he went. He logged all the samples of ink and packaged them with the samples of the vellum, before shipping them off to labs he used.
He printed out the original text and the copy, as edited by whomever.
With all the physical evidence collected that he wanted; John began to try to understand the writing of the document. The language was unlike any that John knew. He had to admit though, he wasn’t a specialist at ancient languages. He had worked on many ancient documents, to determine age and authenticity, without understanding them, but this one intrigued him.
On his computer he selected several areas of text and copied them on his computer screen. He then set his search engine hopping from one language site to another, trying to identify the language.
John looked at his watch and couldn’t believe what he saw. He had spent the better part of fourteen hours studying the document and hadn’t even stopped to eat. He carefully stowed the document and headed on home. It was Thursday, he decided to take a long weekend and get back on it on Monday, when he could expect some preliminary results.
****************
Monday, John checked the results of his computer search. He didn’t find out what language it was, but found it fit closer to some of the ancient Samarian texts. Even though there were similarities, there was enough differences to rule it out, but it could be a derivative of that ancient text. During the day, he received a chemical analysis of the ink and paper, finding some unusual results.
The ink’s composition, at least for the main text, was consistent with vellums from Samaritan fifth century BC except it had high levels KMnO4, or potassium permanganate. The only problem was the format. People back then didn’t write in book format.
The places where the text had been changed, the chemical content was more consistent with European ninth century AD.
The chemical analysis of the vellum itself, was more than unusual. The vellum had been treated with Au Cl3, or gold III chloride.
The gold chloride was unusual, but the presence of potassium permanganate, an oxidizing agent in the ink, was confusing. It most definitely would not be used in the manufacturing of the ink and should have caused the vellum to break down.
The inks from the glyph, were the big surprise. Their chemical analysis showed eight different inks were used. The combination of inks dated that at about the second century BC.
It will be interesting to get the results of carbon dating from the vellum itself. Unfortunately it should take another three weeks before he could expect results.
It was Friday before John had a chance to take another look. John then set about studying the glyph. He started out studying the individual parts of the glyph, since it had apparently been made in eight different stages.
Over the next few days, he isolated the eight separate characters, that made up the glyph. Each part formed a letter that came from Samaritan texts. He started from the one centered upright and made one list rotating about forty-five degrees clockwise and another counter clockwise.
He took the original document and studied the glyph using the ALS. He panned through the different lights, forward and backwards. Suddenly he found himself panning the lights so the images of the glyph traveled counter-clockwise faster and faster till everything was a blur. For how long he had stared at the glyph, he did not know.
Suddenly it was like a light switched on in his head and he knew he could read the document. He checked the document under the ALS so he could read just the words that had been added to the document and then read the words that were originally on the document.
He just looked at the first line of the document and what had been unintelligible script, even earlier this day, was clear to him. For some reason, this scared him. How could an intelligent person like he was, actually believe that something like that could actually happen. It had to be magic, but he didn’t believe in magic.
John put the document away and tried to forget about it. Minutes later he found the document in his hands again and he was reading it. He again put it away and left the room.
Minutes later he realized that the document was in his hands and he was trying to speak the words. He felt that that would be bad, so he locked it up, left the room and made his way to his car.
He was driving away when he realized that he hadn’t locked up the office when he had left. He had millions of dollars worth of documents and manuscripts in the office, so he turned around and drove back. He found himself locking himself up inside, and he had the dreaded document in his hands, vocalizing the words. It was an unbearable compulsion to him.
He tried several time to quit and then to try to read the original words that it had been written in, but he could only verbalize what he could see. When ever he could get himself to successfully stop, he found that he would only start over at the beginning, to verbalize the words. The compulsion to complete the verbalization became too strong and he finally finished reading the document out loud.
As he read the last word, it was like the lights had gone out and he passed out. He lay there unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time.
When John finally woke, the sun was low in the east. He was as weak as when he was when he had had a mild stroke, a few years earlier. He was extremely disoriented, it took him a few minutes to realize he was in his office, lying on the floor. He felt a wave of vertigo as he tried to sit up. His balance was way off and his vision was blurry. He felt somewhat disconnected from his own body.
It took him twenty minutes to sit up. When he did, he felt his chest shift. It was a feeling he never felt before. He discounted that feeling for a second and inched his way to a chair. He grabbed the chair and tried to get up. He was extremely thirsty and uncommonly hungry.
His chest rubbed against the chair as he righted himself. That sent waves of an unfamiliar sensation through his body. His mind hung in a fog that refused to let him appraise his condition. He finally got his body into a sitting position. He set his head down on the desk for a few seconds rest.
His bladder screaming and his bowels cramping got him moving. He somehow stood and staggered without falling to the bathroom. He first took a coffee cup and filled it with water, to help loosen his parched throat. He then managed to drop his pants and shorts, so he could relieve himself.
He sat there for thirty minutes. His mind began to clear. In a flash it all became clear to him. He knew what the weight on his chest was and he knew what to expect as he cleaned himself.
The glyph on the document was a trap and the writing had been a spell. He knew in his heart that he was now a woman. The spell had given him rudimentary knowledge on how to take care of himself at least.
He stood and looked at himself in the mirror above the sink. At least he wasn’t an ugly woman. Where he had sparse and graying hair, he now had a full head of auburn hair that came to his collar. His face, which had begun showing his age and his health, now glowed with youth and vigor. Looking closer he reckoned that he now looked no older than twenty.
He also noticed that his clothes fit perfectly. He unbuttoned his blazer and saw the outline of a bra beneath his blouse. His pants fit at the waist and at his now wider hips. His wing tipped oxfords now were pumps that matched his clothes and had a two inch heel he had seen on many professional women.
He felt his back right pocket, but it wasn’t there. He knew his purse was in his bottom right drawer in his desk. He opened the drawer to his desk, got his purse and opened his wallet. He spoke the name on the driver’s license, even before his eyes could read it Johnnie Washburn, a feminized version of his name. The license listed his height two inches shorter, his weight a hundred ten pounds lighter, and his age at twenty one. He or rather she, had the same address.
Johnnie then began playing her life before, her mind. She was born in the same city, her parents both died in a car crash three years ago. She graduated high school at sixteen and from college at eighteen. She earned her masters in forensic document handling at twenty and was scheduled to begin working on her doctorate this fall. She was a little light in her accreditations, although she knew she had just passed her board certs last month from the National Association of Document Examiners. She had taken over her parents questioned documents business. That was almost John’s life, twenty-five years ago.
She had to get home, she smelled and was a mess. She grabbed her purse and headed out. Outside, instead of John’s massive Lincoln Town Car, there was a sporty BMW. As she drove home, she accessed her memory as John and was pleased to find it all there.
Home, she saw, was greatly changed, as she drove up. It had been her and John’s parent’s home, but she saw she had taken better care of the house. Inside was definitely more feminine than it had been.
She hurried to the bathroom, but took more care with her clothes, than what John used to do with his. Instead of a shower, which John preferred, she took a bath, using bath salts, taking care to wash the stink off of her.
She dried off, put her hair in a turban, pulled a pair of panties on and dressed in a robe. Starving, she called out for a delivery of Chinese.
She then sat down and considered what had happened. She was lost in thought, when the doorbell rang. She quickly wrote out a check for the food and saw she still had a balance just over eighty thousand dollars. She also still had her other investments and was worth a pretty penny. She gave the delivery man the check and took her food to the kitchen to eat.
She had a laptop on the kitchen table and pulled up the work server, as she ate. She looked at the scaned copy and all she saw was gibberish on all the scans. She had to get back to the office.
She dressed in jeans and a blouse. John had never worn jeans out, to go to the office, but it seemed so right for Johnnie to do so.
She entered the office and got the document out. When she looked at it, she could actually read it, and under ALS, she could read what was there before. She tried the computer scans again and they were gibberish.
She reread the spell, although there was no compulsion to do so this time. She began to get an understanding of the spell. The spell under normal light was a permanent transformation spell, that changed the man’s gender and made him a picture of what he liked in women, but left him in a suitable position, where he could survive. In her mind, she thought of the spell with the changes. Originally, the spell only transformed the man for one day. She added one of the changes and saw that it was changed into a malicious attack on a man, the other change made the spell less malign, in effect.
Johnnie was pissed, she was glad for the youth and glad for the good looks, but she felt a part of her life had been stolen from her. This had to stop. She knew in her heart that Bobbi Thompson had to have been a victim of the spell, probably looking for a way to return to what she was. Johnnie was afraid that Bobbi would find other unwitting victims in her efforts.
She desperately wanted to destroy the thing in her hands, but that could affect her professional career. It was bonded for half a million, yes, but who would go to a document examiner who destroyed what he was working on, even if she could prove it was an accident.
Then Johnnie smiled and locked the document up.
Monday, Johnnie was in her office working on another project, when Miss Thompson came in to reclaim her document. She had spent all day Sunday writing a very detailed report on the document, leaving out some details, like the changes to it and ink composition. She had added to it some details, she knew from her experience. It really didn’t answer the question she knew Bobbi wanted, she just didn’t know the answer.
Bobbi read the report and her expression showed her disappointment. She really had been hoping for other answers.
“Oh and one more thing Bobbi. The document is starting to really deteriorate. From its appearance its condition is pretty fair right now, but in a number of areas the deterioration may accelerate. I have a document preservative that will help the vellum last many more years and slow this deterioration down,” Johnnie said, handing her a bottle of preservative. “It has all natural ingredients, lanolin, glycerin, and such, that will keep the vellum from cracking. Just follow the directions on the bottle once a week. I will have a more detailed report for you later and may have a language return, when I receive details from some of my colleagues.”
A disappointed Bobbi signed the receipts for the document and left. Johnnie smiled.
It was about an hour later she felt something inside. She knew the document was gone now. About five minutes later, she received a frantic call from a sobbing Bobbie, she told her that the document burst into flames after she treated it with the preservative. Johnnie told her that she never heard of anything like that happening before and for the life of her she couldn’t understand what had happened.
“I know, I can’t replace the document, but I can give you copies of the scans I made.”
Johnnie hung up, the chain was broken. She was still Johnnie but there would be no more unwitting victims, at least.
The end.
Notes: I am not sure that glycerin would be used as a document preservative. It could be. There are many places John did things a real document handler would not do, like exposing a document to a broadband white light. They do sometimes use alternate light sources (ALS) to examine documents.
KMnO4 (potassium permanganate) should not have been there. It is an oxidizer. Exposed to air it should have over time have been broken down. KMnO4 exposed to glycerin, will ignite and burn quite hot.
“Okay girls what can I do for you?” He asked.
Janice stood up and looked Billy in the eyes, “We have a favor to ask of you Billy. We know that you are taking printing at school and we want you to print out a manga for us. There is a manga convention every quarter, and the next one is in four weeks.”
“I can probably do that for you. I will have to turn a copy of the project in for my grade. I want you to understand that, first.”
“We figured that?”
“Also the project can’t have any patent nudity or sex, in it.”
“There isn’t any. It would be rated PG-13 if it was a movie.”
“What is the title of it?”
“The Girls Confess their Love for Aki,” Amanda said.
“Okay may I see what you want to produce?”
“Sure thing,” Amanda said handing Billy a photocopied edition and a USB memory stick.
Billy took them and began looking over the photocopied manga. Billy was about five foot seven and while not athletic or brawny, he was one of the prettiest boys at their high school. They were all in their spring term at the local high school; Billy, Janice, Amanda and Rhiannon were all in their junior year and the rest of the girls were in their senior year.
Billy flipped through the manga; he was impressed with their layout and artwork. Some of the girls had a future in art, but as he read the story he could see that it really needed a lot of work.
“Girls, go on into the living room, while I boot up my desktop and get my laptop. Janice turn on the big screen, if you would, please.”
The Connors had a very nice 55-inch HDTV and Billy had it setup so he could wirelessly use it as a large monitor. He came into the living room and setup his laptop on the coffee table in front of Janice. He then sat on the floor in front of her. He booted the laptop and inserted the memory stick into the computers USB port on the side. A few keystrokes later, the TV lit up and showed what was on his laptop’s screen.
Billy had Adobe Pagemaker and Photoshop, with all the ancillary software on his laptop. He had to convert the file on the memory stick from MS Pub, to Adobe. The file suffered a bit from the conversion, but he could see what he wanted.
“Do you have the Master copy of your manga here,” Billy asked.
“Yes we do, Billy.” Amanda said.
“Janice can you scan it for me? I have a 2500x2500 dpi scanner in our office.”
“Ok Billy.”
He played with the pages a bit, till he began to get the scanned images in. He then began arranging the pages and figuring out his job.
“You have this arranged like a Japanese Manga?” He asked.
“Yes, it reads from right to left.”
“You have four color pages and forty eight black and white pages.”
Billy then began to calculate the cost. “I don’t really know what the cost will end up. That is my teacher’s job, but I can give you a ballpark figure. Minimum run for my class is two hundred copies.”
“So what do you think of it Billy,” the twins asked.
Billy was hesitant to reply, he loved the art and layout, but…
“You can tell us the truth Billy, we are all big girls,” Amanda said.
“The artwork and layout I would give an A+, you did a great job on that. The story… I would give a C to a C+ on it. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but…”
“I told ya’ll,” Rhiannon said, “I am not the storyteller that Billy is. Can you help us Billy?”
“And how much time will the printing take?” Amanda asked.
The printing, sorting and finishing will take me no more than three days. I will just have to schedule the run, so the machines I need are available. As for the rest, I don’t know anything about manga writing.”
“That might be true Billy, but you are a consummate story teller. That is why Amanda and I loved to play RPG’s with you. It wasn’t the adventure or the combat, but we loved how you wove the stories,” Janice said.
“Okay, tell me what you were trying to do with your story and I will see what I can do.”
Amanda took over the laptop and using MS Word, she pulled up the script for the manga. The eight of them brainstormed for the next two hours. The thing that the girls loved about Billy was he didn’t tell them how it should go, but he worked with them to develop a new script, asking their opinions at many points. Amanda typed up the new script as they talked.
“It will be a lot of work to make changes, but I think it will be worth it,” Amanda said, as she looked over the new script.
“Let me show you how to make things easier in the future,” Billy said. “Draw your backgrounds separately from your characters and then we can add the balloons and boxes separately for the dialogue and such. I then can use my software to stack everything. We can create libraries of characters and scenery. Then for any future mangas, we can have a library of backgrounds and characters, to mix and match with. You’ll only have to draw things that have changed or are new to the story.”
“So we can draw and then scan them into your computer, is that right?” Janice asked.
“You got it.”
Amanda then saved everything on Billy’s laptop and on the memory stick.
“Also in the future, if any of you have any wireless capable laptops, bring them, we can network.”
Billy got six sets of hugs and kisses, as all the girls except for Janice got up to leave.
As the girls drove off, Janice seductively looked at Billy and asked, “Do we have time?”
Billy blushed deeply and smiled. Looking at his watch he said. “We have an hour and some change. Is that enough?”
Janice just grabbed Billy’s hand and led him to his room.
The girls got together again with Billy two weeks later, in Billy’s living room. Amanda, Janice and Billy, got to work first, making the layouts of the pages, according to the script. The girls knew how they wanted the manga to look, so he just followed their lead. Sara, Cara, Bettie and Della had torn down all the images they could and redrew a lot of the pictures, following Billy’s advice. So they opened all their files on their laptops and passed Billy the images as they were called for in the script.
When they got all the pages set, Billy showed Amanda how to make the balloons and boxes they needed for the dialogue, thoughts and such. She then got to work.
Janice then used her feminine wiles to keep Billy distracted, while the girls worked. They could hear giggles as Janice took control of the situation. Billy was a little nervous doing what they were doing with an audience, but at least they both kept their much-disheveled clothes on. He couldn’t remember Janice being so aggressive before, as they gave the girls a show. They both had wet messes to contend with, in their underwear, when Amanda finished adding text.
Janice went to change her panties and pantyhose in the downstairs bathroom, while Billy went upstairs to take off his jeans and underwear, before cleaning himself with a wet cloth. He dressed in an oversized Astro’s T-shirt and a pair of running shorts he should have discarded two years ago.
The girls were almost drooling when they saw his crotch and tush. The shorts fit tight enough to leave nothing to their imagination. They also loved his legs. Those legs could have belonged to a swimsuit model, a ladies swimsuit model that is, if they just had less hair, the girls thought.
Janice Davis is seventeen and stands just over five eight and has a voluptuous figure for a high school girl 36C-26-35, shoulder length, curly, Auburn hair and emerald green eyes. She could have been one of the most popular girls, but she shunned the popular guys and had latched on to Billy, without any regrets.
Sara and Cara Walsh, twins, both eighteen, were five foot five, 34B-24-34, straight, just above their shoulder length blond hair and sapphire blue eyes. They were both exceptional artist and loved to draw manga characters.
Amanda Fuller, seventeen, five foot six, 36B-28-38, long, straight, brown hair and brown eyes. She loves her English, a voracious reader, and a fair writer. She is a consummate manga collector, who is never without one or two, buried in her purse and is a sharp proofreader, with an almost eidetic memory.
Bettie Wright, eighteen, five foot ten, 38A+-30-36, raven hair, in a pixie cut, and steel gray eyes. She is very athletic and a good artist, who likes to draw still life and landscapes.
Rhiannon Fleming is a fiery-headed Irish, eighteen year old girl, who is five foot ,eight 34C-27-36, very long, red (bright copper) hair, bright green eyes (sometimes hidden behind glasses) and a huge smile, when she wants to. She too collects manga. She is a good writer, when given direction, but lacks a bit in imagination.
Della Monroe is seventeen, five foot four, 32D-22-34, short, mousey brown hair, in a page boy and light brown, almost amber, eyes. She is an artist with an eye for detail; if she could, she would love to add small details, that other artist gloss over in their work and would do an admirable job at it.
On the fifth page was an image that caught his eye. A character was introduced for the first time there. He remembered placing this, but hadn’t really taken a close look at the character. Billy couldn’t decide if the character was a boy or a girl. The longer he looked, the more undecided he was. Also, the longer he looked at it, he saw more of himself as he looked at it.
The character, Saitou Akimitsu, looked a lot like Billy, was an average height male, with shoulder length black hair, in a mullet, long bangs, that he has to fuss with occasionally and had large, expressive, beautiful eyes, behind a pair of wire rim glasses. He was dressed in form fitting pants, but you couldn’t quite make out what was in those pants and a fancy shirt, that could easily be a blouse. He had a million dollar smile and a seductive wink. He was also extremely polite and correct in all his dealings, except for a mischievous streak, that he hid from sight.
“Yes, Billy, that is a characterization of you,” Janice, who was sitting next to him, said, “and yes it is a male character.”
“I don’t look that feminine, do I?”
“Maybe not that feminine; but you aren’t too far off. That is just one of the things we love about you Billy. You aren’t hung up on being overly macho,” Sara and Cara said, almost simultaneously.
“You’re kidding?”
“Billy, if we could give you Boobs, hide your thing and put you in a cute bikini, you could turn just as many eyes on a beach as us.” Amanda added. “That is if you shaved your legs and your arm pits.”
“I won’t ever believe that.”
The girls looked and communicated with each other with just a look and a smile.
Billy started back on page one, looking closer at all of the characters. He was able to pick out all of the girls that were sitting around him, although the characters names were Japanese.
The main female character, Yoshimura Chiyoko bore a strong resemblance to Janice, he noted. She was easily the prettiest girl in the manga.
The twins characters, Fukushima Hama and Fukushima Hana, looked like twins in the manga. They appeared as androgynous as Billy, except one where Hama wore a very short-skirted, girl’s, Sailor school uniform, while Hana wore a gakuran boy’s, school uniform. They were both very pretty. In the manga, they were never seen apart from each other.
Amanda’s character, Ishihara Midori, was easily the second, or third, prettiest character in the manga. She was a gorgeous babe, whose beauty was hidden behind the guise and clothing of the librarian cliché. She wore dowdy clothing, kept her face plain, wore horn rim glasses and hid behind stacks of books.
Bettie, was a basketball, martial arts, track and field, and volley ball character, Yano Kazuko. She strove to be the best at whatever sport she played, even better than the boys. She was Aki’s neighbor and unseen protector.
Rhiannon’s character, Kitakawa Shizuyo, was the fiery tempered instigator in the manga and appeared on many of the pages. Her actions were never meant to be hurtful, but she loved to stir the pot. She also loved to push, trick and cajole love struck characters to confess their affections for their heartthrobs. She pictured herself as a cupid of sorts.
Della, was the hardest character to spot, Aoyama Yoshi. Her character was always shaded in mystery and was always somewhere in the background, leaving the reader to wonder about her motives.
Billy then took half an hour to read and reread the manga, taking notes. The story bore some resemblance to their brainstorm session, with certain areas expanded, some reduced, some scenes added and others deleted. He decided that it was a very good read, much, much better than their original story.
The story was about typical high school interactions. Typical that is, if the students were full of angst, psychosis, phobias, bi-polar, really strange and humorous. On second thought, it is a pretty typical high school.
When he finished reading, he made sure he saved it on his machine, a memory stick and to each of the girls, who had their computers logged on. He also created a pdf (PDF=Portable Document Format) file.
“The only thing we are missing on the cover, is the price Billy and that will depend on the cost,” Amanda said.
“That will depend on a lot of factors, number of color pages, paper quality, amount of ink used, amount of paper used, number of pages and the schools usage fees. I can’t give an exact figure, but I estimate the cost between seventy-five cents, to a dollar ten cents per copy. As it is, you need to colorize four more pages, so I will have two sets of color plates and eleven black and white plates. If you went to a print shop, the cost would double, or triple.”
“How much for two hundred copies?” Janice asked.
“I would go for no less than four hundred copies, a thousand would be better; the cost per issue is lower. Making all the plates is the biggest part of the cost on short runs. I will retain all plates, so we can do additional runs. I would suggest a cover price between three and four dollars. I think you have a good product.”
“Why eight color pages?”
“The plates will print four pages on each plate. I am already making two sets of four, color plates. You have inside and outside, front and back of the cover in color. I can’t print them using the same plates. Since I am already using two sets of plates, let’s make it eight pages in color. That will be both sides of the cover, front and back in color and four color pages inside.”
“How about colorizing the four middle pages,” Billy said, as he paned to the middle two pages. “You have a really nice, two page spread, with most of the main characters there. That will really spiff up the manga.”
“Like the centerfold of a Playboy magazine,” teased Della.
“I don’t know, I have never seen a Playboy centerfold, but it is probably the same principle.”
“You’ve never read a Playboy magazine?” Bettie asked, in amazement. “I have read Playboy magazine. I have even looked at the pictures too.”
“I don’t need to see a bunch of naked girls, and they aren’t any prettier to me, than any of you. Janice is really all the girl I will ever need.”
“Good answer, Billy,” Janice said, as she planted a juicy kiss on him.
“Our turn,” Rhiannon said excitedly, as they broke their kiss.
“Not a chance, I saw him first, he’s mine.”
When Rhiannon pouted and looked at Janice, with her sad, hurt, puppy dog eyes, she said, “Oh, alright, but only on the cheek.”
Rhiannon shocked everyone, when she kissed Janice on the cheek, before kissing Billy. The rest of the girls followed suit, kissing Janice and then Billy.
The girls colorized the four middle pages of the manga, changing them a bit, so that every character in the manga, had a color shot. Billy designed the B&W plates and the two sets of four-color plates and saved everything to a memory stick.
At school he scheduled the time he would need to print, cut and finish the manga. He calculated what he would need and ordered the supplies. They decided to go with a run of five hundred. The girls had gotten together enough money to make the print run. The manga had cost five hundred, twelve dollars and thirty seven cents, and they had priced them at four dollars each.
That night, Janice and Della came over to Billy’s house.
“Billy, Della has something to ask you,” Janice stated.
“Ok, shoot Della,”
“Bang!!!” Janice said, pointing a loaded finger at Della.
Della pulled a Scarlet O’Hara and collapsed at their feet, “She shot me, I am dying, I really am. I am dying. I can’t believe she shot me.”
“Die already, so you can tell me what you want,” Billy said, laughing at the show he was given.
“Gee, go ahead and kill the creative spirit. Is he always this blunt and too the point, Janice.”
“Yes, especially in bed,” Janice said, giggling.
Billy was blushing a deep crimson as he said. “Come on girls.”
“Oh goody, goody. I always wanted to know what kind of lover Billy would be,” Della said, with a sexy smile, while she sat up. Then she switched gears and said. “Cept, I couldn’t do that to the two of you, you two make such a great couple.”
“Alas, I am dying,” She said and finally collapsed. She laid still for several seconds.
“I CALL FORTH DIVINE RESURRECTION!!!” Janice shouted, over the lifeless form of her fallen compatriot, waving her hands above the girl.
“Oh thank you, dear priestess, I shall forever be in your debt,” Della said, as she sat up and stood.
“You two are really hamming it up; do you want me to run another RPG adventure?”
“No, as much fun as that use to be Billy, I have something else to ask you,” Della said. “You know that we are going to be selling our manga the Saturday after next.”
“Yeah, I know, I should have them ready by this Friday.”
“That is fantastic, Billy. What we want is for you to help up sell our manga.”
“I guess I can do that, that way I get to spend the weekend with Janice.”
“Hold up, there is more Billy,” Janice said.
“Yes Billy, you see since we have drawn all of ourselves into the strip, we are going to Cosplay as our characters. We want you to Cosplay your character too.”
Billy’s blush came back in spades again, as he thought about the way his character looked, “Oh no, no way! I will look silly.”
“No you won’t Billy, we won’t clown you out. I won’t let them, but you will look a lot more feminine than you normally do,” Janice said, with concern in her voice. “The girls are all going to look quite daring beside you to. So we will be just as embarrassed as you.”
Billy thought about all the clothes that the characters wore in the manga, “You’re not wearing that red and gold dress, that opens into a diamond, beneath the bust, exposing your mid drift and the skirt that flares out like a tutu at the hip and stops an inch or two below your crotch, are you,”
“Yes, and Della is wearing a devils suit leotard, with a tail and horns, Sara and Cara are wearing school uniforms, Amanda will be in her librarian guise, Rhiannon will be wearing tights, leotard, tutu skirt, Ballet slippers, wings and carrying a bow, with heart arrows, and Bettie will look like a woods dryad, in a very wispy gown, with wings, she will have nothing really showing, but very little will be left to the imagination,” Janice said.
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Yes, we’re all serious about this,” Della said.
“It isn’t just about the money, Billy. It’s about the exhilaration we get from doing the manga, the shows and our Cosplay,” Janice said. “I find it hard to describe. It is almost as good as the feeling I get when we make love and you really make me feel incredible.”
“What will my costume be?”
“Tuxedo shorts, a ruffled front tux shirt, a short coat, which fits at the waist and with a U, shaped lapel instead of a V, black penny loafers, or some such shoes, a wig, wire rim glasses and a ribbon tie.” Della said.
Billy knew just which costume Della meant. It was the costume his character wore to the party, where he met Janice’s character, in the manga.
“It will really help us out Billy. The tables that have their sales people in costume, generally have the best sales,” Janice said. “The costumes will attract the customers and I believe our mangas will sell themselves, if we can get the customers to look it over. And… maybe you can just get a glimpse of what we feel, when we do this.”
Billy stood there and pondered things for a long bit. His costume wasn’t as embarrassing as some of the girls’ costumes, he thought, and he had more fun helping the girls on this project than he expected to, “Alright, whatever you guys want is ok with me.”
Billy was surprised, when Janice and Della got him into a double hug, that threatened to push their ample chests through his ribs. He was being assaulted by more boobage than when Aunt Catherine hugged him.
“Can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” he said. Of course he was breathing, but he really was having a certain level of distress.
Janice felt his distress and said, “Go get your measuring tapes and things. I need to perform a bit of first aid on Billy. We will be about five minutes.”
Janice pulled Billy into his room and took care of his pressing matters. She then helped him change into the same T-shirt and shorts he had worn the other day.
Back in the living room, Della took a strip of cloth and pinned one end to his right shoulder and took the other end through his crotch, up his back, to where the strip began. She then began to measure him, first around the chest, at armpit level, across the nipples, just below the nipples, a few inches below that, at the navel, at his natural waist, top of his hips, mid hips and low hips, marking the measurements on the cloth strip. She measured his neck, his throat height, his head, arm length and circumference at the widest points, height, from the crotch to his knee, ankle, top of the foot to the floor, the dimensions of his legs all the way to his ankles, foot length and foot width.
“Geeze, why don’t you just make a full body mold?” Billy said.
“We just might do that later,” Della said, with a mischievous smile and a wink of her eye. “That is enough for now, please try not to gain, or lose any weight.”
Della slapped his rump, before gathering her things and leaving.
Three days before the show, everyone met over at Della’s home. Her mom and dad were going to be out late that night, playing Bingo. In the living room, Della began closing the drapes.
“Why are you closing the drapes?” Billy asked.
“We are all going to change in here, so I can mark any adjustments,” Della stated.
“Where am I going to change?”
“In here with us,” Janice said. “You are one of us now and we have no reservations about changing in front of you, since we need you to change in front of us, so we can help you.”
“We will change first,” Della said. “Then we will concentrate on getting you sorted out. Sit over there,” she said, with an air of command. “Or help the girls, if you will.”
The girls began to strip naked in front of Billy. Once they got undressed, they opened their bags and began removing clothes from them. Dell just put on a thong, before she started dressing in a pair of red tights and a red leotard, which sported a long, red, pronged tail. She was either a wet dream, or a wet nightmare.
Janice had Billy help with her new bra; the bra added about two cup sizes to her breasts. He then zipped her dress up. The dress was so tight, she really did need his help to zip it up.
Rhiannon was going braless and after she had her tights and leotard on, she had Billy help with her crinolines and skirt.
Bettie wore nothing under her floor length gown. Billy helped her attach a collar around her neck, that had wings attached to it. He then had to locate snaps, at various places on the gown, wrapped a cord around her waist, tying it off. This cord was attached at the bottom of the wings and helped keep the wings secure.
Amanda’s, Sara’s and Cara’s costumes, were much like regular school uniforms, Except that Cara, who played Hana, strapped down her breasts and wore padding to hide her figure. They didn’t need Billy’s help, although they made sure he saw them in the various states of undress.
Della checked each girl very closely, touching, feeling, tugging and pulling at their costumes. When she was satisfied, they all turned toward Billy.
Billy had a massive hard on, that caused the girls to smile and giggle.
Della tied a towel around Janice’s neck and said, “Billy will never get into his costume like that, go help him and make sure you don’t get anything on that dress.”
Janice pulled Billy into the bathroom and worked on reducing his swelling, being careful not to get anything on her. She then finished undressing him and cleaned him with a wet cloth.
Billy then stood in front of all the girls, in all of his glory. There were a few sighs from the girls, as they all finally got to see what Janice so coveted. He wasn’t monstrous, but he was still impressive.
“Okay, enough gawking and posing, first your panties,” Della said, handing him a pair of cotton granny panties.
“Jeez Della, I was hoping for a pair of satin or silk panties,” Rhiannon said.
“You know he will be more comfortable in cotton, with what he has to wear,” Janice said.
Billy took the proffered garment and hesitantly began to pull them on. He was then handed a long garment that looked like a girdle, which it was. It was a high waisted, panty girdle.
“Let me help, I want to tuck you back, before you pull that girdle snug,” Janice said.
She reached inside his panties and rearranged things, till his manhood was safely hidden. It only hurt a bit, as she gently pushed his testicles up into him. Janice then helped him into the girdle, making sure everything was still in place, as the girdle snugged up. The girdle reached all the way up to his rib cage. It took two girls to get him zipped up.
“You need to wear that girdle for a bit to get use to it. We need to take you waist measurements now,” Della said.
She took the cloth measuring tape and measured his waist, “Right on the mark,” Della said.
Billy found it a little difficult to breathe, or to bend at the waist for that matter. The girdle had taken about two and a half inches off of his waist.
Billy was then handed a shirt. It was a white tux shirt that had ruffles up the front, the ruffles were about six inches wide and came down to just above the navel level. He put the shirt on and found it buttoned differently than a man’s shirt; still he got it buttoned. The ends of the sleeves he found, came out in a cone from above the wrist and ended as a lace band that hit him mid hand.
Della looked him over closely before continuing, “No, it needs something,” she said, pulling at the shirt at nipple height. “Take it back off for a minute.” She turned and got a box out, while he took the shirt off.
“Now these are breast forms, Billy. Not big ones, just enough to give you between an AA cup to an A. Now, I am going to attach them with some glue that is a lot like rubber cement. That will keep them on for no more than a day at most. So don’t worry,” She said, spreading glue on the backs of two small blobs of silicone. “They will peel off easily when we want to take them off.”
He started to balk, but he remembered telling Della and Janice that he would do it.
Della then attached one then the other forms. Billy saw that they had small nipples that looked like a pair of cones. Della took a measuring tape to his chest. “A 36AA just like I figured, but don’t worry, you won’t be wearing a bra.”
The shirt fit to Della’s standards, when Billy got it back on. It was just barely noticeable that he had two small mounds on his chest and the nipples were mostly hidden by the ruffles. Billy had seen a few guys that looked like that on their chest, but only a few.
Next, he pulled on the shorts. The shorts were made of a shiny black spandex nylon and had a satin stripe on the sides. He also noticed that they were very heavy. The seat of the shorts, he found, were heavily padded. He pulled up the shorts and they came up to his navel, with the girdle on, they zipped up easily. The shorts fit tight everywhere and added two inches or so to his butt and hips. He had a nice rounded butt now and curves on the sides.
Rhiannon then tied an inch and a half wide scarlet red ribbon in a bow at his collar, Janice helped him with a pair of black tassel loafers and Amanda helped him with the coat, which Rhiannon buttoned up. Sara crowned him off with a shoulder length, straight hair, black wig, that had long thin bangs and lastly his wire rim glasses. The glasses just had a neutral lens, so he could see clearly.
After a bit of a fuss, they then stepped back and took a close look. They couldn’t tell if he was a boy, that looked like a girl, or a girl, that looked like a boy, but they all lusted after him.
“Oh my.” “So sweet.” “Fantastic.” “Ooooh.” “I love him.” The girls could be heard saying.
“You can look, but don’t touch, he’s mine,” Janice said, caught up in the spell.
Janice took him by the shoulders and led him to a mirror in the hall closet. When Billy first saw himself, he started to collapse in a faint. The girls had surrounded him and kept him upright. He stared at himself for a couple of minutes without saying or doing anything. He then turned to the left for a few seconds, then to the right. All the while he couldn’t take his eyes off of himself. The coat with the shirt seemed to hide his new breasts, but he could see that he wouldn’t look right without them. He then turned and looked over his shoulder at his butt. He definitely had a girl’s butt now. That was the least androgynous thing about the way he looked at the present.
“Two things,” he said, “first how do I go to the bathroom dressed like this? Second these shoes are uncomfortable without socks.”
“First, you will have to go to the ladies room, with us to help,” Janice said. “The men’s room could be dangerous for you, dressed like this.”
Billy knew that Janice was right. He was likely to be assaulted, or raped, in the men’s room and he would need their help to get dressed again afterwards.”
Second, the shoes are too tight for socks, but we have something that might work,” She said, holding up a package of nude, sheer to the waist, pantyhose. “Take your shoes and shorts off and then sit down Billy.”
Billy took off the shoes and shorts and then sat down.
Cara and Janice then began to roll the pantyhose up his legs. Billy could feel himself wanting to get hard again, but he was unable to, so he was quite uncomfortable. He stood and at the girls directions pulled the pantyhose up the rest of the way. You couldn’t easily tell he had pantyhose on, unless you caught the stray sheen occasionally, or felt of their silkiness, or saw the hairs pressed down on his skin.
“He needs to shave his legs if he goes like this Saturday,” Rhiannon exclaimed. “It’s not too bad, but any girl will make him, if she looks closely enough and believe me, the girls will be looking very closely at you.”
“We’ll take care of that on Friday,” Janice said.
Billy got dressed again and after another round of fussing and tucking, he was finished. He felt electrified, as his legs rubbed together. He had never worn stockings or pantyhose before, but Janice could drive him crazy, by rubbing her hosed legs next to his bare skin. He loved it when she did that. Now he had the same feeling, multiplied by two, from his own legs.
Della set up her Cannon PowerShot SX1 IS camera. She posed everyone next to the mantle and tripped the self-timer so she could get in the picture. They took a half dozen group shots and about thirty more of individuals and small groups.
“I will email my Photobucket URL and you can download the pictures at your own convenience.”
They spent the next hour training Billy on how to act as androgynously as possible, except when he had to go to the restroom. There they wanted him to act as any normal to girly-girl would act. When in his character, he was to act overly polite, hold his arms in like a girl, speak with a softer voice and take steps that were shorter than normal, but not mincing steps.
The Friday before the show, everyone came over to Janice’s place. Billy brought all the mangas and materials that he had. Her parents were spending the weekend together at a Louisiana Casino. The first thing they did was to order pizza.
While they waited for the pizza to arrive, Billy passed out the completed mangas. He handed each girl two mangas. One manga was in a mylar sleeve, with an acid free cardboard back and the other wasn’t.
“I put one manga in a sleeve, with a cardboard back, to protect it, so you can save it. Who knows, when you all are famous, it could be worth a lot of money. Don’t open that one, it’s as near mint as possible.”
“Maybe we should autograph those.” Della said.
“Autographs can help the value and they can hurt the value. It is hard to say which way your autographs will go.”
“I say we go ahead and autograph them. These are for us after all, not for sale. They will be our keepsake,” Amanda said.
“I figured you might want to do that, so I brought some sharpies.”
“How about everyone use their character names?” Janice asked.
“I like that Idea,” Bettie said.
“Ok, I have a bunch of cotton gloves, so you won’t get your fingerprints on the manga,” Billy said.
“You too Billy, you’re also a character.” Rhiannon added. “Hey we could sign and number some too. Then package and sell them for more.”
“How many did you finally print Billy,” Amanda asked.
“Five hundred and twenty six, I already turned one in to my teacher, so I have five hundred and nine, minus our sixteen. I also have twenty-five of each, of the color sheets, uncut, in cardboard tubes. Those might sell too.”
“Let’s sign twenty five, and bag and board them. We will keep mangas one through eight and we’ll sell nine through twenty-five. We will sell them for twenty-five dollars each. The color plates we will sell for twenty five each also.” Amanda said.
“Alright, we’ll do that after pizza, let’s move this into the living room. Janice get the pizza.” Della said, after she heard the doorbell.
After pizza and carefully washing their hands, Billy passed out cotton gloves and they began their signing. Billy started the mangas out, numbering them X of twenty five and then autographing them. When they finished autographing them, he bagged and boarded the completed mangas.
“What are the cardboard things for?” Cara asked.
“They are stiff, to protect the comic from damage and are acid free, to help keep the comics from deteriorating. Serious collectors will have them graded and slabbed in plexiglass, never to be opened again.”
Amanda then passed out the numbered mangas to everyone. She gave number one to Billy.
After that, they took a few minutes, to look over their other manga .
“Wow, I am impressed. These look so much better than our copier mangas,” Sara said.
“I love the new story line. If these sell out, I think we should continue the story.”
“We intended them to be one shots, but we intentionally left the story open.” Amanda said. “If we sell most of them, do all of you want to continue? All in favor raise your hands.”
Six hands were raised, only Amanda and Billy didn’t raise their hands.
“You don’t want to continue the story Billy?” Amanda asked.
“It’s your project, go with it.”
“It’s our project, you have a say in it too,” Amanda said.
Billy then raised his hand.
“Ok, it’s unanimous. If we sell over three hundred and fifty, we will continue the manga.”
The girls then got ready for a sleepover. Janice took Billy to her room and had him undress in her bathroom. She did something she always wanted to do. Shave his armpits. She found boys’ underarm hair disgusting; this gave her the excuse to do something about Billy’s armpit hair.
While she had him naked and doing what she wanted, she trimmed his messy pubic hair a bit, nothing radical, just into a neat patch. Not a stray hair remained from there to between his legs, back to his butt. She then covered him in depilatory, from his chin down to his ankles. Billy noticed a burning sensation as the stuff worked. Janice stripped off and after the required time, she carefully washed Billy’s hair away. They then showered together.
Janice and Billy then dressed in cotton Jama shorts and spaghetti string tops, before joining the girls. With the small breast forms in place, he really looked like a young girl.
This was new to Billy, other than the costume, he had never worn any of Janice’s things before, or any girls clothing for that matter. Other than being softer and different in design, he didn’t see much difference in them.
The girls all looked closely at Billy when he and Janice returned, sneaking peeks, when his attention was diverted, from the one looking. None of the girls wanted to spook him.
When everyone was seated on the floor around the coffee table, Sara and Cara served soft drinks and chips to everyone.
“Ok, we are going to assume that we will continue this manga, so let’s get to work on it right now,” Amanda said.
They all sat around and talked about how they thought the story should go. Billy’s character, Saitou Akimitsu was going to become Janice’s character, Yoshimura Chiyoko’s, boyfriend. Chiyoko wasn’t sure if Aki was a boy or a girl, but she didn’t care. In the story, Chiyoko likes Akimitsu’s appearance so much, she goes out of her way to attract him.
Aki’s character is completely naíve and is scared of getting into a relationship, any relationship. He is always polite and cool, even when he is trembling on the inside. There are other sharks of both sexes out there, which are circling Aki. Most of these characters are confused as to what sex Aki is, but are attracted to his looks. His intent was not to confuse people; he was just oblivious to the facts.
They talked a little more and then began to firm up the details a bit, Billy helped with the dialogue, providing his insight into Aki’s character. The girls took that and included more of Aki’s thoughts into the script.
Sara and Cara did some rough sketches on the main characters, in the situations they were in. Billy was fascinated to see the girls draw, even though he knew that these were just rough sketches, they were a lot better than anything he could do.
After they quit working on the manga, the girls sat back to watch a movie on the television. The girls had all twelve episodes of Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru. It was about a boy, whose grandfather had him attend the same school his mother had gone to. The only problem was, it was a girls’ school. He was assisted by a life long friend, who just happened to be a girl. The boy falls in love with the Student Council’s President, who falls in love with the girl he pretended to be and discovers that the girl is a boy. Billy liked that the guy seemed to thrive and do well, considering his situation.
Billy found their choice interesting and he wanted to remember to ask Janice about it, when they were alone next time. They watched about six episodes, keeping up with the action on the screen, while reading subtitles, was trying at times, but Billy found that he liked the anime.
Seeing that they had to get up early the next day, they hit the sack early. Billy snuggled up with Janice; they kissed a bit, but eschewed anything more physical.
They all got up about five thirty in the morning; after each person had the opportunity to take care of any pressing matters, the girls fixed a light breakfast. Billy was told to go easy on the chow, as he would appreciate it later.
Billy was the first person that they helped get dressed. Things went as they had the last time, except that Billy understood why he had to eat less, as they zipped him up in the girdle.
“We are going to take bottles of water and some energy bars with us, Billy. I suggest you nibble and take small sips of water, to keep the number of trips to the ladies room down,” Janice said.
After he got the girdle on, Rhiannon sat him down and cleaned up a few stray hairs around his eyebrows, just about ten or fifteen from each brow. She airbrushed a light foundation on him, before she powdered his face.
“This foundation won’t sweat off or rub off. I am just evening out your skin tone. You won’t be able to tell it is there at all.”
She then rubbed in a cream, which just added a little something to his eyelids. You had to stare at his eyelids and you might be able to tell something was there, but it added depth to his eyes. Lastly, she curled and added a clear mascara to his eyebrows. The girls loved his ;eyelashes; his was as full and long, as any of the girls.
He finished dressing in his pantyhose, blouse, shorts, shoes, coat and the long, black hair wig. Rhiannon’s last touch was a pink/mauve lipstick.
Billy looked in the mirror, while the girls got ready. His appearance, while it was not totally feminine, was still hard to spot any boy, in the reflection.
Billy was called upon to help fasten the bras of the girls, which were actually wearing bras.
After the girls were all made up, Billy felt a little better. He looked positively plain next to them.
Cara and Sara then passed out nametags, which the girls put on, with their anime names on them.
They arrived at the exhibit hall about an hour before the show. The girls had given Billy a small black patent leather purse, in which they put Billy’s keys, wallet, lipstick, compact and mascara in it, to make touch ups throughout the day.
Janice had driven them to the exhibit hall for Billy’s safety. They didn’t want to get pulled over and have to explain his appearance.
Billy took one dolly with three boxes, Janice took another with two boxes, Amanda had a third dolly for the box of uncut sheets and the rest of the girls carried what they needed, to dress up their table.
Inside, they were given a table in the Shoujo/Josie section. Della and Bettie covered the table with a tablecloth; Rhiannon and Amanda setup two table easels, to show their mangas on. Janice setup a large easel to one side, to display the uncut color plates on and a numbered, bagged and boarded, manga on. She didn’t pin, tape, or adhere them to the board, but laid them down on it and wrapped the board with clear wrap. Rhiannon put up a banner that had the name of their Manga ‘The Girls Confess their Love for Aki,’ and its Shoujo classification.
There were ready about twenty minutes before the doors opened. So Janice and Billy, with a few of the other girls, wandered around for a bit. Billy saw some pretty good mangas, and some that were close in quality to theirs, but he liked theirs the best. He bought a few of the ones he liked best at this show. He didn’t realize that the ones he picked were either Josie or Shoujo. He even bought a Fujoshi, a Shoujo-ai and a Yuri, that were just about as good as their manga.
When the doors opened, Aki and Chi (Billy and Janice), with Hama and Hana (Sara and Cara), were out front. Their job was to greet the customers and try to keep them in a U at their table. Midori (Amanda) and Shizuyo (Rhiannon), were the money takers, while Yoshi (Della) and Kazuko, (Bettie) were there to help keep the table stocked.
Billy saw that quite a few mangakas and table workers, were cosplaying characters. Many were dressed as revealing, as their group was.
There was a flood of people that came in, when the doors opened. Mostly girls and a few guys headed into the Shoujo/Josie section. They mostly headed to the tables that sold their favorite mangas. A good portion of the rest, just went from table to table.
Aki and the girls greeted the first few people that came by their table to look. Some of them stopped to talk with them and had their pictures taken with Aki and the others, before they went to see the manga. A lot of the girls fawned over Aki’s group. They liked the Cosplay look they all had.
Aki was hugged by many girls, whose hands seemed to wander, and a few boys (yuck he thought), whose hands were worse. Everyone seemed excited by his appearance. Aki just grinned and kept up his polite behavior, although, a few of the guys got well placed elbows. He didn’t understand why, but they loved his androgynous looks better than some of the rest of the characters. Hama and Hana were both the customers second choice and Chi was a close third.
They could hear some customers speculating on whether Aki and Hana were boys or girls. About half were right, but Aki and Hana would neither confirm nor deny it.
For the first hour, sales were slow, but sometime in the second hour their table was crowded, as the girls and a few guys, saw the quality of their work. They became a pretty popular table to visit.
The color plates and the autographed mangas went fast. By the middle of the fourth hour, they had sold out of everything. They all stood out front then and were autographing their mangas and color plates.
After the crowds dispersed, Amanda paid everyone, the girls got their ‘Buy In’ back first, then Billy was given an extra hundred for his work, a thousand dollars was set aside for their next manga and they split the rest evenly, including Billy, who tried to turn it down. They each made about two hundred and fifty dollars.
They cleaned up their table, but there was still tables doing land office business. Aki, Chi, Hama and Hanna went to the rest room, while the others watched their things. Chi made sure that Aki had his purse.
The ladies room was a zoo, literally. Girls in many different costumes from Elves, to furries, to super-heroines, to other characters and were in all states of dress. Some were getting into, while others were getting out of costumes. They had to wait in line to get a stall. None of the girls questioned Aki’s presence, or Hana’s presence, in the restroom. In fact, it excited some of the girls, who just knew that Aki had to be a girl.
When Aki got in a stall, Chi followed him in and after dropping his shorts, unzipped his girdle and helped him pull it down. She stayed with him long enough for him to complete his business (sitting of course) and help him get dressed again. Then he stepped outside the stall. So Chi could use it.
He saw the other girls wash their hands, fix their hair and faces, so he did the same. He washed his hands, took a brush to his long hair and then powdered his face, added mascara to his lashes, like the girls had shown him and lipstick to his lips. The mascara was black, he noticed, so he was more careful in applying it. The lipstick had more red in it and was very shiny. He didn’t want too, but it would have looked strange, he figured, if he didn’t. Considering that he was in no man’s land, he did what the Romans would do. He was slow, but he got it all on right.
The other girls had been smart and had brought bags that had their normal clothes and had changed while in the restroom. This was one thing Aki knew he couldn’t do. He couldn’t go into a girls restroom as a girl and emerge from it dressed as a guy.
On the way back to the table, he said, “It was very funny, changing makeup on me.”
“It wasn’t me Aki, it had to be Shizuyo/Rhiannon,” Janice said, staying in character. “I think it looks pretty good on you though and I can certainly make it worth your while, later,” she said air kissing Aki’s cheek.
After all the girls got back from the ladies room, they took their stuff back to the van and then went back in to browse. It was a good thing that they had done some shopping early, as many of the stalls had already sold out or shut down. There were still quite a few open, which had overprinted, or lacked the quality artwork, while the rest needed a good story.
Aki saw some young teenaged girls that were about fourteen or fifteen. They had a lot of mangas left on their table. He went over to them. The girls smiled as he approached them.
“May I take a look at your manga?” He asked
“Yes please,” one girl said.
He picked one up and began to flip through the manga. The pages of the manga were all photocopied. The layout and artwork wasn’t too good, but as he read it, he found that it had a good story. He turned to call the girls over, but found that they were already around him.
“I think this is a really good story, they just need to spiff up their artwork,” Aki said.
The girls began to agree with him, as they read them.
“I love the story they have written too,” Midori/Amanda said.
“We can help you with your artwork,” Hama and Hana said, in unison, to the young girls.
Amanda then introduced their team to the girls, by their manga character and real name. The girls didn’t show any signs of distress when Billy/Aki was introduced. They just assumed Billy was Billie.
The teens then introduced themselves as Sharon Moore, Cindy Williams and Kelly Green.
“Are all of you Mangaka’s too?” Kelly Green asked.
“Yes, we are. Aki, Shizuyo and I are our writers, Chi is layouts, Hama, Hana, Kazuko and Yoshi are our artists. Aki is also our printer.”
“Can we see your manga?” Cindy asked.
“Sorry, we sold out and don’t have any more with us.”
“What is its title?”
“The Girls Confess their Love for Aki.”
The girls all winked and smiled at Aki.
“What a nice title. Are you a boy or a girl Aki?” Sharon asked, grinning mischievously.
“Yes,” Billy said.
“Aki has got to be a girl, she is too cute to be a boy,” Kelly said.
“Thank you, you girls are cute too,” Aki said.
“Do you girls live in town?” Amanda asked.
“Yes, we all go to Mark Williams Middle School.”
“That isn’t too far from where we go to school. We go to Kramer High School. Would you like to come over some time and see us work and let us help you a little?”
“We’d love too,” Sharon said.
Amanda and Sharon traded e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers.
They each bought a number of the girls’ mangas. They weren’t that expensive and they knew the girls probably needed their sells to break even.
They didn’t break even, but what with the mangas they sold to Aki and company they came pretty close. The three girls were excited that they might be able to continue their manga.
As it was getting late and they had started so early, they all decided it was time to go. Janice drove them to a nice restaurant, to eat dinner. Billy, whom everyone was still calling Aki, found it strange for a waiter to help him with his chair.
“Well, that went pretty good,” Della said.
“Yes it did, we could have probably sold a thousand mangas if we had had them. It was nice having those autographed and numbered mangas and color plates. Those things sold like hot cakes. That was what made our day guys and we owe it all to you Aki,” Amanda said.
“That was all that my teacher would let me print. We will have to go commercial to print any more than that. By the way, he said his daughter really loved our manga. He let her read it when he took it home to grade. He thought it was a little silly, but that I had done a great job on it. I won’t be getting that one back. It goes on file.”
They hit the bathroom again. Aki just fixed his face. He didn’t think the patrons would understand two girls in a stall. He needed to go, but held it till they got back to Della’s. The girls made way for him and helped him take off his shorts, pantyhose and girdle. He rushed into the bathroom and plopped down on the toilet. Billy let out a huge sigh as he relieved himself.
He came out in just his wig, blouse, jacket, tie and panties. The girls had already changed into their sleepwear. Janice undressed him above the waist and Amanda peeled the small breastforms off, before sticking on some bigger ones, a lot bigger.
“These stay on till tomorrow. Tonight you are just one of the girls,” she said.
They then handed him some big girl fancy panties (some lacy maroon boy cut panties) and a maroon babydoll nightie. He dressed in the clothes they handed him. It felt weird to him, in a good way. He loved the feel of Janice when she wore things like this for him.
They talked for a while and then played some games, but they all crashed by nine that night.
The next day the girls wanted to dally around with Billy dressed as Aki, but Della couldn’t pin down when her parents would get home, so after breakfast they helped Billy get back to being Billy. The only visible traces were his clean eyebrows and his almost hairless body.
End of Part 1
To Be Continued...
The rest of the story
Billy helps his group and Sharon's group produce their next manga. There are more costumes for him and the girls have some more good natured fun with him.
The Girls Confess their Love for Aki
by
Paula Dillon
It was two weeks before the group met again. They had seen each other in passing at school of course and Billy and Janice spent a lot of time together, but not as a group to discuss the manga.
“I E-mailed Sharon and the girls a PDF of our manga. It wasn’t two hours later that I heard from them. They really loved it,” Amanda said.
“I loved their story too. Cara and I took the liberty to draw whatthink their characters should look like,” Sara said, showing the group her portfolio.
“These pictures are great,” Billy said. “But they may be a little sexy for 13 year olds.”
“Yeah, but they are cute,” Della said. “Almost all of the Japanese mangas are that way. The characters are all rather plain or overly sexy. Even those for kids.”
The group then got down to planning their next manga. First they talked story, the three writers pitched ideas back and forth, as the artists took notes on their ideas. Amanda then began to flesh out a script on her laptop. Sara began to draw a cover in pencil and Cara began to list scenes and what she thought the characters should look like. Bettie took the scenes and began to work on the backgrounds, while Janice began to plan the frames.
They had roughed out a plan in three hours. There would be many more hours of give and take, editing, drawing and redrawing. Billy blushed a bit, at the role his character played. It wasn’t much worse than the first manga, but now he knew it was modeled after him.
Aki had five girls constantly flirting with him. Shizuyo kept whispering into Chi’s, Hana’s, Hama’s, Midori’s and Kazuko’s ears, suggesting that they confess their love to Aki.
There were a lot of scene’s of this girl, or another bending over, with the wind catching her skirt, or the girl intentionally, unintentionally exposing a bit of her panties to poor Aki, who became embarrassed and flustered by the exhibition.
Yoshi would do things like slipping a pair of panties into Aki’s locker through the air vents, writing anonymous love letters to the girls and sending flowers to Aki, all from in the background.
The worst scene, or best scene form the girls’ point of view, was in the last third of the manga. Aki had to hide, after witnessing a terrible crime. He saw a gangland murder of a public official. The girls that were after Aki, get together and decide to hide him. There were thugs everywhere looking for him, to eliminate the witness. The girls decided that the best way to hide him was in plain sight, dressed as a girl. They also decided that they could have some fun with Aki dressed this way. They weren’t malevolent about it, but they liked seeing him squirm.
Billy thought about how his situation, was a little like the manga. Although he didn’t see a murder, he really didn’t need to go into hiding, but the girls seemed to love putting him in girls’ clothes. He knew that they weren’t doing it to be mean to him, but they were having their fun with it and seemed to like seeing him squirm.
Cara’s drawing of Aki, was of a very pretty sexy girl. The manga ended with him walking past a thug looking for him. Aki was dressed as a sexy girl, in a short skirt and high heels. Aki wondered to himself, about just how long he would have to stay this way.
Billy liked the story line, even better than the first issue, but he began to picture what his next costume would look like. He was sure the girls would have him in a skirt and heels. He argued with himself about what he would do, but inside his heart, he knew that he would do whatever the girls wanted him to do. Janice was his sweet heart and the love of his life, but he really loved all of the girls.
**************
When Billy and Janice were alone later that day, he turned to her and asked, “They are going to have me in skirts next time, aren’t they?”
“They have talked about it. They think you will look good.”
“What do you think? Will you still love and respect me, if I go along with this?”
“Of course I will love you. Nothing will ever change that, Billy.”
“But is seems so weird, almost perverted.”
“It is only perverted if you make it so. I don’t care what you wear. No, I take that back, I like to see you looking nice. This will be just another way of you looking nice for me.”
“So, I should go along with them. Is that what you are saying?”
“I am saying no such thing. You will have to decide that for yourself. I will still love you either way.”
“Could we maybe … ah … try … ah … it without letting the other … ah … girls know about it?”
Janice wrapped her arms around Billy’s neck and drew him into a kiss. “I think we could arrange that, Billy.”
**************
Three days later, on a Saturday, Billy was over at Janice’s home. ,Her parents were visiting friends back in their home town.
Janice helped Billy undress. There were some things lying on the bed, from the time from before and a couple of things that were new to Billy.
“The first thing you need to put on is a gaff.”
“A what?”
“A gaff. It is made to hide things that are there,” Janice said, holding it up. “It’s good to see you’ve kept your pits and legs hairless.”
“I had to, the growing hair itches and scratches like hell.”
“I know about that,” Janice said, giggling. “It is all a male conspiracy, getting women to shave their legs and armpits the first time. They have to keep doing it thereafter, but you do love my silky smooth legs don’t you?”
“I love everything about you, babe.”
Janice got everything arranged and had Billy practice a time or two. “You need to be able to do this yourself. I can’t be going into a stall with you all the time.”
She also had him put on a pair of panties, over the gaff.
Billy wasn’t comfortable, but it was better than the girdle had been.
Next, she took a corset. “Most girls have a waist that is smaller than their hips Billy. While you don’t have a thick waist, a girl with your hips would have a real small waist. This will help. Otherwise, no girls’ clothing that fits your hips will fit your waist.”
Janice opened the front of the corset and wrapped it around Billy, before hooking it up the front. She then took the breastforms and placed them into the cups of the corset.
“Things are going to get a little tight now. If you feel like you can’t breathe, take shorter breaths and relax. You will get use to it in a few minutes.”
Janice began to work from the top to the middle and from the bottom to the middle. After the second pass, things were really tight.
“You’re doing good sweetie, two more passes this time. I am trying to work you down slowly.”
“Slowly, you mean it is going to get tighter?”
“Yes sweetie, I have only taken off about an inch, we went way smaller with the girdle. You feel different because there is a lot of the pressure on your rib cage this time. The corset will taper your figure better.”
Janice measured Billy’s waist after she finished. She had taken off two and a half inches and Billy was down to twenty-eight inches at the waist now. “Just relax for a bit. That will have to do for now. The corset will stretch a bit and I will tighten it again in about a half an hour.”
Janice attached some garter tabs to the corset and ran them through the panty and the gaff. “We are going to put big girl stockings on you, you need to run these through the panty so you can go we-we and pooh-pooh without undressing.”
The pantyhose he had worn had felt incredible, but these stockings felt so much better. She rolled the stockings up his legs and attached the garter tabs to them.
Be careful not to run these. Stockings are generally more expensive than pantyhose. She followed these up with a pair of black pumps, with about a three-inch heel.
Billy needed the help, because of the change in balance, caused by the heels and the boobs made standing difficult. He nearly fell a half dozen times, as he tried to walk in the heels. Janice then got him to not concentrate so much on his feet and to not take such a long stride.
“Don’t over think it Billy; try walking normally, keep your head up and a shorter stride. You won’t be able to see your feet beyond your breasts, without leaning forward.”
After a half hour, he was walking better, but he still needed a lot of work. Janice tightened the corset one more time and measured Billy. He was now a 36C-27-35. Janice selected a skirt and blouse for him. The blouse was a forest green, long sleeve charmeuse blouse and the skirt was a short black, tropical wool, slim skirt. The skirt was just long enough to cover the tops of the stockings.
She sat him down, covered his blouse with a towel, gave him a very dramatic daytime makeup job and crowned him with a medium length curly blonde wig.
When Billy finally saw himself in Janice’s full-length mirror, he was dumbfounded. It wasn’t that he was beautiful, but he looked very good. What startled him most was that he looked totally feminine.
“Damn, I could probably walk into the girls’ locker room at school and not be noticed.”
“Don’t even think about it Billy, but you are right. Your looks wouldn’t give you away. Your mannerisms might. So what do you think of the clothes.”
“Well, I don’t like the way the corset feels, or how unstable the heels are, and I wouldn’t want to dress this way all the time, but the way the clothes feel is so incredible.”
Janice led Billy into the living room and began teaching him how to sit in a skirt and stand wearing heels. Then she sat next to him, as he pulled out the mangas from his portfolio case. Together they began to look at the mangas.
Janice began giggling, as they went through all the mangas he bought; besides the ones he got from Sharon’s group.
“Billy, these are all Shoujo, Shoujo-ai, Josie, Yuri or Fujoshi. I can’t believe you bought a Fujoshi manga.”
“I bought them because they looked good. These were some of the best looking mangas at the show, and what do those terms mean.”
“Shoujo is for girls up to about sixteen or seventeen. They can be romance, mystery, and adventure, written in a way to appeal to girls. Shounen is for boys. Josie is written for women twenty or so. Seinen is for adult males. Yuri is for adult lesbians and can be hardcore, whereas Shoujo-ai would be for younger girls and isn’t as graphic. Yaoi is gay adult material and Shounen-ai is the same for boys. Now how do I describe Fujoshi? You know what is one of most males biggest fantasies?”
“You mean going out with this hot babe or another?”
“Close, but no banana. A lot of guys dream about being in a threesome with two hot girls or lesbians. Am I right?”
“I guess. I wouldn’t want that. I understand that most lesbians would rather be tortured, than to have to be with a male.”
“You may be right but, there is a small minority of women that get their kicks by dreaming about two guys getting together. Only for them, they might have very specific ideas that are part of that fantasy. Pretty boys, eyeglasses, butlers, waiters, servants, the type of guys who is the aggressor or on top and the type of guy who is the submissive and on the bottom can all be parts of the fantasy. That is just a small portion of their many fantasies. Let’s look at that Fujoshi you bought.”
“My costume incorporated many of those ideas. Is that what the girls think of me?”
“Yes and no. Our group has a lot of respect for both you and our relationship. They don’t want to break us up. It’s that you are so darn pretty as a boy and so polite to boot. Politeness is a big point to the fujoshi.”
Together they read the manga and looked at the artwork. The people who did the manga were really good at what they did. They were surprised at the story content and artwork. The female characters sometimes got a little goofy, when they saw males leads with people. The female main characters sometimes tried to make unlikely matches between guys.
“The females in these stories see themselves as matchmakers or voyeurs,” Billy said.
“That is just a small part of the Fujoshi. That word loosely means spoiled rotten girl, by the way.”
“I see what you mean by the stereotypical males they like. I don’t think I would like being one of their playthings, but then I wouldn’t want a lesbian couple to be my plaything either. I love you too much.”
“Sharon’s Group would be Shoujo-ai then. I still like their story and this Fujoshi isn’t really too bad. Does that make me strange?”
“Not any stranger than girls, who like shoot-em-ups. It shows that you like a good story. Girls are the same way.”
“So how do you like dressing like this?”
“For you, anytime, for the rest of the group let them beg me. Don’t tell them I said that.”
“I won’t. I kinda like this you and the way you are dressed has some advantages too,” Janice said, as she ran her hand softly up Billy’s thigh, her nails lightly stroking his stocking tops and up his skirt.
Billy almost came unglued by that sensation.
**************
The next meeting of the group took place at Billy’s home. All of the girls were there except Amanda, she was running a little late. Janice placed storyboards with a crude layout and the text for that page bellow the manga, where everyone could see it. The twins, Bettie and Della, had better copies of all the artwork, setup beneath the storyboards.
They first began hashing out the story, refining the dialogue, thoughts and other printed material. Next, they checked the artwork and scenery that would accompany each grouping of text. They made comments and made notes as they went along.
They were on page 5, when Amanda came in with Sharon, Cindy and Kelly.
“Here is where we do most of our work,” Amanda said, leading the girls in. “This is Billy’s home.”
“Billy has to be Aki. I recognize everyone else here. In FACT, I am sure Billy is Aki,” Cindy said.
Kelly and Sharon reached into their purse and each took out a dollar to hand to Cindy who was smiling.
Amanda froze and was speechless, as she realized what she had done.
“What, did you girls have a bet on Aki?” Rhiannon asked.
“Yes, after we met you guys, Cindy bet us that Aki was a guy. We said she couldn’t be. Don’t worry, we won’t tell. I just have to say that Billy is as cute as Aki.”
Cindy and Kelly began looking at the storyboards.
“Is this going to be your next manga,” Kelly asked
“Yes, we are in the early stages of development. It still needs a lot of work,” Janice said.
“It looks pretty good right now.” Cindy said. “Ooh you have a shootout and Aki is there.”
“Yes and the girls help Aki get out of there and disguise him as a girl,” Kelly said, reading ahead.
“Are you going to Cosplay as a girl at the next show?” Sharon asked Billy, giggling.
“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Billy said, “You girls can’t say anything about ‘who I am’, if we do.”
Billy was very nervous about these new girls knowing this.
“Yeah, it could really hurt our friend if you let out that he was a guy and who he really was,” Amanda said.
“We won’t say a thing, will we girls,” Cindy said, holding her fist under Sharon’s nose.
“No, we won’t,” Sharon said nervously, as she eyed Cindy’s fist.
“Ok girls, why don’t you show us your next manga,” Amanda said.
Sharon then laid out their work.
Billy looked it over and said, “Janice, scan it into my computer and let’s look it over in the living room.”
“Good Idea,” She said, “You don’t mind girls, do you?”
“No problem,” Sharon said.
Billy got his laptop and led the troupe into the living room where the big screen LCD TV was.
After the manga had been scanned, Billy began to project them on the TV. He left each page on display long enough for everyone to read it and to look at the crude artwork. Nobody said anything until they had page one back up on the screen.
“It is a pretty good story. The dialogue needs to be edited a bit. I would give the conception an A, the dialogue and text a B and the artwork is a C+,” Billy said. “Who are your artists?” Billy asked.
Cindy and Kelly held their hands up.
“You girls need to get with our artists, while Amanda, Rhiannon and I talk to you, Sharon,” Billy said.
Janice, Sara, Cara, Della and Bettie took Cindy and Kelly into the kitchen. Bettie and Della worked with Kelly on scenery, as Cindy and the rest began to work on drawing characters and layouts.
Billy and the rest began to talk to Sharon about her story and what could be done to make it better.
They worked together for about two hours before Billy called it quits. He took all their work, scanned it and created pdf and doc files of the girls work. They sat around for a few minutes and talked.
“I hope our next manga does well. We sold enough that my Dad will let us make one more effort,” Sharon said.
“Maybe with a little work, you might have a hit,” Billy said.
“We hope so, although it isn’t about the money. It is about the fun we have telling a story.”
Everyone got hugs as they prepared to leave. Sharon took a little more liberty and planted a kiss on Billy’s lips.
“Sharon, that is the last kiss you will give Billy on the lips,” Janice said sternly. “He is almost three years older and besides, he is my boyfriend. If you want our help, that is one of my rules.”
“Sorry Janice, I won’t kiss him anymore. I just had an itch that needed scratching.”
“Just don’t go scratching it with my boyfriend, okay.”
“I won’t.”
**************
The two groups worked together three more times this quarter. Sharon, Cindy and Kelly were quick learners and their new manga showed a lot of improvement. Even the manga Billy’s group was putting out showed much improvement over their first.
Aki was given a completely new name after Billy said, “Aki will need a completely new name, won’t he? I mean if the girls call him Aki and they are known to hang around the boy Aki, the bad guys might put 2 and 2 together.”
“Good point Billy, We hadn’t thought about that yet.”
The girls put their heads together and checked Japanese baby names and surnames lists. It was decided that Chi would rename Aki, Kajiwara Fujiko. Billy helped edit the dialogue on one of the last few pages to reflect the new name.
Billy sat with his group in his kitchen and talked about the next show that was coming up in a little over a month. They had a list of things to discuss this day and checked them off one by one, till they got toward the end of the list.
It was decided that Billy would go to the local print shop his teacher had recommended, and get a price. They knew the cost of production would be higher, but decided not to increase the price from four dollars.
Billy would also negotiate with the printer, for a shorter run of Sharon’s group.
They were finally at the last item. Billy knew what that item was going to be, but the girls were awfully nervous to bring it up. They just fidgeted in their seats.
“Okay girls, I already know what the last item on your list is, Costumes. Go ahead and show me the picture of the costume you girls want me to wear.”
He already had an inkling as to which costume from the manga they would select, but not even Janice had given him a clue. Sara opened her portfolio and took out a large sheet and set it on an easel. It was just as he thought and worse. The larger drawings showed front and back and had more detail than could be put on a 6 5/8” by 10 1/4” inch page. There were also notes on fabrics, detailing, underwear, shoes and accessories.
The dress was a short, deep blue, velvet dress, with a white lace bib. It had long sleeves, which were poofed at the shoulder, and fitted at the mid bicep to the wrist. The skirt flared out to the sides and was supported by petticoats. Billy was glad at least it didn’t stand out as much as a tutu, but there was a lot of lace and ruffles visible beneath the skirt. It also had a high fitted neck, with a ribbon bow and a cameo. The bodice was fitted to the waist and had a tie in the back. The skirt would only be three, maybe four inches below the crotch, well above the white lace stocking tops. The last feature of the costume were the heels, they were matching blue pumps with three inch heels, according to the notes.
The underwear included a below the bust corset, according to the notes, to get his waist down to twenty five inches, a 36 C bra, a gaff, a padded brief for hips, white lace patterned stay-up stockings and a white satin and lace pettie-pants, which had blue ribbons laced around the legs. He would be well hidden.
The picture also showed the elaborate makeup, blonde hair, instead of black, and a very curly hairstyle, that went along with the outfit. He thought the drawing looked a lot like the actress Amanda Seyfried. The overall picture was very beautiful and Billy had no doubt the girls could pull it off as pictured. He just didn’t know if he should let them.
His first costume had been feminine enough, but still left doubts as to the wearer’s gender. This costume was made to look very girly and meant to leave no doubts. A boy wearing this outfit and looking like the picture, could hide in the middle of a room full of skinheads and survive, if he could keep from being sexually assaulted.
He wanted to say no, the girls had gone out of their way to make it look provocative, but at the same time he realized that he could definitely hide from bad guys dressed like this.
“Would a girl actually wear something like this?”
“Some would, not for everyday wear, but without a doubt at a Cosplay event,” Amanda said.
“You guys really out did yourselves this time.”
“It is a bit extreme, but we like it. We do have a second, less girly, option if you reject this one, but this is our preferred choice.”
“I really want to say no, but I know this is your best drawn costume in the manga, Sara. But…”
It was Billy’s turn to fidget, but the girls knew that they had probably won.
“As long as it doesn’t get worse than this, I guess I will have to say, ok. That is as long as I can pull it off and I don’t look like a clown. Also, I want a normal outfit to change into after the show.”
“Good, we’ve already given Janice both costumes and everything else that is needed. You two can try them on at your convenience this time, or we can help you. We would like to see how you look though, before the show.”
“Can’t do it today, my parents will be home soon and I really don’t want them to see me in this getup, how is Saturday.”
“Saturday is great, at my house,” Amanda said. “My parents won’t get home till after six. Mom has about five estate sales to go to.”
“Okay then, Saturday at nine, at Amanda’s house. Oh and no Sharon and company.”
“Understood,” “You’re right about that,” “Sure, no problem,” The girls said.
**************
Thursday, after school, Billy drove over to the print shop and talked to Samuel Dresden, the manager. He handed the man a flash drive with all the work ready and a .doc file outlining the order. Together they went over everything. Billy, on his own, decided to also print 500 of the first manga and carried the plates with him.
“Gee, you made my job easy,” Sam said, seeing all the layout work had been done. “All I got to do is shoot the plates, print and finish the job.”
“Mr. Briggs taught me well. I printed the first manga we did myself, at school.”
“I know, John already talked to me and showed me your work. It’s a little strange for my taste, but you did a good job. If you need a job after you turn eighteen, talk to me. I can use a good hand. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) says I can’t have anyone younger than that, working in the back.”
“Minimum run for something like this is two thousand for the manga and I will throw in at least fifty uncut color plates. If I get your big order, I will do the two short orders and include at least fifty uncut color plates for each of the short runs.”
Sam turned his calculator on and started crunching numbers and mumbled to himself a bit, before crunching numbers again.
“As long as you don’t disclose to any parties not involved in the two mangas what I charged you. I will do the job for $1.50 each for the long run and $1.70 each for the short runs. That will be $3000, for the long run and $850 each, for the short runs. I retain the plates.”
“What are your terms?”
“I am giving you a break kid. I want to see if you are as good as your word, as John says you are. Half up front, the balance in thirty days, no discount. Normally on first orders, it would be cash on delivery.”
“I am as good as my word, Mr. Dresden. We will need them before the end of the month. I will bring you a cashier’s check tomorrow for twenty three hundred and fifty dollars.” Billy would have to dip into his college fund, but he knew he would get his money back.
“Call me Sam, kid.”
“Then call me Billy.”
Sam drew up the agreement and gave it to Billy.
**************
Billy had both groups of girls over at his place that night and laid out the costs. Sharon, Cindy and Kelly were shocked to see they would owe eight hundred and fifty dollars. Sharon had four hundred that her father gave her.
“I will make up the other twenty five and you will owe me four fifty when you sell your mangas. I really think you will sell them all and make seven fifty above costs. At three dollars, you only need to sell two hundred and eighty four mangas to break even. The last two hundred and sixteen are your profit. Also, your color plates are icing on the cake. You can sell them for ten to twenty five a page, like we did. We made a killing on the color plates.”
“Color plates?” Cindy asked.
Billy took out a color plate of their first manga, to show the girls.
“These sold for twenty five dollars?” Sharon asked.
“Yes ma’am. Collectors like these kind of things, Sharon. Start yours at twenty or twenty-five and drop the price if necessary. You will get them for free, basically, and any sales of them will help you.”
“I will have to talk to my dad. I can’t make this kind of decision.”
Sharon called her Dad at home. He asked to speak to Billy, as Sharon was confusing the hell out of him. Billy concisely and clearly laid out the deal. Mr. Moore asked him one question, “Do you think the girls will break even?”
“Oh, I have no doubt the girls will more than break even. I believe they will sell out and make at least seven hundred and fifty dollars. They have a great manga.”
“I believe you. I know you guys did a lot to help the girls. I have seen their manga. If they sell out, I want them to pay you a hundred dollars for all of your work. Let me talk to my daughter.”
Billy handed the phone back to Sharon. All everybody heard her say was yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, and thank you Daddy.
**************
Saturday, Billy and Janice arrived at the Fullers’ home at nine. Amanda and her parents were in the kitchen having breakfast. Amanda got the door and let them in.
“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Fuller,” Billy said, as they came into the kitchen.
“Morning Billy, morning Janice,” Jackie Fuller, Amanda’s mom said. “Are you here to work on the manga today?”
“Yes, we are here to talk over the details of the next show. What are you two up to today?”
“We got to run,” Jackie said, as she got her purse and husband ready to go. “We are headed out to some estate sales, hunting for antiques for my antique shop.”
The rest of the girls arrived, as the Fullers were headed out the door. As soon as Amanda’s parents left, the girls got to work on Billy. Billy had kept his legs and armpits hairless, with a little encouragement from Janice.
“We have some new things this time, Billy. Lay down on the table without your briefs,” Amanda said. “We have some silicone pads for your derriere and hips.”
The girls carefully placed and adhered the pads to Billy’s backside. After they had a chance to set, they had him put on his gaff and the white lace pettie-pants.
“You don’t have to wear that padded panty brief, with those pads on. You should be a lot more comfortable like this.”
“You guys had this planned since before we printed our first manga, didn’t you.”
“Sort of. We had our story planned. Then we researched how to do a transformation. There are a lot of transgendered sights, which had tons of information on them. We just needed to know how a guy would react to everything.” Amanda said, as she tightened the corset around Billy’s waist. “You know, we all really care for you.”
This corset was different, it was a below the bust model and Billy needed a bra to go with it. They helped him into beautifully embroidered balconette bra.
“I know. It’s the only reason you got this far with me. Well, except for Janice. I would have done it for her anyway.”
Janice smiled at her friends, “Told you so.”
“We have been dressed as girls all our lives, we can only imagine how you would react, or feel, but we wouldn’t be sure. We weren’t going to tell you, till after the show. Would you tell us everything you feel that is important to you, dressed as a girl?” Amanda asked.
Rhiannon helped Billy with the voluminous clouds of white petticoats that would make the skirt flare out wide.
Billy found the garment interesting. He swiveled his hips back and forth, just to watch the petticoats move.
“I was scared silly the first time you dressed me as Aki, but I knew how important the manga was to you girls, so I agreed to do it. Where possible, I try to keep all my promises. Everything fascinated, thrilled and scared the putty out of me. I was afraid that you guys would think less about me, for doing it. Like I was a pansy or a sissy. I hate those two words.”
“We could never say that about you, Billy,” Della said. “We think you are pretty brave to do this.”
“Brave? Me? You’re kidding!”
“No, they aren’t kidding, Billy,” Janice said. “There are many guys that tell everyone how brave they are. How many of them would do this, to help their girlfriends be successful.”
“The biggest fright I had though was going into the ladies room. I was afraid that some girl would start shouting that there was a guy in the ladies restroom and that I would be arrested. It helped a little that I was with you guys, in there.”
“Really?” Bettie asked.
“Yeah, I don’t know if I would have made it in there without you, at least till I would have almost pissed on myself. The girls rest room is like no mans land. I was glad you guys had me go light on my fluids.”
Billy had to sit, as the girls rolled the white lace patterned, stay up stockings up his legs and put his shoes on his feet. The shoes were three-inch pumps, with a T strap.
“I have to admit that it has been fun. It’s like we have a grown up Barbie Doll,” Rhiannon admitted. “Don’t hate me for this, but I have always wanted to dress a boy up in girl’s clothes.”
“I always knew you were a little twisted Rhiannon, but I don’t hate you,” Billy said giggling.
Janice then showed him the dress. The picture Sara had drawn didn’t do the dress justice. It was a blue velvet dress, with a white velvet bib that had gold ric-rack and lace around the edges. The sleeves were poofed at the shoulder and fitted to the gold embroidered wrists and tipped with white lace. At the hem, there was gold embroidering and lace full circle around the hem.
“Della, did you make this dress?”
“Yes, I did. I made all our costumes.”
“This is wonderful. You should become a dress designer.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere. I may have to kidnap you and ravish your lovely body.”
“Over his dead body,” Janice said.
She helped him with his dress. It zipped up and had a little room to spare. The girls had been pretty over zealous, much to Billy’s dismay, in tightening up the corset.
Billy then was led to the vanity. It took him a bit to figure out what to do about the skirt as he sat. Finally he just on the edge of the chair on his pettie pants and let the skirt and pettie coats just form a circle around him. The girls had to giggle as he sat.
Rhiannon wrapped him in a makeup cape and began her magic on his face. She used a lot more makeup than she had the time before.
“I am going to try to change your appearance more this time, remember, Aki is going into hiding and this is his disguise. We need to see how completely we can hide Billy.”
It took Rhiannon about an hour of work, doing one thing and then changing her mind and trying another, before she was satisfied. She had shaped the brow, just using makeup, added false eyelashes, used blush, to make his cheeks appear higher. She did some kind of trick to give him an oriental fold to his eyelids. Then she used a lip plumper, lip liner, lipstick and a frosty gloss on top. To Billy’s fingers, she added some press on nails, which were already painted red. The last thing she did was to add a beauty spot to his left cheek. She was surprised by just how much that one spot did to alter his appearance.
Sara then crowned him with a curly blonde wig, which came to between his shoulders. She messed with it a bit, till she had it in place and the curls hung naturally.
When she finished, the girls inspected Billy.
“He still has a family resemblance, like a distant cousin.” Janice said.
“We could give him an airbrush tan, to make his complexion a little darker. That could hide him a little more.” Rhiannon added.
“Well, can I see what I look like now?” Billy asked, a little impatiently.
“Oh sure, let us fiddle with your appearance a bit first.”
They had Billy stand, as they fussed a bit with his dress and his hair.
They helped him walk to the full-length mirror, not suspecting that he didn’t need the help.
As he looked at himself, he was amazed. He might not win a beauty contest, but then again, he might. He looked better than a lot of girls he knew.
“Oh my gosh, girls, you have outdone yourselves. I look better than some girls I know, present company excepted of course.”
“You look better than a lot of girls, Billy,” Amanda said. “And as good as we can look.”
“We just brought out what was there. Just think, no amount of clothing or makeup, could make Arnold Schwarzenegger look like a girl. It wasn’t that hard to make you look good,” Rhiannon said.
“So you don’t think I can be manly.”
“She didn’t say that, Billy. You are very manly, when you want to be,” Janice said. “It’s just that you can be made to be very feminine too. To some, it might be seen as a bad trait, but we don’t think so.”
“I think this dress is simply beautiful, I also think it is shorter than I expected.”
“It maybe shorter than you expected, but it is longer than in the picture, Billy,” Janice said. “I made them add another inch and a half. What makes it seem shorter is the way the petticoats make it stand out. Those are some really nice petticoats. It also doesn’t stand out as much as the picture.”
“You can see the ruffles of the petticoat and the legs of the panty.”
“You are supposed to be able to see those. That is part of what makes this dress so cute and sexy,” Amanda said.
“I think this is way beyond pretty. I would love to see Janice wear this dress.”
“I would have to wear a corset to fit that dress, Billy.”
“And your point is?”
“Alright, I will wear it for you.”
“I can’t believe what you did to may face, Rhiannon. I don’t look anything like me.”
“Walk around for us,” Sara asked.
The petticoats had a sensual rustle, as Billy began to walk around. It became obvious that he had been practicing in high heels, as he looked as comfortable as any girl in heels. He smiled as he shook his hips to generate noise and friction.
“How am I doing girls?” Billy asked.
“Remarkably well, Billy. You have been practicing in heels haven’t you?”
“Yes, I figured that this would be the next step and Janice confirmed it for me. So, I dressed at her place and practiced acting like a girl for her.”
“What else did you two do?” Rhiannon asked, with a sneer.
“A girl doesn’t kiss and tell.”
“She does to her girl friends.”
“You will have to ask Janice, then.”
Janice smiled like a Cheshire cat, “I’ll never tell, but don’t you dare get rid of these clothes, Billy. Rhiannon, maybe you can teach Billy to do his own makeup.”
That broke up all the girls and turned Billy a deep crimson from embarrassment.
“We have two more outfits for you to try on, Billy,” Della said.
Janice helped Billy get out of the dress and Della undid the drawstring on the petticoats. He stepped out of the petticoats and into a short, pleated, school skirt, which Cara held out. Sara helped Billy into a blouse that Amanda buttoned, Bettie tied a ribbon around the collar and Janice helped Billy into a jacket. This outfit was a classic girls sailor, school uniform.
The jacket was white with a lot of navy piping. The flaps of the jacket came down to points in front and curved around the back, on top of the hips. The skirt was a dark blue plaid, short, pleated skirt, came down a little lower than the blue dress, and a white, ruffled, school blouse completed the outfit.
Billy found this skirt easier to live with, than the blue dress. Rhiannon did her touch ups to complete the look.
Billy found a pretty schoolgirl staring back at him in the mirror. He smiled, but inside he shook, worrying about what was happening to him. He liked being a boy, but he liked looking like this for the girls.
“This is an everyday girls school uniform, Billy. They are popular in Japanese schools and at many private US girls schools,” Amanda said.
“Yeah, I know, I’ve watched Innuyasha, and a lot of other animes. All schoolgirls wear them some form of the sailor uniform in animes. The idea is to promote unity and conformity at schools and to eliminate factions and social differences between students.”
“Very good grasshopper,” Janice said.
“The blue dress was gorgeous, but this costume is pretty and cute.”
“The last outfit is a deep pink, short skirted suit, with a white, ruffled blouse. This is for after the show. You said you wanted something normal to wear home,” Della said.
The outfit was sexy, but conservative in appearance. It screamed girly girl, but Billy liked it. He couldn’t believe how nice his legs looked in that skirt.
“This is something a girl would wear to church, or to a function, or work isn’t it?”
“Yes, sort of, maybe with a little longer skirt, for church or business, but it is good for some functions. It looks very good on you.”
As he took these clothes off, they changed him into a skirt and blouse more inline with what they were wearing.
“Billy, we want you to go to the mall with us. We won’t desert you or pull any tricks on you, but we want you to go into the stores and try on different clothing. It is something a girl would do, and most guys wouldn’t. We want you to tell us what you felt like, afterwards,” Amanda said.
“Ok, what time will your parents be back home?”
“They won’t be home till six or seven. One of the auctions they are going to is in Houston. In fact they may stay the night there, for the second day of the auction, if they like what they see.”
“Lay on MacDuff, and damn’d be he that first cries ‘Hold, enough!’,” Billy said.
“Just like Aki’s name change, we can’t go on calling you Billy, when you are dressed like this,” Janice said. “Have you considered a girls name when you are dressed?”
“I figured this was coming too, Evelyn Jackson.”
“Ok, Evelyn Jackson it is,” Amanda said.
“We have a purse for you. You can put your wallet in it.”
**************
Janice drove Billy’s van, so they could all fit in one vehicle, while Amanda rode shotgun. Billy/Evelyn, sat in the first row of Captains chairs. They talked about where they were going.
“There is a nice mall on the far side of town. Nobody there will know any of us. So you should feel somewhat safe Evelyn,” Debbie said. “Also, I think that you being with us will provide you with some camouflage.”
“I know what you say is true, and I imagine being with a troop of girls won’t hurt either, but there is still a certain level of anxiety, at least till I am comfortable in my role. I was very nervous at the show, till I got too busy to worry. I imagine that Aki would feel the same way.”
“How about when you dressed for Janice?”
“I was nervous then too, even though the probability of discovery was small. I guess I worried about why I was doing it. Did it make me some kind of perv? Was I going to be discovered by her parents or mine? Was Janice going to hate me, because I let her do this to me? Am I ruining my life? Those kind of feelings are what hit me.”
“One question came to me while I was thinking about all of this.”
“What was that?” Janice asked.
“How long is Aki going to be in hiding, a week, a month, or half a year to a year?”
The girls looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Amanda then said, “We hadn’t thought about that yet. It is more likely half a year or longer. You know the mob have long memories, and even if the ones he saw are no longer in the picture, they might certainly still come after Aki for revenge.”
“Well, I can see one problem that I have thought of then. The longer that Aki plays a girl, the greater the likely hood that he will remain a girl, especially if he becomes comfortable in his role and begins to like being Fujiko, or at least enjoys the way he is dressed.”
“We hadn’t thought about that, Billy. Is that going to be a problem with you?” Bettie asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I like being with Janice too much.”
“You could become a lesbian,” Rhiannon inserted.
“I don’t think so,” Janice said. “Although I like Evelyn a whole bunch, I like what makes Billy a boy more.”
“She loves his dick, Rhiannon,” Cara said.
“You mean you would leave him if he became a girl, Janice?” Sara said giggling.”
“No, I wouldn’t leave him, just like Cara wouldn’t leave you, if you became a girl,” Janice said.
“Low blow, girls. Keep it above the belt,” Amanda said, refereeing.
**************
Billy/Evelyn closed her eyes as Janice hit the parking lot. She had the heart of a Samurai, when it came to finding a good parking spot. It was the only flaw Janice’s driving had. The Van had a nice custom airbrush paint job on it and Billy/Evelyn just prayed that it would remain pristine.
Janice found a spot facing the wrong way. She blocked the drive and backed into the parking space, causing a woman to honk her horn and swear like a sailor.
Billy/Evelyn just mimicked the other girls, as they headed to the entrance of the mall. All eight of them were good lookers and caught the eyes of those around them. The girls took Billy’s words to heart and did everything they could to keep him from thinking about his situation.
Billy’s/Evelyn’s voice, while deeper than most girls, didn’t out him. He had a rather androgynous voice and having spent so much time around his friends, he even talked in the vocabulary the girls commonly used around him.
Inside the mall, the girls did a short round of just window-shopping. Looking at the displays and commenting on what they liked. They went about halfway down one wing and then cut back across the wide courtyard to the other side and into one shop.
Billy/Evelyn was talking with Sara about something and didn’t notice that they were in Victoria’s Secret. Janice soon had him going through the racks and displays of panties and bras. Billy was hesitant for a couple of seconds, but seeing the other girls, he thought it would look out of place if he didn’t act like them.
He was amazed at all of the styles, colors and materials ladies underwear could use. Girls were certainly lucky there, he thought. Some of the things here were plain. He knew Janice wore a T-shirt bra under her T-shirts, those were almost all plain white and no adornments that would spoil the smooth look. He liked the way the bra he was wearing was embroidered. He liked it when Janice wore pretty frilly things. He didn’t care too much for the cheap slutty stuff he had seen in some lingerie catalogues, but he liked the sexy sophisticated look, that Janice also favored.
Janice had him go through several catalogues with her, pointing out the things he liked and the things that turned him off. She also took the time to show him what her favorite things were. She was surprised that they were so alike. This happened many months before the manga project came up.
He found a bra he really liked and held it up.
“Oh that is so pretty,” Sara said. “Hey Cara, come look at this.”
“That is one of the new lines of bras they came out with this season,” a sales lady stated.
Soon all the girls were looking through the various colors the bra came in.
“What we need for our group is a uniform. We would all wear the same clothes from the skin out,” Della said.
“That is a great idea, Della,” Janice said. “Evelyn, since you are new to our group, we will let you pick out the color for the underwear.”
“I don’t know I like this bra, what color would you call it.”
“That is a fuchsia pink,” the sales lady said. “That is one of our more popular colors, besides white, black and red.”
The girls each selected a bra in their size and headed to the dressing room. Evelyn had remembered what size Janice had told her she was and selected a bra. She was herded into the dressing room by her friends. Janice helped Evelyn with her bra, adjusting the straps. Janice then had Evelyn adjust the straps for her bra.
“New bras need to have their straps adjusted to be comfortable and to provide support, Evelyn. When most bras come off the hanger they are generally too short for most women.”
The girls came out of their changing rooms and showed off to each other. They all came to a consensus that they liked these bras. Even Della, with her small frame and massive chest, liked the feel and support the bra provided. The sales clerk, who had come into the changing room, also pointed out that they had a matching panty, garter belt and stockings for that bra. Each of them bought a set of lingerie.
They all tried on other things, and some of girls made other purchases, before they headed out of the store.
“Well, now we need to find a dress or skirt, which goes with our new lingerie,” Amanda said.
Evelyn found out this was easier said than done. They had to go to four stores and try on dozens of outfits, before they found enough of the same dress, for the eight of them. The dresses they bought were long sleeve chiffon dresses in a color that complimented their hosiery. They also bought heels that were a close match.
After they got everything they would need for their outfit, they headed back to the van.
“Girls, I have a question. When am I going to wear these things? I spent nearly three hundred dollars on these clothes. I don’t mind it, because I have enjoyed spending time with all of you, but really, I don’t see me doing this that much.”
“You could wear the panties, garter belt and stockings when we get together, but yeah I see what you mean. It was so easy to forget about you,” Rhiannon said.
“We could take your things back, if you want,” Sara said.
“No, I don’t think so, I’ll keep them as a it will be a memento to our time together, and maybe there will be a time we can all dress up.”
“We could wear our outfits away from the show,” Janice said.
They headed back to Amanda’s, to change Evelyn back to Billy, in case her parents came home early.
“Well, how did you enjoy a day shopping with us Evelyn,” Janice asked.
“I liked it a lot; you girls are so different when there are no guys with you.”
“You are right. Girls tend to relax more in the absence of males and in a pack they can be crazier too. How did you feel out in public?” Bettie asked.
“I was nervous at first, but you didn’t give me much time to think about what we were doing. I enjoyed it so much, that I forgot to be afraid. That could be a key for Aki in the manga, when out in the public, keep him distracted from his fears, by doing things with him and giving him an overdose of femininity.”
“We could also bribe him like Janice bribes you,” Rhiannon said.
“This isn’t an adult porn story, girls,” Evelyn said.
“In manga, that would be Ecchi, unless it is hard core, then it would be Hentai. No, but we could allude to things. Like when Janice says she is going to take care of your problems,” Amanda said. “As long as we aren’t too graphic in art, or description, we should be ok. I would like a little more sexiness in our story.”
“That might be out of character for Aki, at this point,” Janice said.
“I think you are right, the girls might try those things, but they might push Fujiko/Aki away,” Evelyn said. “They need to keep him comfortable, till he begins to accept his role and the girls’ assistance.”
“Then they shouldn’t try to seduce him, but treat him like any other girl,” Rhiannon said.
“You girls hug and kiss cheeks all the time. You might get him used to something like that, before they try anything else. Fujiko/Aki has been a bit of an actor all his life. He just has a case of stage fright when it comes to girls.”
All of the girls looked at Evelyn as she said that. You could hear the gears meshing in their minds.
“Is Aki gay, lesbian, straight, bi-sexual or transgendered?” Janice asked.
“He could be any one of those things. He might not know… more than likely he really doesn’t know. He needs to get comfortable enough with himself to drop the roles he has been hiding behind and to get to his core self they reluctantly turned Evelyn back into Billy. The girls loved Billy, but they really liked Evelyn, she was so much like them.
**************
The Friday the week before the show, both groups met at Billy’s home. Billy showed Sharon’s group their manga first.
“Sharon, Cindy and Kelly, this is your manga.”
The girls handled them almost reverently.
“Wow, they look so good. It was one thing seeing it on your computer Billy, but to actually hold one in our hands is outstanding,” Sharon said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I want to thank all of you so much,” she cried.
Janice handed the girl a tissue to dry her eyes.
The three girls each hugged Billy and the girls.
“How about you girls number and autograph say fifty of them and sell them for about ten dollars each,” Amanda said. Billy will then slab and bag them.”
“Ok,” the three girls said.
Billy passed out cotton gloves and numbered the first fifty manga, X of 50. “Sign with the character in the manga you most Identify with.”
Cindy chose to sign with the name Tina Brant. Kelly chose to sign as Kathy Prentice and Sharon signed as William Carter.
In their manga, Tina and William were both after the affections of Kathy. Kathy for her part couldn’t decide between the two of them, in her heart she wanted to be with both of them.
Cindy gave a signed manga to each of Billy’s group.
“Are you girls going to Cosplay as these characters?” Della asked.
“We hadn’t planned on it.”
“Do it if you can. It should help your sales greatly and you will have more fun, I think. Sharon can you get a hold of some boys clothes your size?”
“I have a little brother, who is a year and a half younger, but he is about my size.”
Della looked at the pictures in the manga. “Does he have any nice clothes like these?” She said pointing at one of the pictures of William.
“Oh, yes. William was actually styled after my brother. One good thing about the brat is that he ain’t a slob. In fact he spends more time in front of the bathroom mirror preening, than I do.”
Della began to think. You could almost see the steam pouring out of her ears.
“Cindy, Kelly do you have anything that could look like sailor school uniforms.”
“I do, I went to a catholic school,” Cindy said.
“I have a nice skirt and jacket, which is somewhat like what you are thinking about. I think.”
Kelly then described the clothes to Della.
“That is good enough. I can make some bits that won’t hurt your clothes but will make them look like a school uniform.”
She then went on to describe what she was thinking.
“I see Kathy as a shy, age appropriate, sexy girl, she is almost too cute for her own good, naive, scholastic type girl, who is prettier than she gives herself credit for. William is a suave, handsome and articulate. Tina is atheletic, gregarious and outgoing.
“Wow, you outlined all our characters in just a few sentences,” Sharon said.
“You have the hardest role Sharon. Pick up a three-inch wide Ace bandage this week to strap down your breasts. I will help you with that task.”
“And bring your makeup,” Rhiannon added.
“Makeup on a boy?” Sharon asked.
Rhiannon just smiled.
They then discussed what the girls needed to do to pull this off.
After a short while, Billy then gave Sharon’s group a copy of their first manga, second printing.
“This is the first manga that we sold out of. I had five hundred more printed. We have already autographed them for you.”
“Thank you,” each of the girls said, as they were handed a copy.
“Now for the big moment. I am the only one who has seen the completed new manga. I have bagged, boarded and numbered fifty copies.”
Billy and his group then began a production line. Each of them autographed one of their pictures in the mangas, in their character name. Billy signed his as Fujiko/Aki on the first drawing of Fujiko in the blue dress.
Billy and his group took the same number manga that they had before and presented Sharon, Cindy and Kelly with numbers nine, ten and eleven.
They all took a bit of time to look over their mangas. They had all seen the mock-ups on the story boards and on the computer, but actually holding something in their hands that they had actually worked on, felt good to them.
“Billy you have done a wonderful job on these manga, both ours and Sharon’s group looks so good,” Amanda said.
“Yeah Billy, I… no we cannot say enough. Thank you so very much,” Sharon said, a sentiment that was echoed by all the girls.
Billy blushed a bit, “You girls did all the hard work. I just helped with your stories and set up the print jobs.”
“Don’t discount what you did, Billy,” Janice said. “Without you we would have had no clue about how to produce printed mangas. I am sure the cost would have been prohibitive without you doing the extra work for the printer. We would still be doing photocopy mangas without you.”
“If you want Sharon, I will bring your manga to the show,” Billy offered.
“Ok, just leave us three color plates and we will see you at the show,” she said, winking at Billy.
“Be good,” Janice said.
“Don’t worry, I promise not to do anything with Billy that would hurt you guys.”
**************
The night before the show, they all met at Rhiannon’s home. She had talked her parents into spending the weekend together away from home. She was a good kid, so their parents agreed and drove to Corpus Christi for a four-day weekend.
As soon as Billy got to her home, he and Janice were rushed into the bathroom and Evelyn made her appearance. She came out of the bathroom dress in a short sleeved, white, cotton blouse, camisole, bra, panties, diamond patterned, off black, stay up stockings, navy mini skirt, that didn’t cover the stocking tops and navy tassel flats. He also wore the corset, only moderately tightened so that they could more easily get his waist down for tomorrow.
Billy had done his own makeup, under Janice’s tutelage. He had done a very simple job that almost every girl does on a daily basis, except for the wig and false eyelashes, which Janice helped him with. They weren’t too radical, but his lashes were just too thin and short for most women.
“Let’s go out to eat,” Amanda said. “It will give Evelyn more practice at being a girl.”
“Ok, I guess,” Evelyn said. She was nervous, but not as much as when she first played Aki.
The girls had to take two cars because Billy’s van was full of mangas manga. They fooled around and joked between themselves at a local diner. Evelyn fit right in with the other girls. They talked about the show and what they hoped for their manga.
After diner they went to a theater that was having an anime weekend. They got to see three shows for the price of one. They watched Americanized versions of Princess Mononoko, Initial D and Love Hina.
**************
The girl’s were up at about five the next morning. Evelyn dressed in a robe, after a bath, before she was allowed to have a small breakfast. After they all had something to eat things began to get serious around the house.
Rhiannon got out her airbrush air brush and gave Evelyn a rich golden tan from head to toe. “This will wash off completely after a good long soak in the warm tub, using a good body wash, in case you are wondering, Evelyn. I think this will complete your disguise. I think you will look pretty good and completely natural.”
When Rhiannon finished, Evelyn looked like she had lived in Southern California all her life. After the spray tan had a chance to dry, Evelyn dressed in her bra, gaff, pettie-pants and corset. Rhiannon then did Evelyn’s makeup in a dramatic daytime look, including the Oriental fold of the eyelids and crowned her with a curly blonde wig, using spirit gum at the scalp line and bobby bins to hold it down.
Evelyn’s corset was tightened to twenty-four inches. She had had Janice’s help wearing a corset several times a week, for several hours. She wasn’t as uncomfortable as the first time she was tightened into a corset and she could still engage in moderate activity, she found. She just couldn’t run very far in one, not that she tried.
Evelyn sat straight in a chair, brought her knee to her chest and one leg at a time drew her stockings on. She then was assisted into the rest of her getup. They let her wear her flats and put her heels in her purse, so she could let her feet rest at times throughout the day.
The rest of the girls dressed in costumes that were more like what Evelyn wore, except they didn’t wear the voluminous petticoats. They wore standard girly anime clothing. Short skirts and pretty frilly blouses, with lots of ribbons and lace, was the standard fare, except for Midori/Amanda and Hana/Cara.
The costume Midori wore wasn’t as dowdy as her first outfit. In fact, she was very pretty but conservative. She wore a plain white blouse, ribbon tie, a fitted black Jacket, knee length black skirt that hit just below the knee, with lace at the hem, Mary Jane shoes, with an inch and a half heel and her horn rim glasses. Her hair was up in a bun of course and a plain looking makeup job. She was positively scandalous and loved it, for a librarian.
Hana wore a blouse, rear zip black leather pants, black leather vest, bolo tie and heels with her hair slicked back. Hana didn’t strap her boobs down, but wore a minimizer bra with the tight vest. Her boobs were just a little more prominent than before. She had rolled up socks as padding in the front of her panties, for a more ambiguous appearance and heels with trouser socks that really muddied the issue. She wore makeup to hide the natural feminine qualities of her face and gave her a slight 5’o clock shadow.
Hama and Rhiannon took their cars, while Janice and Evelyn took the van. They headed over to Cindy’s house, where their group had a sleep over.
Rhiannon and Della went to the girls’ room to help them get ready, while the rest talked with Dorothy and David Williams.
“We can’t thank you enough for helping the girls with their manga,” Dorothy said. “The girls’ grades have improved, because they study harder and they have been acting more like humans lately.”
“I think they are afraid that we will pull the plug on the manga if they didn’t change their ways,” David said. “Where is this Billy they keep talking about?”
“He couldn’t make it this time. I think he went with his parents to visit a college,” Amanda said.
“Well it is good that he is looking forward, with his education. You must thank him for us,”
Dorothy then gave Evelyn a closer than cursory inspection, “What a wonderful dress that is… Evelyn… is that right. You all look so nice really”
Dorothy’s smile didn’t give anything away, but Evelyn was a little uncomfortable. In her heart she believed that Dorothy had figured it out. Evelyn kept her poker face on and smiled
“Yes it is, Mrs. Williams. I just love my dress. I think it is just incredible, although the petticoats are a bit much to handle. Della is our group’s seamstress,” Evelyn said, without missing a beat.
“She did a really good job,” Dorothy said, as she reached down and turned the hem over so she could look at it. “A really good job of sewing, I must say. Those petticoats are just scrumptious.”
Dorothy’s inspection was cut short as the girls came out in all their anime glory. Cindy and Kelly were just so cute in their schoolgirl school girl outfits. Rhiannon gave both girls large anime eyes, with makeup and false eyelashes. Kelly’s jacket and skirt looked just as good as any school uniform. Della had pinned a crest on her left breast pocket just like many private or parochial schools use. She also had a white bib with piping that made the blouse look like the sailor image.
“Oh my, I may just have to get more uniforms like that to send Cindy to school in. She would just need a longer skirt. Kelly you look so good too.”
Sharon then came out of the room. She looked like a fourteen year old Tom Felton of Draco Malfoy fame. Her hair was slicked back. If anything was wrong, it was just that her face was too soft. She wore a white shirt, coat, vest, dark slacks and a pair of black oxfords.
“William, you look so nice. If you were a real guy and a few years older, I could go for a bloke like you,” Sara said.
Cindy, Kelly and Sharon then checked out Billy’s group. “Fujiko you look so cute,” Cindy said, as she rushed over to her.
“Fujiko?” Dorothy asked.
“Yes, we go by our character names, when we are dressed,” Evelyn said. “Like Sharon is William, Cindy is Tina Brant and Kelly is Kathy Prentice. My character is Kajiwara Fujiko.”
“The boy that is dressed as a girl, because he is hiding from the bad guys,” she said.
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Ok, you girls have fun, I hope you sell a lot of mangas.”
The young girls kissed Dorothy on her cheek and followed the rest out the door.
**************
On the way to the convention center, Billy talked with Janice, “I think Dorothy knows I am not a girl.”
“I think you are right, but you handled things very well. If she was going to rain on your parade, I believe she would have already done it.”
“Yes, she seemed like a really nice lady. I don’t think I have anything to worry about.”
**************
At the convention center, Janice parked at the loading docks. All the girls helped unload the van. Amanda had arranged to have tables side by side with Sharon’s group.
They set up their displays, dressed the tables, erected their banners and stocked the tables. It is amazing what eleven people can do, when they put their minds to it. The table, that Billy’s group was at, looked much nicer, but the greatest improvement was at Sharon’s table. It looked a thousand percent better.
Everyone donned their nametags and then went about looking. Evelyn’s first stop, with Janice, was the ladies room. The restroom was full of girls changing into their costumes, and using the restroom before the opening rush.
There was one girl in the restroom that was having a lot of trouble with her costume. The girl was playing a cat girl and wore a tightly fitting furry suit with a cat like tail. The suit looked to be way too small for her. The girl admitted that her chest and breasts had really grown since she last wore the suit. It took three girls to get the suit zipped up. Janice and another girl, struggled to pull the zipper straight and Evelyn was called upon to pull up the zipper. Without the gaff Billy might have had problems, as he looked the girl over. The girl looked to be about seventeen and was more voluptuous than Michelle Pfeiffer or Halle Berry when they played catwoman. The girl wore a crop top, ammo belt and a micro mini on top of the suit.
It was much easier for Evelyn to use the restroom this time, once she figured out what to do with the petticoats, that is. She washed her hands and fixed her face after leaving the stall.
They then checked out the mangas they had bought the last time, especially the Fujoshi. At their table, they had an older looking male head waiter and a younger male waiter in costume, both of whom were cosplayed by girls. They also found a couple of other manga that looked very nice.
All the girls had changed into their heels. Fujiko found her three-inch heels had been switched to a pair of higher heels. When the doors opened there were more people to check out Aki’s table. Their sales for the first hour were a lot higher. Many of the customers, who left Aki’s table, hit Sharon’s table next. The improvements that they had made that quarter excited the customers’ interest. By the third hour Sharon’s group had sold out and Aki’s group had sold all their first edition second printing, all their specialty stuff and about half of their mangas.
Sharon, Cindy and Kelly then began helping at Aki’s table. That allowed the girls to have their picture taken with Fujiko. Fujiko had to pose for a lot more pictures this time. Other cosplayers wanted their picture taken with her. The girl she helped with her costume and another girl similarly dressed, came over and posed seductively with Fujiko in the middle. Janice’s claws nearly came out, as she looked evilly at the girls.
A second flood of customers came over after one. Word had spread in the dinning area, as the customers took time to look over the mangas they had bought and told their friends. Amanda/Midori sold their last manga at two twenty-three. They hung around for pictures and autographs for an hour. Most of the tables had closed by then.
The girls cleaned up their tables and hauled the stuff to the van. They got their garment bags and headed back in to change. Aki’s group found Sharon’s group already changed into their normal clothes. Sharon had brushed out the setting gel, wet her hair and was using a curling iron on it.
Evelyn/ Fujiko went all the way to the back to change. She had help with her dress and petticoats. Sharon tried to peek once, but mostly she was good. The group shielded her a bit, as she changed her bra and panties. Janice loosened her corset a bit, much to Evelyn’s delight. When the girls began pulling out their dresses, they attracted a lot of attention. Eight girls wearing the same dress will do that. Many of girls liked the idea of having everyone in the group dressed alike. Rhiannon did her makeup magic on many of her group, changing to a more dramatic evening look.
Outside, Sharon, Cindy and Kelly hugged all the girls and thanked them for their help. Sharon paid off what she owed and an extra hundred for Billy’s work.
“I can’t take this.”
“You have too, my dad insists.”
“Alright, but I am taking all of you out to eat.”
They all went back to their rides and headed to a nice restaurant. The eleven of them were shoehorned into a table for eight. They had just ordered drinks when Evelyn heard.
“Barbra, you go on by yourself I see some people I need to talk too.”
Many eyes turned to the voice they heard and Evelyn could feel her spine freeze into ice and turned to the voice.
“Hello girls,” Elizabeth Connors said. “Do you mind if I sit down with you and talk?”
“No ma’am, please have a seat,” Janice said. “Della please let Mrs. Connors sit next to Evelyn and get another chair.”
“Evelyn, that is such a pretty name. I have a sister that is named Evelyn,” Elizabeth said, as she sat next to Evelyn.
“Yes Mom, I know that you know who I am. Mom, you know everyone here except for Sharon Moore, Cindy Williams and Kelly Green, and yes they know.”
“Those are the kids that you and the girls were helping with their manga right.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“I have to admit that you are a very pretty girl, Evelyn.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“Now would someone care to explain about all of this.”
“You know that Billy agreed to help us sell our Manga,” Janice said.
“Yes, of course,”
“When we dress up in costume, we and our customers and us get a feel about who our characters really are. Well, Billy’s character, Saitou Akimitsu, is a boy that witnessed a gangland slaying of a public official, and we girls decided, or rather the girls Aki knew, that the best way to hide him was in plain sight as a girl. We recruited Evelyn to play the girl, Kajiwara Fujiko, who is really Akimitsu.”
“Ok, I see. I have been wondering about things for a while. I have seen some changes in Billy over the last few months. I really love all of your dresses by the way. You all look so nice.”
“Thank you Mrs. Connors, we decided to buy sort of a uniform, from the skin out, to wear, to identify us as a group,” Amanda said. “We changed out of out costumes before coming here.”
Billy really wished that Amanda hadn’t said from skin out, but what could he say now.
“Oh really, I hope that you have pictures. I would really like to see all of you in costume.”
“We have hundreds of pictures,” Della said.
“Good, we will head over to my place after you eat and look at them.”
“What about Dad?” Evelyn asked.
“Don’t worry about him, he has gone fishing with Fred and left me all alone. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“You’re not mad about this?”
“Why should I be mad? You didn’t do this for some perverted reason did you?”
“No Mom, it was just to have fun with my friends?”
“Did you enjoy doing this?”
“All in all, I would have to say that I did. There are some things I could do without, like these darn heels and this dang corset.”
“Welcome to our world, Evelyn. I have to admit it though, I wouldn’t have known you, if you weren’t with the girls and I expected you to be with them. You handle yourself really well, and you’re so good looking. Still, I had to look at you for a long time to be sure.”
“It was also research for our manga, Mrs. Connors. We needed to know, if it could be done, what would be needed and what issues that Aki would face living as a girl,” Amanda said.
“And what were your conclusions?”
“Yes, first, for some guys it would be possible, second, there are resources available that helped us a lot, and lastly, that there were many issues we had not originally considered. Many of them could be long term issues.”
“How did your manga sales go, Ladies?”
“Both groups sold out, we made over eleven hundred after expenses,” Sharon said.
“And we made almost ten thousand after expenses. Make that eight thousand, after we set aside two thousand for our next manga.”
“Oh my, that much? And why the disparity between the two groups?”
“Yes Mom, we made that much money. The reasons we made more money is, that they only had some five hundred mangas and fifty color plates. Their manga had fewer pages and only had a three dollar cover price. We had two thousand five hundred mangas and one hundred color plates to sell. Our cover price was four dollars. We both had autographed, bagged and boarded mangas that sold for twenty dollars each, for us and fifteen for them.”
“For the collectors right.”
“Yes Mom,”
“You are going to replace the money you took out of your college fund, aren’t you Evelyn?”
“That was included in the expenses,” Amanda said.
“You knew about that?” Evelyn asked.
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Evelyn. I made a deposit and checked the balance. When they didn’t jive with my figures, I checked the activity. Next time check with me first, ok.”
“You’re not mad about it?”
“Why on earth would I be mad about that? It is your money, you didn’t blow it away and you WILL redeposit it with interest won’t you.”
“Yes Mom, with a hefty tip.
“Girls, let’s go to my place,” Elizabeth said. “You too, Sharon, Cindy and Kelly. I just love your name Kelly Green, a nice shade of green. Call your parents and see if you can come over for a couple of hours.”
The girls called their parents, who were satisfied that they would be with a parents supervision.
**************
At Elizabeth’s home the girls all went to the living room. Della, with Evelyn’s assistance, showed the pictures that they had taken on the big screen TV. Evelyn was embarrassed to see some pictures of her in her lingerie and petticoats. At least there weren’t any nude pictures. Sharon, Cindy and Kelly were mesmerized by the transformation process and asked some questions. Some of the questions were answered.
Everyone loved the pictures of Evelyn in her blue dress. Elizabeth’s eyes nearly came out of her head, as she saw the lovely Evelyn.
Afterwards Elizabeth asked, “Sharon, Cindy and Kelly, I must ask you to protect Billy’s identity. You know you could really hurt him don’t you?”
“Yes ma’am, we have already talked it over,” Sharon said.
“Billy didn’t do anything untoward to any of you girls did he?”
“No ma’am, Billy was a real nice guy to us. He didn’t touch us, flaunt himself before us or say anything inappropriate to any of us. We don’t want to hurt him.”
“Good, now it is time for you to go home. Amanda if you would take them home and come back, we have some big girl things to talk about.”
While Amanda was away everyone pitched in and made some snacks. Elizabeth and Janice worked closely by Evelyn’s side.
Amanda was only gone about thirty minutes. They all retired to the living room when she got back.
Elizabeth had Evelyn show her the mangas. She used her laptop and TV again, paging through them slow enough for her Mom to read and look at the pages. Evelyn had to tell her what direction to read them; she didn’t understand that the pages were written right to left.
Elizabeth asked questions about things, when she didn’t understand. It took her about forty- five minutes to get through them both.
“Ok, I like your manga. It is different, but good. I have some questions, I have seen all the photographs, how did Billy hide his penis.”
“I used what they called a gaff. It keeps part of me up in my body cavity and keeps my penis stretched back between my legs.”
“Really. The boobs and hips I suppose are silicone right.”
“Yes ma’am,” Amanda said. “We found them at some of the resources that we were talking about.”
“Rhiannon, you are the makeup wizard aren’t you.”
“Yes ma’am, Billy was really easy to work with. He has also picked up a bit from us too.”
“Yes, I have seen that. What were the issues that you discovered.”
“Well, Akimitsu would need a lot of support. At first, he would need to be with other girls to help camouflage him, so to speak. He should be kept busy to keep him from worrying about his situation. If sat down, in skirts alone, he would worry about too many things that could break his confidence. He needed a lot of instruction on how to act naturally like a girl. We have had all our lives to learn how to be a girl, Aki needed to know as much as he could without overloading him. He needed to become comfortable in his role to be successful, which has its own problems,” Amanda said.
“And what were those problems?”
“Well, Billy pointed out that if Aki became too comfortable, he might begin to like the role he was playing and might not want to go back to being Aki after a while.”
“Is that going to be a problem for you Evelyn?”
“No Mom, I like being a boy and more importantly, Janice’s boyfriend.”
“So what do you think about all of this.”
“I have liked doing this for the girls, and to be honest, for myself too. I knew girls put a lot of work into their appearance, but I just didn’t realize just how much. I knew that my looking like this took even more time. I also learned what girls were like when they are on their own. They of course knew what I was, they made me this way, but our group dynamics were still different than from when I was Billy. They were more relaxed with Evelyn. They were also more protective of me.”
“Where did you go as Evelyn?”
“Out to eat, like tonight, to the movies and to the mall.”
“Evelyn helped us pick out these dresses, our bras, panties and such,” Della said. “We love Evelyn as much as we love Billy.”
“I can see that girls. So what does the future hold for Evelyn and Fujiko is it?”
“Yes, Fujiko is right. Well as long as it is ok with you Mom, Evelyn and Fujiko might be making some future appearances at other shows. As long as I can do it right.”
“It’s ok with me, I like having a daughter at times, as long as I can get to know this Evelyn. It might be hard, but I believe we can make some time to get acquainted.”
“You said, you saw some things that made you wonder. Where did I go wrong?”
“I wouldn’t call it going wrong, but I noticed your hairless body and that your eyebrows were cleaned up a bit. I also noticed that at times you smelled different, and sometimes there were traces of makeup that I couldn’t attribute to Janice. Some Mom’s might have been clueless, but not all of them. Now, how about a fashion show? I want to see all of your costumes, girls.”
Evelyn and her friends got all of their costumes and put on a show for Elizabeth. She wasn’t a bit shocked when the girls changed in front of Evelyn. She figured that was part of the rope that hung her. Evelyn did Fujiko before she did Aki, because of the change in breast forms. The bigger breasts Evelyn had, wouldn’t fit in Aki’s costume.”
After the show Elizabeth said, “Ok girls, go to where ever you planned to go, after the show. Just be good. At least as good as you can be, you too Billy, I believe you need to change back into Evelyn for your party.”
**************
Over the next year, Evelyn and Fujiko came out at times. They sold over twenty five thousand mangas and they sold their story to a regular distributor. It was getting to be too much for them to manage with their studies. The older girls had college and the younger group had college to look forward too.
Sharon’s group kept doing their story. The girls were getting better at the artwork and story writing. They got a few more girls into it also. Their story also took on a gender bending slant. They included a boy, named Tommy Davis in their group, who longed to be a girl in real life, but they didn’t draw a character too much like him to protect the boy. The boy in the manga looked more like Sharon. She cosplayed the boy in the manga, while Tommy cosplayed a girl.
Tommy helped in both the artwork art work and in writing the story. The girls loved working with him.
Sharon’s group taught Tommy a lot of things that he wanted to know, about clothing, makeup and acting like a girl, while helping him to keep his cover. They also helped him talk to his Mom about his feelings.
She was upset about loosing her son, but realized that he wasn’t happy pretending to be a boy. She would rather have a happy daughter than a miserable or dead son.
He eventually transitioned and had a ready-made support group. He returned to High School as her true self. Tommy didn’t have many friends to contend with, and the rest of the students just ignored the strange kid. Tammy looked and acted so differently, that nobody made the connection. Sharon and the girls made sure he always had friends around. She was one of them after all.
Janice and Billy/Evelyn did get married after college. He went to work for Sam, and eventually became a partner and then the owner. Billy bulked up a bit and it became harder for Evelyn to go out in public, but she was always a part of their lives. They had four children two and two. One of the boys, the youngest, was transgendered. Janice and Billy made sure the siblings accepted her.
Cara and Rhiannon live together with Sara. The twins are into high fashion design. Rhiannon went to work for L'Oréal makeup, as one of their premiere makeup artists. Della went into costuming, cosplay and theater costuming. Bettie got into professional women’s sports and then into women’s athletic wear. Amanda went to work as a professional mangaka and as an editor for several other manga’s.
The end
Please forgive any major faults in the story. My edited version got corrupted somehow in the compare and merge process I believe I got if fixed and have reread it twice, but mistakes may still exist.
The Slap
by Paula Dillon
The Slap
By Paula Dillon
It was about noon Friday early in June, school was out for the summer, and my sister Rebecca was having a very animated conversation on the phone.
As it progressed, the conversation turned loud, heated, and nasty. I became very concerned for her hearing just half of what was being said. It wasn’t that I was trying to eavesdrop, I am sure that the neighbors next door could plainly hear most of what was being said. I love my sister. No, that’s not right. I mean, I really love my sister. Mom has raised us to be a close-knit family, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for my sister to help keep her happy. Sure, we fought as most brothers and sisters do, but if I had to choose between my best friends and my sister, there is really no choice, she wins hands down. I know my sister feels the same. Deep down, though getting her to admit it would be a chore. So, hearing her like this hurt me, just as much as it seemed to hurt her.
“Well fine Jeff! If that’s the way you want it, just go ahead and go out with that bimbo Shelly tonight! Just don’t come back to me, when she screws some other guy, and you find yourself alone,” Rebecca shouted into the phone.
Rebecca threw the phone down on the table. It bounced off the table and fell to the floor. She started violently sobbing as she turned to the wall. I reckoned that Jeff had just dumped my sister, and felt that she could use a hug and some understanding. I approached her and slipped my arm over her shoulder to give her a hug. Rebecca jerked away from my grasp, turned, and slapped me so hard that I wound up on the floor with my head bouncing as I landed.
Lights flashed in my head. I felt a jolt of pain throughout my body and I was confused and disoriented; for how long I do not know.
As the fog started to clear, I found myself still lying on the floor, with my head on my sister’s lap, and she was sobbing frantically. I guess she was worried that she had seriously hurt me, but I just had my bell rung. As a matter of fact, I could definitely hear it still ringing.
“Paul! Paul! Say something. Are you ok?” came out between her sobs.
“Don’t worry Sis. I’m a little woozy, but I think I’m ok. Did you get the number of that truck that hit me?” I laughed.
She pulled my head to her, it felt like she nearly ripped it off my shoulders, and she was suffocating me between her tits. If this had been any other girl, I would have been in heaven, but this was my sister.
She finally lowered my head and I got a chance to breathe. I looked into her steel grey eyes and smiled up at her as she gently stroked my hair. I knew she didn’t mean to hurt me, and hey, I wanted to show her that I still loved her.
I sat upright on the floor, somewhat shakily, taking it easy. Rebecca just pulled me into a strong hug. I wrapped my arms around her and my head rested on her shoulder. She just rocked me gently there.
“I am so sorry Paul. I don’t know what came over me. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that. Please! Please forgive me,” she sobbed into my ear. “Jeff just broke up with me. We were supposed to go out to a movie tonight, but he dumped me for Shelly. This is just between me and you Paul don’t tell Mom. Jeff has been trying to get into my panties, if you know what I mean. He left me because I wouldn’t let him. I thought he was different.”
“If that’s the case, I am proud of you Sis. I know how hard it is. He was just a creep. I’m ok, no harm-done, I forgive you.”
Her sobs started to subside, and she released her hug. I moved to a more comfortable sitting position on the floor, and looked at Rebecca. I was proud of my big Sis. Still sitting back on her knees, she looked at me as a smile started to form on her face, but it was immediately replaced with a look of horror.
“Oh my gosh, what have I done?” she said. Rebecca helped me up from the floor, and into her room, and had me sit in front of her vanity. She turned my head from looking at her to looking at the mirror, and there it was. I could see a big red welt in the shape of Rebecca’s hand on the left side of my face. You could even see where her ring had left its impression.
“Oh boy, that’s going to leave a mark Sis. It will probably bruise up too from the looks of it. You always said my face could use some color,” I chuckled.
That brought some more sniffles from Sis, and I felt bad for saying that. I pulled Rebecca down, and she sat next to me. Her face was a mess. Mascara was streaked all over the place. I even had several black blotches on my T-shirt where her face touched it as she cried. I took a tissue from her table and started to clean her up. This seemed to work and a small smile came to her face and she mouthed, “thank you,” to me.
Rebecca then went about cleaning off what was left of her makeup and reapplying it. She wore as much makeup as Mom would let her, which was pretty much anything, as long as she looked like a proper lady and not some street walker, as my Mom would say. I have seen Rebecca and Mom put on makeup before, but I had never watched this closely. As she went along she took time to explain to me what she is doing. What this does, what this thing is for, and what she is trying to achieve. It was easy to see that this was something she enjoyed doing. I found this part of femininity fascinating, and I paid rapt attention to her spiel. In no time at all, her face was back in shape. It was a face I liked. Both Rebecca and Mom are more attractive than most other girls I know. To me, they are both 10’s.
We both turned and looked at each other when she finished. She looked gorgeous and she knew it. She looked at my face and touched the red welt. It still stung a little as she touched the welt on my face, and said to me, I can cover the welt and it won’t be as visible, if you would like,
“Sure,” I said, “why not.”
She opened one bottle, and took a cotton pad, wet it, and wiped my face. It was cold and wet, and made my face tingle. She wiped my forehead, cheeks, nose, jaw, and down my throat, re-wetting the pad occasionally. She said it was a cleanser. The pad was dirty when she discarded it. I would not have believed that my face was so dirty. I thought I kept up myself pretty clean. At least cleaner than most boys my age.
From another bottle, she poured a creamy lotion in her hand, and rubbed her hands together, and then rubbed my face. It was a moisturizer that helped keep the skin smooth and soft she told me. It felt soothing to my skin as it was applied. It felt really good. She produced a tube she called a concealer, shaped sort of like a lipstick. It was a couple of shades lighter than my own skin, and she rubbed it into my face where the welt was.
I looked. I could still see the welt, but it was not as obvious. She bit her lip for a second as if thinking, and finally she picked up a bottle of foundation. Using a foam sponge, she lightly dabbed it over my whole face, and then blended it together down through my throat. When she finished, I turned to face the mirror; and what I saw was my face, and it had a healthier glow to it. It was hard to tell that I had makeup on except for the fact that my skin looked so good, a condition you don’t see on many boys of any age. You could still see where the ring on her hand had hit me, but just barely.
It was 4:00 p.m. and Mom was not due home till nearly 6:30 p.m. so we went down to the living room and watched the TV. My sister was being uncommonly nice to me, and I really appreciated it. We talked for a while. Rebecca surprised me with her candor. It was almost like she was treating me as her girlfriend. She then asked me if I would like to go to a movie with her. Since Jeff had dumped her, she had nothing planned for a Friday night.
This was a big shock to my system, that she was willing to spend Friday night with her brother instead of her girlfriends. I said, “Sure, why not.”
That was when she told me, with a mischievous grin on her face. “There might be one problem. With that foundation on, you don’t look like a girl, but you sure don’t look like most boys. Would you mind if I made you look more like a girl?”
I am sure I blushed, my face felt so hot. I hesitated answering her for several seconds. I had never thought about trying to look like a girl before, it just had never come to my mind. What was even stranger was that I was actually considering it. You could have knocked me over with a feather, when the next words out of my mouth were, “I think I might like that, but only if I can look convincing as girl.”
Rebecca giggled with glee as she took my hand, and dragged me to the bathroom she shared with Mom. She kissed me on my cheek, leaving a lipstick print on my face, and told me to strip all my clothes off. I complained about Rebecca being there.
“Don’t be shy now, little brother,” she said, “I have seen you in the buff before. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before, and besides your gonna need my help if we are going to pull this off.”
Sis stepped out for a minute while I took my clothes off, and reappeared as I stood there naked, my hands covering my privates. She then began to cover my arms, back, chest, underarms, legs and my butt with a smelly gunk.
I was wondering what was going on. Sis told me, that while I was not a particularly hairy guy, my arm and leg hair stood out. “No girl would go out like that, and this is a depilatory cream that will take off your hair and leave the skin smooth.” She had me stand there like a scarecrow for about 15 minutes, while she disappeared with my clothes. My skin tingled and then after a few minutes it started to burn slightly.
Sis started the shower, and had me step in and rinse off. I took a bath cloth and rubbed the gunk off along with my hair, which went down the drain. I then had to shave a few persistent hairs off. I was then instructed to wash my hair using the shampoo and conditioner that Mom and Sis used on their hair.
I then stepped out of the shower where I was patted dry, not rubbed dry, with a towel, and was handed the first pair of panties I have ever knowingly worn. They were a pair of lacy powder blue satin bikini panties. They looked impossibly small, but fit reasonably well except for one key fact. Sis told me to tuck my equipment between my legs. After a few seconds and a little pain I had managed to pack the jewels and plumbing away. Sis pulled my panties up tight, which seemed to keep everything in place. I was helped into a short, peach colored, satin robe; and my hair was wrapped in a towel while I was led back to Sis’s vanity. My hair was combed and blown dry, while I sat there as patiently as possible.
The way it was cut, my hair was just too short to style into a reasonably feminine hairstyle. I thought I was out of this mess, but leave it to a determined sister to find a way. She went to Mom’s room, and in seconds, returned with a wig I don’t ever remember seeing. It was a close match to Mom’s hair color and mine also. Sis combed my hair back and used bobby pins to keep it back, out of the way. She then eased the wig over my head. The tresses fell over my shoulders tickling me. I had never worn my hair long before, but the effect it had was stunning. It was then, I knew I was going to look great. A little adhesive was used at several points on my head, and Rebecca was satisfied to brush it in place. My fingernails and toenails were polished in a cotton candy pink, and things started happening fast as Sis did my makeup. She didn’t bother with explanations; she just concentrated on her artistry. I learned then, how much artistry girls put in to doing their makeup. It was like she was doing a serious work of art, not like a kid using finger paints. I also learned that less was more in makeup.
Next, Sis went to her dresser and returned with two mounds of flesh in her hands. She confided to me, that Mom had bought her some breast forms when she had not bloomed as fast as some of her friends, something I never knew about.
Some adhesive was applied to the back of one, and it was carefully positioned on my chest. I held it in place while she did the same with the second. It was a strange sight. There I was, looking like a girl holding her breasts, like she was afraid they would fall off, as apt a description as any. After five minutes, I had the breast forms sequestered into a bra that matched my panties. Sis told me that I wore a 32 B bra, a size 5 panty, a small top and a size 5p skirt, as if I would need this information for future reference. I was amazed by all this. My waist was then trapped in a contraption she called a waist nipper. A camisole appeared over my head and I raised my arms as it drifted down my body caressing my skin in its softness. It was like I was being seduced.
Sis then instructed me on how to put on a pair of black sheer pantyhose. The feel of the nylon and spandex is hard to describe but to say the least, it was intoxicating. Another device of torture that followed was a padded girdle that as she said, “added curves in the appropriate places,” and for the last piece of undies came a very lacy half slip.
As I looked in the mirror, I had no doubt I was looking at a teenage girl. Sis then brought a white sheer silk blouse that buttoned in the back with a lot of small pearl shaped buttons. It had a high ruffled collar; the sleeves were puffed some at the shoulders and bloused out down to a tight fitted cuff that had 4 buttons on each cuff. I was sure this was one of her sexiest blouses. She was going whole hog on dressing me. Next, I put on a black suede miniskirt that just covered the half slip. The hips fit tight but the waist was very tight. She tucked the blouse in before buttoning the waist and zipping the skirt. She then tried a pair of her shoes on my feet but I was out of luck. It felt like she was trying to fit a Holstein in a training bra. I didn’t forget how determined Sis was though. She ran off to Mom’s room and came back with a pair of black suede open toed sling-back sandals with a 4-inch heel. They were a tight and my toes and heels hung off a little. Sis then had me walk around in them it took about 15 minutes before I felt comfortable somewhat in them.
Sis used this time to change herself and to give directions and encouragement to me. I was very wobbly at first but started to get the hang of them by the time Rebecca was dressed. I just had to remember to step one foot in front of the other, taking shorter steps and swinging my hips a little as I walked did help. I then had to practice sitting down smoothing my skirt beneath me and standing up, keeping my knees together and crossing my legs so as too not flash my panty, holding my hands closer to my side when walking, a purse she handed me that matched my outfit helped in that. My low alto voice fitted well, with just a little help, though I had to work to keep it from being too sultry. Although before today people never saw me as feminine, I reeked of it today. I reached up and brushed my hair back lightly with my hand and struck a pose and blew a kiss to Rebecca. She had to steady herself and started to giggle, before hugging me and giving me a light peck on my cheek. We both got a shot of perfume, Obsession I believe it was.
“You’re incredible,” she said as she put a lipstick, mascara, tampons (like I really need them) and a compact in my purse and hers as well, “I think I have created a monster.”
“Yeah Frankenstein’s monster, baby and don’t you forget it,” as I blew her another kiss.
Sis led me out of her room and helped down the stairs so I would not break my neck and to her car in the garage. She opened the passenger side door and showed me how to sit down and stand up in a car. She had me practice several times and critiqued me as I did.
It did not hit me till she opened the garage door that I was actually going out into the world dressed as a girl. I don’t know what I had been thinking earlier. She had made it so much fun dressing earlier and it felt so good being dressed, and I never really thought she could make me look so good, but as we started to back out of the garage it felt like there was a ton of bricks in my stomach.
She must have seen the worry on my face and said, “Don’t worry you look fine. No, one would ever guess you’re not what you look like Paula”
That was the first time I had ever been referred to in the feminine form. All she did was add an A to the end of my name and now I was a girl. She talked with me as we drove, if I didn’t respond or engage her in conversation she would elbow me. She would talk about things we had never talked about before. She wanted to know what I thought of my clothes and her clothes; I found out that, “I like em,” was not enough. She talked about boys I knew and asked me what I thought of them. We talked about makeup and how she’d done this and done that. She was trying to teach me to talk as a girl and about matters that girls talk about, using words girls use, in the manner that girls talk to each other. Before long I was chatting with her if not comfortably, at least in a girlish manner. I looked over at her at one traffic stop and she had a big grin on her face. “
One more thing she told me, “look at who is talking or who you’re talking to, not like your staring or gawking at them, but like what they are saying to you and what you say to them, really matters to you. Don’t feign attention either, girls pick up on things like that and will check you in a heartbeat. If you learn one thing about girls today brother, if you learn to communicate to girls as a girl does you will be way ahead of other guys. Girls love to talk and be talked to as equals. When we talk with each other, it may sound zany to others but to us the act of communicating is important.”
I had not noticed but for a lot of the time we were driving in circles near a mall we were headed to for the movie. We parked in the lot and I was reminded by Rebecca of our lessons on exiting a car and reminded to take my purse, then we were off to the “Lions’ den” of the mall. I set a deliberate pace as I walked and Rebecca corrected me to a leisurely pace, saying we are not in a race girl. As we walked, I could not help but noticed the attention we were receiving. I remembered to turn my head slightly so I could see Rebecca as I mentioned this to her. I also mentioned to her how wonderful the silks and nylons felt as we walked. This drew a giggle from her which caused me to giggle. She told me that the attention we were receiving was we were two hot looking babes entering a hunting ground, girl. I was still a little stiff and ungainly but she told me if anybody notices I could blame the heels I was wearing, after all not many girls our age wear 4-inch heels.
We entered the mall and walked around window shopping. We passed some clothing stores that were “too mature” and stopped in front of some teen fashion stores and talked about the clothes that they displayed. I was following Rebecca’s lead and not paying attention to where we were going when we wandered into a lingerie shop. That is what I get from not paying attention to where we were going. I tensed up and was about to bolt from the store, when Rebecca grabbed my elbow in what felt like a vice grip and whispered in my ear. “Relax Paula we are ok, nobody here thinks that you don’t belong here believe me.”
I was not comfortable but I did relax. We moved through the store looking at various items and both of us commenting on them, like what do you think about this, oh those are adorable. I realized I made a mistake when I saw a beautiful bra and panty set and said, “I really like those.” They were a yellow silk and lace, with cute flowers embroidered throughout. Rebecca found a set in a 32 B and one in 34 B which I gathered was her size. A sales lady came over about that time and said that there was a nightie that matched them also. She asked if we would like to try the bra and nightie on? Rebecca volunteered that; we would like that very much. The sales lady went to find the matching nighties. We were then led to the changing rooms. Rebecca joined me in one and helped me remove my blouse, skirt, half slip and bra and into the new bra and nightie and then she did the same. The feel was exquisite but I could not figure out why I needed them. I did not plan to dress up again. I was pushed out of the changing room by Rebecca to where a full length mirror stood. The nightie came down to a mid thigh and I adored it, standing side by side it was easy to tell we were sisters. Where did that thought come from? The sales lady came up behind us and told us how lovely we were. She checked the fit of the nighties and pronounced them a good choice. We changed back to our clothes and Rebecca paid for our selections, and we left the store with our bags.
I was shocked again though when Rebecca pulled me into a portrait photography studio. It was not busy and we were immediately taken in. Rebecca told me to just trust her and to watch her as her pictures were taken. After countless pictures were taken, I was told to sit in front of the camera. Rebecca motioned for me to smile. It took a few poses before I loosened up but I started to have fun. Half blinded by the strobes, I didn’t know how many pictures of me were taken, I started to get up to leave when it seemed he was finished with me. That was not to be as Rebecca was sent back and we were posed together for quite a few shots including some full length shots back to back and facing each other at an angle. Rebecca paid 85 dollars for 3 packages of photos, and was told that she could pick them up next Friday. I was shocked.
“What are you thinking two of those packages we will never be able to use?”
“Trust me Paula. I am not out to hurt you, or to blackmail you. I think you might like them when you see them. I sure want them if nobody else does. I liked taking pictures with my new little sister. I just want you to know Paula I love you, and I know you love me too.”
We finally made our way to the theater, just in time for the 8:00 p.m. showing of some chick flick. We got two cokes and a large popcorn and took our seats. I really tried to hate it they were no car chases or crashes, nobody getting blown up or shot, no blood or violence and in the end the girl got the guy instead of the obverse. I had to admit the acting was better. It actually had a story plot. There were times we laughed and giggled and a couple of times tears formed in my eyes and Sis handed me a tissue to keep from ruining my eye makeup.
Then it was time to leave. I really needed to go at this time and told Sis. She guided me, I guess that is a better term than manhandled me, into the ladies room. I could not believe the ladies room there was a line waiting for stalls. I had seen lines before in men’s rooms but none that move that slowly. Rebecca whispered in my ears to remember to sit to pee and to pull some tissue like to wipe before you get up to fix your clothes, and you need to powder your nose and reapply your lipstick after you wash your hands. After what seemed like ten minutes I was able to enter the next to the last stall I remembered everything I was told and was able with some difficulty to take care of my business. Let me tell you that was a relief all the gear I was wearing really put a strain on my bladder. As I was powdering my nose and applying my lipstick another lady whispered in my ear saying that her period was early and asked if I had any tampons or panty shields. I handed her one of mine and I now knew why my sister included them in my purse.
I waited outside for Rebecca to come out, which she did looking for me. She said she was sorry it took so long. It was with a lighter heart we talked as we headed the long way around the mall to where we were parked. We discussed the movie and I told her about the girl who borrowed a tampon from me. I guess I enjoyed myself more than any recent time I could remember. By the time we got to the car I was happy to get off my feet, these shoes were beginning to hurt a bit. Rebecca kept me talking all the way home and as we turned onto our street I realized another problem. Mom would be there.
Sis looked at me and like she could read minds said, “Mom would probably be in bed, but if she wasn’t, don’t worry, she’ll be cool about it.”
We pulled into our drive and Rebecca told me to wait here let her check. She got out and went up to the front door and went in. About four minutes later, she came out and headed to the car. Mom also came out and I nearly had a heart attack. Sis headed to the car and got in the back seat and Mom got in behind the wheel.
She was startled somewhat when she looked over and saw me and said, “Paul....a is that you?”
I know I started to tear up. She saw this in the dim dome light of the car and got a tissue out of her purse. She then blotted my eyes as she looked at me, carefully so as not to mess up my make up which she could clearly see.
“Don’t worry honey. I am not mad at you. We will talk when we get back,” she said looking crossly into the rear view mirror. She said this as much for my benefit, as for my sister sitting in the back seat.
“Where are we going I asked?”
“Your sister left me a note asking if we could get a bite to eat when you two returned from the movie.”
I was bushwhacked by my sister again. It was amazing, but I still loved her, even after all that happened or maybe because of all that she did, I wasn’t sure which at the moment. We drove and Mom talked to us about what we did and which movie we saw, what we thought of the movie. I had left out the photographer and the lingerie, but my dear little sister even spilled those beans. Mom said she would love to see those pictures and said that she would also like to see what we bought.
We pulled into one of those all night diner a good ways off our normal beaten path and parked. With loads of apprehension I met Mom and Sis at the back of the car. Mom looked at me up and down and told me to turn around.
“You look amazing dear. I love your hair and blouse and everything about you Paula.”
“Thank you Mom, Sis picked it all out for me, I think she did a wonderful job, don’t you? She looks pretty good too,” I said with more confidence than I really felt.
“Yes she does, but then she always tries to look her best. This though is the first time I have seen you looking so good.”
“Mom, Paula and I had a great time together, I enjoyed going out with her.”
Mom held her arm out for me and I drew close to her as she placed her arm over my shoulder and then Rebecca’s shoulder. We then headed into the diner and my heart skipped a beat. It felt good being together. We sat at a booth and Mom sat across from us. The waitress took our drink orders and we looked at the menus. I made my choice, and set the menu down folding my hands together on my lap to keep my elbows off the table. Rebecca reached over and took my right hand and held it. Mom then engaged us in conversation, I tried to follow their lead about what was acceptable with an older adult present, there was a significant difference than when it was just girls the same age. I tried using the talking skills that my sister had drilled into me, and I think Mom was impressed. I was not usually this talkative and things usually had to be drug out of me one fact at a time.
The waitress came and took our orders and commented on how nice we all looked and asked if we were all sisters. This brought giggles from all of us. Mom assured her that these two were her daughters.
The waitress feigned surprise and said, “Surely you are not old enough to have given birth to them,” the waitress pointed at me and said, “this one looks eighteen and the other looks sixteen.”
The waitress left us and I said, “That waitress is a little screwy, considering I am thirteen and Rebecca is sixteen than, don’t you think?”
“No. I don’t think she is screwy at all as you put it, Paula, I think you look more mature and you sure act like it too, Paula. I am very impressed with you, and I love both of my daughters. Your sister has done a marvelous job with your makeup, at least I assume it was she at least who did it. A little mature for my tastes for my thirteen year old daughter, but it is still tastefully done and I would not be ashamed to be seen with you anywhere, dear. You are very attractive looking like that. I assume that those are my heels are they not,” she said looking at my sister?
“Mine were way to small Mom and the only shoes she could wear that fit her outfit were your sling back sandals. Even those are a tad small on her feet. I hope you don’t mind, the only other shoes she could have worn were her trainers and that would have spoiled her look.”
“In this case I agree with you, Rebecca and this one time it is ok but your sister just isn’t ready for 4-inch heels. I bet your feet are kinda sore now Paula truthfully would you say.”
“Yes Mom, they are, but at the same time I loved them very much, can you understand that?”
“Yes Paula, I can. I know exactly what you mean. Now I have another question for you. Did your sister look out for you well? Do you have any complaints about the things she did to you and with you? Be truthful dear, think before you answer.”
“Yes Paula, if I have done anything that you objected to or to embarrass you tell her.”
I looked my Mom straight in the eyes and with a smile on my face said, “No Mom, Rebecca was very nice to me and although she put me in some strange situations, at least to me, she was very kind to me. I can honestly say I have learned a lot from being with her today and would look forward to doing it again sometime.”
Mom arched one of her eyebrows when she heard what I said, and had a questioning expression on her face that, turned into a big smile.
“I think you have learned a lot today Paula. This might have been a very good experience for you dear. It doesn’t hurt to see how the other side lives for a change. You are more talkative and seem more mature.”
“Mom, I have to be honest with you now. The reason this happened was my fault Mom. You see early this afternoon Jeff called and broke up with me, to go out with Shelly. I was thoroughly pissed off Mom and threw the phone down. Paula came over to hug me and comfort me, and I lost it Mom and slapped her hard. So hard I knocked her down on the floor. I thought I had hurt her bad, she laid there for a few seconds and I fell to my knees to see if she were hurt, but after she had time to shake it off she got up. I left a welt on her face where I slapped her, so I covered it up with my makeup. I was amazed at how good she looked with just a little foundation on. She didn’t do anything to deserve what I did to her. We talked a while and I apologized to her for striking her, and I offered to take her to a movie, my treat. I asked her if she would like to dress up and she happily agreed as long as she looked good enough to pass. Mom she is gorgeous as you can see and I think she really liked it. Mom it was wrong for me to strike her, and even though she didn’t tell you. I could not live with myself unless I told you the truth. I stand ready to be punished Mom.”
“Yes Rebecca, you do deserve to be punished for what you did, and I can guarantee you will be, but I am proud of you for telling me. It seems that Paula was not going to complain about it, but that type of behavior will not be tolerated young lady. You both have made me proud today.”
We finished eating and Mom took us to the ladies room. I had to take care of my business and then Rebecca went next while I washed my hands, powdered my nose and fixed my lipstick under Mom’s watchful eyes. When I looked to Mom, she smiled at me and then winked her eye at me in silent approval.
When we were all done, we headed back to the table. Mom then told us that when we have a good waitress or waiter and they serve us well and complemented us and give us a good dinning experience we always leave a good tip, we always leave a tip you understand but for good service we leave good tips. I was surprised when Mom left a ten-dollar bill on the table. That was half the bill.
Mom saw the expression on my face and said, “weren’t you pleased with her service? Didn’t she work hard to make our meal a pleasure? Didn’t she compliment all of us, you especially if my memory serves me right?”
“You’re right Mom. She was very attentive and did a very nice job. I liked her. I never thought about it before. Thanks for teaching me Mom.”
Mom hugged us and we headed to the register. The waitress who served us was at the register she looked at us and smiled as we approached.
“My, you are lovely ladies. Your daughters are very pretty and you have raised them well. It was a pleasure serving you.”
I don’t know why but her words touched me and I asked her if I could give her a hug. She had a look of surprise on her face but came over and hugged me. I gave her a peck on her cheek and thanked her. Rebecca and Mom did the same for her and we paid our bill and went left.
“Paula, you are full of surprises today, I am proud of you. You probably made that waitress’ day giving her a hug like that. They work so hard and some times are underappreciated for the work they do, and with that simple gesture you showed her that you really appreciated her. It was good you asked first also some people just aren’t as touchy feely as we are and might have been embarrassed had you just done it. You must understand though that a hug from Paul might not be as accepted by a female as one from Paula.”
I thought we would be headed home as it was about 11:30 p.m. but Mom stopped at the local Walmart 24 hour store. She led us arm in arm into the store and to the shoe department. Mom, I found out wears a seven and a half narrow and after looking at my feet in her shoes she selected an eight and a half medium which Rebecca helped me put on. It too was an open toed sling back sandal in black, but it only had a 2 and 3/4 inch heel. It fit really well and felt good. She selected two more pair of heels, one a pump in red and another sandal in white, and a lady’s athletic shoe, that was white and had pink and blue on it.
Then she led us to the lingerie section and asked what size and I replied 32 B and size 5. She asked what I liked that I saw and I pointed out things that I liked. She picked out several bras, panties, half slips, full slips, a dozen pair of panty hose and nighties I mentioned and some that she liked and some that my sister wanted me to get. Then in the clothing section she had me pick out some athletic clothes, two tank tops, a sports bra, a warm-up suit. We then selected several nice skirts in a larger waist than the one I had one but that were a slim fit, and a skirt that had a little more flair in it. We then selected a bunch of tops and blouses and two pair of ladies jeans and two slacks and three dresses including what she called an LBD or little black dress in girl speak. They had me try on everything but the panties. Rebecca helped me change and Mom looked at and approved most of it and rejected a couple of things. She then asked me to explain why she accepted certain things and rejected others. I tried to the best of my limited experience. She corrected me when I was wrong and complimented me when I was right.
She then took us over to cosmetics and bought a whole bunch of stuff explaining what it was for, but it was getting late, I was tired and it did not sink in at the time. Then over to jewelry for bangles, bracelets, rings, necklaces and about a dozen different pair of pierced earrings. I was amazed at how much money she spent on me and started to object, but I was overruled. We filled the trunk of the car and headed to our home finally. My poor dogs were tired. I thought I would get some rest when I got home, but it was not in the cards, at least not immediately.
This whole thing about dressing as a girl seemed to have a life of its own. It scared me but at the same time I was not sure but I seemed to enjoy it. I also was halfway sure I wanted to continue. At home finally at about 1:00 a.m. we unloaded the car and brought everything to the living room. Mom led us to her room and asked Rebecca to clean off my face. When she got the makeup off, my face Mom could see the welt on my face. It looked a little less red and angry but there was no doubt what had hit me. There were a couple of places where a bruise was evident but it did not look too bad to me.
Mom turned to Rebecca and first said, “First let’s say that whatever Paula put on today is now hers except for the shoes which really don’t fit and were not yours to give in the first place. Ok?”
What I realized was that I wore Rebecca’s best blouse and her favorite skirt which cost a pretty penny. It hit Rebecca where she lived.
“Second, your allowance goes to Paula for the next thirty days.”
Her allowance was twice mine because she was expected to buy her necessities like pantyhose and makeup from it. I thought I would have to help her on the sly. Rebecca had winced as Mom pronounced her judgments, tears formed in her eyes.
“Thirdly you are grounded for the next thirty days,” and with a glint in her eye, “and help your sister learn all about being a girl. If it means getting out of the house so be it as long as she is with you and you treat her well and only while she is dressed as a girl. You will not threaten or force her to dress up, but if she wants to you will teach her and look out for her. What you do for lessons are up to you but I expect to see results. You have done a good job. I expect you to continue it. I will also give you hints about things she needs to learn. Come July we are going on a vacation for three weeks and either Paul or Paula may go with us, it’s her choice. It may be hard for both to go but even that is an option.”
I realized that for my sister to have a good time this summer Paula was going to have to be around. I loved my sister but I might have to make her sweat a little.
Rebecca hugged me close and said, “Paul, I am so sorry I hurt you. I promise that if you forgive me I will make it up to you. If you want to learn to be Paula, I will do my best to teach you to be the best girl I can, but if you don’t I will sit patiently in my room and not complain. There is no excuse for what I did. Teach me to be as loving as you are.”
That last comment from Sis, brought another raised eyebrow from Mom. She had not realized the truth she had heard before then that Paul was a more loving child than Rebecca had been. He clearly had feminine characteristics that she had been blind to. This could be a win/win situation for her children. She made a mental note to talk to their doctor on Monday.
Mom then told Rebecca that she wanted to see the purchases that she and I made at the lingerie shop and asked her to go get them. Rebecca jumped up and hurried down to find them.
I turned to Mom and told her that I was proud of Sis, and I still loved her.
Mom just hugged me. I can’t remember ever being hugged so much, but I am not complaining. I like it. Mom started unbuttoning my blouse as Sis came back with two bags from the lingerie shop. I started to discard the blouse but Sis made me fold it neatly and lay it on the couch, the same with the skirt, saying girls don’t dump their clothes, especially their nice clothes on the floor Paula. That is when I realized that school had begun for me. I was learning lessons that I actually loved coming from my favorite people.
I was glad to get all those clothes off they were fun but I needed rest and comfort. When I wiggled my tits at Mom, she and Sis both cracked up. I took my things I selected and started to head to the bathroom and Mom said, “Where are you going we are all girls here?” I stopped and pulled my blue panties off and pulled my yellow panties up tucking my self between my legs as I had done earlier. I then put my bra on and showed Mom. Sis was taking her clothes off and dressing too in the matching bra and panties. I slipped the nightie over my head. Sis didn’t usually wear a bra at night when she slept but she put hers on and her nightie, and panties.
Mom looked at and felt the material and said, “I really liked your choice Rebecca.”
“I didn’t choose these Mom, Paula did and I liked it so I got one to match hers.”
“Rebecca go to your room, let me talk to Paula for a few minutes.”
Sis headed up the stairs to her room. Mom turned to me and said, “We need to have a mother/daughter talk. Paul, I don’t mind you being Paula. I think you are a beautiful child no matter how you choose to present yourself. I just want you to know why I feel this way. I had a boyfriend many years ago. It was not your typical boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. He was more like a girlfriend. He had an ‘identity’ issue. He always was envious of me and my girlfriends, and for the longest time I could not understand him. One day when I was about thirteen, he came over to my place and I was feeling quite mischievous. I dressed him like your sister did to you. He didn’t complain much. It was just a token resistance. He was quite fetching dressed like that and he quite enjoyed it. He confided that he liked dressing as a girl and admitted that he had felt that way for a long time. We played dress up several times since that first adventure, but we were caught by my Mom. She hit the ceiling and called his Mom over. His Mom apologized profusely to my Mom and tore into her son. She marched him half dressed in my stockings, panties, bra, and slip all the way home. He had to walk dressed like that for two blocks. It was about five in the evening and the streets were full of people. She embarrassed him terribly. Once she got him home, she made him go to his room and wait for his father to get home and told him that he better not take off those clothes or wash off the makeup. When his father got home, they called for him to come down stairs, but when he didn’t come, they went to his room to get him. It was too late for him though he had taken one of my stockings and tied it around his throat and the door knob and hung himself. He left a letter to me and told me not to blame myself for this and that his last few days with me were the happiest days of his life.”
“It is a cruel world out there Paula. I don’t ever want you to feel that helpless or unloved. If this is just a game to you then we all can play and have fun, but if this if this is something more to you, you can trust me to still love and support you. Whatever direction you take your secret is safe with us and if at some point you want to live as a girl we will be there for you. Life is too important Paula don’t ever despair to the point of taking your life, you are too precious to me. Will you keep this between you and me Paula?”
I shook my head yes. I didn’t know what to say tears flowed from my eyes. I threw my arms around Mom’s neck and sat in her lap. She rocked me in her arms and stroked my hair. We stood after we had a good cry and she led me upstairs to Sis’s room.
Mom walked over to Sis and just hugged us both. Mom then asked, “Rebecca, Paul’s room is so masculine that I don’t think Paula would be comfortable. If you two can be good girls can Paula sleep with you? Treat it like a sleep over.
This request caught me and Rebecca off guard. I looked to Rebecca. We had not slept together since I was eight years old. Rebecca thought for a second and then nodded to me. Mom popped me firmly on my butt as I walked toward Sis, and she feigned innocence when I turned towards her putting my hands on my hips and pouting. We all broke out giggling. Sis then taught me how to take my makeup off and taught me how to take care of my skin. We didn’t do many of the things girls usually do at sleep overs and not for Rebecca’s lack of trying. Sis had me sit next to her on her bed and turned me so my legs went over her lap and hugged me and rocked me in her arms. I just fell asleep and slumped on her lap. Rebecca just stroked my hair until she too fell asleep.
Paula had some strange dreams that night. The first night he ever spent in girls clothing. He dreamed of satin and lace, of dresses and skirts, of long silky hair, of things so foreign to him. He was happy dreaming of things so feminine.
Paul slowly woke. Things did not seem right. There were arms holding him and he could feel a girl spooned at his back. He opened his eyes and realized he was in his sister’s room and remembered about the previous day. It felt so good to be held. Looking at the light coming in the window he could tell the day was well past morning. He rolled on his back under his sister’s arm and looked at her. Even early in the morning she was so pretty. He reached over and kissed her on her cheek, and got out of bed. Paul headed to the bathroom he always used and took care of his business sitting in the fashion of girls. Yesterday had been so strange, so different, maybe it would not go away. He took a small portion of toilet paper and dried himself and flushed. He took care to tuck himself back between his legs leaving a smooth front. He stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself dressed in a yellow silk nightie, long dark auburn hair hung past his shoulders. There was only a small area on his face that was bruised below his left eye. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, and brushed his long auburn hair till it fell into place.
Paula returned to his sister’s room as she was sitting up in bed. She smiled when she saw him. He sat on the bed next to her.
“Morning Paula did you sleep well. I was glad we slept together. It felt good sleeping next to someone for a change.”
“I know Sis. I slept well and had some strange dreams, don’t remember much of them but it felt kinda good.”
“I see you brushed your hair little Sis. It looks good on you. I am glad you are part of our family. I want to teach you all about girls if you want me to.”
Rebecca got up and handed a robe to Paul the same one he had worn the day before. Sis told him that it was his since he had worn it yesterday and that was Mom’s rule. He pulled it on and realized that it was shorter than his nightie. Rebecca pulled on a powder blue robe, and held out her hand to Paula. Together we padded down to the kitchen. Rebecca started breakfast and Paula helped her. She had not done much cooking, the most he had done was, make a sandwich or boil some hotdogs. Now he paid attention to what Rebecca. She had him do several things to make breakfast. Mixing the ingredients for a pancake batter as his sister handed them to him. Sis fired up the griddle as Paula got the batter ready for cooking. Paula poured several circles of batter on the grill till there was no more room. The pancakes started to rise and bubble and then Paula flipped them. Two more rounds of hot cakes then Paula started the bacon six strips. With the bacon ready, Rebecca made the coffee and set the table. She then sent Paula up to wake Mom.
Paula plopped on the bed next to her Mom, who woke with quite a start.
“Oh Paul....a good to see you this morning. How did you sleep dear?”
“I slept well Mom. Thank you for every thing you have done for me. Breakfast is ready and waiting for you.”
Mom got out of bed went to the bathroom and came out minutes later putting a robe on. Together they went to the kitchen where Rebecca had everything ready.
The girls talked while they ate Paula turned to who ever was speaking and paid attention while she ate. She added to the conversation at points, remembering to not speak with food in her mouth, and spoke her feelings confidently. She felt a new camaraderie with her family, they were close before but this was like three sisters talking and having fun.
“Rebecca, Paula, take the bags in the living room up to Rebecca’s room, we will see about making you room there to put your things up.”
Paula and her sister grabbed the many bags they had just left the previous day and headed to the girls’ room sitting them on the bed. Sis went to her dresser and started rearranging her things there. She had a large dresser and she found that she could make enough room for Paula’s things there easy. The girls then started to sort, arrange and put up Paula’s under thing’s and such.
They then turned to the closet. This was going to be a problem. Rebecca went through her things that were hanging and sorted them into three piles. First pile, were the things she wanted to keep for herself, then the second pile, were things that might fit Paula and look good on her, then there was a pile that she would give away. She had Paula go through the last pile and check to see if there was anything there she would like to try. Paula tried on several items and Rebecca would explain what would work or not work for her and why. Paula kept one dress and a skirt from that pile. They then went through the pile Rebecca wanted Paula to keep, she explained why they were good for Paula and how they would work together with her other things. They rejected some of the clothes there but kept most of them. Rebecca then went through her pile and showed her how they went together with her things and showed Paula which things she could borrow from Rebecca’s section and which clothes she wanted for herself. Paula told her she would respect her things and her wishes. They then hung the clothes that Rebecca had pulled from her closet. Sis still had the lions share of the space but there was sufficient space that they may be able to get the rest of Paula’s new clothes hung.
Rebecca then made room on her vanity for Paula’s makeup. Sharing her domain had been hard and at the same time she was glad. Paula was a real sweetheart and took everything in stride. She wondered how she would have done if their positions had been reversed. She had not intended things going this far and was having to evaluate how she felt about this. Her comfort zone was most definitely being stretched, and she felt it was for the most part a good thing.
Finally in the early afternoon they got everything put away. The girls took turns showering and Rebecca helped Paula dress and add makeup. She worked very slowly explaining what she was doing and why, making sure Paula could see what she was doing. Paula could see herself transform from a cute girl to a beautiful young lady. Not as sexy as the day before but makeup she could wear most anywhere, refined but youthful. Paula then selected some underwear a white satin and lace bra and panty set, a camisole, half-slip and pantyhose and dressed and carefully folded her sleepwear. Paula then put on a kelly green rayon blouse and a navy cotton pencil skirt with a small kick pleat in the back that came to 2-inches above her knee and a pair of navy pumps with a 3-inch heel. The skirt was tight at the hem and limited her ability to walk. She was forced to take shorter more feminine steps and swing her hips more. Sis dressed in a white charmeuse blouse and a green chiffon skirt, with white strappy sandals with 3-inch heels.
The girls sought out and found Mom sitting in the living room watching TV. She looked at her daughters as they approached and was impressed. She looked closely at Paula and told them the makeup was much better for a girl her age. She commented that the clothing they selected looked very nice. She said that she was shocked that Paula was dressed in such a form fitting skirt but that it looked very good on her. She also told Paula to take care of that wig it is a real human hair wig and it is quite expensive.
“Well dressed like that we need to go out, go get your purses girls while I get dressed.”
We got our purses and loaded them with and the powder and lipsticks we would need for repairs. They then returned to the living room where Paula learned just what Mom had meant by her skirt. Rebecca just had to giggle as Paula maneuvered around trying to sit properly in her skirt. Rebecca gave her hints and encouragement as she practiced. Mom was watching this from around the corner upstairs. It was a skirt she selected at the store for Paula just for this reason. Standing was a real chore for Paula because the skirt’s tightness did not allow much movement for the legs. Rebecca was offering no assistance except for moral support.
Mom was impressed with her girls. Paula wouldn’t give up and Rebecca was being a good teacher. This was going to work out very good. She knew Rebecca had an anger problem. It was not that she got angry often, but when she did she could be a holy terror. She was impulsive and did not share well. Paula had always had a certain sweetness and was always ready to share, but was often hurt, she needed not a suit of armor to blunt all attacks, but maybe just a shield to protect her from most of the harm. Her kids were learning discipline, not as a punishment but as a way of life. Both of her kids could come out of this being much better persons, accepting people that were different from the norm but who were still good people.
She might even be able to bring her friend Francis home to meet her kids. She hoped that her children could understand her relationship with Francis. She had kept it very discreet but maybe that could be changing soon. The kids did not need all the details, but maybe they could accept that she could love another person, even if it was another woman. She blushed as she thought of her friend/lover. It was not that she was a lesbian, but more that she was bisexual and a woman could be more tender and caring than most men, except for her Paula.
If Paula could just stay through the summer, she would not force Paula to stay, but she would accommodate her if she chooses to. She would certainly make it attractive for Paula to stay, Rebecca seemed to be doing her best to do it also. She would talk to Rebecca about Paula.
Mom went to the girls room and got two things for Paula, a waist nipper and a padded girdle. She needed a little more shape. Returning to the living room she had Paula take off her blouse and skirt. Paula groaned as she saw what Mom intended for her, but she was very compliant, and she had to admit that it really help her image as a girl. She realized that the already tight skirt fit better at the waist but her poor tush was being squeezed. She practiced sitting and standing again and found that she could do it very well. Her face beamed with pride as she looked at Mom and Sis who were applauding her.
“Well kids lets go to the car, I think we need to go to the mall. Paula doesn’t know what shop till you drop means yet.”
“I think she is about to learn, don’t you Mom.”
Paula just groaned, if she had to try on a bunch of clothes with this skirt it was going to be a long day. They headed to the garage and Paula attempted to step in the front seat. She had to push her butt into the car and sit then swing her legs in. Keeping her knees together was not an issue the skirt saw to that. She scooted next to Mom and Rebecca got in next to her. The two kids held hands as Mom drove. The banter was light and feminine, Paula joined in with them, she was picking up girl talk very easily and fit in with the conversation.
They reached the mall and they held hands with Paula in the middle and strode into the mall. There were a hundred stores in the mall and seventy of them catered to women. They went from store front to store front stopping at one kiosk and another. They all tried clothes on. Paula and Rebecca even ganged up on Mom and got her to dress younger. She was surprised at Paula’s sense of fashion. She bought the skirt and blouse Paula had picked out for her. It made her look like a sister to the girls. Rebecca saw a nail salon and tried to get them in there, saying it would really help Paula.
“Paula if you get your nails done in there you need to understand that it will be impossible for Paul to come back for a while. There is no changing back and forth. I would expect you to remain this way for at least six weeks. The nails can come off but you can’t replace them back on. I think it would be good but it is your choice, I won’t make you do it. I want you to really think about it before you make up your mind.”
Paula walked off for a few seconds and appeared to be really thinking about it. Mom and Rebecca gave her plenty of room, but in the end she came back smiled, took their hands and headed into the nail salon. Mom gave the manicurist instructions for 1/2-inch nails for them all and helped select polish for each of them. They were each led to a different station and their manicurists took care of them. It was a new experience for Paula. She had a cute Asian girl who looked no older than she was. Her English was very good and her accent was so sexy, but it was her smile that made her heart skip a beat. She never felt like this before, yes she did like girls but that was as Paul. She had never gone out with one. The girl knew her business and enjoyed working on Paula. She too was affected by Paula. She had worked with many girls and some girl wannabes but she never felt like this before. She gave Paula detailed instructions on the care of her nails and told her to come back for refills when the base of the nails were grown out enough to be too noticeable. After she finished with her nails she took a good hand lotion and massaged Paula’s hands and continued talking to her. They were lost in each other’s eyes.
“Emm are you through hon,” Mom intoned.
“Oh so sorry Mam, we were just having a good talk. Please do come back in for refills. My name is Kylie, I enjoyed helping you,” she said handing Paula her business card.
Paula for the first time glanced at her new nails and said, “Thank you Kylie, they are gorgeous. I really like them.” She stood and reached out and hugged Kylie.
Kylie looked shocked but quickly returned the hug and had a big smile on her face when they parted. Rebecca watched the girl as they left, she was fanning herself and her face was flushed. Looking at Paula, she noticed that she too was flushed. Looking at Mom who was looking at her they both raised eyebrows. After paying the cashier Mom inspected everyone’s nail and pronounced them excellent. Mom gave us each a couple of bucks and instructed us to tip our operator.
Paula was very distracted and seemed to be walking on air. It seemed that Mom and Rebecca were trying to see how much they could get away with while Paula was on cloud nine. She came to ground when she thought she had told her Mom yes to getting a corset.
Paula stopped and turned to Rebecca and whispered in her ear, “Did I just tell Mom that I would wear a corset.”
“You sure did Paula, and here it comes girl,” Rebecca giggled.
“I want all three of us fitted for corsets,” Mom told the sales lady.
It was Rebecca’s turn to blanch hearing this. Paula gave her sister a peck on the cheek, and giggled.
“At least I am not going to suffer alone,” Paula said.
Rebecca made a fist and put it at the base of Paula’s nose and said, “keep it up sis and I will be an only child,” but the smile on her face told a different story.
The sales lady brought three corsets after taking all of our measurements. She helped Rebecca as Mom helped me. Groans could be heard as the laces were being tightened. The older women were showing no mercy to us. Mom looked at us and said we will take them and then the women helped the girls dress. We got some measure of satisfaction though as the sales lady tightened Mom’s corset. Mom’s waist actually needed the most attention of us, but the effect they had was marvelous on them. We all had to go to the ladies room when we left that shop. I took the longest to get getting unencumbered enough to use the facilities and to get myself together afterwards. We then powdered our noses and repaired our lipstick.
The food court was a good place to stop for a few minutes, so we each ordered the type of food we liked and not surprisingly in appropriate quantities.
Mom finally broke the ice with Paula.
“That was a nice girl at the nail salon Paula, you two seemed to get along well don’t you think.”
“Ah yes she was, I liked her very much Mom. I hope to see her again sometime.”
“I think she wants to see you too Sis. You had her in vapors Paula. She blushed when you hugged her. You sure surprised me. That’s all I can say.”
“I don’t understand Mom, before no girl ever made me feel that way, and I don’t think I have ever done that to a girl before. Why now and why with me dressed like this? Would she like me as a guy or will I have to look like a girl, will she hate me because I am pretending to be a girl?”
“I can’t answer your questions Paula, only time will tell. You can only be the best person you are. I think you are a very special person. I love you no matter how you are and if she and you are meant to be, she too will love you for what you are.”
My special thanks to Karen Page, Angel O’Hare, Robi, Stacy, Samantha and all the others for their help and encouragement, without which this piece would not have been possible.
This story is of course fiction and all characters are also fictitious. Any resemblance to anybody real or actual situations is unintended.
I retain the copyright to this story.
The Slap Ch 2
By Paula Dillion
We finished up our meal and talking at the food court at the Mall. First stop, Mom informed us, is the ladies room. We took care of our business and repaired our makeup. Mom and Sis still couldn’t get over how quickly I adapted to this role.
Mom checked to see that we were currently alone and asked,
“Paula, you have never done this before, have you dear?”
“No Mom this is the first time, I have never messed with yours or Rebecca’s clothes. It just never crossed my mind.”
“I can’t get over how comfortable you seem now. You act like you have done this a lot. Your mannerism’s aren’t perfect but you’re pretty darn good for someone who wasn’t born a girl. How do you like it so far?” Mom asked as we headed back into the mall.
“It is so different than I thought it would be Mom. It has been fun. I know everything about being a girl is not fun, and I have only had a small taste of it, but I think I am going to enjoy it this summer. Does that make me strange?”
“No Paula, you are not strange. You’re different, but that is not a bad thing. I love this side of you, and I am sure your sister does too.”
”Paula I love you too. You can be my little sister any time you want to. Truthfully I never expected you to like it the way you have, I have had more fun with you than with many of my friends.”
We had a big group hug in the middle of the mall in front of many people and we didn’t care. We stopped and got my ears pierced. The Lady told me how to take care of my ears. I liked the way my ears looked. Mom had chosen peridot ear rings, my birthstone she said. Then we went shopping again. I couldn’t believe the way Mom and Sis went from store to store mostly just looking rather than buying. It was fun to a point but my shoes and skirt were starting to wear me down. I was taking a lot more steps to go the same distance than when I was dressed as a boy. Mom looked at me and could tell I was worn out. She took pity on me and we headed to the car. All along the way we drew attention from guys we passed. I know Mom was getting some of the attention too. She looked great at least to me.
On the way home we stopped by a video store to rent some movies. Mom decided we would have a girl’s night at home and told us to each find a movie we wanted to watch. I started to go to the action movie isle but I knew that they wouldn’t appreciate it like I would. I wound up choosing the movie Phenomenon with John Travolta. Mom and Sis both had classic chick flicks as I thought they would, Romeo and Juliet with Di Caprio, (Sis’ choice) and The English Patient.
We stopped and picked up some mint chocolate chip ice cream and headed on home.
We wrangled our purchases into the house. Mom put the ice cream into the freezer, and started fixing dinner. I could not wait to get undressed. I begged Sis to help me get out of the corset but she refused and just giggled. At least I did get the skirt off and those heels. I started to put on a pair of jeans but Rebecca had other plans. Instead I wound up in a black slip dress, with stockings attached to garters attached to the corset and Rebecca had a blue chiffon dress with a princess collar and long gauzy sleeves. My heels went back on my feet. Rebecca redid my makeup even more mature than yesterday, she really was an artist. She did herself up royally also, and then she led me downstairs.
Mom was just setting the table for dinner when we showed up. She stopped looked at us and said wow. She hugged us both and said, “You two are gorgeous young ladies, you both make me look underdressed. Ok girls let us sit and have dinner,”
“Mom, don’t ever worry about whether you still have it or not, because you have never lost it,” I told her.
“Yeah Mom, in your own way, your as gorgeous as we are,” Rebecca said.
Mom served us, then took her napkin and laid it on her lap. Rebecca and I followed Mom’s lead. We were then instructed on which fork and spoon to use and how to eat at a formal setting. Taking a bite and setting down the implement while the food was chewed. All the while we carried on a “pleasant conversation.” I was reminded to sit straight and to never use the back of the chair to rest against, hands on lap when not using silverware to get the next bite of food. I never knew there was so much to know about eating. Mom raised her wine glass and Rebecca and I followed her lead.
The meal was light considering the restriction of the corsets, and it was an enjoyable experience. We finished and cleared the table and started cleaning the kitchen. Mom put an apron on and washed the dishes, while we took care of the rest. The three of us made quick work of the kitchen.
As we were finishing up the doorbell rang and Rebecca said that she would get it. Mom and I walked side by side into the living room. Rebecca led two of her girlfriends Sandy and Colleen into the living room until she looked at me and stopped. I knew both of them. I tried to think fast and said, “Hello I am Paula Douglass (Mom’s maiden name),” and I don’t know why but I said, “I’m Laura’s sister.” I knew I had stuck my foot into it now.
Sandy and Colleen both came over and greeted me and Rebecca introduced the girls to me. Mom asked the girls if they wanted anything to drink and they both wanted cokes.
“Come Paula, let's get drinks for everyone,” Mom said.
Rebecca and the girls headed to the couches and Mom and I headed to the kitchen. Out of earshot Mom whispered in my ear, “Good save Sis. You will now have to call me Laura, and Rebecca will have to call you Aunt Paula. I am not complaining we had not thought that through but now we are stuck with it.”
Rebecca came up behind us, hugged me and said, “Sorry Aunt Paula, I didn’t think and I am glad you were quick on your feet. How old are you by the way.”
Mom looked me over and said, “Well she looks older than thirteen and I am thirty five so we will call her seventeen.”
We returned with the drinks and joined the girls. I was on pins and needles, but the girls seemed to accept me. They asked where Paul was and Mom said, “He is with his grandma and my sister Paula came to join us this summer.”
Rebecca said, “We have movies and ice cream why don’t you join us and we will have a girl’s night, it is mint chocolate chip ice cream.”
Mom told them they would need to get permission from their parents, ask them if you can spend the night. The girls just giggled and headed to the phone.
While the girls were on the phone Mom got Rebecca and me together and said, “We can do this if you two are careful. It will be a good experience for you Paula you have been doing well so far. Paula you will be a senior in high school this fall and are visiting for part of the summer and just do what the girls do and you will be alright. Rebecca put Paula’s yellow nightie and panty with some of her clothes in my room and don’t wear yours tonight. Paula, think of some names and histories for boyfriends that you’ve had over the last two or three years.”
Rebecca went upstairs and Sandy called Mom to the phone, and I sat and thought up some names and histories. Several minutes later both girls and Mom came back to the living room and Rebecca came down stairs. They were all excited that they could stay. Mom told Rebecca to take them to her room and loan them a nightie and that she would take her Sister and get dressed as well.
We went up to our respective rooms with me joining Mom and got ready I helped Mom out of her corset and I thought she was going to let me out of mine but she just loosened it. She checked my breast forms and used a little makeup on them to hide the seams and helped me into my nightie. I still wore my stockings I saw my white fury mules with a 2-inch heel and I slipped them on my feet as Mom put her nightie on. I put on my peach colored satin robe and Mom a pink terry robe and got three comforters out of a closet. The girls were already downstairs and were staking out their territory.
Rebecca called me into the kitchen to get chips and drinks as Mom passed out comforters. I touched Rebecca’s back and found that she had taken off her corset and thought not fair.
We brought the food and drinks back and Mom was getting the video set up. I sat next to Sandy and was immediately covered by a comforter. The first movie we watched was Romeo and Juliet. The girls fussed over Leonardo so I did to. It was fun being with these girls. They made swooning noises as Romeo kissed his Juliet.
Mom must have turned the thermostat down because the room chilled and it felt comfy under the comforter. Sandy’s legs sent shivers down my back as her legs touched mine. I got a big shock was when Sandy put her hand on top of my thigh. I didn’t know what to do so I covered her hand with mine and moved it between us but keeping her hand in mine. Sandy turned her hand and slipped her fingers between mine. At least I still had my control panty on, it was uncomfortable as my penis tried to arouse but I was still not showing.
After the first movie was over mom served us ice cream and we selected Phenomenon as the second movie. The girls were so giggly it was contagious. We talked and a giggled and we all cried as the movie ended. Mom brought out a box of tissues for us and I had to go clean my makeup off as it was now streaked. When I got back, Mom started the third movie and excused herself as she went to her room to sleep leaving us there.
With Mom gone the conversations became more animated to say the least, and the subjects changed. Sex was the big topic. I tried to keep up my guise and I could see Sis smile and wink at me. I don’t remember much about the English Patient because we talked so much. It was late when the movie ended. We all fell asleep before the credits rolled. I felt warm and comfy as Sandy cuddled up next to me my arm around her back and under her arm.
I was the first awake in the morning. My hand cupped Sandy’s tit and was trapped in place by her right arm and left hand. She was leaning into me and had a warm fuzzy smile on her face. My bladder was screaming and it took about two minutes to maneuver free from her grasp without waking her.
After taking care of my business I decided to get some clothes and head for the bathroom that connected Mom and Sis’s room. After a short struggle I freed myself from my corset and tucked my wig (still attached with adhesive thank goodness) in a shower cap. Making sure the doors were locked I took a quick shower, and dressed in bra, panty, pantyhose, padded panty girdle, waist nipper, slacks that buttoned and zipped in the back , penny loafers and a scoop neck tank top. There was so much more to dressing as a girl even when dressing down, especially when these long fingernails. I brushed out my hair and applied makeup, just foundation, powder, lipstick and mascara. I added three bangles on my right wrist, a lady’s watch on my left, a heart shaped locket on a chain. I had my starter earrings in and knew it was too early to change them. I looked in the mirror and I looked older than I was and hoped I could carry it out.
I went into my Mom’s room she was just waking. She motioned for me to come over and we hugged. I told Mom all that had transpired and left nothing out. She giggled and said you may have a bosom buddy there girl. Mom got dressed saying she had showered last night so we could have the hot water today. She reminded me to call her Laura today.
“I am sorry Laura, I don’t know why I said I was your sister.”
“Although I miss you calling me Mom, I am proud to be your sister, Paula. Come on Sis lets go fix the girls’ breakfast.”
We went down stairs and saw the girls still sleeping, and went into the kitchen. I started the coffee and toast, and mom started eggs and bacon. I then set the table for five and prepared the frozen OJ. The girls were stirring and heading to the bathrooms.
Rebecca came into the kitchen and said, “Morning Mom, and Auntie giving me a hug. It is not fair here it is morning and you two look so good already,” she giggled.
“Well if you got up at a decent hour you too could be looking good now, but it is Sunday so sleeping late is ok,” Mom said.
The other girls came in and a round of good mornings, hugs, and how did you sleep followed. The hug Sandy gave me nearly curled my toes. Juice, coffee and food made its way to the table. We had a very animated breakfast, with jokes, girl talk and giggles. We all helped Mom with the kitchen and retired to the living room. The girls discussed what we would do today, and it seemed that we were headed back to the mall.
We all headed to Rebecca’s room, Rebecca and I found clothes that would fit Sandy and Colleen mostly my stuff but it looked good on them. They were having fun going through our wardrobe trying things on.
“I just love your clothes Rebecca,” Colleen said.
“Some of these are yours too Paula, aren’t they,” Sandy said.
“Yes, Rebecca made room for my clothes here,” I said.
“But most are all new aren’t they, your clothes that is?” Sandy said.
“Yes, before I came here my Mom said I needed some new clothes before I start my senior year at high school.”
Finally they had on what they liked and we headed to Rebecca’s car. I made sure I grabbed my purse and had the makeup I would need. Colleen got the front passenger seat which left me in back with Sandy. I was in deep confusion; Sandy knew Paul and she basically treated him as a non-entity, as Paula she was fawning over me. I appreciated the attention but it made me nervous. Sandy managed to stay on her side of the seat maybe it was the seatbelt that helped me here.
It was 11am when we hit the mall; most of the stores would not open for another hour so we walked the mall. I was sandwiched between Colleen and Sandy as we walked. I seemed to look at the way the mannequins were dressed differently. Some of the lessons I have been taught started making sense. I pointed out some of the things I liked and we talked about what would look good. I was starting to take a greater part in our conversations and being comfortable doing it.
One of the first stores we entered was a music store. The music we liked at least was close, but the girls discussed it differently. They talked about the girls costumes and their looks and the guys were either hunks or losers. I selected one CD by a girl band I liked.
Back in the mall we hit store after store. I was pulling clothes off the rack as good as the girls were. I started to really get into this shopping thing. The clothes I chose to wear made it much easier to do it, although the shoes did not go with a lot of the outfits. The girls kept bringing me some sexy clothing to try on. One dress barely covered my underwear. I swore they were trying to see how far I would go, but I knew I wouldn’t buy any of it so it didn’t matter to me. I mean girls try on lots of clothes they never buy. I did make a few purchases; but I found a cashmere sweater/tank combo I knew my sister would love, but it cost more than I had, so I put it back, but remembered where I found it.
We hit the food court for a light snack; I remembered to eat slower taking smaller more dainty bites of smaller portions. We carried on a light banter as we ate. It was more fun than I thought it would be just being with the others and taking part in all we did. A meal that used to take me five minutes or less, was taking upwards of thirty minutes, but I did not care I was enjoying myself.
We finished eating and headed to the ladies room, took care of our business and repaired our makeup. We then hit the mall again window shopping till we reached the theater. We saw another movie, and at least I had not seen this one. I sat next to Rebecca, Colleen sat on other side of sis and Sandy sat next to me. The chair arm between us was one that could be raised up and Sandy did it and scooted next to me hip to hip. I laid the back of my hand on her bare thigh, she had worn a short skirt, and she captured my hand in hers.
I never realized it but the so called chick flicks had better plots to them and the acting was generally better than the actions flicks. This one was a real tearjerker and I finally freed my hand to open my purse for a tissue. I tried to keep from smudging my makeup as I dried my tears, mostly I utterly failed. After the movie was over we stopped in the ladies room I took extra time with my makeup to look presentable. Sis smiled as she saw how well I had done.
We headed to our home, where Mom was waiting. She greeted us warmly. Mom had washed the girl’s clothes while we were away and so they change back into their things. Dressed we all then headed to a Pizza parlor. We drew lots of attention as we entered. The five of us were babes, but one of them being adult probably put them off.
“So Paula, how long are you going to be here,” Colleen asked?
“I will be with my sister probably through July, maybe longer; we will be going on a vacation early July though for three weeks, right Laura.”
“Yes we are going to leave on the third of July and return about the twenty fourth.”
“Well we will have to spend as much time as we can with you Paula, won’t we,” Sandy added.
We finished our meal and headed to the ladies room. I just needed to repair my makeup.
Sandy pulled up next to me and whispered in my ear, “Paul don’t worry I know it is you, but I approve of the changes, you are so hot girl. Colleen doesn’t know and I am not going to say anything about it. I like the new you. Call me.”
A chill went down my spine at her words, but her expression told me she was being sincere.
We left the Pizza parlor and Mom dropped the girls off at their homes. When we dropped off the last girl, I broke the news to Mom and Rebecca.
“Sandy knows I am Paul, she says she likes me like this, and that Colleen doesn’t know. That is really strange since she treated me indifferently as Paul. She was making passes at Paula.”
“I think she likes mostly girls Paula, I don’t know how she saw through you except, you act a little too mature for your age. You act more like Mom, than a teenage girl. You did fine. She won’t hurt you though I don’t think,” Rebecca commented.
“I think you are right Rebecca, she has not had that much exposure with teenage girls. Not the kind where they are together by themselves. On the other hand, maybe she saw past the makeup and clothes, I am sure she will tell you if you ask. Do you want to keep going as Paula?”
“Yes I do, Mom. I don’t know but I like being Paula. People treat me better. It is easy for me to make friends this way. I don’t know if I want to stay this way forever but I do want to continue. I know being a girl is not a bed of roses all the time, but it has been better than what I had before.”
Sis and I retired to our bedroom. She checked the adhesive on the wig and removed it and placed in on a pedestal. She brushed out my own hair. It was going to be a long time before I could style my own hair. I showered and prepared for bed. I dried my hair while Rebecca was showering. When she came into the bedroom I had her sit in front of her vanity and set about drying her hair. I enjoyed that and then brushed her hair like she does for herself. She looked like she was almost in a trance as I worked on her hair. I could almost swear she was purring.
“Would you teach me how to style your hair the way you do Sis? I just love doing this; it feels so right to me.”
“Auntie if you keep this up I am never going to let to let my brother come back,”
Rebecca thought for a second and with a worried expression on her face said, “I didn’t mean it like it sounded Paula. I love you as my brother. It’s just been so nice since Aunt Paula came to visit. I love you Aunt Paula.”
“I know what you mean Rebecca, I don’t know what is going to happen but if you are there with me it really helps. There is so much I don’t know about being a girl. I really need your love and support.”
Paula leaned over and hugged Rebecca from behind, nuzzled her ear with her nose and kissed her lightly on her throat.
Rebecca shuddered at Paula’s touch and was embarrassed she had just had an orgasm, it was wonderful, but she was afraid to show it. She would have to have a mother/daughter talk soon.
After a few seconds that seemed like hours Paula released her hold on her Sister and helped her dress for bed spraying one of their favorite colognes, on both of them. They both drifted to sleep in each others embrace.
Rebecca woke first this time and after taking care of her morning ritual she set about brushing out Paula’s wig. It was still clean and in good shape. They would have to take care of it if Paula was going to be wearing it full time.
Paula stirred and Rebecca went over and cuddled and caressed her awake. Paula woke with a big smile on her face, kissed Rebecca’s cheek and gave her a big hug. Paula dashed off to the restroom and did her duties.
“I love waking up like this Rebecca.”
“Me too Paula.”
The girls donned their robes and noticed that Mom had already left for work. They had coffee and cereal for breakfast. After cleaning up after them selves Rebecca announced, “Schools starting girl back to our room.”
Once there Rebecca told Paula to strip and handed her a pair of panties. Paula put them on and tucked herself back. Rebecca then measured Paula’s waist and wrapped the corset around Paula and fastened its busk. She then proceeded to tighten the laces until she had pulled Paula’s waist down three inches, despite her groans and protestations. Rebecca then donned fresh panties and had Paula measure her waist and help her with her corset until Paula had trimmed a similar 3 inches off her waist.
“I don’t want you to do anything I wouldn’t be willing to do myself Paula. You really need the corset right now and so I am willing to suffer too.”
Rebecca then started Paula on her skin care regime. She made sure she knew what each step of the process was for. Paula’s skin was flawless but masculine in texture; this would help her become more feminine and softer. Paula was then instructed on makeup under Rebecca’s close scrutiny, having to apply it, letting Rebecca check it, wash it off and starting all over. Paula was a quick study and started to develop a flare for it. She chose some colors that Rebecca wouldn’t have tried and blended them well, impressing her sister. After an hour of work Rebecca was satisfied for her first real lesson.
Rebecca then had Paula prepare her head for the wig, brushing her hair back out of the way. Then she had Paula put the wig on and showed her how to use the spirit gum around the edges to hold it in place. Paula then brushed it out until it fell into place, and touched up her makeup around the edge of her wig and her breast forms.
Stockings came next and it was a struggle having to bend at the waist and raising knee almost to chest with the corset on to pull the stockings on. Rebecca encouraged but offered no physical assistance to Paula. Paula remembered to run the straps through her underwear to attach the stockings. A blue short sleeve silk scoop neck T, her padded panty girdle, a black half slip, a black Chiffon flared skirt that came to just above the knee, and a pair of black stiletto pumps with a three inch heels to complete the look. A trip to the jewelry box for a necklace with a cameo pendant, bangles, watch, and Paula was a sight to behold.
Rebecca dressed and had Paula select clothes for her mixing tops and skirts till Rebecca was pleased with her choices. Paula sense of what goes together and looks good was uncanny for a boy, let alone a thirteen year old boy. Both finally dressed they grabbed their purses; Rebecca tucked a disposable camera in her purse, and headed for the car. Rebecca left a note of where they were going, Mom had her do that whenever she went anywhere and Mom was not around. She told Paula the she would need to remember to do that also.
“Paul could just go somewhere and it’s not that Mom doesn’t care but as a girl it is important to let her know where we are in case something happens and she needs to find us. Girls have to be more careful Paula. Do you know what I mean?”
“I think so Rebecca girls are preyed upon more than guys, and come to think about it, I am more vulnerable than you since I am not a real girl. If I am discovered I would more likely be hurt than you.”
Rebecca frowned at that thought, she hadn’t really considered that point, but Paula was right. She would have to be careful for Paula’s sake.
“We are going back to the mall because that is where a lot of girls our age are, and shopping is a good way of teaching you more Paula.”
At the mall they did a lot of window shopping, trying on clothes mixing and matching them. Paula learned how to dress to look younger, older, casual, semi formal, formal, professional, more feminine, flirty, sporty, for exercise and how to dress and act her age or apparent age. Paula surprised Rebecca when she selected a very professional executive style three piece skirted suit to try on. Rebecca helped select a white blouse to go with it. The skirt struck Paula just below mid thigh and with the vest and jacket she could work in Mom’s law office and not look out of place, heck she would look like a young lawyer. It was hard to imagine that she was only thirteen. Rebecca remembered the camera and took several pictures of Paula dressed that way.
“What do you think Paula, do you like the look?”
“Yes I do it makes me look good and I don’t know adult, grown up, like Mom looks for work. I always liked how Mom looks dressed for work.”
“You got that right Auntie you definitely look good dressed and ready for work.”
A few more change of clothes and a few more pictures and the camera was full. So they dropped the camera off at a one hour photo shop, and headed to a bookstore. They went to a section on teen styles and beauty. They had selected a few books when they heard someone call “Rebecca”. They both turned to where the voice had come and saw the store manager Charlotte, who they both knew, approached.
“How are you Rebecca and who is this?”
“This is my Aunt Paula Douglass, Mom’s sister. Paula this is Charlotte Connors, she is the Manager here.”
“Hello Paula, how are you?”
“Fine and how are you Mam.”
“Call Me Charlotte I am doing well, thank you. The reason I came over Rebecca, one of my girls is going to be off for a while and I was wondering if you had a job for the summer?”
“Not at the moment, we are going on vacation for three weeks on July 3rd and I am keeping Paula company while Mom works.”
“I will hire her too; you both can work for me until you go on vacation, and when you get back. I am desperate and I know you I won’t worry about hiring you or Paula if she is like you or her Sister.”
“I would need to clear it with Mom first and see what she says.”
“Let’s go to my office and call will you please?”
I was feeling a bit trapped and Sis had a look of mild Panic on her face, but we followed Charlotte to her office. Rebecca called Mom’s office and told her what Charlotte had said, she handed the phone to Charlotte who talked to Mom.
“Really, and how old is she? That is no problem as long as we keep her hours shorter. It will be a good experience for her I think. Ok here she is.”
“Hello Laura.”
“She knows Paula. I trust her if you want to work there it is ok with me. She is a nice lady.”
“Yes I know Laura. Ok.”
“By the way, tell your niece, I have made doctors appointments, with Susan Ramsey, for the both of you tomorrow at 11am. Let me talk to Charlotte now. I love you Sis.”
I handed the phone back to Charlotte and told Rebecca about the appointments with Doctor Ramsey. Rebecca just giggled and blushed.
Charlotte finished talking with Mom, handed an application to Rebecca, asked her to fill it out and started filling out one for me.
She listed my name P. Daniels instead of Douglass and left the sex blank. She asked me to fill in the rest as best I could which I did and had me sign it P. Daniels.
“Paula, your secret is safe with me; I know you and nobody else here will see this application but me. Whenever you get back from your appointments tomorrow please come on in and we will get you both trained. I would like you to appear as you are if you know what I mean. To everyone else you will be Paula Douglass. I want to thank you and Rebecca for helping me out while Ellen has her baby. Don’t worry I will let both of you off for your vacation. For both of you no revealing clothes that means no plunging necklines a little cleavage is ok but not recommended and no shorts or jeans, skirts or skorts no shorter than mid thigh you may be climbing a ladder and slacks are acceptable. For shoes heels are discouraged, flats or trainers are acceptable, and if you chose flats you might also bring a pair of trainers. Paula since you are younger you might not want to dress in clothes that don’t wear good. Rebecca help her with her clothes. She will be working stocking and helping customer on the floor. She needs to look nice but could get a little dirty; she might also bring a spare set of clothes she can change into. Rebecca I will be training you at the register and counter. I want both of you looking good like you are now. I will pay you seven dollars an hour because I like you and because you are helping me out. Keep this to yourselves that is more than most of my employees are paid, but I think you will be worth it. Any questions?”
We shook our heads no and thanked Charlotte. We went back to the one hour photo and picked up the pictures, and headed to the food court.
We looked at the photos of me as while we ate, and talked about our upcoming job, and what other clothes I might need.
“I think you will enjoy working there Paula it will beat sitting at home or lazing around.”
“Yeah I think it will be kinda kewl working there Rebecca. I will be able to buy some things I want also. I won’t have to rely on Mom for money.”
“I think you could use a couple of denim or tweed skirts and a couple of ladies slacks, and maybe a blouse or two. You are almost set up.”
“What now niece of mine?”
“I don’t know Auntie Paula shall we go home and fix Mom a nice dinner.”
“Let’s do that dear. Sis deserves a break. She works so hard.”
They both broke out giggling as they headed to Rebecca’s car.
At home Paula asked if she could make dinner. Rebecca just gave tips and Paula did all the work. It was a chicken teriyaki stir-fry one of Paul’s favorites, with chow main noodles. Rebecca set about making a desert while Paula worked; she seemed to be doing fairly well for a first effort so she let her just concentrate on what she was doing. A chocolate mousse sounded good.
Paula watched her Sis start on the desert as she brought all the ingredients together and she finished up her stir-fry and set it in the oven to keep it warm. Then set about making a pitcher of iced tea, and setting the table. Rebecca spooned the mousse into crystal champagne glasses which she placed in the fridge.
Mom arrived home and after dropping off her things came to the dinner table. “My, you have been industrious,” as she hugged her two girls.
The girls served dinner and tea and told their Mom what they had been up to all day. They told her how they had come to be in the bookstore and how Charlotte had offered them jobs. Rebecca told Mom the jobs would entail and the clothing requirements, noting her assessment of Paula’s needs. Mom agreed and stated that they would pick up a few more things after dinner.
Mom was impressed with the meal saying, “dinner was good who do I thank for the meal.” Rebecca told her Paula cooked the meal but there is desert yet to come and she brought out her chocolate mousse. The dessert was relished by all and Mom gave her two girls big hugs.
Rebecca handed Mom the photos she had taken. She shuffled through the pictures, until she came across the suit. Her breath caught as she looked at Paula in a business suit.
“If you came to my office looking like that and had any skills at all Paula you would have no trouble getting a position. You even look old enough Sis.”
“Thanks Laura, I saw that outfit and just had to try it on. Rebecca helped me find a blouse for it.”
“When you get old enough Sis to dress like that we will see what we can do dear. Tomorrow we all have appointments with Dr. Susan Ramsey. She is an OB/GYN doctor do you know what that is Paula?”
“That is a doctor who treats females’ right?”
“Yes she handles problems associated to female reproductive system and pregnancies. She also handles some problems that deal with the endocrine system, although there are other doctors that specialize in that field. Do you know what that field is?”
“The endocrine system deals with the glands that produce hormones and helps maintain balance. They control the way the body grows, develops, and operates.”
“Very good. The endocrine system also produces hormones that cause the secondary sexual characteristics that differentiate boys and girls beginning at puberty. Rebecca and I look the way we do because at puberty our bodies started producing more estrogens and other female hormones than male hormones. We developed breasts, our skin softened, our waists narrowed and we started accumulating fat in our hips and thighs, started producing eggs, having our monthly periods and we started looking like girls. We all produce some of each. You have yet to go through puberty Paula or it may be just beginning. Your body will begin to produce larger and larger amounts of male hormones and your body will begin to bulk out, your voice will drop, you will start growing facial hair, and to produce sperm. Do you follow me so far Paula?”
“Yes mam, we covered some of that in human biology, It is what makes us what we are.”
“Well that is good. Now the reasons for our visits. Rebecca and I being girls we have to visit our doctors to be sure our female reproductive systems are healthy. Women have many more problems with their bodies than men do usually. So we go to OB/GYN doctors. Your visit has another purpose I want to make sure you understand what I am trying to say and can make an informed decision; I don’t want to force anything on you Paula. If it is your decision to grow up as a girl then this doctor can give you female hormones that will keep you from developing as a male. She has informed me that she can delay male puberty in you for a short while without any harm to you, and with very few changes to your body. Nothing she does tomorrow will be permanent unless you want them to be. You will feel some changes but nothing major, and those changes will not be overly visible to others. Do you follow me so far?”
“Yes I do Mom. I won’t start looking like a girl but I won’t start to look like a boy either. There might be some things that happen but nothing major.”
“Very good. Now for the big question. Do you want to go see this doctor? I want it to be clear to you. We have had our fun with Paula, I have enjoyed you being her, but in the long term it is your life. If you choose it, it will not be an easy life. You might be harassed and hurt; people might make fun of you, and treat you poorly if they found out. Paula think it over is this the kind of life you want to live? You won’t have to make this decision today or tomorrow this visit will give you some time to decide before you start changing. Do you understand?”
“Yes I do Mom. I want to do this at least for now. I believe I want to live like this and I understand the risks. If you and Rebecca will help me I would like to see if I can do it.”
“Ok then Paula, the doctor will want to talk to you and find out if this is truly what you want. Be as honest and frank with her as you can, don’t be pressured by what Rebecca and I want or think you should do, this is your life.”
We had a group hug that went on and on. It felt so right and so good. Now let’s see about getting you ready for work. Rebecca and Mom went over what we both needed. The phone rang and I answered it. It was Sandy. She called to see what we were up to, so I told her that Rebecca and I had a job now and were going to get the clothes we need. She asked if she could come along too, so I said why not, we would be by in twenty minutes. I then told Mom and Rebecca and they agreed we needed to talk to her. So I sat next to Mom in the front seat when we got in our car. We picked up Sandy and headed to the mall.
“Sandy I told Laura and Rebecca what you told me and we would like to know what you intend to do or say?”
“Paula I like you, I will never hurt you in any way. I like you and Rebecca and I know it would hurt you if it ever got out, and I will work to help see that it never does. I want to be your friend, Paula.”
“What gave me away to you Sandy?”
“Nothing much Paula, your sudden appearance and Paul’s departure, all the new clothes, a few mannerism’s nothing major and while we slept next to each other my hand kinda drifted to your crotch by accident and found your ahh, I ahh didn’t find any ahh girl parts down there. You know what I mean I want to apologize for that, you were so sexy and I was so horny, and I let my feelings overwhelm my sense of decency.”
“Oh I know what you mean. It’s ok, I just needed to know. I plan to stay this way for most of the summer and had to know what gave me away. I forgive you for, how should I say, groping me.”
Sandy looked kind of sheepish as Paula made that pronouncement. “It felt good sleeping next to you to Paula. I know I made you feel uncomfortable at times and I promise not to do it in the future. Paula you really make a nice girl.”
“Thank you Sandy. Rebecca and I have landed summer jobs at the bookstore at the mall and we need a few extra clothes. That is why we are shopping tonight.
Our conversation continued untill we got to the mall. It was a small relief that I had done well, but the fact that she had realized who I was still worried me. I resolved to be less transparent and more convincing in the future. We picked up the extra clothes we decided that we needed to work in and messed around at the mall.
Mom saw a wig shop and we stopped there and she talked with the owner she lead us over to a booth, and examined my hair, and left us. She returned with a wig the same color and length that I wore but the tresses were all in curls. The wig I wore was elegant this one was gorgeous. She helped me remove the wig I wore and put a wig cap over my hair and slipped the new wig on. The results were dramatic I saw how this style changed my appearance and was more flirty and had more bounce. It was not the same quality as the other one and I still liked the other but this one gave me a different look. She returned the other wig to my head and boxed it. She told me how to take care of both wigs and sold us some supplies for them. She told me when my hair got longer, falls and extensions maybe a better option for everyday wear.
We then returned home. Sandy helped us get the things into our room and to hang them. We talked for a while and then Sandy said she needed to go home. She hugged and gave us each a quick kiss. Rebecca gave her a lift home. I took my wig off and removed my makeup I now had two wig pedestals on my sister’s dresser. I got Mom to loosen my corset and I put on my nightie.
“Mom my old room is the biggest room, Rebecca’s is the smallest, and your room is in between why?”
“When your father was here your room was ours, it was the master bedroom. When he died I moved into the next bigger room so that your sister and I would share bathrooms to make it easier on you to have your own and not have to wait on your sister or me to get out of the bathroom and prevent you each from accidentally entering on each other. Also, the memories in that room make me feel uncomfortable. I would not want to move back into there, now.”
“Well then while Paul is away we could switch bedrooms, and let Rebecca take my old room and move Paul’s things to her old room. I am not sure Paul will be back anytime soon I think he likes living at his Grandma’s and I like living with my big Sister.”
Paula hugged Laura and started tickling her, which started a tickle war. Rebecca found them wrestling in the living room.
“Children you know your not allowed to rough house in the living room now cut that out,” Rebecca said stomping her foot for emphasis.
We both stopped and looked at Rebecca evilly and both moved toward her. Rebecca realized her plight, squealed and tried to escape. She did not get far when Laura and Paula caught her and started tickling her until she gave up and several seconds more tickling, for good measure.
“That was fun,” Laura said.
Rebecca finally caught her breath back and said, “You two are feeling pretty frisky tonight. That was fun.”
“Next weekend Rebecca we are going to clear out Paul’s room and repaint it and move you and Paula into it the bed is bigger and you will have more room for your things. Then we will move Paul’s things into your old room or into storage and make a quest room. What do you think Rebecca?”
“Paula, are you sure you want to move.”
“Sure it is a no brainer, if you will keep me as a roommate. If I go back to being Paul you will just hafta survive in a bigger room and Mom will hafta share a bathroom with me.”
“Mom?”
“Have you and your Aunt been good girls?”
“Yes we have. It has been so nice sleeping next to her, I can’t explain it.”
“Yes Laura, we have been good. I have enjoyed sleeping next to Rebecca.”
“As long as you’re both good, and you don’t start getting on each others nerves I have no problem with it. We can look at paint and decide how feminine you two want your room. You both have to agree on it, at least for now.”
“Mom, are you going into work tomorrow.”
“Yes I am. Can you meet me at Doctor Ramsey’s at about 10:45 in the morning?”
“Sure thing Mom.”
With that we broke up and went to our bedroom, I brushed Rebecca’s hair. I enjoyed that, her hair was so soft and silky I loved running my fingers through it. We hugged and went to bed.
I awoke first about 5:45 in the morning and took care of my business. I put the stocking cap on and chose the new wig. I did my makeup to look older, more adult. I then took my corset off and got a clean bra and panty set and pantyhose, a white cotton blouse and my new black slacks and flats.
I headed on downstairs and started breakfast for Mom and myself and omelets and coffee. I got eggs, milk, cheese, ham, bell peppers, onions, all set on the counter. I heated a skillet while I chopped the veggies and meat and started the coffee. I cracked some eggs into a bowl, added a little milk, mixed it with a whisk, some fresh cracked pepper and then into the skillet. I added my ingredients and folded the omelet. I made it large enough for both of us. After flipping it over again, I heard someone behind me I looked and both Mom and Rebecca were there watching.
“Are you sure she is not your sister Mom. Paul never made breakfast for us.”
“I am not sure dear but I like what I smell as long as she doesn’t burn it.”
I snapped back, put the omelet on a plate and divided it into three parts Rebecca started the toast and Mom set the table. We sat at the table and passed the food around.
“This is good honey. You can cook my breakfast anytime.”
“It is obscene for her to look so good so early in the morning Mom. It’s only 6:45, she is dressed, made up and fixing breakfast. It just aint normal for a teenager.”
“I never claimed to be “normal” Rebecca. I just woke up and decided to get ready. You both were sleeping so good I was going to wake you when I got it finished.”
“No problem Aunt Paula, this is good, thank you for fixing it.”
Mom kissed us and then went upstairs to finish getting ready for work. Rebecca and I cleaned up the kitchen and had another cup of coffee. I was nervous about today so much about my life was going to change and I wondered what tomorrow was going to bring.
Mom came down, waved to us as she left and headed out the door.
Rebecca took my hand and led me back to our room. She shampooed and conditioned her hair and turned her hot rollers on. She sat if front of her vanity and combed out her hair and proceeded to show me how she rolls up her hair. She did a few and then had me start doing them. In about forty minutes I had her hair all rolled up.
“This is just for a short time style that will wash out. My hair will somewhat be like your wig. Once the hair is all dried we will do a comb out and we will see what we get.”
She took this time to get dressed for our appointment and for work. I set aside some clothes to take with us in a tote along with my trainers, sis did the same and I took them down to her car. When I got back upstairs, Rebecca had me take the rollers out then she styled it showing me what she was doing. She finally set her style with hair spray. I could see the difference in our styles but hers looked good.
“I hope my hair looks half as good as yours Rebecca when it gets that long in what two or three years. Gosh I like it.”
“Are you assuming that you will be here in two or three years Sis?”
“I am almost sure of it Sis, but you will be away at college in two years. I just realized how much I am going to miss you.”
“Well we will have two years and maybe more together first but whatever happens you will still have me in your heart.”
“I know Rebecca. Let’s get ready to go. It is almost time.”
We left home and drove to Dr. Ramsey’s office. We waited in the waiting room for about 10 minutes when Mom showed up. She signed us in and filled out some paperwork.
Soon we were called to go back to the nurse’s station, where we were weighed, temperature taken, and blood pressure taken, before being placed in separate rooms. I was instructed to undress completely and put on a gown. Dang gown was open in back and drafty. I sat on the exam table and waited. It seemed like forever and a day before two women entered. One was the nurse I had seen earlier and the other looked like a doctor.
“Hello I am Doctor Susan Ramsey please call me Susan, and you are Paula Daniels right.”
“Yes Mam. I am.”
“Ok have you ever had an OB/GYN exam, before?”
“No Mam. Did Mom tell you what I am here for?”
“Yes we had a chat. I know about you, it is a standard question for a new patient.”
“So tell me Paula, why are you here?”
“It is hard to say. I am not sure. No that is not true I think I want to become a girl.”
“Tell me about it Paula. Why do you want to become a girl?”
So I ran down my story to her. I tried to leave nothing out. The ladies listened closely to what I had to say. Susan made notes as I talked. I don’t know why but I ran on and on as I bared myself to them. Susan would stop me occasionally to clarify a point or two but just let me for the most point talk.
“Is anybody forcing you to do this?”
“No, I’m not being forced to do any of this, in fact Mom and Rebecca and I have had several talks and they have told me that it was all up to me.”
“You do know this road won’t be easy. People have a tendency to hate people who change genders don’t you?”
“Yes, we have talked about that too. You don’t think I should do this do you?”
“First it is not important what I think or what your Mom and Sister thinks about this. It is what you think that is important. What does matter is, what is it going to take to make you, what you should be. I will tell you this Paula, I like you. I think it took a lot of courage to do what you have done. No matter what happens; whether you are Paul or Paula I want you to know that I will always be a friend for you. I take very good care of my patients; they all are a part of my family.”
Paula reached out and hugged Susan. “Thank you, that means so much to me.”
“Well it seems that you have given it a lot of consideration. Let’s have a look at you.”
She looked at my eyes, ears, up my nose, in my mouth, felt about my throat. She had me lower my gown and asked the nurse to get something which she used to remove my breast forms. She checked my chest and armpits. She checked me with her stethoscope and had me breath and cough. I was told to lie back on the table and she felt my abdomen. She instructed me to pull my gown back on and had me stand and raise the hem of the gown. Her now gloved hands were at my groin she probed the area and had me turn my head and cough; she moved her hands and repeated the process. She had me lay on my side knees to my chest as she smoothed a lotion on her gloved hand and told me what was coming. Cold shivers went down my back even before she touched me, and checked my prostate. She then pulled out some things from the end of the table and told me to put my feet in these things, she called them stirrups and had me scoot my butt as far forward as I could. Where I was felt and prodded some more. Not my most dignified exam to say the least but I bore it without complaint.
The doctor finished and the nurse took over. She led me to a room and several x-rays were taken of my chest. Back in the exam room I had blood taken in several vials, given several cups and told what went in each and shown a restroom attached to the exam room, and told to call the her when I finished. It took a while to gather the required samples. I called the nurse and she showed up and took the samples, and returned. She asked me to drop the front of my gown and took my breast forms and spread some thing on the flat side. She then placed it on my chest. She told me to hold it there while she did the same to the other. After a few minutes she told me to get dressed.
Dressed I stepped out and was led to the Susan’s office; Mom and sis were already there.
“Good Paula, have a seat please,” Susan said. “You’re in good condition, I don’t want you losing any weight though trying to look feminine, you are already small for your age/height/sex. I enjoyed our chat, I want to assure you that I have not told your Mom and Sister what we talked about I will leave that to you. Laura, may Paula have lunch with me we should be back by 2:00 pm?”
Mom said, “I don’t have any problems with that, Rebecca will pick her up then.”
Mom and Sis then hugged me and left. Susan made a phone call and then told me to wait here and we would leave in about fifteen minutes. Alone in the office I checked my makeup and touched it up. Susan came back and then we left for lunch.
She drove to a nice restaurant, we were seated, handed menus and our drink orders were taken. She ordered two teas, and I found out why as another lady showed up and was seated.
“Paula this is a friend of mine Carol, Carol this is Paula she is the daughter of an old friend of mine.”
We exchanged pleasantries and looked at the menus, I knew I only had fifteen dollars and it was a little pricey so I selected what I could afford. After our orders were taken we just had a friendly chat. I listened and joined in on things I knew I could talk about. I just followed their lead. Our food arrived and we ate and talked some more I was having fun and began to really enjoy being with them. They were really nice and I felt at ease.
“Carol, guess how old Paula is?”
She sat back, looked at me and said, “Sixteen or seventeen I would guess, but I think there is more here than just a teenage girl.”
“Yes. Oh I see a colleague of mine excuse me for a few minutes girls.”
“Paula, I guess I know why I was invited to lunch, I am Dr. Carol Parker. Please just call me Carol. I am a psychologist and I deal with people with gender issues. Do you understand what that means?”
“You deal with people who are not happy with their gender?” it was more a question than a statement.
“Yes that is a one way of putting it. Some people feel they were born in the wrong bodies and I help them decide if that is really the case. You were not born a girl were you?”
“No I wasn’t,” I said, worried that it was obvious to everyone that I was pretending to be a girl.
Seeing my look of concern she said, “don’t worry you are carrying yourself quite nicely, I would never have known if I hadn’t sat down and had observed you for a while. Also Susan and I have done this before. How old are you Paula?”
“Thirteen I will be fourteen in August.”
“I am impressed; you seem quite mature for your age. Would you like to tell me your story?”
I told her everything I had told to Susan earlier. She was very attentive while I recounted my story.
“How do you feel about being a girl?”
“I have really enjoyed it Carol, I know it won’t all be a bed of roses but I feel better about myself than I have in a while. I don’t mean that I have been down or anything, I didn’t feel bad about my self but now I feel so right. I don’t understand it. It just felt like I was supposed to be this way when my Sister first dressed me up. I know this probably sounds crazy.”
“Not at all, Paula. You’re not like all my patients but you are not unusual either. Gender dysphoria that is what we call the condition where people are confused about the gender they were born as and what they feel that should be and it has many faces. No two are alike but all are similar in many ways. If you like me, we will have many more talks. I like to help people become whole and I have enjoyed being with you. Now for a big question. If I could wave a wand and make you a girl right now, but warning you that it would be for forever, would you want that?”
“Honestly I am not sure, I am not going to say that tomorrow I won’t wake up and want to be Paul again. I don’t think I want to go back to being Paul, right now I love being Paula.”
“I love it when people are honest with me, it makes my job easier and I believe you Paula. It is also good to find out about gender issues at an early age it makes any results we can obtain better. I recommend that you continue doing what you are doing now and exploring yourself. I would like to see you in two weeks if that is ok. It won’t always be so nice between us I will ask some hard questions, you might get mad at me and I am going to press all your buttons if I can, because that is my job. I won’t let you become a girl unless I think that it is what you need to become whole and it is what your really want. You have got to convince me and I am not easy to convince. I like you and I think we shall get along fine. Let’s go fix our faces dear.”
So we went to the ladies room. I took care of my business and repaired my makeup. I was not aware that she was observing me even now. Susan was at the table and was signing the receipt as we returned. Carol reached into her purse, gave me her card, told me to call her and gave me a hug. I took out some money to pay for my meal and Susan refused it, so I just left it on the table. I saw our waitress and thanked her. She had a confused look on her face but then smiled warmly.
Susan drove us back to her office and told me to come back to her office in two days. Rebecca was waiting for me by her car; we hugged and headed to the mall. Before heading to the bookstore we stopped in a Radio Shack and Rebecca was handed two cell phones and all the stuff that went with them.
“Mom wants us wired for sound now. She told me to tell you to carry it with you all the time and to make sure it is always charged.”
I took my phone and put it in my purse. I would have to look at it later. With that taken care of we headed to the bookstore. Charlotte saw us, smiled and waved at us. She showed us where we could put our stuff, gave us our nametags and started training us.
To be continued.
The Slap Ch. 3
by Paula Dillon
Rebecca and I worked hard. Charlotte worked with Rebecca and taught her to work the register, do credit card receipts, and look up books on the store computer. Dana, another employee, taught me the computer, shipping and receiving, stocking the shelves, plus taking care of the other odds and ends so the others could get their jobs done. Charlotte told us she wanted at least two of us out front at all times so we could look out for each other. We had our schedules we would be working six hours a day from three until nine each day Tuesday to Saturday. I called Mom and told her we were on our way home. Mall security escorted us to our car the guard told us where to park in the future for safety reasons.
When we got home, Mom had dinner ready for us. We had been so busy I had forgotten about eating. Mom wanted to know how it went at work so we talked while we ate. At eleven, we all went to bed. We set our phones in their charger. Rebecca wanted me to put on my corset before bed she didn’t lace it as tightly as before. She put hers on too and I tightened it till she told me to stop. We took off our makeup and after I'd brushed out Rebecca's hair we collapsed into bed.
I woke about eight the next morning, stripped and headed to the bathroom.I was sore from work, but felt good so I decided to take a hot bath. I found some bath salts and added it to the tub. I made it as hot as I could stand. I soaked for twenty minutes before I washed my hair. I shaved my legs, my underarms, and then let the water out as I dried off. I was moisturizing my skin when I heard Rebecca, so I started a tub for her. We passed each other at the door.
“Your bath is ready just jump on in. I am going to fix breakfast it will be ready in thirty minutes. I just put on my panties, my robe and headed downstairs. The coffee pot was still hot and there was plenty of coffee in it. I poured me a cup and started making breakfast. Rebecca joined me as I was just getting it to the table. We ate quietly for a change. She had been tired too from yesterday.
Finally, we started to perk up and began chatting. We started a load of laundry and set about to do some cleaning around the house. We hand washed our corsets and hung them to dry. Rebecca started the dryer as I stripped all the beds and started washing the linen. I started vacuuming the house and Sis started dusting. We folded and hung the dry clothes and started the linens in the dryer.
By noon, we had the house ship shape. I felt yucky and showered before dressing. I chose a sea green cotton blouse and gray tweed skirt that was knee length, off black pantyhose and my black penny loafers. After Rebecca showered, she had me choose her clothes again. We went through about half her clothes before she took her clothes from me. I understood she was teaching me how to choose clothes from a wardrobe. I brushed out her hair and she had me do her makeup several times before she was satisfied. I pulled on my stocking cap on, my curly wig and then did my makeup. We got our phones and purses and headed to the mall.
We shopped the mall till a quarter of four. We looked at more clothing, shoes, and accessories. Rebecca and I discussed the ins and outs of fashion, fabrics, colors, and such. We looked at good clothing and cheap knock offs. There is very little difference at times, from a fifty-dollar blouse and a twenty-dollar blouse, if you know what you’re looking for. She taught me how to buy good clothes that are not expensive, and that other things are on sale for a reason, because they belong there and not in our closets.
We checked in at the bookstore and got right to work. I found several shipments to go over and invoices. Rebecca got her till setup and going at the register. The store was hopping with customers and I found myself out front helping. It was ten before we were able to leave. I had called Mom and told her we were going to be late.
We got home and Mom thanked us for cleaning the house. She had dinner ready for us and we sat and talked about our day. I reminded them that I had to drop by Dr. Ramsey’s office tomorrow. We cleaned up the kitchen and headed to bed. We showered; I brushed out Rebecca’s hair, put on our corsets and got into bed.
I woke and heard Mom getting ready, so I grabbed a robe and headed to the downstairs bathroom. I then went to the kitchen and started toast, coffee and eggs for Mom. I had her plate done by the time she reached the kitchen. She took the plate, a cup of coffee, and sat down to eat.
“Thank you dear, you have changed a lot in the past week you know that. You are more responsible now and seem more mature. I like that, but how are you doing?”
“I am fine Laura, I like working and helping out. Rebecca has been a big help, she is teaching me so much. She is changing too.”
“Yes, but not as much as you. Watching you is like watching a diamond in the rough being polished. How is it going, being a girl?”
“I had not noticed much, I have been pretty busy doing things. Between Dr.’s visits and work things almost seem normal, just a different normal. I guess that is good.”
“It seeming normal means that you are acclimating to the role and that is good. You feel comfortable doing it. I love you dear. I need to head off.”
She hugged me and kissed my cheek before heading out the door. I headed to my room. I look at the room I share with my sister as our room now, like I belong there too. I got some clean panties and my panty girdle on. I tightened my corset as tight as I could get it and finished dressing in a blouse and skirt. I put my straight haired wig on and did my makeup. I was beginning to get good at makeup, not as good as Sis yet, but I was doing much better.
I woke Sis at about eight; she looked up at me, smiled, and gave me a big kiss on the lips. She got up giggling and dashed into the bathroom. I looked at myself in a mirror and saw I needed to repair my makeup. I thought she had done that on purpose, as I fixed my face. I went to her closet, set out some clothes for her, and got her some undies. She kept her corset on and I tightened it. She raised my blouse and checked mine.
“You can’t tighten yours anymore you have it tightened all the way.”
“It doesn’t feel all that tight are you sure?”
“It is tight as it is going to get Paula; you don’t need any more taken off your waist anyway. You have a nice waist now. If you will wear it about half the time, everyday, you can keep it that way.”
I straightened up my blouse and helped Rebecca dress. I think she likes being assisted and I know I liked helping. I brushed out her hair and she did her own makeup. We had cereal, toast, OJ, and coffee.
At ten, we got our phones and purses before heading to Dr. Ramsey’s office. We were there for ten minutes before we were called back. Temperature, blood pressure, and weights were recorded before we were placed in same room. Susan and her nurse came in a few minutes later.
“It’s good to see you back again, how have you two been.”
We both said we have been doing well.
She checked her charts, and said, “Everything looks very good for both of you. Paula you testosterone levels are still pre-pubescent meaning that you have not gone through puberty yet, but it looks like you might be just beginning. If you still want to do this we can safely delay it for two, maybe three, months. We will call August 8th decision day. I will start you on low levels of estrogen, which should do the job. The only changes you may see will be most likely emotional changes as your level of estrogen rises. So what do you think?”
“Let’s do it Susan; this is what I want to do.”
The nurse began loading a syringe with something. She told me turn around raise my skirt, lower my undies, bend over, and smile. I felt a cold alcohol prep pad wipe me and the prick of a needle. I sure didn’t feel like smiling, it felt like I had been stuck by a sixteen penny nail.
The nurse handed me and Sis prescriptions and said, “Watch your weight Paula. The doctor said she doesn’t want you losing weight. You are a pound lighter than Tuesday. I see you’re wearing a corset you’ll have to eat small meals more often. Paula, take one pill everyday, and set an appointment to return in July.”
I set an appointment for July after our vacation. We went to our pharmacy and had our prescriptions filled. I got a bottle with a three month supply of an estrogen and Rebecca got a whole bunch of pill packs.
We had lunch it was small but Rebecca made sure I had a desert cheesecake. I had a hard time finishing it but I did. Then we went to a home improvement store and picked out some sample paint chips. She gave a salesman the room measurements and he gave her the approximate amount of paint needed. Rebecca seemed to know just how she wanted our new room to look. She chose white for the ceiling, powder blue for the walls, dark blue edging, a bubblegum pink for window and door trim, and the bathroom in a mint green.
We headed to the mall and looked in house wares for linen and accessories. Rebecca attacked this project as she would a fifty percent off sale. She left me to make notes of what, where and how much, asking often about my opinion. We had our list and would show Mom tonight.
We stopped at the food court and we had a light bite there before headed to the bookstore. I was getting comfortable working here and I had already known where most sections were located so the work was easy for me. The time flew by. We were not released till the mall closed again at ten. I informed Mom that we would not be home till after ten again. She seemed to appreciate hearing from us.
When we got home, we ate and Sis told her about my doctor’s visit, the paint, and such. She went over what it would take the colors, the linen, and accessories. Mom put some of the accessories on hold, but took the paint chips and the linen recommendations and said she would pick up what we needed.
Friday, Rebecca and I prepared my old room for painting and moved out my old stuff so we can paint on Saturday. At noon, we got dressed and headed to the mall to pick up our portraits. I was impressed with the pictures. The first few of me I looked a little uncomfortable but the last eight shots were excellent. The shots of Rebecca and me were the best. We got a locket with one of Rebecca and me on opposite sides of the locket. Mom will really love this gift.
We headed into the bookstore and showed Charlotte the pictures. She loved the shots and we had to give her three of our pictures. We jumped right in working.
I was stocking shelves when I heard my name called.
“Paula, how are you?”
I turned and saw Kylie. I smiled at her and approached her. My pulse quickened and I had butterflies in my stomach, but I smiled and said, “How are you Kylie? I am sorry, I've been meaning to come by and say hi but then I got this job and never made it.”
“I am doing well; I know how it is with work. How are your nails doing?”
I held my hands out to her and said, “They are doing good, I really like them. They are my first pair. Can I help you in anyway?”
“I was just going to check out the magazines before I go to work myself.”
“I will be by next week for fills probably. It is good seeing you again dear.”
“Ok, see you then Paula.”
With that she gave me a quick hug, waved bye and headed towards her shop. I watched her leave and kept looking after her. Gosh, she made me feel strange. I like her a lot, and she is sure pretty.
I nearly jumped out of my skirt when I heard Charlotte call my name from just behind.
“Yes Mam, sorry I was distracted.”
“That’s ok Paula, I just wanted to see if things were ok,” she leaned close to me and whispered, “She is a nice girl and I don’t mind you talking as long as you get your job done, don’t take too long and you don’t ignore other customers.”
I returned to my stocking. I looked over to Rebecca; she was grinning at me and gave me a wink.
Rebecca and I took a short break so we could get a bite to eat.
“Paula, so tell me what did she say to you?”
“She just said hi, and asked how I was doing. She had to get on to work too.”
“I like her Paula; I think she could be good for you.”
“Yeah but just wait till she finds out about me.”
“You may be surprised, you never know about people.”
We ate and got back to work.
Saturday Mom woke us up early. We ate Breakfast and hit the bedroom. We covered everything with old sheets even the carpet, and then started painting. Mom did the ceilings and the borders as Rebecca and I started on the walls. The ceiling was white and the walls were a powder blue. Together we got the job done in two and a half hours. Mom then took out a pink paint and some sponges. She showed us how to dip the sponges in the paint then lightly press them on the wall. I thought it was a little strange but after we got going, I liked the effect it had. This became fun and it did not take long before we had all the walls done. Mom then did the wood trim and doors, while Rebecca and I did the bathroom. By eleven every thing was done, and we were cleaning up.
Rebecca hit the showers to clean up first; she had lots of white, blue, pink and green dots all over her. She came out and I checked her hair to make sure there wasn’t any paint there, her hair did not come off like mine did. Then I rolled her hair in her hot rollers, I wanted her to have curly hair today for work.
I then hit the showers I had seen that I had not escaped the paint monster myself, but at least I had not worn my wigs, Mom would have killed me If I had got paint in them. I checked my breasts they still hung well. It felt good to be clean. It’s funny, before I wasn’t particularly dirty as a boy but since I started dressing I became more aware of my own appearance. My sister changed too, she never really dressed in a slouchy manner, but since I started dressing this way, she has made an effort to look especially nice. I like the way she has improved.
Dressed in my satin robe and panty I left the bathroom. Sandy was there in Rebecca’s room she came over and hugged me.
“Hi Paula, how are you?” Sandy asked.
“Great Sandy; have you seen the paint job we have done yet?”
“No I haven’t.”
We took Sandy into my old room and showed her what we had done that morning. She was ecstatic over the makeover. I don’t think she had ever been in my room before the makeover but she liked what we did to the room.
“I like what you have done with the pink paint, how did you do that?”
Rebecca told her, “We took sponges and then dipped them in the pink paint and patted them all over the walls.”
“It really adds texture to the walls and makes them look great doesn’t it Sandy?” I added.
“Yes it does.”
We headed back to Rebecca’s room. Rebecca insisted that I get my hair brushed out to. Sandy volunteered to do it. I could get use to this pampering too. Rebecca then handed Sandy my stocking cap and showed her how to put my curly wig on and use the adhesive. Sandy then did my makeup, all they way down to tops of my breast forms. Rebecca showed her how to feather the makeup to conceal the edges of the forms.
When I looked in the mirror all I could say was wow. It was amazing how many different looks can be created with makeup. Sandy had used different colors than Mom, Rebecca, or I had used and I liked her choices. I asked her some questions about what she had done and learned some more.
As I sat admiring myself Sandy was laying out clothes for me. Rebecca had to correct Sandy on a couple of things she had chosen because of what Charlotte required for us. Sandy wanted me to wear a blouse with a deep V neckline and a tight skirt. Thank goodness Rebecca made her change those. I took my bra and started to head to the bathroom, but was stopped by Sandy.
“Where are you going, we are all girls here.”
I looked to Rebecca and she just nodded to me, so I took off my robe. Sandy looked me over.
“They look real enough don’t they?”
“Mom bought them for me when I was a little slow to develop. I then put them on Paula.”
I finished dressing with a white cotton blouse, my gray tweed skirt, off black panty hose and my black flats. Not too sexy but very pretty I thought.
Sandy had taken out Rebecca’s rollers and combed out her hair, while I had dressed. I like to see her hair curly she looked nice that way.
Mom had lunch ready for us when we came down stairs. She looked me over and smiled.
“Very nice, who did the makeup?”
“I did, Mrs. Daniels.” Sandy volunteered.
“Well I think you did a very nice job, and call me Laura, Sandy.” Mom then gave Sandy a motherly hug.
Lunch was good; conversation actually made the meal better. I was learning how to interact with other people. Guys hardly interacted together at all, at least not on this kind of level.
While we were talking, Rebecca slipped out, got our pictures and brought them to the table. She asked Mom to close her eyes and open her hands. She then placed the locket in her hands. She stepped back and asked Mom to open her eyes. Mom looked at the locket and her jaw dropped. She opened the locket and looked at the pictures of Rebecca and myself.
“These are gorgeous dear, thank you both. I just love it.” She grabbed us both in a bear hug; tears were falling from her eyes. She regained her composure and looked at the rest of the pictures. She and Sandy fawned over them. Mom saw the pictures that were already cut out and Rebecca explained that Charlotte wanted some and so we cut them out for her.
“I like working for Charlotte, she is a nice lady Mom.” I told her.
“Yes she is. I knew her at college; we were in the same sorority, dear.”
“Is that how you know Susan too, Mom?”
Mom looked at me and blushed, “Yes dear, how did you work that out?”
“Just a wild guess, Mom. Also Dr. Ramsey has all her wallpaper up, you two seemed awfully chummy. I like her too.”
“She is a good doctor and when you see her, you can be assured that you are her most important concern. She doesn’t run to me for instruction or tell me what went on. She has integrity when dealing with her patients.”
I hugged Mom and we continued going through the pictures. She selected her favorite three, eight by tens and said she was going to get some nice frames and hang them along with one of her son.
“We need a new picture of you also Mom to make the display complete don’t you think Rebecca?”
“Yes one of Mom and one of all of us together also.”
I had a wild idea at the time. I needed to talk to the photographer.
I checked my watch and suggested that we head off to work. Rebecca complained that it was still a little early but I convinced her to go. Sandy said goodbye and gave us all hugs.
“What gives Paula, why are we headed to work an hour early?”
“Trust me Sis. I think you’ll like it when you find out. Just let me do what I want to do first, I want it a surprise to you also. Ok?”
“Ok Auntie, I will trust you.”
“Thank you.”
“We got to the mall and Sis went off in another direction. I headed to the Photographer’s studio, sat down and had a talk with her. We talked for about thirty minutes. I called Mom and told her I had an appointment for the three of us for Sunday at two for portraits. I called Sandy and asked if she could drive me to the Mall early Monday and help me with something. I asked her not to say anything. Then I met Rebecca at work.
Sunday Mom started early getting us ready for our portrait. She insisted that Rebecca roll her hair and put on her formal. She took me into her room and had me try on several of her formal gowns until she was satisfied with one. I had to put on my corset but it wasn’t overly tight. Mom realized that she would need hers to get into the dress she wanted to wear. Mom did the makeup for all three of us. I had to wear four-inch heels and then hold up the hem of my skirt, taking very short steps as I walked to keep from killing myself. The dress was a little long for my height. The three of us were ready for the ball with the Handsome Prince. We took clothes and garment bags so we could change out of them there.
Rebecca had on a bridesmaid dress she had worn, and I had on one Mom had worn as a bridesmaid. Mine is long, and made of pink satin with short puffy sleeves. It has a princess collar, and long pink satin gloves that go past the elbow. I also wore the appropriate jewelry. Rebecca’s gown, also long, made of ice blue colored satin. It has long sleeves that came off the shoulders. She wore her corset as well. Mom had on a gown she had worn for a college sorority ball. Made of pastel yellow colored satin, had a daring V-neckline, with lace covering the bodice portion. She also wore gloves. Under our gowns, we all wore puffy crinolines that added volume to our gowns and made maneuvering around each other hard.
Sandy showed up and went with us to the studio. She assisted us in getting into our car and drove us to the mall. She seemed just as excited about this as we were.
Sandy dropped us off near the entrance of the mall for which I was grateful and parked the car. She joined us shortly and we headed to the studio.
It was a lot more fun this time, I wasn’t as nervous. The female photographer posed us and took quite a few different poses. Mom commented that some of the poses seemed a little unbalanced but the lady just shushed her. When the photographer was satisfied, we changed.
The trunk of the car was full after we got everything we had worn in there. Mom was careful not to catch anything in the lid. We then hit the mall. It was great. I grew to accept Sandy in our group, we all did.
We looked at clothes, tried some on, checked out jewelry, and had a blast going from store to store. I really liked the closeness girls get to show to each other. While guys can be close they don’t really show it in the same ways, it’s just not a manly type thing to do.
A nice lady at a make-up counter took off our make-up and redid it for all four of us. We bought some more make-up from the lady. We now looked a little less formal and it fit better with the clothes we had on now, but our hair was still killer.
Mom took us all to a pizza parlor we liked. We had a blast and were a little goofy. We fit right in with the type of customers the store attracted. Mom even joined us in some of the video games we played. This was definitely good for her, she looked younger, and she appeared to enjoy herself. She was laughing, joking, and playing right along with us.
Mom and Sandy were in a pitched battle in one game, neither one of them was giving up an inch. I could have beaten them both but they were doing good. Mom cheated and used her hip to bump Sandy and won, which started a mock argument till they were both nose to nose hands on hips pouting. The standoff ended when Sandy threw her arms around Mom’s neck and gave her a big hug.
We ended the day by going to a movie. Sandy sat next to me again. She was not as forward and obvious as before, but she did rub my stocking clad legs with her hand and her leg. She had me fidgeting; I know she was enjoying herself.
We dropped Sandy off and headed home. My most enjoyable day since all this started. Mom headed to bed after we hung all the dresses we had worn, since she had to work tomorrow. I made a nice warm bath for Sis and a cup of her favorite tea and left her alone. I went to where we had stored Paul’s things and set aside some things.
I made it back before Rebecca finished her bath and was able to be there to roll her hair and put a net over her hair. I then gave her a shoulder massage, which had her purring. We went to sleep for the last time in this small room. Rebecca spooned up to my back and hugged me closely.
I woke up early enough to make Mom breakfast. My relationship with her was always good but it seemed to blossom now. I would do anything for her.
“Mom, I am so glad you enjoyed yourself yesterday. You were able to really let yourself go.”
“Yes it really was good Paula. Thank you for that. You really got into things yourself. Sandy really likes you, you know that?”
“Yes, I don’t know where that is going, I am going to have a talk with her today but I don’t see it going past what we did yesterday. I just think she is a really good friend. I ran into Kylie at the bookstore. Now that is a girl I would really like to know better, but I am also scared, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes Paula, I know what you mean. Get to know her first and if it really feels like it is something that you want to do, then follow your heart.”
I gave Mom a hug before she left and went to get dressed. I threw some things in a makeup case my Sis had and carried it downstairs. I returned to our bedroom. I sat on the bed and just watched Rebecca. When she started to wake I pulled her close to me, hugged her and stroked her hair.
“Morning Paula, you’re being really affectionate today.”
“Is that bad Rebecca? I have really enjoyed being so close to you.”
“You can be this way with me anytime, Paula. You have not been the only one to enjoy it. I know Mom has too. I love you, you know Paula.”
“Yes Rebecca, I love you too. I am going to be gone part of this day and when I get home I will help us move into our new room. I am not going to say anymore, this is a secret. Then we will have all afternoon together. Can you trust me that much?”
“Yes, I am dying to know, but considering all you have done for me I will trust you to it.”
“Ok, then go to the bathroom and come straight back to bed Sis. I will bring your breakfast here. Stay here until I have gone. I will call you when I am coming home.”
“Ok, if I must. You are making it hard girl.”
I just smiled at her, went downstairs, made her breakfast and brought it to her on a tray. I was sitting next to her on the bed while she ate, when I heard the doorbell. I gave Rebecca a hug, a kiss on her cheek, and asked her to give me fifteen minutes before she got up. She reluctantly agreed and waved at me as I left.
I let Sandy in, boy did she look great. She had fixed herself up. I handed her some of my things and grabbed some more and we left together. I told Sandy what I intended as we drove; she giggled and laughed at my plan. Our talk then got a little more serious.
“Sandy, I really like you as a friend and I need to know what is going on. I don’t really see you and me having an intimate relationship, but I have really enjoyed being with you. You make me feel good and nervous at the same time.”
“I know Paula; you make me feel the same way. I just like seeing you as a girl and I want to help you be the best girl you can be. I like fooling around a little with you but I know that we will only be friends and not lovers. I know I haven’t always treated you well, but I have seen a side of you that I like. It doesn’t matter if you stay this way or go back to being Paul, I will be your friend. Is that what you need to know?”
I just reached over and kissed her cheek. She smiled back at me and we held hands as she drove. We stopped and got a six-inch wide ace bandage and continued on to the photographer’s studio.
Sandy helped me carry the things I had brought into the studio. The lady led us to the studio where I began changing back into Paul. I took off my wig and Sandy tried to wrap my breast forms so they were less obvious. I had not figured out how to remove them. I tried to put my dress shirt on but I couldn’t get it buttoned, my chest was larger. The photographer came up with a solution. She took her scissors and slit the back of the shirt up to the shoulder yolk. That worked, the pants did not fit at the waist, but they didn’t fall down. My coat fit, it was a little larger in the chest than my shirt I put socks on over my hose. I saw that I hadn’t taken them off. Habit I guess. I put my shoes on and Sandy brushed and combed my hair in a masculine style. She then used an eyebrow pencil to make my brow appear larger and more normal. Sandy and the photographer looked me over and made some changes.
“Your earrings need to go dear.” The photographer said.
“I have only had them for a week I can’t take them out can I?”
“No you shouldn’t I guess I can retouch them out.” She looked closely at them and said, “You have sleepers on do you know that?”
“No I don’t. What are sleepers?”
“Those are clear plastic sleeves that let people wear earrings that contain nickel that some people are allergic to.” She carefully removed my earrings; they touched them up with makeup, and pronounced me ready.
The photographer pulled down a green screen and had me stand in front of it. She looked at the monitor and positioned me. She had a picture she had taken yesterday and used it to position me. She did that for several shots and then took some individual shots of me. Then Sandy wanted some shots of me and her. One shot she was leaning over and kissing my cheek and I was looking nervous. She had the photographer in stitches with her antics. They stopped and I transformed all the way into Paula. A couple of more shots were taken of us together, including the kiss shot.
The photographer did a little digital magic and showed us a movie she had made. There was Paul sitting there looking nervous at Sandy she leans over and kisses Paul on the cheek and poof Paul becomes Paula. It tore me up when I saw it. She gave me and Sandy a memory chip with that movie on it.
“Sandy bad girl, you just want me for my boobs.”
I had both Sandy and the photographer laughing.
“I want to thank you Mam, this will mean a lot for my Mom and Sister. It seems my friend also wants in on the show too.”
“Your welcome Paula, it isn’t often that I can have so much fun doing it, I am sure I can blend your image into the portrait seamlessly. It will be a big surprise to them. Don’t worry, I will keep your secret too.”
She came over and gave me a big hug.
“I think you make a cute girl, I think it is a brave thing you are doing and I would like to make a photo journal of any changes you make. Are you going to go all the way?”
“I don’t know mam. Right now it is just for the summer, but I like what I have experienced so far, so I can’t say for sure.”
“Well if you ever need to talk to someone outside of your family come on by and we can share a cup of coffee and talk.”
She hugged us both before we left. We headed back to Sandy’s car and got all my stuff packed into her trunk.
I called Rebecca and told her we were coming home. She was waiting for us when we showed up. I had to hand it to Sandy she didn’t spill the beans.
We got together and went to a place that had miniature golf and arcade games for a few hours. The place was packed with kids our age.
We broke for a late lunch and came home. I loaned Sandy a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. The three of us got Rebecca and I moved into our room. Because Paul still existed, we set Rebecca’s old room to look like Paul would like it.
The three of us showered at different times of course, did our makeup and dressed. When Mom came in we gave her time to catch her breath and we headed out to eat again. This time we headed to a Chinese buffet our treat this time.
Sandy called home and got an ok to spend the night with us, so we picked up a movie on the way home. We changed into nighties at home and went down to the living room. We had cokes and popcorn with the movie I was between Rebecca and Sandy beneath a comforter. The movie was good but all too soon it was time for bed we all three slept in our room.
Some time that night I awoke to being kissing. I could hear Rebecca’s light snoring so I knew it was Sandy. I was lost in the sensation, strong passionate kisses. I don’t know how long we kissed our bodies pressed together; it must have been close to an hour. I was afraid to touch her anywhere but her back. That seemed enough for her, we didn’t grope each other. All too soon, she gave me a final kiss rolled over and snuggled back up to me.
I awoke early the others were still asleep I managed to extricate myself without waking Sandy or Rebecca. I chuckled to myself; I was good at that I thought. I used the bathroom grabbed my robe and headed downstairs. I made coffee, toast, and oatmeal for Mom. She arrived downstairs as I was setting it out for her. I set out some butter and brown sugar for her. She hugged me and drank her coffee. I told her what we all did yesterday leaving a few details out. I even told her about Sandy and me. I made it clear that all we did was kiss.
She smiled at that and said, “I know you are a good girl I trust you Paula. Be careful though it is easy to get carried away with it. How did you like it?”
“I loved it Mom. It made me feel warm all over. I got excited but we didn’t do anything else. We didn’t even grope just kiss. I think that is all she wanted to do. After a while, she gave me one more kiss, then she rolled over, and snuggled up to me. I don’t understand it, that’s for sure.”
We hugged and kissed, and then she had to leave.
At about eight, I fixed breakfast for the three of us. Sandy and Rebecca came down and hugged me good morning. We ate and chatted.
“What were you doing up so early, Paula?” Rebecca asked.
“I have been fixing Mom breakfast. I have only missed one day. We chat about things in the morning. I like doing it for her after all she does for us. Just like, I like fixing you and Sandy breakfast.”
“What do you and Mom talk about?”
“Girl stuff what else. After all she is my sister.”
That got us all giggling. Rebecca got up to go change and Sandy stayed with me.
“Thank you for last night and for not pressing it any further. I liked kissing you very much. You are so hot looking as a girl. Who knows we might try it again if you want sometime, if you like.”
“I seem to do that to girls. Since I changed, I have had more girls flirt with me than ever before. I’m not complaining but I don’t understand it.”
We both went upstairs to dress. Sandy undressed in front of me and put her clothes on. She was pretty in just her panties. I hit the shower when Rebecca came out. It was so good.
Sandy had left by the time I got out. Rebecca dried my hair, put on my wig for me, and grilled me about what we did last night. Seems she was a lighter sleeper than I thought she was. I told her everything. I think she believed me because she seemed to accept what I said. She hugged me and then she had me work on my makeup. I tried some of the things that Mom, Rebecca, Sandy and all the others had shown me at times. She would have me clean my face and do it over. I was becoming very good at what I was doing.
Rebecca then sat down and had me do her hair. I wet it with a sprayer bottle and rolled it in her hot rollers. She had me do her makeup. By the time she was happy with her makeup her hair was dry and she talked me through combing out her hair. I selected her clothes for the day and my own from our closet. I wore slacks today and three-inch heels, although I put my penny loafers with me in a tote, I don’t know why I just felt like it.
We stopped by Carol’s office; she asked me if it was ok for Rebecca to join us. I told her that it was ok. We talked about things that had happened and how I felt. She asked Rebecca a few questions. She and Rebecca hit it right off. It seemed that Carol had the ability to connect with whomever she talked with. She asked if I was taking hormones and I showed her what I was taking. I told her that Susan wanted me on a small dose until I made a decision about what I wanted to do. She asked me to leave for a few minutes; she wanted to talk to Rebecca. Rebecca came out and I went back in. We talked on some more. I told her that since I started dressing as a girl I seemed to draw more attention and flirting from girls. She asked how I felt about it. I told her I loved it but that I couldn’t understand it. She giggled and said she would have a hard time explaining it, but that she could see how it could happen. Time seemed to fly and soon our time was up. She walked me to the waiting room, telling me she wanted to see me as Paul in two weeks and gave Rebecca and me a hug.
At work, things were going well. Charlotte took time to compliment Rebecca and me on our work. We both handled the job and its responsibilities well and were liked by our coworkers and customers. I found that helping people find what they were looking for rewarding and went out of my way to help, without being annoying.
Kylie came in and asked if I could go for a bite with her. I checked with Charlotte and took a short break. I put my heels on when I left with her. We went down to the food court and ordered a light meal. I was kind of star struck being with her but we had a good meal and we both seemed to feel good about the way things were going. She gave me a hug and a peck on my cheek when we split up.
I changed back into my penny loafers when I got back to the bookstore and thanked Charlotte for the break. Things got really busy it seemed that everyone waited for me to get back before they came in. Everybody was busy till just before closing. I called Mom and told her we would be late again. It was after ten when we were finally able to leave.
At home, we told mom about our day as we ate. I told her about my visit with Carol. Rebecca told her about what they had talked about. We talked about Charlotte and how we were getting on with our jobs. Mom seemed to appreciate our time together talking to us and listening to what we had to say. We spent less time with her since we started working, but the time we did spend together seemed more precious to us. We all seemed to be growing closer to each other.
We all went to bed at eleven thirty. I slept well. Sis seemed to mold herself to my back. It felt comforting. I awoke but when I started to get up. Sis woke and asked me if I would mind going back to sleep and letting her fix Mom breakfast today. I would miss it but I let her do it. I lay back down and got a few more z’s. I was up about forty minutes later. I took care of my morning things, and grabbed my robe, and went down to breakfast.
Sis hugged me, it was a long hug. When she released me she thanked me for letting her do it. She said that it meant so much to her to do it for Mom. Rebecca then made us breakfast. After we ate we hit the house again, did all the laundry, stripped the beds, vacuumed, dusted and had the house ship shape by lunch. We each took a nice warm bath I did Rebecca’s hair and makeup and she did my hair and helped me with my wig. I then did my own makeup. I then selected our clothes. Rebecca commented on how she liked the way I was mixing things up from day to day, for us. We both selected heels to wear and flats to carry with us.
Charlotte paid us when we got to work I was surprised to see how much I had earned. I knew just what I wanted to buy with this check. When Kylie came in, I asked for a break and asked if I could cash my check, we had done enough business in cash and she let me cash my check. I told Kylie what I wanted to do and she went with me. I bought two Cashmere tank and cardigan sweater combos, one for Rebecca in a desert rose and one for Mom in a mint green. I was almost broke but very happy. We had a quick lunch. I apologized for taking part of that time to shop, but Kylie just smiled and hugged me.
I got the bag in without Rebecca noticing and I showed Charlotte what I got Mom and Sis. She helped me conceal them in my tote bag and I went back out on the floor. I spent the last three hours in my heels; I had forgotten to change back. My feet were telling me about it when it came time to leave. I knew why Charlotte wanted us in flats now. Charlotte giggled when I sat to rub my feet before we left.
We got home on time tonight. We ate and talked. Mom told us that even though we spent less time together since we started working that we talked more together and were more open than before we had started working. Mom asked us about our paychecks and I had to tell Mom that mine was already spent. She frowned at this. I asked Mom and Sis to close their eyes. I set my presents in front of them and told them to open their eyes. They looked and were speechless for several seconds. They picked them up and looked at them. They were so soft I loved the feel. Mom spoke first.
“You didn’t have to do that Paula, but I love it.”
Rebecca hugged me and said, “Thank you Paula, it is the best gift I ever got.”
“I love both of you and when I saw them and felt them I knew I just had to get them for you. I never knew what cashmere was before.”
“They are very nice Paula, they are not only cashmere, but they are very well made dear,” Mom explained.
Mom and Rebecca put them on for me and we had a group hug.
Saturday came and we all went to collect our pictures. When Mom saw them, she had a strange expression on her face, till she realized that it was me as Paul, behind them. Then she hugged me she asked me how we had done it and the photographer explained what she had done. I handed the photographer the memory card and she played the movie for Rebecca and Mom. That had them laughing in stitches. Mom ordered a picture on Paul, Paula, Rebecca and herself in an eleven by fourteen, which she proudly displays to this day.
The time went by. I could see changes in Rebecca, Mom and myself. I grew closer to Kylie too. More of Rebecca’s friends came around on our days off and I was accepted by them. It was hard for me to imagine that I wasn’t a girl. Sandy and I had another session and it was very good. I got fills from Kylie who replaced one of my nails broken at work. I loved being a girl. I could feel myself becoming more emotional due to the hormones but I liked the feeling.
Then it was time to visit Carol again. It was hard changing back to Paul. We called Susan, asked her how to remove the forms and told her why we needed to do it. She brought some solvent and more adhesive by our house when she got off. We were at work but she stopped by and chatted with Mom. When it was time for bed, we took my breast form off and I slept in Rebecca’s old room. I got up early to fix Mom’s breakfast and we chatted as before.
“Mom, I don’t feel right like this I loved the past three weeks. I don’t want it to end. I think this is Paul’s last day.”
“I know son, you didn’t have to tell me, I knew it shortly after you changed. I love you no matter what dear I’ll miss my son, but I will love my sister.”
We hugged for a long time before she let me go with a kiss.
I made breakfast for Sis. I had to go wake her she had not slept well without me. I got her up and got her down to the kitchen. She held onto me like she was afraid to let go. We ate. I could feel the difference in our relationship and I told her what I told Mom about Paul. I could see her eyes tear. We went to our rooms to dress. Except for my nails which I saw no way of taking them off I was Paul from head to toe. Rebecca and I drove to Carol’s as soon as possible.
Carol was ready for me when we got there. It was just me and her. We talked and it was like she had to drag things out of me. She remarked that I was like a different person. I couldn’t explain it but I knew she was right. I felt like crying but I knew I shouldn’t. I finally told her that I had to go back to being Paula. She told me that she thought I was right but that I would be seeing a lot more of her before she would approve my change, but that this was the first step in a long journey. She said she couldn’t imagine me ever going back to Paul fulltime. We talked some more and it was time to leave.
We hurried home and I transformed back to Paula. It was like a light being turned on. I could see again. Rebecca hugged me and we shared a cry. I said goodbye to my old self and hello to a whole new life. There I was in panties and breast forms hugging my sister, a strange scene to be sure but it felt so good. I finished dressing and asked Rebecca if I could brush her hair. I had her purring again and I knew I was back again. We had two days more of work and then it would be time for vacation.
To be continued
The Slap Ch. 4
By
Paula Dillon
There were only two days before they were to head off on vacation. Paula wanted a few things for her wardrobe. She had done some research and found clothing stores that dealt with what she learned were called transgendered. She got her Mom to take her to the store. She was excited and was very nervous, as they drove up, not knowing what to expect. Paula had half expected to find some bizarre sex shop, but was very surprised by the outward appearance of the store.
They approached the store and entered. It appeared almost like any other clothing store that Paula had been in. It was not an overly large store but they had a little bit of everything. A sales lady approached them and asked if she could help. Her name tag showed her name was Anna. Anna was very pretty but Paula had the feeling that she too was a customer as well as a sales lady, but out on the street it would have been hard to detect.
“Hi I am Anna how can I help you?”
“We are looking for garments to conceal and enhance my daughters figure. We are going on vacation and she wants to be able to wear a swimsuit, shorts and everyday wear,” Mom explained.
“We have a panty that is called a gaff it helps keep a smooth feminine front. It can be a little uncomfortable at times and they are not perfect but they really help pre-op transsexuals present a feminine appearance. Are you a transsexual?”
“I am not sure about what a transsexual is.”
“Now that is the sixty-four dollar question. The labels can be confusing honey. Some define a transsexual as a person that is trapped in the body of the wrong gender and truly needs to become that gender to feel whole. Like a genetic boy who honestly feels he should have been born a girl. Then we have cross dressers who occasionally like to dress as the opposite gender and transvestites who like to live as the opposite gender but have no desire to become that gender. There are males and females who fall in all these groups. Transsexuals fall into two groups usually labeled pre-op and post-op. The op refers to Sexual Reassignment Surgery. I am a post-op transsexual. I am a girl that was trapped in a boy’s body and I have had SRS surgery. How long have you been dressing Hun?”
“Bout three weeks and some change,” Paula stated.
Anna looked Paula up and down and said, “You look wonderful dear and you are doing so well. What are your plans Hun?”
“Honestly, I am not sure. I kinda like the way I look and feel. I like it when I dress this way but I can’t say that I want to remain this way for the rest of my life. I think I might but I need to be sure. I am seeing a psychologist right now about it.”
“Yes you need to be sure. Well we have some swimsuits over here that are one piece that have built in gaffs and pockets for hip pads.”
They both had high cut legs but were full seats and were really quite cute. Paula saw two she really liked. One had a zipper front like a wet suit with red and yellow swirls and patterns. The other was a blue flowery print, crisscrossing straps and a moderately low back.
“Are you wearing stockings or pantyhose Paula?” Anna inquired.
“Pantyhose.”
“Well if you leave those on you can try the suits on,” Anna stated. “What size are you a four or a six?”
“I think a four should do fine.” Paula added.
She handed Paula two suits and showed her where the fitting rooms were. Paula undressed and tried the suits on. They fit tight having a lot of spandex in them both but gave her a good figure. The red and yellow suit was well received by Paula’s Mom, but the blue suit definitely took the cake for Paula. Mom suggested that they get them both, along with matching sarong wraps. They also bought a dozen gaffs, two sets of hip pads and two pair of short shorts for Paula.
Anna had Paula try on one of her shorts with just the gaff and hip pads. The gaff was a bit uncomfortable but did a remarkable job of concealing, leaving Paula with an almost smooth and definitely feminine front. It was better than having to wear layer upon layer of undergarments to get the job done. She posed for her Mom and Anna; Paula would definitely not be mistaken for a guy. Paula changed back into her clothes, leaving the padded brief off and just added the pads beneath her pantyhose. She liked not having to wear the padded brief.
Her mom paid for their purchases, took their bags and headed for a salon. This was Paula’s first trip to a salon. Mom wanted to get Paula’s hair done in a feminine style so she could swim without her wigs. She was led to a chair and a cape was wrapped around her. Her operator Denise removed the wig, handing it off to another technician to be cleaned, and studied her hair. Handing Paula a book of styles she showed her quite a few pictures of things she could do. At least Paula had just over two months growth added to her hair. Paula found a couple she liked and her mom helped her select one that would look darling on her. Denise set about cutting her hair and then washed it prior to adding highlights. A latex cap was put on Paula’s head and hair was pulled through it and dye was added. While the dye did its job, Paula’s eyebrows were thinned some more and a mask was put on her face, she could feel her skin tighten under the mask. Twenty five minutes later Paula’s hair was washed again to remove the hair colorant and blown dry. Denise cleaned Paula’s face and did her makeup. She then had Paula close her eyes before turning her to the mirror. Although Paula preferred the look of long hair she was amazed at what Denise had accomplished. Her hair was short but definitely not masculine.
They then hurried home; Rebecca would be itching to get out and had to wait till they got home before she could go out. Rebecca has been grounded for most of the month after she had struck Paula hard enough to knock her down, although her grounding was just about over. It had been a real learning experience for both of Laura’s children. The kids had one more day of work and a day of packing before they would leave for Orlando Florida. Two weeks of the beach and Disney World would be heavenly.
Mom had Paula wait till she had gone inside before waving Paula inside. Mom was holding her hands over Rebecca’s eyes as Paula entered the room. After Paula set her wig down she stood in front of Rebecca and their Mom uncovered her eyes.
“Oh my gosh! Paula, that is so cute. You look adorable.”
“Thank you sis. I still like longer hair better but at least now I can go swimming without looking like a guy, in a girl’s swimsuit.”
Paula then showed Rebecca her swimsuits and shorts she had bought. Not as sexy as Rebecca’s bikini’s but very feminine.
Rebecca and Paula had to get themselves ready to go to work. Paula put on her curly wig, and they left for the mall. They took a stroll through the stores looking for last minute things they might need on their vacation, before heading to work.
They pulled into the bookstore about fifteen minutes before their shift started. Charlotte greeted them both warmly and set them about their jobs. Paula had learned much about working and it felt good earning her own money. The big plus though was being around people and helping them, that appealed to her. It beat sitting around and just playing Xbox, for sure.
About seven during a lull Paula changed from her trainers to a pair of heels and met Kylie for lunch. Together they headed off to the food court.
“Kylie I am so going to miss you. I wish that you could go with us.”
“I know what you mean Paula. I like you and I’ll miss ya.”
“I got something to fess up to you, Kylie. I don’t know how you’ll take it, but I feel I need to be honest. I can’t sugar coat it, so I will just say it. Kylie I was not born a girl. I was born a guy, my real name is Paul but now, I am just not sure. Please don’t hate me, I didn’t mean to deceive you.”
Kylie just sat there looking at Paula for several minutes. Paula tried to read her expression but couldn’t. There was no sign of revulsion so Paula thought that there might be hope, but that did not stem the tears that formed in Paula’s eyes. Paula started to get up to leave but felt a hand on hers.
“You’re a boy? Paula, I always knew you were different. You’re not like other girls. Please don’t cry dear, you’re makeup is running.”
Kylie took Paula’s hand and headed to the ladies room. She helped clean her face and encouraged Paula to fix her makeup.
“I don’t hate you, I don’t know how I feel, but hate is not part of it. We can still be friends Paula.” Kylie took both of Paula’s hands in hers, cracked a smile and said, “It‘s kind of nice really. Thank you for being honest and I feel honored that you trust me. I will call you girl, don’t worry.”
They left the ladies room and headed back to work. Kylie hugged Paula and waved to her as she left. Paula switched back to her trainers and went back to work.
During a lull, Paula edged over to Rebecca and told her, “I told Kylie and she didn’t go ballistic on me Becca.”
“That is great Paula, what did she say?”
“She said ‘she knew there was something different about me and that she didn’t know how she felt about it, but that we can still be friends. She said that she was going to call me.’ She hugged me and waved as she left.”
“She accepts you then. Well you are such a nice person Paula, so much nicer than my ratty old brother.” Rebecca giggled.
“Hey I resemble that remark Rebecca.” Paula said and punched Rebecca on the arm lightly.
“No I mean it Paula, you have a way with people, that makes them comfortable with you and makes them want to protect you, you sort of worm your way into their hearts.”
“So what now, I am a worm?”
“Not! You know what I meant.”
Paula returned to work as a customer requested help finding a book. The shift passed and the store was closed. Charlotte paid the two in cash as they would be gone for three weeks. Kylie and an older woman were waiting by the exit as the girls were leaving.
“Hello Paula this is my mom Park Soo Lee. We would consider it an honor if we could eat with you.”
“Let me clear it with our Mom. Would it be ok if we invite Mom?” Rebecca asked.
“That would be very good,” Soo Lee said.
Rebecca called home and asked if Mom would come eat with them. “Would the Feed Store, be Ok Mrs. Park?”
“Yes, that would be very good, and please call me Soo Lee.”
“Mom will meet us there, Mrs. Park.”
“Very good and please call me Soo Lee.”
“K we will meet you there Soo Lee.”
They all left and drove to the all night restaurant. Paula was very nervous on the drive.
“Where did that come from Becca, I wonder what gives?”
“Don’t worry so. If things were bad, surely they wouldn’t ask us out to eat. I think it is kinda neat meeting Kylie’s Mom.”
They arrived at the Feed Store just minutes ahead of Kylie and Soo Lee. The four of them were escorted to a long booth. Paula got in on one side followed by Kylie and Rebecca. Soo Lee sat opposite them. The waitress that was a favorite of Paula brought them water and menu’s. They all talked as they went over the menus. Soo Lee had a big smile on her face as the kids talked. Rebecca looked up and saw their mom Laura come in and she made a motion with her head toward the restroom.
“Excuse me, Mom is here and I need to visit the ladies room.”
Laura followed her daughter to the restroom.
“Mom, Paula told Kylie about herself and she seems cool about it. I don’t know what Mrs. Park knows but everything is quite friendly so far.”
“Ok, Rebecca we will play it by ear and see what happens.”
Laura and Rebecca checked their makeup before returning to the table. Rebecca made the introductions and sat next to Kylie, while Laura sat next to Soo Lee. They all got along well. The conversation was light and cheerful. The waitress came with water and a menu for Laura. They all made their selections and ordered. Laura and Soo Lee hit it off.
“When I told my Mom that Paula was going on vacation and I wouldn’t see my friend she suggested we get together for a late supper. I am going to miss her I have enjoyed eating with her at work.”
“Yeah, too bad she couldn’t go with us.” Rebecca mused half aloud.
A look came over Mom’s face and she looked at Soo Lee and said, “Your nose is shining dear, why don’t we go to the ladies room?” Laura and Soo Lee got up and headed back to the ladies room.
“What does your Mom know Kylie?” Paula inquired.
“Just that we’re friends Paula. Wonder what they are up too?”
“If I don’t miss my guess, Mom is asking about whether you can go with us Kylie.” Rebecca added, “Would you be cool with that if it was possible?”
“Where are you going?”
“Disney World and Orlando Florida,” Paula said.
“That would be way cool, but I doubt it. It is just me, mom and my older married sister at the nail salon. Dad passed away in Korea years ago.”
“Sorry about your Dad, Kylie. Knowing what you know about Paula would that bother you if you could?”
“No problem Rebecca. Dad was an American GI over there and died in a helicopter accident, when I was like eight. No, I like Paula or whoever she is. I don’t have a whole lot of friends our age because I work so much. Besides I think she is kinda cute.” Kylie said and she leaned over and gave Paula a kiss on the cheek.
Paula felt herself blush for a couple of seconds and hugged Kylie. “I think your special too, Kylie. Our dad died too, about six years ago.”
A few minutes later Laura and Soo Lee returned and sat at the table. Six eyes were going from between the two but they gave no sign of saying what had gone on. The waitress brought them their food and everybody dug in. The conversation picked up as the girls relaxed and spoke of their days and what had gone on etcetera.
After a round of desserts Laura spoke to the girls. “Girls I have asked Soo Lee if Kylie can go with us to Florida. She has given a tentative approval and left it up to you Kylie.”
“Kylie, would you like to go?” Soo Lee asked.
“Who will help out in the salon, Mom? I don’t want to leave you in the lurch.”
“We can do without you for a while daughter. You have not been on a good vacation in a while it will be good for you. I just want to know that you can be good girls for Laura,” Soo Lee said looking between Kylie and Paula.
We all figured that Soo Lee read Paula and at least consented to the relationship between Kylie and Paula.
“You know don’t you?” Paula inquired.
“Yes I do, Paula,” Soo Lee said, “But I know you have been good for my daughter. I can see it in her eyes when she comes back from your dinners at the mall. I see with my own eyes that you have a good heart. I trust you. Please don’t give me a reason not to trust you.”
“Kylie, my daughter Paula needs friends too, especially if she continues as Paula. We trust you too.” Laura said.
Kylie turned to Paula and gave her a big hug, happy tears fell from her eyes. “I would love to go with you. Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Laura.”
“May Kylie go shopping with us tonight Soo Lee? I will bring her home.” Laura said. “Don’t worry about the money; I make enough to splurge on her.”
“You are so kind Laura, of course she may.”
“I have a surprise for my two girls outside. Your mom got a bonus from the firm for a client she brought in.”
The checks were paid and everyone headed outside.
“Wait right here and you shall see what I have been busy doing this afternoon.”
Laura left and in a few minutes a brand new dark red GMC Yukon Denali XL drove up and stopped in front of them. Laura got out and said, “What do you think girls.” She came around and threw the doors open. Every one looked inside and saw how it was tricked out.
All the girls could say was wow. It had four gray leather captain’s chairs, a rear bench seat, a DVD player, viewing screen and game console, a CD player, GPS navigation system, On Star, and XM satellite radio.
This is what we are going to Florida in girls. Kylie hugged her Mom and hopped into the middle captain’s chair Paula got in next to her. Rebecca got in the front passenger seat. They waved at Soo Lee as they drove off. Next stop was Wally World.
“What kind of leisure clothes do you have, do you need shorts, tops, or swimwear Kylie?” Laura asked.
“Well I don’t have a lot of clothes, just things I wear to school and work.” Kylie said.
“Well we will get you fitted out Dear,” Laura said, “I believe four girls can power shop just fine. Don’t worry about cost dear. Do you know your sizes, Kylie?”
“Yes six on tops and dresses, eight petite in pants, shorts and skirts 34 B bras, size five panties, and a six in shoes.”
“Ok I will hit underwear, and hosiery, Paula dresses, tops and swim wear, Rebecca slacks, shorts and skirts.”
Wally World and Kylie didn’t know what hit them. We got Kylie six bras, a dozen panties, a dozen pantyhose, two full slips, two half slips, two camisoles, three night gowns in silks and satins, eight blouses, four T’s, four shorts, four slacks, two blue jeans, eight skirts, three dresses(a sun dress, a casual dress and a really nice dress), nine pair of shoes (three heels, two flats, trainers, flip flops, mules and a pair of beach combers), three swimsuits (two bikinis and one one-piece) with wraps, a satin robe, luggage, two purses, four rings, three necklaces, twelve earrings, six bracelets, makeup and beauty products, hair care products, feminine products, and various other items. Kylie had a blast, as did the rest of us.
They also picked DVD’s and music CD’s, an ice chest, 12 volt vacuum for the van, beach towels, four totes, magazines, and sunglasses for each of us.
It was after midnight when we got Kylie home. Laura apologized for buying so much for Kylie and blamed Paula and Rebecca for going crazy, albeit with lots of encouragement from herself. Soo Lee was gracious in accepting the gifts. It brought tears to her eyes because she had never been able to lavish her daughter in such a manner. Mom asked if Kylie could spend the next night at her place so we could get an early start to Florida. Soo Lee agreed. Everyone hugged and made their goodbyes.
Laura drove back to the Feed Store to pick up Rebecca’s car and headed to our home tired and sleepy. It was after one before the three got home and one forty before they hit the sack for the day.
Morning came late for Paula, Rebecca, and Laura got up. They ate their breakfast and started their preparations for their vacation. They packed most of the clothes and other gear they would need.
Paula dressed in her gaff, sheer to the waist nude pantyhose, hip pads, white satin corset, blue spandex shorts, white silk blouse that buttoned up the back (she could finally dress and remove this blouse by herself), white three inch stiletto sandals and her long straight hair wig. She had gotten very good at doing her makeup, and preferred a conservative day face, Mom approved of Paula’s tastes in makeup. Rebecca watched her sister dress, as she herself dressed. She adjusted what she wore to fit with Paula.
“Girl, we are hot.” Rebecca said giving her sister a hug. “It’s good that you are wearing your corset. I love what it does for you. I love having a sister or aunt or whatever you are for me.”
The girls met their Mom coming out of her room, she took one look at them whistled and turned to head back into her room.
“Where are you going Mom,” Rebecca asked.
“I am going to change my appearance to look more like you guys and to get my gun. We will need it to keep the guys from mauling us.” Mom giggled.
It didn’t take their Mom long to change Rebecca helped her into her corset tightening the laces to give her a suitable waist. Shorts, blouse, pantyhose and heels completed her look and they stood side by side admiring themselves in Mom’s mirror. Together they headed to the mall. Mom picked up one more cell phone from the Radio Shack for Kylie, and four FRS/GPS (Family Radio Service walkie talkies with built in GPS) handi-talkies so we could talk to and find each other if we got separated. They then headed to Kylie’s house, while Paula programmed Kylie’s phone with the three other phone numbers and set the radio’s and phones on chargers.
They arrived at Kylie’s house and were greeted by her Mom Soo Lee.
Soo Lee had lunch prepared so they sat around the table as the food was brought in by Kylie and her Mom. Kylie sat down next to Paula with the Mom’s at either end of the table and Rebecca opposite them.
“Some of the dishes are Americanized Korean foods and a few traditional Korean foods. The blue bowl there is kimchee and is hot.”
Everyone dished out their food taking a little of everything and more of the things they liked the looks of. The kimchee was quite fragrant. Everyone was surprised by the flavor of the dishes and dug in till they got to the kimchee. Paula took a small mouthful and started to chew it when her mouth caught on fire. She dove for her water glass to drown the burn. This set everyone at the table giggling. Paula soon recovered and continued eating somewhat flushed in her face. Then came the dessert, deep fried bananas in caramel sauce with vanilla ice cream on the side.
The conversation was lively with the meal. Paula appreciated the lessons on talking as a girl that Rebecca had insisted on. Paula fit right in and took part in a big way, not dominating or being a passive participant, but really joining in, in a pleasant manner like the rest of the girls. This was not overlooked by the two Moms at the table who looked at each other and grinned.
Kylie really started to shine in this company herself. She had been a shy girl for so long, it was as if a butterfly had come out of its shell and was stretching its wings. Paula had been good for her. She had been friendly enough at work and worked hard but like a lot of Korean women she had a somewhat passive nature out in public. With Paula, Kylie was more gregarious. Soo Lee was proud of her daughter and liked her new friends.
After dessert everyone retired to the living room and with Laura’s permission everyone had a small glass of rice wine. Soo Lee encouraged Paula to tell her story. Slightly embarrassed Paula explained what had happened and how Paul had become Paula. She left out some portions that were better left unsaid, but did a very good job of weaving her story into a tale. Soo Lee and Kylie would interrupt occasionally to ask questions and Rebecca and Laura would interject their observations, but mostly it was all Paula. She felt good telling her story. It was a cathartic and helped Paula as much as it informed the others. Rebecca and Laura gained much from listening, as Paula expressed her emotions, desires and fears, things she had only shared with Carol her psychologist before. Tears were falling and not just from Paula, there was not a dry eye in the room. Their respect for Paula grew as they listened.
“And to be honest with you as much as I like being a girl, I still like girls. I don’t think I will ever go out with guys. I hope I didn’t weird you out. I really like you Kylie.”
When Paula finished she found herself enveloped in a massive group hug.
Soo Lee led them to the bathrooms so they could clean up their raccoon eyes and repair their makeup. Kylie watched Paula closely as she made up her face.
“You do that so well, I see girls and women come in the shop whose faces or over made, wrong colors, poorly made and so many other mistakes. Is that your hair?”
“No, I have two wigs this one and a curly wig. My hair was styled in a short Pixie cut, so I can go swimming but I really prefer it longer.
Mom, Rebecca, Sandy and a lady at the cosmetics counter helped me learn makeup. Rebecca especially, she wouldn’t let me get away with a bad job. She even made me do hers for a while. She also made me learn to mix and match clothes to create different looks.”
Kylie washed her face, she then led Paula to her dresser where her makeup was and had Paula make her up. Kylie’s black hair and complexion were so different from Rebecca and hers. Kylie had to help with some of the choices for colors, but Paula did a nice job. Kylie went into the bathroom and changed into pantyhose, shorts and heels to go with the others.
Soo Lee just watched from the door unseen. She felt in her heart that Kylie would be alright going with them.
“They make a pretty couple don’t they.” Laura said.
Soo Lee was a little startled but replied “Yes they do. I trust Paula to take care of my Kylie. I feel you and your daughters will be good for her. It is so hard to be everything for your children and I have heard you have done the same for your children also.”
“I lost my husband six years ago to a drunk driver. It has been hard raising my children alone.”
“You have done a wonderful job Laura. Your children bring you honor and I feel safe trusting my Kylie to you. I lost my husband to a helicopter accident in Korea. He was an American soldier. He was so nice to us.”
“You too have done well with Kylie she is so sweet. I will take care of her and bring her safely back to you.”
The two mothers hugged each other for several seconds, sharing a bond between them.
The girls then loaded what seemed like a ton of things into the SUV. They wondered if they would be able to load all the things they would need. Soo Lee hugged everyone before they left. Paula gave Soo Lee their cell phone numbers, and showed Kylie how to use her phone. Fifteen minutes later they arrived at the Daniels home and unloaded most of the stuff into their house.
The girls then loaded back up and went to the theater. The four of them got their popcorn and drinks. Paula found four seats in the back corner and wound up sitting at the wall with Kylie next, Rebecca and then Mom by the aisle. It was like an electric shock that ran up Paula’s spine as Kylie’s leg rubbed hers a little more than necessary and Kylie’s hand found hers. Paula had to put her drink in the drink holder and the popcorn tub between her knees. Paula couldn’t concentrate too much on the movie, it was good she thought, but the closeness of Kylie and the constriction of her gaff made things difficult. Then a warm glow infused her as Kylie’s head rested on her shoulder. Everything was better than ok in Paula’s world.
The movie ended and the biggest thing Paula hated about being a girl was waiting in queue for space in the Ladies room. Boys never had this problem they could cycle through a busy restroom so easily. Paula silently cursed the people who designed the restrooms, or so she thought.
“Paula such language girl tut tut.” Laura giggled knowing what was going through Paula’s mind.
Everybody giggled at that and some of the other ladies even agreed with her. Others commented that guys ought to be made to wait like girls do to use the restroom, maybe if they did there would be some equity in their designs.
Paula turned red again, she never had this much trouble about blushing when she was a guy. Maybe she had been too jaded but no she was just more aware of situations now. That made her feel better.
After the four got their turn and fixed their faces they headed back home. Tired we all entered our home.
“Girls you can do whatever you want. I have just two rules panties are required and no action below the waist. Everything else is up to whatever Kylie is comfortable with. Do I need to get out the picture books and explain myself?”
The girls shook their heads no innocently.
“I would hate to have to explain to Soo Lee why we had to come home early, but I would not hesitate to do it. You are too young to engage freely in sex but not too young to become parents.”
Kylie grabbed her overnight bag and followed the girls up to their bedroom. She shut the door behind them and quickly stripped off her top, bra and shorts she opened her overnight bag, pulled out a nightie and turned to see Rebecca and Paula just staring.
“Well you heard your Mom, keep your hose and heels on too, I really like the feel.” Kylie added.
Paula admired Kylie as she stood there her skin was so pretty. Rebecca and Paula stripped down too. Kylie was excited when she looked at Paula bare chested. She inspected her breasts.
“Those look so real are they silicone? They are warm how do they feel? Are they stuck on with glue?”
“Yes. Alright, I kinda like em, but they don’t have any feeling like yours and Rebecca’s. Yes they are stuck on with adhesive. I wish mine were like yours.”
We all donned our nighties and headed downstairs with a comforter.
“Get something on the TV and I will make us some tea and snacks.” Paula said.
Paula started to boil some water and make some sandwiches. She wanted to impress her sis and Kylie, also give Rebecca sometime with her. Rebecca had worked on Paula in this area too, making food that tasted good and looked good. She made some for Mom too. She set a tray in front of the girls and carried one to her Mom. She knocked and entered when she heard her Mom. Paula heard Mom on the phone as she entered and she set the tray on the nightstand.
“Thank you dear, you are so sweet,” Mom said with a smile on her face.
Paula hugged her Mom and headed to join Rebecca and Kylie. Kylie held the comforter up and Paula gracefully sat down next to her. Rebecca and Paula squeezed together to create a Kylie sandwich. The girls got along like gangbusters. Kylie opened up to them.
“It is so good that you accept me as a friend. I have had so few friends since coming to America. I like it here. It is not so nice in Korea; I was not accepted there because I am half Korean half Caucasian. My Dad, Jimmy Williams was a nice man I wish that there were more men like him.”
Kylie took Paula’s right hand and Rebecca’s left hand and held them together in her lap. She kissed them both on their cheeks. We just talked about ourselves while the movie played on the TV. Kylie said she was fifteen and would turn sixteen in December. She was amazed when Paula admitted to only being thirteen, soon to be fourteen in August. Rebecca had turned sixteen in April. Kylie actually went to the same high school Rebecca went to though they had never met and possibly the same high school that Paula would be going to this fall. Rebecca talked about some of her friends and promised Kylie that they would like her too especially since you are so good at nails. That caused Kylie to take their hands and to check their nails. They were still good as the girls had just been in less than a week to get fills done. She then checked their toenails and asked Paula to get the polish that matched for their toes, some cotton balls, some polish remover; hair brushes tissues and cold cream. Luckily for Paula all she had to do was grab their makeup kits they had already packed.
They started by removing each others makeup, using toners and moisturizers. Kylie then gave Rebecca and Paula manicures and pedicures, followed by hand cream and foot cream massages. Kylie then had Paula do her hands and feet. They drove Paula to distraction with their instructions. Kylie winced in pain a couple of times as Paula slipped doing her cuticles, but she started to get the hang of things. Paula loved massaging cream into her hands and feet. Kylie and Rebecca pronounced her job well done after the fourth coat of polish dried.
They then took turns applying makeup even Rebecca needed help choosing colors for Kylie. Paula broke out the pictures the girls had taken for their Mom and with their Mom. Kylie asked about the one that had Paul and Paula.
Rebecca told Kylie to grab her hose and heels and follow her. Paula started to follow but was told to sit. They were gone about forty-five minutes. When they returned Kylie was in the same dress Paula had worn for the portraits and her hair up in a bun. Paula squealed with delight when she saw Kylie. She rushed to hug her friend and Kylie planted a very passionate kiss on Paula. Rebecca put on some music and had Paula put her heels on. Rebecca had to instruct both of them how to dance ballroom style. In no time at all they were all gliding with the music. They each took their turns dancing with each other. Rebecca cracked Paula up when she bowed and asked Kylie for the next dance. Kylie acted demurely, accepted and gave her best curtsy. Rebecca kissed Kiley’s hand and led her to the dance floor holding her hand shoulder high till they turned toward each other and took their position to dance. After the dance, they fell into each other’s arms in a hug. The girls helped Kylie out of the dress and petticoats right there. Paula saw that Rebecca had gotten Kylie in a corset and stockings. Kylie struck some glamour poses dressed like that.
“Kylie, I have a confession to make. I was happy for Paula, that you were able to come, but I was also a little jealous I thought it was just going to be you and Paula. Thank you for being nice to me too.”
“Oh Becca I love Paula, but I love you too. I don’t want to come between you and your sister,” Kylie said hugging Rebecca.
They picked up the dress, petticoats and comforter while Paula cleaned up, sorted out the cosmetics and stuff, leaving the living room clean and in order. Kylie had a sheer baby doll over her corset, stockings and had heels on when Paula came in the room. The girls pulled Paula’s nightie off,) slapped a corset and baby doll on her while giggling, and everybody got in bed. Everyone drifted dreamily to sleep holding each other tightly.
Paula woke being tightly held. They were like three spoons in a drawer. Paula took time to extricate herself without waking Kylie or Rebecca, something she was very good at. She nearly fell as she realized that she had gone to bed in her heels. Heels even three inch heels were not something to try walking in half asleep. It was the pressure on her bladder that woke her something brought about by wearing a corset. After taking care of business she saw the time was about 6:20. She headed to the kitchen to prepare a good breakfast. Bacon cheddar omelets, French toast, OJ, milk and coffee would make a great meal. She began frying the bacon and perking the coffee while she got everything ready.
Laura followed the smell of the coffee. She liked that her kids had seen to fixing her breakfast. She had Paula to thank for that although Rebecca also took turns. They also started keeping the house better taking allot of the work she had done without being asked to. Laura almost giggled when she saw Paula in a corset, panties, stockings, heels, and a frilly apron fixing breakfast. Her wig looked slept in.
“Paula you look so adorable, but it is not good sleeping in your wigs.” Laura said pouring coffees for herself and Paula.
“Thank you Mom, the girls stripped me down to my panties and slapped the corset, stockings and heels on me. Nearly broke my neck trying to stand up with my heels on. Rebecca got off easy she was just in her heels and a nightie, Kylie was dressed like I am.”
“Did everyone have fun last night?”
“Yes we watched a movie Kylie did our nails and toes, we did each others makeup. Then Rebecca dressed Kylie in the bridesmaid’s dress I wore for the portrait. Rebecca then taught us ballroom dancing nothing fancy, but it was fun. Rebecca confessed that she was afraid that it would be just me and Kylie having all the fun, but Kylie really likes Rebecca too. She divided her time between us. I hadn’t thought about that Mom.”
“I did but I am glad that Kylie gets along well with Rebecca. It is good that they are enjoying each others company Paula. Start your cooking I am going to wake up those sleepy heads.”
Paula started the French toast and set the table. Mom returned and poured another cup of coffee. The girls arrived heels clicking dressed as they had gone to bed, just as Paula was starting the omelet. She set the French toast on the table, then added the bacon and cheese to the omelet and flipped it. After cooking it on both sides some more she spread some crunched bacon and cheese strips on top. She divided it into four sections and served it. Paula hung her apron up and sat to eat.
“This is so good, who taught you to cook Paula?” Kylie asked
“Mom and Rebecca taught me and mostly I picked it up just watching them. Then I started fixing Mom breakfast so she wouldn’t have to hurry to get ready in the mornings. Now we both take turns fixing Mom’s breakfast while the other sleeps. It is sort of our special time together. Mom works long hours this way we get to spend some time together.”
Rebecca and Kylie set about cleaning the kitchen, Mom and Paula went up to shower and get ready.
Everybody showered and dressed, finished packing and loaded the SUV. We had to rearrange the seats in the SUV to accommodate all of our luggage. We took out the middle Captains chairs and moved the bench seat up. It is amazing what four girls need for two weeks. Blouses, shorts and heeled sandals was the dress code as everybody piled in and they set off for Florida. We had a fifteen hour drive over two days ahead of us. The three girls sat in the back watching movies and playing games while Mom drove most of the way with Rebecca getting some wheel time.
Kylie spread her time between the others including Laura. Laura found her charming and mature beyond her years, but still saw a little girl hiding there who had to grow up too fast. She saw how alike and different Kylie was from her own children and grew to love this girl.
They stopped for the night in Tallahassee. They took one motel room with two king sized beds. Laura and Paula would take one and Kylie and Rebecca the other. Paula was finding it harder to walk flatfooted in her bare feet having spent so much time in her heels. They all wore trainers or flats to stretch out their calves and went out for dinner and then hit the sack early.
Sunrise had them hitting the road early, and by lunch they were pulling into their hotel. Their room was really a two bedroom suite; the poor bell hop finally got all their gear from the SUV to their suite and home for the next nine days. The girls set about getting their gear out and sorted. They made bags of laundry to be washed today. All three girls shared the same bedroom. Their five day passes to Disney World were delivered to their suite. The passes started the day after tomorrow and ended on Monday night.
To be continued
Tony’s Predicament
by
Paula Dillon
What happens when Tony's bratty sister, who happens to be grounded, wants to go out with her friends.
Twelve year old Tony Green sat on the couch in the family room fuming. His sister Stacy and her girlfriend’s had really done it this time. It was Saturday and their Mom was at work at her Realtors office or out somewhere showing off homes. His fifteen year old sister Stacy was supposed to be home right now. She had been grounded for a month because her last report card had four C’s and two D’s and she had been late coming home after curfew twice. Renee had forbidden Stacy from going out or having her posse’ over at their house, but was she here, NOOOO. She was out with her girlfriend’s, and his silence was being blackmailed.
Renee Green their mom would have been there to ensure her daughters compliance, but she got called out. An out of town client had called and she had to show them four properties, all the properties ranged from the million-five to the three and a half million range. She was guaranteed to make a sale today and her commission was just too good and the client too important to her to turn this opportunity down.
Stacy had barely waited till her mom’s car to hit the street when she took out her iPhone and started making calls. She headed to her bedroom, shut and locked her door and turned up the stereo.
Tony had been watching TV in the family room, when the front door burst open and the ‘Goth Sisters’, that is what he called his sister’s girlfriends, waltzed on in without knocking and headed directly to Stacy’s room. Ten minutes later all five girls descended on him and assaulted him. That is how he would describe it, it was an assault.
They drug him to Stacy’s room and stripped off his clothes before stuffing him into a black leather over the bust corset, whose cups were filled with birdseed bags and silicone, which they padlocked on him, a leather thong panty that was padlocked in three places to the corset, black opaque spandex stockings, 5 inch stiletto platform T-strap heels that had three padlocks each, a spiked leather dog collar that was padlocked and a very tight black leather dress whose zipper was padlocked at the collar. His curly black shoulder length hair was curled, sprayed with purple highlights and bangs cut. Long wear makeup that couldn’t be easily washed off was troweled on, false eyelashes glued on; long thick fake fingernails glued on and painted black. His ears had been pierced several times with 6 inch long black feather and metal dangles, shiny hoops and jeweled studs attached securely somehow.
All of this happened in a matter thirty minutes, and all of this was filmed by the ‘Goth Sisters’ on several of their smart phones.
“Ok listen to this twerp,” Stacy said, “Me and my girlfriends are going out and you are not going to say a thing about it to Mom. We took video of you getting dressed and unless you want the whole school knowing what kind of a wuss you are, you won’t rat me out. If you are a good girl we will turn you back into a boy when we get home and nobody will have to know about your little proclivities. Unless… you would like to go with us,” she teased. “Oh by the way, that dress, corset and shoes cost almost two thousand dollars, they better not be damaged when we get back,” she giggled.
Tony’s eyes burned holes through the back of his sister’s head. The only thing good about the current situation, was that he was looking down on his sister and her posse, due to the added height the heels gave him. He turned his back on his sister, never saying a word and wobbly walked into the family room and sat on the couch. The dress’s hem was so short, that when he sat, his bare butt cheeks rested on the leather couch.
Stacy and her posse’ then left the femininely decked boy stewing as they headed out to have some fun. If he didn’t have the corset on he would have probably hyper ventilated and passed out. He thought about calling his Mom but that would be the end of his life as he knew it. He had no doubt that his sister and her friends would send out those videos to his and their friends or even post it online. Hell they might do it anyway.
He stood up. That was more than a little challenge for him. It took several efforts to finally get on his feet. He had to take small mincing steps to move around. He stopped in front of the hall mirror and looked at himself. He didn’t like his sister’s fascination with wearing so much black, but as he looked at his own image, except for the gaudy makeup, he would like to spend time with the girl he saw. He just wished that it wasn’t him. He would have liked the dress, on someone else of course, except it was way too short. It only covered his butt and a couple of inches more. The shoes were way too tall and way too gaudy; he wouldn’t wish them on his sister. His lips were painted in the blackest red he had ever seen and his eyes looked sunken and hollow due to all the eye shadow, false eyelashes and eye liner he now wore. His cheeks bore some kind of dark bluish black rogue. He looked so much like his sister that it hurt to think about it.
If he was going to be stuck like this for hours, he decided that he needed to learn how to get around in this get up. As much as he hated it, he practiced walking back and forth in the heels he now wore. In his mind he pictured how girls walked in these things and tried to adopt their style walk. He walked like he was on a tight rope instead on railroad tracks. He found a little hip swing made things easier. He fell a couple of times trying to get use to them. It was a bitch getting up and he now his feet and ankles hurt a little, he had a sore right wrist and left knee, but after about an hour he could walk reasonably well.
Hungry, he headed to the kitchen to get something to eat and drink. He had just taken a sip of a cold coke and stopped before taking another. It might be hours till they return he thought and he wasn’t given a chance to use the bathroom and he was just beginning to feel his bladder. He lifted the skirt and tried to see if he could untrap himself enough to take a leak. He tried but he couldn’t do it the edges of the panty thong felt like they had a steel cable on each side. He was stuck like this till his sister returned.
He sat on a stool and wanted to cry. He didn’t want this, he didn’t need this in his life and for a fleeting second he thought about cutting his wrists, as he looked at the butcher block knife stand, but only for a second. He would survive this and like that old Klingon saying went, “revenge was a meal best served cold.”
He took a few minutes to take a good look at the locks on the shoes. He didn’t know locks to well but the locks securing the shoes looked pretty strong and not being mechanically inclined meant that he didn’t know how to get them off.
He got up and began to pace, he couldn’t help it, sitting wasn’t really comfortable and he was extremely nervous. He kept his elbows in and his wrists out as he walked. He decided to check his sister’s door, but it was locked up tightly. He then thought about going into his Mom’s room to get something to wipe the shit off of his face, but he just didn’t want to violate her space. She had never said that they couldn’t go into her room, but it was HER room. On top of that, what would Stacy and the ‘Goth Sisters’ do if they didn’t find him looking just as they left him. No he could wait and hope Stacy got home before his mother did.
Tony didn’t realize it, but he was getting very good walking on the stilts he had on. He learned how to take comfortable feminine strides, that weren’t mincing, without falling, but his strides were much shorter than his strides as a boy. He had to sit down again as his feet were hurting. “How did girls wear these things?” He asked himself. He found he could sit if he sat very straight and kept his knees together. He moaned to himself that things couldn’t get any worse.
He was wrong, he found out, ten minutes later.
He was sitting there moaning about things, he tried to hang his head, but that wasn’t comfortable. Tears flowed slowly down his cheeks, but he stopped them. He wasn’t going to give Stacy the pleasure of knowing that she had gotten to him. He only wished that he could get comfortable.
He had just steeled himself again, when there came a loud knocking on the door and Amanda Harper burst into their home.
“Stacy! Tony! I need help,” she said, as she came to the living room.
She saw Stacy, no that was Tony sitting there. Her breath caught as she saw him. “Stacy I really need your help,” she said. “Frank had a heart attack and is headed to Mercy General Hospital. I need you to stay with the kids till I can get someone to look after them,” she shouted crying, “He may be dying.”
She knew he wasn’t Stacy, but she didn’t want to embarrass him and she had to get to the hospital.
Tony knew girls didn’t go anywhere without a purse and things so he said, “Let me get my purse, phone and keys and I will be right over.”
Stacy ran back to her home to get her things and Tony ran into his Mom’s room and grabbed one of her go purses. Renee kept several purses that she called her go purses. They were all stocked with the same things so she only needed to grab one, put her wallet and keys in it and go. He got one in black and put his phone and keys in it, before running over to the Harper’s.
Amanda smiled as she saw Tony running to her house. He looked so much like a girl now and he had an incredibly small waist. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out why he was decked out like that worthless sister of his, but she was glad he would be watching her kids rather than Stacy.
“Thank you Stacy, you are a God send, please take care of Janet and Tim, call your Mom when you can and tell her. I need to go.” Amanda said kissing his cheek.
Tony shouted at Mrs. Harper, as she ran out the door, “Be careful, Amanda, don’t kill yourself driving.”
It was well known in the neighborhood that Mrs. Harper was a haphazard driver at times. Balancing texting, makeup and drinking coffee as she drove. Today she was a basket case as she backed out her Subaru SUV.
Tony just watched her drive away after she relocated the trash can that was at the curb into the street. He turned as he felt the hem of his dress being tugged, to see six year-old Janet standing there.
Janet was looking up at Tony and had a strange look in her eyes, “You’re not Stacy are you? You’re Tony. Why are you wearing a dress?”
“I have a rotten sister, that’s why. Please don’t tell anybody,” Tony cried, “Everybody would kill me if they found out.”
“I like you Tony,” Janet said, “I don’t like Stacy. My dad may not be coming home, I heard my mommy say. He may die.” The little girl burst in tears and held her arms out to Tony, to be picked up.
Tony’s heart broke and he picked up the girl. He then went looking for little Timmy. Three year old Timmy was sitting on the floor of the living room playing with his trucks, without a care in the world. Tony sat and cradled Janet to him and shed some tears for the little girl in his arms.
He hated what he was about to do, but he had to. He got his cell phone and called his mom.
“Hi Tony,” Renee said, “Whasup?”
“Mom, Frank Harper had a heart attack and is at Mercy General.”
“Oh, my, God. Where is Amanda?”
“On her way to the hospital.”
“Where are her kids?”
“I am with them right now, in their place.”
“Where is Stacy?”
“Mom, I need you to come over here now. I need help!”
“l need to go be with Amanda.”
“Mom, Amanda thought I was Stacy! I need you here for a few minutes at least Mom, Please. I need to take a leak.”
“Well go to the bathroom.”
“I can’t Mom; I am all locked up down there.” He whispered.
“Ok, I will be there in about ten minutes. Just hold on.”
Renee wanted to seriously kill her daughter, as she locked up the Realty Office and got in her car. How did she raise such a sweet son and such a rotten daughter?
Renee got to the Harper’s place in fifteen minutes and after she saw Tony, she had to stifle a curse, “Stacy is so going to be in trouble when I get my hands on her. Tony come to the hall bathroom with me and I will see what I can do.”
She stood behind her son and inspected the lock on the dress. It was a very good lock.
“Mom, hurry, I need to pee, so bad.”
Renee lifted the skirt and saw the cheap locks on the thong, “I think I can get the panty off of you.”
She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and scraped the soft tips off with her teeth. She was just beginning to pick the lock, when Tony’s bladder let loose. He began bawling.
“I am going to kill that girl.” Amanda thought.
She worked the locks for the thong loose. She couldn’t get the rest. She had Tony sit and finish relieving himself as she cleaned up the floor and then she cleaned up her son. She couldn’t get the heels off, but she did cut the stockings off and cleaned the shoes of urine as best she could. She took her purse; her son had brought and opened it. In a zip lock bag she took out a pair of panties and helped Tony on with them. She took several makeup wipes and cleaned off his face. He looked so out of place then.
“Could you stand some more makeup for a while?”
“I guess, just as long as my face isn’t as ugly as Stacy made me.” Tony then gave his Mom a rundown on how he ended up like this, as she worked to make his face up like a real teenage girl. She spritzed him with a little perfume to cover what smell was left.
“Tony, I need to go be with Amanda, will you be ok here with the kids?”
“Yes Mom. I will be ok. Go!”
Renee carried the things she had to the Harper’s wash room and began the load. She threw that damned thong in the trash cleaned herself up and made the kids something to eat and then hurried out the door saying, “Don’t let your sister see you, till I see her. Stay here don’t go home Tony, lock the doors behind me.”
After the kids ate Janet pulled Tony and Timmy back into the living room. Tony sat and Janet crawled back into his lap.
“You’re pretty now Tony. I like you much better like this.”
She clung to him fiercely and fell asleep in his arms.
About an hour later a car made a skidding stop in front of the Harper’s Place. A teenage girl got out and the car roared off. The girl ran up to the door and knocked loudly. Tony stood with Janet in his arms and went to the door. He saw it wasn’t one of the ‘Goth Sisters’ and opened the door. It was a girl about as tall as he was right now and maybe sixteen or seventeen.
Janet saw the teen and brightened up, she almost shouted, “Aunt Emma,” and reached out with both arms nearly toppling Tony.
Emily smiled brightly and took Janet from Tony, “Ah there is my favorite niece. Hi I am Emily West.”
“Hi I am Tony Green come on in.”
“Emma this is Tony. She isn’t really a girl; she has a mean sister who dressed her like this. She is nicer than her sister.”
“Janet!” Tony said and then he started crying.
Emily didn’t know what was going on but she got everyone inside and locked the door.
“Janet go play with Timmy for a few minutes. Let me talk with Tony.”
“Ok”
Emily took Tony into the kitchen and started a pot of tea.
“Tell about what you know about Uncle Frank and then about your predicament.”
He cried as he told her his tale.
Emily was mesmerized as Tony talked. She hugged and tried to comfort the boy. His responses sounded so much like a girl. Even she wanted to protect him. When he finished she said, “We need to get back to the kids, are you going to be alright.”
Tony nodded weakly.
Emily and Tony sat side by side on the couch. Janet crawled up in Tony’s lap and Timmy in Emily’s lap.
Waiting for news is so hard when things are as they were. Emily worried about her brother-in-law and Tony worried about everything. It was about six in the evening when a car pulled up to the Green’s home.
“Shit, it’s my sister,” Tony said. “Mom told me not to let my sister near me till she saw her.” The girls came out of the house and began searching fanning out.
“Shit, shit, shit, one of my sisters’ friends is coming here. I need to hide. Janet don’t say a thing about me, please.”
“Go into the bathroom and lock the door Tony,” Emily said as there was a pounding at the door. “Take the kids with you.”
Tony took Janet and Timmy and headed to the bathroom.
Emily opened the door and said, “Hello, can I help you?”
“I am looking for Tony, Stacy’s wimp assed brother. He is so gay he was wearing a dress. Have you seen him?”
“No, I haven’t seen him and if you could not be so rude, I would appreciate it.”
“Whatever, if you see his ass tell him he is a goner. He ain’t going to be able to live in this town.”
The girl stomped off and headed back to the Green’s home. Emily watched the girls for a minute before she shut and locked the door and armed the security system. From the family room she continued to observe through the gauzy curtains.
She then went to the downstairs bathroom and knocked lightly on the door. “Tony the girl who came here left but they still seem to be searching for you, stay in there with the kids, I will keep watch out here. Ok?”
“Ok,”
Emily sat on the couch and watched. The girls were arguing amongst themselves for several minutes, they then pulled out their phones and began texting. A phone rang in a purse next to her. It wasn’t hers but she dug it out and saw that the phone had an email. She made a couple of touches and saw a video of Tony being made up. Her blood began to boil. She was startled when the phone rang. She answered it, “Hello.”
“Hello is Tony there?”
“Who is this?”
“I am Renee Green, Tony’s Mom. I am at the hospital with Amanda Harper. Who are you?”
“I am Amanda’s sister, Emily West. Tony is in the bathroom with the kids. She was scared when some girls showed up?”
“Oh thank god. Is he alright?”
“Yeah for the time being. She told me about everything.”
“He didn’t see the video did he?”
“No she didn’t. I picked up the phone.”
“Good don’t show it to him. If my daughter or her friends show back up at the Harper’s place, call the police.”
“How is Frank doing?”
“The Doctors list him as in guarded condition, but they are hopeful. The next few hours are important. Please take care of my Baby.”
“Don’t worry about Tony I got her. You take care of my sis. We are locked down and the security system is armed.”
“Good! I will talk with you later.”
They hung up and Emily double checked all the doors and windows on the ground floor. She had to lower the garage door her sister left up, before she joined Tony and the kids.
“Tony you get Timmy ready for bed and I will get Janet ready.”
“No I want Tony to help me,” Janet said.
“Alright, we will do it your way Janet. Bring her to Amanda’s room after she gets dressed Tony. We will all sleep there.”
They split up and Tony helped Janet get ready for bed. When they met up in the master bed room the two small kids laid down together on the bed and were shortly asleep.
“Tony would you like to get out of that dress and those shoes. Franks stuff won’t fit you, but I am sure my sister wouldn’t mind you wearing one of her nightgowns.”
“Can’t everything is padlocked.”
She saw the padlocks on the shoes, but checked the lock on the dress, “Are you wearing a corset?” She asked after feeling his sides.
“Yes and that is padlocked too.”
“You stay here with the kids; let me go see what I can do.”
Emily went down to the garage. She didn’t know what she was going to find, but there on the tool board was a pair of bolt cutters.
Back upstairs Emily helped Tony lay down on the floor. It was the only way she could figure out how to cut the padlocks on the shoes. Still it was hard. She opened the jaws of the cutter and put the hasp of the lock in them. She then had to brace one handle on the floor and lean on the other with all her weight. It took her ten minutes to cut the six locks on the shoes. She wished she could have been a guy for five minutes. Tony was in tears when Emily pulled the shoes off of his feet. He hugged her and kissed her cheek. Emily massaged his feet and had him purring. The lock at the top of the dresses zipper was a tougher nut to crack. It was harder for her to control the bolt cutters and she was careful not to hurt Tony. Emily was about to quit, when the hasp finally went snap.
Even unzipped it took a lot out of Emily to help peel the leather dress off of Tony. The dress just wanted to cling to him. She began to cry as she saw three more padlocks on the corset.
“Tony, I am so sorry. I’m just not strong enough to cut the last three padlocks off of you, without help.”
He had seen the effort she had put into getting him this far. He took Emily in his arms and gave her a big hug and kissed her cheek, “That’s ok, thank you for what you did for me.”
Emily went to her sister’s dresser and got two sleeping gowns and helped Tony put one on.
“Come with me; let’s soak those sore feet in some warm water.”
They went into the bathroom. Emily cleaned Tony’s face and had him sit on the side of the tub. She poured some bath salts and soothing oil into the tub and ran about six inches of water. She then sat next to Tony and held him while his feet soaked.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Tony asked.
“Janet says you are a nice girl,” they both had a good giggle at that one. “I have liked you since I have been around you and I don’t like seeing anybody being treated as poorly as you have been treated, by your sister. You also helped my sister and her husband out when they were in a pinch.”
“Thank you.”
“No. I need to thank you Tony. I love my niece and nephew. Sit on the toilet I am going to take a bath.”
“I will wait for you in the bedroom.” Tony said, getting up.
“I said, be a good girl and SIT on the toilet. I told your Mom that I would watch out for you.”
Emily stood and undressed. She added some bubble bath to the tub and more hot water. Tony got an eyeful for a couple of seconds but then the water and the bubbles hid her charms. They both wore blushes though.
“Tell me about your sister Tony. Was she always this bad?”
“No not always, she was sort of a nice girl till she and Rebecca went Goth. I just left her alone when she got so strange.”
“What brought this to boil? I mean why did she do this to you?”
“Well Mom, grounded her. Her grades had fallen and she came home very late without calling, after midnight once and two-forty-five in the morning another time. Mom was furious.”
“I imagine so; Mom would kill me if I came home after midnight without calling.”
“Anyway Mom is a realtor and a big client called wanting to look at a couple of properties. The commission was just too big not to go in today.”
“I see. Ummmm this water feels so delicious.”
They talked for about twenty minutes before Emily pulled the plug and got up to dry off and dressed. Tony was still a little embarrassed about it but he liked that she trusted him to be a gentleman, at least sort of a gentleman. They went into the bedroom and to lay down with the kids.
It was one in the morning when Renee and Amanda came in her bedroom and found all the kids there on her bed asleep. Emily was spooned with Tony and Janet had a death grip on Tony’s arm.
“Ah they look so sweet there together, I hate to disturb them.”
Amanda had gotten Renee alone and they had talked about the circumstances of Tony’s strange appearance. Amanda had wondered if he was like some of those guys she had seen on daytime TV, you know those shock reality shows and those talking head shows. She could have seen Tony as one of those girls; he was so gentle and soft spoken. He could have easily fitted in as a girl, just not a girl like his sister. After she had learned the truth, she still had some doubts. He looked so cute in her satin sleep shirt.
“Then don’t. Let them sleep. I need to go confront my daughter and it isn’t going to be pretty. I will bring some clothes over for him when I can. He got the dress and shoes off, but I can tell he is still wearing the corset. He is going to want to get some relief soon.”
“Go take care of Stacy, Tony can stay where he is. I am sure Emily will take good care of him.”
Renee had a double shot of Scotch to calm her nerves before she went over to her own home.
Stacey was sitting on the couch in the family room fretting. The girls had really screwed the pooch, by mass texting the videos. She had fun dressing her creepy brother up and all that. She thought it was funny padlocking everything, it served him right. He was too much of a goody two shoes. She just wanted to have some fun with her friends, just like everybody else and this was the only way she knew to keep him from telling on her. She snickered as she thought about that leather and steel wire thong. There was nothing wrong with him having to wait for a few hours to go to the bathroom. And gosh he looked so good when they made him up. He almost looked human. She kinda wished that he had come with them. Goth rocked.
She really worried though when the girls kept her away for so long. Stacy couldn’t believe how pissed her friends were when he wasn’t here when they got back. Melanie having a flat tire didn’t help. But damn did they actually have to send out all those texts. Edited versions of it were already going viral on the internet. Damn was she in real trouble.
Renee unlocked and entered her home. It was two in the morning and she thinks she came up with part of a plan. The lights were on in the living room so she looked in there first and saw Stacy.
Stacy got up and started to talk.
“Sit down lady and shut the F*** up.”
Stacy’s backside slammed straight down.
“You have five minutes to tell me why I shouldn’t call the police and have you and your friends arrested for assaulting your brother. I have spent all afternoon and evening at the hospital. It was touch and go at times, he almost didn’t make it.”
Stacy became frantic. She could see herself spending the next seven years in Juvie, “Tony is in the hospital?” She exclaimed.
“No not Tony, Frank Harper is in the hospital. Your kind sweet brother spent the last 18 hours babysitting Amanda’s children. On top of being humiliated by you and your friends. If that wasn’t enough, Tony and I may have to leave this town and find somewhere where we aren’t recognized. You have ruined any hopes of a decent childhood here for him and my lively hood that helped support you and your thugs is shot down the drain. Tony and I will change our names and just have to move away from here.”
Stacy was crying, “What about me momma?”
“What about you? You know we got him out of that dress and shoes, but he is still wearing that bloody corset. I think I should lock you into it and that DAMN thong and see how you like it. But I can’t do that. I am a human being and I COULD NOT DO THAT! To another human being. I guess we can find a home for you somewhere. That is if you don’t spend the rest of your childhood in Juvenile Detention.”
“But Mom.”
“No butts about it you may not be arrested tonight, but you will most certainly be spending some time in court, young lady. The worst part is for the production and dispensing of child pornography. You may wind up as a registered sex offender with all of your girlfriends. You all sent out all those damn videos.”
“That wasn’t my fault momma. Rachel told the girls to do it when we couldn’t find Tony. We thought he had given us up. We told him to stay home. It’s his fault for not being here.”
“How dare you try to put this on your dear courageous brother. He spent all afternoon protecting Amanda’s children while she was worried about whether her husband Frank would live or die. He didn’t worry about how he was dressed when Amanda asked him to watch her babies.”
“But Mom, you have always favored him. The older I get the more you restrict me. You hate my friends, force me to stay home. You are always down on me on how I am dressed. I just wanna be me and that has never been good enough for you.”
“If I have favored him, it’s because he isn’t getting into trouble. He has been a good child. I might have made a few mistakes with you, but it was only because I wanted more from you, than you seem willing to give. Stacy you put your brother at risk with this stunt and I am not sure whether we can live it down in this city. Don’t worry I am not going to abandon you. You are my daughter. You might have to pay the piper though we are going to hire you an attorney and have a talk with the District Attorney on Monday and with whom you will be very explicit with.”
“Why I didn’t do anything wrong, Mom?”
“Stacy haven’t you been listening. Assault, child pornography, reckless endangerment, I can’t list all the things you may have done wrong.”
“What child porn, all we did was dress him up as a girl? I didn’t do any of those things.”
“You stripped him naked; he was naked for much of the video and then dressed in a sexually provocative manner. Then pictures and video of what you girls did was sent out all over town. You did many of those things and where others may have acted on their own; you were an accessory to the fact in many of them. Now I want the keys to that corset.”
“I don’t have the keys, it belongs to Sandy, along with the dress and shoes.”
“Then I shall have to cut it off. I am not waiting till you get your friends together to set him free.”
“Mom those locks are worth like two hundred dollars apiece, parts of them are gold layered. The dress, corset and shoes were like nineteen hundred dollars.”
“Not my problem. I care about your brother Tony and believe it or not,” Renee said with quiet tension in her straining voice, “I STILL CARE ABOUT YOU. Your friends will never get those things back. I am going to free him now. YOU WILL SIT RIGHT THERE YOUNG LADY, TILL I GET BACK!”
Renee had not shouted those last words, but they were made of steel. Stacy felt the force of those last words and nearly peed her panties.
Tony woke to the sounds of the shower going, he saw that Emily, Janet and Timmy were still with him so only Amanda or some other relative could be here. He freed himself from Janet’s death grip. She just rolled over and held her little brother. He then tried to sit up.
Emily woke as Tony slid off the foot of the bed. She watched him move, standing on the balls of his feet like a girl, to the window facing the street.
“My sister must be home,” Emily said, sleepily.
“I think Mrs. Harper is in the shower. I see my Mom’s car in the driveway. My sister is probably home, I need to get there.”
Emily giggled a little giggle as she looked at Tony, “You don’t have any clothes, your Mom is probably going to bring you some. You can’t go over there wearing that nighty.”
“Then I will put on that dress and those shoes, to get home.”
Emily had gotten up and was standing just behind Tony. She gripped his shoulders and turned him around till he was facing her. She leaned forward till her mouth was just inches from his ear and said, “Like hell you will Tony. Not after all the work I put into getting you out of those hellish things. Those things are for people that aren’t like you.”
“But I feel that I have got to be there. My sister needs me.”
“You mean after your sister did all those mean things to you, you still care about her?”
“I was pissed angry and humiliated. Yes, I wanted to hurt her too… but she is my sister. She didn’t use to be this way.”
“And you are willing to get dressed up as a girl again to go help your sister?”
Tony gave an emphatic, “YES!”
“Tony Green you are one strange boy. I wish that you were a few years older. Well if my sister is here maybe my luggage is here to. Let’s look. All I brought was skirts, blouses and a couple of dresses. My things should fit you if you like.”
Emily stuck her head in the bathroom door and talked with her sister for a few seconds and then led Tony downstairs. Her things were by the doorway. They pulled the bags into the living room and Emily went through them piking some things out.
“I am sorry Tony; I like to wear pretty sexy things. I guess you could call me a girly girl. That is all I brought. If you are determined to go through with this, then do you think you could wear these things,” she said handing him a stack of clothes.
Without looking he said, “Yes.”
Emily helped him take off the sleep shirt. Then she helped him with a lace camisole, “I want you to wear this camisole. It will keep that blasted corset from being seen through your blouse.”
“OK”
Emily then helped him with the blouse and then had him sit so she could help him put on a pair of pantyhose.
“Why the pantyhose, Emily?”
“You want to show your sister, that she didn’t win right? That you are still a better person, right?”
“Well sorta.”
“Well she dressed you as a slutty girl; show her that you can make a better girl than she is.”
Emily finished dressing Tony. He was now dressed in a white ruffled front long sleeve silk blouse, a black mohair jacket and skirt and black sling-back pumps with a three inch heel. Emily also got dressed and Tony inquired about that.
“If you think you are going over there by yourself, think again. Now let’s fix our faces.”
Emily made quick work with the makeup. Nothing more than any teen girl needs and her mother would approve of, just a little foundation, powder, lipstick and mascara. Lastly she brushed Tony’s hair out; Emily was a little amazed at the amount of curl Tony retained.
“Tony forgive me for saying this, I really love your hair. It seems to retain curls well. I wish I could trade with you.”
“I love your hair too Emily, Mom and sis are the same way. It curls as it dries; I sometimes have to use Mom’s flat iron to straighten it out. It didn’t help that the girls used a curling gel and curling irons.”
“If you don’t like it curly, cut it.”
Tony made a cross with his two index fingers, “I haven’t had it cut in three years, except when Mom insists on trimming the split ends. My hair is the one rebellious thing I do. Mom would love my hair to be really short.”
Tony and Emily left the Harper home and headed across the street. The front door opened just as the pair reached the two steps up to the doorstep. Renee, holding some of Tony’s clothes, seemed shocked to see two visitors she didn’t know at this time in the morning, “Yes can I help, oh my god is that… Tony come on inside. Hello I am Renee Green and you are? You are Amanda’s sister?”
“Yes I am Emily West, Amanda’s prettiest sister.” Emily said posing for Renee.
“Please come in. Tony, where did you get those clothes?”
“Do I look bad,” Tony said looking himself over.
“No of course not, you look quite lovely, very pretty in fact, but why?”
“Mrs. Green, Tony wanted to be here when you confronted, Stacy. I told him he didn’t have any clothes yet. He still insisted on coming over here. I told him I had some clothes that might fit, but… you can see what I have and I insisted that if he was in for a penny he should be in for a pound. I hoped to dissuade him, but he still insisted.”
“Yeah if sis is still up I would like to talk to her,” Tony said. “I was very angry with her, I wanted to hurt her and her friends, but I have cooled down a little. I would like to tell her how I feel right now.”
Renee led them into the family room. Stacy jumped up, when they came in. She gave a questioned look at Emily, but we she recognized her brother, she almost cracked up laughing.
“STACY! That is your brother, you won’t laugh at him. His condition is your doing,” and exasperated Renee said. “Your brother is a better person, than I could hope for.”
“Sis, I was mad at you. I was fuming. I don’t know what I did to you to make you hate me so, but I am sorry. I am still mad, but I don’t hate you. I just want to know why you did that to me?”
“It was the only way I could assure your silence Tony. If I had gone out without something on you, you would have called Mom about me as soon as I left. I just wanted to get out of the house. I felt like I was in jail.”
“You may still wind up in a real jail Stacy, what you did was wrong,” Renee added.
“I still say I did nothing wrong.”
“So assaulting me is doing nothing wrong. If I had stripped all your clothes off, you would have cried rape. So what is the difference?”
“And don’t forget the video.” Renee said. Almost regretting having opened her mouth.
“What video?” Tony asked.
“The video that the girls took of them doing this to you Tony,” Emily said. “They sent it out.”
Tony collapsed to the floor crying, “Tell me she didn’t do that, Mom. I can’t believe she did that, Mom what are we going to do? I will be a laughing stock.”
Emily and Renee knelt next to Tony and tried to comfort the child.
“What’s the big deal, you’re just a kid? You sit with the nerds at elementary school. You’ll fit right in.”
“Stacy I can’t believe how cruel you are,” Emily said. “Being a Goth you should know how students that are different are treated by others; Goth’s are treated poorly by many clicks at my school. Boys that are dressed as girls, or who are perceived as feminine are often terrorized, beaten, raped and killed.”
“Stacy I am tired of this, just go to your room. I am going to figure out how to free your brother,” an exasperated Renee said. “Emily, how did you get the shoes and dress off?”
“Bolt cutters.”
“I know I got a pair of those in the garage,” Renee said.
“Oh my gosh, those locks were expensive, It’s going to cost you for that?” Stacy said.
“STACY, go to your room and DON’T YOU COME OUT! I don’t want to hear any more from you tonight. GO!!!”
Stacy stomped off to her room and Renee headed to her garage. Emily helped Tony take off his blouse. It took both Emily and Renee to cut the remaining three locks off the corset. Then Renee just let off a couple of inches slack on the corset.
“You’ve been in that corset for so long I just don’t want to take it off all the sudden. It looks like they took you down from a thirty inch waist to almost twenty-two inches. You might pass out if we took it off all the sudden,”
Tony smiled as he could take a deeper breath and couldn’t wait to get it off. It looked funny as he dug in the cups pulling stuff out.
“Would you think I was strange if I said that I made that leather dress look good?”
Renee’s jaw almost hit the floor, “Well no son, I thought you looked good but a little mature for a twelve year old.”
“It was pretty bad Tony, but you made a pretty girl.” Emily said. “You don’t want to dress as a girl all the time do you?”
“Oh NO! At least I don’t think so. I don’t know, I am so confused. I know I don’t like Goth. I won’t have any friends, people will hate me. Nobody will like me.”
“I like you a lot Tony, I don’t hate you. I think you are kind of special,” Emily said hugging him.
“Listen to her, we may have to move, but you will find out who your real friends are, because of this. Let me loosen the corset a bit more. Then Emily can you take Tony back across the street. I don’t want him here tonight, in case Stacy’s friends come back.”
Emily helped Tony with the blouse and then he went to his room and grabbed a handful of clothes, before going back to the Harper’s. Renee went to her closet pulled down the Glock 19, cleared the weapon, checked the chamber, checked the action, reinserted the magazine and then chambered a round. She would stay here with Stacy till Monday. Tony would stay at the Harper’s.
“Nobody would do anything to her baby again,” she thought.
Renee went to sleep in her Lazy Boy recliner in the family room.
At the Harper’s Emily started to remove the corset in the guest bedroom, but Tony stopped her as he began to feel a little light headed. Emily had loosened him to about twenty six inches. The corset seemed absolutely loose. She got him into the night gown he had worn and into bed. She then changed and crawled into bed behind him.
Sunday Emily stayed with Tony and the kids. Amanda went back to the hospital and relieved her Mom and Dad. Frank’s Mom and Dad made it there before Frank headed for triple bypass surgery.
Janet was a little disappointed to see the boy Tony in the morning. “I liked you better as a girl Tony, but I still like you. Girls Rock, boys are kind of icky. Cept for you.”
Tony laughed a bit and then whispered in Janet’s ear, so she would be the only one to hear, “Let me tell you a secret, I liked being a girl for a little while for you and Timmy, but don’t tell anyone ok?”
She hugged and whispered back a little less carefully, “Ok, but can you be a girl for me again sometime?”
“Maybe sometime, but it will have to be a secret.”
Frank survived surgery and did well, much to Amanda’s relief. He went to rehab for several weeks and then came home. Emily and Tony were together for almost two weeks as they stayed with the kids so Amanda could spend as much time with Frank as possible. Tony dressed up a couple of times for Janet and Emily.
Renee took Stacy to an attorney and then to the DA’s office. The DA rounded up the five girls and took statements from everyone including Tony. The DA talked to the US Attorney for their area. He wanted to charge them for dissemination of child porn. They were hot about other teens taking locker room pictures and emailing them, but he let them plead to state charges of 1st degree misdemeanor sexual battery.
As part of their plea deal, the girls spent two weeks in Juvie, couldn’t own or have unsupervised access to a computer, cameras, cell phones with cameras, smartphones, tablets, laptops or any video equipment, till they were twenty one. Each one of them had to pay Tony Green twenty thousand in restitution and probation expenses. The court gave them deferred adjudication, if they successfully completed their probation they could petition the court to have their record expunged on their twenty first birthdays. If they failed to complete probation they would also face federal charges.
Tony stayed Tony for the most part and kept in contact with Emily. School was and wasn’t a disaster. He had a rough few months at the start, but things evened out with time as several handfuls of friends supported him. Stacy was sorry she got caught, she completed her probation and said all the right things to the judge, but in her heart she never believed she had done wrong. She couldn’t wait till the courts allowed her to leave home when she turned twenty one. She was nicer than she was, but could still be a bitch.
Emily started dating Tony when he turned eighteen and later married him. He never completely gave up cross dressing, but he also liked being a boy. He wore some interesting things under his Tux and later on his honeymoon. Stacy was invited to the wedding, but politely refused to attend.
The end
Twelve Fifty an Hour
by
Paula Dillon
A man finds out the hard way that he should read all contracts
“Oooowwww, god dammit that hurt,” Paul Weston shouted. He cursed the day his photographer shot his portfolio for his modeling agency. He was wearing a speedo and nothing else in one shot. “Oooowww, oh my god, do you have to do that?”
“Its in the contract Mr. Weston, everything is in the contract.” The technician giggled as she spread more hot wax on Mr. Weston. He was getting a full body wax.
“That god damned bloody contract.” He shouted.
That contract he signed two weeks ago. He was desperate for work. He got called in three weeks ago for an interview.
“Oooowwww, can you hurry up and get this over with.”
The technician was in stitches and began working slower and in ways she knew were just a bit more painful. She knew she was indemnified against any legal action.
That bloody contract. He went in for the interview with Amanda Bloody Cosworth. She was the client who was responsible for all his current pain and agony. Why didn’t he really read the bloody contract and have the agency and his lawyer read the contract. He thought it was a standard modeling contract. He wasn’t a big-time model, but he did get many small bits and commercial work here and there, enough to keep a roof over his head, pay the bills and keep himself alive.
“Ooooowwwww!!! Oh god damn it, that really hurt.”
The technician had a huge smile on her face, “That’s the cost of beauty dearie. It will be just a half hour more and then I will be finished.” She could finish it in ten minutes, but this was just too much fun. She always wanted to give a man a full body wax. Women go through this somewhat stoically. If the man had only grinned and bore it, she would have made it as painless as possible, but that would not have been as much fun. This man brought out her sadistic side. She loved what she did, causing pain and being not legally culpable for the pain.
Amanda Bloody Cosworth. She was the gorgeous client, no gorgeous doesn’t say enough about her beauty. She was a goddess, in a 15,000-dollar Alexander McQueen crystal embellished Jacket and skirt and her 4-inch Christian Louboutin pumps. Paul didn’t know it, but that was all she was wearing at the time. She was full commando.
She had spent an hour downplaying the role to him, making it sound like he was just an extra to fill out the sets for the campaign, window dressing, so to speak. She would pay him twelve fifty an hour for a minimum of forty hours to a maximum of a hundred twenty hours.
He mulled it over in his mind. He was hoping for more, but with a downturn in the economy they were currently going through any work was work. 500 to a possible 1500 dollars. She couldn’t offer less, but he hoped for a little more. He signed the bloody contract without reading it.
Amanda Bloody Cosworth opened her five-thousand-dollar Dior handbag and counted out five one-hundred dollar bills, “Here is an advance you look like you could use a good meal. In two weeks, Tuesday at ten o’clock, you will report here, and we will prepare for the shoot.”
Paul signed a receipt and signed the bloody contract in a dozen places. The five-hundred-dollar advance on the contract was important. He didn’t know it because he didn’t read the contract., but the advance started a seventy-two-hour clock. He could over the next three days report back and repudiate the contract and there would be no consequences, but NO!!! HE DIDN’T READ THE BLOODY CONTRACT. He just put it in the mail to his agent.
Paul went and had a hamburger, diet coke and no fries. From there he went to the grocery and bought some real food and paid some bills.
A week later Wendy Grayson, his agent, called him. “Hey Paula,” she teased, “just got your contract, you really should have called me.”
“It was just a standard modeling contract for a subordinate role. Except for just a bit less than I hoped for. I’ve read a hundred of them.”
“A subordinate role, less than you hoped for. You didn’t read the bloody contract did you. At least you didn’t take any money yet.”
“She advanced me five hundred dollars, Wendy. My shelves were bare, I was hungry.”
All Paul could hear for the next three minutes, was a mixture of laughing and crying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry Paula. Just give me a bit to get myself in order… Paula, and I use that name intentionally, because that is who you legally are now, as far as Chandra Collins Lingerie is concerned. You are now officially a ladies’ lingerie model, a very well-paid lingerie model. You will be paid one thousand-two hundred-fifty dollars an hour for forty to a hundred twenty hours. That is fifty to one-hundred-fifty thousand dollars, dearie.”
“You’re shitting me, Wendy.”
“No, I’m not… and you agreed them to make changes and now I am reading from the contract, ah here it is and I quote ‘changes up to but not including vaginoplasty.’ End quote. Paula they can give you full facial feminization, breast augmentation and lipo-suction.”
“I will just call them up and cancel the contract.”
“Yeah you can do that, I suppose. Do you have a spare hundred thousand dollars for the failure to perform clause you signed?”
“You know I don’t have that kind of money. They can’t get blood out of a turnip.”
“They can make it next to impossible to get a job in this industry. How do you feel about digging ditches or flipping burgers for the rest of your life?”
“I have the right to work.”
“Yes, you do dearie, and after you pay off the hundred thousand or so dollar judgement, they will win against you, who will hire you to do anything in this industry.”
“They wouldn’t do that. I mean who would want me to be their lingerie model. I am a guy, would you buy Chandra Collins Lingerie just because I wore it. They would lose money, a lot of money.”
“I agree in part, Paula... but they are hoping that if Chandra Collins Lingerie can make you look good, what can it do for a real woman.”
“Wendy, I am Paul, not Paula.”
“Not according to the contract, let me read this to you. Ah here it is and I quote, ‘Paul Weston agrees that when the contract becomes valid,’ which it did three days after receipt of any remuneration,’ Paul Weston agrees to go by the name of Paula Stevens for the next six months and will only wear Chandra Collins Lingerie exclusively a minimum of twenty-two hours a day seven days a week for six months. They give you two hours a day for exercise and bathing dear. Also, Chandra Collins Lingerie will have the exclusive option to extend all clauses of this contract for up to three years at two-million-dollars a year. I see that Amanda Cosworth signed this contract. Do you know anything about her?”
Paul sighed as he thought, “Oh she was a real goddess, but no I never heard of her before this mess.”
“Just gossip, but from what I’ve heard she is a real ball buster. She likes men, but she likes them in skirts, lingerie and dresses. Don’t get me wrong she isn’t one of those dominatrixes, she doesn’t beat on her men, humiliate, beyond just being dressed as a woman, or treat them like slaves. One source gave a quote, “If I can spend hours getting ready to look my best in dresses and skirts, it’s the least a man can do to be around me, that is being dressed in dresses and skirts, looking good by her same standard. My best guess is you should get use to dressing in frillies for the next three years. Amanda has the money to enforce the contract many, many times over.”
“Then why did you send me to her?”
“I didn’t send you to her.”
“Sure, you did, Casey called me and gave me the heads up.”
“Oh shit, you don’t know how much you cleared up for me, Casey cleared out two days ago and I got a stack of weird contracts. Yours was the weirdest. I bet Amanda hired Casey away from me. Casey probably got a big finder’s fee.”
“So, what am I going to do, Wendy?”
“Welcome to my world, Paula Stevens. Be careful, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
Amanda had her TV on her favorite fashion TV station. They gave the latest greatest news on the world of fashion and televised live Fashion Shows from London, Paris, Milan, Singapore, Tokyo, San Francisco and New York.
“I am Nate Gorman, your news source for the latest in the fashion industry. Chandra Collins Lingerie has the biggest hit with their latest campaign. All of her models in her Paris show were male dressed fully in the latest Chandra Collins lingerie. The campaign was a, forgive the pun, ballsy move, that could have gone tits up and six feet down. But... my sources tell me the orders are flying in by broomsticks left and right. The campaign was led by a new acquisition to the Chandra Collins camp. The gorgeous Paula Stevens waltzed in on her for inch stilettos and the crowd loved her. Rumors tells us she just signed a ten year fifty-million-dollar SPOKES…MANcontract, giggle giggle, for Chandra Collins Lingerie.”
“Also, just in. the latest in top model CAT TAS TRO PHIES on the CAT WALK, as top model Gloria Green is seen here in New York breaking a heel and taking a nose dive. She fell head-first into Madam Waverly’s lap. Gloria and Madam Waverly were only slightly injured. Now that was what I call one heck of a LAP DANCE.”…
The End
Twins Becoming Identical
By
Paula Dillon
Gloria Ryder had a long week at the Ad agency, where she worked. They had six teams that worked on the various projects creating advertising campaigns. Her team had just finished a very important ad campaign for Rebecca DeLong’s Fashions. They were an upper mid-level fashion house, for women in the upper seventies to mid-six-digit figure incomes. The models they used were real women, voluptuous women, not some emaciated beanpole who could have been a male for all the curves they had. The truth of the matter was, some of the top models were actually males.
Her Boss and their client, had looked over and approved the campaign. The client didn’t just approve it; they were ecstatic about what they had done. This was a huge contract for the agency.
Gloria left work right after lunch on this Friday, leaving things in Amanda Lowery’s capable hands. Amanda was her executive assistant, personal friend and sometimes mischievous co-worker. Gloria was getting ready to go on a much deserved four-week vacation with her two kids.
She stopped at a fifteen-minute lube shop before she headed home. She wanted her SUV primed and ready to leave on Tuesday. She had an important Staff meeting on Monday or she would have been on the road today.
When she got home at about two-thirty, she pulled her Suburban into the garage and closed the door on it. Gloria called out to her kids when she entered the kitchen, but only heard her own voice. The kids were out, so it seemed. Today was the first time in two weeks that she got to see what the sun looked like. She kicked off her heels and collapsed on the couch, just vegetating.
Carlie and Carrie were hurrying home. Their heels were rapidly clicking on the ruff surface of the sidewalks. The sixteen year-olds were late, they had missed the bus that would have gotten them home by two. The two couldn’t have looked more alike. Carlie at five foot seven, was only an inch taller than Carrie, Carlie was also four pounds lighter than Carrie. They both had long, middle of the back, blonde hair, Carlie’s was just a shade or two darker. They both had high cheeks, heart shaped faces, blue eyes and 34C breasts.
They were dressed in the same theme clothing, leather military style jackets, with lots of brass buttons, a cute ruffled peplum tail, gold applets with fringe and adjutant’s cords, silk blouses, straight leg pants, dangle earrings and platform heels, with a four-inch stiletto. Carlie wore a red military jacket, blue silk blouse, black pants, white purse and blue heels. Carrie wore a blue military style jacket, red silk blouse, blue pants, black purse and red heels. Both of their faces had been immaculately done, but looked a little tired from the Jacksonville, North Carolina heat in their rush to get home. Their Nicole Kidman-like hair, appeared a little windblown.
Carrie unlocked the door and they hurried in. Gloria, who had been zoned out, snapped to attention as she heard the clatter of heels on their slate floor entryway. She sat up and looked, as the girls made their way to their rooms. She was confused for a second and unable to put things together.
“Girls stop! Both of you, come to the living room, we need to talk.”
The girls stopped in their tracks and turned around, heading into the living room. Gloria had to do a double-take, and then another double-take, as she looked them over.
“Turn around girls, let me get a good look at the both of you.”
They gracefully twisted on the ball of their right foot, stepped out with their left foot and pointed their hips on the quarter turn. They carefully used their arms and hands to frame their poses. The girls were hamming it up. Gloria was amazed, only Carrie had gone to modeling school. She seemed to have taught the other everything. These two looked so well put together, they obviously used a lot of time getting their look just so. The only difference was Carlie’s butt didn’t fill out her pants as much as Carrie’s.
“I don’t know, but I seem to remember having a son and a daughter when I woke up this morning? Now I know I am older, but I don’t think I am senile yet. It now seems, that I have two daughters. Would one of you care to explain?”
Carlie, the male who was actually named Carl, spoke, “Mom, you know we are twins,” he said, stating the obvious. “Well, Carrie and I have always looked so similar, almost identical. More than just a brother and sister who just happen to be fraternal twins. We look almost Identical.”
“Carlie and I just wanted to see how identical we could look.” Carrie said.
“So, you are Carlie when you are en femme, so to speak? I had to really look twice to pick Carlie out,” Gloria said, looking the pair over. She began to put things together in her head. “I see why Carrie always seemed to buy things in two’s now, like those jackets. Just how long have you been crossdressing Carlie? Don’t say just a little while. Carlie seems to walk better in her heels than Carrie and she has her feminine thing down to the letter.”
“Four years Mom,” Carlie said. “Ever since Carrie started changing, it’s been easier for me to look like her, than for her to look like me. I really got into liking it when I looked like her. No, that’s not right. I love looking like me this way mom.”
“Are you transgender, Carlie?” Gloria asked.
“I think so, Mom. I have this urge to be Carlie. I love it when I am dressed as a girl, with our girlfriends. I feel so alive as Carlie. I try to spend part of everyday as Carlie. I am her and she is me.”
“Girlfriends, who else knows?”
Carrie looked thoughtful for a few seconds, “Well there is Candace and Brenda.”
Carlie added, “Alisha, McKenzie and Ellen.”
“Don’t forget Rebecca and Pamela,” Carrie added.
“Oh and Terri. Is that all Carrie?”
“There might be one or two others.”
“So, ten girls were able to keep a secret from twenty-one parents? That is amazing.”
“Nineteen, including you. Terri’s parents are divorced, her dad is in Portland, Maine or Oregon, I can’t remember and McKenzie’s mom passed away six years ago. I think. She really needs her girlfriends.”
“Let me guess, you two were coming home after leaving your girlfriends at the mall.”
“Yes ma’am,” the girls said.
Gloria hugged her kids and kissed their cheeks, “You two go to where ever and get dressed in Mini’s, blouses and heels. We will be going out to eat at five. I need to rest and think. Glam it up a bit Carrie.”
“Carlie is better at makeup Mom. I am better at hair.”
“Of course she is. Why wouldn’t she be the makeup expert?” Gloria said shaking her head
Carlie and Carrie went to Carrie’s bedroom, while Gloria headed to her own. The girls didn’t shower, but they both undressed down to their panties, did the washcloth thing at the sink. Carlie redid her tape job, after using the toilet. They dressed in their jackets, pink or white silk blend poet’s blouses and blue or red mini-skirts, along with black lace pattern stay-up stockings. They split the heels, one red and one blue shoe a piece. Carlie glammed them up with their makeup and Carrie rejuvenated their hair.
Carrie and her girlfriends spent a lot of time teaching Carlie how to be a girl. Carlie loved working with makeup and got to be better at it than their girlfriends, so Carrie learned everything she could about doing their hair and she got very good, with all the practice she did. She had even been trimming and styling Carlie’s hair a bit, so Carlie could look spectacular, like she did today, and still look androgynous as Carl, with a low ponytail. She had wanted to do so many things with her own hair, but didn’t, because she couldn’t make Carlie look the same; since her sibling had to be able to look like a boy. She also wanted a radically different eyebrow, she just kept their brows clean and the same basic neutral shape.
Carrie giggled to herself as she thought, just maybe now she could mold Carlie into a girl full time. It was Carlie who first started Carrie dressing so girly. Carrie had a need in her, to look like identical twins. At twelve, Carrie had been slightly tomboyish. She had been a jeans and T-shirt type girl. Carlie loved to look at and try on all of her pretty dresses, blouses and skirts. Carrie loved the denims, cottons and everyday clothes. Carlie loved all the silks, satins and lace. Carlie feminized the both of them and Carrie gave them both everyday looks. Today was a mismatch of the two looks, a “Feminine Chic” everyday look.
Today’s look was a lot of work to achieve, but Carrie could live with it. If she told the truth, she really learned to love the way they looked when they both got gussied up. Their look right now, was one of Carlie’s best efforts, given the parameters of what their mom had laid out.
“Girls! Come to my room, Please.” They heard.
They went to their mom’s room. She was standing there, wearing a mid-thigh straight skirt, with a kick pleat in the back, a white chiffon blouse and black, two-inch block heel, loafers. She was looking them over as they were looking her over.
“You two look great,” Gloria said. “Did you do the makeup, Carlie?” When Carlie said yes. Gloria was impressed. She knew women who couldn’t achieve the looks that Carlie had created. “Carrie you did the hair for the both of you?” Carrie smiled, for her answer. “Very nicely done. Did you style Carlie’s hair also?”
“Yes ma’am, I would pay attention when we went to the salon, Mom. Then I would try to create a look that was acceptable for Carl and Carlie.”
Gloria was shocked, Carrie was right. Carl might have looking a bit effeminate, but not overly outlandish. The girls were bordering on spectacular now. “I am amazed, Carrie, you showed a lot of skill in doing your hair. Maybe you should consider going to cosmetology school.”
“I called you two in here to show me what you can do. Make me look like you both, but a little more mature.”
Carlie looked her mom over closely and asked her to turn around.
“I like your shoes, but they have got to go. Put on your black Prada sling-back pumps, with stay up stockings in off black. You also need to change your bra to either your white Victoria’s Secret demi-cup, using your cutlets, or your pink Lejaby push up bra, with cutlets.”
Gloria’s face looked shocked, both by Carlie knowing what bra’s she owned and being able to choose her sexiest bras. Since her husband left them eight years ago, the kids had taken over the house work, she worked eight to ten hours a day, Monday through Friday and occasionally on weekends. Carlie was evidently hand washing her bras and lingerie, hang drying them in her bathroom.
“Oh, I love that chiffon blouse, but I know you have a poet’s blouse, like we are wearing.”
Without a blink of an eye, she unbuttoned her blouse and took it off. She watched for any reaction from Carlie. She unhooked her bra and took it off, before she turned to her dresser to get her Lejaby 38C bra and silicone cutlets. She leaned forward and set her breasts into the cups, before hooking it up in the back. Then she inserted the cutlets, which gave her some very nice cleavage. Carlie hardly reacted, while Carrie was greatly surprised by both of them.
Gloria sat and then rolled some star pattern, off black, stay up stockings on her legs, before going to her closet, changing into her Prada heels and dressing in her poet’s blouse.
“Putting me in stiletto’s after wearing them all day at work, is going to cost you girls.”
“I know Mom,” Carlie said. “I have been wearing mine since nine this morning too, but you look so good wearing them.”
“That I do Carlie, that I do,” she said, pulling her blouse down her body. She liked this blouse and would have chosen it anyway, to look like her daughters.
She sat in front of her vanity and put on her makeup cape and Carley got to work, after familiarizing herself with what her mom had. Gloria was using a hand held mirror to watch her work. Carlie had careful practiced hands, as she worked on her mom. Precision is important in makeup, but it isn’t the most important factor. Makeup is about blending colors, hiding flaws and enhancing features. Things Carlie appeared quite capable of.
“So, do you consider yourself gay, lesbian or are you bi-sexual?” Gloria asked, as Carlie worked on her face.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about sex. Guys don’t do anything for me yet and neither do girls. I guess I could be neuter or asexual.”
“Have you ever masturbated or gotten an erection?”
“Yes to both questions, but I felt so dirty and disgusting afterwards, I haven’t done it since I turned thirteen, or so. I wish I didn’t have my penis and that I had a va-jay-jay like Carrie.”
Carlie finished her makeup and Gloria was duly impressed. She hadn’t done her makeup like this in ages. Carlie had made her brows look great, gave her cat’s eyes lining with wings to the sides and smoky eyes. He had lined her lips, which had begun to recede a bit with age and made them look fuller, as he filled them in with her favorite ‘Are You Ready’ lipstick, by Maybelline and lip gloss. Gloria hardly used this lipstick, it wasn’t safe for the workplace, but she looked so kissable. The lip gloss would set the color for hours.
She pondered over Carlie’s statements, as Carrie began working on her hair. Meanwhile Carlie was using gel polish on her nails and a UV light to set the polish. She was surprised that Carlie knew what he was doing.
’STOP IT GLORIA,’ She said to herself. ’If he is a girl, so be it, think girl.’ “So Carlie, if you could, would you choose to live full time as a girl, like starting right now?”
“I don’t know, I would like that, but everyone I go to school with would know me as Carl.”
“There is an official rumor at work, about the company opening another office, in another state. One of our team leaders may be selected to head the office. If this happened, I kind of like my odds.”
“What is an official rumor?” Carrie asked. “That sounds like one of those oxymorons, like Dark Light, honest lawyer, or military intelligence.”
“Yes, you got me. The company sends out rumors, when they are floating out ideas, to see whether people will salute the company flag, or try to burn down the flag pole. This rumor, though, has some merit to it. They called a staff meeting for Monday at ten. It’s why we couldn’t leave on vacation today. Amanda believes it.”
Carlie laughed and said, “If Mrs. Lowery believes it, it is a done deal. When has she ever been wrong?”
Carrie finished with her mom’s hair, “How does she do it Mom? She always seems right.”
“EA’s talking to other EA’s, she has her ear on the company grape vine, or black magic. Who knows?”
Carlie ran into her Mom’s closet and picked out her black motorcycle jacket. She then helped her put it on.
“Tell me Carlie? I have been trying to figure out what you use for breasts?”
Carlie reached into her bra and pulled out a cheap foam breast form, “They are cheap, but better than birdseed or rice in pantyhose. They are shaped better.”
The breast form was a cheap round white foam rubber breast form, with a small nipple on them. They were hardly convincing, but seemed to do the trick. Carlie put it back in place after her Mom looked at it.
They went out to eat, because Gloria wanted to see how Carlie did in public. She had been practicing with Carrie and their girlfriends for two years, so this was no big deal. She even handled the ladies’ restroom well, waiting her turn and fixing her face, after washing her hands.
They were treated by the wait staff and other patrons, as a good looking family at the restaurant. The male wait staff flirted outrageously with all three of them. Carlie was coy, compared with Carrie, who was outrageous in her flirtations. Their fifty-year-old Italian waiter was blushing furiously and wore a huge smile on his face.
They then drove to a nearby mall. Gloria parked and turned to her kids, “Carlie, I can tell that this isn’t just some fun thing for you. You’ve handled yourself just too well to not be a girl. I can’t believe I didn’t see this before. This summer you will live as a girl twenty-four-seven and the middle of August we will decide what to do for school, if we are still in Jacksonville, North Carolina. To that end, you will need your own girl’s clothes. We will buy just enough to get you by for the summer. First, how are you set in panties.”
“I have four pair that are mine and I wear Carrie’s too. We also share bras, clothes and shoes.”
“Are you girly, chic or tomboyish?”
“Hell mom, she’d have us both living in skirts or cute dresses, if I let her,” Carrie said. “Our look today was a decent compromise. I hate that she loves heels so much.”
“Cause, I didn’t know day to day when I would be able to dress up, Carrie.”
“We are going to drown you in panties and bras, Carlie. So don’t worry about that, and at least for the summer, probably longer, and maybe for the rest of your life, you can be Carlie.”
They entered the mall and walked by Victoria’s Secret and into a different lingerie shop.
“Look over their panties, but don’t buy any yet, while I check on something,”
Carrie and Carlie did just that. The prospect of getting new panties, thrilled them both. Carrie’s panties would last longer now. They both had been so careful to make them last. Carrie couldn’t go to her mom and say, my panties are wearing out, because Carl and I are both wearing them. Neither would she deny Carlie the opportunity to wear them. Carlie knew this and took great care of her panties. This stores wares tended to be a little racier, but they did have lots of cute panties that were acceptable.
They were looking around for about ten minutes, they could see their mom talking to an older lady. Gloria then waved them over and the lady led them into the back, to a secure fitting room, that had a padded table.
“Hello girls, my name is Madge. Let me guess which one is the transgendered girl,” the woman said. “This one is taller, thinner and her breasts are rounder. Am I right.”
“Yes ma’am,” Carlie replied.
“Take off your blouse and skirt, leave your bra, panties and heels on.”
Madge measured Carlie’s high bust, bust, low bust, waist, hips, beneath the hips and thighs, in three places. She then did some figuring in her head.
“Take off your skirt and blouse, Carrie,” the woman said. She measured Carrie too.
“You are both wearing 34 C bras. Carlie needs a 36 band. I can attach breast forms that will give her a 36B or 36C. I would recommend that she go with the 36 C or D breast forms. Looking at you Gloria, I can expect some more growth in Carrie’s rib cage and breast size, otherwise Carlie might have to keep buying forms as Carrie grows.”
“Go with the 36C cup Mom, I can add cutlets to pad out my bra till I catch up.” Carrie giggled.
“Or I can wear an add a cup bra and appear as a 36 D tomorrow,”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would.”
“Girls we aren’t going to start a bra cup war.” Gloria never thought she would be saying that. “I think Carrie is due for a growth spurt, so we will go with the breast forms for the 36C.”
The lady brought in a couple of boxes that contained some nice breast forms. One set looked exceptionally realistic. Gloria chose those and she also chose some medium size nipples and areolas in a tone that matched her and Carrie’s skin tones, which were between a rose and a cherry skin tone on the Madge’s color chart.
Madge permanently attached the nipples and proceeded to show all three girls how to attach the breast forms to Carlie using a medical spray on skin glue and how to remove them, using a medical solvent, and clean them.
“She will need to reattach them every two weeks, after letting her skin breath for a day, with the forms just in her bra. They can be removed with a solvent at any point. Take your panties off now, Carlie. I have a Vee flap, that glues on too. You won’t have to worry about flopping out in a swimsuit and I have some hip pads and butt pads, that are the same way.”
She attached all the padding, demonstrating just how to do it and dyed everything to match Carlie’s skin tone.
“You will need a bathing suit that covers all the padding. The padding and breast forms won’t tan, but you can use a semi-permanent dye to hide the seams and give them a tanned look. I will give you a collection of colors to make them match. If you take care of all the attached appliances they will last a year or two. If you don’t, they won’t last but a few months.”
Carlie nearly swooned when she looked in the mirror naked. Carrie and their mom were just shaking their heads. Carlie looked so incredible and real. She almost did a dance to watch her breasts jiggle, as she moved about
“Dang Carlie, you could walk through the girls’ locker room looking like that and nobody would know the difference.”
“At first glance, but maybe not,” Madge said. “But it’s best if she uses a little more discretion, than that. She wouldn’t survive a closer inspection.”
“Madge is right and so are you Carrie. So don’t get any wild ideas Carlie. Now get dressed, dear.”
Carlie’s panties now fit like they should and her rump stretched the skirt nicely on the backside. The only other things she noticed was the extra weight. These breast forms felt like they were a couple of pounds each, compared to the three ounces, the foam forms were. Carlie now actually jiggled, when she moved.
Madge handed Carlie a bra in the correct size. Carlie had to learn how to put it on. She now had to lean forward and seat her breasts in each cup, before she hooked the bra up. There was real weight on her shoulders now from the bra straps, that she would have to get used too. The bra’s band fit nicely. The fit of her blouse was no different than before, since the volume of the cups and her chest wall hadn’t changed.
Gloria bought Carlie a dozen panties and got two pair free. She also bought six bras for each girl and got one free for each girl. Carlie also got some camisoles, half-slips, a couple of bustiers, and some nighties to sleep in.
When they left the lingerie shop, Carrie said, “We need to make sure she gets some nice jeans or I might never get to wear mine.”
They did hit ‘The Gap’ and Carlie got four pair of jeans that accentuated her figure and just happened to match jeans they both wore, so she didn’t have to borrow from Carrie. She now had hips and a tush. Carlie also picked up a bunch of tops from tanks, to T’s, to tunic tops. She loved the tunic tops. Carrie had to get several tops, so she could match her sister, she was confident in Carlie’s sense of style and tastes.
At Macy’s, they had to sometimes go with contrasting looks as they hit the dresses. Carlie and Carrie both knew what they had to work with back home. Carlie picked up six dresses and Carrie got one, that looked so good on Carlie. They then hit skirts and some nicer blouses. Carrie helped Carlie match what she had and yet expand both their wardrobes. Skirts was the easiest to match, because Carrie had just stuck to the basic colors, they both got some more interesting combinations in skirts. Carlie went nuts when they found some really nice blazers and jackets on sale. Carlie always went for contrasting colors that coordinated well with what Carrie already had.
At the major makeup counters, Gloria had the technicians create two identical makeup kits, for the two girls. One artist asked who had done their makeup. She said whoever the artist was, was very good.
“One of my daughters did all of our faces.”
“Oh my,” the lady said. She then looked over the two girls. “This one did your makeup! Her look, while very good, is not quite up to what you and the other girl have. Am I right?”
“I can’t believe it, but yes.”
“Some makeup artists have just a little harder time doing their own makeup, to the standards they show on their clients. My makeup is very good, but I can do a better job on my clients faces.”
“I am just the opposite,” Carrie said. “I can do my own very well, but I couldn’t quite do Carlie’s as easily.”
“That is most women, they learn to do their own and really have to work at it to do another person’s makeup. The face isn’t a flat canvas and they find that they have to hold their applicators differently. Also, muscle memory is working against them. Most people can draw a fairly straight line on paper, but when they have to draw a line on their faces, with the point facing them, it is harder.”
Gloria spent nearly fifteen hundred on makeup for the girls. There is a big difference between the quality of an inexpensive makeup and a top of the line makeup. The makeup she bought the girls today, was upper, middle of the road.
They then had to go to the car, they had so many bags and since it was near store closing times, they headed home.
On the drive home, Gloria said, “Carlie, when we get back from our vacation, you are going to the doctor and you are going to tell him everything. I want to make sure you are healthy and it’s not some medical thing you are facing. He won’t make Carl return if you don’t want it.”
Carlie smiled at her mom. “I know in my heart, that me being Carlie is me being who I should be.”
At home they spent some time sorting out the new clothes. Carlie went to her bedroom and began moving out Carl’s things, hopefully she wouldn’t have to change back to just being a boy. It was surprising just how little time it took to remove Carl from her room, especially his underwear. She and Carrie then moved Carlie’s clothes into her room. Carl’s computer desk now served a dual purpose, as a computer desk and vanity. She set up a makeup mirror next to the computer monitor, and setup her cosmetics in trays, around the perimeter and in the drawers.
Carrie then began to figure out what they would take with them on vacation. Taking two matching of everything would create a huge amount of clothes, but taking contrasting clothes, that looked similar, they could create more different looks with fewer clothes. Doing this, also helped them to see what else Carlie also needed to complete her wardrobe.
Carrie loved sharing her clothes with Carlie, it had been important to her to look identical, but dressing for two limited their ability to have a wide range of fashion. Now they would be able to explore more fashion, while still keeping their looks either identical, or similar, contrasting like real twins.
They undressed and cleaned their faces and then dressed for bed in baby doll nighties, while in their separate bedrooms. They giggled when they saw how similar they dressed for bed, while Gloria did a double take and shook her head.
“Did you two talk about what you were going to wear for bed?”
“No momma, we didn’t,” Carlie said. “This was the first time I could dress like I wanted to for bed and I liked the nighties you bought me.”
“We didn’t talk about it, but I knew the way my sister’s mind works. So I went frilly.” Carrie said, kissing Carlie’s cheek.
They all went to the living room and sat around talking.
“Now, what does Carlie need to be a girl?”
They both looked at Carrie who was deep in thought, “She needs shoes, I can split some of my shoes with her, but she needs more. Swimsuits, I only have four, but they are a couple of years old. Casual clothes, shorts, T’s, tanks, workout clothes and such. I can share a couple of purses, but we need a few more, some jewelry and just odds and ends”
“It’s a good thing I am getting a bonus. Having a girl is expensive. Having two girls is very expensive.”
“A bonus?” Carrie asked.
“Yes I am expecting a forty thousand dollar or so bonus. My team just landed a big multi-million-dollar contract today, that corporate hadn’t expected. I farmed it and my team landed it. Time for bed, we have a busy day tomorrow.”
Gloria headed to her room and Carrie headed to her room with Carlie in tow. It had been ten, no twelve years since their mom had gotten them to sleep in separate rooms. Gloria started to object, but… Carlie wouldn’t, couldn’t embarrass herself, all trussed up like she was. That was something that she would have to ponder over the coming weeks.
>>>>><<<<<
Gloria slept a couple of hours later than she usually did. She didn’t wake till almost eight-thirty the next morning. She had put in lots of extra hours at work to get the ad campaign done. She was just in that gray area of twilight, between sleep and wakefulness, when she heard a very soft knock on her door.
“Come in.” Gloria said.
Her door opened and Carlie stuck her head in. She was already beautifully made up.
“Sorry for waking you. Do you want some more sleep or are you ready for breakfast?”
Gloria sat up and stretched, “I was just waking up when you knocked. Give me twenty minutes, I am starving.”
Gloria dressed in the chiffon blouse, she started to wear yesterday and started to put on a pair of shorts, she didn’t see what Carlie was wearing, so she changed her mind to a black, leather, mini-skirt she hadn’t worn for years. It was about a fourteen-inch skirt, waist to hem, which, given that she was five foot ten inches tall, appeared very short. This skirt wasn’t safe for the office and she had to be really careful sitting with it on. She was determined not to be the frumpy one of the family. She did go with her Michael Kors, block kitten heel, loafers though. They were quite comfortable and stylish.
She went ahead and brushed out her hair and did her makeup, creating a daytime appropriate look that was just a bit jazzier, due to Carlie’s look.
Breakfast was ready when Gloria came out of her bedroom. The girls seemed to be chomping at the bit to go out shopping. The three of them looked like sisters, more than mother daughters. Her girls were similarly dressed, they wore contrasting heels, one black and one white heel each. Gloria liked the look.
They talked and planned their day, “First we are going to the salon, to girly up Carlie.” Gloria said.
Carlie smiled and clapped, while Carrie groaned, “Don’t encourage her Mom. She’ll go crazy on me.” Still Carrie smiled, though at the thought of really having a sister.
“Then it will be shoes, swimsuits and casual clothes. Don’t make your sister have to wear too much satin and lace Carlie, she might die from sugar shock. How many heels do you two have right now?”
“We have… five pair right now, all three or four inch stilettoes. Carlie loves stilettoes mom.”
“No more than four more pair of heels, to match your sister Carlie. You also need flats and kitten heels too. Oh, running shoes also. We are all going to start running.”
They all pitched in cleaning up the kitchen, before they checked their faces and got their purses. Gloria took them to her salon. The twins got in immediately and Gloria had to wait thirty minutes for her stylist. She talked to the girls’ stylists first, “Get them to agree on a style and then make them both identical. They have fee choice, but they have to agree.”
They chose a permed, Taylor Swift, semi-curly style, strawberry blonde with coppery lowlights, with swept bangs and bold, rather than narrow arched, eyebrows. Their stylists could see a good payday today, they actually worked together to make sure Carlie and Carrie would look alike. Monica did the roll ups on both girls, while Randi worked on their brows. They started their perm chemistries at the same time, neutralizing and rinsing together. Randi did the styling, while Monica did their makeup, red acrylic gel fingernails in a square oval, it would take a long time to remove these nails. Monica also gave the pair pedicures and red painted toe nails. They tailored their dyes to the girls’ natural hair color, so they would come out the same strawberry blonde and added coppery lowlights.
Earlier, Roxanne asked the question of Gloria, while she worked on Gloria’s hair, “I have seen Carrie before and you’ve told me about your son. You seem to have two girls right now. Would you care to have a slightly younger style to your hair?”
“Yes, I would like that Roxy. I was mistaken about having a son and a daughter, it seems. I found out yesterday that I had almost identical twin girls.”
“I can believe that, but Carlie seems so bubbly, compared to Carrie.”
“Carlie is taking this summer to see if this girly thing is just a phase, but seeing her these last two days, I believe, no make that, now I know I have two daughters.”
“Florence Davis had a son like that too, we did wonders with her, but Dana isn’t nearly as pretty as your girls. Monica and Randi will do right by your daughters. Looks like they are going for the whole look.”
“I told them they could do that. Carlie is dragging her sister into being fully fem.”
“I always thought that Carrie was a little bit tomboyish.”
“Carlie is more feminine than Carrie, but being identical, seems to be more important to both of them. I think Carrie is letting Carlie take the lead today.”
When Roxane finished Gloria’s hair, the girls were just coming out from under the dryer for their perms. Roxy made Gloria leave the salon, telling her to come back in an hour and a half. She was having fun watching her stylist work on the girls.
After the girls had their hair and brows done Monica and Randi collaborated on the twins’ makeup, taking time to teach the girls as they worked. They were getting a high fashion daytime look. Even Carrie was getting excited at what she was seeing. The only difference between the two girls was Carlie’s hair wanted to be swept to the left and Carrie’s naturally wanted to sweep to the right.
Monica and Randi called Roxy into to judge their work and make some suggestions. Roxy found it hard to say anything at all. She was in awe of Carlie and Carrie, “I… ah… I… don’t have anything I could ah… suggest. You girls look marvelous. Ready for the Red carpet, ready. I mean Lauren Cohen, Megan Fox or Taylor Swift ready for the red carpet, ready.”
Roxane just had to hug the twins and their stylists, “I just wish we had some high fashion gowns to put on the two of you. I can’t wait to introduce you both to your Mom. Please, if you would give me a fashion walk up and down the middle of the salon.”
The girls stood side by side and walked to the back of the salon and turned down the middle of the salon. They synchronized their steps as they moved and affected a models neutral catwalk face. As they walked the length of the salon, the salon door opened and Gloria entered. The girls stopped, posed twice, turned and walked back to the back of the salon. They stopped, turned, and exited to the left and right.
Gloria’s jaw hung open. Did she just see her two daughters’? When the girls saw their mom they came running.
“Like ladies’ girls’, ladies don’t run,” they heard Roxy say.
The girls took a slower models walk up to their mom and posed for Gloria. They all formed a hug and tears were falling down Gloria’s cheeks. She had a smile that was a mile wide, as Roxy, Monica and Randi came into view.
“Do that walk again girls,” Gloria said, as she took her Canon EOS M3 out of her large hobo bag. “I have got to take some pictures.”
The girls did the model walk again with Gloria taking pictures as Roxy sent them back and forth one at a time and then together. Gloria’s Canon EOS was Wi-Fi enabled and locked into the Salons free Wi-Fi. The camera began uploading the photos to Gloria’s cloud account. Amanda received notice of new photos on Gloria’s Cloud. Amanda was at her computer and opened the photos and saw the two models.
“Oh they are lovely ladies,” She said to herself. “We need them on contract.” She then stopped everything and her jaw dropped as she recognized Carrie and her brain put Carrie and Carl together. “Oh my indeed. Carl you are as gorgeous as your sister,”
Amanda sent Gloria a text, “Personal photos are on your corporate cloud. Your girls are gorgeous, will talk later.”
The cloud account wasn’t really corporate, but two other people, besides herself, had access to her cloud account because she did use it for work.
Gloria shot a couple of dozen shots of the girls with their stylists. They still uploaded as she shot. She noted the text from Amanda and just smiled.
“I can’t tell you, how happy I am with your work Monica and Randi. You two were magnificent. I can’t believe how gorgeous my girls are.”
“So is their mother,” Roxane said.
Gloria happily paid their bill and left the three stylists a big tip.
They went from the salon to the shoe store. The store she went to was a warehouse store that had almost a half an acre of shoes, along three walls and a hundred racks. They only had a small area in the back for offices and shipping and receiving.
Shoe prices was thirty to forty percent of what retail stores would price the shoes, because of the volume of sales and the fact they didn’t have shoe salespersons walking the isles. Carlie and Carrie must have tried two or three dozen different shoes. They showed each other and their mother. They winnowed what they saw, down to fourteen pair and had a good mix of shoes, from flats, to heels, to sports shoes. They each got a pair of one-inch platform heels, with a four-inch stiletto. Carlie chose cream and Carrie chose a milk chocolate color in the same style. Gloria took a chance that Carlie’s foot wouldn’t grow much more and bought all fourteen pair. Carlie got-ten pair of shoes and Carrie got four.
Gloria was driving and headed to the mall, she stopped, when she saw a new swim wear store, ‘Bikinis A Go Go’. Gloria pulled into their parking lot. “I know you two might want skimpy bikinis, but remember what Madge said. The silicone won’t tan.”
“We won’t forget.” Carrie said. “I can’t understand why women will wear bikini’s that are skimpier than their underwear, out in public, and yet they don’t want to be seen in said underwear?”
“Don’t ask me, I couldn’t guess, except for the stigma against wearing underwear in public and the fashion magazines telling them, that postage stamp size bikinis, are great on the beach.”
“Welcome to ‘Bikinis A Go Go’,” a brunette girl in her twenties, standing at the register, said.
“Hello,” Gloria said. “We were just heading to the mall and saw your store. We are going on vacation next week to Florida and decided to drop on in.”
“We are new here. We are a family run business. Mom and Dad design our swimwear and my sister, brother and I help sew.”
“That’s interesting. Girls, you can get three suits a piece. So get to it. What does your brother think about sewing bikinis?”
“He is the best sewer and also the fastest sewer in the family. I think he really likes sewing swimwear and lingerie. He can sew a bikini in two minutes, depending on the design. Underwire bikinis take him a half a minute more. Some one piece suits are a bit more complicated. All our suits, have a special gusset, that can help keep a girl from embarrassing herself, if she starts her period, while wearing our bikinis. If she feels herself start, she has time to do something about it, even if she is wearing a white bikini. We have a patent on that feature.”
“Oh wow. That is good. Has that feature been tested out?”
“I personally have tested it out. I know it works. I don’t recommend that you ignore your period, but a girl doesn’t have to drop everything and run to a rest room, if she feels her flow start. It’s also harder for sand to enter her vagina, with many of our designs. The whole swimsuit is stain resistant.”
“I had a girlfriend in college that bled through her swimsuit, while sunbathing. It is embarrassing. I am Gloria Ryder and I am in advertising. Do you do any advertising?”
“Mom was looking into it. How do you advertise something like that feature?”
“It definitely needs to be carefully worded. Let me give you my business card and then I need to get looking too.”
Carrie and Carlie were surprised, the store had some cute bikinis. All of them were a little broader through the crotch and had a gusset. The gusset felt different to Carrie, but not unpleasant. Carlie found a red, white and blue two piece, that looked great. The panty was shaped like a boy cut granny panty. The panty was solid dark blue and it had a red and white vertical strip waist band and two rows, of three brass buttons, on the blue portion in a V. The top had a blue racer back and a band design, and an underwire red and white vertical stripe cups. They grabbed two in that design, a half dozen more two-piece suits and one each in a one-piece suit.
“State health regulations require you to keep your panties on when trying on swim suits, girls,” the attendant said, as they headed back to the changing rooms. Carlie and Carrie headed into the same changing room. They undressed down to their panties and tried on their suits, coming out to show their mother. Gloria approved of several suits and the girls approved of the suits she selected. She photographed the girls in the store area wearing their various suits. These photos too were updated to the cloud through the coffee shop Wi-Fi next door. Gloria also texted Amanda with the named ‘Bikinis A Go Go’, possible client, run with it.
Amanda ogled the pictures of the suits. Carrie and Carl modeled them well. She couldn’t just keep thinking of Carl as a boy. She texted Gloria back, “What do you call Carl, I can’t think of that beauty with a boy’s name.”
Gloria had pity on her EA and texted back, “Carlie”. She also texted, “Meet us in the food court at West Vale Mall in two hours. If you want.”
“Damn straight I want,” Amanda said, to herself, as she fixed herself up and ready to go out to the mall. She liked looking nice when she went to the mall.
They wound up buying the suits they liked, a sarong that tied at the hips, cover ups for their tops, mesh shoes for the beach, sunglasses, floppy hats, sunscreen and tote bags.
After filling out the list of what they needed for their vacation, they began to just troll the mall and do some window shopping. Both girls had their own summer wardrobe ready for their vacation. Gloria shot some pictures of the girls checking out some dresses in one store’s window, before they moved on.
“Girls before we move on to the food court, Amanda knows about Carlie. My camera loads to my cloud anytime I get a good Wi-Fi signal. She saw you two wearing your red, white and blue bikinis. I believe she is ok with it. I will go over to her while you two buy us some food.”
Sure enough Amanda waved at them and was smiling brightly. Carlie and Carrie hit the food lines while Gloria went to Amanda.
“So what do you think Amanda?”
“I think your girls are adorable and gorgeous. Tell me all about it.”
“I came home and when they got home dressed like this,” Gloria stated, as she showed her EA the girls in their heels, jeans, tops and jackets. “I had a hard time believing they were my kids. Carlie is transgender. I found out. They have been dressing like this for four years. I wish I would have known.”
“I think this is the best way to find out. You might have scared Carlie into hiding. Anyway now you know.”
“I told Carlie she can be around all summer and maybe more.”
“Good, I almost thought that they were just models you were looking at. I wanted to get them on contract. They are just what we need for a teen campaign. I am serious Gloria.”
“Hello, Mrs. Lowery,” the twins said as they brought their food to the table.
“Oh my, what gorgeous girls you two are. I almost didn’t recognize the two of you. I like your makeup and hair, you two got lowlights added to your hair.”
“Mom took us to her salon and told them to make us look alike,” Carlie said. “I think they did a wonderful job.”
“They certainly did. You two could go to work with us modeling high school teen clothes.”
“We might like that,” Carrie said. “I haven’t had so much fun dressing, as we have these last two days.”
“Those photos your mom shot today look simply superb. I was planning an ad campaign based on the two of you with some other girls too. I like the photos of you in your jeans and the shots I guess she took yesterday. The way you did the blue/red thing.”
“We dressed using my clothes, Mrs. Lowery. I didn’t want to buy two of everything the same and yet we wanted to look alike, but not exactly alike, like some twins. That Combination was Carlie’s idea.”
“Well I like it too. Oh, I heard some more official rumors. If they open in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, it will be between you and Ralph Davidson. After this last deal we put through, the EA’s are rooting for you, Gloria. Even Rebecca wants you.”
“Why is Ralph’s EA rooting for me?” Gloria asked.
“If Ralph gets it, he will want her to move. Her husband has a great job and her kids love their school. My husband Jeffery has told me; he would love moving to Florida. He is a master electrician, girls. He can get a great job anywhere. My kids weren’t so happy, till they heard the winters weren’t as bad in Florida. Gale just hates snow when school is in. She likes to wear her short skirts to school. They are kind of ok with it now. Even Jamey Wright is looking forward to warm weather and Florida babes.”
“If they let him go with us. He is a miracle worker using photoshop. They may try to keep him in Jacksonville.”
“He would just hack the corporate computer and put his own transfer in through HR’s computers. I don’t think they would ever find out. He says he used to be a hacker. Being a hacker is like being a Marine, once a marine always a marine. Also he does his work on a computer, he can work anywhere. Janice, Craig, Beverly, Terry and Diane would go with you too. I am afraid Carson and William won’t though.”
“Yeah they are both upside down on their new mortgages. They would both lose a lot of money on a move. Well let’s not count our chickens till they hatch, Amanda. They may or may not open an office that I may or may not be the head of.”
“The eggs are shaking in the nest though, Gloria. Florida, the promotion, and the contract we won, is what the staff meeting is about on Monday. I need to get back to my family, before they eat the house down, or Jeffery buys a half dozen pizzas.”
Amanda hugged her boss and kissed the girl’s cheeks before leaving. Gloria and family took their booty out to their suburban and then went to catch a chick flick ‘How to be Single.’
>>>>><<<<<
Sunday, Gloria took the girls to the beach, after making sure Carlie was well hidden. Gloria wore a one-piece bathing suit. When she had the twins she had had a C-section and didn’t like putting her scar on display, although after sixteen years and a cosmetic procedure, it was barely visible. It was all in her head. The girls also wore their matching one-piece red, white and blue suits, where the back was open just to the top of their derriere.
It was after four when they got there and they just walked up and down the beach collecting empty seashells. Carlie found a really nice complete scallop shell both halves were very pretty. They wanted to swim but couldn’t since their perms needed a couple of more days. It was fun just being together. They all had the beginnings to a bathing suit tan lines.
Try as she might, Gloria saw no sign of the shy Carl. Carlie wasn’t the most gregarious person, but she was light-years ahead of Carl in the personality department. All she saw when she looked at her kids were two girls having fun, doing nothing in particular. One of them pulled out a Frisbee and they had fun throwing it back and forth.
There were boys around, of course, keeping an eye on them. The close proximity of a parental unit was enough to keep most of them away. They were asked to take part in a beach volleyball game, but they turned it down, they didn’t want to get sand in their hair. They left just ahead of the mosquitoes coming out in angry, blood hungry, swarms.
>>>>><<<<<
Monday Gloria headed to work and left her kids to pack up; early Tuesday they would hit the road. She met with her team and asked Diane to contact ‘Bikinis A Go Go’. William was disappointed that he couldn’t do it. He loved to look at ladies in bikini’s.
“If you want to buy and wear a cute bikini, then go with Diane, William, but they don’t have any men’s swimsuits on sale. I can just see you in a string bikini. Oh no that picture is stuck in my head now. I need a lobotomy,” Gloria said, laughing.
The girls on her team also teased William about wearing a bikini.
“Amanda, hand off the DeLong project to production, you will be in charge of it while I am gone. Call me only if you need me, but please don’t need me. This vacation has been two years coming. Craig and Beverly, how is the Wilson campaign going.”
“We are in the final stages of renewing our contract. Wilson-Davies is very happy with our work,” Craig said.
“Their lawyers are looking over the contracts and my contacts say they are within days of signing. It is a continuing thing. Their VP is very happy with our terms,” Beverly said, as she checked her notes.
“Keep an eye on them. We don’t want to lose them. Anything else we need to know about?” Gloria asked.
Every team member checked their notes, but no one said anything.
“Ok, I will see ya’ll in four weeks. I am going on vacation.”
Gloria and Amanda headed to her office to chat before their staff meeting, to nitpick details. Amanda had a copy of her itinerary and the hotels they would be staying at. They had lunch in the office and at ten till one Gloria headed out.
She took her seat in the board room, next to the CFO. They shared a few words as the other department heads came in to take their seats. The CEO Wesley Mendelson, was the last person to arrive. He checked his laptop, to see if his notes were there and then began.
“We’ve had a phenomenal quarter and year, people. I want to thank all of you. Most especially you Mrs. Ryder good job bringing in that three-million-dollar Rebecca DeLong contract. Your people did an excellent job selling their presentation… Also I want to confirm the rumors that have been going around. We will be opening a new office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Mrs. Ryder and Mr. Davidson are in the lead to be running that office. We will make our selection with in ten business days. If this office does well, we will be looking to the north for our next office, so be thinking about that. We found that our clients like to be close to the office handling their accounts and it makes business sense to be there for them…”
The CEO spent three hours talking to them, receiving reports from them and giving them directions. Most of the things they already knew, but had to be officially put in writing as having been discussed. Some of it was corporate CYA (cover your ass) or make no mistake type things. Some teams were encouraged to make better strides in their work, while others were congratulated for their output. All in all, it was a very positive staff meeting.
Finally, the CFO asked Mrs. Ryder to see his EA, before she left on vacation.
Wilma showed Gloria the paperwork for her bonus. The money was all hers, she could keep it all, many in fact did keep all the bonus money, but she always took care of her team. Her bonus amounted to seventy-five thousand dollars. She would keep forty and earmarked various amounts to all of her team, especially her EA. Amanda would receive eight thousand dollars. Gloria wouldn’t know it for eight days, but her generosity would win her the Fort Lauderdale office.
At the close of the day at work, Gloria was now officially on vacation. When she got home, there were five girls besides her two, inside their house. They had come over to wish Carrie and Carlie a happy vacation and also to get of good look at Carlie, Gloria supposed. Her daughters were doing the catwalk thing, having dressed and made themselves up.
Carlie had on a floral print pink, yellow and red dress on, with her Red heels. She gracefully strutted down the wood floor hall, turned posed and walked back. She wore her neutral expression, even after she saw her mom. Carrie, dressed in a peasant blouse, mini skirt, stay up stockings and her new milk chocolate heels, began her walk down the hall, with all their friends looking on. After Carrie finished her walk, her girls ran to hug their Mom.
“Say goodbye to your friends, we got a lot to do before tomorrow,” Gloria told them.
Carrie and Carlie then hugged and kissed their friends. Gloria even received hugs as the girls left. Carlie’s hugs lasted perceptibly longer, with one girl’s hug being almost awkwardly long.
They stayed at home and ordered pizza. They had already gone through the fridge and dumped anything that might spoil, so there wouldn’t be any science experiments when they got back.
Carrie and Carlie then helped their mom pack her bags. The kids insisted that the clothes she took had to make her look younger. She was a very pretty thirty-eight. Her business clothes made her look formidable, but they also made her look like she was in her mid-forties. Her at home clothes, re-enforced that forties image. The kids knew she could do better. They made sure she packed her mini-skirts and frilly blouses too. They loaded the suburban up and then headed to Gloria’s room to lie on her bed and talk.
The three of them didn’t mean to, and the kids would surely have cleaned off their makeup first and take their skirts and blouses off, but they all three fell asleep on Gloria’s bed. At least they had kicked off their shoes. They had stayed up talking till Carrie nodded off, followed by Carlie and Gloria just snugged up her kids to her and covered everyone up.
>>>>><<<<<
Gloria complained to the girls about what they set out for her the next day. They had gotten up first, surprised that they all had slept together. Carrie showered in her mom’s bathroom and Carlie showered in their bathroom. They were both dressed and made up, in the mom approved high school girl look, before Gloria woke in a cold bed. They both wore white blouses, black mini-skirts and black heels. Gloria had loved the extra warmth of her kids in bed with her. She was the last one up and was herded into the bathroom by Carrie, while Carlie set out the exact same clothing for her Mom.
“Girls, what are we doing? Are we on the prowl?” Gloria asked, upon seeing her clothes laid out.
Carrie smile at her mom and said, “Mom, we just want to make sure you look your best and we want to look like sisters, rather than mother and daughters.”
“So just be a good girl and get dressed,” Carlie said.
They stopped at Denney’s and had breakfast before hitting the road. They were headed to Orlando Florida with several stops along the way. Their first stop came about five hours later in Charleston South Carolina. Gloria stopped at a nice motel near the beach. They would spend three days there.
They all went down to the beach for several hours before dinner. They all dressed in one piece suits. The girls played more now that their hair was set and they could wash it finally. Still they didn’t go swimming, preferring not to get salt water in their hair, yet. They did have a beach ball and a Frisbee to throw. Gloria spent most of her time photographing her kids playing. They did have a nice lady take pictures of the three of them on the beach. The shot of the day came when Carlie face planted on the sand, when she dove to catch an errant frisbee thrown by her sister. Gloria had to laugh as she had caught it. Carlie had a wonderful expression of shock, as her chest hit the sand, which was spraying everywhere, as she began to plow through it.
While they showered and dressed for dinner, Gloria uploaded her photo’s on the motel’s Wi-Fi. Amanda checked her bosses cloud and saw the shots. She just loved the pictures.
The next morning, Gloria had the girls put on their red and white striped bikini tops on under their blouses, slim jeans, military jackets and walking shoes. She also had them carry their Red and blue heels and do their makeup, just a little heavier than normal.
After eating they spent the day at Fort Sumter. They went all over the fort, with Gloria photographing her kids. The girls unbuttoned their blouses and let their bikini bras show in many of the photos, then tied their shirts beneath their breasts. It was like a photo shoot. Gloria shot one picture of Carlie straddling an eleven-inch diameter cannon. She climbed on top of it wearing her walking shoes. Then Carrie had her switch to her red stilettos. Carlie untied her blouse for the shot. Another good shot had them on either side of the muzzle of one eight-inch diameter cannon, fashion posing their mother.
They were all starving when they left Fort Sumter. They had all brought water bottles with them and some snacks, but they all wanted some real food. They returned to their rooms, showered and dressed up in dresses and heels to go out. Gloria uploaded her photos to her cloud account.
They headed to an acclaimed seafood restaurant. As they ate, they talked.
“I really like the way you two photograph,” Gloria said. “I have seen pros that didn’t photograph as well as you two. Especially when you two pose together. The shots you gave me are excellent.”
“We were just having fun together Mom,” Carlie said.
“I love posing with Carlie, we just copy each other’s expressions,” Carrie said. “It was fun, playing to the camera.”
“That’s what I mean. You two are having fun and show your emotions well. To some professional models, it is work and they have to be told how to look for the camera. Some come off looking plastic. You two just keep having fun. I love being with you and taking my pictures.”
The next day they went and visited the Magnolia Gardens and the Confederate Museum. Gloria had taught her girls, that the south was wrong about things like slavery, but the War between the states was about more than slavery.
“Slavery was the greatest contributor to the war between the states, but state’s rights were also trampled. Slavery should never have been allowed in the US Constitution, but that was a deal breaker between the north and south, when our country was formed. Still, barring slavery, there is a lot we can learn from the south and the confederate soldiers showed bravery and courage we can admire. Fighting in the Confederate Army didn’t make the soldiers evil. Many of the men had no choice in fighting. We don’t have to love the sin, but we can still show compassion to the sinner so to speak, but hate in any form is unacceptable.”
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda looked at all the pictures and began to sort through them to create portfolios for Carlie and Carrie. She had Jamey work with the best of the pictures to make them look more professional.
“Jamey work with these. I think we can use these girls in a teen ad campaign. Do it in your off time and don’t keep them on your hard drives. I will see that you get paid for the work.”
Jamey loved the two girls in the pictures. He wished that they were older, but they were both certifiable babes. He did erase them from his hard drives, but only after he copied them to DVD’s. He worked with their shots and made them look older and more mature. Giving both girls a 34DDD look, at least on his copy of their pictures. Still he contracted their waists, boosted their busts just a bit to 34D, altered their bra tops giving them some cleavage in the swimsuit pics and shaped their legs a bit. He was very good at what he did. What he did would be nothing more than he would do for Kelly Rohrbach or Samantha Hoopes, both of them are Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. He then printed out 8x10’s, some 16x20’s. The shot of the girl diving into the sand was hardest to enhance, but not too hard for him. He made a 24x36 inch print of that one. He gave all the prints to Amanda and gave her a DVD of all the pictures he worked on. He was proud of his work.
Amanda took the photos and had them professionally matted and framed. She thought Jamey had gone a little overboard in maturing the photos, but they looked so good she didn’t complain. She e-mailed the pics back to Gloria.
>>>>><<<<<
Friday they made Savanah Georgia. At the motel, Gloria got to see the pics in the e-mail. They caused her to giggle a bit and she showed her girls.
“OMG, our bikini tops don’t show that much cleavage,” Carlie said.
“No, Jamey Wright got his hands on the them I think, but they look wonderful. You could be in Sports Illustrated looking like that. Ninety-five percent of models photos are Photoshopped. Some models today are rebelling against being Photoshopped nowadays.”
“Yeah, they are made to look as perfect as they can be,” Carrie said. “Sometimes the little flaws can make them all look more real and unique.”
“That is very brilliant Carrie. I have to agree with you.”
They spent the afternoon on the beach wearing their one piece suits. They girls did swim in the ocean this day. After shooting the girls pictures in the surf, Gloria locked her camera in her Suburban and then joined the frolicking twins in the water.
Carlie felt something tickling her legs and looked down to see a school of mullet, between six to ten inches or so, swimming around her legs. There were thousands of mullet just swimming by just off the shore. Gloria had the girls come a little shallower. Where there are bait fish there might be other larger fish. She didn’t want to mess with any fish that can eat a ten-inch fish.
Gloria also used her motherly influence to keep a school of teenage boys, in the water, away from her girls. She used her look to tell them, these girls are off limits to potential predators. They could be just as troublesome as a shark. Carlie even diplomatically told one mischievous suitor to “Get the F*** Away” from them. The fourteen-year-old boy had hopes of pulling the girls’ bottoms down, since his parents were at home. A life guard quickly dealt with the boy.
Saturday they went to an Art Museum. Gloria and Carrie were both surprised at Carlie’s like of paintings. She had taken art appreciation at high school and had done very well in that course. She knew the differences in neo-expressionism, impressionism and realism. The exhibit had a few Degas’, Monet’s and a few other famous paintings, that were on loan to the museum. The precious paintings were watched over very carefully.
The things they were doing were quite different than they would usually do, day to day. Gloria and her kids found it quite refreshing doing the tourist thing. Gloria was also surprised at how well and how natural Carlie was as a girl. She found it hard to think of her new daughter as anything but her daughter. Carrie and Carlie were having so much fun being themselves it would seem.
They spent the last two hours of sunlight on the beach. Gloria saw that she needed to adjust the color of the edges of Carlie’s prosthetics, as Carlie was developing quite the golden tan. She and Carrie were quite the pair, looking like California beach babes, looking good. They also seemed like they were both acting like younger girls having fun one second and then mature young ladies the next second.
Back at their rooms after their showers, Gloria spent about an hour working to make it look like Carlie had swimsuit tan lines, darkening the silicone edges to a more realistic look.
“So how do you like having breasts Carlie?” Gloria asked.
“I love em, Mom. It was kind of strange at first. They seemed impossibly heavy at first. Carrie and I got to talking about them and she guessed that they were about as heavy as hers were. I noticed that her breasts float a bit more than mine. I am sort of use to them, but now it is harder to sleep on my stomach. I love the way I look with them on, I really wish that they were real.”
“We can get you breast augmentation surgery later, when I am sure and we should see what it would take to get you on hormones if you want. I don’t know a lot about things like that.”
“I do Mama. I would need to be under a psychologist or psychiatrist care along with a physician’s care before any of those things can be done. I looked it up on the internet and I can show you later Mom, if you want.”
Gloria and her kids did spend some time on the internet that night, researching the topic. There were many sites that dealt with transgenderism but Gloria steered the searches to what she hoped were more reliable sites. She would call her OB/GYN later and ask for advice.
>>>>><<<<<
They then packed up and headed to Gainesville Florida. Gainesville had an opera house that Gloria wanted to investigate. So after they unpacked, they dressed and headed out to buy some evening gowns. Gloria had found the shop, by doing a search on the internet. So all three of them cleaned up with minimal makeup and headed out. They wore comfortable clothes and shoes carrying their heels with them.
The dress shop was very nice, much like you would expect for formal wear and wedding gowns. They were greeted by a matronly lady in her late forties or early fifties.
“Hello, I am Wilma Davis and welcome to my store. How can I be of service?”
“Hello, I am Gloria and these are my daughters Carrie and Carlie. We are going to the Opera tomorrow and we want to wear gowns there.”
“Well I must say you all three look so lovely. Do the twins want matching gowns?”
“No,” Carrie said. “Although we want similar gowns. Maybe the same style in contrasting colors?”
“Yes, we don’t want to be mirror images, but we love looking like sisters.”
Wilma looked them all over and said, “Come with me into the back and let me get some measurements.”
They went to a room with couches that brides and bridesmaids used to select their dresses. It had more room. She had the women undress to their underwear and proceeded to take their measurements.
Carlie had a more athletic figure than Carrie, but they both had nice figures, Wilma thought. There was no doubt that Gloria was their mother, as she was just a little more mature than her daughters.
“I have a brilliant idea that might look good with you three. For your daughters, a single shoulder dress. I have some left shoulder and right shoulder dresses that are quite similar and a double shoulder or strapless for you Gloria.”
“Make mine a double shoulder, but I like the idea for the girls. Let’s see what you have.”
Wilma handed the three of them robes and had them put their heels on.
“Carrie, since your bangs are swept to the right, I would suggest a right shoulder gown like this one.” Wilma displayed a gown that had a blue and silver brocade bodice over a blue chiffon skirt.
“And for Carlie, I have a left shoulder gown, that would look good on her,” Wilma said selecting a dress with a red and gold brocade bodice over a red chiffon skirt.
“For Mama, I would suggest this gown,” Wilma showed them a gorgeous gown with a silver brocade bodice and an emerald green chiffon skirt.
“Oh my,” Gloria said looking at the three dresses. “We have got to try them on, but I would almost need a corset, or a very shaping basque.”
“You all will wear Basques, matching panties and stockings, Dear. How you look in my gowns is my advertising.” Wilma said, as she selected three basques for the girls and then herded them into the back.
Gloria hesitated taking her bra off in front of her girls a second, but went ahead. Wilma got her into the basque first. She needed it the worst. Carrie helped Carlie and then Carlie helped Carrie. Once they were trussed up, they helped each other get into their gowns.
They were all stunned as they stood side by side, with Carrie on the right and Carlie on the left, looking in a mirror. Gloria was already planning her makeup and jewelry as were the twins.
Their bodices all fit closely to their natural waists and their skirts were all ankle length or just above. Gloria need a pair of silver or green stilettos, but the girls were good to go.
Wilma brought out a couple of trays of gorgeous paste jewelry, which she adorned the three girls, “These are high quality paste jewels. I lease them out for weddings or formals to people I trust,” Wilma said. “This necklace and earrings are created emerald pieces and are worth three thousand dollars, Gloria. Carlie is wearing created rubies and Carrie created sapphires at similar costs. I lease them because there just aren’t too many places these jewelry sets fit in.”
Gloria photographed each of her kids singly and together and had Wilma shoot some shots of the three of them together.
“I want all three dresses, but I want my girls to try on several more gowns.” Gloria said.
Wilma set two assistants to work with Carlie and Carrie, as she helped Gloria out of her dress.
“Speaking of advertising, I am in advertising. My ad agency is opening an office in Fort Lauderdale,” Gloria said, giving her business card to Wilma. “I am impressed with your dresses; do you make them?”
“I have a team of designers and a dozen seamstresses sew all of my fashions. We are all local and don’t look to expand nationally.”
“Do you advertise locally?”
“Not really, like I said my dresses and the women who wear them, are my best advertising.”
Gloria had her girls do the catwalk thing as they tried on various gowns. Wilma was excited seeing them and kept giving them directions on how to stand, walk and look their best in her gowns. A small crowd of women began to stand behind Gloria looking at the girls. Some of her other customers also began imitating Carrie and Carlie. It was almost like a fashion show. Gloria saw a few other girls who would make excellent models. They actually looked good and had real curves, unlike the major fashion shows. Wilma was beside herself directing all the girls, she was having the time of her life.
She also did good business during the impromptu fashion show. Some of the women asked Wilma to put this dress on one girl, or that dress on another, so they could see what the dress looked like.
Gloria and her daughters were in the store for just over six hours. Carlie and Carrie were both put in several wedding dresses for one wealthy matron. Her daughter, the bride, was very similar to Carlie and Carrie and she got to see the dresses she liked on someone else. One of Wilma’s assistants even did a full bridal makeup job on the twins. With their golden tans, the two radiated beauty and elegance.
The bride, Sherrie Darlington, narrowed down her choices to three gowns. She asked Carlie and Carrie if they could stay with her, as she made her choice. She went into the back with them and took the dress off of Carlie to try first. The dress was a fitted sheath dress that had lots of lace and beading. The dress’s hem settled into a nice four-foot circle on the floor. She had to go a size up though, as she had some really nice curves.
The twins stayed and even helped after they got dressed, they were a little tired, but they both had so much fun. Sherrie treated them just like sisters and liked having them with her. She was shocked to hear that they were just sixteen and told them that they would make lovely brides, when they got older.
Sherrie tried on the three dresses and she agreed with her Mom and bridesmaids that the first dress looked the best on her.
Wilma took Gloria and her girls aside while the bride dressed back in the first dress and had her makeup done and a vail installed.
“Gloria, I might want to revisit the idea of advertising. I like what your girls did and I had fun directing all the girls. We did land office business today. I might be influenced more, if you let your girls do some of the modeling. They were wonderful.”
“We are on vacation now, but you can call that number on my card and talk to Amanda. I really need to talk to my daughters about it, but who knows, that just might work out.”
“What hotel are you staying at?”
“The Hilton Garden.”
Wilma had the three velvet boxes, “Wear these jewels tomorrow and leave them with the concierge, after the opera. He knows me well and he will see that I get them back,” Wilma said, kissing their cheeks.
Gloria and the girls took their garment bags, dainty handbags and jewelry boxes with them. Carrie and Carlie were still wearing their bridal makeup. It looked strange to be so made up, while wearing shorts and T-shirts. They headed back to their room and got dressed for dinner. Gloria had to adjust their makeup a bit to match their dresses. They looked quite the high society, as they ate at the Hilton restaurant that night.
The next day they fiddled around the hotel till after lunch, before heading to the salon. Gloria showed the stylists pictures of them in their gowns. They all received up do’s and makeup jobs, to accentuate their best features and colors.
They looked like a million bucks after they dressed. With her camera tied to her laptop, Gloria could see how they all looked and fit on the screen. She then looked at the camera and snapped a dozen or so pictures of the three of them.
They took a taxi to a restaurant and ate very carefully. Looking about the room, they were not alone in their formal wear. Gloria suspected that a good portion might be heading to the opera.
They loved the Opera, even though ‘Don Giovanni’ was a little racy for the teens. The teens didn’t understand the Italian singing at least. About half the people were dressed like they were and the other half dressed more casually.
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda was in gaga as she looked at her boss and the girls. She had also received a call about advertising and modeling. She selected a couple of dozen more shots for Jayme to work with. Jayme liked the three of them in gowns, but hated the background. He meticulously changed them to standing in front of the fountain at Metropolitan Opera House, in the evening, adding the proper highlights and shadows to make it all look real. He spent four hours working on that one shot.
Amanda was amazed, the three of them outside the Met in New York was simply divine and worthy of a commercial. She simply had to e-mail her boss the finished shots a couple of days later.
Gloria set the picture as her desktop photo, when she got it.
>>>>><<<<<
They finally got to Orlando. They were going to do three days at Disney, three days at Universal, with two days in between at a Water park. When they got to the Hilton Hotel Orlando, it was raining in torrents, a tropical storm was passing through town. You can’t schedule the weather, but the weather report looked better for the rest of their stay. Even though they had a covered portico at the hotel, the wind saw that they got drenched between their suburban and the Hotel lobby. Not even the attendant with an umbrella could keep them dry.
Gloria had the concierge take their pictures looking like drowned rats, as she giggled. The three straggly looking girls smiled broadly for the camera. They got booked in and an equally straggly looking bell hop pushed their luggage to their room. All three of them took a shower, got dried and fix their appearance. The girls then headed back to wander around the lobby.
“Make sure your phones are charged before you head out girls and stay in the hotel.”
“They are mom and we will. It is still pouring down rain,” Carlie said.
Gloria uploaded the photos of them with water flowing down their bodies in rivulets. She was rewarded with a call from Amanda.
“What happened Gloria, you all look like you went swimming in miniskirts, blouses and high heels,” Amanda said.
“A tropical storm is sitting on Orlando right now. The wind is in the fifties, I think and the rain is at least two and a half inches an hour.”
“I can believe it, looking at your last picture. I was going to call anyway. Rebecca told me that Leslie told her that she overheard Wendy talking to Amber, saying you got the job in Florida. It is unofficially, officially true.”
Gloria had to laugh at the office grapevine. Her agency couldn’t keep anything secret if one EA knew, they all knew.
“Well it must be true.”
“Once I tell Samantha, that you are in Orlando, expect a call from our CEO. I am going to put the drowned rat photo on your office door, I think.”
“Don’t you dare do that. I’ll post the office Christmas photos of you on our Facebook page.”
“Go ahead, Jeffery has a copy of it on his desk. Blackmail only works if I want to keep it a secret,” Amanda said giggling like a school girl.
“Oh Amanda, I love you and I hate you,” Gloria laughed.
“Don’t you forget it girl. Oh the Wilson-Davies contract came through. We got ‘Bikinis A Go Go’ signed up. I sent Diane to Gainesville to Wilma’s Gowns. John is getting married. Pete and Millicent may be headed to divorce. Tell your kids hi and I hope that all of you have a wonderful time there.”
“Will do. Take care, Amanda.”
Gloria then took her opportunity to take a nice relaxing bath, while her kids stayed in the hotel.
>>>>><<<<<
Downstairs in the lobby, Carlie and Carrie wandered around. They could hear the wind blowing and the rain pelting the windows. Every now and then there was a flash of lightning, followed by a loud clap of thunder. It was quite the scene outside. Visibility was under a quarter of a mile right now. The storm was getting stronger.
“I am really glad we got here before it got this bad,” Carlie said.
“No kidding. Mom would have pulled over and parked under a bridge, to weather this out. I would hate to see a hurricane here.”
There were many kids around the lobby, chased in the hotel by the weather. Some people arrived looking worse than they had looked. One lady and her family just arrived with a husband and two elementary age kids. Her skirt had been blown up to her waist and plastered there by the rain. She looked extremely embarrassed as she peeled her skirt down. It didn’t help that she was wearing a lace thong.
Carly saw a pair of teen girls sitting in the lobby and they went over to sit with them. The two girls were oriental, possibly Japanese. They looked to be identical twins, dressed as identical twins.
“Did the weather drive you two in also?” Carrie asked.
“No, our mom is sick with the flu and on top of that she hit her period too.”
“Oh double bummer. She must feel horrible,” Carlie said. She knew what the flu was like and how her sister was every now and then when she was on her period. “So how long are you two going to be here?”
“Mom planned to be here a week, we have to be back in Miami Garden next, in eight days.”
“I am Carrie Ryder and this is my sister Carlie.”
“I am Masaki Fukazawa and my sister is Masahiro.”
“Where is Miami Garden?” Carlie asked.
“It’s between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.”
“Oh, we might be moving there in a couple of months. Our Mom, Gloria Ryder is an advertising Executive and their company may be opening an office there,” Carrie said.
Masahiro laughed at that, “It seems we were fated to meet.”
Carlie and Carrie both giggled at that.
>>>>><<<<<
Gloria just got dressed and was doing a light makeup job on her face, when her cell phone rang. The ring tone told her it was Wesley Mendelson, the CEO. She answered the phone, “Hello Mr. Mendelson.”
“Hello Gloria, I was hoping to catch you, when you weren’t doing anything.”
“Ha, doing nothing is what I am doing. I arrived in Orlando in the middle of a Tropical storm.”
“Ouch, I saw that on my weather feed. It’s not too bad is it?”
“No, it could be worse. Just a lot of lightning, thunder and tons of rain. We are stuck in our hotel right now.”
“That’s good. Look the reason I called was to tell you that we have made our selection for the Fort Lauderdale office and I wanted to be the first to officially congratulate you on your selection.”
“Oh my God, thank you Wesley. I really appreciate that.”
“Let me guess, the rumor proceeded my call.”
“Yes, somehow it did. Maybe NASA could use our grapevine.”
“Right, I know you have a son and a daughter. So can you begin there in September? You can take as many of your team who want to go and we will send one other team and a few other people. You need to make as many teams as you feel you can realistically use.”
“I already know a few of my team can’t make the move. They are upside down on a mortgage. I have some feelers in about people who can fill in their place. David Price’s team would be a good second team.”
“I will e-mail you a list of people you can draft from and who expressed a willingness to move.”
“Thank you, Wesley. I may pop on down there and begin to look for housing, after we hit Universal Studio.”
“Do that, we will help with part of the cost of moving you and selling your house up here, when you are ready.”
“Thank you again, Wesley.”
“Well goodbye, talk to you later.”
“Goodbye.”
Gloria then called Amanda.
“Hello, Boss what can I do for you.”
“Wesley just called me…”
“Congratulations boss,”
“Thank you, Team Leader Amanda. You deserve this new job. Can we get our team in the Fort Lauderdale area by September?”
“No, problem boss. I will start contacting our people.”
“Also I want your input on who else to bring down. I think David’s team might want to join us.”
“Good, I like working with them.”
“I will send you the e-mail, when Wesley sends it to me and we will talk.”
“I will bring my family down for a few days in a couple of weeks. We will need to find a home too.”
“Figure what accounts can come with us and which would be better served staying there.”
“Will do boss and again congratulations.”
>>>>><<<<<
Gloria called Carlie, as she stepped out of the elevator, “Where are you two Carlie?”
“We are in the arcade with a couple of friends right now.”
“Well, come to the Lobby and we will go eat.”
It took five minutes for her girls and two other girls to arrive.
“Hello, I am Gloria Ryder and who are you two?”
“Mom, this Masahiro and Masaki Fukazawa. They asked if they could come along to eat. Their Mom, Emiko is sick and in their room.”
“Oh and what is wrong with her?”
Carrie whispered in her ear.
“Oh my, yes you girls can come along and we will check on your Mom after we eat.”
All four girls were excited and followed Gloria to the dining room.
The girls filled her in on their particulars as they went. They were led into the dining room and seated.
“Girls, I have got the job. My CEO called after I got out of the bath.”
Carrie and Carlie were excited and sad at the same time. They were proud of their mom, but sad to be leaving friends behind.
“Mom, the Fukazawa’s live in Miami Garden that is between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.”
“How far is it from Fort Lauderdale?”
“About thirty minutes,” Masaki said.
“Is it a nice area.”
“Yes we like it.”
“How are the schools there? My girls will need to go to new schools.”
“Oh they are great,” Masahiro said. “Masaki and I are going to be sophomore cheerleaders at high school this year.”
“Carrie and Carlie will be juniors, they are sixteen and will be seventeen in November.”
“We are fifteen as of March.”
They ate while they chatted away. Gloria really liked these two girls and her girls seemed to really get along.
After they ate they went up to the Fukazawa’s room, “Masaki go in and ask if your Mother is up to having visitors, who just want to check on her well-being.”
The girls went in leaving the Ryders outside. They re-appeared a few minutes later and led them in.
Emiko was sitting up in bed covered wearing a hospital mask. Gloria checked her temperature with the back of her hand. Emiko was warm, but not too hot. She pinched the back of her hand and saw that she was slightly dehydrated.
“Have you eaten or had anything to drink lately, Emiko?”
“I haven’t eaten and have only drank a little. I can’t keep food in my stomach right now.”
“Girls go out and get some sports drinks for Emiko. While I look after her. Get some Jell-O or something light for her to try to eat.”
All four girls grabbed their purses and headed out. Gloria called the concierge and asked for the Hotel nurse to come to the Fukazawa’s room. When the girls got back with their booty, the nurse was there with Emiko.
“Well she has a double whammy that is making her feel worse,” the nurse said. “She is doing alright right now, but she will be down for a few days and a little weak for a couple of more.”
Masahiro and Masaki were relieved, but also disappointed.
“I will check on her tonight and tomorrow morning the day nurse will come by. Did you bring her something to drink?”
“Yes we have six sports drinks, a couple of Jell-O’s and some microwave chicken soup.”
“Good, Emiko, you must keep drinking or you will get worse. Try to eat some of those Jell-O’s, you need the energy to help fight the flu. Let her sleep when she needs it and help her to the bathroom too. Don’t let her go alone. She might fall. Give her this, ibuprofen as directed when she needs it. Take care of her girls. Today and tomorrow she might need someone with her. Oh and everybody use the hand sanitizer or wash your hands if you come in contact with her.”
The girls all sat on the other bed and talked, while Gloria sat on Emiko’s bed and talked with her.
Emiko felt terrible that her girls’ vacation would be a bust. She wouldn’t be able to take them to Disney World or Universal Studios for five days and they only had eight days to be here. Gloria took the step and volunteered to take her girls out too and Emiko cried.
“I wouldn’t ask that of you, but that would be wonderful.”
Masaki and Masahiro were excited but wanted to be there for their mom also.
“I can stay here with Emiko tomorrow, Mom,” Carlie said.
“Yeah and I could spend the evening with her, while Carlie and ya’ll do something too,” Carrie said.
Gloria was proud of her girls.
“Would that be ok with you, Emiko?”
Gloria could see Emiko smile behind her mask, as her cheeks rose and there was a glint in her eye.
“Yes that would be ok with me.”
“Girls go on and have some fun around the hotel. The storm seems to be lessening now, but don’t leave the hotel. I will stay here with Emiko. I will call you at dinnertime.”
The girls went out and really had some fun together doing things. This Hilton had amenities that covered days like this, to keep little ones occupied on rainy days. The arcade had lots of fun games and there were a few TV’s around the lobby for people to watch.
A couple of hours later Carlie got a call from her mother. Gloria had herself a chuckle as she picked a twin to call, “Carlie take the girl’s to the gift shop and have them buy their Mom some tampons and some light day’s pads. Then come on back and we will head to dinner.”
“Alright Mom, we will be back in a bit.”
About twenty minutes later they all got back to the room. Emiko was already feeling better and the girls could tell. Gloria helped Emiko to the bathroom. She had to pee and replace her current tampon. Gloria stayed with her. After she came back she laid down to go to sleep.
“Ok girls, clean up, wash your hands and go up to our room. I will be along in a few minutes and then we can go eat.”
Masaki and Masahiro washed their hands and changed clothes. While Carrie and Carlie waited. They then went up to the Ryder’s room so Carlie and Carrie could wash up and get dressed. Gloria felt Emiko’s head and she felt a little cooler. She was already sleeping lightly. She took Emiko’s room keycard and headed up to her room.
She talked to the girls when she got there, “Masaki, Masahiro, your mother is sleeping now. If the four of you promise to stay in this room, you can have a slumber party and I will spend the night with your mom. Now I want to make this clear, after dinner, you will come back to this room and stay here till morning. Do you understand me?”
“Yes Ma’am,” all four girls said.
They had a delightful dinner and explored the hotel’s amenities a bit. Then after a couple of hours, they all went to the Ryder’s room. Gloria got some clothes to change into and then headed down to Emiko’s room.
Emiko was awake and drinking one of her drinks, when Gloria returned.
“Feeling better, Emiko?”
“Yes, but I am still weak. Where are the girls?”
“They are up in my room; they are having a slumber party there.”
“Good, I am so sorry to lay this on your doorstep, but I am glad that my girls are having fun.”
“I will be spending the night with you.”
“I am afraid that I won’t be good company, I feel like sleeping again,” She said taking a drink and laying down again.
>>>>><<<<<
Back in the Ryder’s room, the girls were all playing dress up and doing each other’s makeup. Carlie was shining as she taught Masaki and Masahiro her makeup tips and they showed them their makeup tips, while they listened to music on the cable TV. They stayed up and did some dancing, singing and playing games. They didn’t go to bed till just after midnight.
>>>>><<<<<
They all got up after eight and got dressed. Carlie wore jeans, walking shoes and a light blouse, while the girls dressed up, in shorts and T’s. They then went down to Emiko’s room.
Emiko was sitting up and eating a Jell-O and drinking a sports drink.
“She is feeling better, but she is still sick. Carlie if she needs it, call the concierge and the nurse will come up and check her out. Otherwise, the nurse will come sometime this morning to check on her. Help her get out of bed and into the bathroom as needed. I am going to my room to change and will pick up the rest of them.”
“Yes Ma’am mom.”
>>>>><<<<<<
Carlie sat on the girls bed and watched TV. When Emiko was awake, she would see that she drank some fluids. She also helped her to the bathroom a couple of times. She appeared to get stronger as the day went on, but she also threw up once into the trash can. A call to housekeeping removed the offending odor out of the room. The nurse came by and checked on her vitals and said she was doing better and to keep up the routine of pushing fluids and light food. The evening nurse would be around about seven to check on her.
Carlie and Emiko then had a long talk, just to pass time away. Emiko found Carlie to be delightful company when she was awake. Carlie liked Emiko too.
“Maybe we can be neighbors, Mrs. Fukazawa. Our mom just got a job in Fort Lauderdale. I understand that that is just a few miles away.”
“It is and I will be happy to have your family as neighbors. We live in a nice community,” Emiko said, as she closed her eyes to sleep again.
She didn’t wake till the others came back with some food for her to eat.
Carlie filled in the rest about what the nurse said when she came in and what she had to eat and drink. Carlie and Carrie did a tag team and Carlie went to their room to clean up for dinner. Masaki and Masahiro spent some time telling their mom; what they did during the day at Disney world.
When Carlie returned dressed in a miniskirt and heels. The other twins also changed into heels. Gloria left Carrie in charge and they went out to eat and to catch a late show, at Disney World. Carlie enjoyed being with the twins and they really liked her too.
The show was bits and pieces of Broadway shows from “Katz” to “Chicago” to “The Chorus Line”. After the show they caught the fireworks display, just before the park closed for the night.
When they got back to the hotel, the evening nurse had just left. Emiko was sitting up and looking much better.
“The nurse said I was much better. I am past the worst part of my period. I am still achy but I will be alright by myself.”
“Masaki and Masahiro take a change of clothes on up to my room, Carlie and Carrie go on up with them. I will spend the night with Emiko.”
After the girls left, Emiko said, “Alright Gloria. I spent time with both of your daughters and I don’t believe one of them was born a male. So what gives.”
“It’s true Emiko one of them was born a male named Carl.”
“Carlie was a male. It can’t be I would have guessed Carrie. She seemed to be more masculine, Carlie was more nurturing and hovered like a hen at times.”
“That is why I am glad we are moving to the Fort Lauderdale area. I hope that we can arrange to for Carlie to attend school as a girl.”
“I work as a paralegal. My lawyer can help. He has handled a few of these type things.”
“Well we have some time to work on these details. Don’t let on to your girls, unless you think it best.”
“If my girls can’t figure it out, then they don’t need to know, but it might be necessary to tell them at some point, but not now. Let them bond a bit.”
Gloria and Emiko played gin rummy for a while, to pass the time as they talked about their girls. Masaki and Masahiro were born in Japan. Their father was a petroleum engineer, but he had passed away on an oil platform in the Philippine Sea. They left Japan to come to America as their uncle was negotiating to wed off Masaki and Masahiro, for business reasons.
“I did not want that for my daughters. Arranged marriages are not strictly legal, but aren’t discouraged. I had dual citizenship as I was born to Japanese American parents who lived in Honolulu. I never renounced my US citizenship. My husband was born in Japan.”
“My husband left for someone else,” Gloria said, giggling. “Another man that is. I haven’t heard from him in years. He wasn’t much of a father to my kids, anyway. He left me when they were both three years old.”
“How long has Carlie been living as a girl?”
“About nine days’ full time. I just learned that they had been dressing up for years. I came home early to an empty home and they came in an hour later both dressed as girls. We had a long talk and I agreed to let Carlie stay, at least for the summer. I don’t think though, that Carl is ever coming back.”
“Carl was a little on the shy side, but Carlie has tons of personality. Do you know, that she is the makeup expert of the twins, Carrie is the best of the two at doing hair. I would never have thought that.”
“Thank you, Gloria for rescuing my girls’ vacation. I felt so bad not being able to take my girls out. I will need my bed rest tomorrow but your girls don’t have to watch me.”
“I am glad to help Emiko and this is helping my girls grow too. Being responsible to help someone who needs it is a good lesson.”
“It is a good lesson for my girls too. I am tired and need to get some more sleep now.”
Emiko took a drink, went to the bathroom and then to sleep, sounding much better and her head was cooler to the touch.
Gloria checked her e-mail and forwarded a copy to Amanda. She also filled her in on what was happening here, with the girls and the Fukazawa’s, in the e-mail.
The next day the nurse came by before the girls headed out to Disney World. They stayed while the nurse checked out Emiko.
“You’re much better today, the evening nurse will check on you tonight and you can probably get out and about the day after tomorrow, but take it easy, for another day after that.”
“Good, you will be able to spend some time with us at the water park, lounging in the sun, while the girls are swimming on Saturday.”
“I think that I will like that. Now all of you go have fun today, while I catch up on some soaps and game shows.”
They all left and went to Disney World again. They spent the days catching the rides, catching some of the attractions and playing many of the games. The girls seemed to have an enormous amount of energy as it worked out at being themselves. Gloria tired from walking around for hours, would sit on a bench, or at a café, while the girls were in que for one ride, or another. Masaki and Masahiro seemed mature enough to be trusted, and she knew her girls were.
Carrie and Carlie were having the time of their lives, as was their friends. Now that they weren’t as worried about their mother’s health. Gloria took lots of pictures, when they posed with Mickey and Minnie, Captain Hook and Tinkerbell, Snow White and the seven Little people and other Disney characters, as well as at some of the attractions and games. They also hit the shops and picked up a mountain of souvenirs.
They headed back to the motel to check on Emiko at four. She was sitting up in her bed, reading. She smiled as her kids rushed to give her a hug.
“Girls I am feeling much better. Did you have a good time today?”
“It was wonderful, we wished that you could have been with us, momma,” Masahiro said.
“I will be, the day after tomorrow. I am much better, really girls, please don’t worry too much about me.”
“Can we go out and just walk around the area for a bit Mama,” Carlie asked.
“As long as you have your cell phones alright, and if it is ok with Emiko.”
“Go girls, have some fun.”
After the girls left, Gloria just shook her head, “Where do kids get all their energy from? They have been walking all day and they want to walk some more.”
The girls did hit some souvenir shops, but they too were tired. They just didn’t want their moms to worry. Mostly they just lounged around the lobby.
>>>>><<<<<
Emiko lounged around the pool the next day, as the girls went to the Water Park. Carlie and Carrie wore their red, white and blue bikinis, while Masahiro and Masaki wore something a little skimpier, but not really too skimpy for a teen.
Masaki did lose her top on the big water slide, she was all akimbo when she flew through the air into the pool. Masahiro was smarter and held her boobs when she came to the pool at the end. Both Carrie and Carlie didn’t have to worry about their tops. Mostly, the girls were there to catch some sun. They laid out in front of their Cabana and slathered themselves with sun block.
The next day Emiko joined them at the water park. She loved laying down on the artificial beach with Gloria and watch the kids play in the water. Their girls joined in in a game of water volleyball. Masahiro and Masaki were excellent swimmers and it was surprising how far they could jump out of the water. They wore racer back bikinis today, while the Ryder girls wore their one piece suits, so nobody embarrassed themselves today. Carlie jumped way out of the water to block a shot at the net, to her team’s applause.
Emiko even got in the water for a swim, although she wasn’t quite as athletic as the rest of them. When they began to wind down, they all sat around their cabana.
Gloria then addressed them all, “Girls, we are only going to spend two days at Universal. Then we are going to Miami Garden and spend some time with Emiko and her family. What do you think of that?”
“I think it is a good idea,” Carlie said. “Otherwise we will need a vacation to rest up from our vacation.”
They went to Universal the next day. The kids spent most of their time at Diagon Alley, in the Wizarding world of Harry Potter. They all bought wands, Sorcerer’s stones and Time Twisters, along with other Harry Potter souvenir’s. The next day they hit some of the other attractions at Universal. That night they packed up and made ready to leave.
On the trip to Miami Gardens, Carlie and Masahiro rode with Emiko, as Masaki rode with Carrie and Gloria. It was a three hour plus drive, with an added hour stop for lunch. The Fukazawa’s home was a mix of Japanese and American architecture. The home had a pagoda style roof, with somewhat raised points at the corners. The exterior walls were pseudo-stucco walls and the windows were all white glass, looking like paper windows.
Inside the house they all shucked their shoes in the entryway, putting on slippers. The inside was a mix of Japanese and American. There was a shrine to Emiko’s husband in an alcove near the entrance. There were areas that had Japanese furniture and others that had a clearly Western furniture. The decorations though were clearly Japanese.
There were Japanese bathrooms with separate rooms for toilets. A couple of bedrooms were Japanese with futon rolled out on the floor, but the rest had western beds. The kitchen was almost exclusively western. They had a big back yard with a Shinto Shrine in the middle of a Koi pond. There was a large sand garden, with a herringbone pattern raked into the sand and the plants had a strong Japanese look. Surprisingly, they had three cherry trees growing. Masahiro pointed them out. Paper lanterns were everywhere, but they were made of fiberglass and had LED’s inside them, rather than candles.
“Who took care of your back yard while you were gone?” Gloria asked.
“I have a Japanese gardener who designed and keeps up with my backyard. He loves the backyard; it reminds him of home. He tried going back to Japan once, but he felt so out of place. Our backyard gives him peace and we pay him. He has three other homes that he keeps up, but ours is his favorite. See those ribbons hanging, those are omamori. They are like protection charms or amulets.”
“Much like hex signs on Pennsylvanian Dutch homes and barns, to ward off evil, or for decoration depending on who you ask.”
“Exactly.”
“Your home is really lovely. I like it very much.”
Life returned to normal the next day as Emiko returned to work. Emiko’s girls showed Carrie and Carlie around their neighborhood, While Gloria talked to Amanda on the phone, as they made plans for their move. Amanda also sent her recommendations on who they should pull off the list. She had already talked to some of the people. Gloria also did a home hunt online to check out properties in this neighborhood. She also found a gender clinic in Miami and made a note to contact them.
Emiko called and told her that the lawyer she worked for, was willing to talk to her. She also gave her some names from their gender resources. The Miami gender clinic was high up on her list. Gloria went ahead and contacted the gender clinic and made an appointment to see a therapist in three days. Gloria told her that she would be there with both girls.
When the girls got back, Gloria drove the neighborhood looking carefully at the homes in the area. This part of Florida’s economy was growing and contracting in different areas, as some jobs were lost as others were created. They found some homes with ‘For Sale’ signs in front of them. They made note of the address and the realtor handling the sale, but didn’t approach anybody yet. All in all, Gloria was impressed with the area.
Gloria resolved to talk to Masaki and Masahiro tonight. If the girls were freaked out by Carlie, she didn’t want to be in this neighborhood and be an open wound that festers. She looked at Carlie, who apparently was into mind reading now, as she just nodded to her mom.
Gloria pulled into a convenience store. She asked Carrie, Masaki and Masahiro to go in and buy them some drinks and some ice cream. Carlie stayed in the suburban with her mom.
“I like this neighborhood, I think I would like to move here. First though we need to talk to the girls.”
“I agree Mom. I’m scared but it needs to be done. We have to tell them don’t we?”
“Emiko already knows, I told her the first night I stayed with her. She says she doesn’t think her girls will mind, but we don’t know. With them being the “Popular Girls” They could make life bad for you and your sister. With as much time as we have spent together, they could have twig to you at any time.”
“So you want to tell them when, tonight?”
“You got it. I just want to talk again to Emiko first.”
“I trust you Mom.”
>>>>><<<<<
They had a classic Japanese meal that night. Rice, miso soup, batter fried shrimp, stir fried vegetables and a vegetable Balsamic vinegar dish, served with green tea. The Ryders couldn’t even try to use the names of the dishes as Emiko spoke to them, they could recognize the food, in most cases, and guess in other cases. The meal was delicious.
Carrie had a rude awakening as she tried a green pasty condiment. She learned about Wasabi the hard way. She coughed and sputtered as her mouth was set on fire. It also cleaned out her sinuses.
After a dessert of melon bread and they had cleaned up, they sat down to talk.
“Girls,” Gloria said. “Me and my girls have really enjoyed sharing our time with you. We may be able to move down to Miami Gardens, but first we need to talk. We didn’t set out to deceive you, but one of my girls has a secret. Do you two know what the term transgender mean?”
“That is someone who believes they were born in the wrong gender, doesn’t it?” Masaki stated.
“Yes, exactly. One of my girls was born a male.”
Masaki and Masahiro both looked confused. They hadn’t seen either girl completely naked, but the swim wear they wore left nothing to the imagination. On top of that both of them seemed so feminine. Carlie and Carrie just sat there smiling, not giving either of the M’s the slightest hint.
“It was a shock to me girls,” Emiko told them. “Gloria confided in me the first day, but didn’t identify which one it was till the second day. She wondered about whether to tell you two, but I agreed to keep it to myself. Do you know which is which?”
Masaki chose Carrie and Masahiro chose Carlie.
“Well your half right girls.” Gloria stated. “The reason we are telling you this now is, we may be moving down here and my girls like you two very much. It would ruin us to buy a home here and find out you didn’t like transgender people. There are many out there who hate them. So does it bother you to know that Carrie or Carlie might be transgender.”
“Which is which?” Masahiro asked.
“You tell me, which is which, and does it bother you two?” Gloria asked.
“I can’t tell,” Masaki said. “And it doesn’t bother me a bit.”
“I have my suspicions, but I can’t tell either. Both have been so good to us and I believe I can speak for my sister in saying, we don’t really need to know. They are both Bishojo to us.”
“That is pretty girls for our American friends. Now Gloria is trusting you two to keep this between the six of us. You can’t let it slip that one is a boy and the other is a girl. They could get hurt very badly if this got out. There are some bigots that would even try to kill one or the other.”
“Then we don’t want to know which is which and we won’t ever speak of it again, except among the six of us. Besides I still don’t believe it,” Masahiro said. “But I have my suspicions about Mrs. Ryder. She can be kind of bossy, but then all mothers can be a little bossy.”
“Only my hairdresser knows for sure,” Carrie said. “And she is back in North Carolina.”
“And I am not going to rat out my sister either,” Carlie stated.
Carrie and Carlie then launched into a good humor, you can’t say they were arguing, they were in a way. It was more like they were pointing fingers at each other. It had the rest of them in stitches laughing at the pair of them.
Carlie then turned to their friends and said, “It really is me. I guess I always knew it in my heart. I also felt like my sister, that we had to be more like each other. You two are identical, so you can understand that I guess. We both wanted us to be identical. I just had some bits that Carrie didn’t have. When mom was at work, after school we dressed in Carrie’s clothes. Then when she got her first makeup kit she taught me and I got very good doing both our faces, while she did both our hair. Masaki and Masahiro I truly know in my heart that I am girl. I just wish I could prove it.”
“I know a way,” Masaki said, giggling.
“Girls there will be no playing doctor,” Emiko said. “You have been in very close contact with Carlie for over a week. You’ve spent two days at a water park with her wearing a bikini. Physically you were unaware. So keep acting like that, treat her like any other girl.”
Masahiro grabbed Carlie and Carrie’s hands, “Masaki we need to have a girl conference in our room and no Mom, we will not be playing Doctor, mom.”
Gloria started to object, but remained silent for a bit and then turned to Emiko saying, “What do you think is going on?”
“You were a teen once; what did you do as a teen?”
“Good God, should we go rescue her?” Gloria said, only half giggling.
“Naw, let her suffer like every other girl. If they don’t come up for air in two hours, we will call a search party out.” Emiko said, in a hopeful jest. “For the most part, my girls have foregone the psychopathic serial killer path, I think… or at least I hope so...”
They kept to their room for almost two hours, at least there were no screams of pain, or cries for help. Finally, just about the time they were both going to get up to check on the girls, they heard a stirring of fabric. Around came the four girls wearing yukatas and made up with almost porcelain skin, lips done in red in an exaggeratedly small cupids bow, flip flop socks and their hair in a bun with chop sticks.
Emiko stood and spoke in Japanese to her kids, who replied in Japanese. She then went over and inspected the four girls speaking in Japanese and apparently correcting how this or that was done. Gloria just sat and was mesmerized. Masaki wore a red silk kimono, with prominently gold embroidering of a dragon and a gold obi. Masahiro wore a light blue silk kimono with cranes embroidered and a silver obi. Carrie wore a deep green silk kimono with cherry blossoms and a yellow obi. Carlie wore a deep blue silk kimono with snow covered mountains and snow falling and a brown obi. On all four girls, the sleeves were very wide, the girls could hold their arms parallel to the floor and the cuffs would be knee length or lower. Emiko redid Carlie’s Obi, the back folds were a little off and she made adjustments to the other girls’ kimonos as well.
They moved to the Japanese living room, Masaki and Masahiro had to show Carlie and Carrie how to kneel and sit on your heels, which was hard in the kimonos. Gloria an Emiko sat on cushions.
“Gloria,” Emiko said. “Your girls look good in kimonos.”
“As do your girls, Emiko. Where did they get such lovely kimonos? They must cost a thousand dollars or more.”
“We bought them in Kobe, for about… two hundred ten thousand yen, or around two thousand dollars. All the embroidery was hand stitched, not machine stitched, on the finest silk satin. I was a lawyer in Japan and for special functions, traditional dress was expected, as were one’s family.”
“Like with our black tie and tux functions.”
“Exactly. I may have abandon the country of my ancestors, but I still love some of their traditions.”
“If you are a lawyer, why are you just a para-legal now?”
“In Japan I was a very good lawyer, in this country I am still working on my law degree. I will graduate next May and after I pass the bar, I will be recognized here as a lawyer. As a para-legal I work with my firm on contracts with Japanese firms.”
>>>>><<<<<
Amanda called Gloria and told her which building their agency would be occupying. The details of who she thought would be a good foundation for their office. She had already spoken with the people she recommended. Amanda also passed the latest business news, gossip and official gossip. She asked Gloria about the housing environment down there. Gloria had researched that fact and passed on that tidbit of information. Lastly Amanda told Gloria that she and her family would be down there this weekend for four days.
Gloria took both of her girls to the gender clinic for the first of Carlie’s appointment, with Mrs. Beverly Peabody. Beverly sat at her desk looking at two immaculately dressed girls. They went Identical today, white blouses, black miniskirts and black stilettos. Even their jewelry matched each other. They were all there looking back at Beverly. Gloria introduced the girls, but didn’t say which was which.
“Gloria, let’s play a game. Leave me alone with these two and I will sweat out which girl is my patient.”
Beverly wrote something on a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope. “Don’t open that till I am through with the girls.”
Beverly had been pretty sure which was which before she began, but she didn’t let on, after Gloria went to the lobby. She pointed at one girl and asked a question. She then pointed at the next and asked a different question. They went back and forth for an hour. While this method of questioning wouldn’t work in all cases, it was quite interesting. Beverly actually learned more than she might have, than just talking with the right person. She did learn just how much alike the two were and what their differences actually was.
When she finally asked Gloria back in she said. “You have two delightful children. I have no doubt of which is which and which girl is my patient. This one,” Beverly said, indicating Carrie. “Was pretty much a tomboy, while this one’s answers tended to be more feminine.” She looked directly at Carlie, “You are my patient. I knew that before I sent your mother out. I just wanted to see how alike you two were, in fact. Carrie, you are much better off being like your sister Carlie.”
“How did you know?” Carlie asked.
“I have worked with a couple of hundred people such as you. Alone, I might have had some doubts, but seeing the differences between the two of you, told me. Your brow ridge isn’t Neanderthal by any means, but seeing Carrie’s brow, was one clue. You don’t have much of an Adam’s apple, but Carrie has none. You are just a touch broader at the shoulder. Clues like that, in context of being with your supposedly twin sister, gave you away.”
“Then why the game?” Carrie asked.
“I learned how alike you two are. If I had asked the same questions over the phone, I wouldn’t have a clue. Carrie you are a normal girl and Carlie, though you do have some differences, I feel you too are a girl at heart. You seem to have a desperate need to be like Carrie. That could have been a mark against you, but seeing how calmly you answered my questions, showed me what I have to work with. I have no doubt that when you reach eighteen you will have your final surgery to become a girl. I want to see you again in two weeks. Show them what I wrote Gloria.”
Beverly did in fact, know which was which.
The next sixty days were a whirlwind of activity. Amanda came down to house hunt, Gloria flew back to Jacksonville to pack up, sign papers, turn in her recommendations, back to select her home, a few blocks away from Emiko, and meet with Beverly again, back to begin shipping the things they all wanted. Carlie and Carrie did a lot of the work setting up their new home. Much to the girls’ embarrassment there were many photos that Jeffery had doctored, place in frames on the walls of their new home.
Then they were registered in school as Carlie and Carrie Ryder, juniors. They did get a chance to go back and say goodbye to their friends, before school started.
In September, the new office opened with two teams, plus support staff and quickly expanded to five teams, with local people. Jeffery had some newer better computers to play with. Amanda’s husband became an electrical foreman, after he got his Florida certification.
Carlie and Carrie actually did some modelling, along with Masaki and Masahiro, for many clients. They were fast friends, as were Gloria and Emiko, plus Amanda and her children. Amanda moved into a different community a few miles away.
Carlie started on testosterone blockers before school began in August. It was a good time because she hadn’t started growing dense facial hair and the doctors felt she was on the cusp. It also saved her voice, which was an octave lower than Carries, but still in a feminine range. The Doctors also kept her out of Physical Education for obvious reasons.
The cheerleaders wanted both Carrie and Carlie. It would be great having two sets of twins for one year. Carlie turned them down, citing her doctor’s concerns. She just didn’t say what those concerns were.
School went well for both sets of twins. Doing their modelling certainly didn’t hurt their reputations one bit. In fact, it enhanced their days at school.
By November she had started on hormones and over the Christmas holidays, she had breast augmentation to almost a C cup. A change in bras kept her appearance the same.
Come May, Emiko did Graduate with her JD and within a month had passed her bar exam. The two families took another vacation together to St. Martin for two weeks.
After they graduated, Carlie and Carrie did attend the University of Miami. Carlie was a full D cup now. Between the fall and spring semesters, she finally had her SRS. That spring semester was a little rough through February, she couldn’t get around as easily at first, but she was soon back in the saddle.
Carlie was an art Major and Carrie went into fashion design. Carlie went to work in a museum as a conservator/art restoration artist. While Carrie went to work for one of the New York fashion houses. Both located in New York city.
Masaki and Masahiro went into modelling full time, travelling the world. Where one appeared the other was. Then when their catwalk days were over they began to work in fashion design, creating their own label, a mix of oriental and western fashion, in New York city and they were joined by Carrie. They still spent their vacations together with Carlie and Carrie for many years.
In five years, Gloria’s office was out earning the Jacksonville office, by two hundred thirty percent. Gloria became a vice president for the Agency and Amanda became head of the Fort Lauderdale office.
Emiko got her revenge on her husband’s brother. The law firm she worked for tangled with his law firm on a contract. There were two questionable clauses that she was able to exploit. The mistake cost the Japanese company seventy-five million dollars. It was a drop in the bucket for the company, but her brother-in-law lost a lot of his reputation. The company was also one that he had expected to marry off his nieces to a couple of their executives. Two strikes and the Company found different lawyers.
Masaki and Carrie and Carlie and Masahiro finally married when New York started recognizing gay marriages. Emiko and Gloria had been together, but they never married each other. Emiko’s career could have been hurt.
Masaki and Masahiro both used sperm that Carlie had saved to have babies, that their mothers could spoil when they both retired to Boca Raton, Florida.
The End
Due to a prank Jack's Summer isn't quite what he had expected.
What I did on my Summer Vacation
by
Paula Dillon
Amy Winters stood before her 4 th period English class with a stack of compositions in her arms and smiled coyly at her students.
“I was pleasantly surprised when I read your compositions. I see that I have some very good writers in this class. I look forward to seeing what you are able to accomplish through out this semester. I will read the top five stories. Don’t worry kids I know some of you would rather not have the details of your summer paraded before your fellow students, so I have altered names and changed some details.”
Jack Davis sat in his desk in a cold sweat. Ms. Winters was looking at her students in general, but he could almost swear her eyes were boring right through him.
Ms. Winters set the compositions on her desk and one at a time read them to the students. She had read three of the stories to the class and started on the fourth before Jack started to relax a bit. It wasn’t the story he had turned in, but as she laid the fourth story down, her eyes met his and bored deep into his soul. He felt it in the pit of his stomach that his story was the next to be read.
“Now the four previous students, I have no doubt, must have had really exciting summers. The next one though must have spent a boring summer playing Xbox or something equally boring, but I have to give them an A+ for their creativity and the name of a really good therapist, because they need help.” She said smiling at the students.
Ms. Winters picked up the composition and began to read.
What I may or may not have done on my Summer Vacation
I will neither deny nor confirm the incidents contained in my report happened or did not happen. I relay this story just for your pleasure.
Now my summer started with a rather childish incident that I am rather embarrassed to relate to you, but I feel compelled, Mom you can stop twisting ny arm now, to tell it to you anyway. My older sister Julie had an awards banquet to go to where she was to receive not one, not two, but three awards. I didn’t like my older sister, we never got along and we fought like cats and dogs. I am sure that many of you can relate to these feelings, they are not that unusual.
My sister thought she was a goddess and that we all should kneel down before her throne and worship at her feet. I of course, didn’t agree with this. So I made it perfectly clear many times how I felt. She also made it clear how she felt about me.
Now, what happened next on that night, I had no direct participation in, although Mom informed me that I was still culpable for what happened. Mom is a legal assistant by the way. By the actions that were taken by my alleged accomplices, at my behest, she informed me. I was therefore guilty of the said crime, because I conspired with my buds for it to happen. So therefore, even though I didn’t have any direct participation in the incident, I was just as guilty as the perpetrators of said incident.
Now that all of the legalese is out of the way, I can get back to the story.
It happened on the night of the awards banquet. Julie had spent weeks finding just the right dress, shoes and girly stuff for the banquet. She then spent all day getting ready at the beauty parlor doing whatever girls do, when they do what they do there. I have to admit that they did turn the toad of my sister into a great looking Lady. (I was told that I needed to include that in this story so the readers can see the gravity of my misdeeds.)
Anyways, my sister looked better than I ever can remember her looking. Mom took like two rolls of pictures and about twenty pictures with her digital camera, of my sister, as she came down the stairs and posing in front of the mantle piece in our living room. Everything was hunky-dorry in my sister’s world, till she took one step out the front doors. My buds then allegedly (Mom didn’t like me using that word, but I pointed out that they have yet to be convicted in a court of law of the incident, so that term fits.) hit my sister with three water balloons filled with water and what was suppose to be food color (It turned out to be laundry bluing agent, whatever that is). The perpetrators were never caught in flagrante delicto, but Mom assures me that she had ample evidence of their guilt and my complicity in the incident.
I laughed my ass off. I now realize that my response wasn’t a particularly politically correct thing to do. In fact, it was pointed out by my mother, that what happened constituted an act of assault upon the person of my sister and I should have shown some concern about what had happened to her.
It took Julie nearly two hours to get cleaned, made up and dressed in one of Mom’s formal dresses. She arrived late at the banquet and the Organizers of the event didn’t have the time for her to give the speech she had spent a month working on. Thankfully, she was able to walk up to the podium and receive her awards and a handshake, although she had a nice blue glow to her skin that her makeup couldn’t hide, I was told.
I was still up when my Mom and sister got home. I began to understand the depth of the trouble I was in, when neither of them said a single word to me as they headed to their respective rooms. I felt at that time that cowardice was the better part of valor in this case, kept my mouth shut and retired to my room.
I was sound asleep in my own bed when I felt my covers being ripped off my bed and two bodies land across my back and my legs. My briefs were pulled down enough to expose my butt and I felt a needle prick in my right cheek. The two women got off my legs and back. I rolled over and saw Mrs. Avery, Nurse Carter, Mom and my sister all standing in my room. I opened my mouth to ask them what was going on, when the lights inside my skull went out.
I don’t know when I awoke, how long I had been out, or what had happened to me. I only remember not being able to move and my sister sitting in a chair next to me. I couldn’t move my arms or turn my head or anything.
“Sis, what happened to me?” I managed to croak out.
“You don’t remember?”
“Shit no, my mind feels as clear as a bucket of muddy water?”
“Oh so you feel quite normal.”
“Sis!!!,” I screamed.
“I’ll get Nurse Carter to help you.”
Julie left the room and a few minutes later Nurse Carter came into the room.
“If you are nice I will release your restraints and let you get up. Otherwise I will just let you lie there for a couple of more days. Now, are you going to be nice?”
“Yes, I will be nice. What happened to me?”
“Do you promise to be nice? Swear it or I will break your Xbox.”
“Please don’t break my Xbox, I will be nice.”
“Good, we understand each other. Now I will release you and help you into the bathroom. You will take a bath and get dressed in just the robe hanging on the back of your door and the things on the counter. You will then come down stairs.”
“What happened to me?”
“All will be made clear when the time is right.”
Starting at my legs, Nurse Carter began to undo my restraints.
“Now I am going to remove your Foley.”
What’s a Foley, I wanted to ask, but I didn’t have time as she swiftly and painfully removed a tube from between my legs. I screeched as it was being pulled out.
“Now that wasn’t so bad was it?” She said laughing. “Now I want to remind you. I am bigger and tougher than you are. I can make a two hundred and twenty pound linebacker cry like a baby and you swore on your Xbox not to give me any trouble,” she said as she released the bonds on my chest and arms.
I really believed the part about making a linebacker cry like a baby, so I didn’t do anything, not that I would have anyway.
Lastly she removed a collar that she called a surgical C-spine, which had kept my gaze firmly straight up.
I gasped as I saw two tremendous bumps on my chest, which I had not seen before.
“WTF are those, I shouted.” The bumps seemed to move with me.
“Now watch your language or the restraints go back on, you will be fed by a baby bottle, you’ll wear diapers and the foley for the rest of the summer. All will be made clear to you when the time is right.”
Nurse Carter then helped me up, and I realized that I now had two huge boobs on my chest underneath the hospital gown I now wore. The weight threw my balance way off and I might have fallen, if not for Nurse Carter who helped support me.
“You have one hour to get cleaned up and down stairs, or I will come and get you. YOU DON’T WANT ME TO COME GET YOU,” she said softly, but emphatically enough for me not to risk that.”
She closed the door as she left me standing in the middle of the bathroom. I undid the three ties that held the gown on and let it fall in front of the big mirror. I wanted to shout as I saw my reflection in the mirror. I stood there with two of the biggest boobs I have ever seen, not that I have seen any except in a magazine or two, but never in real life. They weren’t the only curves I had either. I now had a narrow waist, wide hips, a bubble butt and shapely legs. I was completely female; I could see that my crotch looked like those girly mags pictures. I stood transfixed, unable to speak or move, only the parting words of Nurse Carter, ringing in my ears were enough to get me moving.
I hurried to the bathtub and poured some bubble bath in the tub and started the water, making sure it was going to be warm enough. That is funny I thought, I never took a bath, preferring the shower to sitting in the tub, and I haven’t had a bubble bath since I was three or four years old. I then got my shampoo, conditioner and a fresh razor. I found that very strange, as I only had to shave once or twice a week and never in the summer.
I quickly lathered up and shaved my legs, and my pits. WTF! What the hell am I doing, I thought, as I stroked the razor up my legs and arm pits. I then washed my hair twice and conditioned it, which I didn’t remember being so long.
I then got out of the tub and patted myself dry before dusting my body with powder. Inside I was crying, but it seemed my body had an agenda of its own. I then noticed some things on the counter that I not noticed before. There sitting on the counter was a bra and a pair of panties.
Unconsciously, I picked up a pair of silky pink panties. I felt revulsion and fascination as I stepped into them. The feel was electrifying as I pulled them up to my groin; I just don’t know how to describe the wonderful way my skin reacted to the fabric. My nipples became erect and engorged, looking like large pencil erasers, you know the half inch or five eights inch variety that little kids use.
I then picked up the bra and drew it up my arms. I leaned forward to fit my large breasts into the cups and expertly hooked it up behind me. Having never worn a bra or actually seeing a live girl do this, I was freaking out a bit, but the girl in the mirror showed no distress. I lastly had to adjust the straps, as the band of the bra was rubbing my arm pits and my nipples, still stiff, were pointing somewhat skywards.
I then wrapped my hair in a turban with a towel and dressed in a short silk kimono robe. I checked out the girl in the mirror once more before heading down stairs.
When I got downstairs I saw Mom, Sis, Nurse Carter, Mrs. Avery, and Mrs. Wilson sitting around the kitchen table.
My mother then told me to SIT, very emphatically. I sat with my back to a large bay window with the sun coming in over my shoulder. I knew it was evening at least, but not what day.
Julie put a large case in front of me and said that this was mine. Mrs. Wilson, another neighbor who worked at a major department store, set a brush, a rat tail comb, a bowl of rollers and plastic pins in front of me. I opened the middle of the case up and exposed a large mirror and a set of lights that came on.
Still not knowing what I was doing, but still knowing what to do, I unwrapped my hair, combed it out and began to roll it up on the curlers. In twenty minutes I finished the roll up and opened one of the drawers of the case. I selected an Emory board and began to work on my nails. I was amazed that they were about three quarters of an inch beyond the tip of my fingers. I usually kept them right at the quick. I filed them one at a time into pointed nails, about a half inch past my fingertip. I grabbed a bottle of red polish and expertly polished each of the nails in three smooth strokes. I plucked my brows, in not a thin arch, but a feminine arch none the less, then used the rest of the makeup on my face, the concealer, foundation, eye shadow, eye liner, brushed my brows with a pigment to make them pop, lip liner and lipstick.
All the while I was amazed, confused and frightened at what I was doing. All the while I wanted to scream but I sat silently doing what needed doing, which I didn’t know what I was doing, but doing it none the less.
When I finished, I smiled and at the same time I wanted to throw up at what I had done to myself. I noted that I was as pretty as my sister, but I could still recognize myself, just barely.
Mom got up and began to speak. “I know you are wondering what happened, why did it happen and how you knew to do all that you did? Am I right?”
“You ain’t shitting, are you Mom.”
Nurse Carter stood and exclaimed, “I warned you about your language, young Lady. Now hear this, EACH TIME you curse, lie or talk back to any of us, you will grow a half inch in your bust, shrink a half inch at your waist and gain a half inch in your hips. Go ahead and try it.”
I said, “Shit.”
My bra and panties got a little tighter although they were not uncomfortable.
“In an hour you will go back down to what you were, but if you do it anymore they will stay at that size till your assignment is over,” Nurse Carter said.
“My assignment?” I asked.
“We will get to that later, I will first answer your other questions,” Mom said. “First the reason why you are the way you are. You chose one of the most important days in your sister’s life and ruined it. I know you were in the house and didn’t actually throw a water balloon at your sister, but you were culpable as an accessory and conspirator to the act. Don’t deny it.”
“I won’t Mom, but Sis has been harassing me and my friends for three years, right in front of you.”
“I know, because of this your sister and I have our own penance, but that still doesn’t relieve you of any of your responsibility. You did it.”
“Yes I did.”
“Ok, what happened is next. We have some friends that are proficient in magic. I know you don’t believe it, but I don’t think you can deny that something has happened. Am I right?”
“No I can’t deny something strange has happened and although I find it hard to believe, I can’t disprove what you have said.”
“So now you have a penance to do. You will stay this way till you complete a series of tasks. I have a list of them for you. You will do each and every one of them.”
“And if I don’t?”
“How do you feel about going to school in your Junior year as a girl?”
“Oh…,” I wanted to say more but I caught myself.
“Good girl,” Nurse Carter said.
“So what do I have to do?”
“First you have to repay your sister and I for all the money you cost us.”
“How much is that?”
Julie said. “Three thousand five hundred for the dress, three hundred for the pumps, three hundred for the hair and makeup. We rounded things down to three thousand dollars or you wouldn’t be able to pay everything off this summer.”
“I got a little over that in the bank already.”
“You can’t touch that money to pay her off. You are going to work for Mrs. Wilson this summer. You will work off your debt,” Mom said. “Next you are going to dance in the end of the summer cotillion. You will go on at least eight dates with your friend Richard. You will measure and help a girl select her first bra and help her in the dressing room if she needs it. You will help a lady pick her bridal lingerie. You will help a girl find the perfect formal dress. You will help console a grieving girl. There are a dozens of other things on this list. I suggest you read it closely or get use to skirts and dresses for the rest of your life.”
“May I ask a question?” I said as politely as I could, hoping not to anger anybody here.
“Yes you may.”
“If this is all my fault, then why are you and Sis having to do penance?”
“An insightful question. We are having to do penance for several reasons. First it is our cost for the spell. Secondly we were judged culpable for your behavior. Julie did pick on you. I knew it and did nothing to help correct the situation. I hoped that you two would grow up and be nice to each other. I should have done something.”
“What are you and Julie having to do?”
“First we have to do everything we can to help you complete your tasks. Julie will work with Nurse Carter in the pediatric cancer ward for the entire summer and having to help you deal with your girlish issues. I am having to be the mother I should have been for both my children, I am having to volunteer at a shelter and I am still going to have to spend more time with both my children, with no time limit for me, for now. In some ways, you are getting off lightly compared to us.”
“Do I have a choice in all this, or will everything be automatic, like all of this,” I said, indicating all the things I have done.
“We all have choices, but we all have consequences too. You will have to choose to do each of those tasks to get back to Jack, or you will stay Jacqueline, which is your name now. You have till the moon sets on the last day, before school starts this year, to do everything. The next sunrise you will be a girl for at least a year, if the tasks aren’t complete. Extraordinary behavior will have pluses and minuses depending on if it is good or bad, and may even cancel out or add to your tasks.”
“What if you two don’t do what you are supposed to do?”
“That is between us and the sisters, but believe me, it won’t be pleasant for us if we or you fail in our tasks.”
Nurse Carter got up. “Oh for your safety, you are under a limited protection spell right now. You can be attacked, but not seriously injured. The attackers will face our wrath. It will be seven times seven worse for them, than you. To everyone other than us, you are and have always been Jacqueline Davis.”
“Why all of this, why not just zap me into being what you think I should be?”
“It is your life, your choice. We hope that you will learn to be a human being. If we just zapped you, as you put it, you would just be a puppet. We aren’t allowed to do that.”
“What if Richard won’t date me?”
“He will; it is part of his trials too. Your friends are not getting off easy. You may be treated a little better by them than they usually treat girls, but they won’t hurt you. Come fall Richard, Pete and Gary will still be friends with you. By the way, your hair is dry comb it out.”
I began to comb out my hair while the others told me stuff I needed to hear. One thing I learned was, I knew as much, or a little more, than most girls about the mechanics of being a girl. That is, what I have been using since I started my bath. I wouldn’t have to be taught standard makeup and hair care techniques.
Mrs. Wilson, my boss told me, I will be making 4 dollars an hour, plus five percent commission, on all my sales. She told me about my dress code, the hours I work (nine thirty am - till seven pm, Tuesday thru Saturday. Two fifteen-minute breaks and forty-five minutes for lunch.) and other things I needed to know. I would begin in lingerie for the first month; Gowns and Formals the second month, and the salon for the last month.
My hair was beautifully finished, the ladies handed me pantyhose, slip, a nice skirt and a silk blouse. My sister handed me a pair of pumps with four-inch heels. I had no problems dressing in the proffered items except the heels. The ladies told me that that was a right of passage for girls and I had to learn like they all learned. Heels were required at work also, but only two and three quarter, to three inch heels, which I learned was a blessing and a curse.
They all applauded my efforts and gushed over my appearance. They each took pictures of me as they had me pose for them. Even Julie had good words to say. Mrs. Wilson said, ”That this was the minimum on how I should look for work.”
Lastly Nurse Carter said, “You won’t be able to coast through these tasks, you will have to make an effort on many of them, while others may pass without you noticing a thing. Your list will update itself magically.”
I got hugs and well wishes from all the ladies. I was still pissed about everything, but in a strange way I knew the punishment fit my crime.
Mom then said as if reading my mind, “You are beginning to understand. You were so out of control at times, I was worried that you might end up in jail or worse. I am sorry we had to do this to you, but proud of how you have handled it so far.”
“I don’t know Mom. I know if everyone gave tit for tat we would end up a nation of blind people stumbling around. I am sorry Julie that it went this far. Can you forgive me Julie?”
“Only if you can forgive me, you big jerk,” Julie said playfully.
“Why did they make my breast so big? What are these, forty four triple D’s?”
Mom and Julie laughed at my discomfort a bit and Mom said. “They are only 34 D’s Jackie. Your sister begged for 34 DDD’s. They said they would do that, if she got 36 DDD’s.”
“I am a thirty six C and I already think that I am big enough.”
“And I am a thirty eight D Jackie, so I pretty much know how you feel,” Mom said.
Mom looked both Julie and I over and said, “Well we all look so nice, let’s go out and eat,” as she handed me a purse that matched my outfit.
I instinctively checked the purse and found everything a girl would need. I even checked and repaired my makeup before we left.
Julie filled in a few blank spots, while Mom drove to her favorite Bistro. Like it was Sunday and everything had happened on Saturday night. My transformation had only taken two hours and she added that she hoped I would do this right, because except for my bras and panties, she could wear everything in my closet now.
“The day Jack comes back, I get all your nice clothes that I helped pick out. So there isn’t anything freaky that you have to wear in your closet.”
At the restaurant, the waiters were fighting over who got to seat us and who our server was. I knew from watching them that they made a fuss over any unescorted ladies who happened in. I guess it was a ego boost type thing that made the place more special to them.
They happened to seat us a few tables away from the Parkers (Richards’s family). I can’t remember seeing Richard look so well dressed before. He smiled and came over to where we were sitting.
“Hey, you three ladies look so fine. I don’t know which one to ask out for a date.”
He flirted shamelessly with Mom, then Julie and then me. They just smiled and said how handsome he looked tonight.
“Hey Jackie, really can you go out to the movies on Friday.”
Knowing that this was one of my tasks, I smiled at him and said, “I will have to check with Mom and it will have to start after I get off from work. I have a J O B now and won’t get home till seven thirty or so.”
“How about it, Mrs. Davis?” Richard asked.
“As long as she is home by midnight, it’s ok. At twelve-oh-one I will turn you into a toad. Jackie has to work on Saturday.”
“Ok, then I will see you at seven forty five.”
“Make it eight fifteen, give the girl a chance to unwind and change,” Julie said.
“Eight fifteen it is then. See ya.”
After he left I turned to Mom. “He knows I was Jack right?”
“No, only the ladies you met today know you were Jack.”
After we finished eating we all went to the ladies room, I took care of my business, sitting of course, and repaired my makeup.
At home I looked closely at the list, three of my tasks were completed, but then others had appeared. Some of the new tasks had numbers, but no text besides them.
“Mom, some of my tasks have been completed, but others have appeared. What does this mean? Some of the new tasks are just blank.”
“Oh dear, the spell is deciding that you need more work. I would guess the blank lines are things you should do, but either don’t do, or don’t do often enough.”
“Like what Mom?”
“That you will have to discover for yourself. Don’t worry, once you do them, the answers will appear and you will get the idea for the others.”
“But Mom, if the list is going to keep growing, how am I ever going to complete the tasks?”
“The spell knows the time constraints and wouldn’t make your tasks impossible to complete.”
I was still worried, and sincerely hoped Mom was right.
It was late, so we all headed to bed. At the top of the stairs, Mom stopped us and gave my sister and I hugs and kisses. Julie turned to go to her room after saying goodnight. I stopped her and hugged her rubbing her back a bit, as she did this to me.
I dressed in a silky nightshirt and marveled at the feel of it on my body. It took a while to get comfortable, due to my new breasts, but I eventually fell asleep.
**************
I awoke with a crick in my neck the next morning. I usually slept on my stomach, but my new appendages made that impossible. I glanced at my clock and the number 5:45 seared in the back of my eyes. I hardly ever woke this early, but I was never one to go back to sleep after opening my eyes, so I got up. I put my kimono robe on and went to the bathroom. Nobody was up yet, but I knew Mom would be getting up shortly. She worked from 7:45 to 7:00 most days in her law office. I realized that she worked hard, so we could live a decent life.
After taking care of the essentials, I went downstairs and started the coffee pot and made breakfast for myself and Mom. When Mom came downstairs, she had to do a double take. None of us had ever made her breakfast before.
“Your up early, couldn’t sleep?”
“Nah, I had a terrible crick in my neck, thanks to these,” I said indicating my chest.
“Yes, I understand. Girls have had a lifetime to get use to them. You’ve only had a night,” Mom said, “Thank you for fixing my breakfast, Jackie. I usually just grab something on the way to the office,”
“I have been such a turd, the last few years, haven’t I?”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but you’ve made life difficult at times. I still love you though.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
We both sat and ate. We talked about bits and pieces, about nothing really earth shattering, but it was fun just talking with her.
“What is on the agenda today?” I asked.
“Mondays are for you and Julie, no exceptions. This is part of your tasks and hers. Do whatever you two want, just do it together.”
Mom hugged me tightly for several seconds and kissed my cheek, before grabbing her things and leaving for the day.
Julie wouldn’t be getting up till it was closer to eight. She always had trouble waking up. So I took this time to get dressed.
In my closet I saw everything a girl needed to dress in. There were dresses, skirts, blouses, pants and such, in a rainbow of colors. For some reason, I avoided the pants and I chose a pale yellow blouse and a medium blue mini-skirt. I set these on my bed and went to my drawers and chose a pale yellow bra and panties, a silk cami and suntan pantyhose. I got dressed and chose a pair of medium heeled black sandals. I then brushed my hair till it looked nice and did my makeup. I unconsciously did my face according to the time of day and what I was wearing. When I was finished I marveled at how nice the girl in the mirror looked.
I heard my sister Julie begin to stir, so I went downstairs, began another pot of coffee and made her breakfast.
Julie came downstairs looking like a hurricane had hit her. Her hair was going in a thousand different directions, bags under her eyes and clutching the robe under her chin. That is the Julie I always remembered. She dove into the coffee pot, so to speak, fixing her extra large coffee cup before noticing me.
“Jackie, my god, you look good.”
“You look like something the cat drug in,” I said, putting a plate of food in front of her.
The eggs, bacon and toast didn’t stand a chance as my sister sat to eat. She smiled at at me as she chewed her food.
“Umm, this is good. I love how you spiced up the eggs.”
“I just used salt, pepper, chives and a dash of Tabasco.”
“I know, they are good.”
“So what do we do today?”
“You have your first date Friday; we have to find you the perfect outfit.”
“I already have a closet full of clothes. I don’t know if I will be able to wear all of them this summer.”
“They are just your everyday things; we need to find something special for your first date.”
“I don’t understand. It is just Richard my friend; he has known me for years.”
“You only have one first impression, one first kiss, and one first date. Everything needs to be just right.”
I had never liked to going shopping for clothes. I just grabbed something off the rack my size that I liked and whenever I had everything I wanted, I headed for the cashier. Mom and sis could spend years it seemed, looking for one outfit, after trying on thousands of outfits. I know it is an exaggeration, but just barely.
“Alright, we’ll go shopping.”
Sis smiled, gave me a kiss on my cheek and almost ran upstairs. It took her an hour and a half to come downstairs, looking as good as I did. That’s ok, I guess. The Mall didn’t open till ten and it was just nine. She made herself one last cup of coffee, before turning off the pot and sitting down.
We talked for half an hour or so. Again it was about nothing important or earth shattering news, just pleasant conversation. She had never spent more than ten seconds talking to me without lecturing before. I kind of liked this new Julie, but maybe it was a bit me too. I never had a good word to share with her before.
We then got our purses, checked our faces and headed out. The first thing I noticed was my rust colored 1970 Shelby Cobra was gone. It was rust colored because of the rust. It ran, but it was a money pit. In its place was a 5 or 6 year-old, blue, VW bug, similar to Julie’s Mazda.
“Let’s take your car, Jackie. I need to take mine in for servicing.”
“Then take your car and follow me to a shop, Julie.”
She got in her car to followed me to Luke’s Auto repair. My stick shift had been replaced by an automatic transmission, which was fine considering my heels.
At Luke’s I asked him to check a bunch of things, oil and lube and alignment. I had seen sis pulling to the right a bunch of times, especially in braking. I didn’t want her to break down or have an accident because her car wasn’t right. Her driving was already frightful. Sis gave him her cell phone number and we were gone.
At the mall, it was like Sis was high on crack or something. She loved shopping; it was like a drug to her. She excitedly took me from shop to shop. It was inevitable, I guess, that I caught some of her enthusiasm. I must have tried on a hundred things, looking for the right outfit. The first thing I learned was my boobs made finding the right tops and dresses very hard. Blouses would pucker, allowing my bra to be seen, dresses wouldn’t hang right, even though they were my size.
“Finding clothes that fit isn’t this hard for you, is it Sis?” I asked.
“No, although I am bigger than a lot of girls, I don’t have the same problem with my breasts that you do. Getting clothes that hang properly is one of the reasons models are so skinny.”
After five hours of shopping, I finally had the right outfit from the skin out. I have to admit it looked good on me and it was kind of fun once I got into the shopping thing.
We were surprised when we got home to find Mom there at five thirty. She was only about two hours early.
“Hi girls, did you two have fun today?”
“Yes we did, we found the perfect outfit for Jackie’s date on Friday. Why are you home so early?”
“Well, I told my boss that I really needed to spend more time at home with my family. I said it was getting where I really don’t know my own family anymore. We had a staff level discussion about the topic. The partners agreed to limit the late nights to two or three nights maximum.”
“That is great Mom, I am happy for you,” Jackie said.
“Well, let’s see this perfect outfit. I have the MOTHER’S RIGHT of rejection.”
I went to my room and dressed in the skirt and blouse we had bought. The blouse was a white, translucent, chiffon; I remembered to also put on the lacy camisole. The blouse was big enough to cover the breasts without puckering and was tapered to the waist. The skirt was a short pleated mini, in a Royal Stewart tartan, which came to just above mid thigh. I completed the look with some white knee socks and some black pumps, with a four-inch heel. It was almost the classic schoolgirl look, but I liked it.
Mom tut tuted when I came out and exclaimed that the skirt was a little short. I raised the hem about three inches and said, “That this is where most girls wear their minis.”
“Yes, that may be true, but you are not most girls, you are my girls, and I love you.”
“I have to admit that it looks good on you. Are you satisfied with your appearance?”
“Yes Mom, I am.”
“Then I think it will be alright.”
We had a rousing conversation while we ate dinner. It was something we hadn’t done in ages. Mom was playing the clown for most of the time, to keep things going. Afterwards we all sat in the living room and watched a movie that Mom had picked up on the way home today.
**************
The next day I began my new job. I met Mrs. Wilson in lingerie after running through the Human Resource maze. I had my picture taken, thumb printed, had a thousand pages to read and sign, given the twenty-minute sexual harassment talk and finally welcomed to the store.
Mrs. Wilson took me into the back and read me the rules concerning lingerie. You know panties cannot be tried on because of health reasons and that included anything that came up to the crotch, such as teddies and body briefers. I was told to offer a fitting to anyone wanting to try on bras. We spent twenty minutes on how to measure a client for a bra. I was then shocked to find the store had a policy on fitting men with bras. The store had a second fitting room around the corner marked office. It was the entrance to the office, but there was a door that led to the second fitting room. I was told that we were not to embarrass any man wanting to try on a bra.
After I measured Mrs. Wilson for a bra, along with several other co-workers, I was given a register and let loose on the floor. It was strange; I was like a magnet to women wanted to be fitted for bras. Some said they came to me because I had a big chest and would understand their needs.
It was hard finding time to take my breaks and to get away for lunch. Mrs. Wilson helped there, by deflecting customers to other sales ladies.
By the end of my day, I was sitting a close second in sales, having rung up nearly three thousand in sales. One lady bought a dozen bras, the store has a bra club, where you buy six, you get one free, so she left with fourteen. They were all top dollar bras.
“Ms. Baxter does that twice a year. She replaces all of her bras at the same time. A bra looses it stretch and support after a number of months of constant wear. She might wear two or three different bras a day, depending on the clothes she is wearing,” Mrs. Wilson told me.
I was the last one home this day; we all sat around and talked about our day as we ate dinner. Julie was really excited about her day. Her job was to provide whatever assistance any of the pediatric cancer patients might need, other than medical assistance. She said there were some really sweet and mature kids in that ward.
I then told Mom and Julie all about my day. They smiled when I told them about all the women I fitted and all the various types of lingerie I had sold. I was teased about Jack seeing all those semi naked women, till I reminded them that I was Jackie and for the most part I was just like them.
I checked my list before bedtime, I had quite a few items checked off, but the list was a little longer yet. I had a half dozen of the blank lines that were filled in now spelling out what I had done to get them checked off. I was worried that the list was growing, but I just had to trust what mom had told me. As I thought about that, another blank line became visible. So the spell wasn’t being malicious to me I thought. Another line became visible.
**************
Friday, I tried to get away from work early, so I could get ready for my first date, but the number of customers that we had all day, prevented that. In fact, I was about ten minutes late. Julie hurried me to my room and helped me to get undressed and into the bathroom, where I did the wet bath cloth thing to get the smell off. She did my hair, as I worked on my makeup and then helped me to get dressed. I was finished about two minutes before the doorbell rang. Julie made me wait in my room, until Mom had an opportunity to talk to Richard for a few minutes.
When I came out, I was speechless for several seconds. In all the time I have know Richard, I have never seen him dressed so nicely. He usually wore some grunge band’s T-shirt and blue jeans that had seen better days. Today he looked almost preppy. He was dressed in a nice polo shirt and a new pair of chinos; even his shoes were shined.
“Hi Jackie, are you ready?”
“Yes, I see you cleaned up nicely.”
“Yeah, my Mom made me get some new clothes and threw away some of my favorite threads.”
“Well you look nice, you ought to dress like this more often.” I said, even though I didn’t know why I had said it. Jack had no problem with how the guys dressed, because he didn’t dress much better.
“Remember, have her home by midnight or I will turn you into a toad,” Mom said, laughingly.
After what has happened to me, I wasn’t so sure she couldn’t.
Anyway, we had to hurry to get to the theater. It surprised me a bit when Richard actually opened the door for me. I turned and sat smoothing my skirt beneath me, before turning in the seat. That was another thing that was automatic for me now.
At the theater, I was surprised and a little angered, when Richard didn’t ask my opinion for which movie we should see. There were four action flicks, a couple of chick flicks and two that were fairly neutral. Richard of course chose the most popular action flick. It was a movie that I know I would have chosen as Jack, but for some reason, I was offended that I wasn’t asked what I liked.
I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting into it like I usually did. I wasn’t amused by all the chase scenes, or by all the explosions, or even the major shoot outs toward the end.
About halfway through, I did feel an arm snake around my shoulder. That wasn’t unusual for a guy on a date I thought, so I let it stay. That is until I felt his hand try to find my boob. I removed the arm only to find it slipping back as covertly as Richard could be. From there till almost the end of the movie, it seemed like Richard had eight arms, like a spider and I was his fly.
“Stop It Richard, or I am going to call my sister to come and pick me up.”
“Oh come on Jackie, we have known each other for years, can’t we have a little fun.”
“Richard, we may have known each other, but this is our first date. You don’t try to get laid on the first, second or tenth date. Come on, I am leaving, are you coming.”
“Damn it, yeah, I am coming.”
He was driving me home, when I saw we were coming up to a burger joint. “Stop there, we need to talk.”
Inside, Richard waited for me to sit. I did, but at the end of the booth. I didn’t intend to make room for him. After he stood there waiting for several seconds, he got the hint and sat across from me. I waited till after we had ordered before I spoke to Richard.
“Richard, I have known you for ten years or more. I was surprised at the way you acted at the movies. How many dates have you been on?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“Yes I do. You haven’t been on any dates and how many do you think you will get if you keep acting like that, if you do get a date.”
Richard looked embarrassed and troubled. “I don’t know.”
“None, is the correct answer, I believe. That goes for you, Pete and Gary. I went out with you because I thought you had changed when I saw you at that restaurant. I won’t again unless you change the way you act.”
I could have lumped myself in there too, before this.
“But”
“I mean it Richard; you can be a good guy when you try to be. I have always liked you, but I won’t be treated the way you treated me tonight.”
Richard was almost in tears as I spoke to him. It was true that I always liked him, but that was a guy liking his buds. I don’t know where the rest of the lecture I gave came from, but that is what I felt right then.
“Sorry,” was all he could squeak out.
“I am going to be generous and give you one more chance. Are you free next Friday?”
“I am free every night,” he sniffled.
“Talk to a girl sometime this week; find out how you should act. Talk to my sister if you have too, but you have to behave better next week.”
We got home at eleven fifty five. I was surprised that Mom wasn’t up, but you can bet your last dollar Julie was. She pounced on me as soon as I entered our house. I didn’t intend to tell her anything except to expect a call from Richard, but I wound up telling her everything.
“I wished that I would have had the guts to have that talk with Jack,” Julie said. “I am so proud of you. All of your friends needed to hear that.”
“I know, but I really hated to do that. I mean I could wind up stuck like this.”
“You had to do that, check your list sis.”
I checked the infamous list and saw that one of the blank lines had been to talk to Richard about how he acts around girls. I suspected that went for Pete and Gary too.
**************
Saturday a mother came into lingerie with her daughter in tow. The girl looked to be about ten or eleven years old. They gravitated to me. The girl’s eyes got real big as she looked at my boobs and her mouth hung open a bit.
“Hi, I am Elaine and this is my daughter Wendy.”
“Hi, I am Jacqueline, but you two can call me Jackie. What can I do for you two today?”
“Wendy is nine…”
“I am almost ten, Mom.”
“Almost ten and she is starting to develop in her chest. She needs to start wearing bras.”
“I don’t need to wear a bra, Mom.”
“Would you and your daughter like to come into to the back and sit down, so we can talk,” I said.
“Yes, that is a wonderful idea,” Elaine said.
The store had a “Counseling Room” for conversations that might embarrass the parties involved.
“Would you like some coffee, tea or a soda?” I asked, as I led the way.
“Coke for me,” Wendy almost shouted, with a big smile on her face.
“I guess I will have a coffee, if you please.” Elaine said smiling.
I got them their drinks and then we sat around talking about anything but bras. Wendy was a fascinating girl, who wasn’t really ready to grow up yet, I think.
“Well Wendy, You sure are a cute girl.”
“Thank you, Ms. Jackie,” she said.
“You know, girls when they get about your age, start to grow in ways boys don’t. Do you understand that?”
“Yeah, Mommy and Mrs. Fletcher, my teacher at school told us all about that.”
“Well, when girls start to grow breasts, their nipples begin to peak and become tender. A bra helps to protect them and keep them from getting rubbed sore by their blouses. Has that happened to you yet?”
The girl just looked embarrassed and nodded her head yes.
“Well, don’t you think it is about time to do something that might help?”
“But…” she started to say and just stopped. “I ah…”
“They don’t have to be pretty or girly, if you don’t like that kind of stuff. Or they can be very cute and pretty. It is up to you. Would you like to see some of them?”
She nodded her head yes, so I opened a drawer that held about twenty different training bras and removed the display samples for her. The girl looked carefully at the dreaded bras. I knew how she felt, I guess.
“Do you see any that you like?”
The girl surprised both her mom and me. She pointed to three of the prettiest and two of the plain sports type bras.
“Well then, before we get you your own bras, we need to measure you. This is important, or the bra won’t feel good and may hurt more.”
The girl took off her T-shirt and I measured her. She really did need a bra, she was a 30 AA, but she wouldn’t be that for long, I thought.
“Will I get as big as you are,” she asked, with a look of terror in her eyes.
“You could, but probably not. You might get as big as your Mom though. You want to know something; I am as big as my Mom in the chest. Most girls are a lot smaller though. Anyway, you are years away from that. You’ll get use to the ones you have, believe me.”
Elaine bought six bras for Wendy, four of the pretty bras and a couple of the sport type bras. Wendy wore, what I thought, was the prettiest out of the store that day. I don’t know why, but I felt pretty good about sharing this special moment with Wendy and Elaine.
When I checked the list next, I had completed a lot of tasks, but the list still had grown a bit. Not as much as it had, but still…
I was surprised when I got home Tuesday. Mom and Julie were home of course, but in the living room were Richard, Pete and Gary.
“Hi guys, what’s going on?”
“Well, I called your sister like you suggested and we talked for a bit. I started to see what a fool I had been. Anyway she suggested that I get Pete and Gary to come over too. We’ve been talking like what we talked about.”
“Really?” I said. “That is good to hear. Mom, Julie can we talk for a minute? You guys don’t move,” I said, a little more emphatically than I meant too.
After we walked into the kitchen, I turned to Mom and said, “Would it be possible to let them in on the secret and prevent them from talking about it with anyone but us?”
“Let me make a call to Cindy Carter.”
Mom talked to Nurse Carter for about ten minutes.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” She asked, after she hung up the phone.
“Mom, if they don’t change, they are going to wind up a bunch of losers. I don’t know why, but in my heart I feel that this is the right thing to do.”
“I think that she is right, Mom. They are good kids, but they are such losers at the same time.”
“Ok, let’s do this. Whenever you use the word Scrimshaw, while talking to a person, you can let that person in on the secret and they will only be able to talk to us about that secret, when we are alone.”
Back in the living room I stood before my friends, “Ok guys, scrimshaw.”
All three guys’ eyes got as big as saucers as they looked at me.
“You know my secret now, but you can only talk about it when Mom, Julie and I are alone with you.”
“What happened to you?”
“What happened is I am being punished for what we did to Julie. They figured it out that I helped you water balloon her. Now I am going to be this way all summer. I need all of you to help me complete some tasks before I can come back as Jack.”
“How?” was all Richard could say.
“That isn’t important, what is important is what you guys are going to make out of your lives. Let’s face it; we were a bunch of losers. Since I have been this way, it’s like a fog has lifted from my mind and I could see what a loser I was.”
“Are those real?” Pete asked, looking creepily at my boobs.
“Yes, and if the three of you don’t change your ways, you could have a set just like them. More importantly though, how many times have we tried to get a date with a real girl? They won’t have a thing to do with us, will they?”
All three guys were looking at the floor, so I felt I was getting through to them.
“I want to help you guys change. As good looking as you all are, if you started to act like human beings, instead of Klingons, you might get a date. Julie and Mom will help us if you want. They know more about that stuff than I do.”
“I don’t know about that Jackie,” Mom said. “I think you are doing a pretty good job at explaining things, but if you boys want our help, we will help you.”
“Now if you guys try to straighten up, I will try to go out with each of you, so you can practice your skills.”
Mom and Julie talked to the three guys for about an hour. I went up to my room to clean up and get ready for bed. I came down wearing a robe after the guys left.
“I think you did your best, but don’t expect miracles. I think Richard paid attention to what you said, but I don’t know about Pete and Gary,” Mom said.
We had a late dinner and headed off to bed. I checked my list when I got to my room. I could see by the tasks I had completed, that I had made a right decision, talking to my friends, but other tasks had also appeared. I didn’t feel despair; in fact I couldn’t explain how I felt at the time.
**************
Later, Mrs. Davis was on the phone with Cindy Carter.
“Joyce, tell me what happened, I felt the spell shift more than it should have.”
“Nothing really, she just talked to her friends and tried to convince them to change.”
“What did she say?”
“Well, one of the boys asked if her boobs were real. She said yes and if you don’t straighten up you might get a set of your own.”
“Oh my, I can’t believe how this spell is changing. We’ve never had one change this much.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I am not totally certain; we will just have to see what comes out of this.”
**************
The next day at the store, a group of six ladies came into lingerie. It was a bridal party. They had called in ahead of time and had reserved our special changing area for their party. The room could seat a dozen people and it had six changing rooms, a stage and a runway. Mrs. Wilson, two co-workers and I had been tasked to assist.
We escorted the ladies in the back and handed out flutes of champagne. Even the two teens in the group had been handed flutes, with half the amount of champagne in them. The bride attached herself to my arm and flirted shamelessly with me. I looked to Mrs. Wilson and she just smiled at me.
I did get back at the bride a little bit, in a fun manner; I got to lace her up in a corset. She needed to take three and a half inches off her waist, to fit in her dress. I think I took four and a half. The bride just grunted her protests. Everyone in the bridal party gave everyone a fashion show, in a very ribald manner, which got sexier and more suggestive as the champagne flowed. One of the teens must have been destined to be an exotic dancer. She was a very good dancer. I was glad we didn’t have a pole in this area. The ladies in the bridal party just egged her on, as she did a strip tease down to her panties.
I couldn’t believe how much those ladies spent on lingerie. All the ladies in lingerie that day got a share in what we sold. Mrs. Wilson and I made sure that none of the ladies drove away from the store. We loaded them into two taxis and prepaid the drivers.
All six of the ladies in the bridal party were drunk, even the two teens. I knew that they would be feeling bad when they sobered up. I had to help the bride get dressed; as she was four sheets to the wind, sloppy drunk. After I struggled to get her bra on, she gave me a big kiss. She even stuck her tongue down my throat. She may have been drunk, but she was as strong as hell. I tried to slip out of her grasp, but I couldn’t until she broke the kiss and passed out.
All four of us had to take a significant amount of time repairing our looks, to be presentable after that party. Mrs. Wilson talked to all of us about what had happened and warned us that we were not to say anything to anyone about what happened back there.
**************
Friday, I had another date with Richard, he was much more of a gentleman, but I could tell that he seemed scared as hell. He wouldn’t talk about it and I couldn’t tell if it was because I had been Jack or what. He started to loosen up a bit and enjoy himself towards the end of the date, but he was still treating me with kid gloves.
He apologized that he wouldn’t be around for the next two weeks, as he and his parents were going out of town, but he me asked if I could go with him to see the fireworks on the fourth. I agreed.
I am glad I got home when I did. For several days I had felt a little off and didn’t know why. I found out shortly there after that I was having my monthly visitor, as Julie would say. I knew what to do, but that didn’t help my attitude much. Mom had a little sympathy for me, but told me to just grind through it like ninety percent of the women of the world do. I asked about the other ten percent and all she said is, “You don’t want to know.”
I loved the new closeness of our family. Even though we didn’t have a lot of family life, time. We all made the most of what we did have. I began to wonder if I would have been in this fix if we had been like this a year ago. Late on Sunday, Pete called and asked if I could go out with him on Friday night. I told him that I would be glad to and told him what time to pick me up.
**************
Wednesday, Nurse Carter called me from the hospital. Julie had left the pediatric ward running in tears and asked if I could go find her. I told Mrs. Wilson, who became very concerned and told me to just go find her.
I drove home and her car wasn’t there, so I began to drive around to places I knew she hung out, when she wanted to be alone. I found her in a distant part of the park, alone and crying. I walked up behind the bench she was sitting on and just wrapped my arms around her and just held her for a while.
She calmed down after about half an hour or so, I let go of her and sat down beside her.
“What happened?” I asked.
“A girl I had met at the hospital had an acute lymphoma or something. I am not so good with those big words they use to describe their conditions. She was undergoing chemo. Last week she brought me the electric clippers. People on chemo tend to start losing their hair as they take the drugs. When her hair began to get patchy she asked me if I would cut it off. Among the staff, that is considered an honor to be asked to help. It hurt having to clipper off that girls beautiful auburn hair, but I did it. Afterwards she gave me the biggest hug I have ever been given by a twelve year old, as she cried on my shoulder. Today she died.”
I didn’t know what to do or say, so I just held on to Julie as she began to cry on my shoulder.
***************
Friday, I went out on my date with Pete. He actually came dressed in a suit and tie. Julie and Mom were as astounded, as I was, we went to a movie; he asked which one I wanted to see. He was the usual goof ball, in a Pete sort of way and I began to enjoy being with him. After the movie, we went to get a bite to eat, it wasn’t Ricardo’s, but it was a nice sit down family restaurant.
Everything went nicely until the drive home. He was worse than Richard, I began to despair that I would be raped. He was all over me. Pete was the strongest of the four of us guys. I am not sure that Jack could have gotten the best of him. I wasn’t raped and luckily he hadn’t beaten me up, but I did get kicked out of the car, about two miles from home. I got out my cell phone and called Julie.
Julie, Mom and Nurse Carter all came to get me about ten minutes after I called.
Nurse Carter explained that she had felt the spell shift again and hurried over to our home. She was there when I called.
**************
I went to work Saturday, over the objections of my Mom. My Mom had called Pete’s Mom for a chat that day. Pete was still Pete, only more sullen than ever. He never told anyone that summer about what had gone down.
The next weekend, I went out with Greg. He seemed to be afraid of getting within three feet of me, but we did see a movie and had a burger and fries before he took me home.
My list seemed to stop growing, but I had a lot of things to do in two months. I went over the things I had done and was filled with emotion as I remembered doing some of those things. I smiled and cried for a little bit.
On the first of July, I said goodbye to the girls in lingerie and moved to the gowns and formals department. Mrs. Wilson was there with me. I spent the first two days getting familiar with the department. Gowns and Formals was different than lingerie. It was a lot more work and a fewer number of sales. Three or four sales a week, brought in a nice bonus in commission. I was just as busy as I had been in lingerie, girls and ladies were constantly coming in just to look, fewer tried the dresses on and I made a few sales. The customers came in and would try on a lot of dresses, eighty percent of the customers didn’t make a single purchase, but I worked just as hard finding the perfect dress for them.
In between customers, I began to look for myself. I knew that if I was to become Jack again, I would have to go to the cotillion with Richard. In the slack time, one of the college aged girls helped me look. I didn’t ask her, she just saw me looking and seemed to know.
We talked about it whenever we could, so she could get a better idea of what I liked and what she thought would look good on me. I began to see that it was harder for women to see what would look good on them, and most women dearly needed the affirmation and assistance of her peers to help her select the RIGHT dress.
Richard got back that night and we talked on the phone for hours. He asked about Pete and Gary, but I refused to say a thing about it. I told him Doctor/Patient privilege. I did consider Pete and Gary my patients in a way, but I didn’t want Richard affected by what did or did not happen between the guys and myself. I hinted to Richard about the dance. Being a guy he didn’t have a clue so I asked him flat out. I could hear his knees shaking over the phone and our connection wasn’t that good.
“You don’t know how to dance do you?” I asked.
“No I don’t,” He shyly replied.
“Well neither do I, let me talk to my Sis and Mom.”
I did talk to Mom and Julie. They agreed that we needed to learn. The four of us, Mom, Julie, Richard and I began to learn in my living room. Mom and Julie already knew. Mom taught Richard and Julie taught me. They would trade places, but I didn’t dance with Richard till the third or fourth lesson. Richard started out lanky and clumsy. I was hesitant and unknowing but did better, except Mom and Julie did have some sore toes.
**************
A girl I had seen in gowns and formals several times before, latched on to me again. She was supposed to go to the Cotillion, but she was in sore need of confidence. I learned that a lot of girls needed their confidence built up about their looks. She was very pretty, but she didn’t have the perfect figure. Finally I took her to lingerie and strapped her into a corset, which helped her figure greatly. It boosted her boobs up, made them look a little bigger and it slimmed her waist down. I then brought the dress, she had been eyeing longingly, but couldn’t really wear unassisted, over to her. With the corsets assistance, she looked fabulous in the dress. The ladies there just gushed over her and she had one of those mile wide smiles. She bought the dress and several corsets, as Mrs. Wilson suggested, so she could get use to wearing them before the cotillion.
The lady who did the alterations, had her put on some four-inch heels, which helped even more and began to mark the dress for alterations. She admonished the girl not to gain any weight in the waist between now and then; because once she begins her alterations, the dress was hers.
**************
Richard took me to the Fourth of July show in town. I was amazed by the differences I could see in my friend. He was much more attentive to my needs and more fun to be with. We had an amazing fireworks display that summer. The city had really outdone itself that year.
On my doorstep, I gave Richard a short kiss on his lips as a reward. I knew he wanted more, so did I, but I didn’t want things going too fast.
July was a whirl for me. I was the top sales girl, to everyone’s dismay in Gowns and Formals. I was shocked at the results.
One incident that happened turned out to be extraordinary. I was working, while many of the other girls were having lunch, so I was basically alone. It was a slack period for us. Anyway, a man came in through cosmetics and he had a screaming seven or eight year old, girl with him. He was constantly apologizing for her behavior, but something didn’t feel right to me.
I moved to stop the man.
“Sir, is this really your daughter?” I asked.
“No, he is not my daddy,” the girl screamed.
“Yeah, she is my little girl. I just pulled her away from the arcades and her friends, where she was having too much fun. We have to go home princess,” he said.
We were beginning to attract a lot of attention from the women in the store.
In my heart, I felt that he was lying. “Sir I am going to have to ask you to wait here, till we can verify that you are indeed her father.”
He looked a bit worried and began to turn a bit hostile. “You can’t stop me. I AM HER FATHER. I will sue you and this store if you don’t get out of my way.”
I stood as tall as I could, fists on my hips and said, “Not till I am certain that that girl really is your daughter.”
The man began to get really worried at the crowd that was beginning to form around us. I could see store security heading our way. I am not certain exactly what happened. I know I was punched in the face and fell down. He tried to run past me with the girl, but I grabbed his legs and he fell. That was my last conscious thought for a few minutes.
I was later told that the mob of women started pummeling him and kicking him on the ground. Security had to rescue him. After they got him away from the mob, a woman came running into the store with Mall security, screaming for her baby.
I awoke, as a lady EMT was fitting me with a C-spine collar. She smiled and told me what she was doing. She flashed my eyes with a little flashlight and then hooked me up on her backboard. I was then taken to the hospital.
After a hundred tests, I was pronounced fit, but was kept over night for observation, as I had suffered a mild concussion. I had lots of visitors that evening Mom, Julie, Nurse Carter, Mrs. Wilson, half the ladies I had worked with, Richard, Mrs. Kramer (the woman who was the real mother of the girl) and little Kathy (the girl I had rescued).
I blushed form all the praises I was being showered with, but what had stirred me more than anything, was when the women were all talking, little Kathy crawled up in my bed and hugged me for dear life. I cried as I hugged her tightly. I couldn’t get the picture of this sweet little child being abused by that man out of my mind.
The guy was a prolific child abuser and a registered sex offender. He had been unaccounted for, for three months and the police had been actively searching for him. He was good at doing his thing, convincing little girls to come with him, away from safety and into his clutches. He wasn’t a killer thank god, but he left ruined lives in his wake.
The next morning I was pronounced fit to leave. I felt wonderful, no aches, or pains or any complaints, except for the bruises around my eyes. I was surprised when Mom and Julie came in with Mrs. Wilson and Shelia Carmichael, Director of Marketing for the store I worked at. Shelia’s and Mrs. Wilson’s arms were loaded with bags.
All my clothing had been cut off the previous day, in the ER. The police had kept everything as evidence anyway. I had asked Mom and Julie to pick out something for me to wear home, but they were empty handed.
Shelia approached me and said, “We want to thank you for being such a brave girl. You rescued that girl from what would have been certain torture. So in appreciation for your heroism we have bought you several new outfits.”
Shelia was long winded as a southern politician, so I won’t go over everything she had to say. Mrs. Wilson told me later, that she wasn’t in on the secret.
In the bathroom, Julie helped me change, as Mom and the women talked. Julie’s eyes got really big as she checked labels. There were no price tags on anything.
“OMG, I couldn’t afford these clothes, Jackie and I doubt that Mom would feel comfortable knowing how much they cost.”
Even I knew that these were really expensive togs. Julie helped me into my new bra and panties. She wrapped a garter belt around my waist, threaded the tabs through my panties and then rolled a pair of stockings up my legs. They felt divine going on. Next came an extraordinary silk blouse, a fully lined, incredibly nice skirt and blazer. I was in heaven. Everything felt simply wonderful. There were some flats, in the mix, but I insisted on wearing the heels. I had to convince Julie that I was alright, before she let me try them on.
Julie tried to do something with my hair and makeup, but my hair looked a fright and my face looked like I had gone a few rounds with George Foreman. From the neck down I was a ten, from the neck up I was a three.
Shelia asked me if I was up for a trip to the store. I said that I looked horrid and would probably scare the customers away, but I was ok. We all piled into her limo, the store picked up the hospital bills and we all headed were off to the store. The president and all the VP’s were there and opened the door for us. I was escorted to the salon where Mom, Julie and I were given the royal treatment. Some things were pleasant, others not (waxing eyebrows and legs), but everything was wonderful. I received a permanent wave and a color job, on my hair. I wasn’t as thrilled about that, but I wasn’t asked. I did get to chose color and style. I was thrilled though, when I saw the finished product. I looked a lot like JoJo Levesque at her best.
Janice, the makeup expert, spent a lot of time teaching me how to cover up the bruises on my face. I was amazed at what she could do. I could tell that I didn’t look quite right, but still I looked very nice, when she finished.
I got dressed in my new clothes again and received a touch up on my makeup. Shelia and the President of the Corporation then escorted us to the Gowns and Formals department. A podium and a low platform had been set up there. I was given a couple of awards (talk about déjá vu without the water balloons). The most important award to me was a painting given to me by Kathy. She had done it at home. It wasn’t a masterpiece, (it was as good as most children seven or eight can do) but it was the most beautiful painting in the world to me. It was more than enough that I could see her smiling again.
I was told to take as much time off as I wanted, paid, but I just couldn’t stay away more than two days. Mrs. Wilson smiled when she saw me come in.
“It’s so good seeing you come in Jackie,” she said.
“I was bored to death, as Mom and Julie were both at work. I hadn’t even told them that I was coming in.”
I got back to work. The funny thing about all of this craziness is. I know healing of bruising can take weeks, but by Friday it was hard to tell I was ever hurt.
Friday, Richard and I, along with Julie and Tim Walker, (her main squeeze, who had been away at a summer ROTC thing for college) went out to a teen dance club. I can’t remember having such a good time with my sister.
**************
August began my tour of duty in the salon. I helped keep the place clean, sweeping up hair and mopping. I also did a lot of shampoo jobs which was about all that I could do without a beauty license. I saw women at their highs and at their lows there. I learned to talk with them to ease their anxieties. I also learned what women will go through, to look nice for themselves and for those they care about. I earned the least in this department, but I enjoyed it the most, I think. I had long since paid my sister and Mom off.
I spent a lot of time considering how I wanted to look for Richard and the Cotillion. I planned it out in detail. I bought my own outfit from the skin out and talked extensively with Janice about my makeup and hair.
The day of the cotillion, Mom got a date too from work, Julie and I spent all day with a bunch of other ladies in the salon getting ready. The best I could describe that experience is organized chaos. A haphazard assembly line existed in the salon that day, but I have to hand it to the beauticians, they seemed to know what needed to be done next.
At home, the three of us hurriedly dressed, we had a little less than two hours to get ready. Our three dates William McNeal, (a lawyer I think Mom is sweet on), Tim Walker and of course Richard Parker would all be coming in a stretch limo. We were all running around trying to get ready.
Ten minutes before the guys arrived, Mom announced us, fit to be seen in public. Mom had Julie and me stay up stairs, until she called for us. We wanted to argue, but she said it was her right to present us.
Mom answered the door and let the gentlemen in. She insisted on talking to them for three minutes before she called us down. I could hear eyeballs popping out and jaws hitting the floor, when the guys finally saw us.
William, the dapper gentlemen was the first to talk, “I may have to have you two guys shot so that I can have all three of these women to myself. They are all such visions of loveliness.”
“They would be more than your heart could stand William, especially the young one. Just ask the guy who she put in jail,” Mom said.
“Yes, I heard about that.”
Each of the gentlemen presented their date with a color-coordinated corsage. It had to be Mom’s and William’s work. Mom had to take a thousand pictures of all of us; fortunately the camera had a delayed shutter, so she could get in them.
The Cotillion was magnificent. I was treated like royalty, because word of the rescue had reached most of the people there. I had to dance with a lot of the other guys there, but I cut them off, so I could dance with my date, Richard. The meal they served was excellent. I had never eaten gourmet fare before. Jack had been a hamburger fries, or steak and potato kind of guy.
Julie and I both rode home with our dates; it is hard to make out in front of your Mom. Richard and I didn’t really make out, but I did reward him with a few kisses, well more than a few. I got carried away, damn hormones. At least I was still a virgin when we got home. I am not so sure about Julie. She was more than a little disheveled and smiling like a Cheshire cat, of course she was nineteen and they were almost engaged.
I take that last bit back. I was the first to see her left hand. She was sporting a fist size rock on her ring finger. Well maybe a carat, or a half a carat. They all look so big when you first see them.
Mom went crazy; I just kissed her cheek. We both made her tell us all about it. The gist of it all is, that they weren’t getting married till after Tim gets out of officer training, in three years.
The last two weeks before school happened so fast and yet seemed to drag on. I was down to three tasks, then two tasks, before I began to despair.
The last day, nothing I did seemed to make a difference. That last task didn’t go away. The moon was to set a little after one in the morning. At about ten that night, I went out to sit in the swing we had on the back porch.
I don’t know if I was sad or glad that one task remained. I felt that I would miss being a girl. I had more real fun than I had ever had. At the same time, I felt like I had let my Mom and my sister down. I began to cry a bit.
Julie came out and sat beside me and we swung together for a while before she said anything.
“Are you ok Jackie?”
“Yeah, I guess I am. I am a little disappointed that I feel I let you and Mom down though. I still have one task left on my list and I don’t know what it is. Well, I guess I won’t be giving you all of those clothes after all, but you can borrow them anytime you want Julie.”
“You didn’t disappoint Mom and I, you were the best sister I could ever hope for, and we both love you. Jack or Jackie.”
“I know you do, and I know I haven’t said it enough, but I love you too sis,” I said and kissed her cheek.
When I kissed her cheek there was like this silent explosion. There really wasn’t an explosion, but we both knew what had happened. Although I was still a female, I knew that I had completed the last task. I looked at my list and there was nothing left to do. Mom, Nurse Carter and Mrs. Wilson had all come running out to us with smiles on their faces. We all went inside to talk about things.
The ladies found that the spell was still active, but some things had changed. They told me that I would slowly change over the night and be able to go to school as Jack. We found that all my girls’ clothes were now in Julie’s closet and now Jack had some really nice clothes. His grungy stuff was gone. All that was left of Jackie was her lingerie, they said that was probably there as a reminder.
After they scryed a bit, they told me that I was like on probation. If I lied or reverted back to my old ways, things could go feminine for me.
I went to bed that night in a sleep shirt, a garter belt, stockings and panties. I wanted to remember my last night.
I awoke the next morning as a femininely dressed Jack. It was about an hour before Jack usually got up to go to school. I quickly dressed as Jack and went down to fix Mom her breakfast. Mom kissed my cheek when she saw me. I noticed that I had grown four inches; I had broader shoulders, a muscular chest and strong arms and legs.
“You are so handsome today, Jack.”
“I hope I don’t look too preppy.”
“You don’t, I think you look quite nice.”
“Julie is up; she will be leaving for college at noon today. Go give her a hug. I know you’ll miss her and she will really miss you.”
She was still getting dressed when I stuck my head in her door. I expected her to throw something at me, she was only dressed in her panties and a bra, but she stopped what she was doing, dropped the clothes she selected on her bed and ran over to give me a hug and a kiss.
“Thank you for the best summer I have ever had Jack.”
“Thank you too Sis, can you at least put a robe on please.”
“Oh you have seen it all before,” she teased.
“Yeah but that was when I was hitting for your team.”
“You still are Jackie,” she teased again. “Just don’t go back to your old ways. I am not giving these clothes back.”
“Greedy bitch,” I teased back. I felt my nipples tingle a bit.
“Damn right,” she teased back.
“I will miss you more than you know Julie,”
“I will miss both of you Jack and Jackie.”
“Call me.”
“You too brat.”
We hugged and kissed again, and then I left her alone so she could dress.
In the garage I found my 70 Shelby Cobra Mustang in the garage. It probably looked better than it had when it was new. It was one hot car fully restored to a sensible new look. No fancy artwork paintjob, no hydraulics, just one sweet ride. It ran better than it ever had too. Purring like a kitten. I drove to school, leaving no rubber and at the speed limit.
School was wonderful this year. I use to dread going to school, I never saw any point to it. This year I saw how important it was and promised myself to work harder. I also found I wasn’t the pariah Jack had been the year before. I made a lot of new friends.
Things went well, that is till the fourth period. Ms. Winters stood and told us our first assignment. What I did on my summer vacation. It was to be complete as possible and to be turned in on Friday.
After school I checked with Mom, who talked to everyone else. Consensus was I had to tell the truth. I asked how and Mom got a gleam in her eye. Just tell the truth, who would believe it anyway.
So that may or may not be my story.
I felt my nipples tingle a bit as that last line was read. Ms Winters shuffled the reports and passed them out. When I got my paper back I had an A+ on it. There were no notes on the first page, but on the second page was a note. I know, underlined. You SKIRTED the issue, but nice job. You had better be a good boy all year or… Skirted was in red and underlined.
“Oh Jack, Rachel, Peggy and Gayle, you are all wanted at Mrs. Black’s office.”
I didn’t understand what Mrs. Black wanted with me. She was the Vice Principal that dealt with girls at our school, I took my pass from Ms Winters and with the girls I headed to the office. Mrs. Black was waiting for us and we went right in.
“Hello Jack, you look good. Keep up the good work. Have you wondered where your three friends from last year are?”
I looked incredulously at the girls I was with. Rachel had a big smile on her face. Peggy had a frown and Gayle wasn’t happy, but she had a half smile
“We didn’t know till they came to school either. Peggy and Gayle were already as you see them. Richard asked your Mom for help. He said it wasn’t fair that this happened to Pete and Gary alone. So now we have Rachel, and now you have more tasks. You are to help them better themselves.”
Her words echoed in my mind. I had a new list. This was my cost for my buddies.
My junior year was the best ever. Rachel and I grew closer. I couldn’t believe how beautiful she was and she was fun to be with. I became student body president, for my senior year.
Rachel became a splendid orator and actress in the schools drama class and was on the debate team.
Peggy got in the spirit (I made a funny) She became a cheerleader and eventually a Captain. Gayle became a strong member of the girl’s basketball team that won State.
The last day of the school term we were all back in Mrs.Black’s office.
“Peggy, because of your attack on Jackie, you are stuck as a girl.”
“That’s ok Mrs. Black I love what I have become.”
Gayle I see you are wearing your letter jacket for basketball. Tomorrow you will be Gary and you will have a letter jacket for the men’s team.”
“I really had a great time but I will be glad to be a guy again.”
“Now Rachel…”
“Stop Mrs. Black. I don’t want to be Richard. I lied to your Mom, Jack. I loved what you did for me last summer. I knew if you came back, it wouldn’t be the same between us. So I asked your mom if I could be a girl too. I love you Jack, I couldn’t love you the same way if I became a boy now. Don’t make me change back, Mrs. Black,”
We all felt the shift that came after Rachel finished talking. Nurse Carter was soon talking to Mrs. Black on the phone. I knew that Rachel was now my sweetheart.
The end
You Can Come Home Again, but…
by
Paula Dillon
Some people say you can't go home again. Stephanie Callaway was putting this axiom to the test. She was tired, she needed a place to live and she needed a home for her daughter Amy. Would there be a place for her at her parents home.
Stephanie Callaway was on a long drive home. She has spent twenty-two of the last ninety-six hours driving herself and her six-month old daughter in their 2001 Dodge Caravan, stopping often to take care of little Amy. Traveling with babies can be quite a harrowing experience. It was hard to get more than five hours driving, before the little one got irritated from being stuck in the carrier/car seat and breast feeding while parked on the highway wasn’t her favorite thing to do. Luckily the weather was nice, not hot or cold and she had no particular time schedule to arrive in Tacoma, Washington.
Stephanie had left home eight years ago. The arguing between her and her parents became too great. She had been eighteen at the time. She didn’t need curfews, rules about clothing and who she could date, she had jumped on the back of Timothy William’s Harley and they had hit the road, leaving Stella and Frank Callaway and her thirteen-year-old brother Cameron. Living on the road, had been mostly heaven for two years, that had slowly spun into a hell.
Timothy was a twenty-one-year-old motorcycle/diesel engine repairman and got jobs at random locations, on the road. Stephanie had her college tuition money and had taken random jobs as a waitress or a housekeeper along the way.
They had worked their way south along the Pacific coast and then turned east along Interstate 10. Never staying in one city more than four to six months, except for Winslow Arizona, where they stayed a little over a year and Van Horn Texas where they spent the last two years.
Surprisingly the money had been very good in Van Horn. Timothy got a job working at a big truck stop servicing big diesel rigs and repairing Harley Davidson motorcycles. Stephanie worked as a maid at one or another of the big motels cleaning rooms for half a day and as a waitress at one of the many diners in that city.
She often told herself that things were going fine between her and Timothy, but she knew that was a lie. She had seen the signs that Timothy was beginning to stray and they were arguing like husbands and wives do. It all came to a head when she announced to Timothy that she thought she was pregnant. Timothy stayed with her just two more months. When she woke up one morning, he and his things in their apartment were gone.
She worked through her pregnancy, right up until three weeks before Amy was born. She had actually been able to set aside a fair amount of money. After Amy was born though, it became harder to work, take care of her baby and to keep the apartment they lived in clean. Long hours of worry and strain were beginning to show in her face. She found a few gray hairs amongst her auburn mane and she was only twenty-six.
After much thought, consideration and soul searching, she felt she owed Amy a chance at life. She decided to go home with her tail dragging between her legs, to see if she could move back in with her parents, till she could get back on her feet. Her parents weren’t wealthy, but they made a very good living. It would be good to see them and Cameron. She would ask their forgiveness and beg them to let her come back home. So, when Amy was just six months old, they hit the road on the long drive to what she hoped was home.
Stephanie was about ten miles away from home, she was amazed at how different the area looked from when she had last been here. There were many places she recognized, but there were new businesses, streets, homes and amenities there than when she lived in the area. She wondered if she would be able to find the place she grew up in. Finally, she saw the road that led to their subdivision and took the left turn that would bring her home in the next ten minutes.
Their home sat on the edge of a cliff, the topology of the area meant that there weren’t cookie cutter homes set apart by eight to ten feet. Their neighbors on the same side of the street were no closer than seventy feet and across the street, a home was thirty feet north and ninety feet south. This area hadn’t changed much. This was a neighborhood of business professionals, who earned well in excess of a hundred grand a year.
She slowed almost to a crawl when she saw her home appear around a distant curve. She was almost home. She almost chickened out and drove by. She had sold everything she had and she could afford a cheap apartment on the other side of the track, so to speak, but she knew without help, Amy’s future would be bleak. Gutting it up, she turned into the driveway. She was ashamed of her well-worn, beaten up Caravan. If there was an old car in this neighborhood, it was restored or soon to be restored old car. She had passed a shiny-near showroom quality 64 mustang, just moments earlier.
She took time to take care of little Amy, changed her smelly diaper, took a wet wipe and gave her a daughter a quick cleanup before doing the same with her face.
>>>>><<<<<
Cameron was sitting in the living room watching TV, when he saw the lights of a car and heard its engine. He was up on his feet and moving towards the door, when he heard the car door slam. There hadn’t been any visitors in a while other than his neighbor Nadia Green and he wondered who it could be. He turned on the porch light and opened the door just as Stephanie was approaching.
Stephanie’s heart dropped as she saw a girl she didn’t recognize and hoped that she was Cameron’s girlfriend.
“Hello, I am Stephanie Callaway, I use to live here. Do the Callaway’s still live here?”
Cameron’s jaw hung open. He hadn’t seen his sister in eight years, could this actually be his sister she looked so different.
“Steph is that really you?” the girl said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Cameron launched herself forward to hug Steph.
Stephanie had a look of confusion on her face, as she looked at this gorgeous girl, coming toward her. The girl was standing almost six feet tall because she wore stiletto sandals. She wore a white, off the shoulder blouse with bell sleeves which exposed a bit of cleavage and the top curves of some really nice breasts. Her swimsuit tan was clearly visible. She wore a maroon knee length skirt that spoke of quality. She wore hose of some kind and with her heels. The girl’s hair was luscious and longer than her own. Her makeup looked professional even down to the polish on her long nails.
Stephanie hugged the girl to keep from losing her balance, setting the baby carrier down. The girl’s voice rang in her ears with a familiarization, “Cameron is that you?” She asked, but already knew the answer. Her reality was rocked.
“Oh my God, Stephanie come on in, please come in. Oh my gosh let me help you.” Cameron said, her tears falling like rain. Cameron picked up the baby carrier and ushered Stephanie in to the living room. She set the baby carrier carefully on the coffee table and turned and hugged Stephanie again, bawling, “Oh Stephanie it is so good seeing you. I have been so alone for so long. I have missed you so much.”
“I have missed you too runt. Where are Mom and Dad? And why do you look like my sister, instead of my brother?” Stephanie said, while she rubbed Cameron’s back. She found he was wearing a corset.
They broke their hug, Cameron’s makeup was a mess and her eyes were red from crying, “I will tell you everything, but first I need to take care of the two of you. Is Timothy waiting in the car?”
“No it is just the two of us. Timothy left me last year.”
“Well you are welcome here. I hoped and prayed that you would come back, it’s why I kept this home, so you could find me. You must be hungry; I have some lasagna in the fridge let me nuke it for you.”
“I am hungry and that sounds so good. Just give me a coke and let me breast feed Amy.”
Cameron went and got Stephanie a coke as Stephanie was unbuttoning her blouse.
“Amy is just so adorable, how old is she?” Cameron asked, as she began working on getting her sister something to eat.
“She is six months old, she was born on the first of March. She was the only good thing Timothy did for me in the last year. Now tell me where are Mom and Dad.”
Cameron sighed as she set a nice plate of food in front of her sister, “Dad passed away a few months before I turned fifteen and it was just Mom and I. He worked himself to death, working ten to fifteen hours a day. Mom passed a couple of months after I graduated from high school.”
“So how did you end up like this Cameron? You were a cute boy, the last time I saw you,” Stephanie said, taking care to clean up little Amy and putting her on the couch beside her.
Tears began to fall from Cameron’s face as she told her story, “Well it is a long story. I guess it really started a few months after Dad died. Mom was still working as a graphic designer and I was home since school was out for the summer. There weren’t many kids my age in the neighborhood and it was miles away from anything I really wanted to do. I spent my time on the computer, surfing the internet and just moping around the house. I did keep the grass mowed, took the trash out and kept the place sort of clean. I owed Mom that much. I got bored one day and I wandered into your room. I missed you so much, Steph. I cried for months, blaming myself for you leaving. Maybe I had been too much of a pest to you.”
“It was never about you Cameron, I was just a rebellious teen who had just gotten her wings and I wanted to fly. All of Mom and Dad’s rules seemed Draconian to me. I couldn’t see that they only wanted the best for me. I do now. And even though I picked on you, I always liked having you around.”
“Well anyways, getting back to my story. I was lonely and missed you so much, I wandered into your room, so I could get closer to the you I remembered. I can’t describe what happened, I guess I was on autopilot or something. Do you remember that black lace baby doll negligee and peignoir you had?”
Stephany gave a soft giggle, thinking about her brother wearing that negligee, “I loved that thing, it made me feel sexy. Mom nearly hit the roof when I brought it home from the lingerie store. I think I bought it just to get a rise from her.”
“I remember looking at the negligee and peignoir on your bed. I don’t remember getting undressed, but I do remember looking in the mirror, at myself, wearing the negligee and peignoir. It felt good and I looked good wearing it. I had never thought of myself as being a girl, but looking at myself it felt right.”
Steph held her hand up to stop Cameron for a second and thought about what she remembered about her thirteen-year-old brother. How he looked, how he dressed and how he acted. She remembered how he loved to grow his hair long. His hair had probably been as long as her hair had been back then. She remembered how he had always paid attention to how she looked and dressed, he seemed to co-ordinate his clothing and dress more androgynously than guys she knew.
“Looking back Cameron I can see it in you. You always looked so cute, almost pretty. You never dressed up like a macho male.”
Cameron smiled thinking back to those times and knew what she was talking about. He never liked to look messy or unkempt. He spent a lot of time brushing his hair just so, before coming out of his room. He liked his hair free and loose flowing around his head.
“So, go on Cameron, tell me what happened.”
“Well Mom didn’t catch me that time. I started wearing a lot of your clothing. I knew you had a big bust, Stephanie, but I didn’t know you were a 34DD. I tried stuffing the cups of your bras, but that didn’t work out. The band was a little big on me back then, but I couldn’t get over just how big your breasts were. Shit, I need to go on with the story and not get locked in on breasts.”
Stephany looked down at his breasts when he said that. She thought he, no she could probably fill those cups now.
“Well, I started wearing your bikini bathing suits and sunning myself on the back porch, dreaming about being with you where-ever you were. I developed some very interesting tan lines. I shaved my pits, legs and arms, I didn’t have any facial hair. I practiced walking in your heels, they were still a little bit big on me back then. Tell me Steph, how did you ever walk in those five-inch heels?”
Stephany again giggled, “It wasn’t easy, it took a lot of practice and sore feet, but I did it to get at the ‘rents. Stripper heels Dad called them. They looked fantastic with my blue jersey micro-mini dress.”
“I can’t believe you went out with Timothy wearing that dress, you could hardly move in that dress without flashing your panties.”
“I was a little wanton back then. I got over it. Please skip those parts. I don’t want to remember what an ass I had been.”
“Sorry, well one day, I put on that black negligee and peignoir, tied my hair with one of your big ribbons, did my makeup and laid down on your bed. I fell asleep. Mom came home and began searching for me. She found me laying there. She stared at me long enough to tell I was breathing. She saw the makeup, hair and my epic tan lines. You know how fair I had been, well I was now a golden brown except for the bra and panty tan lines.”
Stephany just had to giggle as she could picture that happening in her mind, “What happened did she blow a fuse.”
“No while I was still asleep, she took off her heels, skirt, jacket and blouse and crawled on bed with me. She hugged me tightly and then fell asleep with me.”
“Oh my, I bet she didn’t know what to do and was afraid of losing you too.”
“That is almost exactly what she told me later. We both woke up, at about the same time. It was late, but the sun was still up. I was petrified, but mom got up and stared at me. “Well are you going to get up Cameron, by the way you look so good, dear. Get up, fix your face and put on a skirt and blouse. We will figure out what we want to do about dinner,” she calmly told me. She picked up her things and left heading to her room.
“Well, I stood there for more than a few minutes thinking about what had just happened and then I got to work. It took me almost an hour to get cleaned up, do my makeup and get dressed up, as requested. Mom was almost fidgeting with her hair or skirt when I came out of your room, Steph. She told me I looked nice. She tut tutted me when she didn’t see a bra. I told her to think about what you looked like. She sat there a few minutes and said, Oh right. She ordered a pizza, Italian sausage, bell peppers and mushrooms, my favorite. We had a long talk that night, before we went to bed. Short story, she took me to a psychiatrist and I started transitioning to being a girl.”
Stephany was exhausted, her eyelids were drooping, “Cameron, I need to ask if I can come home, not just for my benefit, but for Amy Calloway too. I don’t have anybody else to turn to.”
“Please, stay here with me Stephanie. Don’t go away again. I have been so alone since Mom passed. I stayed here hoping for this day.”
“Are you sure you want me to stay, Cameron? I abandoned you eight years ago, I am so sorry,” Stephanie said.
“Don’t even think about it Sis. The hope of seeing you again kept me alive.”
“Which room do you stay in?”
“Take any room you want, I am in your room right now, I can move. I cleared out all my boy things, you can take my room or our parents room. I don’t care, it’s just so good to have you back again.”
Stephanie thought for a minute, “Amy and I will take our parents old room then, since it is larger. Amy sleeps most nights now, but she may want to feed tonight.”
Cameron hugged Stacy again.
Stephanie kissed his forehead, “Do you still go by Cameron or do you have another girl name?”
“No Cameron can be a girl’s name too. I still go by Cameron.”
Cameron made a pillow wall around Amy on the king size bed, as Stephanie stripped down to her bra and panties. She was asleep soon after her head hit the pillow.
Cameron took Steph’s keys from her purse. She moved his mom’s SUV out of the garage and drove Steph’s van into the garage. She got to work washing their clothes and baby things and made a couple of bottles of formula. It was after midnight before Cameron laid happily down to sleep.
Stephanie slept through the night. It was her leaking breasts that woke her at nine. Her breasts were full and now her bra was soggy with milk. Amy wasn’t beside her, but she wasn’t worried. She got up and cleaned her chest with a wash cloth after taking care of her needs. She then went to find little Amy.
Stephanie was shocked when she saw him. Cameron was wearing a sheer baby doll and black lace pattern panties, playing with little Amy.
“Hand Amy to me, my breasts are leaking like a sieve.”
“I fed her half a bottle an hour ago, Steph.”
“She will still take my milk. Tell me Cameron is that all your breasts or are you wearing silicone?” Stephanie let out a sigh as Amy began to feed.
“Half and half, I got breast implants for a B cup at sixteen and after I started hormones at seventeen I quickly grew to a D cup. I am a full 38 D,”
“What surgery did you have? Your face looks different.”
“Starting at the top, I had hairline correction, forehead reconstruction, cheek implants, rhinoplasty, lip implants, Jaw reshaped, Adam’s apple shaved and of course breast implants.”
“You are gorgeous Cami,” Steph said as she switched which breast Amy fed from.
“You are pretty gorgeous too Stephany.”
“Now don’t lie to me Cameron, I am getting gray hair, I have crow’s feet and bags under my eyes. My breasts are beginning to sag and I am thirty pounds heavier than when I left home.”
“And you are still pretty in my eyes.”
That earned Cami a smile and a kiss to her cheek, “Can you give Amy a bath while I take one too?”
“Sure, I would love too.”
“You might want to get dressed. If she sees them jugs, she might latch on to your nipples.”
“Already happened sis, that is why I fed her the bottle.”
Stephanie went to her parent’s room and drew her bath adding some of her Mom’s bath salts. Her hands and toes were well pruned before she washed herself and shaved her legs and pits. She wrapped a towel around her and exited the bathroom to ask Cameron to get her, her bags. Instead she found all of her clothes all washed, neatly folded and placed neatly on the bed. All of her things had been dirty, she had just hoped to pick the cleanest of the dirty. She shed a tear of gratitude.
She dressed and came out of the bedroom to the smell of bacon and eggs. She cried again because it was such a heavenly aroma. Little Amy was on the carpeted floor playing with her toys and Cameron was just putting a couple of plates of food at the breakfast nook.
“You look wonderful Steph; did you have a good bath?”
Stephanie in answer just gave Cameron the most bone crushing hug she could, “Thank you baby sis, for all you have done, for me and Amy.”
“I won’t be crass and say think nothing about it sis, but you don’t know how much your coming home has done for me.”
Cameron made to lattes for them as Stephanie sat down to eat.
“Ooh lattes, when did you get so fancy?”
“I don’t have to work, but my therapist insisted. I manage a coffee shop in town. I called my district manager this morning and told her I had a family emergency. When I told her that you had returned for the first time in eight years, she put me on two weeks’ vacation.”
Stephanie sat and ate her breakfast. When she finished eating, she feed Amy who was happy to get her breast milk from the tap. Stephanie used a hand pump to express the rest of her breast milk.
“Don’t tell me you manage one of those coffee shops.”
“Yes, ma’am mom insisted that I start working, dressed as a girl, when I was sixteen and now I am the manager.”
“How did that go, sis?”
“It was rough at first, Gloria, my manager was a life saver. She fired three people, kids like me, that were ragging on me being a sissy freak. I hate that word, Sissy. I just wanted to be a girl. She read the whole shop the Sexual Harassment riot act. She stated that it applied to all LGBT people too. After the second month it became a non-issue there. We need to go shopping. Forgive my French, but your clothes and hairdo suck girl.”
Stephany laughed so hard tears began to fall, “Oh the irony, getting fashion and beauty corrections from my brother come sister. I have some money, but I need a job first.”
“Sis, Dad wrote you out of his will after you left. On the advice of her attorney, Mom didn’t list you in her will. The lawyer said it could complicate things if you didn’t come home in twenty or thirty years. I would have to have you declared dead to be able to sell the home and to get access to the funds that would be held in trust till you were declared dead. I have all their money and property. I will gladly share it with you.”
“How much do you have?” Stephanie asked.
“Mom got about three fourths of what was dad’s, the rest was in a trust for me. Mom still went to work and let dad’s investments grow. A couple of his stock picks really skyrocketed. When Mom passed away from liver issues, she really put down the wine, Steph, she always had a glass in her hand. Nothing I did could get her to stop drinking when she finally got home for the day. The money from life insurance, bank accounts, investments and real property was about thirty-three million dollars. If you want to, we will split that down the middle.”
Stephany was in shock, she didn’t know whether to believe Cameron or not, but why would she lie. There was no logical reason for her to not believe her.
“Just give me fifty thousand and let me see if I can handle that kind of money. I don’t want to go apeshit on you and blow it all.”
“Alright I can understand that. Let’s go shopping on me first,” Cameron got on her cell phone and placed a call, “Do you have room for a spa day… Good put down Stephany Calloway for the works, we will be there at ten-thirty.”
Turning to Stephany, Cameron said, “You can nurse Amy there at the salon, then she and I are going to have fun, while you go into the mechanic’s shop. I will try to get back before Amy gets too hungry, but I have two bottles of formula. If she can’t get to you, just express your milk. You won’t be the first nursing mother to go there.”
“But…”
“What was it Mom used to say, when she was getting her way. Steph there are no butts, just do as you are told.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Now get yourself purtied up. Check Mom’s clothes, I still have all her things in her closet. We have an hour to get to the salon. I will take you there in panties and a bra, if you are not ready.”
Stephany went to the bedroom and just like Cameron said, her mother’s things were all there. She tried on one of her skirted suits and a pretty blouse and found them to just be a smidgen large. She put on a garter belt, stockings, suit and heels. Stephany was amazed, she looked good and she had become her mom. At least figure wise.
Cameron wore a white silk poets blouse with lots of frills around the neck and down the front. Her skirt was just above the knee, black, white, yellow, pink and red floral printed, chiffon, pleated skirt. She wore some kind of hose and black pumps. She wore dangle earrings made of a dozen tiny sliver rods, three necklaces, that looked chic together, with a platinum Rolex on her left wrist and a silver cuff on her right and finally a large silver/amethyst ring on one hand and a silver London Blue topaz ring on the other hand. Her hair and makeup were exquisitely done in a daytime appropriate look.
Stephanie had a mile-wide smile on her face as she came out. Cameron hugged her before they headed out. Stephanie was surprised to see that Cameron had already moved Amy’s baby seat/carrier in a white Mercedes GLE. It looked almost new, even though she thought it was a couple of years old. Cameron carried Amy and got her all locked in place and they drove off.
. “Oh my god, Cameron. I can’t believe how girlie you are now. Also, be careful around Amy with those dangly earrings. She’ll pull on them.”
“I like the girly, but not an over the top drag queen look. Many ‘male to female’ transgender people go way too far to express their femininity.”
“I know what you mean. Who taught you?”
“The internet and Nadia Petrovka.”
“Was she still Mom’s hairdresser? You know she’s not really Russian.”
“No, she’s not Ukrainian. There are some Russian Petrovka’s, but it is mainly a Ukrainian Surname. I know, she chose the name when she became a hair dresser, she had the look, could fake the accent and the name sounded exotic. She did my hair and taught me how to do my makeup.”
“I wondered about that. The look suits you, more refined, lady-like and sophisticated. I feel absolutely drab next to you.”
Cameron dropped Stephany off with Nadia. She told her not to let her take any shortcuts in the process. Nadia let Stephanie nurse little Amy, then she and Aunt Cameron were off to see the wizard, while Stephanie was in Nadia’s capable hands.
She and Nadia talked about everything and nothing, except not a word was spoken about her Mom, Dad and Cameron’s transition.
Nadia did Steph’s hair and facial treatment. Stephanie got an updated hairdo that did wonders for her looks, a perm and a dye job to give her a rich auburn head of hair. The facial helped with her facial signs of aging. Amy came in at two-thirty to get a refill from the pump and then off again with her crazy Aunt Cameron.
Then came the spa treatments, a defoliation, mud bath, a hot stone treatment, massage and stunning makeup job. Steph was in hog heaven. She had never felt as pampered. Aunt Cameron and Amy showed up with a suit bag and a rolling suitcase. The suitcase had a complete set of new lingerie, jewelry from her mom’s collection and a new Dooney and Bourke hobo bag in a rich pebbled burgundy, an iPhone, and blue pumps, which she put on after feeding Amy again. Everything fit perfectly, even the heels. Inside the suit bag was a royal blue lace evening dress and matching blue lace shawl for nursing, that took Stephanie’s breath away. The dress was gorgeous.
Nadia touched up Stephanie’s make up a bit and had managed to take years off her looks. Stephany came in looking like she was in her late thirties and left out looking like her early twenties.
She felt an energy she hadn’t felt in over four years. It was like she was alive again.
It took Stephanie a half hour to set up her new purse and wallet. Inside the wallet was a new dollar bill sealed in plastic, so she would always have a dollar to her name. When she asked about it, Cameron told her that you don’t give a wallet as a present without putting some money in it. Nadia took her iPhone and took a bunch of photos of Stephanie, Amy and Cameron alone and together. Cameron showed Stephanie how to use her iPhone.
They left the salon at six thirty, and headed out to a nice seafood restaurant. Where they both had seafood salads. The salads were scrumptious, Stephanie slowly took each bite savoring the flavors.
“You know, you are being too nice to me, Cameron,” Stephanie said.
“Nonsense, haven’t you ever heard the story of the Prodigal son, well you are the Prodigal Sister. I need you as much or more than you needed me. I know we might not live together for the rest of our lives, but I need you to be family with me now. The sister that was gone, has now come home. Kill the fatted calve, put a ring on your finger and a robe on your shoulder. The whole nine yards and such. Although you didn’t take your inheritance with you, when you left.”
Suddenly Stephanie didn’t feel so bad about being away and she felt a great love for her sister, “You know from that story, I never understood what the fatted calve did, to deserve dying.”
Crazy Aunt Cameron began laughing, which caused Amy to laugh and wave her arms about, her face covered with crumbles of the Zwieback biscuits she had been gnawing on.
On the drive home they stopped by Cameron’s coffee shop. They arrived just as the shop was getting ready to close. The district manager, Helen Bark, was there talking with the assistant manager. All of the female employees there had a hug for Cameron and Stephanie and just had to make a fuss over little Amy.
Stephanie actually knew Kate Wambaugh, the assistant manager and one of the girls working there. They had a good chat after the assistant manager cleared all the registers and made her deposits up.
When they got home, there was a small mountain of things in the living room, baby things.
“I have to tell you something about little Amy. She nearly run me ragged shopping. That girl really has the shopping gene. Look at all the stuff she just had to have.”
“Oh, I am sure she just had to have all this stuff, but it’s more likely that her crazy Aunt Cameron, that tried to corrupt my poor little daughter. Play with her Cameron, I really want to give her, her bath today if you please. I had a fun day and I want Amy to have fun with me. I hate having to take this lovely dress off, but I don’t need Amy peeing on it.”
Stephanie went to her bedroom and saw the new baby bed. It was beautiful, she smiled and cried as she undressed and cleaned her face. In one of the drawers she found one of her mom’s lacy nightgowns and put that on, along with a satin robe and a pair of mules. When she came back to the living room, Cameron had undressed Amy down to her diaper and had put a baby tub in the sink. Stephanie ran the water till it got warm and then filled the tub. She undiapered a stinky diaper, cleaned Amy up and put her in the tub. Amy played in the water a little bit before Steph bathed her daughter.
Once she had Amy diapered, she nursed her and dressed her in a nightgown that Cameron had selected for her. She then put her to bed, and sat down to talk with Cameron.
“So how did you hook up with Nadia?”
Cameron was folding clothes as she answered, “You know Nadia was Mom’s hairdresser.”
“Yes, she did my hair a time or three too.”
“Well, Mom and Nadia would play golf twice a month on Sundays, they often came here after a round to gossip and drink a glass of wine. Sometimes I would be here too and I would act as their waitress. It was fun and I got a small glass of wine too. After Mom died she made it her mission to not let me waste away. She helped me polish my presentation as a real lady and was there when I went to the hospital for surgery.”
“Did you have surgery down there,” she said pointing to her crotch.
“Not yet, I didn’t want to be helpless alone. That surgery takes longer to heal from. I talked to Helen about it. She is training a new assistant manager, Kate will manage the present store and I will get a new store when I am back on my feet again. Helen has been totally supportive of me.”
Stephanie wrapped Cameron up in a hug and said, “I can’t promise that we will always be together, but I won’t abandon you Sis. I will try to always be in your life when you need me.”
“Anyways Nadia also got me out and working and volunteering too. I spend five hours a Saturday refereeing girls’ soccer in Olympia. Those girls can be vicious. I can’t believe they are referred too, as the weaker or gentler sex. One eight-year-old girl kicked me in the shins when I yellow carded her.”
Stephanie had to laugh, she knew exactly what Cameron was talking about, “I bet you red carded her.”
“Damn straight, she got suspended from the league. That was a real shame because she was such a talented soccer player.”
Cameron made Stephanie pump as much milk as she could. One of the new things Cameron had bought was an electric dual breast pump. Stephanie had used one of the manual pumps when she had worked and Amy was being baby sat.
Cameron locked up and they both went to bed at about ten, just before the news.
When they got up the next morning, they ate, Steph fed Amy and then pumped once more. The pump really emptied out her breasts better than they have ever been. Cameron told Stephany to dress in a loose skirt, blouse and flats, which she did. Cameron then gave Stephanie a prepaid debit card, that was attached to her personal checking account.
“Now this is a debit card, but if you need more I can authorize the bank to increase the deposit on the card.” Then she handed Stephanie a thick envelope. “The envelope has five thousand dollars in hundreds. Take some out and put it in your wallet. Then you are going shopping for yourself. I am executing my right as an aunt to babysit Amy. I have enough milk and stuff for her. Don’t come home without a complete wardrobe for yourself and don’t shop Walmart. We have a nice mall that has a Vicky’s, a Nordstrom and a Macy’s. You know where it is. Amy and I will be good till three or four. Here are the keys to the Mercedes.”
“Will that leave you without wheels?”
“No, while I didn’t go crazy after I got my inheritance. Santa brought me a new car, and I traded in my Mini-Cooper,” Cameron said taking Stephanie into the garage.
There next to her ratty old Dodge Caravan was a fairly new Porsche Panamera 4S.
“I see Santa was very nice to you. You must have been a very good girl.”
“Girls don’t kiss and tell.”
“Girl I have got a lot to teach you about girls.” Steph said kissing Cameron’s cheek.
“And I want to learn,”
They hugged and then Stephany got dressed. She put ten of the hundred-dollar bills in her wallet, with the debit card. The pin was her and Cameron birthdays rearranged of course.
She easily found the mall with Cameron’s directions, without using the GPS built in the car. It felt strange, good and frightening being out alone, shopping. She felt guilty about leaving little Amy, but she was certain Cameron would be good to her. The mall was huge, but nice. She took thirty minutes to walk around just the first floor and to read the mall map pillar.
First, she hit a lingerie shop, she got nursing bras, panties, garter belts, stockings and sleepwear. It was nice to have something that wasn’t about to fall apart from wear. She even got some sexier, prettier and softer things. It was also nice to have things that fit well. Pregnancy does a lot of things to your body that don’t disappear too fast afterwards. She changed into a clean set of lingerie and threw her old stuff away in the store.
She hit Nordstrom’s next. Stopping at the makeup counter first. She hit the Lancome and MAC counters. The techs treated her like a queen seeing just how much she was buying. She spent a cool thousand dollars getting everything she needed and got lots of freebies, along with a makeover. Her debit card worked perfectly. She felt good about herself when she left.
She went from the makeup counters into the depth of the lady’s department. Nordstrom was a mid to lower high end, fashion store. You could spend from fifty dollars to eight hundred or more on a blouse there.
She walked around to get a feel for the store and investigate the various departments within the ladies’ department. There was an area for business professionals, sportswear, sophisticated chic, evening wear, club wear, teens, women, lingerie, shoes, accessories, jewelry. She stopped to think about what she wanted. She wanted some everyday at home clothes, a suit or two, sportswear, she really needed to exercise so she could get her figure in shape. While she was considering things, a lady came up to her to ask if she needed any help.
The voice caught her attention sounding familiar. She looked at the lady and was deep in thought.
“I know who you are, do you know who I am?” Steph said smiling.
Linda Jenkins, the business professional manager looked at the lady till her eyes got really big, “Stephanie, Stephany Callaway, is that really you.”
“Yes, it is really me. Long time no see girl.”
“I heard you left town girl. Shame on you. How are you doing?”
“I lost my way for a while, been in Portland, Sacramento, Fresno, LA, Phoenix, Winslow, Las Cruces, San Antonio and Van Horn.”
“Are you still with that guy, what was his name… Timothy?”
“No, he left me like the scumbag he was when I got pregnant. I have a baby girl, now, Amy is her name.” Stephanie said, pulling out her iPhone.”
“Oh, my she is sooo cute and there is Cameron. How is she doing?”
“Cameron, what can I say about her. I think she saved me for one thing. I have had a lot of shocks to my system since I pulled into our driveway.”
“We can talk later girl, do you need any help?”
“Yes, I apparently need a new wardrobe from skin out, according to Cameron. I already hit lingerie and makeup. It’s just I need so much, I don’t know where to start.”
“How does one eat an elephant?” Linda asked, “One bite at a time,” she said, answering her own question.
Linda took her into the suit department, then into sophisticated chic, into sportswear etc. etc. etc. not buying the whole store but a nice selection of what she really needed. When the register stopped smoking she had fourteen large store bags and two suit bags. Linda took a break and helped her carry her things to her car.
“Stephanie, it is really good seeing you back. I am so sorry you had to learn about your mother and father this way, but it is good that Cameron got to see you and be a good sister to you.”
“I need her too right now. I took a big shot to my ego and I want to learn how to be a sister to Cameron.”
Linda took a card out of her purse and scribbled her phone number on it, “Call me tonight or tomorrow night. I get home at ten. Don’t make me come after you.”
“I promise to call, you tonight. I need to go home now, I am starting to leak.”
Linda hugged Stephanie and waved as she drove off.
When Stephanie got home, she parked in the drive and came in the front door. She could hear Cameron singing to Amy and accompanying herself on a guitar. She sang Shakira’s “Try Everything”. Cameron was sitting on the floor next to Amy’s playpen serenading her daughter. Amy was smiling, giggling and clapping, while she was playing with a toy. Stephanie was amazed at the pitch and range of Cameron’s voice. She had a good strong mezzo voice, she had a little trouble with some of the high soprano notes, but she carried the song quite well.
Cameron’s play was very good; Stephanie thought that Cameron could play professionally with a little work. Amy was loving it all and was beating out the percussion with a plastic ring. Cameron looked up and smiled at Stephanie who just stood there watching. When Cameron finished the song she was signing, she launched into another song, “Love is an Open Door”. Stephanie joined her singing Hans’s part. Little Amy joined in, adding percussion with her plastic ring.
When they finished, Stephanie hugged her sister, “You’re pretty good, Cameron. I like your voice.”
“Nadia told me to sing some female lead songs to help me develop a better female talking voice. She knew I played guitar so she had me play and sing. I can sing Adele’s songs pretty easily; she has a lower pitched voice. Christine Aguilera’s songs can give me fits. By the way, you look wonderful.”
Stephanie primped and posed a bit, “I need a forklift to unload the SUV. I think. Let me feed Amy and then can you help me sis.”
“We can sure do that.”
Cameron sat and watched Amy suck on her sister’s breast.
“I met Linda Jenkins at Nordstrom today.”
“Mom introduced her to me. She was in your class at school, wasn’t she?”
“No, she was in the next class above mine. She was a senior when I was a junior. She helped me to be a little more sensible at shopping. It can be a little daunting buying a complete wardrobe.”
Amy fell asleep while she was eating. Stephanie gave her a little encouragement to finish the second breast, before she put her down in her new bed.
It took the two girls four trips to get everything in from the SUV. First, they cleaned out closet space and drawer space for Stephanie’s new clothes. They put most of their parent’s old clothes into leaf bags, to donate to goodwill. Stephanie kept a few of her mother’s things that she could wear and they began to organize and put up her new things. Cameron worked on drawers while Stephanie hung clothes in her closets.
They stopped for a bite, before hitting their mother’s vanity. Cameron was quite a good cook.
“Mom taught me the basics of cooking and then began teaching me some advanced techniques. I am still not as good a cook as I want to be, but I can hold my own.”
“You are better than most of the hash slingers, I worked with in a couple of dozen diners.”
Stephanie began talking about the things that happened in her life, from the time she left Tacoma. She spoke of the jobs she had taken in dozens of cities, to buy beer and gasoline for their Harley, or rather Timothy’s Harley.
“Timothy was actually quite good on motorcycle repair and diesel engine mechanic. He could have made a good living if he had only settled down in one place or another, but after a few months he would be bitten by the wanderlust bug and we would be off. We actually settled down for a year in Winslow and two years in Van Horn, but he wasn’t ready to be a father and took off as soon as I got pregnant.”
It was a quarter of ten when they finished with the vanity, emptied a dresser in the guest room and put Amy’s new things away.
“I think I will move Amy into the guest room, in a couple of weeks. I want to make sure she gets settled in first. Moving is very hard on a baby. We need to find doctors.”
“I can help you there, Sis. I see too many. There is Lois my psychologist, James my GP, William my endocrinologist, Samantha was my facial surgeon and David was my boob man. James Daughtry can be your GP he is good. Mom and I both used him. You need what, a OB/GYN, and a Pediatrician also, right.”
“Oh my. You certainly see a lot of doctors, and yes I need an OB/GYN and a Pediatrician for Amy.”
“Part and parcel of being a transgender person, Stephanie. I will see maybe another two when I go in for bottom surgery. Another surgeon and maybe a urologist.”
“You must let me help you, Cameron. I missed so much of your life. I feel guilty that I wasn’t here for you. I need to make a call, Linda asked me to call her tonight.”
Stephanie took out her cell phone and called Linda. They chatted for the better part of an hour. Linda invited her, Cameron and Amy to go golfing Sunday after two.”
The next morning Cameron again woke first. She and Stephanie both slept late. Amy woke when Cameron came to check on her. She first took care of the diaper and took Amy to the lunch wagon. Stephanie was in that twilight place half-awake/half-asleep, when Cameron handed Amy to her. She then made them coffee and toast with jam. Stephanie came into the kitchen still feeding Amy for her coffee.
When everyone was fed and human they went to dress in shorts, polo shirts, socks and sport shoes. Cameron then drove them to a Driving Range/Golf Pro shop, taking their mom’s bag of clubs. They both bought new golf shoes and visors. The Pro helped Cameron select a new set of clubs, a set of Ping Pro series. Stephanie had to buy a new putter because Cameron was attached to the one in her bag. The Pro also re-shafted a couple of Stephanie’s clubs, after checking her stance and swing. He re-shafted her driver, fairway wood, her three and five irons. He then gave them both vouchers for a bucket of balls. They each bought three boxes of 15 new balls and a large bag of second chance balls (the balls that some skin diver retrieved from water hazards), golf gloves and some accessories they both needed.
They walked out to the range and cashed in their vouchers. They took turns hitting balls Cameron would drive a few balls and then trade out with Stephanie doing baby duty while Stephanie would drive some balls.
Cameron was first driving. She took her new clubs and set a ball on the tee. After waggling a bit, she swung and looked deep. Stephanie laughed which got Amy giggling. Cameron had intentionally missed the ball. She faked being startled when she saw her ball still on the tee. She swung again and nailed it about a hundred eighty-five yards in the air, the ball bounded and rolled another twenty-five yards, it faded to the right about ten yards off her line. Cameron hit about four more, her best shot about two hundred-forty yards mostly online.
Stephanie didn’t do quite as well; it had been about nine years since she had last golfed. Her first shot was a hook about a hundred yards down and almost as far left.
“Wow that was a great shot for a dogleg left, sis.”
Stephanie laughed, “Yeah right, I played it that way, sis.”
Her next few shots were better and after a few more rounds, she felt much more comfortable. She was hitting them closer to line and about one hundred seventy to one hundred eighty yards.
Cameron’s short iron shots were really good. With her wedges she got a lot of backspin when she wanted it. Stephanie was only fair with her irons. They both did well when they went to the putting green. Cameron could really read the greens well on her long puts and Stephanie could drill the cup from ten to fifteen feet.
They left when Amy started to get a little grumpy. They drove to a park and setup a pallet in the shade for her to lay on and play. Stephanie fed her a bottle that she had expressed that morning.
They sat down on a blanket.
“I am so sorry Cameron, if I had known, I would have been here for you. I almost came home about two and a half years ago. Tim and I had a big fight and he hit me hard a couple of times. I would have come home but I didn’t know if Mom and Dad would take me back in.”
“Mom would have, Steph. Don’t ever doubt that. She mourned your loss often. In a way I am glad that you didn’t come back then. We wouldn’t have Amy around. She is a joy to play with.”
“And I love the both of you. I have to get up at five-thirty tomorrow and be in Olympia by seven. I have three junior league soccer games to ref.”
“How did you get into that?”
“I went to Olympia to get around people, at Nadia’s insistence, dressed as a girl. I got drafted as a linesman, when they didn’t have enough. When one of the referee’s twisted a knee, I volunteered to finish the game. One of the organizers saw me and liked the way I handled the kids, she got me to take a course and I got US Soccer certified. I am being courted by a couple of other leagues around town also.”
“Well may Amy and I join you, tomorrow?”
“Amy can be ready by seven, can you?”
“I use to wait tables at six and had to take Amy to the sitter by five-thirty. The sitter was a nice old lady, she kept two or three kids at her place. Till she had a stroke about a month ago. I tried other sitters. That is when I decided to come home. So yes I can be ready.”
“Let’s head to a grocery now. We have a cooler in the garage, you can pack drinks and some nibbles for you and Amy.”
“We can have a picnic after the game.”
“Not immediately after. Although there are showers at the field, I can’t use them… yet. I will need to come home and shower first. I wind up running more than the kids do.”
They hit Costco and bought a ton of food. Stephanie intended to start Amy on solid foods. Her old pediatrician had wanted her to wait a while longer, but she was needing more and more breast milk now. It’s a good time for her to begin eating baby food now.
“I will introduce one new food at a time for and see how she takes take to it. I will feed her rice cereal in the morning, if she does well for the next week, we will add bananas.”
“I will get us a book on that tomorrow.” Cameron said.
“Check on Amazon and download it to my computer and iPad.”
“Good thinking, Sherlock.”
Cameron did find a baby book online. She setup an Amazon account and downloaded several books on babies.
Stephanie packed a cooler with drinks, that night. She would add some food and ice in the morning. They bathed Amy and put her down for the night, before showering and going to bed together themselves.
Cameron mused as she went to bed that night, emotionally she had been going nowhere. Yes, she was living her life and no, she wasn’t suicidal, but she had had a hole in her heart that was unfilled. She now felt better about life than she had been in years.
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Stephanie was only a little grumpy in the morning. It was good to take care of her needs before Amy had to be taken care of. The extra sleep she was getting had been good for her, but it was also good to get back into a routine. She made a light breakfast for Cameron and herself and they got themselves ready before waking Amy. Stephanie breast fed Amy and then made a bowl of rice cereal for her using her breast milk. Amy ate it right up. She liked the new food she was getting.
Cameron wore her yellow shirt, black shorts, black socks and running shoes. Stephanie braided her hair, tying it off with a black satin ribbon. They were out the door five minutes early. At the soccer field Cameron had to run off for a meeting. Stephanie got the things she needed and wheeled Amy to the sideline near the field Cameron had pointed out to her. She set an umbrella up for them and set the baby carrier on a pallet.
Cameron got her linesmen and fourth official set up and called the two teams together. Under thirteen girls were playing first. After a few words with the players she started her first game.
Amy didn’t understand what was going on but she liked the people around her. She caught the attention of many a mother, “Hi, I am Wanda Mitchell, I am with the parent’s association. Your little one is so cute. Do you have a girl playing on the field?”
“No, but the referee is my little sister.”
“Oh she is a good one. I like it when she does our games. She talks better to my Belinda when she makes a foul,” one lady said. “She takes time to explain what she did wrong without making her feel terrible. We have good parents here for the most part. The league has really cracked down on soccer moms and dads that act up. They ban parents here from the field if they act up too bad. Your sister stared down a big father a couple of months ago and made him back off. He crawled away with his tail between his legs. He was all upset when his girl got tackled. Your sister said the girl took the ball cleanly and his daughter had run into her. He got so mad, he started to take a swing at her. She looked him in the eyes and said, “Don’t you dare do that, I will have you in jail. What will your daughter think of that?””
“It would almost be better if they put some parents in a cage and not let them out till after the game,” Stephanie said.
“Ain’t that the truth.”
Cameron was all over the field, putting herself in the best position to make the calls that were necessary. Stephanie was impressed by the skill these girls were displaying. The green and white team were quite good. They moved the ball left and right as well as forward and back. The blue teams goal keeper was kept busy, but she only let two goals past her. Unfortunately, two goals were enough to win the game. Green and white won 2-1.
The second game Cameron refed was an under seventeen game. Cameron had to work really hard. The girls on these two teams were playing for blood. Four girls had yellow cards by the break. Cameron came over to Stephany to get a drink. In the second half, a girl drew a red card on a vicious tackle. The player in blue had to leave the game limping and with a bleeding knee. The girl in red and black, clearly went after her instead of the ball. The blue team were awarded a penalty kick. The girl who took the kick was very good, she had the goal keeper going left while she dinked the ball slowly on the goal keeper’s right. Two more girls got red cards before the final whistle and a league official was seen talking to both coaches as the teams left the field.
Cameron had an hour to rest up for her last game.
“I can’t believe the bad blood those two teams had for each other. That was the roughest game I ever had to call.”
“I think you did a wonderful job Cameron.”
“There are going to be some suspensions for this game, the commissioner watched and recorded the whole game and apologized to me before he tore into the coaches.”
The last game was under ten girls. In many ways it was the most fun to watch. Both teams were playing for the fun of the game, they ran when they could. One girl tried a header, she was knocked farther than she had hit than the ball it seemed. She just got back up and went after the ball. Cameron stopped play for a few seconds to check on the girl, before the game resumed. No body scored during regulation and they had to have a shootout to determine the winner.
Cameron carried Amy on the way back to the car, “I don’t know what stinks the worst, me or your stinky diaper.” She sniffed Amy and then said, “Your stinky diaper wins.” Amy just clapped her hands and giggled.
They took a pit stop in the restroom to take care of her diaper.
Stephanie drove home and Cameron covered the passenger seat with a plastic sheet. At home she undressed down to her underwear, next to the washer and dryer before running in her sports bra and panties to the bathroom, while Stephanie started a load of clothes and began to fix a late lunch for them.
Cameron soaked for thirty minutes, before she bathed and came out to eat. She was famished but kept herself from scarfing down her food.
“We need to do our cleaning today before bedtime Steph. That way we will have Sunday just to golf and relax,” Cameron said between bites.
“Ok I will take the kitchen, living room and bathrooms, while you take the bedrooms. Amy will take the patio in her playpen.”
They worked for three hours doing house hold chores. They kept up with Amy using an electronic baby monitors, she did require some attention for ten or fifteen minutes a couple of time, while they worked. Cameron took care of her once and Stephanie took Amy the second time, as she was hungry or thirsty. It was fun breastfeeding Amy while looking out over the Bay.
Sunday, they got up at seven-thirty. They stretched and did light exercise till nine and relaxed till lunch which was light salads. They both got ready. Cameron wore white ankle socks, a white golf polo over a dark blue stretch golf skirt, a pink golf visor and pink lensed Oakley sunglasses. Stephanie wore a white short sleeved polo, a sleeveless yellow/black argyle sweater, green just above the knee shorts and ankle socks. Amy wore a diaper, pink shirt, Osh-Kosh overalls in blue, pink and blue socks and pink shoes.
Cameron drove the Mercedes to the golf course across the bay. Linda and another woman were waiting by their golf cart. Stephanie recognized her in an instant, she was Rebecca DeMere. Rebecca DeMere had been a girl at her high school who had been a year or two ahead of Stephanie. Cameron got their two bags and Stephanie took care of Amy.
“Rebecca DeMere… Oh my, it is so good seeing you,” Stephanie said.
“It’s Rebecca Whitson now. I married and got divorced last year. I see that you have an addition to your family, too.”
“Yes this little angel is named Amy. The scumbag who fathered her ran off on me, last year before she was born.”
“That scumbag would be Timothy Wheeler, right?”
“Yes it would.”
They went into the pro shop and paid their green fees and cart rental fee. Stephanie was surprised to see a golf cart set up to safely secure a baby carrier. The baby carrier locked in right in front of the passenger seat. Rebecca and Stephanie rode together while Cameron joined Linda in her cart. They had to wait fifteen minutes for their tee time, so they all chatted together.
Rebecca had graduated and followed her high school sweetheart, David Whitson, to Kansas State where he played football. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins after he graduated, where he had been nicknamed “The Crusher”. David had lasted three seasons till he suffered the Unhappy Triad, a complete rupture of the anterior collateral ligament, severe damage to the medial collateral ligament and severe damage to the medial meniscus in December. Their marriage had been alright until the injury. Facing two years of rehab broke her husband’s mind. He became violent to her in January. The second time he hit her, she reported him to the police and to the league. Her face looked atrocious, along with large bruises on her chest, sides and abdomen. She filled for and received a divorce and raked him over the coals.
“I received sixty-eight percent of the marital assets or about five point three million dollars, including his Lamborghini and the house on Key West, not to press charges. He has two more years of contract, I get half. I doubt he will ever play again.”
“No kids,” Stephanie asked.
“He was sterile as a screw fly. I don’t know how he passed all his piss tests, but he was juicing and he is now sterile. He would rage on the field, but after his injury, he took out his rage out on me.”
They had paid for eighteen holes, with the plan to play nine and see how Amy was doing. If she wasn’t too fussy, they would play the back nine too.
Stephanie was more than a little rough on the first three holes, shooting seven over par on the three holes. The second hole had four bunkers and she landed in three of them. The fourth hole was a par three and she landed on the green six feet from the hole, and birdied it. Amy liked all the attention she got when they stopped to make a shot. Someone was always there to play with her, it slowed play a bit, but they still made good time. Linda was beating them all, followed by Cameron, closely followed by Rebecca.
Stephanie finished the first nine shooting a 48. Amy was asleep at the wheel so they took on the back nine.
“Amy is such a good baby, I kind of wish that David and I would’ve had a baby. I know it wouldn’t have changed him, David wasn’t good father stock, but I miss not having children.”
Stephanie told Rebecca about her failed relationship and coming home.
“I imagine it was quite a shock seeing Cameron. We played golf four times before I realized who Cameron had been. Before you ask, I don’t have any problems with Cameron. She is a good person.”
“Amy and I both needed to come home. I am only sorry I wasn’t there for Cameron when our parents died and I should have been here to help him get his life back together.”
“You might not have had Amy then. You might have stayed here instead of getting pregnant.”
“I know, but at least I am home now. The three of us are a family now.”
“Cameron may seem weak and needy at times, but she had some real strength. Help her see how strong she is. So what are you going to do now?”
“I am going to get a job and go back to college.”
“What are you going to study? People used to say the first two years don’t matter, but they do. The sooner you know what you want to do, the quicker you can get there. Not all college degrees are worth the paper they are written on.”
“So, I should study what degrees can help me most?”
“Choose the field of study you can live with, towards a career you can grow with. You are starting college late; you need to fast track your education. I know people with JD’s that can’t stand being a lawyer. Law was easy for me, until I went to work as an intern for a law firm. I completed my internship, took my bar exams and quit after a year.”
“Should I start college this September?”
“Too soon, it would be hard to go through all the processes to start. December is doable, though. Call me when you two are ready to go through the process. I will help you.”
“How did you meet the new Cameron?”
“Nadia got me golfing with her. It was about four or five months ago. About a month after we started golfing together, I asked Cameron if she had a sister named Stephanie. She looked quite distressed. I told her not to worry, I wasn’t going to say anything. I don’t know how I would have reacted to Cameron, if she had come out to me on day one, but I have found out that she is all girl. I like her.”
“You’ve got that right. After shopping with her for Amy, I have no doubt that she is all girl.”
“One thing good about her is, she isn’t as “Catty” as many of the girls I hung around. She isn’t a social climber, stepping on one girl’s body to get up closer to the top of the ladder. I needed that, I fell a long way, socially that is, after my divorce.”
“I think Amy and I are going to enjoy golfing with you guys.”
Linda beat everyone on the back nine finishing with a seventy-nine. Cameron shot an eighty-three and Rebecca shot an eighty-seven. Stephanie finished last at ninety-two. The girls went home to clean up and met up again at a restaurant, a girl doesn’t go out in public stinking after all.
Stephanie dressed in one of her skirt suits with heels, while Cameron and Amy went totally girlie. Cameron wore her poet’s shirt and a flared knee length skirt, heels and a cardigan. Amy wore one of the dresses that Aunt Cameron had insisted she get.
Linda and Rebecca met up with them. Once they were seated and had ordered entrees and gotten their drinks, they began talking. Stephanie asked about the job market.
“I know I can wait tables, or work as a maid, but I want more for myself besides that. Cameron I know you want to support us but I need this.”
“Then I can babysit for you.”
“No, Cameron you need to get out yourself,” Linda said. “And you already have a job.”
Linda was deep in thought, “I think I know where you can get a job. I have a friend Alicia Cook. She runs a curio shop. She does good business, is good at the running of the store and such, but she can’t keep books worth shit. If Alicia doesn’t get help, she is on track to losing her business within a year.
“Yes,” Rebecca said, “She has been in business for two years, but her business is suffering. She is totally incompetent when it comes to paperwork. She would only need a part time bookkeeper, just one for ten or twenty hours a week to come in go through the mail, fill out reports, pay bills, make payroll and file taxes.”
“It sounds like data entry into Quickbooks and making reports to her accountant,” Cameron added.
“Yes, she is busy enough to sustain the business, but she faced fines and penalties for failing to report income on time and making quarterly payments to the IRS. She had been trying to do it herself, but she is just so forgetful. The accountant can give you the information needed, to keep you on schedule. Let me talk to her and come by my place tomorrow at noon. Bring Amy and Cameron with you, we’ll have lunch,” Rebecca said.
When they got home Stephanie fed and bathed Amy before putting her down for a nap. She and Cameron then got her laptop out and began working through Quickbooks. Stephanie wasn’t a bookkeeper, but she knew the basics of the program, the program was intuitive and she believed she could do the job. She and Cameron went through the basics and the tutorial built into the software. She also took a look at Word and Excel, she thought that she could use them to make her reports.
She sat down and made up the sample company and did the books for the company. The software would walk her through setting up all the asset and expense accounts and begin to post invoices, pay bills, print checks, keep up with employee payroll, print payroll checks, keep up with inventory and print out reports.
Stephanie fed Amy and watched as Cameron bathed her daughter, before dressing her and putting her to bed.
They watched TV for a bit before heading to bed themselves.
Tuesday they headed over to Rebecca’s home. Cameron dressed in an off the shoulder blouse, wide leg pants and heels. Stephanie chose to wear one of her suits and little Amy was dressed in her cutest little dresses.
Rebecca lived in a townhouse that had gone upscale co-op. Her Townhouse was a three story, three bed two and a half bath, home. The place had nice amenities, including world class kitchens, stairway lifts, dining room with a nice chandelier, spacious laundry room, excellent insulation for heat and noise and fiber optic to the house. The complex had twenty-four units with a heated swimming pool inside a solarium, controlled access entry, covered parking spaces and storage lockers to the rear of their Townhouse.
Cameron carried Amy and they headed to Rebecca’s place. A knock at the door was answered in ten seconds.
“Hello, it is good seeing all of you. Come on in,” Rebecca said. “Cameron, I see you brought a gift for the hostess,” she said, holding her arms out to take Amy.
Amy giggled as Rebecca smothered her in kisses.
Cameron and Stephanie greeted Rebecca and followed her into the living room. They sat and began chatting about their lives.
“After I left my husband I came back to the Seattle area. Miami is a nice place to visit, but not so nice to live there. It is so hot and humid all year around it seems.”
“I know hot, Tim and I spent a good bit of time in west Texas, from El Paso to Fort Stockton. He had some friends he mooched off of. We tried to settle down in San Antonio, then landed in Van Horn, Texas.”
“Cameron, I have never heard the story of how you became you.” Rebecca said. “If you don’t mind me asking, I would love to hear your story.”
Cameron hesitated a second or two, wondering just how much to say, “I don’t mind telling you sis. You had left town, Rebecca before Steph graduated. I was always a skinny as a kid. I stopped growing at five foot eight. When Stephanie left, it kind of hit Mom, Dad and I in the gut. Mom regretted the words she had spoken to Stephanie and Dad stood by what mom had said. Mom actually began drinking quite a bit. Dad worked himself to death. Mom became very protective of me, but she also got lost in a wine bottle. I was missing Stephanie really bad. I wandered into her room and started wearing some of her clothes while Mom was at work. I would clean the house wearing a panties, blouse, skirt and heels.”
“You didn’t wear her bras?”
“Are you kidding, Stephanie’s bra cups were huge. I had nothing that could fill them. I did wear some of her bikinis though, the ones that had the soft cups and no underwire. I had an epic set of tan lines after sunning myself for almost two months. Mom finally caught me sleeping, wearing one of Steph’s baby doll gowns. It was see through enough, I couldn’t claim dressing was just a passing thing. I was golden brown with pale breasts and bikini panty shape. Mom got sober enough to get me on the right track. I saw a psychologist and our Doctor. It wasn’t like I always knew I was a girl, but more like I discovered I was a girl.”
“I understand, Cameron,” Rebecca said. “I read about transgender on the internet.”
“In January after I graduated I saw a doctor and a surgeon about the way I looked. Mom was with me through my facial surgery and my implants. Then her drinking caught up with her.”
“Somewhere between Dad dying and my surgery, my mind began shifting. I began to be more feminine in the way I thought. Mom loved having a girly girl around the house. Steph had been feminine, but rarely girly. She liked the tough girl image. I would have been a Disney Princess, Barbie type girl if I had been born Double X, instead of XY. Before she passed, Mom told me that the reason she pushed me to learn who I was, was she would rather have a transgendered daughter than a dead son.”
“You then came around about four months ago Rebecca. You’ve also helped me. Especially when you didn’t recognize me for being born a male. You treated me like you treated Nadia and Linda.”
“I graduated before you graduated high school, so I didn’t know you. I guess that was a blessing, because I got to know you before I realized just who you were. I knew Stephanie had a brother, I just never made the connection till Nadia slipped up and asked you about Stephanie.”
“I think that is what she intended, Rebecca. She wanted to see how you would react to me.”
“I liked you Cameron. You’ve helped me too, as did Nadia. I holed up in this place, just like you. I didn’t trust anybody; I didn’t want to see anybody. After my bruises healed up I went to see Nadia to get my hair styled. I don’t know why. I just got tired of the tangled mess it had become. She took my long hair and gave me a pixie cut, to make it look decent. I have let it grow since. I think I will keep it like this for a while,” Indicating her medium/long bob she wore now. “She got me to start golfing with you, Linda and her. I liked that. I also golfed two or three times a week. I’m not great at it, but it gets me out.”
They went into the kitchen and began to prepare lunch, “After I graduated, I followed my sweetheart David Whitson to Kansas. While he played football, I took pre law. When he was drafted by the Dolphins I followed him and went to Law school at the University of Miami. David signed a big five-year contract with the Dolphins. Two years later he blew his knee out. All that aggression he showed on the football field had no outlet and he turned it on me. He has another two years on contract, I get half and then he gets an NFL pension, if he doesn’t play again. Last I heard he was drinking his money away and doing coke. He still does his rehab, that is part of his contract, but I doubt that he will ever play again. I miss him, but I will never be alone with him, if I see him at all.”
After a few moments of silence Stephanie began, “I guess it is my turn. Mom and I had a big blow out, just after I graduated. Anyway, Mom was trying to run my life. At least that is what I thought. We didn’t have a knock down drag out, but it was close. I wanted to go to Berkley and Mom wanted me to go to University of Washington. Turns out, I didn’t go to either universities.”
“Riding on the back of Timothy’s Harley was fun for the first year or so. Living under the stars was fun till it started to get cold. We went down the Pacific highway till we got to LA, stopping in several cities and then turned east. The mountains were beautiful. You have got to go see the Grand Canyon Cameron, it was awesome. We went to see the Caverns near Carlsbad. We tried to spend the night there, but they ran us off. We so wanted to make love down there. We spent some time in El Paso Texas, with some of his friends. I supported us working as a waitress or maid. Timothy did mechanic work. We moved to San Antonio and tried to settle down there. Again I waited tables and Timothy took about a dozen jobs, but he could never keep one. We almost made it in Van Horn, Timothy made good money as a diesel mechanic and rebuilding Harleys. A little over a year ago I got pregnant by Timothy. He was gone a couple of months after I told him. I haven’t seen him since.”
“I tried to make it as a single mom and I had a pretty good setup and a good job waiting tables at a nice restaurant and a maid at a motel. I made good tips, till I got to where I couldn’t work. I just love Amy, but we couldn’t make it with me working and paying a baby sitter too. The nice old lady that was keeping her had a stroke. I was the first mother to find her. They took her to the hospital and I stayed with the kids till they were picked up. I tried to find a new sitter I could trust, but gave up. Finally, I just sold everything I could and drove back to Tacoma to beg my parents to let me come back home.”
“I am glad you did sis. I needed you.”
“And we need you too.”
“What about you, Rebecca, what do you do?”
“Nadia got me volunteering with a couple of charities. I have passed the Washington bar. I may not open a law office and I won’t join a firm, but I may work pro-bono for the local women’s shelter.”
“I never realized just what Nadia means for the women she comes in contact with,” Stephanie said
“You’re telling me. We were all basket cases till she pulled us all together,” Cameron stated.
“Besides work, golfing and soccer, I am out of the house doing something, three or four times a week.”
“Have you had any problems with other people over the way you dress?” Rebecca asked.
“Some at the first, around Tacoma. High school was good and rough at the same time. The school protected me, but I still had a few incidents with other students. It took almost a semester to iron things out and over time I seemed to have been forgotten. It has been a non-issue the last few years. Of course, I can pass, without being read, now.”
Monday through Friday Cameron and Stephanie began to establish a routine around their home. Cameron saw her surgeon and scheduled time for her to have her bottom surgery, at Stephanie’s insistence.
“If you really want this surgery, there is no reason to put it off any longer. I will be with you to help you recover.” She told Cameron.
“Ok, I really do want to have this done. My psychologist already signed off on it. I just want to finish this soccer season; we have two more months.”
The next game was an under seventeen games and was one of the best played games of the season. The two teams were well matched. The ball was moved all over the field by both teams, with numerous shots on both goals. Cameron had yellow carded a couple of girls, the fouls hadn’t been vicious and the girls accepted the penalties and played on. The game had to go into a shootout and then into a penalty shootout. One team finally scored an unanswered goal and won the game.
The losing team was heart broken and their goal tender, who had tripped, laid down to cry. The winners, instead of celebrating their victory turned to hug and comfort the other girls. They even carried the losing goal tender up on their shoulders.
The commissioner met with both teams after the game, to congratulate both teams for their outstanding play. He told them that four cameras had recorded the whole game and that they were going to edit the tapes. The tapes would be available for sale in two weeks.
Cameron’s last game was with the under ten girls. It was a fun game for everyone there. The girls made so many errors it was funny. One girl got the ball at mid-field and without really thinking brought it back into her own defensive side. Somewhere along the way, she got crossed up and shot the ball on her defensive goal scoring on a great shot for the other team. She was heartbroken, but she got her head back into the game and scored the next goal for her team.
After the game the Commissioner introduced Cameron to the an official for the high school soccer officiating.
“Ms. Callaway, I am Stan Smith, I am in charge of the officials for high school soccer in the State of Washington. I like the way you call the games you officiate in. We want you to join our organization, to officiate at high school games this fall.”
“Oh my, would I have to drive all over the state?”
“We try to keep our officials as local as possible, you might have to drive to four or five counties. At least during the regular season. If you are selected to call playoff games, you could find yourself at the far distant counties in this state.”
“I am already certified through US Soccer, will there be any other testing or schools?”
“We have a two day school and soccer camp, to make sure all our officials are on the same page.”
“I may not be able to do it this year. I have some surgery coming up after this soccer season. Then it depends on how fast I can recover.”
“Major surgery?”
“Yes, it deals with my reproductive system. Poly-cystic ovaries with a complete hysterectomy would be the worst case.”
“Alright, here is my card. Call me when you get back in shape. You could probably attend the school and soccer camp this summer. I saw how well you worked the field, so you wouldn’t have to do all the running around. Then we will put you to work when you are medically cleared. We will work with you.”
Cameron did finish the season and have her surgery. Stephanie was there by her side all the way. She went to the school and soccer camp. She wasn’t cleared to take the field when the season started, but she did work in the league offices scheduling officials for the various high schools in the district.
Stephanie, Cameron and Amy became a family. They were there for each other and filled empty holes in each of their lives.
The end