Call Me Elaine

by Jennifer White

  

Kate looked in the mirror. She teased her long blond hair, trying to get it just right. Finally satisfied, she checked her makeup. A bit of mascara had fallen onto the skin under her eye. She carefully brushed it off with her finger.

She straightened the jacket of her pinstriped blue pants suit. She loved how the jacket flared out at her hips. Its design echoed that of the conservative suits that the men at work wore, but it had a very feminine look to it. It was perfect she thought, because just as she was a woman working in an environment of mostly men, this outfit was like a man's suit, slightly changed to suit a *woman*.

Kate realized she was going to be late if she didn't hurry, so she put on her shoes, grabbed her purse, and rushed out to the bus stop. It was way too cold outside this time of year in Chicago. Why hadn't she found a job in Arizona or someplace warm? Why couldn't her firm open an office in Florida so she could get away from the ice and snow?

She read the paper as she rode the bus to the "El" stop. She went up the stairs (the escalator was broken again, and her heel sometimes caught in the grooves anyway), waited a few minutes, then got on the red line train to downtown. She was lucky enough to find a seat today.

As the train rolled on, she read the business section of the Chicago Sun-Times. She always made a point to read that first, before moving on to the entertainment section. She wanted to get ahead in business, so she put that before personal pleasure.

 

After the forty minute ride, she got off, and walked five blocks to her office building. Of course, the wind had to mess up her hair, and she would have to fix it again after she arrived. The windy city indeed.

Once inside, she put her things at her desk, went to the lady's room to fix up her hair and check her makeup. Then she went to the Starbucks in the lobby with her friend Gina (one of the few other women in the department), and bought herself a latte. Now it was time to get down to work.

 

Today was a big day for Kate. She had done her research, rechecked her figures, and she was certain that this would be her big break. Her manager, Howard, never took her seriously. He didn't seem to think that she was even *relevant*, because she was a woman. She would show him. After today, that would all change.

She couldn't wait until 10:30, when the meeting was set. She took her manila folder, and walked confidently into Howard's office.

"I have an idea that will save the company millions of dollars each year" she said, matter of factly (as if she said something like that every day).

"And what is this little idea of yours" said Howard, in his typical condescending tone. But she had practiced her speech into the mirror a dozen times.

"We process customer requests, right? Over 80,000 each week. I looked at the process we used, and determined that if we optimized it by eliminating just this one step where we mail out a copy of the forms back to records retention. You see, records gets the original copy at the end. So it is unnecessary. And since it costs us 27 cents on average for an interoffice mailing, we could save that 80,000 times a week. That's $21,600 a week, or over $1.1 million every year."

She sat back to listen to him tell her how brilliant she was. She folded her arms and waited for the kudos.

But instead, Howard laughed. He laughed!

"You silly girl. We can't change that! Its part of the standard process. I'm afraid your little plan just won't work."

Kate's face turned red. She was so humiliated! She wanted to cry, but kept herself in control. She couldn't let him see her cry. He'd loose even more respect for her.

"Sorry I wasted your time" she said, turning to run to the lady's room, where she could let the tears out in private. She felt like a fool, like an idiot. Her big moment was ruined. She felt so upset, she didn't know what she would even do.

* * *

 

A week later, Kate was still hurting inside. Even Gina had noticed that she was quieter than normal. But how could she be normal at work, after being completely humiliated like that?

She went with Gina to get another latte, and headed to the group meeting where Howard's manager was going to address the group.

"I have some wonderful news" said Mr. Jennings, the Senior VP of their group. "I have a business initiative award to give out today. One of our employees has made a major contribution to the business. I would like to recognize Howard Mcleod."

There was polite applause as Howard stood up and walked forward.

"By taking the initiative," continued Mr. Jennings, "he identified an inefficiency in our standard process. By eliminating one unnecessary step, the company will save over $1.1 million every year. For this contribution, I am promoting Howard to vice president of the business unit, and awarding him a cash bonus of $10,000, and a vacation for two weeks in Hawaii."

There was another round of applause, as Howard shook Mr. Jenning's hand, and accepted the envelope. The applause would have been more enthusiastic if he hadn't wronged so many people in his past.

 

Kate didn't breath. She didn't even move. He stole her idea! He was getting all the credit and all the glory from *her* hard work! It was unfair. It was unthinkable!

And he was getting a huge bonus. And he was getting a free trip, to somewhere *warm*.

She glared at him up in front. He looked right at her, and *smiled*. A cold rage filled Kate's heart. This was unthinkable. She was a warm loving person, but for the first time in her life, she felt hatred, and the need for revenge.

* * *

 

At Gina's apartment on the north side of town, she and Kate sat in a darkened room, and discussed their options. They plotted their revenge. They worked late into the night, putting together the details.

* * *

 

Howard got off his plane, sniffed the wonderful flower scented air, and walked towards the baggage claim. A pretty young girl with dark tanned skin put a floral lei over his head and smiled at him.

Howard felt on top of the world. He got his bags, and hailed a taxi to drive him to his timeshare condo. He didn't notice the dark SUV that pulled out from the curb, and followed a few cars back as they drove into town.

* * *

 

An hour later, Howard was at the pool. He looked at all the pretty girls around. The two in the far corner seemed somehow familiar, but between their sunglasses and large hats, he couldn't quite tell who they were. They were talking to a young native girl with a tray of drinks.

Howard turned his attention back to his guidebook, as he plotted out which golf course he would play tomorrow.

"Excuse me sir, this is for you" said the young girl, smiling as she handed him a tropical drink with a thin slice of pineapple on the rim of the glass.

"Thank you" he said, taking it from her and sipping it. It tasted wonderful. He watched her skirt as she walked away, going over to another guest, taking their drink orders. They were paying her. Why did he get his drink for free?

He looked up to the two familiar looking women on the far side of the pool, and waved. They waved back. He knew it then: they wanted him. He would go over to them and talk. He started to stand up, but fell back into his seat. Why did he feel so weak and tired? It must be the long flight. He took another sip of his drink, and tried to look up. Everything seemed fuzzy. He needed a nap. He closed his eyes....

* * *

 

When Howard woke up, he found himself in his condo room, but something wasn't right. First of all, his head really hurt. And secondly, he couldn't move. He struggled, and came to realize that his wrists and ankles were each tied to a corner of the bed. And a strap across his chest kept him from even arching his back.

"Look who's up" said a familiar voice. He looked up to see that Kate from the office was standing over him. He looked at her boobs. They looked big from this angle. He had always liked that about her.

He realized that there was someone else there, and he moved his head to catch of glimpse of her. It was Gina. Both Kate and Gina? What was going on? And why did he hurt so much?

"I have something interesting for you to see" said Kate.

She took something off the night stand, and held it up for Howard to see. It was a picture of him in bed, with Gina. It looked like they were making love.

"I never did that! You posed me when I was knocked out!"

"But Mr. Jennings won't know that. He'll be forced to fire you when he sees a picture of you doing that to an employee who works for you. That is against company policy. You'll be fired on the spot. And with a reason like that for dismissal, you'll never get a good job again."

"No! Please don't show these!" he pleaded. Kate smiled. It was great to see him squirm. Like the lowly snake that he was. Now he was going to see how it felt to be powerless. But that would just be the start.

"I don't have to send these to the office. If you do exactly as we say, then we can just forget about them."

"What do I have to do?"

"Oh, not much. Just be a good girl when you hang out with us here in Hawaii."

Howard looked confused.

"Be a good girl?"

"Oh yes. Didn't we tell you? We're in the process of turning you into a woman. You may notice a few changes already."

Howard's eyes now had a deeper panic in them. Turn him into a woman? Impossible! He would never allow that.

"Look at your chest and your legs" said Gina, running her hands over his legs. "See how soft and silky smooth they are now?"

He shivered from her touch. Her hands felt cold to him, like the cold glare in her eyes. What else had they done to him? He was terrified now.

"We soaked you in perfume. We gave you a pedicure and a manicure" said Kate. "You have long pretty nails now."

"We cut off your hair, and put a wig on you" said Gina.

"We used super-glue, so it will stay on for weeks" added Kate helpfully. Gina held up a mirror, so he could see that he now had long brown hair. He wanted to pull it off, but his arms could not break the bonds holding them in place.

"We used pantyhose to tie you up" said Gina. "Everything around you is feminine now."

"This" said Kate, "is called 'breast cream'. It was developed for women who were unhappy with their chest size. With daily usage, it is guaranteed to add a full cup size. I think you'll need at least D size, given your body size and shape."

As she said this, she squeezed the tube. The chilly cream on his nipples made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Gina rubbed it in, which tingled and gave him a strangely arousing feeling.

"Ooh, she's getting excited" said Kate.

"Better get the other cream out" said Gina.

"Ah, yes" said Kate. "This is a cream full of female hormones. When applied to your dick, it will prevent you from being able to get aroused like that anymore. It will help shrink it too. If applied often enough, it will *permanently* stop functioning. Not even viagra will help you get it up."

"No!" he said. But Kate put on rubber gloves, and applied the cream between his legs. She was generous with it, rubbing it in all over.

 

"Tell her about her ears" said Kate.

"Oh yes. We pierced your ears. Let me move your long hair out of the way so you can see your dangling earrings."

She held up the mirror again, letting Howard see that indeed he did have pierced ears now, with pretty earrings in place.

"See how pretty you are now, Elaine?"

Howard gave them a blank look.

"You know, Elaine. Your new female name."

"I'm not female!" said Howard angrily.

"Not yet. But you're well on the way Elaine."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you can see all that's been done to you so far. And you've been taking massive amounts of female hormones, ever since you came up to your room here. Estrogen, birth control pills, more and more. Your system is being saturated, and with every passing second, the female hormones control your body, more and more. You are now in their grip, and cannot stop it."

Howard could only gasp as he stared at them. If what they said was true...then his life was ruined. He hated women. They were weak. They didn't think logically. They couldn't run a business. And now these two were forcing him to become one. I would have cried, if he had been capable of having any feelings. But he was just a man, so the only thing he could come up with was anger.

* * *

 

After administering a shot of drugs, Howard was in a daze. He was awake, aware, but not very alert. His eyes looked cloudy. He was slow to respond. The few words he spoke were slurred.

Perfect. Just like they wanted him.

 

Gina had read up on different techniques that had been used by the KGB, the East German Secret Police, and other totalitarian states, to get their dissidents to 'change their mind'. Being a woman, she was squeamish about the techniques involving pain. But she did find one that was somewhat less cruel.

"When he's in a state like this" she had explained to Kate, "he is aware, but not quite with it. He hears everything we tell him, and it will sink in, but perhaps not immediately on a conscious level. But if we keep the message simple, clear, and repetitive, it *will* sink into his mind."

"How long will this take?"

"It depends on how strong he is. Lets try for three days, then see where we are."

"Okay, you're running the show."

 

"Elaine? Listen to me Elaine. That's you're name you know. You are Elaine."

"You *are* Elaine" said Kate.

"Yes. *You* are Elaine. That is your name now..."

They kept this up for fifteen minutes. Howard just blinked at them. He was too zoned out to even try to speak. The girls shifted topics slightly.

"You are Elaine. You are a woman. *You* are a woman. A girl. You are female" said Kate, forcefully and authoritatively.

"You just love being as feminine as possible. You love being a woman! Your deepest desire is to be very pretty, because you are a girl" added Gina.

"You are a woman."

"You are a girl."

"You are female."

"You are pretty."

"You like to wear pretty clothes."

"You like wearing skirts."

"You feel terrible unless you wear pretty clothes."

"You love to wear panties and bras."

"You feel happy when you wear them."

"You have to wear a bra, because your boobs are growing."

"You are going to be stacked."

"You *want* to have really big breasts."

"You are a woman, and you like wearing dresses."

"You are Elaine, and you are a woman."

"You want to be pretty."

"You do everything you can to keep yourself looking beautiful."

"You shave your legs, because you love how it looks."

"You love wearing makeup."

"You feel naked without lipstick."

"You are a sexy, attractive woman."

"You love being a woman so much that you want to obey any order a woman gives you."

"You exist to please women."

"You want to serve women, and do their bidding."

"And you yourself are a woman now too."

 

This kept up for twenty minutes. As they programmed Howard's feeble mind, they recorded their words. Gina set up the tape recorder to play back, and set it to 'continuous play mode', where it would rewind, then play the tape again. And again. And again. And again.

Howard would be inundated with the same message over and over for the next few days, while Kate and Gina kept his system full of drugs and female hormones.

And they were just getting started.

* * *

 

After three days, Kate was sick of hearing the tape. She wondered what Howard thought about it. They stopped the drugs, and let him return to full consciousness. Gina had brought a pair of fake nipples with her. They were very large and prominent. Before he came to, she super glued them over his little man nipples.

 

When Howard finally awoke from his long sleep, he felt exhausted. He looked around, and he was in the same surroundings. After several days with no bath, and just a bedpan for a toilet, he was starting to smell. He wanted to take a shower.

He looked around, and caught sight of his chest. His nipples! They were huge! Before they had been just these little things, barely noticeable. But now, they were quite prominent. He shivered all over upon seeing them.

They had been putting 'breast cream' on his chest. The damn stuff must be really working. Oh no! He was going to have tits. This was terrible!

"I hope they grow big" he thought. No! Wait! That's not what he wanted. Something was very wrong here. Why would he think that? He tried to remember the past few hours, but it was all a blur. Just how long had he been in this room?

 

"Oh look, she's up!" said Gina cheerfully.

"Yes. She looks very good after her ordeal."

"Just what are you doing to me!" demanded Howard. "How long have I been here?"

"Well," started Kate, "first of all what we're doing is turning you into a woman. Remember?"

"Look at your boobs. They're starting to grow" said Gina helpfully.

"I know! I saw them!" said Howard.

"And secondly," continued Kate, ignoring the interruption, "you've been in that bed for a total of four days now. We think its time to get you out of there."

"You need to go take a shower. Make sure to use a shower cap so you don't get your wig all wet."

"Oh, and by the way, look at the latest photos we took of you" said Kate. She held them up for him to see. It was clearly him, on the bed, but with makeup on his face. And a skirt on. And his prominent nipples. He *looked* like a man being turned into a girl.

"We have a copy of this which we just dropped off at the front desk" said Gina.

"In a stamped envelope" added Kate, in a cheery voice.

"Its addressed to Mr. Jennings. If you don't do exactly what we tell you, then it will go out with the mail in the morning."

"But if you're a good girl, I'll go down there, and ask for it back."

"So you see, if you do *anything* to disobey us, you are toast."

Howard's shoulders slumped down. He was beaten, and he knew it. They really had him over a barrel. What were the going to do to him now?

Kate undid the bindings on his hands, then his feet. He looked at his hands, with the unfamiliar long nails, painted a bright red color. He now saw his toenails too, which were also painted to match.

She undid the chest restraint, and he was able to sit up. He felt weak.

"Take your shower, then we'll all go out to eat. Does that sound good?"

"I'm starving!" he said. He went into the shower. The hot water felt wonderful on his body. He lathered up all over with the pretty lavender scented soap.

"Why am I shaving my legs?" he thought, as he caught himself running the razor over the stubble on his legs. But it looked so good clean shaven and smooth like that. He finished the job, because it looked funny with one leg shaved, and the other leg stubbly and yucky.

Howard saw that they had laid out underwear for him to put on. There was a pair of panties, and a bra. He froze, looking at them, intimidated.

"Go ahead, put them on" said Gina sternly.

"I think you'll find that you like them" added Kate.

"Do it! Now!" ordered Gina. Howard almost jumped. He grabbed the panties, and put them on. A wave of calmness swept over him. It felt *right* somehow. They were very comfortable. He picked up the bra, and put that on too.

"Now this" said Kate, handing him a tropical colored Hawaiian dress.

The look in his eyes said 'no'.

The look in Kate's eyes said 'you had better'.

 

Kate's eyes won. Howard backed down, and put on the flowery dress. Gina put a fresh orchid into Howard's long haired wig. And they redid his makeup. And put in jewelry, and sprayed him with a very strong floral perfume.

"Now you're a cute little tropic girl" she said, pleased at the results. Between the wig, the makeup, long painted fingernails, and of course his dress, he was starting to look more and more like a chick.

And between that, and the echoes in his head from the repeated sessions while he was drugged, he was starting to believe that he really *was* becoming female. He had seen his new nipples. They were growing.

Inside, Howard felt like a mess. His world as he knew it was breaking apart. He felt completely powerless and weak. These two ordinary employees, who should be groveling all over him, had taken complete control of his life. And they were turning him into a woman!

Howard thought women were inferior. He had always looked down on them. It had even gotten him aroused and hard when he would prove his dominance over them at work.

But to *become* a woman? There was no worse fate in the world for him. This was a nightmare above all other nightmares. But this was real! They had done something to his body, and he could already see the changes. They had done something to his mind too, and he didn't quite trust himself, after he had wished that his tits would grow up to be big like Gina's.

He dreaded looking up into the mirror, to see himself fully dressed up for the first time. It was like a sledgehammer hitting him over the head, when he saw that he was pretty. He was in a dress. He was wearing makeup. A flower in his long hair. Make, nailpolish, jewelry...he started to break down inside.

"Oh no," he whispered, "its true."

"Yes it is Elaine. You are becoming a girl now."

"Just like us" added Gina helpfully.

"See how pretty you are? See how you look in a dress? Don't you love how you feel inside?"

 

Howard felt something. A twitching between his legs, as if he was getting aroused from seeing the woman staring back in the mirror. He felt completely vulnerable all of a sudden. Men would *want* him. Women would look at him, and think he was one of *them*. He couldn't let anyone see him like this.

"Sit down, and spread your legs wide open" barked Kate.

Howard obeyed without questioning her this time. He had internally accepted her power over him now, and no longer felt the urge to protest.

Gina had a hand towel in her hands. She reached up the skirt of Howard's dress, and pulled down his panties. She wrapped the towel around his appendage, and started rubbing vigorously.

"You're a girl" she said.

"You are female" said Kate.

"You are a woman."

"You are a chick."

"You are a girl."

"You are Elaine now."

 

They repeated this over and over, until suddenly he came, gushing forth into the towel in Gina's hands. She smiled, pulled the panties back up, and took the towel away to the bathroom.

Howard was still trembling. Between the strange new sensations going on around him from the clothes and the girly things, the cloudy thoughts in his head from the drugs and the brainwashing, then the continued insistence from Kate and Gina that he was a girl now...and to top it off a huge orgasm from these feelings...he was completely overwhelmed. He didn't know what to think.

A tear formed in Howard's eye.

"What's the matter dear? Why are you crying?" asked Gina.

"I'm becoming a girl" said Howard.

"Yes we know. We've been telling you."

"But that isn't it."

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because, I think I *like* it."

* * *

 

"He wasn't supposed to like it" whispered Gina, as the girls went to 'freshen up'...an excuse we often use to get away to talk about someone without them being there!

"I don't know. Do you think he means it?"

"Well, he did cry. And I didn't think he had any emotions at all."

"He did seem sincere."

"What should we do now?"

"Lets skip ahead a step in the program, and make him go out with us."

"You think he's ready?"

"Either he'll really hate it, or he'll really love it."

"Either way, we win."

"Okay, lets move on to the next phase. Get some shoes on him, I'll teach him how to hold his purse, and off we go."

 

It was settled. Howard was about to go out and feel the warm ocean breeze under his skirt for the first time.

* * *

 

After getting him into a pair of pumps they bought just for him (as if his big feet would fit into either of their shoes!), they made 'Elaine' walk around for a while until 'she' got the hang of it a bit.

"We'll just say your drunk if you start wobbling around too much" laughed Kate.

They also made Howard agree to answer to Elaine. They told him that they would treat him as a girl, and as long as 'she' behaved, they wouldn't do anything mean to 'her'.

They also made 'her' take off her panties.

"Put this in" ordered Gina, handing over an Always maxipad.

"What for?"

"Just in case your period starts. You never know."

"It always picks the worse time, doesn't it?"

'Elaine' reluctantly peeled off the paper strip, attached the pad to 'her' panties, then put them back on. They also gave her nylons to wear.

"Your legs are so pale. You need something to give you some color honey."

It was comical to watch something so simple as putting on nylons, when done by a bungling man. He made it look hard. Kate and Gina both had to suppress giggles.

 

The three of them went down to the lobby, out the door, and asked for a cab.

"Here you go ladies" said the man, who Gina handed a tip. Nobody had ever held a door open for Howard before like that. It was just the start for the night, as he would start to learn how it felt to be treated like a lady.

Kate told the driver to take them to a seafood restaurant down by the ocean. Minutes later, she paid as the pulled up. The driver got out and again opened the door for the three ladies to get out of the car.

The greeter at the door also held it open as they walked in.

"Table for three, nonsmoking" said Gina.

"It will be about fifteen minutes. Is that alright?" asked the woman behind the podium, writing their name into the list, as she handed them a blinking pager for when the table was ready."

"Sure. We'll wait in the bar."

Gina and Kate led 'Elaine' by the hand to the bar. Gina ordered frozen tropical drinks for them all. Elaine went to sit down on a stool.

"Don't do that!" hissed Kate into her ear.

"Why not?"

"A woman wouldn't sit on a high stool like that, while wearing a short dress like you have. You show too much. Unless you're trying to attract a particular guy, that is."

Elaine immediately slid off, and stood like the other girls gathered at the bar. Yes, their shoes were uncomfortable, but it was not the kind of place where they would sit unless they had to.

They talked (that is, mostly Kate and Gina, with Elaine just listening, terrified of 'her' situation). When the two real girls started checking out the guys at the other end of the bar, Elaine's face turned bright red.

"Oh, she's blushing" said Gina.

"She's so shy" responded Kate. "Maybe I should fix her up with one of them."

"No!" hissed Elaine.

"Oh come on, its not like we're going to make you sleep with him or anything. We're just wanting a fun night out. Don't you want to have fun?"

"That's not my idea of fun!" said Elaine. "You promised me you wouldn't make me do anything I didn't want to!"

"Meow, hiss!" said Kate. "She's rather crabby tonight. Perhaps she *is* at 'that time' of the month?"

"Well, at least she's talking now" said Gina helpfully.

Elaine was bailed out when the pager started flashing at them.

"Oh, time for dinner!" said Kate. After days of room service, she and Gina were eager for a real meal.

 

Elaine was really starving too, but they told her that she had to eat like a lady, and kept her from ordering an appetizer *and* a salad *and* an entree. And they explained that they would have to all split one dessert.

"A woman can't deny herself dessert."

"Not if she has a craving for chocolate."

"But you don't want to get fat."

"So you order one, and split it."

"That way, you satisfy your inner urge for sweets."

"But you don't feel guilty either."

Elaine's head spun. They more they tried to explain things the harder it was to keep up with them. She decided to just order another drink.

 

"Don't look behind you!" said Gina to Elaine.

"What?"

"Those guys from the bar are at the table on the other side of the room, and I think the blond guy is checking you out!"

Elaine turned to look, and the guy smiled.

"I told you not to look!" said Gina.

"Now he thinks you're interested in him" said Kate, shaking her head.

"But all I did was look!"

"That's enough for a guy to take it that you want him. He now thinks that you want to go home with him tonight, and go to bed."

"No! That's terrible! I thought you weren't going to be mean to me tonight."

"I'm not being mean. *You* are the one that flirted with him."

"I didn't flirt! I just looked."

"To a man, that's flirting" said Gina.

"Do we have to teach you all about men *and* women?" asked Kate, shaking her head again.

"I think she's forgetting all that man stuff, now that she's well on her way to becoming a woman."

 

They ate in silence for a while. Elaine was brooding.

"Look! They're heading this way!" said Kate. "Pretend you don't see them."

"Hello ladies" said a voice. A male voice. They looked up to see the three men standing there by their table.

"Sorry to interrupt your dinner, but I had something to ask" he said.

"Oh, what's that sweetie?" replied Kate, batting her eyelashes. Elaine poked her leg under the table.

"Well, we have a charter boat rented for tomorrow, but it can seat up to 8, and there's only three of us. So we were wondering if you wanted to join us."

"Since we already had the boat for tomorrow that is" added another of the guys.

"So, you rent larger boats, just in case?" asked Gina, batting her eyelashes. Elaine poked her under the table too, causing a giggle, which made the guys think she was flirting with them even more.

"Yes, just in case we come across three hotties like yourselves."

"You hear that Elaine? You're officially a 'hottie' now!"

"Woo, woo!" said Kate.

"Eight O'clock then? At the pier, slip number 12" he said.

"We'll have to think about it" said Kate. "We barely know you. How do we know that you won't take us to some deserted island and take advantage of us?"

"I hadn't thought of that, but I'm sure we could work it into the schedule if you like" he replied.

"Why don't you get to know us better?" asked the third guy, who so far had been silent, his eyes fixed on Elaine the whole time. "We could take a walk on the beach right now, and just talk. If you feel comfortable, you're welcome to join us tomorrow. How about just a walk, no strings attached?"

"Now *there's* a gentleman" said Gina. "Tell you what. We'll discuss it, and after we pay our bill, we might join you out on the beach."

"We'll be waiting for you" said the blond, looking right at Elaine, who had her face looking down into her drink, as if it was the most interesting thing she ever saw.

 

After they were gone, Kate and Gina burst into laughter.

"Can you believe the nerve of those guys?" she said. "As if we'd go out on a boat with total strangers."

"These days, women can't trust anyone. It isn't safe."

"You had better get used to that Elaine. Once you're done with your transformation, you'll have to deal with women's issues too."

 

"You can look up now. They're gone" said Gina, after a pause with no answer from Elaine still. She looked up at them. She had tears in her eyes.

"Why are you crying dear?" asked Kate.

"I don't know! I feel so confused. I can't understand everything that's happening to me! Part of me actually *wants* to go walk on the beach with them. What's wrong with me?"

"I'm afraid that its your female hormones kicking in. Your system is drowning in them, and they're doing what they're supposed to: sending signals to your body and your brain, telling you that you want a guy like that. A normal *female* reaction."

"You're becoming a woman inside Elaine. Soon, you'll loose all attachment to your former self. Soon you'll see yourself as truly female."

"But I don't know if I want to! I feel so confused! I have so many conflicting feelings."

"That's normal too, for a woman" said Kate. "That's how we feel all the time."

"How do you handle it! This is so hard!"

"You just do" replied Gina. Kate nodded her head.

"Look, you have two choices here Elaine. We can go back to the hotel room, and give you your next treatment. Or we can go to the beach, and hang out with those guys. I think that one really likes you. You can just talk and flirt with him."

"Talking to a guy doesn't mean that you owe him anything. It doesn't mean that he has a right to kiss you or even touch you."

"So you an explore, if you'd like to. It's all up to you."

Elaine just stood there with a "deer in the headlights" look. Frozen. Unable to decide what to do next. She needed a push.

"Tell me that you are a woman" demanded Kate suddenly.

"I...I am a woman" said Elaine.

"Say it like you mean it!" said Gina.

"I am a woman!" said Elaine with more confidence.

"It still doesn't sound like you really believe it. Make *me* believe it."

"I *am* a woman."

"Very good" said Kate. "And as a woman, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I told you that somehow I think I like how I feel. Somehow, I like wearing these clothes, looking and feeling pretty. But the thought of being with a man disgusts me. Can I be a woman, but not be with a man?"

Gina and Kate laughed out loud.

"Of course you can silly. Some women never hook up with a man. Some prefer other women. You are free to date whoever, or whatever you want."

Elaine's face lit up, relieved.

"Can we go back to the bar? I think I need a drink."

"Sure thing babe" said Kate. "Sure thing."

* * *

 

"I have an announcement to make" said Elaine to the crowd gathered around her in the office. "I am no longer the person you knew from a month ago. From now on, I want you to address me as Elaine. Miss Elaine Mcleod."

There was polite applause.

"I am going to take a three month leave of absence, so I can undergo a certain procedure. While I am gone, I am leaving Kate Harper in charge. As you all know I was recently promoted. I am announcing today that she is going to take over my old job."

Now the applause was loud and long. Kate was very well liked by the office staff. She was smart, she was funny, and she was a great 'people person'. Things were looking up.

Elaine came over and gave Kate a hug.

"Congratulations honey. Your promotion is long overdue, and well deserved."

"Thanks Miss Mcleod" said Kate.

"Elaine. I want you to call me Elaine."

  

  

  

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